Chapter 18
Both Prachi and Milind were relieved to leave for India the next day. Niether could bear another evening like the previous one. Prachi hoped once they were back in India things would get back to normal. Milind knew things could never go back to how they were. He needed more from Prachi than she was willing to give him. It was a quiet flight back and after the previous sleepless night, they both tried to catch up on their sleep, they certainly didn't talk much. Premlata, Bobby and Somuya were at the airport to meet them and bombard them about questions of their trip but only memories of their last night came flooding back.
After having dinner with Prachi's family, Premlata wanted them to stay over instead of going back to their empty dark home. Prachi was about to refuse when Milind said, "Prachi will stay, I need to go." "I'll also come .", said Prachi. "No, there is no need for you to come back.", said Milind firmly. The hurt expression on Prachi's face just made Milind further shut down. The only way, he could cope with his inner turmoil was to completely cut himself off from Prachi. He was scared as hell, of what would happen if she got an inch too close.
The next day, Prachi spent being anxious and worried. Waves of panic hit her everytime, she thought of the possibility that Milind wanted out of their marriage, which Milind's behaviour seemed to indicate. He could barely stand to be in the same room as her. Prachi thought of herself as a strong person. Only the people very closest to her had known she had been hurt by Neev's marriage but Prachi didn't think she would be able to cope if Milind decided to leave her. If nothing else, the last few days had made her realise that she could not and would not live without Milind. "Please, let everything be okay.", prayed Prachi as she waited for Milind to pick her up. Prachi was standing outside when Milind arrived. Prachi smiled at him as he got out of his car but her heart sank when he did not return her smile. They returned back home and another sleepless night followed for both of them.
The next morning, Prachi was laying out breakfast when she saw Milind already on his way out. "Milind, aren't you going to have breakfast ?", asked Prachi concerned. "I have a meeting.", replied Milind brusquely. "Well, at least have something.", said Prachi, placing a restraining hand on his elbow. Milind pulled his arm away from her, desperate to get away, yelled, "Could you just leave me alone? Just leave me the hell alone. I don't need this." Milind stormed out of the house, leaving a broken Prachi behind. Prachi threw herself on the bed, sobbing. She wasn't even crying because of Milind screaming at her but because her marriage was rapidly slipping away from her and she didn't even know why. Milind got into his car but didn't even bother to switch it on. He banged his fist against the steering wheel and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.
Prachi quickly got off the bed and wiped her tears away when she heard footsteps outside the door. "Prachi, I'm sorr...", said Milind opening the door. His heart wrung when he saw her tear stained face before she turned her back on him. The icy wall he had trying to build up between them completely crumbled. He walked over to her and slowly turned her towards him. He cupped her face and gently kissed the tears on each cheek. When she didn't pull away, he kissed her softly on the lips. The kiss deepened and intensified. They eventually pulled away and caught their breaths. Milind wanted to give her a chance to stop him but she didn't. Instead she stood on her toes and lightly kissed him on the lips. Holding her face, Milind returned the kiss with a passion that shook Prachi to her core. Prachi could feel her knees weaken. Milind was just about to pick her up and carry her to the bed, when his phone rang. He pulled out his phone from his pocket, cut the call without even checking who it was and threw it on the bed. The phone rang again. "Ignore it.", said Milind as he continued his assault on her senses. However, they both stilled when the land line started to ring. The answering machine picked up the call and they found it impossible to ignore the sobbing on the other end of the line. It was Ayesha. Neev had walked out on her.
Edited by blackcurrant - 17 years ago
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
