SS: Sadka Kiya Yun Ishq ka_IndxP1_NwStryTsr_p72_:D - Page 31

Originally posted by: aryanpp

Hello...!!! Sorry but why no updates... going crazy... with no updates... & the rumors... that KTLK will be off air... its heartbreaking... hope a writer with brains.. in ktlk team comes up about how to bring a genuine story line to this most adorable couple on screen.. & keep the show live... please... give us a long update that'll last till ur next update... humble request😒

Manisha, How is your health now? No use commenting on the show...any how they will do whatever they want to...let us enjoy as long as it is there...

Wen he parked his car in the parking lot, the noise abruptly woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and looked beautifully around as if she was lost. Ashutosh uttered a soft sorry and it brot realization back into her eyes abt her surroundings and she smiled softly, almost innocently, as she outstretched her arms with a small yawn in laziness. It looked she had a heavenly sleep and Ashutosh cudnt stop admiring her after sleep looks. Her heavy lidded eyes had a strange attraction. He sighed. "So v r back?"she cried. "yeah.. and I felt like I was a driver!"he commented. Nidhi laughed,"bt who had a beautiful company on the front seat! Not bad for a driver!"she said. "a handsome driver!"he corrected. "uhhh!"she cried bt a spontaneous laugh broke out spontaneously as thy alighted! Bt as thy made thr way back to thr room, Nidhi suddenly remembered,"Oh! the pond!" "Its dark Nidhi!" he cried. Bt she pulled his arms and dragged him,"No! show me!"she ordered! "uhh.. I don't take orders lady!" "Huhh!"she cried in annoyance! "bt I think a polite please wud do!"he said. "I m not going to say any sort of please!" "fine thn suit urself, its dark, and u probably wont find a thing and if at all, u mite end up with those fishes in the pond!" "oh! thr r fishes!"she suddenly cried excitedly, wanting to run randomly into the garden in search of the pond, bt he caught her jst in nick on time,"Nidhi stop!" he cried. "eh..i m going to find it..with u or without u!"she said stubbornly. "its dark Nidhi. The lighting of tht part of garden is under maintenance. U wudnt b able to see a thing. Its of no use!" Bt she struggled stubbornly not heeding to his words and he had to give in! "okay..fine.. we will go..bt u wont find it as beautiful in the dark!" "y? Have u ever visited it in the dark?" "No!" "This proves tht u jump to judgments too soon!" He looked at her in disbelief,"huh!" she gave a triumphant naughty raise of her brows. He twitched and shrugged and led her onto very faintly visible pebble trodden path towards tht pond. She wanted to break free, bt he had securely grabbed her hand. "Leave my hand..i m not a kid!"she cried. Bt he gave her a wide side smile instead. Sigh! he cannot do tht! It gave him a wicked pleasure to hold on to her struggling self like tht! His smile irked Nidhi. And thy struggled and battled till thy reached the pond section of the garden and he finally let her hand go! Nidhi ran to the beautifully gleaming pond wer it shone in the lone faint light tht was illuminating it. A beautiful music of gushing water welcomed Nidhi and the bubbles forming on the surface sparkled at her wer the down flowing water from the wet green spiral step-like structure of stones met the calm dark waters of the pond! Nidhi was delighted! Tht was the lone sound tht was heard in tht quiet half-moon nite! "wow!"she cried! Ashutosh cudnt help looking fondly at her! Thr was beauty everywhere. Thr was beauty in her and thr was beauty wer her eyes reached and appreciated! He sighed. She was admiring the floating white lilies and the strewn brown-green leaves tht lay leisurely all over the pond. And again he felt a strange serene quietness in those surroundings! Yes! It was a beautiful nite. He sighed again. "oh! how cud've I missed this beautiful pond!"Nidhi cried. Somehow hadn't noticed it wen she had earlier explored this garden, bt yes, it had been in the farthest corner of tht huge garden and mostly hidden behind the many trees and low lying bushy shrubs tht lined tht area and also shielding it successfully from the bunglow or the driveway. If one wer to sit down thr, it wud provide sort of complete isolation, jst like the pool! She sighed and stepped on to the stones tht lined the pond to peek inside tht dark black water,"Oh! I can see no fishes!"she cried."told u!"he said. She frowned and gave a groan of disappointment. It was so cute tht a smile automatically appeared on his lips and made him promise her promptly tht thy wud visit it early in the morning wen its more beautiful a scene. "really.. how do u know?"She inquired. He shrugged,"sometimes wen u find my bed unslept and u cannot track me on my way back from my lab early in the morning, with all probability, u can expect to find me here!""ur lab?""yeah.. I have my own personal little lab wer I experiment as a hobby!" Nidhi looked at him. "Y? is it so strange? I m a chemist rather a research scientist!" Nidhi was shocked,"a research scientist?" He laughed at her expressions."Y can a handsome man not b an intelligent scientist?" "huh!"she cried bt still looked in mild shock! He chuckled." wernt u curious to know wer I spent my nites?""huh.. y shud I b curious?""or perhaps jealous!" "I didn't even bother!" "really?"He suddenly pulled her close. "I thot wives had a general tendency to get curious and suspicious abt one's husbands whereabouts.. especially in the nites!""huh.. I don't even care!" He pulled her further close as she hadn't tried to move away. His deep piercing eyes searched her for the truthfulness of her words and she cudnt stare back at him for long. She lowered her eyes bt he tipped her chin up to face him. He stared romantically into her eyes. Or at least Nidhi found so! Thr was strange gleam in his eyes and thr was sheer brilliant radiance tht glowed on his face! All thru day today, she had found a strange happiness on his face and she was attracted to tht glowing smiling face. And her heart wanted tht smile and tht happiness to remain on his face forever. He jst looked a lot more handsome liked tht and tht sudden desire tht she had felt ran deep and was truly heartfelt! Gosh! She was losing it! Her heart ached and she looked away. He let her go gently. "so u like nature a lot.." he asked wanting a conversation as Nidhi sat down on the lawn and drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on thm and looked quietly at the pond. "hmm.."she replied. He joined beside her and thr was a brief silence wen thy jst sat and gazed at the pond quietly together. "u know I used to feel very lonely wen I was quite young."Nidhi spoke after a while,"I mean thr was Ritu, thr was my aunt and uncle and thy r not bad ppl and thy have provided me a lot of things tht I m very grateful to, bt thr was always a fine line of distinction betn thr attitude towards Ritu and me. I cud never become thr daughter! Those feelings were never reciprocated the way I craved! Bt I lived thru it and I lived with it! Bt wen I thot abt those huge mountains, large green fields, or the vast blue ocean, thy filled me with a sense of aliveness. Thy had always attracted me because of thr sheer existence. U know tht stand tall against all odds. Thy thrive and fight for thr existence. I wished to b amidst thm. Thy fill me with a sense of freedom. U know wen I looked at those beautiful gardens from the window of our house, I always dreamt of rolling on those green lawns." She giggled like a kid! "I wanted to hug those bushes and play with those cheerful flowers!" Her eyes lit up with excitement! "u..u never visited even a garden?"he asked in disbelief. "oh! Ritu had allergic asthma and she led an overprotected life till she went for treatment abroad, confined inside and had lot of restrictions. And thy wer imposed me as well. I was never allowed tht freedom bcoz thn it wud made Ritu feel sad and gloomy!"she sighed. "bt u know wen I hugged those trees for the first time I realized thy r such selfless and most loving living things! I mean thy don't differentiate, thy don't judge, and thy reciprocate as much luv as u give thm!"she cried with a happy satisfaction! "And u shud thnk me for tht tht I didn't say no to ur mrg proposal!" "huh!"she cried instantly and thy laughed spontaneously! Ashutosh said seriously after a while,"I luv thm. I like spending some quiet time admist nature, bt never had I thot tht it cud mean more thn tht!"he uttered sincerely! "u know the feelings thy fill u with.. with thr vastness, thr abundance, thr depth, thr purity, thr beauty, its jst..jst unmatched." Nidhi cried and thn looked up at the sky tht twinkled many stars across its vastness,"and this infiniteness. U know wat thy tell me tht nothing is impossible!" Ashutosh followed her gaze up and sighed. "And u know wat I love abt thm the most?"she said "Wat?""Thy give u courage to stand for wat u r. Thy inspire u to luv urself the way God has made u!" Ashutosh looked back at her with a sense of new realization dawning upon him as she continued,"Thy know thr existence is meaningful, tht thy r here for a purpose, and thy fight for thr survival, for thr growth with watever and however thy r! And amazing thing is tht not a single moment is wasted in doing tht!"she cried."U talk deep Nidhi! wer did u acquire such deep wisdom?""I m not tht wise!"she said with embarrassing shyness. And for the first time Ashutosh saw her being humble and shy for anything! He smiled. This was the genuine Nidhi! Thr was a little child in her who had wished for so many things tht she had been deprived of and she was jst on a misson to achieve all her dreams. She had a tremendous willpower and confidence in herself. He was looking at a completely new Nidhi. He stared at her and she gave him a soft small smile and breathed in to take in tht beautiful view of nature again.

After a while he got up and outstretched his hand,"shall v?" he asked. Bt she didn't take his hand and got herself on her feet on her own patting herself off of the dirt snubbing him deliberately. He grabbed her hand anyways. "I know my way back" she retorted! "I guess..I forgot!"he replied cooly "Liar!" she cried bt he chuckled as she struggled. "Leave my hand" she cried! "in such beautiful nite, its romantic to hold hands this way..dont u know!"he teased. "huh..I don't want any romance with an old man like u!"she cried as thy stepped onto more solid pathway leading to thr guesthouse. He stopped and pulled her close. "old man? Do u see any grey hair on my head!" "Huh.. dyeing doesn't stop graying of hair!" He chuckled at her witty remark as he secured her by her waist! His hand caressed thru her hair as he cried,"Lamb!" Nidhi struggled without a reply bt he tightened his arms around her as he gazed at her maang and thn at the beautiful big round red bindi tht adorned her forehead. Her eyes wer drawn big and she was looking up at him searchingly. A soft small loving smile played on his lips and his hand went to stroke her jaw softly. Nidhi shuddered at the touch and she looked away bt he tipped her face again to face him. His eyes gazed deeply and fondly at her and thn longingly at her beautiful lips. His mouth bent over her lips bt met with a wall of her fingers obstructing him. He moaned and pleaded her with eyes as his grip tightened to express his need. It was so strong and so earnest tht she was left confused. Her heart was very desirous to feel him bt her mind was forbidding her. When she didn't relent, he gave a heavy sigh out and released her. Nidhi really felt bad for him! Oh! she shudnt b feeling this way for him! She sighed in confusion.

He hadn't left her hand bt and thy walked hand in hand for a while in silence before Nidhi asked him,"So tell me wat was Miss asking u?" "who Miss?" "Mrs. Sharma!" "Oh!"he cried as the recognition dawned upon him, thn he smiled"y u want to know?""oh! its jst v shud b on the same page abt wat all v reveal to her!" Ashutosh cudnt believe it,"Seriously.. y u wud want to hide anything from her.. she is ur guru and a well wisher Nidhi.. she cares for u a lot!" "I know thts y I don't want her to worry and reveal everything tht I m doing..i mean u know!" she frowned cutely. Ashutosh smiled,"well, she seems to know a lot of things tht u r doing!" "Nooo!"she cried. "well.. I don't know how much she knows abt ur other plans bt she definitely knows wat u r cooking up with ur husband story!" She frowned,"wat do u mean?" he laughed amusedly,"well..it looks like ppl close to u know u very well.. she had dbts on u and she asked me frankly wethr I really was ur husband" Nidhi stared at him,"she knows I wudnt lie to her abt such thing!"she cried. "so shud I consider it as an acknowledgement from u tht I m ur husband!"he cried cheekly! "shut up!"she rebuffed. "How can she think of me like tht!" "bt wasn't wat she suspecting true.. u really don't consider me ur husband!" "huh!"she frowned. He sighed,"Nidhi she is jst concerned for u..for ur future!"" "huh.. y does she have to b so sharp. I say one word and she can pick up the whole story!"" "so tht she can help u and guide u to take correct decisions wen u stray away from the rite path!...I wud say u r very lucky to have such mother-like figure in ur life!" Nidhi's frowned deepened with a pout. "I hadn't even told her abt this hatred thng betn us nor tht I wasn't intrstd in men in tht way rite now..how cud she even guess!" "well, thn she is a really smart lady!" Nidhi kept on pouting. "Nidhi..she will b obviously worried abt u.. u want to take on this world on ur own and she is bedridden!" "oh, bt i didn't want her to worry abt me. Y she has already a lot to worry abt! Thrs her health and her daught tht she misses terribly. she shudnt b worrying abt me!" "Nidhi.. u shud let others worry abt u..its not wrong.. thy worry bcoz thy genuinely luv u, care abt u.. y u want to shun away from thr genuine care and luv?" Nidhi glared at him! "if u don't allow, thn u have no rite either to care for thm!"he said." u did all this for her rite?"he said pointing at her maang. Nidhi sighed,"I thot she wud feel good!" "she did.. in fact she told me tht she knew she had done this for her!" Nidhi stared at him. "Nidhi..allow urself to b loved and cared for.. u never had those feelings reciprocated rite.. bt wen thy r, y r u so guarded? Thy wont hurt u. Don't built a fortress around u Nidhi.. u r too young. U have a long life to live. Lonliness is not a bliss its curse! U will miss this togetherness wen its not thr..trust me!" he said. Nidhi stared him. She wanted a nice warm hug badly, bt she jst cudnt cling on to him. "u hate tht..rite.. u hate this bonding.. u hate attaching to someone more thn wat is required..and to avoid tht, u guard urself with sharp words, smart and deliberate aloofness!"he said,"u fear tht if u get too involved in these emotions u wud lose urself completely into it! U don't give urself out freely to ppl with abandon like u do with those trees or flowers! Thts y thy give u tht solace, tht comfort. U r afraid of the deep pain and hurt it can cause u and so u r afraid of stepping into it. U fear u wudnt b able to find a grip back on urself! U r a passionate girl Nidhi bt u r afraid of expressing tht passion and thts y u r always so guarded rite?" he asked softly. Nidhi stared at him. For the first time, her fears, her inner feelings were being voiced so openly and that too by some other person! She looked away. Her anxiety was visible in the form of wrinkles tht had formed on her forehead and the way was clasping her fingers tightly to get a hold on her tumultuous thots. He sighed and pulled her for an embrace. She tried to struggle in protest bt he shushed her and held her warmly in his arms. She sighed as she clinged on to him. Again strange sense of warmth and safetly enwrapped her as she slowly closed her eyes and laid thr in his arms quietly! After a while, he broke the hug and asked,"feeling good?" Nidhi was brimming over with his affections bt she didn't answer. Ashutosh wasn't expecting an answer from her either. It was clearly all new for her, bt he jst cudnt help feeling for her the way he was feeling and doing to her, wat he was doing, comforting, embracing, kissing, and showering his affections! He sighed! He didn't know wat it was, bt watever it was, it was growing deep. Thr bond was strange, bt it was very much palpable and throbbing! Thy walked upto thr guesthouse in silence.

"oh.. so u r here.." his dad cried suddenly breaking thr silent spell. "oh! Dad.. u here..at this hour?"he looked at his watch. "wer wer u?" he asked. "uh'i had been out with Nidhi.." "the whole day?" "the whole day.." his voice became low as he bowed his head. "oh!.. so shud I presume tht research is put on a back burner for now!" "No dad.. it was jst.. I was jst.." "oh ho Ashutosh u take life too seriously.. its okay if u take a day off... u shud enjoy Ashutosh. U r newly married and one has to take out time for one's wife too!" he said eyeing at Nidhi and wanting to sound pleasant and cool. Nidhi stared at his father and tried to grasp meaning beyond those words tht he spoke. "In fact I wud like u take time out for her over the weekends Ashutosh. Soon u'll have a family to tend too. U shud b asking for ur offs and many other things tht u feel shy to ask for!"he said,"bt u have been always like this rite, bt ur father knows u better. U will handle ur account by urself from this month onwards alrite! U have a life to enjoy and a wife to take care of now.. don't feel shy to ask for anything!" he said. "So how do u like here in this little guesthouse Nidhi?"he asked Nidhi. "Oh..its fine..it mite b little compared to the huge bunglow bt its splendid!.. its secluded quiet and jst perfect' for two of us.. and I can make my own tea!" said Nidhi. Mr. Mathur stared at her. An alarmed Ashutosh intervened promptly,"uh.. Dad u wer asking abt progress on new research project?" he asked. Mr. Mathur turned to Ashutosh,"yeah..wud want to see progress report on my desk by tomorrow morning Ashutosh..if u cud make it!" "yeah dad!"he replied promptly. His father patted his back and went away.

Nidhi stared after him mullingly while Ashutosh hurried into thr room. He had jst refreshed and stepped out of restroom wen Nidhi entered. "wat was tht?" Ashutosh asked. "Wat?" "u know..i know u don't get along well with dad..u will understand him better slowly!" "oh I know him better already!" she cried. "wat do u mean?" "oh! don't act so ignorant and nor I m so foolish to not know the reason behind booting usout of tht bunglow!" "He hasn't booted me out! He knows I luv this pool!""huh thts such poor defense! Thn y did u spend ur 20 yrs thr?" He didn't have an answer. "And its not as if thrs no other bedroom in tht huge big bunglow!" "Alrite okay! I m not his biological son! Wat do u expect!" "huh..thn y his false proclaim to the world of u being his son and all tht!" "Nidhi he mite b not a perfect man, bt he is a good man!" "oh yeah.. such a sham of a being a loving father! He didn't even bother abt ur opinion or feelings and married u off to me.. an orphan..jst for sake of some business profit!""Nidhi, u don't know anything abt my relation with him.. okay.. so jst give it a rest.. I m fine with watever he is doing alrite!" "huh..at least my aunt isnt an hypocrite like him and doesn't keep me in fake false happy world!" Ashutosh glared at her and stowed the file and some papers in his bag and bid Nidhi a curt good nite before vanishing from her eyes hurriedly. Nidhi stared after him in frustrated anger. Wat was his problem! Y wudnt he fite!

Bt he remained out of her sight for the nxt whole day and didn't appear in the nite either. It was not until the nxt day morning wen she was getting ready tht he came barging in! "Nidhi wat r u doing?" "wat?" "u asked for some cash from my dad?""oh yeah.. his accountant was asking if I needed anything..so I grabbed this golden opportunity and asked for some money for my shopping!" "50k for ur shopping?""Good amount rite.. I have kept it safe in ur drawer. U can open a new account wer he wudnt have any access to manage ur account and deposit it!" she advised and turned to pick up her purse. He grabbed and turned her roughly,"Nidhi stop it!" "I knew u cudnt do it. So I did it for u as a start. Trust me u wud need it!" "I don't want it! If I wud've wanted it, I wud've done it long time back! U understand tht!" "Oh! I get it so u r afraid of ur father.. wat if u b caught doing this, oh! such a betrayal.. he wud take away all ur special privileges!"she said sarcastically! "jst cut it out okay and return back the money to him!"he cried. She threw open his drawer in anger and thumped the money on his palm,"Do watever u want with ur father's money, I don't care..bt tell u father to not ask me if I need any money for my personal things. I can very well take care of my needs!" she cried and went away. Ashutosh glared after her. Wat was her problem!

And tht was the last time he saw her in tht week. The only time thy met was at the breakfast table and most of the time, he kept himself engrossed in his research data sheets. Nidhi wud frown, bt he wudnt even notice. He hadn't been in at nites and she didn't know wen he refreshed himself. Mostly he wasn't present wen she was thr. So by day 7, Nidhi had had enuf of him. She was in no mood to take this silently any further. Meanwhile, she had gathered quite a useful information tht she can confront him with!

So on Sunday morning, she went straight into the lab wer he was doing his research. Thy owned a dye and chemical company and this particular section of thr chemical plant, The Research and Development Lab, was his favorite section and wer he had spent all those nites tht week. Ashutosh was a team lead of his department and many a new dye processes had been registered with the patent office in thr company's name owing to the painstaking research work by his team. And today wen everybody was taking a day off, he had opted for a quite time in the lab all to himself and he was enjoying it!

Nidhi stomped in to wer he had been standing. With his specs on his nose, he was engrossed in his experiment. On hearing her footsteps, he turned. He was surprised,"u here?" She crossed her arms and glared at him. He was pourinig some liquid into the beaker with a pipette and had ignored her glaring. Nidhi stomped upto him and thumped violently on his table. The pipette he was holding shook and slipped from his hand at her sudden attack and due the violent disturbance of the table, the beaker bounced and found its way readily to the ground. The petri dish too flew in air and the powder of the chemical it held sprinkled over the dispersed liquid. Quick bursts of flames shot out at thm immediately! Ashutosh promptly jumped back and pulled Nidhi along with him to a safe zone! "Crazy girl!" he yelled as he pulled out a fire extinguisher to douse the flames! " "Do u even know this is a "chemical" lab.." he yelled,"how can u act so rash!" Nidhi twitched and frowned stubbornly! "u mite have gotten burnt urselves!" he cried as he quickly checked her for any burns or injuries. "I wudnt have minded tht as long as this lab wud've burnt down to ashes with me!"she cried spitefully, making Ashutosh chuckle softly! "seriously..wats up with u.. y this sudden jealousy?" "correction, its not jealousy its rage!""okay..and y tht so?""Bcoz u've been engrossed in this research experiment and I have been subjected to ur toilsome duties on ur behalf by ur dad! Do I not have my own things to do on Sunday?" "Wat duties?"he asked as he took her outside the lab. "uh.. apparently u forgot tht thrs a Valentines day party tonite and I have been ordered to look into its decoration and arrangement and I had been toiling after it since yesterday! Listen, I m not intrsted in doing ur slave work okay!" "Nidhi!"he cried. Nidhi glared at him angrily! "Okay lets talk it over a coffee..alrite!"

Thy took a corner seat in company cafeteria, which was largely empty! "Now tell me wat is the problem!" "u r the problem! And I m ur wife tht is the problem. And I m subjected to ur slave work tht is the problem!" "managing the party is not a slave work Nidhi!"he cried. Nidhi didn't answer. He sighed in frustration. "Don't tell me u r not aware of the type of work u r doing!"she attacked. He glared at her. "wat type of work?" "Any type of work tht is without any recognition or any designation or any remuneration is a slave's job!" "Shut up! U know wat u r saying! He is my father. I m his son! I had been doing these odd jobs for him since I was young. Its abt trust!" "oh yeah the grt man Friday! Thts wat he calls u rite. His right hand man!"she muttered sarcastically,"even those right-hand men r rewarded and wat exactly u get for it in return..a place to live, food to eat, and some more hard work to do?""Its not always abt returns Nidhi.. u wudnt understand!""huh..I understand it pretty well Mister.. at least I accepted tht I was a mere nurse cum aide to my cousin Ritu and had never ever thot I cud b another daughter of tht house! Bt I claimed my returns for my hardwork!" Ashutosh looked away in frustration"Nidhi u will not understand this relation betn me and my dad!" "yeah.. how can I? The proclaimed elder son of this prominent businessman, his so called right-hand man, is merely a team lead in this big growing company and reporting to his dad, wen everybody knows tht This Research Department is solely run by u bt u r not even its head! Ur father doesn't even have a common decency to reward u properly save give u any recognition or felicitation for ur hardwork and the feats u have achieved for this company. Ur position in this company is worse thn even a lowest-paid salaried employee of this company!" "Nidhi!"he cried. "Jst shut up okay..Rohan, he is in line to become nxt CEO and wat do u get from this job..ur very own personal lab to lure u and this big research lab wer u toil for weeklong without proper food and sleep?""I luv this job okay.. its my passion..I forget time, world, everything wen I m here. I have spent half of my life here in this lab!"A slow anger was slowly building up inside him. "And I hope at least ur father is giving u a pay!" "of course!" he cried indigantly! "Oh Good.. and wer does it go?" "have u been spying on my affairs!" "no unearthing those bitter facts of ur damned life!""Damn it is! Okay! And I m fine with it! It goes back into my dad's business so? I don't need money Nidhi! He has provided me with everything I needed and I don't need more"he cried. "yeah.. he is throwing bones to u and u r happy with jst tht!" "Nidhi jst shut up okay..enuf of this!""fine I will shut up!"Nidhi looked away. Ashutosh cried in frustration."wat do u want Nidhi?""Nothing!" thr was brief angry silence and thn he uttered,"fine.. I will tell dad. U will not have to do any of my slave work!""Thrs no need.. I will do wat I please. U don't need to interfere betn me and ur dad. I can handle ur dad on my own!"she cried determindedly. He sighed heavily! "please..I don't want any unwanted confrontations betn u and my dad okay! Try and understand Nidhi. We have worked together since I was young Nidhi. He has raised me. He has taken a good care of me Nidhi!" Nidhi was still frowning and didn't utter a single world. "Nidhi..Nidhi, I owe him a lot!" "bt u don't owe ur every damn single breath to him Ashutosh!"Nidhi cried angrily and stomped out of thr. Ashutosh stared after her as she vanished from his sight. He sighed and got up. He had to complete his remaining work and clear out the mess tht Nidhi had created in thr, so he went back.

Wen he went home in the evening, he saw Nidhi dressed up beautifully and handling the whole arrangement all by herself on his behalf. His dad had asked him to concentrate completely on tht onging research bt he had no knowledge tht all his other work had been diverted to Nidhi. He had enquired and learnt from the staff tht all thru the week, all his additional paperwork, even some field work, and all such odd jobs tht he had been doing had been given to Nidhi. He sighed. And with her own job, she had been working really hard to manage both. He strode up to Nidhi who had been sitting to have some rest for a while, while the organizers gave the final touchup to the decoration in the hall. "I m sorry!"he said. She ignored. Ashutosh waited till she was done with her work and went back to thr room. He grabbed her thn,"I m sorry!""y?.. do u feel sorry for urself?" He sighed,"please don't start tht again!""y coz u r too afraid to accept tht other face of ur father!" "jst shut up Nidhi!" "still u wudnt want to see wat he tried to do? He wanted to buy me out jst like u so tht I wud b too obliged to oppose my exploitation!" He cried in frustration as he clenched his head,"y.. y r u doing this Nidhi!""so tht u wud come out from the shadow of ur father and see how deceitful he is!" "Nidhi stop it!"he barked. "u know the real reason behind u thrown out of tht bunglow..bcoz Rohan's maternal grandparents didn't want u thr. U wer thrown out of thr lives 20 years ago bcoz thy never wanted ur father to give u those rites equivalent to Rohan.. y coz u wer an orphan and thy cudnt bear ur dad giving u such importance. Ur father took it u as son, bt he was a coward and mean man to accept u as ur son infront of his wealthy relatives! Watever u say, he is not a man!!"He grabbed her roughly,"Nidhi jst shut up okay!"he cried fiercely."Don't say a word abt him okay!""y ..y u don't want to hear and accept the truth! You are not dumb to not know all these all along. U knew it bt u let him exploit u jst coz he was shielding ur bitter origin from the world!" "shut up Nidhi jst shut up!"he shouted to loudly tht it reverberated from the walls of the room. Bt Nidhi was pretty determited!"Admit tht u r too coward to face tht bitter reality of ur own life so u r hiding behind this safe haven tht ur phony father has built for u!" "Nidhi jst stop it okay.. u don't know wat u r saying!"he cried painfully,"y r u doing this.. y r u giving me so much of pain dammit!" "Ashutosh u have to admit it. U have to accept it!"she cried. "u jst don't know anyting..Nidhi.. its easier said thn done. U jst don't know wat all I have been thru and wat he has given me, wat he means to me! U jst cant know wat a decent name and life means to a person like me!" "Ashutosh, I know a lot of things tht u didn't want to see bcoz of this clever well-planned blindfold by ur father! Abt u, abt ur dad, and abt ur mom!" she cried firmly! A new rage of hatred mixed with intense anger rose up on his face at mention of his mom's name! He hit thr wardroob furiously,"Wat do u know? WHAT DO U KNOW NIDHI.. TELL ME!"he barked. His eyes had turned red in anger by know! "I went to ur Mom's old place!"she said. "u did wat?"he cried. For a moment he was shocked! As she went on to inform him how she rummaged thru some old cabinets of thr guesthouse and found some crucial documents and photographs abt his Mom and place and address wer she stayed and worked earlier, a mixtute of emotions ran thru him, of strange fear, of anger, of disbelief and he was momentariliy lost to react. "y the hell did u go to tht dirty place Nidhi!" He shouted grabbing her by the shoulders,"y!" It was his first reaction after gaining a control over himself. "I wanted to search the real truth!""the real truth? Wat truth Nidhi?" he cried in aggravation,"y do u even care Nidhi!"he cried in helplessness,"U SHUDNT EVEN CARE!"he barked. Tears started to flood his eyes. Tht searing pain was back and it was killing his heart! The stamp of being an illegitimate child of some wh**e was back to haunt him and ruin his life! He helplessly thumped again on the wardrobe! Y was Nidhi hell bent on bringing out tht painful past Y! "Ashutosh.. jst calm down okay!" Nidhi cried in worry looking at his plight. She led his fighting protesting self to the bed and made him sit down as she offered him water. He pushed it away and grabbed her,"y did u go thr Nidhi"cried his pained voice. "u know I wudnt want u to b anywer near thr damned place..u know!"he cried. He clenched her tightly. "I m sorry.."she uttered softly as she soothed his back comfortingly and offered him water again,"I m so sorry. Now drink this please. I m alrite." Nidhi winked reassuringly and he loosened his grab. Nidhi tipped the glass slowly towards his mouth. He took it and drank it full and thn sighed heavily. "Now listen Ashutosh. I didn't go thr alone okay. I am associated with an NGO u know rite. It works for downtrodden women and orphan children. Those NGO workers frequently visit those red light areas to help young girls who r pushed into this flesh trade. U know we have so many rescued girls/women/minors in our Reform and Rehabilitation Center and and each has her own tale to tell and u know it doesn't change much Ashutosh. Its a huge whirlpool of corruption and exploitation and helplessness. Ur mom cud've been jst another girl hurled unwillingly into this dirty trade. Her fate cudnt b any different from u Ashutosh! With no proper identity or a clear character to come back into a decent society, thr state is as helpless as urs! Thy don't get a decent job. Most of thm r not even enuf educated. Thy don't get to earn enuf money. Thy cannot lead a good life and thy r always looked down upon. Thy wud cling to any available opportunity to get out of this damned life. Ur mom mite have done the same. Ur mom mite have wanted a better life for u Ashutosh. U don't know for sure. And I m really grateful tht Mr. Mathur gave u tht opportunity! I m really! He has given u everything, I agree, even if it was for a price tht u wer willing to pay and I know tht u r going to keep paying him till u last breath!" Ashutosh stared at her and thn looked away. "Its because of ur inherent goodness! Its becoz of the true man tht u r! Bt Ashutosh I refuse to accept thr isnt another story behind ur mom's story. Wen a son is so righteous, how can his mother b so immoral! I cant believe tht u wer saved by an opportunistic mean man as ur father jst like tht!" "Nidhi..!"he cried. "Ashutosh u know he has bt one basis of judging everything..Money!" Ashutosh sighed deeply as he buried his head in his hands. He was confused and his head was pounding heavily. "Ashutosh.. my NGO workers r very well versed with tht area and its ppl and I came to know abt a certain thing abt ur mom." "Ashutosh looked up at her questioningly. Nidhi sighed and spoke slowly," I learnt tht ur mom had run away with some guy long ago. Thy wer very young and I don't know bt I think ur dad is tht guy Ashutosh!""Nidhi u know wat u r saying!" Nidhi kept silent. Ashutosh knew her silence wud speak more thn her yelling words! He still cudnt believe all this. Ashutosh got up from the bed and nodded heavily,"Nidhi he mite b an exploitative manipulative selfish money-minded man bt he cannot b a cheat.. Nidhi.. he has raised me.. He has really loved and cared for me Nidhi.. u don't know Nidhi. It cudnt have been fake!! Y wud he lie to me abt my mom?"he cried. Nidhi sighed. "Ashutosh, I really don't have any proof and I suspect thr will b none! Coz he had to cover his tracks well. To marry a rich daughter of wealthy influential man, obviously he had to have a clean track record. The way he tried to marry u off to Mallika, the way he even sacrificed his biological son for a handsome profit, I bet he wud do anything to erase his past, if thr was any, with ur mom." Ashutosh sighed heavily. "Ashutosh, otherwise y wud he rescue only ur mom from those thousands of girls. And if she was jst so bad thn y wud he have given her shelter in his house. Ashutosh I don't see him as tht kind of generous largehearted man! He is absolutely not!" "Nidhi may b u r jst mistaken.. may b he really wanted to save my mom!" "bt y..it cannot b a mere coincidence tht he incidentally rescued ur mom and u from an abortion clinic.. I mean'" she stopped and thn continued cautiously,"he really mite have liked ur mom bt tht due to her background, he cudnt accept her.. and its but natural.. it wud've been a big hindrance for his future plans!" "Nidhi u don't have any proof.. u cannot accuse him jst like tht!"he cried. "I know I don't have any proof bt thr r many glaring questions .. Ashutosh, wen u wer left orphan, wer was the need to adopt u legally. It wud've complicated things for him. He jst cudnt bt he did y?" "Nidhi he didn't have anybody with him at tht time, may b he really wanted a son. It was jst me and him thn and this little cottage of ours Nidhi. And I clearly remember how he cared for me, loved me..bt thn..bt thn.." he sighed,"he found Rohan's mom and as u guessed it rite, things changed betn him and me! I kept on working for him as a dutiful son bt he slowly ceased to be a father for me Nidhi!.. u wer right!" he said in low defeated voice. Nidhi hugged him from side,"I m sorry!""and u r rite.. I m too coward to face this ugly truth of my life.." he said. Nidhi tightened her hug,"I m too a coward somewhere. V all have fears don't v!"she said,"bt it is true tht he still cares for u Ashutosh. U r not wrong. He mite b exploiting u or his hands mite b tied down by money and status to accept u as son, bt he genuinely cares for u and I have felt it too and tht is wat is bothering me' Y shud he care for u? U relation with ur dad is not like my aunt and me!" "Wat do u mean?" Nidhi broke the hug and turned away,"I don't mean anything Ashutosh" She cannot tell him wat she suspected. It wud create a havoc in his life. "I think its u who will have to figure all this out for ur own good and peace of mind!" Ashutosh closed his eyes and sighed heavily. Nidhi turned to him and held his hand and squeezed it gently as she cried softly,"I am sorry Ashutosh" She wanted to say a lot of things like she didn't mean to hurt him or tht she jst wanted him to disburden himself with this painful past and she wanted him to think abt his mom in a new light, bt she cudnt. He had to figure all this out on his own. He had to! Ashutosh held her hand tight as he tried to calm his agitated mind down. Nidhi returned him the warm comforting hug tht he had provided. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

After a while he opened his eyes and cried softly,"U don't go thr ever again.. u get tht!" "huh I don't take orders!"she cried back promptly in her typical manner. "Bt u r not going to go thr ever, u understand!" "huh..looks like ur ears r proving ur age.. didn't u hear old man with dyed black hair.. I don't take orders!" he chuckled,"I wud need u to chain u to my bed Lamb!""huh..u dare tht!""I wud luv to do tht actually.." he cried huskily with a twinkle in his eyes. Nidhi was shocked. "like a lamb..literally wat did u think?""huh!"she cried and tried to move away. Bt he pulled her back."u know today is a Valentine's day? So tht will make u my date at the party!" "Huh.. I thot by know u wud've known tht I don't date old man!"she cried. He chuckled,"yeah..especially the ones with dyed black hair rite!"he cried softly. She kept silent. "And the ones who luv to give orders!"he cried. She still kept silent. "And definitely not ones tht like to chain u to bed!"he smiled and she stared at him for a while. His heart twisted strangely and he cudnt not stop himself from running a soft hand thru her hair. His hand gently cupped her face as he drew her close. Nidhi clenched at his chest and he sighed before drawing her lips for an urgent kiss. The lips tht he cud not resist and her wonderfulness tht he simply cudnt stop adoring and the delicious softness of her lips tht he cudnt help savoring. He grabbed and bent down on her to devor thm with fullness. The tasteful wetness of her lips increased with his devors and delighted his lips making him forget everything else, all the pain and the rest of world. Bt tht taste of her lips on the tastebuds of his tongue wasn't enuf, especially wen thy remembered so vividly the taste of her delectable insides. He probed and urged with his tongue and she clenched onto him and rose on her toes to reach him fully and widely. Oh! She was kissing him! His heart stopped as he clenched her and she captured his lips and kissed him engrossingly. His probing tongue was seized by her mouth and was being conquered over with a rising need and a growing desire to delve and devor and to go deep. Her arms snaked around his neck and his arms held her pressingly tight against himself as she sought him beyond his tongue. He groaned at the growing wildness inside thm and pushed at her nape giving her more depth and access to reach the insides of his mouth. She was reveling in him and he was moaning helplessly and grabbing her as tight as he could. His body had become aware of the softness tht was pressing rhythmically against his chest at her each devor and he pressed her tight against his chest. Nidhi moaned and gasped for some air. His lips went on to caress her ear and bite off the lobe. Nidhi sighed again as he enjoyed the caressing on her skin. It had become suddenly so sensitive and its tingling was taking Nidhi into a strange world of dizziness. His need was growing and he was tasting the skin of her neck ravishingly. It could have gone deep and thy cud've lost it if it hadn't been for a sharp ring of the doorbell!

Nidhi flushed as thy jerked apart abruptly! Ashutosh straightened himself to answer the door! Nidhi hid her face behind her palm! Wat was happening to her! God! Wat was he doing to her! She rubbed off the wetness from her neck bt the feel of his ravishing lips still seemed to linger over thr! Nidhi avoided him wen he entered with a slight indicative cough and she went in the restroom to get fresh! He knocked on the door and informed,"Nidhi party wud b starting shortly!""yeah.. I m coming!" "I m waiting!" He is waiting. Oh God! He is waiting. Nidhi panicked. Bt then taking a few good breaths in she stepped outside. He was sitting on the bed wearing a beautiful combination of black stripped party shirt and matching pants, looking really handsome! At this age, how did he manage to look so handsome! She wondered. And most importantly, how cud he make her kiss him lik tht! He looked at her,"u r going to wear this..a dress?" "yeah.." He shifted to get up,"no saree?" Nidhi turned away from him to hide her blush tht had appeared suddenly and said,"No!" She cud hear his faint sigh! He joined her on the path tht led to the bunglow with quick steps!

The party was going on in full swing in the bunglow, bt after initial rounds of dancing and partying Nidhi had excused herself. Ashutosh had been busy with his father and other guests. And as expected, the party had been pretty successful both for his father and her Mom! She sighed. Wer wud it lead thm to? This power, this money wud it give thm tht real happiness? She wondered. And wat abt Ritu? How cud her mom believe tht money wud give all the happiness to Ritu! Cudnt she see the apparent sadness in her eyes! Rohan bt was a carbon copy of his dad plus tht strange aloofness or rather tht smugness and air of superiority and disdain for others, especially for her and Ashutosh! She splashed again in the pond as she mulled. And Ashutosh? Wat wud happen of him? Wer wud he be? All his hardwork, his research had been patented under name of this company tht wud b soon owned by Rohan. And thr was mere a fleeting mention of his name. His father had deprived him of the official recognition and the credit he deserved. 18 patents in 20 years! Tht was huge! His company was flourishing becoz of those inventive dying and chemical processes tht he had developed! And wat he got was some mere pennies in his bank account. And he didn't want anything beyond tht! How cud he not! She sighed as she tried to understand him.

A sudden strong hand pressed hard on her mouth and pulled her back roughly. She tried to scream bt her screams got muffled under tht strong hand. Another hand grabbed her and dragged her into nearby bushes! Horrified at tht sudden attack, she tried to get hold of tht scumbag who was smelling heavily of alcohol. Bt she was dumped over and punched hard suddenly! She felt a heavy blow tht rattled her jaw and shook her brain and rendered her almost unconscious. She cud feel a gush of warm blood spurting out of her mouth and nose. And before she cud gather herself or react, thr was another blow and her head dropped down with a thud on the ground in a semiconscious state. She cud see a black face with dirty lustful eyes nearing her mouth in tht darkness with a disgusting snort and repelling breath. She screamed and gave him a tight kick to throw him away from her. Bt he came back and gave her another blow. She gave a huge cry of help mustering all the strength in her voice. Bt he smothered her mouth again and tore away her dress from front. Nidhi gasped in fright as tears rolled down her eyes. "Ashutosh!"she wanted to cry bt she cudnt. Thn as if someone grabbed him from back, he was pulled away from her and all Nidhi cud see wer some heavy blows and kicks thrown at him. Ashutosh thrashed him violently. His blood spluttered around from his jaw and some drops fell on Nidhi. She wiped thm off with trembling hands and tried to get up, bt her brain was feeling woozy and the surroundings wer spinning like a whirlpool. After giving him some solid knock out punches tht rendered him senseless, Ashutosh picked Nidhi up in his arms with a low painful cry of "Nidhi!" He pressed his handkerchief against her mouth to stop the bleeding and embraced her against his chest to cover her up as he ran towards thr room. He kissed her repeatedly on her head as he reassured her. "its going to b okay.. its going to b absolutely okay..alrite!.. I m here..I m here Nidhi..its going to b okay!" She hiccupped. His warm embrace had brot forth gushing tears from her eyes. She clenched him dearly over his shoulders as tears rolled down her eyes.

475

He shushed her gently and carried her back to thr room. He wiped off her bleeding nose and lips and thn took her to washbasin to gargle off any blood from her mouth. He then made her gently sit on the bed and rushed to get the first aid box. He very carefully cleaned her blood soiled mouth and battered face with the soft cotton dabbed in an antiseptic. Nidhi cried in pain. He pecked her gently on her temple at her every cry. "its going to b alrite Nidhi..okay.. its nothing..really... its nothing" he cried reassuringly as he cleaned. After he had finished with her face and neck, he helped her out of her torn and dirty dress against her protests. As Nidhi was feeling awkward, embarrassed, and shy, he looked away as he helped her out. She squealed in pain as he pulled out her top and he instantly turned to her. She grasped on to her top to cover herself up as she yelled,"U r cheating!" "huh.. as a half husband, I m allowed the liberty to at least check other bruises on ur body!"he cried. "thr is no such thing as halfhusband"she retorted. "I m not ur fake husband bt my better half doesn't consider me her husband. So I will consider myself her husband for the other half of my side!" "very funny!" He put a finger on her lips and cried. "Now shush and get urself checked and cleaned before those bruises get worse! I will try and not look at u as much as possible while I check u out!"he winked playfully. "Very funny!" He patted her head,"its alrite Lamb, let me clean u and thn u can rest till doctor arrives okay..u need a lot of rest!"he cried tenderly. He first cleaned the bruises on her elbows and arms before checking her for other bruises. Thr wer a few bruises on her back and legs, which Ashutosh cleaned up carefully. Her pain and his tender comforting words made her forget her embarrassment from her semidressed state! He then applied some cold compresses intermittently till he felt the swelling had eased down. She then changed into fresh clothes and he gave her some painkiller before she laid down on bed with head elevated on three pillows. He gently caressed her head as she tried to get some rest till the doctor arrived. "u don't need to do this really!"she cried feeling really uncomfortable at his care,"I m alrite really!" "Nidhi.. didn't I tell u.. u shud let others care for u, if u want to take care of thm? Or u wudnt take care of me if have an accident!" "shut up!" "Rite.. so enjoy while it lasts. I m determited to make u miss me!" "huh!" Thr banter continued bt before the painkiller cud take effect, at last his dad arrived with the doctor and the rest of the family followed soon after.

Thankfully her face had taken the blows quite bravely. Except for some bruises and the pink-red discoloration of inflammed skin, thr didn't seem to b a fracture to her jaw. All her teeth seemed intact. The bleeding from her mouth had stopped and she wasn't feeling any dizziness, headache, or vision problem. Tho the doctor did request some scans to exclude any internal injuries as a precautionary measure. For now thr was no need of any hospitalization. Bt Ashutosh had to observe her overnight and call him promptly if thr was any rise in temperature or an untoward complication.

His dad offered him to shift to bunglow so tht the servants cud take of her bt Nidhi declined politely. And wen she enquired abt tht scumbag, she was jst told tht things had been taken care of and she need not need to worry abt it. She shud rest and recover fast. The nite went uneventfully. Ashutosh had been applying the cold compresses intermittently all thru nite. His hand was still lying on her head wen she opened her eyes in the morning. She had slept very soundly during the nite bt looked like Ashutosh hadn't slept at all. She gently tucked his hand back to him and covered him up with the duvet. She got up from bed gently to not wake him up. She was very eager to see the bruises tht she had gotten. Last nite, Ashutosh had refrained her from looking at herself, bt wen she reached restroom. She was surprised. He had taken off the mirror! Huh! she frowned. She got refreshed quickly and went to kitchen to make some tea! Its fine aroma woke Ashutosh up!

He walked out of the bedroom with a big yawn! "u shud've slept!"she cried. He walked upto her and asked,"how r u feeling now?" he asked as he checked on her bruises. "how wud I know? U had removed the mirror! I m not a chicken! Ouch!"she cried as it pained her jaw as she had tried to shout loud! He bent and kissed her bruises. "wat was tht for!"she cried in a low voice this time. "told u I want u to miss me!"he smiled cheekily and made her sit on the sofa and brot her tea for her. "after u finish ur tea its time for ur cold compresses!" saying tht he went in to get refreshed. Wen he came out, she was still waiting for him for tea! He expressed his surprise verbally! ""at least I can wait for u for all the efforts tht ur putting to make me miss u!" he laughed heartily as thy sipped on tea. "Gently"he said. "I m not a kid!"she cried. "Bt I do feel like going on a father mode so bear with me!" "very funny!" As he applied cold compresses, Nidhi enquired abt wat had been done regarding her attacker. "Nidhi.. he ran away! Before security cud come and catch him. He jumped off from the fences and ran into the jungle!" "wat? U cudnt even catch him. Wats use of such tight security of bunglow!" "Nidhi I had thot I knocked him down unconscious! I shud have known!" "the lighting hadnt been fixed yet in tht part of garden. He took advantage of darkness and slipped away!" "huh!"she cried in anger. "Nidhi I assure u I m going to nab him!" "bt did u file a police complaint?" Ashutosh sighed. "We r doing everything Nidhi!" "bt thn y didn't police come to take my statement?" "Nidhi.. dad is against filing a police complaint!""wat?"

i hope i havent missed anyone!

Originally posted by: ZedZee92

Brilliant chapter as always manisha di... loved every bit of it !!! 👏

great going di ...👍🏼

umm...was the attacker by any chance sent by ashutosh's father ???

uhhh!!! cant stand the suspense... plzzz continue soon