Abhi-Pragya 3-Shot: Untitled [Final Part on Page 10] - Page 6

Part 3

A good two weeks had passed and Abhi hadn't gotten a chance to speak with Pragya. There were final exams going on at her college and she was extremely busy. Either she was spending all her time at the college or when she was home, she would be holed up in the study marking papers.

He entered his house and expected her to not be around again but surprisingly she was sitting with the other women of the house, all of whom were getting mehendi applied to their hands. There were some other women present from the neighborhood as well and all of them were talking and laughing.

"What name should I put on your hand ma'am?" The mehnedi artist asked Pragya.

Before his wife could utter a syllable some random aunty spoke up. "Arrey, don't you know who she is? She's Mrs. Abhishek Prem Mehra. She is Rockstar Abhi's wife."

The mehendi artist smiled and continued with her work while Pragya's cheeks flamed being addressed as such.

Chashmish looked cute when she blushed.

Someone nudged him hard and brought him out of his thoughts.

"Will you just keep staring at her Jeeju? Aapki hi wife hai. You are allowed to go and speak to her." Bulbul teased him lightly, wet mehendi adorning her own hands.

"What's going on here BB? What is all this?"

"Uff Jeeju, don't you know anything? Tomorrow is Teej! It's going to be Di's first Teej after marriage. This is such a big occasion."

Teej, hmmm? That gave him a few ides.

He ruffled Bulbul's hair to irritate her, and went over to the couch and popped himself down beside his wife. "Hi Baby." He greeted her casually.

All the ladies around them tittered with laughter and Pragya just looked away, embarrassed. He knew she hated it when he flirted with her in public. Especially because she thought he did it to mock her.

Oh how wrong his little Chashmish was.

"Abhi beta," Some random aunty caught his attention. "You know, tomorrow your wife is going to keep a fast just for you."

Abhi looked at Pragya in mock surprise. "Really Wifey? You'll stay hungry all day tomorrow? Just for me?"

"Of course Beta."Tayiji answered for Pragya. "You know, I told her not to, since she still doesn't keep well, but she insisted." Tayiji ran and hand over Pragya's head affectionately. Both then smiled warmly at each other.

Abhi held her chin lightly and turned her to face him, making her finally meet eyes with him. He raised a questioning eyebrow. Pragya's cheeks flamed harder and she looked away, pretending to admire her mehendi. The ladies around them giggled and cooed.

"Abhi beta, it's traditional to gift your wife something when she breaks her fast." Another aunty announced. "What did you get for Pragya?"

Abhi kept his eyes locked on his Chashmish and her attempts to ignore his presence as he answered. "It's a surprise aunty, and I know Pragya will love it."

The ladies all giggled again and Abhi smiled his charming smile at them.

Soon, then mehendi artist declared that she was finished with Pragya and started to get up to move onto the next lady.

Abhi saw his name glittering on her palm in dark, wet mehendi and it gave him an idea.

He stuck his own hand out in front of the mehendi artist. "I want you to write Pragya', right here." He tapped his palm with his finger to show her exactly where.

Pragya's head snapped to him in surprise, as did the attention of everyone else present in the living room.

The mehendi artist, bless her professionalism, didn't even blink, and within seconds had his wife's name written elegantly on his palm.

All the ladies cooed at his romantic gesture but Pragya just looked extremely disturbed and stared at a spot on the opposite wall.

It was dinnertime and all the guests had left. Abhi had just gotten home after dropping Bulbul off and noticed that Chashmish wasn't at the table. He also noticed that bhabhi and Tayiji were being fed very sweetly by their respective husbands, and it was clear to him why she had feigned tiredness and retreated.

He sighed at her predictability, filled a plate with food, and took it up to his room.

Pragya sat on the recliner curled up like a kitten and pretended to be watching TV. But he knew for sure that she had been staring down at her mehendi before he entered the room.

He pulled a chair over to her and seating himself backwards, held out a spoonful of rice. Pragya turned her face away like a petulant child.

"Eat Wifey, or your medicines will do you no good."

"I'll eat when I'm hungry. I don't need you to feed me."

"Shut up and eat it Chashmish. Don't give me your attitude."

Pragya opened her mouth to protest, like he predicted she would, and stuck the spoonful of rice into her mouth.

She glared at him and chewed her food deliberately. Swallowing, she asked the question he saw coming from miles away. "Why are you doing all this?" (Predictable Chashmish.)

"If you want the answer to that then you have to answer a question of mine. Deal?"

She contemplated for moment, watching him with distrust. Finally her curiosity won out. "Okay, deal."

Abhi looked her right in the eye and asked, "Why are you fasting for me tomorrow?"

Pragya stared at him, startled at the unexpected question. She then looked away, flustered, and Abhi immediately knew that she was going to lie. "Uhhmm... Your Dadi has been looking forward to this for a long time and I don't want to upset her."

"That's a lie." Abhi stated flatly.

She made a noise of indignation. "No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. Dadi would be disappointed, yes. But she would never be upset, especially if you are sick."

"Just answer my question Abhishek." She demanded.

He smirked at her impatience. "Since you so nicely gave all the credit to Dadi, then I think I should too. She gave me this plate and asked me to feed you."

Pragya glared at him harder, frustrated. "And why did you get my name put on your hand?"

Abhi shrugged casually. "Dadi said so." He smiled at her irritation and fed himself a bite of the food.

He held out another spoonful to her and she turned her face away again. He sighed. Why did she have to be so stubborn?

"Eat it Pragya. If I have to force feed you, it might get ugly."

Finally she relented and opened her mouth. He alternated the food between them until it was all gone.

Pragya went into the bathroom to scrape off the now dry mehendi when he heard the knock on the door. Mahesh, his personal shopper, handed Abhi the package he'd requested. Abhi slipped Mahesh and generous tip and sent him along his way.

Pragya had put her hair in a braid and came out in her night clothes. She eyed the package in his hands curiously but didn't question it, just moved into the closet to put her things away.

He followed her into the closet and saw her riffling through the heavier traditional outfit section of her clothes.

"Can't decide what to wear tomorrow?" He asked. Pragya ignored him and continued with her search, biting her lip gently as she contemplated over her outfits. "I have a suggestion."

He put the package on a shelf in the closet.

Pragya eyed it curiously and looked between him and the package, contemplating her next action. Curiosity won once again and she opened the box to reveal her present.

It was a dark maroon lehenga that he had seen in a shop window on his way to drop off Bulbul. As soon as he laid eyes on it he knew that it was meant for Pragya. He had immediately called his personal shopper to pick it up, alter it to Pragya's size, and have it delivered home.

Pragya gasped as the garment was revealed to her, running her fingers gently over the intricate work on the dupatta. "This is beautiful." She whispered, awed. "Did you get this for me?"

Abhi scratched his head, as though attempting to remember. "Well, let's just say that Dadi had this sent for you."

She covered the lehenga back up in its packaging in anger. "Are you lying to me?"

"Mee? Lying? Nooo."

His sarcasm angered her further. "Okay fine, why don't I go to Dadi and ask her whether she sent this for me."

"Great idea Wifey! Let's go together. Then even I can ask Dadi why she asked you to fast tomorrow if you aren't well."

That took the wind out of her sails. She looked down at the box, flushed, and fiddled with the packaging. "I'm perfectly fine." She muttered in a low voice.

Abhi ignored that and went over to the jewelry section of her closet and pulled out a particular box that he knew well. It was his mother's favorite set and he had seen her wear it often. Coincidentally it matched perfectly with this lehenga.

He placed the jewelry box on top of the gift box. "Wear this as well." He told her, too choked up to say anything else.

Her irritation had not abated, it seemed. "Let me guess, Dadi suggested it?" She asked sarcastically.

Abhi just stared at her, wanting her to understand the gravity of the situation, the gravity of what he'd just done.

Pragya gulped. She knew she'd just crossed a line.

Why couldn't she ever hold her tongue at the right moment? Maa always told her to keep her anger in check.

Pragya wanted to say something diffuse the tension between them but her tongue seemed to be glued to the roof of her mouth.

Why did he have to look at her like that?

The heat of his gaze made her feel like her insides would bubble up and boil over, leaving her with nothing. She felt a shiver travel up her spine.

The depth of his eyes captured hers and held her prisoner. She felt like if she didn't escape now she would be trapped within their depths forever.

Pragya couldn't help but drop her eyes and tuck some loose locks behind one ear.

What was it about him that made her so bashful?

With Suresh she could talk and laugh openly.

But with Abhi she felt like he could see inside of her being, and it unnerved her in every way.

"This was once Dadi's choice." He finally broke the silence. From his tone she could tell that he was dead serious. He opened the box to reveal the jewelry to her and she gasped at the intricate gold and stone set. "She got this for Maa for her muh dikhaye. It was Maa's favorite."

Pragya was at a loss for words. Abhi was giving her his mother's set?

She felt tears prick her eyes as she ran her fingers gently over one of the earrings. "Abhishek... this is... I..." She gulped. "Thank you."

He took her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss on her palm, right where his name was etched. The way he was looking into her eyes made Pragya's heart thump madly.

She cleared her throat to diffuse the situation and pulled her hand out of Abhi's grasp. "Umm.. I... I have to be up early for the pooja tomorrow. So... umm... goodnight."

Abhi unfortunately had to meet up with his band and was busy with them all day. He missed his Chashmish and wanted to be with her but they were getting ready to release a new album and his days were busy.

It was evening when he was finally free and Dadi instructed him to come directly to the mandir for the prayer.

He ascended the steps of the mandir and saw Purab and Bulbul sitting together on bench. The happy smiles on their faces made his heart clench. This was the happiness that he was out to destroy. He truly was a monster. He was lucky that his list of sins didn't extend to them. He hadn't actually taken any action against Purab.

He heard the soft clinks of a payal and he immediately turned to the noise.

Chashmish was blindfolded and standing in between a circle of children trying to catch one of the little urchins.

Abhi took his time and admired her in leisure.

He knew that the lehenga he had chosen would look perfect on her and he had been right. The dark maroon contrasted perfectly with her creamy skin. The intricate work on the garment wonderfully complemented her slight, lithe figure. The choli of the lehenga was cut high, and his modest wife had tried to cover any exposed skin with her dupatta. His mother's necklace glittered against her delicate throat. Finally her chura, her wedding bangles that she wore to this day completed the look.

She looked like the newly wedded bride that she was and it did funny things to his insides.

She was his bride.

He felt an extreme rush of possessiveness towards her and it was this rush the led him towards her.

When the children saw him enter the circle they all ran away giggling.

Pragya reached out towards him in attempt to nab one of the children but grabbed his shoulders instead. She ran her hands from his shoulders to his chest in confusion, feeling his torso along the way. She must have figured out that he wasn't one of the children because she reached up to pull her blindfold off.

Abhi held her wrist and jerked her closer, trapping her hands between their bodies and not letting her anywhere near the blindfold.

He felt he breath hitch and he knew that she was as aware of his presence as he was of hers.

Abhi caressed the shell of her ear lightly and felt her petite body shiver against his.

"Why did they need to blindfold you Chashmish? All they had to do was take your glasses away." Abhi teased her lightly, knowing it would ignite her ire.

And it did. Pragya frowned and pushed him away, yanking the blindfold off.

She backed up a step, putting some distance between them, and fixed her hair in an irritated huff. "Aap finally aa gaye. Itni der kyun laga di?"

Abhi took a step towards her and closed the distance between them again. "Why baby?" He asked huskily. "Were you missing me?"

"N-no." She stuttered her reply, her cheeks flushing at his proximity. "D-dadi was wondering where... where you were."

She turned to leave but he slipped an arm around her, under her dupatta, against her bare waist, and held her firmly against him. He could feel the muscles of her belly contracting as her breathing quickened. Her hands had landed on his shoulders and she curled her fingers into the front of his shervani.

"Such a little liar." He whispered against her ear. "Next time you lie to me Wifey, I am going to kiss you. And I get to decide where." Pragya just stared at him as he made this statement, knowing from his expression that he was dead serious. Her cheeks flamed with a furious blush and she dropped her eyes to the ground.

Abhi used his free hand to cup her neck and tilted her face up with his thumb. "And next time you use Dadi as an excuse for anything, your punishment will be more severe than a kiss." He dug his fingers gently into the soft flesh of her belly to emphasize his point.

Pragya gasped out loud at his implication and he felt her tremble from head to toe.

"Now let's try this again. Were you missing me?"

Pragya smiled shyly and nodded yes in response.

"I was missing you too." He mumbled lowly. "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

She just shrugged. "You're here now."

Her simple statement warmed Abhi's heart. Had she been Tannu, he would have still been trying to convince her o listen to him. With Pragya he didn't even have to make an excuse. She trusted him, no matter what.

"Abhi, Bahu, what's going on here?" His dadi exclaimed. Abhi and Pragya jumped apart. Pragya cleared her throat awkwardly, mumbled something, and went to join the other ladies inside the temple.

Grandmother and Grandson chuckled at her hasty retreat.

"Dadi, you're terrible, you know that?"

His Dadi pulled his cheek. "Where do you think you learnt it from beta?"

They both grinned wickedly at each other, their smiles identical.

Abhi watched as Chashmish prayed with the other women. She looked absolutely engrossed in what she was doing and the serenity on her face was fascinating to watch. He couldn't help but stare at her.

Once the ladies were done praying their respective husbands gave them some water and some sweets.

Pragya turned to him expectantly and waited for her sip of water.

Abhi looked around to make sure that no one was paying attention to them and quickly dragged Pragya to an empty bench in a secluded corner.

He took her hand in his and stared into her deep, mesmerizing eyes. "Do you feel it too Pragya?"

She just frowned in confusion. "Feel what?"

"Feel this thing, this attraction between us?"

She was silent for a moment, contemplative, before nodding and agreeing with him.

"I want to see where the attraction goes Wifey, and I'm not just saying this out of guilt. There is definitely something strong that pulls us together I am tired of fighting it. I want to let go and see where it takes us. I want our relationship to be real. I want to make this marriage work. Bolo, tum dogi mera saath?"

Pragya brought their still joined hands to herself and rubbed her soft cheek on the back of his hand. "Mein toh hamesha se apke saath hi thi Abhishek."

"I know Baby. Ek mein hi idiot tha that I couldn't see that. I'm so sorry."

Pragya shook her head and put a finger to his lips. "Bas. You've already said sorry and I've already forgiven you. No more."

"Even a thousand apologies will never be enough Wifey, but forget all that. I didn't bring a present for you today. Instead, I am going to make you a promise. I know I won't be the best husband, but for you I will try to be the best man that I can be. I know that I can't stop tears from coming to your eyes, but I will always try to make you smile. I will always be on your side from now on."

Tears swam in Pragya's eyes as she took in his words. "That's more than anything I can ever expect Abhishek."

Abhi put his arms around her and gently pulled her closer. "You deserve much more than this Pragya and I will try and give you all that you deserve."

He tightened his arms and hugged his wife, feeling contentment wash over him. She too rested her head on his shoulder and relaxed into him, completing the moment.

This, right here, was the perfect moment, and Abhi knew that he had finally done something right and taken a step towards a better future.

-The End-

Originally posted by: ratitheangel

amazing yaar love it first time me reading ur story me love it u wrote its soo beautifully will now try to ready all ur update love it update soon