Hello lovelies! Sorry for not being able to update yesterday! So updating early today! Hope you like it and please leave back your awesome feedbacks! On that note I hope you enjoy reading this! Love you all!!
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Chapter 22
"Beta, I thought you came home because you were missing me. All you do is either you lock yourself in your bedroom and practise music or sulk alone. What is the matter beta?" asked daadi gently patting Abhi's head.
"Just being around you calms my nerves daadi." He said with eyes shut, clearly enjoying her maternal caress.
"So your nerves weren't calm till you came here I assume beta? What is it that is bugging my grandson so, you know you can tell me" she replied lovingly.
She was right Abhi thought, even in the past daadi had always been a source of comfort and wise advice he thought. "Daadi it's my friend, I am protective of her - but she doesn't trust me. She trusts Purab - you remember him right? And he is playing with her feelings - I don't like it - but as I said, she doesn't trust me" he finished, already feeling lighter after sharing this.
Daadi looked thoughtfully at him, the only person her grandson was attached to, was her granddaughter Aaliya - if Abhi was protective of this girl, did it mean he had developed a soft corner for her? Daadi wondered quietly as started asking innocent questions about Pragya to Abhi - to daadi's amazement, no more was Abhi the gloomy morose child sulking in the corner - the way he relayed her stories to daadi and laughed remembering the fun times, daadi was sure where this was heading - Abhi told daadi how chashmish helped him academically, as a friend and also with his music - this girl seems right thought daadi - and smiled.
"Beta, if she is your best friend and you care for her - then you have done your job of telling her of the reality and by trying to protect her from hurt - now it's her call. You really shouldn't worry anymore - it's her life, she gets to decide." She said wisely and as she anticipated, Abhi's shoulder dropped in morose again.
But daadi continued, "However, if your chashmish friend is special and you cannot see her hurt at any cost and you have decided you will be there to protect her from such people all your life - as her partner, and love and cherish her - then I must say coming home to sulk is a wrong decision son." she smiled.
Abhi looked up at her face in surprise, daadi too understood this? Then why couldn't chashmish understand? He dropped all pretence before daadi and told her, "I love her daadi. I really do"
Daadi looked annoyed, "God beta, you are such a disgrace to the honourable name of Punjabi's! You love her and because she doesn't trust you, you came back running to daadi? Go back there beta and fight for her - fight for your love and win her back for me. Go now." She said with charge. Abhi didn't need to be told twice, his goofy grin was back and he gave daadi a rib-cracking hug, before running off to pack his bags - he was coming back, to claim chashmish and make him rightfully his.
***
When Abhi rang Pragya's doorbell, a surprised Aalu greeted him, "Bhai, I thought you were returning by the end of week right?" she asked surprised.
"Yes, but I am back, and I need to meet chashmish. Is she home? She isn't reachable by phone" he replied breatheless.
"Err..bhai..I don't know what happened that night after the movie, but by the time Neil dropped me, Pragya had gone leaving behind a note that she will be gone for some time. And ever since then she isn't reachable over phone." She replied eyeing Abhi nervously. Abhi stared at her - gone? For some time? Where? He thought, but judging by Aalu's expression, he knew he wouldn't find his answers here. He dashed off from there before entering the house and leaving a surprised Aalu behind. Only one man could tell.
When he knocked his door, he was anxious. The last time he met him two weeks back, he had beaten him down to pulp, and today only he could help him. As the door opened, Purab peeped out.
"Yes?" he asked politely feigning to not recognize him.
"Purab, not now - this is serious"Abhi replied quietly. Purab considered it for a moment and allowed him inside - to say the least, Purab was MAD at Abhi. Abhi enetered his house and before anything else first looked around, half hoping to find Pragya there - but the house was empty except Purab - in fact he seemed to be packing his bags.
"You're going somewhere?" Abhi asked, trying to break the ice.
"Yes, Delhi." He replied.
"Why? Random or.." asked Abhi curiously.
"To attend my girl-friend's sister's roka" he replied.
Abhi was surprised, Bulbul's conversation regarding Suresh postponing there roka came to his mind. Didn't she succeed in warding off Suresh? She had agreed for the roka? Did that mean Pragya didn't belief him at all? Did she not choose to leave Purab even for Bulbul's sake? Why was she doing this? Not only was she destroying Bulbul's happiness, but also her own future and Abhi's - and as much as he hated Purab now - in a way she was destroying his life too, by allowing him to cheat on her and live with the guilt. No he had to stop this madness.
"Purab, Bulbul loves you! I promised her not to tell you - but truth is she sacrificed her love for you because---"but he couldn't complete, as Purab spoke again.
"Because she wanted Pragya to have a chance to be with the man she loved. I know. Had you told me this earlier, a lot of madness could be stopped - but now this news fails to make any impact"he replied coldly.
Abhi was shocked, why was Purab acting thus? "Purab, you love Bulbul and she loves you - her intentions weren't wrong - then why do you want to avenge her by wronging chashmish? Purab she doesn't believe me - so you stop it please - you don't even have a motive anymore - instead stop Bulbul and Suresh's roka!!" Abhi tried explaining in vain, to a visibly unperturbed Purab.
"Abhi, who told you Bulbul and Suresh are having a roka? They are not together anymore." He replied calmly.
"You said your girlfriend sister's roka nah?" asked Abhi agitated.
"And Bulbul isn't my girlfriend sister" he replied.
"Oh, so chashmish broke up with you?" he asked relief draining him from inside, he had not a worry in the world now.
"Yes, we broke up"he replied curtly.
"Oh. But where is she? I tried calling her all day, her phone isn't reachable" he mumbled, in fact he didn't hate Purab anymore - the deep-seated anger he felt for Purab seemed to sublime the moment he knew chashmish wasn't with him anymore.
"In Delhi" he replied looking at Abhi with pure hate in his eyes.
"Why is chashmish in Delhi?" Abhi asked confused.
"Because the roka is happening in her home-town" he replied.
"Whose roka? Wait what is happening? Purab please explain!" he gave in.
"Pragya's roka. My girlfriend Bulbul's sister Pragya." He finished through gritted teeth.
Abhi's world collapsed. Chashmish's roka? If not Purab then whom? He wondered aloud.
"Nikhil. Nikhil Suri" replied Purab, "he is her mother's friend's son. It's an arranged marriage."
"Purab but why did chashmish agree?? She loved you right?" asked Abhi aghast.
Purab looked at him in the eye and took a deep breathe, "As much as I don't care enough to explain this to you Abhi, I still want you to know - so that in future when you repent, you know exactly how big a loser you are."
"Purab, just tell me" Abhi pleaded.
"When you told Pragya the truth about Bulbul that night, she had confronted her and demanded to know why Bulbul did such a thing - why she assumed Pragya loved me when she never said such a thing to Bulbul - turned out Tanu had told her about Pragya liking me - and Bulbul already knew Pragya hopelessly loved someone, so she wrongly assumed that was me - but on clarification, Bulbul and Pragya hugged each other and cried till they made peace - then Bulbul and I got back together." he finished.
"So chashmish never loved you? And she does love someone hopelessly? Who is it? And Bulbul took you back just like that? Didn't she have a problem with the fact that you used her di?" asked Abhi, the revelation had left him more confused than ever.
"So the thing is, Pragya and I were never together - it was an arrangement we made - I wanted to make the man who she loves, feel jealous seeing her with me - so that he realized that he loves her too - but I told her that my girl broke up with me, and we were doing this to make her jealous - that's why she agreed to be a part of the charade." He replied, and continued packing his bag.
"What?" that was all he could gasp, he felt weak and crashed on Purab's couch.
"But wait, if she loved someone and you did so much to get them together, then why is she marrying this Nikhil guy? Isn't it an arranged marriage?" he asked.
"Yes, it is - because the fool she loved, doesn't seem to know the difference between diamond and coal. He doesn't love her. I truly pity him and I hate him from the core."he said with venom spitting from his mouth and choler in his eyes.
"Who did chashmish love so dearly Purab?"he asked, he was feeling revolted from inside, guess he never stood a chance anyway - she loved this unlucky bas***d who never saw her for who she really was - and now she was marrying a stranger - he had managed to be in her wrong books anyway - so he still didn't stand a chance - he was feeling sorry to be disappointing daadi too.
"How does it matter who that loser is" asked Purab.
"I want to know" he said dejected.
"You" Purab replied quietly, as Abhi's head shot up in shock.
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