What Could Have Been - Page 3

"Aman, Rahul?" DB glanced at them each in turn. Preeti raised an eyebrow, staring calmly at the two brothers and eagerly awaiting the next blow. DB had been trying to remain calm and in control, but now he yelled. "Answer me. Were you fighting about Kakun?" Aman glanced at Rahul, feeling pleasant, and then stepped forward.

"No, Dad," he answered in his most humble voice. "The fight was about something so stupid that Kakun stepped in to break the quarrel and then-" he paused, meeting Rahul's eyes, which clearly revealed an inner war between his hate for Aman and his hate for himself after hitting Kakun. "Well, you saw the rest. The fault was mine."

"Aman," his mother narrowed her eyes. "Don't try to take the blame. We all saw it happen. Rahul attacked you. Whatever you two were quarrelling about, I wouldn't ever have believed that Rahul would be this respectless toward his older brother."

"Gayatri-" Bebe objected lowly.

"Bebe, you saw it, too. Rahul attached his own brother in public." The tears in her eyes had become clearer, but she struggled to keep them away. The anger was worst than the pain. She had never expected this from Rahul. "Your in-laws were here," she said to Rahul, staring hard at him. "Naina is here. How could you be so shame-less, how could you be so irresponsible, Rahul?"

"Maa," Aman said softly. "Please, let it go."

"Aman is right, Gayatri," Bebe added quickly. "Listen, we're all tired and tensed at the moment. We should all get some rest and talk about at another time."

"But Bebe-" Gayatri said.

"Bebe is right," DB interrupted. He wouldn't look at Aman or Rahul. "We'll talk about this again, but not tonight." And then he turned around and walked out. Bebe frowned concerned, and followed him. Gayatri turned to look at Rahul again.

"I didn't expect this from you," she said lowly. Rahul swallowed hard. "Not from you," she walked out of the hall. Preeti sighed dramatically.

"Well, some night," she shook her head, disapprovingly. "Who would have thought that things would turn out this bad?"

"Preeti," Sid muttered, and his tone was thick with annoyance. "You and the baby needs rest, don't you think?" he put his hand on Rahul's shoulder, briefly, and then followed Preeti up the stairs, leaving Aman and Rahul alone in the hall.

Rahul didn't look at Aman, but turned to walk away. "Who would have thought?" Aman asked, chuckling in almost disbelief. Rahul stopped with his back turned and listened, his jaw set. "Who would have thought that Rahul Punj could ever become a disappointment in his mother's eyes?" Aman sighed. "Times do have changed. No trusting our own anymore."

"Times are yet to change, Aman," Rahul replied coldly. "Especially for you." Then he walked up the stairs.

"Kakun, hold this against the wound," Devi ordered, handing her an icepack. Naina was standing near the bedpost, watching with a frown, while Devi started examining Kakun's head. "Did you hurt yourself anywhere else?"

"Maa," Kakun reached for Devi's hand. "I am fine. It's nothing serious."

"What had gone into Rahul's head?" Devi questioned, furiously. "He acted like a-" she hesitated, and then exhaled. "Why did he attack Aman like that?"

"Yes, that's what I would like to know, too," Naina chimed in. "Kakun, you were there. Did you hear what they were fighting about?" Kakun moistened her lips, and avoided both Naina and her mother's eyes.

"No," she lied. "I just saw Rahul rushing toward Aman and guessed that something was wrong," she shrugged. "But it sounded like Aman had said something bad."

"It doesn't matter what Aman said. There's no reason to attack your own brother in public that way," Devi sighed. "Kher. What happened has happened. How is your lip, Kakun?" she gently removed Kakun's icepack to check.

"It's much better," Kakun lied again.

"Well, it stopped bleeding," Devi said suspiciously. "I'll put some-" she paused and gazed toward the doorway, where Rahul was standing. His expression so dark, as if he had committed the world's biggest crime and wanted to be punished for it.

"Can I come in?" he asked in a lowered voice. Devi raised an eyebrow, while Naina quickly nodded.

"Of course, Rahul," she smiled briefly. "Devi auntie, shouldn't we get going, too? I think that it's late now." Devi reluctantly agreed and stood.

"Kakun, I'll come over tomorrow. Take care, okay?" she combed her fingers through Kakun's hair and with one last glance at Rahul, she left with Naina.

He kneeled and, without a word, he deliberately reached and tucked her hair behind her ear. His fingertips ran over her cheekbone, gently, and his eyes didn't blink, nor did they waver from her hers. His brow was creased in what could be concern, what could be concentration. He reached for her hand next, drew it up to his mouth and kissed her wrist, right where her pulse was racing. A shiver ran through her, but it couldn't compare to the trembling inside him at the thought of how easily someone could take her life. Because, he realized, she was so fragile, really, so fragile. Those long, wounded eyes watched him, trusted him more than Aman for the first time. It made him feel so important, so right, and so strong - as if he had conquered the world. Lost, he leaned forward and rested his forehead against her brow, breathing in her scent. Kakun found the gesture surprisingly tender, and closed her eyes just for a moment, just to own this one moment and add it to her collection of memories that were all of him.

"Kakun," he said her name with tenderness. He'd believed that his will would have prevented a moment like this again. The past months had been harder for him, much harder than the possibility of a life in prison. Those months in which he had felt so obliged to push her away, to distance himself from her, to move on without her – all those months' pain simply melted away in this moment. "I never meant to hurt you," he murmured, and his hand buried in her hair – like dying man, holding on to the last bit of life, the last breath. "I would never hurt you intentionally, Kakun."

"I know," Kakun reached up and gently drew his hand out of her hair. This was not the right time to be lingering in such moments. There were certain realities to con-sider; one being his engagement tomorrow with Naina, and the other her marriage with Aman. Kakun rose from the bed and walked a few steps away from him. When she'd composed herself and turned around to look at him, he was standing, too, and watching her in silence. There was a smile in his eyes, she noted, the same smile he had had, whenever he'd teased her in the past, whenever he'd found her amusing.

"Am I interrupting?" Aman asked from the doorway. Both turned their heads with a jerk, looking at him. He strolled into the room. "Kakun, maybe you can continue your private conversation with Rahul tomorrow at his engagement. I need rest, and so do you."

"The last time I checked, I didn't take orders from you," Kakun replied calmly and sent Rahul a warning glance. He was already looking as if he'd go for Aman's throat again. "But since you're so concerned about my well-being, I'll rest." What stung Aman wasn't her remark, but the part when she turned to leave the room – obvious to that she meant sleeping in the guestroom. The humiliation was worse, because it happened in front of Rahul, and this his brother wasn't taking his side. No, in fact, Rahul's lips curved into a little cold smile as he turned and walked out, too.

Rahul intended to follow Kakun. He still hadn't finished apologizing, but his cell phone rang and when he glanced at the display, it was Naina's phone number. For a moment he considered ignoring it, but she'd been understanding, back in the room, so he owed her. "Hi, Naina." He answered.

"Rahul, are you alright?" Naina asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, fine. And what about you? Is everything okay?"

"You tell me," Naina replied. "You wanted to speak to me about something earlier. It sounded really important."

"Naina-"

"Rahul," she interrupted calmly. "If it is anything that can affect our engagement tomorrow, then I'd rather you tell me now. I won't hold it against you. But if you hide something from me, and I find out later – then I will." Rahul was silent for a minute, thinking hard. If he told her that he didn't want to marry her and they can-celled the engagement, then Aman would become suspicious. But he was willing to risk that. What he wasn't willing to risk was having Kakun anywhere near Aman afterwards, because he might let his frustration out on her. He had to do something that would ensure Kakun safety until they could have Aman arrested.

"You're right," Rahul finally said. "We need to talk. Now."

They agreed to meet down at the Basket Ball court. Naina was already there, when he arrived. She looked tense. "You should sit down," he said, but when she didn't move, he seized her arm and pulled her down next to him on the bench. "Alright," he cleared his throat. "Naina, we've known each other for some time. In this time, we became really good friends. You know, I always thought that if you hadn't been around to keep me up, then I still would've been hurting badly," he turned his head and looked at her. She looked calm now, or composed. "I value our friendship, and I value you as my friend. But I can't marry you."

She'd anticipated this. "I suppose that you can at least tell me the reason?" she asked rather too easily. Rahul frowned. She was hurt. He'd known that she would be, but then why did he feel that there was something else, something that he was missing? What wasn't she revealing? What was she holding back from him?

"I can tell you," he answered, exhaling deeply. "And I hope that you can help me."

"Help you?" she asked, bemused.

"Yeah, because the reason why I can't marry is linked with Kakun," he answered, and Naina's eyes widened a little in surprise or shock, maybe. "And Aman."

"Aman?"