Hola Everyone,
Thank You. Thank You, to each and every one who liked and commented on my story. It really means a lot. And sorry for not replying to every one 😊. It is your love that got me to write this next part. I made the story a Three Shot now. If you like how the story is going then I will work on the next part. Hope you enjoy.😃
I repeat again... Don't forget to hit like and leave your comments. I am really greedy for those 😆
********
AfterMath
Rudra looked at the wall clock for the umpteenth time. Why?, he didn't know. Sleep had completely eluded him the whole night, making his eyelids heavy and his head numb. But his brain was still on overdrive, doing only one thing since last night, thinking of her and only her. He rested his head back on the headrest again, sighing tiredly. He felt exhausted both physically and mentally.
His last nights conversation with Paro kept replaying itself like an old record as he wondered, If he did it right? If she understood him correctly? If everything will be fine between them? And tried to understand her reaction, her pain, her silence. Her silence... which was driving him insane. He was not ready to accept it to himself but Major Rudra Pratap Ranawat was scared. He was scared of losing her, of her leaving him and mostly of her despising him. To see anything but love for him in those beautiful brown caramel eyes has become very difficult for him to even imagine. "It doesn't matter what she thinks of me. I don't care. I said what I had to. How she takes it is her choice.", he repetitively lied to himself. Hoping it will make him feel better, stronger and immune to the pain in his heart.
-------
It was around 6:00 a.m. in the morning when he dragged himself to their bedroom. He felt relieved that the horrific night was over but at the same time he also felt anxious at the thought of what that day has in store for him. He never felt how he felt right then, at that moment. Confused. Worried. Unsure. Nervous. And completely drained. No, not since his mother left. The minute he silently entered the room, his gaze immediately moved towards the bed to see her sleeping figure. Not taking his eyes off her, he slowly walked towards her. His heart ached as he looked at her pale face. Her lean figure was insecurely curled up like a ball with her hands tightly holding her knees. His hand raised on its own accord towards her forehead, itching to caress her before he realized what he was about to do and pulled it back. Letting out a huge sigh, he briskly walked to the cupboard, took his uniform and made his way to the bathroom. No, she can't wake up now. He was clueless as to what to say to her to ease her pain. And also, he still didn't know how to handle her silence.
--------
Paro woke up with her head aching badly and her eyes very much burning. "Aaah!", she moaned in pain as she cleared her mind. It didn't take her much time to remember the horrifying night and the heart wrecking truth. Her heart sank and she laid there too tired to even move. Just then she heard the sound of the door and immediately she froze, pretending to be asleep. She didn't know why she did that. Her sudden behaviour surprised her. But she just couldn't move. She needed time. She can't face him or anyone else right then and she subconsciously acted on it.
She heard the footsteps get closer and closer and she now knew whom they belonged to. She was relieved that her eyes were still covered with the bandage. If it was not for the bandage, her sleep act would have been caught by now. The tears that were accumulated in her eyes would have freely flown down, giving her away. Suddenly his phone rang, almost scaring her. "Sir. Yes sir. Ok sir.", she heard him say into his phone as he walked out of the room. "Hai Bolenath, What am I doing? What am I supposed to do? Why is all this happening? How am I to take this truth? Show me way... Please.", she silently prayed to her Bolenath as her tears became uncontrollable, completely soaking the bandage.
--------
Paro didn't know for how long she stayed like that in the bed. She was awake but totally lost in her thoughts. It was Maithili's concerned voice that brought her back to reality. "Jija.", she called out, lifting her hand to hold hers.
Maithili immediately sat next to Paro and asked as she placed her hand in Paro's, "I am here Paro. Are you ok? I mean it is almost 9:00 a.m and you are still in bed. Is everything ok?"
"I... It's 9:00. I didn't know it was this late Jija. I am fine. I just overslept.", she said, instantly sitting on the bed.
"Ohh! that's it. I was a bit worried because today Devarji sa repeatedly told me again and again to take care of you. And when I asked him if you were ok, he didn't give me any answer. Is everything really ok, Paro?"
Paro was too immersed in what her jija just disclosed to her that she forgot to answer.
"Paro?" Maithili shook her a little.
"Huh! Ya, ya. I am fine jija.", she assured.
"Jija, Major saab...?", she stopped, unable to complete her question. She wanted to know if Rudra has left for work. But she just get herself to ask. And also the last thing Paro wanted right now was for her jija to suspect something is wrong between Rudra and her.
"Ya, I know. Even I was surprised when he asked me to take care of you. Looks like your Major Saab is very worried for you.", she giggled, totally oblivious to Paro's turmoil.
Trying hard to keep her pain at bay, she gathered energy to ask, "Did he leave?"
"Ya. He got a call from BSD and he left immediately. Why? Missing him?", she teased.
Paro just stayed mum, trying to swallow the lump that suddenly popped up in her throat. "He left...", she thought.
"Now go, freshen up eat breakfast. It is on the table. Do you want me to help?"
"No, jija. My eyes are not hurting anymore. I will manage.", she lied.
"Ok, have breakfast and take rest. Call me if you need anything."
Paro silently nodded.
As Maithili left, Paro slowly removed her bandage which was soaked in tears and gently opened her burning eyes, taking in the pain happily as it felt soothing against the anguish she was suffering internally. A part of her was relieved that he left. Because she had no clue on what to say to him. What Rudra told her the previous night seemed too alien to her to comprehend. And she felt totally lost. But then again the other part of her was hurt, not due to the bitter truth but by the thought that he didn't even try talking to her that morning before leaving. She felt disappointed that he didn't feel it important enough to wake her up and say at least a good bye. "Am I expecting so much? Do I have any right to expect something from him? Do I have any importance in his life? Does he even consider me a part of his life? Am I a nobody too? How can he be in a relationship with a women for 8 years and feel nothing?...", these never ending thoughts were making it hard for her to even breath. The more she tried to understand the truth, more questions raised in her mind adding in to her agony and making her feel more suffocated. Her hands instantly covered her face and she cried her heart out, trying to let out the pain that was threatening to kill her.
-----------
That whole day was torturous for both Rudra and Paro. Luckily for Rudra, the meetings with his seniors and other important discussions kept his mind occupied at least for some time but for Paro it was pure hell.
The minute she left her room she saw Laila come running to her with concern, asking her if she was ok. She silently nodded trying to keep her emotions in check. Laila held Paro's hand as if supporting her and kept asking about her eyes. For a second Paro was left to think, "Why her Major Saab did not love Laila? She is nice, loving, caring, beautiful and strong. Then why?" Lucky for her, Maithili saved her from walking into that deep dark alley as she ran to Paro, totally concerned by her missing bandage and drowning her with questions. Paro just hugged her tightly, not letting her go, shocking both Laila and Maithili.
"Paro, is everything ok? Are your eyes hurting?"
"I am fine, Jija. I just felt like hugging you. Can I hug you some more?", she asked innocently.
Maithili nodded, caressing her hair and Paro took in all the love and affection she got. She needed this warmth, she was craving for it since last night.
Gradually Paro broke the hug and they both walked towards the Kitchen leaving Laila behind. "What happened to Paro today? Weird girl. Just wait and watch Rudra, I will make you realize I am much better than her, that you need only me. You ordered me to go out by this morning, right? What happened? Nothing. I am still here. Which means my threat worked. Now no one, not even you can get me out of this house.", she thought, with an evil smile playing on her lips.
------
After that, Paro didn't want to think any more. Not about Rudra. Not about her. Not about that truth. Not about her place in his life. Or what she is to him. Or if at all she is anybody to him? Nothing. She simply wanted all those thoughts to go away. She just wanted to not feel any more pain. To forget the sensation of her heart being crushed to pieces whenever these questions made way into her mind. Therefore after lunch, she tried to do just that by keeping herself busy. Busy with anything and everything, so that her brain could stop thinking about all those things that are hurting her, making it impossible for her to even breath.
She forcefully sent Maithili out with Sunehri and buried herself in house chores. She tried to avoid Laila as much as she can. Not because she hated her or disliked her but because Laila reminded her of everything she was trying to run away from. She cleaned up the whole kitchen twice, cooked many dishes for dinner and as there was still time to kill, she started making a new embroidered dupatta for Sunheri. Her eyes burned and burned asking her to stop, to give them rest but she just kept going and going and going, exhausting herself, making herself numb both mentally and physically. Paro was breaking and this time she was not sure if she could hold herself together like she did when her parents died. She desperately wanted to know, his feelings, his thoughts, to hear his soothing words, to be by his side, for his assurance that everything will be fine. She missed him... She wanted him home.
------------------------------
Rudra desperately wanted to see Paro. He for the first time missed her today. There was this uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach throughout the day making it impossible for him to concentrate on anything. He was thankful for the vigorous meetings that took his mind of his own self destructive thoughts. He walked into the haveli taking a huge breath, preparing himself to immediately talk to her. He didn't see her anywhere in the haveli. He entered their bedroom excepting for her to be sitting on their bed with bandage on her eyes but to his dismay, she was not there either. His heart sank and his worst fear surfaced. "Could she... Could she have left him? Just like his mother had... No, she can't. She loved him... But does she love him even now, after knowing his truth?..." He closed his eyes trying to control the terror building in him, telling himself to calm down and look around the haveli first.
Suddenly he felt soft cold hands hold his right hand and lift it up. Immediately he let out a huge sigh and said, "You are here. You didn't leave." while he opened his eyes to find..."LAILA!", he said shocked. He was barely able to register what Laila was doing or saying, his thoughts were too jumbled to think straight. "This is not her. Where was she?", his subconscious shouted to him as his nightmare of her leaving him returned back with full force.
"Laila Baisa, Yeh aap kya kar rahe hai?", came her soft yet hurtful voice jolting him back to reality. (Laila, What are you doing?)
Rudra's eyes shot in the direction of her voice. "There she is. She is here. She is here.", he repeatedly assured to himself as his saw her.
"Parvati, Woh mai... Rudra ki haat mai dard ho raha tha toh mai dheek rahi thi." (Parvati, I ... I mean ... Rudra's hand was paining. So I was trying to help.)
Trying to gather his mind around what was happening Rudra looked at his hand and then everything started making sense to him. His right hand was tightly held between both of Laila's hands and was pressed against her chest. Before he could move his motionless hand, Laila let go of his hand, making it fall freely to his side and making him wince a little in the process.
That was enough for Paro to run to him, hold his hand, gently rub it and ask in concerned tone, "Dard ho raha hai?" (Is it paining?)
He just stared at her as she did all this and couldn't help but feel delighted inwardly. Before he could answer her, she looked at Laila and said a little disturbed, "Laila baisa, what have you done? You are supposed to be more careful."
"That... I ... I am sorry, Parvati.", she whispered as she burnt in jealousy and walked out of the room. But just till the corner of the door where she stopped, hiding and pasting herself close to the door, trying to peep in on the married couple.
Paro massaged Rudra's hand carefully for few seconds as he stood in silence and then looked at him for the first time, asking again, "Is it still hurting?" One look at his face and everything that Paro tried hard to suppress since noon came crashing down, flooding her with pain, anguish and hurt. In an instant she moved her eyes away from him, slowly placed his hand back to his side and moved away from him.
"Paro.", was all Rudra could manage out of his mouth as his left hand moved to hold her. But she moved even further away from him. Making it clear that she wanted to stay away from him. He felt disappointed and hurt. And Paro having that power to evoke such emotions in him made him very angry. He pulled his hand back roughly and walked away swiftly, saying to himself, "I don't care. Mujhe koi farq nahi padta. Teri khamoshi, tera gussa, teri soch in sab se mujhe koi farq nahi padta." (It doesn't matter to me. Your silence, your anger, what you think of me all these things don't matter to me.)
Laila quickly ran from her hiding spot as she saw Rudra walk towards the door. She was sure something was wrong between Rudra and Paro. That made her happy even though she didn't know the reason. "This is exactly what I want. Thank you, Paro for not letting Rudra near you. Now I will give him everything he wants and show him how perfect we are for each other.", she thought in glee.
Rudra walked into the hall and saw Laila walking towards kitchen. He quickly walked to her and roared, "Tu gayi nahi ab thak?"
Shocked, she looked at him for a second trying to understand his question. "He still wants me out of the haveli?", she thought a little confused. Not backing down, she answered with confidence, "You know what I can do, right? Do you want me to tell.."
"I said I don't care, didn't I. I live by my own rules, remember? No one can intimidate me."
"So then you are ok if I go to Parvati right now and tell her about our relationship of 8 years.", she was not going to give up on her trump card.
"You don't need to, she knows.", he declared.
Laila, shocked, "She knows?"
"Ya, I told her myself. Now I want you out of my house immediately."
Seeing no way out, she started pleading, "Please Rudra. I am scared of Thakur and his men. They will kill me. Help me. Have some sympathy on me."
When nothing she said was working, she stubbornly said, "Ok." and walked few steps before losing her footing and falling down with a thud. She let out a loud cry making Maithili, Mohini and Paro to come to the spot.
As Rudra stared at her furiously, she let out another cry as Maithili helped her stand up.
"What happened?", Maithili asked.
"I fell down.", Laila answered and let out another cry as she held on to her leg saying, "My leg?"
"I think you injured your leg. Let me help you to your room.", said Maithili.
"She is leaving. NOW", Rudra spoke with finality, shocking all three women.
Mohini looked at Laila and then at Paro, expecting her to say something. But when she realized Paro was not going to stop Rudra this time, she quickly came up with a solution and said, "Rudra Bana, it is not always up to you to decide when she stays and when she leaves. Look at that girls condition. She is not even able to walk. I can't let you to kick her out in such state. Maithili take her to her room."
Laila winced again as she took another step. "Paro come and help me take her to her room.", requested Maithili and Paro who looked lost till then just nodded her head and positioned herself next to Laila, supporting her as she walked.
Laila turned to Paro, who was clearly lost in her thoughts and thought, "So you know about me and Rudra. Good. Now I can use it to separate you from my Rudra. I will show you how close we are. And I am sure you will soon regret marrying him and will leave him... to me. He is only mine. I can do anything to get him back... A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G."
*********************
Don't forget to leave your feedback. I love to read them.
Seher Hone Ko Hai
Cricket
