#2 AsHlok FF~Love Finds Its Way~ Ch18(Last) Pg75 *up16Aug14

Precap:-

Shlok parked his car outside her house and took out his cell phone to dial her number only. One ring, two, three and so many but she didn't pick the call. He sighed knowing exactly what happened and what was to happen. He did not expect her to pick his call, not even three weeks after whatever he had done to her. But somewhere something wanted to receive a call back. He was being impossible and he knew it.

Shlok came out of his SUV and inclined himself to the cars bonnet. Suddenly the surrounding filled up with rain but it failed to soak him even when his entire existence was soaked in its essence. There a few yards away from him, he saw her clasping drops of rain in her fists. Gambling through the opaque curtains, oblivious to him, oblivious to his eyes, oblivious to everything around. Some voices crammed his mind...

***

Chapter 13

That Voice

"...one of our PC's, with the tenders data was bugged, attacked by this virus which altered the data, I am one hundred percent sure it had nothing to do with her..." Shlok listened quietly, awaiting his summons to the eternal silence within him.

"I have the report in my hands... none of her mails, or contacts over the net or air have any kind of interaction with the Monarch's..." He clasped his fingers around the goblet in his hands so hard that the thin layer of glass disintegrated leaving a tiny piece stuck in his palm, he took the shimmering thing ut mercilessly and stared at the blood oozing out. He knew he need not hear any more but didn't have the audacity to put the phone down.

"...about that mail, 30 other staff members received it that day but to avoid her fate they ...you know got rid of it as soon as they found out about it...I'm just so surprised, nothing of the sort has ever happened in my 10 years of experience... people can be framed so easily...unbelievable."

Shlok broke out of his trance and took slow heavy steps towards the main gate. Knocked once. Knocked twice. Waited. Someone opened the door, it was her. Shlok immediately realised he did not know why he was here. To apologise? He dint even know how to do that. Seeing her words ran short.

"Astha... i wanted to..."

"Apologise?" She completed his sentence but it sounded more like a question in the end. He looked away not know what he was going to say.

"Have you ever said sorry before?" Her question startled him.

"Yeah...?"

"Hmm... ever? Actually let me rephrase it. Have you ever felt sorry for ANYTHING ever in your life?" She said and raised her brows, tapping the tip of her fingers on the wooden frame of the door. He looked on trying to soak up the question.

"No right?" So that was what she inferred from his silence. "It should be in the A B C you grow up with... but it seems like you have been going to the wrong schools." The next thing he heard was the loud bang of the door; when actually it had just opened. He saw a very unfamiliar face of a lady.

"Yes?" Kalindi recognised him immediately and asked him to come in. He followed her inside; surprised Astha hadn't tod her family anything about what he had done to her or that she has resigned or perhaps they dint know he was the one.

"I actually wanted to see Astha." He stirred his choking throat.

"But she's not home... didn't she mention she would be leaving for Mumbai for the wedding in her application?" Kalindi asked wondering what excuse her daughter had made for her leave.

"Yeah she did... i seem to have missed that... actually i was trying her number and there was something important so i thought... i was passing by and ...stop to..." He trailed off and got up. "I shuld leave now..."

"But you just came... let me get something..."

"It's okay Aunty..." He smiled and saw her smile back. He had felt that warmth in a smile before; of course it had to be her daughter. He cursed himself fr doing what he had done to Astha and thanked God for not seeing her today. He realised it wasn't going to be easy confronting her now.

***

Astha glared at the cell phone as if it wasn't really a cell phone but the actual real him. She was expecting this call for days now, she knew he would do all the research and then finding no true clue would perhaps perhaps apologise. But she wasn't sure and she wasn't going to call him back. A hideous thought came to her mind and she sprang o her feet and paced here and there and everywhere in horror.

"Is he okay?" She asked herself aloud. "Why would he call me if he's in trouble?" She told herself and switched her cell phone off, threw it in the drawer and went to bed.

"I'd love to see you in trouble...Shlok" She ignored the tremble in her tone as she said his name.

She tried to concentrate on sleeping, if that is even possible. Futile. She tried thinking about anything, anything but him... she focused on her meeting with Siddharth and the party and the wedding stuff all around and what she'd wear and what if her dress got ruined, she wished it would because she didn't like it and she wanted a black one because Shlok rarely ever wore anything but black... ever and that he looked so much more handsome in it. And she woke up with a jerk.

"Hell!" She exclaimed throwing a death glare at the reflection of herself in the mirror.

"Hell-o yourself Astha... you just wont stop thinking about him..even after he did all that to you..." She said dejectedly and threw the covers away. She walked down to the corridor and picked up the landline there. One ring. Two. Three and before she threw the pnone back on the cradle his voice came through. A voice that charmed the air and echoed with a subtle resonance in her soul. She stood still, not wanting to move. He was there he was fine; that's all she wanted to know and she should have placed the phone back but her existence was glued.

"Hello" he said again. She closed her eyes taking in every iota of what came with his voice. Emotions, cravings, warmth. She knew she was going to curse herself later for whatever follies she was doing but for the moment everything else looked distant and vague and insignificant. Not until she heard his next word.

"Astha?" It wasn't more than a whisper but it surely made her gasp for air. He must have heard that and she impulsively placed the receiver back on the cradle. Her hands instinctively made for her mouth so that her thumping heart wont jump out.

"He knew... he knew Oh my God he knew..." She kept repeating. Why was everything inflating and squeezing at the same time? She thought it better to take some rest.

***

Seeing the number only one thought came to his mind. He picked up after three rings even though he could have done it in the first. No one spoke from the other side; he knew it was her. But he was at sea to think of any sane reason of her calling him this late at night. But he could have been wrong and so he decided to conform it.

"Astha..." He called out and only a fraction later heard a gasp or something near a intake of breath. A huge smile lingered on his brooding face, a sense of internal satisfaction and beseeching. Why would you ever care for a monster Astha?' He thought and placed the phone on his chest, right on the spot where his heart lied, not that he knew.

***

Finally the mehndi function was here. The house bloomed with the freshness of motias and wine red roses, weird Sneha wanted the color combination to be white rather than the usual yellow of the mehndies. It dint look like a mehndi function unless you saw girls roaming about with hina spread in beautiful patterns on their palms and somewhere upto their elbows. The evening although looked divine and exquisite in the serenity white color brought with itself.

Astha came down dawned in her white western pishwas lined with yellow intricate embroidery. Her Ajju stopped her on her way.

"Missie why do i see your hands empty? Get them filled before i see you again..." She said and left in a hurry. Astha smiled, she saw my hands empty when any mother on such an important day of her daughter's life wont see anything other than her hands only. That was the love you couldn't be enough thankful for.

Astha gazed at the beautiful convoluted patterns of hinna the mehndiwali made on her hand.

"So whose initials you want me to hide?" She winked at her. Astha looked on confusingly.

"Confused?" The mehndiwali asked. Astha nodded. "Well simple, close your eyes..." Astha closed her eyes. "And imagine the one..."

"Which one?" Astha asked.

"How many do you have?" She asked baffled.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean the one who makes this thing flutter..." She pointed towards her; perhaps more precisely towards she heart.

"I need not close my eyes for that... there's only one who can do that... write an S'..." She said and wondered why she needed to have his initials put on her hands only because it made it flutter.

"OOOH! Who's this S'?" Shruti came and sat beside Astha examining her pattern and comparing it with hers.

"oh someone..." Astha said shyly, not knowing what to say to her if she decided to dig in.

"i see S' for someone..." Both laughed.

"I better hide his name under A' for anyone..." She mused and told the mehndi wali to do so. Astha excused herself. She wnet to Sneha who was busy drying her hina.

"So what does the initial specify..." She asked.

"Your love dumbo..." She said with a duh!

"Love?" She gazed at the lean s' on her palm in bewilderment.

***

"Shlok its her first birthday...i want you here. Mum, dad, Varadh, Sojal are all busy with their stuff... you cant miss it." Jyoti shifted the inflated balloons to one corner.

"I'l try..." He replied.

"Good boy... you know we have just shifted here and i don't know any neighbours and everything makes me feel so awkward and then there is..." she went on and he found it hard to concentrate on his sister's words. All he could think of was if he went there would he see her and if so what would he do? He dint know how to mend hearts after breaking them.

***

Astha didnt feel like sleeping, she was in a mood of a stroll, down the street. She went to go ask Sneha...aAsleep. Shruti... asleep. Ajju...asleep. Even the maids were asleep. She sighed and decided to go out on her own.

"Me aur meri tanhai... " She repeated the much repeated phrase. Who's alone? Your loneliness is always with you. "WWOW astha you are a sentimentalist..." She laughed out to herself. Around the corner she saw another figure walking in another direction. With much hesitation Astha paced towards her.

"Hello..." She said and recognised the face immediately. "Jyoti?" She exclaimed.

"Oh Astha you? Here?" Jyoti was equally surprised. She half hugged her and kissed her cheek as if they knew each other since forever. She liked that gesture of hers.

"I just shifted here a day back..." She told her.

"I came here to attend my cousins wedding..." Astha told her side of the story. "So what brought you out here at this time in the night..?"

Jyoti looked at her and smiled sadly.

"Worries..." She told her.

"What worries?"

"I'm worried that no one from my family will be here for my daughter's first birthday... everyone is so busy they just cant spare time.. and here i am taking the pain of inviting them when i'll only be disappointed in the end..."

"Oh that's really sad...Why wont they come?" She sympathised.

"Actually they wanted me there so they could al celebrate together... but Abhey has some important meetings and i don't want my daughter to celebrate the first year of her life without her father."

"She is too young to understand any of this... but i'm sure you'll make it very special for her."

Jyoti smiled and nodded.

"Of course... would you come?"

"Wont reject if you invite me..."

"Then tomorrow afternoon please..."

"Sure..."

Astha saw her eyes sparkle. Such a cute, caring and concerned mother she was.

"So what do you do when you are worried?" Jyoti asked.

"I sleep..." Astha chuckled soon Jyoti joined her too.

***

Congrats on the new thread!
Are you updating chapter 13 today?

Originally posted by: andy.a

Congrats on the new thread!
Are you updating chapter 13 today?

thanks! 😆 wont be possible today... in a few days or perhaps tom😃

Congrats on your second thread 🥳

Btw love your banner so much

Originally posted by: Sam_15

Congrats on your second thread 🥳

Thank you!❤️

Originally posted by: Sam_15

Btw love your banner so much

thanks!🤗