The peace to his storm- chapter 20 updated on Pg 19 - Page 2

Now, if they delete or ban my account again, I'm sorry baisaas, I can't do anything about it..  🥺

But if that were to happen again, I promise I will continue posting the story on my tumblr blog and you can read the story from there :) 

http://smartypantsatwork.tumblr.com - So here's the link to my tumblr blog in case something happens to this account again

"What?" asked Paro, staring at the woman in the picture in shock. "This... This is.. Rudra's wife? Rudra's ... married?" she asked in disbelief.

"Not anymore" said Mala, who had just stepped into the room after hearing the commotion. With a grim face, she explained, "Rudra had met her a few years after joining the force. Rudra was always the best at his job. No goon or assailant could every lay hands on my son." The pride for her son sparkled in Mala's eyes.

But her eyes were soon shadowed with grief as she spoke, "She came into his life pretending to be a woman running away from the drug lord who was being tracked down by Rudra's squad. She pretended to help him and over the days she fed him lies that she was in love with him. My boy, my valiant, brave son, who had never known the love of a woman, was taken by her beauty, and slowly started loving her. Within a short time he had begun to love her fiercely. I knew she wasn't what she pretended to be. Both Prakriti and I, never liked her. But Rudra was head over heels in love with her and I couldn't refuse. Despite my many refusals, he went ahead and married her. It happened so fast and even she hadn't refused. For her, everything was a game.  After a few days, when Rudra was close to catching the man behind the drug cartel, she played her part and saw to it that Rudra was unarmed and alone when he came face to face with that man. Before Rudra realized what had happened, it was already too late and then..." Mala stopped, tears chocking her.

Wiping them away she continued, "She shot him. The bullet lodged right into his chest. The doctors had a tough time trying to get it out of him as it was dangerously close to his heart. He had even flat-lined for a while." Mala began to weep bitterly and Prakriti, also in tears, hugged her mother close. "But he made it out alive. My brave boy, he made it out alive by God's grace. But for the next few months, he was a hollow shell. He couldn't digest it that the woman he loved unconditionally could betray him in such a manner. He still had hope, hope that all this was a nightmare and he would soon wake up from it."

"But that was not meant to be. When Laila and the other man were caught, she told Rudra that she had never loved him and that he was just a pawn in her hands. All the performance was only to protect the man she had pined for, the man on whose trail Rudra was. Rudra finally came to terms with the truth after hearing the words from her mouth. After that, a part of him died. The human in him died, and he became a ruthless beast whose only aim in life was to prey.  He completely dissolved himself into his work. His work was the only thing that kept him far away from the pain and torment. He began to hate love, kindness and any other caring emotion. He lost his faith. He turned into raging fire, threatening to burn anything along his path.

It took him time to calm down, but he is no more what he used to be before he met her. He locked away his emotions, locked them deep inside, so that he doesn't have to ever face them. My son has become the ghost of a man he once was. He works, he has a routine, he eats, he sleeps, he takes care of Prakriti and me, but he doesn't laugh anymore, dosen't mingle with others and keeps to himself always, closely guarding his secrets. It's like he's almost living without a soul.

Thunder-struck by what she had just heard, Paro stood still as a statue while a hundred thoughts erupted in her mind. She had so easily called him a beast, but had never cared to find out the reason for his behavior. She hadn't known the pain that he had suffered through the years. She could imagine how much her words had pained him. She still believed in what she spoke about true love, but making Rudra realize it would have to wait.

Slowly walking towards the door, Paro spoke, more to herself, "I... I have to speak to him... Rudra.. I have to apoloagize". Saying so she ran out of the room, while Mala began to smile, despite the flowing tears, looking at her leave.

"Maasa, why are you smiling?" asked Prakriti.

"Because I think, Rudra's soul has returned. Paro will bring him back alive" said Mala, thanking Bholenath.

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Rudra closed his eyes as the warm water cascaded on to his back easing the tension in his shoulders. The water felt good against his scalp, flowing through his hair, washing it clean.  He wished his mind would also be cleaned in the process, making it devoid of any thoughts, giving him the much needed peace that he always longed for.

He had done it again. He had once again taken his anger out on her, despite the fact that he had actually gone to apologize. He knew he had been very aggressive with her considering the fact that her sister was nowhere to be found. He had come down to the room to ask for her forgiveness, but he had lost control over his tongue again after hearing her words, hearing her portray love in such a pure manner. She had just lessons to preach, but he had experienced the ruthless emotion. That emotion which had nearly taken his life.

As he had stood there, listening to her discourse on love, her words had seared through the yet unhealed wounds, bringing back vivid memories to his mind. That woman. Her beautiful, yet cunning face came back to him. The crafty smile, the things she did to him. The ways in which she had enticed him and finally led to his downfall. Remembering her phony innocence and care for him had further infuriated him. After what she had done to him, he had refused to recognize her, refused to even take her name. She meant nothing to him anymore, except the reason for his lack of faith. He hated himself for thinking he was in love', but all the while he was just a puppet in her hands. A pawn, she didn't mind discarding when she had been threatened. He had been young, foolish and naive and she had made use of it and her beauty to trap him in her web. 

Never again, thought Rudra, stepping out of the shower. Never again would he be enticed by beauty. Never again would anyone make a fool of him. Never again would anyone take him from granted.

Throwing on a pair of pants, Rudra stepped in front of the mirror and the scar above his chest came into view. Closing his eyes, he remembered the time when he had thought everything was finished as his head had hit the ground with a thud rendering him motionless. The last thing he had seen before his eyes closed was her face, devoid of any love, any sympathy, before she turned around and walked away.  Her vile laugh cut through him, her once beautiful, now devious face enraged him and boiled his blood.

Breathing hard, he opened his eyes to see another face in the mirror, which miraculously calmed his nerves. Looking at the face, he realized Paro was actually standing right behind him. Swiftly turning around, he nearly pushed her down, before his arm reached to hold her breaking her fall.

"What are you doing here?" he asked balancing her on her feet with both his arms holding her.

"ACP Sir, I .. I wanted to apologize... I'm sorry, I didn't know... I spoke too much.. You.. and her..." Paro spoke, racing without even pausing for a breath, scared that she would forget what she wanted to say if she stopped.

Placing one hand on her moving mouth and silencing her, Rudra said, "Will you stop and take a breath, or you'll burst and reach your Bholenath sooner than you expected.

Rudra realized his mother her told about Laila. Concluding that she would find it out one day or another, he removed his hand from her mouth. He had other things to take care of. Before she could start talking again, and before he lost his will, he said, "Forgive me Parvati!"

Stunned, Paro looked back at him, hardly daring to breath.

"What?" Rudra asked clearing his throat, embarrassed as she continued to gape at him. "Look, I am sorry for the way I behaved today and the day that you came here. I shouldn't have taken out my anger on you."

Still gaping at him with her lips slightly parted open, Paro was suddenly aware of the closeness and realizing that Rudra was naked from waist above, she turned beet red as she tried to pull away her hand from his grasp. As she did, her eyes fell on the scar on his chest where he had been shot.

Before she could comprehend what she was doing, Paro slowly raised her hand towards his chest and placed her fingers softly on the scar, imagining the pain that he must have been through. Then slowly she raised her eyes to meet his, her hand still sprawled on his chest.

Rudra was having a hard time trying to concentrate on what was going on. The moment her fingers touched him, pools of heat began to rush through his veins. Her soft fingers seemed to scald the places they touched. He had never felt it this intense, not even with her. Rudra looked into her eyes, his own suddenly turning dark. His breath hitched as his eyes panned her face, moving from her eyes, to her soft fair cheeks, to her pink lips and her elegant sawn neck. He could smell her light sandalwood fragrance which was making his head reel. Gripping the fingers on his chest he slowly pulled her close.  Paro, too stunned to say anything, went along and moved close to him.  The proximity between them gave him a better view of her angelic face. 

What he did next, left Paro dazed.  Even Rudra was astonished at his actions, but that did not stop him from going ahead with it. The time stood still as he slowly bent down and rubbed his stubbled cheek against hers. A tiny moan escaped Paro's lips, before she could stop herself, as soon as she felt his heated skin against hers. Her soft whine aroused him. Clutching her fingers even closer, he repeated the action with her other cheek.  Paro's breath hitched along with his and suddenly, she wasn't aware of anything but him. His long tapered fingers around her own, with his rapidly beating heart, under them, mimicking her own.  Somewhere in a tiny corner of her mind, she knew what was happening was not right, but the larger part occupied by him pushed it away into the corner that it was.

Her lips trembled as his slowly neared hers. He desperately wanted to feel her soft lips against his. The sudden need bubbling deep in him, startled him. But his mind was too occupied with her quivering, slightly parted lips, to see reason in anything at the moment.

His lips almost touched hers when a loud rap on the door broke the spell. Pulling away from each other, they turned in the opposite directions, both equally embarrassed to look at each other.

"Who is it?" asked Rudra, pulling on his shirt.

"Bhaisaa, it's me Prakriti. I just wanted to tell you that Aman Bhaisaa has come over to escort you to the police station."

"I'll be down in a minute" said Rudra. He turned around to look at Paro, but she was still facing away from him. Not knowing what to say at the moment, Rudra left, leaving the door open behind him.

Paro, aware of his every movement, finally breathed as he left the room. Slowly she brought her fingers to her cheeks, which were now flushed and pink, because of his onslaught. Wondering where the days were going to lead her, she slowly left the room closing the door behind her.

CHAPTER 8- I SURRENDER ALL

Rudra cursed himself throughout the journey to the hotel. The entire memory flashed clear through his mind as he watched the expanses rush past the jeep in the opposite direction. What had gotten over him to do something so unforeseen? He questioned himself again and again and yet, he had no coherent answer to it. Her face seemed to pull his strings. But hadn't he vowed to never be swayed by beauty or appearances? Hadn't he learnt his lesson with her?  He was still drowned deep in the abyss, from where coming out was a still a faraway dream. The nightmares still haunted him, still woke him up in the nights reminding him of the moments when he had fought for his life, still brought him silent, hateful tears that he refused to show to anyone. The void inside of him refused to be filled up and at times he preferred it that way. He would never again be cheated or fall for deceit. He despised forming ties with anybody. His world revolved around his work, his mother, his sister and the men under him. He refused to let anyone enter this circle. Beneath the anger was fear, stark fear that he would be betrayed again.

But everything about Paro spelt innocence. Her beauty was effortless. She never made herself up.  Her ebony hair, loosely plaited, with few stray strands fanning her cheeks, her dark, smiling eyes, her alabaster skin and naturally pink full lips. It wasn't just her beauty. He know knew for sure what a pleasant girl she was. There had been no malice or hatred when she had stepped into his room. All he saw on her face were compassion and concern when she had touched his chest, which had sent sensations through him that he still hadn't been able to comprehend. The sensations had intensified when she had stared into his eyes. The simple act of placing her fingers on his bare skin had ignited a fire in him. At that surreal moment, he had longed to touch her, to feel her, to caress her. He had wished that her fingers explored more. Before he knew what was doing, he had felt her velvet ivory cheek against his, sending his thoughts into a tizzy. At that moment, nothing mattered to him except her, her touch, her presence. After grazing her other cheek, his eyes had landed on her quivering rose lips and he had ached to place his own on hers. He now tried to imagine what would have happened if Prakriti hadn't knocked on the door.

Would he have gone ahead and kissed her? Would she have accepted his move and joined him or pushed him away? Would the innocent kiss have turned into something more scorching? His mind brought vivid imaginary images of them together and he shut his eyes hoping the images would leave him as the darkness appeared behind his closed eyes.

  He had been captured by her soft hazel eyes and angelic face the moment he had seen her and he couldn't explain the magnetism. Over the past few days he had seen her gel with Prakriti and help his mother in every chore, always with a smile. Both his mother and sister appeared happier since the time she had come into their lives. Her child-like innocence defined who she was. Simple things brought her joy. Just yesterday, he had spotted her eating imli, thinking that no one was watching her. She had looked like a child as she had scrunched her eyes shut for every bite enjoying its sweet and sour flavors. She had looked completely contented just with a small piece of tamarind. He knew she was naive in some ways, but so much stronger when it came to relationships, something that he never would be.

They weren't meant to be together, he finally concluded, his jaw set in a taut line. They were like fire and ice, each forced to destroy the other. Neither was he ready now, nor would he ever be. How long had he known her that she took up such an important place in his life? She would leave as soon as her sister was rescued.

He would stay away from her, he decided. He would maintain a distance, that way she couldn't affect him.  He had to do it, for his sake as well as hers.

 

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Paro was lost in thoughts as she continued to pour a steady stream of water into the dough mixture. After Paro's repeated pleading and being utterly impressed with Paro's cooking, Mala had finally given in and allowed Paro to cook dinner, granting scrumptious supper for the Ranawat household every night. But tonight, the dinner was far from being done as Paro couldn't keep her mind off Rudra. Flashes of what happened in his room kept unsettling her mind.

What had gotten over her, she had asked herself a hundred times since stepping out of the room. Paro still felt tingly when she thought of the roughness of his strong jaw against her cheek. She had instinctively reached out and touched the scar on his chest. She hadn't been aware of what she was doing then, as the only thing in her mind was concern for her savior. As she had looked up at him, she was filled with a mixture of emotions. She felt sad at his fate, pity at how he had been betrayed and hurt, elated that he was the one who saved her, while her eyes perused the contours of his handsome face. His wet hair was pushed back except a few stray locks that fell into his smoldering eyes leading the path to a perfect nose. His flawlessly carved jaw and firm mouth were a vision. She hadn't been ready for what happened next, but she didn't want to fight it either. Both of them hadn't said a word and yet both their eyes had spoken volumes. She had been frightened and yet she didn't step away from him. The touch of his skin against hers had set her heart thundering and it hadn't helped when he had done the same with the other cheek.

She had finally begun to believe him as her savior. Despite his behavior, he had always thought of her protection. Laying down to sleep each night, Parvati would remember his words at the warehouse, where he had asked her to rely on him and had promised to find her sister. She had known his words were sincere, yet, she hadn't listened to him and she cursed herself every time she remembered the hurt in his earnest eyes, when she had told him that she would leave with Tejawat.

She had despised him when he had vented his anger on her with his crude words. But with each passing day, the vehemence had begun to recede and after what she had heard today, she felt no anger or resentment whatsoever. In fact, her heart went out to him, when she thought about the pain that he had been through all these years. The reason for his loss in faith, trust and love.  There was something about him that constantly pulled her towards him. Even during the time she hated him, her eyes wouldn't stop following him and she was always conscious of his presence and after their encounter today, she wondered if she could ever meet his eyes without bursting into flames.

Paro was torn. While she strangely reveled in what had happened today, she knew it was wrong. Despite accepting him as her savior, she knew nothing about him and she knew he wouldn't be ready any time soon to share any details with her. She was still an outsider to him. She was still far away from his world, despite physically being in the same space. She needed to stay away from him before things went beyond a point from where she couldn't return back. They belonged in separate worlds and she wouldn't be welcome in his, she settled as a sudden gloom took over her

"Hay Bholenaath!" she exclaimed looking down into the bowl which was now a river of creamy goop. She would have to do it all over again. As she was measuring the extra flour to be added, she heard a commotion in the living room. Pushing away a strand of hair away with the back of her hand, she went into the room to see Aman coming in, supporting a bruised, yet finally safe, Nandini. 

"Jija" she yelled as she ran across the hall to envelop her sister in her arms as Aman stepped aside. Tears of joy flowed from Paro's eyes as she held onto her sister, relieved that she was finally safe, away from any harm. "Thank God you're back. You can't imagine how happy I am now. Shukriya Bholenath"

"Paro, let her sit down, she's still hurt", said Mala who had brought the first aid kit and proceeded to unroll cotton and soak it in medicine to apply it on Nandini's wounds.

Realizing that her tight grasp was causing making her sister pain, she released her and helped her sit on the sofa. Nandini, smiling despite the pain, pulled Paro close and kissed her on her forehead. "I missed you too Paro. There was never a moment when I didn't think about you. All I could do was pray that you were alright."

Paro continued to cry as she helped Mala dress Nandini's wounds. She continuously thanked Bholenath for bringing back her sister. Her sister was safe now and she would take care of her and never let her fall in any harm. Paro continued to tend to even tiny scratches, despite Nandini's protests that she was alright, when she suddenly remembered about Rudra.

He was the reason for her sister's safety.  He had brought her back just as promised. He had lived up to his words, not that she had ever doubted him. She needed to see him. She had to thank him. Something swelled inside of her as she thought of him.

Looking around, she couldn't spot him anywhere in the room. Turning towards Aman, she asked him where Rudra was and what had happened to the other girls.

"Parvati Ma'am, The girls are alright. Each and every one of them were rescued. The ones with injuries are already undergoing treatment at the hospital." Aman assured Parvati.

Coming closer to her, he lowered his tone and continued, "Rudra Sir is at the station. He has been shot and he didn't want his mother and sister to know about it."

"Don't worry", he quickly told her, seeing her eyes widen in alarm and before she could say anything out loud. "It's not a deep wound, the bullet just grazed his shoulder on the back. Sir will be alright in a couple of days", he assured her.

Paro made up her mind. She would go to the station as soon as her sister was made comfortable. She had to meet him. She had to thank him. It couldn't wait. She didn't want to leave her sister, but she knew that nothing would harm her now. Ensuring that her sister was finally comfortable, who jokingly protested that Paro was fussing on her like a mother hen, Paro turned towards Mala. 

One look at Paro and Mala knew what she thinking. Understanding her need, Mala caressed her head and asked her to go, promising that she would take care of Nandini.

Paro had no words to thank Mala for understanding her requests so easily. Giving her a tight hug, she turned towards Aman and requested him to take her to the station to which he obliged without any hesitation.

On the way to the station, Paro realized that even Aman had played a big role in rescuing her sister and she sincerely thanked him. "Shukriya Aman Bhaisaa. My sister was saved all because of ACP sir's efforts as well as yours. I can't thank you enough for rescuing her. Thank you so much" she smiled despite the continuous flow of tears.

Embarrassed, Aman requested her to stop apologizing as it was his duty to protect and assured her that he would help Rudra, at every step, to catch Tejawat.

As soon as the jeep reached the station, Paro jumped out and ran inside before Aman could even shut down the engine. As she ran through the narrow lane with doors to different rooms, her eyes darted around searching for him. Finally spotting a stream of light coming through a door, Paro ran inside and stopped, catching her breath as Rudra looked at her, with astonishment in his eyes. He had been trying to dress the wound on the back of his shoulder when Paro had come in streaking like a whirlwind.

Paro jogged to cover the distance between them. Before she could reach out to him, her foot got caught against the table's leg causing her to trip forward and his arms instantly came out to hold her from stumbling down.

"What are doing here?" he asked her and then continued with his questions as she kept staring at him. "Who brought you here? Aren't you supposed to be with your sister? Is she alright? Why are you here at this time?"

Without saying a word, Paro, making sure she didn't touch his hurt shoulder, enveloped him in her arms, hugging him closely, robbing him of his speech

Closing her tear-filled eyes, Paro wished, for once, that time stood still.

So I'm totally back into writing the story with my whole heart.. While the account was deleted, I just left it aside, But not anymore... 

Please rate and review the chapter while I go and work on the next one. 
Also if you want any specific sequences or story lines, please drop in a message about it and I'll try and think of a way to incorporate it into the story. I'm always open to suggestions. 😊😊 Much love to all of you :*

 ... Also, once again thank you for the welcome back and generous request for newer updates. I promise I will try my best to not to disappoint you. 

As always, please ignore grammatical errors. :)