Hi, guys! My apologies for the late update. But it's here nonetheless. :)
Chapter 25
Ishani woke up what she thought was the beginning of the dawn, feeling giddy and strange after sleeping for a few hours. She switched on the lights, for at the moment darkness mingled with the whiteness of the twilight seemed strange, and saw right next on the table was kept a glass of water and underneath it was a piece of paper. Ishani picked it up and read: "By the time I brought you home you were fast asleep and no way in a condition to let me know where the keys of your house were. I had to invade through the window and let you in from the same way. I'm sorry for that, but I had no other option. And in the glass there is lemon water; so whenever you wake up better take it however bitter it may taste. It will help you wear your dizziness post the drinking off. No excuses for that."Ranveer."
Ishani smiled, slightly confused, the memories of her last night's adventure supposedly existed in her dreams only. Yet something in her mind kept returning back as a profound memory"or feeling. Her eyes fell on the last words of the letter which had a Happy New Year' written over it. She noticed she was still in her party dress but to her surprise she found herself draped in a brown jacket and knew it was not hers. Before any question could pop in her head the memories of her last night flashed back to her. The party, the snow game, the church, the fireworks"all came back to her like a fresh event. Most of all the memory that remained the most distinct was the one she and Ranveer going to the church. She remembered herself visiting churches and temples in Mumbai with Ranveer whenever she wanted to be solitude and her own house could not provide that. She would sit there for hours with Ranveer beside her. It still felt as real as years ago. Ishani slowly tightened her hands around her shoulders as the cold breeze pierced through the window and she let herself get lost in the delight that the new morning brought for her.
Ishani got up and saw she had multiple meetings that day and was not supposed to be going to Ranveer's office. She gave a sigh of relief and got herself prepared for the day. Now there were only a bit of snow, rest was cold, hard frost which refused to burn in the rays of the morning sun. Reaching her office she spent the most of the day in the meetings and two of which included with Mr. Gupta and his team. He seemed impressed with the development and success that Ishani had attained in such a short time span and could not keep himself from telling how proud and happy he really was.
Mr. Khanna, along with Mr. Gupta, agreed whole heartedly while Ishani smiled gratefully at them.
"Thank you, sir," said she to Mr. Gupta; "but I could never have been able to make it without some of my friends." Ishani strangely emphasized on friends.'
"You are lucky to have such friends, then," Mr. Gupta said while Ishani nodded lightly. The meetings ended adequately, as expected, and Ishani for the first time realized she had handled so much in one day.
"I have never worked with so many people in one day," she exclaimed to Mr. Khanna who smiled at her childish surprise.
"You're still such a child, Ishani," he said, smiling. "Of course, you've learnt a lot in these months. That's something to be proud of."
"Proud?" Ishani said, "I still have a long way to go."
"Sure, you do. But don't be too critical of yourself. You're doing great. And you will do better in future too. Just have faith in yourself."
"Mr. Gupta is right. What would I have done had it not been for all of you?" Ishani said while Mr. Khanna smiled at her.
"You still have a lot to work today, you know?"
Ishani nodded. "I do. But I feel tired."
"First time alcohol makes you feel that way," Mr. Khanna replied with a laugh.
*
"Ranveer, what is wrong with you? Wake up! It's too bad you're sleeping at this hour." Ranveer heard his mother call him, but he did not raise his face up. For an instant he thought he was dreaming but the clarity of his mother's voice made him believe he was not.
"I'm up, Maa," he responded, his head still buried in the pillow.
"You were never lazy. What happened?" Amba came to Ranveer with a cup of coffee.
"I'm tired."
"I'm not surprised. But it's time you should be getting up. It's almost 12 now."
"12!" Ranveer jumped onto his feet. "Why didn't you tell me before? I have had so much to do."
"I have been here 5 times before but you wouldn't wake up. That's not my fault." Amba chuckled. "It's alright, Ranveer. Sometimes it's good to take a break, and you hardly do that," she said ruffling her son's hair gently.
"You won't understand it," Ranveer said. "But I'm doing this all for you and Baba."
"And you know what we need to be happy," Amba said. "We need your happiness."
"I am happy," Ranveer responded, trying to sound convincing.
"I know. But this scares me, Ranveer," Amba said. "Ishani is the reason of it, right?"
Ranveer stared down at the floor.
"She would leave in a few months. Why are you doing this again?" Amba asked.
"Maa, I cannot let Mota Babuji's company get destroyed right before my eyes. He has done so much for me..."
"So much? He left you to die that night," Amba interrupted.
"He didn't," Ranveer said, "since he was the one who bailed us out of the jail that night. He didn't leave us to die, Maa."
"I have heard this story many times before," Amba said.
"Then why do you still detest him? Without Mota Babuji I could never have made it here."
"Because he still forgave Disha after he came to know"or as you say assumed" you were innocent. He could still have done something...anything. It's a crime in our country..what Disha did. He let a criminal escape, doesn't matter she was his daughter."
"Maa, perhaps he gave his daughter another chance? After we left he was badly broken. I saw him the day I left Mumbai; he looked sad and not courageous enough to face anymore troubles. He had lost a lot already; he would not want to lose the little he had left. It would have broken anyone. How do I blame him?"
"And Chirag?"
"I don't know. Probably he did talk to Chirag and took the promise that he would remain loyal to Ishani forever? I have no idea how much he trusted Chirag or his words afterwards but perhaps he had to. For his family. For his daughters. And before things could better he...he was no more."
Amba saw a drop of tear leave her son's eye as she took him in an embrace. "You are very kind. I fear this. I still do, Ranveer," she said, a stream of tears leaving her own eyes.
"I need you, Maa. I need you and Baba. I'm content in that," Ranveer said softly.
"We're always with you. We will be," Amba said.
Breaking up from the embrace Ranveer saw the face of his mother closely. She looked tired and worn out and her eyes had a bit of redness around them.
"Are you alright, Maa?" he asked.
"I feel tired and slightly pained in chest. I think it's cold weather and old age taking over me," Amba said. "I'm fine otherwise."
"Maa, you need to see the doctor. Get ready. I'll take you to see him. We're going now," Ranveer said, hurrying to get ready.
"No, no. I'm fine, Ranveer. Trust me. I'll be alright."
"I don't trust that. Get ready. We're leaving," Ranveer said firmly.
Amba tried to convince Ranveer that she was well and no checkup was needed but he would not budge and kept repeating he would take her to the doctor now.
"You better go to your office. I'll take your Baba," she said at last.
"Are you sure?"
Amba nodded positive.
"I don't want any excuses."
"There will not be any, Ranveer. Trust me. Let your Baba return, we'll go to see your doctor as well. For your peace of mind," she said, smiling.
"Thank you." Ranveer said while Amba shook her head smiling.
*
"Sir, are you sure we are not in trouble anymore?" Puneet asked Ranveer after seeing most of their business was returning on the right track with two of their companies getting back to normal. There had been legal investigations and the officials not having found anything illegal happening had to permit Ranveer to start their full fledged work again in two companies while one was still under investigation.
"Of course. And soon enough our culprit will be in hands too. We're towards its end now. Almost there," Ranveer said.
"But, sir," Puneet said but was interrupted by Ranveer.
"Don't worry, Puneet," Ranveer said. "By the way, where is Ms. Parekh today? I think we had a meeting today with the SD Group?"
"She cancelled it, sir," Puneet said, quite ruefully; "said she had to see a couple of clients so she couldn't attend it today. I thought it was alright. Was it, sir? Also, SD's too agreed to it."
"Uh"well, it's alright," Ranveer said, rather disappointed, though he successfully hid the feeling; "when is it then?"
"On Monday. After 3 days," Puneet said.
"Good."
Puneet left the cabin and after few minutes Ranveer heard another knock on the door. Nodding lightly he saw a man, well equipped, but slightly afraid enter his cabin.
"So, we meet again," Ranveer said. "I'm quite happy with your work."
"Th"thank you, sir," the man fumbled, still afraid. "I'm glad for that."
"Well, anything you want me to know?"
"Sir, I have this, these files. All the documents are in these files. You have to read them and see if they are of any use. I did all you asked me to, sir. And all I could do with the time given to me," the man said.
"Very good. I trusted you for this job for a reason, Ralph, and I suppose you have done full justice to it," Ranveer said. He could see the expressions of the man standing in front of him: timid, nervous and somewhere proud.
"Thank you, sir," he said.
"And there is no reason to be afraid of me. Not anymore, for sure. You can leave now."
*
"What did the doctor say, Maa?" Ranveer asked his mother when he reached home.
"Nothing much. Old age. Same as I told you," she replied.
"Okay. Any prescriptions?"
"Yes, he did ask me to take these." Amba showed Ranveer the medicines and prescriptions she was given by the doctor.
"Alright. Now, Maa, keep taking them on time. No excuses," Ranveer said. Amba laughed.
"No excuses, sir."
Ranveer hugged his mother. "I love you, Maa," he said. "Do take care of yourself when I'm not around."
"Sure." She hugged him back.
After this Amba went away while Ranveer came to his room. Tired from the work he sat idly on the armchair near the hearth as the fire in it danced joyously in the freezing room. Ranveer wondered why he felt so weak, so tired while he most often worked more than this and without feeling any complications. But for the past few days it was becoming hard to cope with it, or so he felt. Suddenly his eyes fell on the jacket he had left for Ishani, placed nearby on the bed. He stood up, feeling as tired, and walked upto it. And as soon as he reached there his phone rang.
"Hello," he said.
"Hi, Ranveer," came Ishani's nervous voice. "I had sent your jacket back. And I want to say thank you."
"It's alright," Ranveer said.
For a couple of moments there was only silence as neither of them said anything.
"And I'm really sorry...for my madness last night," Ishani spoke at last. "That was embarrassing, I know, and I have no idea what stupid things I said. I'm really sorry." Ishani sounded far too embarrassed and Ranveer could not help but smile a little.
"No, you were not embarrassing," he said, trying to hide his amusement.
"I was not?" Ishani said.
"That was..." he paused for a few moments and said, "...beautiful. I mean you were certainly not embarrassing. Don't think like that," Ranveer finished awkwardly, not knowing what else he was supposed to say.
"Thanks again," Ishani said.
"Why now?"
"Because I was crazy last night, and I know this. I must have embarrassed you a lot and you had to put up with it for so long," Ishani continued embarrassingly.
"Wait, wait! It was not like this. And you don't have to be too hard on yourself, Ishani. It's fine," he said, wondering if he was saying too much or too little to comfort her.
Ishani sighed"feeling better now" and said, "How have you been?"
"Alright. But feeling tired."
"What else are you to feel, then?" she snapped suddenly. "Working 15 hours a day without any rest is so inhuman. Don't you get it even now?"
Ranveer did not know what he was to say, but felt a tiny glimpse in Ishani of what he had yearned the whole while: Concern for him. He could not understand if he was seeing too much in her or his own heart was fooling him again. For a whit of second he considered his mother's words again and wondered if she was right. If he was letting himself happen what he had escaped two years ago.
"You there?" Ishani said after no answer came from Ranveer.
"Yes, yes," said Ranveer coming out of his reverie. "Well, I am feeling better now, I think. Schedules have been too hectic for last few days."
"And you have been ill too. Perhaps that's why." Ishani replied, the moments becoming more awkward.
"I guess so. But it's better now. Too better."
"Glad to know that," Ishani said, their conversation coming to an end. "I should be going now. Prepare for dinner."
"Hmm. Thanks, by the way."
Ranveer disconnected the call and took his jacket in his hands. It felt different. As if she was with him and the equations between them since past few days had never changed. Nothing in these two years had changed. He hated how things returned back to normal to be destroyed all over again. He still tried to forget her words of the last night. How she said she was grateful to him. "She said all that because she was drunk," he murmured to himself. "She meant nothing more."
But despite this denial he could not help but wander his mind to that and deep down hope she meant everything for real she had said, even if its half portion was real. He would be content in that. These months, ever since she returned to him again, had proved to be more real than he had expected after the darkness that had taken over his life. And now somewhere he knew he could not let her go. Not this time.
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