||SS : Soulmate|| Chapter 22 Page 79 :) - Page 56

"Abhi.. What're you upto! Let me go na.. I have lots to do. Dadi and Aaliya are coming back today and there's so much I need to prepare." Pragya whined.

Ten days had passed in a blur. In these ten days, there had not been one moment when Abhi and Pragya had spent without the other. They were stuck like some invisible glue kept them together. They spent hours talking to each other, reminiscing the old college days, cuddling each other and talking about what they did when they were away or watching movies. They would also go to their spot on the beach and spend some time there. Romantic walks under the stars and candle light dinners, kissing and making out, they didn't realize when days flew by.

"Abhi, I need to cook na. Dadi will be so hungry when she comes back. She hates the food they serve in the airlines."

"You're almost done na. You can finish it later. There's still time. They have just about boarded the flight." He said, hugging her from the back

"But Abhi, I also need to see if their rooms are in order. And dadis medicines.. I need to see if I need to order them. Aaliya had asked me to get her a few things as well. There's a lot to do. And besides, you're insatiable!" she huffed.

Ignoring her rant, he turned the gas off, picked her up and walked towards the stairs.

"Abhi, let me down.. " she struggled

"Prags, I promise all of this will be done before they come. Just come with me for now," he said, halting on the way

"But, Abhi.." she tried to protest

"Please"

She couldn't help but smile at his adorable face. The cute pout and the puppy face were too irresistible and he had learnt to use that as a weapon against her. It always worked. Her heart almost gave in, yet she decided to try once more.

"But Abhi..."

"I love you.. Please"

And that was it. This man knew how to get his way with her and she had walked straight into the trap. His I Love You' worked like magic and she turned into a puddle of goo. He chuckled at her expression and continued walking towards their room.

"Abhi.. Abhi wake up. You need to go to the airport." Pragya shook him awake

"Hmmm.. Chashmish, let me sleep na.." he dug his head further into the pillow.

"Okay then, be ready for all the teasing that's gonna follow." She huffed and walked out. Abhi reluctantly woke up and showered. Quickly getting ready, he walked down.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Who'll make lunch if I come along? It's all because of you!"

"What did I do?" he asked sheepishly, knowing fully well what got things delayed.

"Yeah right... I need to tell you that!"

"But chashmish, how is it my fault that I'm so charming?" he chuckled

"Abhi, stop distracting me with your sexiness and get lost. I don't want you to keep them waiting. I'll keep lunch ready by the time you come." She said, exasperated. Laughing out loud, he walked out of the house.

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"Bhabhiii!!!!!!" Aaliya rushed in and hugged Pragya tight. "I missed you so much!" she squealed in happiness.

"Aww Aalu.. I missed you too!" Pragya hugged her back. "Dadi.." she bowed down to touch her feet. "How are you? How was the trip?"

"It was great Pragya. We missed you though. We kept thinking of how much fun it would be if you and Abhi were there too." Dadi said hugging Pragya.

"Dadi, we wished we could be there too." Pragya said.

"Really now?" Dadi chuckled and Aaliya joined in.

"Dadi.. Okay you two go freshen up while I set the table." Pragya said.

"Bhabhiii... okay tell me what you did in these 10 days!" Aaliya said as she and Pragya were sitting in the latter's room after lunch.

"Aaliya?" Pragya didn't know how to react, her cheeks turning red instantly. She recollected those moments when she was in his arms, breathing in his scent, listening to his soulful voice and just living the feel of having him so close to her. She remembered his touches, those kisses and the sense of being complete.

"Bhabhi, where are you lost? Tell me na!" Aaliya snapped her fingers in front of Pragya's face, breaking her chain of thoughts.

"Woh.. Aaliyaa.. forget us, You tell me what happened at the wedding." Pragya tried diverting the topic.

"I'll tell you what happened, chotti!" Abhi joined them. "Pragya lets tell her what happened in these days na."

"Abhi.. what are you.."

"Come on Prags.. she wants to know."

"Abhi what!!"

"Aaliya listen.. so someone by the name Neil Thakur was in Delhi last week. Did you meet him?"

"Bhai.. Woh.." Aaliya blushed

"Abhi? Why would Neil be in Delhi?" Pragya was confused

"I don't know. Maybe his fiance will know the answer." Abhi chuckled

"Aaliya? Neil came to Delhi too?"

"Woh bhabhi.. he wanted to give me a surprise. He flew in for a day."

"Abhi, I wonder what was so special about the day.." Pragya wondered

"hmm.. bhabhi woh.."

"Go on. We're listening" Abhi prodded and chuckled

"Bhai, it's been a year since we met." She said, looking don, fidgeting with the pillow she was holding.

"And the love birds couldn't not meet that day!" Pragya exclaimed and burst out laughing at Aaliya's expressions and Abhi followed suit.

"But bhai, how did you know Neil was there? We met out and Dadi doesn't know about it either."

"I have my sources, Al. I have an eye on you all the time. You cant escape me." Abhi wagged his eyebrows at her.

"Bhai? You have people follow me?" Aaliya was irritated "Bhai come on! I'm no kid. Why're you stalking me?"

"Because I love my baby sister and care for her. I don't want her in trouble."

"But Abhi, this is crazy. Why would you have someone after her?" Pragya was shocked too.

"Bhai this is insane. I'm so mad at you!" Aaliya huffed and walked out of the room.

"Abhi, you seriously did that?" Pragya asked Abhi after Aaliya went out.

Abhi locked the door and went to sit next to her on the bed.

"You think I'd do that? I'm not that crazy Prags!" he said as he lay down on the bed, his head on her lap.

"Then how did you know Neil was there?" Pragya asked, playing with his hair.

"Aakash and his wife, Payal saw them at a mall. Aakash sent me a picture asking if we knew the guy. You know the situation in Delhi. It's not as safe as Mumbai is. Knowing the guys around, he just wanted to make sure Aaliya was alright." Abhi explained.

"And here I thought you had gone nuts!" she chuckled

"Really now?" Abhi said, digging his face into her waist.

"Abhi.. what are you doing? Everyone's at home! This is not the time."

"Dadi is asleep and Aaliya must be sulking and talking to Neil right now. No one's gonna come here."

"Abhi pleaseee..."

"Come on na Pragya. I missed you so much!"

"But I've been right here Abhi."

"But I'm so used to having you to myself all these days na. I miss you even if you're away for a minute." He sulked.

"Aww baby! Why're you so cute!" she said pulling his cheeks and kissing them.

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"Hey Manu.. What's up?" Pragya asked receiving the call, balancing the phone on one hand and her sarees on the other.

"Nothing great Di.. Just bored. My mad husband doesn't realize that I'm much more interesting than the stupid news." Bulbul asked from the other end, sipping her tea.

"Haha! Manu, let him be na." Pragya defended Purab.

"Di, he turns the bedroom into a battleground every night with that guy.. Arnab shrieking in my ears. And guess what he's up to right now.. Watching the re runs on that show. As if the first time wasn't enough!" Bulbul sighed, exasperated.

"Well then, you should probably show him how interesting you are?" Pragya chuckled.

"Whoa? Who's there? You don't sound like my Di! What have you done to her?" Bulbul teased her.

"Manu, shut up! It's me!"

"And since when did you start talking romance?"

"Since I fell in love.. I guess!"

"Wow Di! That's drastic change! Did Jiju do some black magic or something?" Bulbul chuckled.

"No.. He just messaged me to be ready and that we are going out for dinner. He says he wants to say something!" Pragya blushed.

"Oh My God Di! That's awesome! Okay wait.. Tell me you're not wearing your standard Tee and jeans. It's a date!" Bulbul was all excited.

"For a change, No, I'm not. I'm wearing a saree!" Pragya chuckled.

"You definitely can't be my di! Where is she?"

"Manu, cut the drama. Abhi likes it when I wear a saree! Anyway, I need to get ready. I'll catch up with you later okay?"

"Yeah di! You have an awesome night and let me show my husband that I can do way better than Arnab! Love you di! And I want the details later!"

"Bye Manu" Pragya cut the call.

Pragya was all ready and was waiting for Abhi to come back home. She picked up her phone to call him when she saw a message from him.

Hey Prags, I'm so sorry, I'll have to postpone our date. Something urgent came up. Can't bunk. I promise to make up for this.

Oh, and I'll be late. You please have your dinner and sleep. I Love You.'

Her face fell as she read the message. She had been really excited about the evening and prepared for hours. She had taken efforts to dress up for him but it had all gone waste. Though upset, she knew he must really be stuck. He wouldn't do this if he had any way out. She sighed and hit the reply button on her phone.

Hey! No problem at all. We could go out some other day. I hope everything is okay and it's nothing to worry about. Come soon. I can't sleep without you. Love you more.'

She smiled and caressed the wallpaper on her phone which was a picture of her and Abhi that Aaliya had clicked one random day. They had been so busy looking into each other's eyes that they didn't even realize when Aaliya took a snap. The picture reflected the love they held for each other. Come on Prags.. Lets go back to being ourselves again' she sighed and left to change.

She had been waiting for Abhi to get back home. Something in the message had got her unsettled. She wanted to see him and make sure he was alright. She needed the comfort of his arms to sleep peacefully. She needed the warmth of his body to snuggle. It had been quite late and she didn't realize when she dozed off.

She woke up after sometime, feeling cold. She remembered having shut the balcony door. She turned around to see the bed next to her empty. The clock showed that it was past midnight. She blinked her eyes a couple of times to get rid of the drowsiness. She saw Abhi's coat on the couch. His wallet was on the side table. He had come home, but why was he not on bed? And why didn't he wake her up?

She got off the bed and wrapping a shawl around herself, made her way to the balcony. Abhi was standing near the railing, looking up towards the sky. She quietly walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, resting her head on his back. He was surprised for a moment but then relaxed and held her hand on his chest.

"Hey! Why didn't you wake me up? And why're you standing out here?"

"Nothing prags. You were sleeping and I didn't wanna disturb you."

She couldn't see his face, but she knew from his tone that something was wrong. He wasn't fine and he was worried about something. She turned him around to face her and cupped his face.

"Abhi, what's wrong baby? What makes you so worried?"

"Umm.. Nothing Prags. I'm  okay?" he said, taking her hands off and looking away

"Abhi, you don't need to lie to me. We are best friends Abhi and best friends don't keep secrets. I know something is bothering you. Just tell me what it is." She said holding his hand as he tried to walk away.

He looked towards her and in her eyes, he saw all the love she had for him. He could see the worry on her face and feel the support in her hold. He made her sit on the couch, in the balcony and sat in front of her, on the ground. Holding both her hands in his, he lay his head on her lap.

"Abhi, tell me na baba. We can sort it out. I'm with you in everything." She said, her worry increasing by the minute. She pulled her hand back and cupped his face, lifting it up.

"Okay, you said you wanted to tell me something in the message earlier. What was that?"

"Oh that, I won an award for the Best Comeback at this big award show and the ceremony is in 3 weeks. I want you to be there with me because, if someone deserves the credit, it's you."

"Oh My God Abhi! That's great news. Of course, I'll be there with you. But that's not what you're worried about. Tell me what's bothering you. My Abhi would have celebrated this news."

"Pragya, woh.. Nikhil had come to office today."

"Nikhil?"

"Tanu's husband.. He wanted to talk about something."

"And? Does Tanu want something?"

Abhi went on to tell her what Nikhil told him and Pragya was shocked.

"But Abhi, we should help her. She needs us right now."

"Pragya, are you crazy? That woman married me for money and left me just like that. She dumped me."

"But you married her only so that you could get over me too. Wasn't she the buffer? You didn't love her either."

"Pragya.. When I married her, I never kept her in the dark. And when we were married, I was totally committed to her. I didn't run away."

"Okay.. alright. I agree. But right now, she's in trouble Abhi. She needs our help. She needs this house and we have to get her here."

"And dadi and Aaliya? Who'll convince them?"

"I'll talk to them. Trust me Abhi. We can't leave her in this condition na."

"Pragya, I can't lose you and I can't have dadi and Aaliya hurt this time."

"You trust me?"

"I totally do Pragya."

"Then Abhi, let us do this. I know you want to help her too and you're worried about us. Don't be. We'll just help her. I won't let her harm anyone."

"Thank you for understanding me. I love you."

"I love you too Abhi. I promise, you and me will be together for the rest of our life."

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