9
Sanyukta kept on drifting in and out of sleep, causing Randhir to worry more than he knew was healthy. Randhir asked the driver to go and get the prescription filled and bring back the medicines and also to take care of picking Somya up from school.
Randhir remained beside Sanyukta, holding her hand, caressing it softly, to feel her after so many years. Soon, he too drifted to sleep, leaning back against the bedframe, still in his dress pants and dress shirt that he wore to work.
--
FLASHBACK
"Randhir, give me one good reason to date you," Sanyukta ordered, trying to screw together a machine.
"Come on Farzi, once you date me you'll see why, no?" he asked, placing his hand on her shoulder, causing her to tense up.
She put down her screwdriver and turned around to glare at him.
"Don't touch me," she snapped. "I don't even like you!"
"Okay look Farzi, I don't like you either," he confessed, lowering his voice to a whisper. "But Parth told me if you agreed to go out on a date with me he'll introduce me to his hot friend."
Sanyukta looked at him with shock.
"You're disgusting!" she spat out reprehensibly. "Leave me alone!"
"C'mon please! I know he's being weird but he is so protective about that girl that he gave me something impossible to do. It isn't my fault. I know you hate me and trust me, I hate you too... it's just for show, for ONE date. Come on Farzi, I'll give you whatever you want after," Randhir begged. "Please! This girl is so hot -"
"Enough!" Sanyukta yelled, "I'll go with you. But only after a few conditions - first you have to agree that you'll stop calling me Farzi!"
"Done Farz - I mean Sanyukta," Randhir said appreciatively.
"Second, you won't bother me again hereafter. You won't interfere in my life or my projects," she demanded.
"Done!" Randhir agreed.
"Then fine. Tell Parth I said yes!" she stated. "And if he's not checking we're not going... we'll just tell him we went!"
"Of course," Randhir said with a happy smirk.
Little did Sanyukta know that Randhir had been lying... that the real reason he wanted her to go with him was because he made a bet with Parth that he would end up making Sanyukta Agarwal, the girl who hated him more than anything, fall hopelessly and madly in love with him.
At that time, he didn't even know that it was a trap for himself.
--
Randhir's eyes opened right after the memory played in front of him, a smile forming on his lips at the relationship they shared in the beginning of their college days.
"Wh - where am I?" he heard a voice say nervously, and he saw that Sanyukta had already sat up on the bed next to him.
Her eyes were on her hand which was held protectively in his.
10
The last thing she remembered was seeing Randhir, seeing his love for her in his eyes. She knew he would never admit to loving her though - not anymore. After what she had done, there would be no way he would want her back in his life.
Yet, he was holding her hand so lovingly, and it brought tears to her eyes. She was already beginning to feel the stabs in her heart. Was she supposed to be happy or sad that all of this was unfolding in front of her? She didn't even know how to feel.
"We're in my room," Randhir said softly. "You passed out in my office so I brought you here to rest."
Sanyuka sniffled and nodded, trying to hold back her tears, but perhaps she was meant to cry, because the tears just spilled out.
"I - I want to shower. Is there a shower?" she asked.
She felt dirty, covered in sweat. She wanted to get it all off... she wanted to take care of her oily hair. She didn't know why she cared so much. Perhaps it was because even after all these years, she wanted to look nice for him.
"Yes of course. Right over there," he said, pointing to a door leading to a room adjacent to his. "I'll get you a towel."
She nodded and he finally let go of her hand, a little reluctantly, before he went to get her a towel.
Sanyukta took the towel from him and locked herself in the bathroom, before turning on the shower so that her cries wouldn't be heard from the outside. Then she stripped herself down and felt the cold water whip her body.
She absolutely hated cold showers... but today, she just wanted to feel. She wanted to feel herself suffer because she knew that she made Randhir suffer all those years ago. She only hurt him, and now he probably hated her.
Sanyukta cried and cried - she cried so much, that she felt numb after it all. Maybe it was the cold shower's effect, or the effects of her heartbreak, she didn't know.
Once she finally stepped out of the shower, her teeth chattering, she wrapped the towel around herself.
--
FLASHBACK
"It was all because of a stupid bet?" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Randhir you made a bet with Parth that you would make me fall in love with you, and that's why you were pretending?"
Randhir tried to grab her arms and pull her to him, to explain to her that yes it did start off that way, but he was madly in love with her now. She escaped his grasp though.
"Yes, it was because of a stupid bet. Actually no it wasn't," he screamed over her cries, "It was because of stupid me! I was immature, I wanted to prove something. Sanyukta I don't know how to prove that I am crazy in love with you now. You are the best thing that happened to me!"
"Lies!" she screamed. "Stop lying!"
"I'm not!" he yelled back, and finally got a hold of her shoulders, engulfing her in a bone crushing hug.
She struggled in his embrace but he refused to let go, until she gave up and allowed him to hug her.
"I love you so much," he whispered into her ear. "Trust me. I'll give you my life if you want me to. I swear Sanyukta, I will never ever stop loving you."
He could feel her tears wet his shirt.
"I want to believe you," she hiccuped through her tears. "Randhir I love you... I can't believe you got close to me... because of a stupid bet! It makes all this feel so fake."
"Who cares if it started off fake?" he whispered. "I'm sorry for all I did, but I'm not sorry for falling in love with you. It's more than real now Sanyukta. I love you, and that's all I know."
He broke their embrace and cupped her cheeks softly.
"I love you," she confessed, looking into his eyes and seeing only love for her.
"I love you too," he said, his thumb stroking her cheek ever so softly.
Then she took a step forward and closed her eyes, before closing the gap between their lips and kissing him softly, causing her heart to beat wildly.
Their first kiss.
"Please don't leave me Randhir," she whispered against his lips.
"I'll never leave you," he whispered right back, stroking her hair.
She then pressed her lips more forcefully against his, clutching his shirt tightly, wanting to feel him more and more.
--
Sanyukta snapped out of it, still shivering.
He told her he would never ever stop loving her, was it possible that he meant it? Could he still love her, even today?
Sanyukta wrapped the towel more tightly around her body and stepped out of the bathroom, her teeth still chattering.
Randhir looked up, shocked at her state in front of him.
"What - did you take a freezing cold shower?" he asked, alarmed.
Her whole body was shaking even as she nodded.
11
Randhir stepped towards the wardrobe behind her, but she automatically took a step back, trying to move further away from him, assuming that he was walking towards her.
He sighed - even after all these years, her assumptions didn't end. Not acknowledging her, he continued to walk and she tensed up and squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating something else entirely.
Randhir reached for the wardrobe behind her, and took out a salwar kameez - he still had her clothes from years ago. He still kept them in his closet, perhaps because he always had the hope that one day she would return and would need them back. Or maybe he just wanted to keep her clothes there so he could be reminded of her - he never wanted to erase traces of her.
"Here," he said, and her eyes opened with surprise as she saw the salwar kameez in his hands. "If you want anything else of yours, they're in the drawer over there."
He nodded towards a dresser across the room, acknowledging her undergarments, and Sanyukta looked down, nodding, understanding what he was trying to say.
She took the salwar kameez from him and he closed the wardrobe as she made her way towards the drawer to get the rest of her necessities.
Randhir entered the bathroom, and picked up Sanyukta's sweaty clothes from the ground. He was going to take them to the laundry.
As Sanyukta watched him come out of the bathroom with her clothes in his arms, her eye widened, but she kept her mouth shut.
"I'm just taking these to the laundry room. You get dressed," he told her. "I'll be back."
She just nodded and Randhir left the room with a sigh. It seemed like she didn't even want to talk to him. It was fine... after all, what more did he expect? Six years of separation later, there must be some awkwardness, some sense of detachment. Plus, their separation wasn't exactly a friendly one.
She probably hated him, and he couldn't even blame her. The only thing he blamed her was for leaving Somya. If he ever accused her for leaving him, that was because he missed her. He couldn't say that she was wrong for leaving him... he deserved it.
After placing the clothes in the laundry room, he went back to his room and paused for a moment before knocking on the door. There was no answer, so he opened the door and took a step inside, assuming that Sanyukta just didn't want to say anything to him.
She gasped, and Randhir's eyes widened immediately upon seeing the sight in front of him. Sanyukta was already in her salwar pants, but she hadn't put on her kurti top yet. She was just wearing a black bra on top.
Randhir immediately closed his eyes and turned around, his heart pounding erratically and his whole body breaking into a sweat.
12
The shower was probably useless because now she was beginning to sweat again - the way he looked at her half-naked body just now... not just with surprise, but with a tinge of desire, made her hold her breath.
As soon as he turned around, she slipped on the kurti top and coughed, indirectly saying that he could turn around now.
"Sorry," he murmured, his back still turned to her.
"It's okay," she responded, finally speaking to him. "I'm ready."
He turned around to face her, trying to calm his body down which decided to react of its own accord.
Randhir heard the driver downstairs enter the house and Randhir glanced at Sanyukta.
"Give me a minute, I'll be right back," he told her and she nodded.
Sanyukta didn't know what she was expecting or why she was waiting for him to come back. If she was in her senses, then she should have left by now and found her way home. Parth was probably worrying by now too.
Still, something kept her there, and that something was unable to be described or defined by logic.
Randhir got the medicines from the driver and told him quietly, "Make sure you pick up Somya in two hours from school, and let her know that I'm busy today so she cannot disturb me unless I give you different orders. Turn on the TV for her in her room once she comes back."
The driver nodded and Randhir went back up the stairs towards Sanyukta. He didn't want his daughter to meet Sanyukta. For starters, Sanyukta didn't deserve to know anything about her daughter, and for another, he had told Somya that her mother was dead. There was no way that he would let them meet.
As soon as Randhir entered his room, he closed the door behind him. Sanyukta was sitting on his bed.
"You have a nice place," she complimented. "Before it was a bachelor apartment, now a mansion? You're also the CEO of such a big company. Congratulations."
"Thank you," Randhir said, for some strange reason, feeling proud that he made Sanyukta happy.
"Somya Steels?" Sanyukta asked him suspiciously, probing him further, "How did you come up with that name?"
"My daughter's name is Somya," Randhir told her with a defeated sigh. "I named it after her."
"You named our daughter Somya?" Sanyukta asked him, feeling touched, her eyes welling with tears.
"My daughter," Randhir corrected, and she felt her heart shatter into a thousand tiny pieces.
13
Randhir could feel his own heart breaking as he saw the gloomy look that settled on her face. How could he just say that Somya was only his daughter when Sanyukta had given birth to her? The truth was that he held a grudge against Sanyukta for leaving her daughter, when her daughter needed her mother the most.
"I... I see," Sanyukta answered, gulping to prevent the tears from escaping her eyes, but as usual she had no control over them.
She took a deep breath, as her heart ached at her next question, already fearing the worst.
"Can... Can I meet her?" she asked Randhir with tear-filled eyes. "P - Please?"
Yes, he wanted to say... but how could he? If Sanyukta met Somya, then Somya would know her mother was alive. On top of that, Sanyukta herself didn't deserve to meet her.
"If you wanted to meet her, you shouldn't have left her," Randhir stated, causing Sanyukta's heart to hurt even more.
She was ready to go down on her knees, touch his feet and beg him to allow her to see her daughter, but she knew that it was going to have no effect on Randhir. He was stubborn... once he made up his mind, it was over.
He took a seat on the bed next to her and handed her the medicines.
"The doctor told me to get these for you, so make sure you take them," Randhir informed. "Also... what were you even doing in my office?"
She gulped again, feeling her palms start to sweat at how close he was to her. After so many years, so many tears and a lot of lonely moments, he was finally beside her.
Sanyukta never thought that she would be able to see this day. She truly believed that she wouldn't be seeing them ever again.
"I... I work in Canada and I had to come to your office for a business proposal," she told him. "With... with Parth."
"Oh so you and Parth are..." he started, but Sanyukta cut him off.
"We're co-workers. It's because of him I got the job there," she informed him. "And Randhir, it's better if you don't assume because you know where your assumptions got us last time."
She closed her eyes, feeling her heart ache again as Randhir's assumptions and accusations from six years ago played in her ears. She couldn't stop hearing his voice call her words that she was sure he didn't mean.
"My assumptions? How about yours?" he asked, bringing it back on her. "You don't know how hurt you left me when you left. How heartless could you be that you didn't think once about returning?"
She turned around and glared at him.
"Randhir, everyday I died a new death because I wanted to come back to you, but you left me in no position to return - yes, I was wrong for leaving instead of sorting it out with you... but do you know what you did? You only brought insecurities into my life!" she told him coldly. "You know what... forget it. I don't even know why I'm here. I'm leaving."
Then she stood up, took a few steps forward and felt her head start to ache and a dizzy feeling take over her body - placing her hands on her head, she stumbled backwards, right onto Randhir's lap, and his hands automatically reached out to hold her to him.
She felt safe and protected in his arms.
Sanyukta closed her eyes, this time pretending to faint. Somya, her daughter would be coming home soon, she figured, and if this was the only way she could catch a glimpse of her daughter, then so be it.
14
"Sanyukta?" Randhir asked, and she could feel her heart flutter as he lovingly caressed her cheek, tucking some hair behind her ear. "It's my fault... the doctor said not to give her stress... shit. Sanyukta, please open your eyes. Please?"
He tapped her cheek lightly, but she wouldn't budge. Why couldn't he just be nice to her? After six years he was seeing her, and the first thing he returned to was his blame game? He knew full well that he made mistakes. Yes, he didn't want her to leave, but if she left, he was involved in it too.
Randhir looked down at her figure which was laying lifelessly in his arms. She looked so innocent, like an angel. Why was it so hard to hate her?
"I know I hurt you a lot," he murmured, "And if it was just about me, then maybe I wouldn't be so harsh... but this is about Somya too. She won't be able to go through any heartbreak."
Randhir picked her up in his arms before sliding back on the bed. He was about to lay her down on the bed, when he decided not to. He couldn't help it - he kept her on his lap and allowed her head to rest on his chest, his back against the headboard of the bed.
He rubbed her back softly as he closed his eyes and waited for her to wake up.
--
FLASHBACK
"Finally, we're married," he said, gripping her hand tightly, and she rested her head on his shoulder, smiling serenely, having just walked out of the court as newlyweds.
"I'm so happy Randhir," she told him, sighing happily. "I can't believe this is real. I mean, we just finished college and now we're married? We haven't even started our placements yet."
Randhir smiled.
"We'll start our placements soon... but for now, I want to spend some time with you," he told her softly, before getting into the car that Parth had brought for them.
As they enjoyed the ride to his apartment, Sanyukta rested her head on his shoulder the whole way. She had already taken her stuff there ever since her parent's told her she could marry him on the condition that they kept no relation with them.
The reason for that was because he wasn't up to their standards. He had wealthy parent's, but he refused to take anything from them... he wanted to make a name out of himself. Even his apartment was a bachelor one, it was very small.
Sanyukta was happy though - if she had Randhir, that was all she needed.
"One day, I will gift you a mansion," he told her, as they walked into his apartment together. "I promise."
Sanyukta giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Easy there Mr. Shekhawat, first you have to gift me yourself," she told him with a smirk.
"Really now Mrs. Shekhawat?" he asked, raising his eyebrows, and then in one swooping movement, she was in his arms and he was taking her to their bed. "You've kept me waiting for so long... not anymore. Now I'm going to love you in a way you can't even begin to imagine."
She blushed.
At that time, she had no idea of how their lifestyle would impact their relationship. All she saw was Randhir.
It was called a honeymoon period for a reason, because once that period was over, the cloth around the eyes would slowly be removed to display the true harshness of the world.
--
Sanyukta felt tears prickle her closed eyes as she remembered her first day as his wife. Today, she could still feel the same amount of love from that day. The way he rubbed her back, the way he held her against him so lovingly, was not because of any lustful intention. He truly loved her. He truly cared about her, and she could feel it.
She hated pretending to have fainted, but what could she do? He wouldn't let her meet her daughter.
Randhir felt something wet fall on his hand and he opened his eyes, looking down and seeing that tears were falling from her cheeks.
Oh, so Sanyukta hadn't changed one bit then. She was still an overly dramatic girl who did anything to get what she wanted.
16
Randhir decided to take part in her own game. He stopped rubbing her back and instead brought his hand up to her face, caressing her cheek softly. He made sure to bring his thumb down to her lips, feeling the softness of them after so many years.
He could feel her heart beginning to pound faster, and he inwardly smirked. After all, this was the effect he had on her before, and it clearly hadn't changed one bit.
Sanyukta felt his fingers trace his lips as her heart began beating much faster. She hoped he wasn't able to detect it because then it would give away that she was conscious. Her palms began to sweat and she involuntarily pressed herself against his chest.
Her eyes were still closed, so she wasn't able to see, but she could feel something getting closer to her face... and she knew that it couldn't be anything but Randhir.
Was he about to kiss her?
She opened her eyes slightly, and saw that his lips were getting closer and closer.
Sanyukta gulped and her eyes sprung open of their own accord, as she clutched the fabric of his shirt tightly to stop him.
Shit.
Randhir looked at her suspiciously.
"You okay?" he asked her.
"Uh... yes... I feel... better," she lied - she hadn't really felt bad to begin with.
"Great, now can you get off me please?" Randhir requested, and she blushed, looking down at how she was on his lap.
She obliged and got off him, sitting on the bed next to him.
"Weren't you about to leave?" Randhir then asked, and she looked at him, shocked that he would be so rude.
"I will leave," she huffed in response. "I have no interest in staying here!"
Of course she did - she wanted to meet her daughter. She assumed that sometime within the next two hours her daughter would be home from school. So she had to figure out a way to kill time here.
"Alright then, I'll walk you out and get my driver to drop you wherever you need to go," Randhir stated.
"No need for the sympathy," she said sarcastically.
She got up from the bed and started walking towards the door slowly, as she tried to think of something to stall her leaving.
"Randhir," she said, turning around, only to see him walking up to her.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm hungry," she replied, placing her hand on her stomach. "I haven't eaten anything all morning."
Randhir looked at her suspiciously before sighing.
"Fine, follow me," he said, and she smiled victoriously as he lead her towards the dining area.
Sanyukta got a chance to see how grand the mansion was on the way to the kitchen - it was definitely luxurious. Randhir himself couldn't have decorated this place. He didn't have such a great sense of style to make it look this nice.
"Randhir who decorated this place?" she asked him curiously.
"I hired someone," he answered. "Why?"
"Hmm okay," she replied. "I was just asking because you clearly couldn't have."
"Why not?" he asked, sounding offended.
"Never mind, let it be. What's there to eat?" she asked him hungrily.
"Whatever you want. Just ask and it'll be made for you," Randhir said, leading her into the dining room. "Gopal!"
An older man, probably in his fifties came out wearing a chef's outfit.
"Yes sir," Gopal said.
"Take ma'am's order and feed her what she wants," Randhir ordered and Gopal nodded.
"I want... umm..." she said, trying to think of what would take the longest time to make. "I want lasagna stuffed with broccoli, caulifower, eggplant, carrots, spinach, asparagus and make sure all of them are fried! Oh and I want chocolate cake for dessert."
Randhir's jaw nearly dropped open when he heard her.
"What are you trying to do?" he hissed.
He knew exactly what she was trying to do.
"Nothing, I'm just hungry," she answered innocently.
"Gopal, make her toast, tomato soup, and get her a glass of orange juice. She's sick, she doesn't need any of that," Randhir ordered and Sanyukta pursed her lips, annoyed.
As soon as Gopal went in to make her the food, Randhir walked up to her and stared sternly at her.
"As soon as he makes you the food, eat it and get out of here within ten minutes," Randhir ordered. "I don't want any funny business. I'm going up to get my work done, by the time I come back down, I want you out of here."
Sanyukta crossed her arms, frustrated with him. What was his problem? How rude!
"Fine!" she retorted angrily.
No way, she was not going anywhere, and just like Randhir, when she made up her mind to do something, nothing was going to get in the way of her destination... not even him.
16
Once she finished eating her food - quite slowly, she looked around to make sure the coast was clear. This was such a big mansion, surely there had to be some place she could hide for two hours.
Sanyukta quietly got up from the chair she was sitting on, and started to walk around, trying to avoid the servants. It was hard because Randhir seemed to have a lot of them, but Sanyukta kept her face down and continued to walk, as if she had authority over this place.
Who was she kidding? Of course she had authority over this place... Randhir told her he would gift her a mansion. This was her mansion! She didn't even have to snoop around. She could do whatever she wanted!
Sanyukta quietly walked up the stairs, into a random room. It seemed like a storage room to her. Perfect. Nobody would bother checking in on the storage room. She closed the door quietly and left the lights off as she wandered deep into the room, trying to find a corner to hide herself in.
As she hid behind a box, something inside the box caught her eye. A golden necklace with a heart-shaped pendant.
--
FLASHBACK
"Randhir, I'm telling you - don't be stubborn and ask your parents," she argued with him. "You know it's hard - we were making decent salary when both of us were working, but now I can't because of the pregnancy, and on top of that, feeding three... it's not easy!"
"Sanyukta how many times do I have to tell you that I'm not going to ask my parents?" he responded harshly. "I know times are tough, but I do not want to go to them and beg -"
"Randhir you don't have to beg! They'd happily give you what you're entitled to. You're their only son, the heir of their business. Randhir come on, you're making it difficult on yourself for no reason!" she said, tears filling her eyes. "I'm not asking for myself, I'm asking for our baby Randhir."
Randhir grabbed her arms and pulled her close to him, anger filling up his whole body.
"Didn't I tell you before we got married to expect this? Didn't I warn you that this was going to happen? You knew Sanyukta, you knew -" he started, and she cut him off.
"I know I knew!" she screamed back. "That's why I'm regretting it. That's why I am beginning to wish I didn't marry you."
Randhir let go of her, and she saw the pain in his eyes. She wished she could take back her words - she didn't mean any of them. She loved Randhir a lot, but her anger was getting in the way.
"Happy Diwali," he said coldly, picking up a bag and throwing it towards her, then he turned around and walked out of the front door.
Sanyukta, with shaking hands, picked up the bag, and saw that there was a felt box inside. Opening the small box, she noticed a necklace, a golden necklace with a heart shaped pendant.
Tears started to stream down her cheeks - despite all of this, all their arguments, he still thought about her and bought her a gift for Diwali? She hadn't even thought to do that.
"Randhir, please come back!" she begged, crying, and opened the front door, to look for him, holding her five month pregnant belly as she searched, "I'm so sorry Randhir, please come back for me."
--
Sanyukta touched the necklace softly, as her tears fell down on it. He kept all her belongings, everything of hers, even though it must have hurt. How was he able to do it? She hadn't kept anything of his. Just a picture of Somya, and even that, when she was just born.
She clasped the necklace around her neck and slipped it inside the top of her kurti, deciding that she had a right to that necklace, and she was going to keep it on her, close to her heart, just the way he had meant for it to be when he got it for her.
"Sorry for hurting you that day Randhir," she whispered softly to herself.
They made up that particular day, but over time, things only had gotten worse for them, ultimately leading to their painful separation.
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