Abhigya FF: WOH HUMSAFAR THA last ch pg 76dt 9.4.16 - Page 55

Chapter 34

It had been almost a week since the showdown between her father and husband happened over pragya. Since that day he barely spoke to her and behaved as though she didn't exist at all. She poured herself a hot cup of coffee and was striding towards her room when pragya came out in the hall, clutching her stomach. For the second time in the day, she'd vomited. Shalini glanced at her from the corner of her eye. For the first time it pleased her to see pragya suffer because of the pregnancy. Serves her right, shalini muttered under her breath. She had brought her in this house so that she could give them a child and fill their lives with happiness but now pragya was using this very child as a weapon against her. She was a fool to have thought pragya's care free and spunky nature as her innocence. When the truth was absolutely the opposite. pragya had cleverly used her pretty innocent looks, her emotional past and her ability to give him his heir in making a soft corner for her in his heart. Shalini pressed her lips hard, when all these months she was devoting her time and energy in ensuring that the baby came comfortably in this world, this woman was secretly having a scene with her husband. She felt like being stabbed in the back. Shalini loathed the sight of her and climbed up to her room, she could no longer tolerate her presence in her life.

She sat on the rocking chair with her coffee cup. Everything was slipping from her hands. She was reduced to a mere show piece in her very own house. pragya had captivated his mind and his world revolved around her and his baby. Shalini took a long sip of her coffee. She had insisted upon nurturing his flesh and blood so that he would always be tied to her and she would remain to be the center of his attention. The huge sacrifice made on her part as a wife would make him indebted to her forever.

But now she could see herself losing in her own game and that too by someone like pragya. It wounded her ego to see her winning. She closed her eyes to collect her thoughts. She had never lost in her life and had always been a winner. Until now she had played her cards very intelligently. She wouldn't let this unexpected twist, ruin her game plan. The chair rocked to and fro as she thought harder and harder. Ever since he confessed his feelings about pragya, she had turned hostile towards him but that didn't bother him at all. In fact even her father's intervention didn't succeed in changing his stand. On the contrary it only widened the gap between her and him. Her indifference was helping him further drift away from her. And that was something that she couldn't afford. She sighed deeply, thinking about changing her course of action. Things were pretty much smooth and in control till his so called love popped up and she didn't take it lightly. Now if she went back to her old self of taking care of pragya (only in front of him) and the baby (she still loved the baby, her maternal feelings hadn't changed) then perhaps the tension between them might ease out. He loved pragya but he wasn't planning to abandon her for pragya. He wasn't even thinking of holding pragya back. She smiled slyly. Then why the hell was she worrying and getting hyper? When neither he nor his name would ever leave her! the only bone of contention was... pragya. She had to ensure that pragya left after delivery. Once she would leave then there would be nothing to worry. Today his heart was going gaga over pragya only because she was bearing his child. But tomorrow when he would see her showering love on his child then his heart would definitely melt. She smirked. Now she only needed to maintain her cool and behave as though nothing had happened.

She saw him barging inside the room. She furrowed her brows when he opened the cupboard and hurriedly took out pragya's blue medical file. She sprang to her feet, kept the empty cup aside and asked," what's the matter ?" his face was creased, he stared at her for a moment then replied," pragya is feeling a bit uneasy ..just to ensure everything is fine I'm taking her to the doctor ." She knew since morning pragya wasn't keeping well but she didn't pay attention. Her appointment was due at the end of this week.

Without saying another word he walked out of the room. She rolled her eyes. It was time to get into action / drama. She quickly followed him down the stairs and said," wait I'll come with you." He stopped in his tracks, turned, raised his head to gaze at her then slowly nodded his head. On getting down she wrapped her arm around pragya , assisted her in getting into the car and asked with voice laced with fake concern," pragya, why didn't you tell me that you're in pain ?" pragya looked at her in confusion, she thought shalini knew about her. She didn't say anything and just got on to the back seat.

Abhi turned on the ignition and began driving. From time to time he glanced at pragya through his rear view mirror. He drew his brows together, she was in pain but still she didn't look so bad. He'd seen her in far worse conditions before. As her date of delivery approached near, his heart pounded loudly inside his chest. He hoped that everything would go well.

He creased his face in anger when his cell phone vibrated inside his pocked. Who was disturbing him now?

" who's this ?" he scowled at the caller.

" Abhishekh." The caller chuckled and Abhi wrinkled his nose on identifying the person on the other end. He was too furious to say anything.

" you made the biggest mistake of your life by not killing me. Be ready to pay for it." abhi agreed with him, he shouldn't have left Raj alive. Raj had come back to create a storm in his life at the most inappropriate time.

" I swear raj, if this time you dare mess with me, I'll slaughter you in public ." abhi snarled , he would not think once before killing him.

Shalini shook his head and pragya shuddered at the mention of raj. Her kidnapping incident was still fresh in her mind and she knew how dangerous that man was.

raj's eyes glinted evilly as he let out a throaty laugh," it's too late abhi, I've already done what I wanted to."

Abhi pursed his lips in a hard line and wondered what was raj talking about, what had he done this time? He was thinking about it when abhi heard a loud explosion on the other side of the phone. His eyes grew wide and he brought the car to a sudden halt by applying the brakes. There was deep silence on both the ends and abhi gripped the cell phone firmly in his hand.

" you heard something ?...this is just the trailer ." raj sniggered. abhi clenched his jaws and flared his nostrils in rage.

" you broke my dream now it's my turn . I'll break you beyond repair ." Setting up a drug making factory in ratnagiri, then making the people of ratnagiri drug addict and ultimately ruling over them was raj's dream. There was hell lot of money in this narcotics business and he wanted to expand it beyond the territories of ratnagiri but abhi's presence and constant intervention had foiled his plans. Now he wouldn't spare abhi and his dream project at any cost.

" RAJ ." abhi growled through gritted teeth. raj smirked hearing him get angry and sensing him feeling helpless.

" I can see your shopping complex crumbling down."

abhi contorted his face and his chest heaved up and down in fury.

" wait for sometime ...BOOM..and then everything will be over ." raj's eyes sparkled in malice thinking about the line of bombs he'd got planted at the shopping complex site. First he would bring down his shopping complex and then he would tarnish his image in public by bringing out his secret affair out in the open.

" RAJ , You're DEAD." abhi shouted at him, in response raj laughed devilishly and disconnected the call.

Panic consumed abhi and he immediately called his aide to give out instructions," send a bomb squad team to the site at once ..take the guards with you and evacuate the site. Hurry ."

Both the women understood what had happened. This time raj had gone too far by attempting to blow up the site. pragya forgot her own pain instead felt jittery for the laborers working at the site. What if they lost their lives? She glanced at his stiff back and thought he had put in so much effort in this project, she didn't wish to see it crumbling down like a pack of cards.

Shalini noticed him changing the route, instead of taking pragya to the hospital, he was driving towards the site. What was wrong with him, why was he going to the site knowing very well that everything could blow up any time.

" abhi, what are you doing ?" shalini asked in concern. He tightened his grip on the wheel , pressed the accelerator and didn't care to reply, she was aware why and where they were heading.

" going there is not safe." it was damn risky, anything could happen.

" then what do you expect me to do? Let those innocent people die?" he asked in irritation.

She shook her head, that was not what she meant but at the same time it didn't make sense to endanger one's own life to save the life of others.

She raised her hand and pressed his arm slightly, pragya who was sitting quietly, lowered her gaze.

" the bomb squad team is doing it's job ..our guards are rescuing the laborers . what more?"

He twisted his arm under her hold, she dropped her hand and saw him staring at the road ahead. He was in no mood to back off, instead would happily risk their lives. She rolled her eyes and reminded him that he was supposed to take pragya to the hospital, saving the life of their child should have been his first priority.

" in case you've forgotten let me remind you, pragya needs a doctor."

he kicked himself mentally, in all this mess, taking pragya to the doctor had slipped out of his mind. For a moment he forgot that she was in pain and needed to be attended. But going to the site was also important .

Lifting his lashes he glanced at pragya through the rear view mirror. pragya blinked her eyes and assured him that she was doing fine and she was with him.

" don't worry I can wait ..do what you think is right ."

His heart swelled with pride, he knew she was lying to him, once again she was pushing her pain aside and thinking about others. That's what he loved about her. She was compassionate and selfless in her thoughts and actions. On reaching the site he'd ask aman to take them to the hospital.

Shalini shot her a nasty look, once again pragya had succeeded in belittling her in his eyes. Now shalini had one more reason to hate her.

Abhi pulled up the car at the site. And what he saw startled him. There was complete chaos. People were running in different directions to get out of the place. A part of the building had caught fire after the bomb explosion he heard while talking to raj. All he hoped it was a low intensity one and there were no casualties. The bomb squad team had arrived while abhi's scattered men were helping the laborers.

" you both stay in the car. Don't Step Out. I'm sending aman he'll take you to the doctor." without waiting to hear them respond he slammed the door shut and mingled into the crowd.

Shalini called up her father, hoping that he would help them out in some way but unfortunately he was out of station. She let out a frustrated sigh. She felt as though she was sitting on a ticking time bomb that would explode any moment. Panic and fear gripped her.

pragya was feeling no different, beads of sweat formed on her forehead as time passed and her eyes failed to spot him. Her lips were shaking, unknowingly letting out a silent prayer for him. She paused and realized what she was doing, then resumed her silent chanting, hoping that this time He wouldn't let her down.

" di, where's sahab? Can't see him."

Shalini bit her lower lip and allowed her eyes to scatter the crowd. He was no where to be seen.

" I'll call him." She tried calling him but he didn't take the call.

pragya was now panicking. A large part of the crowd had cleared out still he was missing. She poked her head out of the window to look for him. Shalini pursed her lips and replied through clenched teeth," that is why I was telling him not to come here." She was not a fool when she was stopping him from coming here but why would he listen to her?

Just then his aide, aman came and knocked at the car door. Shalini opened the door.

" sir, has asked me to drive you to the hospital."

"but where's he?" pragya asked.

"sir is with the laborers."

" di, I won't leave without him. " shalini pursed her lips , why was pragya worrying about him in front of aman?

" I'll go and call sahab."

" pragya don't get out. I'll go and find him." Shalini stopped her sternly, she didn't want to give him another reason to get mad at her. Shalini reluctantly opened the door and hopped out to find him. She touched her stomach area to ensure the padding was at its right place. While craning her neck to search him, she began walking towards shopping complex structure. " but maa'm..." aman attempted to stop her.
" aman you also look for him." Shalini ordered.

The crowd had dispersed. Ambulance van and fire brigade had also arrived at the scene.

Glancing up the building she cursed raj for destroying it. More than half of it had collapsed due to the explosion.

Abhi along with his men helped pulling out workers buried under the debris. Some had lost their lives while others were struggling to survive. There were men and women with broken limbs and bleeding heads being carried on stretchers. The sight was heart wrenching.

Just as abhi thought that the worst might have got over, there was another blast. This time the bomb exploded on the ground floor of the building. Clouds of smoke and wild screams of people filled the air. The panic that had subsided slightly, reemerged. Abhi and his men ran to the spot. Thankfully it was already evacuated. There was fire and smoke but no one was caught inside. Sighing in relief, abhi turned around to leave when his ears caught something. People were howling and wailing around him but still he felt he heard something more. Moving back to the area, his eyes travelled frantically and went wide in horror when he spotted a small girl caught in the fire. She was the same girl who he had often seen on the site. And she was crying her lungs out. Her father had gone hysterical and wanted to jump in the fire to save her but was stopped by his fellow workers.

Abhi wrinkled his nose and without wasting another second kicked open the door that had caught fire and stormed inside. He picked up the child and hugged her to his chest. The entrance was now up in the flames. He looked around then smashed open the glass window and jumped out. On seeing him, the father rushed to him and grabbed his child, taking the little one in his arms. Tears of gratitude streaming down his eyes said everything that words could have said. Abhi raised his hand and caressed the child's face. He was glad that she was safe. The girl was still weeping, she lifted her tiny forefinger and pointed at abhi. He furrowed his brows in confusion. He couldn't understand what she was suggesting. Moving aside he found that she was still pointing at something, but what?

" someone's...there.." she said in between her whimpering. abhi's eyes followed the direction she was pointing at. Maybe she had seen someone behind the building. Who could it be?

RAJ! in all this chaos the fact that Raj must be around escaped his mind. Taking out the gun from his waist pocket, he walked behind the building. His guards followed him closely.

Raj was waiting impatiently to see the whole building devastated. He was a sadist. Instead of blowing up the complex in one go, he had planted a series of low intensity bombs. Wanted to see how slowly and steadily, abhi's ambitious project crumbled down into pieces. More than half the building had already collapsed, he was waiting for the last one to explode, unaware that it had been successfully diffused by the bomb squad.

Turning around his gaze fell on abhi and his guards who had surrounded him and his men. He knew that now he couldn't escape from here, alive but still there was no regret on his face and his eyes had a feeling of victory floating in them.

" abhishekh,this is finished ." raj said eyeing at the shopping complex, he had succeeded in destroying it and was proud of his accomplishment. With his shoulder in a cast, he limped around abhi fearlessly.

abhi clenched his jaws and gritted his teeth. He was boiling in anger.

" look, I won." He openly mocked at abhi, who claimed himself to be the ruler of ratnagiri still failed to save his own dream project from getting battered.

abhi glared hard at him, for the first time he cursed himself for not killing somebody. He wasn't upset seeing the building fall to pieces, it could be reconstructed again, but the innocent people who had lost their lives, what about them? There was enmity between both of them and raaj had taken away so many lives only to avenge him.

Raj wanted to rule over the people by running drugs down their blood, that would have killed them slowly but this was even better. In one go he had terrorized them to death. Nobody dared to mess with raj!

There was no remorse in raj's eyes, on the contrary he was proud of his ruthless and malicious act. Abhi flared his nostrils, curled his fingers in a fist and punched raj's face who fell on the ground by the impact of the blow. The very next moment a clash broke out between abhi's guards and raj's men. raj took out his gun to fire at abhi but today he was late, abhi didn't give him another chance and all the bullets of his pistol pierced through raj. He was finally dead and his blood splashed all across abhi's clothes. After a very long time abhi's hands had claimed a life and this was the first instance when he didn't repent killing someone.

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Shalini's eyes travelled around in search of him. She kept on calling out," abhi ..abhi." But failed to trace him. Walking on the wreckage with this huge padded stomach was also not easy. A worker was running by, she stopped and asked him," have you seen abhi sir?"

The worker pointed towards the ground floor of the building that was up in flames. The fire officers had brought situation under control but still that area was risky. Shalini gulped and approached the building. She yelled his name from outside. There was no response. She waited for sometime then unwillingly decided to step inside and look for him. It was dark, smoky and suffocating. Why the hell had he come here in the first place, couldn't he stay out and supervise?

" ABHI .." she screamed again but failed to find him. She opened her mouth to call him again when she heard pragya shriek from behind," DII." Before she could respond, pragya pushed her hard and she flung out of the building.

Shalini winced in pain and looked back. Her eyes became the size of saucers. The floor above had caved in. And now pragya was trapped under the rubble. Had she not pushed out shalini on time then instead of her, shalini would have been caught under the debris. She was shocked to the core, couldn't believe what pragya had done for her. And why did she do that?

" shalini..shalini." abhi jerked her as she stood up, still in a state of daze. He pursed his lips in irritation, why was she here, when he'd told her not to get out of the car?

" instead of being in the hospital what the hell are you doing here?" he asked through gritted teeth. But she didn't reply as though her senses had gone numb. Her eyes refused to blink, refused to leave the sight of entrapped pragya. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration, what was wrong with her?

Suddenly the thought of pragya crossed his mind, he anxiously looked around for her then jolted shalini by her shoulders and asked," where's pragya?"

Her face was expressionless and simply stared at the building that was falling apart. abhi followed her gaze, shock seized him, constricting his chest. He stormed inside the building. pragya had fallen on her stomach and her leg had caught underneath the rubble. Her knocked down head was bleeding profusely and she was crying in pain while clutching her stomach. He pushed the debris with all his strength but it didn't move even an inch. pragya's face was scrunched in pain and tears rolled down.

Shalini saw the determination on his face. It was no plain and simple concern for pragya and the baby as she always believed it to be. Neither was this mere attraction or infatuation towards the woman who was carrying his child. It was something else, something deeper that her mind was ignoring and heart refusing to acknowledge. The air was filled with smoke and dust yet at this moment her eyes were able to see everything so clearly.

He clenched his jaws, flexed his muscles and shoved with tremendous force. It moved slightly but enough for him to free his leg. He lifted her in his arms, pushed the rubble with his legs that was blocking the door and came out. pragya was slipping into unconsciousness as he rushed to the car and shalini silently followed him.

" pragya..pragya open your eyes ." He tried to keep her awake.

"don't worry I'm here..everything will be fine." He was terrified himself, knew she was in a terrible state still he was there for her and wouldn't let anything happen to her. He lay her on the back seat, her eyes were getting heavy, making it difficult for her to keep them open. He cupped her face, his own creased in worry and urged her," pragya ..stay awake ." She raised her tired lashes, hearing him call her pragya always stirred something in her heart. Unknowingly a fleeting smile crept her lips before she passed out.

" I'll sit with her." He heard shalini from behind. Shalini lifted pragya's head and placed it on her lap. Then began dabbing pragya's bleeding head with the end of her sari as abhi drove at high speed to reach the nursing home.

The pulse on his neck throbbed hard. His knuckles turned white as he gripped and changed gears. His brain was imploding. Fear and panic were consuming him.

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The doctors suggested to operate her immediately, it would be a premature delivery but they had no other option. At once she was wheeled inside the operation theatre as abhi and shalini waited out. The sight of pragya caught underneath the rubble was not leaving shalini's mind. To save her from the accident, pragya had risked her own life. If pragya wanted to take her place and enjoy this fame and wealth then why did she do this? She was carrying his baby, he loved and supported her, everything was on her side... the only hurdle in her or their path was the fact that he was married to her. But had she died in this accident then the coast would have been absolutely clear for them, they could have easily united and lived happily ever after.

Until now she saw pragya as a gold digger and opportunist however the same gold digger and opportunist had sacrificed her life to save hers. pragya had entered their world to give them a child and then leave with her money so that she could brighten her future but it didn't take her a second to give it all up.

Just a few hours back she was loathing pragya, believing her to be the biggest obstacle in her life, accusing her of being a home breaker and dying to eliminate her from her life but now she couldn't stop herself from feeling so small in her own eyes and nothing when compared to pragya.

Shalini lifted her head and saw abhi standing near a huge glass window looking out. Today he was different. He wasn't pacing up and down the corridor in frustration and worry. He wasn't blaming himself or anybody around for pragya's condition. He wasn't furious or nervous. He was quietly watching the sky turn dark and grey as though casting a dark shadow on his life. He silently watched the hustle bustle outside when his own world seemed to have stagnated. He was breathing, his heart was pounding but with every heart beat he felt he was dying. The fear of losing pragya had gripped and numbed his senses. He didn't know what to do and how to react? He hadn't felt so helpless in his entire life.

Shalini stood behind him, slowly placed her hand on his shoulder but he didn't respond. She pressed his shoulder softly and turned him around. His dark pools were brimming with tears as they met her eyes and whispered ," tell me she'll be fine." her hand resting on his shoulder slipped down on its own. For the first time she witnessed his vulnerable side hidden behind his cold exterior. For the first time she could feel his pain and understand his emotions. But sadly those feelings and emotions were not for her but for someone else. She felt acute pain rise to her heart.

He truly loved pragya!

The realization and the admission ripped her heart into pieces. She felt choked as she looked into his eyes that were seeking reassurance from her. She pressed her lips lightly and blinked her eyes that were threatening to get teary, reassuring him that pragya would be alright.

Both were in silence when the doctor came from behind and informed letting out a weak smile," congratulations ..it's a boy."

Shalini covered her opened mouth, she always wanted a boy, her eyes glittered as she looked up at abhi who's lips tugged slowly. He couldn't believe he was finally a father now. He had a baby boy! The news ironed out his creased face.

However he felt that the doctor had not completed herself, she had more to say and he feared that it was not something pleasant.

pragya had been shifted to her room but she wasn't doing well, in fact her condition was quite serious. She had suffered extreme blood loss both internally and externally. To make things worse her blood group was AB-ve, quite a rare group and the doctor feared that the nursing home might run short of it.

Abhi didn't blink his eyes as something icy cold and terrifying ran down his spine. The doctor turned towards shalini and said in disappointment," I had warned you that this pregnancy could be fatal for her..but you didn't listen ."

Shalini's head dropped in shame and her eyes scattered the floor. One of the reasons behind turning a blind eye to the growing proximity between arnav and pragya was ,that she knew all along that this pregnancy could be life threatening for pragya. No matter what happened eventually, pragya would be out of their lives either by going away with the promised sum of money or by losing her life during or after delivery.

Abhi was disgusted to the core. He couldn't imagine, someone could be so selfish and self centered. To have a new life in her hands she had the audacity to play with someone else's life and remain tight lipped about it all along? He pursed his lips and shook his head in disbelief.

" I want to see pragya." He didn't wait to seek the doctor's permission and strode towards pragya's room. The doctor opened her mouth to protest but shalini held doctor's arm and stopped her by saying, " let him go."

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Anguished abhi looked down at the woman laying in bed. She was connected to various medical machines about which he had no clue, her forehead was bandaged and her leg was in a cast. She appeared so weak and pale.

Why did she not terminate her pregnancy when he'd asked her months back? Why did she not care about her life?

He sat next to her and placed his hand against her cheek. She was cold. Why didn't she ever listen to him? Even today when he had told her not to get off the car then why did she come out? Did her life meant nothing to her, was it that worthless in her eyes?

She felt his warm touch and opened her eyes slowly. She held his hand that was cupping her face and smiled weakly at him. He didn't smile back, he was broken and tormented, seeing her in this state.

" why do you always defy me?" she took a deep breath and leaned her face slightly into his hand. He was right, she hardly ever listened to him, always did what she thought was best for him and what would ultimately bring happiness in his life. He meant the world to her and they both knew that. She lifted her lashes once again, he was still gazing at her but soon dropped his gaze and looked away when she met his eyes. She smiled inwardly, he was such a baby and looked even more adorable when attempted to show that he was upset with her.

" sahab." Unwillingly he glanced at her as she pointed towards the crib. Standing near the crib, he leaned down and picked up his, no their child wrapped up in a white sheet. The child yawned at him and his lips broke into a smile. He was so light weight, tender and delicate that abhi feared he might slip down his hands. Ever so cautiously he brought the child close to the bed and placed it next to pragya. Her eyes glistened seeing the little one, sometime ago it was moving and growing inside her and now it was finally breathing in this new world. She gently ran her finger tips over the baby's face, caressing it. She felt he resembled his father a lot, same black hair, prominent nose and had the most distinguishing feature on his face...dimples .

" you wanted a girl ?" she asked softly. She knew he desired a girl child but hoped he wasn't disappointed today. He slowly nodded his head while admiring the baby, it was true, he wanted a girl but more than that he wanted something else in their child and that was there. The gender of the child no longer mattered, all it mattered was that it was their child.

" I always wished the baby to have your eyes...naughty yet innocent ." the child had same eyes like his mother. They were innocent, full of life and yet mischievous at the same time. Without blinking his eyes abhi continued to gaze at the baby, his dream had eventually come true. He touched his cheek with the back of his fingers, his skin was so soft and tender and he immediately grabbed his father's finger in his tiny fist, brought it to his mouth and began sucking it. pragya couldn't stop smiling at father and son.

True to his eyes, the baby was quite naughty, he kept kicking the sheet it was wrapped in. abhi tried to cover him securely but every time he did it, the baby would kick the sheet even harder. He was giving out a toothless grin as though it was some game that he was playing with his father. pragya noticed how the creases on his face had ironed out and his eyes were glittering. Now how could she have deprived him off this joy?

A lone tear escaped her eye that he didn't notice. The pain and trouble in getting their child into this world was all worth it!

" listen ." She called out softly but he didn't reply. He was still annoyed with her. Like a stubborn child he was ignoring her and it tugged her heart. If he had his reasons to be upset with her then even she had her reasons to defy him. The bottom line was that they both loved each other immensely and couldn't see the other one suffer.

" you won't talk to me?" every word that came out, labored her breath.

His impending silence was killing her, it reminded her of the day when she was leaving for mahabaleshawar and he had gone all quiet. There was so much going inside him and he was doing nothing but suppressing all that. Today was no different, he was still behaving the same, curbing and stifling his emotions. She gazed at him helplessly and said," I'm going ."

He turned sharply and glared at her. He pressed his finger against her lips and retorted," shut up." She didn't realize what those words did to him, they pierced through his heart and killed him every time she said about leaving him. His eyes were blazing with hurt.

She raised her arms in the air, urging him to embrace her. There was deep longingness in her eyes that twisted his heart and the next moment he engulfed her in his arms. She slid her arms over his shoulders then wrapped them around his neck as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. He held on to her firmly and closed his eyes. The fear and anxiety that he was curbing within him came out as tears through his closed lids. He didn't want to lose her and buried himself deeper into her. She felt wetness on her neck and tightened her grip around him. She knew she was critical and might not survive. Time was running out and she wanted to hold on to him and this moment for as long as she could.

He slowly lifted his head and glanced at her, even she was crying. He held her face in his hands and wiped her tears with his thumbs. He wouldn't let her slip off his hands so easily.

" nothing can separate us." He looked into her eyes as he said those words, she was turning paler and her breathing had quickened, he pressed his lips against her bandaged forehead and rose to his feet to leave and arrange blood for her. He would do everything to save her! He turned around to leave when he felt a tug, looking down he saw the baby fisting his trousers in his fingers and pulling it.

Abhi leaned down, held the baby's hand and soundly kissed his fingers that were gripping his trousers . The clouds made a thundering noise, he looked at the dark sky out of the window and pursed his lips. Today he wouldn't let this rain wash away his happiness. He kissed the baby one more time and rushed out of the room only to pause at the entrance where shalini stood and watched all the beautiful emotions that the three of them shared. His eyes were still accusing and unforgiving. She looked away, unable to bear his abhorrence.

pragya saw shalini at the door and called out," di." Shalini was mortified because of shame as she came in and stopped at the end of the bed. An innocent person was struggling to survive because of her. She had made the biggest mistake of her life and today she was ashamed to face its consequences. pragya saw her downcast face and furrowed her brows in confusion.

" di..baby ." pragya said getting breathless. Shalini lifted her face and saw her gesturing towards the baby. Her eyes filled up and hands extended automatically to lift the baby but she halted mid hair. She felt she wasn't worthy enough to touch this pure soul. Tears rolled down her eyes. She'd spent the last nine months waiting desperately for this moment and now when it was there she couldn't bring herself to feel it. pragya could see the guilt in shalini's eyes overpowering the maternal love, she wanted to hold the baby but was stopping herself.

" hold him" she urged shalini.

With shaking hands, shalini slowly lifted the baby and then at once pressed the baby to her chest and started sobbing once again. For the first time pragya saw shalini breaking down like this and it hurt her. But she was glad that her child would get so much love from her.

" di you'll always love him, right ?" her chest heaved up and down and her eyes became heavy as she asked her. Shalini nodded through teary eyes ," hmm."

" and sahab..love him too?" shalini opened her mouth to reply but was at loss of words. pragya's love for him was selfless and pure, she wished she could love him the way pragya did, but even if she did, it wouldn't matter because he didn't love her, he loved pragya.

" di he needs you , promise me you'll take care of him?" she knew he would be devastated when she left him. She needed that assurance from shalini that she would understand, support and love him when she would not be around. pragya inhaled deeply, lifted her palm and asked shalini to promise her. Shalini couldn't lie any more, she didn't want to give her a false promise.

" promise me." Shalini saw her getting breathless, she panicked and replied," pragya don't exert yourself ..keep quiet ." But pragya was relentless, she wanted to promise her. Shalini shook her head she was terrified and said," I'll get the doctor ." Before pragya could stop her, she was out of the room like wind to fetch the doctor.

The doctor and nurses immediately covered pragya's nose and mouth with the oxygen mask and then monitored her heart rate and blood pressure. She was serious but still they hoped that she would recover, she was a fighter. After all going through such a difficult pregnancy was not child's play. The doctor advised her to be left alone, she wasn't supposed to exert herself. Shalini thought of leaving the room with the baby so that she wouldn't be disturbed but pragya patted the empty space next to her, gesturing to leave the baby with her. Shalini did so.

The room was dark and it was raining outside. pragya glanced down at her baby and stroked his face affectionately. She had done her job and now as promised it was time to leave. She wasn't sure whether abhi would ever understand and more importantly forgive her for what she was going to do.

Aasmaan tera mera hua
Khwaab ki tarah dhuaan dhuaan
Aasmaan tera mera hua
Saans ki tarah ruaan ruaan

With quivering fingers she pulled out the IV that was attached to her left hand. And then removed the oxygen mask covering her mouth. She started breathing heavily. The world was collapsing around her but she didn't care. The little time that she spent with him was beautiful like a dream. But dreams seldom came true and this one was destined to be shattered. Their story of meeting and falling in love was nothing less than a fairy tale however all fairy tales didn't have a happy ending. And now it was time to free herself from this world and let go.

Ho jaaye jahaan tu jaaye
Paaye mujhe hi paaye
Saaye ye mere hain tujh mein samaaye
she glanced down at her baby and wrapped her arm around him. She always knew that one day she would have to leave him and go away, that she would never get a chance to love him and see him grow up. But she didn't know that she would leave him like this. She snuggled close to him and wondered would he ever know who is real mother was, would he ever miss her? tears slipped through her eyes.

Perhaps she wouldn't be around him to see him, feel him and love him but she was glad that even in her absence he would still have parents who would shower immense love on him. He was her flesh and blood, a part of her would always reside inside him.

Tu jo mila toh yun hua
Ho gayi poori adhoori si duaa
Tu jo gaya, toh le gaya sang tere
Mere jeene ki har wajah
she was getting out of breath still she cuddled to the baby and thought of abhi. When she met him for the first time she was of the opinion that she would only have to spend a night with him, like she did with several men every night and then forget everything in the morning as though nothing unusual happened between them. But it didn't happen that way, the night stayed with her forever and the moments that they shared together made her feel differently. Instead of forgetting and moving away from him she was deeply attracted to him. And soon this attraction turned into love. Having someone like him in her life was an old forgotten wish that she never expected to get fulfilled. But it did.

His seed growing within her and his love residing in her heart changed her completely. They gave her life an all together different meaning. She couldn't imagine her life without him and their baby. But sadly, a life with them was also not possible. She was brave enough to move out of their lives but after doing that she had no reason and desire to live. Though she belonged to him but he belonged to someone else. She had to step aside so that he stepped ahead in his life.

The baby lying close on instincts started kicking her, hitting her with his tiny fists as though stopping her from leaving him. And when nothing seemed to work he started wailing loudly, crying his lungs out. But it was too late. Her eyes were getting heavy and her heart was beginning to collapse.

Shalini rushed to the room on hearing the baby cry. The scene before her drained the blood out of her. How did pragya's mask come out, did she remove it herself? Shalini hurriedly picked up the mask to cover pragya's nose and mouth but failed to do it on time.

" sahab." She called out while breathing her last breath!

Abhi felt as though he heard something. He gripped the steering wheel with both his hands, he had managed to arrange the blood and now all he wanted was to get back to the nursing home as soon as possible but this torrential rain was making his task difficult. The fear of losing her to these rains was stifling him. He had already lost a lot in his life and now she was the only he had, he couldn't bear to lose her.

The cell phone in his pocket started vibrating, taking it out he saw shalini's name flashing. With one hand on the wheel he took the call.

Shalini's voice shook and cracked as she said," pragya..pragya."

His eyes turned wide and the phone slipped through his hand. He could see his nightmare coming true. pragya falling off the cliff and...dying. He closed his pain stricken eyes. Various images of pragya starting with the bold one who for the first time stepped into his room with a bubble gum in his mouth, followed with the understanding one who could feel his pain, moving on to the giggling one who always managed to bring a smile on his face and ending with the one who confessed how madly and truly she loved him, flashed before his eyes in a matter of seconds and brought a slow smile on his lips.

This was his life. It started with her and ended with her!

He lost control on the car and it crashed against a huge rock. With the huge impact the door flung open and he fell out of the car. His body rolled over the road and his smashed head bled heavily. With drooping eye lids he gazed at the dark sky above as rain drops drenched him. Tonight he didn't loath the rains. They didn't succeed in taking her away from him. Instead he felt close to her.

Saiyaara main saiyaara, Saiyaara tu saiyaara
Sitaaron ke jahaan mein milenge abb yaara

With a triumphant smile on his lips he let out his last word," pragya.". Maybe they weren't meant to unite in this world. But in the other world no one could ever separate them. Their love had triumphed and now they were together...forever!

Epilogue

Two years later.

Shalini opened her cupboard to fetch a suitable sari for the ceremony she was supposed to attend. She brushed her hand through various saris that were hanging in the closet when her gaze fell on his picture kept on her folded clothes. What did he mean to her? she loved power and money. Both the things gave her immense satisfaction and pleasure. Being his wife she ruled ratnagiri and it gave her an opportunity to fulfill her ambitions but beyond that did he ever mean anything to him? She always managed to get from him space and much desired freedom to do things her way. They lived and stayed together yet they were distant. And neither of them attempted to eliminate this distance. They were a couple, it wasn't good enough to let each other be. They had to do something together to nurture this beautiful relationship but they weren't around to do it. The desire to control things and people became so strong that she began wanting to control him as well. Instead of sharing his life she wanted to run it by being his centre of attention. More than wishing to share his emotions and feelings she wanted to share his power. Instead of being his life partner, being his business partner thrilled her more. She wanted to spread her wings and fly, unaware that her hunger for power and wealth were flying her away from him. She was so deeply immersed in achieving her personal goals one of them being having his child and raising it so that he never left her because of her infertility on the contrary remained indebted to her for his life that she failed to realize that their marriage was being sacrificed in the process. While saving and securing her position in his life she was actually discarding herself from his life. He wanted this marriage to work but she took this marriage for granted. He wanted love but she loved only herself. He was a man of principles but she forced him to compromise on his principles. She was so blinded by her desires that his wishes were sidelined and slowly even he was sidelined from her life. The distance between them instead of reducing widened, so much so that he started finding happiness outside this relationship. The bond between them grew weaker as he grew closer to an outsider. Sadly the love that lacked in their marriage was found outside marriage. Still she failed to realize that they were drifting apart and life had spun out of control. Their marriage had ended! She had lost the war long since and never known it because she saw only what she wished to see and heard only what she desired to hear.

Today she had his name, fame, wealth and power. Her father was a successful politician and she had a bright political career waiting for her with open arms. The people of ratnagiri respected and worshipped her. In other words she had everything that she always craved for except for...him.

A tear trickled down her eye. She brushed it with her finger and felt someone tug the end of her sari.

" mumma." She looked down and saw his son, Aarav raising his tiny pair of hands in the air, indicating her to pick him in her arms. She smiled and lifted him as he clung around her neck after giving her a sloppy kiss. She paid a heavy price to have this life like this in her arms and now she deeply treasured him. With his coming everything changed. He stirred the emotions that she wasn't aware, ever existed in her. She wrapped her arms tightly around him. He was now her world. He moved away slightly turned his neck and pointed his finger at the picture before calling out," paa.". She glanced at his picture once again and hoped to raise the child the way he would have wanted. He became a gangster not out of will but out of circumstances and never liked soaking his hands in blood. Aarav would not grow up to become a gangster. She would keep him away from this dark world. She promised herself.

Baby Aarav took his finger in his mouth, blinked his eyes and then pointed one more time towards the picture and this time called out," maa" it was the same picture in which abhi and pragya were together. Shalini nodded her head, yes that was his mother. When he would grow up she would tell him all about his real mother and father. He deserved to know everything about his parents, for the rest of the world it didn't matter, disclosing the truth would only malign his reputation, it was more than enough for them to know that Aarav was his son and even if it did matter to them... then shalini still felt that she lacked the courage to tell them, she wasn't strong enough to face them. She sighed deeply, hugged Aarav tightly and hoped that he wouldn't hate her on knowing the truth.

She softened her eyes and gazed at pragya, how wrong was she in understanding her. pragya was so different from her, in fact they were poles apart. pragya was large hearted, full of life and a giver. Her happiness lied in the happiness of others. She rarely thought about herself, it was always the baby that she was carrying inside her and the joy that she would eventually give to him and her that was important to her. So much so that not even once did she complain about going through a complicated pregnancy and risking her life for others. For a long time shalini believed that she was doing all this for money but that was hardly the case. During the course of time, the so called deal lost its meaning and giving birth to Aarav at any cost became her priority. She had made a commitment to shalini and she fulfilled it by not caring about her own life.

She was a beautiful and selfless soul who cared not only about the people around her but also thought of the people of ratnagiri who were absolute strangers to her. Like him she too wanted to see ratnagiri progress and its people living a better life. No wonder she suggested him of building a high school for the children of ratnagiri instead of that shopping complex. She weighed life not in terms of money.

The bomb blasts had destroyed the shopping complex building. Instead of rebuilding it, shalini thought of constructing a high school on that piece of land, something that pragya had wanted. Today shalini was fulfilling her wish. She smiled while looking at Aarav, he would inaugurate the building with his cute little hands.

pragya had everything that abhi was looking for in his life partner, therefore it wasn't hard for him to fall for her. She deserved him and his love. They were made for each other and meant to be together. Their love was unconventional, something the society would probably never understand and accept but that didn't deter them from giving their hearts away. The feelings that they harbored for each other only grew stronger with time. If they wished they could have deified social norms and united but that wasn't love for them. Being in love was for more important.

For them love was a moment in time that brought them together and lasted forever. Their love was so deep and sacred that even destiny couldn't separate them.

True love doesn't have a happy ending...True love doesn't have an ending.

Thanks for reading

Rose