Chapter 21
The Past meets The Present!
"Dadi, she needs our help. She needs a house. I think we should get her here." Pragya was the first to break the silence as everyone continued looking at her like she had grown horns. Seeing the reaction, she knew she had a long battle to fight before she would get her way.
"Di do you even know what you are talking about? Have you gone crazy?" Bulbul asked, shocked.
"Exactly Pragya. You don't know how venomous that woman is. She has the ability to ruin this family, ruin your relation with Abhi. You are only inviting trouble." Dadi was apprehensive too.
"Yeah Di, they're right. She is not the kind of person you would want in this house. Its not a good idea, believe me." Purab added in.
"For all that matters, she and Nikhil might just be playing around. Bhai is back in business and he is popular again. Who knows maybe it's a plot to trap bhai again, to get back to him for his money? I don't trust that woman Bhabhi. She's the most selfish person I have come across. Moreover, why now? When bhai is at the heights of his success? I don't support you here Bhabhi. It's inviting trouble." Aaliya vented out while the others nodded in agreement.
"And Jiju, what were you thinking? Di is like that, she can't turn away from anyone that needs help, she's too sweet, she'd do it for her enemies too, but you know Tanu. You know what she's like. How could you agree with Di's idea? That wasn't expected off you Jiju!" Bulbul added.
"That's right Abhi. Why would you even want that woman around you and Pragya? She cannot be trusted Abhi. I don't want to lose you or Pragya again. Have some consideration for this old woman. Haven't I had enough separation from my kids?" Dadi sobbed.
Pragya immediately got off her seat and hugged Dadi. Abhi held dadi from the other side and looked at Pragya.
"Dadi, believe me, I was not in favor of this either, but Pragya convinced me that she wouldn't let Tanu harm the family. Listen to her once." Abhi pleaded.
"Bhai, you have lost it! I can't believe this!" Aaliya banged her hand on the table, frustrated.
"Aaliya, calm down. You don't have to talk to him like that, he's your older brother." Pragya scowled.
"Sorry Bhai, but the thought of that woman in our house, with our family again makes me go crazy. I can't do this Bhabhi. I can't bear the sight of her." Aaliya sighed.
"You don't have to Al. When I said we need to get her here, I meant get here to India. There is no way I would let her live here, in this house, knowing how uncomfortable it would be for you dadi and Abhi. But I couldn't overlook the fact that she needs help." Pragya explained.
"What do you plan to do then Di?" Purab asked.
"So like I said, she won't step foot into our house. Though she is unwell, I don't trust her fully either. All I want to do is help her if she is genuinely in need. Besides, there is no way I would let anyone take my family away from me. " Pragya explained as everyone still looked apprehensive.
"I have spoken to Nikhil. According to the doctors, she is still in shock after the accident, so we can't tell her the truth right now, but we can once she comes out of her shock and for her to be out of the shock, she needs help. We still have the apartment that Abhi and Tanu lived in. We could take her there. I and Abhi could move in with her, so that I am close to him and we can come out of this situation as soon as possible."
"Dadi, haven't you always taught us to help everyone in need, even if that person is of no importance to you. Then dadi, how can we turn away from her when she genuinely needs help?" Pragya pleaded.
"Di she could be totally faking it with Nikhil. You never know." Bulbul tried once more.
"Manu, you have to trust me on this, okay! I won't let her do any harm to us. If she is faking this, believe me, I won't let her get away with it." Pragya assured her.
"Bhabhi, believe me, I will kill her if something goes wrong!" Aaliya said, hugging Pragya.
"So does that mean I can do this?" Pragya looked around the room as she got small nods from everyone. "Yay! Thank you all. I wouldn't be able to do it without your support."
"And who will you tell you are? She is bound to ask you that?" Purab asked.
"Yeah Pragya? You're going to be staying there. Who do we say you are?" Abhi asked too.
"I'm going to be what I actually am." Pragya shrugged.
"You're going there as Pragya Mehra? Abhi's wife?" Purab asked, his face mirroring the confusion in everyone else's.
"You guys forget that before being his wife, I am his best friend. I'll be Pragya, his best friend who has come to visit him from US." Pragya shrugged as everyone chuckled.
"Okay, now that everything is sorted, can we have breakfast? I'm starving!" Abhi sulked, making everyone laugh.
Later that night, Abhi walked into his room to see Pragya sitting on the bed, lost in thoughts.
"Hey, what's up! Where are you lost?" Abhi asked, sitting down besides her and pulling her into his arms. Pragya just looked at him and hid her face in the crook of his neck, holding him tight.
"Prags, what's wrong? What is bothering you?" He asked caressing her face.
"Nothing. Just promise me you and I will be like this all through our lives Abhi. I love you so much." She looked up at him, batting her eyelids. He smiled at her, pulling her closer to himself. She could feel the calm in her veins as his soft lips touched hers. Sliding her hands over his head, she brought him closer, kissing him back with all the love she had for him.
"Pragya, you don't have to do this. We don't owe her anything." Abhi whispered to her as they sat cuddled on their bed, sometime later.
"I know Abhi. But we need to do this for humanity sake. I don't want to spend the rest of my life thinking I didn't reach out to someone who needed my help when I could have. I can't live with regret Abhi. Please." She replied kissing him on the corner of his mouth.
"Okay then. Nikhil is making arrangements to get her to India. She will be here in two days. I will have the apartment ready. Till then, wifey, I am spending every minute of my time with you. Who knows how long I will have to wait to have you to myself after that!" Abhi pouted, making her laugh. She snuggled further into his hold as he nuzzled her neck.
"Abhi, I'm gonna miss this room baby." Pragya whined as they packed up to shift. Tanu was to land later that night, but Abhi and Pragya had decided to move in earlier and make sure everything was in place.
"Me too, Prags. Me too. But you know what, let's get this over with! And then, it's you and me for the rest of our lives." Abhi said as he took her in a loving embrace. They quickly broke their hug as they heard dadi and aaliya clearing their throats, making them chuckle.
"I hope all of this gets over soon and you two come back to me. May god bless you! And you two, take good care of each other okay?" dadi said cupping their face. They nodded their heads and quickly hugged her.
"Bhai.. Bhabhi.. I'm going to miss you so much!" Aaliya sighed.
"Come on Al! We're in the same city. It's not like we are going far away. We can meet whenever we want to right!" Abhi hugged his sister.
"That's right Alu. We are right here. And we always have the phone right?" Pragya said caressing her hair.
"It's still not the same Bhabhi! Anyway, I'm sure all this will be over soon? It will, wont it Bhabhi?" she wiped her tears.
"It will be over before you even know it. I promise!" Pragya smiled.
Pragya paced the hall of the apartment as she waited for Abhi to come back with Tanu from the airport. She had never been so nervous about anything. Though she had assured everyone that she wouldn't let anything go wrong, she was scared. She didn't know Tanu or how she would react. She didn't know how she would feel seeing Tanu and Abhi together. She didn't know how she would come out of the situation. The only relief she had was knowing how much Abhi loved her and that he was hers.
The doorbell rang, bringing her out of her reverie. She took a deep breath and opened the door to see Abhi standing there with a small frail girl in his arms, who looked back at her, exhausted. She felt a pang in her heart as she saw Tanu holding on to Abhi's hand possessively. She looked up towards his face as he blinked in reassurance. She quickly moved aside making way for them to come in. Abhi got Tanu in and, making her sit on the couch, Nikhil following them with her luggage. Pragya raised her eyes at Abhi asking if that was him while he gave her a slight nod.
"Tanu, this is Pragya, my friend I told you about. Pragya, this is Tanu." Abhi introduced.
"His wife!" Tanu added, making Abhi and Nikhil cringe and Pragya swallow a lump in her throat. "This is going to be a tough job!" Pragya thought to herself as she masked her disappointment with a smile.
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Okay folks! That's from my end for now. I'm not exactly very satisfied with this one and I bet you guys don't want Abhi and Tanu together right now, but I promise it ends very soon!
Till then, Take care
PRIYA
For those interested in PM's kindly buddy me on Iyeristic_PM
Edited by BeingIyeristic - 8 years ago
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