Changing Equations
"Leave my hand, Mr. Shergill. Just leave it." She jerked his hand that was holding her elbow, unknowingly giving him a push that unbalanced him and had him stumble on his steps. "You want me to stay away from you, don't you? To ye concern, itni fiqr... kyu? Koi zaroorat nahi hai."
"Tumhe zaroorat ho na ho, mujhe hai." Curling his fingers around her uninjured arm, he pushed her lightly on the bed, making her sit there as he began inspecting the cut on her arm. "The dagger has hurt your old wound. The cut is deeper. I think we should go to the doctor. This needs professional cleaning and dressing."
"I'll see to it myself." She got the hold of his hand and took it off hers.
"I refuse to allow you to. You are completely incapable of taking care of yourself, Mrs. Shergill." Going by her indifferent shrug, he was sure that she wasn't going to give in, not after the kind of argument they had, and certainly not after all that he said to her. "Challenge ka udhar yaad hai na? This is what I am asking for. Come with me to the hospital."
She narrowed her eyes at him. He had been chanting challenge ka udhar since a while and this is what he is asking for? This man was beyond her understanding.
*
Many thanks. On their way back to home after getting her wound dressed from his family doctor, he was enraptured for their challenge that he did not even remember was what, happened for he could put it to use for getting her to the hospital.
He had purposely taken the long route to home that he felt she didn't even realize. If she had, then he would have been met with her never ending questions by then, he had no answers of. Neither she spoke a word to him nor he initiated a conversation.
She kept her gaze out of the window, and he shifted his, alternatively from the road to her and from her to road.
"Does it hurt?" He had been meaning to ask her ever since she sat in the car with him to get to the hospital but their recent confrontation that led to the heated argument did not let him do it comfortably earlier. He had grown restless with time and he couldn't hold himself back after a point.
His grip on the steering tightened on being greeted with her silence in response. The woman just wouldn't speak. Damn. "Mrs. Shergill. I am asking something." Despite the frustration that was rising within him, he went out of his way not to let it get heard in his voice. She must be in pain, was the reason he provided to himself.
"How does that matter to you?" She tilted her head at him. Her blank face and flat voice gave her inner hurt away.
He gave a halt to his car, stopping it on the quiet, otherwise busy road. "It does matter to me because it would have been my Mom in your place, hurt, had you not chosen to take it upon yourself. So it does matter to me, Mrs. Shergill and that is why, I take it upon myself to look after this wound."
"Oh, so you think this is my favour on you?" She was in come on, let's talk mode. He had unnecessarily fought with her, making baseless assumptions. Okay, it did have some base but yet, not enough to make as rough and unfiltered remarks as he did, that too in front of her brother. "Listen, Mr. Shergill, what I did for Mahima Ma'am was out of my will and in future, if needed, I'll do the same. Kindly don't take it upon yourself for I did it neither for nor because of you. Spare that from your favour and return policy, please. "
"Alright, that's enough." Pulling off his seat belt, he shifted on his seat, angling himself towards her. "I am sorry."
Her heartbeats quickened. She gave him an unblinking stare in response to his apology that she did not know was for what but still, hearing him seeking her forgiveness stirred something in her heart.
Bowing down his head slightly, he whispered, "I am sorry," surprising her again. It was on his mind since the moment his gaze spotted her wet lashes with unshed tears when she was leaving the room. Pondering over everything, his allegations, her retorts, the realization had dawned upon him that he did go overboard. What was she doing? Spending time with her brother that equalled her family? So what if they chose to do that in a store room? He doesn't get to question her about the same. He himself did not know what came over him that invoked such a strong reaction from him. "I admit, I shouldn't have said all that. It's just... I am not really fond of liars. Lies enrage me but I accept that I should have behaved in front of your brother. It is wrong on my part to expect you to share every little thing that you do just because we are married and to put it correctly, I don't really expect that. I think, here, I am at fault, so, I am sorry."
She was left dazzled with the sincerity and earnestness his words held. Thrice! He said sorry to her, thrice. The man who would do anything but apologize just apologized to her, not once, not twice but three whole times. She was deeply moved with his genuine and heartfelt confession.
"I am sorry as well, Mr. Shergill. Even I overreacted. I could have kept calm and avoided the entire argument but, I couldn't. You said something, I said something and we both just went on." She let out the breath she was holding, relaxing after the long they spent in dealing with inner conflicts. Her lips slowly began curling in a smile reflecting how truly her heart was at peace after having things cleared between him and her. "Mr. Shergill, I will not deny that I haven't kept certain things to myself and I can not enlighten you about them, not at least right now. The only thing I can assure you of is, neither my reasons nor my intentions are malicious."
He was listening to her intently without interrupting in between. He meekly nodded, acknowledging all that she said. His mind immediately wandered back to the day when she had accidentally ran into his arms. Innocence in her eyes, that very day, had stolen a tiny part of his heart. It didn't matter all that happened between them, a part of him always believed that she could do anything but wrong anyone.
Though she became a fierce angry bird when it came to him, but she had her most gentle and affectionate side reserved for his family. Not once, she had taken it an offence and retorted back at the times his mother lashed out at her.
She did trick him into marrying her, had an audacity to turn him down whenever he demanded her explanations for the same, but wasn't that his desire that he had locked in the deepest corner of his heart though he was never going to give her the satisfaction of knowing it?
She snapped her fingers in front of him, calling aloud his name to break his trance, halting the thoughts he was lost in. For a change, just for a change, he decided to shush his intelligent brain and follow his heart that he was sure was stupid but he anyway chose to go with the same, making a decision to trust her.
"Will I ever get to know why you married me instead of Shikhar?" The issue of trust was forgotten but he couldn't refrain from asking if he would ever be enlightened about the huge marriage fiasco.
"I was never going to marry Shikhar," she mumbled to herself, making sure it stayed inaudible to him.
He looked at her closely with his eyebrows knit together. "Repeat what you said."
She shrugged it with a small laugh. "Nothing, I just said yes... someday."
Despite not being convinced, he let it go for absolutely not beinh up for spoiling the light mood after a tormenting while of emotional disturbance.
"Mr. Shergill."
"Hmm?" He replied almost instantly to her call.
She extended her hand towards him. "I want to put in efforts to make this marriage work. Can we start as friends?"
First PA, then wife and now friend? What a sequence! He wondered what more was in store but for then, friendship did not sound a bad option. He was anyway lacking friends because of being socially awkward. He gave his hand in hers, moving his head upside down in agreement.
She beamed, releasing his hand. Who thought she would be befriending bedil Shergill someday? Life is sure weird, she accepted that day.
Her smile broadened as she saw a soft, warm smile gracing his face while driving back to their home. Mr. Shergill had an adorable smile, she witnessed, accepted and cheered up on the same.
*
Alright, I had posted this yesterday in the ficlet thread because I foolishly forgot that I cannot the update the title and people wouldn't even know if I have updated. This anyway got a little long to be a ficlet so posting this separately. I will refrain from posting stuff in one thread till IF issue gets resolved.
And yes, not to forget, the next part of 'A Promise To Keep' is up. The title updation thing is restricting me from letting the readers know. Sigh
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Shiv Shakti
