Matters of the heart
âWhy are you sick?â he growled
âUmm.. I donât have an answer actuallyâ she said hoarsely
He got up to get her the tray
âI drink water and I throw up if I coughâ she whispered
âYour throat is really badâ he said angrily
âI know⊠I get colds then cough lasts me monthsâ she laughed weakly and began to cough
âDid you go to the Doctor?â he was not happy
âItâs a FLU⊠I donât want to be pumped up with antibioticsâ âFlu is viral nahi?â
âYou are sick the Doc comes to you or you goâ he was possessive and angry all at the same time
She lowered her gaze self consciously
She got more than enough love at home, and from Bua and Chachu and mamas but this guy was HOT!!
Naina passed by the open door with an affected uncaring body language
It all came back to Viveka
She looked up at him, he realized it too at that moment
âIt was hurtful Raanav. She is my sisterâ she spoke directly
She was whispering because of her throat so no risk of anyone hearing it
He sat down with a bent head
âI am speechless you came to check on me, but there is no way your indifference or hatred for Naina will go unnoticedâ she said
And coughed
âWhat do you want me to sayâ
âAnything thatâs genuine RaanavâŠ. I wont measure your love for your mother, she has never treated my parents right, I suspended reality to accept your proposalâ she was driven to tears
Articulating it herself she realized what a colossal mistake that was
He looked at her in shock
âShe behaved like inconsequential and insignificant when I met her that other dayâŠâ she said softly
âThe fact that I want to marry you does not have anything to do with Momâ he said as if thatâs all there was to it
âTum itne utaavle ho ki main tumhari Ma se miloon lekin tumne ek second nahi socha before saying âI donât want to meet Nainaâ
She turned toward the window as hot tears flowed in thick rivulets
He walked over and shut the door
She cried softly
âWe are like twins, only 19 months apart⊠even the mere mention that you donât want to talk to her hurts meâ
He didnât know how to respond, âstick to the facts and avoid opinions or conclusions upon cross examinationâ came to mind
He was an attorney, she had no idea how lawyers reacted to tears in the podium
âYou can assume what you want about her, but it IS afact that Inder misled her and dumped herâ
âYou donât know thatâ he was quick to defend his cousin
âShe showed me textsâ Viveka said leaning back
âIts basically he said she said Vievkaâ
âExactlyâŠ. Your strong feelings of hate for her need to be toned down. She has not hurt a fly. It bothers me you detest her so muchâ
She pushed her glasses up and wiped angry tears
âThey both knew the score right?â he asked
She nodded
âThey are adults?â
She nodded tentativelyâŠ
Unwittingly he was deploying the witness control tactics by asking the most agreeable questions first
âthis is my sisterâs life Raanav. Any amount of defence you offer for your hate or for Inderâs actions is not going to make me start looking at that event kindly
âI am not Inderâs keeper Vivekaâ
âNo I am sorry if I implied that⊠but if I am going to make an attempt to get along with your Mom, I expect the same from you for Nainaâ she spoke clearly
Her head was pounding as her fever was returning, and the stress of confronting him was affecting her emotionally
âMy mother will support the choice I makeâ he spoke in hypotheticals
âWe donât know that, yet you use it to encourage me to make peace with her. I am not even asking respect and thoughtfulness from her for my parentsâ
âUmmâ
âThis whole thing is so complicatedâ she pulled up her knees and held her head shutting her eyes
There was a knock on the door
Anu was shocked to see Vivekaâs red puffy face and teary eyes
âAre you guys ready to leave, I can goâ Raanav offered politely indicating he didnât want to be canoodling with the Mathur daughter when no one was home
âWill you have chai?â Anu asked
âUmm.. no thank youâ
âBeta? Is your head hurting?â
âHmm.. a little bitâ she nodded leaning back
âshe has a feverâ he said quietly
âAaj bas 3rd day hai, it has to run its full courseâ Anu sat down worried
âMaybe she can go to the doctor?â
âYeah we have an appointment for 8 AM tomorrowâ
âI am fine Ma, aap log jaoâ
âNaina ko kahoon ruk jaayegi? Papa aa jaayenge 10 baje taq?, Dadu bhi mana kar rahe hai, pair dukh raha haiâ
Viveka watched Raanavâs expression carefully, and her heart broke to a million pieces
âNo MaâŠ. Main theek hoonâ she nodded
âdadu hain⊠phone karo betaâ
Ma walked around and gave her a tight hugâ
âAre you sure nothing to drink for you?â
âUmm.. noâ Thanksâ he smiled
âHamare ghar ki pehli shaadi hai, Harshu kiâ Anu mumbled
âAre you not going?â Viveka asked Raanav
âUmm.. noâ he said
âIf you stay or can stay for a bit?â Anu smiled
âUmm.. sureâ he nodded
Akash walked up to shake hands with him
âFridge mein khaana hai aapko khud garam karna padegaâ
âdadu ka khaana Papa?â Viveka whispered hoarsely
He gestured her to stop with his hand âBilqul chinta nahi beta, Ma ne khichri laga di, who khud band kar lengeâ
âAre you sure?â
âAap bas rest karoâ he walked over and hugged her too
âWill you bring mithai for me?â she smiled
âbeta har mithai pack karke laayengeâ he choked up hugging her
âshe is my lifeâ âsamjhe na betaâ Akash gushed to Raanav emotionally âagar YEH chup chaap padi rehti hai to hamara mann nahi lag paata, kya karen sister hai Savi bua, akeli beti hai ghar kiâ Akash went off explaining the emotional issues
Raanav stared dumbfounded
âYeh mere bagair khaana bhi nahi khaati thi, until she came to 10th, phir Board ke liye padhna hota tha to Anu isko daatkar khila deti thiâ
Viveka laughed inaudibly âUffffâ she shook her head âYou donât have to tell him everything Papahâ she whispered
Well the men did not hear her
âIsko ghar ka koi plane se jaaye to tension, jagi rahegi raat raat bhar, jab taq pahunchkar call na aa jaayeâ he laughed
âWow!â Raanav whispered
He wanted that concern, he wanted her to stay up for him. He wanted all that to be said and done for him selfishly
âshe is preciousâ Akash waved a finger ominously âPehli hai aur meri sabse favorite hai bhaiâ he returned and kissed her forehead and walked off waving to Raanav
They all left except Dadu who watched TV in the twinsâ room
âIf I ever want to be a politician he can be my publicistâ she blushed waving at her Papa
Naina peeked and mumbled without looking at Raanav
âI can stay if you wantâ
âNo Naina⊠thank uâ Vivekaâs eyes filled up with tears at the unexpected offer
Maybe the 3 days of fever was melting Nainaâs heart? Wow! That was out of the blue!!
Why?
âAre u sure?â Naina insisted
âHave fun Nainaâ Viveka nodded
âI would say you too⊠but considering the company, its probably not a great ideaâ she took a pot shot at Raanav and took off âMwahâ
Raanav looked shocked, she had caught him off guard
Viveka looked at him calmly
âDoes she lash out at people irrespective of the connection to the perpetrator?â he asked grimly
âYou are connected to Inder⊠câmonâ Viveka whispered through clogged voice chords
âYou agree then?â he asked silkily not liking Vivekaâs support for Naina
âShe is hurting Raanavâ
âNo matter how ridiculous her expectation was?â he leaned on the wall and questioned her, his tone implying Naina plotted the Inder affair clinically.
Viveka was brilliant how could she not understand that tone? Basically echoing his mothers perception that all middle class girls preyed on wealthy men
Naina's fatal sin was to impulsively ask Kalyani to call her âBhabhiâ. Viveka always chose her words carefully, Naina never did
And she paid the price for it
âYou donât get matters of heart do you?!!!?â she spoke haltingly, staring at his eyes, like she just had a light bulb moment. It struck her like a freight train âNot everything is about moneyâ
She lowered her head, cringing as she visualized Inderâs face when Naina might have gushed, that poor innocent face crushed when Inder might have told her off
Naina was not greedy or selfish, she was a fool but was not a calculating b----
âPoor Naina!â she whispered
He let himself out
Edited by Nisha0604 - 3 years ago
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