Mess - A Samrat-Pakhi SS [Part 8 - Page 18] - Page 14

Virat is as confused a soul as Pakhi. It’s one of the things I really dislike about him. 

Thank you for reading and commenting!

Very nice....

Finally Pakhi took up courage and cleared everything between her and Virat and told him to move on from her.....

Samrat is very mysterious......I gave a doubt that he heard Pakhi-Virat conversation.....

Eager to read further....please give next update soon.....

Hi there, thank you for reading leaving your encouraging comment!

Hello friends!

I know this update way delayed again. This was another hard one to write. But hopefully the update makes up for the lost time time. Thanks once again for everyone who reads and leaves me their thoughts.

Part 8

2 days had passed since Samrat’s midnight visit, and Pakhi was miserable as ever. 

She wasn’t one to remain silent and certainly wasn’t one to keep things on her chest. She liked to talk things out, clear the air, and understand where she stood with people. This lack of clarity between she and Samrat was causing her all kinds of grief. 

She could do nothing but think of him.

She didn’t know why it was so important for him to know that she didn’t mean to hurt him and didn’t intend for him to find out. She couldn’t understand why she needed to push away this wall standing between them. 

She had to keep reminding herself to not personalize anything. Maybe he really was in a rush? Maybe he really had to leave and didn’t have time to talk? She had already made a fool of herself by personalizing being bugged and traced. 

It was strange for Pakhi to think of herself and Samrat being tied together in any way. That if his integrity was in question then the army would need to keep tabs on her. It was preposterous to her, but in the worlds eyes she was his wife, his life partner. It made sense that if he was mistrusted, then she would come under suspicion as well. It also seemed preposterous to Pakhi that Samrat might be a traitor. She felt that she knew so much about him now, she knew him better than she knew most people. 

Samrat. 

Samrat. 

Samrat.

Why won’t you leave me alone? Why can’t I get you out of my head? Why are you doing this to me?

Pakhi had been pacing the room, but sat on the couch in a huff. She was going crazy. She wasn’t sleeping, wasn’t eating, she was hangry and irritable. 

Her eyes fell on her phone sitting innocently on the coffee table. 

After her return from Tirupati, she knew that if she texted Samrat he would see her messages, hence she had been hesitant to do so. However now, she just needed a way to reach him. 

Before she could overthink her decision she typed out a message to Samrat. Jeeva and Lekha have a misunderstanding. They need talk and clear it up.

Pakhi took a breath. SEND

--

Pakhi exited onto the terrace and spotted Sai and Karishma giggling about something. Karishma spotted her and the smile immediately wiped from her face, which made Pakhi freeze. 

While things were warming up between she and her sisters-in-law, it seemed that Karishma did not trust her yet. She wondered if it came from living with Badi Mami and being the target of her ire for a year, or if it came from Pakhi’s previous interactions with the younger girl. 

She tuned to exit the terrace but was stopped by Sai calling out to her. “Arrey Pakhi Didi, aren’t you going to join us? See what Karishma just showed me.” Pakhi turned back and saw Sai holding out a phone. 

She mustered a smile and sat on the chair beside Sai. 

After some tense moments, the awkwardness suddenly melted away and all three were laughing away. 

--

5 days had passed since Samrat’s midnight visit. Pakhi was laying awake and staring up at the ceiling fan. 

Sometimes she felt very disconnected from her life. She felt that she was an observer watching a TV show. This woman in the show was a wife and daughter-in-law. She wore sarees, nuptial items such as a mangalsutra, sindoor, and green bangles, and she spent her day taking care of house and family. It didn’t actually feel like her life. 

It felt like yesterday that she was a different person. She lived in a different house with different people… her parents. She lived, spoke, and ate how she liked. 

Her Aai had once explained to her that your life partner is like your anchor. When you feel like you are just drifting through life, or facing a raging storm, your life partner holds you in place and keeps you grounded. Sometimes they are the only thing that make sense in a senseless world.

Pakhi was starting to realize that she was afloat without an anchor. She was facing the hurdles of life without anyone to ground her. She had let go of Virat, who she had seen as an anchor, and had no relation to Samrat, who was meant to be an anchor. 

She was feeling a kind of existential dread today that she couldn’t explain. Her life had begun to feel like a mockery. It felt like she was playacting, but everything was real. 

She sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. How long would she manage to live like this before she went entirely insane?

--

After thinking and agonizing all night, Pakhi couldn’t help but type another message.

A lot of time has passed and a lot of things have changed. It’s important for Jeeva to know what has changed.

SEND

--

Pakhi sat with Sai and Karishma on the terrace. This had become a daily ritual for the three women. She truly enjoyed this time and she was starting to feel genuinely happy when spending time with her sisters-in-law. 

Sometimes they were joined by Mohit and Virat as well. 

Pakhi had stopped feeling that pain in her insides when she watched interactions between Sai and Virat. While it wasn’t enjoyable to watch their tender touches or sweet gestures, she didn’t burn in jealously and give herself a headache and a foul mood. 

This is partly what helped Karishma overcome her distrust of Pakhi. Initially she knew that Karishma was testing her. She would mention Virat deliberately and look for a reaction from Pakhi. Over time, Karishma’s true gentle nature started to emerge and she started to drop the mask she wore often to brave interaction with the family elders. 

Today, she, Karishma, and Sai were talking about childhood dreams. Sai spoke about her determination of practising medicine from a young age. Karishma spoke of interest in interior design and architecture. 

When the question was posed to her, Pakhi took a pause. To be truthful, when she had been asked this question when she was younger, she would simply hug her Baba and say, “Nothing. Im just going to sit at home.” Most would chuckle and call her a princess. Before her marriage she had been responsible for her Baba’s accounts. She had never given accounting or finance any thought, but she had been surprisingly good with numbers in school (considering her Aai and Baba were both hopeless with math) and had gone on to pursue a degree in finance.  

When Pakhi shared this information with the younger girls, she was the recipient of their interested gazes. “Would you still like to work?”

Pakhi shrugged. “It doesn’t matter now, even if I did want to work.”

Sai frowned. “Kyun? If I can get permission to attend school and work, then why can’t you?”

Pakhi wasn’t sure how to word things delicately to Sai. Sai tended to see every small thing as a point of battle, while in her eyes some fights were not worth fighting. “When the Chavans asked for my hand, expectations of me were made very clear to me and my parents Sai.”

Sai’s frown deepened. “So what? You’ll spend your entire life as a homemaker, whether you want to be one or not?” Pakhi smiled in response, “I didn’t say I minded being a homemaker.”

“But you also didn’t say that you didn’t wan to work.” Sai countered. 

“You know bhabhi,” Karishma interjected, “Baba and Ninad Kaka were talking the other day of finding someone to manage the books of their business. If you asked them, I’m sure they wouldn’t turn you down.” There was a bitter note at the end of Karishma’s sentence. Pakhi understood that she received complete acceptance from the very family that Sai and Karishma fought uphill battles to be accepted in. It likely left bitter tastes in their mouths and she didn’t blame them. 

Pakhi knew that her sisters-in-law didn’t understand her position in the house the same way that she did. Her Aai and Baba’s reputation seemed on the line, as well as Samrat’s Aai’s need for her to be quiet and compliant. There was also the matter of Samrat and her relationship which was… complicated at best. No, asking to work would stir the pot too much. 

So Pakhi stated that she would think about it, and moved the conversation elsewhere. 

--

It was another morning after another sleepless night. Pakhi subtly rubbed her eyes as she sat having tea with the family. 

Something about the day felt off. Since the previous night Pakhi had a feeling that something was going to happen and she wasn’t able to shake it. She had hoped that the feeling would go away in the morning, but there was no such luck. Instead it seemed to intensify. 

Today was one of the rare mornings where Badi Mami had kept her comments to herself, so the entire family was sitting together in peace. Pakhi cherished these moments. 

The doorbell disturbed the quiet conversations happening around the room. A servant answered the door and revealed a man in an army uniform on the doorstep. “I have a telegram for Mansi Salunkhe.” He announced. 

Aai looked terrified as she met Pakhi’s gaze. Pakhi stood with Aai and walked with her to the front door. 

Aai took the telegram from from the soldier. The family collectively held their breath as Aai read the telegram. She took a few moments to process the words and then read out loud. “Major Salunkhe location confirmed. STOP. Will contact soon. STOP.” 

A cheer went around the room at the news. The whole family stood excitedly and rushed to Aai to see the telegram for themselves. 

Instead of celebrating however, Pakhi was looking at the soldier who had brought the telegram. He was disguised again, but there was no mistaking who it was. How had no one else recognized him?

‘Samrat,” she whispered. 

Thoughts?

-Ally

Superb......loved the update and lot.....

Pakhi trying to adjust herself to the new developments and decisions.....

Loved the bonding between Sai, pakhi and karishma....I always wanted to see Sai and pakhi bonding......and may be in future pakhi may help Sai and Virat to settle their issues......

Eagerly waiting for next update....please give soon....

Loved to see Paakhi bonding with her co sisters, she deserves this sort of loving, warm environment while she deals with the new turn has life has taken! Also Virat should just call her Vahini now 😆 All 5 of them together, spending time on the terrace together sounds so wonderful ❤️❤️

Just want Samrat and Pakhi to sort all their issues out and decide to actually give their relationship a chance (even if it is just secretly texting each other because Samrat still cannot come home which I think would be so sweet and romantic )  Also love how Pakhi is apparently the only one who can recognise Samrat regardless of any disguise he may use 🤣

I can't believe that you left us at this point 😭 Please update sooooon!!!

Yay!!!!! Samrat is back 🥳🥳

Pakhi and her persistent efforts to make amends with samrat is nice..... He should give her a tough time... 🙈🙈🙈 But also they need to get closure and move ahead in life.....

Pakhi had no specific professional ambition in life... That is ok... There are ppl (like me) who have. No idea how to be useful ..... But can rise to the occasion....

Karishma and sai do need to fight even for basic in the house and things are super easy for Pakhi without efforts or decent reason..... So things are unfair that way.....

So the first reaction of sai will always be ready for fight.... And karishma will usually not come on the forefront..... 

It's nice that the younger ones are jelling up and making a better and peaceful and bonded tomorrow....

Samrat needs to come back home and everything is gonna change for the better.... 

Continue soon!!!

Happy writing!!!❤️❤️

The ending was awesome 

Amazing update.... loved it💌

Sam is back

Looks like her efforts payed off 

How is he going bro react to all this ? Will he be able to leave it behind and move on 

With pp maybe it will be easier ..but what about Virat role ? Will he think it as betrayal of trust?