Part 19
Prachi walks into Mishra Mansion, hoping to find Milind there. She had tried calling him all this while and he didn't pick up the phone, and she had this premonition that something really bad is going to happen. Then she saw Milind and she knew that she was right. He was looking at her with regret, guilt and pain. Prachi didn't even know why but she wanted to cry.
"PRACHI!!" Ayesha excitedly screamed her name. Prachi slowly looked at her and Ayesha came running towards her.
"Guess what? Milind and I are getting married." Ayesha said excitedly while Prachi gaped at her in shock then she slowly looked at Milind and he looks at her sadly.
"Shocked, aren't you?" Ayesha asked excitedly.
Prachi slowly looks at her and tried to hold back her tears. She couldn't think, talk or move. She couldn't even move her lips to form a smile. Ayesha was too excited to see the paleness on Prachi's face. She excitedly hugged Prachi.
"I am so happy today, Prachi."
Prachi looks at Milind and he looks away. Her eyes started filling with tears over his rejection and she closed her eyes tightly as she hugged Ayesha back.
"Now, we will not only be best friends, but also sisters." Ayesha said excitedly while all Prachi could say was "Hmmm"
Ayesha released Prachi from her bear hug and looks at Prachi and sees her eyes filled with tears.
"Why are you crying?" Ayesha asked her concerned and confused. "Is everything alrite?"
"It's tears of joy." Neev said suddenly as he walked towards Prachi and pulled her close to him. "Right?" he looks at Prachi with a smile. Prachi nods her head though she still couldn't smile.
"How cute!" Ayesha says with a smile and she turns back to see Milind going to his room. "MILIND!" she calls out to him. Milind immediately stops and looks at her.
"Where are you going? Come here."
"No, Ayesha I have some work."
"Do that later. Didn't you see Prachi?" she asked. "Come here, Milind." Ayesha said making cute faces. Milind sighs and walks towards them.
Prachi watches Milind walking towards them, and she keeps watching, hoping that he would come to her and tell her it was all a joke, but then he stops next to Ayesha and stands with Ayesha breaking her heart all over again.
Prachi dug her nails into her palms when she saw Ayesha wrap her hands around his arms dreamily.
"I have to go." Prachi suddenly declared. And she turns to leave when Ayesha held her hand "What's the hurry? Stay here for a while."
"No, I really have to go." Prachi said
"Then promise that you would come back later." Ayesha said as she held on to her hand more tightly.
"I will try, but I won't promise." Prachi said then she looks at Milind and says "because I would never make a promise that I don't intend to keep." Milind felt as if she had slapped him.
"What?" Ayesha asks her confused.
"Nothing.. I am not sure whether I will be able to come back, so I can't promise." Prachi slowly removes Ayesha's hand from hers "Bye."
"Bye." Ayesha says really confused at Prachi's strange behavior.
Prachi was walking out of the house when she found a man standing there. She was about to walk past him, when he stopped her "Is Milind Mishra, here? He told me to give the new keys here."
Prachi looks at him for a while and then without saying a word she walks off.
Prachi stood in front of Milind's beach house with the key Milind had given her the night before. She tried to open the door for the third time and again the key didn't fit. The tears started flowing from her eyes.
Night
Neev was sitting in his room and looking at Ayesha and his photos they had taken over various occasion in the last couple of years. A lone tear slipped from his eyes when he saw a picture of Ayesha and him standing together. He was happily smiling and talking to her while she was looking at his brother who was standing a little further away from them talking on the phone.
He heard his cell ringing Neev quickly wiped off his tears as he picked up his cell and found that it was a call from Prachi's house. He hesitated before picking up, as he really didn't know what to tell Prachi. She was heartbroken and there was nothing he could do. And somewhere even he was responsible for her pain. He decided to pick up the call, to see what she wanted to tell him.
"Hello?"
"Neev beta? This is Prachi's mama here." PL said.
"Haan Aunty." Neev said wondering why she is calling him.
"Neev, I tried calling Prachi's cell but it is coming as switched off. Can you ask her to come home now, it is getting late."
Neev was shocked. Prachi is not at home? But she left from there in the morning, where could she be? He decided not to scare Prachi's family and decided to cover up for her for the time being.
"Sorry Aunty, will drop her home soon. It is that we were like really excited about bhai and Ayesha's wedding, that we didn't even realize how fast the time went."
"It's okay, Neev. Just bring her home soon. Is she there next to you?"
"Er..er.. No.. She is with Ayesha now. Should I ask her to call you back?"
"No..no.. I was just asking. Bring her home soon."
"Okay Aunty."
"Okay bye beta."
"Bye"
Neev walked into Milind's room and found Milind lying on his bed with his hands over his head.
"Prachi is not there at her home." Neev said flatly.
Milind immediately sat up in bed and looked at Neev in confusion. Neev noticed that his brother's eyes were red. For the first time his brother's tears didn't move him. He had brought it upon himself.
"What do you mean she is not at home?" Milind asked.
"I don't know. Her mother called me and told me to take her home."
Milind takes his cell to call her when Neev says "Switched off."
"Dammit!" Milind angrily gets up from his bed and picks up his car keys and walks off.
Milind knew where Prachi would be now. His beach house. He had changed the lock because of that only; he knew she would go there, in order to talk to him privately. He had hoped that she would give up and leave, but then he had forgotten how stubborn she could be.
Milind walked towards his house and it was dark but he could make out the figure slouched against the door. He walked near her and kneeled down as she looked at him with tear stricken face.
"Prachi, what are you doing here?" he asked her.
Okay! Pole dancing! What the hell do you think she is doing, you cheat??
"I can't open the door." Prachi said with fresh tears flowing from her eyes.
"Huh?" Milind looks at her confused. Wiping off her tears Prachi immediately stands up. "Milind, I can't open the door. I tried so many times. But I can't open the door. Yesterday you gave me the key ri8? And now I can't open the door!" Prachi said showing the keys to him.
"Prachi.." But she cuts him off, "No, Milind. See?" She says trying to open the door. "See this key doesn't fit."
"Why can't I open the door, Milind?" she asks him desperately. "Whole day I was trying, but I can't open. Why don't you try?" Prachi said as she offered the key to him.
"Open the door, Milind." She said as she tried to turn him to face the door. "I don't know why I can't open the door. I was getting scared, now you are here everything is going to be fine. You open the door, then we will go inside and talk like we did yesterday and everything will be like how it was yesterday."
Milind looked at her as she talked waving her hands around agitatedly. Her hands were shaking and restless. Seeing her like this was killing him. He knew he was responsible for this, he had done this to her but then he promised his dad that he would marry Ayesha and now he couldn't go back on his word.
"Why are you looking at me like this? Open the door, Milind. I want to go inside." She said shaking him impatiently. She felt that once they go inside, like yesterday everything was going to be fine. Milind would be hers, not Ayesha's.
"STOP IT, PRACHI!!!" Milind angrily said. Prachi looks at him in shock.
"Milind?"
"I changed the locks!" he said. He held her arms and pulled her closer as he said "Did you hear me? I changed the locks!"
Fresh tears start flowing from her eyes "Why Milind? Why?"
Milind was speechless; he didn't know what to tell her. He had changed the locks, so she wouldn't come back into his life; he had changed the lock to shut her out off his life.
"WHY MILIND? WHY?" she screamed as she held on his collar.
"Why did you change the lock, Milind? Why are you doing this to me? You told me that you will marry me, and we will have babies." She holds his face in her palms as she tries to make him remember "Remember what you said? A baby for every new country we go to. You said that you would talk to your dad and Ayesha and tell them that you love me and you can't live without me.. You do remember ri8?" she begged him.
Tears start flowing from Milind's eyes. "I am sorry, Prachi."
Prachi looks at him devastated "Please don't say sorry Milind. I will die. We are going to get married right? Please say that we are Milind. You know I can't live without you. I promise how many ever babies you want we will have. But marry me, Milind. Please Milind" she pleaded/
Milind looks away in anguish "I can't marry you, Prachi. I am sorry. I promised Dad that I would marry Ayesha."
"You promised me that you will marry me!" Prachi angrily accused him as she pulled him back to face her.
"Yesterday I tried talking to Dad, but before I could tell him about us, he told me that he wants me to marry Ayesha. He was not ready to listen to anything I was going to tell him. Please trust me Prachi, I tried my best to tell him that I love you but he never gave me a chance. He gave me his kassam and told me that if he means anything to me then I should marry Ayesha. And when he gave me his kassam I had no choice."
Prachi pushes him away angrily, "No Milind! You had a choice. You could have told him that you won't marry Ayesha because you love me!"
"I tried, Prachi but I.." she cuts him off angrily "You didn't try hard enough!"
"Please don't say that. I tried, I was going to tell Dad, but ' I couldn't hurt him!"
"You know what your problem is Milind Mishra? You want people to call you a Mahan! You want to show everyone that you have a big heart and you would sacrifice your happiness for everyone. But you are a selfish man." Milind looks at Prachi in shock. Her each words were piercing his heart.
"You only love yourself. And all the love you show to others is all a drama."
"Don't say that I don't love anyone." He pleaded helplessly. He loved everyone, he was not selfish. If he was, then he wouldn't have given up his happiness, his Prachi for anything else in this world.
"If you had loved me, then you would have told me that you were going to marry Ayesha like a man. But you didn't. You are a selfish heartless coward! You let your so called fianc tell me that you are going to marry her and not me! I didn't mean anything to you otherwise you would have felt that I deserve an explanation for you to reject me."
"I was going to tell you. I was coming to meet you, but I didn't know that Ayesha had called you home to tell you.."
"You had the time to get a man to change the locks but not tell me" she said in disgust.
"I was scared that like yesterday you would.."
"Oh cut the crap Milind! Why don't you just tell me that I mean nothing to you?" She angrily said.
"Please don't say that. You don't know how much I love you and what place you have in my heart."
"And I don't want to know either. I hate you Milind Mishra! I hate myself forever loving a man like you." Milind felt as if she had stabbed his heart.
Okay! Congratulations! Isn't this what you wanted? My girl to hate us! She hates us.
She hates me!
He watched in shock as Prachi removed the chain he had gifted from her neck. She took his hand and put the chain on his open fist. "I guess you should give it to Ayesha now. This belongs to her." She said with a shrug.
And she walked off with her head held high. Milind watches her walk off in shock and then he runs behind when he realizes how late it is and she didn't have her car with as he didn't see her car when he came.
"I will drop you home." He really didn't know whether it was because he was more worried about her safety or he was not ready to let her go, part like this.
"I don't need your help."
"Prachi, don't be stubborn it is really late and.."
"I really don't think you should worry about me, Milind Mishra." Saying that she starts walking faster and he quietly followed her with every intention of seeing her home safe. As he reached where he had parked his car, he found another car. Neev's.
"Hey!" Neev called out to them as he got out of his car. Prachi and Milind looks at him in shock.
"What are you doing here?" Milind asked him.
"I came here to pick her up." Neev looks at Prachi "Aunty called me, she asked you to get home soon. Come, I will drop you home."
Prachi nods and walks towards his car and opens the door and sits without looking at Milind even once. Neev also immediately gets in and soon they drive off, as Milind watched on sadly.
The drive to Shah Mansion was silent, both lost in their own thoughts. As they reach her house Prachi looks at Neev and softly says "Thank you." Neev nods his head. Prachi was about to get out when Neev suddenly asked her "So you are going to give up on my brother so easily, bhabhi?"
Please comment guys. I know the part was messy and dull (that's why the color and Comic Sans, to make up for it😉😆). I am so sorry for that.
Kuku😳
Edited by shivgauri - 16 years ago
Writers Corner: Books, Stories & Poems
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