Part 16
Samrat was surprised by her sudden move, but without any protests, he also kissed her back. Initially, it was a gentle kiss. Both of them were just feeling the presence of the other. But gradually, Samrat's passion took over him. All those ups and downs that he'd felt in the past days, the roller coaster ride of emotions he'd gone through, the feeling of not being able to do anything, that helplessness, it all came out in his kiss. All his doubts, his insecurities, his weaknesses, everything compelled him to convey something to Gunjan, through his actions, and he tried his best to accomplish it. For Gunjan, it was something she'd never felt before. It was as if she was in another world, where Samrat had showered all his love on her, and he would protect her from everything that could harm her. She was enveloped in the warmth of his care, where she was invisible to the world. They kissed each other like there was no tomorrow, Gunjan feeling the security his arms had cast around her.
"Main hoon na, i promise i wont let anything happen to you. Can you trust me?"
These words rang in her mind to tell her that no matter what, he would be there with her, to safeguard her from the evil.
"Can you trust me?"
The words repeated themselves over and over again, compelling her to think if she could trust him at all. Flashes of that day at the music room came back to her, where she'd seen Samrat with Mallika. Immediately, she let go of his face and pushed him a little. Samrat felt beyond shock when he saw Gunjan withdraw and push him away. She had closed her eyes and was hugging herself, when Samrat came close to her again, and touched her cheek. He saw the immediate effect, Gunjan coiled into herself.
"Gunjan, aankhein kholo, open your eyes and look at me", Samrat almost shouted his plead.
Gunjan heard the agony his voice carried, as it slit through her heart. As much as she tried blocking him away from herself, so much deeper was his pain felt by her. She slowly and involuntarily opened her eyes, and was met by a shocking sight. Samrat's eyes were red, not with anger, but with water. Tears flowed through his eyes, and Gunjan wondered the extent to which he was hurt, such that these tears had reddened his eyes in such a short span. But this wasnt the time to think all that, Samrat was in pain, and her heart just couldnt bear that.
"Samrat", she spoke softly. She kept both her hands on his, one resting on her face, and the other entwined into his other hand.
"Samrat, i'm sorry, i'm very sorry. Mera tumhe hurt karne ka koi irada nahi tha. Par jabse main tumhari life mein aayi hoon, lagta hai ki tumhe chot pohunchana hie ek maksad reh gaya hai. Pata nahi kyun tumhari life hamesha meri life se takra jati hai. Tumhe itna avoid karne ki koshish karti hoon, kitna try karti hoon ki tumse door rahu, tumse judi har baat se door rahu, par phir bhi har cheez mujhe tumhare hie pass kheench lati hai. Sachi, mera yakeen karo, bohut koshish karti hoon main ki kUday tumse saamna ho hie na mera, par sab ulta ho jata hai. Jaane kyun...", tears flowed at a stretch as Gunjan continued blaming everything on herself.
"Kyun itna door bhaagti ho mujhse?", Gunjan's words came to an abrupt end as Samrat directed his question at her.
"Batao Gunjan, aakhir aisa kya hua hai, jo tumhe mujhse door bhaagne par majboor karta hai? Kyun tum hamesha mujhe avoid karna chahti ho? Kyun mujhse aur mujhse judi har cheezon ke utne hie kareeb aati hoo, jitna door tum mujhse jaana chahti ho? Divine College, mere friends, newspaper, music, Suhaani, aur main, main Gunjan, tum hum sab se is tarah jud chuki ho ki door hote huye hum se zaada takleef tumhe hogi. Phir kyun tum khudko itni takleef dena chahti ho? Mujhse bar bar door jaane ki hie tumhari koshish tumhe mere itne pass layi hai. Agar tum itna na bhaagti, to aaj shayad situation kuch aur hie hoti", Samrat spoke in a voice filled with pain and frustration.
"Isi baat ka to darr tha mujhe, ki meri door rehne ki koshish hie tumhe mere pass le aayegi (Samrat looked at her with a confused expression) Maine tumse door rehne ki koshish ki, isiliye tumne mere pass aane ki saazish ki. Main shayad wo pehlo ladki thi, jisne tumhe, Samrat Shergill ko haraya, aur tumhare ego ko challenge kiya. Bas, tab tumne khudko challenge de diya, mere ego ko hurt karne ka, haina? Isiliye mere kareeb aana chahte they tum, ye prove karna chahte they ki tum jo chaaho haasil kae sakte ho. Tumhe koi nahi hara sakta, koi bhi nahi...", as Gunjan spoke these words, Samrat had released his hands from hers. He shook her vibrantly as he let his anger flow,
"Tum jaanti bhi ho ki kya bakwaas kiye ja rhi ho tum Miss Gunjan Bhushan"
Gunjan saw his dilated pupils, that emitted nothing but the furiousness of his words.
"Main wahi bol rahi hoon jo mujhe lagta hai sahi hai", she spoke firmly, not looking in his eyes. Samrat left her, and turned away, ruffling his hair to let down the frustration. Suddenly he turned back, and pinned her to the tree.
"Tumhe ye sahi lagta hai, par, par tumhara dil, kya tumhara dil bhi isi baat ko sach maanta hai?", Samrat looked in her eyes that were downcast, and felt a change of expression at his words.
"Bolo Gunjan, ye jo baatein Uday tumne boli, tumhara dil bhi inhe sach maanta hai kya?", Gunjan heard the plea in his voice for the umpteenth time. It was her time to make a decision, and it took her a second to decide her answer. It wasnt an easy one, but who said life was easy. She closed her eyes, and it took all her strength to speak that one word.
"Nahi", she spoke very softly, so soft that she herself didnt know if she'd heard it or no. Samrat had heard her answer, but this one word could change everything between them. He didnt want any misunderstanding to take over him, so he released the pressure on her arms a bit, and spoke again.
"Gunjan, ek bar phir se bol do, please", the way he said it, her eyes flung open, and she stared into the deep ocean in front of her, that was filled with the water of hope.
"Nahi Samrat, mera dil un sab baaton ko nahi maanta", she said, and lost herself in his eyes, that glimmered with a spark. They both stared deep down into the others soul through the way of eyes. Both had wanted to say so much, but right, they found the silence more blissful. It was only after a few minutes, that they came out of the trance, when they heard a few shouts.
"Gunjan"
"Gunjan"
"KIDDO"
Gunjan heard her name being shouted in the distance, and leaving Samrat, ran in that direction. Samrat also followed her lead. Gunjan was brought to a sudden stop as she crashed into a hard body.
"Gunjan, tu theek hai na... kuch hua to nahi... jab humein pata chala ki tu jungle ki taraf aayi hai, aur wo gunde bhi tujhe dhundte huye isi taraf ko nikle, tabse hum sabko itni tension ho rahi thi... tu bata, tu unhe mili to nahi na... Gunjan, kuch bol na..."
Samrat saw that the guy had his hands placed on Gunjan's shoulders and was talking non-stop.
"Benji jeej, relax, main bilkul theek hoon. Aap khud dekhiye, i am fine. Tension mat lijiye..."
Samrat realised the guy was Benji, Gunjan's dear Benji jeej. But till the time this realisation sunk in, he saw another guy come rushing in and pushing Benji aside, hugging Gunjan. He was followed by Arnav, Khushi, Raunak, Siya and Adhiraj. He spoke nothing as he hugged her tightly, while from Gunjan's expression Samrat made out that she was also surprised by the sudden turn of events. A sudden curiosity arose in him about the guy who was hugging her.
"Uday, relax. Wo bilkul theek hai", Benji spoke, but the guy paid no heed to him. After a few seconds, the guy who Samrat guessed was Uday, left Gunjan suddenly, and turning his back to her, stood next to the nearest tree. Samrat observed the scene there. All the people except Uday had a weird expression on their faces. They watched him as if he was a bomb that would just blow up. Samrat saw Gunjan about to go and say something to him, but Benji shook his finger pointing to her not to do so. Samrat found it pretty quaint as he went and stood next to Khushi. Arnav left Khushi's side, went to Uday and placed an arm on his shoulder. Samrat saw Benji trying to stop him too but Arnav missed out Benji's warning. Samrat found the whole thing very irking, what was everyone's problem?
"Uday...", Arnav just spoke a word, when Uday jerked his hand, turned his face and Samrat got to see his face. Uday's face was stiff, his eyes were sore red, and expressionless. Samrat was reminded of the zombies that he'd seen in the movies, and smiled a little. But looking at the others, he thought better than smiling, and his smile wiped away as he saw anguish take over Gunjan. He didnt have to wait long, to get an answer to his mental questions.
"Dont!", Uday said this single word in a cold voice that sent shivers through Samrat's body as well.
"Dont you dare. Kuch mat bolna tum... main hamesha se jaanta tha, ki Gunjan tumhare saath safe nahi hai, isliye tumhe kitni bar us se door kiya, lekin tum kuch samajhna hie nahi chahte ho. Har bar kisi na kisi tarah uske pass aa jate ho. Kitni bar maine Gunjan ko mana kiya ki tumse na mile, tum se door rehna hie uske liye behtar hai, par tum har bar useh behla fusla kar apne pass bula late ho. Par jo hona hai ho gaya, ab main khud dhyaan rakhunga is baat ka, ki Gunjan fir kUday tumse na mile. Aaj bhi galti mujhse ho gayi, agar mujhe pata hota ki Gunjan yahaan aa rahi hai, to main useh kUday na aane deta. Agar useh aaj kuch ho gaya hota to... soch ke bhi darr lagta hai mujhe, khud ka chehra dekhne ke layak na rehta main. Poori zindagi kaise jeeta main, huh? Gussa to tum par itna aa raha hai, jee chahta hai ki yahaan isi waqt...", Uday moved forward towards Arnav, raising his hand, while Arnav had his head down, rooted to his place. He was about to hit Arnav, and the velocity with which his hand came, Arnav was sure to lose some bones. Samrat took a step forward, when he saw Uday's hand stop midway.
Gunjan had come to stand between Uday and Arnav, shielding Arnav from Uday's wrath. Uday's expressions sombered as soon as he saw Gunjan's face stained with tears. Samrat also felt a constriction in his heart when he saw her state. It was clear in her eyes that she cared for Arnav, cared enough, to come and face Uday. Also, she cared for Uday, as it was visible how much it hurt her to protest against him. A voice inside Samrat cried at his own helplessness, his heart screamed to go and help her, but his mind told him against it. His mind showed that these people held a lot of importance for Gunjan, and he was no where in the scene. After sharing such a closeness with her, it hurt that she was still so much distanced from him.
"Sorry", Gunjan pleaded in a soft voice, that rang through the silent jungle. The only other sound audible was that of the moths that had woken with the rising sun. Samrat saw the immediate effect of Gunjan's words on Uday's face. His expressions gave away his thoughts. He looked at Gunjan, without shifting his glance. His gaze was accusatory, and Gunjan's guilt was clearly visible. Maybe that was the reason Uday didnt speak any other word, just held Gunjan's hand, and started walking in the direction from where they all had come. Adhiraj was the first to follow them all, while the others just stood there. Khushi came and placed a hand on Arnav's shoulder, who hadnt moved even once. When he felt Khushi come and stand next to him, he lifted his face, and Khushi let out a gasp at what her eyes saw. Arnav's eyes were also sore read, and tears were still flowing from them.
"Khushi, aisa kyun hota hai, Pari ki life mein waise kam dukh hain, jo main unhe hamesha badha deta hoon. Uday sahi keh raha tha, Pari ke liye yehi behtar hoga ki wo mujhse door rahe. Pata nai kyun main jaane anjaane usko itni chot de deta hoon. Kyun hum sab useh dard ke alawa aur kuch nahi dete, pehle main, aur ab Ar...", Arnav spoke in a shattered voice, when Khushi placed her hand on his mouth.
"Arnav...", she pleaded with her eyes, assured him that he wasnt wrong, when Benji also came forward to speak to him.
"Arnav, main jaanta hoon ki tumhe kaisa lag raha hai, par yakeen maano, yahaan galti kisi ki nahi hai, na Uday ki, na Gunjan ki, aur na hie tumhari. Tum galat nahi ho, tum Gunjan ki zindagi ka bohut important hissa ho, isliye wo tum sab ko bhula nahi paayi hai, aur yehi wajah hai ki wo aaj tum sab se milne aayi, college assignment ka bahana bana kar. Wo shayad isi din ka wait kar rahi thi, na jaane kabse. Aur jab Gunjan tumhe itna maanti hai, to tum galat kaise ho sakte ho? Khud par nahi, to kam se kam Gunjan ki choice par to bharosa rakho. Aur jahaan tak Uday ki baat hai, tum jaante ho wo Gunjan ko lekar kitna possessive hai. Baat jab Gunjan par aati hai, to Uday kuch bhi nahi sochta, kuch nahi samajhta. Gunjan uske liye kitni important hai, ye mujhse better tum samajhte ho. Kitna pyaar karta hai wo Gunjan se, ye mujhe tumhe batane ki zarurat nahi hai... aur Gunjan ke liye Uday kya importance rakhta hai, ye tum dekh hie chuke ho...", Benji's voice faded as Samrat's mind stopped listening after this line.
Uday loved Gunjan, and Samrat himself was a witness to Gunjan's loyalty and commitment for him. In those few seconds, he'd realised Uday's place in Gunjan's life. But now, instead of being hurt, anger overtook him. If Gunjan had loved Uday, then what was she doing with him a fes minutes ago? Did that kiss mean nothing to her, all those things she'd said about them, all those feelings he'd seen in her eyes during the past so many days, was it all a hoax? His heart shouted a no, but he just couldnt overcome Benji's words. Benji was her family, so obviously he would know whom Gunjan liked, or loved. Benji wasnt lying, which meant that whatever time he'd spent with Gunjan, was all a pretense, Gunjan's drama. Hatred immediately flowed all through his body as this realisation sunk in. Just then he heard Raunak call him.
"Samrat, hum sab wapis ja rahe hain, chal"
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