FF:MERI ADHURI KAHAANI last part pg-62& nt -64 - Page 25

He was sitting on the couch when I came in with the breakfast tray, keeping it on the table my eyes noticed his bandage soaked in blood. I looked up at him, he was lost in his thoughts, shaking my head I took out the first aid kit and held his hand. He took it back, I frowned at him and grabbed his wrist firmly. Pressing the cotton on his cut gently I heard him ask," bahut takleef hoti hogi nah ek khooni ka haath thaamne mein?" my eyes and hands stilled for a moment on hearing him before quietly wrapping the bandage around his palm. Raising my head I stared at his face and nodded a yes," khoon bhahega toh takleef toh hogi ..par ussey bhi zyada takleef tab hoti hai jab kisi aur ki galtiyon ke liye koi khudh ko takleef deta hai." It pained me more to see him still getting hurt at her hands, someone who had left him, someone who'd never loved him still managed to cast an effect on him. Standing up, I said in disappointment ," par sahab yeh sab aap nahin samjhoge." Sarcasm dripped from every word of mine as I left before keeping the glass of lemon juice in front of him. The brief encounters that he had with tai had a greater and more deeper impact on him than the close to six months which we had spent together. He was looking at the world through her eyes, perceiving things the way she wanted him to and drowning in self pity which was annoying me the most because in reality he is a far better person than he himself thinks to be

**********************

Coming down for lunch I found her missing in the hall and at the dining table, I dialed her number, the phone was ringing in the room, she'd left it there. Turning my neck I asked AS," nakku?" she too looked around and said," thodi der pehle toh yahin thi.." I gave her a reassuring look suggesting don't worry she'll be back then told madhu," tu taiyaar ho ja ..mujhe tere saath bahar jaana." She nodded then popped her head up suddenly and asked before going to get ready," bhau ..aapne vaheni ko bataaya nahin ki woh pass ho gayi?" heaving a heavy sigh, I shook a no, yesterday I'd went to the garden to tell her that she'd come third, I was really happy for her but that happiness didn't last for long when I saw supriya talking to her, telling what a big mistake she'd made by marrying me and how disgusted my touch and presence must be for her. Gulping a cold glass of water down my throat I thought back at what she'd said in the morning, her point of view seemed different from supriya's . Staring at the untouched plate before me I heard AS ask worriedly," dutta , yeh tere haath par kya hua?" shrugging my shoulders I indicated , its nothing but she asked further," kuch lagaya?" I nodded a yes and replied," hmm nakku ne dawa lagayi thi." She gave out a relaxed smile and said," jin haalaton mein tumhari shaadi hui thi ..humein lagta tha kahin humne koi galat faisla toh nahin le liya ?" I glanced at her as she continued," par nakku ne dheere dheere hum sab ke dilon mein jagah bana li." Yeah she's made a place for herself in this house, in everybody's life but do I occupy any place in her life? I don't know. Dropping my gaze I fiddled with the glass of water when AS kept her hand on mine to gain my attention," aur kal jis tarah tumhare liye usne supriya se baat ki ..humein yakeen ho gaya ki ussey behtar jeevan saathi tumhein mil hi nahin sakta." I frowned at her in confusion, what is she saying, when and what did nakku say to supriya? Seeing my bewildered expression she narrated the whole scene which happened when I'd left and she'd come to pluck some flowers for the puja then how nakkku defended me, my profession our relationship everything so strongly. I was totally flabbergasted after hearing the other part of the story where I was the hero and not the villain, for the first time someone stood up for me and that too not out of my fear or to impress me. The relationship that was based on compromise meant so much to her? Her words whether bitter or sweet always managed to touch my heart but what she said yesterday stirred something strongly in my heart. I didn't know that she thought so highly of me, on our wedding day she'd saved our families honor and her sister's life but yesterday in front of that same sister she'd fought for me, amazing truly amazing and shameful on my part to have reacted like that.

****************

I was in the hall talking to someone over the phone when she came back in the evening. She looked around in surprise seeing the whole house getting decorated, not bothering to ask me instead , she asked AS," yeh sab kya ho raha hai AS?" who smiled and replied," aaj ghar mein party tere pass hone ki khushi mein." Then glanced at me, she too gazed at me briefly before protesting," is sab ki kya zaroorat hai?" when madhu chipped in and said," arey vaheni party bhi koi zaroorat ke liye thodi na karta hai ..woh toh mazze lene ke liye karte hain." Not seeming too convinced with her answer she shook her head and began walking up the stairs when madhu asked hesitantly," AS , sham ko ..unko bhi ..mera matlab ..supriya ko bhi bulana hai kya?" before AS could reply, she interrupted at once and said," nahin ..koi zaroorat nahin hai unhein bulane ki." Disconnecting the call I shifted my eyes from her to madhu and declared," nakku ke ghar se sabko bulaya jayega ..sabko matlab sabko." Looking at her from the corner of my eye I found her staring at me in annoyance, I turned my neck and stared back at her she parted her lips to speak but stopped and went back to the room, her footsteps made noise more than they normally did, already she was upset because of me and now I had only aggravated her anger. But I wanted her to practice what she preached, she always desired that I come out of my past and let bygones be bygones however she herself was forgetting , that supriya is a part of not only mine but her past as well, so somewhere even she needs to accept and move on, I thought.

She opened up her hair and took out a towel along with a suit to get ready for the party. My gaze fell on the bed where I'd kept some gifts for her, probably in her anger she didn't notice them," yeh tohfe (gift) main tere liye laaya tha .. tu pehnegi sham ko?" she glanced at the bed then moved her eyes to my bandaged palm and replied," tohfa toh kal raat ko hi aapne mujhe de diya tha." turning to my cupboard she opened it to take out my clothes," aap kaunse rang ka suit pehenege?" then without waiting for my answer replied herself," ginti ke chaar panch rang ke toh suit hain." She pulled out the blue suit from the wardrobe as I stood behind her and said," nakku tu toh jaanti hai jab mujhe gussa aata hai toh main bina soche samjhe kuch bhi keh deta hoon..kar deta hoon." Not satisfied with my justification she banged the cupboard shut and dropped my suit on the bed. I knew one more time I'd acted like a jerk, I should have trusted her, trusted our relationship and not got affected by supriya's words but my anger and my insecurities are my biggest enemies they don't allow me to think right. Standing next to her I said earnestly," mujh mein khaamiyaan (flaws) hain ..aur main inhe door bhi kar raha hoon ..par iske liye mujhe waqt aur tera saath chaiye." I'd changed for the better thanks to her and was willing to change even more but such change in attitude don't happen overnight, one has to work upon them constantly and she needed to understand that. She looked at me this time her eyes had softened a lot as she spoke," khaami ( flaw) aap mein nahin ..dekhne wale ki nazar mein hai." This time her words not only touched and stirred my heart but also captured it. She picked up the two gift boxes and opened them slowly, one had a small and simple pendant chain and the other had a pink sari, I'd never seen her in a sari. She smiled softly and said," bahut sundar hain ..par" she paused and glanced at me," sahab main sari nahin pehnti." I wished she'd worn it, the color would have looked amazing on her but I shrugged my shoulders and thought, at least now she's not mad at me.

********************

I began brushing my wet hair in front of the mirror as he too changed for the evening. Adjusting the small bindi on my forehead along with the dupatta of my suit I thought, he shouldn't have called tai here, I'm sure he doesn't wish to show off anything in front of her then why invite her unnecessarily especially after knowing what she thinks of our relationship. My thoughts got distracted when the bathroom door opened and he came out. Letting my hair remain open , I wore a pair of gold earrings and picked up the pendant chain that he had got. I struggled for the umpteenth time with the small hook of the chain, it was just not getting fixed, I let out an irritated sigh and held the chain in my hand, giving up the idea of wearing it when he asked from behind," main pehnadoon?" I looked at his reflection in the mirror and blinked my eyes slowly. He took the chain from my hand and gently lifted my hair and dropped them on my left shoulder. I pressed my dry lips together as he moved closer and brought his hands in front to tie the chain around my neck, his fingers brushed my cold skin making me shut my eyes and wonder, does he ever know what effect his proximity and touch have on me? No my mind answered loudly. His fingers floundered with the hook for a few seconds before he lowered his posture and brought his face down to pull the hook with his teeth, I guess that's what he intended to do but ended up creating a havoc inside me as his warm lips slightly touched my nape making the hair around rise instantly. Squeezing my eyes more tightly, I curled my fingers in a fist to control my totally out of control heart beat and gasped soundly which I'm sure must not have gone unheard by him, no wonder he said immediately," ho gaya." And moved his hands back. I opened my eyes and dared to look myself into the mirror, the color of my cheeks perfectly matched with the color of the sari that he'd brought, if tonight he'd wanted to see me in that color then he'd clearly succeeded in doing so.

Once again he'd managed to add a touch of color to my otherwise dull and colorless story.

gr8 update..jus as expected dutta had heard the convo..bt onli half thts y he's stil tryin 2 ans sups questions... if onli he had stuck around a few mins he wud hav seen tht naku had al the ans he was tryin 2 find... aww bless naku...her sis gave the wounds bt naku's acted as the healer and is stil doing the job...damn cnt this sups jus go n die...i knw its harsh bt she's reali annoying..she acts as tho she knws dutta 2 well wen infact she neva did...i dnt think she eva made the effort 2 gt 2 knw him