Chapter 54: Love at test!
Wen Nidhi stepped in, fashionably late, she heard some heated debate going on in the living room abt Angie's career. She picked up a few words, renowned and reputed college, Mumbai, and admission letter! Ashutosh and her baba were trying to explain Angie's viewpoint to her dad while Angie and Shyama aunty sat quietly around the sofa! "u r planning to go to Mumbai and u didn't even tell me!" she cried loudly from the door! A shocked Angie looked at her worriedly. Angie darted her eyes at Ashutosh and it struck to Nidhi tht he was very much into this already and only she had been left out! Apparently, everybody knew everything abt it except her! And neither her best friend nor her to-b-husband had even cared to share this most important news to her. She pouted with angry frown and glared at thm!
From a sheepish Angie, her eyes focused on her to-b-hubby. Her fierce angry glance made him jump instantly on his feet! Yup.. she was more angry on him thn anybody else in tht room... wasn't HE supposed to share everything with her..he was her damn partner.. did he even know the meaning of partner.. huh! Her temper flared and she stomped up to Solanki uncle! "uh' Nidhi" he attempted. "Don't even try!"she gritted back. He was taken aback at her sudden intense rage! It was uncalled-for..definitely! Ashutosh threw his arms in air. "Tell me.. uncle'is this rite?" "No!.. absolutely not..!" an equally sore Solanki uncle added! "exactly' how can thy do this?" "Agree..!"gritted he. "do thy ever think?" "rite.. do thy ever ever think!!!!" he stressed angrily! Others looked helplessly at thm. "u know how it feels wen one is left out!"woofed Nidhi glaring at Ashutosh again! He cud jst shrug and stare. "I know..its one against the whole word!" Mr. Solanki added. Puzzled, Nidhi stared back at him! "Uncle.. whom r u talking abt?" "me.. of course.." thn he stared back at her confusedly"and u?". "me of course!" cried she. "y?" came an instant puzzled question and a huge wave of spontaneous laughter erupted across the living room! Nidhi felt mortified and 'oh! very very hurt! "Oh! jst.. jst.. forget it!"she cried. "And as I see I have no purpose or business to stay back and interefer in ur most important discussion, I may well retire to my room!" she gathered her wounded pride and started to leave. "Nidhi wait.. please.." Ashutosh was quick to block her way! "please.." he uttered again. She looked cross and pretty hurt! She chose to look away! "Luv please'" he uttered tenderly. She looked back at him with a pout! Her eyes complained heavily for his totally disapproving and very inconsiderate behavior! She ignored him and tried to move past. "honey.. plz.. jst listen!" He blocked her again. "oh.. so finally u do have something to say to me!" she answered crossly! He sighed. "sweetheart.. u know its not the way u think.." "really? Thn wat way is it.. tht my best friend goes and shares her most important issues with u bt not me.. her B.E.S.T best friend!" He chuckled,"so r u kind of jealous abt it?" "huh!" Her cute pout brot forth more chuckles! "how wud u feel if Armaanji starts confiding everything in me and keeps u in the dark!" he shrugged"I guess it wudnt matter much.. i don't think so i will remain in dark for long.. u cannot keep it to urself for long..can u..sugar?" he replied calmly bt his eyes read tease with a capital T. She cud jst twitch ruefully,"huh!" It was true! "okay..fine.. I will tell her' and everybody else'. to not to share anything 'anything' ever with me.. is tht fine?" "I didn't say tht!"she cried back. He smiled. "sweetheart..thn wats the problem?" "y did u not share it with me!"she complained. "oh sweets.. it all happened so fast.. and it was all so complex.. and yet to b sorted out and mulled over.. and plus u wer very busy.. u jst had no time!" she glared at him,"I wasn't sooo busy!" "u kept dozing off.. remember!" "huh.. it was jst these last two nites.. bt u knew this thing for long.. I m sure!" she chided back. "Wat!!" came a sharp cry from the kitchen door! And thy both turned abruptly at tht shrill voice! And thn glared back at each other in horror! "wat nites?"came Dadi bua's suspecting question! Sweat broke on Nidhi's forehead suddenly. "uh.. Dadi bua.. Nidhi woke up in the middle of the nite for her noodle cravings.. u know how much she ate at the dinner table.. and thn she wud b so exhausted tht she wud doze off on the table itself while eating.. tomorrow I even had to take her to her bed!" Nidhi gasped and looked fearfully at her dadi bua. Oh! he revealed a bit too much! "u did wat?"her dadi bua cried. Ashutosh shifted in his place awkwardly. Oh! did he jst blunder? He glanced alarmingly at Nidhi! Nidhi nodded in dismay!
"uh.. oh.. excuse me.. excuse me.. " thankfully'thankfully' Armaan intervened with a tray of tea and snacks! "If u two wud excuse us of ur lovely spat.. can v have some tea and snacks now.. my beautiful wife wud kill me if I don't serve it hot and fresh.. sweets.. sugar.. honey.. sweetheart.. 'my Luv'my jaan Ashu!" he batted his lashes dramatically while making his way thru thm. Thy stumbled back apart and he grinned widely as he placed the tray on the table! Some soft suppressed chuckles echoed in the room! "uh.. I remember I had to make an urgent call!" Ashutosh turned on his heels and left the room as soon as possible! "uh.. I will see to tht tht he makes the call!" Nidhi ran after him! Oh! tht had to b THE most embarrassing moment of thr life!
"uh.. wat did he jst say?" her dadi bua was asking! "Oh.. nothing bauji.. u know Ashutosh mst've scolded Nidhi for not eating a proper meal at dinner.. and'." Thy cud hear her baba trying to give a reasonable explanation of thr seemingly overtly embarrassing behavior as thy reached his room! "phew...God! tht has to b the most embarrasing thng I ever did infront of my elders!" he cried. Bt she pouted,"huh.. so u feel embarrassed to call me by all those dearly names" "uh No!" he cried back bt thn twitched when he realized she was obviously teasing him. She chuckled heavily at the awkward situation he had put himself into! "uh.. not fair!" he cried,"it was all for u!" Nidhi smiled lovingly thru her eyes and inched closer! She gave one quick glance at the open door to make sure noone was coming. "Luv.." she said huskily..as her fingers ran over his shirt button.. "I luved.. tht..u know!" her fingers circled mischieviously over the button as she tugged and pulled at his shirt! Ashutosh's heart jst did a huge sommersault! Oh! she was seducing him.. prettily and beautifully! He gave a deep yearning sigh as his eyes grew with desire and his heart started to drift away in her pretty luring. His eyes fixed below over her lips! "u know wat u will get for this.. rite?" he muttered inching closer bt she didn't retract. Nice..very nice! She stared teasingly in to his eyes,"and u know wat u will get from Dadi bua for this.. rite?" "ohhh! My poor boy!" The poor boy pulled her by her waist jerkingly into him not wanting to withheld anything any longer and he was jst abt to fasten her tightly against himself and lower down on her lips wen a sudden cough from the door jerked thm abruptly apart. "uh.. luv birds!" Angie murmured mischieviously as she entered. Their faces flushed heavily and Ashutosh tried to avoid her gaze! "uh..sorry to interrupt.. bt u r summoned outside.. thts if ur urgent call is over.." she winked at Nidhi and ran away giggling heavily! Oh! the situation cudnt get any more embarrassing! Nidhi bit her lip and chuckled at thr situation! And as if he understood her mind, he chuckled back shrugging! Thy wer behaving notoriously scandalous and thr hearts wernt helping and it wasn't going to b long enuf b4 thy wud b caught red handed! "wooof' tht was close.." he cried. She chuckled suggestively,"pretty close!" His eyes turned to her.. oh! she was still pretty much at it.. nice! Oh he luved an alluring bold Nidhi! His lips puckered as his eyebrows arched,"so I gather..my sweetheart aint angry with me anymore.. " he asked as took her hand and stepped outside.."eh.. u exactly haven't wooed me back have u?"she wisphered as she freed her hand. "aaah..rite.. tonite thn.." he murmured.."hope u arnt afraid!" "oh' absolutely not..!" He chuckled.. "daredevil?" "daredevil!" "thts wonderful!.." he commented as thy glided into the living room.
All had gathered again in the living room apparently to come to a definite conclusion on two things.. one was obviously abt Angie's career and the other was regarding the puja and celebration of Nidhi's mom's bday! After some heated arguments by Mr. Solanki and logical counter arguments by Col. Verma and Ashutosh, Mr. Solanki finally gave up! His case was too weak to b defended. Thy had every possible solution for his every issue raised and had come up with most practical and appropriate solution tht he cudnt deny. It was hence finally decided tht the Solankis wud shift their base to Mumbai for thr daughter's sake. Considering Angie's talent, a bright future awaited her in Mumbai and thr support was necessary at this juncture of her career. And as he cudnt live without his little daughter, it was better if thy shifted to Mumbai with her. It wud provide her safety and support both! Besides, Armaan was more thn willing to help thm out in building up a good clientele base thr owing to his good network! Both Mr. and Mrs. Solanki were good lawyers and thr shudnt b a problem in getting new clients. Mrs. Solanki was even aiming to flourish her career as a corporate lawyer! Hence, it was all decided and it was going to take a month or so to wrap up things from here and by tht time, even the wedding wud b over!
Armaan was even planning to meet Col. Verma's business partner Mr. Thakur to see if any good deals cud b worked out betn thm. Col. Verma was impressed tht Ashutosh had thot out everything in such minute detail! Ashutosh had made sure tht Col. Verma's aspirations with his business wudnt suffer due to Angie's decision and he was sure tht thr was enuf scope of expansion with Armaan in picture now! He was a good and sound businessman and wud explore this opportunity for mutual benefit if it was any viable even in least proportion! Plus he knew Armaan cudnt neglect his Nids business afterall! Nidhi felt excited at the prospect of expanding the business tht was on her name and she even voiced to be an active participant from now on to which Ashutosh denied firmly! Thr was already too much on her plate for her to eat! The discussion thn shifted to the puja, the decoration, and the celebration! Dadi bua wanted it to b memorable and as it was first time tht Ashutosh wud b formally introduced to all their relatives, she wanted it b a bit on large scale thn usual, obviously tht meant Col. Verma had to chuck out some more money, bt she wanted it such tht she cud take pride on! Armaan suggested some brilliant ideas bt he voiced sadly tht he wudnt b able to attend it He probably wudnt b able to return save for the engagement and wedding! Nidhi had squealed disapprovingly, bt he was helpless, everything needed to b settled before he cud take Trupti thr and it cudnt b stalled any further! Already his wife was going to stay at Vermas' house and he wudnt want her newly wedded wife to extend her stay thr!
Ashutosh felt a bit sad abt it! It was his wedding, the most precious moment in his life and he wud b all alone! And once again, he missed having his family! He gazed at the happy and excited faces tht had gathered around Nidhi who chattered noisily abt the engagement, the rituals, the wedding, and the shopping! Thr was so much excitement in the girls, particularly abt the shopping! He sighed! The Shopping! Gosh! With Dadi Bau's long list and his hectic and demanding schedule at the hospital, he wasn't sure how he was going to manage it all alone! Plus shopping wasn't actually his forte and without Armaan he was jst handicapped! Bt he cudnt do anything abt it. Trupti needed Armaan's attention and he had already done and sacrificed a lot for him and he cudnt ask more from him! As Ashutosh rued abt it silently, surprisingly Dadi bua popped up with the same question as to how Ashutosh was going to manage it all alone! To his surprise, Mr. Solanki volunteered to help enthusiastically.. or rather overenthusiastically! He guessed he got too impressed with him! Bt Ashutosh felt a bit uncomfortable with this whole idea. Bt it was declared by enthusiastic and over-considerate dadi bua tht both Col. Verma and Mr. Solanki wud help him out with everything till the wedding, right from the shopping to the wedding day arrangements and tht the ladies wud handle the preparations at Verma household and if need b Trupti wud chip in to help thm out! All dispersed as everything was finalized. Shyama Aunty, dadi bua, and Trupti made thr way to the kitchen while Ashutosh and Armaan went to porch to chat. Mr. Solanki and Col. Verma set up thr game of chess and Nidhi silently made her way to her room. Angie followed her in.
Nidhi sighed as she stood at the window of her room gazing up at the sky above! She was trying to search her mother's face in the heaven above. Everytime she missed her mom, she pressed her mom's photo tight to herself and gazed up into the sky to find her. She was missing her mom a lot today! "Hi!" she heard Angie's voice from behind. "I m sorry Nidhi!" she uttered sincerely as she hugged her! Nidhi sighed at her. "Angie.. I cant believe tht all this is happening.. I m getting married.. u r going away.. after.. after.. 24 yrs of us being'" tears welled up in her eyes and she cudnt complete! "Oh Nidhi..sweetie" she hugged to comfort,"this was going to happen one day..wasnt it?.. remember how fondly v dreamt of our prince charming.. sitting right here' in the middle of those exam nites.. chomping on noodles and munching on wafers' instead of worrying abt the questions tht wud appear in tomorrow's exam paper!" she giggled and a giggle escaped Nidhi's lips too remembering how thy wud worry abt wthr thy wud ever find thr prince charming instead of thr exams. Such silly wer thy in those days! Angie took the photo away from Nidhi's hands and held thm gently. She always knew how much she missed her mom on such family occasions! "Nidhi.. I m soo happy for u tht now u have ur prince charming to share those noodles with!" Nidhi felt a bit guilty,"uh.. I m sorry.." "shhh'" she hushed her and laughed,"dont tell me u r feeling guilty for getting a prince charming!" "my sweet little bestie.. its the way of life.. someday I mite b sharing thm with my someone special.." she winked bt still a very slight blush appeared on her cheeks, which Nidhi was sharp to catch.. "with exactly whom hmm?" "who?..nobody..u know some prince charming" "don't lie!" "I m not!" "stop lying and tell me rite now!.. or u want to share it Ashutoshji first?" "Nooo! He shudnt even know!" "y? u shared with him all abt ur call letter first!" Angie apologized with a cute sorry,"i.. I didn't know wat to do.. I had applied out of fancy and I cudnt believe tht my dream wud actually come true.. suddenly.. all mixed sort of emotions ran thru me.. I felt like I was betraying dad.. I felt guilty abt betraying uncle.. on one hand thr was this fear, this guilt on the other hand thr was this excitement.. this joy... I was sooo confused.. and the only person I cud think of turning to was him..!" she looked at Nidhi expecting her to understand! "I m sorry!"she cried. Nidhi sighed,"I know!" "u still feel bad abt it!" "No.. he was rite.. I was so busy..with myself.. my own problems..tht I cudnt see it!" "oh..dear.. stop judging urself.. u know I wud have killed u if u hadn't sorted out my problem.. bt thnks to my wud-b-jeeju u wer prettily saved!" Nidhi chuckled inspite of her resentment! "Bt from now on I will share everything with u first.." Nidhi reprimanded,"if have even an ounce of ur sensible brain left u wudnt do tht!"Angie laughed. "R u sure abt tht!" "absolutely..he is.. he is wiser thn me..and practical..and'" "oh..plz stop praising ur prince charming.. v know all tht already!..my sugar..my sweetheart..my honey' my luv'haan!" she nudged her teasingly! Nidhi blushed,"eh.. u know v have become such stock of laughter!" Angie sighed moonily,"aaah.. such luv.. wish I was blessed too!" Nidhi looked at her suspiciously. She was sure she was hiding something.. bt before she cud enquire thy wer called by dadi bua to prepare dinner! Tht nite thy wer going to b trained by an excellent Gujarati cook Mrs. Trupti Arora, under dadi bua's expert supervision!
Night came upon thm fast or at least it seemed tht way! Everything went on superspeed after the dinner. Kaka and chotesarkaar helped with the dishes while Dadi bua and Trupti supervised Nidhi and Angie's cleaning up of kitchen counter. Angie kept muttering disapprovingly under her breath bt Dadi bua didn't seem to have had developed any ear for tht! While her mother chuckled silently, dadi bua made sure she did wat she was told!
Ashutosh had decided to stay awake till it was time for thr little rendezvous at night. He wanted to make sure everyone was in thr bed before thy dared..yet again! And unsurprisingly enuf, dadi bua, not once bt twice, woke up in the middle of the nite to quench her thirst. Tho he was sure she wudnt have forgotten to take a jug of water to her room for the nite. And once even Col. Verma had visited him while he was working on his laptop..jst to enquire upon him randomly! And Ashutosh was sure he mst've visited Nidhi too! Thnkfully, Nidhi had wanted to steal a little sleep and Col. Verma had found her sleeping soundly in her bed. At stroke of 1, all seemed to have finally retired. Bt he waited till 1:30 and thn he woke Nidhi up! This time, thy secretly sneaked up on to the terrace and had plans to stay thr till 4 a.m. and return b4 anyone wud wake up! It was exciting. It was thrilling and sooo adventurous! Nidhi felt superexcited! She had planned it well. She had slipped the terrace keys in her pocket, arranged for a mat and a duvet and pillows, a packet of wafers, a jug of water, and a little candle! He smiled. So it was going to b a candle-lit sleepover. Tho the half moon shined brilliantly in the sky! And thr was dead silence up thr. With only a cool midnight breeze blowing, it seemed a different place thn wen he had been up thr with Col. Verma. Laying down on the mat, he gathered Nidhi in his arms satisfyingly and it felt like heaven! The stars seemed to descend from the sky, close and ready to b caught. The nite was clear and the sky seemed vast and stretching to infinity! Nidhi took his hands and played with it. Her fingers making soft circles on his palms and thn thr fingers drawing in close for an entwining union! Her soft skin glowed and her lips curled into a sweet smile every now and thn. Thy wer delighted with her playfulness! He sighed and smiled. He had so wanted to kiss her and crush her, bt he knew if thy wud get started, in this serene, soft, beautiful nite, thr wud b no stopping! Thr cudnt b a more heavenly place thn tht, wer he wud luv to make Nidhi his! And he cud take it as slowly and as romantically as he wanted and make it as delightfully engaging as his heart desired! Nidhi snuggled into him leaving his hands and stretching over his chest to hold tightly on to him! He bent and kissed her head softly. She sighed taking in his affection deep down to her heart. She knew her mom was outthr somewhere giving thm her blessings. And yes, she knew she wud b so proud of the man she had chosen for herself. She sighed. She remembered how he had laid his finger on her lips to stop her wen she had wanted to kiss him. And she had pouted. He had looked so handsome in tht white moonlight! His eyes had been gleaming with tht passion and luv. His facial features looked more sharp and handsome and she was drawn towards thm. He had jst looked soo irresistible. Bt he had stopped her and even smiled at her pout as she withdrew! Huh! Bt thn she realized as his eyes silently apologized tht thy cudnt! Thy jst cudnt, jst not yet! She sighed deeply and closed her eyes. His rhythmic heartbeat seemed like a sweet lullaby and before she knew she was drifted into sleep in his arms peacefully! Tht nite, her mom had visited her in her dreams and taken her into her arms. She felt little 4 yr old again bt wen she had opened her eyes, she found herself lying in a peacefully sleeping Ashutosh's arms and she had found herself suddenly turned into a grownup 24 yr old girl. She snuggled closely into him while still in her dream and some strange sort of languishing features appeared on her face as she held him tight. Ashutosh tucked thmslvs in the duvet and covered their faces with a soft scarf to ward off any mosquitoes. Everything reminded him so much abt all the nites tht thy had spent together earlier, bt this time it was different. It was more cuddly and warm and also thr was no funny drama involved behind thm sleeping in each other's arms. It was jst simple, plain, and very sweet something..thm jst wanting to b in each other's arms! He kissed her head and ran a soft hand thru her face before bidding her good nite!
The nxt morning was a packing day! Trupti was going to move in thr and he was going to go back to his home! His home'he wasn't sure if it was..without Nidhi in his arms to lay beside him in the nite. He sighed. Armaan took the morning flight after dropping Trupti at Nidhi's house and handing over his house keys. Kaka had felt relieved and happy! He cribbed abt the exhaustive housework tht he had been employed to do by buaji to teach him the "Verma ways" of doing it! Ashutosh pondered if housework really needed so many of hands in actualty! Thr wer 2 males and 2 ladies in tht house to help with the daily chores! Surely, thr was lot of mismanagement going on! And he had started to feel pity for chote sarkar! Wat was with dadi bua.. she was jst soo fussy and demanding! The first and foremost thing tht he was going to do as soon as Nidhi joined KGH was to keep her so busy at the hospital tht she wud've no time left for anything else! So wen Mallika gave him the good news of management wanting to interview Nidhi tht afternoon itself, Ashutosh had a relieved grin on his face! The management had apparently called up Mallika to enquire after her earlier complaint and the disciplinary hearing! And this time, least to say, she was all praises for Dr. Nidhi Verma, for all tht she really deserved! Grinning widely, he promptly called her up to break the news.
Nidhi was too overjoyed at the news. She felt like jumping and running around whole KAH shouting out loud,"Ohh.. I m going.. I m going back to KGH!!" Bt as the afternoon approached, her elated mood was replaced slowly by worry and apprehension! Oh! A conflict awaited thm regarding her choices and preferences in shaping up of her career! She bit her nails. She had no clue how to make him understand how important those orphan kids and those elderly ppl wer for her! She sighed. For now, she shoved away her fears and readied herself for the interview.
To her pleasant surprise, she was welcomed by the staff of KGH very warmly! Best wishes poured in on her the moment she stepped in! The news abt her reinstation had spread like a wild fire. The grapewine of KGH had been still going strong! And it wasn't hidden any more y and under whose instruction it was happening! And she kind of felt shy and odd at their curious and interested gazes. Knowing tht ppl around u r so much aware of the thing tht was going on betn thm made her more self-conscious! This transfer will jst seal and confirm those rumors abt thm..officially. She was now Dr. Ashutosh's girl. The girl of the dean of KGH. The girl of the best neurosurgeon of the Lucknow! And it wudnt b long wen thy wud learn abt thr formal alliance! She blushed and accepted thr best wishes with warm smiles! Her old intern friends greeted her warmly and wer too eager to get her back. The interview with the management went smoother thn she had thot. Ashuji and Mallika had done thr homework pretty well and it was jst a mere formality! Wen she stepped out of the conference room, she saw his SMS asking her to meet him in canteen after the interview. Her feet sprang towards the canteen.
To her surprise, she was greeted by Mallika as well at the table. "Congratulations..Dr. Nidhi Verma.. welcome back to KGH!" she shook her hand enthusiastically. She smiled. She wud've never imagined a day wud come wen Dr. Mallika.. The Dr. Mallika wud b welcoming her with such enthusiasm. She had to give it to her for her transfer. She sighed and looked at Ashutosh, who was grinning admiringly at her with silent words. "uh'I think I shud excuse myself.." Dr. Mallika started to get up with a suggestive smile, bt Ashutosh stopped her. "please.. v can have a small chat.. cant v?" he looked at Nidhi who nodded a yes! "well.. thn I have a complaint against u two.." said Mallika. Ashutosh shrugged cluelessly! "How bad is it tht I learn from Armaan tht u 2 r formally going to b engaged soon!" she cried. "oh! I m so sorry!" Nidhi suddenly burst out in an apology,"oh..tht is so dumb of us.. seriously'v r so sorry!" "oh.. I was expecting separate apologies.." she chuckled. Nidhi blushed. "I guess I shud get used to it.. now tht u r going to b a permanent fixuter over here!" Ashutosh blushed slightly inspite of trying not to! This sudden change of status betn thm was a new thing and he had to learn to handle it without becoming self-consciously aware of it! Jst day before yesterday, wen he had stepped into the canteen with a tiffin box, all eyes had raised and turned towards him and Dr. Rangnath had given him a full report of the wild rumors tht had spread abt him tht day owing to tht little tiffin box! Some had opined tht he had already married Dr. Nidhi secretly or mite have even eloped together to do so. This gossip was very fascinating! Wen Dr. Ashutosh asked if thy hadn't suspected him of ditching Nidhi, Dr. Ranganth had replied with a mock sad face tht thy wer done with all the cursing part since the convention and tht thy had been quite reasonably updated abt thm! The funny thing was some had even speculated tht Nidhi mite jst have moved in with him or he with her as thy had seen her in his car quite a few times now. And tht had been a more juicier gossip for thm! He had laughed his heart out at tht, not tht it wasn't true. He had almost moved into her house! And he was afraid, he mite have even been stalked to dig out the truth! It was really amusing the way ppl found pleasure in gossiping so imaginatively! He laughed heartily and Dr. Rangnath was left confused as he cudnt find anything tht was so humorous in it all.. in fact if anything it was, it was reproachful, he had opined. Bt Ashutosh had begun to understand the staff gossips and thr underlying humor better! He chuckled. He was brot to present by Dr. Mallika's question. She was asking him abt his wedding preparations! He confessed tht he was left all alone to prepare for the most important day of his life, with only his FIL and his friend to accompany! She asked wat side she shud b on, Nidhi's or his! "Mine!"both cried simultaneously and Mallika laughed as thy both argued y she shud b on thr side! At last Mallika decided tht she wud b on Ashutosh's side bt tht she obviously wudnt b able to help him with his wedding shopping! "very funny!" Ashutosh had cried as both ladies laughed heavily at him! Eh.. he had to do something abt it.. He was horrified at the idea of going shopping for his basic essentials with his FIL. How embarrassing and uncomfortable it was going to b! Kaka, Col. Verma, and Mr. Solanki, all the oldies accompanying him for his wedding shopping! For God's sake! He had wanted to gift Nidhi something very' very'eh..unconventional, if he cud put it in decent word, for thr wedding nite! How was he going to even think of looking for something of tht sort while shopping with thm! And he shuddered at the idea of Mr. Solanki picking up some garish wedding attires for him tht he wudnt b even able to refuse! Bt thn suddenly a brilliant idea struck his mind as the three of thm dispersed. He wud kill two birds with one shot.. or rather 3! He chuckled to himself.
Wen he parked his car inside the parking lot of KAH in the evening, he felt super happy! The letter of Nidhi's transfer was finally in his hand and he wud make sure tht all her formalities got over by today itself so tht Nidhi cud join KGH from tomorrow! She was in assisting an attending doctor wen she received his SMS! A: Sweetheart.. u r back at KGH officially! N: Rlly? A: u'll b called for final formalities in 5 mins. Will b waiting for u in parking lot. Make it quick! :) N: *jumping* Yay!!! Thnkx.. will b thr ASAP.. **muaaah** A: **dead** N: shut up!! *blushes*.. c u.. A: c u.. Luv.
After 30 minutes, she saw him standing at the end of the flight of stairs of KAH entrance door, waiting for her eagerly to appear. She ran to him excitedly literally flying down the stairs with the file in one hand and the stethoscope in other! Suddenly, her saree got entangled in her legs and she tripped and missed quite a few steps and fell right into Ashutosh's arms heavily. Such hard and rough was the fall tht if it wasn't for Ashutosh, she wud've surely gotten her leg fractured badly hitting against the sharp edge of the stairs! She broke into sudden sweat. He stabled her on her feet and quietly picked up her file and stethoscope. She thanked him. He didn't reply.
All the way to her home while driving, he kept quiet. Nidhi was confused. "Wats the matter?" she finally asked wen he parked infront of her house. He nodded his head in anger,"as if u don't know Nidhi!" "I don't know really?" "really.. really Nidhi or u jst want to turn a blind eye?" He glared. She jst stared back. "U r not going to wear a saree to the hospital from tomorrow!" he ordered. "bt it was jst an accident!!" "Tht cud've led to a severe fracture.. with u bedridden for God knows how many days!" "Bt its not as if only I wear a saree to the hospital!"she argued. "U r not going to wear it Nidhi and tht is final!"he declared. She gulped down her rising anger. "fine.. i will try and explain dadi bua and may b'" "thrs no option of may b Nidhi! U WILL SIMPLY NOT WEAR IT.. u understand tht!" Nidhi glared back in anger. "No!..I DON'T understand tht!" she cried back defiantly,"u r.. u r jst overreacting!" "really?.. am I.. u r clearly not so comfortable working and running around in tht saree and yet u want to act so defiant!" Nidhi bit back her temper! Even if he was 100 percent rite, she was not going to simply give in to his dictatorship! "AND no more of this cooking or any other such stupid stuff' u get tht!" "No!" Nidhi gritted her teeth,"I ABSOLUTELY ABSOLUTELY don't get tht!" He glared back! "Nidhi.. I m pretty serious here!" "and u think nobody else have anything serious to say!" He gave her a very fierce angry glance. She glared back with equal intensity! Thr was dead angry silence betn thm for a moment! "its..its.. all thnks to ur dadi bua!"he muttered angrily. "y do u want to bring Dadi bua into this.. its my decision!" "oh yeah.. bt its bcoz of all tht stupid stuff tht she has stuffed inside ur brain and u jst cannot see the light!" She gaped. "thts very very very rude..how can u say such stuff abt my dadi bua!"she bawled. "U know how much she respects u?" He took a deep breath. "I m not disrespecting her Nidhi.. I respect her with all my heart. She is elder to me.. almost like my own grandmother.. she cares abt me.. I know.. I too care abt her.. bt I don't fancy her impositions!" "thy r not impositions..its jst her concern.. her care.. her love for me!" "exactly my point..Nidhi.. thy r not impositions.. u CAN say no!" "bt I don't want to!" "Y?" "I .. I jst don't want to.. y cant u take tht on face without any explanation!" "bcoz I cant. Bcoz I want a reason.. one good, solid reason for ur acting so nonsensically!" She looked at him and nodded disappointingly! "U know'thrs no point in discussing this coz u jst wudnt understand..!" "Nidhi.. I have tried enuf.. and I have given u enuf options.. and still if u r not going to heed to my sane advice, thn I will bring a definite end to this problem myself.. irrespective of whether u like it or not!" "yeah'.u wud surely" she cried sarcastically. She threw away her seatbelt angrily and jumped out of the car slamming the door hard behind her.
He grunted and jumped out from the car.. "Nidhi' v r not done yet.. jst stop rite thr!" He growled in a low angry voice! She ignored him blatantly. He dashed after her and grabbed her wrist roughly muttering grimly,"I said.. stop rite thr Nidhi!" "Let go off my hand!"she whispered angrily while trying to hide thr struggle from the staring eyes of neighborhood ppl! "No!" "u..let me go.. or I will shout!"she cried. "shout!" he challenged, bt she saw tht his anger had suddenly quietened down and his voice had become deceptively calm! And thn suddenly she saw something else in his eyes. "U know Luv" he muttered with a tight firm jaw,"I can bear anything and everything if its for ur good.. u don't know tht!" "and u really don't know the extent I can go!" she cried. He nodded his head and sighed noisily as he looked away from her only to glare back more sternly,"u know.. how stubborn u r!" "and u r jst.. soo soo.. sooo'" she glared back at him with a big frown and angry darting eyes and thn jst gave up'"I don't know!" She didn't even struggle to wriggle out her wrist from the tight clasp of his hand! He finally let her loose with a heavy sigh. She glanced at her wrist and thn simply looked away! He gave a heavy remorseful sigh! "I.. I m sorry sweetheart!"he cried tenderly. Wat his angry words cudnt do, his tender words did, brot a streak of tears flowing down her cheeks. "oh..I m soo sorry Luv.. please don't cry!" he cried again. Bt tears trickled down her cheeks fast and wet her neck. "oh.. please.. Luv.. I said I m sorry.. please!" he begged and tried to wipe off her tears. Bt she held his hands,"its okay!" His eyes moistened at the tears tht still gathered in her eyes. "Luuuv'" she cut him short,"I luv u.." she cried softly as a soft sob suddenly burst out from her throat," I luv u so very much" and she squeezed his fingers tightly. Tears tht had held thmslvs back strongly finally trickled down his face and she wiped thm off gently and twitched ruefully. "u know u don't look like my man crying like a girl!" " huh! u' u jst called me a girl?" he cried with mock anger. she chuckled. "If u cry like this'" "u r such a bad girl Nidhi!" he cried! She laughed as he wiped off her tears over her laughing cheeks. "Okay.. Mr. Ashutosh' its getting late. go home now.. oh wow its going to b my first day at KGH tomorrow.. c u tomorrow at the KGH thn?" Her eyes gleamed with sudden excitement! He sighed and stared at her quietly for a while. She wud never cease to amaze him. It was as if she had simply forgotten wat had jst transpired betn thm. "hmm.. I'll pick u up.." "no' I will bring my car.." "plz.." "Ashuji.. u have ur own schedule..I don't want to bother u!" "bt..." "shhh' uff.. wen will u learn tht the most wisest thing in this world is to listen to ur girl always!" "huh.. Never!" She chuckled. "u will learn!" "Never!" "v'll c!" "V'll c!" Thy chuckled bt as he inched closer, she glanced around the surrounding and pushed him away playfully,"uh Mr. Ashutosh' I know tht u r getting too bold.. and almost restless..bt' not so soon!" He laughed as his eyes sparkled,"not so soon? Eh wen thn, may I ask, Ms. Nidhi?" She bit her lips naughtily! "I don't know.. I want my treat for getting me back to KGH!" His eyebrows arched and his lips turned up for a meaningful smile,"a treat haan?" She lowered her eyes in shyness. And his heart again twisted miserably. She was a beautiful mixture of inherent ruining boldness and innocent overt extreme shyness.. and God.. he cudnt stop loving her! He sighed longingly. She turned to go. "tomorrow thn?" he asked as she reached the door and he tucked his hands in his pockets and patiently waited for her answer! Bt she didn't reply. Mercilessly, ruthlessly.. she didn't reply! Chote sarkar opened the door and she jst turned and waved him a merciless good bye with an enchanting smile!
He paced in his room restlessly! Everything.. rite from her enchanting smile.. to her bold enticing ways.. to thr ugly spat and her streaming tears.. revolved around in his mind! Their spat was a danger signal and he had to resolve this issue before it reared its ugly head again! Thr anger flared up as spontenously as thr luv, before either of thm cud even realize wer it wud lead to! He sighed. He knew she was bearing all this for thm.. for him, bt she jst didn't need to! Y cant she understand tht! She was jst stressing herself too much for this mrg..wen it wasn't even necessary or her priority! Oh! Y.. Luv.. y! He sighed frustratedly and laid back in his bed. He stared at ceiling blankly as he waited for the sleep to come.
Nidhi laid on her bed playing with her phone, which had Ashutosh's picture displaying on it! She rolled over on her stomach and kissed him sweetly. She knew he was so concerned for her.. bt.. bt.. it was hard for her to explain to him rationally y she was doing it! Bt he wud after mrg, he wud exactly understand y she needed to do all this.. y she needed to stress herself to b a perfect homemaker.. and it was jst matter of few weeks. It wud pass in a blur and thn everything wud b alrite again! She rolled back on her back again and pressed the mobile close to her heart. In a few weeks she wud b his and thn everything will b alrite'blissfully alrite! And with tht positive thot, she let the sleep tht was peeping thru the corner come and embrace her!
Nxt day, it wasn't till lunch hour tht he met Nidhi! A tentative knock on his cabin door brot her in! "hiii!" she cried shyly! He smiled and stared at her. " "hmmm'u r not happy seeing me back at KGH!" she complained cutely. "No!.. absolutely not!" "huh! I knew!" she pouted thumping his tiffin on the table as he chuckled. "wats this?" "ur tiffin!" "uh.. no plz!" "y? Do I cook so bad?" "uh'" he deliberately took a pause to answer..She flared,"Do i?" "well..I cannot say yes.. can i?" he teased. She twitched ruefully. "Sweethheart.. y u want to give the staff more fodder to gossip abt us!" "And y do u wanna hide!" he chuckled,"u wud never let me.. wud u?" "so u really wanna hide!" she cried. "Nidhi..If u want, the dean of this hospital can even become ur puppy..i wud happily roam behind u all over the hospital wagging my tail." "Shut up!" He chuckled,"if u want me to prove my commitment, tht is!" She blushed,"will u.. if I really want?" "Try it!" "huh!" He laughed,"Jst try it.. Luv!" "Thnkx.. bt no thnx.. I wudnt want to blemish the reputation of the most respectful dean of our hospital!" "really?" "emm..hmm' now get going.. and no lunch from the canteen from now on!" "oh.. Nidhi'.."he started to object again. "u can have lunch in ur cabin itself!" she offered a solution! "alone?.. nooo!"he cried. "okay.. I will'" "u will?" "I will ask Dr. Rangnath to accompany u!" She chuckled and reached the door and heard his disgruntled mutter,"Cruel!" She giggled and closed the door behind her!
She sighed as she ran thru the lobbies to reach canteen for her lunch. She had been assigned under Dr. Chatterjee, the general physician. After looking at her internship sheet, Dr. Mallika had right away assigned her in the surgery department! One of the most exhaustive department as KGH had quite a reputation for successful surgeries and boasted of reputed, renowned and world-class in-house and consulting surgeons and had a very well-equipped modern facility with equally well-trained staff. And tht meant Nidhi wud have all the exposure tht she wud need and every once in a while she mite even get a chance to scrub Ashuji, bt tht wud largely depend on Dr. Mallika and her training schedule, bt she wud still look forward to it! Bt rite now she was stuck with Dr. Chatterjee. He was a man slightly older to Ashuji.. may b in his late 40s. He was very strict, extremely diligent, and very punctual! Her days at KGH had jst started and she was already too busy and running all over the hospital! KGH surely was more bustling thn KAH with patients streaming in continuously! So at the end of her shift, she was extremely tired. She felt fatigue and wanted to slump rite into the bed. She didn't know wat was happening to her lately. She was feeling extremely tired and exhausted. May b Ashuji was right, she was stressing herself too much physically and thn mentally as well, she was very anxious abt the upcoming wedding, its shopping, its preparation, hell everything! On the top, her internship jst had gotten too demanding at KGH. She had good taste of it on her first day itself and she knew it was jst going to get better and better! She sighed and saw tht thr wer at least two missed calls from Ashuji and a SMS stating to meet him in his cabin before she left for the day, bt wen she reached his cabin, she was informed tht he was called at another hospital for an emergency consultation! She sighed and left msg for him and headed towards her NGO!
***please hit the like button and do write to me how was thsi chapter.. willl b eagerly waiting for ur comments...********
tc..
Ciao!😳
Edited by achiever - 11 years ago
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