'Meant To Be' ArYa FF Part2-Pg3,Preview Part3-Pg5 - Page 2

Great one!!!!
Please continue soon👍🏼

Very well written! Please do continue soon!

I loved it! Please continue soon!

I enjoyed it but didn't understand the HIndi part. Is there an English translation for it?

this is wonderfully written... aarti and yash were completely in character... i could imagine this happening in the show... i hope you plan to continue this...

Thanks All for your lovely comments. I am back with another part in continuation with what happened last time. Hope you like it.. 😳

I received few PMs requesting for dialogues in English so here i am with English dialogues but i will switch back to Hindi for more intense scenes and confrontations. Will post english translation in the end 😳

Aarti turned her attention back to Payal who slept holding Aarti's hand and looked like an angel.. well a fallen angel. Next to her slept Ansh and Palak. Yash settled himself in a chair besides the kid's bed while Aarti sat on the floor after she tried to free her hand from Payal's hold and Payal squinted as if in pain. With her free hand, she kept caressing Payal's face and brushed away the fringe that fell on her forehead.

Yash had no idea if it was a minute or few hours when he suddenly woke up from his sleep, startled and found Aarti watching him intently.

"What happened Yashji" she asked scanning his face.

"Nothing.. how is she now? Did I sleep too much" Yash asked. His voice tinged with guilt. It was his daughter that lay sick on the bed and it was her step mother – a woman he had married a few days back sitting there, looking after while he – the father slept off.

"No. you didn't.. 40 minutes most probably." Aarti said halting a little. She did not want to panic Yash so she proceeded a little hesitatingly.

"Actually Payal still has temperature. Not much.. but 101F" She said beckoning him to stay calm as she saw him leaping to his feet. He however paid no attention to her gesture and sat next to her on the floor and checked Payal's forehead for the temperature.

"Should I call the hospital?" he asked, looking straight at Aarti panic-stricken.

"No Yashji. Its normal. It happens with kids all the time. I will just put some cold cloth on her forehead and wipe her down and she will be fine."

Yash was hesitating and Aarti could read that clearly on his sharp features. His eyes were widened and had streaks of red – a sure sign of stress.

"Yashji.. don't forget I am a mother too. She is fine. Please trust me" she looked away with that statement. Trust was may be the most important and only thing she felt for him. She trusted him to respect her. Her garbage filled mind, thanks to Mansi, had cleared on the first night itself. He had maintained his distance staunchly and at the same time he had managed not to make her feel like an outsider. She still had the respect of being married to him but he was off limits to her and she did not mind it at all.

Yash nodded and held onto Payal's small hand in his.

Aarti unclasped Payal's grip on her hand and got up.

'Mumma' payal murmured..

Aarti sat down as fast as she had gotten up and moved close to her ailing daughter.

'Payal beta.. I am right here. I am not going anywhere. Just getting some water for you.. alright?' she cooed in her ears. Yash was next to her but heard only the whisper.

Payal's eyes were closed but she nodded.

Aarti disappeared from the room beckoning Yash to look after Payal while she was gone. Next moment she was back with ice cold water mixed with a little sea salt and a white washcloth. She was in the door when she heard Yash on the phone. He was talking to Payal's doctor, asking him if it was safe to keep her at the home.

Aarti felt a sting of tears in her eyes. So she was the only one doing all the bidding for this marriage. Yash did not trust her with his daughters. He needed an expert opinion. She resolved to step out of the home as soon as Payal was better. She had no place in his life. She had no place in his home.

Yash looked guilty as he saw Aarti coming in mutely with washcloth. She dipped the cloth in the bowl that contained the salt water and squeezed it so that it didn't drip and then placed it on Payal's forehead. Payal squinted at first and then soothed down. The touch of ice must have felt good on her hot body.

Doctor continued to bark instructions in Yash's ear. He asked Yash to do exactly what Aarti was already doing. Yash did not dare look at her face. He knew it was insulting. He had doubted her parenting skills in the afternoon and now the basic of all – a mother's instinct and love for a child but Payal was not her child and that was a fact he couldn't deny. His more practical part chided him.

And yet she was doing everything that a mother could do for her sick daughter. The emotional part of him jabbed hard. He was wrong and he should accept it graciously.

'Aarti ji.. actually I am very protective towards Payal and Palak. I just wanted to have a second opinion. I am sorry'.

He couldn't tell what she was thinking. Her mouth was set in an impassive line. If she was offended she did not make a show of it.

'I understand Yashji. Don't worry about it' saying that she went about wiping Payal's body down with the cold washcloth.

Meanwhile, he offered to refill the bowl but she refused and refilled it herself. Payal's temperature was back to normal. Aarti came back to a relieved man.

'Aarti, her temperature is down to normal.. it worked!!' Yash smiled.

That was for the first time she saw him smiling contently at something. For a moment a lump formed in her throat. At this moment she could understand his concern, him calling the doctor at that hour to have a 'second opinion'. He simply did not want to take any chance with his kids just the way she wouldn't take a chance with Ansh's well being. It wasn't about proving her wrong or doubting her skills. It was just about protecting his children. She smiled back a little. It was anyways a matter of few hours or may be a day more for her to go away from that face and she would not have to suffer that poignant look anymore. It wouldn't then matter if he trusted her or not.

She checked on Palak and Ansh. He as usual had thrown away his blanket and was shivering. She adjusted the blanket over his body, slipped a small cushion under Palak's head while Yash watched her every movement. She could feel his eyes on her back and it unsettled her as always. She wished he would look away. Those eyes were difficult to read and that made her uncomfortable.

She looked at the watch. There was still half an hour to go before she had to wake Payal up for medicines so she decided to leaf through some magazine. Must have been a few minutes when a soft snoring noise filled the room. Yash had fallen asleep where he was sitting, holding Payal's hand. His face was cocked to one side thanks to the awkward position he sat in. His long legs folded uncomfortably in between the little place between bed and chair. For a moment Aarti thought of waking him up but then she recollected his red rimmed eyes. Would be good if he could catch a wink, she thought.

He desperately needed a pillow for that crooked neck or else he would have worst possible pain the next morning but that meant either waking him up or touching him or both. Unwilling to do that, she waited for a few seconds to see if he would shift his weight on his own but he didn't. She wasn't able to peel her eyes from his face – free of all worry lines on his face, the frown that seemed perennial gone, he looked much younger and handsome like Mansi said. That was a blasphemous thought. Aarti shook her mind a little as if it would get rid of the thought that had just entered her mind. He could be handsome as hell but he was not her business. Finally she mustered enough courage to slip a pillow beneath his head and his expressions relaxed some more. He needed it and she had guessed it right. Next, she covered him with another blanket from kid's cupboard. It fell short on his legs so she went back to their room to get one of his full size ones. As she entered the room, she saw Payal shifting in her sleep. She hurriedly moved towards the bed and that's when she tripped over the kiddie blanket she had covered him with. Even during that fall she hated herself for being so clumsy and waited for her body to land on the cold floor with a thud but something cushioned her – something hard and strong just like the floor but it wasn't cold.. and it was unmistakably human. She opened her eyes slowly and found herself exactly on top of her new husband, Ansh's new dad.

His expressions were a mix of pain and surprise. He must have been startled out of his sleep to find his newly married wife's weight landing on him unexpectedly. Her heart was beating so fast, she could hear its fast rhythm in ears and that must have drawn out any other noise in the room – such as his yelping with pain. Their eyes met, their bodies touched and as usual she felt a current passing through her as if she had touched a live wire. For a moment she thought she would need the washcloth she had for Payal. She was hot with embarrassment. She felt his hand slither up her back, now bare for the most part, thanks to Mansi's insistence of having some sexy blouses stitched up for her marriage. She felt a slight tremor in his fingers and that sent her heart racing once more.

She tried her bit to get up and that closed whatever little gap their bodies had after her fall. She felt her body settling very oddly with his. It was unnerving. She had no feelings for this man and that was the only mutually agreed thing between them and yet she felt something she hadn't felt in a very very long time. She felt as if her body was meant to fit around his just fine, naturally. She pushed her bellowing subconscious and looked away from those eyes. God knows, may be he was able to read the thoughts as well and right now her thoughts were the last thing he should have ever read. They married for their kids. Period.

She scanned his face for any tale a tell sign of current coursing through him and found none. He was as calm and composed as ever.

'Aartiji' His tone had turned husky and she wasn't sure why.

'Yashji..I am sorry..' she muttered a little. She was thankful for the dim lighting in the room. She was sure her face was strawberry pink with shame. She was klutzy even after rearing a kid!

She finally supported her own weight and tried to get up. That's when Yash winced with pain. His face was screwed and Aarti hoped beyond hope she hadn't pained him where it hurts the most. Given the fact that she was just as klutzy while getting up as she was while falling down, she wasn't sure she hadn't hit him at any wrong spots.

It took her a minute before she was steady on her feet. She saw him clutching his ankle and that was exactly the time Ansh decided to get up and howl. For a moment Yash forgot his pain and both of them looked at him. Aarti walked around the bed, carefully this time, not wanting to repeat her fall once again. She could see Yash looking at her from corner of his eyes, may be for his safety. His body stiffened, as if ready to bear one more landing of another 140 lbs.

She pacified Ansh in record time. Almost thumping him hard on the back so that he would go back to sleep, all this while, she couldn't take her eyes off Yash, who sat there unmoving, clenching his foot with one hand. Suddenly he looked up and Aarti's reflexes failed her. He caught her staring and Aarti had to speak.

'I am sorry Yashji. I just wanted to cover you with a blanket but before I could do it, I just tripped into your arms' the last part remained unspoken.

Yash looked around as if to validate her statement. There indeed was a Disney blanket over him and apart from that, there was another, his regular one – someone must have brought it from his room. Aarti must have brought it from his room. His expressions softened but only for a second. Next moment, his steely exterior was back. He simply nodded and checked on Payal once again who slept soundly.

A faint beep broke his trance. It was a small alarm clock that he hadn't seen earlier. Aarti leapt to her feet.

'Time for Payal's medicines' she murmured to no one in particular.

She fished out the bottle from the drawer and slowly woke up Payal who refused at first but finally woke up with cranky expressions.

Aarti smiled at her as if it was perfectly normal to get up at 3 AM in the morning to pop up pills and swallow bitter cold syrup.

Payal returned the smile and popped up the pills but as she saw cold syrup bottle in Aarti's hands, she scrunched up her nose. It was always a trouble. Yash knew Aarti will have to put up a good fight and suffer a tantrum fit before Payal would consume it.

As Aarti filled a small spoon with the ruby red liquid, Payal squirmed in her place and threw her hands in air that landed the spoon at the edge of the bed. The warm liquid dripped down from the bedsheet and Yash as always lost his cool. He was about to tell Payal off for this for her antics but Aarti pushed him down. Her palm rested on his hand forcing him to sit where he was. She looked at him with Let-Me-Handle-This expression.

He did not want to repeat his mistake again. He knew Aarti had definitely felt offended because of his call to the Pediatrician earlier so he kept mum. His hand burnt under her touch. He looked at her hand and then back to her. Her expressions were nonchalant. She was coercing Payal into drinking the cold syrup and Payal was not to be budged.

It was an innocent touch. Meant without any intention – good or bad. There was nothing to feel. He told himself. They were married. They were supposed to share a room, a bed. Hell, they were supposed to share a life. Such contact was bound to happen. If his skin scorched every time she touched him, accidently or otherwise, he would soon be roaming around with burn marks. His lips twitched in a smile, unknowingly. He panicked once he realized where the train of his thoughts was headed to. It was not even a week they were married and he was already thinking of eventuality?! Like everyone else, was he giving in to the idea of moving on from Arpita – his beloved wife? Suddenly he pulled his hand from beneath Aarti's and that made her realize what had happened. Her face darkened with shame once again. For a moment he thought to tell her it was ok but he didn't. No. it was not ok. It should not be ok. He had to control himself. He had to remind himself of Aarti's reaction to his touch before they were married and even after. Their first night was the comedy of errors and with every trick Pratik had managed to pull out of the hat, he recalled Aarti's face turning into expression full of disgust. She didn't want anything to happen. She recoiled at his touch, rightly so. They married for their kids. Period!

He had been too engulfed in his thoughts to realize that Payal had finally submitted to Aarti's pursuing. He hadn't heard Aarti shouting at her. She had managed to do it without exercising any harsh worded discipline. She had managed to do it with few words. Words spoken with care and lots of motherly love. He had doubted her way of bringing up kids. She had proved her way of bringing up kids her way and she had emerged as winner. He watched her face, looking for expression of defiance. A winning smirk but there was none. She was ruffling Palak and Ansh's hair and looking at both of them very lovingly, like a mother would.

He had forgotten about the pain in his ankle in those few minutes of tenderness but it came back to him as he tried to get up. Aarti looked at him, concerned. She whispered him to sit where he was. She was gone from the room and when she returned she had a small jar of Iodex and an ice pack with her. Without uttering a word, she sat next to him and waited for him to show her where it was hurting. He was taken aback as she asked him to pull the pants up so that she could apply the balm to his aching ankle.

He stuttered and then frowned at himself. Need not act like a teenager for heaven's sake. He reprimanded himself.

'I will do it myself. Give it to me' he wondered if his tone was sterner than what it should have been. Aarti meant well and he knew it.

She did not put up a fight like she had with Payal for cold syrup. She promptly handed him the Iodex and left him to his own accord.

Yash saw her moving past. Her face was once again devoid of any expression. May be he should have let her. May be not. It was a bad idea. As a father, he knew he had married for his daughters and at the same time as a man he was completely aware of what lethal combination they both formed. Like Fire and Fuel. Like Moth and Fire. It was must that they were insulated from any touch or any feeling that would turn his world upside down.

Slowly he pulled his pants up to the ankle and applied the balm. Payal stirred in the bed and Aarti was back the next second as if she had a sensor put on her brains for anything that Payal would need.

He dared not look at her. He was scared to find enormous love on her face for his child. He was scared to find undisguised indifference on her face.. for him.

Do leave a comment if you liked it.. makes my day 😉

you write incredibly well! well done!

You write very very well! Please do continue soon!

Once again an absolutely brilliant update! I am loving the way you are weaving the AarYa story in between their interactions with the kids! They're both extremely aware of their body's reactions to each others physical touch, and it's extremely realistic how Yash is basically forcing himself to keep himself away from her because they've already started to enter dangerous territories!

I am sure Aarti will be winning his trust when it comes to Payal and Palak very soon, and it's going to just get harder and harder for him not to be affected by her! Can't wait for the next chapter, so please update soon!

This one was wow!Please continue..wil love to read more..