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Paro needed to keep a low profile. Needed to vanish when the workers appeared, preferably sit tight in Sunehri's room. Rudra had issued these commands and Paro had assured him of her compliance. And satisfied with his plans for her safety, he'd left for work, his mind at peace.
But he'd reckoned without the one factor that could mess it all up - Paro's heart. Paro's tender heart, which melted the moment she saw Mythili weeping. So affected was Paro by Mythili's grief that she put herself between the shark and her favourite snack. And having escaped the predatory teeth, returned to Mythili to cheer her up with the little riddle-rhyme of her childhood. Sure enough, it brought a smile to Mythili's forlorn face.
Then Mythili decided to unburden herself about her inability to conceive and her desire to adopt a child - welcome news, Paro told Mythili. But Mythili was despondent. Kakisa would never agree to let her adopt. She'd want her own blood to carry on the line, so that Mythili would never know the joys of motherhood. And Paro, deeply moved by this tale of woe, forgot all about Rudra's warning, and told Mythili all about herself, orphaned when six and raised by an aunt as her own.
It was only when Mythili asked her how her Mamisa had allowed her to come away with Rudra before their marriage, that Paro realised her folly. But by then it was too late. The shark was in the doorway and had overheard the story. Teeth gleaming the predator pushed her into a corner. Is your aunt all the family you have? What happened to your parents? Is your aunt from this area, because your embroidery has a local flavour to it? Finally, scenting danger, Paro had managed to evade her with an excuse. But the damage was done.
It was hardly surprising that soon after, Sumer turned up to photograph Paro as she sat with her needle-work. He would not be shaken off. So that Paro had to leave the balcony to escape him. But Sumer trapped her on the stairs and captured her photo with a triumphant smile. The triumph was short-lived. Unknown to him, Rudra had come up behind him while he clicked away, and with a flick of his wrist had palmed the phone. And after a casual question or two to Sumer, had equally casually let it slip over the railings to smash to pieces on the floor.
Rudra may have saved Paro today from Sumer's camera, but there was nothing he could do about the information that she had so readily shared with Mythili and Kakisa. That information and Paro's propensity for reckless conduct, would land her in trouble later at dinner-time.
But for the moment, Rudra had her in the safety of his room. The suddenness with which he'd stopped and released her hand had cannoned her body into his, and stolen his ire. So that there was only concern in his voice when he asked her if she was okay. Gentle concern. As he repeated the question to a dumb-struck Paro, who could not believe the transformation from the venom-spewing man who'd just hours earlier cautioned her against thinking that he cared. And who was now insisting that she tell him if Sumer had misbehaved with her.
When, still lost for words, she shook her head, he reprimanded her - without heat. What was the need to roam around when he'd told her to sit tight? And no, she needn't interact with his family any more than necessary either. And then, after exhorting her to stay on in his room while the workers remained, as he headed away from her to the cupboard, he'd disconcerted her thoroughly by guessing, sight-unseen that she'd opened her mouth to say something.
So, hesitantly, apprehensive of his reaction, she told him that Kakisa suspected that their Jaipur/engagement story was fake. He took it in his stride. "She's trying to break you." But then suspicion slitting his eyes, he asked her, "Are you dying to confess?" Not realising that it wasn't the whole truth, Paro denied that she'd disclosed anything important, although she did get caught out sometimes because she didn't know what to say.
So Rudra turned to her with the only story he could think of. "Tell her that the first time I met you, I..." That was when the images of him rescuing Paro from the goons seared his brain. Visions of him, body pressed tight against hers, tumbling on the sand, limbs intimately entwined, in flagrant disregard of any kind of convention. Of coming to rest on top of her softness, eyes mere whispers away, mouths aligned, breaths shared, in that one moment of pure communication when he was just a man and she just a woman untainted by baggage or history or record of any kind. Images that wouldn't let her meet his eyes, but quickened her breath, and which wiped all thought from his brain, so that he temporised. "I'll think up something to tell her." Because, surely, the truth was so fantastic that it was best locked away in some safe place deep within.
It must have been that shared memory that unlocked her conscience and prompted her to ask his forgiveness - she'd found out about his mother in order to use it against him. But even though they hated one another she wouldn't sink so low, she'd fight him, but honourably.
Heart light once more, she turned away. She was not to know but she'd only done what he had earlier in the day - dug into her past in order to use it against her. She'd trashed her nefarious intent, but... "Nandini." That one word uttered so reasonably stopped her in her tracks. Hand balled into a fist, face drawn into ridges of hate, he took the battle to her, without compunctions, below the belt. "...She was married last year...Any news of her? Any phone? Letter?...Remember what I told the villagers? Nobody knows what happens to the girls who are married across the border. Fake wedding, fake relatives, fake vows...We heard from our informer that these girls are forced into pros..."
Paro couldn't bear to hear any more. In any case there was no need. Rudra had found her soft center with deadly accuracy. Paro was broken!!
Lovely episode today, with lots of PaRud scenes, each memorable in its own way. 😃 The first one in the kitchen memorable for his small courtesies, which made me think his hand will always be there for her in her hour of need. The second scene, when he rescues her from Sumer - he doesn't even need to interact with her directly, but the chemistry's unmissable. Then in his room, the effortless breath-stealer was his question to her if she was okay. The other notable takeaway for me was the Rudra-Aman conversation, where Rudra knew in his heart that Paro was incapable of being mixed-up in the gunrunning. Although his mind said something else.
The CVs gave us a calmer episode today, but it's the calm before tomorrow's storm, going by the precap. More fallouts from the Paro reveal and Kakisa's unflagging curiosity. The infertility/adoption track being developed. And the BIG one: Nandini!! No doubt Rudra will try to get hold of Nandini - to break Paro, it's a matter of time.
Acting honours are shared between Sanaya, Ashish, and Ananya, with Sanaya on top today for her many-tinted portrayal. Ashish was at his intimidating best in his new reasonable tone - it had a more sinister impact on me than his overt meltdowns. And Ananya was a convincing...shark!!😆 Kudos to all. 👏👏👏
