FF: Unloved (Complete) - Page 60

Parvati's eyes grew wide in shock as she slowly backed herself up against the wall.

"It can't be," she said. "What are you two doing here?"

Standing side by side, leaning against the door, were Sumer and Shantanu. She couldn't believe that they were here, especially Shantanu. She hadn't seen him since Varun's funeral. As she wondered why they were here, an uneasy feeling rose in the pit of her stomach. If they were here and together, something was definitely wrong. Sumer and Shantanu smirked evilly as they took in the sight of Paro. In synchronized steps, they slowly stepped towards her. With each step forward, she took a step back. Parvati gulped nervously as she felt herself backed against the wall, unable to move away any further. Fear enveloped her as her heart thudded in her chest.

"Hello bhabhi-sa," Shantanu said. "Long time no see."

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Sumer chuckled, "He's here to congratulate you, of course. How could you not invite him to your wedding?"

"Sumer, why would she invite me?" said Shantanu. "After all, she murdered my brother."

"I- I didn't do anything," Parvati tried to defend herself.

"Don't play innocent, Parvati. We know your game and we are here to end it."

"What do you mean?"

Sumer, who now hovered over Paro, spoke in a deep, threatening tone, "Stay away from Rudra."

Feeling uncomfortable, Parvati shoved Sumer away and tried to move. He tried to grab her and caught her by her sleeve. However she moved away too quickly, causing it to tear slightly. Shantanu was one step ahead of Paro. As soon as she took a step away, he came forward and grabbed her by her wrists roughly then pinned her back against the wall. She let out a small yelp as she hit the wall with a loud thud.

Shantanu growled lowly, "What did you think, huh? Did you think you could kill my brother and get away with it? Did you really think you would get remarried and live happily ever after, especially after what you did?"

"Please let me go," Parvati pleaded. "I didn't do anything to Varun-."

Sumer stepped forward and slapped her across the face, hard, "Don't you dare take his name from your filthy mouth. It's a bloody disgrace."

Parvati whimpered, "Please. I didn't do anything to him."

"Shut up!" Shantanu yelled. "And listen carefully."

"You're a disgrace to the Ranawat family," Sumer said. "A curse, really. And Rudra has quite a temper. He'll end up hurting you if you make a mistake. Save them the trouble of kicking you out and just leave."

"You are going to walk away from your marriage. Stay away from Rudra. You already killed one of your husbands. We're sure you will be responsible for the death of your second husband too."

Parvati couldn't take it anymore. Using all her strength she shoved Shantanu and punched him in the face. He stumbled back upon impact, giving her enough room to run away. However, she had only taken two steps when Sumer grabbed her. One hand held her arm while the other covered her mouth. He pulled her back against him in order to stop her from running away. She tried to scream and push him away, but it was no use. He was much stronger than her.

Shantanu straightened himself up and stood in front of her while Sumer continued to hold on to her. He looked her dead in the eye with a dark, piercing gaze that made Parvati stop fighting and freeze. She could feel Sumer's fingers dig into her skin, leaving scratches in its wake. She had never seen such hatred before, and it terrified her as she wondered what they were about to do.

"You will calm down and you will do as we say," Shantanu spoke grimly. "You deserve this and much more after what you did to my brother. You drove him to his death."

Parvati shook her head. In her final attempt to break free, she bit Sumer's hand. He retracted back and hissed in pain, giving her enough time to punch Shantanu again and make a run for the door. It burst open and in a panicked voice screamed at the top of her lungs for help. Sumer and Shantanu shoved her to the ground and made a run for it. Tears streamed down her face as she shouted, straining every vocal chord known to man. By the time the elderly caretaker, Leela Gupta, had reached her and called the police, the two men were long gone. All that was left was an assaulted and traumatized Parvati, crying on the ground.

~

Parvati finished giving her statement to the officer-in-charge. Rudra was by her side the entire time. He felt like he was going to explode. The pent up rage was ready to erupt as Parvati disclosed to him who her attackers were. Shock and disgust filled him. His own cousin was involved in this? He knew Sumer was a bad character, but he had no idea that he would go to such an extent. And Varun's brother, Shantanu? Where did he come into the picture? Sumer must have told him about Parvati's remarriage, sparking the hatred for her once more.

"Do you know where they are now?" Rudra asked her.

Parvati shook her head, "They ran off once I managed to scream for help."

The officer-in-charge spoke up, "They have been apprehended and arrested. One of the caretakers, Anita, identified them standing amongst the crowd. Apparently they came back for reasons unknown to us."

"I want them charged with assault," Rudra stated. "This is just any woman. This is my wife, the wife of a BSD officer and the daughter-in-law of the BSD General."

"You're BSD General Dilsher Ranawat's bahu?" the officer asked Parvati.

She nodded, not realizing that her father-in-law's status had a great deal of respect in the police force.

"We'll handle this matter with upmost priority. Let's get you to the hospital to check for further injuries."

Rudra was about to agree when Parvati shook her head in denial, "No."

"Paro?" Rudra said questioningly.

"No, I just want to go home. Please?"

He understood that she wanted to put all of this behind her. He nodded in agreement. The officer, too, understood and left Rudra and Parvati to finish other matters.

"Do you wanted to at least see the kids before you go?" Rudra asked. "They must be worried seeing all the commotion."

In all of this, Parvati had forgotten about the children. She knew they would be worried seeing all the chaos around them. She nodded to Rudra and they went to the back of the orphanage, to the large dining hall, where the children had been taken. Upon entering, they found the kids sitting around the table. One by one they turned their attention to Parvati and Rudra standing in the doorway. Shock was mirrored on their faces as they took in the sight of their injured Pari didi, with arms and hands bandaged up. The next thing Rudra and Parvati knew, they were bombarded by the kids, all of them shouting and yelling, asking what had happened.

"Pari didi," Aahil said. "What happened to you?"

Zarina's eyes welled with tears, "Didi, you're hurt. Who did this to you?"

"Kids she's okay," Rudra spoke up. "She-."

Rehaan stomped over to Rudra angrily and shouted, "What did you do to Pari didi!"

Rudra looked at him, stunned by the sudden outburst. It seemed that everyone else was too because as soon as Rehaan had shouted the dining hall became dead silent.

"You hurt her didn't you?!" the small boy continued.

Another child, Soham, went to Rudra, "Is it true? Did you hurt didi?"

"If you hurt her, I will never forgive you," Rehaan said.

Parvati shook her head and knelt down, "No, Rudra didn't hurt me. He wasn't even here when this happened. But he is right, I am okay."

The kids looked at her, then at Rudra guiltily. They dropped their head in shame and mumbled an apology to him. Rudra, however, simply nodded and stepped out of the room. Although they hadn't meant it, their words had stung him. What hurt more was the truth in Parvati's words. He wasn't there when she was attacked. He was her husband and he was suppose to protect her, but he had failed to do so. Indirectly, Rudra had hurt his wife by not being there to protect her, and for that he would not be able to forgive himself.

~

When Parvati, Rudra, and Mala had returned to the Ranawat home, Parvati's wellbeing was the upmost priority. Despite her protests, Rudra hadn't let his wife's feet touch the floor upon their return. He had been carrying her in his arms the entire time. Meanwhile, Mala went to the kitchen and immediately began heating up the food that she had cooked earlier. She brought out a plateful of it for Parvati, who had been taken to her room, and fed her by hand. She was, after all, the type of mother that believed all problems could be solved with food. Once Mala was sure that both her children were full and okay, she left to call Dilsher, who had gone to the police station after work to attend to the matters of Parvati's case. He had been informed about the events that had taken place after the three of them had left the orphanage. His silence and stern, single-worded responses were enough for them to understand that he was furious about what had happened and he was going to take matters into his own hands.

It was night. Parvati was sitting on the bed with the first aid kit. She had just showered and decided to change her bandages. As she unraveled the strips and gauze off her hand, she examined her injuries. They weren't as bad as she thought, but the memories were. It had stopped bleeding, thankfully, but she would re-bandage it just to be safe. As she tended to her wounds, Paro's thoughts went to Rudra. Ever since they had come home he had been silent and distant. She knew that he was concerned about her, but even she felt fine now that she was home. He had been in the washroom now for the last hour, and if it wasn't for the water running she would've thought something had happened to him. This was not like him at all and it made her wonder what was wrong. Was he still upset about everything that had happened? Was he mad at her for some reason? What was wrong?

As she finished bandaging her hands, Rudra came out of the washroom. He stood at the foot of the bed, watching Paro as she put away the first aid kit in the drawer of the nightstand. His eyes traced the injuries along her arms, pausing at the fresh bandages. He gulped painfully. How could he have let this happen? How could he have not been there for her when she needed him? The guilt ate away at him.

"Rudra are you okay?" Parvati asked as she saw him stare at her.

He broke out of his thoughts and shook his head sadly, "No, I'm not."

She sat up a little more as he came and sat in front of her. Seeing the sadness in his eyes tugged at Paro's heartstrings. She had never seen him like this before and it seriously worried her. Her eyes mirrored the same sadness as she continued to watch him, waiting for him to tell her what was wrong.

Rudra held her hands in his and said, "I'm sorry, Paro."

She was taken aback, "For what?"

"For not being able to protect you. I wasn't there for you, and as a result you were hurt."

"Rudra, it's not your fault. You don't need to apologize for something you had no control over."

"My own cousin hurt you. He threatened you and brought Shantanu with him to try to get you to stay away from me."

"None of us expected this to happen," she cupped his cheek. "Please, don't let this eat away at you. I don't blame you for this, so please don't blame yourself."

Rudra held her hand against his face, "What if something had happened to you? What would I do without you? How would I live?"

She felt her unshed tears prick her eyes at Rudra's declaration. In an attempt to comfort him, Paro pulled him forward and hugged him. She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, stroking the back of his head.

"I am okay Rudra," she said softly against his ear. "I will always be okay as long as you are here."

Rudra was initially shocked that she had done so, but then basked in the moment and held her close. He had thought he lost her today, but he felt his heart at peace knowing that she was here, safe in his arms. He took a deep breath and relaxed as the woman he loved sat before him, holding him close to assure him that she was okay. Rudra closed his eyes and sent a quick, silent prayer to Bholenath, thanking Him for keeping Paro safe and asking Him to protect her in times that he can't. Bholenath knew, after all, that Rudra's whole reason for existence lives and dies with Parvati.

**********

Wow, what an update! Finally, Parvati trusts Rudra to always protect her! Such a big step on her part. Let me know what you think by leaving your comments and feedback below!

Next update: Rudra's surprise: Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Thanks for reading!