PART 26:
RECAP: Nidhi was speechless...who could understand the pain of rejection better than her?...She knew Rohan meant every word he just said...just like she had asked someone the same question on her 18th birthday. She saw the same hope...the same expectation...the same anticipation in his eyes as she had from Arjun one day. It had not been easy for her to ask that question that day...and it was probably not easy for Rohan either...what was she going to do????
Nidhi gazed at Rohan's expectant eyes. There was just love and genuine affection in them; no pretense...no, he was not taking advantage of the situation...he had probably thought about this decision for a while, he was just waiting for an opportunity.
Nidhi lowered her eyes and did not say anything.
"Koi baat nahin Nidhi...yeh waqt shayad aisi baatein karne ka nahin hai...aaj ki shaam bahut lambi thi...tum aaraam kar lo...jab tumhey theek waqt lage, mere sawaal ka jawaab de dena...Good night," he turned around to leave. Nidhi grabbed his wrist, "Rohan...thanks for saving me once again," she had tears in her eyes.
He looked at her and smiled a little, "kaha tha na tumse...yeh thanks wanks ki bhasha mujhey samajh nahin aati...ab so jao...subah baat karenge."
Arohi stayed up all night. Her head throbbed with the events of the evening. She had been shaken up by Amar's near assault on her, and then Rohan's proposal had completely surprised her.
She was in a fix. Her conscious (Nidhi) and sub-conscious (Arohi) mind debated all night as she tossed and turned in bed.
Nidhi: Rohan ne tumhari kitni help ki hai...aaj tak wo tumhare saath chattaan bankar har jagah khada raha hai...yadi Rohan tumhari zindagi mein nahin hota tho aaj tum barbaad ho gayi hoti.
Arohi: Barbaad tho main usi din ho gayi thi jab Arjun ne mere pyaar ko thukraaya tha
Nidhi: Arjun...Arjun...Arjun...aakhir kab tak uss berehem insaan ke liye tum aansoo bahaati rahogi? Kya usey tumhari bilkul bhi chinta hai? Kya yehi dosti nibhaayi hai Arjun ne? 2 saal hone waale hain...par ek baar bhi khabar li tumhari?
Arohi: Lekin main sirf Arjun ki hoon...main kisi aur se shaadi kaise kar sakti hoon?
Nidhi: Tum sirf apne baare mein soch rahi ho Arohi. Rohan kitna chaahta hai tumhey...kya tum uska dil thodna chaahti ho? Tumhey tho pataa hai na ki dil tootna kisey kehte hain? Rohan ko kya phir uss sharaab ke andhere mein dhakel na chaahti ho? Usney tumhare liye aur daddyji ke liye kitna kuch nahin kiya? Kya uska dil thodna hi uska inaam hoga?
Arohi: Lekin main Rohan ko pyaar nahin karti...usey kaise ek patni ka pyaar de paaoongi?
Nidhi: duniya mein kitni auraton ki shaadi aise logon se hoti hain jinhey wo jaanti bhi nahin hain...yeh tho Rohan ki baat ho rahi hai...jo tumhey jee jaan se chaahta hai...kya uske liye thoda pyaar nahin juta paaogi?
Arohi: Lekin wo pyaar nahin...ek samjhauta hoga
Nidhi: Samjhauta nahin...balki dosti nibhaaogi tum Arohi...aur Arjun jaise insaan ke liye tum Rohan ko thukra dogi? Arjun ne na kabhie tumhari izzat ki, aur na hi tumhare pyaar ki kabhie kadar ki...Rohan tumhari izzat bhi karta hai aur kadar bhi...wo tumhey hamesha khush rakhega...Arjun sirf pehle apne aap ko khusk rakhega, aur phir tumhare baare mein sochega...Rohan hamesha tumhare baare mein pehle sochega.
Arohi: Nahin mera dil nahin maanta...mera Arjun aisa nahin hai...wo kehta nahin hai, par wo mujhey sach much pyaar karta hai...main uski amaanat hoon...kisi aur ki kabhie nahin ho sakti.
Nidhi; Theek hai tho karti rehna zindagi bhar uska intezaar...aur Rohan ka jab dil toot jaaye, tho uske liye kuch sharaab bhi khareed dena...shayad tumhein shanti milegi...kam se kam tum Arjun ki yaad mein tho reh logi...Rohan bechara pehle apne maa baap ke ghum mein aur phir tumhari wajah se bilkul toot jaayega.
Arohi shut her ears: Nahin! Main kuch nahin jaanti...jab tak Arjun America se wapas nahin aa jaata...main Rohan se shaadi karne ki soch bhi nahin sakti
Nidhi: Tho itni meherbaani zaroor karna Rohan par...usey Arjun ke baare mein sab kuch bataa do...kam se kam wo ek jhoothi aas mein tho nahin jeeyega.
She finally dozed off, as her mind swirled like a twister all night.
NEXT DAY:
Rohan insisted on accompanying Nidhi to work and told her that he would pick her up that evening too. She resisted the help, but Dadi and Sudhir (by his gestures) agreed with Rohan.
On their way to work, Nidhi never talked about his proposal from last night.
He dropped her at work and then instead of heading to the garage, went to meet a friend who worked at a bank and dealt with small business loans.
"Yaar Josh...mujhey bataa yadi main apna business kholna chaahoon, tho kya loan mil sakta hai?" Rohan asked.
"Haan yadi koi guarantee dene ko tayaar ho tho ho sakta hai," Josh said
Rohan talked to Veer about his plan. Veer had run a taxi business for a few years and had a reasonable credit history with the banks. Veer agreed to help out his dear friend. He was happy that Rohan was serious about his future and had stopped drinking now. Veer knew that Nidhi played a big role in his friend's transformation.
By the end of the day, his loan was approved. Rohan had a plan- he wanted to tell Nidhi about it before anyone else found out.
He picked Nidhi after her shift, "Nidhi...ek khush khabri hai...chalo tumhey ek baat bataani hai." Nidhi was worn out and tired after the long day. The only redeeming factor was that the rowdy men did not bother her that day. She really did not want to talk about the proposal either.
They took an auto to the beach and sat on the sand next to each other. Rohan purchased some chana from a vendor, "yeh lo Nidhi," he offered her some.
"nahin mera mann nahin hai," she said
"OK...Nidhi...mujhey tumse kuch kehna hai," he said excitedly
"Pehle mujhey kuch kehna hai," she interjected; she was afraid he would ask about the proposal.
Rohan's eyes twinkled in anticipation, "shayad shaadi ke baare mein kuch kehna chaahti hai," he thought.
"Rohan...aapko meri pichli zindagi ke baare mein bahut kam pataa hai," she said softly
"Jitna jaan na zaroori hai...jaanta hoon...mere chote se bheje main zyaada information store nahin ho sakti," he chuckled
"Mazaak ki baat nahin hai Rohan," she sounded a little annoyed
"Achha baba...batao...dekhta hoon mere dimaag ke spark plugs kaam kar rahe hain ya nahin?" he laughed as he popped one chana after another in his mouth.
"Rohan...Patiala mein...wahan mera ek achha...ek bahut kareeb," she paused
"Dost tha...jo tumhein bahut pasand hai?" he said mischievously
She was stunned, "aapko kaise pataa?"
Rohan's color drained-he was stunned at her response; he became a little serious and turned his face away, "main tho aise hi mazaak kar raha tha," he tried to hide the disappointment in his eyes.
"Sorry Rohan...lekin yeh sach hai," she added softly.
Rohan kept his gaze away; he swallowed hard and then said, "phir tho shaadi us se hi karni chaahiye Nidhi...itna soch kyun rahi ho?"
Nidhi lowered her eyes, "wo...wo...mujhse shaadi nahin karna chaahta...ab wo America mein hai."
Rohan was stunned; he looked at her, "kaun pagal aadmi hai jo tum jaisi ladki se shaadi nahin karna chaahta?"
Nidhi had tears in her eyes, "main hi shayad pagal hoon Rohan, jo ab tak uski umeed par rehti hoon."
Rohan felt sorry for her. He hated to see her in tears. He turned the packet of chana on her head.
"AHHH! Rohan! Yeh kya kar diya?" she screamed as all the spicy chanas and masala covered her head. She brushed it off her hair as best as she could.
Rohan enjoyed watching her struggle with the chanas and spices on her scalp and hair.
"Baal kho lo...tho aasaani ho jaayegi," he whispered in her ear, "chaaho tho main help kar doon?" he grinned.
She looked up and saw him staring at her braided hair. His hand was stretched out as if offering to help her loosen the hair. She suddenly remembered the incident in her room when Arjun had unbraided her hair- of course he never took permission to do so...she still had goose bumps as she remembered his sensuous touch on her skin.
"Main apne aap kar loongi," she hesitated and loosened her hair.
Rohan was in a trance with her beautiful face lit up in the moonlight as her thick tresses fell over her shoulders all the way to her waist. She untangled her hair and brushed off the chanas from her hair.
He stared at her lovingly and said softly, "sach much tumhara dost bahut bad naseeb hai...shayad usney tumhey is roop main kabhie nahin dekha hoga Nidhi...usey zameen par baithe chaand mil raha tha...aur wo saat samunder paar baitha hai?"
Nidhi turned red with the compliment. Rohan had said everything in that one sentence. Nidhi realized for the first time how differently the two men perceived her in their lives.
"Aap...aap bhi mujhey kuch bataana chaahte the na?" she tried to distract him.
Rohan sighed and smiled, "arre kya Nidhi?...Chaand par baitha tha...ab boring baatein karne ko keh rahi ho," he chuckled.
Nidhi felt her cheeks flush again with his comment; Rohan definitely had a way with words, "boring baatein?" she was amused.
Rohan grinned, "chalo is baat par hansi tho aayi tumhey...Nidhi mujhey bank se loan mil raha hai...main chaahta hoon ki uss loan se hum apna business start karein."
"Business?" she asked.
"Haan...business...Mumbai Pune highway par 2 cheezon ki bahut demand hai...ek acche car mechanics ki aur doosra acche restaurants ki...aaj kal bahut NRIs business karte hain is highway ke zariye...tho main soch raha tha ki ek Nidhi da dhaba aur bagal mein Rohan ka garage ek saath khul jaayein, tho kaisa rahega?...Wahan paas mein ek flat bhi le sakte hain...kiraya bhi Mumbai se kam hi hoga...kyun idea kaisa raha?" Rohan asked
"Lekin aap yeh kyun karna chaahte hain?" she asked
"Nidhi...zindagi bhar doosre logon ke liye kaam kyun karein? Hum dono itne talented hain tho kyun na khud apna business start karein?" Rohan looked at her inquisitively.
"Lekin loan wapas kaise hoga? Mujhpar pehle hi bahut karz hai," she inadvertently told him about her debt.
"Karz? Kaun sa?' he asked
Nidhi had to tell him the whole story about their house in Patiala, her mother's illness and the money that they had borrowed. Now he knew why she mailed a money order every month.
"Tho tumhara wo bachpan ka dost, inhee logon ka beta hai?" he asked
She nodded her head.
"Aisa kya hai usmein Nidhi?" he asked softly, "tumhein kitna zaleel kiya hai in logon ne...aur tum phir bhi? Akhir kyun? Tum tho bahut self respecting ladki ho na? Phir kyun intezaar kar rahi ho uska?" his eyes searched for answers in her eyes.
She stayed quiet. He pulled away, and said, "shayad pyaar ka doosra naam hi pagalpan hai...haina?" he wiped a tear from the corner of his eyes and walked away, "chalo Nidhi...ghar chalte hain."
Nidhi followed him silently.
As they headed home, Nidhi's thoughts kept disturbing her again, "Rohan hamesha hum dono ke baare mein hi sochte hain...business ka idea bhi hum dono ke liye soch rahe hain...Arjun ne aaj tak kabhie apne sapno mein mujhey thodi si jagah bhi nahin di hai...aur Rohan ka harr sapna mere saath juda hai...kyun? Aisa kyun ho raha hai mere saath devi maa? Main kya karoon? Rohan theek kehte hain main Arjun ke intezaar mein pagal ho gayi hoon...kyun aise insaan ki raah dekh rahi hoon jo mujhey apna samajhta hi nahin hai?"
Rohan was tearful himself; his eyes glistened in the dark, but he turned his head away from Nidhi, "Nidhi...bhagwan jaanta hai ki mera pyaar kitna sachha hai...lekin main yeh jaanta hoon ki tum kisi aur se pyaar karti ho...tumhari khushi mein hi meri khushi hai...mujhey tumhara harr decision manzoor hai."
Here's the next part :)
Some of u wanted Arjuhi together...do let me know I may change the original story a bit😉
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