Posted:
Originally posted by: nividances
Next update coming later today. Let's just say that you all are in for a surprise... 😉
I hope you not going to give me Dry Throat again... haha
Originally posted by: nividances
Next update coming later today. Let's just say that you all are in for a surprise... 😉
Chapter 20:
Kabir opened his eyes and felt disoriented, as he realized that he was lying with his head resting on Rachna's lap. He moved to a sitting position and found Rachna asleep, with her back and head leaning against the headboard. He saw that she was still wearing the same clothes that she had worn to the mehndi ceremony last night. He looked around the rest of the room, and realized that his wild night with Rachna had just been his fantasy, merely a vivid dream. Shaking his head and smiling at himself, he glanced at Rachna, mesmerized by her innocence; by how peaceful she looked when sleeping. He saw a strand of hair falling across her face. He gently tried to push it back, but his slight touch on Rachna's skin woke her up.
Rachna opened her eyes and rubbed the back of her neck. It felt very sore and stiff, probably because she had slept in such an awful position for the entire night. She saw Kabir sitting in front of her with a smile on his face. He touched Rachna's cheek with his hand and brought himself closer to her. Just as he was about to touch his lips to her mouth, Rachna put her hand between them.
"Not now Kabir. Please..."
Kabir moved himself back and looked at Rachna with a confused expression. "Why? You're my wife."
"But not for the world."
The smile vanished from Kabir's face and he frowned. "Rachna? Since when has it mattered if the world knew about us or not? I thought it was enough for the two of us to be together and be happy with each other."
"Kabir, please don't misunderstand me. That's not at all what I meant. It's just that I can't...I...I don't..."
"You don't what? Rachna, I can't believe that you're saying all this!"
Kabir stood up with a jerk and walked into the wash room, slamming the door loudly behind him. Rachna remained rooted in her spot on the bed, hurt by the exchange that had just occurred between them. As she patiently waited for Kabir to come out of the wash room, Rachna ordered coffee from room service.
Kabir comes out of the wash room with a towel wrapped around his waist, his upper body bare and glistening with beads of water. Rachna is sitting on the sofa, slowly sipping her coffee and gazing out the window, lost in her own thoughts. Kabir stands in front of Rachna. She glances up at him and holds out his cup of coffee. He takes it and sits down next to her, still dressed in just the towel. As soon as Kabir sits down, Rachna stands up.
"Kabir. I should go now. I promised Chaya that I would be there for her haldi ceremony and that I would help her get ready for the wedding afterwards. I'll see you at the wedding tonight then?"
He responds with indifference. "Yeah, whatever. I guess I'll see you there. Bye."
Rachna is hurt by his words and his lack of concern, while he is clearly annoyed with her for ignoring him and his needs.
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Rachna goes home to get ready for Chaya's haldi ceremony. She is dressed in a simple pale yellow suit with white embroidery across the entire bodice. Plaiting her hair into a simple side braid, Rachna wears simple gold studs in her ears and a thin gold chain around her neck. Before she leaves the house, Rachna walks into Sneha's room, where she finds Sneha getting ready to leave for her clinic.
"Good morning mausi ji. Are you going to the clinic today?"
Sneha smiles as she sees Rachna and hugs her. "Rachna! You look so simple and cute in that dress. And yes I have some appointments with a few clients this morning that I can't push off. I'll be done in a few hours though. Are you leaving for the haldi ceremony?"
Rachna nods. "Yeah, I just wanted to say bye to you before I left. Also, I wanted to let you know that I'm going to stay with Chaya afterwards to help her get ready for the wedding, so I will just get dressed at her house. I probably won't be home until pretty late tonight since the reception is right after the wedding."
"Sure beta. Don't worry, go enjoy yourself tonight. Oh by the way, is Kabir okay now?"
Rachna hesitates a bit before she answers, remembering the small tiff she had with Kabir earlier this morning. "Yeah...he's fine now. Anyways, I'll just get going so I'm not late. Bye."
Sneha waves goodbye to Rachna, though she feels as if Rachna is hiding something from her. She makes a mental note to talk to Rachna about it tomorrow.
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"Rachna! I'm so nervous! I can't believe I'll be married in less than 12 hours!"
Rachna smiles seeing Chaya's excitement and happiness. She remembers how she had felt the same jittery feelings at the time of her own marriage almost two years ago.
"You are the quintessential glowing bride today Chaya. And this haldi is only going to bring out your natural beauty, so don't skimp on it!"
Rachna laughs as she smears a huge glob of haldi paste onto Chaya's cheeks. Once all the ladies have applied the haldi paste to the bride, Chaya goes to take a bath in a mixture of milk and rose petal water. In the meantime, Karan finds Rachna and asks to speak with her.
"Bhabhi, is everything okay? Did you figure out what happened last night?"
Rachna reassuringly nods at Karan. "Yeah Karan, it's all okay. Nikhil said some pretty nasty stuff to Kabir so he got angry and lost control of himself. But Kabir is fine now. Can I just ask you if Nikhil is going to be at the reception tonight?"
"Thank god bhai is okay. And about Nikhil, I don't really know. Although I think I heard Chirag talking about it with Chaya last night, so maybe just ask either one of them. Anyways, I'll catch you later bhabhi. Rhea's waiting for me."
Rachna teases Karan before she lets him go. "Okay okay, go on. Who am I to keep two love birds apart from each other?"
Karan blushes as he walks away. Rachna herself goes to see if Chaya needs any help. As she is walking down the hallways, she is suddenly pulled into a dark storeroom. Someone's hand roughly closes over her mouth and nose, preventing her from calling out for help. In the struggle to free herself from her assaulter's clutches, the sleeves of Rachna's kurta are ripped into shreds and she hits her head against the wall. The assaulter puts a soft wet cloth over Rachna's face and she immediately feels her eyelids getting heavy, as her head begins to spin at dizzying speeds. In a matter of moments, Rachna becomes unconscious, her body limply leaning against the assaulter's arm. The assaulter lays her down on the ground and turns on the single dim light bulb in the store room. He smirks at Rachna's unconscious body. He caresses her face gently.
"Rachna Garg. Finally you'll be mine today. All these years of yearning for you and your body...all these years of living with your rejection...all the legal trouble with that accident case...it will all be worth it today. I will make you mine."
He begins to lay kisses all over Rachna's face and the exposed skin of her arms. He lifts up her kurta and glides his hand across her abdomen and stares hungrily at her bosom. He is about to undress himself when someone bangs loudly on the door of the storeroom. Scared, the assaulter shuts off the dim light in the room and quickly makes his way out using the window in the back of the room. In the meantime, the banging on the door increases. The door is suddenly forced open with a thrust and the light is quickly turned on, revealing Rachna's compromised state to Karan, who had seen Rachna being pulled into the storeroom forcefully. He immediately covers Rachna's body with a blanket that he finds on top of a box in the store room. Not wanting to further embarrass Rachna by revealing her state to everyone, Karan swiftly shuts the door to the store room and calls Kabir, who initially does not pick up the call as he is driving. On the fifth try, Kabir finally picks up the call.
"Karan, why are you..."
Before Kabir can go on, Karan's frantic voice interrupts him. "Bhai...bhai! Rachna bhabhi...she's...she's..."
Hearing Rachna's name, Kabir instantly becomes alert. "Rachna? What happened to her Karan? What's wrong?! Is everything okay?!"
"Bhabhi has been assaulted," Karan manages to choke out.
"What! Where are you right now?"
"Chaya's house bhai. I saw her get pulled into the store room so I immediately came and checked. I found the room locked from the inside. When I was able to break into the room, I found bhabhi lying unconscious on the ground with her clothes shredded."
"Karan, cover her with something. Right now. And don't move until I get there."
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Kabir rushes into the house and runs towards the store room frantically. Rhea spots Kabir and stops him.
"Kabir! Where are you running off to?"
"Rhea, I need to go to the store room. It's an emergency."
Kabir rushes into the room and sits next to Rachna, tears filling his eyes as he sees her bruised state. Rhea confusedly follows Kabir into the store room, where she is shocked to find Karan standing near an unconscious Rachna.
"Karan! What the hell! What are you doing here and what happened to Rachna?"
Karan looks at the doorway and is shocked to see Rhea standing there. He quickly pulls her into the room and shuts the door behind her.
"Rhea, baby it's not what you think..." Karan quickly explains the entire situation to Rhea, who immediately becomes concerned for Rachna.
"Oh my gosh! Who could do such a horrid thing?! Kabir...please, we have to get Rachna out of here."
Kabir nods. "But we have to make sure that nobody sees her like this. I don't want an unnecessary scene created right now. There's a wedding going on in this house. Rhea, is there a back door?"
"Yeah, there is Kabir. Chaya's room has an attached patio that leads out to the back of the house."
"Okay, go knock on Chaya's door and see if she is in there. Find a way to get her out of the room until I can go out with Rachna. Also, call Sneha mausi and inform her of what has happened. Tell her to get home as quickly as possible. Karan, go get my car and bring it out to the back."
As Rhea and Karan both leave, Kabir touches the bruises on Rachna's face. "This is all my fault Rachna. I should have come with you. If I was with you then this would have never happened. I'm so sorry..."
Rhea rushes back into the room. "Kabir. I've sent Chaya into the kitchen. But she'll be back in a few minutes, so you have get Rachna out of here right now. Karan's already waiting with the car right outside of Chaya's room."
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Karan drives the car while Kabir sits with Rachna, who is lying down on the back seat with her head in Kabir's lap. They soon arrive at the Garg house, where they find Sneha worriedly pacing back and forth in the entry way. Kabir carries Rachna into her room and makes her lie down on the bed. He immediately covers her with the comforter. Sneha rushes into the room and is shocked to see Rachna's state.
"Kabir! What happened to her? How...I mean...what..."
Sneha breaks down crying, as she takes a seat on the bed and tenderly runs her hand across Rachna's forehead.
"Mausi ji, what's the doctor's number? We have to get Rachna checked to make sure she is okay."
Sneha wipes her tears; the logic and composure of her medical training overtakes her motherly emotions. "I've already called our family doctor; he's a colleague of mine. He'll be here shortly with Akash."
In the meantime, she holds Rachna's forearm and begins taking her pulse, as well as her other vitals. Kabir tells Karan to go back to Chaya's house.
"Karan, go back. You and Rhea have to handle the situation there. Chaya's not going to be happy when she finds out that Rachna is not there, but you have to find some excuse to convince her of why Rachna had to leave. Don't tell anyone else what happened...I don't want there to be any unnecessary drama at the wedding."
Karan begins to protest, but one look at Kabir's firm expression is enough to convince him to agree with his brother. After a few minutes, Akash walks into the room with Dr. Nitin Rao, who directly takes a seat next to Rachna and begins examining her.
Sneha updates him with information about Rachna's vitals, citing low blood pressure but normal respiratory rate and temperature. Dr. Rao surveys Rachna's bruises and other wounds carefully. He lifts up the comforter to check the rest of her body for any injuries. Once he is done with his examination, he looks up from his notes and reveals his diagnosis.
"Sneha, Akash, thankfully Rachna does not have any major injuries. She just has a few bruises on her face as well as on her chest and abdomen. She might have a few internal bruises on her ribs, but we will need an MRI to confirm that. Clearly, as you both already know, she's been drugged unconscious, probably using chloroform. But other than that, she's physically absolutely okay. You can most certainly do a better evaluation of her psychological and emotional state than me Sneha. I'll just take your leave then."
Dr. Rao packs up his equipment and exits the room.
Akash touches Sneha's shoulder comfortingly. "Sneha, I'd really hate to do this but I have to go back to the hospital. I have an open-heart surgery scheduled for tonight and I can't reschedule it or pass it off to someone else. Will you be able to handle Rachna when she wakes up?"
"It's fine Akash. You go on...you have to fulfill your professional commitments. And I have Kabir here with me. I'm sure that the two of us will be able to handle Rachna."
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Kabir waits outside the room, while Sneha changes Rachna's clothes and makes her wear a t-shirt and track pants. They then sit down on either side of Rachna, both waiting for her to become conscious again. To remain composed in the situation, Sneha remains in doctor mode, informing and teaching Kabir about Rachna's physical injuries and potential mental state. He half-heartedly listens to Sneha, but his focus is on Rachna. He keeps his eyes rooted to her face, looking for any signs of movement. He finally spots a flutter of her eye lids. A few minutes later, Rachna opens her eyes completely and touches her forehead, wincing in pain.
Supported by Sneha, Rachna sits up in bed. Feeling dizzy from the aftereffects of the chloroform, Rachna closes her eyes and leans her head back against the headboard. Kabir touches Rachna's hand gently. She opens her eyes with a jerk and screams in fear. Kabir quickly moves his hand away, taken aback by Rachna's response. Breathing rapidly, Rachna begins weeping, as her body begins to shake uncontrollably. Sneha, realizing that Rachna is beginning to have an anxiety attack, authoritatively tells Kabir to leave the room. She then administers a sedative, which makes Rachna relax and fall asleep.
After making Rachna lie down and covering her with a blanket, Sneha comes out of Rachna's room, shutting the door behind her. Kabir immediately showers her questions.
"Mausi ji, what happened to Rachna? Why did she react like that? Is she okay now?"
Placing her hand on Kabir's shoulder, Sneha silently leads him into the living room. After they are both seated on the couch, Sneha explains Rachna's situation.
"Kabir, I work with patients of sexual assault and rape on a daily basis. From my medical practice of 25 years, I had expected Rachna to react exactly like this. She's just been through a very disturbing experience. Her reaction to your touch was absolutely normal. You might be her husband, but right now for her, every man's touch is the same...dangerous and threatening. It's going to take her a lot to come out of this and you have to understand that."
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Your thoughts? Looking forward to reading your reactions. 😊
❤️ Nivi
Originally posted by: crtkelly
NIvi!!!! You are getting like these CVs...too unpredictable (Yeah like I'm one to talk😉)
Wow, totally unexpected, but too enjoyable...who, what, why?I need answers to everything.Really great update, looking forward to the next one.Thanks for the PM😊
Originally posted by: nividances
Lol Kelly! I guess it seemed really surprising to you guys, but for me it wasn't such a big twist. I had been planning on this type of a track since the very beginning (it's what connects everything together...the accident, the separation, Gunjan's story, etc). Chaya's wedding prep and functions kind of took over for a little while and derailed everything but now that's going to wrap up and the real fun is going to start!So be patient my dear, I will reveal everything bit by bit, leaving you with a cliff hanger at the end of every update after this... 😉😆Thanks for reading!
Originally posted by: crtkelly
OK I'll practice my shocked face for the upcoming chapters...I forget that everybody doesn't realize where we are going with our stories, when we know exactly how everything is interconnected 😊. Really, good stuff though Nivi!
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