Part 8 (a)
As doctor gave the green signal to Mini for flying, she excitedly packed her things for going to Delhi. Though Neil had agreed to come with her but he was nervous about this whole trip.
"Neil yaar tu bekar mein tension le raha hai. Mini ke parents ne tujhe invite kiya hai ye to achhi baat hai na? Finally they are ready to accept you." Bobby tried to explain Neil.
"I dont know Bobby. I am not having good feelings about this whole trip to Delhi. Pata nahi kyu ek darr sa bana hua hai....kahi aisa na ho ki..." Neil left the sentence incomplete afraid even to voice it aloud.
"Dekh tension mat le...kuch galat nahi hoga." Bobby tried to cheer him up and Neil gave a small smile too in reply but only he knew how scared and nervous he was feeling right now. Somehow in the back of his mind he knew something bad gonna happen, he didnt trust that Ashok Khurana one bit plus Mini's decision about aborting the baby will change or not was already giving stress to him.
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"Mom....dad! I am back!" Mini shouted and ran out of airport as soon as she spotted her family was waiting to welcome her.
"My princess! Finally you are home. We missed you so much." Ashok took her in a tight hug, Babita kissed her forehead and her brother Manmeet pulled her cheeks.
"Neil, mom dad se to tum mil hi chuke ho...meet my big bro Manmeet veerji" Mini made the introductions and Neil extended his hand towards Manmeet. Manmeet gave him a look like trying to make a decision about shaking hands with him or not and he finally decided Neil was not worthy of his attention. So he gave a fake small smile and got away on pretext of attending a call. Neil noticed that Mini was busy chatting with her parents, she didnt notice all this. Neil sighed and braced himself for the worse. He knew in his guts this is just starting, but he will put up a smile for Mini.
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As all of them reached Khurana mansion, Neil was amazed by the opulence of the bunglow. He knew Ashok Khurana was a rich man but since he never before came here and Mini before the accident didnt like to talk much about her family, he didnt have any idea about how big actually this house was. It was a luxurious bunglow with every facility in the posh locality of Delhi. Neil's humble home looked like a bird's nest in front of this grandeur. Now he wondered how did Mini managed with him all this while, a girl who has literally grown up like a princess never complaint about anything with him back in Manali.
Mini had already got busy in chatting with her mother and brother. Ashok noticed Neil was visibly uncomfortable being new to this place so he decided to make his move.
"So Neil....kaisa laga hamara chhota sa ghar? I hope tumhe koi takleef nahi hogi yaha."
"Chhota sa....yeah ofcourse!" Neil's reply hinted of sarcasm.
"I think you should take rest now. Mini toh ab yaha aa gayi....wo jab tak baatein karte karte thak nahi jayegi...tumhari taraf dekhne bhi nahi wali. Ab Mini ke bare mein bhul jao....I mean...sab mujhpe chhod do...I will handle everything." Ashok suggested or rather hinted about his motive.
Neil just nodded throwing one last look to Mini who was still chatting with everyone excitedly. She was evidently happy here. He thought to get into the room to relax a bit. He pulled his suitcase but Ashok stopped him.
"Dont bother, yaha tumhe pani tak khud lene ki zarurat nahi...we have more servants than family members. Hum ye sab kaam khud nahi karte, servants tumhara samaan le aayenge."
"But I like to do my work myself. Thanks, but no thanks." Neil replied and followed the servant in the room where he was supposed to rest.
"This is just the starting Neil Oberoi, tumhe itna zaleel hona hai yaha ki tumhe khud yakeen ho jaye ki tum Mini ke layak hi nahi ho aur tum chupchap wapas chale jao akele." Ashok smirked as he resolved in his heart.
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In the evening Mini invited over all her friends from college as she wanted to catch up with them. Moreover she wanted to find out if anyone of them knew the exact reason why she left her MBA in the middle, why she fought with her family. Her best friend Sonia also came.
Mini ran as soon as she saw Sonia and both girls hugged each other. "I am so happy to see you all fit and fine. I was so scared when I heard about your accident. Thank God, you are ok." Sonia expressed her concern.
"I was missing you guys so much. I mean there is a lot to discuss with you, hear from you. I cant even tell how desperate I am to find out that missing puzzle from my memory." Mini shared.
"Ya, we all were shocked when we came to know that you got selective amnesia. How it feels after the accident." One friend Ria asked as they all proceeded towards the garden area to sit down and chat.
Mini narrated the whole story and how her life has changed. She felt light after sharing her dilemmas with friends, she hoped they could give her some clarity but their thoughts and opinions confused her more.
"Jo hua so hua ab Mini, you cant change it but I dont understand why are you still staying there. Teri life yaha hai. You should come back and complete your MBA." One friend Arpita advised.
"Lekin...Neil...aur ye baby?" Mini asked in confusion.
"Be a little selfish Mini, you dont even know that man and this baby will prove nothing but a burden to you. If your memories didnt come back ever then? Have you thought about it? How will you live totally different life with which you cant identify yourself." Another friend Ria supported Arpita.
"But...its not that easy...you guys tell me? You are my friends...Sonia, you are my best friend, I used to share everything with you. You must know something about my past. Why I left MBA, why I fought with my family?" Mini desperately wanted answers.
"I dont know anything about it Mini, honestly. I just remember that you started behaving differently all of a sudden. You used to avoid gatherings, talked less about your family issues. I tried to ask you many times but har bar tum baat tal deti thi. Phir ek din achanak tumne MBA chhodne ka decide kar liya. You went on long vacation then you decided to pursue photography as profession and since you always on traveling assignments, we lost touch, it was like you drifted away from us. Then one fine day you called me that you are getting married. I was shocked. I came to Manali and I attended your wedding. That was the first time I met your husband. You seemed completely changed but you were happy....thats all I know." Sonia recalled past events.
Mini was disappointed as even her best friend didnt know anything.
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to be continued.....
Edited by Bechain_Bulbul - 1 years ago
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