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He paced the length of his bedroom fanatically, waiting for a call by the police to inform him they'd located his Madrasan. His mother walked into the room, going over to him, running her hand over his hair, taking him over to sit a moment on the bed. She handed him a glass of water which he gulped down mindlessly; choking on it. Worried, his mother rubbed his back vigorously as he coughed uncontrollably. He managed to compose himself a few minutes later as his mother heaved a sigh of relief yet the only thought on his mind was that of the plight he caused 'his' Ishita to reach. He felt ashamed to claim her as his. At this moment he wanted to curl up in his mother's lap and cry his heart out. Understanding that her child needed her, Mummyji caressed his hair as he snuggled into his safe haven, that of his mother's loving lap.
"Maa (his vision blurring, a stream of tears rushing down his cheeks, his voice breaking in between his words) main Ishita se bahut pyaar karta hoon. Agar usse kuch hogaya toh ... main ... main, nahi jee paonga!"
Mrs. Bhalla was undoubtedly Raman's biological mother but she had never refrained from standing by the right even if that meant going against her own biological child. In fact, as a mother she could clearly understand Mrs. Iyer's turmoil; that of having to tolerate the trauma of a missing daughter and it was none other than the 'daughter's' own husband due to who the old lady was subjected to such a predicament. Love, on it's own, without respect, understanding, and communication had no function and Raman calming to love Ishita was as good as null and void considering that he didn't have the audacity to accept his mistake of compelling Ishita to agree to Nidhi's demand of swapping the two girls. Had he not agreed and given surety to Ishita that he would manage to get their daughters back safe and sound, she would never have played along. Ishita had trusted in Raman but when his inactivity led to Ruhi's supposed untimely demise, he turned the tables on Ishita accusing her to be at fault. He hadn't been man enough then to responsibility of his folly. In fact, he'd stooped as low as calling Ishita, the woman he praised to the skies not long back, 'baanjh, manhoos, sauteli maa se battar, maa kehlane ke layak nahi, Ishimaa hone ka dawa karti ho' yet he still had the guts to say he loved her! Damn you, this isn't love; it's downright abuse!
"Raman yeh pyaar toh nahi hai naa Puttar, baar baar apni Biwi se bina uski galati ke usse baatein sunana, taane dena uski kammi par. Tu mujhe yeh bata ke kya Ishita ne Ruhi se kabhi bhi paraon jaisa bartaaw kiya hai? Puttar, hum dono jasntein hain ke Ishita aur Ruhi ek doosre se be intehaan pyaar karte hain toh tu mujhe yeh bata ke tune kis haq se Ishita ko woh baatein kahin? Puttar ek taraf jahan tu kehta hai ke tu Ishita ke bina jee nahi payega aur doosri taraf jab woh sach mein tere saath hoti hai toh tu uski qadar hi nahi karta? Naa tu uski izzat karta hai, naa tujhmein itna sabar hota hai ke toh do minute araam se uski baat sunle? Shaq hota hai mujhe ke kya tu usse jitna pyaar karne ke daawe karta hai woh sach bhi hai yaa yunhi kehne ki baat hi hai? Kya jo shaadi mehaz Ruhi ke khaatir ek samjhote ki thi woh kya aaj bhi ussi mukkaam pe hai yaa aage bhi badh paay hai?
... thannde dimaag se soch iss baat ko aur jab Ishita mil jaaiye toh uske saath baite ke apne dil ke gile shikwe mita dena aur ek naye sirre se, ek duje ke liye apni zindagi ki shuruwat karna kyunki agar zindagi ko kisi teesre ke liye guzarte rahoge toh uski moh joodagi yaa ghair moh joodagi yaa toh tum dono ke rishte ko kamzoor banayegi yaa mazboot banayegi. Magar uske bina tumhaara apna koi rishta nahi ban payega!"
Mrs. Bhalla left Raman on his own to give him some headspace to clear his thoughts and it clearly helped as he was determined to mend their relationship which they would build with love, respect, mutual understanding and a strong communication. Their relationship would be for themselves and not for any third person because as his mother said that would make their relationship to each other a mere pact for the sake of another. Whilst he was engrossed in his thoughts, his phone began to vibrate and it flashed ACP Abhishek Singh's number who happily informed Raman that Ishita had been founded by the rescue team and she was admitted to the hospital as she had suffered injuries to her spine due to falling from a high cliff. This news broke a part of Raman and he cursed himself for letting this happen to his Madrasan. Yet, he would not be a cry baby but go and become Ishita's strength like she was his!
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