Yaadein - Part 15

 

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Chapter 15



Shantivan – Next Morning


“Uncle.. how is Aarav now?” Khushi painfully asked Ayush Singh Raizada the moment he came down.

“Uh..” he exhaled. “He did cry a lot.. but then I managed to put him to sleep. He really is upset about your one-month stay only in this house”

Khushi’s eyes instantly teared.

“Is he awake?”

“Not yet”

“Can I see him?”

Her desperation to see her son was visible on her face.

“You don’t need to ask me. He is your boy.. Go see him”

Khushi rushed to Ayush’s bedroom where Aarav slept last night. He was still fast asleep but his face looked pale. She sat on the bed beside his sleeping form and brushed his hair. He made a soft movement at her touch but didn’t wake up. She kept caressing his head and face gently, her tears flowing like river. She didn’t know where she had saved all these feelings of a mother inside her, but now that they had unleashed, all she wanted was to keep her son happy.

“Mom”

She didn’t realize Aarav had woken up and was staring at her.

“Don’t cry” he murmured.

“Aarav..” she leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Mumma is not crying.. I am just… sorry…” 

“You will go away after one month? Is that why you are sorry?” he innocently asked. 

Khushi didn’t know how to explain this but she pulled him on her lap and snuggled him close to her heart. 

“You hear that..” she asked rocking him gently. “That’s my heart and its beating right now because I love you… And I will always love you..” she snorted. “I have never said this to anyone Aarav.. not even to my Dad.. You are the first and you always will be.. Doesn’t matter if I stay away from you.. or we meet only occasionally for some reasons. I will always love my boy…” 

Aarav wrapped his arms around her neck and hugged her tight. 

“I love you too Mom” he sobbed. 

They stayed like that for long and so did Arnav Singh Raizada at the door. He had come to check upon Aarav as soon as he woke up but seeing the mother-son moment, he just couldn’t disturb them. They were perfect. Whatever they had between them now… he had never believed his son would ever get that. They looked complete. 


Last night Arnav himself couldn’t sleep well. First their marriage consummation flashback and then… Aarav’s tears after knowing Khushi will be here in this house only for one month, haunted him. He revealed that to Aarav in the fear of giving his son false hopes. But seemed like he was wrong. Whoever this woman Khushi had changed into, she was not going to back off from her mother’s role again. She would be there with Aarav for lifetime and somewhere in the dark corner of his heart, Arnav wanted the same. It was just that he would never accept this before Khushi or anyone else. 

“All cuddles to Mom? Dad won’t get anything?” Arnav finally stepped in the room. 

Arnav intrusion made Aarav hug Khushi even tighter. As if his father was here to pull him away from his mother. It didn’t go well with Arnav. He could literally see his son getting detached from him. Fear crowded in his mind. But the next instant, Aarav pulled away from Khushi and ran into his arms. Arnav cupped his face and smiled. 


“I am sorry for my behavior last night” Arnav apologized and he truly meant it. 

There was a bright smile on Aarav’s face. 

“That means Mom will stay forever with us?” 

Arnav glanced at Khushi who froze just like him. Her expressions towards him conveyed one thing which he could easily read. She didn’t want him to say anything more hurtful to Aarav which could spoil his mood again. And for some reason he abided by it. 

“We can decide that later” he said putting a smile back on his face. “Arent you hungry? I heard Bua has made some nice parathas for you” 

“Really?” Aarav’s stomach growled at the mention of parathas. 

“Yup.. come on .. lets go brush your teeth” Arnav took Aarav away but just when he reached the door, he glanced behind at Khushi who was still sitting on the bed and watching him. She had a faint smile on her lips. There was so much more written over her face which he wished to stand and read… but he swallowed that urge and walked out. 


******************** 

Arnav and Ayush Singh Raizada were off to work and Aarav was asleep in the afternoon because of his medicines. Anjali didn’t leave her room either and when asked, Hari Prakash told her she mostly meditated at the afternoon time. So having nothing else to do, Khushi decided to head back to her room. Just when she was passing by the lobby, she stopped at a door. This was Arnav’s room.. the same room where she stayed with him when they got married. A desire to check how that room was peeked. But would he like her to visit his room? Nope!! But he wasn’t home. She could sneak in and quickly head out. With that thought in her mind, she pushed the door open and entered in. 


His bedroom had grey white décor. It kind of depicted his boring life and though she loved each and every classy furniture in there, she couldn’t help notice the bed. It.. it kind of reminded her of something.. her head spun. Images of her and Arnav on that bed… in compromising position flashed before her eyes. She was so much clouded by those visuals that she almost stumbled with the recliner and fell on it. The visuals stopped as she shut her eyes tight. What the hell was happening? Why was she seeing all those scenes? Were they even true? Were they her flashbacks? Were they the same memories she had lost after the accident? She opened her eyes and stared at the bed once again. The visuals returned. They were not very clear but enough to make her breathless for minutes. If THAT… was what they did…. Aarav had to happen.. Aarav was not a mistake.. He was … he was a product of something more beautiful which she and Arnav had between them.. or at least had started developing between them at that time. Why did she… why did she not accept the child? Was she scared of her age? Could it be one of her immature decisions? She had taken many irrational decisions during those days, it could be one of them. She reached the French door and looked at the pool. It was beautiful.. with clean water inside .. very soothing to watch or maybe just sit with her feet dipped inside. Did she ever do that before? She so badly wanted to recollect these little memories but nothing flashed. This room was supposed to fill her with her past but except the bed scenes she didn’t recollect anything. That was strange and made her quite uncomfortable. If whatever she saw just now was what happened, she didn’t know how to face Arnav Singh Raizada again. She stepped back and left his room. 

That night when Arnav was back in the room, she knocked the door and waited for him to notice her. Arnav had just changed into his night pants and T-Shirt. 

“I need to talk to you” she said leaning across the door. 

The idea of her standing almost in his room didn’t go well with Arnav. 

“I told you not to step in here” 

She shrugged. 

“I happened to visit this room today afternoon out of curiosity” 

Arnav’s jaw tightened. 

“And I heard you have changed” Arnav mocked. “You always do things which you are told not to. You love challenging people’s feelings, don’t you?” 

“I don’t do any of that anymore” she clarified. “Yes, I do remember I was bit of stubborn earlier but..” 

“What do you want?” he came to the point. 

“I wanted to thank you for this morning” she replied. “You were sober to me which in turn satisfied Aarav” 

“I did that for my son” he walked to the recliner and logged in the laptop. “And that still doesn’t change the fact that you will have to leave us after one month completes” 

“Me leaving is not the solution Arnav. I hope you recall I said I will always be part of Aarav’s life” 

“Occasionally” he reminded her typing something on his laptop, keeping his eyes fixed on the screen and not the woman before him. “Anything else you want to talk? If not then please get out” 

Now she was surely insulted. She kept standing there, without moving an inch. When he realized she hadn’t left, he raised his gaze and fixed on her. 

“When I was here today afternoon.. I… I recalled some moments” she admitted. 

“I have no interest in your memories anymore” 

“Those moments I recalled were with you.. here… in this bedroom.. on that… bed” she argued. 

Arnav’s face flushed. He tried to mask it behind his anger but failed. 

“We looked.. happy.. with each other..” 

“One night” he interrupted. “That’s all it was. It meant nothing to you the next morning” 

He took a pause. 

“Heard it? Got your clarification? Now leave” 

“Why are you pushing me away so much? You will do that only when you don’t want to get into the details because you too know you are lying… or hiding something from me which can change things between us now” 


That’s it. Arnav pushed the table away and rose to his feet. 


“Let me remind you Khushi, you came in this house for Aarav.. not for fixing our marriage. So, I am allowed to keep our past to myself. I will decide what I wish to share with you and what I don’t want you to know” 


Khushi nodded in denial. 

“You said it meant nothing to me in the morning.. did it mean anything to you?” 

Arnav was blank for some seconds. 

“Did we.. we ever get that close again? Was it just this one time or…” 

Arnav shut his eyes to ignore recalling their past. 

“Just leave” 

“I won’t. No one else can help me sort this Arnav. Only you can. Please tell me because I really need to know” 

Arnav clutched her arm and dragged her to the door. He opened it and pushed her out. 

“Don’t ever come back in this room” 

“Coward” she scowled. 

Arnav was shocked by her comment. 

“Yes Arnav. That’s what you are. You definitely can help me but you don’t want to because you are scared of losing your heart again.. to me…” 

Arnav clenched his jaw 

“What the hell are you talking about?” 

“Ask yourself.. You know your heart better than me” 

Arnav clutched her arm again and this time pulled her to him. The door was still left open and she had crashed landed on his chest. His breathing was erratic and their faces were inches apart. As his eyes pierced on her face, he strongly repeated. 

“Are you blind?” he grumbled. “Don’t you see how much hatred I have developed for you?” 

“There is a very thin line between love and hatred Arnav. The intensity of your hatred now just shows how much you might have ..” she paused. He would not like it if she spoke so directly. 

“You were running away with my child, breaking the contract between us. You think I would love such a woman?” 

“I was running away with OUR child… It does mean something strong, doesn’t it?” 

Arnav was silent but his anger didn’t mellow down. 

“It either means I sensed some kind of danger for our baby .. or I was willing to accept the baby… And in either case, I don’t think you should hate me” 

Arnav’s mouth zipped. Yes, he had thought of these possibilities a million times but he never came to any conclusion. He couldn’t!! 

“I wanted to know what exactly transpired between us in these 9 months of our marriage so that I can relate why that accident in the hospital happened which changed our lives. If you don’t want to help me… fine!! I will fetch the answers myself. But let me warn you Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada… If I am not found guilty in this… I am not going to forgive you for keeping me in dark for so many years.. If I am not proved guilty… I had every rights to be in your life.. as your wife and Aarav’s mother. And your ego snatched that right from me for last 7 years. I will never forgive you” 


She pushed him away and strode out of the room. She felt so better after having this conversation with him. Arnav needed that self-check. And he needed to know she was looking for answers.. for clues.. for unraveling the truth. And she wouldn’t stay quiet until she finds them. 


**************** 

The next morning Khushi left a quick message to her father-in-law that she had some urgent work and would be back in 2 hours. She then drove straight to the hospital where she had delivered Aarav… 

“Dad” she greeted her father who was waiting for her in the lobby. 

“Hey.. why did you call me here? Are you not keeping well?” Shashi asked. 

“I am absolutely fine and if I get what I want here, I will be more than fine” 

Shashi didn’t understand but he followed her in. 

“Why are you talking this cryptic language? Tell me why are we here?” 

“This is the same place where that accident happened, isn’t it?” 

“Yes” Shashi sighed in disappointment. “That’s why I hate to come here” 

“You will have to bear with me then Dad because I might pay a few visits to this place till I get my answers” 

“Answers? What answers?” 


Khushi didn’t reply. She headed straight to the reception area. 


“Hi, I need to check your CCTV footage.. some 7 years back. I have the exact date and time..” she mentioned to the woman who was quite surprised by her unusual request. 

“Sorry Ma’am. We don’t have the authority to share it with you..” 

“Then who else has that authority?” she debated. 


The woman seemed confused and quickly dialed someone, stating the type of request Khushi put forth. Once she was done with the call, she smiled again. 

“Ma’am. What is this regarding?” 

“I delivered my baby here 7 years back and that same day I slipped down the stairs of this hospital.. losing my memories. I want to see the footage of that accident” 

The woman nodded and quickly guided her to the other cabin. 


“Mrs. Shanti Jha, the CEO of this hospital will take up your request Ma’am. That’s her cabin” 


Khushi glanced at the direction she showed and strode ahead. 

“Khushi.. what is going on? Why do you want to see that footage again?” 

She stopped. 

“Again? You mean someone saw that footage already?” 

Shashi nodded. 

“Yes” he sighed. “You think we didn’t do any of this? We have checked that footage and there is nothing in it that can change anything” 

“Who … who saw that footage?” she repeated her question. 

“Arnav” 

Shashi’s reply almost made her shiver. He did? He tried to collect proofs of her innocence? And when he failed.. he.. he considered her guilty.. 

“He looked for clues… some evidence to find what you were doing there on the stairs with the baby.. he tried everything for a month and then finally had to give up” 


Khushi swallowed the ache formed in her throat. 


“I am glad he at least tried” she answered composing herself to face the situation again. “But he didn’t look at the right place I suppose because I thoroughly believe there is some reason why I was at the stairs and not on the bed with Aarav. And until I find that, I am not going to be at peace. Let’s meet this Mrs. Jha and see what we got” 


Shashi liked her determination and decided to give all his support. 


To be Continued.

NEXT PART

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All Samaira wanted was some seclusion from her frenzy past when flirty Rehaan invaded it with his charm. As they meet at the Airport to board the flight, sparks fly. Read this short Romantic journey of grumpy Samaira and flirty Rehaan from Boarding to Landing. 

Excerpts

In dark blue denim, white T-Shirt and a black leather jacket, he stood at the opposite counter, sipping his freshly brewed coffee.

“Excuse me?” she snapped. “What did you just say?”

“It’s not waterproof” he came ahead.

She frowned.

“Do we know each other?”

He smirked.

“We are co-passengers”

He showed his boarding pass.

“We are on the same flight” he added.

“So? I don’t need a stranger’s opinions in buying a watch for myself”

“Stranger?” he chuckled. “Are you always so fiery or does air travel makes you so?”