~Thirty Five~
Ashi ran as fast she could, with her heavy lehenga; her tears bathed her cheeks n she cared least for it,
"Ashi" called Rahul, not far behind her, "Wait am coming"
"Rahul please leave me alone" she shouted as she reached the road
"You know I won't" he declared as he reached her
"I beg you, leave me alone"
"You are not going anywhere''."
"Don't you think of stopping me" she replied back as he looked on
"You are not going anywhere alone" he completed
"No, I can manage"
"You want to leave, right?" as she nodded, "Then you have to let me drop you" he conditioned
"Okay" she said after a moment
"Let's go then" she nodded, turning to glance back at the house, rubbing off her tears
****
Suhaan was back at the party, chatting and laughing with his friends, but something badly bothered him.
"Why did Ashi went from here? N that too without even meeting Bhai n Bhabhie?" he asked Manish
"May be she was really not feeling well" he suggested
"Okay but''.she could have met Bhabhie na?" it poked him again n again
"Suhaan, relax'.she'll be fine, n she can meet her up later right?" he nodded forcibly
"Suhaan, Papa is calling you" Anuraag called him
"Hmmm" he uttered, "I'll be back" as he went to his Dad, "Ya Dad, you called me?"
"Yes Suhaan, meet Mr. n Mrs. Chopra" he said
"Hi Uncle'hi Aunty"
"Oh so you are Suhaan?" he asked, "Ravina keeps telling me about you"
"Ravina?" he seemed confused, "Do I know her?"
"Of course you do Beta, I think you know her as Ravs" her Mom said
"Oh right" he sported a smile
"You didn't meet her up yet?" Mr. Chopra asked
"No Uncle I was just busy with some other guests" Mr. Malhotra wasn't too pleased with that statement
"Suhaan, go n meet her then" he said
"Hmm" he nodded, "Excuse me Uncle"
"Sure beta" he replied
He was walking past some guests when someone caught his hand, he looked back
"Hmm so you are avoiding me?" she asked
"Oh hi"
"I'm so happy to see you" saying she hugged him
"Ravs please leave me" he urged sternly
"Why are you so looking so disturbed?" she asked facing him
"No am fine" he said quickly, "N from next time behave properly, got it?"
"Ohk fine" she said making a face, "Where are the others?"
"Just go and find them out, I'm off to somewhere else"
"That's not fair, Mr. Malhotra" as he looked at her, "I'm your guest and need to take care of me too"
"What?" she winked, "Look Ashi, am not in a mood for all this rubbish" he said
"Ashi?" he realized what he had just said, "Where did she come from?" she asked in an irritated manner
"She didn't'.she had already left"
"N you are still thinking about her" he looked at her in surprise, "Come on Suhaan''.you are too much in your self"
"No am not''.it's just that am bothered that why did she left so early?"
"May be because she was feeling out of place?" she sighted
"N what do you mean by that?"
"You know she isn't very used to these kinda high society parties" declared she
"Ravs I'm warning you for the last time, don't say anything like that ever about anybody again" he said angrily
"Ohk baba sorry" she said sqeezing his cheek, "Now smile and take me there" she signaled towards where the others had gathered for the engagement now
"But I have some work before that"
"Ohk go then"
"Thanx"
"Suhaan, come here" called Snigs as he turned
"Look now they too are calling" she said grabbing his arm, as her brows danced
"Fine I'll take you there, but keep your hands off me"
"Ok, I'll try to" as they went there
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All the way, Ashi kept crying and Rahul glanced at her at intervals, thinking of how to calm her down. As they reached her place, Rahul shook her up to tell that n she stepped down slowly'.. before moving in
"Ashi wait" he called as she stopped, "Can we go in first?" nodding she opened the door. He made her sit n fetched her a glass of water, "Take this" she refused
"I……I don't need it" she uttered softly
"You do" as he insisted, "Control yourself Ashi……you have to"
"You don't know anything"
"I do" she looked up in shock
"What…… What do you know?"
"That who's Mr Sameer……." she stared at him, "He's none other than Sameer Bhai, rite?" she was only left to nod
"But how did you know that? I never told you?"
"No you didn't, but that day when Rimi was saying that they were going to some enegagement of Mr.Malhotra's son named Sameer……this was too much for a coincidence, isn't it?"
"But how come I never came to know of this? N why didn't you tell me then?"
"I wasn't sure Ashi, how can I say anything like that without being confirmed?"
"That means Maa-Baba n Rimi had gone to their place only" saying she stood up, "Rahul if Rimi tells him all……she has gone to meet Sameer's brother…..call her Rahul..call her now" she raised her voice in panic
"Relax….she won't do anything like that" he tried to assure her,
"No you call her now…..ok I'm calling her" saying she called her up
"Ashi…..relax" but she kept on trying
"Why isn't she picking it up?"
"Ashi, she's in a party, may be she's not able to hear the ring"
"May be, but…."
"Everything will be fine, if she finds out who that boy was, then too, she knows that you love him………..you know her better than me right?" she nodded, "She won't tell him anything, trust me"
"She won't na" as if to assure herself
"She won't….ok now you stop worrying too much for that…..just go n rest, I'm leaving"
"Hmmmm, Rahul thanks" she said adding a meek smile
"You are welcome dear" he replied back with a smile before leaving
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Suhaan come" his Mom called, "Go n stand beside your Bhai"
"Hmm! Excuse me" he said to Ravs
"Oh ok fine, can I come up with you?" she asked
"Why?"
"I'll stand beside you"
"No thanx I don't want you to be there, you are not my family, got it?" he said
"Who knows?"
"What?"
"I mean we are like family to your Dad" she explained
"Oh is that so?" she nodded, "Good, then go n stand with Dad, you are not a family to me" he declared before leaving
"Not a problem Suhaan, you will soon find out the truth" she gave a wicked smile
Sameer was looking contented with Mehr by his side, was happy to find one who will be sharing his life with, he looked in her eyes with love, she blushed hard as she lowered her lids shyly. She wasn't the typical shy girl, but the intensity of the moment made her do so
"So you know how to blush?" he whispered to her making her look at him with round eyes
"Sameer?" she moved her eyes around to check on whether anybody was looking at them, "Is this a thing to ask at this moment?"
"Why?"
"I thought you would say something romantic or atleast give me a compliment….don't you think I desrve one tonight?"
"Well I think you have got enough for one month, isn't it?" he said smiling
"Compliments are never enough, got that!"
"Hmmm, seems like I don't know you that well….."
"But I do" said Suhaan from behind
"Oh Suhaan" as Sameer turned
"Hmmm" as he went to Mehr, "n Bhabhie……you are looking just awesome"
"Thanx Suhaan, at least you noticed" she said looking at Sameer
"I know whom you are intending that to…..but I'm sure he's saved something for tonight" said Suhaan
"I hope so too" as they were called on to exchange the rings
"So Bhai, how are you feeling?" he asked, Sameer looked at him, "Now don't tell me that you are nervous?"
"Why would I be nervous, it's not the first……." n he stopped, quickly glancing towards Mehr
"Bhai" as he kept a hand on his shoulder, "That episode is over….just forget it, you had only told me that, isn't it?" as he nodded
"Hey it just came out at the moment, I don't have any grudges for it…….after all I have Mehr with me right?"
"Yes, always keep that in mind"
"Ofcourse" as he turned to them
"But I won't be able to forget n forgive her ever…….." he said to himself but his thought was broken when Sameer was asked to put the ring into Mehr's hand, "Woooo, come on Bhai" he cheered as Sameer gently slipped the ring into her slender finger,
Mehr looked at him as all clapped at the moment, n then she slipped the ring in to his,
"So it's done……now you people can't go anywhere alone" said Snigs
"Di" said he
"What Di? I'm just warning you not to do anything alone"
"Right" added Suhaan, "Just like Jijs does…….look he doesn't even sleep without Dids's permission" joked he
"Saale Saab you won't understand this now, let you be in the same position…..n then we'll talk" he said
"No way……..I will never be in that position….so you can keep planning on your own" he declared
"We'll see to it" ended his Jijs
As they were engaged in their own thing, Sameer took the opportunity, he quickly pecked onto Mehr's cheek, making her turn surprisingly
"I love you" he uttered sweetly
"Love you too" she replied even more lovingly, "N that was sweet" she added
"I know"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ashi had locked herself in her room, since Rahul left……she was terrified with the fact that she'll loose him
"He'll never forgive me" she chanted sitting on her bed, rocking back n fro in fright, "I won't be able to face him ever again" she thought, "but then………." realising what that means she cried her heart out, "I can't do that……I can't live without you Suhaan….but I know you'll hate me"
Soon her thought was diverted to Suhaan's words, his expression of hatred towards that girl, which is she actually……
"Anyone who messes with him will not be spared by me" she recollected, "Well my Bhai is a modern-day saint, so he's not interested in messing it up, but am not n thus I'll find her out n tell her that what a ridiculous thing she is"
"But may be she was helpless, u never know right?" she tried to sort out
"I know everything, she has no right to do such a thing to him, I'll never forgive her……….n you stop backing her" he had warned her then, n now considering that she was backing herself only, she's feeling trapped
"What if he finds it out? Should I tell him this or not?" she thought
When she had started loving him, her immediate fear was will he accept the truth or rather her……but after what she had found out today, she's feeling almost loosing him,
"I'll tell him the truth" she decided, wiping off her tears, "I can't hide it from him………I have to"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quite contrastingly, the Malhotra's were in full swing…..loads of laughter flowed through the hall; Mr. Malhotra was busy with his asscociates which included Mr. Bedi too. Drinks n food was served simultaneously with all these. Their parties were quite celebrated for the hospitality they provided
Sameer n Mehr were busy mingling up with the guests, seeking their blessings, Snigs n Anuraag were too surrounded by their immediate guests…
Where on one side, it was all pleasant; Suhaan wasn't too sure of why he was not feeling it right for Ashi…..he searched for Rimi, but he couldn't locate her in them….
"Should I call her now?" he thought, "No, she won't take it for sure……..but where's that Rahul gone?"
"Hey Suhaan, what are you doing here man?" asked one of his friends
"Actually waiting for someone……"
"Someone special?"
"Ya Rahul" he touted
"But why are you here then? He must be somewhere around"
"No actually, he had gone to………" he stopped thinking it not okay to tell him that, "I had sent him to fetch something for me, so…"
"Okay fine, when he comes back…..join us in" he nodded, n then called up Rahul
"Ya Suhaan"
"Where are you?"
"I'm on my way back, I'll be there within some more minutes"
"Ok but what happened to her?"
"Ah she's………" he stopped
"Hello, are you there?"
"Ya, she's fine….just not feeling right"
"But……"
"Suhaan, I'll talk to you once am there"
"Hmmm" he disconnected it, n then spotted Rimi at once, running to her, "Hey Rimi…..you are still here?"
"Why I shouldn't be?"
"No I mean, Ashi's not feeling well n left in a hurry…………"
"Oh she left….. that's why she's not taking my calls" she thought,
"Hello….." waving his hand before her
"Ya……actually she's still weak na, so may be she wasn't comfortable" she suggested
"Hmmm, may be……but just call her n ask is she alright?"
"Actually I did but she's not taking them"
"Why? I hope she's fine"
"Ya ya she must be fine, may be she had slept"
"Oh right….sorry for bothering you so much"
"That's entirely my pleasure" she replied with a wide smile n he smiled back, "Di….there's something for you"
As Suhaan left, Rimi ran to her mother,
"Maa" she called seeing her talking to others
"What happened?" she asked excusing herself
"Maa….I need to go home now"
"Now, but why?"
"Di is not feeling too well, n she's come back from the party too"
"How do you know this?"
"Ah……I called her up n she told me"
"Ok then just inform your Baba that we need to leave…..it's already late anyways"
"Hmm….I'll do that" she went on to her Baba n soon they were seen leaving the venue
****
After a few minutes Rahul was back, he tried to convince him that she's fine. He did show that he's taken it like that, but he was unsure of why he doubted them all in this
"Something is not right" he thought, "I need to ask her"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rimi ran straight to Ashi as she reached home,
"Di………" running upstairs, "Are you alright?" she asked but Ashi didn't reply back, "Di, am asking you?"
"Hmm"
"You found out right…..who Suhaan is?" she asked curiously
"Yes"
"That's why I was calling you then, to inform you that I know it…..but you didn't listen to me"
"I know" mouthed she as another tear trickled down her cheek
"Don't cry Di…..everything's gonna be alright" taking her in a hug, "Don't worry"
"I'll loose him once he gets to know of this"
"NO di, nothing like that will happen…..trust me"
"You don't know what he feels for the girl, who had rejected Sameer's proposal"
"Ya may be……."
"He does" she repeated firmly
"Ok he does….but he does care for you" as Ashi looked at her, "You won't believe it without seeing for yourself"
"Did he say anything to you?"
"Not like that…..but he looked very worried for you, after you had left him so hurriedly, infact he was the one who had informed me that you are not okay"
"Was he angry?"
"Angry? No way, he was simply concerned for you ma'am" she said holding her chin
"But he won't be that for long"
"Why?"
"I'm going to tell him the truth"
"You are not going to do anything like that" she warned
"I can't keep him in dark"
"N what do you think he'll do after you tell him?"
"He would hate me"
"You want that?"
"But I can't hide it for long, one day he's bound to find it out"
"But Di….."
"No Rimi, if it's destined to happen, it should happen now itself"
"Ok…..but be careful"
"Hmmm" she nodded, "I'll tell you the truth Suhaan……..because I love you…..I love you very much"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was almost midnight, n Ashi was still awake, her pillow had turned wet as she lay unmoved in her bed. Flashes of Suhaan came to her mind repeatedly, his changed behavior towards her, his concern for her, his belief in her, n the more she thought of them, she cried even more…..but her thoughts were broken by a sound, she thought of waking up Rimi but she didn't, instead she went in the direction from where the sound came, the balcony
"Who's there?" she asked softly as she came out but she didn't find anyone so she thought she had overheard
"Ashi" he called cautiously
"Suhaan…….." turning quickly to find him out,
"I wanted to ask you something" he asked but she was too shocked to answer, "Ashi" he shook her up slightly
"Huh"
"Are you alright?"
"Yes I'm"
"Were you crying all the time?"
"No I wasn't…..why would I?"
"Don't even try to lie to me; I saw you were crying then too"
"No I wasn't….." as Suhaan stared at her, "Ok I did cry then…but not now"
"Fine, then I think I should move to the next question, hmm?"
"Next question?"
"Hmm, why did you came from there like that?"
"Ah…..I told you that I…."
"Ya ya that you were not feeling well then.."
"Hmm, so"
"So now I want to hear the truth" he said sternly
"Believe me….."
"I don't" saying he adjusted himself on the rope swing, "Hmm, this is quite nice"
"Suhaan….I was really not feeling well"
"You know what Ashi, I'm not going to leave this place until you tell me the truth, so you see it's entirely your wish"
"But……."
"Ohk, so you want your parents to find out that I have been here the whole night? Great! I don't have any problem" he laid back again
"Please don't do this….Rimi will soon find out that you are here"
"Oh good, that'll be even better. I'll talk to her then n by the time I do that, you can easily find out any other excuse for hiding the truth"
"But who told you that I'm not telling you the truth?"
"You think I need someone to tell me that?" she looked at him, "For as much as I have known you, you are not the one to do something like this, unless it's anything serious" she was surprised to hear it all from him, "I'm right, isn't it? I know I'm"
"But…."
"Off ho enough of your ifs n buts am sick of these….."
"Please try to understand…" she pleaded
"Not a single word will you say except the truth, got it?" she nodded slightly, "Come on, I felt bad when you came back, you could have atleast met my Bhai n Bhabhie…"
"That's why I came back…" slipped out of her mouth
"Huh? N what do you mean by that?"
"I mean……" she was finding it hard to state anything
"I'm still waiting"
"I mean I was nervous to meet your family"
"Why?"
"As I knew they would never accept me?"
"Why do they need to accept you?" he looked confused
"Because…." she turned around
"Because?"
"Because I love you" she said, still facing back to him
"What?" came a shocked one,
"Suhaan please…..please don't hate me" she said crying, "I didn't want to say it like this…..nor do I want to impose something on you" she went saying while he stood there shocked, "It's okay if you don't feel the same for me, but please don't hate me" it made her curious as to why he was so silent, she turned around to glance at him
He was sitting on the swing, with an indifferent look on his face, she went to him cautiously,
"I shouldn't have told this to him….shit" she cursed herself, "Suhaan" he looked up at her
"You are crying again?" he asked
"Ah…..are you okay?"
"Hmmm"
"I know that I have said too much for you to understand, may be you won't but it was necessary for me say…"
"What do you think I'm?"
"Ah….I din't get it"
"That I'm heartless, right?" she nodded in negative, "I know how you may be feeling right now, yes I'm not able to understand it fully but I do a little"
"Suhaan"
"I have always believed that one should always respect others feelings….come on, you are my friend, I can't hate you unless you do something really bad….n I know you won't do anything like that"
"But…."
"Look Ashi, I quite like you as a friend, so please shed all those things out of your mind, ok?"
"Thanx Suhaan"
"Hmm that means we'll be friends like always" she left a sigh of relief, "But that doesn't mean that I too……" he stopped, "You are my friend, nothing more than that, got it" she nodded
"I know n I don't want to loose your friendship"
"Trust me, you won't" he replied, "N by the way, I liked your daring attitude"
"Huh?"
"Like you said it all to me, straightly….I quite liked that"
"Hmmm"
"Ok now I should move out before everyone finds this out" he winked
"But how did you came?"
"I climbed it up" showing the rod attatched to balcony, "N climb it down….you know am quite habituated in this"
"I know that"
"What?"
"Nothing"
"Ohk then cya later n a very good morning to you" he wished her smiling
"To you too" as she watched him climbing down n soon he left the compound, "I'm sorry Suhaan, I couldn't do it"
As she returned back,
"Did I tell you that he cares for you?" she asked
"You are awake?"
"Ofcourse, how could I miss that?"
"Ohk so you heard everything?"
"Hmm, almost"
"You are too much, go to sleep, good night"
"Ahan……a very good morning to you sis" she said in a teasing manner
"Ohk good morning, happy?"
"Hmmm" while Ashi slept with a smile on her face, she was worried from within as per what the future holds for her
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Edited by watch rajeev - 14 years ago
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