Game Plan

Part 24: Apocalypse

Recap: "Itna kuch Jaan ne ke baad, I don't think main ab yaha reh sakti hu.",Prerna said

Prerna's words stunned Anurag. It's true this was what he had been fearing but little did he think imagine things to go this far. Desperately, Anurag grabbed her hands,"Yeh tum kya keh rahi ho?Prerna itni si galat faimi ki liye tum ghar chhordogi?!Hum baithke baat karte hai na.Aao-". Prerna shook her hands off,"Nahi!Tum kyu nahi samaj rahe ho Anurag ke humara rishta abhi bhi naya hai. Jo kuch bhi hua, aur jo kuch tumne past mein kiya uske wajah se mera ab tumpar pehle jaisa vishwas nahi raha. Mujhe waqt lagega wapas tumpe pehle jaise bharosa karne ke liye. Aur Kakimoni aur bhabi ke iss plan ne toh banti huyi baat ko aur bigaad diya hai. Main yaha nahi aana chahti thi, lekin phir bhi mujhe dhoke se yaha laya gaya. Agar bhabi aur Kakimoni aisa nahi karte to shayad hum abhi ek nahi hote, aur yeh baat tum bhi maante ho!". Anurag tried to reason with her,"Haan, Prerna iss baat ko main bhi maanta hu, lekin unke kiye ki sazaa tum mujhe kyu de rahi ho?Maine kya kiya hai?!(his eyes tearing up)Meri kya galti thi?". Prerna shook her head,"Tumhari koi galti nahi hai Anurag, sivaaye iske ke humare past ki wajah se main tumpe ab vishwas nahi kar sakti.(holding his hands in hers)Trust me Anurag main bohot koshish kar rahi hu tumpe trust karne ki, lekin nahi kar pa rahi hu. Kyuki iske pehle bhi tumne mujhse baatein chhupayi hai, humari zindagi ke faisle tumne akele liye hai, Komolika se pyar ka jhoota natak kiya hai taaki main tumhe bhool jau. Toh iss baat ki kya guarantee ke mujhe wapas paane ke liye tumne yeh sab nahi karaya hai? Aur waise bhi Kakimoni toh mujse nafrat karti hai, mujhe tumhare layak bhi nahi samajti hai, aur tum keh rahe ho, ke bina tumhare bole woh itna karengi sirf mujhe iss ghar mein wapas laane ke liye?...I am sorry Anurag, main nahi maan sakti !".Saying this, Prerna turned around and left the room.

As Prerna stormed out of the room, Anurag ran after her, calling  her,"Prerna wait!".

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Hyperventilating, Prerna avoided Anurag's pleas to stop. Now was not the time, she thought, she needed to get out of Basu Bari, away from Anurag, away from her overbearing mother-in-law's schemes to sort out her emotions.  Prerna was about to reach the stairs when Anurag blocked her way. "Anurag, mera raasta chhoro!",she commanded. He replied,"Chhordunga, but please pehle meri baat sunlo.". He took her hand, and led her to the nearest room, hoping to talk to her in private. The moment Prerna entered the room the smell of fresh paint engulfed her nostrils making her feel nauseous. Yeh toh west wing le aaya, she realised. She looked around and realized that the there were two buckets of paint lying on the floor- one blue and one pink. The lid on both the buckets was half open, filling the entire room with a  strong smell of fresh paint. Watching her eye the paints Anurag said, "Main iss room ko humare honewaale bachche ka kaamra banane waala tha. Socha tha ki aaj main tumse color scheme ke baare mein poochh lunga.". Inspite of her anger, Prerna felt his words tug at her heart. Anurag started to speak"Look I know-",  but before he could say any further, Prerna  rushed out of the room. Worried he ran after her. Prerna hurried into the nearest bathroom, and vomited her guts out. Washing her mouth, Prerna gave a tired sigh. Oh God, she thought, yeh bachcha toh meri jaan leke maanega.She heard Anurag's voice outside the bathroom door, "Prerna!Are you okay?"he said. Prerna came out of the bathroom. Anurag was standing right outside with a worried expression on his face. "Kya hua?Main doctor ko bulaau?",he said. Prerna shook her head,"Aisi koi baat nahi hai, woh actually mujhe fresh paint ki smell se allergy hai....".As Prerna said this, something struck her mind. Arre nahi Prerna Onu west wing mein nahi so sakta usse bhi fresh paint ki smell se allergy hai....kyu na...tum aur Onu uske kamre mein reh jaao..waise bhi do din ki toh baat. Ek baar Tapur ka kamra theek ho jaaye tum wapas waha chali jana, Mohini Basu's words rung in her ears as if she had just spoken them. Confused, Prerna thought, Mujhe toh uss room mein jaake hi ulti aa gayi thi,...aur Shivi?teen-chaar din purane paint ka smell soongke hi uski chheeke shuru ho gayi thi, toh phir Anurag abhi tak kaise theek hai? Accepting a glass of water from Anurag, Prerna asked curiously,"Waise  tum theek ho?". Anurag answered baffled,"Haan, main bilkul theek hu. Mujhe kyu hua hai?". Prerna answered,"Tumhe fresh paint ke smell se allergy hai na, toh tum theek kaise ho?Tum kuch medicines le rahe ho kya?". Prerna's words surprised him even more. "Nahi",he answered "Main medicines kyu lunga?Mujhe fresh paint se koi allergy nahi hai."Prerna was shocked to hear this,"Lekin",she started"Mujhe toh Kakimoni ne..." then she recalled Mohini and Suman's plan to get her to reconcile with Anurag. Prerna said bitterly,"Toh yeh bhi Kakimoni ka ek plan tha". Anurag asked,"Kaunsa plan?". Prerna explained,"Hum dono ko ek saath ek kamre mein rakhna.Iss liye toh unhone allergy waala jhoot bola taaki tumhe west wing mein naa shift hona pare.". Anurag shook his head in annoyance,"Uff!Yeh ma bhi na.Woh wakayi-kya hua, Prerna?Tum mujhe aise kyu dekh rahi ho?". Prerna frowned,"Uss raat tumne kamra kyu nahi change kiya?". Anurag was surprised at her question,"Matlab?". Prerña let out a frustrated sigh," Jis raat main tumhare kamre mein sone aayi thi maine tumhe west wing mein  jaane ko nahi kaha kyuki mujhe laga ki tumhe fresh paint ke smell se allergy hai, lekin tum khud kyu nahi chale gaye?". Anurag looked down feeling embarrassed and awkward for misreading her actions that night,"Actually....mujhe laga tha...woh Prerna mujhe laga tha ki tum uss kamre mein mere saath rehna chahti thi..I thought ki tum bhi humare rishte ko ek naya mauka dena chahti thi, bas tumhe waqt chahiye tha iss baat ko accept karne ke liye....iss liye uss raat main tumhare paas hi ruk gaya". Prerna gave him a long hard look, assessing him she didn't know what to make of this situation. Their reunion which she had thought happened naturally and organically now looked planned and stage managed  by Mohini every step of the way. It's  as if her own feelings were manipulated to bring her back to him. Deep down Prerna really wanted to believe that he had nothing to do with Kakimoni and her Bhabi's plan, but how was it possible that without even knowing about this, Anurag had  done exactly what they had wanted him to do? And if he really had no idea about his mother's lies , then how come he didn't even offer to leave the room even once? Her mind drifted back to Mohini and Suman's conversation about Anurag agreeing to keep their secret. When confronted Anurag told her, that he was about to tell her the truth, but would he have brought it up had she not confronted him first? Prerna finally said, " Maine bhabi aur Kakimoni ki baate suni thi, bhabi keh rahi thi ki ab un dono ko tension leni ki koi zaroorat nahi hai, kyuki ab tum unka saath dene waale ho, tum bhi unke iss plan mein shaamil ho. Ab mujhe pata chala tum kabse unlogo ke iss plan mein shaamil ho". Anurag was stunned by what Prerna was insinuating. He was about to defend himself when she angrily  raised a hand to stop him,"Jis raat kakababu ki tabiyat kharab hui, hum poori raat tumhare kamre mein the. Uske agle din jab tumne phirse humare ek hone baat chheri maine tumse tab bhi kaha tha :Ke main tumhare paas wapas nahi aana chahti. Aur tum kehna chahte ho ke mere yeh sab kehne ke baad bhi tumhe laga ke main tumhare saath rehna chahti hu? (angrily) Tumne mujhe kya samaj ke rakha hai Anurag?! Tumhara koi khilona? Ke jab tum chaho chabi ghumake mujhe khud se door bhejoge, jab tum chaho mujhe apne paas bulaoge! Maine tumse kya chaha tha? Yahi ke tum mujhe aur feelings ki izzat karo. Lekin tum toh woh bhi nahi kar paye! Ulta tumne apne iss khel meri bhabi ko involve kar diya! Tum kaise itna badal gaye Anurag!". Giving her a pleading look, Anurag tried to reach for her, but Prerna slapped his hands away scowling,"Achcha theek hai..main nahi aaunga tumhare paas lekin please Prerna mujhe galat mat samjho mera sach mein isme koi haath nahi tha. Mujhe Ma ke inn plans ke baare mein zara sa bhi idea nahi tha! Jabse tumne  ghar chhora hai, main toh bas chahta tha ke tum wapas mere paas laut aao, aur jab tum mere paas lauti...."Anurag smiled at that memory,"I swear Prerna main apni khushi mein itna kho gaya tha ke yeh sab kaise hua, kyu hua maine kuch bhi nahi socha. Agar mujhe zara se bhi idea hota ke yeh sab planned tha toh main tab bhi apni Ma ko rok leta.". Prerna wiped her tears, " You know, Anurag agar main tumhari baat maan bhi lu, main tab bhi iss ghar mein tumhare saath nahi reh sakti.". Anurag shot back,"Kyu?". Prerna replied,"Kyuki main ek aise ghar mein nahi reh sakti jaha pe meri feelings ki kadar nahi! Kyuki jo bhi hua hai, usne humare past ko ek baar bhi humare saamne lakar khara kar diya hai! Uss waqt bhi tumne bina kuch soche, bina mujse baat kiye ek aisa faisla le liye jisse hum sabki zindagi humesha ke liye badal gayi. Jisse humara rishta humesha ke liye badal gaya! Maine kabhi apne sapne mein bhi nahi socha tha ki ek din aisa ayega jab(crying)....jab main tumhare kahe sach ko tumhare jhoot se alag nahi kar paaungi, kyuki mujhe laga tha(pointing at herself) mere Anurag ko mujse zyaada koi aur nahi jaanta..tumne mujhe galat sabit kar diya.". She was about to leave the room when Anurag grabbed her hand and turned her around. Tears flowing from his eyes, Anurag took both of her hands and held their tight onto his chest,"I am sorry. I am so sorry ke maine humare rishte ko itna bigaad diya ke aaj tumhe mera kaha hua sach bhi jhoot lag raha hai. Tumhe, tumhare family ko bachane ke liye mera liye ek faisle ne tumhara mere pyaar pe vishwas uthaya,hai na? Theek hai, Prerna main tumhara gunhegaar hu, mujhe sazaa do. Lekin please, mujse door mat jao, kyuki tumhe phirse khone ki himmat mujh mein nahi hai.".