Here's the 86th chapter.
Enjoy reading.
"Please nurse... Mujhe jaane deejiye..."
"Ise kholiye please !..." Anokhi tried to jerk the saline tube away.
"Mam !..."
"Mam aap please lete rahiye..." The nurse who was arranging her medications rushed over to her.
"Nhi mujhe jaana hain !!..."
"Meri bachchi kaha hai ??!!..." Anokhi burst into tears.
"Mam maine aapko btaaya toh... Yaha koi bachchi nhi hain..."
"Aur aap jinke baare mein thodi der pehle poochh rhi thi vo toh doosre ward mein hain apne husband ke saath..."
"Unke alaava aapke saath toh yaha aur koi nhi hain..." The nurse said referring to Aastha and Shaan.
"Aastha Mam theek toh haina ?... Unke saath Shaan Sir hain..."
"L... Lekin meri Mimi kaha hain ?..."
"Vo mere bina kal se kha hogi ?..."
"Mujhe jaana hoga !!..."
"Vo mere bina nhi reh sakti !!..." Tears streamed down her cheeks.
She wasn't in the right frame of mind to think logically. She was extremely frightened thinking where her daughter would be since the previous night, when she was unconscious.
"Mujhe abhi ke abhi jaana hoga..." she got out of bed immediately, but the nurse was quick to stop her.
"Rukiye !... Aapko abhi rest ki zaroorat hai... Aap aise nhi jaa sakti kahi..."
"Please meri bachchi ke paas jaane do mujhe..." "Ple... ase..." Anokhi begged while crying.
The very next moment, the door clicked open, drawing their attention.
"Mimi !!!!..." Anokhi's eyes teared up more as soon as she caught notice of her baby girl.
"Mumma !!!... Mumma !!!..." Mimi ran towards her Mumma in tears.
"Mimi... Meri bachchi..." Anokhi cried out, opening her arms widely to embrace her baby girl.
"Mu... mma..." Mimi's throat tightened, and she dashed over to the bed to climb up.
Anokhi in no time scooped up her baby girl in her arms and buried her tightly within herself.
"Mimi..."
"Meri Mimi Shona..."
"Kaha the aap Shona..." she sobbed, lavishing numerous kisses on her baby girl. She was scared to death thinking about where her Shona might have been without her.
"Mumma..."
"Aap theek ho naa ?..."
"Aap muje chhol ke toh nayi jaaoge naa Mumma..." Mimi clutched her Anumaa tightly out of fear.
"Kabhi nhi Shona..."
"Mumma yahi par hain... Aapke paas..." Anokhi enveloped her in her arms, enclosing her in her warmth.
She sobbed uncontrollably and squeezed her daughter to her chest as if she would never let her go.
Now that she had gotten her Shona, her heart was filled with relief. Her bruises, wounds, and pain were all forgotten as she continued to cry.
In her mother's arms, Mimi was completely hidden. The warmth she had waited too long, was finally there. She finally found the solace she was seeking for. She continued to sniff softly holding onto her Mumma.
Wiping away her tears, Mimi adhered to her Mumma on her lap. She wasn't going anywhere now that she'd found her mother. She will only be with her.
Behind the pane of glass, a man stood motionless with watering eyes. He couldn't stand looking at the mother and child anymore.
He was supposed to go inside, but after what he saw, he left right away, his tears dispersing in the air.
Anokhi and Mimi held onto one another as they closed their eyes and took in the much-needed solace.
The nurse's misty eyes from the view in front of her demonstrated how strong the bond between the two of them was...
With slow steps, he was proceeding towards HER ward.
The sight of a mother and child he had just witnessed a few minutes before made it impossible for him to hold back himself.
The way Anokhi was in profuse tears upon getting to see her daughter made him heartfelt.
The way his Princess was clutching onto her depicted how reliant she was on her Mumma.
The way Anokhi was bestowing numerous kisses on his Princess yet again depicted how much she loved her child.
The way they sobbed in each other's arms as they finally met after a protracted wait showed how painful it is for a mother and her child to be APART.
All of these once again evidenced the strong relationship that a mother has with her child, which ironically wasn't the case with HIM.
On the one hand, he rejoiced that his Princess had been reunited with her mother, but on the other, he sarcastically smiled at HIMSELF, thinking about how unlucky he was that he wouldn't be able to "reunite" with his mother like his Princess.
His Princess had reached her Mumma, whom she had been expecting to see for a long time, but what about him ?... Will he be able to see HER ?
A lone tear escaped his eyes realizing the foul play of his own fate, and he sat down on a bench far from HER ward to wait for his sisters.
He simply sat there and turned to look at the ward's door through his hazy vision from afar.
Before he could shed another tear, he saw the door opening, prompting him to quickly wipe away his unshed tear.
He saw Kitty and Bebo approaching him closing the door behind.
Standing up, he gathered himself before getting back into his façade.
"Shaurya Bhaiya... Aap yaha baithe ho ?...
"Anokhi se mil liya aapne ?..." Kitty asked.
Not able to find what to say, he came up with a lie.
"Hmm... Haan..."
"Mil liya maine..."
"Tum dono bhi mil aao..."
"Main baahar car mein wait kar rha hoon... Jaldi aa jaana..." saying so, he walked away without even giving Betty a chance to respond.
The twins exchanged dejected glances as they watched their Shaurya Bhaiya leave without once even checking on Aastha Taayiji.
They had seen how their Taayiji had become emotional when they went to meet her as it was the first time they met as family members and not strangers, unlike the previous time when they only knew her as Anokhi's Aastha Mam.
Their Aastha Taayiji was in tears of joy when she saw them beside her bed upon opening her eyes and had caressed both of the sisters, leaving them with misty eyes.
They had seen how, despite being happy to see them, there was still a trace of sadness on her face, and the reason was well known to them.
Their Taayiji didn't express it, nor did she mention it, but the twins knew she longed to see their Shaurya Bhaiya as well.
They believed that perhaps, somewhere, their Taayiji had hoped that their Shaurya Bhaiya would at least go to see her, but to their utter disappointment, that didn't happen.
Although they themselves were going to inquire their Bhaiya whether he wouldn't visit his mum even once, but before they could, he walked away from there saying he would be waiting for them in the parking lot.
They were upset as they didn't even know what was wrong with them that they were so far apart; all they wanted was for everything to fall back into place and for their Shaurya Bhaiya and Aastha Taayi ji to mend everything between them.
With a positive hope in their mind that what they wished would come true one day, they headed to meet their friend, Anokhi.
They reached her ward, and stepped inside only to be greeted by a heart-warming sight.
The little girl was sleeping in her Mumma's lap, her "peaceful" face expressing how content she was to be near her mother.
Anokhi was tenderly caressing her daughter's forehead while holding her close to herself.
The pleasant scene provided them with an instant mood lifter.
"Anokhi..." Bebo spoke up.
Anokhi looked up from her lap towards the door, surprised to see them.
"Kitty... Bebo..."
"Tum dono yaha..." she said, a small smile on her lips as she saw her friends.
The twins walked over to her bed and took a seat beside her.
"Anokhi..."
"Kaisi ho tum ?..."
"Zyaada takleef to nhi ho rhi haina?" ..." Bebo inquired, gently touching her bandaged forehead.
Anokhi gave a faint smile in response to their concern, saying, "Main bilkul theek hoon Bebo..."
"Bas sar mein thoda dard hain... Theek ho jaayega rest karungi toh..."
"Tumhe pta hain Anokhi... Hum kitna darr gaye the..." Kitty said.
"Aur Mimi bhi kitni dari hui thi... Usne tumhe bohot miss kiya Anokhi..."
"Bilkul nhi reh sakti vo tumhaare bina..." Kitty caressed Mimi's hair, who was sleeping peaceably in her Anokhi's lap.
Anokhi listened to it while casting a glossy gaze down at her baby girl in her lap. She tightened her grip on Shona in her lap and bent down to give her a gentle kiss on the forehead before wrapping her in her arms.
Once more, Kitty and Bebo's hearts were warmed by witnessing the perfect instance of pure love.
Anokhi, who was watching her baby girl peacefully napping with misty eyes, suddenly had a thought that made her turn to look at both Kitty and Bebo.
She had forgotten everything after she had Mimi in her arms, including where her baby girl had been until then, who had brought her there in hopital, and even her Aastha Mam.
She was just relieved that her daughter was safe. But seeing Kitty and Bebo reminded her that the two of them with Reema had been with Mimi in her PG the day before.
"Kya hua Anokhi ?..."
"Kya soch rhi ho ?..." Kitty inquired as she noticed her lost in thought.
"Huhh ?..." Anokhi's train of thought came to a halt, and she realised what she needed to say.
"Voh... Main..."
"Main yeh keh rhi thi ki jab se main Aastha Mam ko dhoondne nikli thi tabse tum sab meri beti ke paas ho..."
"Main samajh nhi paa rhi kaise main tumhaara shukriyaada karu..."
"Agar tum sab nhi hote toh pta nhi meri bachchi ka..."
"Anokhiiiii !..." Bebo interrupted her all of a sudden.
Anokhi, who was on the verge of tears thinking about where her Shona would have been if her friends hadn't been there, halted in her words as she heard Bebo exclaim.
"Ab main naa tumse bohot naaraaz hoon Anokhi..." Bebo expressed her displeasure.
"Haan main bhi hoon !..." Kitty voiced her disgruntlement by folding her arms over her chest.
Anokhi turned her head to look at her friends, who had unhappy expressions on their faces, indicating they were perturbed by something.
"N... Naaraaz ?..." she asked innocently, unaware what she had done wrong.
"Haan naaraaz..." Kitty retorted.
"Anokhi... Kya tum humaare liye koi nhi ho ?..."
"Kya Mimi humaare liye koi maayne nhi rakhti ?..."
"Tumhe humpar itna bhi bharosa nhi ki hum Mimi ko kabhi akela nhi chodenge..." Bebo said while looking upset.
Anokhi's eyes widened as she realized how her words had hurt them.
"Bebo... Mera vo matlab nhi tha-..."
"Agar vo matlab nhi tha... Toh fir tum aise nhi bolti Anokhi..."
"Tum humaari dost ho... Aur Mimi ki Mausi hain hum..."
"Humne tumhe pehle bhi kitni baar kaha haina... Friends mein no thank you... No sorry..."
"Toh fir tum baar – baar thank you kyun bolti ho hume... Hmmm ?..." Bebo pouted.
Anokhi smiled a little through tears as she watched her friends assert their friendly rights over her and act childishly in expressing their anger at her.
"Ab tum has rhi ho..."
"This isn't fair Anokhi..." Kitty said as she wiped her friend's tears away with her handkerchief.
Being showered with such love and care by her friends overwhelmed Anokhi, who reached out to give them a hug with both arms.
Bebo and Kitty smiled and rose from their seats, only to embrace their dear friend Anokhi, pouring out their love.
"Chalo ab no rona dhona Anokhi..." Bebo muttered as she withdrew from the hug and wiped her tears away.
Anokhi nodded while attempting to hold back her tears.
"Main..."
"Main jaanti hoon tum sab kitna pyaar karte ho Mimi se..." Anokhi struggled with her trembling voice as she tried to speak.
"Vo bhi tum sab se bohot pyaar karti hain..."
"Lekin main aisa isliye bol baithi kyunki main bohot darr gayi thi ..."
"Sach mein... Agar tum sab nhi hote toh pta nhi meri bachchi abhi meri god mein surakshit so rhi hoti yaa nhi..." she described feeling scared.
"Anokhi..." Kitty spoke up softly.
"Tumhe kabhi bhi darne ki zaroorat nhi hain..."
"Kyunki hum sab humesha hain tumhaare saath..."
Anokhi smiled listening to it.
She was feeling so much blessed to have such friends who loved her and her daughter as their own.
In all this, she forgot to ask them about her Aastha Mam, whom she had been wanting to see for a long time but couldn't because the nurse had restrained her by telling her to visit her later and rest for the time being.
"Kitty... Bebo..."
"Aastha Mam kaisi hain ?..."
"Tum dono mile unse ?..." she worriedly inquired.
"Anokhi..." Kitty spoke up in low voice.
"Aastha Taayiji toh theek hain... Lekin..." she trailed off.
"Lekin ?..." Anokhi was filled with fear.
"Vo actually unke pair mein fracture aaya hain..." she finally revealed.
"Kya ???..."
"Aastha Mam ko fracture ??..." Anokhi was flabbergasted.
"Kaha ?... Kab ?... Kaise ???... Yeh sab kaise hua ???..."
"Mujhe toh nurse ne kuch nhi btaaya is baare..."
"Calm down Anokhi !..." Bebo held her shoulders to cool her down.
"Aastha Taayiji jald hi theek ho jaayengi..."
"Tum panic mat karo..."
"Tum abhi tak poori recover nhi hui ho... Tumhe apni health ka dhyaan rakhna hain abhi..."
"Lekin Bebo..."
"Aastha Mam ko itni badi chot kaise pahunchi ??..."
"Vo theek toh haina ?... Unhe zyaada dard toh nhi ho rha hoga naa..." she grew anxious.
"Anokhi... Don't worry..."
"Abhi Aastha Tayiji bilkul theek hain..."
"Shaan Taayaji ne hume btaaya ki jab vo behoshi ki haalat mein mili thi... Tab unka pair kisi bhaari cheez ke neeche daba hua tha..."
"Aur isi vajah se..."
"Yeh ho gaya..." Kitty elaboated, sadly.
Anokhi looked on shocked. She was in pain at the mere thought of how much pain her Aastha Maa would have gone through. She was terrified of what might have happened if her Aastha Maa had suffered a more serious injury.
"Anokhi..." Bebo broke her trance by speaking up.
"Taayiji ke pair mein plaster chadha haina... Toh bas unhe abhi bed rest par rehna hain..."
"Doctor ne bola hain tension ki koi baat nhi hain..."
"Isliye tum tension mat karo... Sab kuch theek ho jaayega..." she tried to pacify her.
Listening to Bebo's words, Anokhi felt relieved that her Aastha Maa was now stable.
She desperately wanted to go see her right away, but she couldn't because her Mimi was sleeping peacefully in her lap, and she didn't want to disturb her after seeing how badly she was crying on seeing her.
She decided that once her Shona awoke, she would go straight to meet her Aastha Maa and make sure she was alright.
"Achcha Anokhi suno..." Kitty's voice snapped her out of her daze.
"Hum naa abhi chalte hain... Tum apna dhyaan rakhna haan..."
"Aur tum kuch dino tak ghar par hi rahogi... College aane ki koi zaroorat nhi hain... Hum tumhe notes provide kar denge..."
"Tum ghar pe rehkar rest karna... Okay ? ..." Kitty asserted.
Anokhi nodded and smiled faintly. Only she knew she wouldn't be taking time off and staying at home to recover.
After sharing a group hug one more time, and bidding their goodbyes, Kitty and Bebo left, leaving behind a sentimental Anokhi.
Although hearing that her Aastha Mam was now stable greatly calmed her, she was terrified as she imagined what might have happened if something fatal had occurred.
Only one thought came to her mind right now, and it was him.
He was the only person who came to her mind as being responsible for her Aastha Mam's condition. At the same time, she sensed her consciousness increasing, and realized that she didn't get to see him since the time she woke up.
Suddenly, she began to vaguely recall the violent protest site where she had been lying in the midst of flames and someone had approached her and removed the heavy load beneath which she was buried and was in pain.
Her eyes widened as she realized something that hit her like a ton of bricks.
She had completely forgotten about everything once she had Mimi in her arms, including how she got to the hospital from that riot - place when an explosion had numbed all her senses.
It was only now that she vividly remembered that it was he in whose arms she had been just before her world had gone completely dark.
That meant he was the one who saved her, right ?
Did that mean he didn't abandon her ?
Did that mean he never intended to leave her alone in the riots, so he went looking for her and eventually found her ?
Or was everything completely accidental, and he stumbled upon her by chance ?
Leaving aside her thoughts, she was suddenly gripped with worry about where he was.
Was he all right ?
She immediately turned her eyes to the door, as if she wanted to go outside and see if he was also there.
"Shaurya Sir kaha honge is vakt ?..."
"K... Kal... jab main vha padi hui thi... T... Tab vo hi aaye the naa mere paas..." she tried to make herself believe that it was really him who had come up to her.
"Kya sach mein vo mujhe bachaane aaye the ?..."
"Yaa phir..." she trailed off.
"Lekin abhi vo kaha hain ?..."
"Vo theek toh honge naa..." she mumbled to herself.
She was getting extremely anxious because she currently had no way of finding out anything about him. She wanted to know where he was and if he was okay, but unexpectedly, a scene flashed across her eyes causing her emotions to flip upside down.
"Aapko jo bhi karna hai kar leejiye... Lekin main Aastha Mam ko dhoonnd kar rahungi bas..."
"Tumhe kya lagta hai is bheed mein tumhe tumhaari Mam mil jaayengi ?!!..."
"Aap ek hi baat baar – baar kyu repeat kar rhe hai ?!!... Dhoondne se toh bhagvaan bhi mil jaate hai-..."
"HAAN TOH JAAO FIR !!!..."
" Jo karna hai karo !!!... Apne bhagwan ko dhoondo jaake !!..." he yelled, giving up on her.
Anokhi stiffened as she remembered how, when she was trying to leave to find her Aastha Mam, he had refused to accompany her and instead had let her go alone.
How did he manage to save her if he wasn't supposed to chase after her ?
A jumbled mess of emotions was swirling around in her head, leaving her perplexed as to what had compelled him to seek her out.
When he had already let her go, then how did he ultimately come across her ???
For unknown reasons, her eyes started to tear up once more. She believed that since he had declined to go with her, he had probably UNINTENTINALLY saved her.
She became disheartened at this thought and felt that perhaps he wasn't TRULY concerned about her.
"Ho bhi toh sakta hain..."
"Shaayad unhe meri chinta thi hi nhi..."
"Isiliye toh mujhe akela jaane diya tha..." her voice cracked. She couldn't figure out what made her feel the exact opposite of what she was thinking until now.
She felt if he truly cared about her, he would have stayed with her.
She was befuddled the next moment, thinking why even she expected him to go with her.
Now she began to question herself why he would even care for her given how much he disliked her.
Perhaps what she was thinking was right, she felt.
The fact that he had abandoned her, as well as the fact that he had clashed with her Aastha Mam, which was the sole cause of everything that had happened, began to overpower her softness towards him, despite the fact that he was her LIFE SAVER.
The overpowering was a result of her jumbled mind making it impossible for her to think rationally.
Brushing aside the question of whether he truly cared for her or not, she concentrated only on the fact that he was the one liable for her Aastha Maa's condition, who was now undergoing treatment for a fractured foot.
The mere thought of something terrible happening to her Aastha Maa during the riots gave her chills.
Fortunately, it was a fracture and not something serious, but she still held him solely accountable for it because it was due of him that her Aastha Mam had gone missing and had to endure all of these troubles.
If anything bad had happened to her Aastha Maa, she would never have forgiven him.
She didn't know if what she was thinking was right or not; all she knew was that he always acted rudely out of impulsiveness and hurt others with his harsh words, leaving them broken.
With a heavy sigh, she raised her hands to wipe away her tears.
She turned her gaze to her Mimi Shona, who was fast asleep in her lap. The view succeeded in distracting her from her thoughts.
Holding her baby girl close to herself, she continued to caress her hair, giving her heart relief that everything was now stable because she had her Shona back, and Aastha Mam was also recovering.
She thanked Matarani for her GRACE in this dire circumstance.
With a lone tear escaping her eyes, she held out hope that he too would be fine, wherever he might be...
"Noor please..."
"Zidd mat karo..."
"Chalo jaldi apna mooh kholo..." Shaan extended his hand to her.
He'd been trying to feed her for the past fifteen minutes, but his wife was having none of it.
"Maine bola naa !..."
"Mera man nhi hain... Mujhe nhi khaana..." Aastha nudged the spoon away out of annoyance.
"Tum aur tumhaara beta... Dono naa bilkul ek jaise ho..." Shaan spoke up out of frustration.
Aastha looked at Shaan with brimming eyes as she listened to his correlation of her to their son. Shaan turned away his teary gaze from her, feeling bitter that Shaurya hadn't even bothered to visit his mother for once.
Both of them were unaware that someone was shedding tears behind the glass door, listening to them.
That "someone" was, of course, their son.
Yes, he'd gone outside after telling his sisters he would wait for them, but he couldn't get HER off his mind. This was the reason he had to return to have at least a little glimpse of HER in order to give himself contentment that SHE was safe.
There used to be a time when he would rush towards HER, leaving whatever he was doing, whenever SHE got even a minor injury, and here SHE was there with HER forehead "bandaged", her foot "plastered", and so many other injuries, but he didn't even step inside, instead stood there like a STONE behind the glass door.
What his father had just said, comparing him to HER, added to his upheaval, filling his heart with so many emotions that he felt compelled to leave before he broke down.
After deciding that the "quick" look of HER was sufficient for him, he finally walked awa from there...
Kitty and Bebo were on their way out when they noticed someone familiar in the hallway.
"Shaurya Bhaiya !..." Bebo exclaimed.
Shaurya, who had been moving rapidly, came to a halt. When he turned to look to his left, he found his sisters walking towards him.
"Bhaiya..."
"Aap yaha ?..." Kitty questioned, because he had previously told them he would be waiting for them outside.
"Voh..."
"Main..."
"D... Dad se..." he fumbled.
"Dad se kuch zaroori baat karni thi... Toh isiliye..." he avoided eye contact.
"Ohh achcha..."
"Vaise Bhaiya... Hum Anokhi se mil chuke hain... Ab hume college ke liye nikalna chaahiye..." Bebo let him know.
Hearing Anokhi's name, he realized he hadn't yet met her.
He had walked away from there at that time due to his emotional breakdown, but now he was reminded that he needed to check on her as well.
"Tum dono ek kaam karo..."
"Tum jaao... Main bas abhi aa rha hoon..." he said.
"Okay..." Without asking any more questions, the twins left.
Shaurya collected himself before making his way to her ward. He was unsure of how he would encounter her; after all, her lifeless state had scared him to death the day before.
The only thing he wanted now was to see her conscious and make sure she was ok.
He started walking towards her ward.
He came to a standstill in front of the glass door and took a look inside. The sight was about to move him to tears again, but this time, he pushed those emotions away.
Slowly, he rotated the knob and opened the door.
The moment the door creaked, their eyes converged.
The person she had been desiring to see was now in front of her... But what brought him there ?
Was he there to check on her ?
She observed he was fine, which, unbeknownst to her, relieved her heart; however, the eyes with which she continued to look at him held dejection.
Forcing the lump in his throat to go down, he started to stutter-step towards her bed.
Seeing her piercing gaze, he averted his gaze, but moved closer to her bed.
The entire room was filled with an oppressive silence.
She still had her eyes only on him.
He looked here and there, and felt bile rising up in his throat.
The pregnant silence was finally broken the next moment.
"Kaisi ho tum..."
Eyes turned wet in a fraction of second listening to what he asked.
Wasn't he the one who had left her alone to find Aastha Mam because he was AFRAID for his own life, so what will he do now asking HOW SHE IS ?
"Feeling better ?..." he spoke up once again, pretending to be normal, rummaging through the medicines on the bedside table tray.
She said nothing at all, and let the silence dominate over once again.
The authoritarian quietness in the room was bugging him. His ears were direly waiting to be met by her voice, no matter what she said, but she wasn't in the mood to speak up a single word.
After a brief pause, he said something that made it challenging for her to stay mum.
"Tumhaari Aastha Mam toh mil gayi hain..." his throat choked but he somehow managed to say, "Ab dobaara aisi bevkoofi mat karna..."
Now that her guard had been broken, she was unable to remain silent.
"AAPKI VAJAH SE AASTHA MAM KE SAaTH YEH SAB HO GAYA..."
He turned to face her shocked after hearing what she said. He certainly wasn't expecting to hear this. Though his ears eventually got their wish, he was unaware that what she will say would only hurt him.
"Aap apne gusse ko kaabu mein kyun nhi rakhte ?!!..." she reprimanded.
"Har baar aap aise hi apne gusse ke vajah se kisi na kisi ko kuch bura - bhala keh dete hain... Aur aapko andaaza bhi nhi hota ki aapke baatein us insaan ko kitna hurt kar deti hain..." she said to him, reminding him of the "library" incident.
He gave her a tear - stung stare before quickly averting them.
He didn't expect her to criticize him in this situation for an unintended mistake he had once made.
Every time, he was the only one held BLAMEWORTHY, making it seem as though he takes great "pleasure" in HURTING people.
He blinked back tears as his façade started to crumble.
He knew that if the conversation continued in this direction, the situation would undoubtedly worsen. He shifted the conversation to avoid this.
"I..."
"I hope tum davaai time pe le rhi ho..." he turned back towards the tray.
"Shaayad tumhe jaldi discharge mil jaaye..."
"Tumhaari davaai..."
"Shaayad..." his voice quivered.
"Main dekh leta hoon kidhar hain..." he again pretended to be fine while searching through the tray.
"Davai li thi tumne ?... Subah ki..." he said in low voice as someone was soundly sleeping.
"Aapko meri fikar karne ki koi zaroorat nhi hai Shaurya Sir..." she replied sternly, taking him by shock.
Perceiving her rude tone, he turned to face her.
"Maine davaai li yaa nhi usse aapko kya fark padta hai..."
"AAKHIR MAIN TOH BACH GAYI..."
Shaurya was stunned into silence by what she was saying.
Why was she speaking about herself in that way ???
"Ab aapko koi bhi blame nhi karne vaala ki aap apne student ko nhi bacha paaye..." With teary eyes, she remarked.
"Anokhi..." he gasped in shock.
"T... Tum aise kyun keh rhi ho ? ..." he was bewildered.
"Kyun naa kahu Sir ??..." she snapped back.
"Aap toh vaise bhi mujhe akela chodkar jaane vaale the naa ??..." her eyes teared up, "Lekin shaayad by chance... N... Nazar pad gayi hogi ki main behosh padi hui ho... A... Aur..."
"Aur tab utha liya hoga mujhe..." she opined scornfully, and looked away from him after saying this.
She had no clue she had hit a raw nerve this time.
The next thing she knew, he was leaning in and dangerously staring into her eyes.
She was startled to see the blazing ferocious orbs that were aiming right at hers.
"BY..."
"CHANCE... "
"Hmmm ?..." he reiterated the words, tightening his grip on the bed's railing as his sickly pale eyes locked on hers.
His hold was so strong that it was making his knuckles go white.
She quickly turned her gaze away while fluttering her misty eyelashes. She knew she had hurt him and herself by saying those words, but she couldn't explain to why.
"JAANTI BHI HO US VAKT KYA GUZRI THI MUJHPAR..." His tempestuous voice evidenced how much hurt he was.
His bloodshot red eyes were focussed only on her.
She avoided looking him in the eyes. She lacked the audacity to do so after whatever she said.
After hearing such a scathing justification of his act, tears were on the verge of falling down from his eyes at any moment. He was heartbroken after hearing her say that she thought he had abandoned her and had only saved her by "CHANCE".
"Shaayad tum zindagi bhar nhi jaan paaogi ki mujhpe kya guzri thi..." His voice had a tangible sense of torment.
"Agar tumhe kuch ho jaata... Toh main apne – aap ko... Khudko kabhi-..."
"MUMMA..."
A soothing voice popped up from nowhere, interrupting the skirmish.
"Muje chhol ke mat jaana Mumma..." Mimi snuggled closer to Anokhi to continue sleeping.
Anokhi's eyes welled up with more tears as she heard her baby girl's words. Her Shona cuddled closer to her in sleep, indicating how frightened she was even after being in her arms, that she would lose her.
The tear finally rolled down his cheek watching his Princess's state.
Now that was enough for him !
He immediately turned away and frantically ran his fingers through his hair. He just couldn't stay there any longer. If he did, he'd probably end up in another tussle with her, which he didn't want.
He walked briskly over to the tray of medicine, picked up the strip of pills, and said sternly, "Tumhaari davaai yaha padi hain..."
"Leni ho toh le lena..." he scoffed, tossing the strip in her direction.
"Aapki problem kya hain ???..." she spoke up in annoyance, seeing his irrational attitude.
"MAIN HI SABSE BADA PROBLEM HOON !!..."
"Samjhi tum ?!!..." he banged his hand against whatever he found.
"Ssssss..." his jaw clenched, as his arm brushed the sharp edge of a nearby shelf, grazing his cut.
Anokhi grew alarmed hearing him hissing in pain.
"A.... Aapko bhi chot lagi hain ? ..." she centered her eyes on his arm, which he was clutching tightly.
"NHI !..." he fired back.
"Mujhe chot nhi lagi..."
"Agar lagi bhi hogi... Toh mujhe nhi dard hota !..."
"Mujhe kyun dard hoga... Hmmm ?..."
"Main toh paththar dil hoon naa ??!... Aur paththar dil logo ko dard nhi hota..."
"Isiliye us tarah tumhe chodkar chala gaya tha naa... Un dango ke beech..." Each word escaped his choking throat, followed by the moistening of his eyes.
Anokhi was rendered numb by him. She was deeply struck by the pain that was palpable in his eyes as he spoke those words.
Her trance broke, when she heard him saying in his rude tone, "Dad yahi hain..."
"Koi zaroorat ho... Toh unhe bol dena..."
"TAKE CARE..." he growled through clenched teeth, shooting daggers at her.
Following that, he stormed away from there without even letting her see his bereaved face.
The way he described himself as a STONE-HEARTED man hurt her. She didn't know why, but yes, it bothered her because she knew he wasn't. She felt guilty when he described himself as such.
She had already begun to REGRET the words she had used to "THANK" him for saving her.
Little did she know that what lay in store for her would cause her to regret her rash words even more...
How was it ?
Do tell me in comments 😊