I would appreciate more comments.
I am done asking for feedback though!! So never mind!!
I will keep posting despite the response but that will be as per my whims and fancy!!
No offence meant and I hope none is taken!!
Till then, enjoy this part!!
On The Terrace:
"Abhir! Kya hogaya tujhe? Kis baat ka gussa hain? Itna kya gussa hain ki tere haath shiver kar rahe hain aur tu phir bhi nahi ruk raha hain? Baat kya hain Bacha?" Neil enquired softly.
It looked like Abhir suddenly got cramps in his arms and Neil immediately tended to them. Once Abhir looked relieved, he asked again, not so gently this time.
"Abhir! Dekh kya haalat banadi tune apni. Tu strong hain but itna nahi ki iss had tak push karo apne aap ko.
Bhai ko pata chala na ki you are being so careless with your body, tu sochle ki woh tera kya haal karenge. You know your condition, you can't keep doing things like these."
Abhir hugged Neil tightly and he tried to calm himself down. Neil was confused with his reaction, he pulled back and said,
"Nahi kam hua na gussa? All this didn't help much. Am I right?" Abhir nodded.
"Phir baat kuch bahut serious hain. Abhir kya chupa raha hain tu? Seedhe seedhe bol varna main Bhai ko jaake bata dunga, tu kya kar raha tha." Neil warned him.
"Chachu! Aap mujhe blackmail kar rahe ho?" Abhir asked as he looked shocked.
"Blackmail nahi kar raha main. I am giving you options. Ya toh tu mujhe bolega ya Bhai ko. Bolega toh tu aaj pakka BETA. You have no option." Neil declared.
"Chachu! Aap mean ho rahe ho. Bol rahe ho ki option de rahe ho but phir bol rahe ho ki I have no option. You can't push me like that" He tried to defend himself.
"What about you? You can't push yourself to that extent too Abhir. Zyada logic mat laga. Agar tujhe lagta hain ki main mean ban raha hoon, toh theek hain.
Ban raha hoon main mean. Rahi baat tujhe push karne ki toh tu ne mere paas aur koi raasta nahi choda. Can't help it."
Neil responded in a raised voice. His voice was stern, and Abhir could see the seriousness there.
"Aap Papa ko mat batao please" Abhir requested meekly. He was looking scared.
"In that case, I am your best option. Tu pehle mujhe bol. Agar mujhe lagega ki I have to tell Bhai, toh main bolunga" Neil said firmly.
"Mat bolo Chachu. Bahut gussa karenge Papa. Ek hafte pehle hi toh class lagi thi meri. Ab ki baar..... sachi PITAYI hogi meri." Abhir sulked.
"Ab yaad aaya tujhe? Woh toh tujhe apni aisi haalat banane se pehle sochna tha na. Bhai galti se dekhlete toh? Phir kya karta?" Neil chided him and Abhir looked down.
Neil whacked him gently, "Ek hafta nahi sambhala gaya tujhse apne aapko. Chot lagwana chodo khud hi apni aisi haalat kardi. Agar pitayi bhi hogi na teri, toh tu deserve karta hain" Neil scolded him.
"Mat daanto Chachu. Please na." Abhir whined.
"Theek hain. Tu sach bol. Main poori try karunga ki tujhe na daantun." Neil solemnly spoke.
Abhir didn't know where to start. He didn't want to throw his Di under the bus no matter how angry he was at her. But he couldn't lie to his Chachu. So, he decided to side with the truth and let things take their own course. He just wanted to feel better, and sharing would make him feel much better. His Chachu will help him calm down and he didn't want to invite his father's wrath so soon. That wouldn't end well for him at all. Neil was patiently waiting for Abhir to speak up.
"Chachu! Mujhe na Di pe bahut gussa aa raha hain. Matlab main pehle se hi gussa tha. Per upset aur hurt zyada tha for what she did. But abhi sachi bahut zyada gussa aa raha hain.
Aapko pata hain unhone kya kiya?" Neil nodded in no and Abhir told Neil everything that Roohi said in verbatim. He has an amazing IQ for a reason.
"Chachu! Aap bolo. Meri kya galti hain? Ab main chota hoon toh naraaz bhi nahi ho sakta kya? Maine toh kuch kaha bhi nahi tha. Agar meri jagah woh hoti toh pata nahi kaisa react karti.
But agar maine apne hisab se react kiya toh she just yelled at me. Mujhe bahut gussa aaya but main sirf utna bolke yahan aagaya. Woh dhoondhne bhi nahi aayi mujhe." Abhir complained.
He was really missing his Di but the fear of missing her for much longer duration is stopping him from relenting. He would have maybe given in if Roohi tried a tad bit more but her impulsiveness just made things worse.
Neil embraced Abhir and said, "Shh! Calm down Bacha. Aapki koi galti nahi hain. Aap apni jagah ekdum sahi ho.
Don't give in until she really, genuinely apologizes." Neil said in a voice that was deceptively calm. Abhir looked at his Chachu in shock.
"Aap meri side le rahe ho? Especially tab jab aapne unhe maaf kardiya. Kuch bahut badi gadbad kardi kya Di ne?" Abhir asked suspiciously.
"Haan" Neil answered truthfully.
"Kya baat hain Chachu? Is she fine? Maine unhe poocha bhi nahi ki woh kaisi hai. Apne gusse mein I forgot ki I should support her when she is so sad. Main baad mein bhi gussa dikha sakta tha."
Abhir was clearly panicking. Neil realized what he did and tried to divert attention.
"Abhir! Sun meri baat. Mera bolne ka matlab tha ...ki maine Roohi ko warn kiya tha ki use jitni baar sorry bolna pade woh bolegi, without complaining.
Complaint toh chodo yahan woh tumpe baras padi. That's definitely not ok. She will have it from me"
Neil sounded so serious that Abhir's anger evaporated, and he started defending Roohi. He didn't want more trouble for his Di.
"Aap please jaane do na is baat ko. Sab unpe baras rahe hain toh woh mujhpe baras padi. Big deal.
Ek main hi toh hoon unse chota. Thoda haq banta hain unka. Hum aapas mein dekhlenge. Aap mat pado beech mein" Abhir said and Neil was taken aback.
The boy loved Roohi a lot and so did Roohi. She was worried about Abhir when she saw the interview which triggered her reaction and here, Abhir was defending her even after getting yelled at for no good reason. His heart was filled with warmth as soon as he realized the love these kids have for each other once again. He showed mock anger to Abhir,
"Acha! Abhi toh complain kar raha tha na tu hi?" Neil asked.
"Toh ab main hi mana kar raha hoon na. Chodo aap" Abhir said firmly. Neil chuckled and Abhir stared at him.
"Aisa kya dekh raha hain? Jo bhi ho but funny bahut lag raha hain is expression ke sath. Chal nahi bolunga use kuch abhi.
Baad mein uss se definitely poochunga ki usne aisa kyun kiya mere warn karne ke bawajood. Phir tum beech mein mat aana."
Neil told Abhir and he nodded unwillingly. There is only so much he can do. He was about to blame himself for ratting her out when he heard Neil saying,
"Agar iskeliye bhi tune apne aapko blame kiya na...Bhai ka pata nahi, main teri pitayi laga doonga. Samjha?"
Neil threatened and he nodded like an obedient kid. Abhir's guilt instantly flew away from his system.
On the other hand, Roohi didn't like how she behaved with Abhir at all, and she approached her father to tell him the whole truth. Abhimanyu looked at her hoped that she would tell him what's actually bothering her. He was planning to talk to her any which way but her approaching him made his job easier.
"Poppy!" Roohi called him.
"Haan jaana! Aapko kuch bolna hain?" Abhimanyu encouraged. Roohi nodded.
Roohi didn't waste any time and started narrating everything that happened without leaving a single detail away. She didn't look at Abhimanyu when she spoke, but she honestly told him everything. She was dreading to look at him, but she was surprised when her father took her into his embrace.
She felt so alive in that moment, and she could never explain the feeling in words. Every single wound in her heart healed just like that. All her worries were soothed, and all the pain drifted away from her.
She peeked from the hug and tried to gauge her father's expressions. They were calm and closed off. Akshara's topic always did that to him, but she was so happy that her father didn't misunderstand her or keep her at a distance for lapping on such an opportunity mindlessly, without caring for the safety.
Even if her Poppy chooses to dish out the harshest consequences possible, she will gladly take them.
She really needed that relief after such hectic days, and she got it. Roohi, at that point was just unbothered about everything else, finding peace in her Poppy's protective embrace.
Abhimanyu was initially shocked to know what all transpired and it did pinch him somewhere deep down that she seeked her acceptance.
But he soon realized that for Roohi, Akshara was her MOTHER. It was natural for her to feel that way.
To be fair to Roohi, she never gave him a tough time demanding to meet her mother. That was one thing she understood without much effort. But she was human after all. Not knowing your mother or not meeting her is a different thing but knowing who the mother is and if that mother happens to be a celebrity whose life is widely discussed, it gets tough to ignore.
When everything was a click away and still no contact is established from the other side, it gets very challenging for kids to accept and adapt. But Roohi did it without complaints and if the bottled up feelings surfaced for a brief moment and her teenage hormones made her react, it was absolutely understandable. The fact that she did what she did to safeguard Abhir from feeling hurt and exposed felt like a Nobel prize to Abhimanyu.
He couldn't have gotten luckier than this. He just tightened the embrace, and he didn't feel like letting his Roohi go away even for a minute. His daughter has gone through too much and she deserved all the love she can get now. Her infringements have already been addressed and she got punishment enough for her stupidity of not keeping anyone in the loop while taking on the adventure.
IT WAS ALL DONE. Now she will only get the assurance and pampering she genuinely deserves for being such a sweetheart.
They need to celebrate her success and the fact that she stood up to Akshara so bravely, even when she was alone and at her lowest.
He was PROUD of her and she needed to know that.
Akshara, the interview, the intentions and the required actions to be taken, all of them can wait. He pulled back and gently cupped Roohi's face which had relief written all over it. He kissed her forehead and caressed her head. Roohi looked at him with her doe eyes,
"Main aapko hurt nahin karna chahti thi Poppy. Kuch bhi intentional nahi tha. I got carried away. Sorry.
Aur Abhir ko kya kahengey Poppy? Mujhe bahut dar lag raha hain. I don't want her in our life Poppy. Main part nahi loongi is show mein. It's ok....."
Roohi was speaking nonstop when Abhimanyu placed a finger on her lips. She stopped at once.
"PEHLI baat...I know ki aap jaan poochke aisa kuch nahi karoge. You love your family too much for that.
DOOSRI baat...Jo aapne galti ki, uskeliye aapko daant pad gayi aur maar bhi. That is taken care of.
TEESRI baat....Abhir bahut strong hain. Hum sab milke use handle karlenge. He is lucky to have you.
LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST....Aap kisi aur ki wajah se apne dreams ke saath kabhi compromise nahi karoge. Not now. Not ever. I will not have that."
Abhimanyu's voice was so firm that she automatically nodded.
How was the dining table conversation?
How were Roohi and Abhir?
What do you have to say about Neil and Abhir's conversation?
Did you expect Roohi to confess everything to Abhimanyu?
How was Abhimanyu's reaction?
What will the Birla's do about this?
Well! Let's wait and see.