Chapter 52
During the winters of January in Omkareshwar, Rehaan found himself roaming around their farmhouse aimlessly, wandering in loneliness for having no clue to his dilemma. He had been trying hard to make himself accept the reality and move on in his life, but it was nearly impossible as he could feel it. The harsh wintry bites blew over his face all along, leaving him shivering for the rest of the time.
Ishaan caught up on him while on his way home from the academy, vividly surprised by the pitiful condition of Rehaan. He was quietly seated on the bench in the middle of the garden when Ishaan reached him and stood gazing at him. There was no exchange of words between them for a couple of minutes before Ishaan's final attempt on breaking the silence.
"Rehaan, I am aware of what has been bothering you lately," Ishaan said calmly, bringing softness to his voice. "I want to help you out."
Ishaan was ready to face the wrath of Rehaan, yet he showed his courage of conversing with him for once. He could not bear to withstand the pain which Prachi was already tolerating due to her brother or cousin's respective disappointments. If he really could, he wanted to resolve their problems at the earliest possible.
Rehaan lifted his face up to meet Ishaan's eyes, and with a gentle demeanour he responded, "I know I should be grateful to you for saving my life on the day of the house party, but I refrained from even expressing my gratitude to you. Yet, you want to help me out, provided that Aarohi is your cousin. Is there any specific reason behind this kind gesture towards me?"
"Your family is related to mine, doesn't this suffice enough reason for us to help each other?"
"How do you know that I need help, and that too from you?"
Ishaan shook his head in hesitancy and muttered, "I don't know what you think of me but I can tell you only one thing truly today, Rehaan. My cousin Aarohi has been in love with you since ages and I can't accept the devastating truth of hers getting married to someone she was never in love with. I am also sure that she hasn't agreed to get hitched to Dhairya willingly."
Rehaan folded his arms while standing up on his limbs. "What will she gain even if she agrees to get together with me? I am a guy still living his life with no future."
"Our life is full of future endeavours, Rehaan." Ishaan told him stressfully. "You should not commit the crime of letting Shalini and Dhairya suffer by sacrificing their love for the sake of the family."
"I also do not want to commit the crime of breaking Aarohi's nuptials by interrupting into her life who doesn't even want to be with me. Though I am guilty for everything that has happened between Aarohi and me, I can't tolerate more of the guilt anymore," Rehaan said in a flattened voice. "She has herself chosen to get married at the earliest possible, be it with Dhai bro or someone else. If you ask me the truth, I also don't want this marriage to happen because of Shai and Dhai bro. I want them to fight for their love, and even if the wedding gets cancelled, Aarohi's grandfather will still fix her alliance with any other man."
"So your prime concern is about getting blamed for breaking Aarohi's marriage to Dhairya. If you want Shalini and Dhairya to fight for their love, why can't you do the same, man?" Ishaan scoffed in anger. "I will speak to Manu grandpa on your behalf, I promise."
Rehaan shook his head. "No."
"Will you still remain stubborn if you are not to be blamed for the marriage getting cancelled? And if it really happens, will you show the courage of accepting your feelings for Aarohi and go ahead with settling your life with her?"
"My biggest concern is about my career, Ishaan. I don't know what I will do with that? How can I promise Aarohi a life having no sturdy base for myself?"
"And if you do find a steady career for yourself, will you?"
"I will, Ishaan, I will."
*****
There was no joy in her life again, thought Shalini as she wandered on the terrace in the cold wintry night. She was having sleepless nights since the day Aarohi's marriage to Dhairya was announced, even though she was the one who had willingly prevented both Dhairya and Shaurya from breaking the news of her relationship before the entire family. Over the days that passed, she had not contacted with Aarohi as the latter was herself behaving too stubbornly to speak to anyone from the family of the Bundelas.
While she moved around, she heard somebody's footsteps approaching her. All she realized was the presence of Dhairya behind her and she could feel her limbs tremble as he came closer further to where she was standing colorlessly. He took a turn as he neared her and was now facing her, his eyebrows knitted together with a lot of worries.
"Shai, you can't keep avoiding me anymore," Dhairya said with determination. "I can't bear to remain silent anymore, Shai. I have decided to talk to grandpa regarding this tonight itself and I have only come to inform you of the same."
"And what will happen after you have spoken the truth? I agree that grandpa will understand your predicament but don't you think even we should understand his?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you want the past to repeat again and again, Dhai?" Shalini stated with a lot of courage. She was feeling the pain within her but she managed to hide it effortlessly. "It was Ishaan's grandmother years ago who was deprived on her wedding day by our grandfather, and this time it is going to be Aarohi. Do you want the curse on our family to reiterate generation after generation? You are not unknown to the sufferings of uncle Vihaan and his family, our grandparents or aunt Tejal. Though uncle Bhairav is behind the bars, our family's relationship with the Ranas will be marred for eternity."
"You know, Shai, the love I hold for you in my heart, and it is also true that Aarohi is well aware of it." Dhairya uttered with a sullen face. "Let me speak to Aarohi once, and I am sure she will cancel the marriage by herself."
"Didn't you hear that Prachi and I have tried contacting Aarohi, but she is in a mood of denial?" Shalini stated firmly. "I don't know what she is planning to do, but I can only foresee the marriage as inevitable."
Dhairya shifted closer to Shalini and put his palm on her shoulder. "So will you be happy if my STOLEN series remains incomplete. . . our story remains incomplete?"
She turned to the other side, provided that she would not have to meet Dhairya's eyes anymore; and with a voice so stern, she almost squeaked, "Someday, you may finish the series, Dhai, at least our story will have the privilege to remain complete only in letters and ink."
"Not a single word will I ever be able to pen down again without you, Shai."
The pain of separation from the love of her life gripped Shalini in a myriad of homelessness; and she was not too strong to keep her emotions far so within her. As Dhairya left the terrace in a depressed mood, and in the matter of a few seconds, tears began falling from her eyes in tumultuous numbers, and she hugged herself like a helpless creature in distress.
She was shivering in the cold, but the frost would not touch her as her skin was experiencing a lack of sensation. She had ultimately decided that she would let it go, allow the relationship she had built over the ages to get destroyed and remain a silent witness by accepting every pain only for the sake of the family.
*****
"You mean to say our daughter is in love with Dhairya!" Rohini was astounded due to Shaurya's disclosure of truth. "And she is doing all these solely for the purpose of keeping our families together in harmony with our arch rivals."
"Rohi, I feel like a helpless father today, for not being able to take a stand on behalf of my daughter." Sharuya could feel his eyes pricking as he said those words. "Shai has bound me to a promise by which I can't disclose the truth of her love to anyone except you. Tell me Rohi, what should I do now?"
"I want to go to my daughter. She must be too lonely and in a lot of pain. She needs me." Rohini spoke nothing more before rushing to the terrace. There in the middle of the terrace floor stood Shalini silently, sobbing to herself. Rohini dashed towards her and in seconds, engulfed her daughter to her bosom. "Shai, why did you hide this truth from me, from the woman who brought you into this world and fought for you and your rights, that you love Dhairya?"
"Mumma!"
Shalini sobbed louder than ever, with Shaurya raking her hair. Rohini brushed her back vigorously and spoke, "Cry your heart out, my darling daughter, you are not the only one facing this. I have been one of the victims who had also suffered from the fear of losing the love of her life."
"I don't know what I should do, but I think I will leave Omkar-eshwar as soon as they get marr-ied." She stuttered while speaking in broken words. "I will go abroad to London or anywhere else where papa had resided earlier. Papa, will you fetch me there?"
Shaurya gripped Shalini by her shoulders and cupped her cheeks. "You are the strong daughter to strong parents, Shai. How can you accept your defeat this easily?"
"I don't see this as my defeat, papa. I can see the victory of the family where both the Bundelas and the Ranas will be united by a marriage alliance, and the history of enmities will be wiped out forever." Shalini explained to her parents, wiping her tears at last. "Being strong parents of mine, I don't want to find you getting upset for my condition. I have faced many heartbreaks in the past and have overcome them without complaints. This pain shall too pass in a few days, I know."
"But during those days, you had Dhairya beside you to cater to your state of mind, Shai. You were never alone facing those pains." Shaurya lamented helplessly. "How will you cope up now? I am afraid."
"I still have Dhai catering to my mental health, papa, and I know he will always be there to mitigate my sufferings. Once I overcome, I will move away from him and out of this country forever."
"This sounds so sel-fish, Shai." Prachi joined them through the opening of the terrace door. "And what about the pain and suffer-ings of Dhai bro? Do you think he's going to be happy by marrying Aaru or stay-ing away from you? Do you think he'll be able to write again?"
"I don't know, Pihu, but this marriage has to happen for the curse on our families is too severe." Shalini repeated remorsefully. "Otherwise Aaru wouldn't have agreed to the marriage even after remaining the sole witness to our relationship for over a decade?"
Prachi pursed her lips for she had earlier been informed by Ishaan that Aarohi had consented to the marriage with Dhairya. Now it was only upon either Shalini or Dhairya to protect their relationship at all costs.
"I wonder why Aaru is doing this?" Prachi frowned her head. "She has even refused to talk to me. Is she trying to get reve-nge from us?"
"This is the only reason why I can't intrude in their marriage, Pihu. I don't want to face all the blame for breaking Aaru's wedding and be a culprit of her miseries in the eyes of aunt Nidhi and uncle Arjun," Shalini said one last time. "I don't have the courage to do this to her."
Shalini sprinted to her room thereafter, leaving Prachi to ponder upon herself. Rohini also followed Shalini in a hurry while Shaurya stayed behind to talk to Prachi. "Pihu, do you have any way out? I have found you as the most sensible one among your cousins."
"Shay uncle, I will be able to do some-thing only when either Shai or Dhai bro agrees to take any further step. If they remain stubborn in their individual deci-sions, what can we do?" Prachi fished her palms into her pockets. "And above all, I never expected this kind of uncooperative beha-viour from Aarohi."
"Is Aarohi aware of their relationship?"
"Yes, uncle, she knows all of it, even better than me," Prachi said clearly. "I just wonder why she is not offen-ded by the news of her marriage to Dhai bro!"
"I can't bear to see my daughter in pain. I know she's completely broken from within but she has transformed into someone who has learnt how to hide her pains."
"I promise you, uncle, I will not leave Shai alone dur-ing this phase of her life, and I will see what I can do on my part." Prachi assured him before walking away. She was extremely unhappy for Shalini and Dhairya, but above all, she felt more miserable for her brother Rehaan.
When she reached Rehaan's room, she pushed open the door slightly, revealing his sleeping figure. She went into the room and noticed him closely, who did not seem to be sound asleep. Prachi was the only one who would not fail to miss her brother's instinct, and she touched his arm tenderly.
"Rihu, you are not asleep, I can figure out." She ruffled his hair. "I also know the rea-son why you are feeling restless tonight."
Rehaan opened his eyes and sat upright, widening his lazy eyes by half-an-inch. "I am feeling cold, that's it."
"Is this cold in your surroundings or in your heart, bro?"
"I don't know."
"Before it gets too late, you must at once attempt to rea-lize your feelings for Aaru and let it out to her. I am afraid every-thing will be spoilt if you don't react now."
"If you've come here to advise me on the same topic, then I must say you shouldn't." Rehaan slapped her wrist. "I agree that I have tried with my infatuation towards Aarohi and hurt her in the process, but I still cannot come to terms with my feelings. And I also think Aarohi is sensible enough to choose every single course of her life, be it her marriage or anything else. If she has chosen to move away and get over her feelings for me, she is also free to do so."
"But what about Shai and Dhai? Why will they suffer just because of the dirty tur-moil between you and Aaru?" Prachi raised her voice. "I am so bound by the duty of protec-ting this family that I feel very helpless today, Rihu. I don't know how to prevent this act of immo-rality!"
Prachi left the room in a very bad mood. Rehaan stared into his phone screen and took to the gallery where Aarohi's pictures were stored. He deleted those one by one, including the few messages he had sent to her earlier. With a heavy heart, he opened his cupboard and began packing his luggage.
Waiting until the dawn of the next day, he almost faced a lack of sleep that night. When the clock struck four, he took to a piece of paper and wrote a few lines on it. After he was done, he moved out of his room along with his luggage and reached the room of his parents. Sticking the single sheet of paper on the locked door, he trolled away, and when he was out in the dark, he grasped one last view of the farmhouse.
"Here I leave for a never-ending journey of my life. I will only return once I have a well-settled career." He murmured to himself, feeling the harshness of the frosty weather on his skin. "You are only valued when you are a successful person."
*****
Sanchi, who woke up nearly three hours after the departure of Rehaan, discovered the sheet of paper left by Rehaan on their door. She read it thoroughly:
*
Mom and dad,
I am leaving for Indore in an urgency. I have been planning for a new startup since many days but could not undertake it due to certain constraints. Now since I have been summoned for the urgent need of my presence in Indore, I cannot drop this opportunity.
I will be taking the first train to Indore on this day and for the same reason, I cannot inform you physically. I will only return to Omkareshwar along with the successful story of my venture or else I will wait until it is achieved.
I apologize for my absence in Omkareshwar henceforth, but you can pay me a visit in Indore whenever you want.
Yours Rihu.
*
"Like mother, like son!" Vihaan was peeping into the paper in Sanchi's hands from over her shoulder. "Rihu has inherited this habit of writing letters from his mother, I suppose."
"Oh!" Sanchi was surprised by Vihaan's sudden voice from behind. "We have a cere-mony at home in the com-ing week and Rihu will miss it."
"Was it really urgent for him to leave like that?" Vihaan stated his confusion. "I will call him right away."
Vihaan found Rehaan's phone ringing, and when he received it on the other end, Sanchi spoke into the speaker, "Rihu, wh-ere are you now? Do you need our help? We are gett-ing worr-ied for you."
"I will be able to manage," Rehaan assured her. "Family needs you at home for brother's marriage. If it is possible, I will try to attend the function, but you must not wait for me."
As the call disconnected, Sanchi turned to Vihaan. "Did you find his voice hea-vy, or is it only me? Don't you feel there's some-thing wrong wi-th him?"
"May be his voice is heavy due to the cold weather as he left home so early." Vihaan shrugged his shoulders. "If he is bothered by something, he must have shared the same with Pihu at least. We can enquire of her."
They reached Prachi's room, who was sitting by the window and sipping on a cup of coffee. "Maa, why are you rushing in a hurry?"
"Rihu drop-ped a note for us before leav-ing for Indore." Sanchi showed her the paper. "Are you aware of it? Is he both-ered by some-thing which he must have sha-red with you."
The cup of coffee was almost on the verge of slipping from her hand as Prachi shivered from within as she thought, "Rihu, how could you flee like a coward!"
To be continued...
A/N: Another delayed update and I apologize on that.. I've been too busy lately but I'm trying to get back to my regular schedule ASAP...
How are you doing this winter? Our beloved Shai and Dhai are having their kind of winter this year 😔 !!