Time froze..
The World stood still ..
Juhi was so shocked that even tears that brimmed her eyes failed to roll down her cheeks...
"Why didn't Dr Shashank tell me about it..
Why did he hide such a big thing... I'm sure even Anjali isn't aware of this ....
So this is why he decided to distance himself from everyone... from me... from our love..
Why Dr Shashank... why..?? She sobbed...
Wiping the tears off her cheek she told herself " No matter what you have decided , I am not giving up on you so easily, Dr Shashank.. We will fight this together.."
She checked the scans once again... She noticed the tumour was in the initial stages,
So it could be and should be treated at the earliest..
Closing the laptop, she walked to Anjali's room.. She knocked and entered her room..
Anjali was seated on her bed working on her laptop...
" Is everything alright Dr Juhi..." she asked
" Yes Anjali I'm fine... she paused
Anjali I need to know where has Dr Shashank gone right now ..."
Anjali looked stunned since it was 4 days since Shashank had left and Juhi had not asked a word about his whereabouts... and now all of a sudden in the middle of the night she wanted details...
" I'm sorry Dr Juhi, but I had to promise dad that I won't disclose it to anyone including you..." Anjali replied
" Anjali, it is really important for me to know where he is right now... It is for his good and our good... I have no other intentions other than his well being... please Anjali I really need to know right now ..." she pleaded
From the look on Juhi's face and the determination in her eyes , Anjali knew something was not right ..
" Is something wrong Dr Juhi..." she stammered
"Anjali I will tell you everything but not now..
please tell me where is Dr Shashank..." she pleaded
Anjali was confused ... she didn't want to break her promise..but from Juhi's reaction she understood its okay to break a promise...
Taking in a deep breath she replied...
" Dad is in Panchgani .. He is staying there at his friends guest house.."
Juhi was in a way relieved that Shashank had not gone out of the country..
She thanked Anjali and rushed out of her room leaving behind a utterly confused Anjali ...
Juhi walked to her balcony .. she was breathless... she wanted to scream her lungs out and cry.. she felt vulnerable...
" Why him God... why him..." she cried
After crying her heart out, she made up her mind....
The next morning Juhi walked from her room carrying a Duffle bag...
Anjali who was having breakfast was surprised seeing her..
" Are you going somewhere Dr Juhi.." she questioned
"Yes.. I'm leaving for Panchgani and will be back tomorrow..." Juhi replied
"Dr Juhi.. today is just the third day of the conference and your presence is essential here... Meeting dad can wait for another two days Dr Juhi ... I hope you understand..." said Anjali who was angered by Juhi's decision...
" Anjali I'm sure the conference will go on smoothly.. i have spoken to Dr Mehta and Dr Ranganath already and have made necessary arrangements...
Don't worry about that... but it is necessary for me to go there right now..." said a determined Juhi
" Dr Juhi you are scaring me... Please tell me what is wrong... All of a sudden you want to go there..." Anjali asked
" I will tell you everything that you need to know Anjali once I come back... Please hold on till then... Don't make things even more difficult for me.." she pleaded..
Still not convinced, Anjali agreed half heartedly and told her to keep her posted..
Juhi had booked a cab... The cab arrived and Juhi bid Anjali good bye and walked out...
As the car sped through the outskirts of Pune, Juhi sat wondering how she would face Shashank and how she would confront him... She realised how she mistook his silence and hurt him in return... It's going to be a long day... she thought
After two and half hour drive she reached her destination.. she was awed by the beautiful view of mountains, valleys and lakes... the cool mountain air refreshed her... she felt calm..
The cab stopped outside the gate of the guest house.. After paying the driver, Juhi picked up her bag and walked inside the gate.. The watchman at the gate enquired.. she told him she was her to meet the guest.. He smiled and pointed out to the cottage in front of them.. She thanked him and walked towards the cottage with her duffle bag on her shoulder..
Once she neared the door, she took in a lung full of air and rang the doorbell..
It took about half a minute when the door clicked open from inside...
Shashank froze the moment he opened the door... He actually thought he was dreaming...
Juhi stood with a faint smile on her face..
"Hello Dr Shashank.." she smiled
"Juhi.... what are you doing here..." He started sweating...
"Are you going to make me stand here at the door and interrogate or can I come inside and tell you why I am here.." she asked
Wiping the sweat off his forehead he said
"Oh I'm sorry ... Come inside.." and allowed her to walk in .. he closed the door and walked behind her..
His friend Deepak who was seated in the living room was pleasantly surprised to see that Shashank had a visitor ..
Juhi was also surprised to see that Shashank had a guest...
Shashank walked and stood beside Juhi and introduced her to Deepak
"Deepak, this is Dr Juhi.. my associate and a friend..."
" And Juhi this is my childhood friend , Col.Deepak.. and the owner of this beautiful place.."
Juhi held her hand forward and shook hands with Deepak who stood up to greet her..
" Pleasure meeting you Colonel.." she said
"Pleasure is all mine Dr Juhi .." he brimmed..
Deepak looked back at Shashank and asked him "Shashank you didn't tell me about Dr Juhi's visit.."
Shashank looked perplexed.. Even before he could answer , Juhi replied saying " Actually Colonel, it was a surprise visit.. I was here for some work which I wound up early hence I thought I ll catch up with Dr Shashank..." she lied
Shashank also knew she was lying .. but nodded his head in agreement..
Cutting in further conversation, Shashank spoke "Juhi, why don't you go and freshen up .." She nodded her head and he pointed towards the room at the right..
Juhi excused herself and walked into the room...
Deepak smiled looking at Shashank...
Shashank was caught off guard.. " Why are you smiling at me like that , Deepak" he asked
" I haven't see you look so nervous , Shashank.. ever since the lady walked in... all good..?? he asked..
" ye..yess everything is fine , Deepak
It's just that I was surprised to see her here.." Shashank replied
"Is she staying back here for sometime.." Deepak asked
" I'm not sure Deepak.. but since there are two rooms it shouldn't be a problem in case she wants to... I hope you don't mind.." Shashank asked
" Not at all Shashank.." Deepak smiled
"I guess i should get going Shashank.. I will catch up with you later.." he said and stood up to walk out.. After bidding each other goodbyes, Shashank locked the door ..
He plonked on the sofa... Hundreds of questions ran through his head..
" Why was she here??
How did she know I was here??
Does she know about the Big Bang ??
Did Rakesh tell her about it ???
My god...." he sighed and covered his face with both his hands..
After few minutes the door clicked open and Juhi walked in and sat on the sofa opposite to Shashank ..
Before she could start her interrogation, Shashank asked her if she would like to eat lunch since it was past one o'clock in the afternoon...
"A little later..." she said
" So how are you enjoying your break, Dr Shashank..." she asked
" It going well Juhi.. why do you ask... he asked
" How did you get to know I am here.. Anjali told you ??? He questioned
" Yes.. I forced her into telling me .. so she isn't at fault ..." Juhi replied
"Why are you here , Juhi.. when the conference is still on ..." he asked
" I have something even more important than the conference to deal with, Dr Shashank.. that's why I am here.. she said holding his gaze..
Unable to hold his gaze with hers Shashank stood up and walked towards the window..
"Tell me why you are here.." he asked in a serious tone..
"Tell me why are you running away from me" she questioned back
" I am not running away from you, Juhi... I just needed space.." he lied
" You are lying Dr Shashank.." she said
" What makes you think I am lying ..." he asked
"Then look into my eyes and tell me you aren't lying.. Tell me you don't love me.. tell me you want me to move on with Rahul.. tell me you don't want us to be together.. tell me all the memories we made together mean nothing to you... tell me we were never meant to be ... and tell me you aren't hiding anything from me ... and I will leave..." she said
Shashank stood rooted to his spot hearing Juhi out... he could never tell her everything that she just said cause he truly loved her..
There was deafening silence..
" Why are you making things even more difficult for me Juhi.." his voice choked..
" You are making it difficult for us Dr Shashank, not me.." she replied
Getting up from the sofa she walked and stood beside him looking outside the window..
" I know everything Dr Shashank.." she said
Tears rolled down her eyes
Shashank turned and looked at her with a shock on his face...
He knew she wasn't lying... Tears formed in his eyes as well..
Both stood silently absorbing each other silence..
" Why didn't you tell me about your sickness.." she asked
" I .. I .. he stammered
How did you know about it..." he asked
" Last night when I used your laptop I saw the scans which where saved on the pen drive.."
Shashank closed his eyes realising how foolish he was in leaving the pen drive plugged into the laptop...
" Does Anjali know about it..." he asked
" No I haven't told her anything yet... I thought it was appropriate for you to tell her rather than me..." she said
Again there was silence in the room...
After a couple of minutes Shashank spoke " "Now that you know the truth and confronted me , I think you should get going Juhi..."
" I am not going anywhere without you Dr Shashank... said Juhi
" Stop kidding me Juhi... I told you I am not coming anywhere and that's final ,..." he raised his voice
" Even I'm not kidding Dr Shashank... You are coming back with me and we are going to plan your case and schedule the surgery at the earliest.." she retorted back
" Juhi you very well know there are lots of complications involved with recurrence... l could loose my eyesight , I could loose my memory, I could go into coma and stay in a vegetative state... I prefer to die peacefully..." his voice choked again
" Dr Shashank, as you know it is a benign tumour... There is no confirmation yet of it being malignant.. once the surgical resection is done let's confirm with a biopsy... Touch wood if it is positive we will try chemotherapy along with radiation... I'm sure you will be fine .. My gut feeling says so .. Please don't say no Dr Shashank..." she held both his arm and made him face her...
Shashank could just not look into her eyes... his control over his emotions were just hanging by a thread...
" You can't give up so easily Dr Shashank.. Anjali needs you... And I need you ... We will fight this together..." she cried and pulled him for a hug and cried on his chest....
Shashank slowly embraced her.. Her last words melted his heart... She need him and he also needs her... Tears rolled down his eyes as well.. Both stood in each other's embrace... Both felt like they were back home after ages...
Breaking the hug after a while Shashank rested his forehead against hers.. " You love me so much ??? he asked
"I love you even more than you know ..." she replied and pulled him for a passionate lip lock...
There was hunger of desperation, of love, that drove her sucking into his mouth but he was just as needy for her, he kissed her right back with the same urgency...They kissed like they couldn't get enough of each other..
Breaking up for the need of air.. With his most charming smile he opened his arms for her and she closed the tiny gap between them and she flung herself on his chest wrapping her arms around him. She hugged him tightly while he pressed her body into him squeezing the very breath out of her, he whispered in her ear "I missed you" taking the edge of her earlobe into his mouth, "I missed you" he said again. His teeth lightly grazing her " I missed you so much" he said again lifting her into him.
"Liar ..." she said still resting her head on his chest..
"That is why you chose to run away.. isn't it.." she said
" I'm sorry sweetheart.. I did what I felt was right at that moment... My mind overtook my heart... I'm sorry ..." he apologised
" You better be ...and you better make up for it ... she said and hugged him tightly ...
Hey everyone
Wish you all a blessed new year in advance..
Will be posting the next update in the new year
Have a great week
Lots of love 😊