Chapter Five

Sanyukta turned around to see Shraddha at the door, listening to her and Parth's conversation.

"Shraddha?" she asked, surprised. "What happened?"

"Mommy, where is the paint?" she asked innocently.

"I'll come back," she told Parth, before walking to Shraddha and taking her small hand gently in hers. "Come on baby."

She walked to the dining room with Shraddha where Randhir was sitting on the table, a big sheet of white paper in front of him. Shraddha quickly ran towards the chair beside him and pulled herself up on it. Sanyukta smiled sadly to herself as she watched Shraddha's excitement in meeting her daddy.

If she was going to eventually marry Parth, she didn't know how Shraddha would take it now that she had found out that Randhir was her dad. She was only four years old, but she had to grow up one day and when she did, she would slowly start to understand the world.

Sanyukta picked up Shraddha's painting supplies and brought them to the table.

"Mommy, paint with us," Shraddha said happily as she opened the red paint.

She poured it on the paint platter and dipped her hand in it.

"Shraddha!" Sanyukta said angrily. "Didn't I tell you not to touch the paint! Use the brushes."

"But Mommy it's so much fun!" she said, with a big smile. "Daddy, come on - you do it too!"

"No!" Sanyukta said angrily. "Shraddha this is not right."

Randhir covered his hand in red paint too, causing Sanyukta's mouth to drop open. How could he just defy her like that? He looked up at her apologetically and Sanyukta just glared and walked away from the room, fuming.

"We should have listened to Mommy," Randhir said as Shraddha placed her hand on the white sheet of paper.

"Mommy always listens to me Daddy," Shraddha told him with a mischievous grin. "I will go up to her and smile cutely and she will forget that she was mad at me!"

Randhir chuckled as Shraddha put her hand on top of his and guided it to the paper, right beside her handprint. She pressed his hand right beside hers, on the right side of the paper, right by the edge.

"There you go! Now I have proof that our hands are the same!" she said with a big smile and Randhir felt his heart drop at her innocence.

"Sh - Shraddha," he said softly and she looked up at him with her big eyes - Sanyukta's eyes. "Did you know who I was before you met me?"

She seemed to think about it for a moment and then nodded with a big grin.

"One minute!" she said, and she ran out of the room.

When she returned five minutes later, she was carrying a picture with her.

"Don't tell Mommy," Shraddha said seriously. "She doesn't know I know. She will be so mad if she finds out I know where she put this picture!"

She slowly turned the photo over to show Randhir. In the picture was Sanyukta's grumpy face, her back firmly against Randhir's body, and Randhir's arm was out above them, with a big smile on his face - it was clear that he was the one taking the picture.

Randhir felt his eyes sting with tears as he looked at it, remembering the incident where he made Sanyukta angry on purpose just because he enjoyed irritating her.

"Daddy, did you know she used to sleep with this picture every night?" she asked him. "Then I asked her about it some months ago and she never slept with it again."

"Oh," he murmured, feeling his insides churn with guilt.

Even after all these years she still remembered their memories, she still held on to the proof of their once blissful past. This thought filled him up with guilt and hope - hope that maybe one day she could forgive him.

Just then Sanyukta's face paled as she entered the room and saw Randhir holding on to the picture. She rushed up to him and grabbed the picture from his hand.

"Where did you get this?" she snapped.

"I uh..." he started.

"I got it from your closet Mommy," Shraddha said sweetly.

Randhir saw the anger rise up within Sanyukta as she raised her hand above her head, but Randhir grabbed Shraddha and held her against his chest protectively. He saw Sanyukta's lips tremble as she saw the sight in front of her and her hand dropped.

"I - I'm sorry," she whispered. "Sorry darling."

Randhir let go of his daughter as Sanyukta took her in her arms. Shraddha looked upset.

"Sorry for making you mad Mommy," she said as tears fell from her eyes. "I didn't know that this would upset you this much."

Sanyukta held her daughter's cheeks, as she fell to her knees. She wiped away the tears in her eyes and kissed her cheeks one by one.

"It's okay. Just promise me you'll be a good girl," she told her, before glancing up at Randhir. "We should go. I'll get my stuff."

Randhir nodded, feeling his heart ache at the scene in front of him and at the thought of leaving his daughter behind.

"I can't come Mommy?" Shraddha asked. "I promise I'll be quiet and a good girl."

"Sweetheart, you have doctor appointments," she said, caressing her daughter's cheek. "We'll go and come back really quickly, I promise."

Then Sanyukta left to get her luggage. Randhir fell to his knees in front of Shraddha and engulfed her in a hug, holding her close. He was so scared that he would break her - she was so skinny, so he didn't let himself hug her too tightly.

"Daddy," Shraddha said, wrapping her arms around Randhir. "When you come back will we live together? You, me and Mommy?"

Randhir pulled away and looked into her eyes, his heart aching. How he desperately wanted to answer yes to her, but he knew that it would not be that easy.

"And uncle too," Shraddha said, speaking up again.

Randhir was going to ask who this uncle was, but Sanyukta entered the room.

"Ready?" she asked Randhir and he nodded.

"Yes, let me just go and wash my hands. Where's the bathroom?" he asked.

"I'll take you Daddy!" Shraddha said eagerly and took his hand.

He watched as a painful expression reached Sanyukta's face again as she watched the two of them bond, and his heart dropped again.

As Shraddha lead him to the bathroom, Randhir looked down at their joined hands. What if one day, she let go? What if one day, there would be no hand for him to hold? The thought made him shudder. He couldn't lose his daughter. He had to save her at any cost.

They washed their hands and returned to Sanyukta.

"Bye baby, don't give uncle a hard time," Sanyukta said and kissed Shraddha's forehead.

Randhir raised his eyebrow again. Who was this uncle?

"Okay Mommy," Shraddha said with a smile. "I'll be a good girl."

Then Sanyukta glanced at Randhir and dragged her suitcase towards the door. Randhir followed her and looked back at Shraddha who was waving at them.

"Don't we have to drop her to her uncle?" Randhir asked.

"Her uncle lives here," Sanyukta said coolly. "He's in his room. She's not going to be alone."

Randhir nodded slowly, not liking the idea of Sanyukta and Shraddha living in the same house as a man. Then a thought hit him - how could he be so silly? This uncle was probably Sanyukta's older brother Ankit.

"Sure, let's go," he said with a small smile, and walked away from Shraddha, giving her one last smile. "Bye Shraddha!"

She followed him to his car and he opened the trunk for her to put her belongings in. Then he sat in the driver seat, and her in the passenger seat.

As he reversed from the driveway, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, surprised that she didn't even ask where they were going.

They drove in silence, when finally she spoke up.

"Where are we going?" she asked softly.

"I have this place," he told her. "It's a four hour drive away. But it's nice. You'll like it."

She folded her hands in her lap and didn't reply.

They drove in silence until Randhir couldn't take it anymore.

"How have you been?" he asked, breaking the silence.

She looked at him with surprised eyes - it was as if she was not expecting him to ask that question.

"Fine," she said simply.

He knew she had been anything but fine, but he didn't mention it.

"How have you been?" she asked after a few seconds of silence.

Horrible. He wanted to say that his life had been nothing short of miserable ever since their separation.

"Fine," was what he said instead.

They drove in silence for another hour.

"Want to stop for coffee?" he asked.

"Randhir, let's just get to the place, finish what we need to do, and then get away from there, I don't want to leave Shraddha alone for long," Sanyukta said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Right, okay," Randhir replied awkwardly.

Silence. Once again.

"Shraddha is a nice name," he said, trying to start conversation.

"I know," she replied and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the window, as if she was about to sleep.

Randhir knew that she wasn't going to sleep - he knew she was just pretending, and this irritated him.

"Sanyukta we're going to have to sleep together, so you might as well talk to me!" he said, frustrated.

Her eyes opened and she glared at him.

"It's so easy for you isn't it?" she snapped. "Randhir I've been trying to be nice to you, but if you keep talking like this, I won't be."

He clenched his teeth together and drove the rest of the way in silence.

A few hours later, he pulled over by a beautiful, clear lake which had a cottage right outside it. There was nothing but trees surrounding the cottage and the lake.

Sanyukta looked at the location and then looked at Randhir, shocked. 

--

Flashback: 
"Six days Randhir." she sighed sadly, her words muffling into his chest. "Six days."

He laced his fingers through hers and held her hand to his bare chest. He was lying in her bed once again, having sneaked in. They had an intense makeout session, leaving both of them breathless and sweaty, and were in their undergarments - nothing new for them. In fact, this had been their nightly routine for the last month.

"We'll worry about six days, six days later," Randhir said positively. "Until then, I want you to smile."

"Okay, fine... after we graduate, let's get jobs quickly and then get married," she said, looking hopeful.

"Anytime you want," he whispered softly. "I'm ready for you."

She brought his fingers to her lips and placed a light kiss on them.

"Okay, where do you want to go for our honeymoon?" she asked with a wide smile.

"You tell me. As long as I get to spend time with you, I'm happy," he said, squeezing her bare waist.

"Okay... I want to go somewhere far away," she said, with a happy sigh. "Where we're only surrounded by nature - it will be peaceful and calm, and just the two of us!"

"You don't want to go somewhere out of the country?" Randhir asked, shocked.

She shook her head.

"No, just where there's water, lots of water!" Sanyukta said happily.

"Your wish is my command," Randhir said with a smile. "We'll go there one day, I promise."

"Good," she said with a smirk. "I like it when you listen to me!"

Then she pushed herself up on the bed and pressed her lips against his before he pulled her down on top of him.

"Let's do it now," he whispered.

"Five more days Randhir," she replied, blushing. "I want it to be a gift."

"It'll still be a gift now," he mumbled and kissed her neck softly.

"No, five days," she said stubbornly.

"Okay fine, five days," he said with a sigh, and rolled them over so that he was hovering over her.

He kissed her jaw and she trembled under his touch.

"It's so hard for me too," she whispered. "I just want it now."

"Then let's do it," he replied. "Come on Sanyukta."

"Randhir," she moaned as his lips traveled down her neck, "We need to have some self control."

"No we don't," he replied, his lips on her collarbone now.

"We dooo," she mumbled.

He sighed and pushed himself off her, lying down and turning around to face the other way. Wrapping her arm around his abdomen, she snuggled up to him from the back.

"Oh come on Randhir, we're doing this anyways, right? Whether it's now or in five days, it doesn't matter," she said softly. "Don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad," he said, his hand holding hers to his abs. "I'm just facing this way so I can control myself."

She giggled as he turned back around and pulled her shoulders close to him. Her head found the crook of his neck and she inhaled the scent of his sweaty skin - loving every bit of it.

"Good night," she whispered and he kissed the top of her head.

"Good night Sanyukta," he replied, pulling the blanket over the two of them, before they both drifted off to sleep. 

--

She was looking at him with awe.

"Is this your place?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Yeah, I bought it a few months ago," he admitted. "But I have only been here twice, the day I saw it and the day I bought it. It came fully furnished."

He watched as her eyes filled up to the brim with tears and he knew that she remembered the same thing he did - this had been her ideal honeymoon spot. This was her definition of perfect.

With shaking hands, he took his keys out of his pocket and opened the door for her. She stepped in first, and then he followed behind her.

"There are two rooms," he told her. "One upstairs, one downstairs."

"Which one is mine?" she asked him.

He was surprised that she asked him that.

"Any one," he told her painfully. "You choose."

She nodded and then sat down on a couch in the room, which faced a fireplace. On the wall on top of the fireplace was a big flat screen television.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked her softly.

She shook her head.

"No, I want to call Shraddha," she stated. "You go."

"I'll bring in your things," he told her with a smile and she nodded as she took out her phone.

He walked out to his car. Randhir didn't know what to do. His relationship with Sanyukta was so much different now than it had been in FITE. Back then he used to tease her, he would irritate her and he would love her openly, but that was then and this was now. Now he couldn't do any of that. There was a certain formality about their relationship, and Randhir didn't know how to break that barrier.

But they had to talk. They had to talk tonight. Especially if they wanted to save Shraddha.

Making love was not going to be an easy task without communication. Was he allowed to kiss her or did she just want him to do the task quickly? He didn't know what to do or how to ask her. He hadn't even expected her to ask him which room was hers - he had automatically assumed that they would share a room since they were here to conceive.

But she surprised him - and his chest ached at the thought that he'd be making love with her, but wouldn't get to sleep in the same bed as her. He had put Vidhushi through the same thing that he would be facing - what went around truly came back around.

Sanyukta took the room downstairs and was already inside, lying in her bed, reading a magazine when Randhir brought her belongings in for her.

"Thank you," she said politely and put the magazine down.

Randhir glanced at the time. It was eight.

"Want to go out for dinner?" he asked her.

"Yeah, okay," she agreed. "We should eat."

Randhir decided that he was going to make her feel special. Maybe, just maybe then she might open up to him more. Maybe she would allow him to get close to her - it wasn't going to be easy for her, he knew it wasn't, but he wanted her to enjoy it. He didn't want her to look down upon their night together. Hopefully once her hunger was satisfied, she would be able to tell him what he was allowed to and not allowed to do to her.

They made their way out together after getting ready, and he held the passenger door open for her. She looked at him strangely, but sat inside anyways after murmuring a quick thanks.

He drove all the way to a high class restaurant and she looked at him with surprise, but she didn't say a word.

He got out of the car and was about to open her door for her, but she got out herself way too quickly for him. They entered the restaurant and the host took them to their table, placing their menus in front of them.

They sat down and Sanyukta immediately picked up the menu, her eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets when she looked at the price of each meal.

"You do know that I'm paying for my share right?" she asked him sternly.

Randhir's mouth nearly fell open. He couldn't let her do that. He was here to make her feel special, not to make her feel like he ripped apart her wallet.

"You're not," he said, equally sternly.

"Randhir, I don't want your favours," she said coolly.

"I'm not giving you any favours," he said, starting to get frustrated now.

"I am paying," she said, her nostrils flaring angrily.

One look at her flared nostrils, and his frustration disappeared somewhere - how he had missed this sight. She was so beautiful and he loved to make her mad from the beginning. This was how she always fought with him when they were together and it had almost always lead to a passionate make out session.

"Okay fine, you pay for the whole meal then," he said, leaning back into his chair, deciding to enjoy this.

He watched as her mouth nearly dropped open. Oh how he missed doing this to her.

"Fine," she said, leaning back in her own chair, her lips pursed, as if she was controlling herself from swearing at him right now.

He held back a laugh.

"Fine," he repeated, picking up his own menu, smirking and deciding to order the most expensive dishes on the menu, just to annoy her.

He was going to manipulate the situation so that it would feel like old times for Sanyukta's sake. The situation was a hard one and he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable at all. At least if he replicated their past relationship, she would have the comfort level to be physical with him at ease.