On their way back after dropping Naina at the airport, Girish spoke aloud what he had been thinking all this while, 'Naina upset hai kyonki uski friend bimaar hai. Sameer usey drop karne tak nahi aaya kyonki uska stomach upset ho gaya hai. Dono ek saath upset, ek dimag se ek pet se. Ambika, kahin aisa toh nahi fir se koi nayi khichdi pak rahi hai?'

Ambika rolled her eyes at her husband, 'Aapka Jagga jasoos banne ka shouk fir se uchalne laga? Kuch bhi bolte ho. Simple si situation hai. Natasha Naina ki friend hi nahi uski sabse close hai. Shaadi mein Naina ki taraf se Natasha ne hi saari rasmein ki thi. Uske bimar hone pe Naina ka pareshan hona natural hai. Upar se bichari itni dur hai, apne logon se alag. Dono behno ki tarah rehti thi shaadi se pehle. Ab Naina ko uski fikr nahi hogi kya? Saath mein Sameer ne tension de di. Bataya na Naina ne ki uske pet mein kaafi dard ho raha tha isliye khud Naina ne hi manaa kar diya usey airport aane se. Keh rahi thi medicine di hai usey. Khaya hoga kuch ulta seedha. Munna Pandit ke saath hota hai toh inko dekh ke koi kahega ki yeh sab tees saal ke hone wale hain. Teeno ke teeno bachhon ki tarah masti karte hain. Yaad nahi ek baar competition mein itne golgappe kha liye they ki do din tak teeno ka pet kharab raha tha. Inka aise hi chalta hai. Aaj bhi lagayi hogi koi shart. Ab toilet ke chakkar lagayega.'

Girish laughed, 'Aaj suraj kidhar se nikla tha yaar. Apne bete ki haalat se pareshan hone ki jagah tum uska mazaak bana rahi ho.'

Ambika shook her head, 'Mazaak nahi, lekin fact toh yehi hai na. Itna bada ho gaya yeh ladka par pata nahi kab samajhdaar hoga. Apni health ka khyal bhi nahi karta. Pehle maa ko dukhi karke rakhta tha ab biwi ko bhi tension deta hai. Bechari Naina ko kitna bura lag raha hoga usey aisi condition mein chor ke jaana. Kaisi khoyi hui thi. Naina ko itna upset pehle kabhi nahi dekha.'

Girish pursed his lips, turning serious, 'I just hope yeh dono jaldi apne rishtey ki gehraayi ko samajh jaayein. Kabhi kabhi mujhe darr lagta hai ki kahin yeh ek dusre ke saath nahi nibha paaye toh kya...'

'Offo aap aisa soch bhi kyon rahe ho?' Ambika interjected him in an urgent voice, 'Shaadi ke liye jhooth bola hai par shaadi toh jhoothi nahi hai na. Love marriage na sahi, arranged samajh lo. Time toh lagega hi ek dusre ko janne samajhne mein. Mujhe yakeen hai sab theek ho jayega. Dono bachhe bohot jaldi apne rishtey ko poori tarah se accept kar lenge.' 

'Tumhare muh mein tumhari favourite rabri falooda.' Girish smiled lovingly as he brought the car to a halt. Ambika looked out in surprise. They were outside an ice cream shop that was well known for kulfi, which was her favourite dessert. 

She beamed at her husband, 'Kya baat hai. Aaj itne dinon baad meri pasand kaise yaad aa gayi aapko?'

Girish got down from the car and came around, opening the passenger side of the door and bowed dramatically, 'Aapki pasand toh main hun madam. Isiliye hun ki aapke baare mein sab kuch achhe se yaad rehta hai.'

Ambika chuckled as she stepped out of the car, 'Bas bas ab road pe drama mat karo. Log kahenge budhape mein jawani chaa rahi hai.'

Girish straightened, looking around with a sharp eyes, 'Kaun hai jo meri biwi ko buddha keh sakta hai. Saamne toh aaye. Haddiyan tor dunga uski.'

Leaning towards Ambika, he winked, 'Mujhe dekh ke toh koi nahi kahega. Sameer ka bada bhai lagta hun.'

Holding his arm, Ambika dragged him towards the shop, 'Kyon nahi. Hawa mein udne ki aadat bhi aapse hi seekhi hogi Sameer ne. Jaisa baap waisa beta.'

When they reached home an hour later,  Sameer's door was shut and the room appeared to be in darkness. 

'Lagta hai so gaya. Disturb nahi kartey.' Ambika whispered, without opening the door. 

Inside, Sameer sat on the floor, his back against the side of the bed. He grappled with the realisation that had dawned on him so sudden, it shook him to his core. He was only supposed to pretend to be in love with her. So when did the line between pretense and reality begin to blur? How could he be so oblivious to his own heart? How could he not understand the signs? How could he not recognise the very feeling that he coveted all these years?

Probably because he had always equated love with what he had seen in films. While watching a film, everyone knew who the main leads were. Who had to fall for whom was clear right from the start. Their first meet, in slow motion, did not have the element of surprise. But in real life, how was one supposed to recognise who was his soulmate? He had pictured himself going wide eyed when he caught the first glimpse of the girl, feel the gush of air on his face, hear the music which was meant only for his ears. Now when he thought about it, the whole concept sounded foolish. Why did he envision such a scenario? Where was his mind? 

That evening, when Naina had stormed into his life, he thought he was irritated, but in reality he was deeply impacted by her presence. Their first meeting was a disaster. Or so he thought. But something about her had left a mark on him. Sameer didn't know what it was. Maybe the way she bravely stood her ground, the way she had strongly given her opinion, the way she wasn't intimidated by wealth or even affected by his looks. She had been a strong, enigmatic personality whom he was not able to impress in any way. Perhaps that had shaken him up to some extent. He was used to girl swooning over him. And there was this girl... quite ordinary and average in status, he had thought at that time... who did not give him a single appreciative glance. At that moment, he wanted to see acknowledgement in her eyes. He wanted to be admired by her, liked by her. 

This realisation was another blow. He had started to get attracted to her right from their first meet. Even when he wasn't aware of it, his heart was strangely being pulled towards her and his mind was wrapped in her thoughts all the time. She had occupied not just his every woken moment but had invaded his dreams too. Sameer could not recall a single day when he did not wake up in the morning with Naina's thoughts. Every time he visited Munna's office, his eyes searched for her. All those arguments with his friends, they were not to turn them against Naina, but an unconscious attempt to pull himself away from her. 

His jumbled thoughts and chaotic emotions had made him blurt out Naina's name as his girlfriend. A decision that had pleased him but he could not bring himself to admit it. And when Naina had agreed to go ahead with the act, he thought he felt so light, so relieved because he was saved from meeting the girls proposed by his grandfather. The reason was never him. It was always Naina. He was elated to keep her next to him as his girlfriend, and was at ease now that she would be out of bounds by likes of Param. 

The potency of his jealousy had only increased with every single day. He could not bear the smitten looks of men around Naina. Be it Param or Dinesh. Or Nakul. His jaw clenched as he recalled the day of incident with Nakul, at Tarun's wedding. His outburst at Naina was not because of her. It was because he was scared of acknowledging his own heart that was desperate to know that she was safe. He needed an excuse to stop the magnetic pull he felt. She had softened towards him because of his help. But her gentle smile and grateful eyes had made his heart flutter out of control. It made him jittery, and he had accused her out of the blue. Unknowingly, he was running away from his own feelings for her.

The attraction, as he had finally named the force that was drawing him to her, was not new. It did not happen after they got married. He was a fool if he thought so. Naina had started to send his heart into a frenzy much before that. How else could he remember even the smallest detail about her from their every single meeting. The time when he had held her close to put up an act in front of Nakul, he couldn't help notice how perfect the column of her throat looked as she swallowed nervously, the smooth, high cheekbones called out to him to caress them with his knuckles, the slightly parted lips tempted him to end the distance of few inches and claim their softness... hell, he wanted to crush her in his arms then. The accidental contact of their bodies when he lost balance and fell on her had left him shaken, even though it lasted for just a second or two.

He recalled the time when he was supposed to bring her to his house for the first time, she had worn an Indian outfit, with her hair left open in wild abandon. He was mesmerised how similar they were to her unrestrained persona. The criticism he had thrown at her was to ignore the feeling of intrigue that had swarmed him completely. 

When he had gone to her office on that rainy winter night, she seemed so vulnerable, yet she didn't break down. No, she kept a steely control over her fear and emotions. He remembered her strong hold on his arm when she had faced Nakul, to tell him that she would get married to Sameer very soon... the way she sought him had warmed his heart. That night again, he wanted to hug her, not for himself, but to comfort her, to assure her that he would not let her be alone. In those traumatic moments, though he was amazed by how she had kept herself put together, yet he couldn't stop himself from admiring how the raindrops had softened her features, giving her a dreamy, misty look. 

When their proximity had grown after marriage, he could not deny any longer that he was enamoured by her. Whatever name or reason he might have given to himself or tried to justify it by whichever lame excuse, the fact remained that he was drawn to her like a magnet. But it wasn't just biology, which he was blaming throughout. He should have interpreted his concern for her. How her sadness stabbed his heart, how her pain was a jab to his own chest, how he could not tolerate when her brother had mistreated her, how he wanted her to share her tensions and how much he wished to alleviate them... all these signs were right in front of him but being an idiot he had failed to see them because he was focussed on running away. Like a horse is made to wear blinkers to avoid distraction, he had been blocking his peripheral vision and just following what he perceived was the gospel truth about falling in love.

Others could see it so clearly. Munna Pandit tried their best to open his eyes. Even Natasha. He remembered a conversation he had overheard. In a video call, Natasha had said something similar to Naina, which Naina had denied strongly. Munna Pandit were his friends, but Natasha? As someone who had met him only a few times, if she could decipher his behaviour than what about Naina? Was she also aware? He recalled how Naina had snubbed Natasha when the latter suggested the same. It was evident that she would never believe it. How could she, when he had not spared any chance to show her down. He replayed countless moments in his mind...times when he had spewed harsh, offensive or derogatory remarks about Naina. In his effort to quash the burgeoning feelings for her, he had constantly accused her in blatant manner number of times. Each memory was a sharp stab of regret, each harsh word a reminder of his failure to fathom what his heart had been trying to tell him all along. 

In his inability to recognize and accept his feelings for her, in his confusion and overconfidence, he had pushed her away with a cruelty that now made his stomach churn. 

The realisation had finally come... but it was too late.

The phone kept behind him started to ring. He ignored it first time. But when the ringtone blared in the room again, a small ray of hope... of a call from Naina... made him twist quickly and grab the phone. 

It was Pandit. 

He sighed, and rejected the call. The screen lit up with the screensaver of his own picture, a stylish capture where he stood leaning against a doorframe with crossed arms, a crooked smile on his face. When he had posted this picture on his insta account, the likes and comments had gone through the roof. Now, as he looked at himself, he felt shallow. He thought about the countless times he had boasted about his looks, his style, his charm, how people gushed over his smile. But now, in the harsh light of his realization, all those praises felt hollow and meaningless. He winced as he recalled the conceited arrogance that he displayed in front of Naina. It brought another wave of regret and shame. How could he live in such illusion? How could he gloat about such superficial attributes? Not just in the initial days but uptil now. A fresh memory filled him with bitterness. 

Flashback

It was the day Sameer had come back from Mumbai. In the evening, Naina and Anaya were sitting together, looking admiringly at something on Anaya's laptop when Sameer entered the living room. He pretended to be engrossed in his phone but his ears were attuned to their oohs and aahs. Mainly it was Anaya who appeared to be quite impressed with whatever they were watching, and let out an appreciative exclamation every few seconds. 

'Oh wow bhabhi. Look at this.' Her eyes went wide.

Naina hummed, 'Nice.'

'Yeh toh usse bhi better.' Anaya cried out few seconds later, 'What say?'

Naina let out a sigh, 'Anu, ek model select karna hai. Just one. Focus.'

Anaya dreamily stared at the screen, 'Kaise karun bhabhi dear. Just look at them. Are they for real? Itna handsome koi kaise ho sakta hai. Inme se ek choose karna... impossible. Achha aap batao. Aapko kaun achha lag raha hai?'

Sameer's eyes shot up. The girls were not even looking in his direction. What were they actually doing? His curiosity piqued. He made his way towards them and peered into the screen from behind. The images were of an unknown guy, clicked in several poses. Before he could see properly, Anaya tapped the keypad and another set of pictures stared at him, of another guy. 

'Ufff, he is sooo hot.' She fanned herself with her hand, 'Haina bhabhi?'

To Sameer's surprise, Naina leaned and rested her chin on her fist, 'Right. Ismein kuch baat hai.'

'Toh isey final karte hain.' Anaya beamed, 'We just need a pretty face. Aajkal yeh kaafi popular ho raha hai. Aur fir aapke super high standard ne isey paas kar diya. Good enough for me.'

Naina chuckled, 'Mera koi standard nahi hai Anu. Mujhe toh pata tak nahi tha yeh popular hai.'

'But you agree he's hot.' Anaya winked as she noticed her brother standing behind them, 'Bhai se zyada?'

Sameer's ears pricked to hear what Naina had to say. To his dismay, she let out a laugh, 'Sameer ka inse kya comparison hoga. Yeh sab toh professional models hain.'

Anaya turned to her brother teasingly, 'Sun lo bhai. In sabke aagey you don't stand a chance.'

Naina looked behind her, surprised, but did not say anything when their eyes met. 

Anaya threw a quick glance at them, then shut her laptop and stood up, 'Main jaake agency se model ko book karne ka process start karti hun, you guys carry on. Bye.'

After she was gone, Sameer frowned, 'Tum dono aise random ladkon ke pictures kyon dekh rahi thi?'

'Model hain woh.' Naina answered, 'Anu ko apne men's collection ke catalogue ke liye select karna tha.'

Sameer did not like the idea of his sister fussing over some guy's chain or bracelet. He slumped on the sofa with an annoyed expression, 'Focus jewellery pieces pe hona chahiye model ki shakl pe nahi. Kisi ke saath bhi pictures le sakti hai. Aise model ki kya zarurat hai.'

Naina narrowed her eyes, 'Tumhe advertising ke baare mein kuch pata bhi hai? Sirf product hi dikhana ho toh itne saare good looking log modelling ko apna profession kyon banate?'

Sameer scowled, 'Woh models isliye nahi bante ki tum aise baith ke unhe taado.'

Naina shrugged nonchalantly, 'Ab handsome ko toh handsome hi kahenge na. Ismein galat kya hai?'

'Mujhe toh kabhi nahi kaha.' The words were out before Sameer could think of biting them back.

Naina's reply was equally swift, 'Uske liye handsome hona padta hai. Zabardasti toh nahi keh sakti.'

'Matlab kya hai tumhara?' Sameer scoffed at her in disbelief, 'Har koi meri tareef karta hai. You have no idea main kitna popular hun.'

'Har koi? Ya sirf mummy papa aur Munna Pandit? Itne bhi hero nahi ho. Zyada hawa mei mat udo.' Naina responded in a bored voice.

Sameer gave her a smug look, 'Bachpan se ab tak jo bhi milta tha, tareef hi karta tha. Abhi bhi jahan jaata hun meri looks se sab impress ho jaate hain.'

Suddenly Naina's eyes sparkled with something he couldn't place. With tongue in cheek, she nodded, 'Bachpan ke kisse sune hain maine. Tab tumhe dekhti toh main bhi pakka tareef karti.'

He narrowed his eyes. Something was fishy. Naina could not talk about praising him with such ease. Never.

Next moment, her sniggering cleared his doubt, 'Frock pehnke, ribbon laga ke... sachmuch bade cute lag rahe hoge.'

His eyes widened, and his face contorted, 'Tum... tumhe kaise... Anu ki bachhi...'

Naina could not keep the façade any more. Her burst of laughter made Sameer go red with embarrassment.

'Don't do that Naina.' He seethed, running a hand through his hair.

'Ab kya main hans bhi nahi sakti?' She asked, amidst her giggles.

'Tum mujhe imagine karke hans rahi ho. Don't imagine me like that.' He gritted his teeth, wincing at the image he thought would be in Naina's mind. 

Naina shook her head, clutching her belly amidst her laughs, 'Imagine karne ki zarurat nahi hai. Maine tumhara jalwa dekha hai. Handsome na sahi par cute toh lag rahey they tum, Sameera ban ke.'

'Shut up.' He hissed, trying to keep his temper in check as he did not want to show his anger in case someone walked in, 'Woh sirf ek baar tha. Don't... don't even talk about it again.'

His mood had remained sour for a long time after that.

Flashback ends 

Sameer wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. How vain and self absorbed he was. Now that he reflected on all those times when he had revelled in self praise, he wondered how insufferable he must have been to others. Ever since he could remember, people had appreciated his looks and personality. When he started taking the praises and compliments as granted, he did not realise. To be considered better became a part of him. The surname added more weight to his charisma. He started to believe he was extraordinary. 

But today, in front of Naina, he felt so small, like a speck of dirt. He did not deserve forgiveness. When he could not forgive himself, how could he even expect the same from Naina, after hurling such spiteful words at her. The weight of his blunder pressed heavy on his chest, making it difficult to breathe. 

Tears found their way out once again, 'Main kyon nahi samajh paaya pehle? Kyon jhoothi ego mein uljha raha aur tumhe baar baar hurt karta raha? Agar main khud tumhari jagah hota toh kya kisi ki itni baatein sunne ke baad unki shakl bhi dekhna chahta? Kabhi nahi. Lekin Naina tum... tum ab bhi wapas aane ka promise karke gayi ho. Tum ab bhi contract poora karne ko ready hai. Chee, kitna bura hun main tumhare comparison mein.'

His vision turned bleary as the reality stung him. The chance he was waiting for had been right here, in front of him, and he had missed it, because he was seated on self created throne of his high handedness. Naina was right... he did not deserve to love or be loved. He did not know what would happen now. He was not sure how he would face her. 

He was clear about one thing though. The contract. They would not remain bound by a contract anymore. This marriage... it would not end. He would try to transforming their relationship from a mere arrangement into something genuine. The road to this goal wouldn't be easy. It would require relentless effort, patience and redemption. He was willing to do whatever it took... to rectify his mistakes. 

Roughly, he wiped away his tears, 'Tum meri sorry accept karo na karo Naina par main koshish zarur karunga. Main tumhe kisi dard ke saath nahi rehne dunga. Main tumhe yakeen dila kar rahunga ki maine jo kaha woh mere dil ki awaaz nahi thi. Main tumhe bata ke rahunga ki main tumhe kya samajhta hun. Ki main tumse kitna pyar karta hun. I love you Naina. I love you.'

It was time to let go of his arrogance and truly open his heart. 

Now that Sameer has accepted his feelings for Naina it's time to get a new cover ☺️ Check it out in the next update 🩷

Next update on Tuesday