"I'm not leaving you alone." Part One

Siddharth heard a loud crash from inside the room, causing him to jump out of his skin. "Shehnaaz.." He called out, followed by another crash. "Shehnaaz kya hua?" He rushed up to the door, and was relieved to find it open. Siddharth scanned the whole room and knew instantly what had caused the deafening crash sounds. Two of Shehnaaz's favorite ceramic vases were lying shattered on the ground and Shehnaaz was standing mere centimeters away, dazed. 

Shehnaaz absolutely loved having beautiful plants scattered around the room and thus, their room and the adjoining balcony was full of pots and vases. Siddharth was always on the lookout for pretty new tidbits to encourage that hobby of Shehnaaz's and honestly, the plants gave a whole new life to the room. 

Siddharth ran up to Shehnaaz, pulling her away from the scattered ceramic pieces and made her sit on the bed. He looked at her and then at the broken vase, worried. Siddharth couldn't tell if Shehnaaz was breathing and that made his heart tighten like he could never imagine possible. 

"Shehnaaz.. breath." Siddharth touched her face worriedly. She obeyed him, as if waiting for a command. "Keep breathing.. keep breathing."

Shehnaaz looked lost. 

Siddharth checked her for any injuries or cuts. 

"I broke.. broke the vase." She looked at the pile of ceramic pieces, mumbling quietly. "--the vases. I broke.." 

Siddharth rubbed his thumb softly against her cheek. "Shh.. It's okay. It's okay.. you're okay. Kaheen lagi tujhe?" 

Shehnaaz blinked, a flash of fear, deep-seated, horrible fear passed through her eyes and she flinched. Siddharth was watching every change of emotion on her face keenly. His eyes widened. No.

"Okay.. It's okay. Look at me." Siddharth told her kindly. "Just relax..  just breathe." 

Shehnaaz's eyes turned glossy. "Siddharth--" She whimpered. 

"Haan mera baccha.." He cradled her face between his palms. "Kya hua, bata na mujhe?" 

"Siddharth.. jab sab-kuch theek ho raha tha toh phir se yeh sab kyon ho gaya?" She asked 

Siddharth sighed, wetting his lips. "Sab theek hai meri jaan. Kucch nahi ho raha yaqeen rakh Shehnaaz." 

***

Shehnaaz had woken up that morning to the incessant buzzing of both her mobile devices and one of Siddharth's phones ringing continuously. She groaned pushing the comforter away and took Siddharth's phone. 

Kaushal

Siddharth entered the room to find Shehnaaz half sitting on their bed, sheets thrown away and holding his phone, scrunching her nose. 

"Laa de mera baccha." Siddharth took the device from her. "So jaa thoda aur. There's no shoot today." 

Shehnaaz sighed groggily. "Mera phone bhi baje jaa raha hai. Dekh toh kya bol raha hai Kaushal." She said, snuggling into him and unlocked her phone, scrolling through her messages and feed.

Siddharth smiled, kissing her forehead and took the call.

"Good morning Kaushal. Aaj subaah-subaah phone kiya.. kucch baat thi?" He asked the caller. 

Kushal chuckled on the other end, apologizing to him for the unannounced disturbance and went on to explain the reason for the call. Siddharth felt Shehnaaz stiffen against him as Kushal told him about the specifics of an interview given by some old competitor of Shehnaaz, telling the media portal how Shehnaaz's fame was only courtesy to her relationship with Siddharth Shukla. There was a lot of carelessly spewed venom in that video, along with a few references to her past controversy. 

Siddharth looked over at Shehnaaz who was watching the video of the same interview on her own phone.  

"Haan woh saath hi hai mere." Siddharth told Kaushal. "Uska social media blow kar gaya. She's watching the video right now." 

Kushal sighed. "Tum dhyan rakhna uska. Mein dekh raha hoon yahaan pe. Look after her okay. I'll come by later." He told Siddharth who hummed in response, tightening his hold on his little ball of light, who he could tell had dimmed considerably. 

When Shehnaaz looked up at him, her eyes were blank, empty of emotions and Siddharth felt his throat clogging. "Kaushal ne bola hai woh dekh raha hai. Tu chill kar mera baccha, koi badi baat nahi hai." Siddharth rubbed her back soothingly

Shehnaaz blinked, "Sacchi?" 

Siddharth smiled. "Haan. Mein bol raha hoon na, kuch bada nahi hai. Woh bas footage ke liye di hai interview." He explained to her. 

Shehnaaz looked back at her phone, frowning. Siddharth snatched it away from her. "Oye.. chod woh- ja uth brush kar. Fresh ho, mein apne baby ke liye ek pretty si dress nikaalta hoon, apne se matching." 

Shehnaaz stood up from the bed and rushed up to the washroom. Siddharth smiled at her and decided that while she was in there, he could probably work on sorting the mess out a little bit. 

Shehnaaz came out of the washroom to find the room empty. Siddharth had stepped out for a second, just to get both their breakfasts in the room. Shehnaaz's breathing grew slightly labored.  "Siddharth--" She called out weakly. 

***

Siddharth saw her phone lying carelessly on the bed. Her official social media account was still blowing up, there were thousands of mentions, Shehnaaz's screen was opened on the YouTube website and the interview from Neha Singh was fourteen minutes into playing. 

Fuck. 

Siddharth pulled her into his arms. "Baby trust me, kucch nahi hua." He mumbled, "Mein yahaan pe hi toh tha na, mene bola tha na kucch nahi hai." 

Shehnaaz shook her head, "Woh hi sab kucch ho raha hai Siddharth. Pehle bhi interview se start hua tha. Pehle bhi sab mujhe galat samjhe the.. sabne chod diya tha, iss baar bhi chod denge Siddharth. Kisi ko nahi padi Siddharth. Kisi ko nahi padi--" Shehnaaz responded in hysterics. 

He pulled out of the hug, wiping her tears gently. "Sahhhh.. Ro mat.. Koi tujhe chod-ke nahi jaa raha baccha. Uss Neha ke kehne se kya hota hai? Tune jo family inn saalon mein apni mehnat, apni lagan se.. khud se banaayi hai woh log teri aur meri hi taraah hai. Jinse ek dafa dil laga lete hai na, unko chod ke jaane ke baare mein soch bhi nahi sakte." Siddharth explained to her. 

"Siddharth.." Shehnaaz sighed, tiredly. 

Siddharth kissed her forehead, "Yaqeen nahi hai mujh par?" He asked and his girl shook her head urgently. 

"Poora yaqeen hai Siddharth. Itna yaqeen jitna shaayad kabhi khud par bhi--" Shehnaaz sniffed. "Bas isiliye toh darr hai. Tu chala gaya toh-- toh koi nahi sambhaal paayega mujhe." 

Siddharth breathed out, cupping her face. "Mein kahaan jaa raha hoon Shehnaaz?" He asked. "Tere paas hi to hu. Hamesha tere paas hi toh rahunga." 

Shehnaaz gave him a weak smile. Siddharth brushed away a tear from the corner of his own eyes. "Dekh mujhe, aur dhyaan se meri baat sunn. Pichli baar jo hua tha, woh dobaara kabhi nahi hoga. Do you understand me? Kabhi bhi nahi hoga. Tu abhi boli na, ki tujhe mujhpe khud se zyaada yaqeen hai, toh mein tera yaqeen apni aakhri saans tak nahi todunga. Tere fans ko tu apni army bolti hai na? Woh teri army tere saamne teri dhaal bann ke khade rehte hai baccha, har waqt. Koi bhi buri cheez tujhe chu bhi nahi sakti hamaare hote." Siddharth said firmly. 

"Pichla time tere paas sirf kucch log the, ab saari duniyaa hai Shehnaaz. Sabko pata hai tu kaun hai, aur kyon hai. Kisi aire-gaire ke kehne yeh sacch nahi badal sakta Shehnaaz ki tu aaj jo kucch bhi hai, apni mehnat se hai. Tune khud ko itna strong banaya hai meri jaan, itni si baat par kaise himmat haar sakti hai?" He asked. 

Shehnaaz nodded. Siddharth smiled. Finally

"Kucch khaa le, phir thoda so ja. Aaj subaah se tera dimaag overtime mein kaam kar raha hai." Siddharth said gently, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear and kissed her nose. 

Shehnaaz looked at him with her big beautiful puppy eyes making Siddharth's heart melt quite literally, "Tu khilayega?" She asked cutely.

Siddharth nodded. "Apne haath se." 

***

This one is a two part imagine. I will be posting the second part in two days. I hope you like this one. 💖

Do let me know.

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