Sarvesh finally bid goodbye to Bhargavi, noticing her lost in her own world and was escorted downstairs by Parul.

Prabir was quietly waiting for his father's return. He wanted to talk to Bhargavi about Mayank and his mother but considering, what she had been through the entire day, he wanted to save the conversation for the next day, letting her have a peaceful night's rest.

He quickly strode upstairs as Parul and Sarvesh walked downstairs after bidding goodbye to Sarvesh on his way, patting on his back lightly.

He found her consumed in her own world, staring blankly at the dream catcher and outside the window. The door was left wide open still he knocked gently and she glanced at him.

He walked up to her and sat beside her,gently pushing back a strand of hair from her face. "Prabu...what will you tell uncle? Why am I staying here?" She asked curiously.

"Leave all that to me Bhargu. You want me to send Paru...to apply that ointment on your back once more before you go to bed?" Prabir enquired quietly.

"No! She keeps blabbering non-stop and her sobbing and crying nauseates me.

I don't want to hear another word about Maa.

I know what she did was wrong.

First Maa did this to me and now she will torment herself. She never gets tired of this.
I am feeling very exhausted Prabu. Can you please apply that ointment? I want to sleep."

Prabir swiftly agreed to help her. He was applying the ointment and blowing softly on her back, when Mr. Banerjee suddenly entered the room.

He hadn't pressed the doorbell, informing his arrival as Dhruv was still at the entrance talking with Sarvesh while he returned home. Dhruv and Sarvesh were so engrossed in their conversation, that though they greeted him cordially, none of them informed him anything about Bhargavi.

Parul noticed his father return home early but, instead of going to his room, he rushed towards Prabir's room. She assumed that Prabir had briefed him about Bhargavi's condition, so she stood rooted on the ground floor near the stairs.

Bhargavi dragged her t-shirt down in an instant feeling embarrassed and Mr. Banerjee looked away immediately. Without a second thought, Bhargavi jumped off the bed and drifted in his direction.

"Easy! Easy! Bhargu", Prabir shrieked and stood as a pillar between them.

"Move... Let me talk to him. This is not the consolation prize you should be receiving for helping me," Bhargavi snapped.

"Uncle please don't misunderstand him. This is all my fault. I urged him to help me," she explained desperately.

"Bhargu...Please calm down. Don't panic. He's not misunderstanding me. He looked the other way because you felt embarrassed," Prabir elucidated
" And even if he misunderstands me then what...Bhargu?
I'll talk to him...explain...that he knows only half a side of the story.

Why do you keep neglecting the fact that you were stabbed?" Prabir enquired furiously.

"Stabbed? How? When?" Mr. Banerjee quizzed frantically.

"Baba...please come in. I need you to change her bandages. She was stabbed yesterday in the afternoon and the bandages should have been changed once at least in 24hours.

If you show me once, I can do it whenever required," Prabir said genuinely.

"How in the world did you get stabbed Bhargavi?" Mr. Banerjee asked curiously and she looked down at the floor not knowing what to say.

"Okay! You wait I'll wash my hands and come," he said and rushed out.

"Prabu...why did you tell him that I was stabbed? " She quizzed looking at him coldly.

"Who asked you to jump out of the bed?" He retorted back instantly.
She shook her head slightly. He cupped her face and whispered," Bhargu...you have nothing to feel embarrassed or shy. Okay! He's like your father."

Mr. Banerjee returned after a while. He changed the bandage, explaining how it is to be done and what should be avoided while Prabir observed him keenly. They also noticed that Bhargavi was feeling a bit uncomfortable but none of them paid any attention to it.

"Bhargavi you should lie down on your back while sleeping," Mr. Banerjee instructed but he was cut in sharply by Prabir," She can't Baba."

"But why?" He asked shocked.

"Please turn around Bhargu,"Prabir pleaded Bhargavi.

"No! Prabir please," Bhargavi protested.

"Bhargu...please let Baba help. Turn around please," Prabir urged her softly. She turned around unwillingly and Prabir lifted her t-shirt revealing her back.

"How did this... Bhargavi who did this to you?" Mr. Banerjee blurted out enraged.

"Maa" Prabir supplied the information helpfully.

"What? Ms. Nalini?" Mr. Banerjee asked agitated.

"She had reasons to..."Bhargavi attempted to explain but was sharply cut in between by Mr. Banerjee, " Did you kill someone? Even prisoners in jail don't receive this treatment."

"Prabir did she take any medicines?" He asked concerned.

Prabir instantly showed him the medicines and he was somewhat satisfied.

"Bhargavi here's a small piece of advice I want to share with you.

Life is too short. You will realize later that all you need is...someone who can wipe your drool and clean up your snotty nose when you are sick.

Prabir is not perfect...I know. He has several shortcomings.

It's not like I am coercing you to marry my son but I know for sure that he will never treat you like this...the way you are being treated by your own mother," Mr. Banerjee blurted out angrily and left.

"Don't worry about anything Bhargu. Go to bed now. Keep your phone close to you and give me a call if you need something," Prabir said softly.

"When everyone is angry with Maa for what she did, why can't I be mad at her?

I know what she was exactly thinking about me...the reason why she hit me so brutally. She thought that I had definitely been sleeping with men to earn such huge amounts of money...that I...I sold myself...my self-esteem...for money.

I am grateful for whatever she did for me. She brought me in this world and raised me up but... she has so little trust in me Prabu.

I know that you will never treat me the way Maa treats me. You treat me like a queen," she said sadly.

Prabir regarded her very carefully, and said softly, " Bhargu...You were so upset that your Maa couldn't leave your father even after being physically and mentally abused and tortured but you realize that she didn't have a solid ground.

She didn't want to return to her parents with two kids as she had married him, against their wishes and also as she didn't have a good education, she was extremely scared that she wouldn't be able to provide you with a good life.

Similar to her... you are now searching for reasons to justify her actions because you can't imagine a life without her.

Bhargu...go to bed now. We'll talk later."

He stroked her hair gently, and left only after she was fast asleep. He knew she was emotionally devastated and it would need a lot of love,care and affection to restore her emotional state.

Ms. Nalini was the sole person she depended on throughout her life, and being misunderstood by her to such an extent, had caused Bhargavi an immense mental trauma.

Then he approached Mr. Banerjee's room and briefed him about everything - Mayank and his mother, how Bhargavi was stabbed, what he had done, about his plans regarding how he was going to replace the lost trust in Ms. Nalini, roping in Mayank's guards and Raghav.

Mr. Banerjee had to admit that Prabir and Bhargavi were dealing with a lot. He agreed to help in anyway he could.

He could now clearly understand why Ms. Nalini had acted so impulsively. She had found an abundant amount of cash in Bhargavi's room and when she interrogated Bhargavi,her voicelessness only infuriated her.

Mr. Banerjee asked," How did Bhargavi manage to hide all that money all this while and how did she manage to bring it from Parili?"

"From what she told me, she didn't let Bhawu or Maa touch her belongings, so it wouldn't have been much difficult. She would have hidden all her money under her mattress as she had done now.

When she left for Jaroha with me, five days before they finally shifted to Ghosh Uncle's residence, she brought a huge trolley bag with her and I think she carried the money with her," Prabir clarified.

"Why didn't she tell everything to her mother instead of getting so brutally beaten up like that?" Mr. Banerjee enquired astonished.

"Baba. What Bhargu did is justified. Maa is not a person who will understand.

You remember when Keya committed suicide and a note was found in her hands...blaming Bhargu. Maa started to beat her up without even knowing what had actually happened, assuming that Bhargavi's future was already ruined.

When I told Bhargu to inform Maa that she had forgiven her father, again she was beaten up with slippers...only because she gave up all her savings to save her brother Raunak who had met an accident. Maa knew for certain that her father wouldn't return a single penny.

Had she been a bit more sensitive and patient Bhargu wouldn't have to hide anything from Maa.

Now, if you find out huge amounts of cash in my room and start probing me but I don't respond will you beat me up like that?" Prabir asked earnestly.

"No! Prabir. I trust you. I know that you won't do anything wrong. Your silence doesn't prove that you are guilty. I know what my kids can do.

I would have known for sure that the money doesn't belong to you. I would be hurt that you are keeping things from me, but I would also know that you must be having a very strong reason for not willing to sharing it with me.

Today, when I entered your room, Bhargavi felt that I will definitely misunderstand the situation. But the only thing that... I had in my mind was concern.

You had called me...to come back home early in the evening for the first time in years.

You never enter even Paru's room without her permission or without knocking on the door. There was no reason to misunderstand anything I saw," he placed an arm on Prabir's shoulder and continued,"I am assuming that Mr. Nishwas is a very dangerous person, so we need to be very cautious with our every move."

"We'll see what evidence Bhargavi has against him and then decide what to do next," Prabir said thoughtfully.

"Prabir...If you both love each other, bring my daughter home. I don't want to send her back to Ms. Nalini. You have my permission as well as blessings," Mr. Banerjee said gleefully.

Prabir stared at him dumbstruck, unable to utter a word.

"I know what you feel Prabir. You don't want to send her back to her mother either.
But the society we live in... Prabir... People will say nasty things about her if she left her mother and sister and ..." even before Mr. Banerjee could complete the sentence Prabir cut in," I know Baba. But she needs time to heal both physically and emotionally. She is not in a state of mind where I can ask her to marry me.

She still is finding it hard to believe that her own mother judged her character, the sole person on whom she has been depending on for her entire existence."

Mr. Banerjee could feel the pain and agony in Prabir's voice. "Prabir... Bhargavi needs your support now more than ever.

She knows that no matter what happens, you will always be there for her...This is the best time to ask her, if she's willing to marry you.

She already depends on you a lot more than she does...on her mother," Mr. Banerjee said thoughtfully.

Prabir's eyes welled up with tears and he felt cold tears start to stream down his face. "Baba you think she depends on me but she doesn't.
She was stabbed, she was hurt. Yet, she took a bus back home and walked all the way back to her house from the bus stop, not even bothering to inform me or calling me up once.

She did not tell me that Maa hit her, I found out when I held her arm and she winced back," he said mournfully.

"Prabir. She loves you a lot regardless of the fact that she didn't tell you... that she was stabbed or hurt, I have seen it in her eyes...The way she jumped to your defense assuming that I will misunderstand you.

She must have a strong reason for trying to keep things from you," Mr. Banerjee said softly.

*********

Later that night, Prabir felt something cling to him while he was asleep on the floor in the living room beside Dhruv.

He opened his eyes and was awestruck. "Bhargu...Are you okay?" he whispered softly. She had slipped in between Dhruv and Prabir. The dim lights were on but he couldn't read the expressions on her face.

"Are you still angry Prabu?" She asked softly in a child like tone.

"No!"he replied back instantly.

"Then why did you not come upstairs after everyone was asleep?"she hissed softly in an angry tone but keeping her voice very low.

"I did not want to invade in your privacy. How would I know that you will not take off this uncomfortable full sleeved t-shirt in any case?"He said mischievously.

"Let's go upstairs before we wake him up," Bhargavi said pointing at Dhruv.

When they were upstairs in Prabir's room Bhargavi quizzed," Why were you two lying on the floor in the living room? I mean...yes I occupied your room but Dhruv could sleep in his room...I mean the guest room and you could sleep on the couch."

"Bhargu. Why didn't you call me?" Prabir enquired seriously irritated.

"You look so cute when you are sleeping. I had been watching you for more than an hour sitting beside you," she replied smoothly.

"Did you apply something on your bruised knuckes?" She enquired quietly.

"Why do you care?"Prabir retorted back angrily.

"You lier. You are still mad at me!" she exclaimed sadly. Then she held both her ears and apologized softly," I am sorry Prabu." His heart melt and he cupped her face.

They stood quietly in silence with their eyes locked for a while. Prabir's eyes were filled with an immeasurable amount of love and affection while Bhargavi's eyes reflected agony and a desperate longing for him. For the few hours they had been separated, she had felt  like it was years.

She held his arm and pulled him to the bed. Then she whirled around to shut the door and returned to him. She almost collapsed in his arms.

"Bhargu? What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" He asked concerned and agitated.

A/N: Hey everyone!!

Hope you are all doing well.

Here's the next update. Sorry for uploading after so many days.

Hope you enjoy reading.

Happy Reading! Thank you all!!