PART 16

"Bhaiyaaa!!

We quickly moved away from each other without making it too obvious of what was going to happen. To top it all he was too much into himself that he hadn't notice until he saw the look on our face.

"Why do you both look shocked??"

"No , nothing ...it's the way you called ...I mean your tone...just got worried...that's all ...but you look fine..."

"I have something to tell you Bhaiyyaaa..Bhabhi I know she would have told you by now, so can I whisk my elder brother for few mins pleaseee..."

"Of course yes!! , why do you even ask. He is all yours."

I saw her walking towards our room. I didn't like the idea of me having a discussion with my brother without her. I wanted to share every aspect of my life with her . I knew that she knows what it is and that Preethi has told her...probably our siblings wanted to tell each of us separately just to prove nothing has changed even though they are in love. Though I wanted to tell them, that after marriage man and woman becomes one unit, you can't keep them apart. That is how it needs to be ...I guess they will understand it once they get married!!

"So you proposed??'"

"Did Bhabhi tell you ??"

"Nope , I knew what you were up to. There was a small box, typically the ones that you get along with a ring, kept on your bed couple of days before my wedding. I was just waiting for you tell me."

"Do you know who the girl is??

"Till today evening , I had no clear idea but after what I saw at Kulfi joint..."

I loved his face ...lord!! When he gets caught , my brother gave one of the most sheepish smiles in the world.

"OKAYYY...so now you know. I guess there isn't anything else to talk right ??

"Oh!! there is a lot more to talk, my dear lil fellow. When do you plan to tell parents??"

"After , we finish our education and get settled financially."

"Preethi's education will finish soon and then what."

"She has already applied for some fashion design course which will be for another year or so..."

"And you think , her Taiyi ji will wait till then ?

"She said she will manage.

"Rohan , get engaged and then leave for your studies. Don't play the hide seek thing.

"I don't want to , but both of us are not settled in our profession . Especially me. You know how it is for guys. I need time. To top it all , Dad will tell his aunt and you know how that is going to be. When it comes to you she doesn't care. You are lucky. But that's not the case with me and Deepika and the whole blame will come on Mumma!! Phew!!

I don't want you and Bhabhi to get involved in this. I understood your point and what you are trying to convey but if I tell our parents now, no one will think we are serious about this. You both act as if you guys didn't know about it".

"OK!! But if you need, we will be there. Talk to them tomorrow morning after breakfast.

"NOOO!!

"YES!! Else I will tell them. If you love her dearly , then do it for her , otherwise she will have to go thru a lot of mess at home. Rohan ,they have already started searching suitable match for her

"What ??!! she didn't tell me about it.

"Probably , she didn't want you to get tensed. Listen , do as I say. As far as dad's relatives are concerned , we will solve it when we reach there. As of now you talk to our parents. Don't worry , I will be there to support you.

"I will talk to all of you tomorrow morning and as planned you both don't know about it. It's as simple as that . I don't want Bhabhi and you to be pulled in as I don't want your happiness to be spoiled by dad and his side of the family.

"Why would dad have problem?? He never had problem when mom suggested Naina for me.

"Bhaiya , you are still blind when it comes to certain aspects for life. You wait and watch tomorrow , how this will turn out to be . He is not going to like it...you don't notice anything Bhaiya... I think you should go and sleep now . Bhabhi must be waiting for you..Love you .and...good night Bhaiya!!
"Good Night !!

I reached the room , saw the door was jarred but the light was still on, which meant she was waiting for me. As I opened , she was lying on the bed holding a book in her hand , a novel. She had slept. Guess , she might have slept off while reading the book. There was her dairy on the side table , probably she was writing it prior to her reading activity. This was one of our common activity. We both liked writing diary, but we had never tried to peep into the others diary. Naina had two diaries, the one kept on the table and the other one kept separately locked in the cupboard. That one looked old. I wanted to ask her about it but didn't have the guts to do that. Its not even been a week since we got married . I didn't want her to think I was doubting her or being unnecessarily clingy.

I slowly moved the book from her hand , then placed her head on to the pillow so that she wont hurt her neck and then kept the book on the side table . As I moved my hand to switch off the table lamp my hand accidentally knocked down her diary. I picked it up and was about to place it back but something stopped me. I wanted to read what she had written , was curious to know what she had written about today, as today was an important day for us. My heart and brain was at war , my brain said its not ethical and my heart said , she is urs and there is nothing unethical. My heart won the battle and I promised I would read only todays note from her Diary. My hands hesitated when I touched the book mark that she had neatly placed ...and there it was.

Dear Ma,
Today was the happiest day of my life. Sameer accepted me as his wife completely. He took me to his farm house and shared his pain with me. I have a feeling that he really loves me. But I am scared , scared of this happiness. I am scared if this happiness will be snatched away from me. I was just 5 when I lost you and after you left me , if I have sensed happiness and felt secure and cared, then its with Sameer ma. My happiness is with him and I don't want anyone to snatch him away from me..Keep him safe too...Love you and miss you a lot .
Yours Naina.

I had tears in my eyes, I slowly turned pages to see if her writings were all to her mother. Yes , it was. I closed the diary and kept it back as it was. Was I happy?? Oh yes , I was but at the same time , I understood that she was scared of loosing me which means her insecurity was not completely out of the system. I couldn't blame her ,even I feared Kamya's next move. Her actions during the dinner was a warning and I knew it was only a matter of time when she would strike. I had to get ready for it..NO!! I have to see that Naina is strong and trusts me. She will not fall for Kamyas trick and decide to break our relationship.
I then changed my cloths , got onto the bed , hugged her from back, gave soft ,light kisses on her neck. I heard her whisper my name . She then turned towards me and snuggled closer in her sleep...then she went on to murmur "Love you Sameer.

Did she say that ?? Lord , I cant believe. I know she said that in her sleep but how does it matter , she loves me. I am sure , soon she will say it with open eyes. Naina darling , I love you too!!Probably this is what they call it as "Marital Bliss.



Morning started just like any other day, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy. We all sat to have our breakfast and all of us had nearly finished , when Naina said she had reach NGO early and got up to wash her hand.

"Bhabhi please sit here for another 5 mins. I have something to tell everyone.

"Ok Rohan I saw the surprised look on her face. Both Rohan and I were happy as that is what we wanted.

"Well , I know you all might find it weird but I had to tell this as I didn't want any of you to make future plans for me. In short , I have fallen in love , so don't go searching girls for me. I have saved you all from that task.

"Rohan don't you think you are rushing things in life. You have not even completed your studies and this could be a huge distraction in your life...by the way who is this girl??

"Well Dad, love doesn't come knocking letting you know its presence, rather it knocks you out of your senses . That's when you realise that you are in love. As far as me being young, yes I am young but not that young . I am of marriageable age. I am only 6 months younger than Sameer Bhaiya.

"Love is a distraction Rohan

Love as distraction , I don't agree with you. If man loves a woman dearly , then he would want to give her all the happiness which would mean he would try to grow in his career so that he can provide for her. I felt after falling in love with her , it gave me something to look forward , a reason to grow not just for success or fame but for someone else's welfare too.

I could see dad's anger rising and I felt Rohan was very good when it comes to judging people at home. I had always thought dad would support his decision but now , I was being proved wrong. None of us had worded anything . We were silently watching the battle between the father and the son.
"So who is the girl and how long have you known her??

"Girl is someone you all know , but the girl doesn't know that I love her. I am yet to tell her. I thought it would be best to tell you all and then let her know.
"Ah so its more of one way??

"Well Dad , I don't know...all I know is we both are very happy to be together and from her behavior I know she doesn't hate me.

"You still haven't told the name..

"Its Preethi, Bhabhi's cousin.

"ROHAN!! Are you crazy ? Do you even have any sense of what you are talking ?? Preethi is doing something related fashion and you are going to be doctor that too studying abroad. This is no match!! I am sorry I cant agree for this. Besides , your Bua dhadhi was talking about a girl for you, a doctor. Her parents are also doctors and they have their own chain of hospitals at Delhi and Bombay.

I saw Rohan looking at my surprised face and giving me that "see, what did I tell you look. Mumma and Nanu had not uttered a word and ...my girl had this scared and shocked expression. The only person who seemed absolutely cool was Rohan.

"Dad relax!! I wasn't asking for permission. And I will never marry the girl that is brought by you or your side of the family. If Preethi says no then I will find someone else. But the one who I marry will be someone I find.

Now coming to ur aunt, let me be very clear on that . Tell her I am not for sale. I will never marry a doctor and whatever I have in my life will be made out of my hard-earned money. I am very capable of establishing a career . I don't need someone else money for that. If I want to borrow , I will borrow from Nanu or Bhiaya why would I take a strangers money??

"You are being childish and this is going to destroy Sameer and Naina's relationship with Naina's family.

"It will ,only if you play dirty like the way you destroyed Bhaiya and Mumma's relationship. Thanks to your aunts brain. You know what dad , I have never wanted to bring this up but today you have forced me by pulling Bhabhi and Bhaiya into this.

Years back you took an 8 year olds mother from him so that your son has a mother , but you forgot that lady married you thinking you will be a father to her son too.
You have been always partial towards me and Deepika. You have never cared for Bhaiya. That is the reality. If you thought all of us were the same then you wouldn't have agreed Bhaiya to marry Naina Bhabi.

"Rohan!! That's enough!!

"Sorry mumma!! Till date I have never touched this topic. But the truth is wide open. When it came to HIS SON , my father has choices . Did he show this side of him for YOUR SON's marriage?? NO !!

Why?? Because he didn't care . If Bhaiya can marry from that house why cant I?? What is wrong with Preethi and her family??

I knew Dad was trapped in his own game. Rohan , had it all planned and it was clear. I knew he was a strong character when he had said NO to Kamya, but this side of Rohan questioning dad is not something that I had expected. Many a times , I had felt neglected during my childhood days and even as I was maturing into a man. I needed a dad but I never got it from him, though I got two siblings who would even disown their parents for me.

"Rohan you got it all wrong. Sameer's engagement broke because Kamya thought he was not that educated. And when Naina's proposal came , we agreed as we knew that getting him married again especially after being rejected by Kamya's family will be difficult. He needed life partner.

This statement had shocked everyone. No one had expected dad to be so open about the way Kamya had rejected me. It was equally insulting for Naina , because from her point of view it looked as if they just dumped a good for nothing son on a girl from a poor family. I suddenly felt a hand on mine. Yes it was my Naina s hand . She looked at me with a smile making it very clear that for her I was everything.

I felt happy that I had a wife so understanding but I didn't like the way she and family was being portrayed. I was about to speak when Rohan signaled me not to speak. I trusted him, so kept quiet.

"Wow!! Nice dad and if he didn't study further its because of YOU. You didn't send him abroad , you didn't send him to nice college. You kept telling him , that he should join business as he has no interest in studies. You never tried to understand what he was good at and what he wanted to become in life. Neither did you allow mumma to do that.

You know why I like Bhaiya so much , because even after what you have done to him , he has always shown so much of respect to you and mumma. Well , I will marry ONLY Preethi and no one else. If you go against, you will have ONLY your step son. NOT ME!! I will settle abroad and wont even tell you about my whereabouts!!

"Fine Rohan , if you have made up your mind , we will go and speak to her parents tomorrow. What if she says no??

"I will be there to hear that NO. You don't worry about it and I want the engagement to be done before I leave for my exams.

"Engagement ??Rohan , media will get to know about it and then aunt will get to know.

"So ?? And even if she gets to know, I will talk to her. High time someone sensible spoke to her because all the while she got only puppets on the other side, this time let me talk to her .

With that he pushed the chair and walked towards his room. Every one knew one thing for sure, when Rohan decides , no one can change his mind. Dad also , got up with the same fury and left for his room. Mumma ran behind him. Nanu , gave a smile and said "I knew , this would happen one day. It all had to come out. Tough days ahead my boy. You two be careful and don't get involved. I think its best Rohan handles it.

PS : Sorry for the delay, havnt been feeling well. So writing it slowly not my usual pace. I hope you all will enjoy this update. Do let me know your comments and thoughts .WeRockTheWorld2018-06-18 13:14:28