~•} C H A P T E R|22 {•~
Licking her dry lips nervously, Raina inhaled deeply to keep her insane beating heart due to his shout calm.
She closed her eyes shut for a moment keeping her hands on the doorknob before opening it slowly.
Her footsteps echoed inside the room as she walked towards him, her steps calculated and calm, just opposite of her terrified self inside her.
"Y-yes.." Her voice quivered ever so slightly and she scrunched her eyes shut in annoyance and frustration.
"You did this." His voice grew angrier at the last word as he showed her something on his phone. He didn't ask her but stated.
Swallowing hard to drench her dried throat, she accepted, "Yes, I did this-"
"WHY!?" His angry shout made her flinch in her place whereas he rubbed his temples, clenching his fists hard and trying with every ounce of his being to fight with his short-tempered self and not lash out at her again like previous times.
Her shoulders drooped as she tried hard to maintain her rigid posture and fight with the way her body shivered hearing his angry yell.
Yes, she was scared.
Very very scared of this self.
As if sensing her fear, he suddenly snapped back from the spell his sudden anger created on his mind and once again felt the gut-twisting guilt building inside him.
But it was too late.
He had already scared her once again like before.
"Raina..." He called out in desperation as she flinched again but in surprise hearing his gentle and soft tone.
"I am sorry but I am not guilty." She mumbled, her voice softer like the bundle of cotton but held the sternness of steel.
He looked surprised for a moment as he simply gazed into her blazing orbs which were staring back into him before starting, "I trusted you."
"I know." She uttered lowly, the tiniest bit of guilt in her tone.
"Why will you do that? I know that the truth of that night is known by only you and me. I didn't explain anything to anyone so how am I proved innocent within a night?" He questioned with a hint of mock in his last sentence.
Inhaling sharply through her nose, she tilted her neck and mocked, "You would have loved to be accused as a molester instead?"
"Just fucking tell me what you did, dammit!?" He asserted blowing sharply through his nose, the short-tempered side of him surfacing out at her mocking self.
Sighing heavily closing her eyes she sat down on the couch in front of him and picked up the glass and metal jug from the table.
Filling her glass, she drank the water slowly as he watched her gulp every drop of water and challenged his short-tempered self who was demanding answers right at the moment.
He knew he said he would become better, he would change.
But it was so fucking difficult when she was sitting here drinking water ever so slowly when he was almost going insane for finding out what the hell she did in one night!
But again, changing yourself was never easy and it would never be.
It required patience, which he had none. Well, he was trying but still...
Biting his inside cheeks, he sat down fisting his sweatpant trying to cope with his thin running patience while she gave him a sweet smile and suddenly choked on the water she was drinking ever so slowly and coughed hard!
Instantly his frustrated mood turned into a concerned one as in a swift he stood up from the bed and strode behind her, rubbing her back fastly as she coughed the life out of her.
"You okay?" He asked softly sitting beside her.
Sucking big gulps of air she turned towards him and ushered, "Yes... I am fine now."
He hummed in response and leaned his head back on the couch headrest while closing his eyes.
"I told Yuvraj Bhai about everything that happened that night." She confessed looking at the ceiling and leaning her head beside him on the headrest too.
"You knew I didn't want to explain them. I didn't want to sound desperate and ask for their help when they all chose not to trust me." He accused still closing his eyes.
"Aakarsh, what would have you got from doing all this? Only your big fat ego would have been satisfied but think practically. You and I both know that Yuvraj Bhai would help you with everything he has once he came to know about you being innocent." She reasoned out.
"The thing which you call ego is self-respect." He stated.
"And what would have you gotten from this self-respect? The respect of people would have been gone once you would have been unable to prove yourself as innocent as you literally had no proof. I believe what you say but the court would have not Aakarsh. Think practically, you would have been under police custody due to the FIR that girl filed against you. Feed your self-respect the much until you don't have to beg. If you have to beg, it's better not to feed your self-respect." She argued.
"I... I don't want to go in front of them and see the pity in their eyes." He whispered.
"Just because they know the truth, it doesn't mean that you have to forgive them. See the guilt in their eyes and feel it until you get satisfied enough to forgive them."
"Do I even deserve the guilt?"
"What?"
"Do I even deserve their guilt of not believing me? I treated you so badly that they were bound to believe every bad thing about me. But you know what, it still hurts. Hurts to see that look in their eyes." He confessed exhaling deeply and turning to look into her eyes.
"Everything will be fine. Hopefully, everything will start falling in place too if you start facing your problems instead of running away." She told softly not to offend him.
He turned to look towards her at her last sentence and sighed knowing indeed she was right.
All he did was hide away from the news and his family after that night as this problem and case would magically disappear.
That was typical he.
But he would try to not do that anymore.
He would try.
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Ruhanika sighed looking at her husband who just entered the room looking like a ghost in those disheveled clothes, messy hair, and dark circles.
It meant he didn't sleep the whole night as all she could remember has she dozed off alone at midnight and woke up alone at 6:00 am.
She just wished that his OCD wouldn't surface and he would take a day off. Just a day off at least.
Afterall she could remember he was a human, and humans do need rest to work, right?
The moment she saw him taking his formal clothes out of his wardrobe, she knew he was doing exactly what she didn't want him to do.
Trying to walk on thin ice, she started, "Yuvraj Ji, don't go to the office."
Instantly she was gifted by a hard glare in his eyes which made her... not scared anymore.
She simply rolled her eyes in her mind and said, "I mean look at your face! It looks like shit! Don't you think your perfect image will be destroyed if you go to the office like this?", she mentally applauded for herself as she could feel the wheels in his mind turning. She knew he was tired as hell but needed a damn perfect reason to rest to satisfy his OCD which she gave.
"You are right... But don't use those words with me anymore." He pointed out at her cursing. He already had enough colorful cursings throughout the days, all thanks to Aakarsh. He couldn't deal with more of it.
"Shit is not profanity!" Ruhanika argued.
"Go ahead and use the 'not a profanity' with Dadi." He lazily mumbled and his lips twitched up as he saw her eyes widen.
"Whatever." He heard her murmur as she left the room while he simply raised his eyebrows at her sassiness.
...........
Ruhanika descended the stairs while mumbling more curses under her breath just then she was stopped in her tracks by Ishani.
"Heard the news, bhabhi?"
The bhabhi from her mouth almost sounded like a mock but shrugging it away she turned towards Ishani and asked, "Which news?"
"Too busy in securing your position as Yuvraj Bhai's wife I see."
"What do you mean?" Ruhanika asked her tone, not at all soft.
"I mean exactly what you understood. You are Yuvraj Bhai's second wife wife, right?" Ishani questioned being brutally honest about her thoughts about Ruhanika. Among the three daughters-in-law, Ruhanika was the weakest one who was just dancing to everyone's tunes by acting as the perfect mother, wife, and daughter-in-law.
"Ishani," Ruhanika warned glaring right into Ishani's tall frame.
"Why would you agree to be someone's second wife at young age?" There was a hint of genuine curiosity as Ishani tried not to break from her mocking tone.
"My god Ishani, in which generation are you living for using the term second choice? We all know the first choices and everything is just something which feels good to hear, exactly no one is someone's first choice in this generation as people start imagining about different people since teenage. Have you yourself never had a crush on someone before?"
"He was married before."
"How is a relationship different from marriage? I know that marriage is a legal relationship and has religious values attached to it but still, it's also a relationship! And about being married before then I think Yuvraj Ji knows how to take responsibility for a woman and have the guts to marry her too other than people who don't even have the courtesy to inform their girlfriend about marrying a different person." The mock in her tone in the last sentence was evident enough for Ishani to understand what she was indicating.
"He also has a daughter... You were the ...second choice." Ishani whispered the last part with difficulty, cringing at herself for the disgusting remark.
"I am his ONLY choice at the moment Ishani and I am happy being that. Also, could you ever measure someone's love? And about Yuvika, how could people torment a child just because they are related to their husband's past? I can't and won't. Learn to accept people's past because you aren't the first choice of Vardhaan, remember?"
"I don't care because I was forced into this marriage!" The hate for Vardhaan evident in her bitter tone.
"So was I." Ruhanika chuckled looking at Ishani's enraged form. Just because she doesn't speak much, it doesn't mean she couldn't.
"Why are you so happy doing all this then?" Ishani asked suddenly, her tone turning normal from the mocking tone she used before.
"Either let the sea waves take over you or either learn to surf Ishani."
"I don't understand."
"We have two options, either cry about situations and let the situations mold you or either twist the situations in your favor." Ruhanika smiled at Ishani and left, not waiting for her reply.
"The room is only mine for three days, now." Ishani stated looking at Vardhaan who came from behind making him nod as he smirked.
His plan worked.
He would make everyone in the family hate her.
He would make her life hell as he swore.
Ishani though was lost in her thoughts as she gazed at Ruhanika's retreating back and thought about her not so soft tone,
You surely have a tongue that can reply back. You aren't that sweet dear bhabhi. There's a reason behind your silence and sweetness.
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Naina was shocked watching the news which was currently all over the world, Aakarsh was innocent and that girl was lying and was hired by someone who was just trying to defame Aakarsh.
She was glad that Aakarsh was innocent and her sister wouldn't have to deal with the legal procedures of separation.
But again her lungs constricted as she thought about her husband.
The husband who didn't trust his brother would most probably be regretting this now.
She stepped towards their room and opened the wooden door.
All her mental preparation fell short against the scene unfolding in front of her eyes.
Aadarsh was sitting on the floor looking at the wall in front of him blankly while the only source of light was sunlight which was entering the room through two windows.
Her heart shattered as she walked ahead, sensing the footsteps he turned towards her.
His face was simply void of any emotions but she knew better.
She knew.
Not waiting anymore, she bent and sat down on the floor wrapping her arms around him.
Surprisingly he leaned his head on her shoulder and her hold on him tightened understanding what he said, he wanted her to stay.
"Aadarsh it will be alright," Naina mumbled.
"No, it won't. You should have looked when he turned his face away from me and walked in the other direction not glancing towards me once." He spoke up after what felt like an eternity.
"No, he will understand your dilemma Aadarsh. He is your brother afterall!"
"Why should he when I didn't try to understand him."
"He will!"
"He was framed into all this by none other than Udgam Singhania as told by Yuvraj and you know what, we don't even have proof to set Udgam behind the bars. That bastard!"
"Why? You know he did all this then why there is no proof?"
"Because he framed another person."
"How do you know all this?"
"Yuvraj has his own sources and after Raina told him everything, all it took him was a few hours to know about everything."
"It's okay. Aakarsh will understand. Afterall it's somehow his fault that he build that kind of image in front of us."
"But the thing is I know why he was acting that way and I know I was responsible for all that somehow yet I chose not to trust him!"
Naina was stunned by his sudden confession.
How was he responsible for the way Aakarsh acted?
The question swirled in her mind but ignoring it she murmured, "It will be fine. He will be fine."
"But the knot in the relationship will always remain." Aadarsh murmured.
"But one thing all this thing did good was letting my brother trust a woman for the first time in his life." The slight curve in Aadarsh lips indicated he was happy and Naina felt the same but again she felt insecure about her sister, Was Aakarsh good enough to be trusted by her sister as well?
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The wall clock indicated 11:00 pm and a tired Raina arrived inside.
Once again she could feel the piercing gaze of Aakarsh Rathore.
Closing the door she exhaled softly being tired from the stressful day.
The whole day she chose to ignore the happy messages which were wishing her and thanking God for saving her marriage and respect.
Well, all she didn't understand was how these people interlinked a woman's respect with her husband.
She would never understand.
And the great Aakarsh Rathore tried but once again ended up ignoring his beloved brother which frankly he didn't regret.
He wanted Aadarsh to feel the same for a day.
Immature and childish behavior from his side yet he could care less.
"Raina," He called out.
"Yes,"
"Thank you once again for everything you did. I couldn't help but be more grateful."
"It's okay." Raina gave him her sweetest smile making him smile in return too.
"Good night," He mumbled and came closer to engulf her in a hug like previous nights.
A goodnight hug, just a way of greeting from his side.
But this time she stepped back, his hands halted at their place as his brows furrowed in confusion.
Exhaling deeply she mumbled, "I...
~~~~~~~
How did it came out?
Not the best I guess, not worst either.
Anything you wanna say about~
Ruhanika?
Aakarsh?
Naina?
Raina?
Take Care❤️
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