a twist in the tale; swabhiman (chapter 23)

as karan was talking to kunal and meghna before lunch, naina was talking to rohit in her room about her family back home – her mom, bua, sister, and possibly, brother in law.

naina: roh, i know we weren’t going to talk about this but i really need to know how bua and didi are, please tell me something.

rohit: i knew you’d ask me someday and i’ve got a few things to tell you. i’m sorry but your mom and bua both passed away few years ago. ragini didi got married to amrit before that, though. also, i’ve been keeping them updated. they know that you’re alive and safe, they also know you got married and i told them that i’d get you to talk to them soon.

naina: you’ve been keeping them up to date?

rohit yes, i’m sorry, i had to.

naina: no, i’m so happy you did that. thank you!

rohit sent naina their number and she called them. they first spoke formally, catching up, but before you know it they were laughing and joking like they used to before.

naina: no way! they caught you guys in the toilet? what were you doing in the men’s toilet anyways di?

karan then came in with lunch for naina because she wasn’t allowed to go down to eat. karan saw naina laughing and talking about her past on the phone and wondered who it was.

naina: okay, i’ll see you next week. bye, i love you too!

naina kept the phone and saw karan there.

karan: naina, lunch is ready.

naina got out of the bed and sat to eat but then she saw karan sitting as well, instead of going down to eat with the family.

naina: aren’t you going to eat downstairs?

karan: if i go and eat down, who’ll give you company? i can’t let you eat alone, naina.

naina didn’t say anything, she just looked at him and then started eating quietly. after some time, rohit called naina.

rohit: naina, the tickets are booked. ragini didi and amrit jeeju will be coming in a few days and they’ll stay at our place, okay?

naina: thank you so much, for everything roh.

naina kept the phone and continued eating. after they finished eating, not saying a word to each other the whole time, karan went out of the room. later in the evening, kunal entered the room.

naina: jeeju, what’s up?

kunal: naina, i know you’re not allowed to really go out of the room but meghna wants to talk to you in the garden. it’s quite important.

naina: in the garden? um okay.

naina left to go to the garden to see it decorated. meghna and kunal were standing a little further away, so they could still listen and see what was going on. karan was standing there, in the middle of the garden.

naina: karan?

karan: naina, i’m sorry for making bhai lie about bhabhi wanting to talk to you but it is really important.

naina didn’t say anything.

karan: naina, when we met the first time, i’d never think that in a million years i’d say this. not just to you but to anyone. you brought life into me again, you made me normal. i can’t live without you, the thought of it just scares me and that day when i told you to leave, it was the biggest mistake of my life and god, i regret it so much because, i love you, naina. i love you so much. i love you!

naina still didn’t know what to say. was she supposed to give in? or could she keep her stand?

naina: but i don’t.

karan: naina, i know you’re hurt and you’re afraid of getting hurt but,

naina: karan, you don’t get me. you just don’t get it, don’t you? every person i’ve ever loved or cared for has left me heartbroken. dad went into a coma for seven years and then, i met blake. blake gave me life again but, before i knew it, he left too. i came back here and then there was rohit. but you know what happened? we got married. i got to know you and then, i fell for you but do you know know what happened then? you told me to leave. how do i know that you’re not going to leave me and more over, how do i know that you really love me and this isn’t just guilt? karan, i’ve had a lot of people love me for guilt, pity, even sympathy and frankly, i don’t need anymore of it, especially not from you.

before karan could stop naina or say anything, naina left from there. kunal and meghna came out to talk to karan and console him, give him support.

karan: bhabhi, she hates me. i’ve hurt naina so much that she hates me.

meghna: karan, naina doesn’t hate you. she’s just afraid of getting hurt and so she’s pushing you away. but you know what? naina’s never pushed anyone away to stop her from feeling anything – not when her dad got into the coma, not when blake left, not even when you guys had to get married. it’s the first time naina’s doing this, do you know what that means?

karan: i don’t know, she thinks i’m going to hurt her again?

meghna: no, she loves you more than anyone she’s loved before.

karan: how do you know that?

meghna: because, the more you love someone, the more it hurts when you get hurt by them. naina’s scared of getting hurt, she’s pushing you away, but not because she hates you or anything else but because, she loves you more than anyone she’s loved before karan. naina knows that if you leave her again, it’s going to hurt her even more. but, don’t worry. naina’ll get over this soon, she just needs to take care of herself now and figure things out for herself.

karan understood what meghna was saying and that naina just needed time. naina needed to be sure that karan wouldn’t hurt her again. naina was just trying to mend all her broken hearts. but one thing that kept bothering karan was blake – who was he and why does his name keep coming up in all of these conversations?

thank you for reading! i hope you enjoyed this chapter. it was a little shorter than the previous one but it has so much going on, i didn’t wan’t to add anything more. so, guess what happens in the next chapter? also, naina’s sister and brother in law will be coming soon, what do you guys think will happen then?