Episode 21
Abhi’s hand lifted to Pragya’s hair, removing the pins that confined it.
Her long, dark tresses tumbled around her shoulders. He tucked the hair behind her ear and then looked at her.
So innocent, he thought. Come on Abhi, he said to himself.
Don’t get distracted. You’re on a mission here! Abhi laid back on the bed and pulled her with him.
He leaned over her and looked down into her eyes, while his fingers caressed her face.
He kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her nose, her cheek.
Then his lips travelled to her ear and slowly moved down her neck.
Pragya was aware that her breathing had turned ragged…she wondered if he noticed it too…
Her mind was going haywire, desperately trying to keep a grasp on her thoughts. Was he really planning on consummating this marriage?
What if he was…
I should stop this, she thought in a panicked tone. She paused for a second….
Maybe that’s just what he wants, she realized. Was this his way of getting her to admit the truth? Seduce her till she backed off… She couldn’t believe he would stoop to this level…
What other reason was there for his behavior?
Well Mr. Mehra, she said to herself, let’s just see what your real intentions are…
Why wasn’t she stopping this? Abhi wondered.
How far would he actually have to go?
He lifted his head to look at her.
She smiled at him…a big, bright, beautiful smile…. Abhi’s eyes widened as he felt her hands making their way up his back, hugging him closer. What th-?
She lifted her hands to his face, and caressingly moved her fingers on his cheek.
Abhi was captivated…
He closed his eyes for a second, savoring the feel of her fingers on his face. He turned his cheek and pressed a soft kiss to her palm. Pragya pushed him back on the bed and mimicked his earlier actions…
She kissed his forehead, his eyelids, his nose and his cheek.
Abhi cupped her face in one of his hands while the other rested on her waist.
He looked gently at her.
“Fuggi..” he whispered.
His gaze travelled to her lips and he brought her face slowly down to his… He’s going to kiss me! she thought. Come on Pragya, she told herself, you can’t back down now. She held a breath….and waited for his lips to touch hers…
What are you doing, idiot? Abhi’s thoughts intervened.
You’re going to kiss her?
This is not how it was supposed to go…
You wanted to scare her into telling the truth…instead, you’re the one getting trapped!
What’s happening to you?
You have to stop this now!
Abhi turned away from her and got up off the bed.
What was wrong with her? he thought.
Instead of fighting him off, she was encouraging him?
Maybe she really had changed…
Pragya also got off the bed and came towards him. “What’s the matter, darling?” she asked sweetly and put her hands around his neck.
Darling?
Abhi looked down at her.
Looking at her expression, he slowly realized….
“You knew all along, didn’t you?” he said, untangling her hands from his neck. Pragya nodded.
“And you just went along with it…” he said.
“I wasn’t sure exactly what you were trying to pull. So I used your own tactics on you…”
“I had to find out the truth.” he said, trying to justify his actions.
“And you thought the best way was to seduce me?!” asked Pragya.
“What other way did I have?” he asked. “You obviously weren’t going to just come out and tell me.” “Tell you what?” she asked. “You already know everything!” “You were on your way to Canada! Then suddenly, out of nowhere, you’re back here married to me! The one I was supposed to get married to apparently doesn’t even care that it was our wedding day and left to visit her father in London without so much as a phone call or message! Can you imagine how messed up that all sounds to me?!” he said frustratedly. Pragya didn’t know what to say to him…
She felt his pain and frustration…but what could she do?
The truth would hurt him even more…
Come on Pragya, she lectured herself.
You need to get him back into fighting mode before he starts thinking of Tanu and dwells on his sadness. “How long are you gonna keep going over the same thing? I already explained to you what happened… When are you gonna let this go?” “Till I get the real story…” he said. “How could you…of all people….do something like that? You can’t even walk outside without letting Dadi know first!”
Abhi didn’t even wait for her reply, he just continued talking…
“According to you, you tricked Tanu into leaving for London to see her “sick” father so you could get married to me.” He held her arms.
“So what I want to know is…why?”
Uh oh! Pragya thought. Now you’re in trouble…
She tried to move away from him but he tightened his grip on her.
“You said you wanted to marry me, right? Now I wanna know why…”
Pragya’s mind struggled to come up with a plausible excuse.
“Answer me, dammit!” he demanded.
Pragya jumped.
“Th…this house” she said out of nowhere.
“This house?” he asked, not understanding her answer.
She nodded.
“Dadi says that a girl’s real home is with her husband. Sooner or later, she and Tayaji would have gotten me married…and I would’ve had to move away from here…away from my family. So I thought if I married you, I would stay here always…”
Abhi looked at her, trying to process her words… “So let me get this straight…you broke up my marriage to Tanu so you could spend the rest of your life here…in this house?!” Pragya nodded once again.
“Are you crazy?!” he asked, not believing what he was hearing. “Did you even think once before doing something this stupid? This is your house! No one would have forced you to leave from here if you didn’t want to.” Pragya’s gaze dropped to the floor, as she braced herself for more scolding… “Three lives are now in a mess because of your selfishness!” he said. Pragya looked at him, not really sure what to say…
Abhi turned away from her and took a long, deep breath. “So, now that we’ve established why you did it… ” he said, “Where does that leave us?” “What do you mean?” she asked dumbly.
“You and I are married now.” he said. “We are expected to live together, share a life…have kids…grow old together… Isn’t that what married people do?”
He looked at her grim expression.
“Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about it…and after you’ve put in all that effort to make it happen too…” he sneered. Pragya remained silent. She had been so busy worrying about Abhi’s reaction, she hadn’t even thought about what would happen after. Would they stay married or….
She loved him…but was that enough to keep this marriage from failing?
What would happen if Tanu returned and Abhi decided he wanted to be with her instead?
What would happen to her then?
All these thoughts buzzed in Pragya’s head. She couldn’t take this conversation anymore.
She needed to be alone.
She turned to leave, when she heard him ask, “Where are you going?” “Why do you care?” she replied in a sad tone and walked out the door…
Precap: No Precap
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Hi guys! Did you miss me?
I know I’m extremely late and I’m really sorry for that…hope you all aren’t too angry with me 🙁
Thank you so much for your ‘get well’ wishes…I’m all better now 🙂
To my Episode 20 and Friendship Day Special commenters:
Elinor, Haritha, Di, Reshma, Abhigya, Mukund, Nannu, Saranya, Asmithaa,
Aishwarya, Sugan, Keerthi, Durga, Shriti, Sheerapthinisd, Reji, Aditi, Riyashri,
Sabeenia, Riya, Anu, Nirmal, Maahi & Somiya…. Love you awesome people!
Hope you enjoyed the episode…
You all let me know what you think while I go catch up on some fan fictions by my fellow writers and friends 🙂
Laters!