“That Unknown Feeling”- Chapter 35: Familiar Strangers

Chapter 34: http://www.tellyupdates.com/unknown-feeling-chapter-34-numb/

(Recap: Krishna is terrified of Sayyam and wants to sleep on the couch, Sayyam wakes up during the night from a nightmare and feels guilty for all he’s done.)

To visit all previous chapters: http://www.tellyupdates.com/?s=That+Unknown+Feeling

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As the harsh rays of sunlight struck his face, Yuvraaj blinked his way back to consciousness, trying to calm the pounding in his head and regain his bearings. He spotted Suhani sitting on the floor, her head propped on the bed, and immediately tried to wake her.

“Suhani, what happened?” he shook her awake.

“Yuvraaj?” Suhani murmured, before waking up completely, “Yuvraaj!” She hugged him and kissed his forehead, her eyes glistening with tears of relief.

“Suhani- tell me what happened, why are you crying?” Yuvraaj tried to remember what had happened the previous night, but to no avail.

“You don’t remember what happened yesterday?” Suhani was baffled.

Suddenly, it dawned upon him; yesterday had been Yuvaan and Krishna’s marriage. “The wedding-!” Yuvraaj exclaimed.

“Nothing else?” she cut in, waiting for his reply.

“No, I don’t remember anything…”

“You were…sick…remember?”

“No; but I can’t believe I missed the wedding!”

Suhani frowned in suspicion; ‘how could not remember anything from last night?’ “What is the last thing you remember doing?”

“We were decorating the house, why are you asking though?” He replied innocently.

“Nothing,” she said, shaking her head, “I was just worried; you fainted yesterday, and you just woke up…”

“I have to go apologize to Yuvaan and Krishna,” he stood up hurriedly and started to head for the door, when Suhani held his arm, stopping him from going any farther.

“Yuvraaj, I have something to tell you”.

_____

Krishna stood in front of the mirror, staring at her hair for a long while. Suhani had always told her that the day she wore sindoor, she would feel like a different person, she would be a different person. Krishna sighed, and picked up her mangalsutra. She didn’t feel any different now than how she had felt yesterday; she was still Krishna. Everything was the same- except for the fact that from now on, she would have to share a room with a man she utterly despised.

Speaking of the devil, the door of the washroom opened, and Sayyam stepped out, drying his hair with a towel as Krishna struggled to fasten the chain around her neck. Sayyam merely stared at her failed attempts for a while, before actually deciding to do something.

“Do you need help?” he scoffed inwardly. Of course she needed help, but something in him wanted to hear it from her first. He placed his hands in his pockets and waited patiently.

“No, I absolutely- huff-Do not-huff- Need Your- huff-help!” By this time, her face had turned red, and she was twisting and turning from side to side so that she could see the clasp clearly.

“You sure?” he raised his eyebrow skeptically.

Krishna nodded her head furiously, while Sayyam just dipped his head in acceptance and started to walk towards her. She instantly turned around to face him and backed away nervously, terrified of his intentions. But when his arm reached behind her, she looked back and realized with embarrassment, that he had just been grabbing the watch behind her.
He started to back away – when suddenly- something pulled him back to her, and it was his turn to get flustered. They both looked down and realized that the mangalsutra in Krishna’s hand had fastened itself to Sayyam’s collar, and refused to let go. Krishna tried repeatedly to detach it gently from Sayyam’s shirt. Sayyam got frustrated and was about to yank on it, when Krishna stopped him.

“Sayyam! It’ll break-!” she started

“So what? Buy a new one.” He retorted.

“Hey, Khadoos! It doesn’t work like that-”

“Excuse me, Mrs. Khadoos, anyway you don’t care for this relationship, so why are you-”

“Sayyam,” Krishna frowned, “I may not accept this relationship, but I value the upbringing Suhani aunty gave me. Marriage is a one-time decision, it’s not a game; and this mangalsutra is not just a chain, it carries a special meaning-”

“Ok, ok…stop this nonsense…I should start calling you ‘express train’ as well, you talk non-stop” Sayyam stepped back, folding his arms.

Krishna opened her mouth to argue with him, but stopped when she noticed something. She felt around her neck and realized that Sayyam had made her wear the chain when they had been arguing. Anger steadily rose up in her. “Don’t touch me,” she said, stepping away from him. Sayyam immediately felt like he was betraying himself and Krishna by getting close to her. They looked at each other intensely, their eyes conveying silent messages, when suddenly, they both heard raised voices from the living room. Krishna and Sayyam rushed out of the room to see what had happened.

Sayyam walked into the living room, with Krishna trailing close behind him. He tilted his head in confusion when he saw Suhani rushing to Yuvaan, who had just stepped into the house. ‘Had Yuvaan just returned?’ he wondered to himself. Krishna however, slowly stepped forward.

“Yuvaan?” she sounded distressed, and it was then that everyone noticed that Yuvaan was wearing the Kurta that was meant for Krishna’s and his marriage. All of a sudden, everyone heard the tinkling of anklets outside the door, while Yuvaan turned back and went back to stand outside the house again. A girl soon appeared at the door step, her face covered with a veil.

“Yuvaan?” Suhani faltered, “What is the meaning of all this?”

“Yes Yuvaan, who is this girl?” Yuvraaj stepped forward, confronting Yuvaan.

“Mom, Dad, this is your daughter-in-law.” he replied calmly.

“What is the meaning of this?” Yuvraaj asked, “Krishna was waiting for you yesterday…Sayyam and her-” Yuvraaj looked away in anger. “Why did you do it? Why did you choose this girl?”

Then, Yuvaan said the words which shattered Krishna’s heart:

“Dad, I love her.”
_____

Krishna lost her footing, and her back collided with Sayyam’s chest. She immediately flinched from the contact, moving away from Sayyam as well. Sayyam saw the raw pain on Krishna’s face and looked away.

Suhani stormed towards Yuvaan angrily, her hand raised, when Yuvraaj stopped her. He looked at her for a moment, then dejectedly asked her to do the aarti of the girl. Suhani sighed, and went to the Kitchen, while the rest of the family members stood stationary, waiting to see what would happen next.

When Suhani emerged from the Kitchen, she was carrying a aarti thali in one hand and a bowl filled with rice in the other. She placed the bowl on the ground in front of the girl and stood up, looking at Yuvaan with disappointment, and asked him to lift the girls’ veil.

Through all this, tears rolled down Krishna’s cheeks relentlessly, and she ran into the bedroom, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. Sayyam watched her leave, a strange feeling compelling him to go after her, but something held him back, and he watched carefully as Yuvaan lifted the veil.

Sayyam’s eyes widened at once and he rubbed his eyes, making sure he was not hallucinating. Memory after memory invaded his mind as he stared at the girl whose face he thought he would never see again.

As their eyes met, the girl too gasped, shocked to see Sayyam standing in front of her.

“Baby,” he muttered, “It’s been a long time.”

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Hey guys! I tried to post this chapter yesterday, but it didn’t work for some reason, so here it is!
The awesomeness starts here, baby’s back 😉
Also, luckily, I’ll be posting the next chapter tomorrow, just for you guys:

Love you all!
– Shreya <3