With his leg much better, all credits to Imlie for looking after him, Aditya decided to take a round of village and also meet Chandu to get some more information on Satyakam. He spoke about this to Satyakam who complied and asked Imlie to take him around the village as he himself was leaving to avoid any danger on her and Meethi as well as Aditya. After a brief phone call to Malini, Aditya stepped out of the lodge only to see Imlie waiting for him with a very unexpected ride - A Cycle!
"Are we seriously going around on this cycle?" he asked pointing at it which made her turn as she was facing the other side. Her face held annoyance and he couldn't help but laugh at how adorable she looked in the moment.
"Oh No Babusaheb! We have specially called a helicopter to escort you" she said sarcastically.
"Very funny! Now let's get to the point! Are you seriously telling me I have to ride this cycle with you at the behind?"
"Yes Babusaheb! Surely with your punctured tire you can ride this bicycle on these kaccha roads, without dropping either of us or the cycle." Imlie said sarcastically blinking her eyes with a mild smile.
Aditya rolled his eyes at her.
"Fine you'll ride it. But the question is how will you be able to balance both our weights?"
"Hey Sita Maiyya, silence is a gift you haven't given to this Shehri Langoor and that's why he's eating my head with questions when all he had to do was just come and sit. 10 mins have already gone in this!" Imlie said dramatically looking up at the sky.
Aditya huffed at her dramatics and being called Sheheri langoor and moved towards the cycle.
"I'm a Langoor it seems! Uggh! I still asked valid questions!" Aditya murmured but Imlie heard it anyways and stifled a laugh at his grumpy expression and annoyed words.
Just as they were about to take their seats, the sky filled with grey clouds indicating the onset of heavy rains in some hours.
"It's going to rain!!!!" Both shouted, the difference being Imlie squealing with delight and Aditya grumbling with annoyance. They immediately looked at each other, their faces holding a frown each
"How can you be so happy to know it's about to rain??" Aditya asked
"How can you be so unhappy to know it's about to rain?" Imlie snapped back.
"Will we even reach Chandu's house?"
"Why fear when Imlie is here? I know you are in a hurry to reach your beloved waiting in the city but anyways you have to stay here till tomorrow and so, calm down and leave things to me. I'll take you everywhere and we'll reach home safely before it begins to rain." Imlie said while Aditya looked at her open mouthed.
"What do you even mean by beloved waiting in the city and where did she come from in this conversation? Jhalli kahiki!"
"Babusaheb do not call me Jhalli! I'm the only one in this entire village who has got a scholarship. I'm very smart! Have you ever got a scholarship??" she asked irritated.
"Oh is it! But I'll be calling you Jhalli only! If you want me to stop, stop calling me Langoor first!" he said with a slight smirk, enjoying her irritated expressions.
"Uggh! Whatever! Let's go now" she said and sat on the cycle. Aditya settled at the back and they finally began the journey.
___________________________________________
"You are my world Rupali and soon the symbol of our love will be joining us as well. We'll always remain together. I love you so much!" Pranav said as he took his 6 month old pregnant wife in a back hug. She smiled contentedly and rested her head against his chest.
"I love you too Pranav" she said with a smile as she lifted her head up to meet his eyes. He smiled back and gently kisses her cheeks.
"You look so beautiful" he said pushing the loose strands of her black tresses behind her ear, while admiring her beauty, enhanced by the redness of her cheeks and the pregnancy glow. She blushed deeply and her eyes lowered even as he turned her towards himself. Just as they were about to kiss, she felt a movement in her belly, causing her to move back.
"What happened?" he asked worriedly.
She shook her head and happily lifted her husband's hand and placed it on her baby bump. A wide smile formed on his face even as hers widened even more. It was their baby's kick. He knelt down and placed his ear on the bump when the baby kicked again. He kissed her baby bump and lovingly spoke to their child inside her.
A lone tear escaped her eyes even as she closed it painfully trying to swallow the lump in her throat. That was such a wonderful moment. After that day, she had come to her maykaa for the last few months of her delivery, only she dint know things would never be the same again. Her delivery was complicated and their baby too had quite a few problems due to being premature. The first 8 months after childbirth went in all these itself. And after this long struggle when she returned home, she was positive there wouldn't be any more struggles like this since their baby and she were finally fine. But little did she know she was completely wrong. The way he started becoming distant with her baffled her but she felt she was unnecessarily assuming things since he was a doting father to their baby. If only she had listened to her instincts then.
And then came that day, the worst day of her life. The day she learnt about his affair, about his mistress being pregnant with his illegitimate child and the day she had kept her self-respect, masking her hurt and heartbreak and walked out with her one year old daughter. They had then annulled their marriage with their daughter's complete custody given to her and he had walked away to marry his mistress, without an ounce of shame or regret. That was when she realised the bitter truth that all of his love was a facade and so was his "love" for their daughter.
Love,
Pratyusha
YOU ARE READING
Lakeerein - Ties That Bind Us
Fanfic------ Can Be Read As General Fiction ------ One night. One event. Lives of two people altered completely. When Aditya Kumar Tripathi, Chief Executive Reporter at Bhaskar times stepped into Pagdandiya and met Imlie, he did not know how his life woul...
