Sukoon (completed)

Part 29

It was late in the night, Shehnaaz's sleep broke when she missed the warmth of her husband; she rubbed her eyes waking herself from sleep. She saw Sidharth sitting on balcony bed deep in his thoughts; 'Kya hua? Kya soch rahe hai aap?' she asked with concern. He looked at her and rubbed his forehead with fingers 'Kuch nahi bas thoda sir dard ho raha hai; tum jaa kar so jao'. 'Neeche bathiye hum tel laga dete hai; aram milega' she said leaving him to get oil bottle from room. He always loved her champi sessions; it always relaxed him.

Shehnaaz putting oil on his head: Ab batayiye kya hau? Need kyu nahi aa rahi?

Sidharth: Janti to ho...wahi tau aur Yusuf ka soch raha tha

Shehnaaz: Accha hai jitne log honge utna asan hoga aapke liye. Koi bhi ek kabool karega to sab pak saaf ho jayega

Sidharth: Tum samjh nahi rahi ho Jaan. Parivaar hai ye humara. Ab to darr lag raha hai aur investigate karwane mein; pata nahi kitne rishtedaaro ka pata chale

Shehnaaz: Aap shayad bhool rahe hai; woh sirf aapke hi nahi humare bhi rishtedaar hai. Bade Mamu hai wo humare, aur rahi baat Yusuf bhaijaan ki to shayad rishte mein aapse close honge par feelings mein humare close the. Aap to America mein the par hum to yaha unke saath bade hue hai.

Sidharth looked at her to see if she is hiding her pain; but to his surprise her eyes showed confidence and determination. She indeed was very strong.

Shehnaaz: Sidharth, rishte ek tarfa nahi hote hai. Agar wo humne apna mante to ye kabhi nahi karte. Agar unhone rishta tod hi diya hai to aap bhi ajnabee ki tarah hi maane unhe. Unke liye khud ka nuksaan to nahi kar sakte naa aap. Aur agar itna hi pyaar hai aapke andar to woh pyaar humari taraf divert kar dijiye; I can have all your love.

Sidharth got up and sat with her on the bed looking at her with adoration; he pulled her near him and kissed her passionately 'Baby, you deserve all the love. Waise smart to tum ho, itni clarity, Wah. Clear as Real. sahi hai'

'Aapke liye kal ek surprise hai, but promise me aap gussa nahi karenge' Shehnaaz asked with puppy eyes. 'Jaan, surprise ke liye gussa nahi karta, Shock ke liye karta hu. I hope shock nahi de rahi' he gave his witty reply. 'Ahhaan, aap chup chap promise kyu nahi karte' she whined. 'Ok ok. Promise. no matter what I will not say anything. But in return I want Aloo paratha in breakfast'. 'Alright then' she smiled and went to sleep.

*******

Next morning, Siddharth was trending on twitter. It was not his way to solve things, he always kept a low profile and here he was trending today; 'A Doctor is trending, what a crazy world' he thought. He scanned through his profile and found that one of the famous noble winner Robert had written about him on SM. Siddharth remember him being one of the most difficult patients ; 'Ye begum sahiba ne kya kiya hai' he said irritated. But to his surprise he had written positive about him. He mentioned him in an anecdote where Siddharth had declined an early operation for him even after knowing that he was noble winner. Siddharth had instead operated on a young girl who came via a community service. Robert then bashed the media for drawing conclusion without proper investigation; which was tarnishing Sidharth's image. It was retweeted by several old patients sharing their good experience with Siddharth. It was also retweeted by one of the famous TV serial actor. #proudofSK and #IndianPrideSK was trending on twitter.

Siddharth read several tweets and felt overwhelm to see so much love and respect for him. He went to look for his Begum who was setting breakfast on table. 'Shehnaaz' Siddharth said pointing towards his phone. Shehnaaz saw him and scrunched his nose and made a puppy face asking for forgiveness. Siddharth smiled unable to fake annoyance anymore 'Yeh sab kyu karna tha; kuch aur nahi kar sakte thi aap Begum'. 'Apka style maanti to 100 saal lag jaate; appreciate karna hi nahi aata. huhhh' she said with a sass. 'CONGRATS BROOOO' Sadiq came and hugged Sidharth 'Actor main hu aur famous aap ho gaye'. Sidharth glared at him while Shehnaaz rolled her eyes. 

The media did not leave their narrative but were considerably mellowed down. They were no more hovering over Khan's now. Now Siddharth could peacefully look into the investigation; he wanted to get over with it before chairman election so that Rizwan pulls out from election. He did not want culprits to be selected as a chairman. He decided to talk to Sakina phuphi to get better insight on Yusuf's involvement. 

Sidharth and Sajia went to Sakina's home and found Rumi there as well. 'Assalm walekum' they greeted phuphi and Rumi. Sakina was surprised with the sudden visit and plastered a fake smile and called them in. 'Phupho, Yusuf bhai nahi dikh rahe' questioned Sajia. 'Beta, wo kuch kaam se bahar gaya hua hai' replied Sakina in tensed voice. Sidharth was observing Sakina's nervous expressions and thought to talk directly.

Sidharth: Phuphi, aapko pata hai ki Yusuf kuch galat logo ke saath involved tha?

Sakina looked aghast: Galat matlab? Kya keh rahe ho Sidharth

Sidharth: Aapko pata hai hoga Sumit ke case ke baare mein. Yusuf milne gaya tha uske chacha se murder ke 3 din baad. Aapko pata hai wo ek dusre ko kaise jaante hai?

Sakina kept her palm on her opened mouth, she was beyond shocked. She knew Yusuf was hiding something but she was unaware what it was: Wo kyu milne jayega usse? Kuch bhi fizool mat bolo. Abhi Yusuf hai nahi, jab aayega usse pooch lena.

Sidharth: Wo kahan gaya hai? kab tak aayega?

Sakina stammered : Shehar ke bahar gaya hai; 2-4 din mein aa jayega.

Sidharth: Aapko pata hai hai phupho; murder ka case hai. Police ke paas photo hai dono ke milne ki; main aapke paas madad karne aaya hu. Police aayegi to Yusuf ke liye pareshani hai. Aur abhi wo hai bhi nahi, logo ko shaq jyada hoga. Please phupho, yakeen karein main madad ke liye aaya hu.

Sakina hid her fear in anger: Mere Yusuf ne kuch nahi kiya hai, humne koi darr nahi hai. Tum yahan se jao. Mere Yusuf ke khilaf kuch nahi suna mujhe. 

Sidharth and Sajia went out not to push the matter further; they were about to leave when Rumi knocked on their cars window. 'Sajia Appi, kuch baat karni thi. Kahin aram se baith kar baat kar sakte hai' she asked nervously. 'Peeche baitho' Sidharth said in stern voice. He took them to a restaurant and booked a private room for the conversation. Once they settled, Sidharth asked her 'Ab batao Rumi, Kahan hai Yusuf?'. 

Rumi: Pata nahi hai. 3 din pehle bhai raat ko aaye aur bole kuch din ke liye bahar jayenge. Aur wo mobile pe bhi nahi milenge. Kaafi ghabraye hue lag rahe the. Mujhe darr lag raha hai

Sidharth was in deep thought: Yusuf ne kabhi mere ya abbu ke baare mein kuch bola tha. Humse koi narazgi?

Rumi put her head down and started sobbing. 'Kya hua Rumi?' Sajia held her palms in her hand giving her support. 'Meri galti hai, maine hi bhai ko Sidharth ji ke khilaaf bola tha' she confessed with guilt. Sidharth looked surprised 'Kyu Rumi? maine kabhi kuch galat kiya tumhare saath'. Rumi shook her head vigorously 'Nahi, aapne kuch nahi kiya tha. bas main khud hi galat samjh baithi thi'. Sidharth was confused, unable to get what Rumi was trying to say 'Rumi, ghabrao mat, main kuch nahi bolunga. par batao to hua kya tha'. Sajia rubbed her back and Rumi calmed after sometime. 'Aapko pata nahi hoga par ammi ne hamesha mujhko bola tha aapse humara nikah hoga, hum aapko pasand karne lage the. Par jab aapne nikah ke liye mana kiya to humne bahut dukh hua. Phir humara nikah hua par humko thoda time laga naye rishte ko apnane mein. Ahmad bhi gussa hone lage hum pe kyunki unhe lagta tha ki main kissi aur se mohabbat karti hu. Yusuf bhai humare kharab riste ke liye aapko jimedaar mana' she said without meeting their eyes.

Both Sidharth and Sajia were surprised, they never thought that these ignorant actions can bring turmoil in others life. He never reached out to Rumi to explain his feelings. He rejected her and tried to close the chapter as soon as possible but never realized he broke someone's heart. Sidharth put his hand on Rumi's shoulder 'Sorry Rumi, mujhe kabhi pata hi nahi tha ki tum mere baare mein aisa feel karti thi. Is there anything I can do for you? Ahmad se main baat karu?'. 'Nahi Sidharth ji, Aapko kaise pata chalega, aap to humse kabhi mile bhi nahi the. Humne khud hi khwabo ka mahal khada kar liya tha. Apne bachpane aur jealousy mein khud ka rishta kharab kiya aur ab apne bhai ki zindagi bhi shayad...' She burst out crying unable to complete her sentence. The sibling duo tried to console her. 'Pareshan nahi ho Rumi, hum Yusuf ki madad karenge. Uska jab bhi call aaye usko bolna hum hai; wo bhage nahi. Hum usko jhoota nahi fasne denge. Abhi jao ghar; Aram karo aur itna pareshan mat ho we will try our best' they assured her.