Where Love Leads

10. I'm here

Three days later, Pramitra found herself alone on the terrace until Aarya joined and sat beside her. Pramitra rested her head on Aarya's shoulder while Aarya held her hand.

Pramitra confided in Aarya that she feels terrible and has been unable to find peace within herself since Bhola's return. "I can't seem to find peace within myself since Bhola's return and I feel terrible,"

"You don't have to worry about the past because Anuj is here for you. He knows everything about Bhola and left his parents and came here to be with you out of love; he loves you. Do you think he deserves what you're going through now?" Aarya asked.

"Aarya, I remember that perverted, disgusted, dirty man's hand all over me and it's disgusting," Pramitra said with a grimace, and expressed with disgust as she recalled the painful past

"Even though he witnessed you naked, he failed to succeed with his malicious plan. The best thing to do is to forget about it and embrace your reality with Anuj,"

Pramitra felt grateful for having her sister, Aarya, during these times and hugged her tightly expressing her happiness at having her with her, while saying, "I will try Aaru, I will..."

"Seems like our first guest has taken a liking to you, since he didn't leave even though you asked him to," Pramitra said playfully, breaking away from the embrace. "He must have a crush on you..,".

Flashback

Sitting in the living room, Aarav took Aarya's hand as she sat beside him, feeling the warmth of his touch, with the clothes of the children she had folded beside her.

"Aarya, look at me," he said.

She directed her eyes towards him and gazed into his eyes.

"I'm not leaving you during times of trouble. If I go now, I will not be at peace and I'll be uneasy thinking about the challenges you're facing and how I can't do anything. Please allow me to stay with you during these difficult times and assist you in defeating Bhola," he affirmed.

She raised the question, "But what about Suman Ma?"

"Pa's with her, so Ma will be okay," he reassured her. "So there's nothing to worry about,"

Her nod of agreement was met with a warm embrace from him. Though she wanted to push him away, she knew she needed his strength to overcome her difficulties; she smiled and accepted his warm hug.

Flashback end

"Aaru, what's running through your mind?" Pramitra asked.

"It's not like that, Aarav is just a nice person," Aarya explained, clarifying that Aarav is a nice and kindhearted man, nothing more.

"Do you have feelings for him, Aaru?" Pramitra questioned. "What are your thoughts on him?"

"He's just a friend and nothing more, okay?" Aarya said, defensively.

"Ohh okay," Pramitra uttered.

Aarya asked while tickling her, "What do you mean by 'ohh okay'?" They laughed, missing this sweet moment together.

Aarav and Anuj walked up to the them, surprising Aarya and Pramitra who had no idea they were there. Aarya stopped tickling her and smiled at Aarav and exchange a smile.

Her eyes shifted to Anuj who was standing beside Aarav and she asked, "Anuj, why are you still doing here?"

Anuj gave her a look that conveyed a sense of confusion.

"Did you take the children to school?" Aarya asked, wondering why he hadn't left yet.

"After the incident with Pooja and Bhola's man yesterday," Anuj replied "I wouldn't take the risk,"

"Anuj," Pramitra chided him.

Feeling worried and curious, Aarya asked "what did the man did to Pooja?"

"Nothing happened," Pramitra replied with a nonchalant tone, she hoped that Aarya will calm down and not ask anymore.

"Don't make me ask you again?" Aarya yelled, with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"He offered her sweets and asked her to follow him, but Kajal recognized the man as she was about to pick them up and stopped it," Pramitra replied with a hard stare at Anuj, showing her anger towards him.

"You are aware of the character of Bhola...," Anuj began to speak about Bhola, but Pramitra glared at him intensely.

Aarya walked towards the stairs that go down the main house, she descend the stairs as she started running towards her room which is situated among the rooms that surround the living room.

The kids were sitting on the living room floor carpet when Kalaj, the orphanage's only teenager, picked up a book and sat on the sofa to read to them. They turned to her in confusion while Aarav followed closely behind.

Aarya retreated to her room and perched on the edge of the bed, hot tears spilling down her cheeks. Aarav came in and sat beside her, cradling her in his arms.

"Why does Bhola want to torture me like this before showing his face? What does he want?" She cried out as he listened. "Why is Bhola torturing me, before revealing himself to me?"

She raised her face_ with her face lifted towards his, she met his calm gaze and felt a soothing presence; a sense of calm, comfort and peace wash over her. He firmly held her hand, his fingers clasping hers tightly.

"Education of the children won't be compromised due to Bhola or anything else. I am taking them to school and will remain there to confront any danger, and keep them safe," she said, vowing to continue the children's education despite the danger posed by Bhola.

"I'll accompany you if that's your wish," he offered to accompany her, assuring her that everything will be okay, to which she nodded in agreement.

When will Bhola make his entrance, and what plans does he have in store?

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