Hi Maahira-A Failed Promise○

4. A good night?

As Abhira gazed at the clock striking 1.00 am half awake,she woke up with a jolt and rubbed her eyes. She hurriedly slipped her dress on,cleaned the scattered mess and mumbled,cursing herself "How could I be so careless? I-I was so caught up in that moment that I even forgot ke Maahi needs me the most at this time,always?K-kaisih maa hoon main? 

Ky-kya karoon ab? Chachi maa ko call karoon? Nahin,unhein itni raat ko disturb kaiseh?Message kar deti hoon. Agar uthee hongi tohh dekh lengi,waiseh main pandrah minute mein pohonch rahi hoon. I'm so sorry mera bachcha,mamma aa rahin hain. Sorry baby" Drowning in self guilt with her fingers trembling, she struggled to type two simple sentences. But within seconds,she heaved a sigh of relief as a reply with an emoji popped up on her home screen,calming her heart. 

-Chachi maa,mujhe pandrah minute lag jaayenge ghar aane mein. Agar aap abhi jaag rahin hain tohh please ek baar Maahira ko dekh leejeeye. Woh aap jaanti hain nah yeh time useh

-Aree tu chinta math kar beta,mujhe pata tha aaj tu late ho sakti hain,isiliye main aur mannu abhi nahin soye hain. Ham yahin hain Ira jaan ke paas,abhi tak kuch nahin hua hain kanhaji ki kripa se. Par tu jaldi aa ja beta,tere sivaa koi nahin sambhal sakta iseh us sab ke daurann. Love you,stress math le😊

She looked up at the stars and blinked her eyes at the brightest star,her mamma for sending her Angel Chachi maa in her life. In her she found a mother- a mother from whose wrath even her not-by-blood daughter's husband couldn't be spared,a mother who loved her not-by-blood granddaughter to death,a mother who could fight the world for a daughter who wasn't even hers. Had Manisha,Madhav and Manoj not been there as her rock all these years,raising Maahira in that house which didn't even acknowledge her existence would have been next to impossible.

As Armaan noticed some movement around him and heard Abhira's silent sniffles,he turned around to put his shirt on and asked,"Kya hua Abhira,tum itni tension mein lag rahin ho! Kuch ho gaya hain kya? Please mujhe batao"

"Armaan please. Is samay mere sath sawal-jawab math khelo. Time nahin hain mere paas. Mujhe ghar pohonchna hain!"

"Ohh...okay,I'm sorry. Let me drive baby,you are drunk. I can't take risks"

"So are you Mr. Poddar,tum tohh zindagi mein bhi nashe mein hi rehte ho. Life ki gaadi theek seh drive kar pa rahein ho? Nahin nah? Toh ye BMW kya khaakh chalaoge? 

Ah,I don't have the time to argue with you right now. Do as I say,sit back in the car and don't bother me as I drive. Nahin aana tohh yahin baithe raho. Adyant ki maa tumhein lene aa hi jaayengi subah tak waiseh bhi,jab tumhein apne ghar mein nahin paayengi" Abhira sarcastically replied as she hopped onto the driver's seat and drove without caring about the bumped road,straight to the poddar mansion.

.

Abhira leapt upstairs in hurry to their room and stood at the door,gazing at Maahira with a smile,seeing her sleeping soundly. She walked to her chachi ma and chachusa, engulfing them in a tight thank you hug, before moving towards her daughter's sleeping form with a lovely grin on her face.

She gently stroked Maahi's face with her fingers and kissed her pout, thinking that at least today her baby might be sleeping soundly and had most likely drifted off into the magical land of her favourite fairies and elves. At least today, her little girl was spared from the brunt of the monsters that tore her little heart every night into fragments smaller than what she could collect, and at least today, she herself would be able to go to court without having the shots of caffeine she usually took.

She sat there staring at her daughter's peaceful face,not knowing that her child had waited for her to bare her vulnerabilities open like she has always been doing for the past four months. Within minutes of her mamma's arrival,the little girl's tiny and delicate features twisted in a grimace of pain and fear as she tossed and turned, kicking her legs beneath the soft white blanket. She murmured something inaudible and gasped for breath,digging her nails into Abhira's shoulders,leaving tiny red marks-an imprint of her nightmare as she was scooped up in her mamma's lap and her chest was rubbed by her. Abhira bit her tongue in pain and controlled her tears as Maahira's hold became stronger,not because it caused physical discomfort to her-she was least bothered,she was ready to even burn herself if that could free her daughter from her sufferings. But her Maahi. Her innocence was dying,a slow and painful death and how could she not do anything about it?

"Don't touch her" Manisha hissed,"You have no right. Uski maa shaant kara degi useh"

Armaan recoiled as he cast his eyes down in guilt and spoke without looking up "Chachisa, I've been a terrible father I know. B-but main Maahira seh bohoth pyaar karta hoon. I want to be there for her"

"Chaudhaveen ke chand jaiseh tumhare andar ka baap jaagta hain kya iske liye? Yeh apne gharialyi aasoon math bahao hamare saamne. Mannu,please iseh yahaan se le jao kuch time ke liye. Main dekh loongi apni dono bachchiyon ko"

"Nahin-nahin Chachisa. Please mujhe rehne deejeeye yahaan. Abhira please",he looked at Abhira with pleading eyes,and a wave of relief washed over him as he saw that Maahi's grip on Abhira was now loose and she had by now been calmed to a great extent by having her ears positioned straight against her mamma's heartbeat.

"Don't pretend that you care"Abhira chuckled while ruffling her child's hair and began humming a tune without looking at him,

"Chanda hai tu, mera sooraj hai tu

O meri aankhon ka taara hai tu

Jeeti hoon main bas tujhe dekhakar

Is toote dil Ka sahaara hai tu--"

"I-I do"he blurted,interrupting her mid-way.

"Yeah you do. Stay out of her life like you always do. Yeh Maahi hain,Adyant nahin aur tumhein iski chinta karne ki koi zaroorat nahin hain.  I don't want to burden you with stress ke pahads as if there's already less of it in your life"

"Meri beti ki problems stress nahin hain Abhira"

"Kaun si beti Armaan? Tumhara ek hi beta hain,Adyant. Uspe achche se dhyaan de lo,kahin aisah nah ho jagah-jagah apne paanv pasaro aur fir kuch saal baad useh bhi tumhein apna baap kehne mein sharam aaye."

With a heavy heart, Armaan was dragged by Chachasa out of the room. As he walked away, he could hear Maahira's faint murmurs echoing in his ears-"Bad luck... my fault..."

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Question: Do you want Dadisa to be a complete negative character like Vidya or do you want her to have a character progression in the upcoming chapters?

And I am not keeping any sisters-bond between Roohi and Abhira,though Abhira knows her identity of being a Goenka. Is it okay?