Nishant Naik, billionaire MD of Naik Builders gets engaged but without love. Disillusioned, he gives up when a chance encounter leaves him intrigued and confused. For him, loving someone is giving your soul to her. Will he ever find someone to love...
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Shefanjali followed Vikrant out in the hall and looked at them one by one.
"What is it?"
"She is going to be married to him, I hope you remember that. That was no way to talk to her," Naresh Naik said.
Sighing, Shefanjali was about to turn and go inside Nishant's room when Vikrant stopped her.
"Shefanjali, seriously, you shouldn't have done that."
She looked at her husband with shock and surprise written all over face.
"Are you seriously insane? You are still bothered about Rushali? Nishant means nothing to you?"
"What Nishant is doing is wrong," she heard her father-in-law say as he came and stood next to her.
"But what you did, was uncalled for."
"I don't care, Dad. I care less about Rushali. For me Nishant matters and not that stupid girl."
"Don't argue with Dad," Vikrant looking at her angrily.
Shefanjali looked at him and failed to recognise him.
Was this the same man she had loved and left everything for?
Gulping down a lump of anger, she turned and started to walk towards the bedroom but stopped short as she heard him.
"You will make him agree to get married to Rushali."
Irritated, she slowly turned around and looked at him with eyes burning with fury.
"I will do no such thing."
"You will do that otherwise....."
"Otherwise what, Vikrant? You will leave me? Then so be it. Leave if you have to I will do no such thing even it meant losing you forever, I don't care."
Vikrant stepped back bowled by the look of defiance on her face. In all these years, this is the first time he was seeing Shefanjali this angry.
"You chose the wrong girl, Vikrant. You shouldn't have gone that day," Naresh Naik said looking at Shefanjali with displeasure.
"You are right, Dad. Your son never came that day. You remember that ill-fated day, Vikrant, when you were supposed to pick me up from my hostel. The day I left everything for you: my parents, my house. I waited for you but you never came. Finally, my trust broke and I decided to leave. You know why I came back? Because of Nishant."
Shefanjali slumped back to the wall and wiped her wet cheeks.
"Nishant convinced me to stay back. He said that you were stuck in a meeting and that's why you weren't there. I know he lied. But you know why he did that? Because he trusted you. He had faith in your love for me. He believed us, Vikrant. He trusted our love. But, today we don't trust him. We don't have faith in his love for Aparna. We are fighting to make him suffer for one thing he wants for himself."
Slowly, she turned away from them and looked inside the bedroom where Nishant was sleeping but not peacefully. He kept groaning Aparna's name time and again twisting from one side to another.
Meera Naik came and stood next to her and looked inside.
"Mom, do you remember the day you told me how Nishant had stopped calling you Ma suddenly one day."
Meera Naik nodded, her eyes reflecting an age-old pain she had buried deep inside her.
"You'd said that it had almost felt you had lost him that day," Shefanjali said looking at her mother-in-law with pleading eyes.
"We are again going to lose him. And, this time it's going to be forever. Please, mom, make this stop," she pleaded sobbing hard.
Meera Naik slowly moved away from the door. As she stepped back her gaze fell on the drops of blood on the floor and her body trembled with fear. She remembered the way Nishant had held the knife against his throat and suddenly everything around her started to swirl in circles.
"Mom!" Vikrant shouted as he caught her in his arms.
***************
Aparna suddenly woke up with start and felt herself sweating hard. Physically tired and mentally exhausted, she had fallen asleep on the sofa with Prakriti in her lap. Sighing, she picked up her daughter gingerly and went inside the bedroom. As she settled her and pulled the covers on Prakriti, she sat down next to her.
What is it?
Why was she feeling uneasy all of a sudden?
Aparna hugged herself and walked up to the window. As she stared outside and saw the mountains, instantly the vision of him standing and smiling at her flashed in front of her. Irritated, she turned away and walked out to the balcony. It had been a long day and she needed sleep but 5 minutes in this fresh cold air will do no harm.
She closed her eyes and breathed in filling her lungs as much as she could. Slowly as she let it go, she felt a little light. She was about to turn and go inside when she felt a shadow beside her. Thinking it was Madhu; she turned with a smiling face and froze.
Nishant was standing leaning against the balcony wall smiling at her.
"Happy?"
"What are you doing here?"
"You called me," he replied coming towards her.
"I did not."
"You imagined me."
"I did no such thing," Aparna replied turning away towards the room.
Nishant caught her arm and turned her towards him.
"Aparna Mathur, you can lie to the whole world, but you cannot lie to yourself. I am here because you want me to. Look in your heart. It is in as much pain as is mine."
She looked at him and saw drops of blood on his forehead. As her eyes widened in shock, her hand involuntarily went to his forehead. She saw him wince the moment her fingers touched the wound. Something changed in her suddenly and she clutched his shirt but he managed to slip away.
He raised her hand in the air and meshed his fingers in hers. Then, slowly he let them slid off his.
There was something in his eyes that scared Aparna and she tried to grab onto his hand but suddenly he was gone.
Shocked, she staggered behind and closed her eyes.
Had he seriously been a figment of her imagination?
