In her eyes..

Chapter 34 - Strong

Pari couldn't sleep after what she had heard. She had last heard these words from him when they were teenagers and back then she wasn't ready to accept her feelings for him. Not when she had so much to achieve and a whole world waiting for her. She hadn't wanted to accept Dev's feelings for her back then either - they were just children, what did he know anyway. Those three words had opened a flood gate in her heart, one she had closed off when she left India. She had always loved Dev - but she hadn't  wanted to be trapped by love and desire back then. But isn't that what was happening now? She didn't have desire for Kabir but did she still love him? No she just feared him and what he could do to her loved ones. The love she had felt for Kabir had long evaporated - it had grown weaker and weaker with each slap and harsh word he had thrown at her. Now all that remained was fear.

Dev sat in the waiting room not wanting to leave Pari alone. He was scared that Kabir would come here somehow and hurt her. He knew this was an irrational fear as the police were on patrol around Pari's room but he couldn't help it - Kabir seemed like a real piece of work!

Pari wanted to get out of bed and find Dev. She wanted to explain her situation to him and apologise for dragging him into this mess. He didn't deserve this crap! She tried to pull herself up holding the bed rail for support but sharp pains shot through her stomach and she immediately felt nauseous. But she didn't give up - she was resilient and some pain wouldn't keep her from seeing Dev. For some reason she also just wanted him close by - she had grown accustomed to having him near and felt safe with his presence. She pushed herself up and got to her feet but immediately keeled over and fell, hitting the floor hard and crying in pain. The cry echoed to Dev who got up in a panic and ran to Pari's room followed by the policemen on patrol.

"Pari! Oh my God!" Dev ran toward her with his arm outstretched and gently lifted her into bed. "What happened?" He felt sick with worry seeing her in so much pain.

"I j-just wanted to find you." She whispered barely audible. He drew closer to hear her.

"You should have called out to me, I was just outside. Please don't get out of bed again, you've had a very serious surgery and the doctors advised you to stay in bed! You know that!" He felt frustrated and worried. But quickly calmed down seeing fear in her eyes. He shouldn't tell her off - Kabir probably did that 24/7 and Dev didn't want to be the cause of her emotional anguish. "Sorry, I'm just  really worried about you. I didn't mean to raise my voice." He said stroking her cheek gently. He then looked back at the policemen and asked them to wait outside as everything was okay now.

"Are you okay? Why did you want to find me?" Dev asked gently.

"I just wanted to explain what happened." Pari whispered into his ear. She was having trouble projecting her voice as her stomach was hurting a lot.

"I'm pretty sure I can guess what's been going on. Please rest, you look tired. Should I ask for more pain killers?"

Pari nodded yes. Dev probably thought she was an idiot for staying with Kabir for this long. She wanted to tell him how helpless and scared she had felt - she didn't want him to think she was a weak battered woman. Kabir has reduced her to a shadow of what she used to be and she felt ashamed that she had allowed him to wreak so much damage on her life. Dev went to get the nurse and Pari didn't think she could face him with him thinking she was pathetic.

A moment later Dev came with a nurse who administered some pain killers into Pari's drip and left.

"What are you thinking?" Dev asked after a moment of silence. Pari didn't meet his gaze.

"Nothing." She said silently almost to herself.

"I know when your mind is racing at 150km/h Pari come on! Tell me what's wrong."

"You probably think I'm a fool." She confessed.

"For befriending me again? Yea you are sort of a fool for that I'm sorry to say." He joked trying to lighten her mood.

"For staying with Kabir all this time." She said not returning his humour.

"No. I think you're really strong and brave." He said reaching out and taking her hand, gently giving it a squeeze. She smiled at him and his heart fluttered uncontrollably.

"I heard what you said before." She said out of no where.

"When?" Dev asked.

"I love you too." She said in response.