Part Time Lovers!

9. Pain And Prejudice

Rishabh and Kuki walked inside Basu Bari late evening, and Kuki ran inside excitedly, wanting to show Prerna all that she has got for them happily, but all her excitement went down the drain when she found Prerna curled in the bed, crying to herself. Rishabh who was just behind her, froze for a second too, but then he took Kuki to her bedroom, and changed her, before handing her a bar of big chocolate.

"Chocolate makes everyone's mood right, go and give your Mumma a big hug!", he ruffled her hair making Kuki grin, she jumped down the bed and signalled her father the lean, who immediately sat on his knees before her only to be rewarded with a chaste kiss on his cheek before she ran out.

Kuki barged inside and hopped on the bed, startling Prerna, but seeing Kuki she found herself smiling. Kuki jumped into her lap, and settled properly, and then leaned to wipe the trail of tears from Prerna's cheeks, shaking her head in a no, making Prerna conscious. Prerna then immediately wiped her face properly and grinned at Kuki, who forwarded her the big bar of chocolate.

"This is for me?", Prerna questioned, laughing and Kuki bobbed her head, and then paused to touch Prerna's tummy, telling her it was for her and her baby. Prerna found herself in tears yet again, realising how she hadn't had one proper moment to herself for being happy about her baby.

Prerna smiled and took Kuki's tiny hand to keep it over her stomach, and Kuki's wholehearted glee made her laugh.

"There is a tiny baby inside, you know, it's not even three months old. It's my baby, a part of me", Prerna laughed and explained Kuki who looked extremely excited. She gestured Prerna how she already loved the baby inside, making Prerna go all aww at her, but a figure caught her attention and she realised Rishabh was standing at the door, listening to them. What astonished her more was the subtle smile playing on his lips - Because as far as she remembered, she had never seen him genuinely smile except when with Kuki. Rishabh caught her eyes, and turned his face away, before leaving the room. He wanted her to enjoy her moments, and he didn't want his nagging presence to disturb her.

Prerna's hand hung mid air, she had wanted to stop him, but she neither could speak, nor could act in time, and before she knew Rishabh was already gone.

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Anurag stood near the kitchen platform, supping on his tea, while Snigdha cooked them dinner. After the heavy conversation they had had, a peaceful silence had befallen, and while it gave Anurag enough time to contemplate, Snigdha felt glad she hadn't offended him, because he had come to mean so much to her in such a short time.

"You know there was a time when I didn't want to fall in love at all? I thought love wasn't for me. I thought romantic love was way overrated - I always claimed 'Na mujhe aisa deewangi chahiye na dard' and that I would never fall in love. And see the irony, the girl who introduced me to thorn bird's love became the girl who had me fall head over heels for her", Anurag spoke, with a silly soft smile on his face, and Snigdha found herself pausing for a second, but she regained her composure soon.

This was a dangerous territory, she knew he loved Prerna with all his heart. And he saw her as his friend, probably his only friend right now. She could not let her feelings take over, could she?

But then, how can you not fall in love with someone like Anurag?

Snigdha sighed, and forced a smile on her face, her thoughts drifting to Prerna. How in the world had she betrayed someone who loved her insanely?

"Honestly Anurag, Prerna was right. Pain does make love beautiful, Pain and love are like two sides of the same coin. You can't be in love and not be hurt about it", she tossed the veggies in the pan and looked at him, "But I have learnt the hard way that you don't always need that kind of love to feel alive. Happiness is just as important in life as that sweet ache of love. You can not be a thorn bird and still be in love, you can not kill yourself in love and still be in love, you can choose to live a life, and still be in love", Snigha spoke, tongue in check.