Prerish FF : Against all odds

7. Reminiscence

The members of Basu family except Anurag gathered for breakfast in the dining table where Rishab joined along with Kukki. Prerna was serving her husband and daughter when Mrs. Mohini Basu asked her to serve her.

Prerna was about to serve her when Rishab held her hand and glared at Mrs. Basu "Jitna mujhe dikh raha hai aapke hath bilkul sahi se kaam kar rahe hai toh khud serve kar lijiye ya apne beti ko kahiye. Prerna aapki bahu nahi balki meri biwi hai"

He then tugged at Prerna's hand and made her sit next to him and served her by himself when Anurag came along with Sonalika. He glared at the couple.

"Anu, yeh kaun hai?" Mohini Basu asked

" Maa, yeh hain Sonalika. Woh Komolika ki cousin" Anurag said

Rishab stiffened hearing Komolika's name. A few flashes played on the back of his mind and he looked at Sonalika with suspicion. Sonalika went towards Anurag's mother and touched her feet.

Mrs. Basu liked Sonalika very much and was weaving dreams of seeing her married with her son. She asked her to sit beside her and both started chatting when Anurag interrupted " Maa, Sona aaj se hamare saath hi rahegi"

"Woh Aunty actually yaha mein kisiko nahi janti so Anurag ne kaha ki mein yahi reh sakti hoon as a guest" Sonalika said to Mohini Basu with extra sweetness

" Arree, tum humare beti ki tarah ho toh jaise mann hai waise raho" Mrs Basu said

Their whole encounter was noticed by Rishab and he had suspicions about this Sonalika "Ye ladki kaha se aayi hai. Jaha tak main janta hoon komolika ka koi behn nahi hai sirf ek bhai hai. Kuch bhi ho mujhe iss ladki ke bare mein pata lagana hi hoga. Ek baar Komolika aur Anurag ke wajah se main Prerna ko kho chukka hoon firse nahi kho sakta"

Three of them finished their breakfast and Rishab got up and took Kukki with him. He turned towards Prerna and signed her to come outside. Telling Kukki to get in the car he saw Prerna coming towards him.

Tucking her hair behind her ears he gently whispered "Aap koi bhi kaam nahi karengi aur sirf rest karengi." Kissing her forehead he said sternly " Don't even think about working" and then went to the car and drove away.

It was midday and Rishab was in a foul mood as everybody was making mistakes in their presentations which he had asked them to prepare. He was busy correcting some mistakes in a file when someone came inside his office without knocking.

Angered by the person's disturbance he shouted "How dare....." but stopped in middle as he saw his beautiful wife with an amusing smile infront of him.

"Prerna, aap yaha?" He got up from his seat and made her sit in the couch. "Aap yaha kya kar rahi hai ? Kuch chahiye that oh call kar diya hota?" he asked but found her looking at him with a smile.

"Prerna..." he shook her a little aand asked her what happened. She nodded no and took him by surprise as she hugged him.

Enjoying the feel of her against his arms he caressed her head. After few moments, he disengaged himself from her and asked her with a lopsided smile " Missed me, Biwi?"

Prerna's smile froze feeling like déjà-vu as she was experiencing some flashes hearing those words. "Prerna, kya hua?" Rishab asked concerned at seeing her pale face.

"Pata nahi kyun aisa laga ki maine wo shabd pehle bhi sune hai?" Prerna said. Rishab understood what happened. He was about to tell her to forget it when she spoke again. "Pata hai Rishab mujhe aksar aisa mehsoos hota hai ki maine kuch kho diya hai lekin kya malum nahi. Khud ko khali khali mehsoos hota hai, kabhi kabhi ro padti hoon lekin kyun pata nahi."