After making one more call, Sameer took a deep breath. He knew what he did was morally not correct... but he was sure the lady deserved it.

How much it must have effected Naina... he knew if he saw her now, her eyes would be red.

His jaw clenched again... probably he should have thought of something harsher...

Preeti was furious when she returned in the afternoon. She paced the room, hitting one palm with the fist of other hand.

"Yeh taiji samajhti kya hain khud ko... saara din hamare ghar ka khana thoos thoos ke khati hain aur humein hi baatein sunati hain... Naina, tu kyon chup rahi? Ussi waqt jaake jawab kyon nahi diya? Aur hoti kaun hain woh tujhe character certificate dene wali... dil toh kar raha hai unke ghar jaake unhe suna ke aaun." She seethed with anger.

"Bua dadi ne bhi yehi kaha... ki galat baat pe chup ho jaana matlab usko badhawa dena hai... mujhe bhi bolna chahiye tha... lekin Preeti, woh bade hain... hum unse badtameezi kaise kar sakte hain?" Naina was unsure.

Preeti stopped her pacing and stood in front of her, hands on waist, "Dekh Naina, tujhe inn sab sanskar vanskar ke chakkar mein padna hai toh tu jaane... main unse ussi bhasha mein baat karungi jo unhone hamare saath aaj tak boli hai... aakhir hum bachche hain... jo unhone sikhaya wohi toh seekhenge."

Naina chewed on her lip, caught between two opposite thought processes... they were her family members, elder to her, how could she answer back... second was the one that she had been talking and writing about in her articles and episodes of the show... standing up for yourself, fighting your own battle... it was easy to write for someone else to enact, but extremely difficult to bring into practice.

Preeti saw her lost in thoughts...

"Sun Naina, shaam ko Law garden chalenge... Swati ko bhi bula lenge... aaj chaat khate hain aur saath baith ke plan banate hain ki yeh taiji se kaise nibta jaye." She suggested, brightening at her own idea.

Naina dipped her head... smiling slightly.

It was a big surprise for Bela when Pralay came alone to eat lunch with them.

"Woh mummy ne kaha unke sar mein dard hai... unko khana nahi khana hai... papa toh office gaye... bas mujhe hi chahiye." He declared, settling himself on the dining chair.

Bela offered to take some food for taiji but Phulla bua stopped her.

"Agar usko khana hota toh aa jaati... koi zaroorat nahi hai uske liye kuch karne ki... bhook lagegi toh khud bana legi... ya fir ek baar nahi bhi khayegi toh achha hi hai... gubbara banti jaa rahi hai... pet ko thoda aaram milega." Phulla bua told Bela.

After some rest in the afternoon, when Preeti sought permission to go for chaat with Naina, Anand happily allowed them.

The stalls at Law garden were not crowded yet, being early evening. They looked around but could not see Swati anywhere.

"Yeh ladki kabhi time pe aa hi nahi sakti." Preeti frowned.

"Le aa gayi... naak pe gussa rehta hai teri." Swati held her shoulders from behind.

A familiar sound of honking made Naina turn and she saw him... Sameer flicked his brows to indicate the back seat of his bike.

Naina looked at Preeti and Swati.

"Tere liye hi aaye hain... unhone din mein mujhe phone karke yahan milne ko bola tha." Preeti grinned.

Naina hugged her, before running to Sameer.

As her hand rested on his shoulder, he was reminded of their first bike ride... going to Juhu beach in Mumbai.

"Naina, iss tarah toh tum tab baithi thi jab hum pehli baar saath gaye the." He looked at her through the mirror.

"Yahan koi bhi mil sakta hai, Sameer... yeh Mumbai nahi hai... ab jaldi chalo." She looked around, scared of seeing any known face.

He started the bike. Once they crossed the crowded area and road appeared deserted, except a few vehicles once in a while, Naina slid her arm around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder.

A smile appeared on his face, seeing her relaxed.

"Kahan le jaa rahe ho?" She asked.

"Tumhare ghar."

She stiffened, "Sameer, main toh Preeti ke saath aayi hun... aise wapas gayi toh chachaji se kya bolungi?"

"Budhu, hamare ghar jaa rahe hain." He smirked.

"Oh." She smiled in realisation.

Sameer could see through the mirror that the smile didn't reach her eyes. The underlying sadness in them was what he wanted to erase.

They reached the house few minutes later. When he opened the lock, she was surprised.

"Ghar pe koi nahi hai kya? Tumne toh kaha tha Munna Pandit hain yahin pe." She had hardly seen the house locked.

"Munna Pandit Law garden hi aaye the mere saath... jab main tumse mila toh woh car park karne gaye the... aur Ramdhari kuch samaan khareedne gaya hai." He entered the house, taking her along with a hand at her elbow.

Naina looked around at the house that would soon be her own... her home...

"Sameer, yeh... " Her words muffled against his chest as he crushed her in his arms the moment door was closed.

The words were not needed.

She wrapped her arms around him and gave in to the feeling of comfort.

They stood holding onto each other for a long time... the warmth soothing them.

When Sameer moved finally, he cupped her face, looking at her as if he was meeting her after a long time.

"Aise kya dekh rahe ho?" She smiled.

"Meri Naina ko dhoond raha hun." He looked into the eyes that lacked the shine he had always seen.

She chuckled, "Saamne hi toh hu... fir dhoondne ki kya zaroorat hai."

He smoothed her hair along the hairline, "Par woh Naina kyon nahi dikh rahi jisse main Mumbai mein jaanta tha... jo mere saath yahan aayi thi?"

Her face turned serious, "Kya hua tumhe, Sameer? Aisi baatein kyon kar rahe ho? Kuch hua hai kya?"

His gaze turned intense, "Yeh tum batao, Naina... kya hua hai... kyon tumhari aanken muskura nahi rahi... kyon tumhare chehre pe gulabi rang nahi aa raha... kyon tum mere paas hokar bhi mujhe door mehsoos ho rahi ho... kyon?"

She stared into his eyes, seeing the pain reflect in them... and her heart flipped.

She held him tighter, crashing against his chest again, "Papa ne toh kal hi manaa kar diya tha... aaj tauji taiji ne bhi naa keh diya... unhe yeh bhi pata chal gaya ki hum ek dusre se pyaar karte hain."

He stroked her head, "Aur?"

She was perplexed, "Aur kya?"

"Kya kaha unhone yeh sunkar?" He prodded.

She hesitated for a moment, not sure how much to tell Sameer.

"Unhone kaha ki chachaji ne agar itna achha ladka dhunda hai toh unhe Preeti ki shaadi karwani chahiye tumse." Her voice was almost inaudible.

His blood boiled again... but he kept quiet, waiting for her to say more.

She felt the tightness of his chest harden more at her words.

"Woh... woh nahi chahte ki hamare khandaan mei kisi ka prem vivaah ho." She mumbled.

He cupped her face again, "Aur tum unki baaton ko dil se laga ke baith gayi? Naina, jo log pyar ka matlab tak nahi jaante woh prem vivaah ko kya samjhenge? Tumhare parivaar mein jinko pyar ka ahsaas hai woh sab toh saath hain na hamare... chachaji, chachiji, bua dadi, Preeti... aur ab Arjun bhi... toh tum kyon baaki logon ki baaton se itni dukhi ho? Kya tumhe unse kuch umeed thi?"

She thought about his words, looking into his eyes. Did she really expect them to happily... or even with some initial hesitation... say yes to this marriage? If she had... it was too much expectation from the bunch of people she had seen since her childhood... the ones who had no consideration for anyone's feelings or happiness.

But the accusations...

Her eyes welled up.

Sameer saw the brown pools... and leaned to place a kiss on each of her eyes. Her lids dropped, making the tears spill on her cheeks.

He straightened, wiped the drops with his thumb, and said in a pained voice, "Kya mera pyar unn logo ki nafrat ke aage kam pad gaya, Naina?"

Her throat constricted at the hurt he felt... she placed one hand on his cheek.

"Tumhara pyaar sabse upar hai, Sameer... saari duniya ki nafrat aur tiraskar bhi uske aage haar jayega." Her voice was taut with emotions.

"Toh fir, meri jaan, yeh aankhen uss pyar ki jagah dard mein kyon kho gayi hain? Jiss baat ki tumhe zyada umeed hi nahi thi uske na hone pe tum itni udaas kyon ho?" He held her by shoulders.

She gulped... still feeling restrained in telling about the insults hurled at her...

"Nahi main udaas iss baat se nahi hu... bas thoda dukh hai ki agar sab maan jaate toh Pooja didi ki shaadi ki tarah khushi ke mahaul mein hamari shaadi hoti." She covered up again.

He could see what she was trying to do... hiding her suffering from him again.

He took a deep breath, "Naina, agar main tumhe woh sab nahi batata jo meri maa ki saas ne kaha tha... jo ghaav unki kadwi baaton se mujhe mila tha woh nahi dikhata tumhe... uss dard ko tumse nahi bant paata... toh pata hai kya hota?"

She continued to look at him.

"Woh dard badhta jaata... woh ghaav gehra ho jaata... uss chot ka ahsaas mere dil mein hamesha rehta... aur dheere dheere dil mein pyar se bhi zyada jagah uss dard ki ho jaati." He paused for a moment.

And carried on, "Kya tum apna pyar mere dard ke saath baant leti? Kya tum khush rehti ki dil ke ek chote se kone mein tum ho baaki jagah unn logo ke diye hue dard jinki meri zindagi mein koi keemat hi nahi hai?"

Her lips quivered... she could not have let his pain win... she could not have tolerated him hurting for something that did not matter to them at all... she could not have accommodated agony in the heart which cherished her...

And it hit her suddenly... Sameer had heard what taiji said... he had known all along that she was in pain for this reason... he was aware of what she was going through...

The dam broke...

She slumped against his chest, bursting into tears.

His arms secured her instantly, holding her tight, letting all the pain flow out of her.

"Naina, main nahi chahta tum apne dil mein kisi bhi baat ki chubhan rakho... kyon darti ho tum? Kisse? Mujhse ya khud se? Ya fir unn sabse jo tumhare saath khade hain? Kahin unse toh nahi jinke liye tum maayne hi nahi rakhti? Khud socho, Naina... kiska palda bhari hai? Pyar ka ya nafrat ka... kis taraf zyada log hain... hamari taraf ya hamare saamne? Kiski ahmiyat hai tumhare dil mein... hum sabki ya unn teen logo ki... jinhe sirf chot dena aata hai?" He said once the sound of sobbing lessened, still holding her close to himself.

She felt the strain wash away slowly... the clenching on her heart eased to make her feel light...

"Yehi kaha tha na tumne mujhse... ki jo dadi mere liye kabhi achha bol hi nahi sakti main unki baaton ko dil mein jagah kyon de raha hun... wohi baat aaj tumhe bhi samajhni hai... kitni baar tauji ne tumhare sar pe haath phera hai... kitni baar taiji ne tumhe god mein bithaya bachpan mein... kitni baar tumhare papa ne tumhari kisi safalta pe tumhara maatha chooma... jab ek bhi achhi yaad nahi hai inn sabke saath toh aaj achanak inke rookhepan se itna dard kyon?" He rubbed her arm.

She moved back, looking up at him, "Tum theek keh rahe ho, Sameer... inn sab ki nafrat se kahin bada hai hamara pyar... bas woh taiji..."

She lowered her eyes.

He hooked one finger under her chin and tilted her face up, "Ab toh bata do."

She didn't hesitate this time, "Sameer, taiji hamesha hi aise bolti hain par aaj jab unhone mere pyar pe ungali uthayi toh main bardaasht nahi kar payi... sach mein maine kbhi kisi ladke ko nazar utha ke bhi nahi dekha... unki aisi baat se dil ko dhakka laga... bachpan se woh mujhe jaane kya kya kehti aayi hain... lekin aaj unhone hamare pyar ko gaali di... Sameer, aisa laga ki main... main... unhe... pata nahi kya kar dun."

"Toh kar deti na... darti kyon ho... main hun na tumhare saath... tumhe kya lagta hai unki baatein baaki sabko buri nahi lagi hongi?" He wiped her cheek with his thumb.

"Yeh aansu main kabhi nahi dekh sakta tumhari aankhon mein... par aaj pata hai kyon nahi rok raha tumhe rone se?" He patted her cheek lightly.

She flicked her brows in question.

"Kyonki inke saath saara dard aur takleef beh jaane dena chahta hun... main tumhare dil mein kisi dard ki jagah nahi rehne dena chahta... aur na hi kisi dar ki... Naina, jo taiji ne kaha tha maine suna... yakeen mano mera dil kiya ussi waqt aa jaun tumhare ghar... aur unko achhe se bata dun ki tum kya ho mere liye... par jab tumne mujhse yeh sab chupaya toh achha nahi lga mujhe... lekin fir bhi taiji ko sazaa toh milni hi thi aisi baat kehne ki." He averted his eyes as he said this.

The words slowly registered as her eyes widened in wonder, "Kya... kya kiya tumne?"

Sorry, sorry, sorry again...
I won't be able to give evening update today.
Will be back tomorrow morning.