Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Naina's POV

Early in the morning we came back from Kashmir and called Daya uncle and by the time we freshened up, Daya uncle came and quickly made sandwich for breakfast.

"So I will leave for office after eating," he said as he finished his sandwich and got ready.

"What? You will go to office without having a rest?" I asked.

"Yes darling I have to. There's an important meeting today," he told me.

"Okay," I felt disappointed I wanted to spend each and every minute with him. I know it is not possible but I can think about it right?

He came towards me and kissed my forehead and then his lips met mine.

"I love you," he said breaking our kiss.

"I love you more," I said and he smiled and bid me goodbye and left.

He left and there was a constant smile playing on my lips.

Ranveer has made me realized what love is.

Love is all about accepting each other's wishes.

It is all about togetherness, spending every small moment together.

Ranveer cared for my wishes and he never accepted anything in return from me.

I never knew he was attracted to me from the first time we met.

I don't know what he saw in me and here I was thinking of leaving him and put such a dirty accusation of physical abuse on him.

I was so foolish to listen to Sameer.

How can Sameer even think like that and how did I agree with him?

Sameer was never good but I did not realize it.

Maybe because I have never seen another men other than dad and Sameer in my life so I thought he is the best and whatever he was giving is enough.

But Ranveer made me realize that there are good men in this world and I was lucky to have one.

Now I can't imagine my life without him.

I looked at the picture of mom.

"Mom I was so foolish to agree with Sameer's plan. I love Ranveer and he confessed his love for me in Kashmir," I looked at the beautiful ring and remembered that special day.

"Mom I want Ranveer to give every happiness and love he deserves," I said and kissed the picture and put it in the drawer.

*****

I cleaned our room as Ranveer didn't clean the room today and washed all clothes in the machine and dried it up.

After that, I kept pictures we took in Kashmir in an album and I was smiling looking at all the pictures.

We are looking so happy.

I put one of the pictures inside an empty photo frame I found few days ago in his cupboard and smiled as it fitted perfectly.

I careesed our picture and kept it on the nightstand.

After about two hours I finished my work and sat to paint.

Every time I sit to paint I think how much Ranveer cares for me.

I was painting a picture of lilies. I remember I was shocked when Ranveer bought a bouquet of lilies for me for the first time.

I was drawing when I heard my mobile was ringing.

I saw that mom was calling me.

"Hello Mom," I greeted but I did not hear anything other than muffle of cry.

"Mom what happened? Why are you crying?" I asked but she was not speaking but only crying.

"Mom I will be there in twenty five to thirty minutes. Please take care of yourself," I said and changed myself in a yellow kurti with red leggings and took an auto towards her house.

Please god let her be okay.

I reached there in half an hour.

I rang the doorbell and after few minutes she opened the door and I saw she was crying.

She hugged me and was crying in my arms.

"Mom...shh...calm down," I said as we walked towards the sofa and we both sat there.

I gave her a glass of water and she drank it.

"Mom what happened? Are you okay?" I asked but she was not saying anything.

"Mom what happened?" I asked again.

"Ashok...As.hok." she was stuttering.

"Ranveer's dad, Ashok?" I asked and she nodded in a yes.

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"He has cancer, last stage. He is admitted in the Shivaji hospital and has few days left," she said and her tears were not stopping.

"We met at a wedding. I just finished college and he was a professor of a very reputed college. He was ten years older than me. We started talking and that night he asked me on a date and I could not say no," she said and a smile came on her lips.

"He was handsome, smart and caring. He was everything a girl wanted and after six months he proposed me and I said yes as I was head over heels in love with him and after that we got married and first two years were the best years of my life then everything changed," she continued.

"One day I was talking to our new neighbour, Rajesh when he slapped me for the first time," she said and I gasped as tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"After the slap I was shocked and too numb to say anything. I mean can you imagine a man whose hands used to caress my cheeks and wiped my tears suddenly that hands hit me," she said and again wiped her tears.

"He shouted that I was sleeping with Rajesh and that was the second time I was shocked. I felt that he was a stranger, not the man I loved because the Ashok I loved would never accuse me or lay a finger on me," she continued.

"After that he used to lock the house from outside while going to office. One day I was vomiting and I was tensed and wanted to go to check up. At evening when he saw I was not well and took me to hospital and I got to know I was pregnant," she said and even though she was crying there was a small smile playing on her lips.

"I was so happy that I was pregnant. When he got the news for the first time he hugged me in months. I thought that finally everything will change between us and after that he started taking care of me. He allowed me to go out but again everything changed," she continued as she wiped her tears

"What happened?" I asked.

"One day after he left for office and I was cleaning our room when the door bell rang. I went to open it to see our neighbor, Rajesh. He had came to meet me as he had not met me for months. He used to think me as his sister who died in an accident. We were talking and that day he came home early," she said and my eyes widened in shock.

I was scared to listen further.

"He saw us together and was very angry and after Rajesh left I tried to make him understand but he slapped me on my cheek. After that till Ranveer was born I was locked in my house and used to go out only for check ups but he had not laid hand on me. After Ranveer was born, one day I was ten minutes late to give dinner to Ashok as Ranveer was crying continuously and that day again he slapped me," she said and I could not utter a word.

"I was very shocked because I thought he will never hit me, I thought he changed but he never did and after that he started hitting me every day," she continued.

"Why didn't you leave him?" I asked.

"Because I thought one day he will change and Ranveer needed both his parents with him and another reason was I was just a graduate and did not have a job and he was a reputed professor. I used to think financially I will not be able to give everything to Ranveer," she said and I understood what she was saying.

"This happened for seven years. On Ranveer's seventh birthday party we decided to host a birthday party. At that party I was talking and greeting everyone and few of his friends said that I was looking beautiful and after the party he hit me with a belt. This was the first time he used belt," she told me.

"No," I shouted and she looked at me and chuckled sadly.

"He said that it was my fault that they complimented me and he said that he will fill my beautiful body with belt marks. That day Ranveer came in our room as he was not feeling sleepy and saw everything. You know what killed me the most?" she asked but I didn't say anything.

"That he did not stop in front of Ranveer. He continued hitting me with a belt in front of him and he was crying and then he left the house and Ranveer came towards me and hugged me and caressed my wounds," she said and again she was crying remembering everything.

"From that day he started hitting me in front of Ranveer. Ranveer never said anything, he used to come and sit on my lap and used to apply ointment on my wounds. I could never understand what was going in the head of that seven year old boy," she said while wiping her tears.

"Months went by and I could see Ranveer's condition became worst day by day. He was always quiet, never used to talk or play with anyone. I felt that he was going into depression. These continued for three years." she said.

"Three years?" I asked.

"Yes but Ashok didn't stop. He used to hit me every night in front of my son," she said and she was silent for few minutes and tears were continuously rolling down her cheeks.

How can someone be so cruel ?

How can someone abuse the person they once loved immensely?

How someone hit his wife in front of his son?

"When Ranveer was ten years old, he had became very ill and he had taken his medicine and was sleeping and I was sitting beside him. Ashok came in the room and shouted at me as I had forgotten to give him a glass of water while having dinner and then he pulled me towards him, removed his belt and started hitting me while my son who was ill was sleeping in the room. I controlled my screams so that he should not wake up. He didn't even care about our child who was ill and that night I decided to file for a divorce," she continued and her tears were not stopping.

"After everything happened you still love him?" I asked wiping her tears.

"No I don't love him but I love the wonderful moments we spend together before everything changed," she said.

"You never thought about marrying for the second time?" I asked.

"Never, look where love bought me. I loved Ashok a lot and it killed me. I was afraid to feel the love for the second time and Ranveer was enough for me," she said.

He never asked your forgiveness?" I asked and she nodded in a 'no'.

"You know the day I was leaving I saw something in his eyes and that was shock because he thought I do not have the courage to leave him but he never knew that I always had the courage to leave but I was finding excuses to stay because I loved him and in the hope that he will change but when he bought Ranveer in the middle of all this and it started affecting him I had to leave," she said and she was right.

She was finding excuses to stay because she loved him and she hoped one day the man she fell in love with will be back.

Being just a graduate and not giving Ranveer financial security were just a reasons but the main reason was she was hoping for him to be the man she once loved.

Waiting for him to be the man she loved, to be the man he was the first two years after their marriage.

"I used to think that no one can take dad's place and I can't give him dad's love as it was impossible but sometimes it's better to stay alone than in a broken relationship just for the sake of our child because eventually for whom we are staying is also suffering and I realized one more thing," she said.

"What?" I asked.

"That I do not have to play dad's role but I have to play mom's role correctly so I did what was best for me and Ranveer and that was leaving Ashok."

I hugged her and once again she cried whole heartedly in my arms.

*****