Chapter 24

RR through our eyes (Chapter 24)

 

Thanks Mano for the edits.
Thanks tvbug2011 for the brainstorming on this conversation

 

Rudra grudgingly told the Mehras the truth. And looked them in the eye.

“I got your point. She was stupid to go with them. But intelligent enough to lead me to the place.”

 

Rajeev gave in. Finally. Here was a man who was truthful. He might be short tempered. But he was straightforward. And that is one quality which has to be admired. Rajeev relaxed a bit breaking the ice.

 

But Rudra continued being serious. He wanted to get this conversation completed. There was no time for niceties. “I need to talk about a few more things with both of you. Now”

 

It did sound rather ominous to their ears. But Rajeev had to clear something from his side before proceeding. He was a fair man. Agreed he did not like his daughter being called stupid. Agreed he is biased towards his Laadli. But he has to agree when she is at fault.

 

“Rudra, I too agree it was stupid of Myrah to go out of the haveli without even informing anybody. Thanks for saving her life. Not once but twice. We will be indebted to you forever.” Rajeev cleared the air.

 

“Oh please don’t thank me. Now that the wedding will happen soon and both of you will be family let us not be so formal. Anyway coming back to what I said earlier - I would like to share a few things about myself with both of you.” Rudra started.

 

Rajeev and Poonam heard the decisiveness in his voice. The lack of doubt in his mind about the wedding.  A tone, which in no uncertain terms said that the wedding is going to happen. That the Mehras are going to be part of his family soon. Though Rajeev himself was not so sure about the love between Rudra and his daughter, though he was still not convinced that Rudra is the right choice for her – he could still not stop feeling a little bit of admiration for this handsome man sitting in front of himself. A person who knew what he wanted. And one who knew how to get what he wanted. That was a trait to be admired. Second point in Rudra’s favor.

 

“I am the only child of my parents. A loving mother and a strict father. At least that is what I thought till I found myself abandoned at the age of 15. That incident left a deep wound in my mind. A hatred towards this world. Which was only fueled further by my father’s words. And I joined BSD and channeled most of my anger towards the enemies of our nation. But still there was much more anger from where it originated. Which made me aloof and lonely. Till she walked into my life.”

 

“ She changed me within a short time. She showered me with so much love that I became humane again. We got married and were living happily. Then we had our Dhruv. Probably GOD did not like us being happy. He took Paro away. It will be an understatement if I said that I was shattered.  I only pulled on for Dhruv’s sake. I was sure I will never find love again. I am one who never believed in second chances. Being a BSD man I knew that once the bullet finds its mark it cannot be undone. So where is the question of a second chance? But I was wrong. I got my love back. In a new form indeed. But destiny brought us together. Her uncle had asked me to be her bodyguard. And I went to her hotel to meet her. I was about to leave after waiting for a long time. I would have almost missed meeting her. But she reached just in time before I could leave. Thank God for that.  And fell right into my arms. She did not take my no for an answer. She followed me , got herself invited into the haveli and fell in love with me. And over the last few days I realized there is something called a second chance. That I am indeed one of those few lucky people who are granted one.“ Rudra had a smile when he talked about his love Myrah – Poonam noticed with happiness. Poonam was also happy that he spoke more about her princess in his synopsis about life. That should mean something – doesn’t it ?

 

There. Rudra thought to himself. He has said it. In the most non controversial way possible. Without stating that Myrah is Paro. Without giving the Mehras any doubt in those lines - he hoped.

 

By nature Rudra did not trust anybody. In the very few cases like Aman – it took him years of knowing the person. That too in close quarters. There was no way Rudra would have told the Mehras the truth. For multiple reasons.

 

First and foremost being there was no reason for them to believe him. Second being he still do not have solid proofs. They might conclude that Rudra has become crazy over his love for his wife. Even if they get convinced possessiveness or the fear of losing their daughter can force them to not accept the truth.

 

Added to that God knows how Myrah will take this news. And how she will react. How her mind will react and how her body will react. Yes given her past health issues all angles must be considered.

 

If due to the shock she faints and remains unconscious for a long time her parents can take her away from him. Legally they have the right. He has no right to stop them as on today.

 

If she decides to leave him voluntarily – again it will not be easy for him to stop her. Though he will never - ever - allow her out of his sight. He was sure of that. But handling the situation will be far easier when she is married to him.

 

And last but not the least if and when he decided to reveal the secret to Paro – he wanted to be the one to tell her. Rudra did not want her to hear it from anybody else for sure.

 

Being a strategic person – at least he is when anger does not get the better of him – he decided the best way is to not talk about Paro being Myrah. With anybody -  least of all the Mehras. His task ahead is to convince the Mehras to give their blessings for the wedding. If they think he fell in love with their daughter after Paro – he will play along.

 

There is no way he is going to let them know ---

That Rudra is a one-woman man.

That he still does not believe in falling for anybody other than his lovely Paro.

That nobody can ever take her place – neither in his life nor in his heart.

That when he talks of second chances – it is about his second chance with Paro herself and not with another human being.

That all he wants is to set everything right and give Paro a proper wedding this time around. A wedding and 7 phere that she will remember with fondness.

 

“That is it ?” Rajeev asked.” Nothing more to add ?”

 

“I am a man of few words. But my words are honest. So when I say I want to spend the rest of my life with her – I mean it. I do not have any long winding speech to deliver. But if you have any questions I am here to answer “

 

Rajeev smiled. The man had attitude. Yes he is a man of few words. But powerful ones. No wonder Myrah fell for him – an honest, confident, courageous man with the right attitude.

 

“Rudra, we hope when Myrah gets married it is for lifetime. That it is a well thought out decision and not one made in the spur of the moment. That is why we gave Rohit and Myrah so much time to think and decide. Never hurried them even though it would have made both of us quite happy if their wedding had happened years back. It is not anything against you but I find this decision of yours and Myrah’s quite rushed. What is the guarantee that you both will not regret the marriage later ? “ Rajeev’s question was quite reasonable. As parents they were entitled to know the truth from Rudra.

 

“I am no teenager. I am a grownup man. Before I take any decision I will think about it 100 times. Because marriage is a serious thing for me. To tell you the truth I spent many sleepless hours after she declared her love and still came to the conclusion that I am not the right person for her. I was not ready to even admit it to myself that she is the one for me. I finally realized my love only at a time when I was about to lose her. For ever. That is when I understood that I cannot be away from her. That she is the one for me. “Though the answer appeased the Mehras little did they know that Rudra was talking about his Paro.

Paro who relentlessly pursued him.

Paro who proposed to him first.

Paro who refused to leave his side in spite of his anger and the hate wedding.

Paro who was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice for his well being.

 

Rudra was so lost in his past that Poonam had to repeat her question to get his attention. “How can I  be sure that you will not compare Myrah to Paro as you call her ? What is the guarantee that you will not start feeling that Myrah is not as beautiful as Paro ? Or as traditional as Paro ? Or as .....”

 

Rudra interrupted, “Can you give me a minute ? I will be back soon.” And he walked to his room. He had realized from Poonam’s questions that the Mehras were not aware that Paro and Myrah looked alike. Hmm...this is going to be another hurdle to face.

 

He was back with a photo album in hand. Mehras looked at the photos. The initial ones were long shots of a pretty girl. In lehenga playing in the beach. They looked at the beauty of the pretty girl who looked very similar to Myrah and smiled , “ Myrah looks so beautiful in this lehenga.”

 

Rudra neither denied the statement nor agreed with it. “That is was taken more than seven years back.“

 

The Mehras wre stumped. Literally. If it is an old photo it cannot be Myrah. Then who is this ?

 

“Who is this ?” It was Poonam who mustered the courage to ask the question.

 

“It is Paro. “

 

“She looks very similar to Myrah from a distance. Quite similar except for the long hair.” Again it was Poonam who found the voice to say something.

 

“Yes she does. And Myrah knows it. I was not sure whether you were aware. So wanted to make it known to you upfront.” Rudra explained.

 

“What exactly do you expect from us ? To give our blessings to you and Myrah after seeing this photo ?” Rajeev finally gave vent to his anger.

 

“Yes.“ Rudra was as calm and composed as anybody can be. He had this part already rehearsed in his mind. And was ready.

 

“When you talked about second chances and your wanting to marry Myrah I was kind of convinced. When you explained how this is a well thought out mature decision – I was relieved. But this ? How can you really move on with a look alike? How can we ever believe you – for that matter how can Myrah ever believe that you love her? That you see Myrah and not your wife when you look at her?”

 

“ To understand that you should know more about my past. I mentioned that I was abandoned at 15. It was because my mother left me and my father and went away from home. She did not bother to take me with her. And never tried to contact me. My father did not leave me but he did worse. He gave me daily doses of how untrustworthy a beautiful woman is. How she never belonged to the child or the husband. Over the years when my mother never came back I started hating all women. Particularly the beautiful ones. I will refer to somebody as  “Khoobsurat” more as an insult than a compliment. I am a changed man now. Not one with animosity in heart. But still external beauty is not the one I am attracted to. “

 

All is fair in love and war. Rudra thought to himself. There is no reason for the Mehras to know that he had fallen for the beauty of Paro as well. At first sight itself. The day he rolled on the desert sand with her. The day he took a bullet for her. The day he carried her while she was unconscious to the jeep. The day he became her protector. Yes Paro had as beautiful a mind as her body. But it will be a complete lie if he said he did not get attracted to her appearance. He had lost himself in her dove shaped eyes many a times. In the beauty of her slim waist. In her pink luscious lips. He never had let go of a chance to touch her. To hold her. To be near her. Even when they were on opposite sides. He had been as affected by her proximity as she had been by his nearness though he was able to hide it well from her. He had been stumped by her looks umpteen number of times – the day she wore his blue kurta, on the day of their Sangeet, in Jaipur when she came down the steps, during the dance, afterwards when they were both intoxicated and sitting in the lobby, when he got up the next day in her arms,...........countless number of times when he was lost in the mesmerising beauty of Paro.

 

He had to pull himself back again from his thoughts. And he continued, “ What attracted me to her is her nature. Her selfless nature. Her happy cheerful attitude. A lively spirited person who feels for others. Who connects with those around her easily. Who goes out of her way to help even the people whom she just met.  Her honesty. Her pure mind. Her nature of always putting others before her. Like how she keeps things from both of you because you will worry. The girl who can laugh in the face of death. Who can keep her head while all around hers are losing theirs. “

 

“She came into my life, and made me want to live again, to feel again, to love again, to give all of myself. She left me with no option, without asking for it, she demanded that I love her with all my being. And I do and I will forever. Trust me. I will not try to change her in any way. I like her the way she is. It is the person I fell in love with and not her appearance.”

 

Again Rudra was talking about his Paro. But the Mehras thought it was about Myrah. And they felt that Rudra’s POV was justified. But before they could respond their eyes fell on the next photo. A closeup of Paro. And that was the moment when the similarity of Paro and Myrah struck them. And they were zapped. All the colour drained from Rajeev’s face. His hands reached Poonam’s involuntarily. And squeezed her hands tightly. Looking for support. But for once Poonam had none to offer.

 

“Is there anything else you would like to know before you give your go ahead ?” Rudra queried the Mehras who seemed to be focusing on a particular photo in silence.

They were startled with the question. It was not even sure whether they heard him right. They looked up in slow motion. As if it was painful to look away from the photo in hand.

“Can you leave us alone for some time ? Let us talk tomorrow.” Poonam hardly managed to get out the two short lines after two failed attempts.

Rudra nodded. Respecting their request he moved out. He could clearly see grief written on their faces. Inspite of his best efforts did they guess the truth ? In the short time that he has met them he has already formed a good opinion about the couple. A husband and wife who were each other’s support. Who were frank , open minded and down to earth. Rudra felt a strange unexplainable bond with them. And felt sad for thei plight. He hoped they will be fine with the truth in case they have guessed it. With one last look over his shoulder he walked out of the room only to bump into Paro.

“What are you doing here ? You are supposed to be sleeping.”

“I heard some noises and saw the light from this room. So just got up and came here. What were you all discussing ? “ Myrah was curious

“Nothing much. I was just telling them about my past. And requesting them for your hand. “ Rudra explained.

“You never had to do that last time – right ? ”  Saying this Myrah smiled and held his hand in hers.

Rudra looked into her eyes – which were half closed – and realised he is ready to put anybody else through any truth, however harsh. He is ready to lie about being not attracted to her physical beauty – if that saves the day. He is ready to share his childhood details with people he just met. He is ready to face any evil in this world. He is ready to hide facts from Paro herself. Anything....

For Paro, his Paro. His life begins and ends with Paro. Bas.