The Stigma Called Love - Chapter 59

Dhruv staggered back as Nishant slowly came near him. The shocked expression on his face was enough to convey the agitation inside him.

“Where is Aparna?”

“Bhaijaan, she is okay. You don’t need to worry,” said Siraj approaching him.

Nishant looked at and instantly Siraj was taken aback by the burning anger in his eyes.

“Where is she? What are you guys hiding from me?” he asked knowing too well something was wrong.

Shifanjali came and stood next to him, and took his hand in hers.

“We are not hiding anything, Nishant. You don’t need to worry.”

“Don’t lie. I know you guys are hiding something. Tell me what is it?”

Dhruv gulped down the tensed lump formed in his throat and said, “It’s nothing, Nishant. We are not hiding anything from you. You should be resting. Siraj, take him inside.”

Nishant looked straight into his eyes and knew instantly he was lying. He came near him and Dhruv stepped back till his back collided with the wall behind.

“Tell me what’s wrong. Now,” he said with gritted teeth.

“I’ll tell you what’s wrong.”

Nishant turned and saw Madhu standing behind them. Her folded arms and condensing look told him something had terribly gone wrong.

Madhu walked up to him and took his hand. Opening his palm, she placed something wrapped in paper on it.

As the paper unfurled, Nishant eyes widened with shock.

The diamond ring!

“Madhu, what......” he was about to ask the reason but Madhu’s raised hand stopped him.

“It was my mistake. It was entirely my mistake. I should have never got her employed here. She is in more pain than she has been in the last 6 years. You have ruined everything.”

Dhruv quickly came to Madhu’s side and gestured her to keep shut but she looked at her angrily and went on.

“You guys are so proud of the Naik name that you did not even think twice before shaming her. God, Nishant Sir, I never really imagined somebody would ever say anything like this to her.”

As Madhu narrated each and every word spoken, Nishant’s hand shook as his fingers clenched in a fist. Resentment and anger boiled inside him as he heard everything. But hostility burst in his blood the moment he heard what Rushali had said about Prakriti.

“Aparna was not responsible for what happened to her. Nishant Sir, your mother and so-called fiancée not only shamed her that day but also pointed a finger at every woman who goes through the trauma of domestic violence,” Madhu said tears clogging her throat.

Nishant closed his eyes and turned away from her. Finally, he understood why she hadn’t come to the hospital till now. 

Oh god! Aparna, I am so sorry.

Gulping down the tears, Madhu steadied herself and said in a grave voice, “Thank god, she is leaving. She will be away from all of this from now on.”

Nishant’s eyes opened the moment he heard her.

“Leaving? But Aparna can’t leave. I need to speak to her. She needs to give me a chance to explain.”

“There is nothing to explain. She is leaving tonight and you cannot stop her.”

His eyes narrowed as he looked at Madhu. Grabbing her by the arm, he said in a determined voice, “I will stop her no matter what.”

Saying this, Nishant extended his hand towards Siraj.

“Car keys?”

“Bhaijaan, we will go there. You need rest.”

“I said give me the keys. Now,” he bellowed, his voice booming through the corridor.

******************

Aparna watched as one by one her belongings got loaded in the boot of the car. Prakriti was running around the house in joy since the time she had known that her mother will be now living with her.

Aparna looked at her daughter and smiled. Every cloud has a silver lining and hers was Prakriti. Just as she passed her, she grabbed her daughter and hugged her hard.

“Mama, is Madhu Masi also going to stay with us?”

“No, baby. She will come back here after some time,” she replied smoothing her daughter’s hair.

Prakriti nodded and rushed out, just as a car screeched to halt outside their gate.

That must be Madhu, Aparna thought. But as her daughter squealed and shouted with joy, she instantly knew who it was. She turned and went into the bedroom to get the other things.

She picked up one of the bags and then turned towards the door, and saw him standing at the doorway breathing hard. Aparna had rehearsed this in her mind time and again, and every time she had found herself giving in to him. The fear of again losing herself to him had haunted her since then.

But now as he stood in front of her, her mind somehow only made her remember everything his mother and Rushali had said. Her eyes narrowed with contempt as she watched her daughter raising her arms to him. As he picked her in his arms, Aparna closed her eyes and shielded herself completely.

Nishant looked at her and immediately understood the amount of pain she had gone through in all these past days. The moment she turned away from him, he felt uneasy. She again had that defensive pose, which he disliked the most because it completely shut her doors.

“Mama says that we are going to stay in Darjeeling now. Are you coming with us Nishant Uncle?” Prakriti asked circling her arms around his neck.

Aparna’s back stiffened and she straightened as she heard her daughter. She breathed hard and turned around.

“Prakriti, get down now,” she commanded.

Scared, Prakriti squirmed out of Nishant’s arms and ran away. He looked at her and slowly came near her.

“I am sorry,” he said in a low voice.

But she did not respond. Picking up the bags, she brushed past him without a glance. He rushed behind her and grabbed her arm.

The moment she felt his fingers closing around her elbow, her body erupted with fury. She let go of the bags and whirled around.

“Let go of my hand,” she said with aggression.

When Nishant did not she pulled her arm away with force but he again grabbed it and this time a little harder than before.

“I said let go.”

“Please, listen to me,” he pleaded with her.

“I said let go, now.”

But he did not hear her. All he heard was the suppressed anger in her voice.

Aparna tried her best to loosen his grip on her arm but nothing happened. The more she squirmed, the more his fingers dug into her skin. Finally, when it was too much for her, she swirled around, raised her hand and smacked his face with severe intensity.  

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