Chapter 20 #2
“Are you kidding me?” he scoffed, disbelief flashing in his eyes. “After all that’s happened, you seriously think I’m going to give you her address? No chance. I don’t want you bothering her anymore.”
“Rohit, please,” Ruhaan pleaded, the frustration boiling inside him. He hated this helplessness, the feeling of Naina slipping through his fingers without him being able to do anything. “I just need to talk to her. I can’t leave things the way they are.”
Rohit’s face hardened.
“I have strict instructions from my father-in-law, Subodh, not to give you any updates related to Naina,” he said coldly. “This time, I can’t help you, buddy. Not with this.”
Ruhaan clenched his fists tighter, knowing Rohit wasn’t going to budge.
“Only Naina can give you her address now, if she still wants to hear from you. Or you can take it up with my father-in-law. But neither Suman nor I are going to help you with this.”
Although anger flared, Ruhaan knew deep down that Rohit wasn’t to blame. He was protecting Naina, and after everything, how could Ruhaan argue with that?
He stepped back, running a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply.
He couldn’t rely on Rohit or anyone in Naina’s family.
They were drawing a clear line, and he had no choice but to respect that.
He had to figure out his next move. He needed to get to Mumbai.
He needed to find her. He turned on his heel, his phone clutched in his hand like a lifeline as he walked away.
When he tried calling her again, this time her phone was switched off.
“Damn it!” he cursed under his breath, his frustration growing. He stared at the lifeless screen. How was he supposed to find her in Mumbai now?
*****************
Naina stood by the crowded airport, but everything around her felt distant, as if she were trapped in a bubble, cut off from the world.
Her fingers itched to check her phone again, but she resisted.
She had seen Ruhaan’s calls flashing on the screen, and it had taken every ounce of her willpower to switch the phone off.
She didn’t want to talk to him, not anymore.
Whatever they had shared in these past few days, it had to end here, with this departure.
Neil stood a little away from her, quiet and withdrawn. Suman was trying to distract him with jokes and the promise of chocolate, but Neil was in no mood. His small face, usually so bright, now seemed burdened with pain. Naina felt a pang of guilt every time she looked at him.
She was startled out of her thoughts when her uncle Subodh cleared his throat beside her. He had been watching her all this time.
“Naina,” he began, “whatever happened today, I don’t want you to stress over it.”
She met his gaze, trying to keep her expression neutral, but it was hard. The events of the morning played over and over in her head, and she couldn’t help but think about how much had gone wrong. She felt like a puppet, tangled in strings she couldn’t control.
“Neil is still young,” Subodh continued, “he doesn’t know Raj very well.
In one or two meetings, he can’t make such a big decision about whether Raj should be his father.
It was wrong of Kaushalya to plant that idea in his head so soon, suggesting that Raj could be his father.
I think that’s why he was so shocked. It came from her, not from us. ”
Naina listened, biting her lip. Her uncle had always been practical, and she knew he was trying to reason with her.
“But never mind,” Subodh went on, “now that you’re heading back to Mumbai, Raj will reach out. You and Neil will have plenty of time to get to know him better, to see if there’s a future there.”
“Uncle, didn’t you hear what Neil said today? He doesn’t want Raj to be his father.” Naina interrupted him.
“Yes, I heard. But Neil is a child, Naina. He’s confused. He can’t make these decisions.”
“He might be confused,” Naina agreed, “but I’m not. The man my son doesn’t accept, the man Neil doesn’t want to call his father, I can’t think of as anything more than a friend. I certainly can’t imagine him as my life partner.”
Subodh’s expression softened, but he still pressed on. “Neil also said he wanted Ruhaan to be his father. Do you think that’s possible?”
Her heart ached at the mention of Ruhaan, and suddenly, her carefully built defenses crumbled. Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision, and she quickly wiped them away, but her uncle noticed. He placed a gentle hand on her arm.
“Naina, think sensibly,” he said, leaning closer. “Ruhaan… he’s not in the mindset to get married. I’ve heard it from Kaushalya herself. He doesn’t want to settle down. I don’t know what that boy wants anymore, but I do know he’s not going to give you and Neil the life you need.”
Naina looked away, biting back more tears. Did her uncle know about her and Ruhaan? Could he see through her silence? She hadn’t told him anything about their feelings for each other.
“You didn’t need to tell me, Naina,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “I saw the way you looked at Ruhaan when Neil asked him to be his father. I could see it in your eyes. You were hoping, praying, that he would say yes. But he didn’t. He was silent. And that silence said everything.”
Subodh gently clutched her arms and shook her slightly.
“Ruhaan failed you twice. Seven years ago, he didn’t stand up for you in front of his mother, and today, he didn’t stand up for you or Neil when it mattered.
If he had genuine feelings for you, he would have said something…
anything. He could have said he wasn’t ready, but that he wanted a future with you.
We all would have waited for that. We would’ve supported you both.
But he didn’t acknowledge it, Naina. He let the moment pass, again. ”
At that, Naina broke. She leaned into her uncle’s chest, sobbing quietly. Subodh hugged her tightly, patting her back gently.
“I know you’re hurting,” he whispered, “but you need to take some time. Go back to Mumbai, get back to your work, your life. Give yourself space to think. You need to focus on Neil and what’s best for him.
This change will help you clear your mind, and you’ll be able to rethink everything.
I’m not going to push you into anything, not with Raj or anyone else.
But I don’t want you to close off completely. You owe yourself that chance.”
She pulled back from the hug, shaking her head. “My only priority now is Neil,” she said firmly. “I need to focus on him. He’s so upset after everything that happened today.”
Subodh studied her face and then nodded. “I understand,” he said softly. “And I’m here for you, whatever you decide.”
She turned to look at Suman, who was still trying to cheer Neil up, but her son was lost in his own thoughts. He clutched the toy car she’d given him but barely responded to her playful attempts.
Suman glanced up and caught Naina’s eye before walking over to her and pulled her into a tight hug.
“Take care of yourself, Naina,” Suman said softly. “We’ll miss you, but don’t worry too much. You know I’m always here if you need to talk.”
Naina nodded, tears still glistening in her eyes.
“Thank you, Suman. I’ll call you soon.”
Suman squeezed her hands before stepping back, and Naina turned to face her uncle once more. She gave him a weak smile, knowing how much he worried about her, how much he wanted her to be happy. But happiness felt like a distant, unreachable thing right now.
With a heavy heart, she gathered her bags, took Neil’s hand, and led him toward the departure gate. As they walked away, Naina glanced back one last time, her family waving her off. She had no idea what lay ahead in Mumbai, but for now, she had to leave this part of her life behind.