Chapter 28
Naina’s apartment - Morning
Ruhaan struggled to process the presence of the Kundras. Before he could gather his thoughts, Subodh Kundra’s voice thundered through the apartment.
“What are you doing here?” he roared, his face reddening with fury. “Didn’t I explicitly ask you to stay away from my niece?”
Naina quickly stepped between them, her heart hammering against her ribs.
“Uncle, please. He’s here because Neil wanted him to stay.” Even as the words left her mouth, she felt their inadequacy, the weight of being discovered in such a compromising situation crushing her chest.
“He’s been helping us,” she continued. “When Neil fell sick and lost consciousness, Ruhaan was here. He helped us through it all, and afterward, Neil insisted him to stay—”
“Neil insisted?” Subodh cut her off. “Your son asked him to stay here, not in your bedroom, Naina!”
“Uncle—” Ruhaan started, but Subodh raised his hand sharply.
“I’m speaking to my niece,” he snapped. “You just shut up for now.”
Ruhaan’s jaw tightened with every accusation hurled at Naina and him. His hands fisted at his sides, resisting the urge to snap back.
Subodh grabbed Naina’s arms. “What’s happened to you, Naina? This isn’t the girl we raised as our own. You had such strong morals, values we were so proud of. And now? You’re throwing it all away for a man who has only ever betrayed you?”
Tears streamed down her face as each word struck like a physical blow. This time Ruhaan didn’t care if he was interrupting the two and stepped forward.
“You don’t get to belittle Naina like this. She doesn’t deserve this.”
Subodh’s face turned red, but before he could retaliate, Naina intervened again, tears brimming in her eyes. “Ruhaan, stop! Just stop…” She turned to her uncle, pleading, “Uncle, please don’t misunderstand us.”
“I’m rightly understanding everything, Naina.”
Malti placed a gentle hand on her husband’s shoulder. “At least listen to her once, please.”
“What else is there to listen, Malti?” he snapped. “We shouldn’t have come. Clearly, Naina doesn’t need us anymore. She has this... this man here...”
“Uncle, please don’t say that,” Naina pleaded.
“Then what should I say? “You’ve embarrassed us, everything we taught you—”
“Naina has done nothing wrong,” Ruhaan interjected firmly.
Subodh turned to him in frustration. “Oh really? The man who abandoned her years ago is saying this? And now, here he is, walking into her life, into her home as if nothing happened. What were you doing in her bedroom? This is disgraceful! Are we imagining things?”
“No, you’re not imagining,” Ruhaan admitted. “But you’re seeing only one side of the story—”
“Oh really?” Subodh’s laugh was bitter. “Then please, enlighten us about the other side!”
Ruhaan swallowed hard, then turned to Naina. He pulled her gently from her aunt’s embrace, grasping her arms to make her meet his gaze. Naina kept her eyes downcast, shame and embarrassment coloring her cheeks.
“Ruhaan, please leave,” she whispered, finally looking up at him.
“I can’t do this anymore. I can’t hurt my family to have a life with you.
I don’t care if you want a commitment or not, because my feelings remain unchanged.
If it were just about us, I would choose you, now and always.
But this isn’t just about me. It’s about Neil too and I have always told you that I will do nothing that will break his heart. ”
She took a shuddering breath. “Naina Bhalla might be able to fall in love and not care if the man she loves wants to commit. But Neil’s mother doesn’t have that luxury.
I can fall in love, but I cannot break my son’s heart or my family’s expectations.
When this love wasn’t in my life, it was my family, my son, who supported me, who was there for me to brighten my life.
I can’t do this, Ruhaan. Please, just leave. I can’t do this anymore.”
Tears welled in Ruhaan’s eyes, but instead of releasing her as she expected, he pulled her closer. His hands came up to cup her face, thumbs brushing away her tears, heedless of their audience.
“I can’t do this anymore either,” he replied. “So, I’m not leaving, Naina. Not this time.”
She tried to pull away, anger flashing in her eyes. “What do you want, Ruhaan?”
His grip tightened slightly as he pulled her back to him. “I want you,” he declared. “I want you, Naina Bhalla, as my wife, my life partner, as the woman I can cherish and keep happy for the rest of my life.”
Naina froze, unable to believe what she had just heard. Subodh and Malti exchanged shocked glances, their anger momentarily replaced with disbelief.
“What…?” Naina whispered, her voice shaking.
“Not just for now. Not just until things get hard. I want you for the rest of my life. I want to be the man who stands beside you, who supports you, who loves you unconditionally. I want us…forever,” he continued, his voice growing stronger with each word.
“I want to be the father that Neil sees in me. I want to love you both so much that it makes up for all the seven years I lost with you two. I want all of that.”
Her knees nearly gave out. She grabbed the edge of the sofa for support, her chest heaving as she tried to process his words.
“You… you don’t mean that,” she stammered. “You’ve always been so against… commitment, marriage…”
Ruhaan took another step closer.
“I was a fool. A selfish, cowardly fool. I wasn’t ready then.
I didn’t see what I was throwing away and maybe I would never have if you and Neil hadn’t re-entered my life.
Trust me, ever since this has happened, there hasn’t been a single moment you two are not in my head.
Maybe if I stick to my non-committal ways, I can still live a life I have always wanted to.
But I know that if I choose you and Neil, I will live the best of my life and I don’t want to lose that chance. ”
Tears streamed down Naina’s face.
“Ruhaan…” she whispered, her heart warring with her mind.
He reached out, gently cupping her face in his hands.
“I’m not asking you to hurt your family or give up anything. I’m asking you to let me be a part of your life… of Neil’s life. Please give me a chance, Naina.”
“You don’t understand what you’re confessing right now,” she snapped again unable to believe him. Before he could respond, the soft padding of little feet drew everyone’s attention.
Neil emerged from his room, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
The scene before him—his mother’s tear-stained face, Ruhaan’s tense posture, and the unexpected presence of his grandparents, immediately alerted him that something was wrong.
Fear clutched at his small heart as he rushed to Ruhaan, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist.
“Please don’t go,” Neil pleaded, tilting his head up to look at Ruhaan. “I know Mumma shouted at you, but please stay. For me?”
The Kundras exchanged startled glances at Neil’s obvious attachment to Ruhaan. But Naina knew this would be Neil’s reaction. He just wants Ruhaan in his life so much that he cannot bear him getting away from him anymore.
Ruhaan knelt down to Neil’s level, gently cupping the boy’s face in his hands.
“Who said your Mumma was shouting at me? She wasn’t shouting. She was just surprised because I told her something I’ve never told her before.”
Neil’s forehead wrinkled in confusion as he waited for Ruhaan to continue.
“Remember the other day when you asked if I could be your Dad?”
Neil nodded solemnly.
“Well,” Ruhaan continued, “I was just telling your Mumma that I want to be your Daddy too.” He squeezed Neil’s hand gently. “Would you accept me as your Daddy if I marry your Mumma and we all live together forever?”
Neil’s gaze darted to his mother, who stood speechless at this turn of events, before returning to Ruhaan. When he didn’t respond for another few seconds, but continued to think so hard, Ruhaan couldn’t take it.
“C’mon, Champ. I know I made you wait for so long to ask you this, but please don’t keep me waiting to know your reply.”
Neil crossed his arms.
“Mumma cries a lot these days,” he said seriously. “If you promise to make her smile all the time and never cry, then it’s okay if you become my Daddy.”
Ruhaan chuckled, pulling Neil into a hug. “I promise no one is ever crying between us once I become your Daddy.”
Neil’s joyous yell echoed through the apartment as he threw himself into Ruhaan’s arms. The Kundras watched the scene almost speechless.
Subodh finally broke the moment and spoke to Neil first.
“Neil? What’s this? All talks with Ruhaan and no hello for Nana and Nani?”
Neil’s face lit up as he bounded over to embrace his grandparents. Malti, sensing her husband’s need to speak with the couple alone, smoothly interjected, “Come, beta, let me show you what special toys and treats I brought for you. But first, you need to brush your teeth!”
Neil happily headed inside with Malti, not before giving another hug to Ruhaan. Once he disappeared into the bedroom, Subodh turned to face Ruhaan.
“Do you understand what you’re saying? Marriage is a lifetime commitment. Raising a child isn’t something to be taken lightly. Are you truly ready for that?”
“I’m more than ready, Uncle,” he replied. “I know I’ve made mistakes, but I’ve changed. I’m not running away this time.”
“We trusted you once,” Subodh reminded him, pain evident in his voice. “Seven years ago, when you and your mother broke the alliance weeks before the wedding, Naina’s world crumbled. I won’t watch that happen again.”
“I understand your concern,” Ruhaan said softly. “But I’m not the same person I was then. My priorities have changed. Naina and Neil are my world now. And this isn’t about keeping my word anymore; it’s about following my heart.”
Subodh’s expression softened slightly as he turned to Naina. “Beta, what do you want?”
Naina remained silent, overwhelmed by the morning’s events. Subodh sighed deeply.