AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Aarav,” she speaks. “If you don’t mind, I can go along with Jhanvi and help her get the stuff here. That way you can be at ease and Jhanvi will get some help too. Please, guys, don’t argue over this. Think of Aarvi. We have to come back before she wakes up.”
Jhanvi shrugs from my hold and looks angrily away.
“Fine. You go with her,” I agree.
Without turning around, Jhanvi walks away and Jaya nods her head, a gesture asking me to calm down while she’ll take the responsibility of my wife and make sure she returns safely. I know Jhanvi will hate me for being so protective and obsessed about her safety, but she doesn't know what her absence in my life has done to me. The day she realizes that, she’ll abide by every restriction I impose to make sure she’s safe hereon.
CHAPTER 25
Jhanvi
It’s such a mess already and Aarav’s controlling nature is forcing me to keep a distance from him. Jaya and I are on our way to the Juhu Villa. I’m not sure if I want to meet Rudra right now though I have so many questions for him which only he has answers to. But I don’t want to delay reaching back home before Aarvi wakes up.Home? Did I just mention the AR mansion as my home? Since I’m Jhanvi, that’s my home. My family. I close my eyes, leaning my head back to process all this when Jaya presses my hand.
“Jhanvi, are you okay?”
Her concern is sweet. I don’t know much but she seems to be my college friend in London, a place which has been my home before marriage. Though I don’t have any memories of us, I can still feel a connection with her.
“I’m fine.” I lie.
“Don’t think too hard,” she mumbles. “This might look like the most confusing situation to be in, but give it some time. Things will ease up for you.”
“I don’t know, Jaya.” I look at her. “The way Aarav is controlling my life I don’t like it.”
“He is scared of losing you again.”
“Well, if he doesn’t stop, heislosing me whatsoever.”
She looks at me warily. I don’t want her or anyone else to be in any confusion about my stand over the present situation so I open my heart out to her.
“I’m in that house for Aarvi and once she is better, I might have to take some strong decisions for myself which might not be in Aarav’s favor.”
Jaya swallows painfully as if comprehending which decisions, I am talking about.
“Why would you do that?” she asks. “Jhanvi, I can assure you if you regain your memories, you’ll realize that Aarav is your life. We all have seen your love grow and in fact, no man can love you the way he does. And what about Aarvi? Don’t you think she is your responsibility too?”
“She is and will be my responsibility till my last breath, Jaya. I don’t want to neglect that, but I can’t think of a future with Aarav because he scares me. He might love me to the core but I can’t bear him steering my life like that. As his wife, I might have given him that right before, but now I don’t have those memories. I’m not the same woman anymore. There are too many complications in my life already and handling the tantrums of a husband like Aarav Raichand is the last thing I need, to complicate it more.”
Jaya stares at me blankly for a while and then presses my hand again.
“Don’t stress. Just give it a little time. If you are still unsure, we’ll think about it then. Remember, I am always there for you. No matter what you choose.”
Once again, she baffles me. I needed that little pep talk, and support from her means a lot to me. I smile back at her as the car parks at the Villa.
We both enter the house and I come to know Rudra isn’t home. In fact, the servants tell me, he left last night with his bags and no one knows where. Where can he go? While Jaya assists me in packing my important stuff, I dial Rudra’s father again. He doesn’t delay answering my call. I ask him if he knows where Rudra is and Uncle tells me Rudra is very ashamed of his act of spiking my drink which he shared with his father too, and hence wanted to unwind himself of the guilt. That is why he chose to take a break from work for a few days. Ratan Uncle himself doesn't know if Rudra is still in India or has he flown to some other country. But Rudra has promised to stay in touch with him until he is mentally prepared to return.
I am confused if Rudra really is guilty or is purposely hiding from me so that I don’t confront him about my real identity. For now, even I don’t share my DNA report news with Ratan Uncle and decide to wait until Rudra returns, to speak to him directly about this.
But one thing I want to clear out to Uncle and that is my stand to take a break from the RS Group. I’m not quitting permanently. But knowing I am Jhanvi, Aarav’s wife, I can’t work against him or his company anymore. Our personal fight is far too much for me to take care of and I don’t want to indulge in a business rivalry too. It might not affect us but our daughter which is the last thing I want.
This decision doesn't go well with Uncle and he tells me not to make this mistake and think again. But I have made up my mind. He finally agrees to officially let me take a break so that I can resume soon when I am sorted in my heart and mind.
On our return back to AR Mansion, I realize there is one more thing I want to do so I ask the driver to take us to the nearby temple. Jaya is confused why I want to visit a temple but she soon understands that I want to pray for my daughter’s wellbeing. I can’t see Aarvi sick with fever anymore and especially when I realize she fell sick because of missing me. Two years ago, when I lost my memories, I literally used to fight with God for snatching that basic need of my life –my memoriesand since then I had decided not to beg before God anymore. Every time, I only watched Rudra pray, but I never asked anything from God because he had snatched my past from me and the worse, I didn’t even know what I’d lost. But now that my real identity is out and my daughter Aarvi is sick from fever, I can’t help myself from stepping again inside the temple to pray for her. If there is anything I want to beg from God again, it’s my daughter’s wellbeing.
We reach the temple and once again Jaya accompanies me inside. I pray for a few minutes, holding my tears and asking God to forgive me for all the ignorance I showed so far towards worshipping him and begging him to fulfil my prayers this time and make Aarvi fine again. Jaya keeps giving me the support I need to compose myself and then we head back to AR Mansion. She’s already getting late and Aman had called her up to inform Amaya had woken up too and needed her. So, I don’t insist Jaya come inside the house, and ask the driver to drop her back at her home.
I don’t speak to Aarav for the next few hours and though we are equally around Aarvi and each other, looking after her, I make sure to only speak to him in the context of our daughter. He does seem to mind but that’s all he’ll ever get if he tries to control my life.
At night, I make sure to put Aarvi in the center of the bed and I take the corner so that the only place left for Aarav to occupy is the other side of the bed, with Aarvi between us. He is angry at me for purposely keeping this distance between us, but it’s necessary. I don’t want to end up in his embrace every night and wake up in his arms every morning dreaming about him the whole night. Until I sort out how to steer my life from here on, I want Aarav at an arm’s distance minimum from me, so that our sparkling chemistry doesn't coerce me to take wrong decisions.
