Abhi sees her as she is folding his clothes.
Abhi “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes I know I don’t have to do this as after our divorce this would be the duty of Robin. Now let me do as your friend…..” She said making him smile lightly.
“You want me as a friend right? Now you will see how well I will be as a friend to you.” She thought by taking the clothes and placing it in his wardrobe.
Abhi tried to avoid her but whenever she is around he can’t avoid to take a glance of what she is doing or what are her facial expressions.
“Friend! We have to take lunch with Ma….let’s go down.” She says by stepping out of the room.
Abhi “Friend? She called me friend??”
He looked confused as he went out of the room and walked towards the dining area.
She was already there arranging the table and asked Ma to take a seat. Abhi sat beside his Ma looking blankly.
“Ma…..my friend said today he have an important appointment with a music company. So can u ask him to eat fast and get ready for it?” She said.
Ma teasingly asked “From when did Abhi became your friend? Wait, did he ask you to call him as friend?”
Abhi hearing it coughed and she passed him a glass of water to drink.
“It’s not like that Ma….If I never call my friend as friend then my friend will never friend me.” She says and smirked.
Ma “Something is wrong. Did u all had a fight?”
“NO Ma! How can I fight with my friend? I only know how to be friends with him. Isn’t that so friend?” She asked looking at Abhi.
In response he could only nod his head as yes.
Ma “Okay but stay as good friends, don’t be fighting friends. Ok?”
Both nodded their head as yes obediently.
“Friend, what do you want to have? Friends masala or Dost(friends) dhal?” She asked making him look in dismay.
Abhi “I just have plain rice.” Radha ma “Why Abhi? Can’t you see how bahu come up with creative names for the dishes? You have to encourage her by having either one of them. Why don’t you try Dost dhal? It’s tasty….”
Abhi shook his head in denial.
Abhi, she is purposely doing this. I know it’s not easy for her to accept that I don’t want love from her. But for that she come up with this Friends feast? And keep on calling me friend as if school kids call each other as friends!! All this is too much!!!
She smiled seeing him thinking.
“Now you know how good I am as your friend Rockstar!” She thinks by pouring Dost dhal on his plate of rice.”
After their meals, Abhi went back to his room and got ready to leave the house.
Just then she called “Friend! Don’t forget to have your snacks in between break time!”
Abhi “Excuse me! I am not a small kid to have snacks during break time.”
“What friend? You will get hungry in between friend. It’s good for your health if u eat snacks.” She replied with a cute face which made Abhi smiled.
She also smiled in return. Abhi “I will have some snacks. Thank you for telling me!”
“Bye Friend! Take care friend!” She says excitedly to which Abhi smiles walking away.
“He is smiling? Is he enjoying that I am calling him friend? He is supposed to get irritated and not any enjoyment!!! Oh god!! Why every time my plan backfires in this way?” She told herself as he leaves the house.
She repeatedly used the word Friend to irritate him. Instead of getting irritated he smiled and even called her back friend at times.
She got frustrated and decided to talk to Purab about all this. Purab informs he is going to talk to Pragya & will have the phone in speaker mode so that he can hear what she is telling about him. Purab advised him not to take any decision without having a complete understanding of her.
At a restaurant,
Purab “Di….you don’t get angry for this. I can help you in this.”
“How stupid he is? He loves to be with me! He loves to touch me but he don’t mind letting me go!” She says.
Abhi gets upset hearing her call him as stupid.
Purab “No di….I think he is feeling low because of not having big hits. Maybe confused of himself.”
” Confusing idiot! Then why not he keep a distance from me. Instead he always come behind me.” She says.
Abhi hearing it, I can’t na….I try to be away from her….But don’t know why whenever I see her I go behind her. I think she have some magical power to attract me.
Purab “I don’t think he will divorce you di. So you don’t worry….”
“No Purab! Even if he doesn’t want, I think I will divorce him.” She says which makes both Purab and Abhi shocked.
Purab “Why di? Why do u tell like that? You love him right?”
“I love him. That’s why I am thinking of this decision. I can see how at times he is worried of not being as popular as Rohit. You very well know Rohit wasn’t popular completely because of this talent. He was first being covered by the media that his girlfriend ditched him. After that his music was popular as his fan following increased by having sympathy for him. He also composed love songs especially love break up songs in a lively way. So I was thinking why not repeating the history again? This time it’s a wife divorcing a man who can be blamed as unsuccessful & is not suitable for anything.”
Purab “Seriously di? For Abhi’s success u are ready to sacrifice your love & tarnish your own image? I won’t allow this to happen.”
“I can’t find any way Purab. I can see how desperate he wants to be successful. It hurts me when he practises for hours but not getting a right chance to prove himself. Let me be the way to the chance. I hope through me he can taste the success he wants.” She replied.
Abhi hearing it got emotional. She was ready to divorce him just for him to be better in life. How selfless she is.
Purab could only feel how fortunate Abhi is to get a wife like her.
“Alright Purab, I am leaving to irritate your friend. Will pressurize him to go ahead with divorce proceedings.” She says by leaving the place.
Purab drops her at home. He then sees his phone where Abhi was still on the line.
Abhi simply said “I will talk to Pragya!”
Purab in shock “Hey you call her by name?”
Abhi “Why can’t I? She is my wife right? I have all the rights to call her by name. Ok I will call u back later. She is coming in.”
She enters to see him talking to someone in phone.
Abhi “Hi Pragya…”
She blinked her eyes in disbelief. Is it a dream? It should be a dream as a lot of times she had dreamed him of calling her name.
She never responds much.
Abhi “Why is your reaction like this?”
“Nothing, I am just tired. I want to sleep.” She said
Abhi looked away in sadness. She seeing that wondered what’s wrong with him now.
“Friend! Any problem?” She asked with concern.
Abhi gestured her to come nearer to him.
She also did as he said not knowing what’s wrong with him.
Abhi “You consider me as your friend right?”
“Kind of….that’s why I call you friend now.” She replied.
Abhi “Then….can I have a hug?” He asked by standing in front of her as close as he could.
She was stunned by the close proximity.
“Why suddenly a hug?” She asked but Abhi hugged her instead of telling anything.
She was taken aback. Why this man suddenly hug her now?
He hugging her thought, why is she not responding? I think she is shocked. That’s ok. I can make her respond to my hug!
Abhi “I badly need a friendly hug as I miss my friendly hugs nowadays….” He said
Hearing his tone, she felt he was feeling low for some reason. She responded to his hug by saying it’s ok. I am here na to give a friendly hug.
Abhi smiled inwardly enjoying the hug.
They were hugging each other for a quite sometime. Pragya wondered when will he release her from the hug as already her body was aching with his tight hug.
Whenever She tried to move a bit, his embrace only gets stronger.
“Friend, do you want to talk? I mean it’s not good to hug each other this long….” She said as pleasantly she could to make him feel better.
Abhi in a low tone “Hmm…”
He break away from the hug. He looked at her for a while before sitting on the edge of the bed.
“What’s wrong friend?” She asked again by sitting beside him.
Abhi “I think I am in love with you….”
“What??” She asked in a high pitched tone.
Abhi “Yes….Shivani also said I am in love with you….”
“Who is this Shivani?” She asked in shock.
Abhi “My ex-girlfriend. She came in my dreams. She said I am in love with you….”
“You had a girlfriend? Why was I not aware of that?” She responded.
Abhi murmured “Even I don’t know I had one before”.
“What did u say?? I can’t hear you!” She said.
Abhi “I was saying i am in love with you…If she told means it’s correct.”
Pragya’s mind voice “Doesn’t he feels for himself that he loves me? Why does he only realize when someone tells that he is in love with me! That too when the someone is his ex-girlfriend!”
Abhi “Now what do I do?” He asks innocently.
“If you feel uncomfortable in loving me then don’t do that. Do it only if u are ok with it.” She says making him smile inwardly.
Abhi “I am ok but I don’t know whether I will be completely ok with it.”
“Huh? What do u mean ok but not completely ok?” She asked in a confused look.
Abhi “How can a married man like me love a married woman like you? Isn’t it wrong?”
“Excuse me, you are telling as if I am married to someone else & you are married to someone else. The fact is we are married to each other. There is nothing wrong in loving each other in this case!” She vents out at him for his foolish question.
Abhi “Then why are you being angry at me now? Why don’t you tell me this pleasantly with a smile on your face?”
She takes a deep breath with her eyes closed.
“Is he really telling all this innocently or with a intention to irritate me?” She thinks as Abhi kiss her cheek.
She opens her eyes to see nobody in the room.
She rubs her eyes again. Was it a dream? It can’t be when everything seem to be very real. Where is he now?
Abhi then comes into the room with a different attire from what Pragya had seen earlier.
Abhi “Hi chasmish, how was your day? Anyways I need to take a bath as it feels very hot today.”
Pragya remains in shock rubbing her cheek as she could still have the feeling of his lips on her cheek.
Abhi in a mocking tone “What happen to your cheek?”
Pragya “Nothing!” She said bluntly by wiping her cheek with dupatta.
Abhi “Okay….” He said & walks towards the bathroom.
Pragya, Was everything a dream? Like seriously? The hug then the way he spoke…finally his quick kiss….Everything is a dream?? What’s happening to you chasmish? Your day dreaming is going into another level now. Have to stop all this before I turn mad.
Meanwhile, Abhi in bathroom chuckles thinking what he did earlier.
Abhi, Damn man! You are such a great actor. You made her believe she was dreaming of you! Not bad boy, this is the way it should be. It’s fun this way! I even manage to kiss her quickly before running away to change my attire. Thanks to my attire changing skills during concerts. Now I need her to ask me about Shivani. Yes from there I can make her jealous to have more masti!
Precap
“Look here! She is your past! I am your present! Did u get that?” She asked firmly.
Abhi “But Shivani is my first love na….so I must listen to her first before you.” He says adamantly.
Pragya had no choice other than slapping him. Abhi cries loudly making Pragya scared of his loud cry!
Thank u everyone for reading. Sorry Sneha and others if I had made u all wait for this ff.And Hope you all are enjoying reading it now.