CHAPTER - 23

Avni is present on the set today. She was missing her mother and being cranky so Nisha volunteered to bring her for the shoot. Avni is having a ball roaming around the set, staring wide eyed at the lights and camera, playing with her favourite Viren Uncle and Jasmine aunty instead of waiting in her mother’s caravan while she got ready for the next shot. Jasmine is sitting with Avni on her lap and offering her a sip from her coffee. Viren is watching this scene when Nisha’s snigger got his attention.

“You are being very obvious”.

“Aren’t I? Still she acts blind”.

She laughed.

“Have you proposed her yet?”

“C’mon Nisha, you want me dead?”

Both of them laughed. Just then she got a call from her husband and moved aside leaving Avni with them. But soon Avni wanted to see her mother and she rushed to the caravan without waiting for Jasmine to follow her. But she entered the wrong caravan. She couldn’t find her mother in but she started moving around and gazing and touching different things she can see there, as is children’s nature. While exploring the place she did not realize the bathroom door opening and a man coming out of it. She realized it only when she saw that she had an admirer who is gazing at her with a formidable expression through the mirror. She swiftly turned around dropping something down from the table.

“S...s..sooo..rrryyy”

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“Mumma.....Maassii”, she got anxious.

“Hey relax, you are Rupa’s daughter?”

He was referring to his stylist.

“N..no....who are you?”

“What! You are in my caravan and asking me who I am”.

“Where is my Mumma?”

“Who is your Mumma; whats her name?”

“My Mumma’s name is Pallavi”.

Pranav stilled.

Pallavi’s daughter

He didn’t know what to feel. He looked at the child searching for Pallavi’s resemblance. But Avni is totally like Arjun in appearance. Her eyes, skin tone, and hair texture everything is different from Pallavi. Seeing the kid getting scared, he sighed.

“Hmm come, I’ll take you to your Mumma”.

Avni seems hesitant but she still held his stretched out hand but didn’t move.

“But....you didn’t tell me who you are!”

“I’m Pranav; working with your mother”.

“I’m Avni”, she beamed at him.

In that moment Pranav saw Pallavi in her. Her radiant innocent smile reminded him of the first time Pallavi smiled at him when she completed her first shot in her acting career. He had indirectly helped her by giving her moral support on the set then and she had thanked him with a radiant smile and a hand at friendship. Now her daughter is giving him the same.

He cleared his thoughts and shook hands humouring her. Then he led her out of the caravan.

“You are sooooooo tall you know”.

He couldn’t resist a smile.

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Stability, comfort, commitment – this has been the meaning of love for me. That is, once I started appeasing to that emotion.

Janaki is in her cabin, leaning back on her chair lost in thoughts. She rewinds in mind Pranav informing her about his decision to work with Pallavi again.

“Are you asking for my permission?”

“No. But assuring you, there’s nothing to be afraid of. I need to do this, for my own sanity, but nothing will change in our lives this time”.

Maybe he’s staying true to his words. I’m emotionally tired to go after him with suspicions. I can’t live my life worrying what he’s up to!

I had given him the choice back in time to walk out on me when I couldn’t conceive despite the treatments. But HE stood by me, all through it, earning my respect, won me over for life to lose me totally later on. Because all those cherished moments became polluted when I got to know he had another woman in his mind, while holding my hand!

He lost respect in my eyes and knew better than to hold on to him when he made it vehemently clear where I stand in his life. But again life tied us together with Ayaan’s existence. I tried to chuck it all out of my mind, start over again for my child and for myself too. Maybe things could’ve changed for good if Pranav also worked on our fragile marriage.

I’m not denying his efforts in being a good father, his earnestness to work together as a team for our child’s good future. He is respectful and gave me all the rights as his wife once again; perhaps sincerely this time. But the vacuum in our marriage never ceased to exist. It was never enough and it became clearer when I saw his concern for Pallavi, even years later. Though this time, he didn’t have any intentions to breach our marriage and is only trying to help Pallavi because somewhere he felt responsible, it opened my eyes to the biggest truth of our relationship – he never loved me and probably never will!

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Gujarat

Pallavi and Pranav were shooting for a confrontation scene when they saw Janaki making way through the crowd with Ayaan in her arms and bodyguards on either side. She is let in by the team and she sit by the sidelines with Viren who acknowledges her presence with a smile, watching the shoot. Once the shot is done, Ayaan leapt out of her arms to his father. Pallavi was walking away when Ayaan passed her and stumbled on a stone. She held him quickly and he gave her a smile in return. Pranav is beside him and he takes Ayaan in his arms.

Ayaan is really happy to see his father and immediately demands his attention with his talks and Pranav indulges him. Pallavi couldn’t help a pleasant glance at the father-son duo and Pranav couldn’t resist acknowledging her stare. She quickly averts her eyes and comes face to face with Janaki who has her eyes hid behind aviators and face unreadable. They greet each other with a nod and move in opposite directions. Jasmine and Viren threw a glance at each other before getting busy in their work.