Meant to be

Ch 17 contd....

Shehnaaz could
Not hear anything beyond the words confirming that Sidharth will be leaving the house for his treatment. All she could hear was a weird tingling in hers and the sound of her own heart beating wildly against her ribs. She looked around in confusion only to see him getting up and moving towards the bathroom area and everyone following him. She saw him turn around and give her brief glance and before she could react he walked away and behind him everyone else. All she could do was stand there looking dumbfounded at everyone else desperately hoping that someone would come and tell her that this was a cruel joke. She wanted to desperately pull him back outside and continue their banter. She had that haunted look on her face and she was rooted to the spot and she could feel familiar bile rising up within her, this always happened when she was anxious beyond her being. She rushed to the bathroom before she lost control. As she got in to one of the restrooms she saw Sidharth being surrounded by everyone but she still heard "moti kya hua" and hated the concern in his voice, that was exactly what was making her weak. She threw up as silently as she could and tried to calm her shivering body. She splashed water on her face, as much as she always demanded attention, she hated it when her emotions were under scrutiny by others. She felt weak vulnerable and exposed. She had to really rein back her anxieties and gather her wits before she got out. She took a deep breath and unlocked the bathroom door, only to find a crowd still surrounding Sidharth as he was gathering the things he would need when out.

As soon he heard the door unlock, Sidharth peaked over everyone and met her squarely in the eyes, she gasped when she saw the vulnerability in his eyes and saw how his expressions softened, saddened and then quickly turned to affection all in a flash, it was all for her. That is when she realised that he needed to focus on himself, needed to work on getting better and the last thing he needed to be doing was to tend to her vulnerabilities. She silently puckered her lips in an air kiss and gave as much of a smile as possible and worked her way towards him and cracked in through all the people standing around, she desperately hoped for a few moments of togetherness. He put his arm out to her as he saw her approaching and gathered her into a hug and inhaled into her hair deeply. And while cupping her head firmly onto his chest he said to her in a deep and intimate voice "mera
Kapde nikaaldegi aur jab tak nahaloon mera toilet bag pack karegi pls? Hmm baby?" She gulped in another sob and managed to nod her head vigorously. He still did not let go
Of her, he had so many things to say to her before he left. He was still ripe from the shock of the extent of his feelings for her. It was still too raw, too unprocessed and too precious for any of it to be displayed here in front of the vile people that surrounded them and definitely not in front of the cameras for sure. In fact for a brief crazy moment he even considered pulling her into one of the bathrooms but that would just attract all the attention that he was trying to avoid.

Vishal sensed that both of them perhaps needed some time alone so he without much fanfare herded everybody else out saying "arre inko thoda space do packing karnay kay liye nahin toh distracted rahenge, chalo sab!"

Seeing all of them file out, Sidharth lifted shehnaaz's face by cupping it in between both his palms and forced her to look upto him. Her face he realised painfully was just white in shock and devoid of any emotions except for the trail of dried tears on her face. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her lips were quivering. He hissed in his helplessness and whispered "mera baby, meri jaan aisay tu toot jayega toh kaisay chalega. Just a few more days, can I trust you to stay strong and stay focussed on the game?"

A very barely audible "nahi, nahi bebu meko nahi rehna iss ghar mein tere bina. Itna bada star banna firta hai, toh bol na producers ko ki mein bhi chaloon tere saath, saath jayenge aur saath aajayenge. Pls Sidharth mainay nahi rehna yahaan." Saying this she clutched his T-shirt tighter . "Mujhay chod ke muth ja pls?" She whispered this in a quivering voice and suddenly lost the energy to even stand and he just slinked to the floor and would have done it if Sidharth had not caught her. He held her up by the waist and said "acha tu ek minute baath sunegi? Ek toh mere baap ka toh hai nahi big boss, aur Dusri baath tu aisay rahegi toh mere tension aur badegi aur recovery mein aur time lag sakta hai. Tu na mere liye aur tere liye khel aur mein bas gaya treatment liya aur vaapis as gaya. Theek hai meri jaan? Samji meri baat? " saying this he cupped her face and nuzzled their noses together
"Chal tu jaldi jaa aur theek ho ja, bimar tu aur mujhay honsla De raha hai, mein bhi kitni selfish ho jaathi hoon. Haye Sidharth tere ghar waalon ko kitna tension ho ga. Tu na sahee bulatha hai meko, gadhi! Bilkul Gadhi hee hoon! Tera actually family
Ke liye tu aur teri health hogi important,
Yeh bb house Shehnaaz kay saath teri dosti voh sab bilkul important nahi hain. Tu ja theek ho ja aur more stronger vaapis aaja!" Saying this she hugged him rubbed his back in a comforting manner and for now managed to keep her emotions and her fears at bay.
She turned around and started gathering his things and gave him his clothes and waited for him to get ready. He started to say something to negate what she said about her not being important but his emotions were too fluid to be captured in the weight of words now so he just drew their foreheads together and whispered "meri moti, meri jaan, meri gadhi, meri sweetheart, meri Shehnaaz Gill..."