Meant to be

Ch 6 contd....

Sidharth had made it more than clear to Shehnaaz that he did not trust Paras at any cost and that his intentions towards her was not good from any angle. No matter how many times Sidharth said this to her he still did not get the assurance that she understood it. This girl as much as she brought him joy and warmth, she frustrated him in ways no one else was able to.

The morning of the weekend ka vaar shoot Sidharth got out of the shower and as he was going to the luggage area he caught a glimpse of someone like Sana go out to the living room, he did a double take but she was gone. Surely that was not Shehnaaz he thought to himself, she was dressed in an electric pink halter? Pencil skirt? Really? He wanted to go check if it really was her and quickly got dressed himself and rushed out. And sure enough she was sitting in front of her usual mirror and putting on her makeup, the bedroom was crowded with everyone getting ready. He quietly without drawing attention to himself sidled upto her and slid onto the bed, "Shehnaaz Kaur Gill?" He asked. She looked so so good! And a complete departure from her usual avatar. "Baby I hope you don't mind me saying this but looking ekdum superb. I LIKE!" And he really meant what he said, something about the way she had dressed herself up today completely took him by surprise but in an entirely good way. He loved her earlier typicallly true to soul punjaban look but this she did not look like she was trying too hard and that is what he liked best about her. She never did anything because it was the thing to do or the thing to impress others, she dressed up for herself.

"Abey kyun mind karoongi? Waise sachi achi lagi teko? Yeh outfit na mere first Canada tour mein mene khareedhi thi, that time I was very patli but this is so clever dress that it is adjusting to my moti also!" She said this as she was putting in her make up. Sidharth had that annoying urge once agin, the one to put his arms around her and gather her into his arms. Every girl here had carefully planned her wardrobe with designers and what not but she here carried something she had worn so many times and had no qualms to even say it out loud to him.  Maybe this is why he allowed her to be his companion, a lot of their deep seated values were so similar. Both of them had not sold their soul to the vanity of the industry they worked in but at the same time allowed for their art to consume and demand the very best of them.

Soon the shoot of the episode with Salman Khan was underway and Paras and his below the belt tactics were exposed including the unsavoury rumors he was spreading about Sidharth and his drug abuse, rehab and what not. While this did not affect Sidharth, for some reason this unsettled Shehnaaz in a very raw way. She understood what it meant to be maligned with lies and watch your hard work crumble under the weight of lies and man's manipulation. That night after the shoot was done, Sidharth, Shehnaaz, arti, fifi and Asim we're sitting on the couches opposite the pool, Shehnaaz was unusually sober and kept glancing at Sidharth who was sitting in between her and Asim. She was sitting facing him with her knees bent and her feet tucked under his thighs, sensing that she was unusually quiet he wrapped his arm around her knee and said "whatsup babeeeeee? Itna chup kyu hai meri Jaan? Thak gayi? Kya sir ka attention ek do kilo kam hogaya? Bol na? Darr lagta hai jab to aisi chup baithi hai toh!"
Shehnaaz wanted to just hug him, how was he able to sit still even after he knew what Paras and Rashmi were upto? Why was he so calm? Why was he so go0d?

She looked up at him wordlessly with all these questions in her eyes? And because she could not speak in front of everyone, she simply lay her cheek against the arm resting on her knees and said "nothing up babeeeeeee bas sun rahi hoon sabki baatein."

He ruffled her hair with his other hand and said "chal kuch Der mein andhar chalte hain tu thakhi hui hai, let's sleep early today"

He said this casually but it ignited a flash of intimacy in Shehnaaz, andar chalte hain? Let's sleep early? She liked it that he said this to her and for them. She nodded her head and laid there still enjoying it all. In a little while Sidharth got up and said "ok guys am going to crash, Shehnaaz your coming?" And looked at her and she too quickly got up and wished the rest goodnight and walked in with Sidharth and settled into their bed. As soon as they were under their respective quilts he turned toward her and once asked her "Kya hua teko? Udhaas kyu hain?"

"Sidharth!" She whispered and cupped his cheek with her hand and said "aaj jab voh caller ka question aaya aur jab uskaay baadh bhi jab Paras tere paas aakay clarification de raha tha na, sab Paras ko dekh rahe the aur mein na sirf tumhe . Tu bohot strong hai, jab hum sachay hotay hai na ek
Alag si confidence bandhey mein hota hai. Meiney aaj tere mein voh confidence Dekha aur Paras mein ek desperation. Bas sad ho gayi ke ek game ke liye kis hadh tak bandha jaa sakta hai. Bura laga" she smiled and took her hand off his  face as she finished what she had to say.

Sidharth could not believe that she was upset because of that. He remembered when his sister Neetu had told him that she had decided to
Marry, he had asked her how she knew that this person was the right one, she simply said that in her husband she had found that one person whose comfort or discomfort will always depend on how comfortable or uncomfortable she was. That one person who in order to be happy  and satisfied needed you to be happy and satisfied. He got it now! This felt good, unexpected, unanticipated that even though he was strong enough to handle his challenges here she was, ready  to feel vulnerable on his behalf. He was truly overwhelmed so he  pinched her cheek and then caressed it and said " gadhi apna dimag isiliye Sadaa rahi thi? Paras jo bhi bolega sach ho jayega? Aur agar mera itna bada secret iss fatoo ke paas itna easily aa sakta hai toh phir mein iss show mein apni bezathi  karwaney aata kya? Aur baby soch abhi ussne apna card play kiya, issey kuch bura bol nahi sakta mere against na toh bas teesray haftay mein game over uska! Pls tu tension math le! Nahi toh aur ek layer make up
Lagana padega and I don't think the world is ready for that baby!" He said this and both of them chuckled.
"Kitna paapi hai tu Sidharth! Chal if you are happy I am happy good night yaara" she said that and closed her eyes.
Sidharth could not unhear the if you are happy I am happy, exactly what Neetu said! But that was her husband,who is Shehnaaz for him? Surely not his wife then what? He sighed and decided to sleep as this was not something  be would be able to resolve tonight anyway.

A couple of days as expected but nevertheless sadly Fifi was eliminated from the show, for Shehnaaz and Sidharth this was a setback. Not from a game perspective but personally as he was someone who was able to be as goofy and as introspective as they were able to be. Years of living away from parents and her hostel upbringing had trained to keep her true sadness hidden. Sidharth kept
Looking at her because he knew how fond she was of Fifi. He wanted to make her feel better. after having had a bath after the shower task she was making tea for Sidharth and her, she felt him come up next to her and stand just next to her and elbowed her rib and said "chal aajsey mein tera fifi aur mein tera Sidharth. Double duty karoonga baby, don't worry tera quotay ka attention milega teko. Saala fifi actually meant na mereko dokha Diya hai!!"

She was grateful for his understanding and suddenly looked at the camera and said "gaonwaalo! Sunlo ab aap gavaah ho ki Sidharth shukla ney khudh double
Duty ki Vadhaa kiya hai! "

"Paagal aurat chai pilla! Har time footage!" Saying this he took his cup and went out and Shehnaaz laughed to herself and followed him
Out. This man he was the balm to all her wounds. He gave her unexpected relief and for this season of her life she was grateful for it!

Thank you for stopping by. Hope are enjoying the read thus far! Tc and stay safe xoxoxoxoxo