Destiny's Play!!

Chapter - 77

Karan stayed in the room with the others as his mind grasped the facts that Avni had just brought to light. Sahil had been gay? And yet he had married Avni. Why? Why hadn't Avni told him this before? Why had he done such a thing? Why had he destroyed a young, simple girl's life like that? But the answer sat in front of him. His mother. Karan's anger turned to rage. But he clamped on it. While the others struggled to face reality he knew Avni needed him. She hadn't even looked at him as she had rushed from the room. He was suddenly worried. He hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid. But as the thought took root he couldn't stand there. Everyone came later she came first. He turned on his heel and went after her. He knocked twice on the door to her room before he opened it and went inside only to find it empty. The doors to the side garden were open. She had gone outside. But where? He thought about it. In the state she was in she couldn't have gone where she could be easily found. So how would he know where she went? He left the room through the doors and ran towards his house. Then opening the front door he whistled loudly and his dogs appeared quickly. He put the leashes on and gave them her shawl to smell. Thankfully he had remembered to pick it up from the chair it was kept on, in her room. And gave them the word they needed to find her. 'Fetch' he said and the dogs left. He followed them quickly. She had gone towards the path they had taken for a walk all those Saturdays ago. Dark clouds covered the sky making it difficult with the oncoming evening to see where they were going. By the time he found her it had started to drizzle.

He paused just at the edge of the clearing where she sat under the boulder, huddled together. He restrained the dogs from going all the way to her. She needed a minute alone. He needed a minute alone. His heart thudded in his chest. He had been worried they wouldn't be able to find her. His worry had given over to anxiety. He loved her dammit. To see her in such a state was not possible for him. He made sure the dogs understood he wanted them to stay and then leaving them there he crossed the distance between him and Avni. He sat on his haunches in front of her as he pushed her hair away gently and raised her chin so he could see her face. Her eyes were red and her skin pale. The drizzle had wet her hair and her clothes were damp too. It was the empty lost look in her eyes that tore at his heart. She didn't even protest when he took her in his arms and rocked her gently.

"It wasn't my fault," she whispered brokenly.

"Shhh," Karan said, "I know," he said as he stroked her hair.

She trembled and he pulled her closer. For the second time he didn't know what to say. There was nothing he could say that could make her feel better. But he knew if they stayed there like this she was bound to get very sick. He helped her stand and then looked deep into her eyes.

"We will talk about this later okay," he told her in a soft voice then placing an arm around her he walked her back towards where the path began.

He picked her up when he reached level ground. The drizzle was turning into proper rain. He gathered her close and went towards his house with the dogs running ahead of him. He let the dogs go in first then followed. He didn't pause in the living room as he took her upstairs to the guest room. He placed her gently on the mattress then asking her to wait for him he went to his room and got two big fluffy towels. He dried her hair. She looked so tired and still out of sorts he couldn't help but feel sad. Then he asked her to wait as the bell rang. He went downstairs and opened the door to find Manya with the things he had asked her to bring and an umbrella. She insisted on seeing Avni but Karan refused asking her to wait till the morning. Manya agreed reluctantly and left asking him to take care of her and let her know if he needed anything. He came back to the guest room only to find Avni had gone off to sleep in her half sitting half lying position. But she needed to change. So he woke her up and then pushed her towards the washroom to change. While she did that he kept himself busy with changing the wet sheets. He had just put on a fresh dry one when she came out. The night suit she wore was Manya's and it looked a bit strange on her but it would do. She came back and sat down on the bed. As she lay down Karan pulled the blanket over her and found she was already fast asleep. It was good in a way. She needed rest to get over an ordeal like this. But as he tucked her in his anger came back with a vengeance. He needed to sort this out with the elders. And he needed to do it right now. But he wasn't sure if he should leave her alone. What if she woke up and finding herself in strange environment got disturbed. He went out of the room and called Uday. His brother was at his door in flat five minutes.

"Watch her for me," Karan said tersely, "if she wakes up call me," he told him in a no nonsense tone.

"I will," Uday said just as tightly. He understood where his brother was coming from. Had something like that happened to Riddhima he would have already blown his fuse and some others with him. He had always thought of Avni as a quiet shy girl but the kind of hurt and pain she had been hiding beneath that soft veneer he couldn't help but admire the strength in her. And he could see why Karan was drawn to her. Because maybe he somehow had sensed her turmoil much before anybody else had. And she was his friend too. She had helped him get his love knowing it could hurt her reputation. He knew how Karan felt about her. At least he understood. And at the anger he saw simmering in his older brother's eyes Uday knew he wasn't going to spare anyone tonight. He just kept his hand on Karan's shoulder to show his support then nodding at him went inside.

Karan took in a deep breath and went back to the main house. He entered through the front door not that anybody noticed him coming in. He took in the scene in front of him. His father stood by the fireplace with a glass in his hand while his mother sat with Shalini holding her hands in hers. The woman looked lost, tired as she stared into the flames of crackling fire. There was absolute silence. Manya was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly Karan wasn't sure. But when he heard Shalini talk he couldn't stop himself.

"How could she do that to me?" Shalini said sounding confused.

"You still need to ask that question?" Karan said angrily as his voice reverberated around the room causing Shalini to jump out of her seat.

Good. Sometimes elders needed to get out of their comfort zones. Their arrogance in their ability to always know better was just way too much. They needed to learn they weren't the only ones who knew things around. And Karan was going to make sure they learnt that.

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