Page 68 of Strictly Solo
Neil shot a quick, accusing glance at Kaushalya before looking back at his mother.
“Kaushalya Daadi said that Raj uncle is going to be my father,” he blurted out.
Naina was furious. How dare she fill Neil’s head with such ideas? It was clear that Ruhaan’s mother harbored some dislike for Naina and Neil, but to manipulate a child’s emotions like this was crossing a line.
Her uncle, Subodh, stepped forward and tried to comfort Neil, drawing him gently into his arms. “Neil, listen,” he began softly, “what Kaushalya Daadi said might be true in the future. But what’s the problem with that? Your Raj uncle is a good man, and didn’t you say you always wanted a father?”
Neil wriggled out of Subodh’s grasp, taking a step back.
“Raj uncle can never be my father,” he snapped.
The conviction in Neil’s voice stunned everyone. Before Naina could say anything to calm him down, Kaushalya interjected.
“Why, Neil? Why don’t you want Raj to be your father?”
Neil’s small face contorted in frustration, and before anyone could stop him, he turned and ran. Naina’s heart sank as she watched him sprint down the hallway, his little feet pounding the floor. Everyone turned, following his path. Naina’s breath caught in her throat when she saw where Neil was headed.
Straight to Ruhaan.
Neil flung himself at Ruhaan, wrapping his arms tightly around his waist.
“I want Ruhaan to be my father.” Neil declared.
The room plunged into silence.
Kaushalya’s face twisted with anger and disapproval. Naina’s uncle and aunt were too stunned to react immediately, while Rohit and Suman exchanged uneasy glances. But for Naina and Ruhaan, the world seemed to narrow down to just the two of them and the little boy clinging to Ruhaan’s waist. Their eyes locked across the space between them, a thousand unspoken words passing in that single gaze.
Ruhaan stood rigid, his arms hanging limply at his sides, unable to return Neil’s embrace. He seemed utterly unprepared to deal with Neil’s request.
Neil, oblivious to the tension he had created, looked up at Ruhaan with hope shining in his eyes. “Will you be my Dad, Ruhaan?” he asked with innocent longing.
Ruhaan swallowed hard, but the words wouldn’t come. The entire house seemed to hold its breath as the seconds ticked by. Naina watched as Ruhaan’s face remained unreadable, his silence deafening. The hesitation, the uncertainty, it crushed her.
She had thought last night had been a turning point. The intimacy they’d shared, the way he’d held her, touched her, made her believe that perhaps this time things would be different. His words from earlier that morning echoed in her mind - how he had playfully threatened to ask her uncle for more than just her address. He had spoken to her about the future, even in a teasing way, and for the first time in years, she had allowed herself to hope. Hope that Ruhaan was finally ready to commit, if not now, then in the near future.
But as the silence stretched on, that hope began to crumble. Ruhaan’s eyes, usually so expressive, were unreadable as they flicked between Neil and Naina. The lack of response was like a physical blow to her, each passing second feeling like a rejection not just of Neil’s innocent request, but of the future she had dared to imagine for them.
She had hoped Ruhaan would at least say something, anything. But his inaction, his inability to respond to Neil’s innocent question, felt like a knife twisting in her chest.
Neil’s hopeful expression began to falter too. It was this sight, the sight of her son on the verge of tears, that finally spurred Naina into action.
She strode forward, wiping away her own tears. Without saying a word to Ruhaan, she gently pried Neil’s arms from around his waist and pulled him close to her.
“Come on, Neil,” she whispered. “Let’s go.”
As she led Neil away, back towards their room, something inside her shattered. This was over. Whatever feelings she had allowed to resurface, whatever dreams she had begun to nurture, had to end here. Her son’s happiness and emotional well-being had to come first, always. She couldn’t continue down this path, not when her son was getting hurt in the process.
As they reached their room, Naina closed the door behind them, shutting out the stunned faces of their family members, shutting out Ruhaan’s still-silent form.
Ruhaan couldn’t even respond to a seven-year-old boy’s request. He couldn’t face the reality of what being with her truly meant. And that hurt more than anything.
She knelt down in front of Neil, wiping away the tears that had begun to fall down his cheeks.
“It’s okay, baby,” she whispered, pulling him into a tight embrace. “We have each other, and that’s all we need.”
Neil’s small arms wrapped around her neck, as he sobbed while Naina steeled herself for the journey ahead…a journey that she and Neil would be taking alone.Without Ruhaan in it.
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