"Ma'am! MA'AM! One question! Please!" pleaded the horde of reporters as Mohini stepped out of the informal press meet regarding her shoot. Being surrounded by the media was not a new phenomenon for Mohini Thakkar Solanki, especially regarding her personal life which they had no right to interfere, yet they prodded and ruined it as much as they could.
"Mohini, if you don't answer the questions, the article might come against us. Please answer them," requested Sandeep, her co-actor, producer and a good friend.
"You know why I don't like giving interviews, San! They twist my words in such a way that tear apart my life as a dagger. I don't want to fall any further into that blackhole," she replied, spurning away from the advances of reporters and pleading looks of Sandeep.
"I understand, Mohini. But remember your motto? Never mix personal and professional life? This can cause a drastic damage to our movie, please try to understand," pleaded Sandeep, stopping her mid-way by standing in between her and her path.
Mohini's frustration mellowed down seeing his sincere look. She knew that he was saying the truth and one step in the wrong direction in front of the media and they would not hesitate to splay the news across in the defaming and derogatory manner.
"Shoot the question! But remember, just one," she said, turning over to the journalists as Sandeep sighed in relief.
"Why is it that you never bring a date to your events or film festivals, Ma'am? We see you going as a date to several of your co-stars and friends, but you never bring your date. Is there any specific reason for the same?" questioned a young journalist as the others nodded their heads in approval to the question.
Twenty-one. Twenty-one invitations and at the age of twenty-one, she had achieved more than she had ever fathomed but sorrow did not seem separate from her soul. Twenty-one invitations and her husband had not accompanied her to a single one. She was tired of explaining to her producers and sponsors that her husband was a busy man, but she would convince him to bring him over the next time, but the next time never came.
She had exhausted her good graces in getting the twenty-one invitations before anyone had gotten even the air about the event, yet all she had faced was brutal rejection at the hands of her own better half.
She solemnly resolved to bear any more scars of rejection, but she also decided that the honor of being her date would remain with her husband, whether he decides to be with her or not.
"My husband is a busy man and I don't like to replace him with anyone else. That's why, when I am invited in my own right, I prefer to go alone but when friends ask me to accompany, I cannot reject them either. That's about it!" she replied finally, her brain reeling from the memories of her early-twenties.
The journalists had carefully listened to her words but carelessly worded it down for the next day's headlines - "Mohini Thakkar makes shocking revelations about her marital life; says husband has no time for her."
Neysa Thapar was a busy person. She ran a successful pediatric clinic while working at another corporate multispeciality hospital and was one of the most sought-after pediatric consultants and surgeons in the town, along with working for a renowned private chain of hospitals. For a person observing her, she would seem to be the epitome of a happy-go-lucky person but for a person analyzing her, she would appear to be a person so broken that they forgot how to cry and hence smiles.
"Yeah Shipra, tell me? How's Rahul?" asked Neysa, pulling her lunch out of her bag. It was finally lunch break after a hectic day of work and she knew that Shipra would not hesitate to personally come over and skin her alive with the eager assistance of her loving husband, Kunal if she did not have her food on time.
"My son is crazy for you. I am sure he loves you more than me. He sneezed twice and he says that he wants to go to his Mausi and get himself checked. I just don't know what to do with the two of you," Shipra complained, while Neysa chuckled at her flustered friend.
"Don't be jealous, darling. It's just that no one can resist loving me," joked Neysa, adding fuel to the fire.
"Haan Haan, Theek Hain. Are you eating or not?" questioned Shipra in a stern tone.
"I am eating, Meri Maa. So, did you speak to anyone from our highschool gang off late?" she asked hesitantly. She did not want to pose that question knowing that Shipra would catch hold of her intentions, but she could not stop her adamant heart which sought the answer for the question more than eagerly.
Shipra's smile vanished listening to Neysa's question. As she had suspected, her heart had not forgotten to beat for someone even after more than a decade passed over and became history.
"I know whose information would interest you. He did not sound very enthusiastic or happy. I think he had a fall out with Mohini again," said Shipra, helplessness tormenting her senses once again as in the past.
"How do I hate that lady? What did she do now?" asked Neysa, not trying to cover her pent-up frustration against Mohini.
"Apparently she told him that she does not want to have children as it would ruin her figure and so on. He sounded distraught about it," sighed Shipra. She deeply regretted her actions but what good would her regret do? Two of the people closest to her heart were in deep pain and she had no option but to be a silent spectator in the game which destiny chose to play with their hearts. How did she wish that she could reduce it but alas, she could never decide whose love should win and whose should surrender to the winner?
"She never realizes the worth of treasure she has. Really unfortunate, according to me."
What Adhrit saw in Mohini and fell for her, was a question which haunted Neysa's mind since ages but a bigger question was about the intention of their fates which decided to make Mohini win and her love lose.
The door suddenly clicked upon much to Neysa's surprise. She glanced at the watch to see that there was still a good-30-minute break left before they would get started again. With sheer courtesy, she pushed her lunch box away and stood up to receive the person who chose to consult her during the lunch break.
Her heart began beating away as her eyes fell on the sight they craved since weeks. It has been 29 days since they last met, she recounted. Warmth began in the pit of her abdomen and spread through her body, to every single cell, causing a blanket of goosebumps to cover her from head to toe.
"Hello? Neysa?" she heard Shipra questioning over the phone. It was almost as if she was paralyzed and had lost the ability to speak as the sight in front of her filled her senses. A familiar, soothing fragrance travelled to her brain, sending the signals of a happiness which knew no bounds.
Her breathing grew rapid and that's when she realized that she needed to get a grip on herself. Bringing the phone near to her lips, she spoke,
"Shipra, will call you back. Adhrit is here."
She knew that Shipra would require no further explanation to understand the reason for her dropping the call.
"Hey Nisha! How are you?" asked Adhrit Solanki awkwardly, surprised at her state of surprise.
His fond nickname for her made a smile dance on her lips as she could feel her heart skip a beat for the man who stole it more than a decade before. Her nickname from his lips sounded like the sweetest rhythm she could ever have the privilege to hear and probably that was the reason she prohibited every person except the one standing in front of her from using the aforementioned name.
"Hello Adhrit. Quite a surprise seeing you here. Please take the seat," she said trying her best to come out of her flustered state.
Adhrit smiled at her, sending waves of warmth through her, as he took a seat opposite to her and soon, she followed the suite. She took in his sharp features, trying to memorize every single curve, every dip, every mark on his face and matching it with the one she had in her memory to note that he had stress written all over him.
"So, what's up, Adhrit? Anything special?" asked Neysa, knowing the answer to her question but choosing to hear it from him anyways.
"I will be honest with you, Nisha. I am here for a purpose and I have no intention or reason to hide it. I recently had a discussion with Mohini and that led to a revelation from her side. It had not been the best revelation of my life, in fact it was one of the worst," he said with a somber expression on his face which she hated to see.
"I am sorry about that, Adhrit. Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked, hoping that there was a way she could make him smile. More than a decade before she had resigned to the fact that his happiness made her more content than her own and that had been the driving force behind Neysa's decision of giving up on trying to win him over and letting him go to someone's arms which gave him happiness.
"That's exactly why I am here. She said that she would never want to conceive and is fine with me opting for surrogacy. Coming to the purpose I spoke about, promise me that you won't feel offended and would not hate me. I would hate for that to happen," he said.
I could never be angry with you, least of all hate you, thought Neysa but chose to keep her thoughts with herself.
"Not at all, Adhrit. We are friends and what are friends for? To help when the time comes. Tell me what I can do, and I would try my level best to do it," she said, her eyes never leaving his disconsolate face.
"Nisha, could you be the surrogate to my child?" he asked, leaving her shocked.