"Baahubali!" Rk screamed as he took his one year old daughter, Ruhi, in his hand & lifted her up making her squeal. Rk was lying down on the bed & holding his tiny daughter up in his hand like how it was shown in the movie Baahubali'
"Paapaaa" Ruhi shook her hands & legs in the air, trusting her dad to hold her safely. Then Rk brought back his hand down & placed his baby girl on his torso & kissed her head.
"Oh Ruhi, my Ruhi" Rk hugged his daughter gently in his arms as Ruhi happily rested her head on her dad's chest. She got tired playing with her dad & now she wanted to rest to regain her energy.

Feeling someone's gaze on him, Rk turned his head to find Madhu staring at him & Ruhi with a happy smile but her eyes brim with tears.
"Why are you standing there?" Rk asked seeing her standing at the door way with a sad smile.
"You okay?" Rk asked when Madhu slowly walked towards them & sat down on the floor beside the bed & she started caressing Ruhi's head.
"You both look so adorable" Madhu whispered.
"And why you are saying that in a sad tone?" Rk asked curiously. Since last night she was so lost in her own world. He confessed his feelings for her & also proposed to marry her but she made her point that will never happen. He was so upset but then his baby girl changed his mood.
"What's wrong, Madhu? Should I take you to your house back?" Rk asked though he wanted to spend few more days with his girls in his beach resort far away from the fake world he was ruling being a superstar.
"Rk... she is dozing off."
"Let her sleep on my chest. I love holding her this close." He told her & gently patted Ruhi's back lulling her to sleep.
"There is no particular time for her to sleep..." Madhu's lips quiver up a little.
"Her life is so peaceful... no worries, no tension... she just eat, play & sleep."
"Rk... You have to be very attentive... She wakes up in the midnight & cry for her milk, then morning she wakes before sun peeps out its head up above the horizon & that time again you give her milk... She takes her bath at 8 am & before that she will have her breakfast. You know to make her baby food right?"
"Why you are telling me all this? Where you going somewhere leaving Ruhi with me?"
Madhu slowly nodded her head.
"Where? I will take you. You don't go alone. Or you take Ruhi with you. She will need you."
"No!"
"Why, Madhu? Its not that I am not ready to look after her.. But still she will need you. Whatif she cries for you?"
"She won't, Rk. You are there for her." Madhu said with a soft smile. "I never thought I could trust you ever again... But I do."
"Thanks for trusting me." Rk sat up on the bed still holding Ruhi close to his chest.

"Okay, tell me where you wanna go?"

"I don't know! I will find a place in this world."
"What? What do you mean?" Rk asked her in shock as his heart clenched with fear. it could not be what he was thinking! she can't leave them. she can't leave her Ruhi.
"I have thought a lot about this decision..."
"What decision?"
"Rishab, last night you asked me to marry you..."
"But you said no & I understand your reticence."
"I hurts to stay with you."
"Madhu, please don't do this." Rk pleaded her guessing what was up next.
"Ruhi loves you so much Rk. She will have a happy & safe life with you..."
"Madhu..."
"I can't stay close with you & Ruhi can't stay away from you... After a long time she got her father so let her stay with you... Take care of her."
"Madhu, Ruhi needs you."
Madhu looked down at her feet as tears pools her eyes.

"Rk, you wanted to tell the whole world nah that Ruhi is your daughter?"
"Yes." Rk nodded his head.
"Tell them. She is all yours." Madhu said caressing Ruhi back. "And when Ruhi grows up & ask for her me then tell her I am dead."
"Madhu no!" Rk said, horrified.
"I am going Rk. Good bye." She said & leaning forward she kissed Ruhi's head.
"Madhu, no. I am not going to let you go." Rk stopped her by holding her wrist.
"I am sorry I asked you to marry me... I am sorry for saying I love you to you... I will never say those words again unless & untill you ask me to say so... So please don't go."
"I am scared." She confessed. He looked at her confused. "I am scared that my wall of hatred for you will break down & I fall in love with you again... I don't want that to ever happen. I don't want to forgive you ever after all the horrible things you did to me. then I will hate myself. I don't want that. So I need this distance. I want to stay away from you & make myself assure that it was all a dream & you have never came into my life." Madhu said looking away.
"Is that what you want?" Rk asked in a painful voice.
"Yes. I don't want you & I don't want to snatch your right... Your Ruhi from you..."
"Will you be without her? Will she be without you?"
"Hard! But we have to accept each others lose." Madhu said with a heavy heart.
"Madhu..." Rk stopped her again. When she turned towards him, he stared at her for few seconds before sinking down on the flood, kneeling in front of Madhu with Ruhi in his arms.
"I promised you that I will never take away Ruhi from you & for the first time I am gonna keep up with my promise." Rk said looking up at Madhu with tear brimming eyes. He had never cried & today he was crying for the girls he loved the most. He kissed Ruhi's forehead. "Paa" Ruhi's first word rang in his ears which made him cry more. Then he took Ruhi in his arms & placed her gently on the floor in front of Madhu's feet.

"Take her. Take her with you. She is yours. I don't deserve her but you do. you only brought her to this world after so much struggle when i was happily enjoying my life out here... I wish I hadn't met you & Ruhi the other day in the mall... then I wouldn't be this broken now... saying all that... i still thank the day I met you & my baby girl... I am happy I got a chance to hold her in my arms & love her... I got the chance to tell you how sorry I feel for what I did to you... I know.. I neither deserve your forgiveness or you & Ruhi back in my life... take her with you, Madhu..." Rk said & covering his face he cried.
"I won't trouble you by showing my face to you." Rk said looking down at her feet, still kneeling on the floor. "You stay safe & happy with our daughter. I shall live the rest of my life with Ruhi & your memory." Rk wiped his tears with his shirt sleeve to look at Ruhi for one last time.

"My beautiful girl. Papa loves you, darling." He whispered kissing Ruhi's hand & again his eyes wells up. Then he looked up at Madhu but didn't dare to say he loves her too fearing she would hate to hear that from him. "Madhu, will you tell her that her father loves her so much when she grows up?" Rk asked hopefully. Madhu nodded her head.

"Goodbye!" Rk stood up & turned the other way looking all defeated, like a failure. He didn't know when & how his feeling for Ruhi & Madhu grew this deeper and now the thought of staying away from them was just killing him.

"Thanks for giving my life back to me, Rk" Madhu whispered, and then picking Ruhi from the floor in her arms, she looked at Rk's back for few seconds before walking out with a sleeping Ruhi.

--0--

"Paa... Paa..." Ruhi cried for her dad. Madhu tried her best to put her to sleep but Ruhi got so cranky. Ruhi didn't even eat anything. She just kept puking up her gut out & cried. Madhu thought she will forget about her father once she had slept & in the morning she will be back to her adorable smiling self.

"Ruhi.. Ruhi... here, your teddy... Hug this & go to sleep baby..." Madhu showed Ruhi's favorite soft toy & made some funny faces but Ruhi grabbed the teddy bear & threw it rudely on the floor. When her mom tried to cover her with a blanket she kicked off her blankie too. She kept crying throwing her hands & legs in the air. Madhu's heart pierced seeing her little angel crying, missing her dad. At one point Madhu was so annoyed with her daughter wondering from when she started knowing her dad? Less than a week, right? Then how come a small baby of a year old can get so attached? Rk must have done some magic on my daughter. Madhu grumbled. Finally after an hour, Ruhi went to sleep, sobbing.

Madhu lay beside Ruhi & patted her tummy gently. She didn't know what to do now. Ruhi got so attached with her dad in the short span. She didnt knw whether it was the right thing to keep her daughter away from Rk? Was she doing the right to Ruhi & to herself? Yes, she knew she can never see Rk the way she used to see. She was a love sick puppy then. Always running behind him & pleasing him always... Not because she wanted to star opposite to him... Though it was the initial motive of hers... But then her views changed once she fell in love with him. She was so blindly in love with him that she couldn't even listen to her Nani's words or by herself see Rk was playing with her. So yeah! The scar he had given her will never fade. She will never forgive him or take him back in her life. But what about Ruhi?? Now she was just a baby but once she grew up she will want to know about her dad, won't she? Then what she will tell her?? Tell her the truth or lie to her? What will happen to Rk? He said he loved Ruhi so much & that was acceptable but what about his words of starting to love her? How can he love her when she meant nothing to him or did she? How can he suddenly fall in love with her? Was it another game? A game to get hold on her Ruhi? Was he using her again? No! This time she won't let him win her. With that determination Madhu laid back on the bed, placing her hand over Ruhi's chest.

"I am sorry baby girl." Madhu whispered to her daughter & planted a kiss on her forehead.

Madhu woke up by 3 in the morning, Ruhi's usual time of feed. Madhu turned on the lights & looked beside her to see her little girl sleeping. She wondered why she didnt wake up with a cry indicating her mother to feed her milk.

"My poor baby! Why you didn't wake up with your cry? Got exhausted hun?" Madhu cooed & leaned forward & kissed her forehead.

"Omg!" Madhu said panicking when she felt Ruhi's forehead burning. Madhu quickly placed her hand on Ruhi's neck & again on her forehead. Ruhi's temperature was so high. She was running high fever.

"Baby... Baby... Wake up darling." Madhu gently shook her baby girl but she didn't respond.

"Oh God! What I will do now?" Madhu started crying hugging her little girl.

"Ruhi... my baby... I won't let anything happen to you... momma's love will guard & protect you." Madhu dashed off her tears & placing Ruhi's on her shoulder & quickly grabbed the car key to take her to the nearby hospital.

--0--

Rk was sitting on the bed staring at his phone. He gently took his finger & caressed the screen of the phone. Ruhi in Madhu's arms was the picture he was gazing for a long time. May be from the minute Madhu left his house taking Ruhi with her. He wanted to drown himself in alcohol & forget everything. But he didn't succumb to drinks. He wanted to feel the pain of losing his child & Madhu. He deserved this pain for breaking Madhu's heart years ago.

She was one young, chirpy teenage girl who was crazy for him then. He took advantage of her innocence & spoiled her purity. Well, of course, it was a consensual relationship. She never stopped him but he never let her chance to stop him. He tricked her by giving her hopes & dreams of making her a heroine but he never kept his promise.

She was such a fool to trust him blindly & threw her virginity to him without any caution. If she was a fool then he was no lesser. He could have known the manners to not to knock her up. She was just nineteen then but he got her pregnant & left her suffer alone... reason? His stardom! He cared for his status. His Superstar status! For reel world he lost his real world!

He didn't want to get married to her or take the responsibility of being a father as he felt he was not a father material. How wrong was he? The bond Ruhi & he shared was so pure & that came so naturally. Only if he had known that being a father to a child wasn't a curse but a blessing then he would have man up much earlier & took his responsibility & kept his Madhu & his child happier. He wasn't in love with Madhu when they were together. It was purely lust for him but on hindsight he knew she was falling for him. He mistook her feelings & thought she was an ambitious girl who was using him as a ladder to achieve her goal of becoming a heroine. He f**ked everything beautiful he had!

"God! I hate myself for the awful things I said to Madhu when she came to me & gave the news that she was pregnant with my child. I asked her to give the happy news to the child's father when I knew she had never stepped closer to any man other than me." Rk cried & closed his eyes in pain.

"Now, I lost them... lost them forever. Madhu hates me & will never let me in her & their daughter's life. Ruhi will never be mine. I can never hold my baby girl in my arms. She will grow without her father. But I know Madhu will keep her happy. However young she is, she is one wonderful mother. She will always put Ruhi first before her needs & happiness."

"How I wish this meaningless life of mine ends this minute?" suddenly a horrid thought occurs to him. He looked at the knife kept on the fruit basket which was sitting on top of the bedside table. He took the knife in his hand & stared at it testing the sharpness of the knife with his thumb.

"Just one slit! My miserable existence will come to an end!" Rk took the knife closer to his neck as he tipped his head back.

"I love you, Ruhi... I love you, Madhu..."

... To be continued!!!

Vote, Comment and Share!!!