Chapter 117 - 116

Charan stayed still for a while but then he could not take the eerie stillness of the forest. He was a city boy surrounded by motor sounds and horns even in the dead of the night. So this emptiness gave him creeps.

The sound of the wind and the rustling of the leaves surrounded him from all directions. But other than that, there was no noise of anything living and breathing for as long as he could see or hear. Just when he was struggling to get her on his back, he heard a rustling sound and Hank came into view. Charan let out a sigh of relief.

"This is where she will always come whenever she fought with her dad," Hank explained and helped him secured her on his back. He then led the way much to Charan's relief. If he hadn't come, Charan was sure to be in a lot of trouble.

Charan followed him without a word. His strides were much slower since he had Shreya at his back. He even stumbled in a few places.

"I can carry her…" Hank offered after a while.

But Charan refused politely. What took Charan 15 minutes to reach the first time took twice as long to return. When they reached the garden, two or three maids came out rushing.

They led him to Shreya's room. Charan thanked Hank and followed the maids. Once they reached her room, he requested one of them to change Shreya into more comfortable clothes and asked a pair of sleeping clothes for himself from Adithya's room. Since Shreya herself gave him the clothes he was wearing, he figured it should be okay.

When he came back after changing and freshening up in the guest room, Shreya was already changed into a big t-shirt and tucked in. Just then somebody knocked on the doors very softly.

When he opened the doors, an elderly maid stood there with a glass of milk and a jug full of water.

Charan took them from her and thanked her. But she did not make a move to leave.

"Is there anything else??" Charan asked.

The maid hesitated for a second and said, "Bhagya madam requested that you stay Shreya tonight… Shreya hadn't stayed over here in a very long time so she was worried she might not have a good sleep tonight."

"Don't worry about it. I will be here…" Charan replied with a smile.

The maid bowed and left. Charan drank the milk and kept the water in the bedside table. He then called Anand exiting the room. He did not want to risk waking her up.

"Hey, how is she??" Anand asked straight away worried.

"About what you would expect. She is asleep now though. I just wanted to inform you guys… I know you would be worried." Charan replied.

"We are. We would have stayed back but Shreya… she… Just take care of her for us." Anand said with a heavy heart. Anand and Bhagya very much wanted to stay back. But if Shreya saw them worried about her, she would start putting up a brave front for their sake. That would defeat the whole purpose. They did not want to add to her stress. But Charan being there was a big relief all in all for which he was really grateful for.

Charan hung up on Anand after bidding good night and went back in. He saw Shreya was curled up into fetal position and tears streamed down all over again. The only plus side was she was not awake. Charan sighed and went and sat beside her. He brushed the tears away and whispered scolding her, "I don't know where do you even have tears to still shed in that small body of yours??"

Just as he wiped them away, Shreya filled them all over again. Charan couldn't take it. So scooped her and sat her on his laps in hopes of what?? he did not know. But he didn't like seeing her cry. And since she was not crying when he carried her here, he thought this would maybe work. At least, he hoped it would.

Shreya subconsciously leaned towards his warmth. She curled up against his chests and snuggled in comfortably.

Charan thought things worked out but then he felt his t-shirt wet all over again.

"Can you stop with the water work already??" Charan scolded her in a whisper exasperated. Just then the maid from before knocked and peeked in to check on them. She knew it was inappropriate but she was worried about Shreya. But when she saw Charan's predicament, an idea struck her.

She gestured Charan to follow her. Charan frowned in confusion but then since she was elderly and seemed like she knew what she was doing, he scooped Shreya in his arms and followed her quietly.

She came to a standstill outside a door two-room over from Shreya. She went and showed Charan to a rocking chair.

Charan got what she was trying to do, so he gestured a thank you and sat on the chair with Shreya in his laps. Shreya stirred and found a comfortable position for herself and rested her head against his chests. Charan slowly rocked the chair holding her in place and softly patted on her back. He held her securely in his embrace.

The maid left and came back with a blanket and a bottle of water. And at last, exited the room after tucking the blanket over them both and adjusting the airconditioning temperature. And for some reason, the rocking seemed to help. Shreya stopped with her waterworks and slept peacefully snuggling in.

Charan's hands lingered over her head protectively while he peppered kissed over her temple and whispered sweet nothings into her ears every now and then. Only when he saw that Shreya had quieted down, his own eyes closed on their own accords. He had had a long day after all. Thus he fell asleep in the rocking chair with Shreya wrapped safely in his arms.