Chapter 35: Chapter 35

"The mirror of life shows you, woman or man,

But in the heart of the soul, you are neither.

This is why Love is blind."

Kunal and Chandani continued to meet each other every day as if they were in their courting period now and would espouse in the next few months.

One precise day, the sun again emanated in the charismatic Kolkata and Chandani was wholly thrilled to go for an outing with Kunal.

"I think this red dress will look gorgeous on me," she murmured to herself, after selecting a dress which she had bought from Italy.

Chandani applied the required makeup and subsequently was ready to go out with Kunal, her newfound love.

When she just walked outside her house, she saw her father's bodyguards around. She still had kept her relationship a secret from her father and even her mother as she knew that they would never be positive about it since the boy associated was from a business class. They had already told her about how she would be made to marry someone from their caste, their clan, someone like them, someone from some gangster family. She sighed and moved towards her personal bodyguards.

Chandani warned them not to follow her and secretly got outside her lane. There on the main road, she saw a BMW parked outside and Kunal was there, standing against his car, while his eyes were trained on his smartphone. Realizing someone's footsteps approaching him, he looked up and saw Chandani coming towards him.

"Hi," Chandani greeted him with a smile and Kunal looked at her mesmerized.

Kunal complimented her in a gentleman tone, "You know, you look beautiful in this dress, I mean gorgeous".

"Thank you," Chandani flushed profusely like a bride, she was truly behaving like a lovesick-b*tch in front of him.

"Shall we go now?" Kunal opened the door like a true nobleman and asked her to sit inside.

"So, today I'm going to take you on a long drive, are you ready?" Kunal invited her in an excited tone to which she nodded her head affirmatively.

"Let's play twenty questions to get to know each other better which we play almost every day," Kunal pipped in and Chandani got all ready to play. They started with some very basic introductory questions, later on, which turned into the questions which were quite serious.

"So, tell me the worst thing that you have ever done to someone," Kunal asked her in a naughty way, his eyes full of playfulness, but Chandani got it in another way, she first asked him to reply.

"Well, once when I was drunk, I actually killed a person. Also, I had killed my girlfriends back in the past as they were too annoying," Kunal answered in a solemn tone and Chandani's mouth was now in "O" shape. He was also like her, killing people mercilessly. Maybe she could even share her past with him.

"I had almost killed someone in the name of vengeance and revenge," Chandani answered truthfully, she wanted Kunal to know everything about her life, she didn't want to keep him in dark.

"Who?" Kunal asked her casually.

"It is a long story," Chandani replied, her eyes remembering the things which she had done to Dhruv, Ayushi, and their family.

"Tell me," Kunal persuaded her to go on.

"Promise me first that you won't judge me, I just did it for my family," Chandani looked at Kunal in an uneasy manner and he grabbed her hand in a promising manner, giving her encouragement to go on.

"I promise, I won't judge," he smiled at her slightly.

"Actually, there was this guy named Dhruv. He had a crush on me since the time he had met me at a party, I guess. But it was actually a trap from my end. His father was the reason why my father was behind the bars for the freaking fifteen years. As that Dhiraj Singh Rajput destroyed my father's career, so to take revenge against him, I had an affair with his son, Dhruv Singh Rajput, to destroy him beyond repair," Chandani smiled bitterly and Kunal was grasping the things, the hard way.

"But in all this game, came another enemy which was also that Dhruv's wife, Ayushi. She was my brother's girlfriend, and she was the reason for my brother's death too. So, to make them suffer, I used to drug Dhruv. That made him behave monstrously with his wife and day-by-day I increased his doses; he was becoming inhumane day-by-day and their suffering gave so much soothing to my heart".

"And one fine day, I separated them. Ayushi was carrying that Dhruv's baby inside her womb, and that day only I had made him threw her out of his house. The same way how my father was thrown inside the jail when I was in my mother's womb. And till today, they are separated. Now, that Dhiraj knows how difficult it is to live without his own flesh, now he is getting the taste of his own medicines. His son, daughter-in-law, maybe his grandchildren too, they are nowhere to be found. I even read a piece of news, Ayushi and her babies were dead under the landslide. I don't have much knowledge about it, but my revenge is completed," Chandani's eyes shone with hatred and abhorrence for the Rajputs.

"Wow, your story sounds like something just out of Bollywood, you can be the next hotshot for the next inspiring "Biopic" of India," Kunal's mouth was opened, he was literally shocked after hearing all this.

"Yeah, yeah," Chandani smiled at him darkly, he was also like her. Dark and cruel, that was sure. Otherwise, he would've started hating her after hearing this story but here he was cheering for her.

"By the way, how did you come into this business?" he had asked her after a little while.

"Well, it's in our blood to actually run this business. My father had established this business some twenty years ago. As once you get inside this business, it is nearly impossible to get out of it, so that's how even I was indulged in it. As my brother is no more, so eventually I had to maintain all this business," Chandani replied in a haughty way, she was proud of the business that she was doing. The business of selling a woman's virtue.

"That's nice. At least you are 'empowered'," Kunal spoke out, although bitterly that she couldn't notice.

"So, what about you?" Chandani asked him back.

"Well, my grandfather had established few resorts and hotels in India and then my father expanded the business and now I am on the mission to expand it more," he replied back with a proud smile on his face.

"I would love to spend some vacations on some of your exotic resorts after our marriage," Chandani hugged him partially while putting her head on his shoulder.

"So, what does your father do now?" Kunal asked her, humming a song.

"You don't know?" Chandani asked him in disbelief. He shook his head, not having a clue about her father's profession.

"Well, he is a gangster and he mostly deals in drugs and weapons supply to various countries," Chandani was truthful to him, as she knew that she could trust him. After all, he was her lover. How could she not trust him and it had been nearly one month of their relationship, and he was nice all the time to her.

"You know I love you right? And all these things do not matter for me," Kunal smiled at her encouragingly.

"I love you too," Chandani replied back and again put her head on his shoulder.

"Chandani, can I join your father's business? I mean who wouldn't want to be influential and powerful," Kunal asked with uncertainty.

"Why not! Even you are his future son-in-law, I think you have the right as well," Chandani replied back in a happy tone. Her fiancé was showing interest in their family business, how lucky could she get.

"Where can I meet him?" Kunal asked her after putting another hand on her hair, caressing it lovingly. He was driving with one hand only.

"Well, let me take you there, then," Chandani was far happier to introduce him to her father as he was ready to join their business. Even her father would be delighted after knowing this.

****

"Who are you?" Aranya asked in a meek voice. She was not so fond of strangers.

"Baby, where are your father and mother?" Dhiraj asked her in a sweet stone, trying not to intimidate his granddaughter.

"What work you have with them?" although Aranya was afraid of the stranger still she managed to ask Dhiraj in a confident tone, her hands on her hips now.

He smiled at her and moved away from her. Dadi, Pratibha, and Payal were witnessing the scene before them, they had even seen how cutely she was hiding behind the pillars.

"She is adorable," Payal commented while smiling at Aranya warmly but Aranya didn't return it back.

"Let's go inside," Dadi spoke out in a happy tone.

Aranya stood there gazing at their back, not knowing who they were actually.

"Come inside baby, some wolves are there, in the bushes," Payal got near Aranya and somehow, she trusted her and got inside. Her big doe-like eyes always feared those wolves whose howls they used to hear every night before sleeping.

Dhruv was busy searching Aranya but what he didn't expect was that in-between searching for his daughter, he would find his family that too with his daughter. He was shocked when he saw his family in front of him, whom he had not met from the past two long years.

Ayushi too came from the kitchen, carrying three cups of chocolate glasses of milk for her babies as well as her husband, and even her tracks were abruptly stopped when she saw her family standing in front of her. Somehow, she had managed to hold the tray steadily otherwise that would have dropped down so clichély like in those Hindi TV serials.

She put the tray down on the side table and ran towards her family while Dhruv was still rooted at his place.

"Dadi," she hugged her grandmother and her eyes were balling out, with tears of separation, longingness, and pain. Even Gayathri too started crying after seeing Ayushi after so many years.

"I missed you," Dadi said and hugged her again. Now. Pratibha was hugging Ayushi, both mother and daughter duo were busy in taking out all their stored emotions from the past three years almost.

"Bhabhi, we missed you so much," Payal hugged her as well and started crying. The whole environment was so emotional but two persons were not. Dhiraj was busy glaring at Dhruv and the latter had put his head down in shame.

Ayushi reached Dhiraj and that's when Dhiraj realized that in his anger on Dhruv, he had forgotten about Ayushi.

"My daughter," his old eyes said it all that how much he had longed for his daughter, how much he had missed her every day.

"Agastya, why are they crying? And why nobody is hugging our Daddy?" Aranya after entering the house had immediately got near her brother and now she was whispering to her brother after witnessing the family reunion from which her daddy was excluded from.

Alka came outside from the kitchen after hearing the commotion outside. And even she was surprised. She had seen them on the television many times and now watching them being so emotional, she was shocked. Again, she knew what she had to do. She immediately got near the kids and took them to their room. She knew they needed a lot to discuss and these kids shouldn't witness that because whatever was going to be disclosed now would be consisting of things that these kids should never hear.

"Why did you take us here Masi and who are they?" Agastya asked her in a complaining manner.

"Because when elders are talking, babies should not listen, it is not a good manner. And they are your family," Alka tried to explain deliberately and closed the door of their room.

"Let's watch your favorite cartoon show, Doraemon," Alka somehow managed to divert their attention.

"I wish everything is sorted, God," she prayed and continued to laugh with the babies whenever some funny scenes came.

"You have given me a heart attack when we got to know about the landslide incident," Dhiraj was now complaining to Ayushi, with tears pouring down his wrinkled cheeks.

"I am sorry Papa," Ayushi was feeling guilty because she had hurt these innocent people whose only fault was that they were Dhruv's family.

Dhiraj hugged her again and all the other family members too were emotional.

Being a mother, Pratibha couldn't resist herself and got near Dhruv and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you so much son, for once, we had thought that you are no more, but after seeing you after so many years, finally my heart is at rest that you are safe and sound," Pratibha cried after hugging her son. Payal too came along her side and group-hugged her mother & brother.

"I missed you all as well," Dhruv's eyes were moist and finally he was feeling complete. His whole family was here now, completing the void which he had formed inside his heart from the last two years.

"I will bring water, please sit," once Ayushi was sober, she rushed towards the kitchen to bring water for them.

Dhiraj and Gayathri were now in front of Dhruv. They too had missed him but they were not going to admit that. Dhruv looked at them but his eyes were guilt-ridden.

"Dad," Dhruv spoke out in a broken voice, his eyes having the pain, agony, and suffering of what he had gone through in these two years without his family.

"Where were you from the last two years?" Dhiraj asked his son in a strict tone, somehow, he couldn't make his heart to forgive his son for what he had done to his daughter-like, daughter-in-law, Ayushi.

Ayushi, once in the kitchen, drank a full glass of water to calm her nerves, and then she realized that her kids were nowhere to be seen along with Alka. She immediately took out the dinner in three plates, according to the food portion of Alka and her babies respectively, and got upstairs where they were supposed to be.

"Alka, please open the door," Ayushi knocked on the door and Alka immediately opened that.

"Please keep them inside till the matter is solved and here is the dinner for you, eat well and make them sleep if they are tired, please. They will meet their family tomorrow," Ayushi gave the tray to Alka.

"Don't worry Di, I will make them eat properly, and I will not let them out too. Go and sort out every mess," Alka after putting the dinner on the table which was near the door, hugged Ayushi and assured her for her children.

"I don't know what I'll do without you, thank you so much Alka," Ayushi whispered and hugged her tightly.

"Now go before these supermen see you," they chuckled and finally Ayushi went downstairs. The two supermen were fully engrossed in the new episodes of 'Peppa pig' which was also one of their favorites.

Finally, Ayushi was in the living room now, where she could see how everyone was so engrossed with Dhruv while he was telling them about his whereabouts that no one noticed her presence.

"Dad, I know I did very bad to Ayushi but even you know that I was drugged all the way long to behave so inhumanely with her, I was made to behave like a monster. But ultimately, it was my fault to trust that Chandani. I am so sorry, Dad, Dadi, Maa. Please forgive me, your son cannot endure more separation from you all, please," Dhruv was on his knees now, balling his eyes out, with only guilt, pain, and shame in them.

"Have Ayushi forgiven you, Dhruv?" even Dhiraj was shaken to the core after knowing what his son had to go through in these two years.

Dhruv did bad, really bad but what he had to endure was worse than that. Firstly, living with a lie for the whole two years that his family was no more, how much traumatic and painful it had been for him, then his Baba and Yashodhara Maa's death and then one month in a mental asylum. What he did to Ayushi, he had already paid his price for that. Karma had already given him the fruits of his doings.

"Yes, Dad, I have forgiven him. Not me, but nature had already punished him more than the things that he had done to me, I cannot see him in pain anymore," Ayushi replied in a torn state.

"You have to earn my forgiveness, Dhruv," Dadi for the first time spoke, with a finality in her voice.

~**•**~

Please don't forget to leave your comment and voting is your birthright!