Itefaaq

Chapter 1: What now?

Bepanah AU set after the court case. In this reality, solid proof comes forward that Yash is the murderer (as opposed to being framed). Rajveer is, of course, OOC as I'm ignoring the track where he goes batshit crazy and tries to murder everyone but I tried to keep Mahi somewhat in character. Also, the dialogue is in romanized Hindi (or my best attempt at it at least) so I apologize if you can't understand it. Please send me a pm if you want the English translated version. Special thanks to my friend for proofreading (and if anyone notices any other mistakes, please let me know).

Disclaimer: I don't own Bepanah

Chapter 1: What now?

Mahi walked out of the courthouse in a trance-like state. She had left right after her mother had gone to Zoya and her family, begging their forgiveness on behalf of her son. Mahi couldn't face them - not after all she had done to Zoya.

Bhaiya... Mujhe laga ki sab galti Zoya ki hi thi lekhin... Shayad aap hum sab ko dokha de rahe the... Patha nahi maine kya kya kiya Zoya ke saath yeh sochkar ki voh yeh sab deserve karthi hai. Yeh aapne kya kiya, bhaiya?

Mahi was suddenly broken from her trance as she saw a livid looking Rajveer pass by her. In his hand, he clutched a paper with such ferocity that Mahi took a step back, remembering how he had put a gun to her head the last time she had seen him this angry.

Rajveer had taken no notice of Mahi until she stepped backwards suddenly. He had just received a suspension notice, pending investigation, caused by none other than Mr. Harshvardhan Hooda. The exact thing he had been trying to prevent - a guilty man being let go consequent-free - had occurred and he was beyond angry. Yes, Aditya Hooda may not have committed the murder, but he and Zoya had committed fraud together, and refused to cooperate with the police on many occasions, and yet, they were let off without any punishment. Rajveer wasn't even able to bring himself to form a word let alone a sentence so when he noticed Mahi, he simply turned and glared at her.

Staring back at him for a moment, Mahi finally spoke, "Kya tum kisiko jaante ho jisko paying guest ya tenant ki zaroorat hain?"

Of all of the things he thought she was going to say, this was not one of them. In his surprise, Rajveer lamely said, "Kya?"

"Meri Maa ko shayad Zoya maaf kar degayi lekhin mujhe rehene ki jagah dondhi padegi," Mahi explained.

"Kyon? Tumhari maa tumko ghar se kyon nikalegi" Rajveer said, momentarily forgetting his own predicament.

Mahi shook her head. "Ghar humara kabhi tha hi nahi. Mere maahan bhaiya-ji ne ghar Zoya ke naam karvakar khudkushi kar le to humari sirf behsti hi nahi hui, lekhin ab humare paas jaane ki jagah bhi nahi hai. Jaanti hoon, tumhara nuksaan bhi hua hai to patha nahi tumhe kyon batha rahi hoon yeh sab..."

For a moment, Rajveer just stared at her. She was right; there was no reason for her to be telling him all this. They weren't friends. Yet, somehow Rajveer was able to see that in this turn of events, Mahi was probably the one who came out last - even further behind than him. Mind you, she probably deserved it for plotting against her sister-in-law and manipulating both Zoya and Adi's image in the press but then he had done the same too. Suddenly, he had an idea.

"Dekho, agar tum ithni museebat mein ho, to mere ghar paying guest ban kar kyon nahi aati? Vaise bhi, mujhe suspension mil chooka hai to mujhe paise ki zaroorat bhi hogi," Rajveer said seriously.

"Tumhare ghar? I mean, are you sure?" Mahi said, looking surprised. She didn't necessarily love the idea - especially since she had seen him when he was angry and he had been practically unhinged - but she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. She had no friends in the city and she didn't know the first thing about looking for a place to live so at least this way she knew the person whose house she would be living in.

"Sure, why not? Lekin mere kuch rules hain jo tumhe follow karne honge," Rajveer warned.

"Kaunse rules...?" Mahi inquired.

"Main tumko message kar doonga. Uske saath saath main tumhe address aur move-in ka time bhi message kar doonga. Don't be late," Rajveer said and walked swiftly away from her, leaving Mahi stunned outside of the courthouse.

"I don't know what just happened..." Mahi said out loud to herself.