Abhinav

Part 44 - Appeal (7)

Akshara said, 'Your Honour, as already stated by me and cross verified by Mr. Srivastav, Abhinav and I visited only on weekends as per the conditions laid down by the previous judgement and only with the permission of Dr. Birla. Infact, Abhir was influenced to reject Abhinav and me..'
'Objection, Your..'
Akshara plunged on,'It is but obvious that Mr. Srivastav will find that Abhinav and I have been influencing Abhir and vice versa for us. Therefore, Your Honour, I would like to call someone with a neutral POV, an insider of Birla Mansion, who can shed light on what happened from the time Dr. Birla won the sole custody till today. I would like to call..'.

Mr. Srivastav and Manjari exchanged a knowing look.
That snake Aarohi, who else? Let her come, I have been waiting impatiently for this moment. Mr. Srivastav is going to destroy her. All her kaands before marriage with Neil as well as after marriage will be exposed. No reputable hospital will give her a job and I will see to it. Serves her right for living on Birla money but supporting the trashy Sharmas.
'..Mrs. Shefali Parth Birla'.

Akshara turned to look at Mr. Srivastav and felt relieved that she had taken the right decision. The shock on his face showed that he had been expecting Aarohi. She saw as Mr. Srivastav turned to look at a fuming Manjari. Akshara had known that they would be expecting Aarohi because of their blood relation and because Aarohi had been a vocal supporter of Akshara and her family since a long time. She knew that Mr. Srivastav would discredit Aarohi's testimony based on the wrongdoings of her past. That's why Akshara had refused to let Aarohi be a part of this appeal inspite of her insistence.

Mr. Srivastav stammered, 'You..Your Honour..we .. We were not informed about this witness, Your Honour'.
Akshara contradicted, innocently, 'That's incorrect, Your Honour! The Honourable Court as well as Mr. Srivastav were informed on time about this witness'.
'The papers only mention a Birla witness! This is unfair! This is cheating!..'.
'Mr. Srivastav! Behave yourself! This is a Court, not a theatrical production where you will scream and accuse without reason! Mrs. Shefali Parth Birla is obviously a Birla witness. What issue do you have right now? Why didn't you raise an issue when the information regarding calling a Birla witness was provided 2 weeks ago?'.

Mr. Srivastav was lost for words.
I am in deep trouble. These wicked Birlas have ruined my career. Disaster case..
I didn't object to the witness because Mrs. Manjari Birla had said with full confidence that the Birla witness was going to be Aarohi Neil Birla and that she wanted her to be destroyed in Court. I thought that discrediting Aarohi's testimony would be easy as she is Akshara's sister. Now, another Birla daughter - in - law is ready with her tales of woe and the Judge will listen. What a crazy family! Every DIL is ready to testify against them..
Oh God! This appeal is lost. The Birlas will catch me by the throat and..

'Mr. Srivastav!'.
'I apologise, Your Honour. I have no objection to Mrs. Shefali as witness', said Mr. Srivastav, helplessly. He caught Mrs. Manjari's furious stare and sat down with a heavy sigh. There was nothing he could do.
Akshara continued, 'Mrs. Shefali, please tell the Honourable Court whatever you have observed in Birla Mansion regarding Abhir'.

Shefali nodded, determined, 'Your Honour, Abhir was crestfallen when he entered Birla Mansion. I have never seen a kid so quiet, so dull and especially not Abhir. However, I chalked it down to new environment adjustment issues. 2 days passed and not a word came out of Abhir's mouth. He made no demands, not even regarding food. He eat, slept and studied as and when he was asked to. Mrs. Manjari then consulted a Pandit ji and on his advice, kept a big Pooja to integrate Abhir in Birla family. During the Pooja, the Pandit ji asked Abhir for his full name and that is when he spoke for the first time in Birla Mansion. He said he was Abhir Abhinav Sharma..'.
Abhinav and Akshara became teary eyed.
Nikkeji, you are the greatest blessing of my life. Love you, Aara.
'..This brought about a huge change in Manjari ji. Since that time, she became very controlling as regards Abhir. She wouldn't even let Abhimanyu take decisions for him..'.