Rakesh was deeply disturbed... whatever Arjun had said made a lot of sense. He had blindly followed his elder brother and, though he was always arguing with his bhabhi, he had unknowingly accepted all the blames she had put on his daughter who had no fault in whatever happened.
He and his wife were told beforehand by the doctor that if they decided to have another child after Arjun, it might be dangerous for his wife. It was bhabhiji who had pestered them to go for another child, saying that doctors unnecessarily scared people and nothing would happen... she had a selfish motive in that too... she wanted to adopt their child as she was unable to have one of her own... but Naina being a girl, she had refused at the time of birth...
Naina's face suddenly floated in front of him... as a baby... she had been an extremely beautiful and quiet child... as if she was aware of the absence of her mother and rebuke of her father... she never cried. As she grew up, he had hardly seen her talk or ask for anything like normal kids. Just a few times in her later years in school, she had requested him to attend the award ceremony where she was to be awarded for her exceptional academic performance... but he did not pay heed to it...
Why... he wondered. He wanted his children to shine, to get a name, to be well known for their achievements... then why did he not encourage her, appreciate her or support her?
And bhabhiji's words rang in his ears, "Arre Rakesh babu, ladki hai yeh toh... kal ko doosre ghar chali jayegi... ek toh iske janm ke saath iski maa ki maut ka dosh juda hai, pata nahi kaise rishta hoga iska... agar zyada padh likh ke hawa mein udne lagi toh ho chuki iski shaadi... aap isse sar pe mat chadhao... jitna daant dapat ke rakhoge utni hi kaabu mein rahegi... waise shakal surat toh kuch hai nahi isliye ghar baithe rishta milne se raha... aapko hi duniya bhar ki daud bhaag karni padegi... main toh kehti hun zyada padhai likhai ke bajaye isko ghar ka kaam sikaho aur gaon mein shaadi karwa do atharah saal ki hote hi... wahan dahej bhi zyada nahi dena padega... iss ladki ke liye yahi theek rahega."
Her constant hammering regarding Naina being a girl and a liability made him think of her as the same. He cursed himself... why couldn't he follow his younger brother instead... Anand had raised both his daughters with lots of love and pampering... in fact he had showered the same love on Naina, never thinking her to be any different from Pooja or Preeti. It was his firm decision to let Naina study as much as she wanted that had led her to be the person she was today... he had let her fulfill all her dreams and make an identity for herself. No wonder she considered him more of a father than her real father... he did not deserve her respect.
But today, for the first time, he was seeing her with a different eye... the girl who he had neglected and ridiculed all his life was a strong and determined person now... ready to take a stand for herself and what she wanted. He was earlier surprised... no, shocked... when she stood up against everyone for Sameer... for an outsider. But was he really an outsider? The way he accepted the slap... would the arrogant Sameer Maheshwari of school have taken it ever? Rakesh never had the courage to hit him school... though he had a reputation of raising his hand even before speaking. Somehow, Sameer gave him the impression that he would not let any such thing happen to him... either he would hold his hand or maybe... he was embarrassed to admit but he feared that Sameer might hit him back. The defiance in his eyes was was too much for Rakesh to attempt anything more than occasional shouting.
Today, that defiance was missing... he was soft... and pleading...
But he could see the determination in his eyes, just like Naina. They were ready to fight for each other... ready to bear everything for each other... ready to give up anything just to be together...
Why did they ask for his permission? As Arjun said, they were legally married now... then why they were going through this pain? Did they really value his acceptance... and wanted his blessings? Did he still have some importance in his daughter's life? Did she have any expectation from him?
