The dark clouds which were overshadowing Nandini and Armaan's life were finally moving away and letting the sunlight peak through. Ever since that night they had spent together, they had now started to get rid of the toxicity they had for each other. Their feelings were rapidly changing but they were yet unaware of what those feelings were.
But the same couldn't be said for Armaan's relationship with his parents. It only had worsened since the day he had told Nandini the truth. It hurt them a lot, but there was a piece he had no knowledge of.
• • • • •
It was early in the morning yet people were still in a rush. Including Armaan. He was always in a rush to get to work, even though it didn't start for another hour and half. But Armaan being Armaan, he always reached there before time, claiming it was better to get more work done.
"You're always in a rush." Nandini said, who was standing by the bottom of the stairs and eating an apple. "I have things to do, unlike you." Armaan retorted back as he reached the last step. Nandini scrunched up her nose and stuck her tongue out at him. Armaan just shook his head, knowing no one can stop Nandini's childishness.
"Why don't you ever eat breakfast?" she asked as Armaan fixed his blazer. "Cause I don't feel like it." came his simple reply. Nandini inwardly groaned as she knew there was no point in talking with him. When he is in a rush, his answers will only make a person angry.
"Bye Mr. Oberio. Make sure to do as much as work possible." Nandini sarcastically smiled, waving with her fingers. "Don't worry, will do." Armaan sarcastically said.
As he was about to exit the doors, he was stopped by Sunita's voice. "Armaan, could you possibly drop me off on the way? I need to go meet a friend, her husband sadly passed away." Armaan stopped but didn't turn around. "You are one disgusting person. You have no grief of doing what you had done in this family and are going to go and help them fight their grief." Sunita's eyes welled up with Armaan's words.
"Armaan it's just-" "Shut up Nandini. I'm not going to listen to whatever you have to support her side. I can't believe you are still siding with her, even after I told you the truth." he said, turning around towards them. "And you, go find yourself another damn driver. I'm not your son nor am I your driver." he spat. Giving them both one last look, Armaan left, slamming the doors shut.
Nandini had known something like this would happen, so did Sunita. She regretted asking him as if she hadn't asked, she wouldn't then have had to see his hatred this early in the morning.
Nandini looked over at Sunita and saw her wiping her tears. "It's okay maa." she said, walking over to her. Sunita shook her head as Nandini consoled her, rubbing her back. "He's always going to hate me." "No. He won't. I had promised you that I'd get you and papa your son back. And I won't break that promise. I'll bring back the Armaan that has been buried deep down. I promise."
"Please don't tell him the truth Nandini." Nandini looked away, knowing she wouldn't be able to promise on that. Armaan needed to learn the truth and she'd unveil it somehow. "I can't promise that but I promise nothing will harm this relationship more." Nandini coaxed.
After Armaan had told Nandini the truth of his parents, she had went to Sunita and then Sunita had told her the part which Armaan didn't know of. He had no clue of it and up to date it still had been hidden from him. But Nandini knew if they wanted Armaan to come back to his normal self, they had to tell him the truth. Which she will.
• • • • •
Opening up the bedroom door, Armaan walked in and dropped his blazer onto the sofa. Knowing Nandini was outside in the balcony, Armaan went straight to change before doing some work.
As he exited the bathroom, Nandini was closing the bedroom door. "Where were you?" Armaan asked, confused to see her coming form outside. Hearing his voice, Nandini stilled. Crap. "Did he have to come just now!?" Slowly, Nandini turned around, making sure to hide everything behind her back.
Armaan looked at her, waiting for an answer. "Uh....I was getting water." Good save Nandini. "There's water right there." Armaan pointed towards the coffee table that had water sitting on it. Guess not. Nandini mentally cursed herself for coming up with such a stupid excuse. The faces she was making to scold herself were giving it even more away.
"Spit it out." Armaan crossed his arms against his chest, which showed he knew something was up and wouldn't move until he found out. "I told you. I was getting water. I went downstairs to get water because I was getting bored up here and wanted to snack on something." Seeing his stern expressions, Nandini knew he wasn't buying it.
"What's behind your back Nandini?" Nandini bit her lip, of course he knew. "Nothing." She knew this reply wouldn't make him budge and would only make him want to know even more. "Nandini. What's. Behind. Your. Back?" Armaan pressed each word harder as he knew Nandini was up to something.
Knowing there isn't anything to save now, she sighed and her hand fell to her side with the file. Armaan's eyes landed on the file as he narrowed them. "Who's file is that?" Taking a deep breath in, Nandini said, "I guess I'll tell you right now as you seem that curious, even though I was supposed to tell you later."
Armaan raised his eyebrow as Nandini walked closer to him. She handed him the file, which he took. Nothing was written on the outside so he opened it. Nandini sucked in her breath as she watched his eyes move around the file and read every word in it. His expressions were neutral so she couldn't tell anything.
After finishing reading the file, Armaan looked up and Nandini looked into his eyes, trying to read them. "What's this?" His voice was stern and Nandini didn't understand what he was feeling at the moment. She didn't know how to respond. "What's this Nandini?" he asked again after Nandini didn't reply the first time.
"The reports... The real reports after Saanvi maa's death." The air in Armaan's lungs was punched right out. No. It couldn't be right. These can't be her reports. But they were. They were her reports and the truth. The actual truth behind her death which he had no clue of.
"She had bladder cancer." Armaan lost his balance and took a step back. Nandini panicked but saw he was fine and was only going through the emotions because of the new discovery. "Armaan..." He shook his head as he started trembling. "This...this can't be it. I saw Nandini. I saw with my own eyes. The marks on her neck. It was suicide."
"Armaan. She was trying to kill herself but before she could, her disease killed her first." Armaan looked up at Nandini with confused eyes as she nodded. "She had known about the disease months back. She also knew she was going to die in less then a year. But she hid it from you because she didn't want it to affect your mental health."
His head started spinning as that day replayed in front of his eyes. He couldn't believe this. All these years he had been told she had hung herself but he didn't know she also had cancer and was going to die anyways.
Armaan took a couple of steps back and sat on the bed, staring at the ground. He didn't know what to do with this newfound information. Seeing this, Nandini hesitantly walked up to him and sat next him. She didn't know how to console him as she knew it must be tough to find out the truth of your mother's death after not knowing it for years.
"She lied to me." he whispered, breaking the silence. "No. She didn't. She just hid the truth from you. And she did that to protect you because she loved you." Nandini's words were right and he knew that, but what was he supposed to feel after knowing the truth? "She loved you Armaan. A lot." Nandini squeezed his hand, causing him to look up at her. And once he did, he couldn't help himself and tightly hugged Nandini.
Nandini froze for a second but then wrapped her arms around him, giving him the emotional support he needed. She rubbed his back as he hid his face in the crook of her neck. His breathing was rapid as he tried to get rid of that day from his mind and eyes. Nandini understood it must be tough for him to grasp all this so suddenly.
"But this, this doesn't change the hatred I have for both of them. My father still cheated on my mother and is the reason why she still tried to commit suicide." he said, breaking the hug. Realizing he was missing a big point still, she said, "Armaan, it wasn't his fault. Any of this wasn't. He never cheated on her." Armaan looked at Nandini, his eyebrows knotting.
"Yes, I'm not lying. Papa knew about her cancer and had even tried to convince her to get it checked by better doctors, but she knew it wouldn't help and her time had come. Papa loved her but she loved him even more that she herself told him to find someone else. Someone else to not take her place but to be able to be there for him, dadu, and you. She wanted you to have a mother's love even after her. She had made him promise her to find someone and he did. For her. For you."
Armaan was all flabbergasted. Never had he expected this. He was to shocked to believe any of it. "But I saw. They were fighting and she was saying he cheat-" "That was all planned out. Your aunt had thought your mom was unaware of papa's relationship so she tried to show pictures to her of them but she already knew. But they both were worried she'd show you and ruin how you thought about both of them so they decided to do that. That also gave her a reason to show her death.
She was always sad because she didn't want to leave you or the rest of the family. But she had no choice. Her cancer was last stage and it was already to late when she found out. Her pain also started increasing daily and she knew her life was near its end. One day she couldn't bear the pain of the cancer nor the pain of thinking of the day death would suddenly overtake her, so she decided to hang herself. And as she was, her cancer decided to beat her in the race of death and killed her for her."
Silence overtook the room as Armaan let all of this dissolve into him. Nandini waited for him, knowing he'd have many questions. But he only had one. "How do you know this is the truth? I know they both probably told you all of this, but how do you know they aren't lying about the other half of the story?" Nandini had known this question would come, as Armaan wasn't one to believe anything quickly. So she came prepared.
Nandini forwarded her palm which contained a folded letter, which she had hidden from him while he read the file. Seeing the letter, Armaan glanced at Nandini. "Your mom wrote it for you before she tried to kill herself. But it never reached you because papa decided it would be better to have you hate him then seeing the truth she had hidden from you." she explained.
Giving one last glance to her, he took the letter out of her palm. As he unfolded it, his eyes trailed through the words. Each word was causing a havoc of emotions to pass through him. He hadn't felt these many emotions together in the past years that he had felt in the matter of twenty minutes.
Armaan didn't rip his eyes off his mom's signature after finishing the letter. Nandini wasn't lying. She was telling the truth. She had told him the same thing which was written on the letter, by his mother. All these years he had been living a lie. He had hated his father and a women who actually wanted his love just because of the lie he was living in.
"I messed up." left his mouth. Nandini shook her head, saying, "If you think this is all your fault then it isn't. You were unaware of all of this so you had the right of doing and acting like how you were." She didn't want Armaan to think it was his fault when it wasn't. But nor was it his parents. This all happened to protect him.
"Seventeen years Nandini. Seventeen fucking years since I have been living a lie. Not just that but seventeen years since I have distanced myself from my own damn father." Armaan's voice was weak and hoarse, showing he was truly affected by all of this. "I can't fix or take back those seventeen years!" "But you can fix the future before it happens." Nandini lowly said.
"Armaan, they're both amazing people who under circumstances had to do all of this. They did this because they love you. You won't even believe it but maa didn't have any more kids just because she couldn't but also because she had you. She claimed you were enough for her and all the love she had for her child was reserved for just you. How could you give them what they don't deserve?" Armaan understood Nandini. He knew she was right.
Even though the past years had been all a lie, he now knew the truth and could fix the future. Even though this won't change the past nor would change how he is, it would change the future.
• • • • •
Silently, Nandini entered the living room, grabbing both Vikrant and Sunita's attention, who were drinking their morning chai. They both warmly smiled at Nandini but the smile faded as they saw Armaan enter right behind her. It didn't fade because of disappointment but it faded because of confusion.
They expected Armaan to yell at them or say something rude to them as it wasn't every day he'd come just to talk to them. It had been years since Armaan had talked to Vikrant like how a father and son would. Approximately seventeen years.
Silent glances were passed around the room. Vikrant and Sunita stared at Nandini and Armaan while vice verase. Nandini stood there, waiting for Armaan to talk but it seemed as if he had changed his mind, which he had. He wanted to chicken out and do this later. But Nandini wasn't going to allow that to happen.
So she jabbed her elbow into his stomach, telling him to speak up. This brought him out of the thoughts of chickening out. He looked down and saw Nandini literally yelling through her eyes at him. He looked over at Vikrant and Sunita and saw them patiently waiting. They had also stood up by now, thinking it was something serious.
'You can do this. You've already practiced this many times with Nandini. Do it or else this angry women will murder you tonight.' his subconscious yelled at him. He slowly stepped closer to them, causing them to irk up. Taking a deep breath in and exhaling, he started. "I don't know how to say this or put this into words but...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for my behavior for the past years." That's a good start.
Vikrant and Sunita were shocked to say the least. They were more then shocked. They didn't expect a sudden apology from Armaan, this early in the morning. They exchanged a look between each other, making sure they both heard this. "Nandini told me the truth already. The truth which was hidden from me." he said, explaining to them. Both Vikrant and Sunita look over at Nandini who just gave a 'I'm-sorry-but-not-sorry' look.
"I don't even know what I'm saying. But all I wanted to say was I am sorry. And I know you both had to bear a lot because of me only to get my hatred in return. But I don't want that anymore. I feel guilty for the past years, up to date but I'm glad Nandini told me the truth or else I would've been in the darkness my entire life. And that would've only led to more guilt." Armaan's words were taping back the pieces of their heart that he had broken. They had always dreamed of this day to come. And it had.
"I'm sorry once again. I treated you both like crap, which you didn't deserve. But I couldn't have felt any more guilty. I don't expect forgiveness after this. That's not why I'm telling you both this. Someone finally brought light to me and I just wanted let all of it finally spill." he finished. By the time he had finished, Sunita's eyes were welled up with tears, not of sadness but tears of joy and Vikrant was also on the verge to tightly hug Armaan.
Nandini and Armaan stood there, waiting for all of this to be sucked in by them. Nandini was proud of Armaan after all of this. The beast had finally said sorry to his parents and she was happy. This was a good change. Not only for him but his relationship with them too. She knew it was hard for him, which made her even more proud.
Nandini squeezed Armaan's hand as she looked over at him, giving him a tight-lipped smile, which he returned with a confused but 'thank-you' nod. He wasn't ever going to thank her using his words. Nope. Not happening. The sorry was enough for the day.
"We were never mad at you Armaan. You were always our son. We knew the reason of your behavior and it was valid. It always hurt us to receive your hatred but we knew it was better off then to tell you the truth." Armaan let out a breath full of relief as he heard his father. He felt even worse now after seeing they weren't even the tiniest bit mad at him, even after so many years.
"Can I hug you, if you don't mind?" Armaan was shocked for a brief second. He didn't know how to respond to that but when he looked back at Nandini and saw her nodding slowly, he also nodded. Vikrant didn't waste another second and enveloped his son in a bear hug after so many year. He was yearning for this hug every day for the past years. But he finally got it.
Armaan couldn't help but feel good hugging his father after years. He hesitantly hugged Vikrant back, causing Vikrant to smile even wider. Sunita and Nandini awed at this exchange. Sunita had been waiting for years to see this and it was finally happening in reality.
They broke the hug as Vikrant widely smiled. Sunita had also reached them and lovingly smiled at Armaan. Slowly, she lifted up her hands and held Armaan's hand in her's. At first she thought he would pull away but when he didn't, her heart swooned with happiness. She had finally gotten her son back. They both had.
From a distance, Nandini watched this with a wide smile on her face. She had never felt happier. She was glad she had finally mended this family together as she knew none of them deserved the pain they were getting. They all deserved this happiness. And she was the sole reason of it being returned. "I wish you were here dadu. I know you would've been so happy to finally see your family all together. But wherever you are, I know you're looking at us with a huge smile and sending prayers down for this family."
Sunita noticed Nandini, who was standing further away from them with a smile on her face. Seeing her, she realized she was the reason why she was given her son back. Slowly, she walked towards her and tightly hugged Nandini. Nandini didn't hesitate and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you. Thank you so much Nandini." Sunita whispered.
They broke the hug and Nandini wiped away Sunita's tears. "Don't say thank you to me. I just fixed the pieces. You guys put it together. And you both deserve the love you guys are now getting." Sunita smiled even wider. She couldn't have ever been more thankful of a person in her life. "All these years I waited for a miracle. I always wondered when it was going to happen. But now I found out that this miracle would've only happen once you entered this home because you are the miracle. You're miracle I yearned for all these years Nandini. If you would've never told him the truth then we would've never gotten him back."
Nandini was feeling overwhelmed by all of this but knew Sunita was feeling even more emotions then her. "Well, let's put everything in the past now and focus on the future." Nandini said as she dragged Sunita towards Vikrant and Armaan. Vikrant hugged Nandini with his love, grateful for her. As they broke the hug, Nandini looked at Armaan and smiled at him. Armaan, after years, was finally feeling the peace he hadn't gotten in years. And it was all because of Nandini.
Everything was slowly getting fixed. Sunita and Vikrant finally had their son back. They knew it was going to take time for him to fully develop a relationship with them but they were happy with this progress. And Armaan was finally realizing these feelings he had been feeling since the past months. He was understanding what it was. But was he sure?
________________________________________________________________________
Namaste guys!
How did you like this chapter?
Finally Sunita and Vikrant have gotten their son back!
Armaan is also slowly realizing something.
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Thank you for reading!
- Gurleen