An absolute shit of a chapter that might make you wanna pull either yours or the characters' hair in frustration. So buckle up babies and keep commenting to let me now how well the chapter was delivered!
The orange hew was still fresh in the dawning sky. Birds were yet to stop chirping.
Sanskriti sighed heavily as her mind drifted of to the previous day's events. She knew Vedansh has to endure a lot and it might have taken a troll on his innocent mind. What she couldn't guess was the extent and intensity on the little guy's soul.
For the first time in the few weeks of her stay, Vedansh refused to have a sleepover at her room. She missed cuddling into his little warn body that night.
Vedansh was a stubborn headed 10 year old child. He always gets what he wants. This time he is adamant at not letting the only motherly figure left in his life. He was ready to sacrifice his comfort and give Sanskriti her space. If being clingy is the main reason of her denial to become his mother, he was ready to be distant. Even if meant craving her warmth for the nights and her company in the long days. No matter what, he was not ever going to let his Angel go away.
Arunaditya Singh Rathore. He was well known for his calm demeanor, peace seeking solutions and not-so-wicked business tactics in the country. It was difficult to say the same thing if the world could judge him at night. His inner turmoil and guilty soul didn't let him sleep at nights. He often cried himself to sleep, in the cover of darkness. With an innocent son craving for the love of his heartbroken ex-lover, he didn't know how to fix their lives. He was lost.
"It's never too late to win your love back, Arun." Dadi Sa's words kept playing like a broken tape-recorder in his mind.
"If you still love her, make an effort to fix things right. She deserves an explanation from your side. Atleast, after a decade of her feelings' demise." He remembers his Dadi Sa advising him.
He sighed at the puzzled situation. It wasn't easy to stand in front of the woman you love, and tell her why you betrayed her all those years ago. Especially, when she hasn't broken a single word about the issue since the day of her arrival. A ten year old son, would always contradict your arguments.
If you really loved me, how could you move on so easily to have a child with your loving wife? Was the question he feared to be asked by Sanskriti. He knew what the truth was but he couldn't let his selfishness tamper with his son's life. His son would be left heartbroken once he gets to know the truth.
The agonising truth of them not sharing the same blood line.
No he couldn't. Even if it meant to forever be in darkness, he would not deliberately remove the lights from his son's already dim life.
Ritika Devi Rathore, on the other hand, was mentally devastated to hear his grandson's unsuccessful love story. Only if she had been this stubborn all those years ago and asked Arunaditya about what was going on when he heard soft cries, the night before his wedding, may be all this would have been stopped. She, for once in her life time, felt guilty of her oblivion. Unknowingly, she was the reason of four innocent souls being unhappy all throughout their lives.
But not anymore. She had made a mistake all those years ago by not taking the matters in her hands and letting her daughter-in-law to look into his grandson's life. This time she wasn't going to let anyone get in Sanskriti and Arunaditya's path of happy life. Even if it meant to force them to go through tones of torture. She knew at the end, it will be worth everything. Their happiness would be worth all the hatred she's going to get by the two souls. But it was all, the matter of time.
As the members gathered in the dining hall for the breakfast, they knew it was going to be one hell of a day. Vedansh, luckily, had already left for school early in the morning.
Ritika Devi knew she had to do it now. Taking a deep breathe, she cleared her throat to catch everybody's attention. Each of them put their forks down to pay attention to the boss lady.
"Sanskriti, I want you ask you something personal. Will you answer me, Laado?" She initiated. Her monotonous tone was scarry. The hall of people sucked in their breathe to listen what she wanted to say and predict where all of this was going.
Sanskriti's eyebrows furrowed at Dadi Sa's sudden request. She nodded her head in positive, hesitantly.
"Back in Java, did you have any relationships?" She asked her.
Arunaditya could now guess her next steps. His face paled as his eyes widened.
"A few, yes. All of them being casual, might I add." She responded honestly.
"What is your definition of casual relationship?" She tested the waters. She could only pray none of her questions triggered Sanskriti to do her worse.
"A romantic relationship, minus love. Both the parties must be well aware about the uncertainty of their relationship and their entire point of coming together would be giving their mutual infatuation a chance. That's my version of casual relationship." She presented her view point.
"Are you currently in any kind off relationship?" Came her next question.
"No. I ended my last relationship about 2 years ago." Sanskriti replied, reminiscing how she got drunk and cried about Arunaditya infront of her the then boyfriend and later rejected his marriage proposal. His male ego couldn't handle the humiliation of Sanskriti's rejection and tried to create a ruckus in the media. Her PR manager advised her to avoid flings.
"Would you mind if I arrange an appropriate groom for you?" Ritika Devi asked making Sanskriti choke on air.
"I-I am not ready to get married yet." She managed to mumble out.
"You're almost 30, Sanskriti. As your Dadi Sa, it's my responsibility to see you happy with your own family too." She announced.
"But Dad-"
"This is the first time I am asking you to do something for me. Answer me in yes or no, will you get married to the guy I arrange you with? Do you trust me enough to give me the rights to find you someone compatible? Or do you want your family to do that for you, in the future?" She feigned being hurt at the last question.
"What do you mean by my family, Dadi Sa? You're my family. You along with Dadu and Kaka Sa are my family." Sanskriti came into defence. "You very well know Chauhans don't matter to me. We might be connected via blood but I absolutely despise them by my heart and soul. How could you question my relations with this family?" Sanskriti meant what she said. It was clearly evident in her eyes.
"You didn't find it important to inform this family when you abruptly left. Did you?" Kaki Sa asked. It was first time in years, she willingly questioned Sanskriti.
"It wasn't like we wouldn't have supported you. Even a few months before you going to Java, when you decided to depart for Rome, I supported you if not anyone else. I made sure you reached Rome safely because I knew your reasons to elope." She looked dead into Sanskriti's eyes, making her duck her head down in shame.
"You absolutely didn't find it important to let me or anyone know about why, how and when to go to Java. You didn't even give a damn about how worried we might be for your freaking safety!" Her voice reached a level high as she panted.
Even though she pretended to not like Sanskriti, she cared for her. After Arunaditya and her children's departure, it was Sanskriti who kept the entire palace happy with her innocent pranks and giggles.
She never objected on her being rebellious towards the royal traditions and rules, because she could relate to the mental pressure and absurdity it brings along. However, she wasn't ready to support her being short-temper and taking steps when the cuts were still fresh.
"I couldn't share the problems with anyone among the two families, Kaki Sa. I didn't want to ruin the happy vibes surrounding everyone." She muttered lowly.
Arunaditya clenched his eyes tight at her response. It was all his mistake. Atleast that's what he believed. Only if he had acted on impulse and pushed Meera then and there rather than pondering over her actions, everything would have been fine.
The Queen scoffed at the young woman's response, not having an idea what her problems were. According to her, there could no problem that couldn't have been solved by consultation and sacrifices.
Ritika Devi cleared her throat, demanding silence this time. She knew digging graves from the past would yield no solutions. Mending the present for brighter future is what matters.
"I didn't get an answer to my question, Sanskriti." Dadi Sa reminded her again. Not wanting to let the Rathores feel like they weren't important to her, she decided to agree. More than anything, she wanted to see what reaction would Arunaditya give at her confirmation. Though she pretended to not care about his opinion.
"You may do as you wish, Dadi Sa." She whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear. She needed to move on now. She knew casuals could never help her move on. Maybe a permanent bond of marriage is what she needs. Moreover, arranged marriages were common in India. People do fall in love during the student period, some continue their lives with their loved ones while others just learn to move on. If others could, she could too.
"Very well then, Rani Sa, congratulations. You're going to be a mother-in-law again."
~•~•~
Sorry, I am late.
I had my farewell today and due to some mishaps I couldn't attend the party. I was just sulking the entire day and actually forgot to post a draft. Hoping to see some comments.