Monami
" Didn't Param tell you not to go there. " Uncle snapped, making both of us shocked.
He doesn't usually get this angry .
" We didn't want to, but the hotel we had booked, Sahas Uncle saw us there and dragged us with him. We couldn't deny him. " Karan explained and saw him glancing at me, from the corner of his eyes.
"Are you both out of your mind?? How the hell can you do this?? Does Param know this?? " Uncle asked angrily, rubbing his forehead.
" Uncle, " I held his arm trying to calm him down. " It's fine. We are leaving in some time already. "
"And you think they'll let you go like this? Do you even know what you have gotten yourself into?? " He snapped at me and I found myself squinting my eyes at him.
" What exactly are you trying to say Dad?? Who's this, you are warning us about?? " Karan voiced my doubts suspiciously.
And the look on Uncle's face,already indicated that he definitely didn't want to spill this.
" N-No. I was j-
"Please Uncle. Just end this hide and seek and tell me the truth. I don't want to run forever to save my life from the people I don't even know. It's been nine years since I've been waiting for that right time when you'll tell me the reason why I lost everything. Who's the reason for me being an orphan?? " I asked desperately, blinking the tears away.
"You aren't an orphan Monu. Please don't say that. " Uncle held my shoulders and looked at me intensely.
"Then please tell me everything. "
His defeated sigh filled me with a hopeful life. Uncle took hold of our hands and headed inside the temple again.
" I doubt they'll be coming here soon, tracking you down. " He expressed sitting on the temple stairs and we settled at both of his sides, waiting for him to explain his words.
"Veeru and Juhi have been in love since our college days. He was so excited to talk with Prataap Uncle about this and convince him to take the marriage proposal to her house. But before he could, Ashok, our classmate and son of the biggest business rival of Mahaajan's , sent a proposal to Juhi's house. And without even asking for her consent, her parents fixed her marriage to Ashok. Veeru and Prataap Uncle tried to Convince her family but they couldn't back off their promise to Ashok's family. On their wedding day, Juhi sent a letter to Veeru that she will commit suicide if he does not come to take her with him. They were out of all the options already, so he decided to do as she said. They both eloped and got married in this same temple." Uncle said, looking up at the place.
I never heard of all this ever before, and now it feels like I'm watching it all happening with my own eyes.
" So it's Ashok, who's behind her life??" Karan guessed looking at Uncle before stealing a glance from me.
"Yes, but there's a lot more in this. He's not alone. " Uncle paused, staring blankly at his feet while I and Karan shared a look.
" That day, Raheja's had to face so much humiliation and they swore to destroy Mahaajan's " Uncle said further and I saw Karan froze.
"Raheja's?? " Karan asked with a shocking look.
"Yes. Ashok Raheja." Uncle confirmed and I saw Karan's jaw tightening. I wanted to ask but this can wait.
"And then, they attacked, but why waited for all those years?? " I asked.
" They didn't want to only kill the Mahaajan family, but destroy it. That's why the security arrangements were kept so firm by your dad. But they suspiciously went silent one day. No more threats or those dangerous looks that Ashoke and his father used to give every time they were met with Mahaajan's in any business event. But we were sure that they were planning something. That's why you were kept hidden. The biggest secret of Mahajan's. No one knew that Veerendra Mahaajan had a daughter, until you turned eighteen. That's why Veeru decided to send you to the U.S. It was also supposed to be the secret, only in the family. No one outside the family knew this, but somehow the news reached Raheja's and they attacked us on our way to the airport. We lost Veeru and Juhi, but we had already killed all those attackers. After sending Sid with one of the bodyguards, I had no other option instead of taking Monami and going underground. But they sent more men who shot me. Param saved me, but he said you weren't there when he reached. I thought I lost you too. '' Uncle paused and took my cheek into his palm. " But then found out that they had kidnapped you. " Uncle said this eyeing Karan, It was visible that it's another shock for him.
" Yes Karan, You always blamed her for leaving me to die and fly to the U.S. But actually, she was kidnapped for two days."
"But you guys never told me the whole truth. " He pushed the words through his greeted teeth.
" We couldn't, we had our reasons to hide it all. But we thought you know her that much, that you won't be believing in this bullshit all these years. But we were wrong. " Uncle sighed and Karan looked down.
" That's not the most important thing right now, I guess." I said, trying to ease the conversation.
" When we finally managed to get you out of there hands. We found out that killing you was never a part of their plan"
"What?? " I asked in a whisper.
" In fact they wanted to keep you alive, or maybe only until you turned twenty five. "
" They wanted to get her married with their son?? " My head whipped up to Karan as he said those words.
" What??" I asked in disbelief.
"How do you know that?? " Uncle asked.
"So it's true?? " I asked, shocked.
" Half." Uncle answered and I groaned frustratedly.
"Still, half?? Just tell me already. Who the heck was that Another person who helped Raheja's??"
" There's no point of hiding it anyway. And also, you have proved to be strong enough to handle everything. And I trust you to handle this too, and also to believe me. "
"Now, why would I not believe you?? " I asked, rolling my eyes.
Uncle took a pause and looked at me for a moment before continuing. " You remember that your grandpa wasn't very fine when you left. Right??" Uncle asked and I hummed in response.
" Veeru was already the CEO of Mahajan Empire. So Pratap uncle transferred the rest of the property, including the Palace, also to him. Seeing that Veerendra and Sahas are too close to each other, there won't be any issue related to this. Sahas was supposed to take over the Mahaajan Business which was in the U.S. But Uncle didn't tell them about this as the paperwork was still not done. Seeing Veerendra as the owner of everything that Sahas has worked equally for, he got triggered and teamed up with Raheja's and leaked the news about you and also that you are going to the U.S. Then Sahas and Ashok sent men to attack us the day of your flight. "
My body froze at his words. I didn't see it coming and I didn't know how to react to this. Fuck!! I didn't even want to believe this, to be honest. I felt myself out of breath as tears blurred my vision.
"He thought that if Virendra dies, everything will be his'. But in the middle of the attack, he got the news that after Virendra, everything will be transferred to you, not him. So he called his men to stop the attack and back off. "
I kept trying to register everything in my head. But Karan asked his doubts. " But he could have killed them all, even Monami. "
" If he would have done that, the property would have gone to the trust. "
I sniffed soundly, composing myself. 'This is not the time to cry but to know the truth' I told myself before focusing on Uncle.
"But why did Grandpa do that?? I mean, Sahas Uncle has also worked equally to build this empire, as you just said. Then why didn't grandpa divide the property and where the hell did I come in between all this, after dad, it definitely was supposed to be Uncle, or If it was about grandchildren then It should have been us all four, or me and Yuvraj, seeing he's the elder in them. no?? " I enquired.
" After your dad, everything was supposed to be transferred to the only grandchild of Prataap Mahaajan
" Uncle said and my jaw dropped for the third time in the last few minutes.
"Now what the hell does that mean?? " Karan asked, expressing his shock while I was too deep into the shock and was trying to make sense of his words.
"Sahas is not Prataap Uncle's Son. But in fact, his old friend's son, who died in an accident, including his wife, and He asked Uncle to take care of his son. Uncle wanted his legacy to belong to his lineage only. That's why he was preparing to give the U.S. business to Sahas. But before he could, Sahas did all this."
I sighed, frustratedly rubbing my forehead.
" And in all of this bullshit , what was the reason for our marriage?? " I asked in an annoying tone and Uncle gave me a pointed look for cursing, before answering.
" After Veeru died, you are the owner of all this, but you don't have all the access to this property. You can't take any decision, or to transfer it to anyone, until you turn twenty five. Even after that it's important to have the consent of your husband in every decision that you take, written consent. So it was possible for them to plant someone in your life for this purpose or force you to marry someone. "
"What rubbish?? Why in the name of all this bloody Mahaajan Empire, Grandpa would add such stupid clause ?? "
"Cause he wanted you to marry Karan."
And there you go with another jaw dropping moment.
What the actual fuck????????
"But he wasn't sure about himself to be alive by then, so he just did that. He even took my promise to fulfil this wish if he couldn't make it by then. " Uncle completed and I found me and Karan staring at each other dumbly.
How ironic!!!
"And how do you know all this?? " Karan asked, gaping at Uncle.
"Because when he setted that Will, I and Veerendra were with him. "
I sighed, audibly. Seriously, I don't know what else I can even do in this situation. This is so dramatic, tragic and foolish at the same time.
"I get it. Fine. But why Mom and Dad's death was kept a secret." I asked frustratedly.
" Knowing that Virendra is still alive, their first target has always been him. Which was definitely very hard to tackle, especially in the U.S. But if they would have known he's dead they'd again try to Kidnap you. Or just as Karan said before, they might try to marry you with someone who could help them get their hands on the property too. "
"But they already knew that we were going to the U.S. Why did you still insisted on us staying there?? "
"Because, including your own house, your dad has a lot of contacts in the U.S. who have helped us to keep you safe all these years. I don't know if you had ever realised it but, there was always someone who kept his eyes on your every move, for your safety. "
I and Karan hummed and stared silently at the floor for some moments before Uncle spoke up. "Anything else?? "
"Yes, you said Uncle and Auntie died right there after the attack. So how come they don't know this?? "
"Because Veerendra wasn't dead, We kept his treatment continued secretly, until he died the third day. But we managed to spread the news with some contacts that they both are alive and are underground after the attack. "
" Does Uncle know that He isn't a Mahaajan?? And since when??" I asked.
" Yes. He knew that before the attack. I don't know how. " Uncle answered.
"But why was he behaving so nicely with us then?? " Karan asked, staring at the floor.
" He must've guessed that we hadn't told you the truth. "
" There arises another question. Why didn't you tell us all this before?? " Karan asked, straightening up.
" We didn't know who to trust or not. Because all the news had been leaked by the people from inside of our circle, the most trusted one. "
"So you thought that I'm not trustworthy?? '' Karan gaped at Uncle.
"Shut up!! It was because Sahas and Ashok knew that they could get to their goal through me. And I didn't want to do anything that would threaten her safety. So I chose to pack and bury this topic in depth . Only Param knew this, and we decided that we wouldn't talk about any of it until it can't be ignored. Thankfully we never had to do that. And when we had to, for your marriage, we didn't know how to interpret all of this. As you see it's so fucked up. "
" It is, indeed. " I mumbled after listening silently for a long while.
"Anything else?? I just want this topic to end right here, today only."
I looked at Karan and found him already looking at me, tearing my gaze away. I shook my head negatively.
"Monami?? " Uncle called out slowly and looked up at him." I know Sahas is your family, and I don't have any proof to make you believe me. I don't even know what to say, but I just want you to trust me, please. And be careful. "
It was a lot to handle, to understand. I didn't know what exactly I was thinking. So I just chose to stay silent and not answer him.
I heard Uncle sigh before asking " What's the time of your flight anyway?? "
" In two hours. " Karan answered.
"Okay, it would be better if you don't go back to take your things from the palace and just head straight to the airport from here only."
" Okay. " Karan said and then they both stood up, I was in deep thoughts and when I didn't stand up, Karan forwarded his hand to me.
"Monami?? " His voice made me look up at him then at his face.
I was figuring out some things, I needed time. I stood up myself, long lost in my thoughts.
"I have to go now. You both please take care of each other, and go back home safely " Uncle said, placing his hand on my head and caressing my hair.
I nodded and then he walked out of the temple while I kept staring at his retreating figure.
"Shall we go?? " I turned to look at Karan as he asked and nodded in response before heading to the exit.
"Monami?? What are you doing here??" I froze at the sight of Sahas Uncle standing in front of us.
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