Continued..
Aayan locked himself in the room, and Ananya couldn't understand what to do...
She quickly dialled her brother's number, who picked up immediately
'Yes Annie...' Ved answers
'Bhai, can you come here...?' Ananya says panicked
'What..? Why is everything okay...?' Ved asks scared, while Vansh and Arjun who were there with him, look at him bewildered..
'No Bhai...! Priyanka Mom killed herself...' Ananya began
'What...!' Ved exclaims and gets up, Vansh and Arjun panic too...
'Yes.. And she left a letter for Aayan, after reading it, he locked himself in his art room... I don't what to do Bhai... Please come here...' Ananya pleads and Ved looks at his brother
'Don't worry Annie, I'll be there in 5 minutes...' Ved says and hangs up the phone
'What...?' Vansh asks..
'Priyanka aunty killed herself, and after hearing this Aayan locked himself in the room.. Annie is scared...' Ved informs
Arjun massages his temples
'God when all this is going to end...' He sighs
'Let's go to her house...' Vansh says
Naina who came out of her room, stared at their troubled expressions
'What's going on...?' She asks
Arjun gestures his sons to keep quiet, as Naina has strained herself a lot and needed rest, her bp was not normal and Arjun was worried because of this....
'Nothing, they are planning to visit Aayan and Ananya, but fighting over which movie they want to see...' He lied and Naina narrows her eyes
'You still can't lie properly...' she says
'What happened kids...?' she turns to her sons, who look at each other
'Nothing Maa... We were just arguing over something stupid... We'll go..' Ved says and they look at their dad who nods
'Fine, don't tell me... Take me to Ananya's house, I want to see her...' she says and the men panic
'Why...? I mean you are not well Naina, we'll take you there some other time...' Arjun tries to stop her
'Guys... What's going on, tell me.. For real...' She scolds them and the twins look at their dad..
Arjun sighs and then turns to her
'Priyanka committed suicide... And Aayan locked himself after listening to this, so we must go there... Ananya is worried...' Arjun said and Naina gasped
'And you wanted to hide this from me...! How dare you...' she glares at them..
The men looked at her guiltily and then Arjun decided to speak
'Naina your health...' he began
'Is not important than my daughter...' She finished his sentence
'Now let's go...' she says to the men and they leave the house
Aayan's house
Ananya was walking to and fro in front of the room, where Aayan locked himself, she could hear muffled sobs from inside...
Indeed he was crying and why wouldn't he...? He lost his mother after all...
Whatever she did to them, a kid cannot hate his mother, and so Aayan who was angry on Priyanka was now mourning over her death..
Ananya decided to leave him be, but she knew him very well, once his anger takes over the grief, than no one can calm him down...
Ananya re read the letter that Aayan left downstairs and felt bad for Priyanka, for being stupid enough to believe Prateek Singhal, though there was nothing provocative in the letter, which can make Aayan angry, but his state of mind was such that he could react on anything...
Ananya could hear footsteps approaching her, and saw her brothers walking hurriedly towards her direction, followed by her parents...
'Annie..' Vansh hugged her, and Ved did the same...
'Did you take the medicines..?' Ved asks and Ananya nods
'Where is he...?' Vansh asks
'He's inside... I can hear his crying, but he is not opening the door...' Ananya says
'What happened...?' Arjun asked
'Some guy from Singhal's house informed about Mom's death, and handed him the letter, after reading it, he locked himself...' She hands Naina the letter
Naina reads it and sighs, passing it to Arjun, who read it and massaged his temples..
Ved and Vansh read the letter and then frown..
'Why do I smell manipulation here...?' Vansh says looking at the letter
'Why are you always so skeptical about everything that happens here...' Ved says irritated
'Because nothing about this family is normal..' Vansh counters
'It's just a normal letter...! Why will a dying woman try to manipulate her son ? And against who...?' Ved exclaims and Vansh glares at him
'Because that is all that woman did all her life Ved, and now blaming everything on Prateek Singhal and showing herself as a victim, isn't this manipulation ? Was she so stupid not to understand what was going on..?' Vansh matches Ved's tone
'People do stupid things...' Ved began but Naina cuts them off
'Enough with the silly argument both of you, Priyanka is dead... Respect the dead...' she scolds them
'Naina, I think Vansh has a point... I think she...' Arjun began
'Arjun, Aayan lost his mother... He needs his family... Even if you guys sense 'manipulation' against whom she will manipulate her son now ? You guys are over reacting...' Naina says and Arjun frowns
'Let's leave him alone for a while... He'll come out once he calms down...' Naina says, and Ananya looks worriedly at the door
'Ananya come beta, I'll make something for you...' Naina holds her arms and takes her with her and Ved follows them
Arjun and Vansh worriedly look at the door, and then each other
'I hope he doesn't do anything impulsive in his grief...' Vansh says
'Don't do anything stupid boy...' Arjun says looking at the door
They follow others downstairs, unknown with the fact that there was a volcano on the other side of the door ready to explode...
Aayan was heartbroken hearing about his mother's death, he remembered all the good days, when she was the best mother for him, before Prateek and Sameer Singhal came along...
And in this moment of grief, he blamed the Singhals for the misery he and his family faced, and not his mother who was equally responsible..
Yes, his mother cleaned herself in that letter, and blamed everything on Prateek Singhal, and Aayan being the impulsive one, got carried away by this..
Aayan was filled with hatred against the Singhals and wanted to finish the whole family, ignoring the fact that Sameer was not like them and Prateek was in Jail...
Now the devil of anger overpowered his sane mind, and he was about to commit a blunder...
Outside the room, Jai and Nitaara arrived at the house as Sash called them and told about what happened, so they came home and Sash sent Rudra and Viraj to be with Amayraa...
Nitaara reads the letter and breaks down, and was consoled by Naina, Jai did not say anything, he did not believe a single word Priyanka wrote in the letter and was neutral, he did not mourn for his ex wife, because she was dead to him years ago, he only felt bad for his children, who lost their mother..
Aayan comes out of the room, and comes downstairs, he had bloodshot eyes and a dangerous expression on his face...
'Aayan..?' Ananya gets up from her seat, and seeing at her, they looked at his direction
'Bro, are you okay...?' Ved asks
Aayan did not reply, just walked inside Jai's room, and they looked at each other bewildered
'What is he up to...?' Nitaara gets up too
'What is he searching in my room...?' Jai says confused
Ananya was scared, she has never seen that expression before, yes she saw him angry, but today he looked like he is ready to kill someone...
After few minutes Aayan comes out carrying a gun, which belonged to his grandfather, when he served the army for a brief period of time...
Jai gasps looking at the gun in his hand, because the gun was not just a collectible, It actually worked, and Aayan looked like he'll kill someone...
Arjun gasped seeing the gun in his hands too, and motioned his sons to stop him
'Aayan where are you going...?' Ved walks towards him
'Yeah that gun looks dope, show me na...' Vansh says and Ved glares at him
'I am trying to take the gun from his hand...' he says to Ved
Aayan doesn't reply, just continued to walk towards the door, when Nitaara stood in front of him...
'Where do you think you are going with that gun...?' she asks him authoritatively and Aayan glares at her
'Step aside Nits, I am going to finish the story that started 22 years ago...' Aayan grits
'What do you mean...?' Jai asks worriedly
'I am going to kill Prateek Singhal... I will shoot him and then surrender...' Aayan declared and they gasp
'Don't be crazy Aayan, give me the gun...' Nitaara tries to snatch the gun
'Di, stay away from him, he is not in his right senses...' Vansh pulls Nitaara back
'Aayan give me the gun...' Ved holds him from back, while Vansh starts to snatch the gun
'Leave me Ved... I'll kill that bastard... He's the reason for everything, he doesn't deserve to live...' Aayan growls
'Don't be crazy, taking someone's life is not a solution... He'll be punished by law...' Ved says
'His hold is freaking strong...' Vansh whines
Arjun and Jai come forward to help Ved and Vansh who were struggling with Aayan who had a gun in his hand
'Aayan, don't be crazy... Leave the gun...' Naina says
'Yes Aayan, killing that man will fetch us no good...' Ananya says
Aayan who wasn't in his senses, was struggling to get out of their hold
'Leave me !' he growled
'Leave the Gun Aayan....' Ved held his arms
Ananya decides to help her brothers, so while they were struggling with Aayan, she goes and stands in front of him
'Aayan killing is not a solution... Calm down...' she holds her arms
'Killing him won't bring anyone back, not your mom, not our baby, no one... Please think sanely Aayan...' she says to him, while her brothers continue to struggle with him
Like this Ananya continued to say things that were supposed to calm him down, but they were having opposite effect on him
Aayan who was angry, gets irritated with Ananya's rants and uses all his strength to get out of the twins hold
'SHUT UP...' he growls and in fit of anger points the gun towards Ananya
Everyone gasped at this, and Ananya stood there stupefied...
'Aayan... No...' Vansh warns
'Princess get out of his way... He will shoot you...' Arjun says scared
Ananya whose heart was beating rapidly, seeing the gun pointed towards her, took a deep breath, sweat trickled down her forehead, she was horrified, yet confident that Aayan won't shoot her...
'GET. OUT. OF. MY. WAY. ANANYA...' Aayan warns
'No.. Drop the gun...' Ananya says keeping a brave face
'Jai, get my daughter out of his sight....' Naina said horrified and Jai slowly moves forward
'Ananya... Let me do my thing...' Aayan growled
'Then shoot me and leave...' Ananya says determined and Her family gasped
'I swear to god Annie, this is not some TV show, this is a real gun and he can shoot you, his anger is known to all of us, this guy is crazy...' Vansh scolds Ananya
'Annie, Vansh is right, don't provoke him...' Ved says moving closer to Aayan
'Princess... For god's sake... Move aside...' Jai says
'Annie, there won't be a medal to act heroic here, look at him, he is not in his senses... He won't hesitate...' Nitaara warns
'Listen to them Ananya...' Naina warns
This all talk was not directed to Ananya, but was a trick to distract Aayan, who was looking at them, whenever they spoke...
Finally Arjun decided to speak...
'Princess.. I know you think Aayan won't shoot you, but you have seen his anger... He can hurt people when angry, I can't afford to lose my daughter, in his fit of anger... Please move out of his way...' Arjun said, and when he did that, Vansh and Ved quickly grabbed Aayan's hand to snatch the gun, because Aayan was looking at Arjun at that time...
And the struggle began, while they were snatching the gun, Aayan accidently pressed the trigger and there was this loud noise and everyone's heart rate sky rocketted at this...
Naina and Nitaara covered their ears, and Arjun - Jai looked at Ananya's direction horrified, she stood their stupefied, tears rolled down her eyes as the bullet just missed her by few inches, she was horrified, and now she was really scared of Aayan...
She started him scared and slowly sat on the floor, trying to calm her racing heart down.. Naina ran towards her daughter and held her protectively, it was like she was shielding her from Aayan...
Aayan who now was slowly gaining his senses, realised what he did, and his grip on the gun loosens, he stared at Ved and Vansh, who were scared too, and then at Ananya and Naina...
Aayan was filled with remorse once he realised what he did, he looked at his wife who was shivering with fear, and was not even looking at him...
'This guy needs some serious anger management lessons...' Vansh says snatching the gun from his hand
Ved who normally took Aayan's side, did not say anything, because this time Aayan was at fault...He too did not look at him...
He looked at Jai and Nitaara who looked disappointed with him..
'What have you done... What if the bullet hit her...? Are you a monster Aayan...!' Nitaara scolds him
Aayan was speechless, he couldn't believe his action few minutes ago, he looked at everyone, they were either angry or scared from him...
Shit ! I am such a monster...
He looks at Ananya who was terrified and cursed himself again
She doesn't deserve this...
I am not good for her..
I don't deserve her..
I cannot make her live with a fear, I am a monster, she deserves better...
He took retreating steps away from everyone and then ran upstairs...
'Jai... I am taking my daughter to my house, unless Aayan learns to manage his anger...' Arjun declares
'I won't stop you today...' Jai says
'Come beta...' Naina helps Ananya stand, and they take her to their house...
Next Day...
Rudra and Viraj brought Amayraa back home, when they saw Aayan leaving the house with his bags...
'Jiju, where are you going...?' Viraj asks
'I am leaving Viraj, and it's a request don't say this to anyone...' Aayan says
'But why, why suddenly, when will you come back...?' Rudra asks
'I don't know... But it's better for everyone that I leave...' Aayan sighs and then looks at his daughter who was sleeping peacefully in Rudra's arms
He kisses her cheeks and caresses her hair..
'Take care of her and your sister... Please...' He says to them...
'But why are you going like this, why isn't Jai uncle stopping you...' Viraj asks confused
Aayan doesn't reply at this..
'Take her to your house... Papa and Nitaara are not at home...' Aayan says
'But Jiju...' Rudra began
'Take care boys...' he pats their shoulders and gets inside the car, leaving them utterly confused
'To the airport...' he instructs the driver...
The car starts and the boys get anxious
'Bhai... You can't be serious.. You cannot leave like this...' Rudra says
'Yes... What will we say to Ananya di ?' Viraj asks
'Tell her that I am sorry for everything...' he says and driver moves the car forward
'Bhai... Wait...' They say together, but too late Aayan already left
Aayan sighed and leaned against the seat
Ananya deserves a better life... She cannot live with a monster like me...
I am not worthy enough to live with her, I should be locked in some mental hospital, away from these people...
I'll go away from everyone..
These people deserve to live peacefully without being worried for me...
I'll go away from them, I don't deserve this people, especially Ananya...
She can't live with a fear...
Rudra and Viraj hurriedly reach their house, and called for their dads
'What happened...?' Sash asks
'Yeah.. And don't shout with a sleeping baby in your arms, Rudra...' Adi scolds him
'Dad.. Aayan bhai is leaving...' Viraj says
'What do you mean he is leaving...?' Adi asks
'We saw him leave for the airport, I think he is leaving the country...' Rudra says
'Damn what do we do... Ved and Bhai are at the office... Vansh has taken Naina to hospital...' Adi asks Sash
'What did you say...? He is leaving...?' they hear Ananya's voice from behind
Sash looks at her worriedly and so does Adi...
'Yes.. He just now left for the airport...' Rudra informs, while Adi takes Amayraa from his arms
'Can you take me to the airport...?' she asks Rudra, who looks at his Dad
'Go.. Take her...' Adi affirms
'You guys must leave ASAP... I'll call Vansh...' Sash says taking out his phone
Ananya and Rudra leave in his car and Adi - Sash look at each other
'What a great day to skip office...' Adi comments and Sash hits him
At the airport...
Ananya and Rudra were looking at departure gates, to find Aayan, wheras Ananya was continuously dialling his number, he wasn't picking it up...
They ran from one gate to another, in a hope to find Aayan...
After multiple trying, Aayan finally picked up her call..
'Where are you...! And how dare you leave like this...? Who do you think you are...! Why the things have to go the way you want all the time huh...?' she shouts on the phone without listening to his hello
'Ananya listen to me..' he tried to explain
'You listen to me Aayan, come out from the hole you are hiding in and face me... You cannot just leave like a coward...' she scolds him
'It's for your betterment.. You don't deserve to live with a monster like me...' Aayan says
'You will not decide this... Where are you...' she asks
'Turn left...' he says
She turns to see him at the other side of the glass wall of the airport, looking at her, like this was the last time he is seeing her
She jogs towards the glass wall, and glares at him
'Come out...' she orders
'I am sorry Ananya, I am sorry for everything... You don't deserve this life... You deserve someone better...' he says teary eyed
'I chose this life, I chose you, you can't leave me like this...' she says, her voice cracking
'You'll be happy without me... Trust me...' Aayan says
'You really think that will happen...?' Ananya couldn't control her tears now..
'I am a monster Ananya, please... You cannot stay with a man like me...' he tries to convince her
'You are not... Please come outside...' Ananya starts crying
Aayan couldn't see her crying too
'Please Ananya.. I can't...' he began
'You said we are in this together..! And now you are running away.... What will I say to Amayraa...?' she cries
'Ananya...' he wanted to say
'You promised you won't leave me... You promised you will stay, what about our marriage.. What about those future kids you talked about yesterday.... How can you change your decision just like that...!' she cries and Aayan had no answer to this..
'I am so sorry...' Aayan cries too
'Please don't go.. Please I beg you...' she pleads, looking all helpless
'Ananya please, I have to ...' he said
'You are a coward... You are a fucking coward... All you do is run away from difficulties... When circumstances change, you just run away... Instead of facing them...' she cried, getting angry
'I am sorry...' he cried too
'Go..! Don't you dare to come in front of me ever again...' she says angrily
'And you won't get any divorce mister.. You won't get the freedom to live the way you want....!' she declares and Aayan wiped his tears
'I love you...' Aayan says
'I hate you...' Ananya glares at him and hangs up the call and turns to the other side
Aayan wanted to go out and hug her but no, it's for everyone's welfare...
He slowly took few steps back and walked towards the security check, Ananya turned back and saw his retreating figure and tears rolled down her eyes...
This was the last time he saw her..
Present..
Next Day...
12 p.m...
Ananya who was sitting on her chair, opens her eyes and massages her temples, taking a deep breath
She cannot forget the day he left like a coward, leaving her in despair...
It took her months to get out of the grief and this time, if he comes back, she was determined not to take him back..
Ananya has turned stone cold after his departure, she worked hard on her professional skills and now was slowly becoming a trained and efficient lawyer...
Though her first case was a disaster, due to her inexperience, but the ones she fought after Aayan's departure were success...
Ananya's record was improving, out of the total 15 cases she handled in this 2.5 years, she won 13 cases on her own and slowly was becoming a known face in the town
Arjun and Naina were incredibly proud of her, but her attitude towards everything was changed..
The happy go lucky girl Ananya was a bitch for her subordinates and 'overly professional' for her co workers
No one could calm her, once she gets angry, not even Deeps.. She would soften, just for her daughter Amayraa, but even she wasn't spared if she did some mischief..
There was a soft knock on her door, and then it opened, revealing the most irritating co worker of her Dhruv..
'Advocate madam, you got minute...?' he asked
'Yes.. How can I help you...' she says, uninterested knowing very well that he is just goofing around
'Well, congratulations for the Shukla's case you handled...'
'Thank you...'
'May I say you look gorgeous as always..' he said in a flirty manner and Ananya rolls her eyes
'Why are you here, Mr. Patel...?' she asks irritated
'I wanted to ask if you are interested in another case..?' he asked
'What case..?'
'There's this divorce case... Some lady...' he began
'You know I don't deal with divorce cases...' she said
'This is actually a domestic violence case, the lady wants divorce, but the man isn't ready...' he said and Ananya's eyes darted towards him
She hated such misogynistic men, who treated women like thrash and would strive hard to get those men punished
'I'll take it... Send me the details...' she said without thinking further
'I knew it, when it comes to women's rights Ananya madam will always be there to the rescue...' he smiled, but Ananya didn't smile back
'Anything else you need...?' she asks
'No just wanted to tell you, you are not alone in this...' he comes closer
'In this case you mean...?' Ananya raised her brows
'In this world I mean... I understand it's difficult for women to manage, especially when their husbands are away...' he puts his hands over her shoulders
'If you need anything... Mind you anything... I am just a call away...' he smirks at her
Ananya slowly gets up from her seat, maintaining the eye contact, and moved closer to him, and he looked at her excitedly
'Actually there is something you can do for me, will you do it ?' she says softly
'Anything...' he smiles
She holds his arms and brings at to their eye level, and Dhruv gets excited at this..
Ananya's soft gaze turns into a glare, and she twists Dhruv's arm, turning him to the other side, and pulling his arm on the backside of his body, twisting it badly
'Oww...' Dhruv cries in pain
Ananya pushed him to her table with her other hand, so that his face lands on the table, and pressed it hard, that he was finding it difficult to breathe..
'You think my husband lives abroad, so I become a property of all men like you...?' she asks angrily
'N...No...' Dhruv manages to say, trying to get out of her hold
'Did you forget I am taller than you, so possibly I might be stronger...' she mocks him
Dhruv didn't say anything, just tried to get out of her hold, but failed
'If you dare to touch me without my consent next time, I will rip this arm off... Understand ?' she twists his arm more and he cries in pain
She leaves him and he takes a deep breath... 'Go,Tell this to every man in this office, if they talk nonsense with me, they see a orthopedic doctor...' she says and Dhruv who was angry, but equally helpless due to his paining arm, leaves without saying a single word
As he leaves she adjusts her shirt, and takes her bag, she calls the receptionist of the firm
'Cancel all my appointments today... I am leaving...' she says
'But Ma'am...' before the lady says anything she hangs up the phone and leaves the cabin
My mood is officially ruined now...
Thapar's house, New Delhi...
Naina was sitting on the recliner chair, trying to knit a sweater for Vansh's kid...
She was struggling with the needle and had to re do things again..
'Why don't you just buy one from the market... You know you can't knit...' Arjun says looking up from the book he was reading
'New born babies should wear home made sweaters, all our kids wore the sweaters made by my mother...' Naina whines
'Why don't you order those extra soft ones...?' Arjun suggested
'They contain chemicals..' Naina huffed
'Then keep trying...' Arjun gives up..
'I am sure, I'll learn soon, and when Ananya's child comes...' Naina began, but stopped mid sentence
'I am sorry...' she says, and Arjun sighed
'I hope that day comes soon...' He sits on the chair next to her
'I hope it comes before I die...' Naina's eyes fill with tears
'Why you always keep talking about dying...' he scolds her
'How long do you think we are going to live Arjun...?' she chuckles, admist tears
'I am crossing 100, and you are doing that with me too...' he grins and Naina laughs
'Will my daughter ever find her happiness..?' Naina sighs, wiping her tears
'Her happiness will come running to her... Trust me...' Arjun holds her hands
'I am sure you will make sure it comes...' Naina smiles caressing his hands
'No... She doesn't need me anymore...' Arjun smiles
There was this soft knock on the door...
'Paa...?' they hear Ved's voice
'Come in beta..' Naina calls him and he comes inside
'Paa, we are going to the airport...' He informs
'Why...?' Arjun asks
'Paa... Aayan is coming back...' Ved smiles and Arjun - Naina look at each other...
Finally.. The things are coming back on their place...
And towards the end...:)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So sorry...
I am working on the chapter since 8:30 in the morning... No kidding...
Note - there are 5 more parts followed by an Epilouge..
This story wasn't supposed to be this huge, but I think Ananya and Aayan deserve a proper ending and not a haste one so the chapters are increased, and yes will try to finish the story within this month...
So thank you once again for being patient...