Continued...
Verma's House...
1 hour later..
Vansh comes downstairs, as Arjun was with Ananya now, he had a blank expression on his face, which made it difficult for Aayan to figure out what exactly happened upstairs..
Aayan was seated on the sofa, with Amayraa sitting beside him and Vedika on his lap, both of them talking about Random things, which he heard for a while, but then zoned out as he was worried for Ananya
Jai and Adi - Sash, along with Sameer went out for a walk, while Ved was there, listening to girl's cute banter
Ved follows Aayan's gaze and gets up
'How is Annie...?' Ved asked
'Tired...' Vansh replied looking at Aayan, as if giving him a hidden message
'What do you mean...?' Ved asks confused
'She said she was exhausted because of today's drama, so she wanted to sleep...' Vansh says
'Where is Paa..?'
'She fell asleep on his lap, he didn't want to disturb her, so he is with her...' Vansh informed
'Did she... I mean was she...?' Aayan asks hesitantly, placing Vedika on the sofa carefully, while the girls continued their banter
'Sad...?' Vansh completed his sentence and Aayan nodded
'There hasn't been a single day since your departure that she didn't cry...' Vansh got angry now
It stung Aayan really bad, he was the reason for her misery, he had to compensate for all this, but how ?
'She is exhausted now, mentally, emotionally, and now this is taking toll on her health...' Ved sighed and Aayan winced
'All of this because your best friend was a coward...' Vansh spat angrily
'Vansh...' Ved warns
'He is right Ved, I am responsible for all this, and I am ready to face any punishment she gives me...' Aayan says
'Will she be okay...?' Aayan asks
'Yes...' Vansh answers
'Maa, I am hungry...' Vedika complains as she sees Deepika coming out of the kitchen, where she was helping Mrs. Kumar
'Come with me both of you...' She says to Amayraa and Vedika
'Maami, Annie must be hungry, shall I take her food to the room, she never eats when she cries, I will feed her...' Amayraa says to Deepika, who looks at Vansh
Aayan was elated to see the mother daughter bond so strong, that 6 year old girl was concerned for her mom
'Will Ananya eat anything...?' She asks him and he nods negative
'Amy, Annie is sleeping, once she wakes up you can see her, right now let her rest okay...? And go, eat the tasty snacks Pappy made for you..' Vansh says to Amayraa
'Okay Maamu...' Amayraa smiles and holds Deepika's arms, who takes her to the kitchen
'She's really a smart kid...' Aayan smiles
'Annie is raising her afterall...' Vansh says
'She'll grow to be a caring and understanding woman...' Aayan said proudly
'Yeah, unless you cast your influence on her...' Vansh taunts
'Vansh... Enough okay...' Ved glares at him
'She'll be nothing like me, don't worry... Ananya won't let that happen..' Aayan smiles and Vansh smiles at this too...
'Come with me Jeejaji, We have to take care of few people...' Vansh says to Aayan
'Where are you taking him...?' Ved asks
'Relax Vedie, I won't kill my sister's husband, we are going to pay a formal visit to Ananya's boss...' Vansh smirks and Aayan gives an evil smile too
'But it's 5:30... He'll be gone...' Ved argues
'Even better, we'll see him at his house then....' Aayan says
'I'll come with you two...' Ved says
'Let us spend some quality time alone Vedie... Paa has anyway called you upstairs, don't worry about your friend...' Vansh says and Ved looks at Aayan, who gives him an assuring look
Ved walks upstairs and Vansh calls for his driver to drop the car at Aayan's house
While Aayan and Vansh waited for the car, Vansh leaned against the pillar, and stared at Aayan who was waiting too
'Did you stop eating there...?' Vansh asked and Aayan looks at him surprised, he did not expect a decent conversation with Vansh anytime soon
'Of course not.... I did, but mostly skipped meals, so...' Aayan scratched his head
'Yeah, I can say, 3 years back you had a bulky physique like me, and now you are leaner than Ved...' Vansh comments and Aayan couldn't help but smile
'It's nothing, I'll get my physique back in a year maybe...' Aayan said
'What about work ? Do you have anything in mind...?'
'Uh.. Yes, I do have something in mind, I hope it works, but right now my focus would be my wife...' Aayan stated, and Vansh's eyes dart towards him
'I like your spirit...' Vansh smiles as the car halts in front of them
'Come Jeejaji... Let's kick some butt...' Vansh grinned and gets on the driver seat and Aayan takes passenger seat, and they leave the house
3 hours later..
Ananya's room..
Ananya opens her eyes and finds herself tucked in the bed properly and quilt covering her, she blinked several times to adjust with the dim lights in the room, and realised it was dark...
She slowly got up and sat leaning, her back resting on the headboard of the bed, she yawns and stretches her arms, and turns on the bedside lamp
She sees 3 big bags in the right hand corner of the room and now she was fully awake since, realisation dawned to her that her husband was back...
She now sat straight and got down from the bed, tying her hair into a ponytail, she walked towards the bags
Do they really think I'll share the room with him...?
She was about to pick up the bag and throw it outside when she found a yellow sticky note stuck on it's handle, she immediately recognised Aayan's handwriting
If you want to throw this bag outside, please ask the servants to do that, don't do it yourself, it's heavy and we don't want you to stay in bed for 3 days, Again... It read and Ananya wanted to frown but she smiled remembering the day
3 years ago...
Bangalore, Aayan's bedroom..
(The time when Ananya and Aayan would fight all the time)
Ananya was sitting in front of the mirror, combing her hair and Aayan was sitting on the bed, leaning against the wall, doing something in his laptop..
They just had an argument about how Aayan was over doing his lovey dovey gestures in front of Mrs. Kumar, which was actually making her suspicious
'Do you wanna build a snowman...?' Ananya hummed, a bit loudly, which disturbed Aayan
'Her highness Ananya the great, Bangalore doesn't get snowfalls, so no...' he taunts and Ananya rolls her eyes
'Servant Aayan, I was singing a song... Not asking you to actually build a snowman....' she shot back
'Where do you learn these weird songs from...?' he removes his specs
'Movies... Because that is what normal people watch when they are free...' she gets up from stool and searches for a band to tie her hair up
'I watch movies too...'
'Really....? Which was the last movie you watched ?'
'Uh... I...' he thinks for a while and then frowns 'I don't like movies okay...' he says annoyed
'Why am I not surprised...' she rolls her eyes and takes her bag to go out
'Where are you going...?'
'Out with my boyfriend...' she grins
'Say hi to Deepika...' he looks at his laptop again and she glares at him
'I can have a boyfriend okay...' She argues
'Of course you can, only the guy has to be blind...' he says uninterested
Now Ananya was red with Anger now...
'I will make a boyfriend now, who will be 1000 times better than you...' she declares
'You are married...' Aayan ignores her and continues his work
'So were you... But still you...' she began angrily, but then stopped, as she was not in a mood to start a new fight
Aayan looks up from his laptop and adjusts his specs, Ananya took a deep breath and opens the door to leave the room
'Get jellybeans for me...' Aayan calls
'Yeah sure, which flavour do you want ? Vomit or earwax...?' she turns around and asks sweetly and he glares at her
'Chillies...' he replies
'Okay...! Anything else your highness...?' she asks sarcastically
'No, just don't come back for like 2 years or something....' Aayan smirks
'You wish baby...' Ananya smirks back
'Just go...' Aayan focuses his attention back on his work
'Sadu...' Ananya huffs and closes the door
'I heard that...' she hears Aayan's voice
'Good for you...' she calls loudly and walks towards the exit
'Ananya you are going somewhere...?' Mrs. Kumar asks
'Yeah Pappy, to the supermarket... You need something...?'
'Yeah, please get these too....' she hands her a list
One hour later
Aayan walks out of the room and comes sits on the dining table in the kitchen
'What's for dinner Pappy...?'
'Ananya wants to eat Pasta, so I'll try making it today...' Mrs. Kumar says dicing the veggies and Aayan sighs
'Why are her food choices so weird...?' he mutters
'Did you say anything Baba...?'
'No... Where is she...?' He asked looking around
'She went to the supermarket nearby, will be back any moment now...' Mrs. Kumar says looking at the clock
'I'll go look for her...' Aayan says, because he was bored in the house
'Aww Baba, Marriage really changed you...' Mrs. Kumar smiles
'Yeah, My wife is an angel after all....' Aayan smiles and then gets up from the seat and frowns
'No way...' he mutters and walks out
As he gets out of the elevator and he sees the scene at the park, in front of him, he couldn't help but open his mouth in shock..
Ananya was playing football with a bunch of adolescent boys, who were trying to stop her, from scoring a goal,and her teammates were running with her..
'Di... Here... Ananya Di on your left...' One kid shouts
Ananya kicks the ball towards him and he kicks it to the opponents goal and her team cheers
'Yeeeaahhhh...' they shouted and started jumping, along with Ananya who was jumping with them too
'Well done Di, why don't you play with us regularly... It'll be fun...' one kid suggested
'Arre Aayan Bhai won't like it...' another kid says
'Who cares about him...' Ananya rolls her eyes
'I heard that...' She hears Aayan's voice from behind
'Bhai...! Did you see Ananya Di's goal...' one kid ran to him
Aayan ruffles his hair and walks towards them
'I taught her that...' he says proudly
Ananya looks at him shocked, and glares at him, simultaneously ignoring him the next second and started fixing her shoes
'Liar...' she mutters
'Bhai, why don't you join us next week... We'll have your face off with Di...'
'Sure, unless your Di isn't scared...' Aayan teases
'You wish..' Ananya rolls her eyes at him
'That's like my lovely wife...' Aayan pulls her cheeks like she is some kid and Boys started laughing
'Shut up...' Ananya slaps his hands, and then turns to leave
'See you kids...' She says
'Bye Di...' they say
Ananya goes to her scooter and tries to lift the heavy bag placed near the leg space, which she put there with the help of guard at the supermarket
The bag was really heavy, and it was impossible for her to pick it up, she tries to put it down, but the bag didn't budge
Aayan walked towards her, and saw her struggling to pick the bag up
'Alright, I'll just slide the bag towards the elevator...' she mutters and pulls the bag
'Let me help...' Aayan tries to reach for the bag, when she slaps his hands
'I am a 21st century strong independent woman, I don't need a man's help in this menial task...' she says proudly and Aayan looks at her amused
'Really...? Then why don't you pick this up...? Why are you sliding it...' he says challengingly
'I don't want to pick it up...' she lied
'Don't want or can't...?' He laughed
'Hey ! I could pick you up if I want...'
'Ooo really...! Please do the honors...' he moved closer to her
She took a step back, internally gulping, there was no way she could pick this beast up..
'I don't want to...' she pushes him away and tries to lift the bag
'Want some help...?' Aayan asks leaning against the wall
'No thanks...' she mutters, as the bag was really heavy, but there was no way she was going to give up
As Ananya lifted the bag using all her might, she was pushed back because of the weight, because of which she lost the balance and fell on the ground with the bag falling on her feet
Everything happened in fraction of seconds that Aayan couldn't do anything to prevent that
'Owww....' Ananya cries in pain and the people passing by rushed towards her
Aayan couldn't control his laughter anymore, he started laughing so hard that he had to catch the chair nearby to support him
'I told you let me help... Hahahahaha... See what happened... Hahahahaha...' he managed to say
Ananya glared at him and the people helping her stared at the couple amused
'Let me stand, I'll break all your teeth...' Ananya grits and tries to stand, but a sharp pain shot on her back and she cried in pain
Aayan stopped laughing at this and rushed towards her
'Hey does it hurt...?' he asks trying to help her stand
'No I like to sleep in the lobby...' she replied sarcastically
Aayan rolled his eyes, and then picked her up in his arms, she winced because of the movement, but then held his shoulders
'Bhai, let me help you with the bag...' One boy who was playing with Ananya said
'No Mayank, go to Akash Bhaiyya's house and ask him to come to my home, Your Bhabhi needs a doctor right now, and give the bag to me...' Aayan says to the kid
The boy helped Aayan picking up the scattered things and ran to the another wing to call the doctor, while the others called the elevator and pushed the button of the floor where Aayan lives
'Look who picked who...' Aayan teased her
'Shut up...' Ananya huffs
As they walk inside the house Mrs. Kumar gasps and rushes towards them
'What happened...?'
'Look what I found near the garbage...' Aayan grins and Ananya hits him
'Baba.. Don't be insensitive... Ananya what happened...?' Mrs. Kumar asks
'I fell Pappy... I was trying to lift this bag...' Ananya pouts
'I offered to help, she played the independent women card...' Aayan said placing her on the bed
'Let me get pain killers...' Mrs. Kumar says
'No need Pappy, I already called Akash, he'll be here any minute...' Aayan says and Mrs. Kumar nods
'I'll get something to eat for both of you...' Mrs. Kumar says and leaves the room
Aayan hops on the bed and lies beside Ananya, who huffs looking at him
'How's the pain ? Having fun...?' he asks amused
Ananya glares at him, and turns to the other side and winced because of the pain, whereas Aayan gets up and starts searching something in the shopping bag
'How sweet of you, you brought jellybeans...' he says taking out the packet
'That's for me...' Ananya protested
'Now it's mine... You sleep you weep...'
'That's not even a phrase...' she rolls her eyes
'I made it up, now quit whining, let me see what else you brought for me...' He says searching the bag further
'Hmm... Skittles... Mine, Gum... Mine....Marshmallows... Mine... Licorice... Mine....' he began taking all the candies
'Hey ! Put them back, they are not for you...' Ananya says angrily
'I've already taken them and I am keeping them away somewhere safe from you...' he grinned
'Aaayyaannn...! You are such a dog...' Ananya shouts
'That makes you my Bitchh...' he sang and walked out of the room
'God I will kill him...' she grits and punches the pillow
After 5 minutes, Aayan's friend walks in along with Aayan and Mrs. Kumar...
'Hello Bhabhi... I heard about your accident, does it hurt much...?' the doctor asks
'No not much...' She says and tries to get up, but couldn't
'Bhabhi can you just turn to the side, let me check if you hurt your back much...'
'I can't move Akash Bhaiyya...' Ananya says helplessly
'Bro, go help your wife...'
Aayan jogs towards Ananya and helps her turning to her left, and she cries in pain, clutching Aayan's arms tightly
Akash examines Ananya's wound and then asked Aayan to turn her back..
Then he examines her leg, where the bag fell..
'The leg is absolutely fine Bhabhi, however I am not sure about the back, I think there might be a slipped disc, because of the weight you tried to lift... I'll give you the medications, once you are able to walk, come to my clinic, we'll do an X ray...' Akash says and Ananya nods
'Meanwhile, I suggest complete bed rest and no such stunts in the future...' he looks at the couple who nods at him
'Come Sir, I'll escort you outside...' Mrs. Kumar says and the doctor walks out
'Give me my candies...' Ananya glares at Aayan
'You mean mine...? Once you get up, try searching them...' Aayan says bored
'I'll kill you...' She warns
'I love you too...' he blows a kiss at her and leaves the room
Ananya angrily throws the pillow and huffs
'Dog !'
And this way Ananya couldn't leave bed for 3 days without someone's help, Aayan was always there with her, but he did have his share of fun, in irritating Ananya...
Ananya's reverie was broken by the sound of opening of the door, and she took a step away from the bag
Aayan walks inside and stops on his tracks seeing her standing near his bags, both of them froze on their places looking at each other...
Normally, either they would've started bickering or hugged the life our of each other, but today, no words were spoken between them, there was this uncomfortable silence between them
The two people who were once madly in love with each other, were not able to express it, they had a lot to say, but none of them could speak
Ananya looked at him carefully, he looked weak, but the charisma was still there, while Ananya looked prettier to Aayan, like she transformed herself from this playful girl to a strong woman, she was giving out a strong independent woman vibes who makes people speechless, her bubbly side was gone...
Aayan clears his throat, and Ananya's trance was broken, she too composed herself and started walking towards the door
'Are you comfortable with me staying here...? I can shift to another room..' he says hesitantly
Ananya turns around to face him, looking straight in his eyes, and scoffs
'Since when you started considering my comfort ? It's your father's house, do whatever you want, don't ask me' she says and walks out of the room
Aayan sighed and walked towards his bag to take out comfortable clothes, he looked around and his eyes land on the huge portrait behind the bed
It was their engagement pic, where Ananya was genuinely happy, and even Aayan was enjoying the time with her, they were dancing on a song, looking at each other, when this moment was captured, he smiled at the picture, remembering how happy they were after sometime of their wedding, which of course was ruined because of him
He sighed and began changing his clothes, and later kept his bags in the corner, which he'll unpack later, he sat on the corner of bed and massaged his temples
Her cold behaviour is justified, I mean first I married her out of some stupid revenge and then irritated her, later on got her pregnant, and because of my step brother, she lost the child, and then in a fit of rage, I destroyed everything, I pointed a gun at her, I mean... Which husband does that ! And then ran away like a coward...
She will never forgive me, and to be honest I don't deserve to be forgiven..
I cannot bear this coldness though, she was the one who brought me out of darkness, and in return I pushed her into it...
There was a soft knock on the door, Aayan walks towards it and opened the door and his happiness knew no boundaries, it was his Naina mom standing in front of him
'Mom...!' he exclaimed and hugged her happily, at which Naina chuckles and hugs him back
'How is my favourite kid...? Wasn't he eating in the US...?' she asks, looking at him worriedly
'I am fine... I really missed you Mom...'
'Then why did you leave...?' Naina asks and Aayan sighs and looks down
'Mom.. I...' he began
'Come sit with me...' Naina takes him to the balcony and makes him sit on a bean bag and takes a seat opposite to him
'Now tell me Aayan, why did you leave...?' Naina asks
'Mom, I was really ashamed of what I did, I mean, I was a beast that night, After that incident, I lost faith in my sanity, I couldn't risk Ananya's safety, so I...' he stops in between
'Ran away...?' Naina finished his sentence and he nods slowly
'I thought I raised you better than this Aayan, you have really disappointed me...' Naina says, and Aayan couldn't face her
'I know mom, that night I behaved like Priyanka Singhal's son, and not yours... And I had no courage to face you and big dad after that, and I couldn't even look at dad for months...' Aayan sighs
'That was your grief of losing your birth mother...' Naina began
'She did not even deserved my Grief mom ! She was just a namesake mother, and she knew, neither me nor Nitaara, none of them will cry for her, but I guess she got things done her way...' Aayan says angrily
'A mother is always a mother to her child, no matter what, and your impulsive behavior that night wasn't from Priyanka, it was from Jai.. That night you were Jai Verma's son... But that doesn't mean you abandon my daughter Aayan...'
'Mom I was scared...'
'So was she...! The gun was pointed at her dammit ! But still she chased you down at the airport, to stop you...' Naina exclaims and Aayan was in tears now
'Mom.. I... I've made a mistake, and you have no idea how much I regret it...'
'Aayan Varma, you were supposedly the best choice for our daughter, who could never ever hurt her, You know, Me and Arjun made sure that nothing makes her sad, she was 'The Princess', she never cried at our house Kid, Arjun didn't even let any difficulties come to her, he stood rock solid for his girl...' Naina says, she was in tears too
'And since the day she married you, all I have heard or seen her to do is cry... Okay, you had some issues with her, later it was resolved... But then you run away, and make us regret our decision more...'
'I know mom, and...' he began but she gestured him to stay silent
'My husband was helpless, seeing Ananya in pain, I was helpless to see my girl in pain, you know one day, she just disappeared, no one knows where she went, absolutely no one, we searched every corner in Delhi, she was no where to be found... It was the chilling month of December and she didn't even have a sweater with her...'
Aayan was intrigued at this, and Naina continued
'Vansh found her unconscious near the Yamuna River, floating near the shore...' Naina wiped her tears
Aayan's hand and feet turned cold at this, he couldn't believe that she attempted suicide
'What...!' he managed to say
'No, she did not attempt suicide, I asked her when she came back from the hospital, she says her leg slipped, she was sitting near the old bridge, and while getting up it happened in fraction of seconds...' Naina said and Aayan sighed in relief
'And I believe her, she is my daughter, she'll fight the world, but will never commit this cowardly act...' Naina said proudly and Aayan agreed to it
'From that day, we all saw a new Ananya, who was not the innocent, childish, happy go lucky girl, she was cold, Stone cold...' her voice becane a whisper and Aayan too became speechless
'She was not The Princess anymore, she transformed into a Queen, The dictator Queen of her own world, where A King has no place, where things always go her way, and if not, she would destroy the thing, My Ananya became the Aayan she healed....' Naina wipes her tears
She turns and looks at Aayan who was ashamed
'I don't blame you for this, Life has their own way to teach us lessons, to flame and beat us so we shine more, I always told Arjun, he cannot protect her from worldly difficulties, if Ananya was meant to become strong, she will and see she did...' Naina smiles
'If things are meant to work out between you two, it will, and if not, well make it happen then...' she says to Aayan who looks at her shocked
'My daughter won't fall into your cheesy tactics like the last time, if you genuinely want to get her back, you have to try something else, and if not, I suggest you two must part ways, because if it's not meant to be, it won't happen...' Naina says further
'I won't leave her... And will do everything in my might to get her forgiveness...' Aayan says determined
'Let's see...' Naina says getting up
'Will you forgive me Mom...?' Aayan asks
'I will, once my daughter does...' she said and Aayan nods
'Come, let's go for dinner...' Naina says and they leave the room
The final chapter begins
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