Part 48
MANY HOURS LATER
THE SEASIDE
IN MUMBAI
RIYA POV
It's been a long time since I've arrived in Mumbai after the entire tragedy happened. After having cried my heart out in the washroom, I felt very lost... I took some time to gather myself to decide what to do next. So without even changing, I wrote a letter and left it behind for my family knowing that they'll be worried upon finding me nowhere there as I left the Rathore mansion to come back here to Mumbai to be away from them all for a while so that I can sort myself and my future plans out.
Knowing exactly what I'm going to do, I look at the horizon of the sea in front of me.
This wedding is just unwanted and forced on both Arjun Sir and me. I remember how he made the rash decision of marrying me after hearing Abhay's words. Arjun Sir may seem to be insensitive, rude and emotionless at times but he is also without any doubt a very nice and good-hearted man who cared a lot about his team. The team in which I also kind of form part of. The team of which he is very protective and possessive of, he may not accept that publicly but I know for a fact that he is.
I understand that Arjun Sir reacted that way last night because he feels responsible for our safety and lives but this time things went overboard.
Moreover I know that once he'll calm down, even Arjun sir will accept like me that this wedding is just a mistake. We all know that the purpose of his life is to avenge Roshni's death while mine is to avenge my family's death. We may be colleagues and friends but we're definitely not suitable to be each other's life partners.. At least not with the current situation in our lives.
" Riyaaa.... Is it you..??? What are you doing here..?? Weren't you supposed to be in Rajasthan with the others..?? "
Suddenly I hear a familiar voice coming from my back and knowing who it is and as expected Anirudh Basu, my baba comes and stands ahead of me first with a surprised look which changes into complete shock as soon as he comes face to face with me and see the sindoor in my hairline and the manglasutra in my neck.
" What the hell... Riya... What is all of this..??? What the heck happen to you..?? Why are you wearing all of these..??? Did you get married..?? To whom..!?? "
Baba freaks out as expected grabbing the attention of the people nearby as they look at us like aliens.
Trying not to make a scene in public, I say in a strict way sounding as bossing as I can ;
" Baba.. Calm down... Let's go to the hotel and I'll explain you everything...!!! "
Having said that I start walking away as Baba follows me all confused but still without saying anything more knowing that I am not going to say anything till we're alone.
SOME TIME LATER
HOTEL ROOM
RIYA POV
As soon as we enter the room and close the door behind, Baba once again shoots at me this time demanding answers for his questions. Knowing that he is not going to stay quiet now, till I don't reply him, I wait for him to calm down down first and then talk.
"Okay Baba... Calm down... Please calm down... I know you need answers for all of this but if you don't let me speak then how am I supposed to clarify your doubts..??
You are right.. Last night, not everything went as we had planned. We managed getting the file, Aayu got married successfully but after that things went completely wrong.
After the wedding, I went to the terrace to get some fresh air and then............ "
I tell him all what happened afterwards without hiding anything.
I stated the fact that that Abhay drugged me and kidnapped me. That after having that he tried to marry and r*pe me while I'd not be in my senses. And how my family and the rest came to my rescue. How Abhay and his goons tried to stop them. And how in a fit of rage and anger, Arjun Sir ended up marrying me.
I confessed all without hiding anything, without the fear of being judged.
Appalled by all what I just said, Baba takes a good look at me. Now he understands why I'm still in the previous day's clothes which is still a little drenched and why my entire makeup and hairdo is in a complete mess. And he manages to talk after a long time to process the information he's just been made aware of ;
" Lemme get this straight...
You mean to say that last night along with Ayesha, even you got married... That too to Arjun..!!!! And that son of gun Abhay abducted you and tried to force you in marrying and sleeping with him..!!! "
Nodding in a yes is the only way I'm able to answer him right now. I see Baba's face turn even more red as anger overtakes him. Knowing that he's very protective and cares about me and also knowing that to avoid any kind of blunder to happen, I quickly add ;
" Baba... Baba.... Please try to cool it down... I know you're very angry about what Abhay did but... Don't worry... Dad and Baba Sa took care of him, you know how they are, just like you, even they'll make sure that Abhay is severely punished for his doings. "
" But Beta....!!! "
He tries to convince me otherwise but I stop him.
" Please Baba... Please don't make it harder for me... I'm already very tensed and tired about all what happened... I really don't think I'll be able to handle anymore now... "
I literally plead knowing that I'm mentally and physically worn out at this point.
Just then my phone rings and I see Shree's name flashing as the caller's ID. Taking a deep breath, I finally answer the call knowing that I cannot ignore them forever and I speak as soon as I pick up the phone ;
" Shree.. Don't worry about me.. I'm fine... Tell mom - dad as well that I..... "
" I know you're not fine Riiii... And I'm not in Rajasthan Riiiii.... But the rest are still in Rajasthan... Chotu and me are both in Mumbai right now... More precisely in front of your house... Waiting for you... "
Shree says in a calm caring voice.
I reply knowing exactly why he and Chotu came after me ;
" I'll be there in some time... "
" 30 minutes Rii... If you are not here in 30 minutes, I'm coming to get you no matter where you are..!!! "
I hear Chotu say in a concerned way.
Knowing that he's definitely not joking about what he just said, I speak again before cutting the call ;
" I'll be there well before that.. Till then get inside and make yourselves comfortable, you know where the spare key is..!!! "
After ending the call, I look at Baba and say ;
" I need to go home as I expected Shree and Chotu came here after me to make sure that I am okay... Before they come here looking for me, I guess I'll have to rush back home.. I'll see you later Baba..!! "
Saying bye to Baba, I pick up my phone and purse, the only things that I had brought with me from Rajasthan and open the door to leave but as soon as I open the door, I see Vishal standing outside about to ring the bell.
Looking confused and tensed, he enters the room and says ;
" Boss.. Last night... You.... "
Even Vishal came to know about what happened last night with me..!? But right now I can't explain anything so I say in a straight bossy way before leaving the room ;
" Not now Vishal....Baba will tell you about last night... And I.... I'll come to see you soon and I'll explain you the rest of the plan then. Right now I have to leave, Shree and Chotu are waiting for me home.... "
After saying that, I leave the room and the two guys behind as I rush back to my house where the other two guys are waiting for me to come back.
MUKHERJEE HOUSE
SOME TIME LATER
THIRD PERSON POV
Chotu and Shree waited impatiently for Riya to arrive inside the house as instructed. They had very well decided that in case Riya doesn't show up in exactly 30 minutes, then the very 31st minute they'll be going to look for her. But fortunately they didn't have to as Riya managed to get there well on time.
When the doorbell rang, they sprinted to open the door for Riya. They scanned Riya's facial expressions and knew that she had cried for a long time and now is trying to act strong in front of them as she claimed to be okay.
The first thing that Riya did was to head straight to her room to take a shower, changed her clothes and then she headed down as she promised the boys who were truly concerned about her.
By the time Riya freshened up, the boys decided to use that time effectively as they managed to put together some sandwiches as they knew that Riya was weak from the occurrings and needed to eat something before taking her medicines.
Right now the trio are all together as they sit in the kitchen near the table as they all eat and the boys try to start a conversation with Riya which they successfully are able to.
" We just want you to know that whatever happened was not your fault.. It's just that Abhay who talked shit about everything that he thought he could use against us to make you feel responsible for his doings..!! "
Shree says minutes after talking to Riya trying his best to convince Riya that whatever Abhay did was out of his quest for revenge.
" Exactly Riya...
Abhay and the rest are just sick people. And you know what type of mentality these people have..!!
So please don't blame yourself for what they did...!!! "
Chotu adds supporting Shree.
Despite the turmoil going on inside her, Riya is able to perfectly portray that she's completely okay and things are very much normal for her as she replies her besties ;
" Shree.. Chotu... for the last time I'm telling you guyss.. I'm okay.. I know what happened wasn't supposed to happen but... It did happen anyways.. And there's nothing much that I can do to change it..!!
So guyss... Just chil and relax...
I just needed some time to sort out my thoughts and I was able to.. Which is why I'm no longer in any kind of shock right now..!!! I swear.... I'm seriously not in any kind of shock or something...
And I really don't want to talk about that wedding... Please guys.. Can we talk about something else..!? "
" Okay....
We won't force you to think about that..
We don't want you to stress yourself out on this..!! "
Chotu says.
" So tell me...
What do we do now..?? "
Shree asks trying to change the heavy atmosphere that prevailed in attempt to not overburden Riya with the happenings.
And the trio of besties spent the rest of the day watching TV so as not to put Riya in any kind of dilemma again knowing that her mental health is still not completely fine as the doctors had told them.
NEXT DAY
THIRD PERSON POV
Having completed all the post wedding ceremonies in Rajasthan, everyone has successfully reached Mumbai heading towards the Mukherjee's home to see Chotu and Shree who are there only with Riya.
Chotu and Shree did inform them about Riya being with them and in a better mood than they had anticipated.
Needless to say that Arjun went straight to his apartment once he returned to Mumbai as he needed some much needed alone time to cope with all what he did. Moreover precisely why he didn't go with the others to check on Riya was that he didn't know how to face her after all what happened and now that she was in her complete senses again. For first time in so many years, Arjun felt so anxious.
Neelam and Nilesh tried their best to talk to Riya about what happened but Riya avoided the topic each and every time. She very well knew that once she started this particular conversation with Nilesh and Neelam there will be no turning back.
A DAY LATER
NIGHT TIME
The Mukherjee couple and both of their daughters are together at the same place, their house. Given the current happenings, Damini, Damsingh and Sameer told Ayesha to stay at her parent's place for a while so that she can help her parents and sister. Ayesha felt blessed to be married in a such a nice family who understood her before she could even opt for.
Right now after dinner, Riya tries to run off to her room but Neelam stops her before she can by holding her hand and and questions her ;
" Baby... Why don't you just tell us for how long do you plan to ignore us and avoid this conversation..?? So that none of us waste our time trying to talk to each other or even convince each other for this..?? "
"Mom please.... I'm really very tired... I have to report to work tomorrow that's why I wanna sleep..!! And stop worrying about me.... I'm perfectly okay.... "
Riya says in a hurried way but that doesn't work as Nilesh adds on ;
" Okay let's assume that you are actually fine.. Still mom and I want to talk to you about something..!!! "
" Something rather very important..!! We wanna be clear on this... "
" Mom.... Dad... You and I both know what important things you wanna talk about.. You want me to be loud and clear on this..!? Then fine... I'll be very clear on this..
I know very well what you people want me to think about... And you people also know very well what I am thinking of doing..!!
And it's definitely not the same thing we have on our respective minds. "
" But that still doesn't change the fact that you're still very much married to Arjun..!! "
Neelam adds quickly.
" And that still doesn't change the fact that his wedding happened in a fit of rage and is a completely loveless one..!!!
Mom please...
I don't acknowledge this wedding and I'm very much sure that once his anger will cool down, even Arjun Sir will say the same.!! "
Riya says determined and convinced about all what she said.
" But Riya... Still... If you could try thinking about it once again then maybe.... "
Nilesh says trying to convince his daughter otherwise but to no avail as Riya finally snaps back with everyone saying the same thing to her over and over again ever since they've returned from Rajasthan.
" Dad please... I'm already bored with everyone saying the same thing over and over again in the past 24 hours. I can't take it anymore..
I thought a lot about this and then only I took this decision.
I DO NOT ACCEPT THIS WEDDING. IT HAPPENED IN A MOMENT OF HEAT AND THAT'S THE ONLY TRUTH.
And if you people think that you cannot accept my decision or that whatever Abhay said is true then let me know. I'll go away from here forever and you'll not have to be ashamed of me.!! "
Riya replies boldly shocking her parents and sister who never saw her say something extreme like this.
" BABY...!!! "
They all shouted at Riya at the same time for what she said and worse even dared think something like that.
" How could you even think something like that..!!!??? "
Nilesh says.
" You're our daughter... And we've always been proud of that... No matter what happens, how worse the situation gets... We'll never be ashamed of you..!!! Because you'll never do anything to make us ashamed of you..!!! "
Neelam adds on to support her husband's words.
" Even now we just want the best for you.. That's why we are trying to talk to you about it..!!! Off course we respect all of your decisions. It's just that we're concerned about you.. We're worried about your health..."
Ayesha also adds trying to weigh to her mother's words.
Regretting the way she spoke to the people in front of her, Riya speaks again ;
" Mom... Dad... Aayu... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry.... I don't know what happened to me... It's just that my mind is not working in the right way....
I know that you all care for me... I know that you all love me... It's just that all what happened... All what Abhay said about me is still ringing in my ears..
I want to get it out of my head but it's just I'm not able to get it out of my head.. It's torturing me continuously. I don't want it.. I really don't want it.... "
Riya says as she finally breaks down into tears.
Seeing her crying like that, Neelam, Nilesh and Ayesha instinctively go near Riya to calm her and share a warm tight hug for some time.
SOME TIME LATER
AYESHA - RIYA'S ROOM
NEELAM POV
Right now Nilesh is in our room trying to get some rest after having taken his medicines and all the drama that has been happening with us. And I am currently in our daughters' room to check on them, especially our younger one.
After Riya's breakdown after dinner, it took some time but Riya managed to compose herself. No matter what she decides, I wanted her to know that me and her dad are always with her. I look at Ayesha who's already fallen asleep after having talked to her husband. Sameer and his family have been considerably kind and supportive to us in this hard time. Understanding how much Riya need me and her elder sister right now, they didn't hesitate a single time to send Ayesha with us despite Ayesha and Sameer just got married.
Then I look at my younger one who's lying on the bed pretending to be asleep. I go near her, sit next to her and stroke her hairs as I say ;
" You know that you don't need to pretend to be asleep in front of me Baby..!!! I'm your mom... And I know how my daughter is..!! "
Realizing that I've caught her feigning being to be asleep, Riya finally turns her face towards me and looks at me with a guilty face as she says ;
" Sorry mom... It's just that I know that you're already tensed because of me... I didn't wanted to add to your troubles by telling you that I'm not able to sleep..!! "
" Frankly speaking if you would be sleeping without any kind of doubt or trouble, then I would have been tensed.. I know that your mind is still very much preoccupied with the recent happenings. I would suggest you to take some time to relax yourself and your mind first and talk to Arjun... Try to understand what he did as well. Then only you should take a decision about how you guys will proceed.!! "
I suggest my daughter as she places her head on my lap and I caress her hairs trying my best to make her understand.
" I've already decided Mom... And trust me I've taken much time to think about it... I swear I have... We all know that the base of this wedding is just anger. And if the foundation of a wedding is weak and based on negative things then that wedding doesn't last long.. Isn't that what you taught as I grew up... Moreover I didn't wanted to get married any soon, and you know that.. I have other plans.. As in I want to concentrate on my career.. There's still a lot of things to do on my list... I don't want to limit myself by accepting this kind of stuff and Arjun Sir... I'm sure even he must be thinking the same.. After all he's still have not been able to overcome Roshni's death.. How can anyone expect him to start all over again when he's not been able to even accept his past... "
As Riya says the last bit, she lifts her head from my lap and looks at me while saying the last bit.
Understanding her concern and point of view, I say as I now look at Riya right in the eyes as I cup her face in my palms ;
" Hmmm....
Now that's a very strong and valid point.. I do accept with you here..
You don't want to tie yourself and Arjun in any kind of unwanted relationship.. That's good..
Answer just one small doubt of mine then.. And I promise you that I won't say anything to you about this specific topic anymore..!! "
Hearing my words, Riya looks at me all confused as she questions me ;
" What mom..?? "
" As you say, you don't want to be tied down with anything. You want to concentrate on your work. Then why have you still have this manglasutra tied in your neck and your hairline filled with sindur..?? "
I question her as I pull out her wedding chain out of her blouse which was safely tucked inside and in her deep hairline, there is sindur still filled. Riya managed to hide all of this successfully from the others, but knowing my daughter's upbringing, I kind of knew that she would do something like this.
I look at my daughter nervously trying to hide the manglasutra and sindur again from me as she's been caught as she tries to formulate an answer for me in her mind but is clearly unable to do so.
Knowing that she will be giving me some useless reply, I myself reply that bit to ensure that she understands the message what I've been trying to convey to her ;
" I'll tell you why..!!!
Because deep down there... In your heart, you know that you and Arjun are married.. You know that despite the base of this wedding is not completely a good one but the wedding itself is real. You know that you are his wife..!! You know that you are actually Mrs Arjun Suryakant Rawte now, don't you.!! "
" The only reason why I've not yet taken these off me is very simple mom. I don't want to disrespect the belief of wedding.
And these are the symbols of wedding..
Tomorrow I'll talk to Arjun Sir about this.. And I'll return this to him as well..!! "
Comes Riya's denial once again.
Knowing that if I even try to pressure her to understand me, I'll be doing a mistake as evidently Riya does not want to understand what I've been trying to explain to her all this time..
" Okay...
I think it's getting late now.. C'mon try to sleep now..!! "
Is the last thing that I say as I help Riya get back to her sleeping position and leave her there after some time.
NEXT DAY
AROUND NOON
THE SEASIDE
ARJUN POV
Last night around 2 am, I received a text message from Riya asking me if I could meet her today here. Knowing that I can't run away from her and this conversation, I agreed and here I am, waiting for her to show up so that we can talk about what is going on with our lives.
I look at the horizon as I try to formulate a way to start the pending conversation with Riya and when my hear beats start racing in my chest as I hear Riya take my name from behind ;
" Arjun Sir...!!! "
Now that the much awaited confrontation time has arrived, I don't even turn around to look at her in the face or worse eyes not knowing what to do and trying my best to not sound rude, I say without moving from the position I was in ;
" Hmmmmm.... "
And as I had expected, awkwardness slowly started creeping in making the atmosphere. Hence to avoid any more awkwardness to get in, I suggest to Riya who's by now standing by side and looking at the horizon just like me ;
" Guess we can get down and then talk..!!! "
I say pointing towards the nearby unoccupied bench.
Agreeing with me, Riya just nods in a yes and we both walk there and down.
And this time before any embarrassing moment could get in, I say as I gather all my courage ;
" Riya.... I apologize for what happened.. For all what I did.. After getting Abhay's messages about kidnapping you and his plans, I kind of freaked out. The only thing going on in my head that time was to find you as soon as possible and get you safely back home..
When I finally found you, things didn't really go the way I planned to. I was already worked up and when I confronted Abhay face to face, things got even worse. The horrible things that Abhay said about you and what he was planning on doing to you was the blow to my patience and then I lose it as my anger took over the control of my mind and body.
And owing to all of that, the only way to show Abhay at that point that he is wrong about you was to marry you. I accept the way I reacted was not good and completely unfair to you.
All of that was never supposed to happen.. You and I are just colleagues and friends... We respect each other and admire each other's work and dedication. But marriage..
I don't know.. I just don't know what to do or say about that..!!!
I am sorry Riya... I should not have done that..!! "
Are the last words that I say as I finish explaining my point of view to Riya who listens to me quietly as I talk.
Having said all that I manage to turn my body to look at the girl sitting next to me.
Very much to my surprise, at first Riya looks at me with an expressionless face which very soon changes as she slightly smiles moving her head slowly left right while closing her eyes shocking me.
Why would she even smile in such a delicate situation.!?
Before I could even think of any reason or even ask her about this, Riya herself talks ;
" I kind of already figured that bit out..!!
It's just that I wanted to be completely assured about your size of the story. Now that you've said it loud and clear, I guess the answer to all of this is very simple and clear.
Even I didn't wanted this to happen.. But it kind of did happen. I know you did not do this on purpose but it did happen anyway. We cannot really change what already happened but we can at least plan for the future..
I don't mean to be rude to you but I don't want you to be tied down to this relationship, I cannot be your wife. I mean any girl who love to marry you and enjoy being your life partner but I don't think I will fit in that place. I promised my parents and brother something and I want to fulfill that promise to them. I want to concentrate on my job and work for my country. "
Riya says in a rather calm, composed and honest way while I look at her completely stupefied by the mature, relaxed way, Riya is handling this matter.
After having processed all what Riya said, I finally am able to reply her ;
" I understand your point Riya. I guess even you are right.
I've already done so much. I guess whatever you decide will be for the best. I don't want to force you into anything. If you're saying that you don't want to be forced into this relationship, then I won't force you to accept it.
Whatever you decide will be acceptable to me I suppose that will be my way of saying that I am sorry for all the trouble I caused. "
I reply what I genuinely have in mind knowing that I had already fcuked up and didn't wanted to do anything worse. How could I possibly expect Riya to accept this wedding when I myself haven't been able to digest this fact well.
I look at Riya who seems to be relieved with my words and I add ;
" And don't worry about the others, our family.. I'll handle them.. I'll tell them about what we've decided..!! "
" Thank you Arjun Sir.. That'll be great.. "
Riya replies.
Having said that, I get up from my place and say ;
" Okay then...
I should get going.. "
Just after having taken a step away, I hear Riya call me again making me turn back at her ;
" Arjun Sir...!!! "
" Yess... "
" Hmmmmm....
I've got something... Something to return to you...!!! "
Riya hesitantly says.
" What..?? "
I question her not knowing where she's headed to.
Riya also stands up and takes hold of my hand and places it in front of me and the proceeds to take out something from her back.
" This....
I don't think I should keep it...
I can't disrespect it by keeping it with me.. "
Riya says as she places the manglasutra in my hand and closes my palm and before I can even react to this, Riya just walks away.
As I look at the chain in my hand, I remember how Maa Sa gave me this wedding chain that night and how few hours later, I tied the same chain around Riya's neck.
A MONTH LATER
THIRD PERSON POV
It's been a month now since the wedding happened. Everyone are trying to get things back to normal but they are just not able to.
After Riya said that she didn't wanted to force herself and Arjun into this untimely and unwanted relationship, no one forced her to do anything that she doesn't want. Arjun also now that his anger has subsided completely, said that he has already taken a rash decision driven by anger earlier and that now he didn't wanted to pressure Riya to do anything. Their family and friends understood them, hence no one dared to force them to think otherwise.
Sameer-Ayesha and the team on the other hand are trying their best to clear the difference between Arjun and Riya as deep down they all want Arjun and Riya to be together, to at least give it a try but to no avail.
PRESENT DAY
ETF HEADQUARTERS
ARJUN'S CABIN
LUNCH TIME
ARJUN POV
It's already been a month since that night. Blinded by temper and impatience, that day I married the woman who was genuinely my friend and a colleague. For the first days I wasn't able to even face Riya but then after Riya and I talked, things are much better between us right now. Thankfully she didn't misinterpreted my decision of marrying her in the bad way like I had thought she might. The way Riya handled herself and the rest of the family to accept our decision is definitely very praiseworthy.
I never really thought that Riya would be so calm, composed and sorted out after such a big mishap. I kinda pictured her crying, screaming, losing hope and blaming me for what I did, but she didn't really do anything like that.
Even in the headquarters no one knows about what happened between me and Riya, and Riyaa... She's been acting as if nothing happened back in Rajasthan and she's still just my junior which she off course is. I know... I know... I should be kind of happy about it that this... All of this what happened between us is not that important to her but... But weirdly the fact that Riya doesn't seem to be as worked up as me on this matter is making me uncomfortable. It's more like I want her to be as worked as I am. But all my thoughts get disturbed as I hear a knock on the door followed by a familiar voice ;
" May I come in sir..?? "
Riya asks as she peeks inside whole I'm seated in my place with a file in a hand and spinning my pen in the other one.
Gathering myself from the previous thoughts that I had, I say ;
" Yess... "
" If you're not very busy, can I talk about to you on something..?? "
Riya asks as she enters my cabin and loses the door behind her.
" Sure.. Go ahead..!!
Sit.... "
I say as I keep my eyes fixed on the file in my hands despite my entire mind is focused on Riya.
" Actually I.... I..... Okay... I'll try my best to not beat around the bush and get straight to the point. I was thinking that maybe we should file for a divorce..!!! "
Riya blunts out all of a sudden as I stare at her all bewildered at her words.
" Divorce..!!?? "
Is all what I manage to repeat.
Done.
So how was this part!?
Riya seems to be very much determined and stubborn on her decision to not go ahead with the wedding.
And Arjun...
Even he is still very much confused about all what he did.
And the divorce ??
What about that now!??
What do you think is going to happen..??!
What's your take.?
And many more details you liked or disliked.!?
What do you people think?
Stay safe everyone.
Thank everyone for your time and I'm always looking forward for your response.
Don't forget to tell me what you think of this and do leave any suggestions.
Thank you all for the heartwhelming response.
I'll see you guys by next weekend with the next part.
Thanks once again.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME, PATIENCE, LOVE AND CONCERN.
MEANS A LOT TO ME.
Lots of Love
SheHatesMee
❤️
Do comment and vote.