Thank you so much everyone. All your comments overwhelm me so much.
Someone had asked if Kabir is Vansh’s stepbrother : No, they are not. Of course, they do share a past which will be disclosed later.
For those of you who missed the 3rd chapter, here is the link :
https://www.tellyupdates.com/bound-to-you-chapter-3-the-meeting/
Vansh was boiling with rage. He grabbed a glass and held it so forcefully between his palms that it shattered, causing the broken pieces to pierce right through his skin.
When Angre saw the blood dripping from his hands, he tried to help him out, but Vansh simply asked him to back off.
“Let me call the doctor at least….” Angre insisted.
“This pain is nothing in front of the pain she gave me,” said Vansh. “How can she remain happy after betraying me so badly?”
“What is making you angry – the fact that Riddhima is happy, or the fact that she is happy with someone else?” asked Angre softly.
Vansh looked away, not only because he had no answers to this question, but also because he wanted to hide the moistness in his eyes.
_________________________________________
“I tried to ask my company if they can help me with finding a place of accomodation. But they said it would take some time,” said Roshan.
“I guess the only other option is to move to a hotel until then,” sighed Riddhima.
“But what about the children? What will we tell them?” asked Roshan.
“I don’t know. But I can’t tell them the entire truth obviously. I’ll have to make up some story,” said Riddhima. Her face was drained of all colour, and her eyes appeared dim.
And it did not help her much when the kids started crying at the prospect of leaving this house.
“Noooo Mumma…..I don’t want to,” cried Rhea. “I want to stay here itself.”
“Let’s not leave, Mumma,” said Reyansh trying not to cry.
Riddhima became emotional to see her children like this. She pulled both of them into a tight hug and patiently tried to explain to them.
“Remember that story about Snow White? How she had to leave her home and live in a forest? Do you know that God was actually taking her test? And since she bravely fought through all problems, God rewarded her at the end by marrying her to the Prince! Just like that, God is also testing us. He wants to see, if we’ll act patiently and bravely, or behave like cowards. And if we clear this test successfully, He’ll reward us too, just like how He did with Snow White!”
“That means if I clear this test, I’ll also get a charming prince?” asked Rhea wiping off her tears.
“But I’m a boy, and I don’t want a prince! A princess would be better,” said Reyansh.
Riddhima laughed. “Not just a prince or a princess, but you’ll get whatever your heart desires. Now tell me, who is excited for this test?”
“Me, me, me,” Rhea and Reyansh chirped in together, jumping excitedly.
_________________________________________
Within a few hours, Riddhima and her family had managed to vacate the house, and move to a nearby hotel. The security around them had been reduced and only one bodyguard accompanied them, thinking what harm could Vansh possibly do in front of so many people in a hotel.
But Vansh had some other plans. He decided to pay Riddhima another ‘visit’. As he got down from his car, he saw Rhea and Reyansh playing in the garden area of the hotel. Even though he knew he wasn’t related to them, a smile crept on his face when he saw the children, and he didn’t know why.
But his smile soon turned into a frown, when he saw Kabir approaching the kids. Rhea and Reyansh ran towards Kabir and flung their arms around his legs.
“How are my munchkins doing?” quipped Kabir. “Are you enjoying your stay over here?”
They both shook their heads in unison.
Kabir knelt down before them. “I know you guys are upset, but think about your Mumma once. She is already so worried, so let’s not trouble her and make her more worried. Let’s behave properly. Okay?”
“Okay,” Rhea and Reyansh replied together.
Kabir started tickling the kids, and they started laughing uncontrollably. Vansh was watching all of this, and was growing increasingly envious.
“Kabir Uncle, you’re a soldier right?” asked Reyansh.
“Yeah kind of,” said Kabir.
“So why don’t you teach that scary looking Uncle a lesson? I know, he is the one who is troubling our Mumma,” said Reyansh.
Vansh who was listening to all this, could not believe what he had just heard. The kids had referred Kabir as an ‘uncle’, which meant that he was not their father. Then who was the one who had married Riddhima and fathered these kids? Who?
“Who is this scary looking Uncle you guys are talking about?” asked Kabir confused.
Rhea said, “We don’t know his name, but he is tall and bearded, and looks very scary. We don’t like him at all.”
Kabir realised that the children had met Vansh and were talking about him. He grew a bit worried. “If you guys ever meet him again, keep a distance and do not talk to him, okay?”
“Don’t worry Kabir Uncle. Mumma has also warned us about that scary looking Uncle,” said Reyansh.
Vansh was getting so damn curious that after Kabir had left, he couldn’t stop himself from going upto the children.
He caught their ball with one hand and smiled at them, trying to not look scary as they had described him to be. “Hey kids!”
Rhea and Reyansh stole glances with each other. “Give us our ball back,” they said.
“I’ll give it back to you,” said Vansh, rotating the ball on his finger. “Just tell me where your father is. I really want to know why he isn’t around you guys that often.”
“Why should we tell you about our father?” argued Rhea.
“Just tell me his name at least,” said Vansh now getting impatient. “If you know about it.”
“Of course, we know our Papa’s name! Mumma has told us about him,” said Rhea.
Vansh became even more confused. “What do you mean by that? Doesn’t your father live with you all?”
“We won’t tell you anything. Mumma has clearly forbidden us to talk to strangers,” said Reyansh. “C’mon Rhea, let’s go from here.”
Rhea tried to say, “But what about my ball?”
“Leave it. I’m sure Mumma or Mamu will buy us a new one.” Saying this, Reyansh caught Rhea’s hand and headed towards the hotel.
Vansh angrily grumbled to himself, “Those kids are just like their mother – argumentative and stubborn! I pity their father though, who has to manage these three devils. But if it is not Kabir, who can it be?”
Just then, the kids turned around to give him a last look before leaving, just like how they did before. Vansh looked at them too, and realised that Reyansh exactly took after his mother. The same eyes that he often used to stare into, the same hair he loved to run his fingers through, and the same lips that he had managed to passionately kiss but only once.
But Rhea… Rhea looked different from her mother. However, she looked familiar to someone Vansh knew, but he didn’t know who.
“She probably took after her father. But why does she look so familiar? Does that mean that I know her father?”
He immediately called Angre up. “I want you to find out who the father of Riddhima’s kids is. I want the information by today itself.”
_________________________________________
“What? You couldn’t find anything related to Riddhima’s husband?”
“No, Boss. I’ve tried to look up all kinds of documents and tried to question about the same to some of the people close to her. Apparently, no one has any idea,” said Angre.
“How is this possible? Why is she keeping all the information about her husband such a big secret? There is definitely something more to it,” said Vansh furiously. “Earlier I had thought that it was only Kabir who had helped her to betray me, but now I feel her current husband must also be involved in all that. Who knows, he might be the mastermind behind the conspiracy which happened seven years back?”
Vansh continued, “What about the kids’ birth certificates? I’m sure the father’s name must be written on those atleast.”
Angre said, “Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on the birth certificates. But I got these school admission forms.” Saying this he handed over the forms to Vansh.
Vansh said, “What the hell? Father’s name is left blank. What’s all this secrecy about? Even their surnames have Riddhima’s name, and not their father’s.”
In a fit of anger, he was about to tear those papers away, when he suddenly noticed their date of birth. It was 6th January 2015. A sudden doubt crept in his mind.
Riddhima had left him one year back in May. What if….?
He recalled how in the heat of a weak moment, he and Riddhima had become physically intimate with each other. He tried to further recollect and match the dates, and finally came to a conclusion that Rhea and Reyansh were indeed his own blood.
“They are my kids….. mine. I am their….father,” he stammered.
Angre tried to say something but Vansh shouted, “Leave me alone! Leave I say!”
After Angre had left, Vansh soon became weak in his knees and fell to the ground. He pinched himself several times to make sure all this wasn’t a dream. At the corner of each form were Reyansh and Rhea’s photos respectively. He kissed the pictures, and brought them close to his chest. Tears started flowing down his cheeks uncontrollably. He had never cried this much in his entire life, not even when he had lost his parents and his dearest Dadi, and not even when Riddhima had broken his trust and left him.
“Now I understand why you used to look so familiar to me, Rhea,” he said looking at her picture. “You look exactly like your Dadi and my mother, Uma Raisinghania, who unfortunately passed away when I was little. How could I not see the similarities? How could I not identify you, Rhea?”
He started smiling thinking about his previous meetings with his children. “I knew there was something special between us. But I didn’t know that it would be this special. I don’t even know enough about you both, but I already love you the most.”
But his happiness was short lived, when he realised how Riddhima had hidden about being pregnant, and had kept his own kids away from him for six years.
“How dare you Riddhima! You have betrayed me not once, but twice! Now you will have to face the brunt of my anger. I’ll give such a harsh punishment to you, that you’ll remember it throughout your life.”
That is it for today guys. Hope you liked the update. Do not forget to comment.
Peace out!