LOVE, LIFE, SECRETS: Answers lie within – CHAPTER 74

CHAPTER 74: Daksh and Devika’s story

Ishana’s parents had insisted on visiting the temple as Ishana had been home after a long time and they wished to do a small puja to keep her away from all the problems…. Ishana was not at all interested in doing any of it but Om had forced her to come along as he could not say no to the hopeful faces of her parents…. He could understand their worry for their daughter, especially after they had lost one…. Ishana had no other option than to agree to the three but she had made it clear she wouldn’t do any rituals and only be there for a while…. Ishana’s mother agreed instantly and the four of them left for the temple…. Ishana just touched the puja thali once and walked away from there…. Om assured her parents that he would look after her while they could complete the rest of the puja…. They agreed to Om and continued with the puja while Om followed Ishana….

Ishana was walking around the temple silently…. Om just walked beside her stealing glances at her every now and then…. It was very unusual for him as Ishana was never so quiet with him…. In all their meetings, it was she who spoke while he either listened to her talks or answered her questions…. He did not know what to say to her….

“Ouch”

Ishana said as she held her ankle while Om came out of his thoughts hearing her…. He instantly became alert and looked at her worried….

Omkara: Ishana, kya hua? (Ishana, what happened)

Omkara: You are impossible, dhyaan kaha tha tumhara, now show me, and let me check. (You are impossible, what were you thinking, now show me, let me check)

And before Ishana could say anything, he picked her up in his arms…. Ishana was shocked by his sudden move but could not react and only kept looking at him…. He took her near the parapet wall and made her sit on it while he sat in front of her and examined her ankle…. Om had not yet realized what he had done…. Ishana had forgotten about her pain and only kept staring at Om….

Omkara: Where is it paining? Tell me, yaha dard ho raha hai kya (Where is it paining? Tell me, is it paining here)

On not getting any response from Ishana he looked up and was surprised to see that she was lost somewhere…. He snapped his fingers in front of her face and that broke her trance…. Ishana looked at him while Om was confused by her behavior….

Ishana: You said something….

Omkara: Are you sure?

Ishana nodded while Om was still unsure of what had happened to her suddenly….

*****

Om and Ishana were sitting on the parapet wall chatting about random topics when Ishana’s parents saw them…. Deepak and Namrata looked at each other….

Deepak: I think we should tell Om everything soon, only he can keep Ishu away from those Malhotras.

Deepak: Sahi kaha Namrata, Daksh ne bohot kuch saha hai hamare liye aur hamari betiyon ke liye. (You are right Namrata, Daksh suffered so much for us and our daughters)

They exchanged some looks and sighed…. Life had played so many games with them and had snatched their dear daughter from them…. And now they could not lose their other daughter…. And they were sure Om was the only person who could keep their daughter, their Ishu safe and secure from those Malhotras…. The Malhotras had snatched so much from them and they had to keep Ishana away from them….

*****

Om was waiting in the backyard as Deepak and Namrata had told him that they wanted to talk to him about something…. Ishana had gone to meet a friend post dinner as her friend had insisted on catching up as Ishana had been home after quiet a long time…. Ishana couldn’t deny her constant requests and had agreed…. Namrata and Deepak thought of this as the perfect opportunity they were looking for and decided to talk to Om….

Om was looking around the place when he heard footsteps and turned around…. He smiled seeing Namrata and Deepak walking towards him, they also smiled back at him….

Omkara: Uncle, all okay, you seemed worried when you asked me to meet you?

Deepak and Namrata looked at each other…. Om understood seeing them that something was definitely not right….

Omkara: What has happened uncle, is something wrong?

Omkara: Uncle….

Om did not what to say…. They had definitely not come just to visit Ishana’s parents…. But he was not sure if he could reveal the real reason of their visit….

Namrata: Beta, have you come to find about Devika’s death?

Namrata knew there was no point in delaying things…. They had to be straightforward with Om if they had to reveal the truth to him…. Om looked at her shocked….

Omkara: Aunty, how did you know?

Namrata: We know our Ishu and Daksh also told us that she may come here to find the answers.

Om looked at her surprised hearing her refer to Daksh…. He could feel no anger or hurt in her voice when she mentioned Daksh…. Daksh was the reason their daughter had died….

Omkara: Daksh informed you, what do you mean aunty?

Deepak: Om, we’ll tell you everything. There are many things Ishu and you are unaware of it, but it is high time you know it, because only you can keep Ishu safe from all of this.

Deepak began narrating what had happened three years ago and how it had changed their lives drastically….

Devika….

Devika was younger to Ishana but they had always been more of friends than sisters…. Devika was Ishana’s lifeline…. Ishana was always extra protective towards her baby sister….

Ishana had shifted to Mumbai recently and was all busy with her new job…. Devika was in her final year of college and had met Daksh during a college event…. They had instantly liked each other’s company and in a span of few days had developed very good friendship…. Even after Daksh had returned to Mumbai, the two of them had been in constant touch…. Devika had fallen in love with Daksh over that time period…. Once when she visited Mumbai to attend her cousin’s wedding, she met Daksh who was surprised and happy to meet her…. They spent a lot of time together and soon Daksh too realized his feelings for her…. Daksh confessed his feelings during their stay at the wedding and Devika was more than happy to know that the person she loved also loved her….

After returning to Pune, Devika informed her parents about Daksh and that they wished to get married…. They were reluctant in agreeing as Devika was still in college however when they met Daksh and understood that he was a good person, they agreed for their daughter’s happiness…. Devika informed Ishana about the same but due to her busy schedule and new job Ishana could not attend the engagement…. Devika was upset about the fact but did not pester Ishana much…. Ishana had talked to Daksh a few times on phone and with the assurance from her parents she was sure Daksh was the right person for her sister….

However the happiness in the Kulkarni family could not stay for a long time as something happened and their lives changed forever….

Deepak had tears in his eyes as he recalled those days…. Namrata kept her hands on his shoulders and supported him…. She too had tears flowing from her eyes…. Om was listening to them quietly…. When everything seemed so right, what wrong had happened that killed Devika, Daksh tried harming Ishana and now he was in jail….

Omkara: Aisa kya hua tha uncle jo sab kuch aise badal gaya? (What had happened uncle that everything changed like this)

Deepak wiped his tears and composed himself…. He began narrating the events that led to the most unfortunate day of their lives….

It was three weeks after Daksh and Devika’s engagement…. Daksh had come to Pune to visit Devika and her parents…. Devika and he had gone to watch a movie and were returning from the theatre when Daksh’s car broke down…. Since it was past midnight, they could not find any mechanic nearby and also Devika’s house was nearby so they decided to walk the remaining distance…. They were talking and teasing each other when Daksh and Devika saw a girl running and few men following her…. They sensed that the girl was in danger and decided to help her…. Daksh was reluctant worrying about Devika but she assured him that it was not right to leave the girl alone when they knew she was in some danger….

The men caught hold of the girl and were dragging her when a car stopped by them…. Daksh and Devika who were hiding and following the men also stopped seeing the car…. A man came out of the car and Daksh was shocked to see him…. Daksh instantly recognized Shaantanu Malhotra…. The men and Shaantanu were talking about something when Shaantanu slapped the girl hard and she fell to the ground…. Daksh and Devika looked on shocked by the events…. The men picked up the girl and dragged her somewhere…. She was so weak and tired now that she could not resist their force anymore…. Daksh and Devika looked at each other…. Something had to be done but Daksh was still worried about Devika’s safety…. Devika assured him again and they decided to follow the men and Shaantanu….

They discovered a place where several other girls were also kept and it took them no time to realize what was happening around the place…. They then decided to find the complete truth and took some photographs of the place….

As they were about to leave the place Devika hit something and few boxes fell down…. Shaantanu and his men became alert and within no time found Devika and Daksh…. Shaantanu knew they were in trouble if either of them left the place alive…. He ordered his men to kill them…. Daksh had to save Devika at any cost…. He tried his best and fought the men, Devika also tried to help him…. She knew they not only had to save themselves but also many innocent lives…. Shaantanu had enough and he pointed a gun towards Daksh and fired, but before the bullet could hit Daksh, Devika came in between and got shot…. It took Daksh some moments to realize what had happened…. He fell down near Devika and tried to keep her awake…. One of the men hit Daksh hardly on his head and Daksh lost his consciousness…. Assuming Daksh and Devika to be dead, Shaantanu ordered his men to bury their bodies in a place where no one could find them…. The men followed Shaantanu’s order and took Daksh and Devika to a secluded place…. However, on the way, Daksh gained his consciousness, freed himself and knocked down the two men taking them….

Daksh took Devika in his arms and came to the main road to find help…. He started walking looking around for help, he also made sure that Devika did not lose her consciousness; he had to save her at any cost…. Daksh was getting tired and losing his strength but still he dragged himself along the road for his Devika…. They were in the middle of the road when a car coming from the opposite direction was about to hit them stopped suddenly…. Two girls came out of the car and were shocked to see the state of Daksh and Devika…. Daksh pleaded them to help them and the girls agreed instantly…. They brought Devika to the hospital and also informed her parents…. Namrata and Deepak reached the hospital soon and were shocked seeing Devika and Daksh’s condition….

The doctors declared Devika as dead and Daksh’s world came crashing down…. The girls also felt bad for the family….

The hospital decided to inform the police as it was a murder case but Daksh knew if Shaantanu found this out he would not let Devika’s parents live in peace and it could put their lives at risk…. Also Ishana’s life could come in danger also…. He used his money and power and the doctors declared it as an accident….

After the last rites of Devika were done, the girls who had stayed to help the family asked Daksh the real matter…. Daksh revealed everything to the two of them and the girls decided to help Daksh get justice for Devika and also keep the family safe….

Deepak: Us raat ne humse hamari Devika ko toh cheen hi liya but hamari Ishu ki jaan ko bhi khatre mein daal diya. This is why we did not want Ishana to find more, we did not want the Malhotras to kill our Ishu also. (That night not only snatched our Devika but also put our Ishu’s life in danger. This is why we did not want Ishana to find more, we did not want the Malhotras to kill our Ishu also)

Deepak sat down crying while Namrata also sat beside him….

Om stood their shocked by the revelations…. Daksh was not the reason for Devika’s death…. Shaantanu Malhotra had killed Devika…. But he did not understand why Daksh took the blame for Devika’s death and why did they tell Ishana that Devika had committed suicide….

Omkara: Uncle, if Daksh is not the reason behind Devika’s death, why did he take the blame on himself and why did you tell Ishana that Devika committed suicide?

Deepak: We have already lost one daughter because of them, we cannot afford to lose another.

Omkara: Don’t worry uncle, aunty, I’ll keep Ishana safe, jab tak main hu use kuch nahi hoga. (Don’t worry uncle, aunty, I’ll keep Ishana safe, till I am with her nothing will happen to her)

Namrata: Anika, Anika Raichand.

As Om heard the name he looked at Namrata and Deepak in shock…. Anika…. What was Anika’s connection to all this…. How was she related to Daksh and Devika….

*****

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