Hi friends, i am back with the update soon as i promised. This part doesn’t have omkara but this is an important part for the story. Hope you enjoy reading it.
Chapter-60
Letting go
Ishanya and aadhi went to the terrace and sat on the swing there. Ishanya was wiping her tears when she felt a hand on her cheek, it was aadhi’s he wiped the tears on her face with his thumbs but Ishanya felt very odd at his touch her heart started to panic because of it. She kept her hand on the heart and tried to calm herself.
“Ishanya are you okay?” aadhi asked holding her by the shoulders.
Ishanya just shrugged them off instantly and closed her eyes taking deep breaths. Aadhi looked at her in confusion and asked, “Ishanya, what happened? Are you okay? Should I bring water for you?”
“No, no. it’s okay I am fine now.” She replied keeping her hand on the heart, her breathing got normal.
“But what happened?” aadhi asked curiously.
“I get panic attacks whenever any man touches me.” She replied looking at him.
Aadhi got completely shocked hearing it. “Even after all these years?” he exclaimed.
“Hmm…..even after all these years. It’s been 5 years. 5 long years but still the wounds of the past haven’t healed.” Ishanya said and stood up from the swing not able to tolerate the close proximity with him.
“I am so sorry, Ishanya. I wasn’t there when you needed me the most. I wasn’t there to help you fight your demons.” He said standing with her while looking down.
“Now, what’s the use in all the past talks?” Ishanya said with a sarcastic smile.
“Yeah, let’s talk about our future.” He said smiling at her.
“Our future?” Ishanya asked raising an eyebrow while he nodded in yes.
“We will talk about our future aadhi but before that we need to learn about each other’s present.” Ishanya said looking at him, he again nodded his head in yes.
“So, tell me. What do you do?” Ishanya asked him.
“Well, as you know after college I joined dad’s restaurant business. I have developed it. Now, it has turned 7 star and have 4 branches in banglore and I have opened few coffee shops too. Along with that I have opened a free girl’s school in my father’s home town. It is running well. I am also planning to open a hospital.” He said and she gave a sad smile to him.
“You are still the same, aadhi. In my anger I almost forgot that it was you who have awakened social responsibility in me.” She said and turned to face him and said, “I am happy for you” with a smile and he returned the smile.
“About myself, I…….” she was saying but cut in middle by aadhi saying, “I know, you owns a fashion house now, which is internationally famous and I know about your NGO too, I saw in the news.” He said what he got to know about her.
“Oh! Yes, that news scandal!! So, you got to know about me by that?” She asked and he nodded in yes and said, “I am not surprised, you always dreamt of touching the sky with your success and you did it.”
“I have seen the news of Rana getting arrested. Do you have anything to do with it?” He asked looking into her eyes.
She looked down and said, “What do you expect me do? He should have thought about the consequences before crossing my path again. I did what is right. I made both of them go behind the bars they deserve it.”
“Both?” He asked in confusion.
“I got to know about the man who kidnapped me on the party night. It was dushyanth, He is behind the bars too.” She replied.
“And?” He asked.
“What and?” She asked in confusion.
“I know it’s not the end for them, you must have planned something else too, now tell me.” He asked looking at her.
Ishanya took a deep breath and said, “Ok fine. You are correct. I am planning to abduct them from jail and torture them to death.”
“I want to see them suffer like they did to me!!” She said gritting her teeth.
“Relax Ishanya, please don’t do anything like that. Let their chapter end.” He said shocking Ishanya.
“Oh! Mr. Mahatma!! I don’t have a big heart like you to forgive the wronged ones and this is my issue you don’t have any right to advice me.” Ishanya replied coldly.
“I am sorry Ishu, but I was just telling for your good.” He said apologizing.
She calmed herself and said, “It’s not your fault, what can I expect from the one who sacrificed his love for his sister.”
Looking at his shocked face, “No, no, I am not taunting you. Infact I am praising you. Mr. Mahaan!!” She said laughing lightly.
“Yeah, yeah, now pull my leg. You won’t leave a chance to joke about me, right!!” He too said laughing with her.
“Btw, your habit of naming people in angry is still very intact!” He said smiling at her she too smiled and nodded in yes remembering the names she called Omkara in. Remembering about him she remembered the reason why she is here with aadhi now which she actually forgot for a moment and said,
“So, now that let’s talk about ‘us’ now.”
“Ishanya, I…..” Aadhi started to say but Ishanya stopped him and said, “Before that I have few questions to ask, may I?”
“Ofcouse.” He replied.
“Well then, answer me if you don’t get to know about me from that knew what would you have done?” She asked him directly coming to the point.
“I……I…..” He searched for an answer.
“Ok, let me make it simple for you. If you didn’t come to know about my whereabouts, would you have gone ahead with this marriage?” She asked.
“Ishanya, I love you and……” He was saying but she stopped him and asking, “Just answer, yes or no.”
“Yes.” He replied honestly clearing her confusions. She looked to the side smiling broadly as she is getting clarity on the situation.
“Then go ahead, aadhi. Why are you changing your decision now?” she asked him.
“Ishanya, I love you and…..” She again stopped him saying, “If you don’t know where I am, that love wouldn’t have come between your marriage then what is changing it now? Why is it making any difference?” She asked frowning at him.
“Why shouldn’t it make any difference? When I don’t know about you I couldn’t do anything. But when I know, why shouldn’t I do anything?” He asked her in the same tone.
“Ok, what do you want to do?” She asked.
“What else? I want to ask your forgiveness and marry you.” He said as a matter of fact.
“Do you want to ask for forgiveness or do you want to marry me? Choose one.” Ishanya said.
“Ishanya!! What are you saying?” aadhi asked in irritation.
“Calm down aadhi. Here come sit with me.” She said and they sat back on the swing.
“You know, when I was coming here, I was so confused. I doesn’t even able to decide that should I talk to you or not!! But it’s good that I did, now I know what is left between us.” She said.
“What? What do mean?” He asked.
“When I heard that you are marrying I was sad, upset. Then I got that it is because some relation is left between us. Now I know what it is.” She replied.
“What is it?” He asked.
“Our breakup! It is incomplete.” She said confusing him more.
“What?” He exclaimed.
“Our breakup happened without our consent. That’s why we weren’t able to accept it. ” She said.
“Yeah, you are right. Now we have a chance to change it.” He said to her.
“Now, we should breakup completely.” She replied.
“Ishanya, I love you. I want to marry you and you are talking about break-up?! I thought you were going to give me another chance!!” He exclaimed.
“Why? Why do you need a chance?” She asked.
“What do you mean by why? A mistake had happened by me and I want to correct it. I want to give you happiness and support you in your life.” He explained her.
“So, that’s why you weren’t accepting our breakup.” Ishanya said looking more peaceful.
“What, Ishanya? What are you saying? Please don’t confuse me with your puzzles. Talk to me directly.” He asked feeling tired of her indirect talks.
“We should not give a chance to our relationship aadhi because it is over. We don’t love each other now.” She said looking into his eyes.
“You think I don’t love you? When I am shouting here that I love you!!” He asked her in irritation.
“Please relax and listen to with open mind.” She requested him.
“Ok, tell me.” He asked being patient with her.
“As I was saying earlier, I was so confused before meeting you and when you took a stand for myself infront of prerna I was so happy and in that happiness I got clarity that even though I neither love you nor wanted your love, I was upset with your marriage news because I felt rejected for no mistake of mine.” She explained him.
“You don’t love me?” She asked feeling upset after hearing it from her.
“Yes, I don’t love you. Not because, you left me in the time of need. Because it is over, it’s completed.” She replied to him.
“What do you mean by completed?” He asked.
“Completed means completed…….Now how to explain that to you?! Ok, let me put it this way, we were in a relationship because we were dependent on each other emotionally and now we don’t so the love between us evaporated.”
“Ishanya, I know you are a practical girl but you can’t theorize our love and relationship like this!” aadhi said in anger.
“Don’t get angry. Ok, now you answer my question. Do you want my forgiveness or marriage with me?” she asked him again.
“Ishanya, I can’t choose. I want both.” Aadhi replied.
“Really aadhi, think again and answer me. When I asked you why do you want another chance you didn’t said because you want to be with me. You said you want to give me happiness. You want to be the reason my happiness to be more precise.” She explained him.
“So think again now and answer me.” She said to him.
When he was staring at her correction glaring at her, she said, “Ok, ok. Calm down. Don’t need to answer this, so stop glaring me.”
He looked to his right side taking deep breath calming himself.
“But I have another question for you.” She said making him turn to her in surprise.
“If you really love me, why did you agreed for this marriage in the first place and you even got engaged. Why?” she asked shocking him.
“Because I didn’t have any information about you and my parents are worried for my marriage, so I had to agree.” He said to her.
“Ok, if that’s the reason why didn’t you agree earlier? I am sure they must have asked you get married long ago. What took you 5 yrs to agree to marry another girl?” She asked.
“Because I wasn’t ready to move on!!” he replied in irritation.
“Exactly! But now you want to move on that’s why you got engaged. Now why are you turning back?” she asked him.
“It’s because I am accountable to you! I left you when you needed the support. Why don’t you understand?” He said in desperateness to make her understand.
“I understand it aadhi. It’s you who don’t understand it. You just want to correct your mistake. You are feeling bad for leaving me alone. You are just feeling guilty not love.” She explained him.
“You are a good person aadhi. You are not able to forgive yourself for the wrong you did to me. That’s the reason for you not being able to move on not our love. And I am feeling bad for getting rejected not because you are gone from my life. We don’t love each other now aadhi.” She said looking into his eyes meaning each and every word.
“You used to say that when we are in confusion only our heart can solve it, right? Now ask your heart what it really wants my forgiveness or my love?” She said smiling to him.
Aadhi closed his eyes and thought about each and every word of her and his feelings from the past few years especially his feelings about his marriage. He opened his eyes after few seconds, Ishanya can now see calmness in him, she knew now he is not disturbed about anything.
“I want your forgiveness.” He asked her.
“And you are forgiven.” She replied smiling at him.
“Thanks ishu, I was again going to do a mistake. Because if you have given our relationship a chance it will turn out to be a great mess as it will not be based on love or friendship but just on your ego and my guilt.” He said.
“No, I should thank you, because if you didn’t meet me like this our relationship would never get the much needed closer. But now as it happened we both can really move on.” She said.
“I can move on ishu, but what about you? Will you be able to move on completely from the past? Answer me honestly.” He asked.
“Honestly, I don’t know aadhi. But you don’t have to worry about it. You are not the reason of my pain. There wasn’t any fault of yours. Even after being with you there will be no guarantee that I will forget all that happened. Forget about the scars, the wounds haven’t even got healed.” She said with teary eyes.
“Can I ask you for something?” He asked and Ishanya nodded in yes.
“Forget about them, rana and dushyanth.” He said surprising her.
Ishanya was about to say something but he said before she can, “I know you must have tried to forget about them but hadn’t got succeeded as the incident didn’t got any closer from you.” He said.
“What you mean?” She asked in confusion.
“I mean you are still feeling and reacting about that incident. Leave it Ishanya. It is over. Why you are still keeping it going by being angry on them? You had sent them to the jail, so end it right there. Why still think about them? As long as you think about them and keep the incident going the wounds won’t heal.” He explained her.
“But how can I leave them like that or forgive them?” she asked feeling the pain again.
“I am not asking you to forgive them. Just forget them and close their chapter.” He said.
“I will try.” She replied.
“Ok then, let’s go. It’s getting dark.” He said looking at the sky.
“Yeah, I need to go too.” She replied
Once they entered inside the house Ishanya got surprised to see aadhi’s parents too there. They were about to say something but aadhi said before they can, “prerna, get the invitation card with shagun.”
“Shagun? But bhaiyya, only the ladies who belongs to our house will be invited with shagun like me, our bua, masi. Not a pr*stitute like her.” Prerna said and as soon as she finished her words she felt a tight slap on her cheek and got shocked to see aadhi slapping her.
“Bhaiyya!” She exclaimed while her parents looked in shock.
“I should have done this earlier. The person whom you are insulting is a woman first, being a women how can you insult her like this? If you deserve respect being a woman she deserves more of it because she is more feminine more motherly than you.” He said and she went inside to bring the thaali of shagun.
She came out and went to Ishanya with thaali and took kumkuma from the small box kept in the side with saree, flowers, bangles and turmeric and put it between her eyebrows and said, “Mere bhai ki shaadi hai iss Sunday ko, zarur aayiyega,” And handed the thaali to her.
Ishanya took the thaali smiling at her and left from there saying bye to everyone. She went outside smile still intact on her face as she is feeling very light and happy after talking to aadhi. She remembered how Omkara supported her when they were coming. She remembered how he calmed her down and how he said that he will be there for her.
Ishanya spotted a taxi and went into it saying the address of the Oberoi mansion to the driver. Once inside she tried calling Omkara, but his phone was switched off. She looked at her phone in confusion and thought that why did he switched off his phone, She felt something weird.
‘May be he is busy in painting or sculpting. I will share my happiness with him as soon as I reach there and also thank him for his support.’ She thought but then her thought changed, ‘no, no, why should I thank him? He is my friend and there is no sorry and thank you in friendship. But I should do something special for him to express my gratitude.’
How is it?? Please comment and express your views.