a twist in the tale; swabhiman (chapter 9)

the next morning, naina woke up and realised she fell asleep when instead, she was supposed to give her father company and make sure he didn’t fall asleep. naina saw he wasn’t in the room so she was sure rohit came in and gave him company. naina went down in her swimsuit and kimono with a towel in her hand. vinod, rohit, and karan were in the dining table and karan was laughing at something vinod said. naina was surprised to see karan laughing.

naina: (thinking) he laughs too, who knew?

rohit: oh there she is, good morning sleepy head! where are you going?

naina: morning! i’m going for a swim, wanna come?

rohit: ah, no. i just showered.

naina: well, suit yourself.

naina was about to go ahead to the pool when her father stopped her.

vinod: naina, why didn’t you ask karan to join you at the pool?

naina: dad, karan doesn’t swim.

karan: oh really?

naina was confused.

naina: yes, really.

karan: how are you so sure i don’t swim, naina?

naina: we were in greece for six days, karan. we had a great pool, good weather, and an amazing city as our view and yet, you didn’t swim once.

vinod: (amused) karan, is this true?

karan: no, uncle. not at all.

naina: oh really? so you swam?

karan: yes.

naina: when?

karan: before you woke up.

naina: no, i woke up every day before you to swim.

karan: yes, but i woke up before that. i would swim and then go back to sleep, then you’d get up to swim, then i’d get up again and you thought i was sleeping the whole time.

naina: we were in the same room. you were sound asleep until after i had my swim. don’t like karan, you didn’t swim once.

karan: (teasing) nyeehhh

naina stuck her tongue out at karan then they both started laughing.

vinod: oh god, the both of you are such kids. okay, naina listen, the chauhans are coming and a car has been sent to pick up shardaji from boondi so she should be here around the same time the chauhans arrive.

naina: what? ma’s coming? wait, why is everyone coming?

vinod: i want to meet karan’s family, the woman who you call your mother, and the one you call your sister. i want to meet the two people who’ve practically raised you and been there for you all these years.

naina: (smiling) okay, i’m going to swim, then i’ll shower and get ready.

as naina went to leave for the pool, vinod excused himself and walked with naina to the pool.

vinod: beta, do you remember what we spoke about last night?

naina: (joking) we spoke about a lot of things last night, dad.

vinod: did you make your decision?

earlier, naina didn’t know what to decide, whether she should stay or leave. but after seeing karan this morning, open and free, naina knew exactly what she had to do.

naina: yes, i’m going back. i know karan doesn’t accept our marriage but the truth is, i do. our marriage happened and i can’t forget that. i’m his wife now and he’s my husband. i love rohit, i always will but i guess it just wasn’t meant to be. i can’t ruin everyone else’s happiness either by leaving karan, it won’t be right.

vinod: i know i said i would support you no matter what but, will you be happy with karan? i mean, what if he never accepts you?

naina: i don’t think i can be completely happy with rohit either, nothing can every be the same between us. i got married, it’s a big thing. as for karan accepting me, i’ll handle the situation. dad, troubles will keep coming my way and by now, i’ve learnt to accept it and just deal with it. so as usual, i’ll face the situation and try my best to find a solution. i’ll be okay, don’t worry.

vinod: (smiling) okay, i guess you’re going back today, then.

vinod left and naina started thinking.

naina: i can’t leave karan. he might say he doesn’t want me around but, i can’t leave. i have to at least try. i don’t want love nor do i want happiness from him. i don’t expect anything from karan but, as his wife, i will fulfill my duties towards him. i’ll keep him happy.

naina’s marriage was now not just something that happened, it was her life’s biggest truth. she was determined to at least get karan to be friends with her if not anything else. naina got ready and went down. just then, sharda came.

vinod: you must be shardaji! please, come in. after all, this is your home as well.

sharda folded her hands and then entered.

sharda: i need to talk to you. actually, i need to apologise to you.

naina then went and gave sharda a hug.

naina: ma, i’ve missed you so much. why are you saying that you need to apologise to papa?

sharda: i’ve missed you too, naina. well, i had no right to get you married to karan, naina. i’m very sorry vinodji.

naina: ma, it was my decision. please, don’t apologise.

vinod: naina’s right shardaji. you may not have given naina birth but you are a much better mother to naina than her real mother was. you took care of naina all these years, you gave her a place to live, support, family, a sister and most importantly, you made her the person she is today. you will always be her yashoda ma. besides, i’m not upset that naina got married to karan. i think karan is a very nice person and after meeting him, i’m sure his family is as good as he is. after all, you chose the family so i’m sure it was the right decision.

naina: ma, do you remember a few years ago we said that once papa woke up you’d join the business and move here?

sharda: yes, i do.

naina: will you please move here? you’ll be closer to di and i and it’ll be easier to go to work as well.

sharda: naina, i don’t know.

vinod: shardaji, please don’t say no.

rohit: yes ma, don’t say no.

sharda: okay. i’ll move next week.

at that moment, the chauhans entered. naina introduced her dad to them all and then introduced him to meghna.

naina: dad, this is meghna di, my sister.

vinod: meghna, i’ve heard so much about you the last twenty four hours. i want to thank you as well for taking care of naina and giving her the love and support she’s needed. if you ever need a father figure to talk to, i’m here for you. i’m naina’s father, but now i’m yours too.

meghna: thank you, uncle. it means a lot.

vinod: papa, not uncle.

meghna hugged vinod.

meghna: papa.

naina: di, ma’s shifting here. we’ll be able to visit her more often.

meghna: really? ma that’s amazing. thank you, naina.

naina: di, you don’t need to thank me for anything. all of this is yours too, it’s ours. after all, you were supposed to come and join malhotra industries before paras and sons stole you.

they all laughed. after lunch, vinod wanted to talk to the chauhans.

vinod: naina told me about the marriage, the condition that was made that forced naina and karan into this marriage. i wasn’t happy hearing about it. in fact, no father would. i’m surprised being a father yourself you’d do such a think nand kishore. i wasn’t going to let naina go back but i met you and your family, i met karan and i spoke to naina as well. naina said she wouldn’t get a better family, especially one where her sister is her bhabhi. i just hope you take care of both my daughters.

vinod went to nirmala.

vinod: nirmalaji, i was always more of a mother to naina than her father, my daughter is my everything. please take care of naina and meghna, both.

nirmala: i promise, vinodji. i’ll take care of naina and meghna like my own daughters and i won’t ever let them go through any troubles.

vinod: karan, you might not be happy now, but everything will work out at the end. i’m sure of it. kunal, i hope you haven’t trouble meghna in the last few days. take care of meghna and please, don’t let a tear enter her eye. take care, meghna.

meghna hugged vinod and they all got ready to leave. naina and meghna said goodbye to sharda. the chauhans bid farewell to vinod. naina said goodbye to her father and then naina realised she forgot to meet rohit before leaving. naina went back and hugged rohit.

naina: bye, i’ll see you tomorrow.

rohit: take care.

once they reached the house, they all gathered at the hall. naina realised she had to still ask them for permission to go to the office.

naina: dadaji, can i go back to work? just a few days a week.

dadaji: we spoke about this in the car and no, you can’t go to work a few days a week. you’ll go every day.

naina: thank you so much!

nk: you don’t need to thank us, naina. you have a business to run, we understand. make us proud!

they all went to their rooms and so did naina. naina was in the room when karan entered.

karan: why did you come back?

naina: what?

karan: naina, didn’t your father give you a choice?

naina: yes, he did. he told me that i could stay or leave. the decision was all mine.

karan: and you chose to stay with me? why?

naina: i didn’t.

karan: what?

naina: initially i thought i’d leave but, i can’t be selfish. we got married, it’s not something i can just forget and move on. i have my duties towards you and this family that i have to fulfill. i can’t make everyone unhappy just because of my happiness. i don’t know what happened but i just couldn’t take the decision to leave. so, i’m staying. besides, you won’t have to see me much from now on because i’ll be in the office.

thank you for reading! i’m so sorry for the long wait. i’ve been really busy with school work lately but by next week updates will be the usual, every day or more. please bear with me for the next few days. the next chapter will have a lot of twists, i think. if i’m not mistaken, karan’s secret should be revealed in the next chapter or in the one after the next. also, i realised the chauhans’ business is bharat and sons, over here i used paras and sons instead because well, i thought it was paras and sons. but, i’m just going to use paras and sons for the fan fiction.