Chapter 2 - B

By evening, DS and Brij reach Mahal after fixing the newspaper company.  the rest of the family with exception of Manyata, question them about Mahashaba. Angry Brij, takes it out on Komal and the ways she is with regard to Manyata. Jay was tensed with his father’s words and DS’s promise to find out the truth. At the same time, she was disappointed with DS’s adamant decision to keep M as yuvrani. It hits Jay - biggest thorn in her path is DS. She had done everything right to Knock Manyata over except remove her support system- As the family bickering goes on, someone walks in the Mahal. A smile appears on Jay’s face, her love was here.  

“Khammagani” says a suave prince dressed in black suit that made him look like a million bucks.

He was welcomed by all “kaise aana hua beta” asks DS

“Its time DS, to fulfill your promise. I thought I would initiate it” he snaps his finger at end and 8-9 JIagarh staff walks in with big baskets. M, who was on her way to terrace, hear some commotion & decides to check it out.

“yeh sab kya hai beta” asks Komal

“shagun aunty Komal” … Jay get excited as she assumed Uday’s hurt ego must have brought this for her, but it was short lived as he adds “Humare aur Manyata ki shaadi ka shagun”

M who was standing on the second floor was beyond shocked

“maa” she says from top of the stairs.

Music fills the room….

All eyes turn to her but her eyes meet his only. she stood gracefully as Yuvrani Manyata, despite his anger for a moment he felt sense of pride seeing her. On the other hand, Manyata who felt ounce of guilt for sending him to jail was a bit relieved.

Ek dil hai
Ek jaan hai 

She breaks the eye contact and walks down the stairs. Uday takes in a deep breath reminding his stupid heart not to be excited as he is angry with her.
Dono tujhpe
Dono tujhpe qurbaan hai 

Uday had maintained his eyes on her this whole time. Music…. Once down, she walks toward him with their eyes back on each other. She stops few feet from him.
Ek main hoon
Ek imaan hai 

He walks toward her eliminating the distance between them.
Dono tujhpe haan tujhpe
Dono tujhpe qurbaan hai 

With their eye contact still maintained, Uday takes letter out of his jacket, hands it to her. But M refuses to take it.
Ek dil hai 

He grabs her hand and places letter in it. M was shocked with his rude gesture. 
Ishq bhi tu mera pyar bhi tu
Meri baat zaat jazbaat bhi tu
Parwaaz bhi tu rooh-e-saaz bhi tu
Meri saans nabz aur hayaat bhi tu
Mera raaz bhi tu pukhraj bhi tu
Meri aas pyaas aur libaas bhi tu
Meri jeet bhi tu meri haar bhi tu
Mera taj raj aur mizaaj bhi tu

Both refused to let their eye contact go. Uday searched i for some compassion, some feeling towards him  in her eyes but it seemed non-existent. Whereas, Manyata, who had ventured too deep, was lost in windows to his soul.

Komal walks to Manyata places her hand on her shoulder, causing Manyata to break the eye contact.

Ignorning the letter in her hand she says “tum jail se kaise nikale” harshly with enough hate to pierce his heart

“who kya hai na sweetheart, aapne aapki yeh nayi nayi takaat ka istaml karke humhe jail bhejva diya aur humne humari saalo purani takaat se apne aap ko reeha karva diya” matching her sternness

despite knowing she asks “yeh sab kya hai” she asks hoping to hear a different answer

pointing to the letter “open it and see yourself”. She reads the letter and is shocked. Komal takes letter from and same reaction. “Dadishaheb. Yeh kya hai’?”

“yeh contract hai humare aur Jaigarh k beech that states Yuvrani of Devgarh will marry Yuvraj of Jaigarh.”

“aapne humhe bataya kyu nai. Aapne humhe dhoke mein rakha.”

“beta you won the competition. Humne dhoka nai kiya”

“agar humhe pata hota toh hum kabhi bhi yuvrani nai bante” says angry M

jay who was shocked to hear says “this is why you helped her to become Yuvrani, crushing all my dreams Uday? So, you can get to her?”

“Jay, yeh sab kabhi aapka tha hi nai. Aapko toh khush hona chahiye you get to opportunity to even compete. Humne jiska haq tha uska saath diya hai, it just worked out well for me (smirking)”

“this is what he does, creating drift between us sisters. Hum is contract ko nai mante”

“vijay banna lagta hai aapne Manyata ko Rajwado ki promise ka lesson nai sikhaya, koi nai I suggest you read the contract your highness before making any decision… (turning to DS and Komal he takes their blessing) “hum aapke shagun ka intezaar karenge” and leavesM follows him. in the hallway, she says ‘Rukho” & he turns to her

“Jo karna hai karlo par hum tumse kabhi shaadi nai karenge” she says angrily

“well sweetheart that’s not upto you anymore” caresses her check with his knuckle. She swats his hand away causing Uday to smile to see his jungle billi.

“kya yehi tumhara pyaar hai? Who does it to someone they claim to love?” her words awakened the lion within, ‘how dare she question his love, after all he has done’ he thinks. M could see the lion coming out in this gaze, she had heard of Uday’s lion side but never has been on receiving end…that was about to change

“you are going to teach me about love? You and your majnu? (mocking tone) you still think that is love? (chuckles for a sec & then angry again) kya hai na princess, I am not like your majnu. I would never beg for my love. Ab tak aapne kuch nai dekha, par ab dekhoenge… yuvraj ka pyaar hota kya hai” he walks out leaving her surprised.

She walks to her room steaming. DS follows her. “Beta…” she gets interrupted by Manyata “how could you do this to me? You knew this all along? You played me, your own granddaughter” DS lets her vent out, then she adds “aapko kya lagta hai, yeh kuch mahine pehle ki baat hai? Nai, this was decided long long back. Devgarh and Jaigarh ki kahani toh saaalo purani hai, and it became stronger as your grandfather and Uday’s grandfather became best friends. That friendship moved to next generations between Giri and Brij and then you and Uday. This marriage is result of years of friendship. Long before any contract came in play. Aapki family ne aapni zaban di thi, aur rajwado mein aapni zaban ki keemat sabse zayada hoti hai, even more than a contract.”

“is contract se aapne humari har khusi kar rasta band kar diya” M says softly

“aap toh aise react kar rahi hai jaise hum aapki shaadi kissi gunde ya ajnabi se kar rahe hai. Hum jante hai aapko kuch yaad nai par aap bhul rahi hai yeh wohi insan hai jisse aap kabhi bahut pyaar karti thi jo aapka sabse kareebi dost tha. Jisko dekhe bina na aapke din ki shurvat hoti thi ya khatam” Frustrated DS leaves her alone.

The staff had placed all the shagun into an empty room next to Yuvrani’s room. Manyata’s conversation with Rajmata had made her confused. Lot was going in her mind from recent events. A particular basket catching her eyes. She picks up the first item and opens it, a beautiful blue maxi dress. It was elegant and classy. She grabs the next item, a royal blue and silver saree. Looking through, she finds a blue purse, sandals, and other accessories. All these, bring a memory to her mind:

“Princess yeh dekho (showing one-shoulder maxi pink dress), this is perfect and sexy (as he winks at her)”

Though she was not completely uneducated, English was out of her reach. But English classes were going well, she was able to understand and speak a lot more now. “yeh toh phata hai, iska ek baazu (sleeve) nai hai… dekho”

“usse style kehte hai” laughing at her comment. M realizes it’s with the dress “Halkat, rakh usko” Though she had made considerable progress to be royal, her moniya slipped out every now and then, usually in Uday’s presence. In her defense, he irritated her the most. “Aww my jungle billi is back” says Uday lightly tapping her cheek.  They continue to browse through other stores trying to find perfect outfit for Manyata for the Party that was arranged in her honour. Finally, she sees a dress she likes and shouts “Udayyyy” who was only a few feet from her. “shhh, princesses’ don’t shout”. “but I do” she replies with a smirk “yeh dekho kitana pyaara hai na Uday”

looking at it closely “Meh, it’s just okay” he replies

“oh comeon, itna toh sundar hai. Aur waise bhi blue humara favorite color hai, humpe kafi suit karta hai”

he gives her a ‘oh really’ look “princess har blue cheez ek si nai hoti. Aur wasise bhi aapke skin tone k hisaab se red aapke bahut zayada suit karta hai” (lifting up a red dress) “yeh dekho, this is stunning”

After bickering for a while, Uday suggest she try them both and then decide. She puts on the red dress and was surprised, it was stunning for sure. “wow you look so beautiful” whispers Uday as she walks out. He fixes her hair and moves her loose hair back, causing her throat to dry up. Turning her to the mirror, “see” he adds. She walks back inside and tries on blue dress. It didn’t feel the same when she put that on. ‘damn it” she thinks ‘I hate it when he is right, this dress isn’t that ‘pyaara’ as she initially thought’ BUT she can’t tell him he was right, that would lead to his signature smug, know it all smirk that she hated. Thinking quick on her feet “you know Uday, tum humare liye itna kuch kar rahe ho toh humhe tumhari baat maan leni chahiye”

he smirks at her comment, he could figure why she was saying that. “Acha … but let me see it atleast”

She comes out and he again says “its looks good too! whats the problem?”

She was about to reply when his phone rings. While he is on his phone she analyzing herself in the mirror ‘is he just saying that to make her feel good? She didn’t even like it and she loves the color blue.’ Little did she know that Uday’s comment had changed her perception of the dress.  Dress lost its charms after knowing his feeling about it. And somewhere deep down she didn’t want what he didn’t like.

 “princess, Kuch urgent kaam aa gaya hai, sorry!. Hum aap k liye gadi bhejva rahe hai. It should be here soon you can complete your shopping till then”

she ends up buying the red dress. She was anxious and happy, maybe because she was excited to see his face when he saw the dress she picked. She heads back to Mahal. Enroute she was excited and decides to text Unnati. Seconds later, she gets out holding her head, “aap theek hai Yuvranisa?” She nods yes, luckily the air bags deployed on time. Her car had spun before hitting a tree. A bit later her ride arrived, she rushes to him. “theek toh ho?” he says twirling her around to ensure she was okay. She nods yes and he hugs her “oh thank god, she was uncomfortable, still shocked from the impact, causing her to break the hug quickly. They head out when she gets a call, she checks the name and ignores the call as she didn’t want to hurt his feeling.

At the mahal, she was still uncomfortable, mental paralysis/shocks due to the incident…she was anxious & unsure of what was going on within her. THe door swings open hard causing her to get up from bed and turn to see the face of the visitor. But the second she turned, she was engulfed into a warm tight hug. Her hands were on the side as she decided what to do. She could sense he was upset… maybe angry. “hum theek hai” she says softly…. (but no response. He moves his face deeper into her neck, tightening his grip further) “Uday….” the warmth from his body and smell of cologne was taking over her. She felt her heart and mind melt at the time. Her hands automatically go up to embrace him back. Being in hug she felt safe, protected and…it felt good. Her eyes gets moist as she remembers the accident and how she felt during. It was like her heart and mind had stopped working at that moment and now all her feeling (scared, anxious, sad…) was coming out and she was slowly getting back to herself. After a bit, he breaks the hug. Uday makes her sit as he kneels down next to her. Wiping her tears, “I am so sorry princess, sab humari galti hai. I shouldn’t have left you alone. Aapko kuch ho jata toh…. Hum uss driver ko chodenge nai”

“Uday uski koi galti nai thi. The van came in front of us out of nowhere. Actually, woh nai hote toh it would have been worse. He saved me by hitting the tree”  

After a while he adds “Well I am sorry humne aapka call nai uthaya. I was in a meeting”

“its okay ”

“aap ghar kaise aayi?” asks Uday… M - “chodo yeh sab ab Uday. I want some ice cream!” she adds to lighten the mood. Uday gestures after you as they go down to dining room. On the way there, M thinks ‘she couldn’t tell him she ended up calling Aakash, as she was not allowed to see him. At that time, she didn’t know what to do, Uday hadn’t answered the call so she called Aakash. She pauses for a second realizing ‘She called Uday first., Akash was last resort’ When Aakash hugged her, she didn’t feel comfort that she should have… that she is felt just moments back. Uday says “ yeh lo princess.. aapka favorite chocolate ice cream” breaking her thought.

Manyata breaks out of flashback as well ‘stop it Manyata, just stop’ she warns herself. Putting stuff back she heads back to her room and slips in bed. That hug, That warmth comes to her mind, what she felt at that time, she starts feeling just thinking of it and slowly falls asleep feeling safe.    

In the morning, Komal runs into Manyata’s room. “Manyata beta get up… get up”....“kya huya maa? …. Panicked Komal says “Maashaheb… Maashaheb ka accident ho gaya”. M is beyond shocked.

hp072021-05-06 17:11:00