The Purgatory Rain

Sitting on a bench in the massive garden of KM, as the rain soaked her head to toe, Priya gazed at oblivion. Much like the sky above was covered with dark clouds , her brain too was clouded with deep and dark clouds of thoughts about the twists and turns her life had been taking for the past five years.

With the rain drenching her face, no one could make out the difference between the rain droplets and the tears flowing down her cheeks... except for the man who stood at the a distance looking at her- Ram... whose eyes mirrored her pain. 

A lot had happened in their life in a span of 7 days... the 7 days for which he shall always be thankful to the minister, for, had he not created the hassles in the way of their deal, Ram still would have remained incognizant to the reality of all that happened five years ago, all that his “mom" did, all that led to him getting separated from not just Priya but also their child... the symbol of their love.

His thoughts went back to a few hours ago when Ram, with Pihu, had returned from Meerut and entered KM only to find Nandini and Priya engaged in a heated conversation that opened all secrets to Ram whose presence wasn’t noticed by Priya or his mom, who looked like a woman possessed by a demon as she spat venom and confessed to all that she did to separate Ram from Priya just for the sake of wealth... confessing that she only held hatred in her heart for Ram for being such an ideal in his father’s eyes that he was named the sole heir to his father's property, conceding that she only ever pretended to love Ram for the sake of getting him to one day finally sign off all his property to their name, confessing that it was, in fact, HER plan that led to Shivi's accident and how she didn’t regret it one bit because in her opinion, to achieve big goals, some sacrifices had to be made... and she wasn’t even a bit remorseful that the sacrifice was of Shivi who she believed was “a stupid girl” and got what she deserved for loving a low class boy like Akki and for being an ardent follower of Raya. She also went onto narrate how she had been successful all those years back in blackmailing Priya into telling Ram that indigestible lie of having an extra marital affair with Krish and how she made Ram believe that lie with her manipulations added to the lie she made Priya tell Ram. And as if all that wasn’t enough, she also went on to declare that once the deal would be signed, she would get rid of not only Priya and Pihu, but also Ram as she planned to kill the mother-daughter duo and frame Ram as the culprit to have him imprisoned for a lifetime, leaving her to enjoy the sweet fruits of all the wealth of Kapoors like a queen. 

To say Ram was shocked beyond wits would be an understatement. True he had known that his mom didn’t really love him but never even in his dreams did he think that she had such venom filled in her heart. Having had heard enough, he had marched inside KM only to be then noticed by Nandini who changed her stance in a split second and tried to portray Priya as a nasty woman on gold-digging mission who was about to harm Nandini, making Ram to shout,

“Enough Nandini Kapoor! ENOUGH! I have been standing there at the door witnessing your demonic fit as you deliriously and proudly expunged all the venom you've held in your heart for all these years. All these years, I believed you were just indifferent to me for being your stepson. But such intense hatred? Why? Just because I had the property in my name? You could have said it and I would've signed it off to you in a heartbeat. Then why? Why subject me... and not just me but also Priya, Pihu... and even Shivi- your own flesh and blood- to such animosity? You are a devil who ruined our lives. You are the reason why I lost my sister, lost the love of my life, lost the chance of experiencing my baby grow in my wife's womb and then hold her once she was born. You are the reason Pihu is clueless that I am her father. You are the reason why Priya had to suffer for no mistake of hers. You are the reason why Pihu never got her father’s love till date. Had you wronged just me, I would’ve let it go but you hurt my wife and my daughter and killed my sister. YOU SHATTERED MY FAMILY! And so, now, Nandini Kapoor... before I make you pay for all your sins by handing you over to the police, you better pack your bags and leave our lives to go back to the snake pit you came from... your village. And DARE YOU SHOW UP in our lives again, for, while I am leaving you now for the sake of my dad who loved you to his very core, if you ever try to cross our paths again, so help me God, I won't spare you. If you EVER try to hurt MY PRIYA OR PIHU, I swear I will throttle you with my bare hands. NOW GET OUT AND NEVER SHOW US YOUR FACE AGAIN.”

Nandini, not wishing to go to jail, had then packed her bags and left KM for good, and, Ram being the generous soul that he was still arranged for her to be transported back to her village but had also,  like a vigilant man, now put up spies to keep an eye on her.

The face-off had led Priya to storm off to the garden, when it began to rain.... and here they were now, with her sitting on the bench crying silently wondering where life had brought her and him seeing her break down like that. 

You know how they say, rain is the nature’s way to purge the air of all its toxicity. Perhaps this rain came to wash off all the pain they had held in their hearts for the past five years. True it would take time for them to heal, to rebuild what they lost all those years back... but a conversation is what they needed to at least start off... He needed to tell her that he still loved her, that he was sorry to not have believed in her... or actually was sorry that he couldn’t voice out that he believed in her, for, deep down in his heart he always knew that she neither killed shivi nor cheated on him. But the circumstances and Nandini’s emotional blackmailing had led him to leave her in shambles at a time when she needed him the most. True, he too had lost that valuable time but it was her who was wronged for no folly of hers and he was her culprit who was ready to take any punishment she would want to bestow upon him but he needed to talk to her to let her know that he would do anything to keep her and Pihu in his life, for, who else did he have in this world to love and call his own.

So, clearing his throat and wiping that lone tear that lingered near his left eye, he made his way to a distraught Priya.

Conceivably, somethings never change, he thought, as he saw Priya wiping her tears and changing her disposition to a stoic one as she sensed him coming close and then taking a seat beside her on the bench. For a moment, neither of them spoke and then, as if on a cue, both turned to each other and said simultaneously, “Sorry.”

“Why are you saying sorry, Priya?”

“Why not Mr. Kapoor? I am the reason you are in such a miserable position in your life right now. Had it not been my father being your dad’s murderer in the first place, none of this would have happened. Shivi would still have been here and I wouldn’t have had to keep you from your daughter by getting played into lying to you by a woman who I thought was punishing me for killing her daughter and being the daughter of her husband’s murderer. I am sorry, Mr. Kapoor. But I swear I never cheated on you. I only ever loved you and only ever gave you the right to touch not just my body but also my heart and my soul. I only lied because I thought, she was right in saying that even if you accept us for the baby, I would always be a painful reminder to you and her about Shivi.”

“But you didn’t even push Shivi, Priya. And before you say anything, back in Meerut, Ishaan told me everything. And while I still miss my sister, I understand what happened was, in fact, an accident... actually a murder by her own mother... you and Ishaan just became her pawns, as did I. Priya, you are not the one who needs to say sorry. If anyone needs to apologize, its me...”

“Mr. Kapoor...”

“...no! No, Priya! There has always been one loop-hole in our relationship- communication gap. We've always let other talk for us. But not now... not today! You bared your heart to me, now let me wear mine on my sleeve. May I?”

What could Priya say... she just nodded her head and let her Mr. Kapoor speak. Before they began talking, a part of her feared that he might come to her, blame her for keeping Pihu away from him and snatch her away from her. She had prepared herself to either plead mercy from him for all her wrong-doings and let her stay with her daughter or, if that didn’t work, she had planned to play a tyrant and fight to fly away with her daughter. She hadn’t even thought of the bleak possibility of Ram asking her to stay back or say that he still loved her, for, ever since, they met again after 5 years, all she had seen in his eyes for her was hatred. But, surprisingly, today she found a hint of her old Mr. Kapoor in the man who had fought for her with his mother when he took a stand for her and punished Nandini for ruining their lives. She cared not for her own life, but, when Nandini had talked about killing Pihu along with her and putting the blame on Ram, Priya was starting to run her head horses to find a way to safeguard Ram and Pihu, even if that meant getting killed herself. But, who could ever decipher God's plan, who sent Ram at the appropriate time to let him hear for himself the evil plans of his mom. She never wanted to separate Ram from his family but she realised today that Nandini never was a true family to him and so she was relieved to have her out of her Mr. Kapoor's life. Now what was left was for her to see what Ram decides for them and a ray of hope had flickered in her heart seeing his mellow eyes...

A testament to her hope were the words Ram uttered next,

“You know Priya, back when we reopened dad's accident case, Adi warned me that I might lose my present in my quest of putting the ghosts of my past to rest. And my biggest mistake was to not listen to him. And look where that one wrong decision brought us. True, if the case hadn’t reopened, Mr.Sood would still have been out like a free bird, probably trying to hurt us again... but what good did finding truth did to me? I lost you... I lost shivi... I lost five precious years of my daughter’s life. My second mistake was to believe my mom over my own heart that kept telling me you were lying through your teeth when you said you cheated on me with Krish. I knew it in my heart but perhaps the pain of loosing shivi had fogged my brain and I lost my rationale and chose to believe the lies that mom fed me.... again all that wouldn’t have happened if I had come to meet you instead of sending Bri to meet you. All of this is my fault... I failed to see logic and truth. Had I fought for you, fought for our baby, you wouldn’t have had to spend your time in jail... had I tried to dig deeper into what happened with shivi, I could have easily found that the real culprit was Nandini Kapoor. But I let things happen at the pace she decided and continued to be a pawn in her chess game. I am sorry that I abandoned you when you needed me the most. Going through a pregnancy alone and under such stress must have been hard on you, bringing up Pihu alone and while facing such adversity must have been tough for you. And its all my fault. I know my sins are too big to be written off and forgiven. But if you could please give me one more chance to redeem myself, I would like to prove to you that I can be a good husband and a good father. I know it will take us time to heal and you can take all the time you want but please don’t leave me again Priya. I LOVE YOU.”

Hearing the three magical words from him again after all those years of pain rendered Priya speechless. With tears in her eyes, she said, “I love you too, Mr. Kapoor. Nothing else would give me more solace than getting a chance to rebuild our relationship, to give Pihu the love she deserves and build a family that we deserve... Although, given your Christian Grey-like acts and conduct... I’d appreciate a “No STD” report first.”, said Priya trying to lighten the situation.

Ram chuckled and said, “Hey! If its about those toys, they weren’t mine....”

“Which toys, Papa?”, asked Pihu who had come out to see if her parents were enjoying in the rain without her. Yes she knew now that Ram was her father and had happily welcomed him in her little world.

“You, Pihu... you are our toy... our teddy bear... now come here and hug us both", said Ram as Priya smiled seeing them.

And so the two lost souls found their missing pieces in each other, as they hugged their daughter and held each other’s hand over her little back, letting the purgatory rain cleanse their wounds and once again become witness to their love finding its way through all hassles. 

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