FF: Fire and Water (Ch. 26-A Updated on Pg.145!) - Page 92

8:30PM

In the hospital:

Avantika stood outside the ICU door and stared at her father on his death bed. Sameer put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Avantika chalo ghar chalte hain. Shivam Bhaisa aur Bhabasa yahin honge, hamare vaapas aane tak. Sirf Bhabisa hain Saumya ke saath ghar pe.."

Avantika turned towards Sameer and nodded. Avantika was fighting back her tears. She remembered how she had threatened her father when Saumya went missing. Where did all that courage come from? What happened to all that courage during the past eight years? She followed Sameer silently.

"Avantika tum theek ho? Tumhare Bhabasa ke baare mein soch kar pareshaan mat ho.. everything will be fine," Sameer said as he started the car.

"Galti meri thi Sameer, meri hi thi.." Avantika said closing her eyes.

"Galti tumhari nahin thi Avantika.." Sameer tried to console her.

"Main unhe ya Bhaisa ko blame nahin kar sakti. Woh mujhe darate rahe kyunki main unhe darane dethi thi.. Maine wahan se nikalne koshish ki lekin uss darr ko kabhi mita nahin payi. Main ek kaayar hoon, jisne ek pita ko apni beti ko door rakha aur ek beti ko apne pita se.. You used to meet her once in six months or something aur woh bhi' Aapne mujhe intni asani se maaf kaise kardiya?"

"Nahin Avantika.. ab aur nahin. Jo hua so hogaya. Main nahin chahta ki hamari ateet ki vajeh se hamara aaj barbaad ho. Main tumse ya Saumya se ab door nahin reh sakta. Haan, yeh sach hain ki agar mujhe pata hota ki itna sab kuch ho raha tha tumhare saath, tho main chup nahin baithta. Mujhe laga ki tum khud mujhse door rehna chahti ho.. Bhool jao woh sab kuch. Hum ek nayi zindagi jiyenge.. Please khud ko aise dosh mat do.." he said placing his hand on hers and assured her that everything would be alright.

Avantika wiped her tears away. A smile reappeared on her lips and she realized how lucky she was to have Sameer in her life.

Riya's house:

Arjun had no idea, since how long they'd been standing there, in each others arms. But now he could feel her tremble and her grip loosen.

"Riya?" he almost whispered. When he didn't get a response, he moved a little away from her and held her by her shoulders. "Riya, theek ho?" he asked, now worried.

She nodded. He made her sit on the couch and walked towards the water purifier to get her a glass of water.

She drank all of it asking for more. Arjun got her another glass of water and patiently waited for her to speak. But, she didn't.

Arjun sat down beside her and asked, "Kya hua Riya? Kya hua tha aaj subah?"

Riya sighed and decided to tell him everything'

"Riya tumne shaadi ke baare mein kya socha hain?" Kailaash Mukherjee asked his niece as soon as they were inside the house.

Riya put her bag on the couch and turned towards her uncle, "Main aapke saare sawalon ke jawaab doongi, lekin pehle aapko mere sawalon ke jawaab dene padenge. Aur woh bhi sirf sach."

The couple looked at each other. Kailaash nodded and said, "Haan Riya, Poocho."

"Kya aapko Taayi ke maut ke baare mein pata tha?" she asked her voice filled with pain.

"Riya.. tumhe..?" they were shocked.

"Haan ya na..?"

"Haan," Riya's chaachi said without any hesitation, "Tumhare Dadaji ko phone aaya tha vahaan se. Lekin woh unse koi naata nahin rakhna chahte the. Isiliye unhone tumhe uske baare mein nahin bataya. Uss waqt tho tum Delhi mein thi.."

"Dadaji..dadaji..dadaji.. Pehle mujhe aur mere mamma ko accept nahin kiya kyunki hum unke status ke nahin the! Phir jab Mamma ki maut huyi aur Papa uss gham mein doob gaye.. tab unhe meri zaroorat pad gayi unke bete ko bachane ke liye. Lekin kya karein.. tab tak bahut der ho chuki thi. Jab unhone mujhe apnaya, mujhe laga mera parivaar pura hoga. Lekin nahin!!! Unhe tab bhi apni status ki padi thi.. Aap logon ne milkar mujhe mere parivaar se door kiya. Kisine meri baat suni hi nahin. Unhe kya laga? Woh poora jaaydaad mere naam kardenge aur unki galtiya maaf ho jaayengi? Paisa.. ye paisa sab kuch nahin hota hain. Usse badh kar bhi kuch hota hain..pyaar. Aur jahaan woh pyaar hota hain. Usse parivaar kehte hain, isse nahin..! Kis haq se aapne meri khushiyaan chini hain mujhse? Mujhe meri Taayi ko ek aakhri baar dekhne ka mauka tak nahin mila..! Sach batayiye.. agar woh paisa mere naam pe na hota.. to kya aap log kabhi bhi mujhe uss ghar mein rehne dete Dadaji jaane ke baad?" Riya's emotional out burst left her aunt and uncle dumbfounded, "Maine kuch poocha hain aapse!"

Their silence was their answer.

"Tho kis haq se aap log ab mujhse madat maang rahe hain? Meri saari zindagi aapka liye sacrifice karne ko keh rahe hain? Agar aap logon ko lagta hain ki aap mujhe emotionally black mail kar sakte hain tho aap log galat hain.. sorry. lekin haan dariye mat. Mujhme mein aur aap mein farak hain. Kal subah hum Dixit uncle se milne jaayenge. Unhe papers tayyar karvane ke liye kahungi. Mujhe ye property nahin chahiye. Aapke business mein jo bhi problems hain aap suljha lijiye.. lekin mujhe akela chod dijiye.." Riya said averting her gaze. She couldn't even look at them, because she felt she had heard enough and said enough now.

Riya's chaachi walked towards Riya and joined her hands asking for forgiveness, "Hamein maaf kardo Riya.. hamne.."

"Nahin chaachi, main kisise naraaz nahin hoon. Mujhe tho ab inn sab se farak hi nahin padta hain. Mujhe please iss boj se azaad kardijiye.." Riya said, turning towards her aunt.

Both her aunt and uncle bent their heads in shame. All they wanted was their family's company and money. Riya never mattered to them. Riya's grand father, after losing his son, decided to take Riya into the family. His son had drunk himself to death, blaming himself for not being able to give his wife and his daughter the rightful place in the family. Riya had forgiven her Dad for not being able to give them what they deserved. But when Riya was brought to Kolkata during the last days of her father, she couldn't forgive him for what he had done to himself. For resorting to such cowardice. He had chosen death over his daughter!

However Riya's grand father never gave up his dislike for Riya's maternal family and their 'middle class' status. So he made sure all ties between Riya and her family were completely cut off. When Riya said she wanted to join the Police force, he agreed because he very well knew that Riya will have to give up on the job and merge herself with their elite world. He knew how to make her do that. Hence he found no fault in letting her do what she wanted for the time being.

But, an year later, he was diagnosed with cancer. In his last days he revealed to the family, i.e., his second and the only son alive, that Riya would inherit the property and the family company, "The Mukherjee Group" would be manged by him. That came as blow to him, his wife and his son, but they had no other choice than accepting it. They could have gone to court, but knew that this would damage the family's reputation, which they didn't want to happen. They knew other ways of getting the money from Riya.

About six months back, the company suffered heavy losses and everything became a huge mess. Their new projects came to a sudden halt. Their clients refused to work with them anymore. That was when their family friend Mukund Sengupta agreed to help them, but at a price. It was Riya and the property in her name. Kailaash could've asked Riya himself, but his ego stopped him. Moreover by accepting Mukund's proposal, he could kill two birds at one shot: Save his sinking ship and get rid of Riya.

Now, Riya's uncle and aunt were getting what they wanted and Riya wanted to get rid of that 'money' which was responsible for all the miseries in her life.

"Jab mein Kolkata gayi Mamma ke jaane ke baad, mujhe lagne laga ki Papa shaayad mujhse aur Mamma se kabhi pyaar karte hi nahin the.. Agar karte tho woh uss duniya ko chodke kyunn nahin aaye hamare paas? Mujhe meri jawaab bhi mil gayi. Woh unki duniya thi; jahaan woh pale, bade huye.. jo meri nahin thi. Unhe shohrat bhi chahiye tha aur hum bhi. Isiliye main aur Mamma woh zindagi nahin ji paye jiska hamein hak tha. But, I don't regret it.. not at all! Kyunki mujhe woh shohrat aur paison ki duniya nahin chahiye, jahaan mujhe kabhi pyaar nahin mila. Main uss daldal mein nahin phasna chahati hoon, jisne mujhse bahut kuch cheena hain, bahut kuch'" Riya said and sighed.

Arjun looked at the girl sitting in front of him with awe in his eyes. She had constantly amazed him, with her varying shades. She would look completely stupid at times, sometimes a kid and sometimes.. surprisingly mature.

"Isiliye aaj subah main, Chaachaji aur Chaachi hamare lawyer, Mr. Dixit se milne gaye," Riya continued, "Main bahut dino se soch rahi thi ki main Chaachaji ki madad kaise karun. Tabhi maine Dixit uncle se hamari company aur properties ki detailed report maangi. I knew I could trust him. Tab mujhe laga ki mere naam pe jo property hain, woh inn problems ko suljha degi aur mujhe aazad kardegi. Do dino mein sare legal papers tayyaar ho jayenge. I would transfer the property to the Company's account, which would finance their new projects and bring them out of the losses. Baaki jo bhi assets bachte hain, unhe maine unke naam kardiya hain. I rejected Anurag's marriage proposal, aur uska consequence aapke saamne tha."

"Itna sab hua Riya aur tum woh sab akele samhalne nikal padi?" Arjun asked her.

"Aapko main kitni baar smajhaun sir? Ek aurat ke kaabiliyat pe kabhi shak nahin karna chahiye," saying so Riya smiled at him.

Hearing those words from her again, a smile crept onto Arjun's lips and they smiled together for the first time, forgetting their sorrows and worries. This is going to be a new beginning for them and they knew it.

***

An hour and a half later:

Somewhere in an isolated alley:

"Batao kaun tha woh? Batau..!" a man threatened another guy who was trembling with fear. The man had his gun at point blank and vowed to kill him if he didn't spill the beans.

"Ai shapat! Mala maahit naahi.. Mujhe nahin pata saab. Main nahin jaanta hoon kisne Pathan ke baare mein police ko tip di thi. Kaun informer hain kaun hamara.. kuch samajh mein nahin aa raha hain saab.. hum bhi bahut pareshaan hain," the guy tried to explain.

The man with the gun in his hand punched him and the guy fell to the ground, "Isse pareshani kehte ho? Asli pareshani to hamare gale pada hain! ETF! Aur woh ACP Arjun Rawte! Ab hamse ye case unhe transfer hua hain!" the man then punched the wall in frustration, "Tum log apna mooh bandh rakho aur underground chale jao. Pathan tho kisi bhi tarah bhaag jaayega. Bas ye pata chal jaaye ki woh informer kaun tha, jo hamare network mein ghus paya hain! Ya phir pehle se ghusa hua hain.."

***

An hour and a half earlier:

Arjun and Riya's mobiles buzzed simultaneously.

Rathore had just parked the car and was about to get down when his mobile started ringing.

Shree had just come out of the washroom, after a refreshing bath, eager fall into his cozy bed; his mobile started ringing.

Chotu was about to enjoy an absolutely delicious serving of Poha when he found his mobile buzzing near by.

And the ETF team was up and ready to face the challenge head on.

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Hello guys!!! Thank you so much for all your wonderful comments.

Back with an update! I revealed Riya's past in this. So how was it? Did you like it???

I hope you guys did!

Please leave your comments and let me know. Off late I'm missing a lot of readers, who used to follow my work previously and have suddenly gone silent. 😔 Please do comment.. 😊

I'll update the Part 2 asap. Presently working on it! 😉