I promised Anjana this a week back, so sorry for the delay! This is escpecially for her. Thank you for your wonderful story too.
Anandi had fallen in love. She knew she has been attracted to Shiv from the start, perhaps it was when he jumped onto the carriage to save her, not caring for his own safety, or the way he always managed to tease a smile onto her lips even on the most darkest days. She shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts but then when she looked at Shiv's gift, she was left breathless. She went back to staring at her reflection. She was still smiling. She couldn't help it. He did that to her. When was the last time she felt so loved?
The tabela incident was etched into her memory' the slight touching of their hands, the informal address to her ke "Anandi dekh kar ja na"' she started to sweat each time she thought about the electrical shock she had felt at the mere graze of his hand against hers. It wasn't just physical though. She felt his touch to the soul. It had warmed her up. She felt herself melt and the barriers around her heart came down. She hadn't known then what was happening to her.
She was still hesitant in regards to the marriage. But it wasn't because she didn't love him, it was because she loved him too much. Jagya ke waqt mujhe koi khosh nahi tha. Jab khosh sambhala tou meri duniya hi bikhar gaye thi. Aab phir sai ek suraj ki kiran nazar a rahi hai magar main nahi chaathi ke mere guzray houe kaal ka saaya Collector saab ki zindagi aur taraki kou nuksaan ponchaye. (She didn't want her past to negatively affect his career and life). Society slanders you. It tries to break you. It monitors and scrutinizes every and any action. A marriage to her, a divorced woman, could hinder his future. But he hadn't cared. He pushed aside all her concerns by saying his love was strong and he had made it to his position through hard work and would continue to climb the proverbial ladder to success but this time with her by his side. Shiv said he was proud of her. It felt so surreal. He wasn't ashamed of her. He didn't think she was a gawar, not good enough. He thought her pretty. She touched her cheek and smiled even more. She felt pretty. She felt happy. It had taken her awhile but she could no longer deny her heart.
But why NOW? Why after all that time battling herself did she decide to just surrender? She had struggled to push him away when even while he stood by her during dadisa's hospitalization. Dadisa had suffered a mini-stroke and was greatly weakened. Shiv had been the rock the family needed since then. She fought her tears of happiness when bapusa and ma started to depend on him like a son. She tried to ignore the ache in her chest watched him as he helped Varun and Nandu with their homework daily. But she failed miserably during Jagya and Gauri's visit last week.
Jagya had sauntered back into their lives and refused to go away. He and Gauri had waited until the divorce had been finalized to carry out their devious plans. They were suing for half the assets of the property. The family was being attacked by none other than their own flesh and blood. He claimed he deserved half of the property now because thausa was not a legal heir and his father refused to help his only son in a financial crisis. To make matters worse, he claimed Dadisa was mentally and physically incapacitated to make any legal decisions so she should be declared incompetent. Gauri had done most of the talking. They claimed that since bapusa favored Anandi, who had no legal rights ties to the family, and since he had refused to help Jagya, even though he still had to clear his MS, they had no alternative but to fight for their haq. The sad fact was that bapusa had already drawn up paperwork to give Jagya his share of the property. He was to go to Mumbai this week to give Jagya the paperwork. He hadn't wanted them to come to their village.
After Jagya's stunt, Bhairon decided to not give Jagya any property. He legally adopted Anadi, and disowned Jagya. Dadisa had been devastated Basanth was made to feel like a stranger. But thankfully, thausa didn't take Jagya's actions badly. He assured his maasa that she was his mother and would never let an outsider make him feel like he wasn't this family's hissa.
Throughout all this, Shiv had stood by the family like a son Jagya should have been. It was then she realized relationships between parents weren't just about bonds of blood. It was so much deeper than that. He had held dadisa's hand when she had faltered at the footsteps upon hearing Jaya's words. He had stood by bapusa as they dealt with lawyers and the police, which had been called to remove Jagya and Gauri off the property. He stood in front of her and scolded Gauri when she had hurled insults at her. She called her characterless and accused her of carrying on an affair with Shiv under the family's nose. He told her to thank her lucky stars that she was a girl. Jagya again had grabbed Shiv's collar and vowed revenge. Shiv wasted no time handing him over to the police again. Gauri had followed them out screaming she wanted her rights. This time Anandi could not forgive Jagya. This time he had gone too far. That is when even the slightest of emotions she had ever had for Jagya died. There was nothing left. No love and no hate. She just didn't care anymore. And that is when she had decided not to fight her feelings for Shiv.
I haven't really thought this one through yet... all I wanted to do was write and let the story flow as it came... let's see where it takes us. Please excuse any mistakes... my first time writing an Indian one and I hope I haven't butchered anything. Please feel free to help me out with any faux pas if you see them. Thank you for reading 😳
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