CHAPTER 3:
Two days have passed since they returned from Devgar and the sun was about to set for the third day. Manyata sat in a sofa in her room trying to read a book. It was a book her DS had given her that morning saying that perhaps she might find it interesting to read. It was a book depicting the life of her paternal great great grandfather who was a great warrior and a wise king who treated his people with love and care but at the same time did not hesitate to become a ruthless and cunning ruler whenever his kingdom was threatened by any outside forces. At any other day Manyata would have loved to read that book but that day, somehow, despite trying several times to concentrate on what she was reading, her thoughts kept on wandering somewhere else. And giving that book to her to read on that day was actually an attempt by her DS to deviate her thoughts from what she was continuously thinking. She herself did not want to think of the things that she was thinking, nevertheless it happened.
"Good afternoon Yuvrani Manyata." She heard Unnati's voice say.
Hearing Unnati 's voice was a pleasant surprise and with a warm smile on her face she got up from the chair to greet Unnati. But the moment she saw Unnati's face her welcoming smile disappeared. Unnati was not looking at her with the same smiling face as she, but with evident anger and something else which could perhaps be best described as hurt.
Unnati did not say anything further and silence stretched between them as Manyata herself was not sure of what to reply and what Unnati's expression really meant.
"Good afternoon Unnati and how are you?" Manyata finally replied softly and hesitantly.
The moment Unnati heard Manyata's soft voice, like a sleeping lioness that just woke up from its sleep and found its cub being attacked, she started shouting at Manyata.
"You are asking me how I am. How do you think I would feel today Manyata?"
"How could you Manyata? I thought you were my friend and Dada's friend. But without a thought, without asking for any explanation you just... just sent Dada to jail... Just like that. how could you?"
"How could you do it Manyata? Especially after everything Dada did for you. Do you know something? I think you are just like J - as selfish and as arrogant as J. we were fools to believe that you were different."
"Enough Unnati" Manyata could not take any more of Unnati's hurtful accusations.
"Just stop it Unnati. You have no right to come here and accuse me and blame me like this."
"Do you think it does not hurt me to do that? Do you think it does not hurt me to know that the person whom I trusted most , more than even my own family - that person had done something to hurt me and then on top of that hidden the truth from me all these days."
"I trusted your brother Unnati. I trusted him more than anyone else." Manyata's words faltered and she could not say anymore.
All the pent up feelings and emotions that she had kept hidden for the past few days came out. Tears came to her eyes, and her whole body started to tremble. She felt her legs giving away and she held on to the arm of the chair on which she was sitting earlier and slowly lowered herself on to it and hid her teary face in her hands.
Hearing Manyata's words, Unnati stood dazed. Looking at Manyata, she could see that Manyata was obviously suffering and she felt that perhaps she had been too harsh towards Manyata.
Wiping her tears away, Manyata started talking to Unnati once again.
"I trusted Uday so much. For the past few months, he was the only person on whom I depended. And I appreciate everything he did for me. And to send to jail that person who meant so much to me - it wasn't...it wasn't an easy thing for me to do ok" Manyata whispered.
"He broke my trust and betrayed me' that hurt. But do you know what hurts more? Thinking of him behind those bars and thinking that I had to do that to him." Manyata continued in a broken voice.
"Why did you then do it Manyata?" Unnati asked in a calmer tone.
Seeing Manyata's anguish Unnati realized the fact that Manyata at least cared for her brother, even if she did not love him. And her anger towards Manyata dissipated. But still, she wanted Manyata to realize the mistake she made, so she had continued with her queries.
"Was there any other choice left for me Unnati? He killed someone. And whether it was Akash or not, knowing that he killed someone, is it alright for me to ignore it and continue being his friend? Tell me Unnati is it alright? Would your conscience allow it, if you were in my shoes?"
"But Manyata, Dada did not kill Akash. It was an accident. He did not do it deliberately. He did not cold-bloodily murder someone as you think."
Manyata stared at Unnati not comprehending what Unnati meant and seeing the expression on her face Unnati understood what she was thinking.
"So J told you the story of what had happened that day between Akash and Dada isn't it? Dada had guessed it right. She told you the story but had not told you the whole truth or had deliberately omitted to tell you half of it so that you will misunderstand everything."
"What do you mean?" Manyata asked
"What I mean is this Manyata. That day Dada and Akash did fight with each other. And unfortunately Dada was the one who actually instigated the fight. But Akash also came there with the intention of fighting with Dada. They both fought over you Manyata, because they both wanted you and were jealous of each other and hated each other because of you. And in their anger, one of them could have even killed the other person. That was something very possible. But still, what happened to Akash was an accident. He slipped and fell off the cliff. And although it was too late, Dada even wanted to save him. But J didn't enlighten you with this part of the story isn't it? She made you believe that Dada had deliberately murdered Akash.. And you believed her..."
Unnati 's phone started ringing at that moment and she answered it.
"Hello Dad... Really! That's great news. I'm coming home right now. Bye"
"Dada got bail and is out of jail and at home. So I'm going home now." Unnati told Manyata after disconnecting her phone and hurried away.
Manyata could not reply to Unnati as she was still too stunned by what Unnati has told her. And she kept on hearing Unnati's words... they both fought over you..they both wanted you.. but it was an accident. J made you believe that Dada killed Akash.
"But why did you both have to fight over me? Damn you Uday... Halkat vede. Why did you have to be so hot blooded?" Manyata whispered.
And Akash! She could not believe that even Akash had fought with Uday like that. But she knew that Unnati had told her the truth.
And suddenly, thinking of Akash, another hard truth hit her and the strangeness of that momentarily stunned her again. Since the time she had learnt the truth, she had not really thought of Akash till that moment. Perhaps it wouldn't be right to say that she had not thought of him, but she hadn't thought of him the way in which she should have. Akash was the love of her life and she had dreamt of marrying him one day and building a life with him. Back then, Akash had meant everything for her and that Akash was no more. But she could not feel the kind of anguish that she should have felt knowing that he had died.
She did feel sad because he has died but she knew that it wasn't just sadness that she should have felt at that moment. She should have been shattered and heartbroken. But instead, what was in the forefront of her feelings were the hurt and sadness that she felt thinking Uday had betrayed her trust. Does it mean that she no longer love Akash? She wondered. But how could it be? Then she realized that it had actually been sometime since she had stopped thinking of Akash and worrying about him. She wondered when exactly that had happened. She did not know for sure but she knew that ever since she had won the Yuvrani competition, her thoughts were all occupied with the crowning ceremony, her family and her Riyasat and becoming a proper Yuvrani of Devgar. And if at all any outside person's thoughts had entered her mind it was thoughts of Uday. Yes Uday. And realizing that made her feel even more strange and confused. Does it mean that she had started to care for Uday more than a friend? No it can't be. Uday had helped her so much and was there for her and with her at each and every step that she took. So it was natural for her to think of him during those days. And Akash was not there, and so it was just his absence and the responsibilities which she had to face with after becoming the Yuvrani that has made her forget about Akash.
She tried to convince herself with these thoughts but deep down in her heart she knew that it wasn't the whole truth. If it was, why did not she then become devastated over Akash's death and why was she not feeling the anguish that she should have felt? She asked herself once more.
"Oh god what has happened to me?" She cried.
"I'm sorry Akash. I'm really sorry for everything. I don't know what has happened to me. May be I no longer love you the way I used to do and that's why I had stopped missing you and thinking of you as well?... but I wish you were here today. May be if you were here, you could have helped me in gaining some perspective of what I am feeling today." Manyata whispered brokenly. And for the first time in days Manyata genuinely missed Akash and wished he was there.
Manyata held her head with both of her hands as if trying to stop the thoughts that went on and on inside her head. She felt her head aching and felt like banging her head somewhere. God! Why had all this happened? And why are you making me face all this? Her heart cried out in anguish. Tears came to her eyes once more. She got up from the chair and slowly walked up to her bed and lay on it, her body curled up in the fetal position as if her body was trying to protect itself from everything that had happened to her. But, silent sobs shook her body and finally she gave in to her emotions and cried her heart out.
About half an hour later, she got up from the bed, went to the bathroom and washed her face. And standing in front of the birth room mirror, she gazed into the reflection of her red and swollen eyes and realized that strange it may be, crying and giving in to her emotions had actually brought some relief to her.
She felt somewhat calm and at that moment she decided that she was going to face what has happened and move on bravely. She did not know what exactly she would do but she knew that she had to deal with several things. J yes J was one thing. She felt a raw ache in her heart once more thinking of J. It was more than a shock when she learnt that J had tried to kill her by poisoning an apple. But to know that even during her confrontation with J, she had still lied to her and deceived her with the intention of maligning the relationship she had with Uday that was something that she was still in the process of digesting.
And Uday. She wondered what he would be thinking about her. She felt relieved to know that he was out of jail. She still felt that what he did was wrong that day when he went to fight with Akash. But she now knew that he did not deliberately kill Akash and knowing this she could not help but forgive him. She also wanted to say sorry to him for not asking him his side of the story and sending him to jail. She knew that she should not have done it. He was after all not a stranger to her. He was her family friend and her best friend and a person who had stood by her side when she needed him. So she wanted to apologize to him as soon as possible but a corner of her heart told her to wait till he comes to her and apologize himself for what he did because she was still hurt and disappointed that he had hidden the truth from her all these days.
She understood that he may not have told her the truth because he was scared and apprehensive of how she might react on knowing the truth. She also knew that unlike her, he was brought up in an atmosphere rampant with lies and games played to suit one's own needs. So the easiest thing for him would be to hide something that could have lead to an ugly confrontation between them. She understood all this very well but still what she felt was that if he wants to be her friend, he needed to change himself in some ways. So she decided that what she would do was wait and see first what he does and then talk to him accordingly.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
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