Part 35: The Cupid
Over the next couple of weeks, Angad didn't have much time to feel that guilt. Yea, sure, every time he saw Kripa and her pregnant belly, he felt the guilt poking at his heart but the rest of the time, he was at his father's office, trying to get settled into a work routine.
Angad and Arnav had joined the office right away while Armaan still didn't return to work. Kripa's sadness faded as the days passed though, every now and then, it returned when she recalled her parents.
It was obvious to everyone that Dilip and Kripa now shared that bond of a father-daughter. They spent hours talking with each other or just sitting together doing their own tasks. Dilip even went out for morning walks with Kripa.
Another change everyone noticed was that Dilip's behaviour had changed. He was a lot happier, chattier than he'd ever been. Angad could even swear that once he had caught his father flirting with his mother—in a very subtle manner but flirting nonetheless.
One of the similar days, Angad and Arnav walked in following Dilip and froze a couple of steps into the living room. Kripa, Armaan, Riddhima, Khushi, and Naina...they were all dancing!
"What the..." Arnav whispered under his breath. He looked at Khushi...what the HELL was she doing?!
Angad and Arnav exchanged a glance before both looked at Dilip to look at his reaction. Armaan saw Dilip before everyone. He stopped Riddhima and tried to get Kripa's attention. At the end of it all, Kripa, Khushi, and Naina were still dancing until Khushi saw why the two had stopped.
"Uncle?!" She shrieked. Kripa and Naina stopped immediately.
Naina couldn't look at Dilip. She was afraid to see the anger. She waited for the outburst.
Dilip walked towards them, glaring. Everyone squirmed under the look, and to top it all off, the music was still playing!
"Naina!" He said loudly. Naina jumped and forced herself to look up at her husband. She looked at him, scared. He continued to glare.
Then, as sudden as a bolt of lightning, he threw his arms out and started a little bhangra step of his own.
Naina couldn't move. She just stared. Everyone else's jaws were hanging at their knees. Dilip Khanna was dancing! Kripa and Khushi recovered from the shock before anyone else and they joined Dilip.
Naina still looked terrified; Armaan's jaw was still dropped to his knees. Riddhima had her mouth covered with both her hands. Arnav and Angad just looked at the dancing group and at each other confused.
"What the F-" Angad and Arnav muttered simultaneously.
A few seconds later, Kripa joined them too. Angad frowned. He walked towards the group to stop her, but Dilip stopped her before he could. She just shrugged sheepishly and slowed down her dance moves, both her hands cradling her baby bump instinctively.
Naina was still standing there, in shock, when Dilip came to her, grabbed her hands and started dancing with her. Naina slowly and shyly started dancing with her husband.
Khushi came running towards Arnav and pulled him into the crowd as well. Angad still stood frozen in his spot until Kripa caught his eye.
She was still doing a little celebration dance. Angad's heart skipped a beat when Armaan's elbow nearly hit her in the stomach. Angad frowned and stomped towards Kripa. Much to her surprise, He grabbed her arm and pulled her to himself.
"Be careful!" he hissed, jerking his chin in the direction of her belly.
Kripa looked at her belly, then at his hand holding her arm and then, finally, at him. She smiled at him gently, secretly ecstatic that he had done something that the father of the baby would do, and sheepishly shrugged.
Dilip stopped dancing with Naina and turned the music off. The silence which followed was deafening. Angad looked at his father, slightly frowning. He had been different lately and Angad was having a hard time gauging the change.
"Naina...May I talk to you in private?"
Naina gulped, nodded, and followed her husband. Khushi and Kripa exchanged a look but didn't say anything.
The rest sat down and started chatting excitedly. Arnav and Angad started talking about something that happened at the office, while Khushi sat there, glaring at them. Kripa and Riddhima were chatting away about the baby. Armaan sat there and watched his wife for a little while and then, finally annoyed that she hadn't even so much as glanced at him in the last fifteen minutes, he decided to speak up.
"Um...ahem...Riddhima...May I talk to you in private?" Armaan imitated Dilip's tone.
Riddhima raised her eyebrows at him. He winked at her, making her blush while Kripa rolled her eyes. Riddhima glanced at Kripa, then back at Armaan and shook her head sideways in the slightest.
"Oh just go, Ridzie." Kripa rolled her eyes. "You know you want to." Kripa tilted her head to the side.
Riddhima mouthed a 'thanks' to her and started walking with Armaan. "I'll be back in a bit."
"Please...take your time." Khushi said through cupped hands, making Kripa giggle. Khushi cleared her throat and looked at Arnav with a stern expression. "Arnav..." Khushi said, trying to speak like a man. "May I talk to you for a minute?"
Without waiting for his response, Khushi looped her arm through his and yanked him away.
"And then there were two..." Angad said, shoving his hands in his pocket.
"Three..." Kripa corrected.
"What?" Angad turned to face her.
Kripa ran a hand over her ballooned belly. "And then there were three..."
"Oh...right." Angad looked at her belly, his brows knit together as if in deep thought. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it.
"Why are you being such a stranger?" Kripa questioned standing from her seat, suddenly frustrated with him. "If I've already accepted that this is the way things are going to be, then why is it so difficult for you? Why are you acting like you don't know me? Why can't you just be yourself around me anymore?"
The pent-up frustration took over Angad and he sat up from his seat, took quick steps towards her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Because I love you! I still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that you're not with me anymore! I haven't accepted that we're on separate paths now because I don't want to accept it! I don't want to admit that I don't have you anymore!" Angad moved his hands from his shoulders to her cheeks. "I miss you Kripa. I realize it more and more as the days go by."
"We decided on this together." Kripa said, pulling his hands off of her cheeks and walking away.
"Wait, Angad." Naina's voice boomed in the living room just as he was about to walk out of the house.
Angad turned and looked at his fuming mother making her way towards him.
"You miss her, do you? You claim you love her, right?" She said coming straight to the point.
Angad just looked at her and blinked.
"You think she doesn't love you? You think she doesn't miss you? Do you know why she's living in this house Angad? Because I requested her to do so. Do you know what her first concern was? You! She was worried that her presence here would make things awkward for you...it would make things difficult for you." Naina went on. Everyone else was slowly making their way back to the room, hearing all the commotion.
"Can you imagine what this is like for her? She's pregnant with YOUR child and you're not even with her through this...her parents have left her side...and she's preparing to be a single mother and seeing you around can't be easy! She should be your responsibility at this point, that baby is your responsibility and you're turning your back to them! I'm never going to forgive you for leaving her at this stage in her life!"
Without giving him a chance to speak, Naina turned and walked upstairs into her room while everyone, including Kripa, just stood in their spots and watched.
Kripa sighed and started walking up the stairs. Khushi gave Angad an angry look at followed Kripa, supporting her up the stairs. One by one, everyone had followed Kripa into Naina's room—leaving Angad standing alone in the large living room. After a minute or so, when he heard murmurs from the room, he made his way up the stairs. He was about to step into the room but his feet got stuck to the ground when he heard Kripa speak up.
"Please! Don't force him about this! You guys need to understand that he's not wrong in his decision. I, in fact, appreciate the honesty with which he has dealt with this matter! He's not ready for the baby but I am. That's hardly his fault! This wasn't planned, I admit, but this isn't any easier for him. I might have to deal with the problems a single mother may face, sure but he has to deal with all your anger and hatred and bitter words! Why? Because he honestly told me that he wasn't ready to be a father?"
She was defending him. Angad's heart raced in his chest.
"If you're all mad at him for breaking up with me, I'll have you know that the decision was mine. The ball was in my court. How come no one is angry with me? Why is everyone on my side? He needs his friends and family with him just as much as I need you guys!"
Kripa turned to look at Riddhima. "Don't forget that he's the one who cleared up the misunderstandings between you and Armaan..."
Kripa's sharp eyes turned to Khushi. "You claimed to be his best friend, didn't you? Then why aren't you with him? You only recently met me but you've known him all your life!"
Lastly, Kripa looked at Dilip, her eyes saddened. "His choices and decisions about his fatherhood are mostly shaped by your influence. I hate saying this to you, dad, but you know I'm right. He's afraid that he'll end up like you..."
Angad frowned. She was right about that but he had never openly admitted that to her. His father's bad parenting had left a mark in his life which had made him sure that he would turn out just like his father and he wouldn't want to put Kripa and their baby through that. He didn't want to be a bad father. How did she know about this?
"I just want to request to you all to stop pestering him about this. It's not fair that he gets the entire wrath while I don't get any. It was a mutual decision. He didn't dump me, we decided to split. If you all can't accept this for what it is and stop being mean to him about it, I won't stay here. My presence will only make it worse for him and I won't put him through that."
Kripa walked out of the door and saw Angad standing against the wall next to it.
"I'm sorry about my outburst earlier. Pregnancy mood swings. I just want you to know that I'm not angry with you for anything that happened. I never was. I'm just sad that I had to choose between you and the baby. I know I chose the baby but that doesn't mean that I love you any less..."
Angad let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and pulled Kripa into a hug. He knew she was one of the best things that had happened to him. Had he really been so stupid and let her go so easy?
They didn't realize how long they stood there like that but at last, Dilip cleared his throat behind them and interrupted their moment. Kripa pulled apart from him and looked at Dilip.
"I just need to talk to Angad..." Dilip said smoothly. Kripa opened her mouth to argue, thinking that Dilip would yell at Angad as well but Dilip interrupted her. "I'm not doing anything you don't want me to. It's about time Angad finds out why I've been the way I was."
"There is no need for that..." Kripa started but Dilip argued again.
"Yes there is. If I'm going to start trying to be a better father than the one I've been, I need to come clean about my past."
Angad looked at his father and then at Kripa. Kripa, however, was still looking at Dilip. At last, she nodded and walked away. Dilip gestured for Angad to follow him and the two walked into Angad's bedroom.
On the other hand, Khushi and Kripa sat in Kripa's room.
"It's good that you sent Armaan and Riddhima away...the more time they spend together, the better it is for them." Kripa smiled at Khushi.
"Look at Armaan! Took time off from work so he could spend time with Riddhima. And then there is Arnav...stupid Lad Governor. He's in a tele-conference right now too!" Khushi sulked. "Please...don't turn out like your uncle" Khushi put a hand to Kripa's stomach.
Kripa giggled. "Oh yeah? You want the little one to be like you, then?"
"Of course! I'm the best!" Khushi said haughtily.
"One sankadevi is enough, Khushi!" Naina teased, walking into the room.
The two girls smiled at Naina. Naina sat down a bundle of clothes in front of them. "Are you two going to help me decide what to wear tonight?"
"For what?" Kripa teased while Khushi turned her tongue into her cheek in an attempt to suppress a giggle.
"Um...he...he kind of asked me...to...to go on a...a...d-date." Naina whispered shyly, her cheeks turning a light pink.
Khushi gasped dramatically. "He who? Oh My Gosh! What will happen when Uncle finds out??" Khushi gaped with a dropped jaw.
Naina's jaw dropped too and she slapped Khushi's thigh jokingly. "I'm talking about Dilip!"
Khushi giggled while Kripa looked at Naina with her eyebrows raised. "Ahhh...A date with Mr. Husband...verryyy romantic!" Kripa teased.
"Alright. That's it." Naina picked up the bundles of clothes, her cheeks a bright crimson and turned to leave but Kripa and Khushi pulled her back.
"We're only teasing! We're really happy for you! It's our responsibility to dress you up for this night of yours and I have just the thing!" Kripa cheerfully half-skipped to her closet and pulled out a gift wrapped box.
She handed it to Naina. Naina looked at it closely and noticed the "From: Dilip" sticker on it.
"He chickened out. So I'm giving it to you on his behalf. I'm sure he would be floored when he sees you wearing this tonight!" Kripa beamed a smile.
Before Naina could respond, Khushi had shut the door tight and the two women were at work, dressing up Naina for her date tonight.
Upstairs in Angad's room, the father and son parted from their hug.
"I'm glad you told me, dad." Angad said quietly.
"I'm really sorry...I was just so caught up in my grief of not having a daughter that I made you and Naina suffer...I had no right to do that...and to be honest with you...I wouldn't have realized my mistake if Kripa hadn't explained to me that Naina wouldn't have had any other choice..." Dilip looked at his son. "You're lucky you have a woman like that in your life Angad...think over your decision, son. I don't want you to regret anything twenty-five years from now like I'm regretting right now. Even if you decide to keep your decision the same, I want to thank you for bringing Kripa in my life. It's like she has filled the void of a daughter...I always imaged my daughter to be like her."
Dilip smiled and patted Angad's shoulder before heading towards the door. "Oh. By the way...how many dates are alright before you consider it a serious relationship?"
Angad shrugged. "Kripa and I didn't really have an official date until after we made our relationship official." Then it dawned upon him. "Wait...why are you asking me this?"
"Oh...Nothing too special...just taking your mother out on a date tonight." Dilip said as he walked out of the room.
"Ok..." Angad turned to go to his dresser. After freshening up a bit, he lay on his bed, thinking about his conversation with his father. He smiled to himself when he recalled his father's question about the dates. And then it hit him. Just taking your mother out on a date tonight.
"What the--!" Angad said, sounding much like Arnav, as he jumped off the bed and ran out.
By the time Angad got downstairs, Dilip was surrounded by Arnav, Armaan, and Riddhima. He was dressed in a black suit with a crisp white shirt.
"The reservations are done, the limo is outside and everything else is set." Armaan gave him thumbs up.
Riddhima smiled. "The girls have a bigger surprise for you though..."
Dilip looked at her questioningly and then looked at Arnav and Armaan. The boys shook their heads.
"Don't look at us...we don't know anything." Arnav said defensively.
"You all knew about this?" Angad gasped.
"No...We just found out a couple of hours ago." Armaan shrugged.
"Who planned it all then?" Angad questioned as if the answer wasn't obvious enough.
Dilip was about to answer when Riddhima's shriek stopped his words. She squealed and ran past him towards Kripa's room. The guys turned to see and saw Naina, donning an elegant deep purple sari with silver work on it, stepping out flanked by Kripa and Khushi.
Dilip stood speechless as he watched his beautiful wife make way towards him. He was even more stunned by the fact that the sari he had bought for her (but didn't have enough guts to give to her) was draped around her so elegantly. He knew who'd done that of course. Kripa.
Naina shyly approached Dilip and he smiled gently. He waved his hand in front of him, gesturing for her to walk ahead of him and she looked at everyone quickly before doing so. Dilip walked after her while the other stood in silence, savouring the tangible excitement in the air.
Right before he stepped out the main door, Dilip turned and gave Kripa a thumbs up, followed by a flying kiss. Kripa returned the flying kiss and gave him thumbs as well with a huge smile plastered on her face.
This exchange answered Angad's earlier question. Who had planned all of this? Who had made all of this possible? Who had made Dilip realize his mistake? Who had rekindled the romance in the life of his parents?
Kripa.
There you go Guys! That was the update for today! Hit a GAZILLION writer's blocks trying to write this one and its done at last. Hope you all liked it!
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