Previously
Kripa touched his cheek, it was pale and cold, she looked at his lips, also pale and a bit of blue, she could look at him for a million years, if she was alone, but she wasn't
"Mrs Khanna, is that him? Is that Mr Khanna?"
She looked at the body again, then up at the policeman and nodded slowly.
Chapter 20 - Finale
Present (refresh your memory - pg3)
Kripa wiped the tear stains off the photo and placed it back on the wall, she walked into the living room and opened the drawer and took out the envelope and file that Angad had somehow slipped into her bag when he was packing her things for her to leave. She sat on the sofa and opened the file, it was Angad's will, she read silently
"I Angad Khanna, son of Dilip Khanna, in my full senses am writing my will. I leave my house, cars and half of my money to my wife Kripa Khanna, I leave the rest of my money to my parents Dilip and Naina Khanna. And last but not least I leave my restaurant in the name of my unborn child.
I entrust my wife Kripa as caretaker until my child turns 21, if anything should happen to my child then the restaurant shall be transfered to a trust. If anything is to happen to my wife, then everything in her name will pass on to our child and the caretaker-ship shall pass on to my parents.
Signed Angad Khanna"
Kripa put the file down and began opening the envelope, revealing a letter, she hesitated but began reading
"Dearest Kripa, I know that by the time you get this I may not be alive, but there are a few things I wanted to tell you but never had the guts, so here goes.
I Love you from the bottom of my heart, I always did. I know the past few months have been difficult for us both and mostly due to me, this letter will tell you exactly why i acted the way i did, i just hope you forgive me.
When we met each other, I told you about my parents, but I never told you about my older brother Prithvi. I always looked up to him, he was my idol, he would always tell me how he wanted to own a restaurant and run it himself, me and my parents were all the more supportive but a tragic accident stole my brother from me and left his dreams unfulfilled. On his deathbed I had vowed that I would make his dream come true, and that's what I did, I took the necessary courses and training and soon after I opened up Nice 'N' Spice, in memory of my brother, and I brought it to the heights it is now.
Before we met, someone approached me telling me they wanted to buy the restaurant off me, they wanted to buy my brother's dream Kripa, how could I let that happen? how could I let my brother's soul feel that his dream was worth a few hundred thousand pounds, what kind of brother would I be?
So i refused, but they kept persisting but I wouldn't cave in, eventually they stopped harrassing me and that was when I met you and my life changed for the better
A few months after our engagement Mr Malhotra, your boss, contacted me and again insisted on buying the place and again I refused, it was after our marriage when I first met his daughter, Jasmine and her assistant Prem and that was when the threats began. I don't know why they wanted it, I guess I was high competition for them, but they told me if I didn't give them the place they would hurt me......or worse, you. I couldn't let that happen, but I couldn't let go of Prithvi Bhaiya's dream either. That was when I had my accident, and you saw me with Jasmine and assumed I was having an affair.
At first I had planned on coming home and clearing everything with you, but Jasmine had insinuated that she would hurt you, so I didn't tell you anything, which was my first mistake, instead I let you think I was having an affair, after receiving the death threats from Prem and Jasmine, I felt it was better that way, I knew I was going to die eventually, and I knew if I had left things the way they were then you would have had a hard time moving on and accepting I was dead, so I decided to let you think I hated you and I was in love with Jasmine so that when I did die you wouldn't be so upset.
I'm sorry Kripa, for everything, especially for that day you saw me in the hotel room with Jasmine. I had seen you following me and I had then called Jasmine to meet me there while I was driving. She came and I drugged her drink, and made it look like we had....and you saw and you thought the same thing. I don't know why I did it, I guess to save your life and our childs, I know you are probably thinking that how could I deal with this alone, I wasn't....I had you, I knew that no matter what, you still loved me.
I don't know what else to say, but take care of my brother's dream and my dream, our baby. I need you to move on with your life Kripa, or at least learn to live without me, and for you to raise our child and never let them feel any shortcomings without me there, but I will always be looking down on you and I will always have my hand on our baby's head.
I love you and I always will. Forever Yours, Angad"
Kripa held the letter to her chest and cried
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Epilogue
Kripa had given birth to a healthy baby boy but due to her sever depression after losing Angad causing complications in her pregnancy, she passed away, not before seeing her son and naming him, Angad Junior, lovingly known as AJ
After Kripa's demise, AJ was raised by Naina and Dilip, who never let him feel the emptyness left by his parents. As he got older he began asking questions about them both, to which he was told all about how they were like when they were kids, by Angad's parents and by Kripa's parents who had come to the UK after hearing about Kripa's death. They told him how they met, how they fell in love, their marriage, but not about all the difficult times they went through, if anyone asked AJ how his parents died, he would tell them that his dad died in a car crash before he was born and his mother died after giving birth to him, which was what he was told by his grandparents.
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The sun shone on the Khanna Mansion, in the master bedroom someone wakes up, he gets out of bed and looks to his side and begins talking
"oh crap, I know what you're going to say, I'm late, today of all days, ok ok i'm getting up"
He got his towel and his clothes and went into the bathroom, soon after he came out wearing a beige suit, he looked to his side again
"how am I looking? Great I know, I'm so nervous, You'll be there won't you? Yea I knew you would, you've been there for me every time i've needed you. Ok ok enough talking, I better get going"
He looks in the mirror and a handsome young guy is shown
"Your AJ is going to make the biggest deal of his life"
AJ smiles at himself, picks up his breifcase and heads for the door, he stops by the side and folds his hands towards a wall and leaves the room. The wall is shown and a photo is there of Angad and Kripa with a garland of flowers on it
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"Thank you all for joining me today, as you know I am here to revive my father, Angad Khanna's dream, his restaurant Nice 'N' Spice, under new management of course and with a new name. When a man becomes a father, the first thing he wishes is that his son follows in his footsteps, I know that my dad would be proud of me now, if he was to see that his son is not only following in his footsteps but carrying on the family business if you could call it that. Ok I've spoken enough, without further ado, I now present to you...."
A curtain falls and "AKF Spices" is seen, people look in confusion
"what does AKF stand for?"
AJ smiles at them and leaves them alone in confusion, he goes to the side and looks up to the sky
"Happy Anniversary Mom, Dad......I love you, missing you both, I know you're watching me now, and watching you live forever, in our restaurant Angad-Kripa-Forever Spices"
Authors Note
I know initially many of you were upset that Angad was dead, and I know I held on to the story tight lipped but I hope it was ok enough for you, if not then oh well. I have a new fanfic coming out soon, maybe sometime this week, so hope you read that aswell.
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😊Rach😊
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