Kripa feels her cheeks getting wet, she quickly wipes the falling tears away, she glances at Angad who looks like he's about to cry as well, She glances at her mother who is crying, Gayatri wipes the tears away and takes the photo of Kripa's father and places it on the table, Angad composes himself and smiles at Kripa, she forces a smile back and waits for Gayatri to sit back down before saying anything.
"You guys were so much in love"
Gayatri laughs slightly and nods her head.
"Yeah we were"
Kripa shuffles in her seat and moves closer to Gayatri, she hesitates but reaches out and touches her hand softly, Gayatri catches her breath and squeezes her hand slightly, Kripa smiles.
"I understand now, why you did it, why you gave me away, for my own safety"
Angad who had been quiet finally speaks.
"But why didn't you go back for her?"
Gayatri glances at Angad and sighs, he continues.
"Yeah I get that your dad was after you so you put Kripa in the foster home for her safety, but you could have waited, a few months, a year and gone back for her"
Kripa breathes deeply as she realises Angad's soft tone was turning aggressive, she looks at him pleadingly, he nods his head and softens his tone.
"I'm just saying, if it was me then I would have returned for my kid"
"Angad, chill" Kripa looks at him, he shakes his head and looks at Gayatri, who nods her head.
"No Angad's right, but we did go back for her, around 6 months later we went back to Mumbai in hopes of getting Kripa back but one of my father's men spotted us so we were forced to run again, we came back again, but this time it was 4 years later but we were too late, Kripa had already been fostered, and when we asked the officials to tell us where she was they told us it was confidential and that when Rohit signed the agreement to give Kripa up for fostering it clearly stated that they would never divulge any information regarding Kripa if she was to be fostered, I hope that answers your question Angad"
Angad feels embarrassed, he sits back in his chair and folds his arms, Kripa grins at his expression and stands up, Gayatri stands up also and faces Kripa, she smiles and takes Gayatri's hand in hers.
"Like I said, I understand why you did what you did, but..."
"But?" Gayatri asks
"I have my own life now, and although I'm happy you got in touch, I'm not sure I can just turn and play happy families"
"What Kripa is trying to say, is she needs time" Angad gets up from his seat and puts his arm around Kripa's shoulder, she smiles at him and nods her head.
"That's fine, take all the time you want, I'll still be here"
Angad looks at the photo of Kripa's father and picks it up, he looks at Gayatri.
"By the way, where is Kripa's dad? I would have thought he would have wanted to be here for the big re-union?"
Gayatri looks uneasy; she sighs and takes the photograph from Angad.
"The truth is, he doesn't know that I've been looking for you for the past 10 years, when we had gone back for you and we found out you were fostered, a part of him believed we would never see you again, I guess that's what made him the man he is today"
"What do you mean?" Kripa asks
"It's not something I want to get in to right now, may be next time"
Kripa nods her head slowly, she turns to look at Angad as if mentally telling him they should leave, he nods his head as if he'd read her mind, they make their way to the front door, Angad opens the door and waits outside while Kripa gives Gayatri a hug, she hands paper with her phone number on there.
"Call me sometime'mum" Kripa says with a tear rolling down her cheek.
Gayatri smiles and hugs Kripa again and gives Kripa her number as well, she leans forward and kisses Kripa's cheek, Kripa smiles and steps out of the house, Angad reaches out and wraps his arm around her shoulder and pulls her close to him, she rests her head on his shoulder as they walk, he kisses her hair softly. He lets her go as they approach the car, he opens her door and waits for her to sit before closing it and sitting in the driver's seat, he knows better than to say anything as he knows Kripa's dealing with a lot so they drive back to Kripa's house in silence. When the car stops he finally sighs and speaks.
"Are you ok?" He asks looking over at her. She turns her head to him and smiles.
"Surprisingly, yeah I'm ok, I guess it went better than expected, although I'm still wondering what she meant about my dad"
"Don't think about it too much, I'm sure your dad is awesome, just like you"
Angad leans over and kisses her cheek, he gets out of the car and goes around to open her door, it was becoming a habit now, and the funny thing is Kripa doesn't bother to open the door herself anymore because she knows Angad will do it.
Kripa opens her front door, Angad follows her inside, they find Rahul sitting on the sofa watching TV, he notices their presence and switches it off, he makes space for Kripa to sit, he glances at Angad and watches as he heads in to the kitchen to make them both something to eat, Rahul nudges Kripa.
"So, what happened?" he asks breaking Kripa out of her trance, she looks at him and begins to give him a run down of what Gayatri had told her and Angad, he listens patiently nodding his head now and then, she finishes and takes a deep breath, he nods his head, sits back and folds his arms, she looks at him waiting for him to speak, when he doesn't she nudges him.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asks.
"It's an interesting story"
"That's it? That's all you have to say?"
"Come on sis, you seriously believe all that **** she told you? I mean, if she wanted her dad away from you I'm sure even then they had legal procedures which could have made sure he could go no where near you"
She looks at him shocked, she opens her mouth to say something but instead Angad speaks from the doorway of the kitchen.
"I believe it, why don't you?"
Rahul and Kripa both look back, Angad puts the plates in his hands on the table, goes back to the kitchen for knives and forks, he hands one pair to Kripa then sits opposite her and Rahul and begins eating, he looks at Rahul, waiting for an answer, Rahul leans forward before speaking.
"Come on Angad, it's all a bit dramatic"
"You weren't there" Kripa softly says
"I agree, you weren't there Rahul, you didn't see the look on Kripa's mom's face when she'd finished telling us the story, its true bro, no one would lie about it"
"Well it feels that she just made up any old crap as an excuse to avoid the real reason she gave up Kripa"
"Oh really? Enlighten me Rahul, what would her real reason be?" Kripa asks in an aggressive tone, Angad glances at her but Kripa ignores him.
"Simple, she never wanted you" Rahul bluntly states, Kripa looks at him shocked again, she looks at Angad who has a similar expression on his face, Angad shakes his head while Kripa looks back at Rahul.
"You know what, if that's what you want to believe, go ahead, why would you have any reason to believe anything she said? But seriously Rahul, if this was the other way round and your mom told you this story, I would have been a bit more supportive"
Kripa pushes the plate away from her and storms off to her room, Angad sighs and puts his knife and fork down, he looks at Rahul.
"Great going dude, she was the happiest person alive 10 minutes ago, and you just go and ruin it for her"
"I just said what I believe" Rahul replies
"Well it seems'you know what, forget it"
"No, go on, what were you going to say?" Rahul urges, Angad ignores him and continues eating but Rahul pesters him, Angad puts his knife and fork down again and stands up, Rahul also stands up and faces Angad.
"It just seems that the only reason you're acting like this is because you're just jealous"
"Jealous? And me? I am not jealous"
"Of course, you're not jealous of Kripa finding her parents when you haven't? Because that's the impression I'm getting, either its that or you're just not happy for her"
"And why wouldn't I be happy for her?" Rahul asks knowing very well their little discussion had turned in to an argument
"You've had her to yourself for the most of your life, and you're scared that now she's found her mom she'll just forget about you"
Rahul scoffs, he picks up his jacket and heads to front door, Angad stops him by catching hold of his arm.
"Rahul talk to me dude, which is it? Are you jealous or afraid?"
"Think what you want Khanna"
Rahul pulls his arm away from Angad and opens the front door, he leaves and slams it behind him, Angad clenches his fists in frustration, he stands in front of Kripa's bedroom and knocks on the door, he hears her faintly telling him to come in, he opens the door and finds her sitting on the bed holding her knees, he sits on the bed next to her and gently runs his hand over her head, she looks up at him and even though the tears were no longer visible he knew she had been crying, he shuffles closer to her and puts his arm around her shoulders, she buries her head in his arms.
"Why is he being like that?" Kripa mutters
"I have two theories, neither is good" Angad tells her, she looks up at him questioningly, he kisses her forehead and continues speaking.
"He's either jealous that you've found your mum or he's scared of losing you"
"What? Why would he be jealous or scared for that matter?"
"Jealous because he hasn't found his mum and you have, scared because he probably thinks you'll leave him now that you've found your birth family"
"That's'.insane, I would NEVER leave him"
"I know, and I'm betting he does too, which is why I'm leaning towards the first theory"
"No, Rahul isn't jealous, he's just sceptical" Kripa states
"If you say so, let him cool off and then go talk to him in the morning"
Angad kisses her forehead and moves to leave but Kripa holds on to his arm, he looks at her and she hugs him, he smiles and hugs her back.
"Stay, for tonight" Kripa tells him rather than asks.
"Anything for you" Angad kisses her cheek softly, he removes his shirt and gets in to bed, Kripa kisses his cheek and goes to the bathroom to get changed, she comes back and gets in to bed, Angad wraps his arm around her and kisses her hair.
"What do you think my dad's like?" Kripa asks him breaking the silence
"Like you, but worse" Angad jokes, Kripa hits his arm, Angad stifles his laughter.
"I'm kidding, well a little, I'm guessing from his picture he has your temper"
Kripa hits him again
"But'he has your smile, or rather you have his smile, whatever, which means he should have your sense of humour"
"I wonder what it will be like seeing him, meeting him for the first time"
"He'll love you, I don't see any reason why he wouldn't, I mean you're gorgeous, amazing in every way, well almost every way"
Angad smirks to himself as he waits for Kripa to realise what he says, when she does she turns and hits his chest, Angad bursts out laughing, Kripa continues hitting him while demanding to know what he meant, Angad just keeps laughing while defending himself from Kripa, soon enough Kripa gives up and starts to sulk, Angad hugs her and kisses her cheek and tries to apologise to her.
**************************
In the morning Angad walks out of the bathroom after having a shower, he is rubbing his hair with a towel as he walks in to Kripa's room, he sees her sitting by her mirror brushing her hair, lost in deep thought, he clears his throat, Kripa looks up and smiles.
"I've been thinking" Kripa says as she puts her brush down and sits on the bed
"What?" Angad replies while sitting on the floor by her, she takes the towel and finishes drying his hair.
"I want to see my dad"
Angad looks up at her, her smile grows wider, she puts the towel down and motions for Angad to sit on the bed, he does so.
"I want to meet my dad Angad"
"That's fine, we'll go to your mom's house sometime and meet him"
Angad begins to get up from the bed but Kripa holds his hand, he sits back and looks at her
"I want to meet him, today"
"Today?" Angad asks raising his eyebrows while Kripa nods her head frantically
"Maybe we should get some coffee in you first" Angad says as he pulls Kripa up from the bed. He leads her in to the kitchen and makes her sit at the table while he makes the coffee, he hands her a cup and she takes a sip.
"Now, you were saying?" Angad asks as he takes a seat across from her
"Coffee isn't going to change what I said, I want to meet my dad, to-day" Kripa replies taking another sip
"Alright, I'll call your mum, where's her number?" Angad asks as he gets up from the table
"In my jacket pocket"
Angad goes into the main room, he picks up Kripa's jacket and checks the pockets, he finds the number and keys it into his mobile and presses dial, the phone rings as he makes his way back to the kitchen, he sits opposite her and sips on his coffee, Gayatri answers, Angad glances at Kripa and speaks.
"Hi, Gayatri Aunty? It's Angad"
"Oh, Hi Angad" She replies, Kripa looks at Angad anxiously, Angad nods his head at her
"Kripa wants to meet her dad"
Angad waits for Gayatri to reply, when he doesn't he calls out her name again, she lets him know she's there.
"Angad, I don't think that's a good idea"
"Not a good idea?" Kripa holds out her hand, Angad hands her the phone
"Mom, I want to meet dad"
"Kripa, you don't understand, your father doesn't know about you"
"Exactly, don't you think he should?"
Kripa glances at Angad who shrugs his shoulders and leans back in his chair folding his arms, she takes a sip of her coffee listening to Gayatri explain why she shouldn't meet her dad, Kripa rolls her eyes, Angad takes the phone from her
"Aunty, there's something you should know about Kripa, she is stubborn, if she doesn't get her way, she's going to take it out on me, so I suggest, for my sake, you let her meet her dad"
Kripa hits Angad's hand lightly, Angad grins at her and listens to Gayatri on the phone, he nods his head at Kripa and tells her to get him a pen and paper, Kripa does so, Angad notes down and address and hangs up, Kripa looks at him hopefully.
"Your dad is in London, apparently he's giving a speech on why the world needs to go green'.or something along the lines"
"Ok, let's go"
Kripa stands up, Angad looks at her questioningly
"Have you forgotten that we both have jobs? I've been promoted recently; I do not want to be demoted"
"Call in sick"
Angad looks at Kripa shocked but then calls his work pretending he's ill, Kripa kisses his cheek then takes his phone and calls her workplace as well, they both get ready and get in to Angad's car, Angad drives while Kripa keys in the postcode in to his sat-nav, during the drive Angad remembers Rahul getting angry the night before.
"Did you call Rahul? He left the house pretty ****** off last night"
"No, I'll call him now"
Kripa rings Rahul at work, he answers
"Hey"
"Hey Rahul, just calling to check if you're ok" Kripa tells him, she glances at Angad who looks doubtful
"I'm fine, what you doing?" Rahul asks
"We're going to London" Kripa replies
"Why?" Rahul asks looking confused
"We're going to see my dad" Kripa informs him, Rahul stays quiet, Kripa calls out to him
"Good for you, listen I'm busy, have to go, bye"
Rahul hangs up, Kripa scoffs and narrates Rahul's reaction to Angad who curses under his breath, she shakes her head and sighs deeply and closes her eyes, she opens them after a few minutes and looks towards Angad staring ahead at the road, she reaches out and pinches his cheek, Angad looks at her
"Random" Angad states
Kripa giggles and pinches his cheek again, Angad smacks her hand away then reaches out with his free hand and pinches her cheek, Kripa tries to smack his hand away but Angad keeps hold, Kripa puts her bottom lip out making Angad's heart melt, he lets go and takes hold of her hand and kisses it softly, Kripa smiles and lies back against the seat closing her eyes.
**************************
The car jerks to a stop causing Kripa to wake up, she hadn't realised she had fallen asleep, she blinks and looks towards Angad, he gently caresses her cheek.
"We're here"
Kripa looks out of the window, indeed they were no longer in Birmingham, she stretches slightly and sits up straight, she glances at the building in which her father was most likely in at that specific moment, she reads a board outlining the speeches to be given by various individuals, she sees her dad's name in clear black letters "Rohit Sharma" she continues reading the notice board and suddenly glances at Angad.
"How are we getting in? It says "Invitees only" we're not invited" She asks getting worried, Angad pats her knee and gets out of the car, she looks at him puzzled as he opens her door, she gets out and follows him to the main entrance where they are stopped by a large man asking to see their invitations, she looks at him worryingly, he smiles reassuringly and takes out his phone, he makes a phone call and hands the phone to the man who speaks then hands the phone back to Angad then hands them two press badges and allows them in, Angad walks ahead putting his badge on, she stops him and stares at him, he puts her badge on her for her then wraps his hand around her waist.
"That was dad, he's well known in London, I figured if anyone could get us in, its dad, I just asked him to pretend we were press members"
Kripa tiptoes and kisses his cheek and follows him into the main hall, they take seats in the back row and Kripa watches excitedly for her father, a few people come on stage and make different speeches before Rohit Sharma comes on stage, Kripa gasps seeing him, he looked much different to his picture, his few grey hairs weren't at all visible, with only a few wrinkles on his face, she glances at Angad who reaches out and takes her hand in his, they sit silently holding hands while her father makes his speech. Throughout the lecture Kripa glances at Angad and can tell he's highly bored, she leans over and kisses him to thank him, Angad smiles and continues to watch the lecture.
As it ends Kripa and Angad get up, they leave the hall and wait in the dining area, Kripa watches out for her father anxiously while Angad helps himself to snacks, Kripa eyes him, he grins sheepishly while throwing the small sausage rolls in to his mouth, he stares at Kripa as her expression changes from hopefulness to happiness, he turns to look in the direction she is looking at and sees her father surrounded by several people, before he has a chance to stop Kripa, she is running across the room.
She stands beside her father feeling overwhelmed, she fights back the tears and forces herself to speak.
"Excuse me" she calls out softly, Rohit glances her way but continues with his conversation, Kripa clears her throat and calls out to him again, as Angad reaches her side Rohit turns to look at her.
"In case you can't see, I am in the middle of a conversation, or have not the decency to allow someone to finish their conversation before interrupting them?"
Kripa is taken aback, she's about to speak but Rohit continues
"Well no doubt, you're from the press, obviously you've been taught to get your story no matter what, but I won't stand for it, which paper are you from? One phone call and you'll be out of a job, now either wait until the press conference or leave"
Angad steps forward ready to defend her but Kripa gently touches his arm and shakes her head, she looks at Rohit and smiles apologetically
"We're leaving"
Kripa turns to go, Angad is reluctant but follows her outside, they sit in Angad's car, Kripa avoids his gaze and stares out of the window, Angad tolerates her silence for a brief moment before speaking.
"Let's just go inside and tell him who you are, I'm sure he'll'"
"He'll what? Be nice to me because I tell him I'm his daughter?"
Angad is silent, she turns and looks at him
"He should be nice to people full stop, not just because they're family, I can't believe he's an arrogant stuck up old man, if this is how he is, then I don't want to know him"
"Kripa, he's your dad, regardless of how he is, he just needs to know who you are"
Angad reaches out to open his car door but Kripa stops him, he looks her way and sighs.
"What now?" He asks
"Let's just go home, we shouldn't have come here, mom was right"
Kripa puts her seatbelt on and continues to stare outside, Angad starts the car and drives them back to Birmingham in silence, during the drive Angad's phone rings, he puts his hands free kit on and answers.
"Hello?" Angad speaks into the microphone
"Angad? It's Gayatri, what happened? Did Kripa meet Rohit?"
Angad tells Gayatri to calm down, he glances at Kripa who is still staring out of the window, he breathes deeply.
"We met him, yes, but it didn't go down exactly how we hoped"
"What happened?" Gayatri asks feeling concerned
"Kripa tried to speak to him but he shouted at her for interrupting his conversation"
Angad mutters "son of a *****" under his breath, he looks towards Kripa hoping she didn't hear him, he waits for Gayatri to speak.
"See I told you it was a bad idea, don't you think I know my husband? How is Kripa?"
"Angry, hurting, ****** off, I think that explains it" Angad replies, Gayatri asks to talk to her, Angad glances at Kripa who shakes her head.
"Sorry aunty, she's sleeping" Angad lies
"Listen, I want you to bring her here ok?" Gayatri tells him, he tries to argue but Gayatri is adamant, he speaks for a few second then hangs up, he looks over at Kripa and touches her knee breaking her out of her trance. Kripa looks at him, he hands her the phone
"She's worried about you, she wants to see you"
"Why, so she can say "I told you so" yeah, not happening"
Angad curses under his breath again and stares ahead, Kripa sighs and reaches out and touches his cheek, he looks at her, she smiles and leans over and kisses his cheek, Angad smiles at her and continues driving.
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