Chapter Forty Eight
The party was more subdued than it would've otherwise been due to the news of Sherry leaving. As soon as Gehlot had announced that she was going with him the entire mood had changed from one of celebration to almost depression.
"I don't know why you're all sitting there looking like somebody just died." She announced, unable to bear it anymore as they sat in the mess eating the food that Suriji had prepared. "I'm about to go back to a life of luxury, not to some war. If you don't remember, I was sent here for punishment… that punishment is now over." She avoided looking at Abhi, Raj or Naina as she said it, knowing that they would see through it. Her eyes briefly caught Aalekh's and she saw the understanding in them, he knew exactly what it was that she was feeling right now.
"But just when your signal was working properly with KMA you're about to go out of network," Pooja protested.
"You're one of the best cadets in our year… much better than I am." Yudi told her, "I thought you'd decided that you wanted to be a part of the army."
"Yeah well… plans change." Sherry said with a shrug, "As Pooja would say, perhaps my 'lifetime connection' is meant to be somewhere else."
"We could talk to your father about this," Naina told her, reaching out to take her hand, "I want you here with Raj and I, I want us to be a family together. Even if you're fine with leaving, Sherry… I don't want to see you go."
"Exactly," Raj agreed, "I'll talk to Lala Saheb about it, even if he wants to take you home early before the holidays he should let you come back and finish your time at KMA. With the bravery you've shown, I know you can be an excellent soldier in future."
Tears came to her eyes at her brother's words, at the pride in his voice, but she blinked them away.
"Bhaiyya I wasn't meant to be a soldier…" she told him, trying to sound convincing. "I'll settle down… lead a quiet life… if I get bored then I can always dye my hair another colour."
Abhi stayed silent throughout this, there were so many things he needed to say to her, to ask her, but how could he speak to her with everybody there? They were things that he couldn't say in front of the others. More than anybody else there, he knew how much she hated her father, how she had begun to love the army, how she felt… how he believed that she felt about him. Then why was she prepared to let her father make this decision without any protest? Why would she let him just take her away from those she loved when she had fought so hard to save them?
She looked up briefly meeting his eyes and he saw the deep regret in them before she looked away. She was preparing to give him up, he realised, and the thought terrified him.
"Sherry, could I…" he began to say when Ghelot walked back into the room, after having finished his chat with Brigadier Chandook.
"Well I think it's just about time that Sherry and I go," he announced, "Thank you all so much for looking after my daughter and guiding her, now it's time for her to be back where she belongs."
"But Sherry belongs here, Sir." Huda protested, "She's one of the best cadets in our class."
"Please consider our request and allow her to stay, Sir." Ali asked him politely.
The rest of them added their pleas but Gehlot made a sign with his hand and Sherry stood up.
"Well it's time for me to go, guys." She told them, hugging them all one by one, before she turned to Naina and Raj.
"Why are you doing this?" Naina whispered to her, as she hugged her tightly, "Give me some type of a sign."
"This is for the best Bhabhie…" Sherry told her, "You and Bhaiyya will have a happy life together, and it's not like you'll never see me again… we'll see each other."
"I'll keep trying to convince him," Raj promised her as he hugged her, "I won't give up until we have you back with us again."
"I love you, Bhaiyya," she told him, kissing him on the cheek, "Look after Bhabhie well, I don't want to hear that she's been upset or stressed."
Abhi stood there awkwardly unsure of how to bid farewell to her and at last she stretched out her hand, taking his in it and holding it briefly. "Take care of yourself." She told him, her eyes full of unsaid emotions.
And then her fingers slipped out of his grasp and she was gone.
**
A week later the holidays had begun and all of the cadets had gone to visit their families. The mood was still subdued and the topic of conversation hadn't varied much before the holidays, all that the cadets seemed able to discuss was Dr Ritu being proven to be the spy and Sherry's subsequent departure.
Since she had left Raj and Naina had spoken to her on the phone once when she had assured them that she was happy to be back home and getting on well with her father. Every time after that when they had called they were told that she was either out or busy and would call them back, but she never did.
Now on the third day of holidays, Naina, Raj and Aalekh were all at Naina's mother's house who had been fussing over all of them non-stop since they had arrived. Naina had almost cried seeing her mother again, so much had happened since the last time they had seen each other at Diwali that it seemed unbelievable. They had sat around the kitchen table and told the whole story of what had happened and how Naveen had finally been proven innocent with Dr Mishra's arrest. Mrs Ahluwalia had broken down at this point, grateful tears pouring down her cheeks as Naina hugged her.
"I knew you would fulfil your promise one day," she told Raj, "The day that you came to our house and told us everything… I knew that one day you would finally prove him innocent."
Raj couldn't help thinking how much sorrow they had all gone through to get to this point, how much Naina in particular had been through. His best friend's innocence had been proven but somehow he didn't feel as if the fight was over. Dr Mishra had been the spy in KMA but who had been controlling her, giving her orders? He had requested permission to interrogate her but so far it hadn't been granted. If he could just speak to her once then perhaps she would tell him who it had been that had set up Naveen in the first place. He knew that in this game she was just a pawn… the real power had yet to be exposed.
After looking around the house for Naina he found her outside in the back garden on the swing, a shawl draped around her shoulders, gazing into the distance. Coming up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, bringing her arms up, she placed her hands on top of his, leaning back into his warmth.
"Are you alright?" he asked her, "You've been quiet… I know that you're worried, I'm worried too, but she made me promise that I'd always keep you happy."
"I was just thinking how much she would've liked being here, Ma would've absolutely spoiled her." Naina said with a small smile, "She misses her own mother so much, it would've been good for her to spend some time with mine."
"I'll try calling again this afternoon," Raj replied, sitting down on the swing beside Naina, one arm still draped around her shoulders. "If there's no reply then I'll tell them that I'm coming to check on her."
Naina nodded, and they sat in silence for awhile. They were now at a point in their relationship when they didn't need to constantly be talking, they could sit with each other comfortably without saying a thing and still have that sense of understanding and companionship.
"Where's Aalekh?" Naina asked Raj, "Is he with Ma?"
"They're making lunch in the kitchen," Raj told her with a smile, "I think your mother is very impressed by Aalekh's cooking skills."
Naina smiled at this, at least they had managed to give Aalekh some happiness. "Let's go in and check on them." She suggested.
They had just entered the house and were heading towards the kitchen when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." Raj called out to let Naina's mother know that it was under control. As far as he knew they weren't expecting anybody but it could always be one of Naina's mother's friends.
However when he opened the door it was to see a very familiar face standing there as his remaining best friend stood on the doorstep, hair neatly pulled back but looking utterly miserable.
"Abhi, what are you doing here?" Raj asked him, "I thought you were going home for the holidays?"
"I did…" Abhi admitted, "But I had to come and talk to you, I can't stand it Raj, I've tried… but I just can't sit at home while…" He sighed in frustration, and taking him by the arm Raj guided him inside.
Naina smiled welcomingly when she saw who their visitor was, and her mother walked out of the kitchen, dusting her hands on her apron to check who it is.
"Ma, this is Abhimanyu, he was one of Naveen Bhaiyya's best friends." Naina introduced them, and Abhi greeted Naina's mother respectfully before touching her feet.
"Bless you, son." She told him, "It's wonderful to finally meet you, Naina and Raj have told me so much about you."
"Thank you Aunty," he told her, "I wish I'd come to visit you a long time ago, in fact I'm ashamed that I didn't."
"It's alright, Beta." She told him, "The circumstances were such that… well nevermind, there's no point in talking about these things anymore. The past is in the past and we shouldn't bring up sorrow when there's so much joy expected."
She smiled at Naina as she said it, obviously looking forward to the arrival of her first grandchild.
Looking at the two men standing there, Abhimanyu somewhat awkwardly, Naina guessed exactly what was going on and decided to go take charge. "Ma… I'll come and help you and Aalekh and make some tea as well." Naina told her, "Raj, why don't you take Abhimanyu out to sit in the garden?" She had guessed what it was that he had come to talk about and thought that it would be easier for him if he could speak with Raj privately. Giving Raj a meaningful look, she walked into the kitchen and the two men headed towards the back garden together where they sat down at a small table.
"I thought you were going home to see your family for the holidays?" Raj asked Abhimanyu, unsure of exactly how to start the conversation.
"I did go home…" Abhi replied, still looking just as miserable, "I couldn't stay there… not while… my friend you don't know the half of it." He finished off, clearly frustrated.
"I know what it is you've come to talk to me about," Raj said cautiously, not wanting to rush him into it. "Even I can't understand her decision to go there, she and her father have never gotten on well together, and she was so happy when I had asked her to stay with us…"
"Oh it's not just that," Abhi said, anger coming into his voice now as he clenched his fist, "You have no idea what that man has done to her, how much he affects her. She never told you, didn't want to worry you, but I've seen… and I can't see her in that much pain, I can't."
"Tell me." Raj commanded him, because no matter what it was that Sherry wanted, enough was enough, it was time for him to know the truth.
And so Abhimanyu told him about how he had found her at Republic Day, broken and sobbing, about the hints she had given him about exactly how unhappy she had been.
"And now… she won't even talk to me, I've tried calling, and I'm always told she's not available. I can't do this Raj," he told his friend desperately, "If I knew she was happy then maybe I could let her go, but I can't just forget her, not when…"
"When you love her." Raj finished softly, giving his friend a gentle smile.
Abhi didn't even try to deny it, he just nodded, combing a hand through his hair to push it back in a gesture of frustration.
"I know that perhaps I shouldn't have… she was my student and your sister too, believe me when I say that I never meant to fall in love with her, that I never did anything…"
Raj held up one hand to stop his friend, who was now practically babbling. "It's alright Abhi, I know and I understand." He tells him, "In many ways she needed you, and I would be happiest of all if you two were to end up together."
Abhi's shoulders sagged with relief and Raj reached forward to hug him.
"So what should I do now?" Abhimanyu asked him, "I can't just leave her in that situation, I want to know why she agreed in the first place to allowing him to take her home."
"I was planning to visit her at the end of this week," Raj tells him, "But after what you've told me I don't think we should delay it anymore. If you go to see her then perhaps she'll be more willing to talk to you."
"I'll go right now," Abhi told him, "And I promise Raj… I'm not leaving that place until I find out exactly what's wrong."
Raj nodded, "But I think you should wait until after lunch to go." He told Abhi, "I've learnt that pregnant women can have dangerous mood swings and Naina is going to be very upset if you don't at least eat something on your first visit to the house."
As they entered the house Raj nodded at her as if to tell her that it had been sorted out and she smiled at him, glad that at least something had gone right.
With any luck, the missing member of their family would soon be home.
**
The next morning around ten am Abhi paused outside Lalasaheb's mansion, nervous at what he was about to do. He couldn't lose her, he had made his decision, he would do anything it took to get her back.
After informing the guard of who he was and who he had come to visit he was let inside the grounds, and entering the house he looked around hoping to see her but instead saw the man he would prefer never to see again in his entire life.
"Captain Abhimanyu, how nice of you to pay us a visit." Gehlot told him with a smile, "Are you here on official business?"
"Actually no, Sir." Abhi admitted, "I've come to see Sherry, none of us have heard from her since she left the academy and Raj had agreed it would be a good idea to come and visit her to see if either of you had reconsidered your decision."
"Why don't you come and sit with me in my study," Gehlot asked him, trying to calculate what it was that Abhimanyu was actually there for. If the man suspected then he could be dangerous indeed. "Unfortunately Sherry isn't at home right now but hopefully I can reassure you of her wellbeing."
"Sir… all of us would like Sherry to come back to the academy." Abhimanyu told him when they were seated. "She was happy there, and I honestly feel that she will make an excellent soldier."
"Unfortunately that's no longer possible." Gehlot told him, "Sherry has a different destiny to the army, and she's already on her way to fulfilling it. She'll be getting engaged in a few months, and married not long after that."
The shock hit Abhi like a punch in the face. Was this why she wasn't talking to him, to try to make a clean break? Was this why it had seemed like she was letting him go when she said goodbye?
"Engaged? But so suddenly…"
"Actually I feel it's time that she settles down," Gehlot told him, with an affectionate fatherly tone he had to work hard to perfect. "And even Sherry agrees, she's had a wild youth and now she wants a quiet life."
"But Sir…" Abhi struggled with what he had to say next, he hadn't thought that he would have to face this when he came here today. "Who will she be getting engaged to?"
"The son of one of my friends… the boy is quite talented, I expect that he will go far within the party." Gehlot replied with an almost bored expression. "They've already met each other and approved of each other."
"Sir… I'm sure that Sherry can't be happy with this match." Abhi protested, "Even if she has said yes, I know she won't be happy."
"Well who are you suggesting I get her married to then?" Gehlot asked with a raised eyebrow.
"To me." Abhimanyu told him, almost shocked at himself for saying it so boldly. "I know I would be able to keep her happy. I understand her Sir… we understand each other. I would like you to consider my proposal." He took a deep breath, hoping that the man would at least listen.
"I already had considered it." Gehlot informed him, "In fact I ever suggested you as a potential husband to Sherry. She was the one who refused the idea."
Abhi was knocked back by this knowledge. Why could she have possibly refused? He knew that she loved him too… she hadn't said it, but everything that she had ever said and done had proven it. He didn't need the words to know.
"Did she say why she refused?" he asked, trying to hide the worry that was rising inside of him.
"No she didn't… but she made it quite clear that I shouldn't suggest your name again." Gehlot told him, trying not to look amused by how heartbroken the young man in front of him looked.
"Can I speak to her?" Abhi finally asked after a long silence, "I'd like to ask her for myself how she is."
"You would have to wait for a long time," Gehlot informed him, "She's gone out and I doubt she'll be back before evening. In fact she might even stay with a friend."
Abhi didn't doubt for one moment that the man would go to any lengths to stop his daughter talking to anybody.
"Then if you could tell her that I visited and that I would like to talk to her, I would appreciate it." He told Gehlot, getting up to leave.
"Of course I'll tell her, I'm sorry you had to come this far without seeing her." Gehlot told him in a fake sympathetic tone, "I'll try to make sure that she calls you."
Saying goodbye to him, Abhimanyu left, not looking behind him as he did. It was only when he reached the gate that he paused to talk to one of the guards.
"I want to know where Miss Gehlot is…" he told the man quietly, "Name your price and I'll pay it."
**
Ignoring the man keeping a watchful eye on her, Sherry jogged around the track, trying to release her frustrations through her feet pounding on the hard ground below her. It didn't matter what she did from now on, her life was already ruined and she had no hopes of it improving. One of the only things stopping her from considering simply ending it all was the promise she had made to Abhimanyu… he had upheld his end of the bargain and now she had to uphold hers.
Meeting her future husband had been exactly how she had imagined it to be. He was one of those spoiled brat politicians sons and she had sat there in the stupid salwar kameez her father had made her wear and refused to answer any questions or pour tea. It was about as much defiance as she was able to have these days.
As she continued jogging she glanced around to check whether the security men were still watching her, only to see somebody talking to them. It looked like… her heart skipped a beat at the thought, but it couldn't be him. He wouldn't have come all this way, she was just imagining it. As she watched, he handed something to the guard who began to walk away.
Sherry slowed down and began to jog back over to where he was even as he jumped over the fence and also jogged towards her. She could barely believe it, it was actually him. She ached to simply run to him and throw her arms around him, tell him she loved him and ask him to take her away from here.
But she had chosen this life for herself… and no matter how much she hated it, she had to live with it now. She slowed down…. He continued running.
"Sherry…" he breathed hard as he finally stood in front of her, "Thank goodness I finally managed to see you. I've been trying to call, I went to your house…"
"You shouldn't have." She told him, "I would prefer it if you didn't go there, if you didn't get involved in this. I would prefer you to stay…" she wanted to say safe, she thought it would be best if she said away, in the end she said nothing.
"Why Sherry?" he asked her, "Why are you doing this? What is it exactly that he holds over your head to make you agree to ruin your own life?"
She stepped back slightly, not sure what to do when he had said it so plainly. "And who says that I'm ruining my life?" she asked him, "And anyway, it's my life to choose to ruin if I am doing so."
"You can't tell me that you're happy to be marrying a son of your father's friend." Abhi tells her, a tone of disgust in his voice. "I know how you've always felt about that…"
"I will marry him." Sherry said with determination in her voice, "And I'll probably stab him with a pair of scissors eventually if not on the wedding night itself… but I'll marry him."
"Why?" he asked her, grabbing her by the shoulders almost roughly, the hurt shining in his eyes. "Even if you're willing to ruin your own life, do you realise that you're ruining mine as well? Do you know what it would do to me to have you marry someone else?"
Sherry shrugged out of his grasp, half turning away. "I'm not ruining your life," she told him, "I know that… that you love me. But this is best for both of us, if you married me then…"
"What gives you the right to make that decision alone?" he asked her angrily, turning her back to face her once again, "What is it that you've hidden from me all this time? What is it that stops you from allowing yourself to be happy? Don't you know I'd do anything to make you happy?"
"I know you would," Sherry told him softly, "But I would also do anything to protect you… even if it means giving you up."
"I don't want to be protected," he told her stubbornly, "Don't you think I have the right to make up my own mind about this? Whatever it is, it won't make me change my mind."
"You were the one who first told me that it shouldn't happen," Sherry told him with a sad smile, "And I agree."
"I've never told you anything like that!" Abhi protested, "What are you talking about? Unless you tell me the truth right now I swear I'm taking you away from here by force."
"Fine," she told him, "Do you remember that I had asked you a question once about whether you would've married Naina if you were in my brother's place?"
"Of course I do," he replied, "But what does that have to do with this?"
It was her silence which told him the answer as she stood there simply looking at him, and as realisation hit him he felt the bottom fall out of his world.
"You're serious?" he asked her, "Your father…"
"Is a damn traitor." Sherry told him, spitting the word out. "Do you want to know who's responsible for all this? Do you want to know who trapped Naveen? Who tried to get the nuclear triggers stolen? My father."
"You never said a word…" he told her, "All of these years…"
"All of these years I've hidden it," she told him, "Because I was scared of what he would do… of who he would harm if I told someone. I couldn't lose Bhaiyya and Bhabhie… I couldn't lose you. So I made a deal with him."
"You sold your happiness for ours." Abhi states simply, taking one step forward towards her.
"I don't know if that's the right way to say it… but yes." She told him, "I want you to be happy, I want you to be safe… you can't be those things if you're with me."
"Do you think that I'll be happy away from you, knowing how miserable you are?" Abhi asked her. "Do you think I'll simply forget you, that Naina and Raj and all your friends would too? When you asked me about Naina that was a completely different case, try to understand. I didn't know Naina, I would've been marrying a stranger. But you… I love you, I could do anything for you. I don't care if the world thinks of you as a traitor's daughter, I don't care what happens, I won't love you any less."
"But I can't do this to you." Sherry told him, "I can't ruin your life this way because trust me, he'll find some way to use you in his dirty work, I won't expose you to that."
"I won't let you do this to yourself," he told her, reaching out and taking her hands, pulling her closer to him. "I don't care what the consequences are, I'm not going to give up."
"If you love me then you will," she told him, "Please go… it's not easy for me to refuse you and I'm worried that I might end up breaking."
"You've endured all this alone for so long already, for so many years you've had to deal with this by yourself. Not anymore." He told her, and reaching down put his arms around her, hugging her tightly to him. She was so small against him that she seemed almost fragile, and when he leaned back slightly to look down at her face, placing his hands to either side of it to touch her cheeks, it seemed natural that he should lean down to kiss her.
And so he did, hesitantly at first, his lips barely brushing hers as he leaned down. When she brought her hands up to place them on his arms he leaned down again to kiss her properly this time, and it was as bittersweet as she was, both an answer and a question. She sighed as he pulled away, her eyes closed and a tear escaped from the corner of one eye. He brushed it away with his thumb, and leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes too as he thought about what lay ahead.
"Abhi, you know that…"
"I don't know anything," he told her stubbornly, "Except that when I return, you had better be ready to go with me."
Leaning down he kissed her again one last time, barely able to pull himself away.
He walked back to his car, glancing behind him as he went to see her still standing there, staring after him. Finding the guard at a nearby chai stall he gave him some more money, telling him that he could go back now.
Finally after months of wondering, he knew what it was that had tortured Sherry for so long, what had made her so unhappy. She had already suffered enough, and he wasn't going to allow it to continue.
He knew exactly what he had to do and who it was who could convince her.
Stepping on the accelerator, he began to head back towards Naina's mother's house.
***
Woohoo, finally done!
And I think that now we have either 2 or 3 more parts to go...
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
29