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Part 1:
Kripa took steps towards the couple, her heart shattering on every step. Why? Why was it always her? Why did she always lose the game of love? She never considered it a game but destiny always had. Destiny had always snatched from her. First her love, then her parents. Why did she still have her breaths? She was surprised. She reached the couple which started back at her.
Kripa: Congratulations Simone.
Simone is Kripa's cousin sister. Kripa was seeing Simone after years of family quarrels. Kripa gave her a light hug and parted. She looked over to Simone's fianc who looked back at Kripa with shock, hurt, and pain filled eyes.
Kripa: Congratulations….
Simone: Angad. Angad Khanna. And Angad… this is my cousin sister..Kripa….Kripa Sharma.
Kripa(took a silent deep breath): Congratulations Mr.Khanna.
Angad(lost for words): um…thanks.
He couldn't believe he was seeing her before him. She had millions of questions and millions of accusations in those beautiful eyes of hers. How was he going to answer all those questions? He had no answer for them. He was the one to blame. It was all his fault that they were standing the way they were.
A voice: Mom!!
A little girl ran and hugged Kripa around her legs. Angad's eyes widened. She had moved on? It was that easy for her? Wait. Why was he blaming her? Even he was getting married to Simone wasn't he? Kripa lifted the little girl in her arms and kissed her cheeks with a smile.
Angad(thinking to himself): wait… that doesn't have to be Kripa's daughter…Kripa loves kids….it could be someone else's daughter…
Simone: Hi palak…how are you sweetheart?? Kripa…jiju kahan hai?
Kripa(looked around): Pata nahi….abhi abhi to yahin the….
Now Angad was sure. She was married. She was some one else's wife now. Why did he have to make that stupid mistake two years ago. He could have went back and corrected it but he didn't! Oh how he Hated Naina Khanna for that. Naina Khanna, a very egoistic woman, a single mother to Angad and his sister Riddhima. She hated everyone who seemed like a competition to her as well as all the others that were below her status. She was too proud of the money she got from her ex-husband after getting divorced. She was so caught up in her "high-society" that she wasn't even present at her own son's engagement simply because she had a party to attend in Vancouver.
Angad(almost cracking voice): You daughter is really pretty.
Kripa gave him a glare. He couldn't help it. Palak was indeed very beautiful. She had Kripa's eyes, cheeks, nose, hair, ears, ah hell….everything!
Simone(laughed): Angad!!! Palak…..(interrupted)
A voice: Palak!...yahan ho tum…main kab se aapko dundh raha hoon beta…kahan thi aap?...(Palak…there you are….i've been looking for you for a while now…where were you??)
Kripa(handing Palak to the man): Lijiye Nishant jiju….shayad mujhe dekh kar bhaagi hogi….(here Nishant Jiju…maybe she ran after seeing me)
Angad was confused now. Did Kripa just call the man Nishant JIJU?
Nishant: kyun nahi bhaaghegi….apni maasi ke peeche jo bhaag rahi hai….(why wouldn't se run? After all she is running after her aunt.)
Palak: no maasi. Mom!
Kripa: palak…sweety maine tumse kitni baar kaha hai?? Main aapki mama nahi hoon…(how many times have i told you sweety?..im not your mama..)
Nishant : maa se kam bhi to nahi ho...tumne palak ko apni beti ki tarah chaha hai Kripa...palak ne Kanan ke saath bhi itna waqt nahi guzara jitna tumhare saath guzara hai...(you are no less than a mother...you have loved her as if she were your own daughter...she hasnt spent as much time with kanan as she has with you..)
Kripa : Dont worry jiju....dekhna didi jaldi theek ho jayegi aur phir sab kuch theek ho jayega....i assure you...dont worrry.(dont worry...didi will recover very soon and then everything will be fine....)
Nishant took palak and left from there. While they were talking, Simone had excused herself. So now only Angad and Kripa were left alone. Kripa shot him another accusing look while he simply stared down guiltily.
Kripa: Main aaj bhi wahin khadi hoon jahan tumne mujhe do saal pehle choda tha…(I am still standing where you left me 2 years ago).
He looked up to look into her eyes to try and figure out what was in her heart but it was too late. She was fading into the crowd slowly. Angad was lost in his thoughts when a young man snapped his fingers in front of his eyes.
Angad: Prithvi!...Where were you man?
Prithvi: tum dono ki shaadi ho rahi hai na….sab kam mujhe hi karna padega…tum dono se to kaam karva nahi sakta…Kripa kab ayegi….agar woh hoti to har kaam karne main meri help karti…(you and simone are getting married no? I cant make you two do the work..i have to do everything myself….when will Kripa come?...if she was here, she would have helped me with everything…)
Simone: Bhai! She is here already!!
Prithvi: What! Where??
Simone looked around and shrugged her shoulders.
Simone: Abhi abhi to yahin thi…….palak ke saath…(suddenly, simone remembered something)…Bhai…time kya hua?(whats the time?)
Prithvi(checked his watch): its 10:05………(then it hit him)…oh no…
Simone: I'll go get her…
Prithvi: Nahi sim…leave her alone…you know she likes to be by herself after her prayers….god knows why…
Simone: but bhai….she can't stay like that forever you know?...
Prithvi: I know…but she is not going to recover anytime soon…if she wants to be alone…leave her alone…I'll meet her afterwards.
Angad shifted uncomfortably.
Prithvi: Kya hua Angad?
Angad(lying straight-faced): thodi si suffocation ho rahi thi actually….its the crowd…("feeling a little suffocated….its the crowd")
Simone: no problem sweety…go on the terrace for a while…you'll feel better…
Angad would do anything to get away from there. He walked onto the terrace completely oblivious to her standing at the end of it. A gust of wind brought her fragrance to him. She had felt him around the second he stepped onto the terrace. He walked up to her stopping a few steps away from her. He admired her from the back. She hasn't changed much. She had lost weight, her hair was waist-length, the baby pink and baby blue lehenga multiplying her beauty. She felt uncomfortable standing there. Even if she wasn't looking at him, she could feel his stare piercing her body. She turned around and hastily brushed past him, running into the house when he called out her name.
Angad: Kripa ruko.
He knew she stopped when the jingling of her anklets stopped. He was about to say something when Prithvi walked in.
Prithvi: Angad….chalo ring cere…(noticed Kripa standing there. Prithvi couldn't stop the urge and hugged her)…Finally…How are you??...kitni der laga di aane mein…pata hai hum sab kitna miss kar rahe the tumhe?("you took so long to come…do you know how much everyone was missing you?")
Kripa(on the verge of tears): Kyun? Aapko kya laga tha?? Mein phir se koi stupid sa kadam utha lungi? ("why? What did you think? I would do something stupid again?")
Prithvi: stupid? It was scary…and yes…we were all worried that you might try to commit suicide again.
Hell! He wasn't supposed to know that. She didn't want him to know she was that weak. She had to defend herself and her ego somehow.
Kripa: Bhai…that was almost two years ago…
Prithvi: two years isn't long enough Kripa…I know its been two years….have you recovered yourself yet?
Kripa looked down unable to meet his interrogating eyes. He was right. Two years wasn't enough for her to forget her love. The deception she received from him. She still wasn't over the fact that he had left her without telling her why.
Prithvi: chalo chodo yeh sab baatein…no tears today…(looked at Angad who looked on speechless trying to fit the puzzle pieces together)…Angad…lets go…its time for the ring ceremony.
Kripa's heart stopped beating for a fraction of a second. She walked away quickly before prithvi noticed her welling eyes. It of course didn't escape Angad's eyes. Angad just nodded and followed prithvi downstairs. Angad and Simone stood facing each other with Kripa standing behind Simone and Prithvi standing behind Angad. Prithvi handed Angad the ring. Angad closed his eyes, took a deep breath, opened his eyes and looked directly who was staring at the floor, to hide her tears, and slipped the ring in Simone's finger without moving his gaze away from Kripa. Everyone clapped and cheered while Simone's cheeks grew a deep shade of red. Kripa handed the solitaire to Simone and walked away. She couldn't see someone else getting engaged to the man she used to love more than her life. Used to? Who was she kidding? She still loved him more than her life and that's why she was hurting so much. Simone slipped the solitaire in Angad's finger but stopped midway when she noticed another solitaire occupying his finger.
Prithvi(jokingly): Are Angad…simone se pehle bhi kisi se engagement ki thi kya? ("did you get engaged to someone before simone?")
Angad looked up shocked and saw that even Kripa had stopped dead in her tracks.
Naina: nahi beta!.....
All heads turned to her at the door. She just entered the party.
Angad(in his thoughts): oh no…agar mom ne Kripa ko yahan dekh liya to bahut bada problem ho jayega…(if mom sees Kripa here…there will be a big problem)
Kripa, as if she read his mind and understood his fear, quietly slipped out of the hall and ran out of the building. Naina walked egoistically down the hall and reached Angad. She abruptly took his hand and took off the ring he was already wearing. The ring that proved he belonged to Kripa. Naina quietly slipped the "old" solitaire in Angad's coat's pocket when he gave her a glare warning her not to toss it away like she usually would. Simone slipped the ring in completely replacing her sister's rights on Angad.
Naina left after a couple of minutes. "I have a flight in half an hour. I am going to Japan for the high class women's association conferences. I might miss your wedding son.".
Angad(whispered through grinded teeth): surprise me once in a while mom. You are never there when your son needs you. Have a nice flight. See you the next time you have a break from your "high society".
Around 1 o'clock at night, the hall of Bose mansion consisted of Prithvi, Simone and Angad. They were sitting and talking when Kripa walked in. Her eyes were red. Angad knew right away she had been crying. Prithvi got up and left to attend a call while Simone left to take the heavy jewelry off. It was irritating her now. Angad and Kripa were alone. Angad wanted to say something but Kripa's silence was killing him. His Kripa was so much different. She was the one who always had a smile on her face, if not for herself then for others. She never ran out of words. She never got tired of talking. His Kripa wasn't depressed, hurt, tearful, and as quiet as still air. She took steps towards him. Was she going to take the initiative and talk? No she wasn't. She just went up to him and held out her palm to him. He knew what that meant. He had to give it up. He had to give it back to her. He had no right what-so-ever on it anymore.
Angad: Kripa please..
Before he could finish, she shot him a glare, a tearful one. He sighed, took out the solitaire from his pocket, kissed it and placed it in her palm. While he was moving back, one of the tears from Kripa's eyes fell onto his knuckles. She knew he was going to say something. She didn't have enough energy or courage to talk about their past. She quickly walked away, more like ran away, and up the stairs slamming the bedroom door shut behind her.
Angad's guilt level just grew higher and higher. He just wanted one last chance. One last chance to explain why he was getting married to Simone. One last chance to get Kripa to smile again. One last chance to return her her happiness. One last chance to tell her that he still loved her. One last chance to explain why he left her on the day they were supposed to get married.
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