AryLie FF - Aryan&Imlie - Epilogue Page 32 (Dt. 13 Mar) - Page 11

Dev Chaturvedi, Imlie’s Sperm Donor

Dev liked Imlie before he knew that she was his daughter.

Dev loved Imlie after he came to know that she was his daughter.

Even after Meethi and Satyakaam warned him to stay away from her, he was unable to stay away from her. The way even Aditya was stopped from revealing this truth to Imlie should've been an indication, was an ultimatum, that Imlie shouldn't know about him.

Then too, she found out.

And then he found out that Imlie was married to Aditya, his first daughter’s husband. Dev watched first hand how one of his daughters suffered while the other prospered, both because of one man.

He watched as Malini went through heartbreak and depression when she separated from Aditya. He witnessed how it turned from depression to desperation to an obsession. But as he saw Malini's heartbreak, he also saw Imlie flourishing in love. He witnessed as Imlie fell in love with his son-in-law.

He may have told Malini that he was coming around to the idea of Imlie with Aditya because Imlie and Aditya loved each other, but it was more than that. Dev saw himself in Aditya. He saw Aditya as the young Dev, standing on a forked path, one leading him to love, and other to fame and a family waiting for him.

Dev wanted Aditya to choose love, because Dev had chosen wrong.

He never imagined everything going wrong the way it did. He never imagined his daughter would stoop so low. He never imagined that his daughter would take away Aditya's choice. He never imagined that Aditya would not choose one single path and continue to dance around both of them.

He never imagined Aditya to be like him, a coward.

He watched Malini fall under his wife’s influence and continue to make wrong choices.

He watched Aditya wronging both his daughters by not choosing one of them.

And like the coward he was, he did nothing.

Imlie hated him for not standing up to Malini, and Malini hated him because he didn’t stand up for Malini.

Contrary to what happened when Malini left Aditya, when Imlie left Aditya, he had no way to know what was happening to her. He didn’t know where she was living, where she was working, what she was doing, how she was, and whether she was heartbroken or not.

Well, not at least until his wife told him all of it.

He still remembered when his wife told him first about Aryan Singh Rathore.

Aryan Singh Rathore was the talk of the house once he had insulted the great Anu Chaturvedi and the magnificent Malini Chaturvedi. Whereas Dev, never having personally met him, knew everything the guy did for Imlie as it made its way to his ears through his wife’s screeching.

Then he came to know that Malini sent Imlie to jail, and then Imlie ran away from jail, and then he was saving Imlie’s life, doing something good for her for once in his life, and then he was back, his daughter throwing another tantrum in his face.

The next time he left his studio, it was to news of Malini having drawn a five crores rupees cheque and all he thought was what now, what does she need now. The mother-daughter duo had already burned two and a half crores on the covering of a wedding that became pointless as time passed and that was not even bothering the actual wedding expenses.

Yes, the Chaturvedi’s were rich, but that didn’t mean they had money flowing around, waiting to be spent. He seriously didn’t want his accountant calling him again and again, claiming no actual steady source of income to claim against the bloody expenses that they were piling up.

It was actually Anu who told him the cheque was for the Tripathis, so that they wouldn’t lose the Tripathi Residence. He sighed in relief, glad that the money wasn’t going down another drain.

The need to check up on Malini came when the cheque didn’t go through.

He reached the Tripathi Residence, and was surprised to find Imlie there.

He went to her, as he did not see her enough, he asked, “Arey! Imlie, tum yaha?(Imlie, what are you doing here?)”

Imlie smiled her little fake smile, and answered, “Haan, uu Maa ko dil ka daura pade hai na, toh hum uu ki tabiyat ke khatir eeha ruk gaye.(Yes, actually Maa had a heart attack, so, for well being, I decided to stay here for a few days.)”

Now that was another thing Dev didn’t know, he looked around, “Kaha hai ab woh? Kaisi hai?(Where is she now? How is she?)”

Imlie looked away from him and replied, “Uu woh Kaki Maa aur Badki Maa ke saath mandir gayi rahi hai. Ab theek hai woh.(She’s gone to the temple with Kaki Maa and Badki Maa. She’s fine now.)”

Dev was about to ask when his other daughter interrupted him, “Papa? Aap yahan?(Dad? You’re here?)”

He felt more than saw Imlie backing away from him, thankful for the interruption. He sighed and turned to Malini, but just as he was about to ask about the cheque, he was interrupted yet again.

“Imlie!”, called out a voice he didn’t recognise.

Imlie, exasperated, turned around and called out, “Nakchade Akad Bagge!”

“Imlie.”, another voice, a voice he recognised, scolded her. Meethi. It was Meethi.

He saw as an unknown man came into view, his phone in hand, a smirk on his face. Imlie’s eyes bugged out and she looked at the man, annoyed.

Meethi continued, “Aisan baat karat hai apan Boss Babu se?(This is how to talk to your Boss Babu?)”

Dev recognised the man then, Aryan Singh Rathore, Imlie’s boss, and if his wife and daughter were to be believed, Imlie’s new love.

He saw as the man laughed at Imlie’s plight and replied, “Dekha aapne, kaise baat karti hai yeh mujhse?(You see how she talks to me?)”

Meethi, after having listened to Aryan’s complaint, continued scolding Imlie, “Imlie, bhool gayi, ee tumri jaan bachaye rahe hai. Aur phir tohar saath khade rahe hai saare gaon waalon ke saamne.(Imlie, have you forgotten how he saved your life. He even stood by you in front of all the villagers.)”

Imlie cried like the teenager she was in answer, “Sirf uu humri jaan thodi hi bachaye hai, hum bhi toh uuki jaan bachaye hai na. Aur uu jon humse Jungli, Sarphiri, Gadhi bolat hai, uuka kachu naahi bolengi aap?(He wasn’t the only one doing all the saving, I saved him too. And what about when he calls me Jungli, Sarphiri, Gadhi, you never say anything to him.)”

And Meethi adorably replied, “Par tu toh uu sab hai naa?(But you are all those things, right?)”

And Aryan grinned so wide at Meethi still taking his side, while Imlie scowled and answered, “Toh uu kaa Nakchade Akad Bagge naahi hai?(So is he not a Nakchada Akad Bagga?)”

Meethi changed the topic swiftly, “Tu apan phone kaahe naahi uthawat hai? Tohar khatir humka Aryan Babu ko pareshan karna pada.(Why are you not answering your phone? I had to disturb Aryan Babu because of you.)”

Imlie sighed at her mother taking Aryan’s side and replied, “Hum karte hai toka phone apan phone se, humre Boss Babu kaa phone kaat lijiye.(Wait a minute, I’ll call you from my phone, disconnect the call with my Boss Babu now.)”

Meethi replied, “Haan, theek hai. Aryan Babu, uu humka tohar bhi dhanyavaad deyi ke padi, Tum uu humka Satyakaam se baa---(Yes, okay. Aryan Babu, actually I wanted to thank you. Because of you I could talk to Satyakaam---)”, and suddenly the call wasn’t on speaker anymore, and Aryan was talking on the phone with Meethi alone, which he was done with, in a minute.

But it was too late. They all had heard it. Aryan had arranged for a way of contact between Satyakaam and Meethi, or he has been, or he is going to. Whatever.

But this, this guy, who Dev didn’t even know was doing more for his daughter than he had ever done. This guy talks to his daughter’s mother in a way that even he didn’t speak to her. This guy, helped Imlie in ways, he never will.

He looked towards Imlie, and saw that her eyes were trained on Aryan. Aryan, looking in his phone, was conveniently avoiding eye contact with Imlie. Imlie grabbed his elbow then, and turned him to face her. Aryan went willingly.

She asked, her voice trembling, “Tum humri Amma se humre Dadda ki baat karawat ho?(You made a way for my Amma to talk to my Dadda?)”

Aryan looked at her hand first, the one grabbing his elbow, then meeting her eyes, he replied, “Haan, woh---(Yes, actually---)”

But Imlie interrupted him, asking another question, “Tumka pata bhi kaisan chale, ki humre Dadda---(How did you even know, about my Dadda---)”

And Aryan interrupted her right back and admitted, “Tum jab jail se bhaagi thi, uss din mere lawyer ko pata chal gaya tha, ki tumhaari help kisne ki. Tumhari Amma thi mere saath, jab mujhe mere lawyer ka phone aaya tha. Tab hui thi unn dono ki baat.(When you ran away from jail, my lawyer found out who helped you. Your Amma was with me when my lawyer called. So they talked that day.)”

Imlie asked again, “Toh humka kaahe naahi bataye tum, Amma kaahe naahi bataayi?(Why did you not tell me, why did Amma not tell me?)”

Aryan answered, guilty, “Maine kaha tha unhe.(I asked her not to.)”

Imlie asked him, almost accusingly, “Kaahe? Humka kaahe naahi bataaye?(Why? Why not tell me?)”

Aryan answered, “Tumhare reaction ki wajah se. Tum mujh par tumhare liye kuch bhi karne par chad jaati ho.(Because of your reactions. You get on top of me whenever I do something for you.)”

Imlie was confused when she asked, “Matlab?(What do you mean?)”

Aryan, angered, replied, “Mere liye itna mehenga lehanga kyun khareeda? Babu Saheb ko bachane mein meri help kyun kar rahe ho? Yeh ghar kyun khareeda tumne, khareeda toh mere naam kyun kiya? Meri jaan kyun bachayi? Yeh sab tum hi puchti ho na. Aur waise bhi, maine yeh tumhare liye nahi kiya, tumhari Amma ke liye kiya.(Why did you buy me such an expensive designer dress? Why are you helping me save Babu Saheb? Why did you buy this house, and if you did, why did you buy it in my name? Why did you save me? You only ask these questions, right? And I did this for your Amma, not for you.)”

Imlie snorted, and asked, “Aur agar tum humri Amma ke khatir kachu bhi karat ho, toh kaa uu humre khatir naahi hua?(And if you do something for my Amma, does that mean you are not doing it for me?)”

Aryan snorted back, and answered, “Obviously. Tum toh unki koi baat sunti ho nahi. Maine socha main hi sun lu.(Obviously. You don't even listen to anything she says. I thought I’ll only listen.)”

Imlie scoffed, “Acha? Hum naahi sunat hai uuki baat? Tum kaunsa apan Amma ki baat sunat ho?(Oh? I don’t listen to my Amma? When do you listen to yours?)”

Aryan raised an eyebrow at her in question, “Kaunsi baat nahi sunni maine Maa ki?(What has Maa ever said that I haven’t listened?)”

Imlie grinned and replied, “Shaadi ki.(Getting married.)”

Aryan was stumped, does she always has to have the last word. He looked at her accusingly and began moving towards her room, presumably to call her Amma. Aryan looked on as she left.

And continued looking at least till she was out of sight.

Dev was fascinated. In one meeting he could judge the bond they had, with each other, and with the people that mattered the most to them. The way they were so comfortable teasing each other, and taking each other’s mother’s side, was clearly something he hadn’t seen before.

Moreover, he caught a glimpse of the Imlie that was before, before she came out as Aditya’s wife, before the family members tortured her, before his wife and his daughter destroyed her life.

Aryan turned to look at the father-daughter duo, recognising him in a minute.

He forwarded his hand and Dev took it immediately, almost as if he was hypnotised to.

Aryan shook his hand and said, “Aryan Singh Rathore.”

Dev, mirroring his action, replied, “Dev Chaturvedi.”

Aryan smirked then, “Oh I know. I just hope ki aap bhi apni wife aur apni beti ki tarah mera faltu mein time waste na kare.(Oh I know. I just hope that you are not like your wife and your daughter, wasting my time.)”

He smiled then, and Dev felt like he was being mocked.

He let go of the shake then and left the house.

Later Dev would come to know that the reason the cheque didn’t pass through was because Aryan Singh Rathore bought the house.

In Imlie’s name.

So this guy, Aryan, was Aryan Singh Rathore when he met him, stern, no nonsense businessman. But with Imlie, he was whatever he was just now, before she left. And Imlie, the girl hated him whenever she met him, turned to the kiddo Imlie he met a year back.

His artist mind immediately dissolved their names together, the way they were when they were together. How could a relationship without a label progress to something it was now? But Dev should know, after all, the relationships without labels were the one that went through trials, and when those trials ended, and the people in it had passed, it was the most beautiful relationship ever.

Aryan and Imlie were going through their trials, but he rooted for Aryan&Imlie.