TS - Of Choices and Decisions

Hello Everyone,

My name is Sia, an almost silent lurker of the forum😆
After 10 years, I've been enticed by a couple in ITV to actually start writing again. My muse has been in a
deep slumber these years and finally, Arylie were able to wake her up.😆
It's a two short with a premise that has been shown and discussed but just my take of it. It's been a roller coaster journey of emotions with this couple that were brimming so much that I wanted to let it all out.
Please do give a try and let me know your feedback. Happy reading!

Of Choices and Decisions

Part 1

For a minute, there was complete silence. And then the night air was pierced with shrill exclamations of what and why.

Satyakam and Meethi looked at each other in disbelief and turned to look at that one man who had suddenly tilted their world with mere words.

'Ae kuch mazaak hai kya?' exclaimed Satyakaam still not able to comprehend what was happening.

Meethi, startled herself and also concerned that Satyakam would explode any moment now, started to intervene, 'Ee kaa bolat ho, Aryan babu? Aap aisa kyu karna chahte hain? kuch hua kya? Imliya teek hain na?'

The said man, one Mr Aryan Singh Rathore had wanted to explain about the entire marriage fiasco to Imlie's Amma and Dadda. He believed they had the right to know the complete truth about it. He drove down with the sole motive of explaining and coming clear with them.

He had earlier spoken to Imlie's Amma and had checked with her if it was okay to meet her and Satyakam today at any cost and was apologetic that it would be quite late in the night for him to arrive in Pagdandiya. He had not explained much but let her know that there was something very important that he wanted to discuss with them and time was the priority.

There were a million thoughts that ran in Meethi's mind but she never imagined and expected it would be this.

Here, was this man whom Imlie spoke about regularly these days. Her boss babu.

This man whom Imlie complained frequently about but also spoke in high regard.

This man who had given wonderful opportunities for Imlie for her to further her career.

This man who had given a shelter to Imlie when nobody else had bothered to.

This main who followed her to Pagdandiya even with proverbial risk to his life to protect Imlie.

This man who was humble enough to proclaim he was not anyone's master but just the CEO and an employee like everyone else.

This man who believed no job was less than the other, despite being the owner of multiple companies as mentioned by Imlie.

This man who crossed words with Imlie but those words laced with concern.

This man in whose eyes she found some sort of understanding for her Imliya, some profound emotions she was not able to put a label on.

This man who had promised her to ensure Imliya takes care of herself.

Only thing she had not known was him to take his promise so seriously that inadvertently one day he would come up with the proposal of marriage.

Aryan braced himself to answer the onslaught of questions he could clearly see on their faces.

'I know it is sudden. I know it is completely random for you and you would have never even anticipated it but please hear me out before you decide what to do next. I have utmost respect for you and I want you to understand what I'm about to disclose next before you decide and choose. Until this morning I had no plans, no intention, no thought about marriage. None at all and not with Imlie in the slightest. But there have been so many things that have happened in the last few days that I've pushed myself onto this decision.'

He took a deep breathe before continuing, 'I've seen Imlie grow over the past few months. I've seen her hit the dumps, pick herself and move forward in life no matter how hard the circumstances have been. But amidst all this, I've observed that she somehow ends up never looking after herself. Her words and her actions are always paradoxical. I know that she is someone with extreme sympathy and empathy. She is always miles ahead when it comes to helping others. It's the same attitude of hers that has had her help my family. But what I see is that no one in her circle of apna actually think about her, like really look out for her. No disrespect to you both, but I think you hardly knew what was happening in these past few months. Imlie is not the one to pour out about her struggles even if she is being choked with it'.

'I've waited for years to take my revenge on one Mr Aditya Kumar Tripathi. My sister is a widow, my mother lost her son and I lost my support, my ground because of this man. My family was in shambles, my sister and I had witnessed the horror of seeing a loved one literally burn in front of our eyes. And it was all because of this guy. Being a journalist and a senior one at that, I do not think he ever realised the consequences of his words. Self obsessed with his own set of principles of being a true journalist, he never understood that words have power. Power that can make or break things. He never understood then and he has not understood until now.

That day I had vowed to take revenge, for all the ordeal my family had been through, for all the ordeals someone else out there might have had because of this reckless, thoughtless person. Pardon me if you think this is wrong, but such voices should not be the face of our society. Words have power and with that power comes some moral responsibility. I wanted to completely silence Mr Tripathi to never have him put anyone else in the hells of fire. For years, this has what driven me. I've passed many nights waiting and planning to do this and I achieved it, after enduring such anguish, sadness, pain and immense anger.'

'And in-between, my paths crossed with Imlie. I did not even know she was Mr Tripathi's wife until I saw that in a register. And then I saw her breaking down, her pain and her anguish and in her, I could see me. Both of us suffering all because of one man. I had to suddenly grow up, take responsibility and shoulder enough strength for my family to move forward. There are so many things that I lost due to the path I was suddenly thrusted into. And I recognized the same happening with Imlie. I didn't want her to end up being another Aryan Singh Rathore. I pushed her, strict and harsh, but I knew she had to overcome it herself and emerge out stronger. Not that she didn't on her own but she's a human and a young one at that, it must be really overwhelming for her that she falters. I have seen so many things happening with her that, at times, I cannot believe how much that 19 year old has suffered and sustained and yet continues on with life, ensuring others are happy.'

'She has been insulted way too many times by Malini and her mother, physically and mentally. She has been betrayed by her husband who did not even reciprocate the trust and respect. She was criticised, called a money digger, a mockery made of her affections while everyone around her mostly kept mum. Will you believe if I tell you that she is so emotionally abused and triggered that one day she pushed herself to eat chilies to prove herself for some nonsensical people?'

He gave a deep sigh, 'This does not even meet the tip of the iceberg on what's happened and what all she has lived through. She was roughly pushed by Malini and Mr Tripathi out of the house even though all she wanted was to help the said family and this was when she was given the golden opportunity to prove herself at work and she threw all of that to help these people and all in the name of family. She pleaded me to loan her 5 crores to help them with the money. Despite of it all, can you believe?. She is ready to pay back penny by penny even if at takes her all life and not a single time has she asked the money from the Tripathi family. Always relentlessly without any expectation and any sense for herself. On one hand, I cannot believe it but on the other that's what makes Imlie, Imlie right?.'

'In all this, I've supported her, ensured she focuses on her career, to not let anything hold her back. To be honest, I've been brutal with her, but I believe that success does not come easily and one needs to push oneself to achieve. And definitely not be held by emotional baggage. I can see her potential, she's made for bigger things. If honed correctly, she will soar in the skies. Her drive, her passion, her progress, it's being clipped every time she makes an emotional mess of herself. The nail in the coffin is that she keeps defending that man who made her life utter miserable. 4 years it took for my revenge and in one moment, she asked me to give up and was pleading for me to not have the family suffer.

I agree and it was never my intention to hurt the family. I do not believe that the sins of the son needs to be paid by the family but I wanted Mr Tripathi closed off from the field of journalism forever. No one has the right to play with lives like that, the people affected, the families destroyed, the mental agony of living it all, not everyone copes up and not everyone succeeds. And that said person is none the wiser and all the time proclaiming to be completely right. By hook or crook, I wanted him out and I did.'

'I was unswayable and in anger and disappointment, without any further thought, she left the house in the middle of night. No sense for self at all. She thinks she can handle everything that comes her way and I know she can but sometimes, one needs to pick their battles, not just throw themselves in the middle of it. She quit her job, fought with her colleagues, she's proclaiming to leave the pen and do domestic help. And for what and for whom? Can the Tripathi's not fend for themselves? She always reasons it as family and for family, one can do anything. But what she doesn't understand is that families are those that uplift you, not clip your wings. One cannot keep calling her the beti of house but yet abuse her goodness the way they do. Moreover Mr Tripathi is not a kid to be taken care of and there are enough adults in the house to take the family responsibility'.

His voice growing coarser, he growled out in frustration, 'Everyone needs to own up to their actions. And this girl thinks the world is on her shoulder and keeps sacrificing herself. My fear is that the path she is on, she will be completely ruined, all her potential in the drain. Your dreams for her will just remain dreams. She will not even realise when she had given up her aspirations and if at all on day she does realise, I'm afraid it will to be too late but yet that girl will shrug off as sacrifice for the family.

And this is what drove me to this decision. I've been a mentor and an employer, I've been her friend as she sees it, but she just doesn't listen. Selectively takes things and conveniently forgoes things in the name of apna. She needs to break that pattern and for once in her life, needs to start looking out for herself.

I gave her the choice to drop all charges against Mr Tripathi if she would marry me. I gave her the option to choose, please do trust me on that. But knowing Imlie, I was sure she would still go ahead with the marriage option but not give up the necessity to unnecessarily shoulder the burden of ungrateful people. It still angers me that not even for a moment she thought about herself, how it would affect her life ahead, gadhi.'

'I know I do not have any right to interfere in her personal life. When I came up with the proposal to marry in return to drop the charges, she came up with the idea of a farced marriage with no blessings from her Sita Maiyya but not even for a moment, she thought she had an option to say no.

It could be fake marriage, compromised marriage but for me, marriage is marriage. It will be real in all ways possible. I'm not someone to flip and I honour the institution of marriage. All I want to do is to help her grow, explore her potential, achieve her dreams, your dreams and if marriage is what it takes to have some rights in the decisioning and stop her from making these blunders, then so it be. I'm scared she will emotionally burn herself and no one can help her. Her entire life will be in this cycle of servitude and helplessness.'

'I did drop the charges after she agreed. My years of revenge and the emotional turmoil I gave up only because I did not want another Arvind suffering due to Mr Tripathi, another Aryan turning into Aryan Singh Rathore. Alas, as I expected, when we disclosed to that family, Mr Tripathi wanted proof. And again to be honest, I was really smug since I had judged the man correctly and he was behaving exactly as I expected him to and in glee, I pushed for a real wedding.

And that's the reason why I'm here. You are her parents. Real or not, forced or not, compromised or not, you are her parents and you have every right to know about this.'

And then there was silence again. Aryan caught himself pondering yet again how much Imlie was affecting him, how deeply she had integrated into his life. It was way past midnight. With so much out in the open, Satyakam and Meethi were shocked to say the least.

They were appalled, aghast and almost in disbelief if this is what their daughter was going through. There were tears streaming down Meethi's face. Her daughter had gone through so much and yet she was oblivious to it. She knew things were bad but she had not expected it to be this worse. She had this inane, frantic rush to run to her Imliya and hold her in the cocoon of her arms to never let her go for the world to hurt her further. Satyakam just wanted to set everything ablaze, such was his anger of failing his daughter. In that moment, he loathed himself as a father. His bitiya was brave, she was courageous but she was a 19 year old who was brutally forced to face the cruel of the society. Damn myself, he thought.

Part 2 - Below

Part 2

And now there was this man whom he had heard about a little from Imliya and mostly from Meethi. He was already pondering over the nature of this man once he came back to Pagdandiya and Meethi had recalled about it all. His complete lack of faith in all sehri babus established with Dev babu and Aditya babu, he was thinking about it that this happened.

'So you've come to tell us your decision', he gruffed out, his face set with grim lines of simmering anger.

'No, not at all, sorry if this is how it came across. You are her parents and you have all rights to decide for her. I'm requesting you to give me a chance. I believe there is an always an option, there is always another way. For me, regardless of my revenge, my tiff with Mr Tripathi, Imlie does not need to be on the crosslines. But the way it has enfolded, she assumes I'm using her as the pawn in this entire thing, which is definitely not so. Even if I explain her to her, she is now not in a position to comprehend anything.

As parents you can guide her, forcefully if required, explain her that she needs to first fend for herself. That certain people are not worth it. There are so many ways for her to come out of this emotional parasitical attachment but either she needs to realize it or someone forces it upon on her for her own good until she understands. You can as well move her to a new city, make her meet new people, anything and everything that allows her to move on. I see two options here - either as parents you help her to do it or with the rights from this marriage, I will be that fence that reins her in from all this and pushes her to her right path.'

'Knowing Imlie, the state she is in right now, she will not budge at all, not to you, not to me. Her emotional understanding is that the Tripathi family is everything. She believes that they are the first family to care for her, give respect. What she doesn't understand is that is what civilized people do. It need not turn into eternal gratitude and obligation.

After the charges were dropped and yet, when I goaded her into a real marriage, she still did not back pedal. It does show her integrity but also her foolishness to not even think otherwise. There is nothing but hell on this path for her, but gadhi kahin ki, she neither thinks about herself nor about her parents, she is so blindfolded. All I want her is to stop being a nanny for the Tripathi family, not at their beck and call for every small reason all the while ignoring her own necessities and struggles. If it takes this marriage to break this, so be it. You want to do something alternative to achieve it, please do.'

'If it is of any solace, please be assured that as my family and the member of my family, she will have complete support from all of us. My mother and sister already adore her and consider her to be their own and nothing would make them more happier than helping and seeing Imlie soar high. My mother and my sister are the ones who have taught me on how to treat a woman - with dignity and respect.

My mother supported my father and after he passed away, single handedly brought us up. My sister after losing her husband has managed to move ahead in life. They are my strength and they will be for Imlie as well. I have seen my father and brother in law and I believe they are the best examples of how a partner, a husband, a father needs to be. Believe me please when I say that in this marriage, she will get everything she deserves and more.'

'Trust, Respect..' and after a pause he softly added, 'Love.'

'I trust her with my life, with my family and that itself speaks volumes. I have been scarred enough to not trust anyone with my family for years and yet she's here, gained it all just in a span of few months. I trust and believe her with everything apart from trusting in her in taking care of herself. She has all my respect as well. She's a survivor, a phoenix rising from ashes every time. She is my inspiration if I have to be completely true. I promise that she will be safe and secure for what everything she needs in life and anything she wants to. My support, my family's, she'll have it all.'

'For me, the marriage will be real. But it depends on Imlie on how she wants to take it forward. She's had a horrible first marriage and regardless, I will never force a woman to abide by anything in a marriage that she is not comfortable with. Imlie might hate me now, she might have as well lost her respect for me, but I did promise her that I would be her 50-50 partner. And I'm sure one day, she'll come to understand. And if then she wants to give this marriage a real shot, no one would be more glad than me.'

'But if at all we were arrive to that stage, she would have my heart as well. It wouldn't be too difficult to fall in love with her.' he gently added and swallowed, his heart almost skipping a beat.

Clearing his throat, he continued further, 'I did not disclose any of this to my family not because it is something to be hidden, but I do not want them to be awkward around Imlie. They wouldn't know how to deal with a bahu who is not a bahu and who currently hates their son/brother. My reason for letting you know is because not only do you deserve to know considering all that has happened in the past and you have all the rights to look out for your daughter and mainly, no one else has the right to take that away from you. Not me, not anyone, not Imlie herself. I leave it up to you to decide.'

Satyakam looked at this young guy thinking ahead so much for his Imliya. Not even Imliya's mother and he had thought so much about it. This guy was voicing out everything he wanted for his gudiya. But above all, he was able to see himself in this young guy. A reflection of his younger self. The trust and respect reflected in his words for Imlie was the same he has for Imliya's mother.

For him, it had not depended on any formal relationship with Meethi, but she had all of it even without it.

And when Aryan babu spoke about love, Satyakam noticed his eyes light up with warmth, shining with deep emotions.

This person didn't even realise that he was already in love with his Imliya or he didn't want to accept to himself since it would change everything for him.

He could understand the young guy's dilemma behind it, accepting would open up so many things for him with no point of return.

His yearn to make everything better for her reminded him of his own to do the same for Meethi.

But he did not want this guy to wait like him for eternity.

He did not want this guy to have to wait on sidelines to see the woman he loved fall and not able to help for the lack of rights.

He did not want this guy to be another Satyakam to lose out time in life, especially when there was a way to avoid it.

He wanted this guy to have it all, a life to cherish with the woman he loved beyond everything. Not just anyone would forgo one's pain and anger for another.

This young guy was sincere in his request and he had the grit and determination to help Imliya no matter what as explained by Meethi when discussing about the aatank attack in Pagdandiya.

He wanted to give this guy a chance, he wanted Aryan babu to have this chance in his life.

He looked at Meethi. Aryan observed them having a silent conversation, a conversation through eyes that seemed to communicate all. A deep sense of understanding just like his parents had, like his sister and jiju had. He turned around to give them some privacy and looked through the window where he could see the night sky almost starting to recede.

'Hamari gudiya, hamari sab kuch hai Aryan babu. Jaise apne kaha, woh bahut seh chuki hai. Seher mein usko aansoo aur dukh ke siva kuch nahi mila. Shaadi hua to aise insaan se hua jisko na uski kadr tha na lihaaz. Humri bas chale toh ham apan gudiya ko wapas eeha le aayenge but aapne sahi kaha. She's made for bigger things, she needs to be there for her to fulfill her dreams. She's there to fly to the sky and I barely console myself saying that these are her steeping stones to success. My bitiya is being honed like a diamond in the fire by Sita Maiyya and I hope this decision of mine will only prove to be for her good.

You have my blessings Aryan babu for this marriage. Keep up to the promise of being her true partner but this time I get to know my Imliya is being hurt, be assured, that no power, no jail, no authority will stop me from hounding you and set you ablaze and chase you to the paths of hell. But for some reason, I trust you and I hope you do not break this trust. I will still leave the ultimate decision to Imliya's Amma, if anyone has the right to decide for her, it is her only.'

'Hum Satyaam ki baaton se sehmat hai. I know my bitiya is strong and she can survive all odds, but you are right, she falters and stumbles and gives in too deeply to emotions that are neither respected nor deserved. I have seen what you have done for Imliya before, I have seen your support and care, I have seen you stand up for her and this is the only thing that is making me give consent for this. But be prepared, Aryan babu, it will not be easy. You have seen her stubbornness and you have seen her determination to cater to Tripathi's at all cost. It is not easy to remove that habit provided that she has the streak of sympathy in every fiber of her self. She will give you a very tough time and I'm concerned that it will break you, no matter how much patience and determination you have.'

Nodding absently, other thoughts slowly starting to take over his mind, he spoke out softly, 'I've anticipated this from the moment I suggested it. But if it is what it takes, I do not worry for myself. I have seen pain, I have broken down and I have built myself again. If she dishes me hate, it's fine. I can handle her hate for eternity if that is what will propel her to grow and succeed for herself. If not for anything else, if she wants to get herself out of this marriage and me, she will learn to push herself and grow so much that she will not need me at all. And even then, I will give her the option to let go and soar high and never tie her to myself.'

He suddenly turned around, cleared his throat again and put up his shades. For some reason, this was tearing him up. For a moment, he imagined what would happen to him if she let go of him to never cross paths in his life again. His heart constricted and for a minute, he thought he lost his breath.

He cleared his thoughts not to deter from the path he had already set on. Aryan Singh Rathore would not give in to such thoughts and emotions, he had a plan and it was going to start right away, now that he had the consent from her parents.

Aryan finally noticed them standing now, observing him. He finally added, 'Your approval is all that I wanted. I know that if my parents were in the position, they would have expected the same. I really appreciate the chance you are giving me and I promise again like I promised before. I will always ensure she takes care of herself. Her ground will always be there for her if she were to ever fall. Her partner for always as long as she needs it and until when she wants it.'

'It's been quite long and I see dawn coming up. I need to start back as there are a lot of things to be done now. I'm sure Imlie will reach out to you today. I will send out cars for you to reach our home with ease and save time. I believe she will really need you both there to gather her strength to go forward with this. With Imlie, I'm very sure she will come up with some nautanki to try get herself out of this but for the wrong reason', he added ruefully.

'I will take your leave now and see you later. Please do not hesitate to call me incase of anything.'

They watched him stand still for a minute and then were totally taken aback when he bent down to gather their blessings and slowly spoke out, 'As Imlie says, baake sab Sita Maiyya sambhalees.'

They looked on as he zipped his jacket on and move out into the dark. There was a distant sound of a car starting up and then silence descended again.

Meethi mused, 'I really hope this is the dawn of new, happy beginnings for both of them. I see Aryan babu with his own pain and heartbreak and yet, he's there to give it all up for Imliya. I think he is Sita Maiyya's blessings for our bitiya, he will be the panacea to all her wounds even though it will take a long time for our bitiya to realise it.'

Satyakam nodded and thought to himself, he knew his bitiya, he knew there were tough times ahead for Aryan babu. He only hoped that she did not break his heart in this process. Above all, he wanted his Imliya to give this man a chance like her mother gave him. It was all that mattered at the end of the day. He hoped until then Aryan's babu love and persistence was enough for both of them.

--FIN--

If you've finally managed to complete reading this long one, thank you 🤗

And it's not completely proof-read, so apologies for any mistakes.