Ch1: Choice
He did the right thing. So why did it feel like everything was wrong? He could hear himself telling her, there’s always a hard path and a wrong one. If he was taking the hard path by letting her go, then why did it feel wrong as well? He knew she would leave him, he always knew this day will come, when she walks away from him. Knew it from the moment he had seen her losing her mind over her babusahib going missing in Pagdandiya. He had realized no matter how much she kept telling herself she was risking it all for her Pagdandiya, her family, it was not all. Because there was only one man she would destroy herself for. And even if he thought it was undeserving and wasteful, it didn’t matter what he thought. She thought him deserving, she still loved Aditya Kumar Tripathi.
The sound of her walking away from him, the sound of bangles hitting the floor was like a prisoner taking off decades of shackles as they walked towards freedom. Had he trapped her like a prisoner? Would life with him be so miserable that she couldn’t even consider it an option of her free will? He closed his eyes as cacophony around him increased in crescendo. He tuned them all out, refusing to look back at her walking away from him. He focused only on the sound of the dropping bangles. He had a vision of him moving head long in dark tunnel with no end leaving the only source of light behind him. It looked familiar, unwelcome but familiar.
He was Aryan Singh Rathore. He cannot let the chaos swallow him. He had responsibilities. He had promised he will not let her destroy herself. So, forcing her hand was a mistake. Fine! He had fixed it, given her a choice along with a concession. Temporary respite for her precious Ex-Babusahib. Now, he needed to strategize on how to save this Gadhi from herself.
‘Focus on the possibilities now, Aryan!’ He told himself. Knowing her as he did. She will probably go straight to her Ex Babusahib like homing pigeon. He pushed away the burgeoning darkness that threatened to envelop him every time he thought of them together. ‘No! Focus on possibilities, probabilities, Aryan. He had his job back. No impending threat on his career- for now. So Imlie had no reason not to return to Bhaskar Times. Yes, he can take it from there. She just needs to be in office, he can take it from there. What if she doesn’t? Hmm! May be, he should put in some calls in the other media houses?’ He kept considering his options one by one. His mind going through each scenario. He will not let her fade away under Aditya Kumar Tripathi’s shadow. He will make sure that she doesn’t end up just a wife and daughter in law, wasting her potential as a slave. He will make Aditya pay. Aryan just needed a strategy.
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Meethi held her daughter’s shoulder trying to make her see the goodness in the man she had left at the altar. “He loves you, Gudiya. He will protect you. It takes a lot of courage for a man to follow a woman. I have seen him do it.” Meethi smiled at her stubborn girl, so young and so naïve,” He respects us, he is honorable. You must go back to him. He needs you, Gudiya. It is wrong for you to leave him like this. To shame him in front of society like this.”
“He is not honorable, Amma. I don’t even know what he is, anymore. Everything you and I know of him is fake. He is doing this for his revenge. He is using me. I am done being a pawn or target of anyone’s revenge. English madam and Malini didi broke my marriage for their revenge, Aditya Sir boke my faith in love for his revenge on me and ABP will...” She trailed away. She couldn’t tell anyone that her Boss babu, her ABP’s revenge will break her. How he became so important to her, she didn’t know but she knew that pain of Akkarbagga’s betrayal had hurt him worse than anything she had seen in the past one year. She had looked him in the eye and known, if she goes to him, he will hold everything she was in his palm, and he can squash her at his whim. She could not go back, not until her faith in him was restored. Until she knew that he was not a man blinded by revenge but just her ariyal, akkru, Mr. fast forward, ABP. Her best friend, partner and mentor.
Meethi frowned,” Aryan babu? What did he do? Gudiya!”
Imlie shook her head, “I can’t tell you, amma! But I will never go back to him.” Meethi swallowed the lump in her throat, “You will go back. You cannot humiliate him and his family like this. If you had issues with the wedding, you should have spoken earlier. This tamasha you have done is going to tarnish them.” Imlie held her mom’s hand,” I couldn’t speak out, amma. He would have hurt Aditya Sir if I had.” Meethi narrowed her eyes at Imlie, “Accha! The man who saved your precious Aditya Sir from Aatank, just because he wouldn’t leave you alone in danger? The man who gave him his job, his family their house and his mother her treatment would have hurt him? “ Imlie nodded, “He is manipulating everyone. He wants revenge.”
Meethi smiled a sad smile,” If you believe that, you will believe anything, Guriya. But enough about all this. You will go back now because I am telling you to. I am your mother; I demand you to go back and marry that man. You owe me your life, Imaliya. You must obey me.”
Imlie pulled her hands out of her mom’s reach,” Owe you? Are you trying to push me in a marriage I don’t want because you gave birth to me? How are you different from the villagers at Pagdandiya? How are you different from him? Amma?”
Meethi looked her in the eye, “If you think that, I cannot help it. You must do as I say because I have right on your life and your decisions.”
Imlie shook her head as voice echoed in her head, she could hear the words coming out of her mouth, but they were someone else’s,” We cannot control what others think, feel or how they react. We can only decide for us. You do have a right on me. But I have a right on me too. Boss babu gave me a choice. I choose ME! He wants me to choose ME! Sorry, Amma. But I am done making choices for others or letting fate or others choose for me. For once I will not let anyone make decision for me. Not you, fate or even Sita Maiyya. Aditya babu and his family is safe. I will fulfill my duties to you all my life. I will fulfill your dreams. I will stand with Kakima and Arpita Didi. But I will not choose a life I don’t want. Just to please anyone. I will not mortgage my life for my birth.”
Imlie opened the gate of the Tripathi mansion yet again and walked out in the night. And for the first time in more than a year, she felt lighter. She felt free. There were no expectations of her anymore, no questions raised, no answers needed. No one needed to be saved. No responsibilities. There was just her. Her shoulders straightened as burden was removed from her head. There was darkness and quiet all around, streets were empty. Yet she felt like she was following a bright light out of a tunnel.
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