FF: Rishtey(MP-NA)- new prt updtd 12/25 new thread - Page 134

Originally posted by: jdots

missed your updates really bad till now...GR8 PARTS....

Originally posted by: tweety_me14

JC im terribly sorry for posting so late...and i am so terribly sorry for not replying till now. had net problems for almost a week and didn't get much time to be on the forum too... its ok hun. I am just glad that you guys do whenever you get the time. The last two parts were simply amazing! Loved the bit when Milind was staring at Prachi's photographs...! Seemed sooo cute! And the fact that he realised that she was about to touch him was also really really cute! well i was giving some respite because now Michi need to be away from each other for some time...and i know you ppl will hate that. But its all for good so hope you'll enjoy that too. So now Prachi knows that Milind loved Anjali? ANd she's feeling guilty about it?? Hope she doesn't do anything stupid umm...well...you'll c what she does and doesn't do ..Please, clear their misunderstandings soon JC! Pllleeeaaasseee...!!! 😳 i'd like to hun..lekin likhne ka mauka nahi mil raha.
Loved the bit on Alaap and Sukriti too...!
Waiting for the next update!! 😊 I won't promise when but i am trying to write it.

Originally posted by: wande

JC please update Rishtey I beg u my darling,it's weekend and I have nothing good going on for me apart from reading all of my lovely FF which by the way urs is one of them😃 😃so please update pretty please😳 😛 😉

Originally posted by: jinc118

THanx Wandu for the reminder..not that i need it. But sorry to say hun the update wont' come this weekend. I have assignments to finish and an exam on Tuesday to prepare for. I know you guys must be tired of my excuses with exams ...but I have one every other week...kya karein. I taking some intensive classes over the summer. It'll be over by August 7th...phir i have two weeks of complete freedom...but i am being fried till then. Can't even take a breather hun. But i'll try my best to update next week.

Originally posted by: michi12

hey!! i am a silent reader of your FF, but have been eagerly waiting for the story to unfold :) please update when ever you find the time.. plz plz plz :)

Originally posted by: jinc118

Thankyou its very sweet of you to comment. I know its very bad of me to promise to update the next day and not do it for weeks...but just got caught up in things. I've decided to give it a rest till my summer classes are over (On August 6th)...because i don't want to rush through the chapters. So another two-three weeks...then i'll update regularly, every week.

~~~~~~~~PART III~~~~~~~~~

It had been a few weeks since Milind had brought Sukriti back from Delhi. Sukriti was very upset with the fact that she was missing her classes but Milind didn't pay much heed to it. He was more concerned with Alaap's intentions regarding his sister. There was no way he would allow him to play with his sister's life again. Before leaving Delhi, Milind had hired someone to keep an eye on Alaap. Maybe he was overreacting. But he was still watching the consequences of his carelessness regarding his sister and he wasn't about to make the same mistake twice. Sukriti would understand him, he had thought. As the weeks passed, Milind realized that he wasn't wrong about Alaap. Alaap was still the same irresponsible idiot that he used to be. His business was incurring loss after loss and the guy was least bit bothered. He was ruining his father's business. But Milind didn't care. It was his property and if he wanted to waste it…his choice. However, Sukriti was Milind's responsibility and he would never hand her over to Alaap.

It was then that Milind decided to search for a suitable husband for Sukriti. If Sukriti was ready to get married, then as a brother it was his duty to get her married, but not to someone like Alaap. He would find the right guy for her…and Prachi would help him. She had promised. However, when Milind brought up the topic to Prachi, he was surprised and a bit irked that she supported Sukriti's decision and instead was trying to convince him that maybe her brother deserved a chance. What was wrong with her? How could she expect him to forgive Alaap and forget all that had transpired. How did she expect him to forget that Sukriti had tried to kill herself over her brother. How could he forget that his father was taken from him due to Alaap's sins. How did she even think that she could convince him. And more than Prachi, he was angry with Sukriti for having forgiven Alaap after all he did.

Realizing that Milind was now trying to look for a suitable groom for her, Sukriti had come to him to share her concern. She was under the impression that no respectable family would want a daughter-in-law with the kind of history she had. She not only had an illegitimate child, but had spent the past 5 years in a mental asylum and the stigma attached to a person like that would prevent any family from wanting her as a bride. This was the reason she had opted to give Alaap a chance when he had expressed his desire to have a family with her. She felt that it was the only option for her son to have a father in his life. Milind understood Sukriti's concern and realized that it wasn't misplaced. It would be hard to find a suitable match for Sukriti but that didn't mean she had to settle for someone who didn't deserve her. Somehow Milind felt better after knowing that Sukriti wasn't harboring feelings for Alaap. She had thought of marrying him only because she wanted Ritwik to have a father. If this was her concern then Milind would spare no effort in giving her the kind of life she wanted for herself and Ritwik. His money would easily attract an alliance for Sukriti. But he wanted her to be with someone who would understand how precious she is and would care for her more than he did. Someone who would look beyond the mistakes she had made. How was he to find a guy like that?

While Milind was thinking of where to find the best groom for his sister, Prachi was concerned for Ritwik's future. She was uncertain whether Milind would ever agree to a relationship between Sukriti and Alaap. And Prachi didn't know how to convince Milind or whether she herself believed Alaap to have changed. She wished she could talk to Alaap in person but he was busy with some problems in his company and wasn't going to be able to come right away. But regardless of what happened with Sukriti and Alaap, Ritwik needed to understand that Sukriti is his mother and he needed to get used to the idea that Prachi would not be with him all the time. Prachi was doing everything she could to subtly introduce the idea to Ritwik. She convinced him first to start referring to Sukriti as "ma" and though he listened to her request, it was merely a word for him that didn't necessarily mean that Prachi's place in his life was being given to Sukriti. She tried explaining still that Sukriti is his mother and she would take care of him just like Prachi did. However, Ritwik was concerned about why Prachi was talking of leaving him. He didn't' understand what he did to upset her so much so that she was going away. He tried his best to be a good boy. He ate everything that she put on his plate, he even drank his milk without making any fuss. He would be nice to the kids in school and he would come home and show Prachi the number of stars he got from his teacher. But none of it made her happy. She smiled but she seemed sad still and he just couldn't understand why she wanted to leave him. He wouldn't let her…he would go with her wherever she went. Prachi understood the state Ritwik was in. But she had to detach herself. Now was as good a time as any. The more she delayed it, the harder things would get. Prachi was determined to end things definitively and exit from both Milind and Ritwik's life. But she wasn't aware just how complicated things were about to get for her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a particularly busy day for Milind and he came home really late that night. Asha tai had waited up for him and though he didn't want Prachi to be awake too, he was slightly disappointed when Asha tai told him she was already asleep. He realized he had come to expect her to wait up for him. He didn't feel like having dinner and so he went straight up to his room. Prachi was sleeping on the sofa. He was too tired to even remove his clothes and crashed on the bed. He was sure to sleep deep tonight but unfortunately Prachi was raided by nightmares. She woke up in the middle of the night screaming for Ritwik, and Milind too woke up alarmed. Before he could even realize that Prachi had a bad dream he saw Prachi charging out of their room and he followed her, concerned. She went straight to Sukriti's room and turned on the light waking up Sukriti. Milind followed her inside asking what was wrong but she answered neither Milind nor Sukriti. She merely got on the bed and hugged and kissed a sleeping Ritwik. She was acting hysterical and Milind tried to prevent her from waking up Ritwik. If the boy woke up and saw Prachi crying he'd surely be disturbed. But Prachi would not put Ritwik down and she hugged him closer to her and Ritwik put his arms around her neck in his sleep. Prachi then left the room without saying anything.

Milind placed a reassuring hand on Sukriti's shoulder who was utterly confused by Prachi's actions and said "Shayad bura sapna dekha hoga. Tum so jaao, mein sambhaal loonga Prachi ko." With that he left Sukriti and when he came back to their room, he saw Prachi sitting on the sofa, still holding Ritwik and rocking her body back and forth. Milind turned on the light and came near her and sitting on his knees he put his hands through Ritwik's hair. "He is fine, Prachi" Milind reassured her. "Kuch nahi hua hai Ritwik ko." He repeated when she didn't respond. She simply turned her body away from him and continued to rock. "Prachi you just had a dream. Nothing will happen to him." he said softly but Prachi was in a world of her own. Milind sighed and tried one more time "Tum kab tak yun baithi rahogi. Aao tum so jaao" he said motioning towards the bed. "Mujhe neend nahi aayegi Milind. Tum so jaao" She said without even looking at him. Milind thought it strange that a dream was effecting Prachi in such a manner. He wanted to ask what she was so scared of…she had had such a dream before too, he remembered. "Prachi tum mujhe batao toh sahi. Tumhe kis baat se itna darr lagta hai." he tried to share her concern. "Leave me alone Milind", she said curtly and Milind was taken aback by her display of anger. What was her problem? But he reasoned that her anger was not directed at him. She was very much disturbed and maybe it was better not to probe. He left the room but not before glancing back at Prachi who was still holding a sleeping Ritwik in her hands and he thought he heard a sob escape her lips before he closed the door. He wished she would share her problems with him. Maybe he could ease her mind. But lately she had been acting strange. She wasn't herself. It seemed to him that she was avoiding him, answering in a few words when he would ask her something. The smile that he used to see on her face when talking to Ritwik, was replaced by something else…a sadness that he didn't understand. Was it her grief in letting go of Ritwik? Yes that's probably what it was. Now that Sukriti was back and Ritwik's separation from her became more of a reality…her behavior was probably her inability to compromise with the situation. But what could he do for her? He couldn't ask either women to let go of their claim on Ritwik. One of them had to be hurt and which one would it be…his sister, who had made her son the sole purpose of living or Prachi, who probably wouldn't live without Ritwik. Though his thoughts troubled him, his body demanded to be rested and he fell asleep in the living room.

The next morning when Milind came for breakfast, Prachi was missing. That's when he realized that he had gotten used to her serving breakfast for him every morning. Asha tai told him that she was in the pooja room and had been praying unusually long today. After breakfast Milind made his way to the pooja room and found Prachi sitting there with folded hands intently meditating. He didn't disturb her but instead felt an urge to pray himself. Though he felt awkward, as he hardly had prayed ever in his life, he wanted to say a prayer today for his sister. Maybe a little faith is what was lacking in his life…and if God would be graceful enough to grant his sister a happy life, he would surely be convinced of the necessity of prayer. Then he said a prayer for Prachi. He prayed that she would stop getting the kind of nightmares that gave both of them sleepless nights. He wished he could demand from her to share her problems but he didn't know if he had the right to do so…would she ever allow him to share her burden. Hadn't he shared his concerns over his sister with her and she had been there for him, to give him hope. Shouldn't he do the same for her, but she was so reluctant to let him in. He realized that she held back a lot. Whatever he knew about her was from observation, and at times she would have emotions on her face that he couldn't read. She wasn't like Sukriti who was like an open book for Milind. Prachi was more like a mystery that kept him intrigued and confused and sometimes frustrated…yet he found himself falling more and more in love with her everyday. When Milind finished his prayer, Prachi was still sitting in the same position. She hadn't realized that Milind had been standing behind her, so he left quietly hoping that his prayers were heard.

When Milind arrived at work that day he encountered a package that was marked confidential. His trusted secretary had handed him the package and he realized that it was from Delhi. It was from the private detective that he had hired to follow Alaap's activities. Inside the package was a recorded video tape with a letter that stated which clips of the video would be of special interest to Milind. When Milind played the tape he realized that the detective had followed Alaap for an entire day. There was a part where Alaap was having a press meet about a scandal his advertising firm was apparently mishandling. Then there was an exclusive shot of Alaap getting into a brawl with a union worker who threatened him of dire consequences. And then finally Milind got to the portion that the detective wanted him to watch. Alaap was at a high-society gathering. Milind recognized a few prominent figures of Delhi that had been caught in the video. But the camera soon focused on Alaap's circle of friends who were youngsters like him, possibly children of politicians and business tycoons. The conversation wasn't too clear but Milind could make out that a girl was teasing Alaap of his sudden interest in marriage.

girl: "Alaap so is it true, sunaa hai tum shaadi kar rahe ho?"
Alaap: "Tumhe yeh sab kisne kaha?" Alaap asked naively looking at his friend who was standing next to him who then looked away guiltily.
The girl just laughed. Then coming closer she lifted her finger up and it followed Alaap's jawline, "Sudharne ki itni bhi kya jaldi hai Alaap" she said in what she deemed to be a sexy voice. Alaap merely looked annoyed. But his friend cut in "Don't blame him Tanya. Mumbai gaya tha toh achcha bhala tha…jaane iski behen ne isse kya patti pada di jabse lauta hai bilkul achcha bachcha ban gaya hai. Afterall apni ex-girlfriend ko dobaara impress jo karna tha. Yeh toh shaadi bhi apni Prachi di ke liye kar raha hai, right Alaap?" his friend patted his back in mock appreciation and Alaap shot him and angry look and walked away. He wasn't in a mood for this crap.

But Milind who was watching the video had no clue what Alaap had been thinking or what his situation was. He only understood what he heard and what he saw…and that was that Prachi had put him up to this. Alaap was still at his deception…and this time he had Prachi's support. No, this can't be true. Milind's heart refused to believe what his mind was telling him. She can't be like that. Surely what he heard and what he deduced was not right. She cared about Sukriti didn't she. She wanted Sukriti to be happy right? But then, why did she try to convince him to forgive Alaap. Why would Prachi convince Alaap to marry Sukriti? What was the need? Then it hit him and no matter how much he tried to deny the possibility it seemed futile as it sunk into him that Prachi may have done this for Ritwik. Was this the solution she had found? Had she duped Sukriti into believing that Alaap had changed so that after Alaap and Sukriti got married, she too could stay with Ritwik. She was the one who had convinced him to send Sukriti to Delhi even after knowing that Sukriti was trying to get away from memories of Alaap. She had found a home for Sukriti in Delhi, a home that was easily accessible to Alaap. It all made too much bloody sense but it was such a bitter truth for Milind that he just didn't want to accept it. In some corner of his heart…the corner that had really wished for a life with Prachi…kept telling him that he was wrong. Finally giving into the weakness of his heart he decided to confront Prachi and ask for an explanation from her. However, his mind was already made up as to what he would do if she confirmed his theories.

~~~~~~~~PART IV~~~~~~~~~

This part got unexpectedly long. That's why it took longer to update.

Unable to think about anything other than the presumed betrayal by Prachi, Milind came home early that day. He had tried very hard not to be judgmental…but everytime he thought of his sister, the anger would just boil up again. He would again and again be reminded that Prachi was after all Alaap's sister and she could very well be just as selfish and arrogant as her brother and father. But hadn't he seen a different side of her. Had all of it been a farce. Was it all a drama to get him to soften towards Alaap…so that she could have her wish.

Milind came home, though, to an empty mansion. The servants told him that the three ladies of the house had gone shopping. He waited impatiently. And when they arrived Sukriti ran to him with a smile and hugged him. "Bhaiya, aap jaldi aa gaye" she asked surprised. He smiled at his sister and asked, "Haan voh tabiyat kuch theek nahi thi. Lekin tu itni khush kyun lag rahi hai aaj" he asked when Sukriti looked concerned for his health. "Obviously bhaiya…shopping kar ke joh aa rahi hoon" she laughed and Milind smiled back and shot a look at Prachi who was obliviously moving about. "Bhaiya aapko yaad dilaana tha…kal aap office jaane se pehle mujhse milna mat bhoolna". Surkiti broke through Milind's thoughts. "Kyun?" he asked preoccupied. Sukriti turned to Prachi and complained, "Dekha bhabhi meine kaha tha na bhaiya ko kuch yaad nahi rahega…tab aapne hi kaha tha ki bhaiya mujhse kitna pyar karte hain, aur yeh din bhool hi nahi sakte…ab dekha…" Prachi gave a faint smile at Milind's confused face. "Kal Rakshabandhan hai" she informed him and Milind felt foolish to have forgotten. But soon he was reminded again of the conspiracy Prachi and Alaap were weaving around his sister and suddenly the day of rakshabandhan took a new meaning for him. He would protect his sister. He wouldn't let anyone trick her. But he was going to wait till the next day. He wanted to enjoy the happiness of the festival tomorrow with his sister before he confronted Prachi. Sukriti showed him the rakhi she had gotten. Then she showed him two more and he asked why she had three. "Voh bhaiya, ek aapke liye, ek Akaash bhaiya ke liye, aur ek Robbie bhaiya ke liye" she replied sweetly. "Akaash bhaiya toh bilkul aapki tarah hain. Mera kitna khayal rakha tha unhone. Aur Robbie…aapko yaad hai us din photo dikhayi thi meine…rockstar…voh aur Akaash bhaiya toh ek parivaar jaise hain. Unhe bhi rakhi baandhne vaala koi nahi hai…toh maine socha iss saal un dono ke liye mein rakhi bhej doon…achchi hai na?" she asked showing it to him again. Milind nodded thinking how innocent his sister was. She gave away her love so genuinely…and those around her only took advantage of her innocence. Afraid that he might break his vow to not discuss the matter with Prachi today, he excused himself.

That night when Prachi was about to put Ritwik to sleep in Sukriti's room, Milind stopped her. "Jab raat ko sabko jagaakar usse vaapas laana hi hai toh vahaan sulaane ki koi zaroorat nahi hai." he said. And Prachi looked on as he walked out of the room and she realized there was something bothering him. Maybe he was hurt by the way she had behaved yesterday. But she wasn't about to apologize to him. If he was angry, it would only make things better for her. She took Ritwik to Sukriti's room anyway and this time she left him there without waiting for him to fall asleep, assuring Sukriti that she wouldn't barge in tonight.

Sukriti prepared Ritwik for bed and joined him while he looked up at her with his big brown eyes clouded with hurt and fear. "Mummy naraaz hai" he said in his small voice. "Nahi toh..mein kahaan aapse naraaz hoon" Sukriti replied, opening his story book. "Nai..MERI mummy naraaz hai" he stressed again and Sukriti couldn't help feeling hurt.
Sukriti: "Nahi beta…aapki mummy aapse naraaz kyun hongi?"
Ritwik: "phir chali kyun gayi. Munna toh soya nahi"
Sukriti: "Voh…shayad aapki mummy bohot thak gayi thi na isliye. Koi baat nahi. Aaj munna ko yeh vali mummy sula degi" she said indicating herself.
Ritwik didn't say anything further and hugged his stuffed animal closer as he tried not to think about why his mother was ignoring him. Sometime later when Prachi peeked into Sukriti's room to make sure he was asleep, she was satisfied to see Sukriti carrying Ritwik and telling him a story. Prachi sighed. She was afraid he wouldn't sleep without her…but he had to get used to it. And it seemed that he had made some connection with Sukriti, so she let them be. He would fall asleep when he gets tired, she told herself and went back to her empty room. She had prayed for hours today and she felt a little at peace. She hoped to have a dreamless sleep tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning after having celebrated rakshabandhan in a simple way, Sukriti got Ritwik ready for school. Prachi had told her to drop him off today and Sukriti understood that Prachi was slowly helping Ritwik transition and she couldn't be more thankful to Prachi, though in some corner of her heart she felt guilty because she knew very well what Ritwik meant to Prachi. But Ritwik was the reason she had given up the thoughts of ending her life. He was the reason she wanted to live and had dared to dream of a future again. Surely Prachi understood that. Besides Prachi would get to be part of Ritwik's life as his 'maami', so it wasn't entirely a bad situation.

Prachi watched as Ritwik left and turned her attention to Milind. She was concerned about his health. He had come home early yesterday and he hadn't gone to work today. But she didn't want to show her concern. While working in the kitchen, she contemplated asking Asha tai, but she knew how Asha tai was going to reply. Finally she decided to go and ask herself. Prachi went to the study and found him resting his head on the back of his chair. Some files were scattered on the table and it looked like he wasn't able to work. "Milind, do you want some tea?" Prachi asked after she knocked on the door. Milind opened his eyes immediately hearing her voice but just stared at her and Prachi started to feel uncomfortable with his silence. "If you still have the headache from yesterday…", Prachi's voice trailed off. Milind had got up from his chair and strode towards the door quickly. And handed a video tape to Prachi while she looked at him confused. "What is this?" she asked. "WHAT is this?" he asked her in return. "You tell me." With that he grabbed her hand and almost dragged her to the living room and asked her to play the tape. She looked on still confused and wondering why he was angry. What was in this tape? She played it and was first shocked and then again confused. Milind took the remote from her and fast forwarded to the part where Alaap was at the party and watching it, Prachi just gaped. What was going on? But before she could wonder about any of it, Milind had asked, "Iska kya matlab hai Prachi" and she looked at him with a blank expression. She didn't know what that meant. Her silent stare angered him even more.

Milind: "Sach sach bataao Prachi. Kya tum..tum ab tak mere aur Sukriti ke saamne naatak kar rahi thi?"
Prachi: "Milind what are you saying" she still wasn't sure what he was accusing her of.
Milind: "Tum chahti thi na ki Sukriti kisi aur se nahi balki Alaap se shaadi kare, taki Ritwik hamesha tumhaare paas rahe. Yahi chahti thi na tum…shuru se."
Prachi just stared.
"Tum Sukriti ke baare mein sochne ka sirf dhong kar rahi thi, right? Kyun parvah hogi tumhe uski. Tumhe sirf apni baat manvaani thi. Isliye mujhse bhi…" he stopped unable to complete his sentence. It was too heartbreaking for him to have to accuse her like this. But why was she not defending herself. Why did she not refute what he was saying.
"Tumne apni khushiyon ke liye phir se meri behen ki zindagi daav pe laga di Prachi? Dobaara usse apne nalayak bhai se shaadi karne ke liye uksaaya. Aur yeh sab kitni chalaaki se kiya tumne…kisiko toh shak bhi nahi hota. Haina?" he asked again praying desperately in his heart that she would stand up any moment and tell him to shut up. That she would say he was wrong about everything he had just said. "Aur kaise insaan se shaadi karvana chahti thi tum Sukriti ki. Shaadi ke baad iske yehi lakshan rahe toh kya hoga meri behen ka…socha bhi nahi tumne. Yeh mol lagaaogi tum apni mamta ka? Meri behen ki zindagi, uski khushiya chahiye tumhe badle mein un paanch saal ke jo tumne Ritwik ko diye hain?"

Prachi was staring at the floor and all he wanted to do was grab her and shake her into speaking…something, anything…but she sat there mute. He didn't know what to do. She wasn't telling him what he wanted to hear…that what he was assuming was wrong. He turned away frustrated and ran his hand through his hair. Then finally he told her, "Hamaari shaadi ek naatak sahi lekin apni lagne lagi thi tum. But you never cared. You only thought about yourself and I was wrong in trusting you. You are no better than your…" and he stopped when he saw Sukriti standing in front of him. She was looking at the two of them in shock. "Sukriti.." he said and Prachi looked up hearing the name. Sukriti saw Prachi get up and advance towards her but she couldn't deal with this…she ran upstairs to her room and closed the door but she couldn't stop the tears. What had she just heard? They weren't married? They pretending? And Prachi was scheming against her. Alaap had faked again and she had fallen for it once again. This was too much for her to process at one time. She heard Milind and Prachi outside her door. She opened the door and stared at the two of them and neither could look her in eye. "Mujhe sirf ek baat ki safaai deejiye bhaiya" she said to Milind. "Kya aap dono shaadi shuda hone ka naatak kar rahe hain?" Milind looked guilty and Sukriti got her answer. Here was her brother who had lectured her on the sacredness of marriage when she had gotten fooled by Alaap. She knew how much he respected the institution of marriage from that one time he had talked to her. And she couldn't believe that it was the same brother who had led a fake life for the past several months…why? "Sukriti, uss vakt hamaare paas yehi solution tha" he answered. "Kiss baat ka solution bhaiya? Aisi kaunsi aafat aa gayi thi ki aap khud apni seekh bhool gaye?"

"Tumhaare bhaiya ne yeh sab tumhaare liye kiya Sukriti" Prachi answered this time. "Aur maine isliye…kyunki mein Ritwik ko apne se door nahi kar sakti thi" she finally looked at Milind who tried not to show how painful it was to carry around a heart that just broke into a million pieces. "Aur Alaap se aapne kaha ki mujhse shaadi kar le?" Sukriti looked at her, hurt and she averted her eyes. She didn't reply and tried to walk away when Sukriti stopped her. "Wait…you have to tell me why you did this." Prachi didn't turn and Sukriti continued. "When you hate me so much, why did you save me that day. You could have let me die and you wouldn't have had to do all this to get Ritwik." Prachi walked away without answering. Milind stayed with Sukriti, however, she was on the verge of a breakdown. She was already feeling guilty that Milind had gotten himself in a fake relationship for her and mounted on top was her broken trust on Prachi and the fact that she had been duped again by Alaap.

Prachi meanwhile was thinking about how best she could use this situation to her advantage. She had prayed so hard to get an opportunity that would allow her to leave and it seemed that God had finally heard her prayers. She started packing her luggage and as she took out some clothes from the closet. Among it was the saree that Milind had gifted her. She put the saree in her suitcase and then took off the anklets from her legs and put that in the suitcase too. She found the black satin stash that she had hid in between her clothes. She cried looking at it but then she heard movement outside her room and quickly threw it inside her suitcase and closed the lid, when Milind walked in. He saw her tears and next he saw her packing and figured that she had already decided to leave even before he told her explicitly. Now that everyone knew the truth there was no more need to pretend. She could go home and tell her family too what all had happened and that would be the end of it. But what about Ritwik. Was she leaving him too. How would he react when he comes home and doesn't see her. And as if she had guessed his thought, she informed him, "Ritwik ko school se mein le jaaongi. Voh mere saath rahega." Milind looked at her wondering if she really thought it would be that easy. "Yeh faisla tum nahi kar sakti Prachi." Milind argued. "Haan bhaiya," Milind turned around to Sukriti's voice. She entered the room and almost screaming at Prachi she said, "Mein maa hoon Ritwik ki…aur mere ijaazat ke bina aap Ritwik ko kahin nahi le jaayengi." Prachi could stand there and argue with Sukriti but she didn't have it in her right now. She wanted to leave Ritwik behind with Sukriti but she couldn't do that right now and she couldn't explain her reasons to Sukriti either. She was in a dilemma…how could she stand in front of Sukriti and argue her case without telling her more than what she intended to tell her at the moment.

To both Milind and Prachi's surprise, Sukriti solved the problem for them. "Lekin aapka ehsaan hai mujh par, aur Ritwik par bhi. Meri kami mere bachche ko kabhi mehsoos hi nahi hone di aapne. Aur aaj aapke har ehsaan ke badle…mein aapko apna Ritwik de rahi hoon." She broke down in front of Prachi and Milind just stood watching the drama unfold in front of him. He didn't know how to console his sister. Sukriti continued, "Ek baar aapne jaan bachai thi meri…aur badle mein meri zindagi maang rahi hain aap. Mere paas toh dene liye aur kuch hai bhi nahi." With that she ran back to her room and Prachi looked on in shock. She couldn't believe what Sukriti had just said. She knew Ritwik was just as dear to Sukriti as he was to her…but that girl had just sacrificed for Prachi. Prachi knew Sukriti had just spoken due to her distressed state of mind. But she couldn't even console her right now. She wished she could tell the girl that Ritwik would come back to her, eventually. But this was no time to make any such promises.

Prachi packed the rest of her things and Ritwik's and was about ready to leave when Asha tai came in. Asha tai had watched some of what had occurred and Milind had filled her in on the rest. She had been uncharacteristically quite and Milind was glad for it. He couldn't take a lecture from Asha tai at this time. But Asha tai had come to Prachi to inform her that there were some unexpected guests and she needed to come down. Prachi came down and almost slipped on the stairs when she found her mother and Soumya sitting in the living room with Milind. She looked at Milind's grave face and understood that they needed to leave from there asap. She came down wondering how to handle the situation. She had planned on telling some lie to her family when she got home, most likely that she had a fight with Milind and he had thrown her out and she would act stubborn and refuse to go back to Milind. But now that her mother and sister were here, how could Prachi come up with a believable lie and expecting that Milind would support her lie was wishful thinking.

Soumya saw her first and tried to get up and PL immediately told her sit back down. She turned and smiled at Prachi. "Aap dono achanak yahaan kaise ma" she asked. Soumya replied. "Di, aap bhool gayi kya, aaj rakshabandhan hai. Mein toh soch rahi thi ki aap subah ghar aa jaayengi. Lekin itni der jab nahi aayi toh mujhe hi aana pada yeh pet lekar. Aur mom toh mujhe akele aane nahi deti…so hum dono aa gaye." Soumya finally made it off the sofa and going up to Prachi she started to tie the Rakhi. "Vaise jeeju aap soch rahe honge ki mein di ko kyun baandh rahi hoon. Voh isliye kyunki humaare dono bhai iss vakt yahan toh hai nahi, aur phir bachpan se humaare ghar mein hum ladkiyan bhi ek doosre ko rakhi baandti hain." Prachi looked at Milind who seemed to be just waiting to explode. Prachi finally trying to prevent him from saying anything said to Soumya, "Mein toh khud aane waali thi. Vaise bhi aap sab ki bohot yaad aa rahi thi. Maine toh Milind ko bhi keh diya tha ki mein kuch din mom ke paas jaakar rehna chahti hoon." Milind looked at Prachi as if he was ready to kill her. How could she come up with lies like this? It was then that Premlata noticed Soumya holding her back in pain. "Soumya, kya hua" PL was by her daughter's side in a moment. Prachi and Asha tai too looked at Soumya worried. "I think it's a contraction mom" Soumya said. PL started to get hyper hearing this. "Lekin Soumya its too early". Asha tai suggested that it could be false labor. They seated Soumya and Asha tai brought water for her to drink. But seeing that the contractions kept coming, Asha tai yelled at Milind to take the car out. Sukriti too had heard the commotion and come downstairs and watched Soumya worried. And minutes later all of them were in the hospital. Milind helped Soumya out of the car and she grabbed at his shirt trying to steady herself. She breathing hard she said, "Vishaal, Vishaal ko bulaa…" and she cried out in pain and transferred her pain onto Milind's hand which she was holding.

JC

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Translations:

"Shayad bura sapna dekha hoga. Maybe she had a bad dream Tum so jaao, mein sambhaal loonga Prachi ko." Go to sleep. I'll take care of her.
"He is fine, Prachi" Milind reassured her. "Kuch nahi hua hai Ritwik ko." Nothing has happened to him

"Tum kab tak yun baithi rahogi. How long will you sit like this Aao tum so jaao"Come and sleep now he said motioning towards the bed.

"Mujhe neend nahi aayegi Milind. I won't be able to sleep Milind Tum so jaao you go to sleep"

"Prachi tum mujhe batao toh sahi.Prachi atleast tell me Tumhe kis baat se itna darr lagta hai. What are you so scared of"

girl: "Alaap so is it true, sunaa hai tum shaadi kar rahe ho?"heard you are getting married
Alaap: "Tumhe yeh sab kisne kaha?" Who told you this

"Sudharne ki itni bhi kya jaldi hai Alaap" Whats the need to reform so early.

"Don't blame him Tanya. Mumbai gaya tha toh achcha bhala tha When he left for Mumbai he was fine…jaane iski behen ne isse kya patti pada di Don't know what his sister told him jabse lauta hai bilkul achcha bachcha ban gaya hai. But he's been a good boy since he came back. Afterall apni ex-girlfriend ko dobaara impress jo karna tha. He had to impress his ex-girlfriend afterall. Yeh toh shaadi bhi apni Prachi di ke liye kar raha hai, right Alaap?" He is even getting married for his sister's sake,

Part IV

"Bhaiya, aap jaldi aa gaye" You came early
"Haan voh tabiyat kuch theek nahi thi. Lekin tu itni khush kyun lag rahi hai aaj" yes, I wasn't feeling well. But why are you looking so happy.
"Obviously bhaiya…shopping kar ke joh aa rahi hoon" obviously because I've been shopping.
"Bhaiya aapko yaad dilaana tha…kal aap office jaane se pehle mujhse milna mat bhoolna"I wanted to remind you to meet me before going to work tomorrow.
"Dekha bhabhi meine kaha tha na bhaiya ko kuch yaad nahi rahega…tab aapne hi kaha tha ki bhaiya mujhse kitna pyar karte hain, aur yeh din bhool hi nahi sakte…ab dekha…" See Bhabhi I told you bhaiya won't remember. You were the one who said that my brother loves me too much and won't forget this day.
"Kal Rakshabandhan hai" tomorrow is Rakshabandhan
"Voh bhaiya, ek aapke liye, one for you ek Akaash bhaiya ke liye, one for Akaash aur ek Robbie bhaiya ke liye" and one for Robbie
"Akaash bhaiya toh bilkul aapki tarah hain. Akaash is just like you Mera kitna khayal rakha tha unhone. He took such good care of me. Aur Robbie…aapko yaad hai us din photo dikhayi thi meine Do ou remember I showed you the photo that day…rockstar…voh aur Akaash bhaiya toh ek parivaar jaise hain.Him and Akaash are like one family Unhe bhi rakhi baandhne vaala koi nahi hai he doesn't have anyone to tie Rakhi either…toh maine socha iss saal un dono ke liye mein rakhi bhej doonSo I thought this year I'll send them both rakhies…achchi hai na?" Its nice right.

"Jab raat ko sabko jagaakar usse vaapas laana hi hai toh vahaan sulaane ki koi zaroorat nahi hai." When you are going to wake up everyone in the night to bring him back then there is no need to put him to sleep there.

"Nahi toh..mein kahaan aapse naraaz hoon" Not at all. I am not upset with you
"Nai..MERI mummy naraaz hai" No my mom is upset
Sukriti: "Nahi beta…aapki mummy aapse naraaz kyun hongi?"No son, why would your mother be upset with you.
Ritwik: "phir chali kyun gayi. Munna toh soya nahi" Then why she leave. Munna didn't sleep yet.
Sukriti: "Voh…shayad aapki mummy bohot thak gayi thi na isliye. Maybe because she is really tired. Koi baat nahi. Its ok Aaj munna ko yeh vali mummy sula degi" Today this mom will put you to sleep
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Iska kya matlab hai Prachi" What does this mean Prachi?
Milind: "Sach sach bataao Prachi. tell me the truth Prachi Kya tum..tum ab tak mere aur Sukriti ke saamne naatak kar rahi thi?"Were you pretending in front of me and Sukriti all this time.
Milind: "Tum chahti thi na ki Sukriti kisi aur se nahi balki Alaap se shaadi kare, you didn't want Sukriti to get married to anyone but Alaap right taki Ritwik hamesha tumhaare paas rahe. So that Ritwik can always stay with you. Yahi chahti thi na tum…shuru se. This was your plan from the beginning right."
"Tum Sukriti ke baare mein sochne ka sirf dhong kar rahi thi, right? You were just pretending to care about Sukriti right. Kyun parvah hogi tumhe uski. Why would you care about her. Tumhe sirf apni baat manvaani thi. You just wanted things your way Isliye mujhse bhi…" That's why with me too….
"Tumne apni khushiyon ke liye phir se meri behen ki zindagi daav pe laga di Prachi? You gambled with my sister's life for your own happiness? Dobaara usse apne nalayak bhai se shaadi karne ke liye uksaaya. You convinced her to marry your useless brother again. Aur yeh sab kitni chalaaki se kiya tumne…kisiko toh shak bhi nahi hota. Haina?" And you did all this with such calculations that no one would suspect anything

"Aur kaise insaan se shaadi karvana chahti thi tum Sukriti ki. And what kind of a person were you getting my sister married to. Shaadi ke baad iske yehi lakshan rahe toh kya hoga meri behen ka if this is how your brother is then what would happen to her after such a marriage…socha bhi nahi tumne. Did you even think Yeh mol lagaaogi tum apni mamta ka? Is this the price for a mother's love? Meri behen ki zindagi, uski khushiya chahiye tumhe badle mein un paanch saal ke jo tumne Ritwik ko diye hain?" Do you want my sister's life, her happiness in return for the five years you gave to Ritwik?

"Hamaari shaadi ek naatak sahi lekin apni lagne lagi thi tum. Our marriage may have been fake but I was starting to care about you
"Mujhe sirf ek baat ki safaai deejiye bhaiya" Just tell me one thing
"Kya aap dono shaadi shuda hone ka naatak kar rahe hain?" Were you two pretending to be married?
"Sukriti, uss vakt hamaare paas yehi solution tha" At that time we only had this as a solution
"Kiss baat ka solution bhaiya? Aisi kaunsi aafat aa gayi thi ki aap khud apni seekh bhool gaye?" A solution for what? What were the dire conditions under which you forgot what you taught me yourself.

"Tumhaare bhaiya ne yeh sab tumhaare liye kiya Sukriti" He did all this for you Sukriti
"Aur maine isliye…kyunki mein Ritwik ko apne se door nahi kar sakti thi" And I did it because I couldn't be away from Ritwik
"Aur Alaap se aapne kaha ki mujhse shaadi kar le?" And you told Alaap to marry me?

"Ritwik ko school se mein le jaaongi. I'll pick up Ritwik from school. Voh mere saath rahega.he'll be with me"
"Yeh faisla tum nahi kar sakti Prachi."Its not your decision Prachi
"Mein maa hoon Ritwik ki…I am Ritwik's mother aur mere ijaazat ke bina aap Ritwik ko kahin nahi le jaayengi." And you are not going to take Ritwik anywhere without my permission.
"Lekin aapka ehsaan hai mujh par, but I am indebted to you aur Ritwik par bhi.and so is Ritwik Meri kami mere bachche ko kabhi mehsoos hi nahi hone di aapne. You never let my child know my absence. Aur aaj aapke har ehsaan ke badle…mein aapko apna Ritwik de rahi hoon."And today for all the favors you have done on me, I am going to give you my Ritwik
"Ek baar aapne jaan bachai thi meri…aur badle mein meri zindagi maang rahi hain aap.Once you had saved my life, and now you are asking for my life. Mere paas toh dene liye aur kuch hai bhi nahi."but I have nothing else to offer you either.

"Aap dono achanak yahaan kaise ma" How come you two are here suddenly. "Di, aap bhool gayi kya,did you forget? aaj rakshabandhan hai.today is Rakshabandhan Mein toh soch rahi thi ki aap subah ghar aa jaayengi. I thought you would come home in the morning. Lekin itni der jab nahi aayi toh mujhe hi aana pada yeh pet lekar. But since you didn't show for so long, I had to come here with this huge stomach. Aur mom toh mujhe akele aane nahi deti…so hum dono aa gaye."And mom would never allow me by myself so we both came.
"Vaise jeeju aap soch rahe honge ki mein di ko kyun baandh rahi hoon. Jeeju you must be wondering why I am tying it to my sister. Voh isliye kyunki humaare dono bhai iss vakt yahan toh hai nahi, its because both our brothers are MIA aur phir bachpan se humaare ghar mein hum ladkiyan bhi ek doosre ko rakhi baandti hain."and since childhood all the sisters tie to each other too.
"Mein toh khud aane waali thi. I was about to come myself. Vaise bhi aap sab ki bohot yaad aa rahi thi. I was missing you guys too much. Maine toh Milind ko bhi keh diya tha ki mein kuch din mom ke paas jaakar rehna chahti hoon.I had even told Milind that I wanted to come home for a few days."
"Soumya, kya hua"What happened.
"Vishaal, Vishaal ko bulaa…" call Vishal.