The Visitor
An AbhiGya Illustrated OS by -mina-
It was a Saturday afternoon and Abhi was back home after a short business trip to New Zealand. He was tired, hungry, and cranky; the time abroad had been busy and not entirely successful, the food hadn't agreed with him, and no one had made him cinnamon coffee in three days.
Robin opened the door for him and took his luggage, but Abhi didn't see anyone else as he made his way upstairs. When he came near his room, he was surprised to hear loud laughter. I wonder what the Chashmish is laughing about? Let's see if she's doing something weird, he thought. He opened the door slightly and peeked into the room.
He was shocked and appalled to see Pragya sitting on the bed, tightly hugging some man in a business suit. Too angry to think twice, Abhi burst into the room and started yelling.
"What the hell is this, Chashmish! You are so shameless, now you are even entertaining men in my room? What is wrong with you, I was gone for three days so you thought you could start doing anything?"
Pragya let go of her visitor and stared at Abhi in astonishment. As her brain processed his ugly words, she began to feel so ashamed and embarrassed. Why must he always leap to conclusions?! She thought. She couldn't even think of what to say to stop him, and didn't dare to glance at her guest's reaction.
Abhi finally took a look at the stranger on the bed. He was disgusted to notice that the man was much older, with greying hair and a bushy mustache. However, he was wearing a very smart business suit, a posh neckcloth, and an expensive, shiny watch. Obviously he was some rich tycoon. This Chashmish has the most awful taste! Married to me and still chasing anyone for money, and she doesn't even look at me twice, Abhi thought bitterly. As usual, he ignored the slight pang of odd hurt he always got when he thought about Pragya's gold-digging relationships with other men.
"Aur tumhe umr bhi dikhta nahin? Honestly Chashmish, if you're that desperate -"
"That's enough!" The man on the bed got up, putting on a pair of spectacles as he angrily advanced on Abhi. "How dare you talk to my daughter that way!"
Somewhere in a distant, non-mortified corner of her mind, Pragya was satisfied to see Abhi's face turn ashen at these words. She was still too tense with shock to say anything. She was lucky to see her father even once or twice a year, and she hadn't wanted him to know the truth about her marriage. He had surprised her with this visit, and she had been showing him wedding photos and telling him about some of the silly, light-hearted moments she had shared with Abhi and his family.
"Your d-daughter?" Abhi stuttered, looking wildly from the stranger to Chashmish and back again.
"Yes, my daughter - and your wife! What is wrong with you, bursting into the room and shouting a bunch of nonsense? Don't you have any common decency? How can you stand there accusing her -"
"Uh, Papa," Pragya began, finally getting off the bed to attempt damage control. "Let it be, it's sort of complicated -"
"What's complicated?" Mr. Arora turned to look at Pragya. "Do you mean you let him talk to you this way? What's going on beta? I thought you were happy."
"He - he's just, it's a misunderstanding Papa. He -"
Mr. Arora was not easily placated. He had never been the best husband or father, and had left his family rather than maintain his responsibility, but he had enough sense to realize when his daughter was trying to hide something. "He what, Pragya? He just accuses you of adultery every day?"
Abhi cringed, and was glad that the stranger - his father-in-law, apparently! - wasn't looking at him.
Pragya faltered, trying to think of an explanation that made sense. But nothing makes sense between us, she thought ruefully.
"I want answers, Pragya. What's going on? Either you tell me, or I will choke it out of this hero here!" Mr. Arora glared at Abhi, his posture shifting with aggression. He had come a long way from his early hardscrabble life in the chawls, but his violent impulses were being reactivated by watching his so-called son-in-law mistreat his daughter.
"Woh - Papaji," Abhi tried, making up an answer as he went along, "I'm really sorry, you know, actually it's a...game we play, did you know your daughter loves acting? She's taught me so many tricks since we've been married..." He knew he sounded kind of insane, but he hoped against hope that his sasur was at least as gullible as his saas and saali, since that explanation had kind of worked with them before.
"Yes, right! Papa, he just -"
"I'm not such a fool Pragya, tell me the truth. Why was he saying such ugly things to you?"
"Papa, please don't worry about it. Don't spoil your visit. Abhishek has just come back from travelling, so why don't we go downstairs?" Pragya hoped that with her ignoring the question, her father would take the hint to let it drop. They had repaired their relationship in recent years, but he had always had a hands-off attitude to her life and now was not the time to change that.
Mr. Arora frowned. "Pragya, I know I haven't always been there when you needed me, but you can't expect me to ignore this. Why did you tell me your husband loved you? I can see clearly he doesn't even respect you. Beta, I want more for you than this."
"I - I do love her." Abhi strode up to Pragya and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "I really am sorry, sir. I'm - I'm kind of the jealous type, you know? I can't stand to see my chash - kishmish with anyone, and sometimes I overreact to surprises. Like, when we were getting married I thought she was chasing my best friend! Ha!" Oh, God. I am going to have to get an acting coach to keep living with this Chashmish, Abhi thought.
"Right, Papa, it's all a misunderstanding." Pragya slipped her arm around Abhi's waist and flashed him one of her fake smiles. "Don't pay too much attention to what he says when he's surprised and tired, yeh toh kuch bhi bolte hain." She smiled brightly at her father.
"Mr. Abhishek, a wife is not a possession. I am getting the distinct impression that my daughter is better than you deserve," Mr. Arora said to Abhi.
Well, you're blinded by fatherly love, Abhi thought sarcastically, but to maintain the act he gave a humble nod. "Yes, sir. I'm...working on it."
"Hmph. See that you do." Mr. Arora reached out to clasp Pragya's hands. "Beta, I know I didn't give you the best example of how a husband should be, but you're a smart girl. Don't accept just any treatment from him."
"Yes, Papa. Don't worry, we are fine." She squeezed his hands reassuringly.
"You know you can come to me if there's a problem, hmm?" Pragya nodded, holding her smile in place with sheet force of will.
Mr. Arora glanced at Abhi. "And you, jamai raja! My daughter is not alone in this world, do you understand? You may be rich and famous but that doesn't mean you can bully your wife."
"N-no sir," Abhi agreed meekly. Bully? It's not bullying if you're fighting hypnosis, Abhi thought. He was starting to calm down as it looked like Pragya's father had accepted their act
"Papa, come downstairs with me. Let's leave Abhishek to rest after his journey," Pragya suggested. She scooped up the wedding album and led her father out of the room. Mr. Arora followed with a final glare back at Abhi.
As the door closed behind them, Abhi heard Pragya say, "Even Bulbul should be here soon." Abhi shook his head, amazed at the Chashmish's ability to stay cool in tense situations. He was just relieved he'd made it through another close brush with the truth. Who knew when he could finally end this maze of lies and acting and finally be free from the Chashmish. Life was too complicated with her around!
He knew just what he needed to help him unwind...it was definitely time for a glass of apple juice.
THE END
Notes: So what'd you think??? Random right 😆 This is an alternate universe where Pragya's father left the family, but reconnected with his children as adults. They have a positive but not close relationship.I wanted a more dramatic ending where Papaji forces the truth out of his daughter and son-in-law, and of course some actual AbhiGya romance, but couldn't think of how to write it 😕 Sorry guys I have the most boring endings 😳
Was going to title this OS 'Papaji' but then I thought why spoil the premise for you all 😆 Well let me know what you thought! What do you think should have happened with Papaji's confrontation? As always, Hindi corrections are welcome!! Interested in other comments and suggestions too 😊
Image credits:
- the pictures of Mr. Arora are of Naved Aslam playing DK Kirloskaar in Pavitra Rishta. First one from Pavitra RIshta Wikia here and second and third ones from the AshVik AT #173 here
- pics of AbhiGya one-arm hug from saritak's image galleries for July 23rd KKB episode, thank you!
- other pics of Pragya and Abhi's faces are from my own screencaps of PuLiya engagement episodes, free to use and share
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