The following week was the worst week of Abhi's life. Aaliya's wedding had to be suddenly cancelled as Purab refused to even talk to her anymore. Tanu got frustrated by his preoccupation with his family and left the country for a modelling assignment without even saying goodbye. And Daadi had left for Ludhiana with her cousins.
Abhi had never felt more pain than the day he found himself on his knees in front of his grandmother, begging her to stay with him, and she wouldn't listen. Daadi said that she gave up on both him and Aaliya, declaring that it was better to imagine that her second son had died childless than to live with such grandchildren. Abhi tried to explain that it was all a misunderstanding and that he had just been trying to do right by Aaliya, but Daadi was unmoved.
At his wits' end, Abhi even promised to bring back Pragya and try to have a real marriage with her, to forget about Tanu and to settle down just as his Daadi had always wanted. Daadi's sad face had taken on a look of rage then as she snapped "Why? Just to ruin that poor girl's life more? The biggest mistake I ever made was to think that a person as good as her could ever suit my spoiled and selfish grandson!"
After that, Daadi simply turned her back on Abhi. Tayaji and his family tried to convince Daadi to remain in Mumbai for their sake, but she answered sharply that they didn't need her and she didn't need anyone. Her cousin sisters silently supported her, and before Abhi could finish wiping the tears from his face, she was gone.
Akaash helped Abhi get back to his feet. "Come sit down, Bhai," he said softly. "We can fix this." He tried to lead Abhi to the sofa, but Abhi pulled away.
Abhi turned to Aaliya, who had been watching the drama from the back of the hall. She had tried at first to help Abhi convince Daadi to say, but she had gone silent when Daadi had glared at her and said, "Tu toh achchi behen nahin ban paayi, na achchi dost. Tu kuch maat bol, wahi behetar hoga." Now that Daadi was gone, Aaliya was frowning, but her eyes were dry.
"Come upstairs with me, Aaliya. We have to talk," Abhi said. He headed for his room without looking at the rest of his family.
Aaliya followed him with slow steps. Her mind raced as she thought of how to best keep her brother on her side. When they both reached his room, she pulled the door closed behind her and started defensively, "Bhai, don't worry about it, Daadi will come back --"
"Sit down," Abhi said, pointing to his bed. He pulled up a chair and sat in front of her. "Tell me how this all happened."
"Bhai, you already know, I misunderstood that day at the office, I thought it was Pragya but it was actually Bulbul." Aaliya used her best 'hurt little girl' voice; she had learned in childhood that her brother would do anything for her if she could convince him that someone had hurt her.
Abhi was not affected by her tone. Ever since the scene at the end of the sangeet, he had been thinking about how the whole mess had started. And now he wanted answers. "But even so, why did you think she was only after his money? Why couldn't you just talk to Purab about what was going on?"
"I did talk to him, and he just gave me some rubbish about loving her despite himself! What the hell is that, Bhai? Doesn't commitment mean anything to him?" Aaliya leaned forward and tried to take Abhi's hands in hers, but he shifted away from her, his posture stiff with tension.
"So what, you thought you will force him to marry you, no matter what his heart says? How could that ever have made you happy?"
"Should I have just let him go and let that Bulbul have him then! Come on Bhai!"
Abhi sighed and shook his head. "Don't you understand, Aaliya? Purab is not a toy that you don't want to share with another girl. If he fell in love with someone else, he could never be yours. Yes, you should have let him go."
Aaliya was taken aback. Her Bhai had never before disagreed with her like this. He never told her that she was wrong, never scolded her or gave her lessons in this firm, tired tone of voice he was using now. She was struck speechless, torn between anger and sadness as she sorted through her thoughts, trying to find some way to answer him.
"The fault is mine, really," Abhi said. "I wanted the two of you together so that I wouldn't have to worry about either of you. I thought you would take care of each other. I never thought about how a marriage needs love, too."
"But Bhai, I do love Purab! And he loved me too, it's just that this Bulbul got in the way -"
"No, Aaliya. If you loved him, you wouldn't have created this whole crazy situation to get him back. You would have wanted him to be happy. And if he had ever loved you, neither Bulbul nor any other girl could have got in the way."
All these weeks, Aaliya had been denying these exact thoughts. She wasn't stupid or heartless; she just didn't want to believe the truth. But now, hearing her brother say it all in straight, plain language, she couldn't run from her real feelings anymore.
"But - Bhai -" she said, her voice breaking as months of suppressed anguish broke through her defenses - "Why didn't Purab love me?"
Abhi gathered his sister into a hug and let her cry out her pain. He didn't have answers for her, and at least while comforting her heartbreak, he could temporarily forget about his own.
***
Across town, Pragya too was having to deal with a heartbroken sister.
Purab had taken the whole Arora family to the hospital after Sarla's collapse at the end of the sangeet. He had been supportive and attentive during the whole three days that Sarla had spent in the hospital. He had even tried to pay her hospital fees, but Pragya convinced him that she could manage.
But on the fourth day, after Sarla had settled back in at home and Mamaji's family had returned to their own place, Bulbul had pulled Purab away for a difficult conversation.
"Listen, Purab," Bulbul began, trying to keep her voice steady as she embarked on the hardest thing she'd ever done.
"Yes?" Purab took her hand, standing close to her even though they were in full view of the whole street.
Bulbul stepped back and crossed her arms against herself. "Purab, thank you for everything you have done. I know you've gone out of your way for my family."
"Of course. You don't have to thank me, it's -"
"No, listen." Bulbul tried to sound sterner. "Thank you. We really appreciate it. But it was more than you should have done, because we're no one to you."
Purab's eyes widened. "Wh-what? What do you mean Bulbul?"
"Purab, I thought I loved you. But I have learned that I love my family more. After everything we've been through, I can't even think of being in a relationship with you. So I would like you to leave. Forget about me, about us."
"No. No, you don't mean it. Bulbul, we are finally free now! Everyone knows about us, and Aaliya is out of the picture --"
"And is that any way to end an engagement? You broke a girl's heart in front of her whole family, and you made it look like I stole you from her. Aaliya has been a witch to my sister, but even she didn't deserve that."
Purab could not believe what he was hearing. Bulbul defending Aaliya? And how could she disapprove of him standing up and declaring their love in front of everyone? "Bulbul, please try to understand. We can finally be together now, without obstacles, without secrets."
Bulbul shook her head in exasperation. "Purab, are you listening to me? I don't want to be with you."
"You're just saying that!" Purab was starting to feel desperate. Once again, his whole world was collapsing in on him, and it was more than he could deal with. "You don't mean it. In a few days --"
"In a few days, I'll still mean it. Look, my life is very complicated right now. Between Ma's health and Di's...situation with your best friend, I don't have time for love. And -" Bulbul raised her voice and continued her explanation, even though Purab tried to interrupt. "And, even when everything settles down, I still won't want to be with you. Too much went wrong with us, Purab. We're simply not meant to be."
"Bulbul, please, don't do this. I understand, you need space -"
"No, you don't understand!" Bulbul finally lost her temper. "I will never want to be with you, Mr. Purab Khanna! You misled me by never telling me about your engagement with Aaliya. So what if you didn't love her? You were still involved, and you had no right to tell me that you loved me without even mentioning that you were expected to marry Aaliya."
Purab tried to defend himself. "I wanted to tell you, but -"
"But you never did! And then, when the time came for you to stand up to your best friend, you couldn't stand your ground. You didn't tell Abhi the truth after he married Di --"
"But she asked me not to!" Purab replied. He too was starting to lose his patience.
"And then you went back to Aaliya -"
"Because you asked me to!"
"And my point is, you have behaved like a spineless coward at every turn. You didn't tell me the truth. Then you didn't tell Aaliya and Abhi the truth. And yes, finally, you did reveal the truth in front of everyone, but in such a dishonourable and disgraceful way. I'm sorry, Purab, but there's no future for us. Thank you for everything, but I never want to see or hear from you again."
Purab stared at Bulbul in shock. After everything he had sacrificed for her, after so many weeks of drama and tension, it was all going to end like this. Why did he have the worst luck? He wanted to convince Bulbul to give him another chance. But, he could read the anger and determination in her beautiful face. He understood that there would be no convincing her.
"Please leave," Bulbul repeated.
Defeated, Purab turned to leave. When he reached the gate, he turned back for one last look at Bulbul, but she was pointedly looking in a different direction. With heavy steps and an even heavier heart, Purab made his way to his car and left the neighbourhood.
When she was sure he was gone, Bulbul released a sigh of relief and turned back to the house. She wanted more than anything to slide to the ground and cry into her knees, but she knew she had to go back inside to help Pragya with lunch.
Just as she was stepping inside, she heard someone outside calling her name. She turned and saw Suresh at the gate, holding several pots. She quickly went to open the gate for him.
"What's all this? Why are you here?" Bubul demanded wearily.
"Woh, Ma sent this food for Auntyji, and all of you. Let me just carry it inside, it's heavy," Suresh explained without meeting her eyes. He stepped around her and headed into the house.
Bulbul followed him inside and watched as he carefully and efficiently set the pots on the table. Just when he was about to leave, Pragya came out of the kitchen.
"Suresh? What are you doing here?" she asked in a surprised but kind voice.
"Just, Ma sent this food. And you should tell us if you need anything. Any of you, I mean," Suresh answered awkwardly.
"Of course. Please thank aunty. And thank you for bringing it," Pragya answered.
Suresh simply nodded at both sisters and then left.
Pragya noticed Bulbul still standing near the door, staring blankly at the pots on the table.
"Bulbul? What's going on? Where's Purab?"
Bulbul snapped to attention. A look of hesitation crossed her face, because she knew her Di wouldn't like what she was about to say, but finally she admitted, "I sent him away."
"Oh, that's good. He needs to get some sleep," Pragya said with a smile.
"No, Di. I sent him away. Forever."
"What!" Pragya came up to Bulbul and took hold of her shoulder. "What are you talking about? Bulbul, what have you done?"
"I...broke up with him." And then, instead of coolly explaining her motivations the way she meant to, Bulbul fell into her Di's arms and started to cry.
Pragya soothed Bulbul and listened to her choked explanations. She wanted to tell Bulbul that she didn't need to leave Purab, that they could probably still work things out. But the more she heard of Bulbul's reasoning, the more she understood that her baby sister had made a mature and difficult decision, and that the best she could do was reassure her that she was right.
So Pragya held Bulbul until she was done crying, and then they laughed at each other's too-serious faces because that was how they always broke the tension after one of Bulbul's crying fits. Pragya sent Bulbul to wash her face and freshen up while she returned to the kitchen to finish the preparations for lunch. And for the rest of the afternoon, she tried not to think about why it was that both Arora sisters were so unlucky in love.
OK, I am pretty sure that is not what any of you wanted to see...sorry!!! But it will be awhile before AbhiGya are face to face again, I think. Abhi's about to have a lot of headaches to deal with...and wait until you see what Sarla has to say to Pragya!! All this to say, yes this chapter had a lot of family drama, and so will future chapters...romance is much farther down the road...please keep reading??? 😳Seriously though, do let me know whether you liked it, disliked it, whatever you thought about it! And thank you so much for reading!
Next Update: Maybe Wednesday Aug 27.
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
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