Srry for the short update, but I wanted to reveal the secret in one part. So here it goes... yes the secret is out.
Don't worry more twists are there in store, hope you enjoy the suspense
Chapter 8
She reached Mayank's house. She went to open the door but found it open. without blinking an eye she barged inside the house.She could hear certain voices, they were not pleasant. Nupur moved towards the voices. Mayank was talking to a person and they were discussing Nupur. Nupur stood by the door,she could see inside the room but the people in the room didnot feel her presence, she saw Ratna sitting next to Mayank. Ratna was furious. She screamt on top of her voice "Stop targeting Nupur and get away from our lives". Nupur felt sad, Mayank had not only disturbed her, he created a mess for her mother Ratna too. Before Nupur could say or do anything Mayank replied in one quick sentence, "I donot beleive this, of all people you think that Nupur is my target, it's u Mrs. Ratna Bhushan. Nupur was just a medium of hitting you where it pains the most."
Nupur didnot know what took over her, but seconds latter she found herself standing between Ratna and Mayank. She slapped Mayank hard across his face. He was taken aback. Nupur didnot say a word but her eyes spoke in volumes. She grabbed Ratna's hand and moved out of the door. When she reached the main door she found Samrat and Gunjan rushing towards her.
Samrat : "Nupur listen to me.", Nupur simply pushed aside Samrat and went ahead. Gunjan also tried to stop Nupur but she kept Gunjan at a distance too. Nupur sat in her car.Suddenly she heard Gunjan scream, "Di, please do not leave me again. This time I will not let you go. Come back. We have to go back home.Atleast know the truth before going away."
Nupur froze. Ratna too was shocked. She simply moved out of the car towards Gunjan. Gunjan was crying, Nupur stood infront of her. She spoke for the first time,"how dare you! you fraud,stop acting like Gunjan. My sister is dead.Donot play with my feelings.", Gunjan who tried to gather some energy within her spoke in one go, "neither did I die nor did papa.Atleast physically he is alive. Otherwise this Ratna "mausi" ensured she destroyed everybody.". Nupur turned towards Ratna, to her suprise she saw ratna. trying to sit in the car and run away but to Ratna's dismay Samrat and Mayank stopped her.
Nupur looked at her and said, "maa why are you running away", ratna said ,"I was trying to call the police. these people are evil" . Before Ratna could speak another word, Gunjan screamt,"enough of your lies. Di is not your toy to play with". Then Gunjan turned towards Nupur and held her hand, "Atleast listen to me, you always wanted to know the truth. so today you will find about everything. You will know every truth. I wanted to tell you everything but somehow I was scared. I was happy my sister was back in my life. I became selfish, but not today". Nupur was expressionless. She didnot know if Gunjan was a fraud or not, but Ratna she tried to run away. Why had she done that?
Gunjan continued, "You donot believe me, look at this. Gunjan was wearing a small pendent. Do you remember this? This belonged to our mother.", Gunjan opened the pendent there was a sweet picture of Nupur hugging Gunjan as a kid. Tears rolled out of Nupur's eyes. She hugged Gunjan. She screamt at top of her voice. She hugged Gunjan tightly and kissed her on the forehead. Gunjan spoke, "Di you need to know everything but we need to first take care of Ratna."
Nupur said adruptly, "no Gunjan, she is our mother. She took care of me."
Gunjan : "She is a murderer. She killed our mother di. Not you. She exploited you",
Mayank : "Let us all go inside. Gunjan you talk to your sister. Me and Samrat will keep an eye on Ratna mausi.Let Nupur decide what needs to be done, it is high time now that others decide what she does."
Nupur was is a state of trans. She couldnot beleive whatever she was hearing. Nothing was sinking in.But she wanted Gunjan to tell everything.
Gunjan continued, "Di, you did not kill mom. Mom died saving you. ratna was our neighbour in Moraina, she was involved with human trafficing. You were her next victim. Mom found about that. Ratna had planned to kidnap you the night mom died. She had ensured that you are in a lonely place. Her husband was waiting in a truck to kidnap you but mom who knew the plot ran after you. Mom saved you that night, but these people killed her, so that their secret is safe. In the police investigations Ratna didnot leave her husband also, she pretended to be innocent and testified against him. Slowly she started taking care of you and me. People in the village forced our father to marry her. Dad never accepted her as his wife but trusted her with us. That was his biggest mistakes."
Nupur, "No dad, hated me. He stopped loving me the day mom died. "
Gunjan: "No, he was in a state of trauma when Mom died. He didnot forget you. He forgot everything.He was lost. This was the golden moment for Ratna. She stepped in and started poisioning your mind against dad. I was small, she couldnot do much with me but you were her sheild. She distanced you from dad, when we needed to stick together. but you were 6 that time and I was 3. What could we do? "
Nupur: "The night I ran away from the house,dad tried to kill me"
Gunjan cried : "No he didnot! He was saving you. do you remember what happened that night."
Nupur: "I was dancing, dad started hitting everyone like carzy", Nupur couldnot speak a word. She was fumbling with her words.
Gunjan: "Do you know who were you dancing infront of? They were bad men. They were planning to sell you that night."
Nupur couldnot believe what just happened. Gunjan continued," Dad found out about that. He went there to hit the other people. He wanted to save you not hurt you. Police arrived and Ratna's gang was busted. But Ratna escaped with you. She burnt down the house. But me and dad were rescued. We shifted to Mumbai to search for you. Ratna could not be traced. Dad couldnot bear losing you. He had a massive heart attack and since then never fully recovered.That is when we shifted to Sharma uncle's house. He was an old friend of dad and his doctor. That is where I met Mayank bhaiya. He promised me to find you."
Nupur looked towards Mayank. What was happening Ratna was her enemy, Mayank was her well wisher. But tonight was a night when she wished to know it all but her body betrayed her. Her head started aching. She could feel heaviness in her heart . She was sinking within. There was darkness infront of her eyes. She had no control over her.She only had flashes of her childhood. She remembered the good days but she also remembered the darkest day of her life. With that she fainted.
Nupur woke up the next morning in a hospital. Ratna was arrested by the police. Nupur found out that when her first movie was releasing Gunjan identified her. Gunjan had come to meet her but Ratna didnot allow them to meet. That was when mayank and Gunjan planned the media attack. It was to reach Nupur.
Nupur remembered, "Just a pretty face.", that was the truth, if she had not been pretty her family would have been saved.
Gunjan again posted the pictures of Nupur with her father, when Nupur openly said in the press meeting that her mother Ratna saved her from her father. Gunjan and Mayank were going to expose ratna that time only but then she faked an acid attack on herself, to gain Nupur's trust.
When Nupur had an affair with Aarav kapoor, Mayank and Gunjan didnot write anything, because they wanted to protect Nupur. They knew she was lonely hence they plotted to send Samrat in her life, so that Nupur had an emotional support.
Nupur's whole world had changed. Suddenly everything right was wrong and everything wrong was right. Lying down on the bed of the hospital Nupur stared at the ceiling. A tear drop rolled out of her eye. She was Ratna's biggest jackpot. She made a fortune out of her.Still she never loved her. She was her families biggest pain. she destroyed them but still they loved her. But who was she? Who did she trust? who did she hate? What did she want from life? Maybe time will know but that day she knew nothing.
____ Back to present______________
Present day Nupur (75 years old.)
She was still staring at the article and read the caption below her picture "She rose to the zenith of stardom... only to fall". She turned the page of the magazine it included a picture of her along with her husband. Below it was written. "To fall in love."
A faint smile appeared on her face. As Nupur read the line "She rose to the zenith of stardom... only to fall...To fall in love."
&& no prize for guessing that her husband was none other than the author of the article, Mayank Sharma.
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