*Rabir FF: True Love...Note, Chap 55 @ pg 143, 145 (2/1) - Page 21

Chapter 13:

Kabir's phone rang and he moved away from Rachna to answer it.

"Hey Karan. Let's meet up soon. There's a lot that we need to talk about. I'll message you the address of where to meet."

Hanging up the phone, Kabir turned to Rachna. "Rachna. I promise you that I will get to the bottom of everything. Do you trust me?"

Rachna looked straight into Kabir's eyes. "More than myself Kabir."

"Ok then. Let's go."

"Where Kabir?"

Kabir smiled and placed his hand on Rachna's shoulder reassuringly. "You said you trust me right? So please just come with me."

Rachna chewed her bottom lip, contemplating Kabir's words. "Ok...I'll come with you. But first I think you should speak to Sneha mausi."

Kabir smiled. "Thank you for trusting me Rachna. And yes, I think that's a wonderful idea. Can you go call her and also get me a glass of water please?"

-----------------

While Rachna was out of the room, Kabir messaged Karan to let him know the time and place to meet.

He then walked over to the wall of photos in the living room and enjoyed looking at Rachna's childhood pictures with her family. He was admiring a particular photo of Rachna which showed her dancing on stage, at some family function he assumed, when he heard Sneha and Rachna come into the room.

Sneha and Rachna placed the tray of tea and snacks down on the table. Kabir came and greeted Sneha by touching her feet.

"Namaste Sneha mausi. It's a pleasure to finally meet you today. Rachna has told me a lot about you."

Sneha was internally impressed by the respectful gesture, but she suppressed her appreciation, maintaining a grim expression on her face, and merely nodded at Rachna and Kabir to take their seats.

While Kabir had arrived at Rachna's home in a completely distressed state, the emotional burden of the losing Rachna and the divorce had been lifted from his heart after talking to Rachna. He understood the awkwardness of the current situation, but he was no longer afraid to be here and certainly not scared of the reaction from his mother-in-law, who was sitting in front of him with a serious expression. Although Sneha looked a bit stern and strict on the outside, Kabir knew, courtesy of his previous conversations with Rachna, that she had a particular soft spot for her niece. So without any hesitation, Kabir broke the silence in the room.

"Mausi ji. Given that you recognized me at the door, I presume that Rachna has told you about me?"

Sneha was surprised by his confident approach, but she didn't let the emotions show on her face. "Yes. She has told me about you two."

Expecting her to say something more, Kabir was at a loss for words when Sneha said nothing else. "Umm. Ok. Well...uh..." His eyes met with Rachna's and pleaded for help, silently.

This exchange did not go unnoticed by Sneha, who was only becoming more amused by the scene playing out in front of her.

Rachna became Kabir's saving grace and came to the rescue. "Sneha mausi. I think what Kabir is trying to ask is if you are okay with everything."

Sneha raised her eyebrows upon hearing Rachna's statement. Meanwhile, Kabir smacked his forehead, in his mind that is, for that is not at all what he had intended to say. He spoke before Rachna could say anything else to make the currently uncomfortable situation even more awkward.

"Uh actually, that's not really what I was intending to say."

He paused for a moment to clear his throat and then continued. "I...I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry. I just want to apologize to you mausi ji."

Sneha's expression softened a bit.

"Sneha mausi, after seeing all the things that have happened in the past few months, I have realized that Rachna and I were wrong. Not wrong for each other...but wrong to hide our relationship from you all. Whatever has happened in these past few months is the result of a huge misunderstanding, perhaps a misunderstanding that could have been avoided if Rachna had her family to support and guide her. I come from a broken family, that's not a fact that I can deny, nor one that I want to hide. So I guess that is why I didn't realize how important it is for a couple to have their elders' blessings with them. From a young age, I have been taking care of myself and my little brother without help from anybody else. I just assumed that I could manage our marriage and our relationship without any outside support as well. But it seems that I overestimated my own capabilities and underestimated the importance of having a family behind you. So I guess all I am trying to say is that I'm sorry...I'm sorry for not fulfilling the promises that I made to Rachna at the time of our marriage, I'm sorry for not trying harder to set everything right after it had fallen apart, and most of all, I'm sorry for hurting Rachna so much."

Having nothing more to say, Kabir looked down at the ground and waited for Sneha's reaction. Rachna, meanwhile, had tears in her eyes, as she realized how lucky she was to have Kabir in her life. She had made the biggest mistakes in this relationship and yet here he was, taking all the blame on himself and apologizing.

Sneha smiled and placed her hand on Kabir's head, blessing him. "When Rachna told me about you, I was outraged, hurt, and frustrated. Not because Rachna had chosen a life partner for herself, I trusted Rachna was mature enough to make that decision herself, but because she had chosen to hide the truth about her relationship from her family...from her parents...from me. Without knowing anything about you, I automatically assumed that it was you who had taken Rachna away from us and misled her. I was so partial towards Rachna that I essentially overlooked all her mistakes. But I can see how wrong I was. You just proved that by taking all the blame on yourself. Rachna is really lucky to have you in her life Kabir. You make up for all of Rachna's shortcomings and you truly do complete her...as I'm sure she does with you."

Sneha took Rachna's hand and placed it into Kabir's. "While you two are no longer husband and wife in the eyes of the law, I give my blessings to you as a couple because in my eyes, marriage extends beyond a sheet of paper with legal stamps."

Kabir and Rachna both bent down to touch Sneha's feet and take her blessings. Sneha wholeheartedly wished for them their lives to be filled with all the happiness in the world.

"Thank you mausi ji, for understanding me, accepting me, and trusting me with your daughter."

Sneha smiled and wiped away her tears. "Okay enough Kabir. I'm not the overly emotional type so I've had more than enough tears for today. Now let's get down to business. The divorce papers...what is the story behind this?"

Kabir explained his side of the story to both Sneha and Rachna. "I really don't know, though I am beginning to piece everything together in my head. For now, all I can tell you is that I was tricked into signing those papers. Sneha mausi, please believe me when I say that I had no idea about all this...the accident, Karan's involvement, the divorce papers. But I promise you that I will get to the bottom of this...you just have to trust me and give me some time."

Sneha nods solemnly. Kabir gives a thankful smile to Sneha.

--------------------------------

Later that evening, Kabir and Rachna arrive at Cafe Sea Side, where Kabir has asked Karan to meet them. Entering into the restaurant, Kabir spots Karan sitting at table in the corner of the restaurant. He tells Rachna to stay in the waiting area of the restaurant. "Rachna. Just wait here for a few minutes. I will come get you in a little bit when I'm ready."

Giving her hand a reassuring squeeze, Kabir walks towards Karan. Meanwhile Rachna sits in the waiting area, confused by Kabir's actions.

---------------------------

The two brothers hug fondly. "It's so good to see you after such a long time bro. I really missed you!"

"I missed you too Karan."

Karan and Kabir both take their respective seats and Karan animatedly begins telling Kabir about everything that happened in London. Kabir pleasantly listens, though he keeps a check of the time on his watch.

Karan catches his brother staring at the watch for the fifth time. "What up bro? Are you waiting for someone?"

"Uh..yeah I am. But hey, listen. I wanted to talk to you about something important."

"Yeah? Go on."

Kabir looked at his brother's face. He looked so innocent, so naive. At that moment, Kabir just knew in his heart that his brother was not involved with this entire mess.

"Karan, do you remember that time, around a year ago, when you were planning to visit me in Benaras?"

"Yeah, I do. But you know I had to cancel the trip because I got an internship at a big law firm in Barcelona for the summer."

"I know. Well I was planning to give you a surprise at that time by introducing you to someone really special, someone who has changed my life entirely."

Karan smiled and teased Kabir. "Oh ho! So I finally get to meet my bhabhi huh? I must say that I am very eager to meet her...she must be really special if she was able to win you over."

Kabir shyly looked down. "Indeed...special she is. Just wait...I'll go get her."

Running into the restaurant's waiting room, Kabir asked Rachna to come. Following Kabir to the table, Rachna didn't see Karan while she was walking towards the table, as he was sitting with his back towards them. Reaching the table, Kabir pulled out the chair for Rachna and as she took her seat, she glanced up at Karan, who was busy messaging someone on his phone.

"Karan?"

Kabir smiled, happy that Rachna had recognized his brother. He was of course unaware of the fact that she had already met Karan earlier that day. Meanwhile Karan also looked up from his phone and was shocked to see Rachna sitting in front of him.

"Rachna? Tum? You're bhai's special someone? This is such a pleasant surprise!"

Kabir sat down and became confused that Karan had also recognized Rachna.

"Karan, you know Rachna already?"

"Yeah bro. She's Rhea's cousin's friend. In fact, she's the one who picked us up from the airport today. I just didn't know at the time that she is also my bhabi."

Kabir raised his eyebrows and looked at Rachna, expecting her to explain.

"Uhh yeah Kabir. I met Karan earlier today. I recognized him as your brother but I didn't say anything to him since he didn't realize who I was."

Kabir processed the new information that he had just learned about. "Okay...I guess it's good that you two have already met. Well, let's place our order first and then I have something important to discuss with you both."

After placing the order for the food and drinks, Kabir began the discussion. "Okay Karan. I want you to listen to me carefully...what I'm about to tell you might be a bit shocking for you."

Karan nods at Kabir and becomes serious seeing that his brother is not smiling anymore.

"You know that Rachna and I got married while you were in London. We had invited you to the wedding but you were not able to come. Well, a few months after our marriage, we found out that Rachna's parents' had an accident and unfortunately they both passed away. So apparently Karan, it's you who was responsible for that accident..."

Kabir trailed off, waiting for his brother's reaction and outburst.

"What??? How is that even possible? I haven't even stepped foot in India for the past 4 years!"

Kabir placed his hand on Karan's shoulder to quiet him down. "I know. I told this to Rachna as well. But Karan, the complications just start here..."

Kabir explained everything to Karan: the out-of-court settlement, how both Rachna and him had been tricked into signing the divorce papers, and lastly how his mother had been involved.

"...Karan, you know Gayatri just as well as I do. You may know her even better than me. You know the horrendous things that she is capable of. So I have an inkling that she is involved in this entire mess but I can't seem to connect all the dots. For one, how did she find out about Rachna and I? And then, how is she related to the accident? I need your help to figure this out Karan...can I count on you?"

Kabir finished and patiently waited for an answer. Karan was stunned to learn of all the events that had been going on in his brother's life, while Rachna was equally shocked to find out that Karan was indeed innocent and that this entire mess may have been caused by Kabir's own mother.

"I don't believe this bhai. I can't believe that all this happened and you didn't tell me. And I can't believe that you are even asking me for help now? Is that even a question? Of course I'll help you! Just tell me what the plan is." Karan grinned at his brother and bhabhi.

Meanwhile Rachna just placed her head between her hands. "Kabir this is just so unreal...the deeper into this mess we dive, the more I realize how stupid I have been over the past 11 months. I've unnecessarily hated the person who wasn't even remotely connected to all this...and I've been completely ignorant of the true culprit..."

Kabir placed his hand on Rachna's shoulder to comfort her, while Karan flashed his signature smile at Rachna and teased her.

"Rachna bhabhi...don't feel so bad. Gayatri Tripathi, unfortunately our mother, has made the even the best of the best bow down to her. So for you to be misled by her is actually not very surprising. But yes...I am quite offended that you thought this adorable, lovely devar [brother-in-law] of yours could commit such a heinous crime.

Rachna smiled seeing Karan's cuteness and the three of them burst out laughing.

Little did they know that someone was listening to their every word and watching them secretly. That person was very happy to see the three of them falling directly into the trap that had been laid for them.

-----------------

Hope that this brightened your day a little. Let me know what you thought. Seeing your likes and comments really motivates me to write more 😊

❤️ Nivi