And the drama continues.. Thank you so much for all your love, support and enthusiasm so far. There are only two more chapters left to go and this story will reach its end and trust me, I am just as upset as you all are. But I hope you enjoy the remaining chapters.
Cheers,
Neet
Chapter 27
"My oh my! The prey comes in search of the predator. Now isn't that a sight to behold?" Dev Agnihotri smirked when he opened his door to find Sneha. "I've come to finish this game you are playing Dev Agnihotri. Finish it once and for all," Sneha said with as much strength as she could muster. She felt quaky and scared and sick inside but she wouldn't let any of it show. She couldn't let any of it show. As if to physically reinforce her strength, Mantu and Amaya appeared behind her, followed by Jazz. Sneha saw Dev Agnihotri's face darken as soon as he saw Mantu. "So scared to face me alone Sneha that you have brought in back up?" Dev smirked. A car pulled into Dev's driveway and Dinesh, Dimple, Neeti, Pushpa and Gajanan Chaubey descended from it. Right behind them, Rama and Rachita arrived on their bike. Dev threw his head back and laughed. "Really Sneha? You had to bring in your whole family as back up, just to talk to me? How long are you going to hide behind these people? Remember, there was a time when you'd lie and make excuses to your family just to be alone with me?" Dev's voice dropped a few decibels as he leaned a little closer to Sneha. Sneha felt disgusted when she thought of those times. Behind her, Jazz, Amaya and Mantu stiffened in shock at the revelation. "Don't worry. One by one, one by one, I will get rid of each of these defenses, each of these protectors you have till its just you and me in the end.. You and me! Sneha Mathur.. Or should I say Sneha Dev Agnihotri?" his voice was so cold and icy, Sneha felt it slither over her skin; the way a snake would wrap itself around its prey.
Sneha balled her fists and fought down her panic and her urge to flee. "Sneha Mathur! Rishi Mathur's wife!" she said from between clenched teeth as her eyes shot daggers at Dev, "and they aren't here as my back up. They are here as just witnesses, for this final showdown. This is the end Dev. Now is when it'll just be you and me - Dev Agnihotri and Sneha Mathur and we'll settle all our scores once and for all."
Dev sensed a strange determination in Sneha, one he had never known her to possess. She'd always fed off of other people's confidence and determination, content in living in someone else's protection and shadow. After all, that was the way she had been raised. When they'd first met and fallen in love, Sneha had been the obedient, submissive, cherished daughter of the most wealthy and influential man in all of Banaras, Gajanan Chaubey. She was the quintessential bird in the golden cage that dreamed of open skies and Dev had been the first one to give her a taste of the freedom she craved. It wasn't long before their secret escapades and chaste love confessions had fueled her spirit enough that she agreed to get married to him secret as a token of rebellion against her father who had insulted and demeaned him and his family when they'd asked for her hand in marriage. Once they were married, their passions had run high and wild. Dev was sure that his family would eventually overcome the insult they'd suffered but he had grossly underestimated Gajanan Chaubey's obsession with his honor. He'd fixed his cherished daughter's alliance with a family friend-cum-business associate's son. It was a barter marriage. Sneha would marry the boy and Dinesh would marry the daughter of the family in return of the two businesses getting merged into one under Gajanan Chaubey's stewardship. They had no choice but to elope. Gajanan Chaubey's accountant then, Rishi Mathur, had been Dev's most trusted man and confidant. He had even helped them plan the whole thing. Rishi was supposed to bring Sneha, who Gajanan Chaubey had put under house arrest, to the railway station. Little did Dev know that Rishi would be the one accompanying her beyond too. The memory made Dev clench his jaw angrily.
"Are you sure you have the strength to face your crime and punishment in front of all your family?" Dev growled as everyone gathered in Dev's living room. "Its a double edged sword Dev. You cannot attack me without wounding yourself," Sneha replied. "Why? Why are you so hell bent on destroying my family? You stoop so low, you are targeting Neeti now? She doesn't even know any of this!" Sneha said. "I have nothing to do whatsoever with Neeti!" Dev replied. "Stop lying. I am sure you were the one who asked Rudra to fake being in love with Neeti and get married to her in secret. Does that story sound familiar Dev? Ring any bells?" Sneha accused. "Rudra what?!" Dev was genuinely perplexed. And then it made sense. Rudra was trying to save his skin. He was planning on double crossing Dev once he had a firm ground in the Chaubey family. Dev Agnihotri called Rudra some choice words in his head before turning to Sneha.
"Don't act so surprised Dev! We know it all. You were the one who hired Rudra to kidnap Rachita and take those pictures of Rama and Rachita. How could you?" Sneha asked. "You were also the one who told my Amma that Rachitaji wasn't Rishi Mathur's daughter," Rama chipped in. Sneha turned to Rama shocked. "Amma finally confessed it to me," he answered the unspoken question in everyone's eyes. "Your enmity was towards me and Rishi, wasn't it? Then why drag my daughters into this?" Sneha asked, her eyes blazing. "Because your daughters mean the world to you! What better way do I have to get back at you than destroying your daughters' life!" Dev replied calmly.
"What enmity do you have against my Mom that even after destroying my father and forcing him to take his own life, you still want to destroy our lives?" Amaya asked. Her tone sharp and firm but her eyes were filled with tears. Dev realized that he was getting cornered. He was not going to say anything that would land him in trouble. "This is between your mother and me. I don't have to answer any of you!" he stated. "You might not have to answer us, Mr. Dev Agnihotri! But I am sure you will have to answer the police when these files," Mantu held up some files to show Dev and Dev's eyes narrowed in fury, "reach the police." "What are these files, Mantu?" Sneha asked, almost afraid to hear the answer. "Mom, these are files that show that Dev Agnihotri's head office in Mumbai was the one that acted as a third party in dealings with Dad's company and pulled out in the last moment, leaving Dad bankrupt and making it look like it was all a scam," Amaya explained. "How did you find these?" Dev snarled at Amaya. "You should have been more cautious, Mr. Dev Agnihotri, when you gave me free access throughout the office to search for the missing Astrium Group's file," Amaya replied.
Sneha felt the world spin around her. Dev was behind Rishi's scam? Dev had caused Rishi to commit suicide? In blind fury and despair, she reached for Dev's shirt collar and held it tight, "How dare you! How dare you! Why did you do this? How could you do this? You framed Rishi! You are the reason Rishi died! You killed him! You killed him!" Sneha said hysterically. Dev pried her hands away from his shirt and pushed her away. Amaya, Rachita and Jazz stepped forward to catch Sneha before she fell to the ground.
"Such agony!" Dev exclaimed. "So much agony for the suffering Rishi Mathur went through! What about me Sneha? In all these years, have you ever spared me a thought?"
"No! And why would I? You were the one who cheated me Dev! You were the one who said you loved me, you married me, said we'd run away together but you never came! You cheated me Dev! You were the one who cheated me then how and why are you wrecking revenge on me? The only mistake I ever made was to trust you!" Sneha said. "Ha! I don't turn up and you run away with Rishi Mathur the very same day. How very convenient!" Rishi replied sarcastically. "That is not true! I did not run away with Rishi the very same day. I waited for you.. I waited for you till I could wait no longer!" Sneha said. "Your father, Gajanan Chaubey told me that you ran away with Rishi Mathur that very same day we had planned to when I foolishly went to your house thinking you would still be waiting for me," Dev spat back, his heart burning in the memory of that day.
Sneha turned to Gajanan Chaubey, "Babuji? You told Dev what?" Gajanan Chaubey refused to meet Sneha's gaze as he said, "You are really going to believe his words?" Pushpa watched her husband out of the corner of her eyes as she twisted the pallu of her saree between nervous fingers.
"How does it matter?" Dev asked. "I couldn't make it that day because I was kidnapped. I spent months locked up in a dark stingy room, not knowing if it was day or night outside, with the only hope that the day I would get out of here, I would get to see you. That you would still be waiting for me. But you couldn't wait for even a day. You ran away with Rishi Mathur! Rishi Mathur! My most trusted friend and confidant! Tell me Sneha, was it an on the spur of a moment decision? To run away with Rishi? Did you see the train leaving and think, Man! Dev didn't make it. Let me just run away with Rishi? Or was it planned? Had you been stringing Rishi along too, just in case? You know two-timing?! Or were you that desperate to get away from your family that you had multiple back options? Considering how Rachita isn't Rishi's daughter even that's possible, isn't it?"
A sharp, resounding slap echoed in the room as Sneha slapped Dev hard. The stinging sensation singed his skin and Dev felt his temper flare out of control. "I am disgusted. I am disgusted Dev Agnihotri that I ever fell in love with you. I am disgusted in myself that I ever trusted you!" Sneha said. "I've never admitted it, not even to myself, that somewhere in a corner of my heart, I have carried the guilt of not having waited for you longer. But now, after listening to all that you just said, I am glad I did not wait for you any longer. You don't deserve my love or my trust Dev. You claimed to have loved me. Yet you spent all these years in your own misconception, creating this world of hate and revenge and out to destroy my life.. Just once, one single time, could you not have spoken to me, or Rishi and asked us what happened?" "I didn't need to. Your father already told me whatever I needed to know," Dev said.
"He lied!" Everyone turned as Pushpa spoke up. "Pushpa!" Gajanan looked horrified that his wife would dare to reveal the secret they'd kept hidden for all these years. "I can't do this anymore. I thought you did what you did in anger all those years ago but look at what has become of that one lie you said! Our daughter's whole life has been destroyed by that one lie and if Amaya hadn't informed Sneha about what Rudra was up to today, our Neeti's life would have been destroyed too. All because of one lie! If I stay quiet today, the truth will never come out. And as long as the truth does not come out, none of us will be able to live in peace. Neeti was right. I have never spoken up for my daughter. If I don't do it today, I will not be able to forgive myself," Pushpa said, folding her hands in front of Gajanan Chaubey. Pushpa took a step towards Sneha and placed her hand on Sneha's shoulder.
"Sneha.. Your father was the one who got Dev kidnapped," she said. A shocked gasp resonated through everyone gathered and Gajanan hung his head overcome with shame and remorse. "Maa.." was all Sneha could manage. "He had been keeping an eye on Dev ever since he and his family had come home asking for your hand in marriage. He got to know that the two of you were planning to elope so he got Dev kidnapped. He hoped that once you realized Dev wouldn't come, you would give in to his wishes and marry the guy of his choice. That is when you ran away with Rishi. Your father was furious. He set Dev free and immediately Dev came looking for you. Your father was so furious and angry at what you had done, he told Dev that you had run away with Rishi, on the very same day you were supposed to run away with Dev, that you only wanted a means of escape, if not Dev, then Rishi. I was too scared to say anything in the face of his wrath. I should've stopped him then." Pushpa lowered her eyes, unable to meet her daughter's blank stare. "Your Babuji knew how enraged Dev was. Which is why he was so afraid when Dev came back to Banaras. He was afraid for you and for himself, for the lie he had said all those years ago. If only I'd had the courage to speak up to him and stop him, your life wouldn't have been ruined so. I am so sorry. I am so sorry beta," Pushpa broke down crying.
Sneha couldn't breathe anymore. Her own father had destroyed her life. She looked at her father, all the emotional turmoil, all the fight, all the life draining out of her body. "What does this change? You waited a few days but then you did run away with Rishi Mathur. This changes nothing!" Dev said. Sneha felt tired, defeated. Her own father had destroyed her life so ruthlessly just because she dared to go against him, just because she dared to fall in love. "This changes everything Dev," she said softly. "I waited for you.. As long as I could.. Till I could wait no longer.. Because I was pregnant.. With your child.. With our child.. With Rachita.."
Dev felt the world slip from beneath his feet. He stared at Sneha long and hard to see if she was lying but that look, that look of utter defeat on her face told him that she wasn't lying. He took a step back and another till he slumped back onto the sofa. Sneha had been pregnant! He knew without a doubt that if Gajanan Chaubey would have found out, he would have ordered her to get the child aborted without a second thought.. That is, if he would have decided to spare Sneha without killing her first. To Gajanan Chaubey then and now, honor and self-respect came above everything else. Even his own daughter. What choice would Sneha have had other than to grasp the first opportunity she got to run away? She didn't know he hadn't cheated on her. She didn't know he had been kidnapped. She had been saving their daughter when she ran away. Rishi had saved his daughter. His daughter!
Dev looked up at Rachita standing in a corner of the room, holding onto Rama's hand tight. She looked visibly pale and his heart lurched in his chest. His daughter! He remembered the first time he had met her. He remembered all the times he had met her. Wasn't she the very same person he had been out to defame with those pictures of Rama and her a few months ago? Hadn't he planned on ruining her wedding by revealing that Rishi Mathur wasn't her dad? And she was his daughter. With shaky, unsteady steps, Dev got up and walked towards Rachita. He saw Rama step just in front of her as if to shield her. "Rachi.." She did not let him finish taking even her name before she raised a hand to stop him. "Don't! Don't even say my name! You are the reason my dad Rishi Mathur committed suicide. You are the reason my mother's life was destroyed. I don't want you to even say my name. I don't want to have anything to do with you!" He stood there, feeling as if he had been turned into stone by his own daughter's curse. She was right. What right did he have to claim any right over her after all he had done? A single tear trickled down his cheek as he stepped back. "Rama.." Rachita's voice cracked as she spoke, "Rama.. Just take me home.. I don't want to be here anymore.." Rama nodded his head as he led Rachita away.
Utter silence descended over the room and everyone stood in shock. A lot had been said, a lot had been revealed and it felt as if there was nothing left to be said or done. A few long, long moments later, Dev pulled out his phone, "Inspector, Dev Agnihotri here." His voice was hoarse and rough. "I would like to confess that I am the one behind Rishi Mathur's scam. I planned and carried out the whole thing and I have proofs for it too. I would like to surrender," Dev said. Nobody reacted to the conversation.
Two minutes later, police jeeps pulled up in front of Dev Agnihotri's house. Mantu handed over the files and documents with all the information as the police escorted Dev Agnihotri away.
*****
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