AryLie FF - Aryan&Imlie - Epilogue Page 32 (Dt. 13 Mar) - Page 7

Nishant Tripathi, a.k.a Nishant Bhaiya, Imlie’s Ex-Brother-In-Law

Nishant Tripathi has always valued life, for he knows death as something inevitable. Especially his. His death was impending, and he had little time to live. A man closer to his death is bound to have somewhat of an enhanced perspective on life.

This life had given him much, a loving family, a beautiful love for his short life, and people who inspired him.

Imlie has always been the third before the first on that list.

He was first inspired by her.

Then she became his family, and he was protective of her, as he was for all things precious to his life.

When he came to know that something was happening between Imlie and his brother, he was disappointed. More in Imlie than his brother. She was such an inspiration for him after all. She knew her mind and kept it when she found out about his incurable illness. She was a silent supporter during the time he went through it all alone, and even when he was being punished by his family for not telling them.

He didn’t feel as much disappointment for his brother that day.

He was wrong.

When he found out that Imlie was Aditya’s wife, even then he didn’t feel more disappointment for his brother. He may not be cheating on Malini with Imlie, but he had cheated on Imlie with Malini. He had been blind to his brother’s fault then, supporting his and Imlie’s marriage wholeheartedly.

If he thought about it now, it seems inevitable too.

Everything that’s happened in the past few months, he had no one to be disappointed with except his brother.

He watched on as his brother continued to cheat on his wife with his friend. He watched as his wife supported him all through it too. He watched as his brother placed blame for everything going wrong in his life on his wife. He watched as his brother got cheated by his friend and still took her side. He watched as his brother’s friend wronged his wife and his brother just watched.

He watched as his brother’s wife, Imlie, turned into a ticking time bomb, right in front of his eyes.

Inevitability.

The thing was, his brother’s and Imlie’s relationship was beautiful. It was an age old tale of falling in love after being married, and then becoming each other’s support system as the world turned against you.

He didn’t know when it was not only the world, but his brother turning against Imlie too.

He didn’t know if his brother would’ve fallen in love with Imlie had they not been married.

He knew his brother would’ve stood up for Imlie for all the injustices she has faced in society, but he didn’t know whether Imlie would still have to face as many injustices if she hadn’t been married to his brother.

She wouldn’t have to face the society’s taunts for marrying the guy whom she worked for as a maid.

She wouldn’t have to face a family’s denial and neglect for marrying their son.

She wouldn’t have to face ridicule for fighting for her husband’s virtue.

She certainly wouldn’t have had to face Aditya’s sheer hatred for being his wife.

But the hatred turned to love. The denial turned to support. The neglect turned to attention. And then, then it all turned ugly.

He watched his brother support Imlie through many fights.

He saw as his brother held Imlie’s hand throughout the insults she faced from their family. He saw his brother clutch Imlie’s hand throughout the injustice she faced in getting what were her rights. He saw his brother hold Imlie’s hand in front of Malini.

But he also saw him leaving Imlie’s hand much more than he watched it being held.

He thinks that Aditya was so used to holding and caring for Imlie in private, hiding their relationship away, that he forgot to do it in public more. Even after their relationship was revealed. He was so used to being supportive of Imlie as a person, that he forgot that Imlie, his wife, needed support too.

And then when Imlie left because she couldn’t get him to support her as his wife, he stopped supporting her as a person too.

That was what brought him to Aryan&Imlie.

Life and death, he thought. Imlie, fighting death, Aryan, bringing her back to life.

One day Aryan saved Imlie by literally breaking through a window, worrying about her, asking her to keep breathing, promising nothing would happen to her, carrying her in his arms from the trap of death to the land of living and Nishant watched as Aryan and Imlie turned to Aryan&Imlie.

After that all Nishant could think was how open they were in what they were. Even when they didn’t really seem to know what they were. And if they were like this when they weren’t anything, what would they be like when they believed that they were something.

Nishant, at first, found Aryan Singh Rathore an unapologetic and an overbearing man. Seriously, who was this man, imposing on their family matters, encroaching their territory, intruding in their arguments, and all this while being a silent watcher. But then he realised that he wasn’t a silent watcher. He was a silent supporter. Of Imlie.

After realising this he recalled every moment in which Aryan had been there for Imlie. From that day Imlie signed the divorce papers, to the day Aryan saved Imlie’s life.

This man had, unapologetically and overbearingly, stood by Imlie.

He has stopped her from being slapped, he has stopped her from being publicly humiliated, and he has stopped her from dying.

Aryan not only supported Imlie, the person, and it was no doubt in his mind that he started out that way, Aryan supported Imlie, the woman, the dreamer, the fighter, the unstoppable force. Aryan was immovable in his support of Imlie, and all before they even had any relationship that asked of it as an obligation.

It is well known what happens when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object.

But it was more than that.

He has watched as Aryan held Imlie’s hand throughout their journey. At least the one visible to them.

From the day Aditya humiliated Imlie by blaming her for moving on, in his own Mehndi Function too, reaching new heights of hypocrisy, to the day Aditya did nothing when Malini pushed Imlie out of their house, withdrawing all support he had ever extended towards Imlie.

Aryan Singh Rathore may deny any relationship with Imlie, but he stood by her, never hiding, never ashamed and unfaltering. He held her hand when she was humiliated. He held her hand when she was stupid. He held her hand when she was about to fall.

It was like, Nishant realised, he knew that Aditya wouldn’t have held Imlie’s hand through all that if he wasn’t ruled by a sense of responsibility and obligation. On the other hand he was also aware that Aryan held Imlie’s hand without any sense of responsibility and obligation.

He held her hand because she needed it. He held her hand because he needed it.

It made Nishant think about what would happen when Aryan does accept the relationship he shares with Imlie.

Because he could see Aryan falling in love with Imlie, without any binding to them, without any obligation to them, without any force upon them, he could see Aryan falling for Imlie.

But he recognised Imlie falling for Aryan too.

One fine morning, in the Tripathi Residence, filled with Rathore’s too, he found Imlie sitting on the sofa, cross-legged, her laptop on her, well, lap, and laughing at something that was playing on her laptop. He was just about to ask what was so funny when he noticed Aryan leaving his room, moving towards the entrance, probably to leave.

Distracted for a moment, he turned back to Imlie to ask again what was so funny, when she got up, and went to Aryan, grinning. Aryan had just reached to the door when he halted at her calling him, wait, ABP? What is this girl? First Akkad Bagga, and then ABP?

He watched as Aryan paused in his glide to get past the door, and turned around at her call.

She, still grinning, grabbed his hand, and what? Well, recap! Imlie grabbed Aryan’s hand and proceeded to drag him to where she was sitting, laughing through all of Aryan’s protests.

When they finally reached the sofa, Aryan asked Imlie, “Ab bataogi, kya hua? Mujhe office jaana hai.(Now can you tell me, what is it? I have to leave for office.)”

Imlie just smiled and took her laptop in her hand, pointing at it with her eyes, while clicking some key, he assumed, to play whatever she was watching, that had her in such high spirits. He listened as Anu Aunty’s voice came through the speakers, spewing nonsense about Imlie, and he couldn’t for the life of him understand what was there to laugh about it.

But then he shifted his gaze from Imlie to Aryan, and, in a wonder of wonders, Aryan Singh Rathore was laughing.

Not smirking, not scoffing, not snorting, not derisive sounding, but proper amused laughter.

Wanting to know what the hell was in the video, he began to move towards them when his gaze found Imlie again. She was watching Aryan with another wonder in her gaze.

He watched as Aryan found her gaze and saw how his laughter died down at her notice. He watched as Imlie’s face cleared of wonder and became reminiscing. He watched as Aryan lost the battle of wills and looked away first. He watched as Imlie sighed in resignation.

But then he watched as Imlie let go of her resignation, and with a strange determination on her face, she admitted, “Chalo, iss baar tumri hassi chaar second se zyaada toh hold hui.(At least this time your smile lasted longer than mere four seconds.)”

He watched as Aryan’s gaze found hers again, confusion and fear clear in his eyes.

Apart from the confusion about the conversation, everything became a bit more clearer about them. It was evident, Imlie was not hesitant with holding Aryan’s hand too. Imlie didn’t think before finding him too. Imlie felt much more, and he couldn’t gauge how much more. But neither could Aryan.

And he realised, it would be a very long journey they had to complete, but the destination is inevitable.

Aryan&Imlie.