~ Safarnaama ~ An Armaan-Abhira FF - Part Twenty-One (22.05.2024) - Page 26

Lovely 

This was a roller coaster ride!! From lighthearted moments between Armaan and Abhira to Akshara’s past!! While all these small moments bringing story together, I love all the small details of emotions!! I think you are master of describing deep feelings and emotions!! So saying this again, very well written part and can’t wait to read next chapter 💕

Waiting for an update! 

Originally posted by: Pinecone

Waiting for an update! 

Will try to post soon. The plot has deviated from what I had originally intended, and I'm not too happy with what I've written so far 

Wow...another great update. I hope Ruhi pays for all her sins. I wish to see Abhira and Ruhi confrontation in front of both families, but I will take however you see to handle this situation. Looking forward to next update. 

PART NINETEEN

Ruhi bore the weight of her losses like an unseen burden, each one a jagged edge carving deeper into her wounded heart. With each departure, she had felt more alone, more abandoned by those she held dear. First her parents, then her Poppy, then Armaan, and finally when she was left truly alone, and Rohit came back, he too had said that he wanted a divorce from her.  

In her desperation to numb the ache of her shattered life, Ruhi found herself treading a dangerous path, one fueled by hurt and desperation and betrayal. Her losses led her down a road she never imagined traversing. 

As she grappled with the consequences of her choices, she couldn't help but feel a sense of isolation creeping in. Amidst the chaos of her own making, Ruhi longed for understanding, for someone to see beyond the facade of spitefulness she presented to the world. But even her own family had turned their backs on her, when she refused to heed their advice to stop blackmailing the Poddars. 

And so, consumed by a potent mixture of indignation and wounded pride, Ruhi clung steadfastly to the conviction that her demands for alimony were not born out of greed, but rather a fervent plea for recognition of her own worth. The betrayal she had endured, first from Armaan who had led her to believe in a future together, before callously rejecting her, and now from the rest of the Poddars who stood united with Rohit in his pursuit of divorce, fueled her sense of injustice.

How could they not acknowledge her unwavering devotion, her tireless dedication as the perfect, dutiful Poddar daughter-in-law? It wasn't about money; it was about justice. Ruhi was fed up of being overlooked, rejected, abandoned...

As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, Ruhi stood her ground, unwavering in her determination to make the Poddars pay for their indifference.

And finally, that day had come. Dadisa and Rohit stood at the threshold of Goenka house, their faces etched with a blend of resignation and desperation. Rendered helpless by Ruhi's relentless blackmail, they stood before her, their resolve wavering in the face of her relentless demands. Their primary goal was clear: to salvage the honor and reputation of their family, even if it meant capitulating to Ruhi's terms. Despite the bitterness of the situation, they were prepared to yield to her demands, recognizing that the alternative — public disgrace and dishonor — was a fate they could not bear.

Manish Goenka hung his head low as he welcomed them inside and invited them to take a seat, as he asked the house help to call Ruhi downstairs. 

As Ruhi came down the stairs triumphantly, her heart clenched with a surge of anger upon seeing Abhira's unexpected presence at the Goenka house, accompanied by Armaan. Initially elated that Dadisa and Rohit had yielded to her demands, Ruhi's mood soured at the sight of Abhira, especially alongside Armaan, filling her with resentment and bitterness.

"What are you doing here?" Ruhi's words cut through the air, her tone sharp with surprise and irritation, as she confronted Abhira. 

Abhira had braced herself for a painful confrontation, but the unexpected presence of Dadisa at the Goenka house caught her off guard. Out of habit, she instinctively inched behind Armaan and clutched the back of his sleeve for support. 

Despite the pain evident in his eyes upon seeing Dadisa, the person who had once been the center of his existence, Armaan offered Abhira a small, encouraging smile and took her hand in his. They were partners now, facing their challenges together, side by side, hand in hand. He had flown to Mussorie without a second thought, sensing that she needed him, and had stood by her since, unwavering, a staunch pillar of support, through her breakdown and her decision to bring the truth to light. She saw the trepidation in his eyes at being in the presence of his estranged family members, and returned his encouraging smile, silently pledging to stand by his side as well, no matter what.

"Abhira beta," Manish Goenka began, his voice trembling with emotion as he moved to approach her, his arms outstretched.

But Abhira held up her hand, gently stopping Manish. "Please," she pleaded, her tone firm, "I need to talk to Ruhi."

Manish hesitated, his heart torn between his desire to reach out to Abhira and the recognition of her need for space. Though, at Armaan's behest, he hadn't revealed Abhira's connection to Akshara to anyone, he had craved everyday to see her. Yet, as he noticed the pain reflected in her eyes and recalled Armaan's advice, he agreed to hold back, respecting her boundaries, granting her the time and space she required to navigate her emotions.

Rohit too had stood up to meet them, a warm smile on his face. However, Armaan subtly signaled him with an almost imperceptible shake of his head to stop. Though taken aback by Armaan's silent instruction, Rohit instinctively understood that something serious was unfolding, prompting him to halt in his tracks.

Abhira braced herself, steeling her resolve for the conversation ahead. Determined to maintain her composure, she averted her gaze from Swarna and Surekha, who stared at her with their customary disapproval. She also made a conscious effort to ignore the teary-eyed Manish, as well as Rohit, who seemed pleasantly surprised at seeing her. Even Dadisa, with her trademark strict, pursed lips, received no acknowledgment from Abhira as she prepared to address Ruhi. 

"I need to speak to you, Ruhi, about your Akshara Maasi," she said, her voice steady despite the emotions swirling within her.

"What about Akshara Maasi?" Ruhi echoed, intrigued despite herself, her curiosity piqued. 

Her moment of victory over the Poddars could wait. She would hear whatever it was that Abhira had to say, and then get on with the signature of the settlement agreement. It was fitting, perhaps, that Armaan too was there to witness his family's defeat at her hands. Any love she once felt for him had long faded. Like everyone else, he had wronged her and played a part in her transformation into the cold, ruthless person she had become.

Abhira took a deep breath and began to unravel the tangled web of events from Ruhi's childhood that had haunted Ruhi for every day of her life. 

Abhira's presence commanded the room, her poised demeanor exuding a serene confidence that captivated everyone. With each word she spoke, her voice resonated with an unmistakable authority, leaving no room for interruption.

She recounted how Ruhi's mother's death had not been the result of her Akshara Maasi's actions, as Ruhi had been led to believe. Instead, it had been a cruel twist of fate, a consequence of circumstances beyond anyone's control. All those years ago, Akshara Maasi had been unjustly cast out of the family home with her young son and bearing an unborn child. For no fault of her own, she had been condemned to a life of exile, far from the warmth and comfort of her loved ones.

But the cruelty of fate did not end there. Tragedy struck again when Abhimanyu, Ruhi's beloved Poppy, the man who would have become Akshara Maasi's husband, met with a fatal accident, together with her son, Abhir. With no one to turn to and no one to share her burdens, Akshara Maasi had shouldered the weight of her sorrows in silence. She had been alone when she brought her child into the world, alone when she had raised that child. And yet, despite facing adversity alone, Akshara Maasi had persevered, ensuring her child received the best upbringing rooted in the values of independence, perseverance, resilience, and kindness. 

The weight of Abhira's words hung heavy in the air, each revelation carving deeper into the fabric of their reality. 

Manish listened with a heavy heart, his expression wrought with regret and crushing guilt. Each revelation pierced his heart like a dagger, forcing him to confront the harsh truth of his family's cruelty. Swarna and Surekha, usually so assured in their convictions, exchanged uneasy glances, their expressions contorted with a mix of confusion and disbelief. Doubt gnawed at them, casting shadows of uncertainty over their once steadfast beliefs. They questioned themselves, wondering if they had been blinded by prejudice, and a pang of guilt twisted in their stomachs at the thought of unjust accusations. Dadisa, whose stern countenance often brooked no nonsense, found herself unexpectedly moved by Abhira's tale. Intrigue sparked in her eyes, softening the harsh lines of her face as she leaned forward, drawn into the intricate web of the family's history. Meanwhile, Rohit's heart clenched with empathy for Akshara, his sympathy swelling as he contemplated the weight of her solitary struggles.

As the full extent of her Akshara Maasi's plight unfolded before her, Ruhi felt a surge of conflicting emotions welling up inside her. It was all a lie, it had to be! How could she reconcile the image of her Maasi as a victim, when for so long she had believed her a villain, a murderer? Struggling to come to terms with the enormity of Abhira's revelations, Ruhi found herself grappling with a flood of conflicting emotions. Anger, confusion, and grief warred within her, each vying for dominance as she struggled to make sense of the shattered fragments of her past.

Ruhi's voice rang out with a sharp edge of accusation, cutting through the air like a knife. "You're lying," she spat, her words laced with venomous disbelief. "It's all a lie. You stole my first love from me, and now you want to drive me to insanity with your fabrications. What would you know about all this? I know what happened. I was there when it happened. And Maasi herself admitted to killing Matashree."

But Abhira remained steadfast, her resolve unshaken by Ruhi's outburst. With a steady gaze, she met Ruhi's eyes, refusing to waver in the face of her anger and mistrust. "I am not lying," she replied calmly, "Your Maasi was innocent. She was not responsible for your Matashree's death."

But even as the seeds of doubt started root in her mind, Ruhi pushed them aside, clinging stubbornly to the narrative she had lived by. To accept Abhira's version of events would be to unravel the very fabric of her reality, to confront the painful truth that her world was not as she had believed it to be.

And so, with a defiant tilt of her chin, Ruhi turned away from Abhira's words, retreating once more into the safety and comfort of her convictions. 

"Why would I believe you," Ruhi retorted, her voice tinged with skepticism, "when you won't even tell me how you know all this? Akshara Maasi put you up to this, didn't she? Did she conveniently leave out the fact that she took the blame of Matashree's death herself? And why can't she face me, if she did nothing wrong?"

A part of Abhira stirred with a fierce primal urge, wanting to unleash the full force of her rage upon Ruhi. Her heart burned with indignation at the venom being spewed against her mother. 

Yet, when her gaze fell upon Ruhi in that moment, all she saw in that moment was the fragile child that her mumma had sought to protect so many years ago. Tears glistened in Abhira's eyes as she continued, her voice trembling with emotion, "I know this from your Akshara Maasi's diary. She is dead."

A long silence fell between them, punctuated only by Swarna and Surekha's gasps and soft sobs from Manish, before Abhira continued, her tone softer now, "You remember her, don't you? She was a good person, wasn't she? Why would your Maasi want to hurt your mother? Or anyone for that matter? Will you continue to hate her, now that she is no more? They're all gone, Ruhi — your Poppy, your brother Abhir, whom you called Billa boy, your Maasi... your Maasi who loved you more than you could ever know."

The stark reality of Abhira's words pierced through the veil of Ruhi's anger, leaving her momentarily speechless. The enormity of her losses crashed over her like a tidal wave, engulfing her in a whirlwind of emotions she could scarcely comprehend. She found herself grappling with the weight of her grief, each loss a sharp reminder of the emptiness that had taken root within her soul. It was as if the ground had been pulled out from beneath her feet, leaving her adrift in a sea of sorrow and regret.

Ruhi's brow furrowed as she considered Abhira's words, a nagging sense of unease gnawing at the edges of her consciousness. "Then why did she take the blame on herself?" she murmured, almost to herself, her voice heavy with uncertainty.

Abhira met Ruhi's gaze with a knowing look, her eyes holding a depth of understanding that sent a shiver down Ruhi's spine. "You were there, weren't you?" Abhira replied softly, her voice carrying a weight of implication that hung heavy in the air. "Who was driving the car? Surely a part of you must remember."

The question struck Ruhi like a bolt of lightning, jolting her out of the haze of confusion that had clouded her mind. Memories, long buried beneath layers of denial and self-deception, struggled to resurface, fragments of a truth she had fought subconsciously so hard to suppress.

As she grappled with the implications of Abhira's words, Ruhi felt a surge of conflicting emotions well up within her — a whirlwind of guilt, fear, and uncertainty threatening to consume her whole. Ruhi found herself hesitating, unwilling to confront the painful truth that lay buried within the recesses of her fractured psyche. 

With a heavy heart and a troubled mind, Ruhi turned away from Abhira's probing gaze, retreating once more into the safety of her own denial. In a world where truth and lies danced in a delicate balance, some secrets were better left buried in the shadows of the past.

As the weight of confusion and doubt bore down upon her, Ruhi felt herself teetering on the edge of madness. Her memories, once steadfast pillars of her reality, now seemed to shift and blur like shadows in the night, taunting her with half-truths and elusive fragments of the past.

Each attempt to grasp hold of the truth felt like grasping at wisps of smoke, slipping through her fingers before she could make sense of them. And yet, somewhere deep within the recesses of her fractured psyche, Ruhi knew that the answers she sought lay buried within the depths of her own memories.

But try as she might, Ruhi found herself unable to penetrate the fog of confusion that clouded her mind, her thoughts swirling in a chaotic whirlwind of uncertainty and fear. It was as if her own mind had become a labyrinth, with no clear path forward and no escape from the tangled web of her own making.

Abhira's words cut through the haze of confusion and doubt, piercing Ruhi's consciousness with a clarity that she had long sought but struggled to grasp. 

"Whether you get to the truth or not," Abhira began, her voice soft yet resolute, "I want you to keep in mind that your Matashree's death was an accident. Whoever was responsible did not do it intentionally. And that person deserves forgiveness. Your Matashree would not have wanted her death to be a source of hatred and bitterness for you."

Ruhi felt a swell of conflicting emotions well up within her—a tumultuous mix of anger, guilt, and sorrow threatening to overwhelm her. How could she forgive the one responsible for her mother's death, when the pain of her loss still gnawed at her heart like a festering wound?

Abhira continued, her voice tinged with empathy and understanding, "We were never really friends or remotely close to each other, you and I... But we always had one thing in common. The fact that we both lost our parents. I felt anger too at the beginning, I have also gone through phases where I felt destructive. And it took me time to realize that the best way to honor my mumma's memory is to strive to be the person that she was, that she would have wanted me to be. Your Matashree can also be your source of inspiration, your guide to becoming a better version of yourself. It's a choice that you would have to make."

Confusion clouded Ruhi's mind, leaving her at a loss for words. She felt adrift, disconnected from the values and virtues her mother had embodied. In her journey of grief and anger, she had strayed far from the path her mother had paved for her. Dependent on others for validation and affection, Ruhi had become a shadow of her mother and her mother's values. Her once vibrant spirit now dulled by the weight of her own insecurities and resentments. Rejection had left her bitter and spiteful, her ambitions overshadowed by a sense of helplessness and despair.

Caught in the throes of her own turmoil, Ruhi struggled to reconcile the woman she had become with the woman her mother would have raised her to be. 

Ruhi's voice trembled with uncertainty as she posed the question, her gaze searching Abhira's face for answers. "Why are you telling me all this?" she asked, "How are you connected to all this? Where did you find her diary?"

Abhira met Ruhi's gaze with a steady, unwavering stare, her eyes shining with sincerity and truthfulness. It struck Ruhi how strongly her eyes resembled Akshara Maasi's. Was it merely because she was thinking of her Maasi that her mind was playing tricks on her? 

"Because," Abhira replied softly, "it's the truth. You need to understand the events that have shaped your life and the lives of others... even if they are painful to confront."

Abhira took a deep breath. She had come there merely to set the record right, and had no wish to be a part of the family that had abandoned her mother. Nor, she thought, as her eyes travelled over to Dadisa fleetingly, the family that had failed to recognize Armaan's worth and had hurt him so deeply. She steeled herself. For as long as she could remember, her family had always only had one member; first, her mumma, and now, Armaan.

"As for my connection to all this," Abhira continued, "I am just someone who knows the truth. And now, so do you. My work here is done, and I am leaving. It is up to you now to decide what to do. Will you clear your Maasi's name? For all the injustice that she has suffered, will you do her the one favor of honoring her memory, so she would not be remembered as a murderer?"

Ruhi's gaze faltered under Abhira's penetrating stare, her mind racing to grasp the gravity of their exchange. With each passing moment, the pieces of her fractured reality seemed to shift and rearrange themselves, like a puzzle, beginning to reveal glimpses of a truth that had long been kept buried. 

The weight of Abhira's words bore down upon her, forcing her to confront the painful realities of her past. Ruhi found herself unable to shake the feeling or the insistent voice within her, that Abhira was speaking the truth. 

As she looked at Abhira turn around and leave, Ruhi felt a flicker of recognition stir within her—a recognition that transcended the bounds of mere acquaintance. There was something in the way Abhira carried herself, something in the kindness twinkling in her eyes, that tugged at the edges of Ruhi's memory with an unsettling familiarity.

And then, in a flash of clarity, it hit her —

Billa Boy, Abhir... Abhira... Akshara Maasi's daughter. 

.........

Part Twenty 

Thank you all for your comments on the previous update  This one was incredibly hard to write. I hate drama. I am myself extremely non-confrontational so I just couldn't picture it all. Wrote and rewrote this so many times, and I still hate it. Aaaargh! Anyway, here goes. Hope you like it?

Beautifully written 

Loved how abhira confronted ruhi. In the end how ruhi figured out that abhira was her massi daughter 

Excited to read more on how this impacts the relationship between goenkas and Poddars

Beautiful update! I'm shocked it took her that long to piece together that Abhira is Abhirs sister, Aksharas daughter. But chalo she got there. 

I am glad you have given it closure. 

But unlike the Armaan in your story whom I genuinely have come  to forgive, Ruhi is just too flawed as a character for me. Dont think I can as a reader forgive her and I personally don't want Abhira to have any related with Goenkas , Ruhi or Poddars. If Armaan wants to maintain some rishtaa with poddars its fine but Abhira really need not. Thats how i feel as a reader. 

Originally posted by: Pinecone

Beautiful update! I'm shocked it took her that long to piece together that Abhira is Abhirs sister, Aksharas daughter. But chalo she got there. 

I am glad you have given it closure. 

But unlike the Armaan in your story whom I genuinely have come  to forgive, Ruhi is just too flawed as a character for me. Dont think I can as a reader forgive her and I personally don't want Abhira to have any related with Goenkas , Ruhi or Poddars. If Armaan wants to maintain some rishtaa with poddars its fine but Abhira really need not. Thats how i feel as a reader. 

Thank you! 

I agree, it did take long for her to piece things together! I'm actually basing that on the show, where nobody has made the link between Abhir and Abhira... They aren't exactly common names  But chalo, let's put it down to the fact that Ruhi is a bit dim, and there was a lot of information to grapple with in the moment? 

I am also with you on the forgiveness part; it would be hard to digest a full hum-saath-saath-hain type reconciliation.