Indu, your wonderful storytelling always makes me smile and gets me excited. đ Great installment that has moved us to continuing of Yash and Aarti's love story. I say "continuing" because the spark has already been lit. đ
"OhâŚc'mon ArpitaâŚit's written all over your face. You fooled me with your friendly and perfect behaviorâŚI admit that. I was so keen to make my dadima happy that I slipped up in judging you. However, I have had past experiences with gold diggersâŚso give me some credit. Also, going by who you were on phone with awhile back, it is clear that the man whose child you carry hasn't abandoned you." There was no way he was going to disclose to her that the journal had actually did him in. That was the only part that came as a huge disappointmentâŚthat the writings were not what they came across to him as. He clamped on his feelings and waited for her to speak.
She was looking down at her hands. When she looked up, the steel was back in her eyes, "His name is Rahul. He was and is the only man I love. We both wanted to move out of the small town and make it big abroadâŚin Canada to be precise. Rahul's uncle runs a business there and wants Rahul as his partner. But for that we needed moneyâŚlots of it. Rahul belongs to a lower middle-class family. You have seen my parents. They have just bare minimum. They tried to give me a comfortable life but it was never enough. They could never understand my needs. Only I know how I got through college."
*shakes head* Arpita is audacious. It's so cool to watch Yash break through her facade, quickly moving to probe her motives. Interesting point from her saying she wanted a father for her child. Wasn't she just talking to the father of her child? As Yash rightly pointed out, the guy evidently still wanted her, so I'm glad Yash persisted and got her to confess the truth about Rahul and why she felt she needed to marry Yash. Truth from her lips for a change. I honestly didn't think she was capable of it. đ
But then, without missing a beat, she resorts to blackmail over his family's reputation. She really is trying to cover her tracks using Yash, and without a lick of shame! So she stays true to herself here. I may have missed it in my reading, but I'm not sure why she thought the baby was going to be such a burden if Rahul, the baby's father, is the love of her life. In a way, it made me think of when she says she wanted a father for a child. I suppose it comes down to timing since, as she said, the baby was an unplanned complication for them. Nevertheless, I really like this power-play/negotiation she and Yash have here. With her blackmail she gives him no other choice but to negotiate, and I love how he managed to hold quite a bit of the power -- giving her what she wanted to some extent, but keeping his dignity and his family's dignity in the process. Now we understand how Payal came into the world. Honestly, in the long run, Payal got the better deal -- Yash for a father and Aarti for a mother. But I'm getting ahead of you there, lol.
Without further ado, Yash got up and walked toward the door, as Arpita watched him with narrowed eyes. She had come prepared with a fighting defence, but Yash had turned the tables on her by being completely unruffledâŚalmost condescending. And the fact that he didn't show as much as a slight interest in her piqued her somewhat, her ego taking a beating. At the door, Yash paused and turned, "I'll get that journal I took from you from the study. You may have it back."
"Keep it! It's not mine anyway."
Yash felt an enormous load being lifted off him as he heard the first right thing coming from her mouth. Taking care to appear nonchalant, and not very eager, he asked casually, "Then whose is it? I'll send it across to her."
"Don't bother. She is a nobody. I don't even remember her name. She had dropped that notebook in college. I would have given it back to her, but I never saw her again."
Good grief, Arpita! I spoke too soon about her ability to tell the truth, lol. Or is her version of reality so twisted that she can't tell the difference? From what I remember she held that journal hostage! đ But this is so true to her self-focused nature. What's more interesting to me, however, is how consistently you've let us see Yash's growing emotional attachment to the journal's words and, by extension, its writer. It's understandably not something he can openly admit; still, the girl who is a "nobody" to Arpita is somebody to him. It's not something he understands yet, but it's clearly the most real connection he has with a woman, in spite of how elusive she is to him now. He's drawn to this girl he thinks he hasn't met but seems to know so well.
The moment the nurse kept the baby in Yash's arms, she stared right back at him. He fell in love with her straightaway. Eyes glistening, he cuddled her close and promised the baby that she will always be his little girl come what may. Finally, he had someone he could call only his own.
I really like the way you had SP know the full scale of Arpita's actions with Yash, allowing him to become Yash's needed quiet ally in the situation. Interestingly, Dadima, Gayatri, and Prateek don't find it odd that the baby was born so soon after Yash and Arpita were married. They seem to take it for granted, and focus on the fact that a new life is coming into the family. Speaking of that new life, on the bold, that is just sweetest thing right there. â¤ď¸ I like the way SP and Yash divulge the truth to the family afterwards. For me, he's able to tell the truth in a way without saying too much. It's better that way.
Dadima looked up as tears ran down her wrinkly cheeks. She lifted her free hand and cradled Yash's cheek, as he held her wrist, "I name her Payal, Yash. She will fill your empty existence with her tingling, sweet presenceâŚShe will be the music that will bring melody back into your life." . . . .
OK, this needs no words. Just precious. I love, love, love Yash's relationship with Dadima. â¤ď¸ And how true her words came to be just from the subsequent paragraphs alone. What a delight Payal is as a toddler! Love those little scenes between her and Yash on her birthday.
. . . . The last time anyone had broached the topic was two years back, when Yash had blown his fuse after being repeatedly pestered for a remarriage. Gayatri, wanting to see Yash settled down and Payal to have a mother, had brought in three proposals in a month.
Dadima had then taken Yash aside, and had asked him, "What is really bothering you Yash? I have never seen you so angry before. Just because you had a bad first marriage doesn't mean you cannot seek happiness again. Your mother only wants the best for you."
Yash had looked at his grandmother with tortured eyes, "Dadima, I can never trust a girl again. NoâŚplease don't ask why. I don't say there aren't any good girls out there. It's just that I have a very poor record with them. I only attract the bad ones."
There's that intensified cynicism I sensed would occur! Even when he became more cautious and deliberate, his good nature was still taken advantage of. I don't think the family understands the intense mistrust he's built up. But then he says this when Dadima asks he had someone in mind:
Yash smiled, "No dadimaâŚthat'd be very contradictory, don't you think?" He had closed his eyes and had blurted out inadvertently, "The only one I could have in mind is lost out there in the world somewhere. I only see her in her written words." He had looked down at the dear old lady and had whispered, "I wish I could find her."
I love Dadima's reassurance as well as the fact that reading Aarti's journal had become second nature for him, almost consuming his consciousness.
Aman! đ Why Deepa? Well, like Arpita, at least she's consistent. Poor guy. I'm glad he dies with the reassurance that his parents would be cared for by Yash and not left at Deepa's mercy. But I especially like the way you tie his death into what comes next. Payal's wish for the mountain fairy collides with Yash's deep connection to his mysterious journal writer, and their wishes meet a first realization while honoring Aman's life. Aman was always the hopeless romantic, so it's fitting that, in spite of his death, his death brings Yash to cross paths with the person he's been looking for.
So excited to see how you proceed with Yash and Aarti's date. Can I call it a date, as spontaneous as it is? Whatever they wish to call it, I'm game to see what happens next. đ
I read your response to my Prologue review...You never fail to leave me in awe, you know that? đ¤
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Shiv Shakti
