Dheera FF -[TOGETHER FOREVER] part 18 updated - Page 3

Meera looked up in shock. " What are you talking about?"

" Where is that Jayesh, come on, where is he hiding? I know he was in here with you a minute ago."

" There is no Jayesh here Vidhya."

It was Vidhya's turn to be shocked. She almost jumped out of her skin when she heard Dharam's voice.

" Papa, what is happening here? What is Meeraji doing here and Why are you here with her?"

" Close the door Shravan. I don't want Bhavani coming down hearing our voices. I will explain everything to you."

Meera looked at Vidhya with remorse in her eyes and then slowly a smile spread over her face. She hugged her sister and kissed her cheeks. " Thank you, for always being there for me"

" Di, will someone tell us what is happening? Papaji told us you had left him in anger after speaking to him., and then you disappeared after writing a letter.

" Vidhya, Meera did speak to me that night but she didn't walk out on me as I made you believe. I was surprised to hear about Bhavani being a murderer and didn't believe Meera initially. But when she asked me why I would trust a woman who had destroyed my marriage , tortured Meera and tried to get me married to a criminal I was shocked."

Meera could see that it was painful for Dharam to recount their conversation from that night . " Dharamji, you don't have to explain anything" she gently touched his cheeks

He pulled her close to him and held her against him tightly. " No Meera, I need to tell Vidhya and Shravan what happened. We owe them an explanation. Vidhya had asked me before why I let Bhavani stay on in the house after you left. The truth is , my anger at your actions turned me blind and I let Baa manipulate me. When she said the true revenge against you would be to kick you out of the house and be friends with the woman for whom you left us, I agreed with her. I even let Bhavani select a bride for me.

I didn't know that Supriya was related to Bhavani and that she knew her background . And after Baa's arrest when she showed me sympathy and you weren't here Meera, I accepted her as my friend. You know the rest". He looked at Vidhya and Shravan.

" Bhavani is as dangerous as Baaji, maybe even more so , Vidhya. Dharamji didn't believe me initially but he is with us now."

"Meera showed me photos of how Bhavani had tied her up and tortured her. I can't tell you how angry I am. It's my mistake , I should have investigated further, but I was so angry with Meera I believed Bhavani when she fell at my feet and begged forgiveness saying she had only kept Meera in her house for a couple of days and that too just to get Sita back. I never knew it was for quite some time and how much planning had gone between my mum and Bhavani. I I didn't even give your grandmother a chance to explain things to me. For that I will never be able to forgive myself."

" Dharamji, please stop this. You are not the only one at fault here. Bhavani manipulated me as well. I believed everything she said and it wasn't hard as she convinced me this was all planned by Gaura Baaji and that you didn't care for me anymore. I knew how much Baaji hated me and I could easily believe everything Bhavani said because you never came looking for me. I know now that you had the commissioner himself involved looking for me but Baaji turned out to be too clever bribing all the police who where investigating my kidnapping. They even came to Bhavani's house once but just had tea and biscuits and left. But I realise now Baaji had spun such a web and got you so involved with Vidhya's problem you had no choice. "

Vidhya looked at Dharam and Meera and even though she was angry at being lied to she was also happy that they were together. " But why all this drama? Why can't we just confront Bhavani and kick her out?"

" No Vidhya, Bhavani is a serpent. If we do that she will keep on plotting against us . We need to get her to confess her crimes and get her arrested. And I intend to have some fun at her expense as well . That's why I had to pretend that I was getting close to her . Do you know she tried to drug me yesterday and tried to get into bed with me? Well , I gave her a taste of her own medicine, literally. I chucked out the milk she gave me and instead put sleeping medicine in her tea and went to sleep in the guest room" Dharam had a naughty glint in his eyes. Despite her anger , Vidhya found herself smiling. " I had to keep you and Shravan out of it to make it look authentic. I sent Meera away to stay in a hotel for the last few nights but now the real fun will begin"

" Papa, you never went away did you! You were with Meeraji! "

Dharam and Meera did have the courtesy to blush . " Guess I owe you both a big thanks. Yeah, I was with Meera, we had a lot of catching up to do." He hugged Meera even closer and kissed her forehead. Meera turned red and smacked him lightly on the arms.

" Don't worry, when all this over , we will keep Priyal with us and you both can spend some time away as well" It was Vidhya and Shravan who blushed now.

" But Papaji, what is your big plan.?"

" For now, Meera will stay here during the day. I will find a way to get her inside the house at night. As for Bhavani, this is what we will do. " He explained his plan to them.

...

Bhavani looked at the pile of potatoes and onions and cursed all the Suryavanshis. Her eyes started watering and she hadn't even started on the onions. Dharam had told her a little while ago that he had some business associates coming for dinner and wanted home cooked meal for them. She had assumed Vidhya will do the cooking . ' Hmm! the maharani had to go for a meeting in the school. And Dharamji , what did he say? You go Vidhya, Don't worry, Bhavani will take care of everything. It's her house and husband's prestige at issue here. Isn't it Bhavani? ' He had smiled sweetly at her and she had fallen for it. Now she was here stuck with a mountain of potatoes and she had to make Rotis as well. After Dharam had fired the last maid, they hadn't been able to find anyone. Vidhya kept finding faults with the three people sent by the foreman of the factory and now Bhavani was stuck with the cooking. Also the other maid who helped with all the cleaning had called in this morning complaining of fever so now all the cleaning had to be done as well. Bhavani spent the next three four hours cooking and cleaning . She had thought of getting someone from her village but her phone seems to have disappeared again. And she was sure she had cleaned that bit of dust near the sofa, how did it get dusty AGAIN??? And where did all that dirt near the door come from? Was this place haunted?

Meera had managed to sneak into the house and was watching Bhavani from upstairs. She wondered what would happen if Bhavani found out that Vidhya had hidden her phone and it was Shravan and Meera who kept putting dust and dirt all over the house making her clean the place again and again. She found it hard to control her laughter. Dharam put his hand on her mouth and pulled her away . " Dharamji, I didn't know you could be so devious. "

Dharam took Meera's face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "I will make her pay for what she did to you. Bhavani might think she is clever but once my brain gets into gear, I will always be two steps ahead of her. Meera , stay in Vidhya's room for a while till I come and get you" . He left , after kissing her gently on the lips.

Finally, Bhavani finished the cooking and cleaning . She looked at all the food in satisfaction. Dharamji would be so happy with her today. " Wow Bhavani, the food looks delicious. " She hadn't seen Dharam come to the kitchen. " Why don't you go and get ready before the guests come? I will get Vidhya to make some tea for you. And I have left a gift for you in the bed."

Bhavani rushed to the bedroom to find a new sari and some jewellery for her. She was convinced that Dharam loved her . By the time she got ready Vidhya had come with the tea. Vidhya looked at Bhavani, all decked up in her new sari and jewellery and walked out leaving the tea on the table. Bhavani relaxed, sipping her tea and gradually her eyes closed.

" The twins are waking up and I need to feed them and get out of the house before your other wife wakes up"

" Meera! Are you rubbing salt in my wound? You know that you are the only person that I love, that I have ever loved."

"Uff, Dhramji. I am teasing you. As your one and only love I believe I have the right for that" . She bit his lips gently and moved away before he could pull her back again. She sneaked into the kitchen and made milk for the kids. This is what they have bee doing the last couple of days. On the day Dharam's business partners came to dinner, they had drugged Bhavani and Meera had taken her place as the hostess. The guests were impressed , especially with the food. Say what you want about Bhavani, the woman could cook, thought Meera. She had spent the night with her Dharamji while Bhavani lay senseless in her room. Next day, She had gone and hidden herself in the servants' room till night fell when they repeated the whole thing again. But she didn't want to hide in that room today. Where will she go? How long could they live like this? The questions played on her mind while she fed the babies.

" Why don't you go to your mums for tonight Meera?" It was as if Dharam had read her mind.

" But Dharamji, then I won't be able see you tonight"

" I need to spend some time with Bhavani today. Otherwise she will get suspicious. I need to get her to confess somehow so we can end this nonsense and get on with our lives" He pulled her close to him and buried his face in her hair.

...

Bhavani could not believe it. What the hell was happening? She had missed the dinner party and last night She had fallen asleep again, in mid sentence, while talking to Dharam . And now he had left for work before she even woke up. She paced angrily in her room. VIDHYA. It had to be her . She was the one who made her tea , maybe she was adding something in it. ' That's it, I will not eat or drink anything made by that Chudail . What if she poisons me?'

Vidhya was surprised when Bhavani said she was fasting and ate just fruits and insisted on making her own tea. Normally she wouldn't miss a chance to get Vidhya to serve her, enforcing her rights as her mother in law. When Dharam came home that night, after meeting Meera for dinner , and excused himself and disappeared to his room, Bhavani was quick to follow him. She saw him sitting with his head in his hands.

" Dharamji, is everything all right?"

" Meera" , he gritted his teeth, " I can't stop thinking about her betrayal. I can't move on with our lives till I confront her"

" You need to forget her and carry on"

" I can't. You have no idea how much I Ioved her, how passionate we were. We would have done anything for each other. Don't get me wrong Bhavani, but on that day when Meera returned as your daughter, if she had asked me to kill you, I would have done it. You wouldn't know love like that"

Dharam sneaked a sideways look at Bhavani and saw her face take on colour. He was deliberately provoking her.

" But I do, I know what it means to love someone passionately , to do anything for them" Bhavani was almost shouting.

" You don't understand. Meera fought for our love. She ran barefooted to see me when I was in hospital. She went against her whole family so she could marry me. The dramas she did. The games she played to make me jealous. She almost destroyed this house when I asked her to leave . She even took on my mum. She showed me how to love"

He smiled remembering their time together.

MEERA, MEERA , MEERA , was this all he was capable of thinking ? What about what she had done for him? Had Meera killed someone for him? Bhavani was fuming

" I have done things for you as well Dharamji" Bhavani was breathing heavily. This was it. She was going to confess. Dharam could feel his heartbeat increasing, he switched on the recorder on his phone and waited. " I have ..."

" What bhavani?"

Bhavani almost kicked herself. She didn't get to be the Chief of 21 villages by being stupid or careless. It was one thing to say you would do anything but she knew Dharam would never accept her if he knew she was a murderer. She thought quickly. " I chased Divya out of here, threatening to hurt her , if she didn't leave you. That's why she left in a hurry. But I am not sorry , I only did that because I love you. I can be wild like Meera too"

Dharam cursed himself. He knew the moment had passed. Bhavani was being careful with her words. He knew she had tried to kill Divya, not just hurt her. He will have to wait for another chance. He felt frustrated, so close, so close. He closed his eyes.

" I will find Meera for you , I promise" she lay her head on his shoulder

" Good! After that we can start our life as husband and wife. Sorry,Bhavani but you need to wait till then" He clenched his fist.

He got up and left the room, to go and sleep in the guest room. Bhavani threw a glass at the mirror in anger. Another night gone without her getting any closer to him.

...

Meera didn't like being back at Modi house. Her brother was an idiot and his new wife was worse. There was something the two of them were planning and if she wasn't so preoccupied with her own problems, she would have tried to find out more. But she did like Pinku, she was sure he was gay and hoped they could be friends. She was getting tired of Sita following her around and Sona Bhabhi and Tolu with all their questions. She had told them that she had a fight with Dharam and wanted to stay there for a few days but decided that she would leave the next day. She will go and stay in the servants quarter again. The only person she had told the truth to was Jaggi. He had realised she was lying and sussed the truth out of her. But they decided to keep everything form Gopi and Dadi as they seemed worried enough with Ricky. And she felt even more depressed when Dharam phoned to tell her that Bhavani had stopped short of a full confession.

...

Bhavani put her face on the pillow and inhaled. Dharamji's smell. It was driving her mad. What could she do? Till she found Meera he was playing hard to get. She had gone to the village looking for Meera and Jayesh but no one there had seen them. She needed to keep looking but right no she wanted to enjoy this. Bhavani lay in Dharam's bed in the guest room thinking about him. She moved her hands all over the mattress , and wished Dharam was actually lying there ,in bed, with her. When her hands closed over the trinket she didn't think too much about it at first. And then her eyes opened wide. Meera's anklet. How did it get here? She had cleaned this room herself on the day of the dinner and put new sheets on the bed in case one of the guests wanted to stay over. The only person who used this room since then was Dharam, he had slept here last night. So what was Meera's anklet doing here? Was he so obsessed with Meera that he had kept this? She needed answers. Soon.

Bhavani waited for Dharam to come home. She wanted to find out how Meera's jewellery came to be in his bed but she needed to handle this carefully. After dinner, when Dharam went to the bedroom Bhavani made sure that his eyes would fall on the anklet. She had kept it by his bedside and wanted to see his reaction to it. Dharam was looking at some files and didn't seem to have noticed it. Bhavani sat next to him and started planting with the buttons on his kurta. If only she could get him to undress and she could move her hands over his body again. She closed her eyes imagining how it would be to be in his arms. Dharam was getting uncomfortable but he had to put up with it for a little while longer.

" Bhavani, why is Vidhya's Payal on my table?"

" Vidhya's? But I thought.."

" Vidhya was saying earlier that she had lost her anklet. I will give it to her tomorrow".

Bhavani felt like her head was spinning, she was confused. She was sure it was Meera's, it had a unique design but maybe she had given it to Vidhya. If it was Vidhya's how did it end up in his bed? Was something happening between them? Bhavani thought about all the time Vidhya had tried to come between them , she had assumed it was to protect her sister's marriage but maybe she was mistaken. Maybe that's why Vidhya was drugging her. She needed some tea and she was going to make it herself. No way was she going to let Vidhya near her tea.

" Dharamji, I am going to make some tea. I will get your milk as well"

" No Bhavani. Get me some tea as well" he went back to the files.

When Bhavani returned with the tea , Dharam took one sip and sent her away for more sugar. While she was out of the room , he mixed the sleeping pills in her tea and waited. As they sat drinking tea, Bhavani told him about her attempts to find Meera, she didn't want to admit that she had no idea where Meera was, so she told Dharam that she had found out Meera had gone to Mumbai with Jayesh.

" then I am going there to find her Bhavani"

" Dharamji, will you let this go? What will you gain by finding Meera now? She clearly doesn't want to live with you. You have me now" Bhavani took his hands . She moved closer to him and and brought her face so close to him , he thought she was going to kiss him. Dharam racked his brain for a way to escape without offending her and offere a silent prayer. Maybe Ambe Maa heard his prayer because his phone rang and he jumped up from the bed. Saved by the bell!

Bhavani cursed the person who was calling him at this time of the night and waited for him to come back. She looked at her tea cup, there still skittle bit left but The tea had gone cold and she decided to throw it away. She waited for Dharam but he didn't come back and she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. Just as she was drifting off, she thought she saw him come back , say something and leave.

...

" Vidhya, that's enough. You know your sister doesn't eat each much, she is worried about her weight. "

" is Bhavani sleeping, Papaji?"

" Sleeping like a log. I had just checked. I had to wait till she was out to call her a liar. But I hope she didn't hear me."

Vidhya tried hard to hide her smile. Poor Papaji. Stuck with a that Bhavani. She knew he wasn't really scared of her but he was right. Bhavani was like a cancerous growth, you couldn't just cut out the growth , you had to burn it , hoping it never returns

" Meera in Mumbai, my foot. Wait till she finds out Meera is In my bed with the kids. Actually we had a narrow escape today. She saw Meera's Payal on my bedside. No idea how it got there. The maid must have found it on the floor and left it there. I pretended it was yours if Bhavani asks tell her the same thing. I will give this to Meera but I will get you assimilate pair tomorrow. I am sure Bhavani will be checking. Meera and I will have to be more careful."

Shravan looked at his dad. He knew that he was under a lot of stress and Shravan blamed himself for some of it. All this stared with Baaji coming back and that was all his fault.

" Papa, this has to end soon. How long can you and Meeraji keep this up?"

" I don't know beta. But if I can't get her to confess within a week, I will have to think of something else . I hate the sight of her but I have to pretend to be her lover every day. This is my punishment for the way I hurt Meera by marrying Bhavani"

Dharam took the plate of food and went to find Meera. She had phoned him earlier to say that she had come home. She had a fight with Ricky and Sameera and had left Modi house in anger. Dharam had managed to hide her in the guest room. He was hoping Bhavani would have a deep sleep as usual.

...

Bhavani woke up with a start. She was in a nightmare. She saw running and she was being chased - by Kokila with a broomstick. Bhavani had no idea why she would be dreaming of Kokila but it seemed to be a sign. It was 7:00, which was earlier than her normal waking up time. Dharam was not there. Maybe he was doing his exercise. Bhavani thought back to the day she had seen him get an oil massage. Her world had turned upside down that day. Smiling to herself she started walking towards the kitchen and felt like she had been kicked in the stomach. Dharam had just opened the door to the guest room and was about to walk out when a pair of bangled arms circled his waist. He was laughing and saying something to her. Then he turned around and bent his head . Bhavani could see the hands around him tighten, digging into his back. THEY WERE KISSING. Bhavani was so shocked she could only stare with her mouth open. She hid behind a pillar to watch and was even more shocked when the two of them went towards Shravan's room. She couldn't see who the woman was as she was walking with her arms around Dharam and her face in his shoulder and he too was hugging her tightly but when she slowly opened the door and went inside the room, she knew it had to be Vidhya.

Bhavani felt her legs giving way and slowly sank to the floor. She thought she had got the perfect revenge against Gopi, by destroying her daughter's marriage and getting her dream man in the bargain but it looked like Vidhya had won the ultimate victory.If she wasn't so angry at Dharam's betrayal she would have seen the irony and laughed at it. It was all making sense now. Vidhya trying to get her idiot friend to marry Dharam, so she could keep him to herself. The way she couldn't keep her eyes open after drinking tea every night. She had assumed it was Vidhya but yesterday Vidhya had come no where near her tea. It was Dharam. It was him all along.

Meera looked at her babies and smiled . They had slept in Vidhya's room yesterday as Priyal had insisted. . Meera lay in bed with her twins and thought back to the last few nights. She had spent with Dharam.They were falling in love with each other all over again and it felt wonderful. she was going to hide in Vidhya's room for a little while. And then She would somehow sneak out of the house and go back to Modi house .

Bhavani dug her fingers in her palm while she listened to Dharam. She had wanted him so badly, she had murdered for him. And all the while, he was pretending. Bhavani looked at the handsome face in front of her and al, she wanted now was to slap him. She could have forgiven him for going back to Meera but what he had done was unforgivable. He was talking about a business trip to London but he didn't want to leave her and go , so he was sending Shravan instead. So now he was getting Shravam out of the way, so he could enjoy with Vidhya. Big Mistake, Dharam Suryavanshi. Bhavani thought to herself. She will make them pay for this. Dharam and Vidhya will have to pay for this. Bhavani gritted her teeth. She waited for Dharam to leave the room and made a call.

" yes, yes, tonight. I will keep the door open for you to come inside but it needs to be done tonight. " She will end this game tonight.

...

.

Meera was in two minds, should she stay hidden in the servant's quarters or should she go to Modi house? One of them had rats( she hoped Vidhya had bought the rat poison she asked for) and the other one had even bigger rodents- Ricky and Sameera. She shuddered when she thought of them. And today was meant to be Sameera's birthday, she really didn't fancy taking part in any celebrations now. In the end she decided not to go to Modi Bhavani

...

Bhavani kept a close eye on Vidhya. When she got a chance she decided to take a look in Vidhya's room. She went through her cupboard and chest of drawer looking for any clue that will prove that she was having an affair with Dharam. What she found more than shocked her. It was a bottle of rat poison. So Vidhya was planning on getting rid of someone. Well, it had to be either her or Shravan. For a minute, she actually felt sympathy for Shravan, not realising what a two faced murderous wife he had got. Bhavani decided to spend some time with Vidhya in the kitchen.

"Vidhya, I feel so bad about making you do all the cooking. Here, let me give you a hand. What re you making?"

" it's all Papaji's favourite dishes"

" Not Shravan's?"

" Oh, Shravanji doesn't mind, he will eat whatever I give him. But he is not coming home for dinner today, he had to go fora business trip."

' I bet you are going to make the most of this with your sasur. And I am sure one of these days you will poison Shravan and get rid off him' Bhavani thought to herself.

She took a quick peek at Vidhya's feet and her heart stopped for a second Dharam wasn't lying. It was the same anklet she had given him. So this shameless woman had spent the night in Dharam's bed. What a cheek, trying to steal another woman's husband while planning to get rid of her own one. Vidhya had seen Bhavani look at her feet and was glad that she was wearing a similar pair of anklets to Meera's. Papaji was right. Bhavani was still suspicious.

" Nice Payal Vidhya, are they new?"

" No, these are Meera Di's , she gave them to me. She gives, I mean, used to give me all her stuff when she got tired of them."

' I suppose that includes her husband as well' Bhavani murmured to herself

" Did you say something?"

"No, nothing. I am going out for a while. I will be back in the evening"

With her suspicions confirmed , all Bhavani wanted to do was get out of the house and put her plan in motion.

..,...

Dharam waited impatiently for Bhavani. He was going to try and get her to confess .today. Bhavani walked in with his milk and her tea.

Before Dharam could say anything, she asked him. " Dharamji, what will you do if you find out that the person you are with is prepared to kill someone so they could be with you., maybe poison their other half?"

Dharam almost dropped his glass in panic. Was Bhavani reading his mind now? How did she know he was going to question her along the same line?

" What, WHAT?Why would you ask me that Bhavani.? Who has poisoned whom? "

He changed his panicked tone and put on his most flirtatious voice." Are you telling me that you have poisoned someone to be with me Bhavani?"

" I am not talking about me, I am talking about.."

" Who are you taking about?"

" Oh, it's nothing, I was just testing you"

Dharam didn't like this at all. He was the one meant to be testing Bhavani. Well, he will have to abandon his plan today and think this through. Tonight, let sleeping beauty go into another deep slumber. He did the usual routine of asking Bhavani to get him something while he drugged her tea. But unknown to him, Bhavani had hidden on the other side of the door and peeping in, had seen what he was doing. When she came back , she managed to get rid of the tea without him noticing and then she pretended to fall asleep. Dharam waited for a little while and then made his way out of the room to join Meera , who was hiding in Vidhya's room. With Bhavani already suspicious, Dharam didn't want her to catch Meera in the guest room. She hardly ever went to Vidhya's room, mainly because the twins were there and she was scared she would be lumbered with them if she ever went there.

...

Bhavani watched Dharam knock on Vidhya's door and say something. She couldn't hear what it was but he was definitely flirting , that much she could make out from his body language. She couldn't believe his audacity. With Shravan away, he was not wasting any time at all. Bhavani had to walk to the window and draw in some fresh air. She felt her heart would explode. When she went back to the door and looked out, she could see the guest room door closing. She didn't waste any time making the call that her goons were waiting for. She silently went downstairs and opened the main door. They will be here shortly and they knew what to do. She had made all the arrangements that afternoon. She walked towards the room where Dharam was engaged in his rasleela. She stood outside the door with clenched fists, as she listened to all the groaning and giggling from inside the room. 'THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME.' She silently screamed to herself. When she saw her henchmen walking towards her she knocked on the door.

Silence from inside the room and then Dharam's voice

" Who is it?" He asked again and When he got no reply, he got up from the bed and walked to the door. Bhavani could hear him coming and she quickly ran to her room. Now the fun will begin. She smiled to herself as she lay in bed and closed her eyes.