Hello friends, as today is friendship day, I want to post the last chapter of this story on this special day.. I hope you like it and it is up to your expectations. Please share your views and ignore mistakes.
I want to dedicate this chapter to Sakshi and Nupur and all my readers.. Love you loads guys.. Thank you so much for your love and support.
Last Chapter:"Before she became Mr. Maheshwari's wife, who was she?" she asked her best friend in the privacy of her room. "Kavitha Malhotra, a simple girl with high ambitions..." Swara gasps on this piece of news, astonished that she is finally seeing this woman and that she is even here to begin with. She has come back... After Eleven months of being missing, she has finally come back...That too, with another man. How is it that she is at this party that is held in Sanskaar Maheshwari's honor? How could she have the audacity to return?
Anger shoots up inside of her by the thought of her indulging herself into her own selfish needs while she had responsibilities of her own, being a married woman and a mother of a child. How selfish could she be, really? To strand two individuals to survive on their own and chase off her own desires..? She hates her, she decides. She hates her even more than before now that she knows what kind of woman she really is.
Swara watches as she politely excuses herself in the other direction, leaving the party momentarily. She looks around, wondering whether any of the other Maheshwaris notice her presence amongst them... whether Sanskaar has noticed his ex-wife at all, her unexpected return in his and his family's lives. She finds him, however, surrounded amidst attending guests, toasting with glasses of champagne... oblivious to everything.
Without another dwelling thought, Swara looks over to her sister and hurriedly hands Ananya into Uttara's arms, telling the two of them to take care of her while she attends to something else. She heard Ananya crying out for her until it eventually faded as she crossed the hall and arrived at the French doors leading outside. Taking in a deep breath, Swara steps out into the small garden...
She doesn't know what she's doing or why she is going after Kavitha, but decides that this is her only chance to speak with the woman and ask questions that the Maheshwari family has failed to address... She wants to know why she could ever leave a darling girl like Ananya behind, to leave her without a mother's love...To forsake a marriage and abandon a man who held faith in her and continues to...
There she sits on one of the marble benches and brushing aside her hair, her bangles tinkling as she does this, and gazing up at the starry sky. Swara slowly approaches her sees Kavitha Malhotra glance up at her and smile politely before looking back up at the dark sky.
Swara: Hello... I don't think we've introduced ourselves... I am Swara... Swara Gadodia...
Kavitha straightens her posture, rising to her full height, and extends her hand forward with a friendly smile.
Kavitha: Kavitha... Kavitha Malhotra...
Swara does not take her hand and after realizing that she won't, Kavitha drops her hand back down to her side.
Swara: I know who you are...
Kavitha: Oh? Have I seen you somewhere before, then?
Swara: No...
Kavitha: (confused) Then?
Swara: When I say I know you, I mean that I have heard of you...
Kavitha: (smiling tentatively) And what have you heard? Good things, I hope. (she giggles)
Swara: (returns the smile, but it is forced) I don't know... You tell me... What would you say about a woman who abandoned her husband and child behind in order to attain her own selfish wants?
The smile on Kavitha's face fades as she becomes rebuffed by Swara's words as well as taken aback.
Kavitha: Excuse me?
Swara: I believe you heard me right...You had done all that, did you not? Deprive a child of its mother and leave behind a wounded heart and for what? What could you possibly have wanted more? Were you not happy with what God have given you? He gave you a husband who adored you and loved you more than himself"graced you with a child"and a family who had all dotted on you. What made you throw all that away? What was much more important than that? Then the life you had?
Kavitha: I think you are mixing me with someone else... I don't know what you are talking about... (hastily)
Swara: (voice grows) You know what I am talking about! Are you so ashamed of what you had done that you do not even wish to speak of it?!
Kavitha: Listen Swara, I don't know what it is that you are saying. What husband? What child? I have none of that. I'm happily engaged with a wonderful man who loves me. And yes, maybe one day we too will be graced with a child. And let me tell you, I will never leave them both. I will love them dearly with all my heart and never let go.
Swara: (shocked) I cannot believe you! You are a disgusting hypocrite... What about your husband and the child you already have?!
Kavitha: (her tone growing an edge) I already told you, I do not know what husband and child you speak of!
Swara: Your husband, Sanskaar Maheshwari! You really don't remember him? The one with whom you were childhood friends with? The one who fell madly in love with you and wanted to marry you?! The one who gave you so much love after your marriage! And your child, Ananya! The little girl who you carried in your womb for nine months and brought into this world! You really don't remember them?!
Kavitha's face pales as she becomes speechless. She is clearly shocked by Swara's words and stares at her with baffled eyes.
Kavitha: You... You... You have got it all wrong... All so wrong...
Kavitha gathers her purse and begins storming out from the garden. Swara runs after her and stops her just as they are about to reach the doors. She grabs onto her arm.
Swara: No, it is all right... You just do not wish to see it that way... You do not want to face what you had done!
Kavitha: Stop it! Stop it! Just stop it! None of what you are saying is true!
Swara: And why not?!
Kavitha: Because I was never married to Sanskaar Maheshwari!! Neither am I the mother of his child!
Swara: What do you mean? ... Of course you are! You walked out on them both"
Kavitha: Are you not listening to me?! How could I possibly be wife to him and the mother of his child when I do not even properly know him!
Swara steps away in astonishment and becomes speechless herself. She watches Kavitha look behind her, her eyes fixated onto something, and slowly follows her gaze. She becomes startled on being faced with the gallant height of Sanskaar Maheshwari towering over her, staring down at her with dark, gleaming eyes. Her own eyes switch over to the person next to him, Ragini, who looks terribly worried and looks from Swara to Sanskaar anxiously.
Kavitha: Mr. Maheshwari, what is going on here? Why does this woman believe that I am married to you and am the mother of your child?
Sanskaar changes his gaze from Swara and over to Kavitha. A look of apology spreads onto his face.
Sanskaar: I'm sorry Kavitha. There is a bit of confusion. And I am sorry that you are brought into this. Please excuse us and we will sort this all out.
Kavitha simply nods her head, gives Swara a last look, before willingly leaving the three behind. Swara stares at Sanskaar with so much confusion that she feels a headache coming along. She looks over to Ragini, who is white faced and murmurs to herself...
Ragini: I shouldn't have left her alone, Bhaiya... I'm sorry... I should have known that all these people"she would eventually--
Sanskaar raises his hand to silence her while in the meanwhile keeping his eyes firmly on Swara, who stares back into his expressionless eyes.
Sanskaar: Swara...
Swara: Mr. Maheshwari, what did Kavitha mean by all of that? Tell me it's not true... She is your wife! And she is Ananya's mother!
Sanskaar: Swara, that's enough.
Swara: But it is the truth! Isn't it? -Ragini, you had told me"you told me everything about Kavitha, telling me how she and Mr. Maheshwari met, when they got married, when they had Ananya and when she left them both... You told me... (excitedly)
Sanskaar sharply looks to his sister at this and she guilty looks down, avoiding her older brother's murderous glare.
Ragini: (softly) ... Swara... I... I lied to you... I'm sorry... You had kept on asking about Ananya's mother... so I had to give you something... And I thought Kavitha would have been a safe pick since we hardly ever meet her...
Sanskaar: Ragini, leave... As it is, you have done enough already... I will handle this...
Ragini flashes a sad look but leaves promptly, walking from sight... Swara looks desperately up at him...
Swara: (tearing up, using an accusing tone) What is the truth then? Why doesn't anyone tell me? Who is Ananya's mother? Who was the woman who walked out on you and broke your heart? Why is this all such a mystery?! Why can you not just tell me!
Suddenly Swara feels his hands grip hard onto her shoulders and shake her roughly. She is startled by this and stares up at him, stupefied.
Sanskaar: (growls) God dammit, Swara! It is you! It's you! It's you, alright?! You are Anu's mother! You are my wife! Only you!
Her breath evades her and she finds herself rooted by his emphasized words. Her mind goes blank and the rest of her body limb... She looks to him, beyond confused, beyond troubled, beyond sane and whispers...
Swara: What? How... How can that...
She chokes on her building tears and says no more, too absorbed in this exhilarating shock he has given her.
Swara: (shaking her head) ... No... No, what you are saying is not true.
She is his wife? Ananya's real mother? She is the one who abandoned them? No, she couldn't have done that. She never would have done that.
Sanskaar: I wouldn't lie... especially to you... You're my wife, Swara... and Ananya is our daughter. (his voice growing less harsher, almost accompanying a much gentler tone)
Seeing that Swara is overwhelmed and not properly looking at him, he holds her close, drawing her by the arm and peers directly at her.
Sanskaar: Swara... You have to listen to me. I've had enough of the charade I've had to put on. You may as well now listen to the truth.
Her stunned gaze lands onto his dark, grave face, her vision blurring from the onslaught of hot tears. Her breathing turns shallow. Her headache grows. Still, she shakes her head in denial...
Swara: No... I-... I wouldn't... I couldn't...
Sanskaar: Swara...
He calls out her name in a tone she is unfamiliar with since knowing him. If she wasn't mistaken, she would have thought it was a loving tone as it is much sweeter, much softer...silkier.
Sanskaar: Look at me. (he gently commands)
She does as he says. A single look into his dark stormy molten chocolate eyes and all she can see is such strong fierceness in them, an evident sincerity in them that she can no longer deny. She feels herself shatter from what else is reflected in his pained gaze... love... burning love that brims in those orbs of his. She nearly gasps from it.
It's true. It has to be true. But then that means... She is that very woman who she has despised all these months. But why? Why did she leave them? And where did she plan to do and go? More tears dwell in her eyes and stream down her cheeks... Her knees grow weak and she feels the need to sit down, but Sanskaar's strong hold on her arm keeps her uprooted.
Swara: (disbelief, dazed) ... I... I left you both? I was the one who walked out?... I am the woman who everyone refuses to speak about in your home?... I... your wife?...
She feels a dizzy sensation forming and has to hold onto his arms to steady her, having to lean into him for support. She sees how his tensed expression softens on hearing her choked words... This man... this man before her is her husband?
Sanskaar: (softly) Yes... Yes, you left me and Ananya both...
Swara removes herself away from him and falls down onto the stone bench while hugging herself and crying...
Swara: (whispers) Why? Why"why did I do that?
She feels his presence come near and looks up through shiny tears once his cold hands grip onto her own. He kneels down on the grass before her, looking attentive and worried, yet at the same time wanting to soothe her.
Sanskaar: It's not your fault... It's not in the way you are thinking of it... Yes, you left us but it was necessary"it was a majboori...
Swara: (sobbing) But I still left! I am a horrible woman! -I left my husband and child behind... The very woman I hated for leaving you and Ananya behind is myself... I... I did it... And you still love me after that?
His fingers run through her silk tresses as he looks at her in adornment that is completely foreign to her as she has had to suffer from his neglect and indifference thus far. He kisses her other hand that he holds onto her and places it against his cheek. She can feel his warmth on her cold hand.
Sanskaar: I will always love you... always...
Swara: But I"
Sanskaar: Swara, please... You didn't do anything wrong... Like I said, it was a compulsion that took you away from me and Ananya...
Swara: (puzzled) What kind of compulsion?
Stress lines begin to form on his forehead as he stands up on his feet and runs his hand through his hair. Swara stands up as well, waiting for his next words...
Swara: (pleadingly) Please, tell me ... I don't remember anything...
Sanskaar nods his head in agreement, understanding her predicament.
Sanskaar: It is too late to avoid this matter any longer now that you know the truth...
He looks at her with his intense molten chocolate eyes.
Sanskaar: Swara... eleven months ago... about a month after our daughter was born... You met with a terrible accident when you went to visit your parents and sister in KolKatta... You hadn't seen them much since we had gotten married so we had made plans to visit with Ananya as well. Except I had been busy with handling things at work so I would have joined you in Kolkatta after a couple of days after everything was all clear... Maa had arrived recently around the day of your flight back from Chardaam trip and wanted to spend some time with her new granddaughter... So we altered our plans and decided you would go first and Ananya and I would come afterwards. As it is your father wasn't feeling too good at the time so you were a little worried and wanted to go as soon as possible. Once you arrived at Kolkatta's airport and took the taxi to go to your father's house, the car met with an accident with another...
Swara stares at Sanskaar shocked as he continues...
Sanskaar: While you were conscious you failed to recognize anyone and the doctors concluded that you had lost your memory... After some more testing they said that there was possibility of you having a brain hemorrhage if you were given any shocks or stress, which would trigger it... and you would die. Everyone, your father especially, believed it would be best if we kept it a secret that you were a wife and a mother... with how it would already add too much with the stress of having unknown responsibilities and that it would just be best if you knew about your parents and sister who would help you adjust and take care of you...and it didn't help much that you did not react well whenever I came around you. It was heartbreaking for me to let you go, but I knew it was for your wellbeing... I loved you too much to put you in danger... And so if you had to leave me, then I was fine with it...
Sanskaar stops, looks at Swara to make sure she is okay and then goes on...
Sanskaar: Your father took you to Australia along with your mother and sister, to get you to a new environment so there wouldn't be any danger of you remembering too much... I didn't know for how long this act would go on, but for you, I was willing to wait forever... I knew eventually you would come back... Our love would have brought you back to me... our child... So I waited... and waited... and grew miserable and miserable without you in my life... Until Maa brought you back for a visit... She wanted to try patch up the remaining of my life... She thought it wasn't right how we were kept away from each other... She wanted Anu to be around her mother... I had been strongly against you coming here in the beginning... I didn't want to risk anything with your health... So thats why, ever since you have been here, I maintained my distance... I feared that if I got close to you in any way, you would be harmed...
Now she knows why he pushed her away, why he kept himself away"he loves her too much to put her into danger. It was all out of love.
Sanskaar: (continuing) Maa had stayed particularly close to you on my account... She lied by saying she was your mother's best friend in order to establish some relationship to your family and in order for you to accept her... She kept me well informed about you every time she went to visit... I called your father regularly as well, but that had stopped when he started to fear that you would catch something is wrong...
Swara stares at him wide-eyed as a particular memory strikes her mind. She comes close to him and places her hand on his shoulder.
Swara: It was you who sent me those flowers on my birthday, wasn't it?
Sanskaar nods his head in affirmative.
Swara: Papa had gotten so angry that day and I overheard his conversation with you in his office... He was yelling at you to keep away...
Sanskaar: (giving a wry smile) Your father has been telling me that for years Swara... It is nothing new...
Swara: (surprised) For years?
Sanskaar: Yes... ever since we were little... We had been best friends straight from childhood... Your family and mine were neighbors for ten years... We did everything together...
Swara: ... (disbelief) friends?... childhood? But Maa said Ragini and I"
Sanskaar: That was another lie on Maa's part. In fact, Ragini and you could hardly stand one another growing up. It was only after our marriage that you two became close, inseparable"almost like sisters. (smiling now a little softly to himself, reminiscing through the past)
Confusion swarms her around as she looks unsure of his words. Sanskaar draws her closer and cups her cheek, causing her eyes to connect with his.
Sanskaar: Do you remember? ... Do you remember anything, Swara?
Swara: (shaking her head) No... I... I don't remember anything...
His face falls from disappointment but he quickly recollects himself and urges her more...
Sanskaar: Try... Please try Swara... Remember our life together... Remember us... Remember me...
Swara: (choking on her tears, her head pounding) Mr. Maheshwari, I... I can't... I can't remember anything about my life...
Sanskaar: (fiercely) There used to be a wall border separating our houses... every day we would sit there together, talking for hours until sunset... I used to sneak you out of your house early in the mornings and take you deep into the woods to a lake on the far side to show you the sunrise... It was one of your favorite things to do and mine... After finishing my studies at the university Maa sent me to America to study for my MBA... you were so heartbroken when you found out... I stayed there for eight years building my business abroad... I wrote to you all the time... Just like I said I would... And when I came back to Mumbai, where my family had moved over the years, I met you at a friend's party... You were staying in Mumbai too, trying to start a career on your own... And just by one look at you, I fell... I fell hard Swara... That is when I realized how much I really loved you... what you really mean to me. We got married a year later... Remember, Swara... Remember...
She stares at him stunned and finds herself being wrapped in his strong arms, him holding her tight, and whispering in her hair...
Sanskaar: Please Swara... I've waited for so long... Remember your Prince... Remember me...
Flashes run through her mind and she sees her dreams being recreated before her eyes. Her once foggy dreams become into real, clear visions... She can see now... The blur is gone... She gasps as realization strikes her... Her dreams... They are in fact memories... All that Sanskaar had described to her is just like her dreams...
Suddenly different visions come to her, coming in flashes one by one... The two of them dancing to soft music, lost in one another's eyes... His gentle, yet firm kiss on her waiting lips... His broad smiling face as he murmured the three words that spun excitement inside of her... Rose petals being thrown on them as they took their pheres, walking around the fire as their witness... Him swinging her around in his arms as she told him she was pregnant... The delivery room in which she brought little Ananya into the world... Her waving bye to her husband and daughter as she left to take her flight... The drunk driver slamming into the side of the taxi and shattering glass raining down onto her, muffling her own terrified screams...
She shakily takes air into her and finds herself at loss for words. Her eyes blur with hot tears as she gazes up at the sky, peering up to the almighty and the game he has played with her...
"Sanskaar... Oh Sanskaar, I remember...," she whispers in his ear. His hold on her loosens and he pulls back to look at her. His eyes shine with tears as he looks at her with amazement. She smiles and nods her head excitedly, tears flowing freely from her wet eyes. She takes his face into her hands.
Swara: I remember...(she says again affirmatively) ... I remember my Prince... I remember you...
He gives a watery laugh out of disbelief and crushes her body against his and kisses her all over her face ecstatically.
Sanskaar: I love you... I love you so much... so much...
She smiles radiantly at him through her tears, her heart swelling with love for this man across from him. How much this man has gone in order to protect her... to keep her safe--she will never be able to forget... She loves him, she loves him with all her heart and now she will never leave him... Not ever again.
Swara: I love you too...
He claims her lips with his and kisses her passionately while keeping her close in his arms, never wanting to let her go... Not again...
------------
Thank you,
Shreetha..
PS: Sorry, No PM's
Edited by .FireBolt. - 9 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
