CHAPTER 25: ANU
That night Mahir again insisted on pulling down the mattress and sleeping on the floor. Bella had pulled out yet another hideous outfit from her wardrobe. This one was a cotton gown. The kind Mahir had never imagined he would see Bella wearing. Bella was kind of conscious of the dress but Mahir was least bothered. He pulled her down on the mattress and began kissing her urgently. There was something in the way he kissed made her feel that something was up. But she also knew him well enough to know that, that was not the right time to question him. So she just went with the flow, letting him take the lead as he hungrily devoured her lips. Finally satisfied and breathless he pushed himself away from her, looking at her adoringly. She looked at him questioningly and sat up. He shook his head and pulled her to him once again. This time he simply held her close and gave a content sigh.
“What has happened hair?” Bella asked him slightly puzzled by his behaviour.
“Nothing,” he told her simply. “Can’t I admire and hug my wife?”
“Of course you can. But I feel there is more to it. Come on now. Spill the beans.” Bella let him know in her way that she was not fooled by his words.
Mahir sighed. He knew that Bella had guessed that something was up. He let go of her and she sat up once again. Mahir too sat up and looked at her guiltily.
“I know you want to put this behind us... “ he began.
“What are you talking about?” Now Bella was genuinely confused.
“This as in the Anu incident and her manipulations but I feel we need to talk with her.” Mahir was somewhat unsure about how to broach the topic as it was a rather sensitive and an extremely uncomfortable one, to say the least. “I feel everyone else needs to know what she did in her madness to separate us.”
“So, let me get this straight. You want to confront Anu and let the whole family know about what she did. Am I right?”Bell’s question had pretty much put everything in perspective and Mahir nodded his head.
Bella sighed. She had expected Mahir to say something of this sort. She was not sure she wanted Anu to know what kind of havoc she had wrecked in their lives. It was a messy situation that would lead to more mess if confronted. Mahir could see conflict in Bella’s eyes as she weighed her options. Finally, he saw her eyes harden and knew that she had decided on something.
“Mahir, It is a messy situation. You know it is. If we confront her, she will know to what extent she managed to mess with your head and ultimately, she will know how badly she managed to affect us. I can never live with it if she knows how close she was to winning. I just can’t. Please understand.” Bella was fairly pleading with him.
Mahir hated to see her in so much pain, but he also knew to confront Anu was important. It was not for their sake, it was for Kuhu’s sake. Kuhu needed to know what her “best friend” was capable of. He decided to tell that to Bella.
“Bella, it’s not for our sake. It’s for Kuhu. She needs to know the truth.” Mahir reasoned.“Kuhu loves Anu as though she was her biological sister. When she finds this out, she will be furious. It will serve as a caution to her.”
“Mahir, why don't get it? It will humiliate me. Don’t you see how it would make me look?”Bella asked him.
“Bella, be reasonable. How will this humiliate you? It’s just letting Anu know that what she did was wrong. And letting Kuhu know that her friend tried to manipulate us. That’s all.” Mahir was not able to get Bella’s POV.
“Oh common Mahir! Do you think Anu is such a kid that she doesn’t know trying to steal someone else's husband is wrong? And please, if in all these years Kuhu has not realised Anu’s true colours then well... Their friendship is not as strong as they make it out to be.” Bella replied stubbornly.
“Bella, l wont pretend to get what you are saying. But the fact is Anu had always, like always imagined that she and I would end up married. It was decided a long time ago between our families. The elders were looking forward to our marriage once you and Yuvi had settled down a bit. I had never shown any interest but I had never really opposed that match either. Look, I made it very clear to her that I was not interested after the Goa incident but a couple of years later dad and Mittal uncle decided that me marrying Anu would be beneficial to both the families. At that time I had not taken things too seriously. I had thought at that time that they were not at all serious or had maybe hoped that Anu would find someone suitable in the meanwhile.” Mahir paused to take a deep breath. Very reluctantly, he continued.
“A few years later you came into my life and my life changed completely. I had finally found my perfect match and that was all that mattered to me. Anu was still hopeful and she could see that I was way more comfortable around you than I was ever around her. That’s why she gave you a hard time in the initial days of your job. Or indeed till you and Yuvi got engaged, she tried to keep you far away from me. The sole reason was that she saw what I was too blind to see, she felt what I was too dense to feel. You were perfect for me. That was why she was so insecure. Till you came, she was very sure that no girl would ever be a competition for her. She was sure of her position in my life. Eventually, she would end up becoming Anu Mahir Sehgal. That I did not love her was just a minor detail to her. After all, I was a man who kept his word. She knew I would never desert her. Even if I didn’t love her, I would do my utmost best to keep her well and happy. She was banking on elders to keep their word and indeed they would have done it had it not been for our marriage. But despite her best efforts, we came close to each other. First as colleagues and then as friends. Yuvi developing a crush on you was an added bonus to her. You know when Yuvi first mentioned that he wanted to marry you, dad was livid. Don’t get him wrong but... “
“But Yuvraj Sehgal marrying an employee was not something dad would have easily agreed to. I get it, Mahir. Dad liked me as an employee but was not in favour of me becoming the youngest daughter-in-law of the family because I was below your station.” Bella had interrupted Mahir before he could finish the sentence.
“Well yes. It was Anu who spoke up for you. Emphasized on the power of love. Ma was her easy target. She spoke of how a down-to-earth girl like you would influence a wild guy like Yuvi. Ma fell for it. She had hoped that maybe I would fall for you, but then when she saw that I was happy simply being your mentor, she let go of that dream. And it was true, if Yuvi had indeed loved you, he would have changed. So, we all fell for Anu’s argument that Yuvi truly loved you and you alone could change him. We all failed to see that you and Yuvi were mismatched at a level that impossible to overcome by mere infatuation. We all failed to see that what Yuvi had for you was just an infatuation. We were fools for having fallen for Anu’s words. None of us could see it then. It was but natural for Anu to speak up on Yuvi’s behalf. He was her friend and it made sense ifs he tried to convince ma and dad of the match that Yuvi thought was perfect. Yuvi himself was convinced that he loved you truly and deeply.” Mahir continued to explain.
“But how come neither of you thought that it was odd that the girl who hated me was suddenly praising me?” Bella asked him.
“We were all blind. We thought it was so very natural that Anu should stick up for Yuvi. But now I see. She was very eager to push you out of my life and so she helped us convince dad of your and Yuvi’s match. After the kiss, our kiss I mean, I realised what a fool I was. That you had loved me all along and I was the one who was so blind that I did not see it. But it was too late then. Dad was almost convinced. After setting you straight, I went and cried for hours. When I got back home, I told ma everything. She advised me to forget that I ever had any feelings for you and to help Yuvi. And I did just that. When you finally agreed, dad once again broached the topic of my and Anu’smarriage...” Mahir’s pause was making Bella uncomfortable. Although she knew that Mahir had married her, the thought that he had maybe said yes to Anu troubled her. She knew it was stupid. This jealousy was stupid. But even then she could not help but ask
“And? What did you say?”
Mahir on his part was uncomfortable. He had never mentioned this to Bella as it had seemed irrelevant at that time. Why rake up the past and upset her, he had thought. He was aware that she was waiting for his answer.
“I... I did not say no. I never agreed but didn’t disagree either. The truth was that I was indifferent to her. Always had been. But after losing you, it did not matter anymore. It was not as though we were going to have much of a married life anyway.” Mahir added bitterly.
“You would not have... I mean not even out of duty...” Bella let the sentence trail.
“No,” Mahir replied quietly. “I would not have. Before you entered my life I would have probably allowed it to happen. But after experiencing what true love is, what it feels like to be in your lover’s arms, I would have never even looked at her Bella. Those brief moments... That kiss... Would have been enough to last a lifetime.” Mahir was now looking at Bella, hoping that she understood him. She did. But he still didn’t get her perspective. And she didn’t have words to explain it to him.
“Now do you get it why Kuhu needs to know this? Anu is an angel for her. And for Kuhu Anu is an angel. She is a witch for us.” Mahir pleaded with Bella.
Bella nodded her head. “Mahir, I get you. I really do. But do you get me?” Bella asked him.
He shook his head. He didn’t see why it was humiliating for Bella. Bella sighed. Well, there is no easy way to do this, she thought.
“Mahir, imagine! Imagine if our positions were to be reversed. How would you have felt? If I had lost my memory and Yuvi had done what Anu did. Taken advantage of the fact that I no longer remembered you, and had tried to manipulate me into starting a relationship with him. When I regained my memory, would you have been in favour of telling him the extent of damage that he had managed to inflict upon us? Wouldn’t you have felt humiliated if he had found out how close I was to surrendering myself to him?” Bella asked him.
Mahir finally understood what she was trying to say. He smiled at her and simply pulled her to him. He gathered her in his arms and held her there till she could not hold it in much longer. He continued to hold her tightly while she sobbed almost hysterically in his embrace. It was a long time before either of them spoke. When she was finally calm enough to push him away slightly he looked at her fondly. She looked like a child to him in her hideous cotton gown with her hair all mussed up, eyes red and swollen and her lower lip still trembling. Gently, very gently he planted a light kiss on the tip of her nose.
“Bella! Bella!Bella! What do I do with you? How can anyone be so endearing? Look at me. No, look at me first. Anu managing to nearly manipulate me is not a reflection of your love. It reflects badly upon her character. She managed to almost manipulate me because she had thought this through and not because your love was weak. If anything, she did not manage to convince me because somewhere at the back of my mind I was sure of your love. I did not remember it but could feel it giving me the strength to resist her.” Mahir tried to make her understand.
She looked at him for assurance and he nodded his head encouragingly.
“Okay then. Let’s get this over with. We will deal with Anu. Together.”
Next few days went happily enough. Soon it was the time for them to return to the Sehgal House. Mahir had extended their stay by another week on Sumitra’s insistence. Anu in the meanwhile was livid that despite all the manipulations, Mahir and Bella were back together. And that too at her father’s place. But all was not lost yet. She had one more trick up her sleeve. She had come and parked herself at Sehgal House a couple of days before BeHir were set to return. The idea was that she could corner Mahir as soon as he came back. When BeHir entered, they were greeted by Anu. Bella’s face soured but she managed to recover quickly. After a customary hello to everyone, Sumitra dragged her to her room for some important discussion. In the meanwhile, Mahir went to BeHir’s room and Anufollowed after him.
Mahir was shocked to hear someone follow him inside the room. He was even more alarmed to see that it was Anu. Before he could ask her, what she was up to, she spoke.
“WOW Mahir, just wow!! So after having fun with me, you are back to your wife it seems.”
Mahir was caught off guard for a bit but he soon recovered. “What are you talking about Anu? What fun? Listen, it was you who tried to twist everything and get intimate with me. I never even touched you, okay?”
“You know that I know that but does the world know that? Does your wife know that?...” While Anuwas going on, Mahir caught a glimpse of Bella standing at the door, frantically trying to catch his eye. He was about to open his mouth to set Anu right about the fact that Bella knew all about it but saw to his surprise that Bella was shaking her head, a wicked smile on her face. She had her phone in one hand and Mahir saw that she was recording the whole thing. Bella winked at him.
Mahir smiled suddenly and refocused on Anu. Anu was still going on about she could turn each of the situations in her favour. Mahir decided to play along and put on a very scared face. He went up to Anu and grabbed her shoulders and turned her slightly so that her face was visible to the camera. He decided that the camera needed some clearer proofs. So pretended to plead with her.
“Anu, you know nothing happened. Then why are you hell-bent on getting me in trouble?”
“I know Mahir. I know you never even touched me. Not even when I was this close to you, you didn't even look at me.” Saying this she stepped closer to him. “But how are you going to prove this? Do you think Bella will believe you when I tell her how we had kissed in Goa? Or when I tell her how we both were supposed to get married. And it was Bella who came in between us. Do you think she will be lenient when she knows that I had almost managed to convince you that we had something going between the two of us? I hold the key to your life and dignity Mahir. Oneword. Just one rumour and your squeaky clean image will go for a toss. I don even have to accept or deny it. I just have to whisper one tiny rumour... Or not even that, I just have to go and tell Bella about our meetings... And it’s all over for you my friend.”
Mahir was uncomfortable with the way Anu was clinging to his shirt. But he knew he had to keep her talking. So, he pretended to give up. “Alright Anu, you win. Now tell me what do you want?”
“OOOOoooooAdmitting defeat so soon? Well then, meet me tomorrow. 7 PM sharp at Sea Princess. We will discuss your options then.” Anu evil smile made Mahir shudder.
“You do know that I love Bella, and I will never be able to love you, don’t you?” Mahir asked her.
“OH, honey! What do you take me for? Do you think I want to have a relationship with you? Or are you under the impression that maybe tomorrow I will try and get intimate with you?”
“You won’t?” The shock in the question did not entirely mask Mahir’s relief.
“Of course not silly! Do you think I am a....? Well I won't say the word, but get the drift right? I know that you are madly in love with your wife. Yes, when you lost your memory, I had harboured a hope that maybe I could get you into a relationship, take you deep enough for you to feel guilty about it. But I couldn’t even clear the first base. You were too stubborn. Now I want nothing to do with you.” Anu replied.
“Then, why?” Mahirasked.
“This? You will find soon enough. See you tomorrow, jaan!” Saying this, Anu walked away. Bella barely had time to hide behind a nearby curtain before Anu was sweeping past her. Once Anu was safely downstairs, Bella rushed to their room to find Mahir impatiently waiting for her.
“What was that all about Bella?” Mahir asked her urgently.
“It was all a plan. I and Ma had planned this. According to the plan, Ma dragged me to her room so that Anu could have a clear road to you. We were hoping that she would take the bait, and she did. As soon as she followed you, I followed her with my camera on and managed to shoot the entire conversation.” Bella’s answer stunned Mahir.
“And why was I not informed of this?” Mahir asked.
“Because you don’t tell the bait that he is about to be swallowed whole by an alligator.” They turned to see Sumitra standing at the door.
“MA!”
“What? It’s a fact hair. You were the bait. If we had told you, you would have never agreed to this.” Sumitra and Bella laughed at Mahir’s disgruntled face.
“So, what happens tomorrow?” Mahir asked.
“Nothing of course. Why? Do you want to go and meet her?” Bella asked him, her eyes gleaming mischievously.
“What? NO! I DON’Twant to meet her.” Mahir was horrified at the very thought.
“Tomorrow you both will find yourselves alone at home. That will give you plenty of time and privacy to deal with her.” Sumitra informed Mahir.
Next day Sumitra declared that they had not been to her mother's place for months. It was time to go and meet Nani. RJ was in on the plan. He decided to take Kuhu to meet his mother. So with Kuhu out of the way, Anu was left all alone. Sumitra graciously extended the invitation to Anu as well, but it was a well-known fact thatSumitra's mother hated Anu and did not miss a single opportunity to taunt her. So Anu decided that she would go home. At 5:30 the Sumitra and Yuvi were joined by Rehan and they all went to the CCTV control room. Andy, Polo, Pratham and Suhani went out together. Once safely inside the control room, they waited for Anu to show up. Yuvi was to warn BeHir once Anu entered inside the gate. The original plan was that Bella would hide while Anu and Mahir met. Mahir had already set up cameras in the room, just to be safe. He didn't trust Anu even one bit.
It was nearly six when he and Bella sat down on the bed after having checked that all the cameras were working well. They sat like that in comfortable silence for some time. Suddenly Bella felt Mahir shift next to her, she raised her eyebrows at him, but he shook his head. Suddenly the lights flickered around them and went out.
"Shit! The lights went off... Now what?" Mahir heard Bella's frustrated voice in the darkness.
"Well, we still have time. Anu is not coming here till 7. So let's hope the lights come on till then." Mahir replied soothingly.
"But why has the generator not kicked in yet?" Bella asked.
"You know Bella that the generator is under repair and it takes some time for it to kick in. Relax!" Mahir did his best to get her to calm down.
"Relax? You're asking me to relax? Mahir everything depends on today's meet. And we need the cameras to be working when she gets here..." Bella was working herself up into a frenzy now.
"Bella calm down! Look at me... Listen everything will be alright. Just relax..."Mahir once again tried to calm her down unsuccessfully.
"But Mahir..."Bella's answering argument was cut off when Mahir placed his palm on her lips effectively shutting off the flow of words. He pulled her close and hugged her tightly. She melted into his embrace, all the worries and anxieties, forgotten. She felt Mahir plant a light kiss on her forehead. Her eyes welled-up at his touch and she began to cry in earnest.
The generator had still not kicked in and Mahir tried to get up to go and check it but Bella held on to him tightly.
" Don't go, Mahir. It will come on when it has to." Bella's voice was strained with an unknown emotion. Mahir could not place it. He just sat there, feeling his shirt getting soaked because of her tears. He had never seen Bella so vulnerable. Not even when she had broken down in front of him when she found out that he had lied about his memory loss. Or not even when she had confessed that the lingerie was for Yuvi. This vulnerability was different. He felt as though she had bared her soul to him completely for the first time. He had suspected that maybe there were some monsters in her closet that he had not yet encountered.
He could hear the security guards trying to get the generator to start.
"Bella, what is it? You know you can tell me right?" Mahir asked her. He felt her shake her head. And heard a muffled it's nothing. He gave up after that. He would have to coax her out of it. But now was not the time. She was still crying, but quietly now. Finally, she looked up at him. She looked calm enough now. The wet patch on his shirt was the only evidence that she had been crying. If he didn't feel the wetness on his chest, he would have wondered if he had imagined the whole thing. Before he could say anything, she attacked him.
He felt her grip his head tightly and kiss him with full force. It was unlike any of their previous kisses. After nearly a year of being married, he had not expected that she was capable of such urgency or force. He just sat there while Bella continued to kiss his lips, eyes, nose, cheeks, ears and any part of his face that she could reach. There was an edge to each of her kisses that he had neverexperienced before.
"Bella, there are ca... Yuvi... Ma..." His words were cut off as she attacked him again one last time. But his words had reminded her that the entire family would be able to see them if the lights came on. She finally let go of him. Mahir was very concerned for her.
"Bella, are you okay? What was that for? I am not complaining but..."
Just then Mahirheard something move outside the door of their room. Before he could react, the lights came on. Bella blinked in the bright light while Mahir stiffened. He saw Abu standing outside with a shocked expression on her face. Bella saw Mahir'sexpression change and turned to see Anu. Before either of them could react, Anu came inside the room tears streaming down her face. she had been standing there for quite some time now. Mahir hurriedly tried to straighten his crumpled shirt while Bella shot a guilty look at where the camera was hidden.
"Wow, Mahir! Is this why you called me here? To show me this?" Anu's shrill voice was very annoying.
Mahir and Bella looked at each other exasperated. They had expected Anu to create a scene and that was why she was told to come to the Sehgal House. They wanted to avoid a scene in a public place. Anu marched into their room and looked accusingly atMahir.
"What is she doing here Mahir?" Anu asked shrilly.
"This is my bedroom Anu. More appropriate question will be, what are YOU doing here?"Bella asked her calmly.
Mahir looked at Bellaamused. He wondered if this was the same girl who was crying her eyes out just a few minutes ago, The moment Bella stepped between him and Anu, Mahir felt a sense of security steal over him. He felt like nothing could harm him. Before she could register what was happening, he had hugged Bella tightly from behind and had planted a light kiss on her shoulder. Anu looked even more affronted at this and Bella gave him an exasperated look, Mahir gave Bella an outrageous wink which Anu unfortunately saw.
"What are you winking at her for Mahir?" Anu asked.
"Why nothing of course! She is my wife, is she not? I can wink at her, hug her or even kiss her whenever I want. No one has any right to comment on it." Mahir replied cheekily.
Bella subtly stepped on Mahir's foot to stop him from talking. Anu looked like someone had slapped her but her eyes were glinting maliciously.
"I don't think you should be here Bella." Anu began saying but was interrupted by Bella.
"Why do you think so Anu? I mean, this my house, my own bedroom right? So what makes you say that I should not be here?" Bella asked her innocently.
Anu was looking at Mahir to see if he showed any signs of discomfort but he showed none. His expressions were challenging her to go ahead. Taking a deep breath, Anu turned to Bella and gave her a sickly sweet smile. It was the kind of smile that made Bella want to punch Anu there and then but she controlled herself.
"You see Bella, I and Mahir were supposed to meet today at Cafe Moonlight. But then he messaged me and told me to come home as we would have the whole house to ourselves. I think this message," she pulled out Mahir's Whatsapp text on her phone," very clearly states that he wanted to meet me alone.So..."
"So?" Bella questioned her.
"So I think you should honour his wish and leave us alone," Anu replied.
Mahir looked furious at Anu's audacity. Bella could feel him shaking behind her. She squeezed his hand slightly to tell him that she had everything under control. She felt him relax a bit.
"I am afraid, that's not going to happen," Bella told her pleasantly. "Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of me. I am his wife after all."
"Yes Anu, go ahead and say whatever you want to say." Mahir seconded Bella's opinion.
"You sureMahir? Do you really want me to say what I want to say in front of her?"Anu asked Mahir.
Mahir nodded his head in affirmative. She looked puzzled at this. She had expected that Mahir would try to stop her but here he was encouraging her to continue. One thought crossed her mind that maybe Mahir thought that she would not say anything to Bella or maybe Bella would believe him over Anu. But Anu had already set her trap carefully, or so she thought. In the meantime, Bella was getting impatient because of Anu's schemes.
"You did not answer my question Anu. Why are you here?" Bella asked her somewhat impatiently.
"Mahir had messaged me. I have already shown you the message." Anu replied smugly.
"Oh sorry! Let me rephrase. I meant to ask why were you both supposed to meet in the first place? As far as I know, you guys had never even met for coffee before." Bella was still smiling.
"That's the point. As far as YOU know Bella. There are so many things that you don't know." Anu replied with relish. "For years you were nothing but a personal secretary to Mahir. Oops sorry! You were his mentee. You have lived in this really cosy illusionary world that you know your husband. But the fact is that there are so many things that you know NOTHING about. The ultimate truth is that you both got married quite accidentally. Mahir went from being your-be-brother-in-law to your husband literally in a matter of a few minutes. No matter how much in love you guys pretend to be, it will never change the fact that your fiancé ditched you on your wedding day and Mahir offered to marry you out of pity." Anu went on malevolently.
"Shut up Anu! Just shut up! How dare you speak to Bella in this manner?" Mahir couldn't take Anu insulting Bella any longer.
"The truth is always bitter Mahir. And you shutting me up will not change anything. Tell me, Mahir, was it not a marriage of convenience when this marriage was proposed? It does not matter that you guys went from we are just colleagues to we are so much in love that we cannot keep our hands off each other in a matter of hours..." Bella cut off Anu at this point before Mahir could start shouting at her again.
"Anu if you think that you saying all this is going to hurt me, then you are so wrong. And anyway, I know all of this. Why don't you tell me something which I don't know?" Bella asked her calmly. Turning to Mahir, Bella said, "Mahir, let her say whatever she wants to say. She has kept this in for nearly one year. Let her get it all out. Continue Anu."
Bella's calm demeanour infuriated Anu even more. She continued venomously. "Oh yes! You are aware of these things. But are you aware of the fact that your so-called perfect relationship was built on the grave of a relationship that did not even have a chance to take birth? Were you aware of the fact that I and Mahir..."
"Were supposed to get married? Yes, I am aware of it. I also know that it was a match that the elders had fixed and Mahir had never said yes to it." Bella cut her short.
"Wow, so you do know this. You very conveniently remember that Mahir had never said yes to our marriage, but forgot that he had never rejected me either. It was an open situation. You, Bella Sharma, came in between me and Mahir." Anu was fairly screaming by now.
"Let me remind you Anu that I am Bella Mahir Sehgal now. There is nothing that you can do about it now." Bella told her.
"Yes. You are Bella Mahir Sehgal now. I had not forgotten that. But you know Bella, the relationship that you are so proud of was on the verge of collapsing just a few days ago. The husband that you claim to love so much was doubtful that you didn't love him. He had come to me seeking solace. It was me who comforted him while you were busy running away from him. And Mahir, don't act so high and mighty. You know just as well what all happened in the last few weeks. If I reveal that, Bella will ever forgive you." Anu's eyes were glinting maliciously at the lies.
"What exactly are you not revealing Anu?" Bella egged her on.
Anu looked at Mahirlooking for some signs of discomfort, but none came. Anu mistook Mahir'sconfidence as his arrogance that she would not reveal anything. She went on ,"So Bella, did you know that Mahir was doubtful of your love for him?"
"Of course! He has told me all about his confusion. Me running away from him did not help either. while I was trying to give him space to adjust, that felt like I was going away from him because I was uncomfortable around him. It did not help that you took full advantage of the situation and tried to convince him that I did not love him and had married him only to save my reputation. Not only that you also told him that we had no relationship between us while you both had been having an affair in the past one year." Bella rattled off the incidents one by one where Anu had tried to mislead Mahir. Anu looked stunned at this revelation.
"Pick your jaw off the floor Anu. I know everything. You see, apart from being husband and wife, we are also friends. We share everything. So after he regained his memory, this is the first thing that he told me" Now it was Bella's turn to look at Anu with triumph. Anu looked confused, but not for long. The confusion in her eyes hardened into resolve and Bella braced herself for the onslaught. She knew that her knowing everything had stunned Anu and more than that displeased her. Her big bomb with which she had hoped to destroy their relationship had been rendered useless and Anu was now thinking on her feet.She would turn spiteful now. And there was no limit to which she will go to spite Bella. Anu, in the meanwhile, had been looking Mahir making him supremely uncomfortable. He knew nothing Anu said would any difference to Bella but still, the spite in Anu's eyes was discomforting.
"Wow, Mahir! You saved yourself with this half-truth. Tried to convince you? My dear Mahir,I had convinced you. Bella, let me tell you the whole truth. He was convinced that you did not care for him. Not only that he was also convinced that we both had been having an affair. And since the affair had been going on for nearly a year, it was but obvious that we had... You know what I mean right? So it was not too difficult to convince him to resume our relationship." Anu said with relish.
Bella gave her a humourless smile. "Nothing happened Anu and you know it."
"Of course,you are in denial. It must be so difficult for you to digest the fact that Mahir cheated on you. I know it was unintentional, but it happened." Anu'sinsistence on lying was exasperating Bella.
"Anu you still have time. Just say the truth and no one will know..." Bella beganbut was cut off by Anu.
"No one will know? I feel everyone must know about how Mahir used me. I can even file a molestation case against him."
"Enough Anu!We gave you a fair chance, to tell the truth, but not anymore. You just wait." Mahir said.
"Wait for what Mahir? Either you resume our relationship or I will file a molestation complaint against you." Anu replied.
"Your bother,Rehan holds a degree in law right? So let me ask him something. Rehan, will you join us here for a bit?" Bella looked straight at the camera and spokethese words. Anu looked puzzled for a bit but her expression turned to one of shock when Rehan along with Sumitra walked in.
"So Rehan can Anu file a molestation case against Mahir if she had consented to the relationship?" Bella asked
"Technically speaking she can, but with this video where she says that she initiated therelationship and where she is clearly seen blackmailing Mahir to resume therelationship, it will be very easy to prove that she had been lying. I would advise her to drop the idea as it would harm her in more ways than one." Rehan replied without looking at Anu even once.
"Okay and tell me one more thing. Can I lodge a complaint against her for blackmailing and threatening my husband?"
"Yes, you can.Again this video will make it very easy for you to prove it."
"Thank you, Rehan. Now let me show you something." Bella pulled out the video from the previous day where Anu had said that Mahir had never touched her. Rehan looked furious by the time the video ended. Anu, in the meanwhile, was beginning tolook scared.
"So, you seeRehan, she has caused quite enough trouble as it is. I don't want to stretch this any further. Tomorrow I will show both the videos to Kuhu and the rest of the family. I think it would be better if you inform uncle and aunty of this.If I say anything to them, it will be insulting. I don't want to upset them or insult them. And please try and keep this girl away from our house and my family."
Rehan nodded his head and lead Anu out of the room. Once Anu was out, Mahir turned to Sumitraand Bella.
"Thank God!this is over."
"Yes. But we have a bigger battle to win tomorrow. Kuhu..." Bella said.
"We will deal with it when we come to it," Sumitra told them. "It's not too late. Go out and celebrate this moment with each other I will make excuses for you both. Just go!"
Edited by The.Wanderer - 4 years ago
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