"I am dismissing this case due to the lack of evidence presented. Miss Shagun, you are free to go," the judge declared shocking the Iyer's, the Bhalla's and especially Ishita. Ishita stormed out of the court room without saying a word to anyone. All she wanted to do was get justice for her Amma, for Shagun to be punished for her almost fatal mistake, yet everything around her shattered like broken glass. The one person whom she thought would be with her throughout this whole ordeal turned out to be against her. How could she face him after all that he had done to support that women.
Nobody said a word on the ride home, all lost in their own thoughts. The moment they reached home, Ishita went straight to her room and locked the door. Half hour later, she appeared with her suitcase and placed it in the living room shocking everyone. Before anyone could say a word, Ishita approached Toshiji and gave her a heartfelt hug. "Mummyji, thank you. For supporting me through this whole thing, for being more a mother than an in-law. For everything. But I need to be away for a few days. I need time to myself, to get my priorities straight and I cannot do that here...not after everything that has happened in the past couple of days, not after everything that I had heard and seen. I'm sorry Mummyji," "But Ishita, what about Ruhi? She can't live without you. She needs you." Toshiji asked unable to believe what she had heard. "Mummyji, I told Ruhi on the phone that I am going to stay with Amma for a few days because she is unwell and it's not like I am leaving her forever. I will come and see her everyday. The first time I came into this house, it was only for Ruhi, over the course of time, it changed and thought that maybe, just maybe I could hope for more from this relationship but now I realize that it is not the case. I need time to sort out my feelings and the next time I come back it will only be for Ruhi, please understand." Ishita said barely being able to control her emotions.
"But Ishita...," "Please Mummyji, do not stop me, I need to do this. I need to be away. " Ishita said and with a tearful glance back she walked away to her Amma's place.
...
There was an uneasy quietness in the house when Raman returned. Something wasn't right and he felt it, and he couldn't help but feel guilty because he had caused the situation that they were in. Maybe now that everything was over, he could take the steps needed to make things right again, however difficult it might be. He saw his Mummyji, Papaji, Romi and Ruhi sitting at the dinner table playing games and talking with Ruhi like it was just another day. The only thing missing from that picture was Ishita's presence. Raman needed to make things right, how... he did not know, he just knew that he had to. With that in mind, Raman headed towards his room expecting to see Ishita getting ready to settle for the night, getting Ruhi's clothes for school ready and packing her backup, a vision that had become the norm over the past few months. Raman looked around for Ishita and realized that she wasn't around, maybe she had gone to the clinic or to Amma's house, he thought and stopped short in his tracks when he realized that her clothes and suitcase was no longer in the room/cupboard. Even her accessories and makeup that adorned the dressing table was gone. Everything seemed empty.
"Mama, Papa, where is Ishita? Her things are not here, where has she gone?" Raman asked worried and unable to shake the sense of dread that was creeping up on him waiting for an answer. "Papa, Ishima...," "Ruhi, why don't you go in, we need to talk to your Papa, why don't you go and play in your room. Neelu, take Ruhi inside," Mr. Bhalla interrupted before turning to Raman. "What do you care where Ishita is? Haven't you done enough," "Papa please... I did what I needed to do," Raman said. " Fine, if that's what you say. Ishita too did what she needed to do. Toshiji, let's go to bed. It's already late," Mr. Bhalla dismissed Raman and went away with Toshiji.
"Romi..." Raman looked hopefully at Romi. "Bhai, nothing and nobody can question my love for you, and whatever that happened in the past couple of days wouldn't change that. But tell me one thing, when I was involved in the MMS scandal and in the exam scandal, you stood for what was right eventhough I was your brother, your blood. And now, you are doing the exact opposite of what you have taught me since I was a kid. You are supporting Shagun knowing that she did the accident, knowing that it isn't the right thing to do. I'm sorry bhai, but this time I can't help you. My respect and love for Ishita bhabhi equal my love and respect for you and I can't see her hurt," Romi walked away. Raman was shattered, he did not know what to do. Romi was right, he wasn't doing the right thing, but what could he do, he couldn't send his son to jail as well or separate him from Shagun.
"Papa, why are you crying? Are you missing Ishima?" Ruhi asked innocently watching her father broken down in the living room. "Please don't cry. Ishima has only gone to Patti's house for a few days because Patti is unwell, she said she will be back in a few days," Ruhi tried to pacify her dad. Raman looked at his daughter knowing that Ishita had probably told Ruhi that story in order to pacify her. He needed to talk to Ishita but he knew that it wasn't the right time. Maybe tomorrow morning when things had settled down a bit would be better. With that, Raman took Ruhi inside to spend another sleepless night without Ishita.
Part 2 - page 2
Real Estate
Fan Fictions
9