Part 9
Sudhir opens the door
after some time. He sees Priya standing there with tear filled, apologetic and
hopeful eyes staring back at him through the gate.
Priya: Papa please listen to me.
Papa I miss you, I need your help.
Tightly gripping the
dreadful gate that taunted her by acting effectively as a barrier between her
sorrows and happiness, she continues to plea to her dad to let her in. Afraid
that he might close the door like last time, she begins to plea faster saying
all that she has to say in one breath. Sudhir turns his face away listening to
her daughter’s desperate pleas. He does nothing just stares away knowing very
well that her constant pleading with those big, moist, painful eyes will melt
his heart in an instant. Seeing him stand there like a statue sent a cold
shudder through her heart as it shivered, losing hope for the first time since
all this had happened.
Priya: Papa I am going. I love
you papa...this is the first time that you have turned your back to me, your
Priya.
He shuts his eyes tight
hearing her shaky voice but remains frozen. She turns around to leave when
suddenly her ears perk up to the sound of the gate clicking open. Spinning back
around she saw her Papa had moved away from the door. She enters the apartment
shutting the door behind her. Seeing her father sitting on the sofa she goes
near him and kneels down on the floor in front of him, looking up at him before
she rest the side of her head on his lap.
Priya: papa please forgive me… I know that even though
it was not my intention, I have hurt everyone so much. Especially you! You have
always been there in my life as a friend and I didn’t even bother to get your
opinion before I made the biggest decision of my life. I want to rectify my
mistake, I can’t see everyone in pain on my account or anyone’s for that matter and you
know this Papa!
She looks up at Sudhir
who is sitting on the sofa, gripping the edge of it with both his hands and
looking in the direction away from Priya. Priya shakes his legs and pleads, his
body shakes with her action but his mind is firm and his emotions remains
stagnant. She gets up and sits on the sofa right in front of his gaze. One
glance at her face, drenched with tears and her eyes overflowing with remorse
leaves him helpless. He shuts his eyes tight not ready to comply too her pleas
and give in to her justifications.
Priya (her voice rattling due
to her convulsive crying): Papa
please I am your baby girl, your daughter, your friend, I am your Priya. Don’t you recognize me? Don’t you love me? Why aren’t you looking at me Papa?
Do you hate me so much that you can’t even listen to why I did what I did?
Sudhir (finally he spoke up,
startling her): Baas Priya!!! (he
paused, opened his eyes, she is confused with where this is going, his body
language and his words did not match) I am sorry… All this is my fault, there must be something lacking in my love
or in the trust in our relationship that caused you to take such a drastic
decision. I am such an unfit father that I could not do anything for you. That’s why my Priya, my beti,
daddy’s little angel couldn't
confide in me with her troubles.
Priya: Papa don’t say such things, it is
not like that!! I trust you completely.
Sudhir: than why Priya?? Why didn’t you tell me that you
were alive? The Priya I knew would come running to her Papa with each of her
little worries and this Priya sitting in front of me, (he looks at her, an
eyebrow raised, confusion planted in his expression amplified by his scrunched
up forehead) she can’t be my Priya.
Priya starts sobbing, her
eyes shut tight and her bottom lip sticking out slightly as she pouts. Sudhir
is reminded of her childhood days when Priya used to cry in that same manner.
His heart melts and he just can’t resist wiping her tears with the palms of his shivering hands.
She calms down feeling his touch, which has always had this soothing effect on
her. And as a reflex, she immerses herself into his embrace, holding him tight
as she wept; he places his one hand on the back of her head patting it gently.
He breaks the hug and gets her to stand up with him.
Sudhir: Priya look at me. (she
continues to look down, her eyes still brimming with tears), Priyyaaa beta(he
says more sternly with a desperately sincere undertone. She squeezes her
nostrils together as she sniffles and looks up at him innocently). Now that’s like my good girl. (she
smiles through her tears. He wipes her cheeks once more). You go to the
washroom and wipe your face and Papa will make some Aadaarak walay chai and
than Priya and her Papa will drink and discuss all tensions away just like old
times. (he smiles)
She freshens up and meets
him back in the living room. Aahhh the smell of the room was enticing to her
senses sending her nerves back in time as she felt the same sensation the same
relaxation that would follow the smell of gaaram gaaram Aadaarak chai! She sat
next to her father on the sofa and she explained everything that happened to
her. Everything from her accident, to her return to the KM with Raina, her
decision to depart from KM giving Ram the opportunity to move forward in life,
the news of her pregnancy, her attempt to contact Ram, the bitter realization
that he may have moved on and her struggles to also move on in life with Pihu
being her direction and motivation. She explained Ram’s intrusion in her life
and his decision to take Pihu away from her, which lead to the compromise
marriage with Rajat so that she could re-enter Mumbai and be with her daughter.
Sudhir listened intently, imagining her daughter struggles and feeling pride in
her sacrifice but when she explained the reason for the marriage he just had to
stop her from delving deeper into the sea of misunderstandings.
Sudhir: beta that’s wrong. Your name is
cleared; Ram spent his many empty, sleepless nights to remove the false
accusations against you. He wanted you to rest in peace and that would only be
possible if your name was cleared. In this battle he made night and day into
one and his love for you lead him to victory. If you entered as Priya Kapoor no
one would have laid a finger on you. But poor Ram, he is like the walking dead,
his heart beats with no purpose. He’s back to his old habits flirting with death.
This thought saddens
Priya immensely but she has seen his destructive behaviour herself this month.
She wonders why Ram told Rajat that he would have Priya arrested the minute
that she steps foot in Mumbai? She teased the possibility that perhaps Rajat
was lying. Discarding this thought with the acknowledgment of Rajat’s helpful demeanor
towards her she began to question whether Ram had lied in order to prevent
Priya from coming to Mumbai for Pihu. She had to ask Rajat whether he knew
about this truth, she had to hear it from him before she would make any assumptions
against him, he has helped her so much these past couple of days.. Her mind
could not handle the distress in her heart regarding Ram’s pain at her and Rajat’s expense so she asks her
father for some advice. She wonders what she has to do in order to make Ram
realize that she has not moved on either and that her and Rajat were just
friends, good friends.
Sudhir: Priya just be honest with
Ram, he deserves your honesty. Stop hurting yourself to protect people; you
have to live your life for your own happiness. Who you choose to spend this
happiness with is your choice. You have a decision to make, either let go of
Rajat and bring Ram back in your life or remain with Rajat and set Ram free
with the truth that your happiness is with someone else. Whatever your decision
is I am with you but Priya remember this decision is not yours alone, Pihu is
also a huge factor.
I would give all the money in the world to see the genuine smile
on your face that day when you gained your father’s
confidence. But than again, after realizing the power of love I would have
given all the money in the world to go back to the five years that we spent
together and fill it with love a lot sooner. That day you must have had a
bounce in your step, you had taken your father’s
advice and enacted the decision that brew instantly in your mind the moment you
found out that Ram had fought to acquit you of all criminal charges. Divorce!
It was a surprise to me but it was an even bigger surprise to Ram and the
entire Kapoor Family. Ram, Priya and Rajat; three souls on different paths with
different goal but all fueled but one thing, the only thing that matters in
this world, LOVE.
When you got home from your father’s
house that evening determined that your mind wouldn’t deter from the decision
that you had made, life threw you another twist. That phone call changed
everyone’s perspective of viewing
the world and viewing the people around us.
Priya was about to walk
to her room with the papers that had her future inscribed on it. She heard the
phone ringing in the hallway. Looking around she found no one there and putting
the papers in her purse she hesistantly answered the phone.
Priya: hello?
Ayesha (breathing heavily):
help me please. woh sid... kush...
priya: Ayesha!!! kahan ho tum.?
Ayesha (crying): di... di..
help me di, sid
before she could finish
the phone was abruptly disconnected. she ran into shipra's room, for sure she
would know about Ayesha's schedule.
priya (barging into shipra's
room who was having coffee with KK and Dadi): Ma... Ma...
shipra (gets up and snakes
towards her to push her out of the room and slam the door on her face): Ma?
only my daughter can call me Ma. with what right are you calling me Ma?
priya scrunches her
forhead and shuts her eyes for a quick second to digest her mother's arrogant
response with the complete disregard of the potentially hazardous situation. KK
and dadi stand up in response to shipra's words and priya's reaction, sensing
an argument in the making.
priya: oh please Ma dont start
with me now. What’s more important than you and me in this moment is Ayesha and Kush's safety. Where
are they?
Priya tried to explain
the phone call she had answered but her words just grazed the surface of
shipra's ears and bounced back. Shipra felt that this was priyas way of getting
the attention of the family members. She was almost certain that Priya was
jealous of Ayesha's success and therefore she wanted to disturb her photo shoot
with Lemar fashions at Hotel Exquiste and that’s exactly what she told Priya in front of KK and Dadi. Priya had
got the information she needed, indirectly Shipra had told her Ayesha’s whereabouts. KK's heart
trembled upon hearing Priya's words and safeguarding this uneasiness she
requested Soumaya to call Ms. Roy whose sons party Kush was at. Soumaya did as
she was ordered and two things became confirmed in everyones mind. First thing
was that if Kush was fine and enjoying the party than Ayesha must also be safe.
This confirmation lead to the second in their minds, which was that Priya was
indeed lying.
However, Priya knew she
wasnt lying. She got the address of Hotel Exquiste and Ms. Roy's house from the
driver who had dropped Kush and Ayesha to their respective destinations.
Clutching her purse tightly and dialing Ayesha's phone number she headed out of
KM to go to Ayesha but before she could she bumped into Rajat who was just
returning to the KM.
Rajat: I'll call you back Mr.
Saxena. (he hung up the call and turned his attention to a flustered Priya)
what happened Priya is everything okay?
Priya (relieved to see him): no rajat nothing is okay. I have to
go.. Woh ayesha and kush... the hotel and party.
Rajat looked at Priya
confused and this hint of confusion was delaying Priya in her quest to help her
sister and nephew.
Priya: i.. i will explain later
i have to go..
Rajat (sensing something bad
was about to happen): wait tell me
where you have to go and i will take you there. on the way there you will have
to explain everything to me a little slowly so that i could make out what you
are saying.
Priya: okay fine. We have to go
to Hotel Exquiste and fast Rajat.
They both ran out of KM
and Priya explained the entire situation to Rajat. Rajat called one of his
drivers and told him to go and pick Kush up from the party and bring him back
to KM. Priya kept thinking that she should call and inform Ram about the phone
call but her fingers froze before she could dial his number. He was angry with
her and like the other family members he might not believe her. After this is all
over, she thought, i have to tell Ram about this and also about my decision.
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