When Sorry Ain't Enough (Completed)

Epilogue

It's been two years since the residents of Shantivan got a reality check and these years saw many changes in the house. The members each dealt with the aftermath in their own way. They repented, and actively worked on transforming themselves and making the house into a home for the next generation.

Let's start with the matriarch of the family. Nani divided the household responsibilities between Mami and Khushi and moved to an Ashram as atonement. Her family, and their love, was her strength and not being around them took a massive toll on her, mentally and physically. Her biggest punishment was not being around for the birth of her first great grandchild – Aarushi. Seeing her deteriorating condition, Khushi brought her back home. Nani's time is now spent between reminiscing about the yesteryears with Manohar, taking care of Laxmi (yes, she's still around), her spiritual activities and of course playing with Aarushi. She does step in on the extremely rare occasion of a family conflict and always manages to nip the matter in the bud, maintaining the peace of Shantivan. Her life's almost picture perfect – the only thing she wishes for is her other grandchildren also giving her the good news soon. Well, some things do remain the same!

Mami's happiness lied in her children and seeing them away from her broke her heart. Although she never said anything to Payal or Khushi again, she had to live with the knowledge that Payal-Aakash may have moved away for good and she may get to meet her future grandkids also only occasionally. She also understood that she had to change even if it did not earn her their forgiveness as they may never fully exonerate her and justly so. And this started with her being a good mother-in-law. She never shied away from her household duties and can often be seen doling out instructions to the Prakash brothers about the tasks to be done. What she enjoyed the most was getting back to cooking – in fact, her culinary skills put Payal and Khushi to shame. She still considers herself a fashionista and the most bootiphul lady in the house but has learnt to appreciate others for their character and personality rather than their looks or status. She too concentrates on her daily responsibilities rather than dressing up and shopping is a rare occurrence. While Anjali still occupies a special spot in her heart, she has made it a point to neither mollycoddle her nor overlook the other members or their happiness for Anjali. Seeing Manorama turn back into the woman he had initially fallen in love with and Shantivan living upto its name, Manohar Mama retired from work and spends his days relaxing and playing with his grandchild.

Like Mama, Payal too saw her spouse once again exhibiting the qualities that had attracted her to him – abundant love, understanding and respect for her and her family. Actually, she saw Aakash 2.0, who was soft-spoken yet assertive, who took initiative in business and helped in household work, who was calm but not a coward, who was a dutiful son and brother and at the same time, a loving husband. After long, her name - Payal Aakash Singh Raizada filled her with pride. The new division of AR in Singapore flourished under Aakash's leadership. Professional success coupled with guidance from Rahul and Arnav (who mainly shared his expertise in flirting and romantic gestures), helped Aakash reinvent himself and life was good.

Payal and Aakash enjoyed their time away but missed their family, especially the latest addition to it. Their short trips to Delhi often left them longing for more and Mami's changed behaviour meant no reason for them to continue their stint in Singapore. So, during ArShi's second marriage anniversary celebrations, they announced their decision of moving back to Shantivan. Now, they both work at AR Designs, remotely overlooking the Singapore division, and travel there when need be. They are ready to embrace the next step of their journey and start baby-planning soon.

Coming to Mehra House - Anjali also saw a psychiatrist and finally managed to step out of the bubble she had built around herself. Arnav-Khushi and Aakash-Payal maintained a distance from her, which pricked her but she knew she deserved it. She knew forgiveness would not come easy (and maybe not at all), but atleast she could do some good deeds to absolve her karma. Now Anjali runs many NGO's and charitable institutes, mainly focused on women empowerment and children welfare. During her pregnancy too, she didn't step back from her responsibilities, instead effectively managed all aspects of her life. Her driving force in all this has been Rahul, who encouraged her while she discovered herself, indulged her during her pregnancy and supported her when she had a lot on her plate. Rahul has officially moved back to his homeland, travelling abroad to meet his foster family and rarely for business. The travels have reduced since the arrival of Aarushi – the apple of his eye. Named after her Mama and Mami, Aarushi has been brought up by Anjali & Rahul to be strong and compassionate like her Khushi Mami. Although the distance between Anjali and her brother-bhabhis hasn't reduced much, they never fail to show their affection to Aarushi.