Anu-Raj [Estd. 1993]

22 - Die For Her

Anupamaa sat up on the bed yawning.
Today was going to be the best day of her life.

She immediately freshened up and wore a salwar kameez, hair plaited neatly, ready to go.
Somehow her husband had been missing from the bedroom throughout. He would mostly be asleep when she woke up, but maybe he was super excited too.

She walked out of the bedroom to find an eerie silence in the household.
"Bapuji? Dolly?", She called out stepping out.
"Baa is very sick, Anu di. She can't even get up from the bed.", A concerned Dolly said as she rushed out of the bedroom.

Anu immediately jogged into Baa Bapuji's bedroom.
"What..", She mumbled to find Leela lying on the bed, looking like she was in terrible pain. Bhairav and Maithili sat in silence looking at Leela. Bhairav looked more skeptical, than concerned.
Vanraj sat on one side, Hasmukh on the other, both deeply concerned.

"What happened?"
"She is unwell.", Vanraj said.

His tone was strange. As if hollow, devoid of all emotions.

"Arrey toh.. call the doctor.", She said immediately.
"Doctor had come. He said she might need to be admitted to the hospital.", Vanraj said, in the same tone.

"Oh God.. that.. that is sad.", She whispered more to herself.

Vanraj glanced at Leela, gulping nervously. Leela immediately clutched his hand, nodding into a no. Somehow her heart knew this would do irreparable damage, she would terribly regret this.
But it was too late now.
This is the only way.
He thought before standing up straight.

"Sad? Sad for who? You?", He said coldly.

Anupamaa looked at him, absolutely startled.

"Obviously she is my Baa too—"
"No!", Vanraj snapped at her, "She is my mother! And who are you?! An outsider?"

"Excuse me?", Anupamaa shot back at him, not understanding the reason behind his abrupt change in state.
"Vanraj! What is this behaviour?!", Hasmukh shouted at him.

"The behaviour I should have done way before.", Vanraj said, clenching his jaws.
"This girl..", He said, enlacing his voice with all the loath possible, "Ever since she's entered our lives nothing has been fine! I went to jail! Left my family! Look at my Baa now! All because of her—"

"Me?!", Anupamaa stared at him in shock. Unable to comprehend the abrupt change.

"Of course you! You are unlucky!", He shouted.

"Vanraj enough!", Hasmukh snapped but to no avail.

"Had it not been for your father I would have never married a classless woman like you!"

Leela sat up. She could see the tears in her son's eyes. Those were not of anguish, they were of pain.
She knew exactly why he was doing this.

Vanraj would rather not be a part of Anupamaa's story, than be the villain.

Vanraj saw how Anu's eyes welled up with tears.
He felt like he was tearing himself up, along with her.
But she had to leave him. That was the only way to uphold his promise to her father.

No one had ever fulfilled their dreams in the Shah House. He couldn't let Suresh Joshi's daughter have the same fate.

"You.. you are the reason I spoke against my grandfather!", Vanraj shouted. Bhairav straightened up. Impressed.
"Well said, beta.", He said, trying very little to hide his smile.
"A wife who instigates a man against is family doesn't deserve to be a wife.", He added.

Anupamaa stared at Vanraj, as he stood in silence, looking at her.

She remembered standing up for him.
But he was standing against her.