Arjun sat staring at the script in his hand. All the words running together on the page. Frustrated he threw the script on to the table and raked his hand through his hair. He had no idea what he was doing or for that matter what he should do. "Arjun, are you okay?" Arohi asked from the doorway of his office, having seen him throw down the script. Arjun's eyes met hers and instantly he felt calmer. Holding out his hand for her she walked in and towards him. "Babe you seem upset?" "Is it the movie your working on?" she asked, once he'd pulled her into his lap. "You're so beautiful." he replied. Arohi rolled her eyes. "Arjun!" she exclaimed about to push him on the subject some more. "Seriously Arohi, you are." he said a serious expression on his face. "Your beauty doesn't just lie in your face and your smokin hot body." he joked, moving away as Arohi playfully swiped a hand at him. "Your beauty lies in the way you see people, how you don't judge, and even after someone has wronged you. you still only try to see the good in that person." "Even if that person has no good in them." Arjun replied, holding her nestled against him and breathing in her sweet Arohi scent. Arohi gave him a confused look. "Where is all this coming from Arjun?" she asked. "Something has happened hasn't it?" she asked feeling her stomach drop. She couldn't take another bombshell. "Is your family okay?" "Is everyone okay?" she asked twisting around and facing him. "Everyone is fine Arohi." "I have to tell you something and I want you to know that it doesn't matter." "I don't know what's true and what isn't, but what ever it is we'll get through it together." he continued. "Arjun, please stop talking in circles, what's happened?" Arohi asked tearfully. "Calm down." "Nothing has happened." "Yesterday Suman contacted me." "It wasn't the first time, I've been ignoring her calls." he said. "Arjun..." Arohi began helplessly. "NO!" Don't even think about asking me why I don't want to speak to any of those people!" "You already know my answer." Arohi looked into his eyes filled with anger and hurt...for her. Cupping his face in her hands she pressed a kiss against his lips. "I know...and I love you." she replied, leaning her forehead against his. "So Suman called..." Arohi asked. "Yes, she texted me something yesterday and I don't know what their game is right now, because she won't tell me anything over the phone." "She wants us to come to Delhi so that she and your mom can talk to you in person." Arjun said, his voice rough with anger. "I would have told them exactly where they could shove their concern but..." he said trying to figure out how to continue. "But???" Arohi probed. "But Suman said something that I can't ignore." "I'm just hesitant to tell you because I don't know what's true and what isn't and I don't want you getting any more upset that you already are." he said miserably. "Arjun, listen to me." "You always say I have you...so I have you to help me through anything...what ever it is just tell me." she pleaded. Arjun nodded and then taking her hands in his he thumbed her engagement ring. "When are we getting married?" he asked. "Arjun?!" Arohi exclaimed. "Okay, Suman says that your mom was never raped." he said quietly. Arohi stared at Arjun. Her mouth open in shock. "How, what?" "How does Suman know this Arjun?" Arohi asked slowly, still not understanding what Arjun had just said. "Your mom told her." he replied softly. Arohi felt like she was choking on the lump in her throat, clumsily she climbed off Arjun's lap and backed away. "So, my papa is my real dad?" "And he said all those hateful things, said I was a rapist's daughter when all along he's my real dad?' she asked, shaking her head in disbelief. "And my mom let him say those things to me, about me...about her?" Arohi asked, hugging her arms around her. Arjun got up and pulled her into his arms. "I don't know what's happening, what's real, what's not?" he said quietly, pressing his lips against her forehead. "I have no idea why Rudra would say something so horrible to his own daughter, and why your mom would stand there and let him, if it wasn't true." Arohi cried softly against his chest. The pain was too much, why did they keep hurting her so much. And her own mother...it just made no sense. Something so horrible that had almost destroyed her, even now she was only hanging on by a thread. And now to find out that it could all be a lie. She didn't know what was worse. Thinking she was a product of rape, or that her own family had made her believe something so horrible.
"I want to go to Delhi, I need to find out what's happening and why they would do this to me." Arohi said determinedly, as she pulled away from Arjun and brushed her tears away. "Are you sure Arohi?" he asked. "Arjun, I have been thinking I'm the daughter of some rapist, I don't think they can tell me anything worse then that." she said. "What I'm finding out about my family, that's just something I'm going to have to deal with." she said, blinking back more tears. "When do you want to go?" he asked. "As soon as possible." "I can go alone." she began. "The hell you can!" he snapped, already picking up his phone. "It'll be a cold day in hell before I send you into a pack of wolves by yourself!" he said. "Hi Lily, I need you to book two tickets." he said into the phone. Arohi walked to the window and stared outside unseeing. She thought her whole life had changed when she found out about the rape, well apparently it was about to change yet again. But this time she wasn't going to let it destroy her, looking at Arjun, she thought or her relationships with her loved ones.
"You okay?" Arjun asked seeing Arohi bite her lips nervously. "Yes," "I haven't seen everyone since everything happened." "It's just going to be awkward. she replied. "I just don't know what to expect." she added, clasping his hand. They'd flown in this morning, and checked into a hotel and now were waiting for Suman and her mom who were expected any minute. "Whatever it is we'll get through it together." he promised. Before Arohi could respond they heard a knock at the door. Arjun looked at her and gave her a reassuring smile. Getting up he walked to the door and opened it to find Suman and Arohi's mom on the other side. An extremely frail Arohi's mom. As they walked in Arohi seeing her mom quickly rushed to her. "What's wrong ma?" "Why are you so weak?" she asked tearfully. Arohi's mom looked at her sweet, generous of heart daughter. Her first born. The one that she couldn't help but love the most. Maybe that's why this was the child that had to go through all the pain. Caressing her cheek lovingly she hugged her close and wept. Wept for all the years she wasn't strong. For the years she had stood by and let that man, keep her daughter away from her, punishing Arohi for something that wasn't even her fault. And the last fatal blow, telling her about the rape. Gayatri closed her eyes against the horrible words Rudra had spoken, words that still gave her nightmares. No, her daughter was not created from something so horrible. She was created from love. Real and true, love that she was never able to find again. "I'm sorry," "I'm so sorry." she said softly. "You will never know how much." "But I am truly sorry." Gayatri repeated. Arohi stared at her mom. "Tell me what's true." she finally said. "Gayatri nodded and taking Arohi's hand they sat down. "I met Vishal when I was 18..." she began.
"He was 23 and so much fun, and sweet and charismatic." "He was staying at his uncle's place for the summer writing his thesis." "His uncle was our neighbor." I had noticed Vishal right away, but girls from good homes don't go approaching young boys." she said smiling as she remembered. "So we used to steal glances at each other from the patio, then slowly he would think of reasons to ask me questions or find an excuse to come over." "Oh your mail accidentally came to our house, or do you have any sugar, we're out." "Slowly we started meeting outside, and we got to know each other." "He wanted to expand his father's garments business, make it world renowned." He had big dreams and listening to his stories I fell in love with him." "He told me he loved me, and I 100% believe that he did" "Deep and profound was our love." "One night, I had gotten stuck in the rain and we found shelter in a little cottage." "Where one thing led to another and that night you were conceived." Gayatri said softly as she caressed Arohi's tear strained face lovingly. "From the moment Rudra said those horrible things, saying you came from rape I have felt this rage." "I could kill him." Gayatri said angrily. "Why would he say something so horrible to me?" Arohi finally asked. "Because, because he does believe I was raped." Gayatri answered, lowering her head in shame. Arohi's mouth dropped open in shock. "You told him my father raped you?" she asked in disbelief. Gayatri tearfully shook her head no. "I would never have told him that!" "You were conceived with love, only love." she said vehemently. "Rudra was in love with me and I had been refusing his advances for a long time." "My father found out about the pregnancy and wanted me to abort you ofcourse, but I couldn't do that." "Your father had gone back home and I was waiting for him to come back and marry me like he'd promised." "But when he still didn't return I went to ask his uncle about him, well he told me that Vishal was getting married to a girl he'd been engaged to all along." "I was heart broken as you can imagine but I'd already fallen in love with you and there was no way I could give you up." "Rudra had been a different person at the time." "He had loved me in his own way." "My father was hell bent on getting me married as quickly as possibly since I insisted on keeping you, so instead of telling Rudra the truth, he had told him that I was raped." "My father had actually felt in some convoluted way that me being raped was better then me actually consenting." Gayatri said, shaking her head. "Rudra was angry and upset but my father's vast wealth quickly took care of any hesitations he might of had about marrying me." "And at that point I didn't care who I ended up with as long as I was able to keep you, to raise you." "That was my only stipulation when it came to marrying Rudra, he couldn't take you away from me." "We were to raise you as our own." "He didn't understand, but agreed because he saw dollar signs when he looked into my eyes and because with each passing day he was getting more and more infatuated with me." "We got married quickly and too his credit he took care of me and didn't go back on his word about raising you." "But then when you were 7 he changed suddenly." "I never understood why, but he changed and became very cold and distant." "Before that he didn't bother too much with you, but after that he seemed to show unnecessary anger towards you." "He was so much harder on you...I never will understand what sparked it." her mom said, wrinkling her forehead. "I'm so sorry my love for everything you've been through." "The only time I was strong was when I had to fight for your life, after that I've just been weak." Gayatri said weeping softly. Arohi hugged her mom tightly as she hugged her back. "You are not weak, you are amazingly strong and you're the reason I'm here today." "There's a lot of young women that would probably have aborted their child and started life again." "The pressure of society especially in that time could have scared you, but you held your ground and brought me into this world against all odds." "I will never forget what you did for me." "I'm so lucky that you're my mom." Arohi said with a sob, as she pressed her cheek into her mom's shoulder. "No, my love you're the strong one, you always have been." her mom said soothingly. "I wish I had said something when Rudra was throwing all those lies and insults in your face, I wish I had stood up to him then, maybe my little girl wouldn't have gone through all this unnecessary pain." "And maybe she wouldn't have tried to kill herself!" came Arjun's remark from where he stood listening to everything play out. Arohi turned to Arjun and seeing the furious stony look on his face she shook her head softly at him. Begging him to understand but seeing his set face she knew he wasn't ready yet. "I'm sorry Arjun beta I never in my worst nightmares had thought this would happen and then well with Suman losing her baby everything else got pushed aside because Suman needed me." Arohi's startled eyes flew to Suman. "Baby?" she asked hoarsely. Suman bit her lip to stop from crying and nodded. "I got pregnant but there were complications from the beginning and about the time everything happened with you... I...I lost her." she whispered, with tears running down her face. "That's why I haven't been there for you di or believe me I wouldn't have missed your engagement." "We were just terrified of the worst happening, and unfortunately that is exactly what happened." Suman said softly. "I guess I paid for my father's sins." she added bitterly. Arohi pulled her sister into her arms and hugged her tight. "Shh, it's going to be okay." she said, as Suman sobbed softly. "We have each other and we'll get through all of this." "And we'll come out stronger." she added as Suman pulled away. "Fighting words di, I don't know how you can be so positive after everything that has happened to you.." Suman said, grabbing a tissue and wiping her face. Arohi glanced at Arjun who stood with an unreadable expression on his face. His eyes softening as they met hers. "Someone I know has used those very words to help me to get from one day to the next." "Believe me I haven't been very positive lately, but today hearing these words, knowing that my father isn't my mother's rapist, that has given me a new life." "I don't know why he didn't come back and marry her, why he left her behind like that, but atleast I know that I wasn't conceived by hatred and anger and negativity." "I was made in love and that I can live with." she said in a strong voice.
YOU ARE READING
Kambaqt Ishq
Fanfiction"I DON'T OWN THIS STORY" Beautiful cover made by very talented @SMkmh4 (Subala) ❤️
