Why Did You?

21. Why Did You?

"You know, Dad, all our lives we have been afraid of you. All decisions concerning our life have been made by you. It was always your wish, if you wanted to consider our opinions or not. You never cared what we felt. You never asked us if we were happy. Why dad? Why did you do so?" Rajat questioned his father for the first time in his life. He pulled Sapna close to himself. He needed her support for what he was about to do. "It took me almost a month to convince you to let me marry Sapna, to let me marry the girl I have loved since I understood the meaning of this word. You decided what we had to do in our life. You took the most important decision of Meera's life. You did not trust her. Why did you do so?" he asked again. 

"Today, you have given me the right to make a choice. Thank you, Dad. Thank you very much. My choice is clear, Dad. I once left my sister because of my stupid fear. Not again. I will choose my sister this time," he took a deep breath to calm himself. Sapna held his hand tightly. She knew how difficult it was for him. Rakesh opened his mouth but Rajat continued to speak, "I know what you want to say. You will disown me etc etc. Go ahead. The moment I decided to find Meera, the moment I told D'Souza to follow Aryan, I knew that this was going to happen. And I am prepared for it. But I promise you, Dad, if you ever need me, you just have to call me. I am your son and nothing in this world can change this fact. Call me and I will be there." Rakesh looked at his son in anger and left with his wife.

Rajat turned to Sapna. "My journey forward is going to be tough, Dream. Will you walk with me?" he asked and was awarded by a slap. "Why did you think I will not?" asked Sapna. Rajat smiled. He looked at his sister. Her eyes were filled with tears and confusion. She whispered, "Why did you?" Rajat smiled and answered, "Because before coming to Lucknow, I promised to be a better brother." Meera smiled. The brother and sister shared a hug. They poured their feelings of the past five years into it. It was a silent promise of never leaving each other alone again. 

Breaking the hug, Meera looked at Aryan. "Why did you not tell me the truth? Why did you let me punish you for something you never did?" she asked him. "You left me, Meera. How could I tell you? And I did hurt you in one way or the other," was his reply.

Dhruv looked at the four people in front of him. He felt certain that if he did not interrupt them, they would continue. He cleared his throat, gaining their attention in this process. He looked at Aryan and said in a serious tone, "There are here, Aryan. And they tried to abduct Meera." The words had an immediate impact. Rajat and Sapna moved towards Meera while Aryan's demeanor hardened. He looked around and asked, "Where is Sara?" 

The moment these words left his lips, everyone looked around. Everyone started calling the little girl who appeared before them. She had, for some reason of her own, been hiding under the dining table. She ran to the safe arms of her mother and busied herself in playing with Sapna's earings. 

"Who are they?" asked Meera. She placed her hand over Aryan's shoulder, not sure how he will react. But he did nothing. Nothing except speaking in a plain voice, "My mother and step-father, Mrs Aastha Pandey and Mr Rishabh Pandey." "Meaning my parents," Dhruv continued. Meera's eyes widened in shock. She went to stand in front of Aryan and urged him to speak.

"My mother was an accomplished dancer, while my father, Mr Ajeet Sinha, worked in a company. We lived a happy life in India," Aryan said, reminiscing his childhood. "But with time, my mother's behaviour towards us changed. She drifted apart from us. The reason was her new lover. She had fallen in love with Rishabh, who worked along with her dance group. And one day, along with her lover, she burnt our house while my dad was alseep inside. I was out playing but everything happened in front of my eyes. I wanted to....." Aryan broke down. Meera hugged him and rubbed his back. She could not even imagine what he might have felt.

Dhruv continued the story further, "They changed the city and got married. You alln can guess how they behaved with Aryan. Due to the pressure from their peers, they continued his education but he had to pay a huge cost. He was afraid of fire, after that incident, but he had to cook." Meera gasped. She had made Aryan relive his worst nightmare. Dhruv continued, "I was born soon after the marriage, Aryan was five at that time. She was pregnant when she murdered Mr Sinha. I never appreciated my parents behaviour towards him and he also acted like my elder brother. When he was thirteen, he decided to runaway. I don't know why but I too accompanied him. We left the city, somehow, went to an orphanage. Our studies resumed. He was a genius. He is a genius." Aryan chuckled. He had calmed down a litte bit.

"Dhruv was never too fond of studying. We started our business, first on a small scale. We grew. As our fame spread, we decided to leave the country and shift to Seoul. You know the rest," Aryan completed the tale. Meera hugged him as tightly as she could. "Why did you never tell me?" she asked. "I was afraid. I had stopped trusting people. I had stopped believing in  love. You brought faith back to me. I love you, Meera. I love you so much," Aryan said. 

"Bro, you will have to face them," said Dhruv. Aryan hold on Meera tightened. Meera broke the hug and said, "He will, Dhruv bhai, but not now." She turned to Aryan and cupped his face. "Take me back to Seoul, Aryan. Take me to our home." Aryan smiled. "I agree with Meera," Rajat said and patted Aryan on the back. Sapna moved to him. He took Sara in his arms, while Sapna pulled everyone into a group hug.

_____________________THE END___________________

Yes. The story comes to an end. But but but......if you are interested in knowing about what happens when they go back to Seoul, then I will soon be starting the sequel. Just one condition - suggest me a title, the only thing I can't think of. 

It will be a simple story just about how they work on their relationship and heal each other of their pain. It will include both the couples.

Now, till the time the sequel is not updated, I have two requests -

1. Please don't remove this book from your library so that you can know when the sequel begins.

2. Please read my other stories, especially the murder mysteries.

Thank you for reading my rant.

~Purnima