Thank you so much for all the love and encouragement. To be honest, I really didn’t see that coming.
Edit : I was half sleepy while typing it out yesterday, that’s why instead of Manali, I wrote Shimla.
Those of you who have missed the 5th chapter, here is the link :
https://www.tellyupdates.com/bound-to-you-chapter-5-denial/
@Anu Thank you so much.
@Priyanshi-13 Thanks a lot.
@Ravneet Thank you, here is the update.
@Yashi Thank you dear.
@Ishu Thank you dear.
@Pomu Thank you so much. Haha Vansh is a different kind of father!
@Pranjal So glad that you love my FF. But tbh, I can’t promise to post daily. I also have my academics, hope you undertstand.
@R.N. Thank you, here is the update.
@Astha Thank you so much. Glad that you liked the bonding. But whose bonding you liked the best : between the kids themselves, between Vansh and his kids or between Riddhima and the kids?
@Aishwarya Wanjari So happy to see you happy dear!
@Kriti I think you’re confusing this with the show’s plot. This story is not related to the original storyline.
@Aisha08 Thanks a lot, I did post ASAP 🙂
@Niyati12 Thank you dear, here is the update
@Sahada Thank you so much. Really means a lot to me. (^hearts^)
@Aarushi Yes don’t worry that’s what is going to happen now dear.
@Thakur Priyanka Thanks a lot dear.
@Anu Thank you. I know I have taken a long time, really sorry. Actually I was stuck up my studies.
@Riansh1212 Aww thank you so much for all the kind words. I’m so happy that you are enjoying my work. I’m touched. (^hearts^)
@Shivangi Thank you so much dear.
@Jayashree Thanks a lot.
@Priya Singh Haha order accepted! Lol! But on a serious note, I was actually busy with my studies, so really sorry once again.
@RiansHLoveR Thank you! This time I didn’t make you guys wait for a long time, isn’t it?
@Riaa Thank you so much. It’s always a pleasure to read your comments. Because of the increasing cases, my exams got postponed again. I don’t know if I should feel happy that I’m getting more time to prepare, or I should feel sad that I won’t be free anytime sooner. Lol.
@Parita Thank you dear. But it will take some time for the truth to come out. But for that, you’d have to stay patient.
@Unnamed Ohh I like your version of eeny meeny miny moe too! Don’t worry, I’ll upload ‘In the Name of Love’ also soon. Yes unfortunaely, I’m the same one, lol.
@Neetu Thank you dear, here is the update
Vansh brought a struggling Riddhima to a secluded room and shut it tight from inside.
“What do you think you are doing?” asked Riddhima barely able to contain her breath.
Vansh glared at her, his eyes red with fury.
“You kept my own children away from me for so many years so much so that I had no idea about their existence, and you still have the audacity to question me?
When you left my house, you already knew that you were pregnant, but still you decided to hide that piece of news from me! Why Riddhima, why?”
Saying this he grasped her arm, his nails digging through her skin. Riddhima winced in pain.
“Does it hurt, sweetheart? Now you’ll be able to understand how I felt because of your betrayal,” said Vansh menacingly.
With a lot of difficulty, Riddhima managed to free herself from his clutches. She felt so angry that her eyes welled up with tears. “Don’t you dare touch me, Vansh! What do you want to know about? Yes, I hid my pregnancy from you. Yes, I kept the kids away from you.
Did you forget how you and your lawyer maligned my character in the court and proved in front of everyone that I’m an unchaste wife?”
A brief expression of guilt flashed across Vansh’s face as he recollected that moment. “I did not say you were unchaste. I just said that you had been unfaithful to me. But they took out a completely different meaning out of it.”
“Oh no Vansh, don’t try to fool me! You very well knew what meanings you were trying to imply by labelling me as ‘unfaithful’.” Riddhima turned her face away so that he could not see her tears. She could not allow herself to fall weak in Vansh’s eyes. “I kept looking at you that day in the court to defend you, but you being your egoistic self, turned your face away. And inspite of all this, you wanted me to disclose my pregnancy to you? After calling me out as a characterless woman in front of the whole crowd, would you believe me if I came to you and told you that I’m going to be the mother of your children? Would you?”
“Of course I would!” shouted Vansh.
There was a brief moment of silence between them. Riddhima realised that unknowingly she had shown much of her vulnerable side to Vansh by saying all this. She never wanted him to see how weak she felt from inside, therefore decided to show the bolder and confident side of herself.
She turned to face him, looking straight into his eyes and smirked at him, “I knew you would believe me and accept the kids. But still I kept everything hidden from you on purpose.”
Vansh was surprised to see this sudden change in her behaviour. “Well, now you came back to your original self, sweetheart,” he taunted.
She said, “Yes, this is my real self. Strong, independent and brave. And a responsible civilian too. Not like you, an underworld don, a drug smuggler and a brutal murderer! I didn’t want my children to follow their biological father’s footsteps, that’s the reason why I decided to keep them far away from you. If they stay with you, they’ll also become one of you!”
Vansh came dangerously close to Riddhima and said, “And what would the kids become by staying with a betrayer like you? They’d also learn to cheat, and make a complete mockery out of marriage and love.”
“It doesn’t look nice to see a cheater himself lecturing about cheating,” mocked Riddhima.
“You are calling me a cheater?” Vansh asked angrily.
“Yes. You’re the biggest cheater between both of us, because you are cheating no one but your own country! In fact, our country honours and applauds us for betraying a betrayer like you,” she said.
Vansh started chuckling to himself. “So you mean to say that you are working for the country?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure you’re working for the country, or…..let me think…..are you working for….KABIR?” He started laughing at his own statement, while Riddhima looked at him with contempt.
“Your double meaning accusations make me hate you more,” said Riddhima.
“I don’t care what you hate about and what you don’t,” said Vansh. “I just want to tell you that from today onwards, my children will be staying with their father.”
“That will never happen,” snapped Riddhima.
“Of course Riddhima, that is what is definitely going to happen.” Vansh clicked his tongue. “I’m their biological father and have full rights over them. But what will you do now, huh? Will you drag me to the court again, like how you did last time?”
Vansh saw Riddhima getting nervous, and it gave him immense satisfaction to see her like that.
He continued, “Remember last time you had all evidences against me, but still I got to won and you lost the case. This time the court even before listening to your pleas, would happily give away the custody to me. Why would they give you the custody, when you have no house, no job, and even have a case of medical negligence against you?”
Riddhima felt as if her very world was crushing in front of her. Her children were her life, her everything. She could not even dream to lose them to a devil like Vansh. She panickly ran her fingers through her forehead, trying to think of a possible way out of this mess, when Vansh spoke.
“But I don’t want to do all this, Riddhima,” he said softly.
When a half relieved and a half confused Riddhima looked up at him, he explained, “I cannot wrong my kids, especially Rhea. The doctor told me about her health issue. And what happened with her today, I don’t want that to happen ever again. That is why, just for her and Reyansh’s sake, I’m willing to let you stay in my house along with the kids.”
Vansh waited for her to say something but when she didn’t, he said, “You don’t need to think about that too much, because technically you have no other option left, sweetheart.”
________
Back in the hotel, an anxious Roshan had called up Kabir, and they both were discussing as to what they could do next. Just then Kabir’s phone started buzzing.
“Riddhima! Where are you? We were getting so worried for you. Did you find Reyansh and Rhea? Should I send my men over there?” Kabir spoke without taking a breath in between.
“Calm down Kabir. I and the kids are absolutely fine,” Riddhima replied as she saw the kids spending some time with Vansh and his family. “But there’s a problem. Vansh wants us to shift with him permanently.”
“How dare he! Don’t worry Riddhima, I’m coming there in a while with my men, and we’ll tackle that moron.”
“No Kabir, you won’t do anything of that sort,” warned Riddhima. “You tried to confront Vansh ample number of times, but what happened? He instead managed to get away each freaking time.”
“So what should we do? Just stay mum and watch the show that he plays for us?” asked Kabir getting frustrated.
Riddhima said, “Listen I have a plan. Remember how you told me earlier that it would take atleast a week to move to a new city? Now I want to ask you how much time would it take to move to a new country?”
Kabir almost dropped the phone down on hearing this. “Wait a second, you were the one who always used to say that you don’t want to leave your own country for a foreign one. How come you are ready for it now?”
“Because I want to get as far as possible from Vansh’s clutches, even if it meant that I’d have to compromise upon my principles and shift abroad.
Plus I lost my job, and I might even lose my medical licence too soon. So there’s no reason why I should remain stuck up in India.”
“Riddhima, moving abroad requires more paperwork. But at the most, it might take 10 days or so.”
She started narrating her plan, “Alright then. For the next 10 days, I’ll continue to stay here with Vansh without creating any tantrums. But 10 days later, once all the arrangements are made, I and the kids will escape from Vansh’s prison forever. And he’ll never be able to find us again.”
“But how will you tolerate him for 10 whole days? That’s a lot of time, you see,” explained Kabir.
Riddhima dismissed his worries. “A mother can go to any extents to safeguard her children.
Vansh loves his children a lot, so he wouldn’t even think of harming them. As for me, I don’t think he’ll try to harm me as well, because Rhea’s health issue has affected him terribly. So stop worrying for us, and explain everything in detail to Roshan.”
Saying this she kept the phone down, a victorious look over her face.
She smirked to herself, “Vansh Raisinghania, did you think that you would blackmail me into living at your residence, and I’ll happily agree to it? Don’t forget, I’m the same Riddhima who dared to spy upon you, and who dared to hand you over to the police after seeing you kill an innocent person. By now you should’ve known that I’m not one of those who give up so easily.”
____________
“How could you Vansh? How could you allow Riddhima to stay in our house? Did you forget her betrayal and everything else she did? Did you forget how she entered our lives as a spy, how she got married to you by deceit, and how she gave evidences in the court against you to prove you as a murderer?” scolded Anupriya.
Just then, Vansh took a glass of water and threw it against the wall. Anupriya let out a small shriek.
“I did not forget anything, Mom. I remember each and every thing that she did to us,” roared Vansh. “She thinks that by asking her to stay here, I have forgiven her. But she doesn’t know that Vansh doesn’t forgive anyone, but instead only knows how to punish his wrongdoers.”
“Then why are you doing all this Vansh?” asked Anupriya.
Vansh went over and placed himself on a rocking chair comfortably. He closed his eyes and said, “It’s all part of my plan.”
“Plan? What plan?”
“Mom, didn’t you see how the children can’t stay even an hour without Riddhima because they are so damn attached to her? Also didn’t you see how Rhea became stressed out and started throwing seizures and fell unconscious? Even though the doctor assured us that her health issue is not very serious and it is not life endangering, but I as a father, cannot see my daughter go through the same agony that she went through today. The doctor clearly told us that the prescribed medication, a happy and stress-free environment, and her growing age, will soon resolve her health problem for once and all. Alongside that, I’ll also get more time to spend with my kids.”
Anupriya tried to concentrate really hard on what her son was telling her.
Vansh continued, “You were the one who told me that both Rhea and Reyansh consider me as a stranger even now, and I need to work hard to create a place for myself in their hearts and their lives. So that’s what I’m trying to do now, Mom. By allowing Riddhima to stay with us, I’m actually buying time for Rhea to grow out of her disease and also for the children to get attached to me. And when that time finally comes, I promise you that I myself will kick Riddhima out of my house. Or even better, I’ll punish her in such a brutal manner, that she’ll curse that moment when she decided to betray me.”
Anupriya thought for a moment and said, “But Vansh, how will you and all of us bare that Riddhima around us? Whenever I see her face, my blood starts boiling in anger.”
Vansh took a picture frame having Rhea and Reyansh’s picture in it. Angre had managed to get it made within a really short span of time. “A father can go to any extent for the love of his children. And I’m the blessed father of not one, but two beautiful kids! Riddhima will surely have to bear the consequences of her deceit, but that will have to wait for sometime.”
_____________
Riddhima was heading towards the children’s bedroom, when Aryan came in front of her from nowhere, and blocked her path. He pulled out a cigarette and started exhaling the smoke right onto her face, knowing very well that she hated that. She started coughing.
“What a smart girl you are!” mocked Aryan, continuing to puff. “Taking the children as an excuse, you are back in our house. Wow!” He started clapping his hands. “But I’ve a small, very small doubt. Where did these kids even come from?”
Riddhima shot a furious look in his direction, but Aryan continued with an unwavering attitude. “As far as I know, you and Vansh Bhai inspite of being married to each other, used to sleep on separate beds. Then how and when did this miracle exactly happen? Unless…you slept with someone else behind Bhai’s back and….”
Smack! Aryan felt a hard palm against his cheek, and before he could know it, he was lying on the ground.
“When I don’t ask you how your parents ‘created’ you, then you’ve also got no rights to question me upon that,” said Riddhima fiercely.
Aryan rubbed his slapped cheek, and looked up with a stunned expression at Riddhima. “Kabir has trained you well.”
“Of course, he had to train me well, for fighting against the devil and the devil’s brother,” said Riddhima walking away, leaving an angered Aryan still lying flat.
On the way, she met Sia, who strangely greeted her with a smile. Riddhima was touched to see Sia as the only sorted and moral person in the house. She was just the same how she was seven years back, and hadn’t changed a bit.
“Where is Dadi? Since I came here, I didn’t see her. Did she stay back in Mumbai?” asked Riddhima innocently.
Sia became emotional at the prospect of thinking about Dadi. Her Dadi, the sweetest Dadi in the world. A Dadi who loved her grandchildren wholeheartedly.
“She’s no more in this world,” she replied trying to keep her emotions in control.
Riddhima was shocked and couldn’t believe what she had just heard. If after Sia, there was anyone who was sweet in that family, it had to be Dadi. She remembered how she always used her shower with enormous love and care, she never treated her like a daughter-in-law. She always called her as the righteous ‘daughter’ of Raisinghania family.
“When and how did this happen Sia?” asked Riddhima with tears in her eyes.
“It happened because of you,” a stern and cold voice spoke from behind. It was Anupriya.
“Me?” asked Riddhima in disbelief.
“Yes you!” snapped Anupriya. “Don’t you remember that MummyJi was a heart patient, and the doctor had clearly forbidden us to give her any piece of tension? But how would you remember all that Riddhima, because you were busy collecting proofs against my son!”
Riddhima tried to say, “But that is not what I meant to do….”
“But that is what you did Riddhima!” shouted Anupriya. “You filed a case against Vansh and tried to prove him guilty of murder. MummyJi could not bear to see her beloved grandson’s broken marriage and the accusation of murder, and she breathed her last soon after you left.”
Riddhima stood there expressionlessly, not being able to take in all this information.
“MummyJi gave you so much love and respect and you repaid her so nicely. Well done! I’m warning you Riddhima, last time I could not do anything to protect my family from you, but this time I won’t keep quiet. Understood?” Saying this, Anupriya grabbed Sia’s hand and walked away, while Riddhima soon crumpled to the floor.
“What was Dadi’s mistake in all this? Am I the reason for her death?” she tearfully mumbled to herself. “I am so sorry Dadi! So sorry….please forgive me! I never wished for any bad to happen with you. Oh God, what did I do?” She started sobbing uncontrollably, indirectly blaming herself for her demise, when suddenly, she remembered what Kabir had told her seven-and-half years back :
“Sometimes to do something right, a little wrong has to be done.”
“Kabhi kabhi kuch sahi karne ke liye, thoda galat karna padta hai.”
That is it for today guys! I know it’s a bit confusing as of now, but the next 2 chapters will have the flashbacks. So then you will get a clear idea as to what exactly happened between Vansh and Riddhima that time. But if you have any theories about it, you can always comment below for a healthy discussion.
[PS : Almost everyone’s guess was correct 😛 ]
Peace out!