CHAPTER 43: Family or you?
(Day after Arjun-Pankhuri’s engagement)
Mishti: So Mrs. Kapoor poisoned her own daughter, pushing her into a slow death.
Priyanka nodded as she finished narrating what her Shivaay Bhaiya had told the previous night….
Abir: That means she is the one who also got her stabbed.
Ranveer: I don’t think so, and if it is her, why one day before the wedding. Anyways Tia would eventually die because of the poison.
Priyanka: Well Anusha aunty really wanted Tia to marry Bhaiya, after all only after the wedding would the deal between Oberois and Kapoors could be kept intact.
Mishti: If that is so, why the slow poisoning?
Ranveer: Because of Dushyant Rana.
Mishti, Abir and Priyanka looked at him hearing his statement…. They got into thinking…. Ranveer had made a point….
Abir: Maybe Mrs. Kapoor knew about Tia and Dushyant’s secret marriage and their plan. Not to lose her deal as well as reputation after Tia revealed the truth to Shivaay, she slow poisoned Tia….
Priyanka: So that Tia dies a few days after the wedding and doesn’t reveal the truth to Bhaiya.
Mishti: Well this is possible but then we shouldn’t take a chance. We should investigate Mrs. Kapoor.
Ranveer: Mishti is right, we cannot leave any potential suspect.
Abir: Okay then, Mishti and I’ll get all the information about Mrs. Kapoor and her activities in the past weeks.
Ranveer and Priyanka looked at him surprised…. Abir was talking about working with Mishti…. Then the two of them looked at Mishti…. Understanding their confusion and surprise Mishti smiled looking down…. Priyanka smiled seeing her smile…. Ranveer looked at his friend….
Priyanka: So looks like things are changing around here.
Hearing Priyanka’s words Abir understood that she meant about Mishti and him…. He smiled a little looking first at Mishti and then at the two people who were looking at him with raised eye-brows and teasing smiles….
Abir: Well things have surely changed.
Priyanka: So that means you two are together again.
Mishti: Yes….
Ranveer: So you guys solved your case.
The four of them looked at each other and smiled…. Smiles turned into laughter as the newly made family shared their happiness with each other….
*****
“Why do you not understand Ranveer?”
Priyanka said getting up from her seat…. She had been telling him how it was important that she tell her family about them…. If not the entire family, at least her brothers…. She could not lie to them every day anymore…. She could not hide it from them every day anymore…. One day they would find out eventually…. It was better they told them…. If they got to know from someone else, things may take some other tangent and then it would mess up even more…. She was now frustrated seeing him not agreeing to her….
“It is not me; you do not understand anything Priyanka”
Ranveer too got up from his place…. He too was equally frustrated seeing her not agreeing to him…. He was shocked when she told him that they had to tell her family or at least her brothers about them…. They could not do it, not at this point in time at least…. He was investigating a case related to her family and it was way too complicated to reveal their relation now…. If the outside world got to know about this, it would not only affect his job but also her family and the case…. It was better for all if they hid it for some more time, at least till the case was solved….
Priyanka: I very well understand, it’s you who needs to understand.
Ranveer: C’mon Priyanka, you know this isn’t the time for all this. Let the right time come.
Priyanka: When, when will your so called right time come, will it even come in this lifetime?
Ranveer: I think we should just end the discussion here, we will argue unnecessarily if this continues.
Ranveer turned to go but Priyanka held his hand…. She was not going to let it go…. Not today…. Her guilt of lying to her family especially her brothers was killing her from inside…. She had seen her Shivaay Bhaiya getting so much hurt when they did not tell about Tia…. This was about his Prinku…. If she did not tell him, he would be shattered knowing it from somewhere else….
Priyanka: No Mr. Randhawa, we will talk and end this discussion today only.
Ranveer sighed looking at her…. He removed his hand from her hold and held her hands…. He took a deep breath before speaking….
Ranveer: Priyanka, please let us not talk about this now. I am sorry for not agreeing to your decision but we cannot do this now.
Priyanka: Is it only about my family or is it about you?
He looked at her confused not understanding what she meant….
Ranveer: What do you mean?
Priyanka: I mean maybe you are still not sure about us and that is why you are not ready to accept it in front of people.
Ranveer let go of her hands as her words reached his ears…. He looked at her in disbelief and moved back a few steps…. Is this what she thought about him…. That he was not sure about them…. It was the only thing he was sure about more than anything in this world…. How could she think about him like this…. This was not his Priyanka…. This was not definitely her….
Ranveer: Leave….
Priyanka: What?
Ranveer: I said it leave…. Go from here….
He turned to the other side as tears collected in his eyes…. Priyanka looked at his back that was facing her…. Did he just ask her to leave…. So what she said was true…. Was he really not sure about them…. This was not her Ranveer…. This was not definitely him…. She wiped the tears flowing from her eyes and walked away….
*****
“Are you okay Veer? You seem to be disturbed about something.”
Abir asked with concern…. Since the time Mishti and he had returned he could see that something had changed about Ranveer…. Priyanka’s absence also surprised them…. He had asked Ranveer to which he only said that she had to go back home due to some family call…. Neither Abir nor Mishti were convinced with the reason but did not budge further….
Ranveer: I am fine just thinking about the case.
One thing about people who have known us for years is that they can see through our lies…. Abir could also see through Ranveer’s…. More than friends they had been family to each other….
Ranveer: So, did you both get the required information about Mrs. Kapoor.
Mishti: Yes Sir, we did. Mrs. Kapoor has been spending most of her time either at the Kapoor head-quarters or in Oberoi Mansion.
Abir: It is strange that despite of having their own house, the Kapoors were staying in Oberoi Mansion.
Mishti: Yes, this is strange, even before the wedding was finalized, they were all staying together since the last two years.
Ranveer: Looks like Mrs. Kapoor has lot more in her plans than just the wedding.
Abir: Guess, it’s time we meet her.
Ranveer nodded at Abir, but his mind was still thinking about what Priyanka had said to him…. Did she really think that he was not sure about her….
*****
Glass artifacts are so beautiful and so delicate…. And maybe that is why they come with a “Handle with care” tag…. After all, all it takes is that one moment when it slips from your hand…. It crashes down into pieces with that one fall…. It breaks into millions of tiny pieces in that one moment…. And then even thousands of moments cannot join it together…. Relations too are like those glass artifacts…. So beautiful…. So delicate…. And they also come with an invisible “Handle with care” tag because all they take to break is that one moment when you let them slip out of your hands…. That one fall when you do not forward your hand to hold on to them….
Priyanka was sitting her room…. Tears flowing from her eyes…. Was this the end…. Had she lost him forever…. Had not she promised to be with him forever…. Then why were they not together….
“Prinku…. Wo….”
Om stopped in the middle as he saw his sister…. Priyanka hearing her Om Bhaiya’s voice wiped her tears and turned the other side…. Little did she know her Bhaiya did not have to look at her to know what she was feeling…. He walked to her and kneeled down in front of her….
Omkara: Prinku…. Kya hua….
Priyanka: Bhaiya, kuch bhi toh nahi, aap yaha, kya hua kuch kaam tha kya.
Omkara: Aankhein chura kar sirf jhoot bole jaate hai aur tu toh jaanti hai mujhe jhoot kitna pasand hai.
Priyanka: Bhaiya….
That was all she could say as she hugged him tightly…. Tears flowed from her…. Om was taken aback by her sudden outburst but composed himself and caressed her back trying to calm her down…. After a few minutes he pulled her out of the hug and wiped her tears….
Omkara: Prinku, baccha, won’t you tell your Om Bhaiya?
Priyanka: Bhaiya, I love Ranveer.
Omkara: Ranveer…. You mean Ranveer Singh Randhawa…. That DCP who is handling Tia’s case….
Priyanka just nodded looking down…. She could not meet her brother’s eyes….
Shock would have been an understatement for what Om felt at that moment….
Love….
Priyanka….
Ranveer….
When….
Where….
How….
His mind was filled with thousands of questions…. His heart felt thousands emotions at once….
Omkara: Prinku, tell me everything now.
He commanded more than asking or requesting…. Priyanka was shocked by the change in his tone…. She quietly obliged and told him everything…. From their first meet to their meet at the police station the day….
Priyanka: I am sorry Bhaiya, I didn’t want to lie to you all but….
Om was silent for a few moments before speaking…. He wiped her tears and looked at her….
Omkara: Prinku, I can understand baccha, this is not an easy thing to tell especially with the people in our family. But don’t worry your Om Bhaiya is with you.
Priyanka: Thank you so much Bhaiya, I was so scared….
Omkara: Don’t be scared, main hoon tere saath.
Priyanka: But Shivaay Bhaiya….
Omkara: I’ll handle him but till the case is not solved, let us keep it a secret.
Priyanka nodded…. Om kissed her forehead and walked out of the room…. He had to do something…. Their lives were getting more complicated with each passing day, the investigation of the case had brought out many secrets in the open and Om was not sure how many more were yet to come out….
*****
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