Enduring Ally

Chapter 49: Broken Soul

Zoya was baffled to hear what Prem said about Aditya and he looked at her with worried look. "Sir, what are you saying? What happened to Aditya?" Zoya asked as she kneeled before him while placing her hands on his. "Beta... I know how much you have suffered because of what my daughter did to Aditya... I should have told you about everything when I came to Mumbai after Sakshi's death..." Prem said while a tear escaped from his left eye.

Zoya looked at him perplexed while sitting back on couch. "Pooja...?" Zoya asked and Prem completed her question, "Pooja was Sakshi's and my daughter". He paused and sighed before continuing, "I never stopped her or even tried to stop her, whatever she did from her childhood... It was my fault..."

He sighed and Zoya was dumbfounded with the new information she just found out. "Sakshi..." He paused and Zoya can see how painful for him to talk about his wife. He continued, "Sakshi and I... We were not in good terms and we had so many differences... While Pooja was growing up, we both were fighting a lot and we don't look after her... After our divorce, Sakshi supported her in her every move and she didn't restrict her on anything... And I was not there to look after her too... It was my fault that I was so careless towards my responsibility of my daughter..."

Zoya gulped and opened her mouth but she closed. Prem added with sigh, "We, Hooda's and us, were neighbors... Aditya's mother, Anjana Hooda, never used to care about her sons' or any other human being... She always used to demean and being rude to the people around her... Anjana was having an affair with someone else and we didn't know about it until she left Harsh and her sons' for him... Aditya and Arjun were left alone with Harsh... Aditya was yearning for mother's love... Sakshi filled that hole in his heart... Sakshi took care both of them and soon Aditya started to look Sakshi as his mother and loved her... He became very close to her..."

"I never thought my own daughter would grow up like Anjana... Pooja grew up just like her and I couldn't do anything about it... Sakshi was so engrossed in taking care of Aditya and she didn't look after her own daughter..." He looked at Zoya as he paused.

"Pooja was everything to Aditya since his mother left him... And when they grow up, Aditya started to feel for her as she was always there for him and he stood by her. Aditya always share everything with Sakshi since his childhood and when he told her about his crush over Pooja. She entertained and encouraged him to pursue his crush... even after knowing what kind of person Pooja has become..." He added.

"I came to know about all this only after when they decided to get them married... I know, Pooja was not the right choice for Aditya... Sakshi and I fought a lot about this but she was stubborn with the idea that Aditya was the only person who could change Pooja's attitude. I was helpless and after few instances I thought may be... may be Aditya's love may change my daughter's attitude towards life... But I was wrong... I was so wrong..." He sighed and tears fell down from his eyes. Zoya poured a glass of water for him and handed over to him. He drank the water and kept the glass on the tea table and looked at Zoya. "I'm sorry... I couldn't control myself whenever I think that I destroyed Aditya's life... I could have saved him from all this pain and damage... But I was so selfish and I was thinking only about my daughter's well being..."

Zoya looked at him baffled, "Sir... She was your daughter... I don't understand..." Prem chuckled and said, "When I complete telling you what happened... you'll know why?"

"Beta... You know my greatest regret was I didn't stop them from getting married... They got married and Aditya loved her beyond anyone could think of. He almost held her in his hands... He dedicated his life for her and to make her happy... He gave her so much love and a life that every father would want to see his daughter to have such wonderful life... I was so happy thinking that my daughter was in good hands and she'll reform with Aditya's love... But I didn't know that my daughter had ulterior motive when she agreed to marry Aditya", Prem said with sniffle.