I
Ram tossed and turned in his bed at night that day. Like most other nights the last five years, his thoughts when in bed and in this room were dominated by Priya - he remembered her taanas; her telling him to remove his wet towels from the bed; her ensuring that his water and his medicines were kept beside him every night. He also remembered their intimate moments, that special day when Priya made the first move, then the night their love for each other, unspoken, unarticulated verbally but expressed through their love and passion, that night they finally consummated their union, so many months after the marriage. As they lay in each other's arms, it seemed like they were in heaven and it was a dream that was never to end! And like every day, Ram woke up and sat on the bed, tears dripping down his face - tears of sadness, tears of anger, tears of hopelessness!
But today, today was different. Priya had agreed to come and be his wife for seven days. She would be returning to Kapoor Mansion after 5 years, but how different things would be this time. She would be bringing Pihu with her. That girl! She was such a brat, but Ram felt some kind of connection with her. He had felt it the first time too, when they had fought over the cupcake and then she had called him "Papa" to save him from Angira!
"Papa"! Had Priya not messed up with Krish, today, he and Priya would have had a cherub like Pihu running all around Kapoor Mansion, dominating all around her. Hell, maybe Nandini mom would have found some way to smile and get over Shivi. Anyway...
But there was indeed something about Pihu, which drew Ram to her, despite everything, despite knowing she was Priya and Krish's daughter. He should be hating her but somehow she intrigued him! She called him Mr. Khadoos, and while he scoffed at the name on the outside, inwardly it made him smile. Khadoos was what he used to call Priya, and today, if Priya's daughter called him that, he would accept it as a compliment!...
II
And just like that their time together was coming to an end. Tomorrow Sara and Vikrant would be getting married; that would be followed by the interview, and if all went well, the deal would be signed, he would not have to go to jail, and Priya would be free to leave. The very thought of Priya leaving him again, as she had done 5 years back was enough to make Ram emotional. The last week had been magic; it was the most relaxed he had been in the last 5 years, the most he had smiled and laughed and enjoyed himself! It was like the old Ram Kapoor had returned for a brief period and tomorrow, it would be back to doom, gloom and loneliness.
And Pihu! That girl!! In the last one week, this girl had come to occupy a very special corner in his heart. While she had reluctantly agreed to call him "Papa" as part of the "adventure" that her mom told her, how he wished he really was her Papa! He had loved this one week with her - and the dance at Vik and Sara's sangeet was a memory he would hold on to for life! They had so many similarities! They liked the same food, they had the same eccentricities, and hell, they both gobbled stress pills! Not to mention that they were both head over heels in love with the same woman!
Finally Ram admitted to himself what he had been unwilling to do so in the last one week. He still loved Priya! Perhaps more than earlier. In the last one week of being together, he realised that Priya was the same. And yes, somewhere she still cared for him, even if she was now with Krish!
Krish! What is the story here? Pihu didn't call him "Papa", she called him "Handsome"; Priya was not married to him and as per what Shubham had said, Priya and Krish had not even been living together these last five years? Why? And what did Krish mean the other day when he had come to the farmhouse and told him "usse pata to chale ki innocent hote hue bhi jail jaane sekya hote hain" and hinted about atrocities in jail! Was Priya innocent after all? But if she was, who was she trying to save? And had she been tortured in jail? Ram wanted to go to the bedroom and ask Priya these questions right away! But Pihu was asleep and he had promised Priya that Pihu would never come to know about those two years when Priya was not with her after her birth! What should he do? He decided to go and speak to Priya anyway. After all, this would probably be the last time he would get to spend time with her!
"Priya?" Are you there?" Ram knocked on his (their) bedroom door. And a voice came - "Mr. Kapoor, I am in the washroom. Please aap andar aa jaaiye."
Ram went inside. Clothes were strewn all over the place as Priya had started packing to leave the next day. Her bag was open and her wallet was on the floor! Ram remembered how much of a hurry Priya had been in to hide her wallet from him when it had fallen from her bag the day they had been stuck in the lift. And there was a piece of paper that had fallen from the bag as well! Ram picked up the wallet to keep it on the bed. And as he turned it around, he was shocked! On one side was a beautiful photo of Priya and Pihu, her big blue-green eyes reflected in its full glory. And on the other side - it was a picture of him! Yes, a picture of Ram Kapoor and not Krish! Ram's heart did a somersault. Something hit him. He tried to remember how things had happened 5 years back. He had been sitting with Nandini and Shubham, trying to get her to eat when Adi and Bri had called, asking him to come outside. In his hurry, he left his phone behind. And when he returned home with Adi, Nandini mom gave him the news that Priya was pregnant! She had asked him to go and get her home! He was so happy that day! What had been the saddest day, cremating his bacchi Shivi, had just turned itself around. Life!! He had rushed to the jail to meet Priya, but she dropped a bombshell on him. Ram didn't believe her, he wanted a paternity test, but Nandini mom came and took him away, and told him about Priya's weak moment with Krish! Was she wrong? Had he committed the biggest mistake of his life?
In a trance, Ram continued to pick up Priya's things from the floor. He picked up the bag, and noticed that it was the same one HE had gifted her; and then he picked up the piece of paper that had fallen out from the bag!
It was Pihu's birth certificate. And in the column for Father's name it said RAM VIRENDRA KAPOOR!
And as Ram stared and stared at that piece of paper, tears streaming down his face, reflecting on all that he had missed out the last 5 years, he collapsed on the floor crying.
And just then Priya came out of the washroom. Seeing Mr. Kapoor in this state and with the piece of paper in his hands, she knew that he knew. And she started crying.
to be continued...
