Is Love Enough ??

Chapter 8

Kirti stood there for a second watching her mother's face. What was she looking for? There was no softness in her mother's eyes. Neither had there been any warmth in her voice. Her demeanor seemed hostile. Her stance rigid. For her. Maan had cautioned her that she won't be welcomed and somewhere she had known it too and yet...despite all of that she had hoped. That maybe....that somehow with all the months between them, they might have mellowed in their attitude towards her and her decision. That they might be willing to move forward and forget the ugliness of that day. It didn't seem so. Was it all in vain then? Will Maan be proved right? Did it matter? They would never understand what she had done and why. Question that rose in her head was did she want them to? Weren't parents and family supposed to support their children? She hadn't committed a crime. In their eyes, maybe yes. She had chosen the man she had wanted to spend her life with. That was all. Was that that big a crime? And she had had an amazing life with Maan. True, he had his hangups. Life hadn't been fair to him but he had despite that given her everything he could. She didn't care how he was with others, because she knew if he was mean it must be because they deserved it and if he was good it was because they deserved it, with her he had always been caring and giving. And she couldn't have asked for more. Just because they couldn't see him in that light, they thought she had committed a sin. She hadn't been the one to desert them, it had been the other way around. All she had asked for was understanding. And respect for the decision she had made. They had been the ones to cut off all ties with her, thrown her out of this house and their life as if she had been a bad limb. It had hurt. A lot. For so long. For so many months. It still did. But not at that level. Because somewhere she had consoled herself that there would never come a day where she would even see them again. So there had been nothing for her to lean on, till...till she had received Anika's call and the carrot had dangled in front of her eyes. Or maybe it still hurt, with the same intensity but because she had built her life with Maan and moved forward she had kept it buried somewhere.

Kirti looked at her mother. She had aged a bit. Not overly much. She was still a bit heavy. Her long hair with orange streaks tied behind her head in a bun, same as always. She wanted to hug her mother, feel that warmth and comfort, but she couldn't. And she understood that at some level. She almost took in a deep breath. But paused. Whatever the case, she couldn't let her mother see that her words had stung.

"When had I ever lost my senses ma," she replied quietly. Surprised at the strength she heard in her voice. Maan would have been very proud of her. Just thinking about him gave her confidence. No wonder she loved him so much. He had become her anchor in more ways than one. He was her best friend, her companion, her lover, her life.

"So, you are still living with that..." Kamal said scathingly, even as she tried to find a suitable adjective,"brat...whatever his name is," she managed somehow.

"Yes ma," Kirti replied calmly, something she was far from feeling. What did her mother mean when she said 'whatever his name is'. What had he ever done to them? And one thing she could never tolerate was someone insulting Maan, especially when the man was not around to defend himself. She doubted if her mother would have used that tone in his presence. Till the time he was civil, he was civil but when he took off the veneer of civility, he could be as nasty as they came. "And why pretend as if you don't know him at all, ma," she asked firmly. Kirti was not the yelling types. She had never been and she wasn't starting now. This was her mother she was talking to, despite whatever had happened. She hadn't forgotten their relationship or the boundaries that governed that relationship. She respected her mother. Loved her despite her views and opinions. "You have known him since he was a child. He practically grew up before you," she said even as her mother pursed her lips at the reminder, "you still maintain relationship with his family, then why not with Maan?" she asked her voice pitched slightly higher than she had intended. It was a question she had asked that day too. The day they had broken off ties with her.

"And how I have regretted ever letting him set foot in this house," her mother replied with anger, "had I even had an inkling on what might happen in future, rest assured you would never even have heard of him," she said forcefully, "as far as his family is concerned, they are as disillusioned in him as we are in you," she said and raised her chin a notch,"and as to why we still maintain a relationship with them, I don't think I owe you an explanation," she retorted, "besides, what do you care? You already chose your path," Kamal said distastefully, "why are you even here?" she asked. In her mind though, Kamal knew she was shying away from answering a question she herself didn't fully understand. Or to put it in a more correct manner, she had never really given that question much thought. Why they had maintained relationship with the Khannas and not with Maan? She actually didn't know the answer. She didn't want to know. Maan had destroyed their family name, taken their daughter away from them and those were enough reasons to hate him. The manner in which things had taken place and the way Kirti had sided with him, putting all their teachings and values on the backburner, left no place for forgiveness. She didn't care what anyone said, what both Kirti and Maan had done was damming. And that was that.

"Anika invited me to attend her wedding," Kirti replied softly, not sure how her statement would be taken or if Anika would land in any trouble. Her mother hadn't been expecting her, that much she had deduced from the surprised and frosty welcome she had received. But now she was sure because her mother had clearly asked her the reason for her visit. Oh, boy! this wasn't good.

Kamal's face lost all color. Had Anika lost her senses? What was wrong with her? She had invited Kirti for her wedding without once consulting her or anyone else? She felt the need to sit...and she did. What was wrong with the daughters of this house? One had left with a man they all had thoroughly disapproved of and the other...the other was hellbent on getting her upcoming marriage cancelled. Anika's would be in-laws were on the conservative side, and that was to put it mildly. And Anika had invited her disreputed sister to her wedding. Kamal's mind refused to wrap itself around the whole idea. What were they trying to do? Give her a heart attack? What will relatives say? What will their friends say? How will Anoop react when he gets to know? And she would have gone on thinking when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Kirti's concerned face.

"Are you okay ma?" Kirti asked concerned. Her mother in the last few seconds seemed was going to have a stroke. She had gone white as a sheet since she had told her that Anika had invited her to her wedding. Plus, the fact that she sat down abruptly.

"Okay..." Kamal said slowly then she stood up as suddenly as she had sat down,"you ruined your life and our name by running away and now Anika will get her marriage cancelled a week before the actual date," she said shaken, "and I should be okay?" she asked. Her voice rising almost like a screech.

Kirti was confused. The first part she understood but Anika's marriage getting cancelled. She had no clue what her mother was talking about. She opened her mouth to ask what her mother meant but another voice interrupted before she could put her thoughts into words.

A very happy voice. A very excited voice.

"You came," it said happily.

And both Kirti and Kamal turned around.

Anika was here.

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