Qayamat (Updates On Mondays)

Chapter 14: (No More Grudges)

Atharva stealthily crept behind the twins and wrapped his hands around their eyes.

"Guess who am I?" He said kneeling down behind them.

"Chachuuu" The twins shrieked loudly in happiness, turning around and throwing their hands around his neck. Vedanshi looked at them with a smile as her mind started creating such scenarios including her dead daughter and her loving brother. Sushant noticed the longing look in Vedanshi's eyes and placed his hand around her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.

"Am fine dad" She placed her head on his shoulder still looking at the kids. A tear slid down her cheek knowing that if her daughter would have been alive then she too would have people who loved her so much. Sushant held back his guilt and rubbed her shoulders trying to calm her down.

"She would have been alive if you weren't so stupid" Shaurya said walking up to them. Vedanshi quickly wiped her tears and looked at Shaurya with a tired smile.

"Shaurya... Get one thing clear in your head. I failed as a sister, daughter, friend, girlfriend, wife and everything else but I know I didn't fail as a mother. I can fail in everything but that, I refuse to accept it. I did everything that was in my control to keep my daughter safe and sound" She maintained her eye contact with him.

"Ohh really? Then why don't I see your daughter here?" Shaurya taunted her, crossing his hands at his chest.

"I am done with you and this place. I have nothing to prove to you or to anyone else. This was a bad idea dad. Whatever stuff you are planning keep it to yourself, I was doing things on my own till here. If I'll fail, it'll be on me" She looked at her father accusingly and was to take a step ahead when Shaurya held her by her wrist and pulled her towards him.

"If this is how you think you'll take revenge on Rahul, you are in for a huge disappointment." He wrapped his hands around her shoulders pulling her closer to him such that her back was hitting his chest.

"Dude" Sushant looked at Shaurya angrily.

"Sorry" Shaurya took his hands away from her and stepped back, creating distance between them.

"Woahh ex-lovebirds, if you are done playing hide n seek with your love stories then lets get to work" Atharva said teasingly watching the tension between Shaurya and Vedanshi.

"We weren't reminiscing our love moments" Vedanshi said rolling her eyes at Shaurya.

"Haan woh kar bhi kaise sakte hai, kyun ki uske liye pyaar hona bhi chahiye tha na" Shaurya said looking at Vedanshi.

"Believe what you want. Meri taraf se toh pyaar tha aur yeh aap bhi jaante hai. If you claim to know so much about my life then you should've known this too. Par khair kya karsakte hai, jisse samjhna hi nahi usse samjha ke kya karoon" She looked at Sushant pleadingly. She didn't want to spend one more moment in this place.

"Waah, ulta chor kotwal ko daate. I wasn't the one going around kissing boys like a whore. You made the whole thing we had turn into an one night stand" Sushant fisted his hands to punch him but before he could do that Vedanshi took a stand for herself.

"Fine, you want to call me a whore, go ahead call me that. If you aren't satisfied with that, call me a hoe, slut, characterless girl. You know what, why don't I send you a list of men I've had one night stands with throughout my life. Will that satisfy you?" She took a step towards him, glaring at him for not forgiving her mistakes which she did for his good.

"But remember one thing, no matter how many men I've slept with, you will always remain the first man. That time I had to say things I didn't mean magar mera pyaar galat nahi tha" She pointed her index finger at him and dug it in his chest.

"Toh bata deti mujhe. Bata deti ke kyun mujhe chood na zaroori tha. I deserved that much atleast" Shaurya pushed her finger away from his chest and held her by her shoulders.

"Kaise batati? Kaise batati uss insaan ko jiske ke saath retirement tak ke sapne dekh chuki thi. Galti hogayi mere se par main kya karoon? Jo kuch bhi apna mana tha woh sab toh bhagwan ne mere se cheen liya, now what do you want from me? My heart? No I don't think so. My life, again no because you aren't that kind that you'll let me die peacefully. Leaves you with the last option, my body? You want to take revenge for what I said back then? Go ahead take it. My husband has raped me multiple times. Who knows now I might have become immune to such stuff. That's what you want right? Let's go then, am sure this huge mansion has one vacant room" She pushed his hands away and held him by his wrist and pointed in the direction of a room. Shaurya's head dropped down in shame and didn't move one step even.

"Why did you stop? Chalo? You want to punish me for what I did na, then lets go, ruk kyun gaye? But listen one thing clearly Shaurya, I have no emotions or feelings left inside me except for guilt, regret and hatred. I don't blame anyone but myself for it. It was my mistake that I thought of avenging my parents' death over everything that was right in my life. Yes Shaurya, Rahul came in my life because I wanted the man who killed my birth parents to rot in hell but instead he and his son made my life a never-ending sequence of agonizing torture" Vedanshi slid down onto the floor tired of standing. Sushant and Atharva tried to intervene, but Shaurya refused them.

"Ek baar bata deti yeh sab kyun kar rahi thi? Koi aur raasta milta. Why didn't you tell me anything? All these years I had to live with hatred for you in my heart just to know that the reason why you did all this was to take revenge for your parents. All that you suffered could have been avoided. You are the world's greatest idiot. This fear that runs so deep in your veins would have never been there in the first place if you would have just talked to anyone of us. There would have been no Rahul Agnihotri in your life in the first place" Shaurya shouted on her as she broke down after many years of hiding her tears. He kept going on and on about her mistakes as she apologized for everything.

"Your one decision ruined many lives along with yours. Your family, friends, me..." Shaurya screamed at her making her flinch in fear.

"Kya karoon aab? Yes I made one wrong decision and I am paying for it. I lost everything Shaurya. I lost my child. You think I haven't thought about it and cussed myself for making a wrong decision. Everyday, every single moment I've blamed myself for ruining everyone's life. I tried Shaurya, I tried everything to make it right but everytime I tried taking my life, one way or the other I was saved. Living with this guilt is not easy Shaurya. If you ask right now, I'm ready to commit suicide but God doesn't want me to die, someone will magically pop up and again save my life. The frustration is not easy to live with. I don't have any explanation to give for what I did. Am sorry for what I did Shaurya, I really am" Vedanshi stood up and wiped her tears and was to walk away when Atharva held her back.

"Relax Vedanshi...Breathe with me" Atharva asked his guard to get a glass of water till then he helped her manage her panic attack. Shaurya rubbed his nose and nape trying to keep his calm.

"You two na, I don't know what to say. Pal mein masha pal mein tola. This grudge that you have in your hearts na isn't going to let me get my work done. Oh and by the way, its just not you who's everything was snatched. Mine too was. My wife and my unborn child..." Atharva said patting her head as she gulped down the water.