Abhinav

Part 30 - Storm (3)

There was a stunned silence in the room as Manjari failed to answer Abhinav's question. Akshara went numb as the unpleasant truth that had been subconsciously hidden somewhere deep in her mind, was now staring at her face.
Abhimanyu paled as he stammered,
'What.. What do you mean.. Sharma ji?'.

Abhinav was dealing with the horror of the sudden realisation himself. No, my Nikkeji must not have been used as a pawn. No. Not by his fath.. But as hard as he seeked, Abhinav could find no other reason,
'Dr. Birla, you came to Kasauli to take Abhir away but quickly agreed to stay as a pay guest for a month. A month, that too instantly! You had time to work from home, become Dadda to Abhir, Bhai ji to Muskaan and even a son to Neelamma. But here in Udaipur, you don't have a single free day for Abhir. In fact, your Mom looks after Abhir more than you do. What changed?'.

Abhimanyu was flustered as he answered,
'There are more demands on my time here as.. as I am in town. Yes! What I mean is.. everyone was overworked when I was in Kasauli. That kind of arrangement can work only in the short term. Now, when I am in Udaipur, I have to fulfill my responsibilities as a surgeon and look after the general administration of Birla Hospital'.

'Then, why did you file for sole custody?'
'Because Bade Papa refused to reveal the truth about me to Abhir unless I won the court case'.
'Dr. Birla, I was trying to convince Bade Papa and Akshara came to you too, so that we can all come to an amicable solution. But your mind was already made up. Winning joint custody would have also fulfilled Bade Papa's condition but you stubbornly wanted sole custody only. Why, Dr. Birla?'.
Abhimanyu took on the offensive,
'What are you trying to say, Sharma ji? Speak clearly!'.

Abhinav broke all the barriers within him that felt disgusted at the very thought of what he was about to say.
'Throughout your stay in Kasauli, you tried to impress upon Akshara that you could be me, rather that you could replace me in her life. You took on the demeanor of being patient, compassionate, respectful - everything that Akshara now values more than love in her life. I thought that you had changed after whatever you had said in the semi-conscious state in the hospital after your accident but I was wrong. You are still the same!..'
Abhinav took a deep breath, trying to control his anger,
'..You wanted Abhir's sole custody because you knew Akshara could never stay away from Abhir. It was not Abhir you wanted but Akshara!'.

It was clear from Abhimanyu's expression that what Abhinav was saying was the truth.
'Sharma ji, of course I want Abhir. How can I not? He is my blood after all! As for Akshara, I won't deny it. Yes, I want her too. And if you really think about it, if you are really as acchha as everyone says you are, you will see how right I am, how you have actually taken my place. I am not trying to replace you, you took away my place that I am claiming back. It was always Abhimanyu & Akshara - AbhiRa. AbhiRa and their little Abhir form the perfect family. Think about it, Sharma ji. Abhir's identity himself is Abhimanyu + Akshara. How can you separate AbhiRa? I am not heartless, Sharma ji. Destiny was cruel to you, I feel sorry about that. Of course, you deserve a family too, your own family. But you can't rob my family for that! You can't take away what was given to me!.

Abhinav was tiring of the circular discussions. It seemed that nothing could make Abhimanyu and Manjari understand the difference between the past and the present but for the sake of Abhir and now Akshara, he tried again.
'Dr. Birla, they were given to you but you cast them away. You tore them apart from your family with your own hands. They found me and I found them and we are a family now. Abhir, Akshara and Abhinav. As for Abhir, as I have already said, Akshara and I both accept your right as..'

Abhimanyu exploded,
'It wasn't my fault alone! I didn't cast away anything! Akshara never listened to me! I warned her.. I kept warning her to stay away from my messy family issues, to not take implusive decisions. You don't understand, Sharma ji! She protected Aarohi when Aarohi was responsible for my Mom's critical condition! She deserted me for a year without a word! Can you honestly say Sharma ji that if you lose your sibling and son forever like I have lost mine, you won't behave in the same way I did?'.

'If so much has happened, as you say due to Akshara, then why do you want her back, Dr. Birla?'.
'Because I love her. I truly love her. The only reason I got engaged to Aarohi was because of Ruhi. Even when I was Aarohi's fiance, I never betrayed Akshara. In my mind, it was always her. The six years she wasn't with me, I survived only because of daily pills. My love isn't weak like hers. She has always been running away from challenges, quiting at difficulties but I know deep down she loves me too. We have had the divorce issue once before as well but that didn't mean we didn't love each other. We got back together and were happy together and Abhir is the living proof of that. Our separations only make us love each other more! The entire Udaipur is witness to the intense love of AbhiRa', Abhimanyu finished proudly.

It hurts. Abhinav had to admit to himself that it was tough hearing about Akshara as someone else's wife. Abhinav had accepted Akshara's past without any hesitation, but it still pinched to hear Abhimanyu's version of it. Abhimanyu's words had pierced in Abhinav's mind and it took him a minute to collect himself together. Abhinav had no doubt as to how much Akshara loved him and he looked reassuringly at Akshara, understanding how difficult it must be to be so completely silent for his sake. Abhinav found only concern for him in her eyes and that added even more to his confidence. Abhimanyu could live in the past as much as he wanted to but he would not allow Abhimanyu to drag Abhir and Akshara with him.

'What's the matter, Sharma ji? This whole morning, you have been answering back to my Mom and me non stop. Why the sudden silence?', taunted Abhimanyu, lightly.
'The truth, beta, silences everyone..', said Manjari, recovering finally,'..God knows what twisted version of the truth has Akshara feed to Sharma ji over these 6 years. But atleast Sharma ji has understood now that Akshara's fault in the breaking of the marriage was greater than yours. Still, he will never let those words spill from his mouth because he fears that the minute he does that, Akshara will take Abhir and run away. He will always remain Akshara's puppet because the minute he tries to be her equal, she will do to him what she did to you. And Neelamma will suffer the way I did. Watching the daughter in law you supported more than your son completely destroy your son's life'. Manjari wiped away tears from her eyes as the flashes of Abhimanyu's break down played in front of her eyes.

For the first time, Abhinav felt nothing except frustration. The Birlas were hypocritical beyond his imagination. The same Manjari who was crying now had begged him to let go of Akshara and Abhir so that Abhimanyu could get a second chance. Abhinav wondered whether a single word of what all he had spoken so far has penetrated into Abhimanyu and Manjari's mind. Enough of this. Neither Akshara nor I care what the Birlas think about us. We will remove Abhir from this hell very soon legally.
The final thought weakened Abhinav. He didn't want Abhir and Akshara to go through the emotional rollercoaster of a Court case again. Maybe, just maybe, he could avoid that if the Birlas were convinced that Abhir and Akshara were happier with him. One last try. For Nikkeji. For Akshara.

Abhinav sighed internally as he got ready to answer the multitude of questions posed before him.