Deceit: Love shouldn't hurt

End

A gloom had washed over Ranvijay's huge mansion. One could see beeline if people all dressed in white paying their last tribute to the head of the family. The eomen of the house could be seen consoling Ranvijay's mother who couldnt cope with her loss. His brothers stood next to Ranvijay in silence as their father would never like his son's crying. So all they could do was mourn in silence. VVIP's from all over the country had rushed to the house the moment they heard of his father's death. Media houses were all outside the mansion covering the last rights.
Ciya could be seen standing silently in a corner holding Arjun . One could see that she was sad for her husband's loss. She would look at Ranvijay who looked lost to her. She was afraid if he was depressed due to the loss.
Relatives and friends and members of the political parties all took their turns to convey their condolences to the family and assured that whoever had killed their father would be punished. The mention of the killer made Ranvijay's eyes pop out suddenly. But he had to keep his calm. No one could know what he had done . The burden of his father's death was too much for Ranvijay to take in. He had never believed it would be so difficult for him.
The rituals took the entire day and after all the formalities from the police officials , the last rites were performed as per hindu rituals. The ashes were collected and scattered into the holy river ganges the next day.

Ranvijay knew what he was supposed to do for the sake of his family, his wife. He knew he had to strike first or else his father would definitely kill Ciya. He methodically planned how he would end the life of someone who gave life to him but what else could he do? Holi ! He had time until holi to execute his plan. Get rid of his father so that his family could thrive.

The family hosted a lavish holi party and this was when Ranvijay decided he would kill his father. He still hadnt figured out how but he knew one thing for sure that whatever was to he done he had to do it by himself. No alliances what so ever. He couldnt risk getting caught or else he could get himself killed.
On the day of Holi when the wntire family was busy splashing water and smudging each others faces with colors, Ranvijay made a bold move when he took an aim on his father who was busy talking to people. Thanks to the silencer on the gun nobody noticed who shot him or from where was the shot taken. All that one could see was his father suddenly collasping onto the ground. Nobody noticed the blood oozing out thinking it was color until the man collasped. The bullet peireced his heart and killed him on the spot. Ranvijay hid the gun and rushed to his dad. Guilt came over and he suddenly started to regret what he had done. He held his father close and his mouth left a huge cry. He cried inconsolably, bitterly holding his dwar father into his arms. He was sorry but he hadnt any options.
"Im sorry dad" was all he could whisper into his ears.
The dying man stared into his beloved son's eyes for the last time realising who had taken a shot on him, held his hand and took his last breathe.
The entire family gathered around the duo wondering what on earth had occurred. Poor Ciya couldnt believe what she had seen. She handed over Arjun to some relative and rushed to her wailing husband. She held his hand trying to console him. Ranvijay looked at her with a longing, with guilt and it filled in a fear in Ciya. Why was he looking at her like that, she wondered.
His father was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
It wasnt easy for the family and everyone looked shattered.
It took months for the family to recover from the loss. As promised by Ranvijay to Ciya, he slowly ended all the illegal businesses his father ran. It incurred a huge loss and alot more upset vvips but he still had to do it.
His brothers, thankfully were on the same page too and that made things easier. The transition wasn't easy for the family. Ranvijay's father had an aura and there wasnt any match to it. They had many political rivals too and dealing with everything was another head ache.
The only silver lining here was that Ciya was trying to be a strong pillar of hope and support to Ranvijay. She made sure he didn't feel alone . Ranvijay kept his promise to his wife but he had to pay with a huge crime for it. The guilt wouldn't leave his mind but atleast now he could see that his family looked much more free and relaxed. Especially the women in the house seem to live with a freedom in the house with a sense of equality.
Now atleast their children could choose a crime free life for themselves. Whenever Ranvijay thought of Arjun, he always wanted him to have a life different than what he had.
When he looked at Ciya, he would realise that she was alive only because his father was dead. That would losen up the knot in his stomach.
Ciya was quite relieved that finally Ranvijay had gotten rid of all the illegal activities his family was into.
They still had a long way to go as forgiveness wasnt an easy virtue to perform , but she was willing to give him a chance for their child's sake.
Their journey had just begun with the challenges of holding up the company and businesses without their father and bridging up the gap between the two love birds.

Dearest readers,
Im sorry to have ghosted you for so long but it was like a writers block for me. Couldnt figure out writing and didnt really find the time to write anything. Today i felt an urge to write something and here i am. Kindly forgive me and thankyou for your patience.