His Mira | Her Revenge

🦋 Six • Misery And Melancholia 🦋

The next morning, Miraya left to meet Aastha Kashyap before Shashank could wake up. She didn't want to involve him in this. The morning was cold and foggy. The Sun was blocked by the grey clouds. She took the Thar and drove to Aastha's residence.

A middle-aged woman was sitting in the lawn of the residence. Miraya went to the lady and asked, "Are you Aastha Kashyap?"

The lady nodded with a smile, "Yes, I am. But who are you? I don't think we have met before. Oh, where are my manners? Please have a seat first."

Miraya nodded with a small professional smile and sat down on the bamboo chair. Aastha called the servant and asked her to bring a cup of coffee for the guest. Miraya tried to refuse but Aastha insisted. The coffee arrived in just a few minutes much to Miraya's surprise. Maybe they store coffee in thermos.

"So who are you?" Aastha asked with a smile.

Miraya controlled her urge to laugh at the lady. She asked her who she is after serving a hot cup of coffee to her.

"I am Miraya Yaduvanshi. I am a corporate lawyer," Miraya took a sip of the coffee.

"And what brought you here?"

"Sandhya Sachdeva was your classmate, right?" Miraya noticed how Aastha's pleasant smile turned into a look of surprise at Sandhya's mention.

"Yes, she used to be my classmate and my neighbour too." Aastha agreed, though it was obvious that Sandhya's mention made her quite uncomfortable. It could be seen on her face.

"I'm here to gather some information about her past."

"But... why do you have to do this?" Aastha asked while hesitating, as if she wanted to say more but refrained herself.

"To save her from the trouble she is about face." It was a lie. Miraya was going to use the information to trouble Sandhya.

"Oh, what do you want to know?" But unknown to her intentions, Aastha agreed rather quickly.

"Twenty eight years ago, she got pregnant and gave birth to a girl child. The child was abandoned at the age of four in front of an orphanage."

Aastha gasped, "What? She abandoned Saira! But she told me she sent Saira to her father."

"Can you please tell me about her pregnancy in detail? And who is the father of the child?"

"Umm... Sandhya had an affair with an older man. He was about twelve years older than her. And he was already married. It was an extramarital affair. He made Sandhya pregnant. But he promised her that he will soon divorce his wife and marry her. Sandhya waited for him. She waited for four years. But he didn't come back for her. So one day she took Saira somewhere and returned alone. I was told that Saira was given to her father."

Miraya's eyes turned red with tears. So she was the outcome of an extramarital affair.

"Who is that man?" She asked, trying hard to not break down.

"Ritwik Kapoor."

Her eyes widened hearing that name. That man was her mother's ex-husband. Naintara had divorced him twenty-five years ago. Which meant he had cheated on her with Sandhya. It was hard for her to accept this revelation. She wouldn't mind being a criminal's daughter but being Ritwik Kapoor's daughter was a huge insult for her. The man who marries young girls, offers them for sex in return of business deals and divorces them when they enter their thirties. The entire Awadh knew how he earned his money.

"Are you... are you Saira?" Aastha asked hesitantly.

Miraya couldn't help the humourless chuckle that escaped her lips. Of course, she guessed it. She looked a lot like her mother who abandoned her. She didn't reply. She stood up from her seat and said with a smile, "Thank you for your cooperation, Mrs Kashyap," And she walked away, leaving the old lady clouded by confusion.