Aawaz- The Unheard Sound

Chapter 40

Aanvik's mind raced as he absorbed the shocking revelations about Vaani's past. The weight of the truth bore down on him, leaving him enraged and numb. He needed an outlet for the whirlwind of emotions inside him. Without a second thought, he decided to head to the gym, a familiar space where he could channel his anger and confusion into physical exertion. The gym was a sanctuary of clanging weights and the rhythmic thud of sneakers on the floor. Aanvik approached the wrestling mat, which had always offered him solace. He stripped off his shirt, revealing a body sculpted by years of training. As he engaged with the wrestling dummy, he threw punches and executed powerful takedowns, pouring every ounce of his frustration into the physical activity.

His movements were fueled by a primal need to release the pent-up energy within him. As he grappled with the dummy, sweat dripped down his face, and his muscles burned with exertion. The relentless rhythm of his workout became a form of meditation, helping him momentarily forget the complex web of emotions entangling his mind. After an eternity, Aanvik collapsed on the mat, breathing heavily. His hands trembled with exhaustion, and the numbness in his fingers hinted at the intensity of his emotional turmoil. The gym, once a haven, now echoed with the sound of his laboured breaths. Aanvik's determination to unravel the truth intensified as he caught his breath. With a renewed sense of purpose, he left the gym and headed towards his childhood home, where his parents awaited.

The familiar scent of home enveloped Aanvik as he entered. His parents, seemingly unaware of the storm within him, welcomed him with warm smiles. However, Aanvik's gaze was steely as he confronted them about their connection to Vaani's past. "What do you know about her?" he demanded, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. His parents exchanged glances, recognising the urgency in their son's tone. Slowly, they led him to the living room, where the truth would be laid bare.

"Beta before we tell you everything you need to calm down and listen to us carefully before you do or judge anything," Veer said to Aanvik almost giving him an ultimatum to listen before reacting to anything. Aanvik said nothing and just sat and nodded telling his parents to continue.

"I met Pratap when I was a fresher in college. I still remember bumping into a rowdy boy who was running from the school dean who was supposedly his mother. He bumped into me and then when he saw me, he just casually pulled me with him and made me casually run with him in the whole campus until we were both kicked out of the campus for badly pranking the teachers when his mother asked me if I was included in the mischief with him, I simply said yes and got suspended with him. I had no idea why the hell did I say yes because before meeting I was a straight-A student in my class meaning that I had never bunked a class, made fun of anyone or gotten suspended by the dean herself I was a teacher's pet. We got suspended and then when I was freaking out that what will happen if your Dadi or Dadu finds out, he casually put his hand on my shoulder and asked me my address and I looked at him as if he was some crazy person. I mean why would I tell the person my address who has caused me only trouble since he met me and that being only for an hour and when I denied him, he just laughed at me and opened his laptop and started doing some weird shit and within 5 minutes he had my complete information and then I got to know that he had hacked the entire college system just to get my address and that's how I got to know that Pratap Rajput was super rich and a complete psycho. After knowing my address he simply dragged me to my house and where I was freaking out about what your Dadi and Dadu will think of me coming back home early, it just took him 5 minutes to charm both of my parents and then he spent the whole day with them and that's how we became best friends and that too up to the point where my family only trusted me with him. Days passed and we became the best of friends and then one day we met a pair of best friends, Suman and Leela. They were friends since they were born because of their family being family friends. When Pratap landed his rowdy eyes on Leela, he then decided that if he would marry, he would marry Leela only and no one else but Leela was a good girl and hated Pratap's bad boy guts. He tried to pursue her like a gentleman but she did not bend. I could see my best friend's heart breaking over his bad boy exterior and that was when I decided to approach your mother and after a very long time of us three approaching Leela, she finally agreed to be his and she changed that man for good. She made him leave all his rowdy ways and made him a man who built the most successful business in India then and invested in India's most successful business now. Yes, he invested in our business and you know what up till this date the biggest investment in our business is unknown to people because he did not want to know that he was the one who gave me money. When he got married to Leela, he and Leela forced me and Suman to be with each other all the time and eventually we also fell in love with each other and they were the ones to dance most during our marriage. They claimed that god did not they have created this match. They were the most rowdy and free people I have seen in my life. After our marriage, they moved abroad to settle their business over there while I and Suman started working day and night to settle the business but the four of us always kept in touch and after 3 years of them moving abroad their 1st child was born... Vaishali and your mother were named as her godmother. They had finally settled their business overseas so they decided to settle in India after 10 years, that time your Maa was pregnant with you. They finally came to India and we all were closer than ever. Vaishali was everyone's favorite and everything was going very smoothly. Time passed by and Suman and Leela became more closer and then we got to know that Leela was pregnant once again and she was blessed with another baby girl... Vaani and since she was a late baby, everyone treated her like she was some fragile China doll. Leela came here with her and she used to enjoy this place a lot. Whenever she came here with Vaani, Vaani used to roam around everywhere in this house just to find you and no matter how grumpy and moody teen you were, she used to pester you until you sat and played with her. When you were going through your trouble teen, only she was the one who could calm you down and that day all four of us decided that when both of you were of age, we would marry you both. One day we got the news that Vaishali's marriage was fixed and there I saw them for the first time... Nilesh and Nalini Verma... they were some family clients of Vaishali's groom. After the wedding, I saw that Nilesh and Nalini had started getting closer to Pratap's family, up to the point where Leela stopped spending time with Suman. I knew something was wrong when I saw Nilesh messing with Pratap's private files. I tried to warn Pratap but Nilesh triggered all the accusations on me and they were that up to the point that even Pratap believed it after that hell broke and we were forced to break apart from each other., years and years of friendship between the four of us just vanished... I was broken, and Suman was hurt but that did not stop me from investigating Nilesh Verma... and when I finally found something suspicious about him, I immediately drove towards Pratap's house to sort everything out and also to reveal Nilesh's dirty secret but when I got there I saw something that will haunt me even when I am on my death bed. I saw their whole house burning down to shells... brick by brick... the sound and the aura of the fire were so dangerous that it even subsided the screams of my friend and his family. They all were burned down to nothing and I just stood there and watched the fire eating my friend and his family. When I talked to the authorities they told me there was a gas leak and a short circuit which led to the fire. I thought that every single one of them had died and we did not know until recently that Vaani was alive. I couldn't sleep for years thinking that because of me my friend died... I died every day thinking that if I had tried every day keeping my ego aside then maybe at some point he would have listened to me at some point... I died every day thinking that maybe a little more effort from my side and Pratap and Leela would be sitting here with us right now and that child... that poor child Vaani would have been the same girl that we knew since her childhood."

"I regret it every Aan, I regret every day for not trying... I could have saved everyone... I could have saved the person who stood by me ever since he knew me... but I couldn't. I am responsible for Vaani's condition today, even if you all disagree but son you can rectify my mistakes. I have my suspicion that Nilesh Verma is responsible for the house fire and all of their deaths. Aan, you need to find out the truth... you need to find out the people who were involved in the murder of my friend and the people involved in her condition. I want you to find every single one of them and present them in front of Vaani and then she will decide what it is to be done with those mother fuckers. I will take care of everything else." Veer narrated every bit of the past to Aanvik and Aanvik was left spellbound and stunned with the information that he had just given to his son.

Aanvik stumbled and fell to the sofa and looked at his mother who was crying restlessly probably thinking about her best friend and Anvi was sitting with her also crying and trying to console her. He looked at his father who also had tears in his eyes and he was shocked to see his father crying like this. He looked at his brother only to see him balling his eyes out. He should help him. He should probably move and console him... He should but he just kept sitting at his place not knowing what to do. Everything was falling apart. Aanvik's family was falling apart and unknowingly and unintentionally this time also the reason was Vaani.

The tale was intricate, woven with threads of tragedy and resilience. Vaani, it turned out, was not just a victim of circumstance but a survivor who had faced immense adversity. Aanvik's parents, unbeknownst to him, had played a role in the journey. As the story unfolded, Aanvik's anger began to subside, replaced by a mix of compassion and understanding. The complexity of Vaani's past became apparent, and he realised that the woman he married had overcome more challenges than he could have imagined. The truth transformed Aanvik's perspective, prompting him to reevaluate his feelings and consider the road ahead. The revelation marked a turning point in his relationship with Vaani and, perhaps, in his understanding of forgiveness and empathy.

Aanvik stood and stormed out of the house with the newfound determination to set everything right once and for all.

3 to 4 chapters more left! I have a clogged nose which is not letting me sleep although I wanna sleep but yeah.. so i have no idea what I have written but yeah bear with me. I have no idea when will we the next update in this week because ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!! AND I WILL BE 21!!!!! Yup scary but yeahh.. I get way too excited so I have no idea wether I will be able to update. But yeah my birthday is on 14th so maybe before that I will update. Who knows?