Qainaat

21

'Bhai, let's go to another room. Aaram se baat karte hain. Dhara beta, tum aaram karo,' Jai implores urgently, his heart pounding with the weight of the impending conversation. The air crackled with tension as he motioned towards the far end of the room, desperate to escape the prying ears and curious eyes.

Dhara's gaze darted between them, her hands trembling as she clutched at the fraying edges of her composure. 'Chachu, please, talk here,' she pleaded, her voice quivering with an unspoken fear.

Jai hesitated, his resolve faltering for a moment as he exchanged a wary glance with his brother. Yet, with a silent nod of encouragement, he steeled himself to face the storm brewing within. Each step towards Dhara felt like a descent into the abyss, every movement laden with the burden of untold truths and shattered illusions.

'After you guys left,' he began, his voice echoing with the weight of unspoken sorrow as he lowered himself onto the ottoman, his gaze fixed upon Dhara's expectant face. Each syllable hung in the air like a heavy shroud, casting a pall over the room as the shadows of the past loomed ever closer, threatening to engulf them all in their darkness.

'You are our sister. Why did you do that?'

'Aree bhene apne bhai ki khushi ke liye,.............uske ghar ko bachane k liye kya kya nahi karti, aur tum ne khud unka ghar ujjad diya............sharam nahi aayi ye sab karte hue'

'Kya chahti ho tum.....? Kyu kiya aisa tumne, us bacchi ne kya bigada hai tumhara.....' Jai yelled at the woman that stood unfazed by anything.

'Mujhe mat sikho bhaiya, maine jo kiya hai sabke bhale ke liye kiya hai. Aur vo ladki jiye ya mare-' A loud slap echoed in the hall.

Jyoti's head snapped to her left in response to the slap.

'Jin haaton par rakhi bhandi unhi haaton se mara mujhe tumne........'. She exclaimed with a palm on her right cheek, which was still stinging because of the slap.

'Ye bakwas mere samne mat karo.....jisne apne bade bhai ke saath aisa sulook kiya, us ke muh se aisi baatein shobha nahi deti.' Jai snapped back.

'Aur haan 15 minute hain tumhare pass, saman lo aur nikal jao yahan se....'

'Bhaiya...yeh mera bhi ghar hai, tum mujhe yahan se nahi nikal sakte.'

'Ye sahi keh rahi hai Jai.' He glanced at his mother, who was taking that woman's side.

But why? He thought......

'Maa-'

'Whatever happened, you have no right to kick her out of the house. Remember, I am still the owner of this house.' His mother declared.

Unbelievable!!

Nothing hurts more than your parents supporting a destructive decision of your sibling.

'Agar aisi baat hai toh aaj hi batwara hoga.' He said with a determined voice.

His mother's eyes widened at his decision. On the other hand, Jyoti had a victorious smile on her face.

In just one day, The happy family who was living together was broken into pieces. The lawyer was sitting in front of them, doing the procedure for the distribution of the property.

'So, this is the property' The Lawyer, Mr. Prasad said, collecting all the documents together.

'After counting all your assets, Mrs. Sharma, that your husband officially left under your name. You have 2 houses, 5 pieces of land, 10 jewellery items containing 5 necklaces, 2 diamond rings, 3 pairs of silver anklets.Is that correct? '