Journey Post Separation - Poddar Family

~3~

The pretense of being the golden daughter-in-law Ruhi had built since day one was ruthlessly shattered. She couldn't comprehend her emotions at that moment. The look of betrayal on Vidya's face, the disgust from Manisha, Manoj, and the younger clan, and Armaan's numbness left her bewildered. This was not what she had expected. She had anticipated initial reluctance from Armaan but not his outburst or numbness. She genuinely expected to become Mrs. Armaan Poddar. She wasn't ready to come clean in front of the family, knowing the orthodox mentality that ran deep in the Poddar bloodline. She thought she could put Armaan to the task of convincing his family. For a moment, she questioned her trust in Armaan. Wasn't he the golden boy of the family who never went against them? Then how did she think he would fight for them? Perhaps it was because, passively, he had stood up for Abhira time and again. If he could put his foot down for an uninvited responsibility, wouldn't he do that for their love? However, these questions could wait. She needed to handle the family front first. Convincing Armaan would be a cakewalk post their acceptance. She wasn't even sure what part of their conversation had been overheard.

Kaveri couldn't recognize the girl before her. Wasn't she the same simple, sweet, and kind-hearted girl who valued the relationships chosen for Rohith? How could she have misjudged her so badly? Her attempt to justify her misjudgments about Ruhi, blaming it on her hatred towards Abhira, didn't make sense now. Abhira couldn't be the reason for everything that was going on. As she replayed the conversation in her mind, she realized Abhira had no involvement in this drama. This had been going on since Rohith's engagement. Vidya could now connect the dots. The sudden anger and withdrawal of Rohith towards Armaan just before leaving the house made sense now. Her heart broke thinking about Rohith's plight when he found out the truth. However, she couldn't erase the image of the horrified look on Armaan's face when Ruhi brought up a marriage between them.

Armaan felt the ground beneath him slipping away. He couldn't analyze anyone's thoughts. All he could feel was guilt. Guilt for keeping his family in the dark, guilt for pushing Rohith into a loveless life, guilt for unknowingly giving hope to Ruhi, guilt for not realizing his feelings towards Abhira, and guilt for how he had tarnished and let Ruhi tarnish his bond with Abhira. The weight of this guilt was like a ton on his chest. The constant mental pressure and irregular meals over the past month took a toll, and he collapsed onto the floor. Madhav and Manoj rushed to his side. Manisha grabbed Ruhi's hand and dragged her out of the room. After a quick medical checkup, the doctor cited stress as the cause. As the chorus gang sat by Armaan's side, the elders walked out of the room. The moment Vidya's eyes fell on Ruhi, a hard slap landed on Ruhi's cheek. Manisha held Vidya back, restraining her. Ruhi was flabbergasted.

Hadn't Vidya been praising her just a while ago for taking care of the family post-crisis? As she stepped towards Vidya to explain, Kaveri cut her off. Kaveri expressed deep regret for misjudging Ruhi. She questioned Ruhi's moral values for marrying the brother of her supposed love, her motives, her pretense of being a good daughter-in-law to stay near Armaan, and her manipulations against Abhira. Ruhi was appalled. Abhira had done it again; she had snatched everything from her. Ruhi started her well-versed version of loving the family as her own, claiming she was never against Abhira for personal reasons but only protecting the Poddar family from her. She vowed she never wronged Rohith and had tried to give him a fair chance, blaming her misfortune for Rohith being taken away from her. She was unaware that her monologue was triggering Vidya. Vidya couldn't hear any more lies and couldn't even see Ruhi's face without feeling disgusted. She condemned Ruhi for speaking Rohith's name with her filthy mouth and called her out for wrecking the house. Vidya was backed by Manisha, who revealed seeing Ruhi's attempts to get close to Armaan. Madhav blamed Ruhi for breaking apart Armaan and Abhira. Manoj and Kajal accused her of using Charu's relationship as a pawn to oust Abhira from the house. Meanwhile, Kaveri called the Goenka family, asking them to take Ruhi back.

Armaan slowly regained consciousness. Seeing his cousins by his side and Vidya's absence, he panicked. Vidya always stayed by his side when he was sick; her absence meant he was losing his mother again, and he couldn't tolerate that. He resolved to be heard this time. Nine months of companionship with Abhira had taught him that he had a right over his people and shouldn't give up without a fight. He would make them understand his point of view. As the chorus gang saw his panic-stricken face and his failed attempts to rise from the bed, they held him back. Charu went out to fetch the family, alerting them about his condition. As everyone rushed to the room with growing concerns, Armaan held onto Madhav, babbling, apologizing, and explaining his point of view, glancing at his mom and Dadisa for validation. He recounted every encounter with Ruhi, shedding more light on her gaslighting skills. Though they were miffed that the truth had been hidden, they understood his plight and that Ruhi had triggered his guilt repeatedly. They couldn't help but wonder how he had managed to cope with everything. Finally, he confessed that his marriage was a verbal deal of one year as they weren't ready for a sudden marriage, but now he realized he was in love with Abhira and missed her presence. He pointed out that she had truly become his family without burdening him with expectations. Madhav's heart broke for his son. It took him a while to put him back to sleep after giving him some juice and medicine.

PS- I know many of you might feel that I have whitewashed/victimized Armaan's character. But please note that in this FF, Abhira walked out right after Charu's fiasco. In my opinion, Armaan's character arc had been good enough until then (except for a slight degradation in the Mussoorie track). Also, Vidya accepting Rumaal didn't sit well with me. It is out of character for a Poddar with their orthodox mentality to accept a relationship between BIL and SIL. However, I know this is ITV, and such things are not uncommon here.