Sacred Vows-dil Se Bandhi Ek Dor

Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Ahana

Ahaan's phone buzzed on the table, shattering the comfortable silence between us. He glanced at the caller ID – it was Reyaan. Exchanging a quick look with me, he answered the phone and put it on the speaker.

"Hey Reyaan, what's up?" Ahaan asked.

"Ahaan, I might have something big," Reyaan's voice crackled with urgency.

"What is it?" Absentmindedly Ahaan threaded our fingers together, a sign that he was nervous.

A beat of silence followed, and then Reyaan's voice crackled through the phone. "It's Kabir Rana, Ahaan. He's back in India."

My breath hitched. The name sent a shiver down my spine, a name I'd only heard Ahaan mutter in hushed tones filled with anger.

Reyaan continued, "I dug up some dirt on him before he left the country at least 26 years ago. He stole a big amount of money from a hot-shot businessman of that time. The person couldn't lodge a FIR because it was all illegal money."

"Are you sure about this?" Ahaan's voice hardened with every passing beat.

"Pretty damn sure," Reyaan replied, and then he continued. "I dug into his past, the reason he left India so abruptly all those years ago. Let's just say, it wasn't exactly squeaky clean. I will have to do more work on why he left India so abruptly but for now I've sent you an email with all the details. I attached a few photos from his past as well."

"I'll check it right away," His jaw clenching, as he ended the call, his expression grim. He reached towards the laptop and clicked on the email Reyaan sent.

My heart pounded in my chest as Ahaan opened the email. It was a long document, filled with legalese and details of Kabir Rana's shady dealings. But I wasn't interested in the legalese. My eyes drifted to the attachment – the picture.

A gasp escaped my lips. It was a grainy photo, clearly taken years ago, but the man in the picture had a sharpness to his features, a coldness in his eyes that sent a jolt of electricity through me.

The face seemed strangely familiar. It triggered a memory, a half-forgotten echo from my childhood. Images flooded my mind – my mumma's tear-stained face, whenever she used to describe the features of my so-called father to me.

Every time I used to draw his face there was something wrong. I never understood why but after what she confessed that night. I understood. The memory is still fresh in my memory. She was so broken, I never felt aggression or never was a violent person but that day I wanted to deliver that person to hell by myself.

I walk into the dining room, Mumma is sitting on the floor with her head between her folded knees. "What happened, Mumma?" I ask while walking towards her. She is sobbing, why the hell she is crying in the middle of the night? "Mumma, aap thik hain?" I patted her shoulder. No response. I sit beside her and hug her. "Mumma, btao na kya hua?"

\ "Mumma, aap thik hain?"- "Mumma, are you alright?"

\ "Mumma, btao na kya hua?"- "Mumma, Tell me please, what happened?"

I can face any harsh word of the society but I can't see my Mumma crying. She hiccupped and looked at me. Her face was tear-stained, her eyes red, her body shaking. This hit my gut, and my eyes filled with tears, I hugged her as tight as humanly possible.

she kept sobbing and I cried with her. After maybe a few minutes or a few hours. She untangled herself and held my hand, "I need to tell you something, Gudiya" her voice shaky.

I threaded my hand with her showing the silent support she needs right now. After a brief pause, she continued, "He is not dead..." she paused and got lost in her world, or maybe giving me some time to process her words. 

It took me some time to figure out who she was talking about. My mouth dropped open. I mask my features. But my heart raced with thoughts in my head.

Mumma continued, "He just pretended to be dead. He is alive. Living a life with another person in another country. He never died. He was alive all the time." She broke into tears.

I hugged her tightly and led her towards her bedroom. She lay down on the bed. I went inside the bathroom to get a wet cloth. When I returned she was still blabbering something like, "Why did he leave me? Did he not love me? Was my love not enough?" I gently wiped her face and lay beside her holding her tight.

After that, we never discussed what she found out that day. But her letter and dairy had enough information for me to know that he left her when she needed him the most and betrayed her in the worst way possible. 

As I stared at the picture of Kabir Rana, a horrifying realization dawned on me. The face in the photo, the face from all her childhood and teenage drawings – they conclude this.

By combining the eyes from one photo, the nose from another, and so on, I could create a composite image that perfectly captures Kabir Rana's features. The same picture I am staring at. The same man who was behind my accident is my so-called..., Naah, this man doesn't deserve to be called that.

The pieces of the puzzle slammed into place. The accident, the unsettling feeling about the man who caused it, the strange familiarity in the picture – it all pointed to one horrifying truth. Kabir Rana, the man responsible for my mother's heartbreak, could very well be the same man who tried to hurt me and is my biological fath...nope, he is no one to me and my Mumma. 

Tears welled up in my eyes, a mixture of shock, betrayal, and a strange, unsettling sense of completion.

I looked up at Ahaan, my eyes filled with unshed tears. Ahaan probably saw the turmoil in my eyes, a silent plea for understanding and support.

My voice trembling slightly. "Ahaan, I think I know who that is."

"He is Kabir Rana, who is trying to make our life miserable. I know, Angel" He said

I shook my head. He looked at me, concern etched on his face, and understanding dawned on him. He turned back to his phone, his voice low as he spoke to Reyaan. "We need to meet. Now."

As Ahaan hung up, I walked to the closet, a cold dread settling in my gut. I reached for my mother's diary, the childish drawings now holding a terrifying truth. The man who haunted my mother's past had returned, and this time, he threatened not just my happiness, but my very life.

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