Shadowed Desires

Chapter 9

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Next day...

Kritika reached the Chauhan residence in a visibly angry mood. Shikha, who was sitting in the hall, noticed her and snapped,
"This home is not yours anymore. Why do you keep barging in again and again?"
("Yeh ghar tumhara nahi raha. Baar baar yahan kyu aa jaati ho?")

Kritika shot back,
"Then ask your husband to stop creating a mess in my life."
("Toh apne pati se kaho ki meri zindagi mein tamasha karna band karein.")

Before Shikha could retort, Dev entered.

Dev said,
"Mujhe to laga tum khush hoti mere decisions se."
"I thought you'd be happy with my decisions."

Kritika looked at Shikha and replied,
"Jab se aapne aise decisions lene shuru kiye the, mera aap par vishwas bacha nahi hai."
"Ever since you started making such decisions, I lost all trust in you."

Shikha interjected,
"Tum zyada mat bolo ab."
"Don't talk too much now."

Kritika snapped,
"Kya kar logi aap? Ab kya hi cheen logi mujhse? Mere mumma ki jagah lekar bhi chain nahi aaya is ghar mein ya aur kuch reh gaya hai?"
"What more can you possibly take from me? Even after replacing my mother, you found no peace in this house-or is there still something left to steal?"

Dev asked Shikha to leave them alone. She gave Kritika an annoyed look and left.

Kritika demanded,
"Aapko jab pata hai mujhe is sab mein koi interest nahi hai toh aapne kyu announce kiya mera naam?"
"When you know I'm not interested in any of this, why did you announce my name?"

Dev replied,
"Main toh tumhe mauka de raha hoon khud ko prove karne ka."
"I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself."

Kritika scoffed,
"Mumma ko politics se nikal kar barbaad kiya tha. Mujhe kya politics mein entry kara kar barbaad karna chahte ho aap?"
"You ruined Mom by dragging her out of politics. Do you want to destroy me by pushing me into it?"

Dev shot back,
"Main kam se kam tumhari maa ke saath to tha jab woh politics mein thi. Tumhara pati divorce ke papers fek kar marega tumhare muh par?"
"At least I stood by your mother when she was in politics. Your husband will just throw divorce papers at your face."

Kritika retorted,
"So you planned all this, being the daughter-in-law of your rival family? I might just end up exposing your identity to everyone."

Dev chuckled darkly,
"Agar tumne iss umeed mein Atharv se shaadi ki thi to tumhe us ghar se aisi koi help nahi milne wali... Tum us ghar mein kabhi apni jagah nahi bana paogi."
"If you married Atharv hoping for support from that family, forget it. Just like they hate me, they'll end up hating you. You'll never belong there."

Kritika replied,
"Apnaya to mujhe is parivaar ne bhi nahi tha. Wahan kam se kam itni izzat to mil rahi hai na ki yahan jaisa dam ghutta hai wahan."
"This family never accepted me either. But at least over there, I get more respect-it doesn't feel suffocating like this place."

Dev snapped,
"Sar aankhon par baithane wale hi zameen par fek diya karte hai."
"The ones you place on a pedestal are the first to bring you down."

Kritika said coldly,
"Mujhe koi interest nahi hai aapke is election drama mein."
"I'm not interested in your election drama."

Dev responded,
"I had given you a chance to reclaim the party your mother built. But fine, enjoy your married life. Just don't treat it as your guilty pleasure."