Ishqana Dil

Part 25

She stood in a corner, her arms crossed. People were coming in gradually and sitting down in the aangan that had been set for the puja they were holding. She watched her grandfather and mother welcome the guests. Her mother was trying very hard to smile and act normally, she could see it and her heart was breaking for her. But her Nanaji looked so enthusiastic. How could he be so happy after ruining his eldest granddaughter's life?

Amaya locked her jaws tight together and went back up the stairs quietly to Rachi Di's room. Things had spiralled out of control so suddenly and so fast there was nothing that could be done to repair them now. And the biggest hurdle was her sister's obstinacy itself...

The other night, when Rachi Di had gone off for a walk, she had expected her to be back for dinner but hours had passed and there was no sign from her. Their uncle had gone out looking for her. There was not really a place where Rachita Mathur would go in this city. She did not have any friends apart from the one who was lying in hospital. Towards midnight, Amaya had gotten a message from her, saying she was fine and not to worry. How could they not?

Some more time passed and there was a knock on the door. She had thought it was her and with Jazz, she had rushed to open it but no one was there. They found an envelope on the threshold instead and inside, the pictures... The shock had floored them. What kind of a disgusting prank was that? But nobody else could see those photos or Rachi Di would be in trouble. They had tried to hide them but their anxiety had betrayed them and Rudra had gotten hold of the envelope. Once Gajanand Chaubey had seen them, everything was lost.

When Rachita finally came back home at almost three in the morning, it felt like the roof of the house had fallen over their heads. The men had attacked her with questions and she had been in such a stupor that she had not even been able to say anything in her defense. They shoved the pictures in her face, demanding answers without even wait for her to catch up. She had ended up breaking down and Sneha had shielded her daughter. She trusted Rachita. She asked the men to calm down and give the girl some space. Then, she had hugged her, comforted her and made her talk. It had given Jazz and Amaya some hope when Rachi Di had seemed to have forgotten all her woes and hugged her mother back. She had told them how she had gone out for a walk and then she did not remember anything. She only remembered waking up in a storeroom of a hospital. She felt that she had been drugged, her brain was not functioning well but she had managed to catch a rickshaw.

Sneha had believed her. Fully, without any hesitation. But not Gajanand Chaubey. He had not hesitated once before accusing Rachita of lying. A fight had ensued between father and daughter. And the Chaubeys had gone home, save for Pushpa Chaubey who had begged for Sneha to make peace with her father. Sneha had given in and accepted to try, but that had come with a price. Her father wanted Rachita to be married off to Ramashrey Gupta, or else, the families would break apart again. The pictures had come with the threat that they would be exposed to Banaras the next morning and he could not afford to have his name associated with the scandal. Sneha had cleanly refused to sell her daughter for her father's izzat. Rachita had gone in her room and they had talked for a long time after that. Jazz and Amaya had retreated to Amaya's room to give them some privacy, but their Nanaji's threat seemed to have reached Rachita's ears. Because they next morning, she was gone. The looked for her in the house, but she was not there. She was at the Chaubey's place.

Gajanand had invited them in, the differences from last night forgotten, and announced Rachita's marriage with so much glee that Amaya could have killed him. The bland expression on her elder sister's face had worried and stopped her though. Sneha had suspected what had happened had she had begged Rachita not to take that step but Rachita's reply had killed all the protests. She loved Rama, she wanted to marry him and that was it. She had lied before because she had been scared but after thinking about it, she had made her decision. The pictures were real. She had spent the night with Rama.