The Way Back To You (Raabta Season 2)☑

~40~

First, I want to apologize for not updating but, as I told the people reading For her, both stories will have slow updates until the end of my exams (in three weeks)  so please be patient until then, thank you 😇. Then be ready for Shivika confrontation with Ragini as I've been dragging this book for a while, it may end in ten chapters or more. Enjoy your reading

20 years earlier.

The Rana were coming back from Anika and Shivaay's cremation. They were all empty,  feeling that without Cutipie, life had just stopped. Mallika was living with the doubt of having as her baby girl, the reincarnation of her late best friend. Karan was probably more shattered than Siddarth. He used to hate his twin sister in childhood but now losing her like this, in such a dramatic way had just sucked the life out of him. He looked at Kaina who was sobbing silently as she didn't see her aunt for a week now. She made baby steps towards him and mumbled.
"Mama!" (She called Anika Mom)  Kaina cried and Karan looked at her before getting up furiously.
"Kaina stop being so annoying!!" He shouted and Paro came hugging the little soul tightly.
"Stop behaving rudely towards your daughter Mr Rana. She wasn't the one who set the mansion on fire. She didn't only lost an aunt but she lost a mother for the second time." Paro said while trying to calm the baby.
"Maa! " Kaina said in between hiccups while hugging Paro as if she didn't want to let go. Karan looked at them then at the portrait of Naina. He believed that he would be able to bring Kaina up by himself but on seeing her completely shattered by Anika's death, he realized she needed a mother as well.
"She lost a mother but she still has you.. Please Paro would you be Kaina's mother?" Karan asked.
"I don't know.. I need time." Paro said. She put Kaina down and tried to go when the baby girl held her dupatta.
"Maa.." With only this word pronounced by Kaina, her choice was made. When she arrived home, her parents were discussing her alliance with her college sweetheart Ayaan.
"Beta! Come,  we were talking about your alliance with Ayaan."
"Amma.. I can't marry him." Paro said with tears threatening to fall.
"Why? I mean  you love him right?" Paro's dad asked and she looked down remembering Kaina's eyes of sadness. She remembered her happy moments with Ayaan  but her heart screamed, 'what about this baby girl who already lost a mother twice?'.
"I love someone else papa. I love Karan Vikram Rana.. And he proposed me today."
Present time.
"What a pleasure to see you again Paro. So you're this house's daughter in law.." Ayaan said.
"Huh.. Yes, this is my daughter Kaina. My husband Karan is in office.. He might be home in a few." Paro stuttered and Kaina didn't understand why she was so tense. But speaking about the devil. Karan came in, a hand in his pocket with files in the other.
"Oh, we're having guests!" Karan said Kaina smiled shyly, looking down.
"I guess you're Karan Rana?" Ayaan said and Karan smiled.
"You guessed right. Who am I having the pleasure to talk to?" Karan wondered.
"Ayaan Shah. I'm here because my son wants to marry your daughter." Ayaan said and Paro looked down with a cold drop of perspiration running down her back.

Oberoi mansion.
"Mommy" Pinky asked as she entered Jhanvi and Tej's room,  a teddy bear in hand. The couple looked at each other not knowing what to do.
"Can you please wait for me outside?" Jhanvi asked Pinky and she nodded,  smiled before leaving.  
"I don't know what to do Tej. I can't let chote bhai by himself but even though she didn't kill our children I can't forgive this woman for what she did with Shivaay and Anika.."
"Then imagine that she was the old Pinky. The one who doesn't even speak English.. The one who came 50 years ago as Shakti's dulhan. Imagine her the way she was before all innocent and shy. Imagine that you're helping this Pinky and not the immoral person she had become after Anika came into this house."

A week later, Venice.
Shivaay and Anika were getting ready for the carnival of Venice.
"I can't believe that we'll get a chance to see the carnival of Venice!" Anika exclaimed as she was putting some make up on her eyes.
"Oh you're so eager for this and your eagerness is cute." Shivaay said and was going to pinch her cheeks but stopped, remembering that she didn't like it at all.
"Aren't we beautiful?" Anika asked as they looked towards the mirror.

"You're beautiful, I'm handsome." Shivaay smirked under his mask and Anika giggled. This man and his ego uff!

They were walking hand in hand in the streets of Venice, not caring about the man running behind them, armed with a rifle. They stopped in front of the river to admire the parade of boats when they heard a gunshot.