What If? - IPKKND | slow updates

One, Arnav

3 August 2005
Shantivan

Anjali sat in the living room, nursing her cup of tea as she looked at her aunt's nephew. NK was busy chatting nineteen to dozen and she had a hard time following the topics he brooded on. She tried to smile and hummed at appropriate times even though she couldn't hear him.

She heard her brother talking on the phone to one of his clients as he walked down the steps from his room. Arnav acknowledged her with a smile but NK with just a nod. Despite her despondencies, she found his behaviour cute.

What surprised her though, was Arnav joined them on the sofa on his own accord. NK who had been venturing about some movie froze as he saw Arnav smiling.

"Shaitan is smiling." NK mused, rather loudly, enough for the person in question to hear.

Arnav rolled his eyes and took the glass of orange juice that Hariprakash produced. The house help excused himself and went away. The vacant look in his sister's eyes perturbed him to no end. The only solution she craved for was the return of her husband, one he could never comply to. It went against the sanctity of his relationship he shared with his sister.. and his wife. 

He wished he had some solution for this, some way to bring the smile back on his sister's face. But he couldn't fulfil the one thing she sought from him.

Manorama walked in, her generally boisterous personality dim as she looked at her beloved niece and she felt her anger rising.

"Nannav, when is Khushiji coming back?" NK enquired.

Manorama rolled her eyes and replied instead, "Isn't it better if she doesn't come back."

Arnav's jaw ticked but he decided to keep quiet. The truth being he didn't know when would she be coming back. However, he did know, the circumstances she had been put in, she would surely come back to him.

The past few days have taken an emotional and physical toll on everyone, Payal noted as she stood at the threshold of the living room. Even with the rambunctiousness that NK was projecting, there was a certain level of pain he was trying to mask. Payal stood helpless and unresolved, she didn't know whether she was welcome in the house anymore.

Her husband had been grim with her and had scoffing at her every second he found. Initially, Payal took it in her fortitude and accepted that she shouldn't have hid the truth from Aakash. But now she was a bit irked. All her efforts had been in vain. For Manorama, this was the opportunity that she had been waiting for, constantly degrading Payal for the heck of it.

Payal realised belatedly that Aakash had not even bothered to wish her sister on her birthday. Given that Anjali is going through a lot, it did rankle anyhow that Aakash couldn't even muster a bit of courtesy, let alone love.

She knew that she had been wrong in hiding Shyam's identity, but she had been sure that Aakash wouldn't have believed her. More so, Manorama would have blamed their upbringing and questioned her character.

Three nights ago when the whole fiasco started, she had unwittingly eavesdropped on Arnav's conversation with his Nani. When he confessed that he had known about Shyam and his presumed affair with Khushi, Payal had felt the need to punch her brother-in-law in the face.

But she had refrained from doing so. He was Khushi's husband, no matter what and had come to his senses. She had been relieved that at least Arnav had had the sense to take Khushi's word against his own brother-in-law, his Di's husband.

Payal in all honesty felt a little bitter towards her younger sister. Despite being the one to be framed, Arnav had decided to take his wife's side. And here, even though she hadn't committed a sin, her husband and his mother were hell bent on making her miserable. The mother with her obnoxious comments and actions. The husband with his silence and shortly worded taunts.

She didn't know how to absolve herself from this mess. And Payal increasingly felt the need to go and join Khushi at Buaji's place.

"Bitiya." Nani's warm hand on her shoulder startled Payal who had been deep in thought.

"All okay?" Nani enquired.

Payal realised that there was only one person in the house who had shown maturity in what had happened. Nani had given Khushi and her the benefit of the doubt, having the receptiveness to understand the reasoning behind their actions.

Nodding, she smiled as Nani held Payal's hand and led her towards the living room. The faint laughter that had been echoing for the sake of making Anjali smile died as Payal entered. Aakash visibly fumed and Manorama didn't bother disguising her disgust.

Hariprakash decided on making his appearance in this opportunity and prevent from a fire erupting in the midst of the day.

"Naniji, the dough is ready. What needs to be done?" The house help enquired from the matriarch.

"I'll just be in there Hariprakash, put the kadhai on the stove and heat some oil."

"Naniji, what are you making?" NK enquired excitedly as the house help went away.

Anjali looked up when her grandmother patted her head softly. Her old, wrinkled fingers gently massaged her hair and Anjali felt closer to her mother. "I am making golgappas for Anjali Bitiya at home. Just like the ones I used to make in Lucknow."

The faint smile that Anjali gave her grandmother had brought bigger smiles across the family. The slight upturn of her lips had made the others believe that slowly but surely, the daughter of this house would be back to her usual self.

And they all waited for it with bated breath.

-05.08.2020

Here's hoping you enjoyed it. I brushed up on the episodes around this track, so hopefully there is more sense. Let me know if you find any discrepancies. The updates are going to be short but hopefully quick. (: I have changed the time lines a bit.