MaAn OS : Humesha ! | Anupamaa | Rupali Ganguly | Gaurav Khanna | Sudhanshu Pandey

 The grim reality that she had been faced with, in that room, on that anniversary night had been a rather depressing experience for her. The following months had been even more taxing on her health, both mental and physical. Then came the divorce, after which she had refused to even step into that house, no matter what. All three of her children had supported her. Bapuji convinced her to use the factory for her dance academy.

Then he had come. She met him at their reunion. Anuj.........

He had later purchased the factory, signing an agreement wherein she would continue expanding the academy in the factory, but pay a portion of profits to his company in lieu of rent. Anuj often dropped by to supervise. Their friendship grew and somewhere along the way, Anu fell in love with him.

***

"Tu pyaar karti hai na Anuj se, to bataa de usse!!"

"Nahi, kabhi nahi, woh unke jindagi mein khush hain, aur me yeh dosti awkward nahi karna chahti. Tu bhi mat bataa."

"Aree lekin..."

"Nahi! Behes mat kar Devika.."

***

Vanraj had asked her to come back, for family's sake. The nerve of that man!! Now see, she was not a violent person by nature, but the urge to borrow Anuj's hockey stick and put it to good use had never been so strong. Vehemently refusing, she warned him to never approach her again. Unbeknownst to her, this conversation had been heard by Anuj.

***

The following day, unable to keep quiet, he spilled the beans on having heard their talk.

"Tumhe waapas nahi jana chahiye, Anu, main jaanta hoon mera koi haq nahi banta lekin..."

"Nahi jaungi. Aur aap aise kyun keh rahe ki haq nahi hai, apka poora haq hai." 

As she said this, his eyes seemed even more intense than usual.

"Mat kaho yeh. Maine apne hisse ka haq jataya, to aur kisi ke haq ke liye jagah baaki nahi hogi. Jo tum pura nahi karna chahogi, uski shuruvat mat karo."

"Maine kahaa na, aapka haq hai!! Agar aap mujhse meri jaan nikal kar mangenge, to wo bhi haste hue de doongi."

As he gave her an intense stare, words of advice given to him echoed in his ears, 'Tum koshish to karke dekho!! Aisa na ho, ki tumhe aage regret ho ki agar koshish karta to shayad safal hota.'  'Koshish karke reject hone ki risk hai, lekin koshish na karo, to success ki possibility hi nahi hoti...'

"Agar haq hai, to tumse kuch mang sakta hoon?"

"Haan haan, bilkul!!"

Inhaling deeply, he said, "Main tumse tumhe maangna chahunga.."

***

He had asked Anu to go for a walk with him after office, intending to confess his own feelings, to pour out his heart that had been craving desperately for her since 26 years.

He admitted everything - his love, accident, heartbreak, depression, workaholism, the way he never forgot her, everything. She was stunned beyond belief, struck silent by his words.

"Main to tumhara hi hoon. Kya tum meri, sirf meri, ban paogi?" Her answer had overjoyed him, "Main to kabki ban chuki hoon, bas apko bata nahi paai..."

"Ek baar soch lo..."

"Soch liya."

"Ek baar maan gayi, to main tumhe apne se door kabhi jaane de bhi paonga, mujhe nahi pata...." And his eyes held an insane glint that indicated that this was the absolute truth. Should she agree, he would stop at nothing in keeping her safe, happy and 'His'. He would go to the ends of the earth for her, but will not abide by anyone who dared to stand between them.

But she accepted it all - love, passion, warmth, possessiveness, the dark sides to him, everything...

She loved his angels and demons, both.

***

The fact that his love was reciprocated made him bold with her - from lingering touches and handholding to stolen kisses when no one was looking. Life had suddenly become beautiful, as they basked in each other's love...

***

It was Pakhi's 18th birthday and a grand party had been arranged. It went splendidly. Anu's youngest child was now legally an adult. As the guests left, Anuj drew the attention of the Shahs. "I have an announcement to make."

"Well, then, go ahead...."

"Kakaji already Ahmedabad chodkar jaa chuke hain, aur ab main bhi jaa raha hoon, apne patni ke saath."

"Patni??!!"

"Haan, patni - meri patni." He said, gesturing towards Anu and a shocked silence descended upon them. As she made a move to come and stand next to him, she heard an angry yell from Vanraj, "Tumhari himmat kaise hui..."

"Mind your language Mr. Shah, aap mere patni se baat kar rahe hai." Anuj's cool, composed voice rang out. Something very fearsome must have been in his expression, he realised, as a flash of terror crossed Vanraj's face. "She is not legally bound to be answerable to anyone here. You will do well to remember that, warna main tumhe tabah kar dunga...."

Anu's mind drifted down the memory lane to a few days back. He had asked her to accompany him. It was a surprise, he had said. And what a surprise it was!! Standing in front of the office building, for a registered marriage with him, as he asked for her hand in marriage......

So thus they were now happily married.hinz

***

They went on to shift to Mumbai in a week on a permanent basis. Her children came to meet her often.

Were they happy?

Absolutely...

Did they belong with each other?

ALWAYS......

Writer : HPTheChosenOne