Prerna gets to know the truth of why Anurag did all of it to her from Rishabh and she is in a dilemma of what she should do ahead? She was almost successful in destroying the Basu’s until she comes to know of this and does not go ahead with her plan to extract her revenge.
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Kya soch rahi hai aap Prerna? Asks a worried Rishabh who is standing in the balcony of their Kolkata house which overlooks the Howrah bridge, the place where this revenge saga began.
Yeh bridge woh jagah hai Mr. Bajaj jahan mera sab kuch mujhse cheen liya tha Anurag ne. 8 saal Mr. Bajaj! 8 saal se main yeh sochti thi ki Anurag ne Komolika ke saath mil kar woh sab kuch kiya tha. I thought he had changed for money . I thought he broke my trust. Par aaj jab aapne mujhe bataya ki usne woh sab kuch mujhe aur meri bachi ko bachane ke liye kiya tha toh aisa lag raha ki main hi galat thi shayad Anurag ko pehchan ne mein . I always used to say that I love and trust Anurag par jab who dikhane ki zaroorat thi toh maine hi uss par bharosa nahi kiya.
Aisa nahi hai Prerna . Aap galat nahi hai. Shayad bas haalat galat the. Uss waqt woh situation hi waisi thi ki aap majboor ho gayi thi Anurag par bharosa naa karneke liye.Its not your fault, says Rishabh.
Pata nahi Mr. Bajaj , I don’t know what to do right now.
Do you trust me Prerna?
Prerna looks at him and nods. He takes her hands onto his and says “ Mujhe lagta hai aapko Anurag se baat karni chahiye. Aapko unhe directly sab kuch puchna chahiye jo bhi aapke dil mein sawaal hai sab. Shayad unse baat karke hi aap decide kar paayengi ki aap kya chahti hai.
I guess you’re right Mr. Bajaj. Maybe I should talk to Anurag once. She gives him a small smile appreciating his gesture.
Prerna mujhe aapse ek aur baat kehni thi. Prerna turns to him and gestures him to speak with her eyes.
Uhmm…. Woh actually Prerna Me and Kukki are going back to London tomorrow. I thought ki itna sab kuch ho gaya hai toh you might need some time to think of what you want. Also I thought ki aap apni family se pichke 8 saalo mein mili nahi hai toh aapko unke saath bhi time spend karna chahiye. Aap apne ghar jayengi toh aapko bhi acha lagega. Shayad aapko wahi aapka sukoon mil jaaye jiski talash aap pichle 8 saal se kar rahi hai. Humari subah early morning flight hai par I don’t want you to wake up to see off us. Please! itne time baad aapko shayad ek sukoon ki neend ki zaroorat hai.
Prerna again gives him a slight nod feeling unsure of what she should be saying right now.
Rishabh ,before leaving the room, turns around and sees Prerna looking at the bridge and thinks ‘’ Prerna shayad yeh humari aakhri mulaqaat hai. Mujhe nahi lagta ki Mr.Basu se baat karne ke baad aapko humari zaroorat hogi. Shayad unse baat karne ke baad aap who purani Prerna ban jaaye jo unse pyaar karti thi . Aur agar aisa hua toh aapki zindagi main humari koi jagah nahi rahegi .Wahi aapki khushi hai , aapka sukoon hai aur shayad aapki zindagi bhi “ And I don’t wantyou to leave your happiness behind Prerna. I wish the best for you always . Ilove you Prerna and will always do.
The next morning when Prerna gets up, she realizes that Mr. Bajaj and Kukki have already left for London. There is a feeling of emptiness inside her . She brushes off these feelings and decides to get ready and meet Anurag.
Basu Bari
Prerna enters the Basu Bari and sees Anurag having a peaceful breakfast with his entire family. But what surprises her most is Komolika sitting beside him feeding their daughter, Diya.
She has flashes of what happened to her. Of what both Anurag and Komolika did to her and her baby. She thinks “Aaj agar meri beti zinda hoti aur Komolika humari zindagi mein nahi hoti toh main aur meri bachhi ko bhi itna pyaar milta ? kya hum bhi issi tarah khush hote ?” she breaks out of her own reverie when Anurag calls her.
Prerna, tum yahan kya kar rahi ho ? She sees the rest of the Basu family looking at her and making disgusted faces.
She replies to Anurag that she wants to talk to him alone.
Anurag nods and leads her to his room. Prerna has flashback of all the moments spent in that very room. She comes back into reality when she sees a frame which has Anurag, Komolika and Diya in between them and another with the entire Basu family.
Kya baat karni thi tumhe Prerna? Asks Anurag.
Prerna looks at him and says “mujhe tumse sirf itna puchna hai ki tumne 8 saal pehle jo kiya woh kyu kiya? Main sab kuch jaanti hu lekin phir bhi ek baar tumhare muh se sach sunna chahti hu. Aur aaj mujhe sirf sach sunna hai .
Anurag nods and begins to tell her of how he went to Komolika to make her understand that he loved Prerna and how he got to know the truth of Sonalika being Komolika. He continues to tell her how Komolika blackmailed him into leaving Prerna.
Maine jo kiya wohsirf tumhe bachane ke liye kiya tha Prerna. Mere paas aur koi raasta nahitha. Komolika tumhare khilaaf who saboot police ko de deti aur police tumhe Viraj ka kaatil maan lete. Mai nahi chahta tha ki tum uss galti ki saza bhukto jo tumne ki hi nahi thi. I am sorry Prerna par mere paas sach mein aur koi raasta nahi tha. I am really sorry.
Aur meri beti Anurag? Uska kya? Jo uske saath hua uska koi explanation hai tumhare paas? A lone tear escapes Prerna’s eye when she remembers how her daughter was murdered by both Komolika and Anurag.
Main nahi jaanta tha Prerna ki komolika ne tumhari beti ko uss orphanage mein bhej diya hai. Aur jab pata chala toh main waha gaya tha lekin tab tak bahut der ho chuki thi. Who orphanage mein aag puri tarah se phail gayi thi. Main kuch nahi kar paaya. I am really sorry Prerna, mai tumhari beti ko bacha nahi paaya. I am sorry.
Sorry? Really Anurag! All you have to say is sorry. Har baar tumhe maaf kiya hai Anurag. Har baar!Aur iss baar bhi baat agar sirf meri hoti toh shayad main tumhe maaf bhi kar deti. Lekin iss baar baat sirf meri nahi hai meri beti ki bhi hai. Aur iss baar main tumhe maaf nahi karungi .Bilkul bhi nahi., says Prerna making her final decision.
Pata hai AnuragI always thought that love is the most important emotion in a relationship. ButI was wrong. I was very, very wrong. Not love but trust is the most important. Infact it’s the base of any relation. You know what Anurag “ Tum ek aise insaan parbharosa kar sakte ho jisse shayad tum pyaar nahi karte , but you can never love the person whom you don’t trust.” Aur yeh baat mujhe bahut der se samaj aayi. Humare relation mein kabhi bharosa tha hi nahi. Naa tab jab tumne pehli baar Komolika se shaadi ki thi , naa tab jab meine Mr. Bajaj se, naa tab jab tumne meri beti ke khoon par shak tha aur naa tab jab Komolika ne tumhe blackmail kiya tha,says a dejected Prerna.
Nahi Prerna,aisa nahi hai , Anurag cuts her in between.
Aisa hi hai Anurag, aisa hi hai. Kyunki agar humare beech bharosa hota toh shayad hum alag nahihote. Shayad hume har problem ka solution mil jaata kyunki hum ek doosre ke saath hote. Par aisa kuch nahi hua kyuki hume laga ki hum khud hi saari problems solve kar lenge aur ek doosre ko kabhi kisi mushkil ka saamna nahi kar denge. Aur yahi humari galti thi Anurag . ek doosre ko protect karne mein itnabusy ho gaye ki ek doosre se hi dur ho gaye. Kehte hai naa Anurag ki bure waqt mein hi apno ka pata chalta hai. Par humare saath aisa hua hi nahi. Humne yehkabhi socha hi nahi ki hum saath milkar bhi problem ka solution nikaal sakte the. Hume ek doosre par bharosa hi nahi tha.
Yaad hai Anurag jab tumne pehli baar Komolika se shaadi ki thi tab maine tumse kaha tha ki Komolika humare beech aa gayi. Phir jab maine Mr. Bajaj se shaadi ki tab tumhe laga ki Mr. Bajaj humare beech aa gaye. Yeh sach nahi tha Anurag. Agar humara rishta majboot hota toh hume kabhi aisa lagtahi nahi.
Anyways ab yeh saari baatein bahut purani ho chuki hai Anurag , inn baaton ka shayad ab koi matlab nahi. Mai yaha sirf tumse ek baar pura sach sunne aayi thi aur woh maine sun liya.
I will never forgive you Anurag. Never! Tumne mujhe yaad rakhne ke liye bahut achhi memories di hai lekin saath hi saath meri zindagi ki sabse buri yaad bhi tumhare saath hi judi hai. Uss din ko main kabhi nahi bhula paungi Anurag. Tum meri beti ke papa kabhi nahi bane Anurag par I hope tum Diya ke liye ek ache papa saabit honge.
Goodbye Anurag! And with that she walked out of the room and Anurag’s life as well.
As Prerna was walking down the stairs, she saw Komolika was still feeding Diya while the kid was throwing tantrums. She saw the other family members looking at them and admiring the mother-daughter duo. She remembered the question that she asked herself while entering the house “ whether she and her baby if it was alive,would have got the same amount of love that Diya was getting?”
Prerna got the answer as NO since she recalled that during the entire conversation not even once had Anurag called the baby as his daughter. It was always “ tumhari beti” referring her as Prerna’s daughter only. She thought that when the biological father of the baby did not accept her as his daughter , then the family would never have.
She looked at Komolika and Diya and thought “ Mai nahi jaanti ki tum ab kaisi insaan ho Komolika par mujhe iss bachhi ki smile dekh kar itna pata chala hai ki tum ek bahut achhi maa ho. Mai yaha apni beti ki maut ka badla lene aayi thi par apni beti ko insaaf dilane ke liye main ek aur bachhi ko uski maa se dur nahi kar sakti. Kabhi nahi kar sakti.
With that thought in mind, Prerna walked out of Basu Bari and vowed to never come back again to this place.
Writer: Yogakshema
In my story:
-The Sharma’shave been taken care of by Prerna and Mr. Bajaj indirectly. She never let her family that she was alive but indirectly helped them.
- Kukki is 14years old and calls Prerna as Maa
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Part 2
Prerna walked into the Sharma Niwas having flashbacks of her entire life. She remembered her father teaching gardening to a little Prerna seeing the small garden outside the house. She goes towards the mango tree that she and her father had planted together years ago when she was a little child. She had flashes of her asking her father about some innocent and random questions about the mangoes and how sweetly her father had replied to each one of them without getting irritated.She sits on the swing under the tree and remembers her and her siblings fighting to sit on it and how her father always took her side. Her eyes well up remembering the death of her father. She sits there for some time feeling the presence of her father. She closed her eyes feeling his warmth. She wipes her tears and goes around the garden one more time before moving inside the house.
She could see Shivi, Mahesh, and her Shekhar bhaiyaa playing with Dev. Dev was Shekhar bhaiyaa’s five-year old son. He had brought happiness into the sad and glum Sharma Niwas. She saw her Suman bhabhi with Kajal, Mahesh’s wife with maa in the kitchen preparing lunch for the family. The aroma of the authentic “ghar ka khaana” brought back so many memories in front of her eyes. Her eyes glistened with tears while a huge smile played on her lips.
“Prerna bua”she heard Dev shouting and running towards her.
She sat down on her knees and hugged him letting her tears of both happiness and sadness flow. She opened her eyes to see her entire family looking at her with huge smiles on their faces. She broke from the hug and kissed Dev’s face showering all her love for him.
She hugged her siblings and then both her sister-in-laws. Her mother came in front of her and caressed her face. Prerna finally let her guard down and hugged her mother with all her might. She broke down in her mother’s protective arms. The entire family had tears in their eyes seeing the strongest person of the family, their Priyu Di, breaking down like this. She looked so lost and defeated and they had never seen her like this.
Veena had tears in her eyes seeing Prerna in this state. She, however, composed herself and consoled her daughter. She stroked Prerna’s head and asked her to let out all her pain by crying her heart out.
After a few minutes, Prerna broke the hug and wiped her tears. She finally, was feeling light. It felt as if a huge burden had been taken off from her chest.
Prerna took her mother towards the sofa while the rest of the family followed. She asked her mother to sit while she put her head on her mother’s lap. Veena asked Prerna to tell about her life in the past 8 years. Prerna narrated each and everything including the bridge incident, Komolika’s blackmail, her daughter’s death, Rishabh saving her and taking her to London, her becoming a businesswoman under the guidance of Rishabh, he coming back to Kolkata to destroy the Basu’s, her getting to know Anurag’s truth and her recent conversation with him. The family was shocked on learning what Prerna had suffered during the past years of her life.
Veena was the first one to come out of the shock. She stroke Prerna’s hair gently and said “Priyu,beta hume toh pata hi nahi tha ki humari beti ne pichle 8 saalo mein itna kuch jhela hia, itni takleefon se guzari ho tum. Tumne hume kuch bataya kyu nahi?Kya hum itne dur ho gaye the tumse ki hume yeh jaan ne ka haq bhi nahi tha ki humari beti kaha hai aur kaisi hai? Hum kab itna dur ho gaye Priyu? Hum parivar hai tumhara, itna toh haq hai naa humara.”
“Aisa nahi hai maa, aap log kabhi mujhse dur nahi the. Mujhe sab pata tha aap logo ke bare mein, mere kuch log hamesha mujhe aap logo ki khabhar dete the. Aap sab se durhote hue bhi main aap logo ke paas hi thi, aap logo ke saath”, says Prerna getting up and taking Veena’s hands in her.
“Hum samajhte hai Prerna ki tum hume pareshaan nahi karna chahti thi. Jaanti ho inn 8 saalo mein naa jaaane humne kitni baar Anurag se puchne ki koshish ki tumhare baare mein par usne kabhi kuch nahi bataya. Hume lagta tha ki who jaanta hi nahi haiki tum kaha ho par pata chala ki usne tumhare saath jo kiya uske baad kya kehta woh humse aur kaise kehta?” says Veena
Accha hume yeh baatao ki tumne ab kya faisla kiya hai? Asks Veena
Prerna tells Veena her decision of not forgiving Anurag and moving ahead in life. Veena, inturn , tells her that she is proud of her for taking this decision.
“Par Priyu di, Anurag ne jo kiya woh aapko bachane ke liya kiya tha, uske paas aur koi raasta nahi tha, usne yeh sab kiya kyunki wih aapse itna pyaar karta hai. Mujhe lagta hai ki aapko use maaf kar dena chahiye. Aapko use ek aur chance dena chahiye di”, says Shivani, who still thinks that Anurag is the best choice forher di.
Do you even realize what you’re saying Shivi? Mai uss insaan ko ek aur chance du jisne mera trust toda, jisne meri beti ko maar diya. Kabhi nahi. Never! You know naa Shivi “ Breaking someone’s trustis like a crumpling a piece of paper. Once crumpled, it can never be the same again” Never will I forgive him for what he did to me.
Par Di, jo kiya who toh Komolika ne….
But before she could complete her sentence, Prerna cuts her in between “Really Shivi? Areyou even hearing yourself? Tujhe ab bhi yeh lagta hai ki in sab mein Anurag ki koi galti nahi hai? Mai bhi kisse expect kar rahi hu? Tujhe toh humesha Anurag hi sahi lagta hai. Tujhe kabhi bhi uski galti nazar hi nahi aati hai. Har baar maine teri baat maan kar use maaf kiyahai par iss baar nahi. Yeh decision mera hai shivi, tumhare kuch bhi kehne se yeh badalne waala nahi hai”, says Prerna making herself very clear.
“Accha baskaro ab tum dono” says Shekhar knowing that this would soon become a war of words if not stopped. “Priyu, chalo khaane khaate hai, aaj itne saalo baad puri family saath baith kar khaana khayegi, chalo!”
Prerna nods her head and moves towards the dining table where her maa and her sister-in-laws have already set the table. She relishes each bite of the food that she had craved for since years. Veena Sharma had a huge smile on her face seeing her entire family enjoying the lunch together. She looked towards Rajesh’s photo that hung on the wall, missing him.
The scene shifts to night where Prerna is sitting near the balcony holding a photo frame that has her and her father. She remembers her conversation with Shivi and atthe same time her father’s words ring in her ears. He had once told her “Prerna, beta koi bharosa tode toh bhi uska shukriya karna chahiye kyunki who aapko sikhaa deta hai ki bharosa humesha soch samaj kar karna chahiye” And Prerna had decided that she was never going to trust Anurag ever in life the day she had decided to extract her revenge from him. And she was going to maintain these words for the rest of her life.
“Prerna…. She could hear Veena calling her so she quickly wiped her tears and turned towards the door with a small smile.
Veena smiled looking at her daughter with Rajesh’s photo in her hand. She sat beside Prerna and said “ hume aaj tumse kuch kehna hai beta” Prerna gestured her to continue.
Veena said “beta jaanti ho tumhare baba hamesha chahte the ki tum apne pairon par khadi ho,who karo jo tumhara dil kahta hai, iss duniyaa mein apna naam banao aur unka naam roshan karo. Jab tumne apni padhai chodkar Anurag se shaadi karne ka faislaa liya tha toh woh khush nahi the par unhone tumse kuch nahi kaha kyunki usme tumhari khushi thi. Par aaj jab woh tumhe aise dekhenge, itna kamyaab, toh woh bahut khush honge. Bahut garv hoga unhe tum par. Tumne unka naam bahut roshan kiya hai. Woh aaj bahut khush honge jab unka naam tumhare saath judta hoga tab.”
Prerna could only give a small smile to Veena. Veena asked her to rest and left the room.
Prerna looked at Rajesh’s photo and reminisced Veena’s words and said proudly to herself “Prerna Sharma” but she could feel that something was missing.
At the back of the mind she could hear herself being called as “ Prerna Sharma Bajaj” and she knew what was missing.
Not only his name but even he was being missed. The man behind this version of Prerna – her guide, philosopher, support system, companion, partner, friend and most importantly her husband “The Rishabh Bajaj.”
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I felt that Prerna talking about her journey in these 8 years with her family was really important and hence dedicated this part entirely to the Sharma family.
Last Part
Here, Kukki is 14 years old and her equation with Bajaj is as it was before. Also, Maasi and Tanvi are also a part of my story. They’re positive. A new entry is Saurabh,Tanvi’s husband.
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2 days later
London, Bajaj Mansion
Rishabh is seen looking at his and Prerna’s photo with the entire family which was taken on Tanvi’s wedding with Saurabh and thinking “Prerna, ab tak toh shayad aapne Anurag se baat bhi kar li hogi and I’m sure you must have forgiven him. Aap jaanti hai Prerna mai yeh baat hamesha se jaanta tha ki ek din aisa aayega jab aap Anurag ko maaf karke unke saath phir se ek nayi life start karengi bas yeh nahi jaanta tha ki woh aapke liye itna easy hoga. Aapne ek baar bhi humare baare mein nahi socha. Mai yeh toh jaanta hu ki aap mujhse pyar nahi karti lekin Kukki , Maasi aur Tanvi ko chod kar jaana aapke liye itna aasan hoga yeh kabhi nahi socha tha maine.. Anyways, I’ve always wanted the best for you Prerna,always desired your happiness whether it’s with me or with Anurag. Aap humesha khush rahiye Prerna aur umeed karunga ki ab aapko aapka sukoon mil jayega jiski talaash aapko 8 saalo se thi. I love you Prerna, and I’ll miss you!”
He is brought back from his thoughts with Kukki’s voice “papa, kya aapne saari packing kar li hai? We’re getting late.”
Rishabh turns to look at his daughter who is on verge of breaking down but controlling herself in front of him.
“Kukki”, he calls her so gently that she hugs him and lets her tears escape from her eyes and cries inconsolably.
“Papa, jaana important hai kya. Please nahi jaate hai naa. I know maa nahi aayengi waapis but atleast unki yaadein toh hai. Hum yahi rehte hai naa please.” Kukki says still weeping.
“Aapko kya lagta hai ki mai jaana chahta hu yaha se? Nahi beta, mujhe bhi yaha rehna lekin mai yeh bhi jaanta hu ki agar hum yaha rahenge toh hum Prerna ko zyaada miss karenge, aur phir unke bina yaha rehna aur bhi difficult ho jayega. Please chalo”. Rishabh replies with a broken voice and looks at the photo one last time.
Kukki,chalo.” With that, he keeps the photo back on the table and leaves the room.Before closing the door of the room, his eyes scan each corner remembering the moments he spent with Prerna in this very room. He wipes the tear off his eyes and closes the door with a very heavy heart.
As Rishabh and Kukki are descending the stairs, Maasi, Tanvi and Saurabh are able to see sadness on both their faces.
“Maasi, aap sab taiyyar hai? Chale? Warna hum late ho jayenge”.
Haa Rishabh,humne sab pack kar liya hai par yaha se jaane ka mann hi nahi kar raha. Yaha hum sab ki kitni yaadein hai aur khaas kar Prerna ki. Aur tumne toh hume Prerna ki yaadon ko yaha se lekar jaane ke liye hi mana kar diya. Yeh toh sahi nahi hai naa” says Maasi, getting emotional while remembering Prerna.
“Lekin Maasi”
“Lekin kya Rishabh bhai”, Tanvi cuts him in between, “ Mom bilkul sahi keh rahi hai, aapne hume Prerna ki har yaad le jaane se mana kar diya, uske diye hue gifts, yaha tak ki uski photos bhi. Infact you told us to take with us our photos that have Prerna in them. That’s not fair”
Saurabh says even before Rishabh could say something “ Nahi bhai, look we understand ki aap nahi chahte ki hum Prerna di ki yaadon ko lekar jaaye aur phir unhe hi dekh kardi ko miss kare. Par yeh toh sahi nahi hai ki hum unki photos bhi saath naa lekar jaaye. Hum sabki itni special memories judi hai unse.”
“Jaanta hu Saurabh. Sab jaanta hu. Aap sab ko kya lagta kya yeh easy hai. Bilkul bhi nahi.Sochiye Maasi jab aap logo ke liye itna diificult hai toh mere liye kitna difficult hoga. Tumne sahi kaha Saurabh hum sabki bahut special memories hai Prerna ke saath. Infact shayad sabse zyaada meri hai. Yaha living room mein jab hum sab saath mein baith kar chai peete the aur tumhari wedding ke liye plans banate the, yaa waha kitchen mein jab who humare liye khaana banati thi, yaawaha dining table par woh Kukki ko apne haathon se khilati thi, yaa tab jab woh mujhe meri eating habits ke liye mujhe par gussa ho jaati thi, yaa waha swimming pool ke paas jab hum coffee lekar baith jaate the aur mujhse apne dinki har baath share karti thi, yaa who garden mein jaha who maasi se apne baalo mein oil massage karwa tit hi, yaa Kukki ka room jaha woh har roz Kukki ko story sunati thi, yaa phir humara room jahan woh…….” Rishabh trails off remembering each of Prerna’s memories in this house.
He soon comes out of his reverie and sees that the entire family is also lost in thinking about Prerna. They all have sad smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes.He says “ Dekha, unka zikr hote hi unki saari baatein yaad aa jaati hai, toh unki photo ko dekhkar kya hoga. Isiliye, main keh raha hu ki hum unki koi bhi yaad nahi lekar jaayenge apne saath”
“Meri yaadein naa sahi, mujhe toh saath lekar jayenge naa?” Rishabh hears Prerna’s voice and turns back to see a crying Prerna standing with a smile on her face. He is still not able to believe his eyes and turns to look at his family who are all looking at Prerna with huge smiles. He looks at Kukki who has already ran and hugged Prerna so tightly as if she would disappear.
He finally realizes that he was not dreaming and she is here in front of his eyes.
Rishabh quickly wipes his tears and asks her “Prerna, aap yaha kya kar rahi hai? Aapko toh Mr.Basu ke saath hona chahiye. Phiraap yaha? Kya Mr.Basu ne phir kuch kiya?”
“Nahi Mr.Bajaj, iss baar Anurag ne kuch nahi kiya”, replies Prerna.
What are you doing here then?
“Well, Mr.Bajaj, I thought you’d be happy to see me her. But I guess I was wrong. Anyways aapko yaad hai aapne jaane se pehle mujh se kaha tha kki mujhe Anurag se baat karni chahiye aur apni family se baat karni chahiye taaki mujhe mera sukoon mil sake?”
Rishabh nods at her recalling those words while he still does not understand what she’s trying to tell.
Prerna continues, “ pata hai Mr. Bajaj, maine naa dono try kiye, Anurag se baat bhi kiaur apni family se baat bhi ki, par mujhe mera sukoon tab bhi nahi mila. Phir maa ne mujhse kuch aisa kaha ki mujhe finally realize hua ki mujhe mera sukoon kahan milega. You want to know where?
He could only nod as he’s still trying to figure out the hidden meaning behind her words.
Prerna walked a step towards him and held his hand very tightly and pulled it in front of him and said “Here. Here is where I get my sukoon. With you! With this family. With my family!”
To say that Rishabh was surprised would be an understatement. He was shocked. It was as if he was still imagining Prerna saying these things to him.
What?!
Prerna smile dat him and said “you heard it right Mr.Bajaj. 8 saal baad hi sahi par mujhe finally realize ho gaya ki I have fallen deeply, madly and hopelessly in love with you! I love you !”
Haa, Prerna heaved a sigh of relief and turned towards the family and said “ You know mujhe laga ki yeh kitna difficult hoga par humesha ki tarah aapka haath pakadkar koi bhi cheez difficult nahi lagta.” She turned to see that Rishabh was still in the shock mode. He was literally looking as if someone had freezed him.
Prerna chuckled at him and shook his shoulders.
Rishabh coming out of his trance said “Am I imagining things or you’re actually saying this to me? .
“Mr. Bajaj, I love you!” I love you!” Prerna said to him looking into his eyes.
Rishabh,finally gave a huge smile and hugged her that she had finally chosen him.Finally she had reciprocated his love however much time it had taken. His wife,was finally his, forever.
Prerna, as if reading his thoughts, whispered “Forever and Always”
He finally said the words he had been dying to say since the day he had realized his love for her “I love you too Prerna. I love you so so so much!”
Kukki came and hugged them both together. They broke the hug and saw that the family was smiling at them. They were finally at peace that these two had confessed their love to each other.
Maasi came ahead and blessed them to be together always. Both Rishabh and Prerna looked at each other with smiles.
Saurabh spoke, breaking their eyelock, “kya prerna di, aap yaha aane wali thi toh kam se kam mujhe toh bata diya toh, mujhe faltu mai hi Tanvi ke itne saare bags pack karne mein help karni padi. God Tanvi! Kitne kapde hai tumhare paas!
What! Whatdid you say? Now you’re gone Saurabh! Said Tanvi while running behind Saurabh to beat him who was running around the house to save himself. The rest of them were laughing at them.
Later the same night
Prerish were sitting beside the pool with their legs dipped in water and Prerna’s head resting on Rishabh’s shoulder while his one hand was on her waist holding her close to him.
Prerna? Can I ask you something?
Hmmm…
Aapne kaha tha ki aapki maa ne aapse kuch aisa kaha that made you realize that I am your sukoon. What was it?
Prerna smiled a bit and told him “Maa mujhse keh rahi thi ki mere baba kitna proud feel karte honge jab unka naam mere saath liya jaata hoga. Phir jab mai akeli thi tab maine apne aap se hi kaha tha “Prerna Sharma” and I realized that I missed being called as “Mrs. Prerna Sharma Bajaj” or for that matter I missed being“Mrs. Bajaj”.
That’s when I realized that all along these years I have been dependent on you some way or the other. You’ve been my guide, my support system, my best friend, my confidant, you name any relation and the first name that comes to my mind is You! I didn’t even realize when you became the center of my world when it was always my revenge on the Basu’s. But I realized that sub-consciously all the decisions that I took were under your guidance. When I was right, you held my hand and stood by me and when I was wrong, you held my hand and showed me the right path. But you never left my hand. You became My Everything!
Rishabh who was intently listening took her hand in his and said “I will never ever in my life,leave your hand”
Prerna smiled and said “Neither will I”
Kukki, who was watching them from a distance smiled as she realized that she had finally got both her mumma-papa and that they were never going to leave her. She prayed to God to always keep her family happy and together and left leaving Prerna and Rishabh with each other.
1 year later.
Bajaj Mansion
The Sharma family had come to live with them for a few days as Prerna was 1 month-pregnant and Veena wanted to spend a few days with all of them. They all were having breakfast that Veena had specially cooked for Kukki. Rishabh smiled looking atthe scene where his Veena maa was feeding Kukki and Prerna was being fed by Sharda Maasi. Tanvi and Saurabh were as usual arguing but were also accompanied by Shekhar and Suman, whereas Kajal and Shivani were enjoying themselves lookingat them and Mahesh was running behind Dev to feed him.
Rishabh let out a huge smile as he felt content to see the family that he had always desired to have for Kukki. He was glad that he finally had a “Home” that he alsways desired for.
Prerna, as if knew what he was thinking, looked at him and smiled and said throught her eyes that this was always going to stay.
Rishabh smiled back at her and continued his breakfast and laughed at his amusing family.
Veena saw their eye-to-eye conversation and smiled. Their lives had changed since the day Rishabh Bajaj had entered their lives, but she knew it had been for the best. Prerna, had changed under the household of Bajaj Mansion, had become a stronger, confident, independent, fierce woman. She had undergone the betrayal of the person she lived the most at one point in life, survived a fatal murder attempt, lost her new-born daughter but had come on the better side of it all. She had gotten the best husband one could ever get. And how Kukki fit into them perfectly, the most important part of their lives and soon there was going to be a addition to the family. She had gotten all the love in this Bajaj Mansion by Shardaji, Tanvi and Saurabh that she would’ve never received by the Basu family. She silently thanked God and continued to feed Kukki.
Kolkata, Basu Bari
Anurag was reading the newspaper where there was a picture of Mrs. Bajaj posing with an award and her entire family standing with her. The headlines read “Mrs. Prerna Sharma Bajaj does it again, receives the award for the best businesswoman”. Her ead her interview where she had given all the credit to her husband and her family. She had also said that she loved him. She had finally moved on. He shut the newspaper and went for dinner. He saw that Komolika was running behind Diya to feed her and the entire family was smiling at them. A small smile found its way to his lips This was probably the happy family he always thought of. Komolika had finally changed when she realized that Prerna had left from their lives forever. She had given him time to think of their marriage and decide what to do as she was fed up waiting for him to love her. Anurag had finally made up his mind and had taken a decision. He called her aside and said “Komolika, I have made my decision. I know I don’t love you right now and I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I want to start afresh with you. Can we get to know each other first?i mean let's take it slow. Let's be friends before anything? I guess ek din aisa bhi aa jayega jab mai finally tumse pyaar bhi karne lagu? Bolo?”
Komolika nodded at him and gave him a hug and said “ I am glad ki tumne finally aage badhne ka socha Anurag” I promise ki ab mai kuch galat nahi karungi”
He too gave her a hug and said “ I know. Ab chalein? Humari beti ab ko paagal kar degi warna.”
Komolika chuckled and nodded at him and they went towards their family.
Finally, both Anurag and Prerna, who thought of each other as soul mates had found their own in their respective partners.
