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Jhanvi

I got down from the Cab at Raichand Mansion. Last night I cleared my stand to Aarav. Today I am here to do the same with Daadi. I have no interest in speaking to Mohit, even if he is here. Though I step inside Raichand mansion, my mind is tosses with the flashes of my last night’s conversation with Aarav. Well!! It wasn’t a conversation but more of a declaration from my side and it bothers me now as Aarav has not done or said anything to show he is unwilling to let me go to London. Even this morning when I woke up, I heard from Jaya that he had left for work. He knew I’d planned to meet Daadi today, but he didn’t intrude. Does it mean he has finally agreed to free me? Is that really so easy? I don’t know. Ignoring thinking about Aarav Raichand at the moment, I stride to Daadi’s room. She is surprised to see me.

“Jhanvi? Please come in”

She leads me inside her room.

“Mohit didn’t tell me you are coming here to see us. He, in fact, went to work. Does he even know?”

I don’t sit. I’m already nervous because whatever I am going to tell her will break her heart.

“No, he doesn’t know I’ll be here,” I reply. “I am leaving for London Daadi. In four days.”

She opens her mouth to say something, then shuts it to assimilate her thoughts.

“I don’t think I’ll ever return,” I add.

Now she is worried.

“London? Why all of a sudden are you talking about going back? Did Aarav do anything more? I swear I..”

“Mohit,” I interrupt before she swears. “Mohit and I can never be partners,” I complete.

She stares at me in disbelief.

“What is wrong? You agreed to marry Mohit once all this is over.”

“Yes, I did once, but situations were different then.”

I tell Daadi everything that happened in Mussourie. It’s hard to rephrase something which has hurt you so badly, but it's a must. I tell her how I saw Mohit with Sofia, and it’s something that can never erase from my mind. I even tell her about the confrontation we had later. Obviously, she is mad at Mohit’s doing, but then the next instant, she defends him.

“I am sure that woman must have lured Mohit. My grandson wouldn’t do anything against his morals otherwise. We are talking about Mohit, Jhanvi. We know him. He is not like that.”

I am stunned.

“I will speak to him,” she adds. “I am sure he will never repeat that mistake again, and most importantly, he has never gone against my words. If I ask him to marry you, it means he will marry you no matter what.”

That’s it. I lose my patience here.

“Enough Daadi. Do you even know what you are telling me?”

She looks offended.

“You are repeating history, Daadi. I am sure these are the exact words you said to Mohit’s mother too. In fact, this is exactly what you did.”

“Jhanvi..” Daadi scolds but I don’t stop.

“I am sorry Daadi. I never shared my opinion over the past of your son, and his two wives, thinking this was your personal matter, and I was still an outsider, but today I can’t be quiet. Not when you are suggesting to me the same which you had suggested Mohit’s mother once, compelling her to marry your son despite knowing he loved and had married someone else. He even had a son and yet you forced him to marry again and never gave his first wife or your grandson the rights they deserved.”

Sure enough, my words have made her speechless. I was here to cut off my ties with Mohit, but listening to Daadi defending him, I couldn’t control my anger.

“This war between you and Aarav is all because of your doing, Daadi. Accept it. You could have stopped it long ago. You could have mended things years ago, but you didn’t. I wish someday you know that you are hurting your own blood. Your grandsons are blazing in this war because of you. If you don’t stop them now, you will end up losing everything one day.”

She steps back.

“You are blamingme,Jhanvi?” she shouts. “This is so not you. I know where this is coming from. That Aarav has taught you this. He is feeding your ears.”

I want to laugh at her judgements. I never realized Daadi is so full of herself and the tag that she holds in the Raichand family has literally blinded her.

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