79 Maya is...
Part 79 Maya is...
"Who the woman could be?" Arnav asked.
"Maybe Maya..." came from Khushi.
Arnav smirked as their guesses matched.
"How do you say so Khushi Bitiya?" Nani asked.
"She is the only woman who knows about me except Raizadas. She visits RM frequently. She wanted me to marry her son Akash. She has been protecting her house with a powerful talisman... Everything matched with her only..."
"Exactly I too suspect her..." Arnav said.
"Suspecting Maya is right. At the same time, we should not forget one thing. We don't know whether our doubt is right or wrong. The culprit may be someone other than Maya too. In the process of suspecting Maya, we should not divert ourselves from the real culprit. We should not fix our vision on only Maya" Nani said.
"You are right Nani. We should not deal with this with a narrow mind. Our vision should be wide" Arnav agreed to her and looked at Ratna.
"Mom, how did you get Maya Aunty's friendship? Is she your school friend?"
"No, she is not my school friend. I met her in the temple"
"Temple? How did a temple friend become a family friend?"
"I met her in a temple for the first time when I went to the temple. I was so distraught that time"
"You should have got to know about Papa at that time, right?"
"Yes... that was the time I got to know he had an affair with someone. When I saw Maya for the first time, she was crying, standing in front of Devi Maiya, blabbering in a feeble tone"
"What did she blabber?"
"She said, "Why are you examining me? What wrong I did do other than trust my husband? Is Loving him truly wrong? Why a woman like me are not respected? You could have taken my life, instead of showing my husband's real side to me. I would have happily died without knowing the truth. How could I tolerate this? I would have died if my son is not there for me. My husband cheated on me Devi Maiya... What will I do now? I can't tolerate this. It feels like my heart will blast anytime. Is this what you give your sincere devotee? Won't I get justice?"
Ratna stopped for a few seconds.
"Still I remember what she said Chotte because that's all that was there in my mind. That is what exactly I wanted to ask Devi Maiya"
"So, you would like to get solace from her and start talking with her... right?"
"No... I didn't talk to her. Maya saw me standing behind her. She wiped her tears immediately and said, I am sorry, I disturbed you. I didn't notice you and blubbered a lot"
"ohh..."
"I said, that's ok... you would have come to the temple to pour your heart to Devi Maiya...!"
"What did she say?"
"She started crying badly and said in between her sob, my husband cheated on me. I trusted him more than myself. I don't know what I am going to do"
"That should have melted you, right?"
"Like hell... just think how could I have felt hearing her condition is as same as mine?"
Arnav nodded yes.
"Then?"
"Her story was also like, exactly what happened with me"
"Means?"
"She said, I saw a lipstick mark on my husband's shirt. I was broken into pieces thinking about what would have happened. He talks to the woman on the phone frequently. He walks out with his mobile if he gets a call from her. How could I tolerate another girl in my place? How everything is easy for men? Don't they have any sentiments and emotions like women do? I feel like dying"
Arnav and Khushi spared a glance because Maya's story matched Ratna's.
"Her miserable condition did something in me. I tried to console her. So, I said, don't think of dying. You have a kid. He needs you. Who will take care of him if you die?"
"Mm... What did she say?"
"She said, yes, he won't take care of my son. He will start enjoying his life with a woman leaving my son behind. I will walk away with my son if he accepts his affair with the woman but he is not doing that. He keeps on denying it. She cried again"
"Didn't you ask why?"
"I did... she said, to save his reputation only he is not accepting his affaire. If he said yes, I will walk away. Then his reputation in society will ruin. People will spit on him. He thinks he can handle me with lies"
"This is how your friendship started?"
"Yes, we met in the temple often"
"Didn't Papa see her with you at least once?"
"No, she didn't visit RM at the beginning"
"When did she start coming to RM?"
"Only after Arvindji's death, she came to RM to convey her condolence to me. After that, she frequently visited RM"
"She didn't stop visiting after Ratna's death too. She gave her support to us. We treated her like our family" Nani said.
"Could you connect the dots, Khushi?" Arnav asked.
"Not completely but yes... Maya and her family should be the reason for everything that happened between Babuji and Maji. They should be the ones who created misunderstandings between them. They made Maji trust, Babuji has an affair with someone. Maji started suspecting Babuji. At the same time, Maya entered her life to make her doubt stronger. She said the same story to get her attention. Throughout the story, she watered the suspicious seed and made it grow high"
"Exactly..."
"And one more thing. Maya should be well acquainted with Babuji. That's why she avoided visiting RM until he was alive"
"Do you mean she is the one who had an affair with Arvindji?" Ratna asked horrified.
"Maybe or may not be... I too have the same doubt because Akash denied Lavanya's proposal. He might have known she is his sister... that's why he didn't give heed to her" Arnav said.
"But you said he regretted refusing Lavanya's proposal when Sheetal got caught"
"Yes, he did but I don't trust him now because he is Maya's son"
"How could we get to know who Maya is?" Ratna asked.
Arnav became thoughtful.
"Chotte as of now don't think of anything other than Durga Ashtmi Pooja. That is our present goal. We have to complete it successfully. Let it be Maya or Sona... They won't let us get successful. They will try their best to stop Khushi from completing the pooja. We should be careful. If the Pooja is completed, the real culprit will come out of the box for sure" Nani said.
Arnav nodded yes.
"Don't step out of RM until the pooja is over"
"We have to go to the temple anyhow," Arnav said.
"Take all the guards with you to the temple and reach home safely"
"Ok, Nani. I won't be careless"
"Khushi bitiya don't work hard and make yourself tired. You have to be up for the full day. Act accordingly"
"Okay, Naniji. I will take a rest after finish arranging for tomorrow's Pooja"
"How is Mama Mami and Shyam now?"
"They are resting in their rooms"
"I will meet them later. Now I have an important work" said Arnav and stood up.
"Call me if you want anything," Khushi said.
"Ok," Arnav walked out of the room.
Instead of going to his room, he headed to the room that was on the ground floor. The room had been locked for many years. It was only Hari Prakash who entered the room to clean it every month. Arnav saw the key of the room had been hanging with a nail at the corner of the doorstep. Taking it, he opened the lock and entered.
Arnav got rooted, seeing his father's photo. Yes, it was Arvind's room. He felt something in his heart. He took steps towards the photo. Though Nani asked him not to think about anything other than the pooja he could not be like that without knowing the truth. He wanted to bring out everything. To do that, he should make a move. He stood looking at Arvind's photo gulping down.
"I am sorry papa. You were framed into a conspiracy brilliantly. I was too small to understand anything at the time. I trusted what was told. I was angry with you. I thought you betrayed Mom. I was not even ready to see your photograph. I had hated you from the core of my heart. But now, I think you would not have done any mistake. I know it's too late to prove you innocent. But, late is better than never. Being your son, I want to prove you right. We are at the end of the game... the game that was started by Evil. I am here with a strong belief. You should have definitely left a NOTE about them. Give me a clue to find them out"
Arnav looked at the cupboard. He went to it and checked but it was empty. His eyes fell on the big size cases kept in the corner of the room that had been covered with a big cloth. Arnav removed the cloth and opened the case. The first case had only Arvind's clothes in it. But the second one had half of the clothes and a few files, documents, and a diary.
Arnav removed his coat and tie and through them on the old bed. Rolling up his shirt sleeves, he sat on the floor without carrying about anything and started reading the documents.
It was his father's WILL in which he mentioned, Arnav was the sole owner of his property. If he dies before the age of twenty-five, the whole property would go to charity. Arnav amazed. He did not know this detail of the document. He knew being the only son of his father, he would be the legal heir of his property. If it was so why his father particularly wrote a WILL mentioning his age?
Keeping the document back, he took the diary in his hand. A photo slipped from the diary. His eyes widened, seeing young age Maya in the photo with a man... the man was none other than his Chachaji... Arvind's brother.
To be continued...
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