Note: It was bought to my notice that Abhimanyu was in fact aware that Akshara left the room to go to the hospital with Neil as she was not well. It jumbles up some things. It was one of my reasons to kind of justify Abhimanyu as well- that he did not know why Akshara broke his promise and thought what his mother said was true.

Anyways, for the sake of this story, please assume that Abhimanyu still misunderstood this fact (maybe did not hear her properly in anger and pain), till the time Shefali cleared it herself. Now, let's proceed with the story.

................

Recap: Akshara comes to Udaipur to fight for her son's custody. Abhimanyu too prepares his best to get rights of his son. The court battle begins and Akshara puts forth her stand in case of Sirat and Neil. She clears her name as a murderer.

...............

After clarifying how she loved the people she was accused of killing and how much that weighed her down to be misunderstood like that, Akshara broke down a little before recollecting herself. She reminded herself why she was there and it wasn't time to get emotional.

Akshara: (in mind) emotions are for fools! Ye duniya sirf practical aur selfish logon ki hai...wahi khush rehte hai.

The court took a break. Akshara sat down next to Abhinav. Goenkas were there to support her but somewhere they were guilty as well, of not stopping Arohi when she was a child. Arohi gave Akshara a childhood full of traumas but that was more fault of Goenkas than Arohi who herself was a child dealing will loss of her parents. Instead of shaping her emotions correctly, they let her pour hate on Akshara.

Birlas on the other hand, sat still. Arohi was deep in thought. The parallel Akshara drew with Ruhi and herself made Arohi think how wrongly she accused her sister for Sirat's death. If someone called Ruhi a murderer over something that was Arohi's decision then it would pain Arohi to bits. She wondered if it pained her mother too- seeing her one daughter accuse the other in such manner.

Abhimanyu, meanwhile, was deep in guilt. He kept trying to look at Akshara who was quietly nibbling on a sandwich that Abhinav was forcing her to have. He clenched his fist and pushed away his salad bowl. It was really unappetizing to see another person sitting next to Akshara. The woman he loved seemed so close yet so far- a distance of his own making. He knew he accused her wrongly. Talking about Sirat was overstepping a boundary. On the day of Neil's demise, he just wanted her away. Having her so close wasn't doing Manjiri well. He thought he lost his babies so he did not want Arohi to stress by seeing Akshara and lose her child- his brother's first and only child! He did react irrationally. Sending Akshara away with badepapa was the solution; not digging up her past, blaming her for everything wrong and divorcing her on spot. He wondered how different his life would have been if he had reacted differently.

What ifs were a waste of time now. What was done was done. Future was the only thing ahead of them and Abhimanyu was adamant to have his son in his future at least.

The court resumed. Abhimanyu's lawyer decided to take the lead again.

Abhimanyu's lawyer: Your honour. Akshara Ji ne break se pehle bohot emotional baaten kahin. Chaliye un purani baaton se age bhadte hai aur aaj ki baat krte hai. Inka aur Mr. Birla ka divorce hua. Pr divorce pati patni ka hota hai, baap- bete ka nahi. Akshara Ji ne na sirf mere client ko unke bete se door rakha pr unke koi intentions bhi nahi they to inform him. Akshara Ji ne toh baap kehlane ka haq bhi kissi aur ko de diya. Kiss haq se Mr. Abhinav Abhir ke papa hai?! Kiss haq se in sab logon ne Abhir ko Birlas se door rakha?! Agar ye Maa hai toh Mr. Birla Papa hai aur unse ye haq cheene ka right nahi hai Mrs. Birla ke pass.

He pointed at Abhinav and accused him deeply. He also mentioned how Arohi's daughter was also raised by Abhimanyu but they always clarified her about her biological father. They called Abhinav's relationship with Abhir a sham. Nishtha had heard Neela Amma and Abhinav's talk the day she was spying so they all assumed Akshara and Abhinav weren't married. Akshara rose up again and took her document bag. It was time to give everyone a reality check.

Akshara: Your honour. Inke lawyer ne bohot strong claims kiye hai aur mai un sb ka reply krna chahungi. Uske liye sbse pehle mai Mr. Abhimanyu ki mother, Manjiri Ji ko witness box me bulana chahungi.

The permission was granted and Manjiri stood in the box. She looked at Akshara with anger. She somewhere felt bad after hearing the truth but she wanted to blame Akshara. It is easier to deal with pain if you have someone to blame other than fate. Manjiri wanted to live in her delusion world rather than dealing with the fact that she was wrong and in her impulsive anger, she ruined her son's life.

Akshara: Ma'am! Aap apne bete se kitna pyaar krti hai?

Manjiri felt weird hearing Ma'am from Akshara but she gulped it down.

Manjiri: ye kaisa sawal hai? Mera beta meri jaan. Aur sirf Abhi kyu? Maine hi pala hai sabhi baacho ko aur pancho hi mere liye bohot khass hai- they...

Akshara: Lekin aap maa toh sirf Abhimanyu ki hai na?

Manjiri: Mai sb baacho ki maa nahi hoon. Janti hoon, pr mere do bete they. Neil bhi mera hi beta tha...

Akshara: Pr aapne toh usse janam nahi diya. Toh aap uski maa kaise?

Manjiri: (angrily) sirf janam dene se koi maa nahi ban jata. Maine pala hai usse! Devki na sahi, Yashoda hoon mai uski!

Akshara: Point to be noted your honour. Birlas, jinhone Abhinav ji ke rights pr questions uthaye they, vo khud dil ke rishto me bhi mante hai. Yahan sbhi ko Krishna ji ki kahani pata hai. Devki ji ne unhe janam diya pr Yashoda maa ne pala isliye vo bhi unki maa thi. Lekin iss kahani ka adha hissa hum bhool jate hai. Vasudev Ji Shri Krishna ke pita they lekin vo Nand ke lal bhi kehlaye. Abhinav Ji Abhir ke Nand hai. Vo na sirf meri pregnancy me mere sath they pr vo peechle 6 saalo se mere aur Abhir ke saath hai. Unki wajah se aaj hum dono zinda hai. Meri pregnancy bohot complicated thi aur mujhe to delivery ke baad 4 din tk hosh bhi nahi aya tha. Tb Abhir ke saath Mr. Abhinav they, Mr. Abhimanyu nahi!!

Abhinav's eyes moistened up. The way Akshara put it, nobody in the crowd to deny Abhinav's rights. Yes, he wasn't the biological father but he still was Abhir's super papa! Abhimanyu looked at Abhinav. He felt gratitude but something pinched his heart. For the rest of his life, his son would never truly be just his son. Abhinav would always remain Abhir's father in his memories- even if Abhimanyu won the rights.

Abhimanyu: (in mind) ye kya ho gaya?! Agar mai aaj Abhir ko jeet bhi gaya toh kya? Uske liye humesha Abhinav hi pehle uska papa rahega...

Manjiri also understood this but she couldn't handle the fact that her grandson might never truly be theirs.

Manjiri: Abhinav ko Abhir ka Nand banna pada kyunki tumne aisa kiya! Abhimanyu bhi vo sb krta Abhir ke liye pr tumne usse ye mauka cheena. Ek baap se uske bete ko chupakr tumne sahi nahi kiya!!!!!

Akshara: ye baat yahan koi bhi kahe toh chalega Ma'am pr apke mu pr ye suit nahi krta!! Aapne bhi toh Mr. Neil ke father se ye sach chupaya tha ki vo unke biological father hai. Apka vo decision apko sahi laga tha na? Toh ye dogli baaten mt kijiye. Your honour, ye jaa sakti hai, mujhse inse aur kuch nahi poochna...

Manjiri recollected her shocked face and walked towards the seats. Akshara's words couldn't be denied. Abhimanyu was sitting on the seat. He still had not had his chance to speak. All he wanted was to be acknowledged as his son's father now- nothing more. All this argument pained him. A tiny part of him was proud of Akshara too. The way she stood fiercely and answered back every time told him how she was a changed woman now.

Akshara: Abhir ke birth ke baad maine aur Mr. Abhinav ne legally court marriage ki thi.

She presented her marriage certificate and Abhimanyu's heart sank further. Nishtha's words are given him hope but Akshara crushed it. She indeed was someone else's wife. Not his...

Akshara: So Abhir apne step father ko papa hi bulayega na...

Abhimanyu's lawyer: Objection! Rishta jud jaane se ye fact nahi change hota h ki biological father mere client hai jinse sach chupaya gaya...

Akshara: Your honour. I never intended to hide my child from his biological father.

She presented some documents.

Akshara: You can see my report from the medical camp neat Pathankot. There you can see the date when I got to know one of my children survived. The next document is my cell phone record from that date till I was four months pregnant. You can see from the highlighted portion that I called Mr. Birla multiple times each day but none of the calls were picked up. Finally, he picked up a call. You can see that was my last call to him and the talk was almost one minute. That time, it was Mr. Abhinav who spoke with Mr. Abhimanyu and lucky for all of us – the recording is something I saved.

Akshara played a recording where Abhinav and Abhimanyu's voice could be heard clearly. Abhimanyu was shouting at Abhinav, enquiring about Akshara. Abhinav mentioned her and the baby but Abhimanyu cut him off and said he did not want to talk about her or the baby. He wanted her out of his life forever.

Abhimanyu: I did not know!! I did not mean this!! Mujhe nahi pata tha mera beta zinda hai!! I-

Akshara: Pta chalne ke liye baat sunni padti hai Mr. Birla!

Akshara turned ahead towards the judge.

Akshara: After this call, I stopped approaching Mr. Birla. I knew he wouldn't hear me out. Mai Udaipur jaakr bhi prove kr sakti thi. Mai samne ati toh mai pregnant hoon, ye apne aap pata chal jaata aur tb shyd ye baat kr lete pr meri pregnancy aur zyada complicated ho chuki thi. I was on complete bed rest and Mr. Abhinav took care of me in every way possible. I call Mr. Manish- my badepapa and shyd call apne aap connect ho gaya aur unhe pata bhi nahi chala. I heard Mr. Kairav in the backdrop, glad I was away because mujhe dekhr Arohi ki tabyat kharab ho skti thi. They discussed how it was crucial for me to stay away from everyone for a few months. Thus, I refrained from contacting anyone.

Abhimanyu's lawyer: Your honour! Pr ye baccha paida hone ke baad toh aa sakti thi. She deliberately hid the child for 6 Years!

Akshara: I did not deliberately keep anything away!!!

She took out a picture and gave one copy to Abhimanyu's lawyer and one copy to the judge.

Akshara: I don't know why Mr Abhimanyu is acting so innocent but let me tell you all something. Abhir wasn't my only surviving child. My other child survived too. I never miscarried!

Birlas and Goenkas were blown away by the revelation while Manish shook his head sadly, he knew about his all along.

Akshara: My baby- M my da-daughter was born too. Sh-e wa-s... (takes a deep breath) she was 33 minutes younger than Abhir and lived a life of 4 days. I never miscarried. It was an error from the gynaecologist of Birla hospital. My daughter had moved though and wasn't detected in my other tests thereafter. I thought I was pregnant with one and my supplements were according to that only. My babies were premature, born after many complications and really weak. It was a miracle that Abhir survived the night but after giving birth to him I lost my consciousness.

She walked towards the desk and leaned a little for support. Abhinav extended his hand to offer support but she just smiled sadly and continued on. Abhimanyu's tears were running down his face. He did not care how weak it made him look. He just discovered that his both children came into this world and one of them was no more. He never saw one of them.

Akshara: Doctors found out I had another child inside me and had to operate her out of me. She was weaker and smaller. Sh-e was born with multiple blockages in the heart and (gulps) she die-...she pas-...she passed away because of the organ failure.

Abhimanyu winced and closed his eyes. Life had played the biggest joke on him. A famous heart surgeon's daughter had died of a heart problem in some small hospital at Pathankot when her father owned a hospital and the best equipment was at his disposal. If only...

Manjiri gapsed and held her mouth while Arohi looked down in shame because of the part she played in this.

Akshara: I was not conscious and Mr. Abhinav had spent all he had on my health and Abhir's. He did not have enough to treat my Mahira, my baby.

Mahira, had a nice ring to it. Abhimanyu whispered this name as a worship. His daughter whom he lost before he even saw her. Who died because her father failed to keep a level head.

Akshara: Mr. Abhinav reached out to my badepapa who paid for her treatment but we could not save her. But before asking my badepapa, Mr. Abhinav sent Mr. Abhimanyu a picture of Mahira. Telling him that he was a father now and that his daughter was weak. He begged him to come down to Pathankot and provide money to treat her. A man who wasn't even the father begged a stranger for another stranger's child. Here is a picture of the screenshot of what Mr. Abhimanyu said.

Akshara presented a paper. It was picture of what looked like a screenshot for a phone messenger app. There was a picture of a baby, tied up in tubes in an incubator. She was small and red, really weak. Beneath it was a message.

Abhinav- Abhi Ji, Mujhe pta hai apne kaha tha ki apko Akshara Ji aur bache ki koi baat nahi krni pr ab aap ek pita hai. Patni se pati naraz hai pr isme bacche ka kya dosh hai ji? Ye apki beti hai aur bohot beemar hai. Please aap Pathankot Life hospital aa jaiye. Aapka ek beta bhi hai. Bhagwan ki kripa se vo ab thik hai pr apki beti ke pass zyada time nahi hai. Akshara Ji bhi hosh me nahi hai. Please aa jaiye.

Abhimanyu- ye cheap tricks band kr do Akshara! Ye kis bachi ki picture kheech kr bheji hai? Emotional drama band nahi hua tumhara? Let me remind you- Our children are dead. DEAD! Because of you!! Tumne mujhse mere bacche aur Neil ke baby se uske papa cheene hai. Ab tumhari koi jagah nahi hai meri life me so stop all this and get lost from my life forever! Na mujhe tumse koi mtlb hai aur na tumhare in jhoot ke baccho se!

Akshara closed her eyes as she remembered the pain she felt when she read it first time. She recalled reading it over and over till she let the hate Abhimanyu had sink into her skin. He really wanted nothing to do with her! Her badepapa was standing before her as she held her dead baby girl in her arms. Abhinav slowly placed Abhir next to her and took Mahira away. Manish and Abhinav buried the child. Later when Abhinav took Abhir away for some check up, Manish advised Akshara to move forward for Abhir and never look back at people who did not value her.

Abhimanyu: This is a lie!!! I never said that!!!!

Akshara: (wipes her tears) Here is another document. A report from your government lab that states all my proofs are genuine. In fact, since it was sent via an app, it is still saved. Mr. Abhinav never deleted it. Whenever he felt guilty of not informing Abhir about his biological father, he read the message and reminded himself that Abhir doesn't have one.

Abhimanyu: NO!!!!! I never said that!!! I DID NOT!!

There was raw pain in Abhimanyu's voice. He never knew of Mahira. He could never knowingly avoid his own children. Arohi, who was sitting on the seat behind him flinched. She was in good terms with him now and did not like seeing him so pained, especially when she played a part in it. All those years ago when she was in her room and suddenly felt sick, Abhimanyu ran down to get her medicine. Arohi heard his phone chime and read the message. Thinking it was Akshara's way of trying to get him back, Arohi replied angrily. She was still bitter about losing Neil and held her responsible. Moreover, a part of her feared Akshara's return in Abhimanyu's life. She would lose the support she had now and so she sent those hateful words and then deleted the chat.

Her heart sank now. She somewhere was responsible for an infant's death because she did not let the father get informed and provide help. Maybe it was Mahira's fate but knowing that Abhimanyu wouldn't just be monetary help but could have provided life-saving expertise to a child that died would always pinch her. Manjiri tried to grab Abhimanyu's hand but Abhimanyu shook it off. He sat back in shock and held his face in his hands.

He, then suddenly stood up and walked into the witness box.

Abhimanyu: I- I need to say some-thing...

The judge nodded.

Abhimanyu: I did not know. I- my...

He struggled to find words. He told them that it wasn't him who replied, even if the chat was genuine. He would never do that.

Abhimanyu's lawyer: (mutters to Harshvardhan) ye baat to hume pata bhi nahi thi. Upar se ye poore saboot lekr aayi hai. Case jeetna mushkil hai....

Abhimanyu: I thought I lost everything that day. My son like brother. Both my children, my wife. My mother was broken. We were all worried for Neil's wife and his unborn child. I was not thinking clearly. It was a mistake but I never abandoned my children. I could never!!! Please...Please don't keep me away from my son any longer. He is my flesh and blood. Please....

He joined his hands and Akshara looked away.

Akshara: (in mind) damn you stupid heart!

Even after all these years, she still could not see him break down so bad. The judge looked at all the facts before him and after hearing both the sides, he came to his decision.

Judge: Aaj ke case me jiss bacche ki custody ki baat ho rahi hai- Master Abhir; unse child experts ne baat ki thi. Unke reports bhi aa chuki hai. Vo baccha abhi bohot chota hai aur Mrs. Akshara aur Mr. Abhinav Sharma ko hi apni family manta tha. Mr. Abhinav ne usse pala hai aur unki maa ke husband hone ke naate, Abhir unhe papa raha hai lekin vo legally uske papa nahi hai. Koi bhi step-parent legally adopt nahi kr sakta jb tk ki biological parent ka written consent na ho. Call aur message ko hum written consent nahi maan sakte- chahe vo Mr. Birla ne khud bheje ho ya kissi aur ne bheja ho. Adalat Akshara ji ki sach batane ki khoshish ko bhi ignore nahi kr sakti pr Abhimanyu Ji bacche ke biological father hai. Unka legal right koi nahi cheen sakta..

Harshvardhan grabbed Abhimanyu's shoulder. Everyone held their breaths as the judge navigated his way to the verdict.

Judge: Isliye adalat Akshara ji ko ye adesh deti hai ki vo jald se jald Abhir ko uske biological father se introduce krwaye. Sath hi birth certificate ke alwa jo bhi documents hai, wahan bhi father's name Mr. Abhimanyu ka hi ayega. Kyunki Akshara Ji ka last name ab Sharma hai so Abhir ka name Abhir Sharma reh sakta hai agar ye dono parents ki marzi hai...

Harshvardhan: (mutters) bilkul bhi nahi....ye bhi change hokr rahega...

Judge: In sb le kiye adalat Akshara ji ko ek mahine ka time deti hai. Ab aate hai sbse zaruri baat par...bacche ki custody!

Everyone held their breaths and leaned closer.

Judge: Kyunki baccha abhi chota hai aur Akshara Ji aur Mr. Sharma ko hi apni family manta hai, isliye uski primary custody Akshara ji ke pass hi rahegi! Akshara Ji Abhir ki primary custody hold karengi aur Mr. Birla ke pass apne bete ke visitation rights rahenge. Iski details dono parents mutually decide karenge.

👨‍⚖️

.........fin...........

Up next- sequel- Meant to be

xoxo