A few Months ago.          

" Have you lost your mind? " Kishore had asked his friend Arun as the man before him continue to remain calm. Arun didn't look like a man who was diagnosed terminally ill . Yet the doctor's report indicated the man hadn't much time to live.        

  " No, Kishore. I thought about it a lot and  Gauri needs this to move on from her past " Arun spoke up as if dying suddenly gave him too much wisdom and frankly all Kishore knew was that this was one plan that could backfire a million ways.        

" Why not appoint this  Arnav as Rahul legal guardian and be done with it. Why bring in your brother when you know he has no honest intention towards Gauri or Rahul. " Kishore demanded from his friend who also happened to be his client at the moment.         

 " Trust me, this would work. Nothing brings people together than trouble " Arun answered back which frustrated Kishore because the man was dying and letting Kishore stay behind to deal with the fallout. 

  " What if Gauri lost the case, what if your brother got custody. Have you considered it? This would destroy your wife Arun, in the end, you would be doing irreparable damage than help Gauri by your schemes " Kishore warned his friend for the last time but he already knew his friend was not someone who would change his mind once made up.

 " That why I have you Kishore, there is no one who can help Gauri better than yourself.  You know everything there is to know about Gauri's past and her marriage with me. So frankly I don't think you will fail, with you as her lawyer the case will be just a minor hurdle but one that would ensure she had the man she loved back in her life " Arun answered back, he had been so confident that Kishore agreed to the mad brain scheme only for the sake of his friend.

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Present Time

Kishore should have predicted the turn of events, Arun was confident that his brother wasn't aware of Rahul's parentage, and yet somehow Pradeep, Vinoth's lawyer got himself the DNA report that contradicts Arun's claim.              

Kishore had planned for all the contingency in the case yet looking at Gauri's frozen face, he realized maybe he made a mistake by agreeing with Arun's plan. He waited until Arnav, Gauri's husband sent Rahul away with his brother-in-law before speaking up, he may not be able to protect Gauri from being part of it but at least Rahul was out of the courtroom.            

 " Your honor, It is true Arun isn't Rahul's biological father but unlike what his brother assumed, Gauri didn't lie or hid the truth from Arun. She had been upfront about it from the start and it was also the reason Arun had legally adopted Rahul a few months after he was born. So the claims that Gauri was deceiving Arun is not the truth " Kishore spoke up and even provided the adoption papers as evidence and if he expected that would deter the opposite side, he was wrong because Pradeep wasn't someone who would give up easily. 
         

When Kishore heard that Vinoth had gotten Pradeep as his lawyer, he knew it spelled trouble yet another outcome Arun wouldn't have expected when he made up this plan, Pradeep was known for his ruthlessness and unwillingness to back down until he draws blood from the other side.     

 It was his way, while it made him a good lawyer, it also established him as a cold human who would exploit Gauri's past to shape his case, and just as he feared Pradeep's counter-argument surprised even Kishore.          

 " Then why would a young girl marry a man 15 years her senior when she had been pregnant with someone else child, Gauri had used Arun kindness to her advantage and she had moved on and married someone soon after his death that my client believe she was the reason his brother didn't recover from his sickness. You can't tell me they married out of love when truthfully Arun never recovered from the death of his first wife "Pradeep's arguments had tried to portray Gauri as someone who choose Arun for his wealth.     

He had expected that one of the reasons Vinoth is fighting hard for this case had been Arun inheritance and it has nothing to do with Rahul's welfare.  And Kishore did his best to explain the marriage between those two without revealing the past of Gauri or Arun, and yet he admitted that to anyone who didn't know the past, their marriage won't make sense.

 He hoped it was enough and was relieved when Pradeep made his closing arguments where he hinted that Rahul could be Arnav's child and Gauri and Arnav planned it from the beginning to trap Arun, yet another speculation but in a case like this one. More than evidence, the judge would decide based on his perception about the characters that stand before him.          

This case isn't about whether he/she is guilty or not, it is about whether the person is good enough or not and sometimes making that assumption could be harder than one can assume and the only positive aspect had been that no one would separate a mother and child based on speculations.         

And Pradeep had rather painted an image of Gauri that didn't look good. So he understood the nervousness that he saw in Gauri's face and her families and yet again wished Arun hadn't started this plan.           

" I would like to have a word with Rahul's mother " the judge announced and Kishore realized the battle is far from over.

           ***********************

Gauri remained numb as her fear began to escalate over the arguments and when the judge called her to take the stand, she froze all over. Her grip on Arnav's hands tightened as she squeezed his hands in a painful grip out of fear.         

" You got this .." he spoke up leaning in to whisper to her but she could barely hear him amidst the chaos in her mind, she refused to look behind her where Kavya and Arnav's family were seated in fear of seeing their disappointment.        

When the DNA report was mentioned first, she heard Arnav's mother's outrage as she exclaimed loudly that " it was ridiculous ". But there has been total silence from his family once Kishore admitted that Rahul was indeed not Arun's biological son.       

She didn't know what was going on in their mind, did they also think Rahul was Arnav's son, they can't because it had been two years since she saw him and yet they must wonder about it and suddenly she hated that they were here to witness everything.          

 " Beta.  " her mother's voice broke through her mind as she turned to look at her face which was already filled with tears, her mother never stopped fighting for her after that night.          

The countless night she stayed awake in fear Gauri would take a rash decision, the times she stayed by her side when she gave birth to Rahul, and every single day after Arun's death. Her mother had been her rock. And it was time for Gauri to stay strong for her son because she won't lose him.       

As she made her way to the stand, she saw Kishore's warm smile conveying she got it but her eyes flickered back to Arnav and stayed there for a long moment before she turned to face the judge.   

 
 " Mrs. Gauri Khanna, I heard arguments from both sides and I take the welfare of a child seriously. So I need to know more about your marriage with Arun, according to your lawyer it wasn't arranged marriage or love marriage and yet you were married within a month after you both met each other. What propelled you to marry Arun, was it so your son can have a father name if so why Arun because according to his brother, you purposely married him for his wealth  " the judge spoke up, he looked to be close to the age of Arnav grandfather and yet there was kindness in his words that somehow made his question not too scary as she feared.          

"It's true Your honor our marriage wasn't arranged nor did we love each other, we met on a rooftop in a hospital to be truthful.  I was admitted to the hospital for trying to take my life and when the doctors saved me,I decided to try again so walked to the rooftop. That where we met, all I saw was the shadow of the man who was drunk enough to sway in the wind back then I didn't know he was on the rooftop for the same reason.         

At the sight of him,I panicked and tried to return back. For someone who had the courage to die, I was too much of a coward to face a drunken man and I tripped and fell down awhile running and fainted as well and when I next woke up my parents were hovering over me and they introduced me to Arun who apparently saved my life by carrying me down and calling for help.

And when the doctors told me, I was pregnant I found a reason to live, My child. The next one week he visited often to check up on me and by the end of the week, he wanted us to get married after overhearing an argument between my parents about what to do in regards to my future.                  

His exacts words to me were something I will never forget " You found a reason to live for your child and yet I don't have one.  Honestly, I am scared to go back home and face the loneliness, I lost my wife and child a year ago and I realized I couldn't go on without them until I met you that night, if not for you I would have jumped from the rooftop ending my life and my existence.              

 And I hope you would give me a chance to live, I want another chance to be a father and I hope your child will be the reason for my survival as well, I promise to raise him as my own and be a good father to him. That is what Arun wanted from me, not a young wife but a child to Love.  A reason to live. And that the reason we were married, and he loved Rahul as his own that I never once even thought he wasn't biologically related to my son. To me, Arun will always be Rahul's father  " Gauri finished speaking up as her eyes yet again drifted to Arnav for reassurance, she only needed to see him to feel strong enough to talk about her past. 

  Gauri didn't want him to learn about her darker moments, she talked with him about the night but never about what happened after that and yet she stood before all of her family and told them about it for her son.
           

" One more question and you can go back to your seat Mrs. Khanna, are you aware that Rahul's biological father holds some right over this child. Is he aware of the child's existence or will he cause trouble in the future " The judge asked her and she appreciated that he didn't ask if Arnav was the father as Vintoh's lawyer assumed?

 " He is dead. " Gauri spoke up three words but she refuses to say any more about him. At the judge nod, she walked back to her seat and promptly reached for Arnav's hand and only when intertwined with his did her hand stop shaking.
          

" Let take a short break and then I would like to have a word with Rahul, have you assigned a translator as I asked " the judge spoke up making her worry all over again, it hadn't been enough to pry open her past but now they are going to involve her son as well.           

Gauri understood why it was happening, she remembered being asked by the judge with whom she wanted to stay when her parents filed for divorce. And she remembered crying and how confused she felt back then and now her son had to go through it made her sick with worry.         

She refused to move from her place as Arnav went to get Ishaan and Rahul back inside, she was too panicked to even realize Arnav's mom was sitting beside her because tears clouded her vision at the fear that her son may not choose her. It was illogical her son only know about her and she knew he didn't like Vinoth and yet she was worried.                     

She felt herself wrapped up in a hug by Arnav mom, as she tried to calm her down from shaking up, and out of her peripheral vision she was Arnav sister looking at her with confusion, she hoped that Kavya never connect the dots and finally her eyes drifted back to her son who was hesitant to walk towards her when he noticed she was crying.                    

 His little hands frantically signed towards Ishaan asking if she was sick again, and his concern made her want to cry all the more until Arnav scooped up Rahul into his arms and brought him to her, as always Arnav knew what she needed that was her child in her arms.                

 Holding her son close to her calm down her heart and then she spoke up not wanting her son to be confused by the questioning.            

" The kind man in the black robe will ask you some questions Rahul and you need to answer them truthfully okay " She spoke up and her son nodded his head in answer. She was relieved when the judge allowed Gauri to stay beside her son after the break. But she wasn't relieved when the judge spoke up asking a question Gauri didn't predict.         

" Rahul beta. Can you tell me about the person seated beside your grandfather, the one in blue shirt " the judge spoke up as Gauri turned to see Arnav look surprised by the question as well?

P.S:" That it for now. Let me your thoughts and feedback. Hit the votes if you liked it "

Love

Juanita Reid