Revelation Part 2 -- How it Happened

As Advay watched Indrani being taken away to custody with a satisfactory smile, he knew he still had a long way to go, to ensure that justice was meted out to her and Yash Narayan for all the crimes they did, including the murder of his parents. But this was a good beginning as any. Now he had to double his efforts and concentration to make sure that he will see to the end of this, at the same time protecting his newly acquired family, Chandni and her sisters, against the very elements, that caused so much destruction all those years ago.

How things have changed ? 24 hours of staying with Chandni had changed so many of his perceptions about her, especially after how she reacted to his parents' death. He was, for the first time doubtful of what he intended to do. And he was thankful again for ACP Siddharth, Veer and his gang of friends who helped him realise what danger Chandni was in, if he had left her so abruptly in the midst of all this chaos.

And all the evidence he had so far against Indrani only proved one point.... that Chandni was as innocent as snow dew while Indrani was the evil incarnate.

As in business, he took a swift decision to hold his judgement against Chandni for now, and not proceed with what he had originally planned to do. He still didn't trust her or forgiven her, but he had no intention to let her suffer for his mother's crimes either.

Once he had made up his mind, he put things in order straight away. He, who threatened Chandni that he will dump her as his wife after one night privately, now chose to publicly defend her honour, and declare his love for her, in front of the who's who of Allahabad.

Advay knew he had no capacity to love anyone, not even Chandni. That part of him had been buried for ever. Whatever feelings he had for Chandni, one thing was for sure, he cared for his Chandni and felt protective about her, and he would skin anyone alive if they intend to come anywhere near her or try to harm her. And he knew he had to protect her now, considering how everyone would go after her family, once the news was out.

But how to convince her to stay with him or under his protection after all this mess? Would she agree? Would she ever trust him, the very person who was responsible for her family's current degradation?

For the first time, Advay was afraid to look into her eyes and felt like a typical husband about to face his wife's wrath!!

So he did the best he could do, avoid her and concentrate on everyone else who needed his attention at the moment, buying some time, so he could come up with a good argument to convince her. And didn't someone say that best way to win your wife's approval is by showing your love for her family!!

He approached Meghana and Shikha who were adoring the little baby along with Kajal Maasi.

Chandni had her head rested on Niru Mama's shoulder and both were watching them with a mix of sadness and joy. The moment Advay approached them, Chandni straightened up and cast her eyes down.

"Meghana, I am really proud of you and the way you have owned up to the responsibility of raising your son, even on your own, if needed. But that won't be necessary. I am here to support you all, now that you are my family. I know we have started on a very wrong note, but trust me when I say this, I didn't bring up your son here to publicly or privately humiliate anyone in this family, but just to expose your mother's true face to Chandni. She might not believe me and probably you won't too, but that is the truth. And considering the fact that I am the one responsible for taking the protection of your parents away from you, I must be the one to protect you instead. I have already arranged for your father to be admitted into the top hospital here at Allahabad, and I am happy to take him back to Mumbai too if doctors recommend it. So please don't worry about him." Advay's eyes were on Chandni's sisters, but his whole attention was on how Chandni was reacting to his words.

Shikha and Meghana looked at Chandni first, but finding no encouragement from her, they looked at each other and slowly approached Advay. Meghana was the first to approach him, her son still playing with the long chain in her neck.

"Whatever the reasons you had, if it wasn't for you, I would have never seen my son like this. I am extremely thankful to you for that. And I am so shameful of my mother's attitude. After all that we have seen about her today, I am even ashamed to call her as my mother."

"Meghu!!"Chandni choked.

"Haan Jiji maine kya galath kahaan? Did I say something wrong? How could she do such things with you? and especially you who always loved her with so much devotion. I truly hate her now." Meghan spat.

Advay thought it was to best to intervene.

"Chandni is still in shock and denial right now. She needs some time to absorb everything that had happened today. But you all need to stick together and help each other now that Indrani is gone. Kaajal Maasi what do you say?" He asked her a bit sternly.

"Of course Damadji, I will look after the baby, Meghu tu chinta mat kar Don't you worry about your son, I will look after him and you can continue your studies. But how do we survive now? With Badi Jiji gone..." She looked worriedly at Advay.

"You don't have to worry about anything. I have leased that bungalow for another year. You all can stay there, and I will take care of everything including Megha and Shikha's studies, but I would prefer if you all can move to Mumbai with me. Let me speak to my Nani on this. But Kaajal Maasi, I want to make sure where your loyalties are. Are you sure you want to stay with Chandni and support them? What if your husband Ranjit returned tomorrow grovelling an apology? Will you go back to him?" Advay demanded.

"Nahi Damadji. I have learnt my lesson. I know what company he keeps now, and what he had been up to. Don't think that I knew. I was a fool before but I don't want to be like that anymore. He might even abuse me if I ever return back to him, god forbid. I want to stay under your protection and of course with our Niru Bhayya too." She promised him solemnly.

"Advay I have been meaning to thank you ever since that video played, you don't know what a kind favour you have done to our family, by removing Indrani's evil influence from these girls. Mujhse Chote ho phir bhi..." Niru Mama approached Advay, and held both his hands in his own, and touched them to his forehead, as if paying his respects to him.

"Arre aap ye kya kar rahe hain" Advay stopped him.

"And I vouch on behalf of Kajal and myself, we will dedicate ourselves to look after these two girls from now onwards. Of course Chandni is your wife now, and we don't have to worry about her now." He smiled happily at him.

Advay didn't know what to say, but thanked him curtly before reaching his Nani, who was sitting aloof with a pained expression on her face.

Just then ACP Siddharth returned back hurriedly.

"Advay, the news had spread around, and there's a huge press presence outside the hotel now. All of you better leave through the back entrance right now, before they reach there too."

Advay cursed inwardly at this unwanted intrusion. He wanted to speak to Chandni desperately. But first he reached his Nani and held her arm.

"Nani! I know I need to explain a lot to you, and I want to speak to Niru Mama too, but can we all go to the bungalow first. It is not safe to be here anymore."

"Ok let's go. Chandni! Beti where are you?" She held out her hand, and Chandni slowly came forward and held her hand.

But Advay gently pulled her aside and whispered to her.

"Chandni, can I speak to you for five minutes first."

Chandni was still angry and frustrated, and was worried whether Advay was going to unleash more bitter truths for her. She looked at him and everyone nervously.

Nani looked at him angrily and was about to say something.

"Nani I promise, I just want to talk to her, I will bring her along with me to the bungalow." Advay requested with pleading eyes towards Chandni. Chandni who had been avoiding his gaze all this while, looked now at him, unable to refuse his offer.

"Sid can you please give us five minutes. Murli, please get the valet to get our cars and arrange for additional cars from the hotel if needed." Murli hurried to arrange the vehicles.

"Shikha take Naniji with you." Chandni asked her sister.

Shikha accompanied Nani, and together they went to the back entrance, followed by everyone else.

It was an eerily empty Hall now, as Advay and Chandni stood facing each other. Chandni's eyes roamed around, taking in all the arrangements and the huge screen, where the whole audience saw the shameful acts of her family and her eyes welled up again.

Advay could easily follow her chain of thought, her face was like an open book.

"Chandni! I wanted to ..." Advay began...

"Are you happy now Advay?" She demanded, looking straight into his eyes.

He opened his mouth but stopped, hesitating to answer her.

"Chandni I did warn you, how it was going to be..." But Chandni cut him off.

"That's not what I asked Advay, I asked are you happy now?" her voice choked, even when she tried to control it.

Frustration and anger rose in Advay. Chandni's reaction was expected. He controlled himself and answered calmly even though his eyes were spitting fire.

"You claimed all along, that you were innocent, as to what happened to my parents all those years ago right? Let's assume you were telling the truth for a moment..."

"I am telling the truth!!" She replied with gritted teeth.

"OK, If you knew what happened to my parents then, if you were there actually witnessing how everyone in the city were insulting them, and laying false accusations on them on that day, would you have been happy?" Advay spat back at her.

Chandni looked stung.

"Of course not!! But it's not the same, you brought this whole thing out..."

"Because your mother was one hell of an evil incarnate, and it was high time the city knew about her real nature." Advay finished the sentence for her.

Tears welled up in Chandni's eyes, but she furiously wiped them away.

"Was Kajal Maasi evil incarnate too? Was it necessary to bare her personal life in front of everyone? Have you even thought of what would be the repercussions of your actions? What will every one think of me, now that they know my mother had put a price on my head or orchestrated my kidnap?"

Advay's face was full of concern.

He approached Chandni, and hesitantly put his arm around her back and held her hand. But Chandni looked away, and was in no mood to reciprocate his gestures.

"Chandni that's why I requested that you shouldn't be targeted in anyway..." Advay's voice mellowed down.

"Of course the great Mr ASR had asked them, and they will just blindly follow whatever you say, is that it? You don't know this town or these people." Chandni mocked him.

"It seems you don't know this town, are you forgetting that I was born and brought up here? Our whole Kashyap clan was from here."

"But you told me yesterday that Dev Kashyap is no more. You are Advay Singh Raizada now." Chandni's voice trembled.

The last thing Advay wanted was to see Chandni cry again. This was not how he wanted this talk to happen. But he couldn't see any other way around it.

"What else do you expect me to do then? Ranjit was a scoundrel and goon to boot, and I haven't even shown the complete video of what all he uttered. If only you knew, you wouldn't be mocking me like this. Instead of feeling sorry for Kajal Maasi, you should be feeling happy for her that she is well rid of a husband like that. The long and short of it is, I did what I had to do, to expose your mother and her evil nature. And I promise you one thing Chandni!! No one would dare say anything nasty, or come anywhere near you, when you are with me. I will skin them alive if they do. I will look after you and your family and protect you from all this, I promise..."

"You swore just 24 hours ago that I am going to be your wife for just one night, and then you will send me back to my mother. Now I neither have a mother nor a home to go back to. Is this a similar promise Advay? Sorry but I neither need your protection nor...."

"Chandni !! Please listen to me. This is not how I wanted to explain this to you. I know what I said earlier and it wasn't correct. I have no intention to leave you or your family, considering how circumstances have changed." Advay pleaded.

But Chandni was in too much anguish to care for his words.

"Not everything in this world spins around your finger. I am not a toy or a thing to toss away or pick up whenever you want Advay!! Perhaps you have forgotten that I am a human being and I have feelings too." Chandni retorted angrily.

Now Advay was equally incensed.

"Chandni I have already said what I did was wrong. Why don't you understand a simple fact that I want to look after you because I care for you..." Advay shouted

"Care for me in what capacity Advay?" Chandni shouted back.

"Banno!!!"

 "Cheeku!!!"

Niru Mama and Nani were back in the hall looking anxiously at both of them.

"Banno, why are you shouting at your husband like that? This is not how we brought you up." Niru Mama admonished Chandni.

"Cheeku, is this what you meant by talking?" Nani was equally angry.

"Nani ji you were absolutely right. These two are fighting like cats and dogs." Niru Mama observed.

"First lets go home and then we can continue this discussion. Chandni Beta, you come with me."Nani insisted.

"But Nani.." Chandni tried to protest.

"We can discuss everything once we go home. Husband and wife shouldn't be quarrelling like this in public. Come one now, both of you!!" Nani hurried them along, and they all sat in the car and drove back to bungalow.

The atmosphere in the car was icy cold. Advay was driving the car and Chandni sat next to him, while the two elders sat at the back.

Just to cut the tension, Niru Mama began conversing with Advay.

"Advay!  As I said, I am so happy you brought that kidnapper in front of Indrani Didi and blew her bluff. How did the police find that guy after all this time? And that Chirkut guy too... How did you manage to get him to work for you? I thought he was a good for nothing fellow!" Niru Mama asked.

Advay sighed deeply as he steered the car through the night traffic.

"Even I thought the same about Veer first. He was too talkative, brash and frankly got on my nerves most of the time. As you know, ACP Siddharth is my friend and I have been meeting him regularly for various reasons ( Advay didn't want to elaborate) and he told me that, Veer and his friends have actually helped in getting eve teasing reduced in the market area. They have caught various guys in the act, and uploaded their videos on YouTube, getting them blacklisted both by the girls and their own families.

But what impressed me most was that, he was actually helping police in more serious crimes like domestic violence, where women were too afraid to come out, and complain to the police or can't prove their case for lack of evidence etc. I was also impressed by how he protected Shikha from your sister's wrath during the wedding rituals. I think he has a soft corner for her." Advay winked at Chandni and she looked shocked.

Advay continued with a smirk.

"He approached me one day at the police station and said that he caught Ranjit and his friends talking drunkenly about temple money etc. But before he could tape anything, Ranjit was too drunk and fell asleep it seems. It was just after Ranjit and Shakun were booted out of the Haveli. I also knew what kind of a sleaze PP was and how he talks about women in general. So I asked him to keep an eye on these two, and tape any kind of evidence which might be useful for me. And his videos have been very useful. In fact we haven't shown many of the things. From what I could see, Indrani was planning even more nasty things if the marriage with me failed, or if she could somehow get her hands on Chandni, and she was also in touch with Ranjit again. But Chandni of course doesn't care about any of this, and doesn't want my help." He stopped the car at the red light and hissed angrily at Chandni, unable to control his temper anymore.

Niru Mama and Nani gasped in horror and Chandni looked back at him angrily.

"You didn't tell me all this back then." Chandni accused.

"You didn't want to listen to even half of it. Remember? I would have told you if only you let me. You were too busy twisting and throwing my words back at me."

" Welcome to my world. This is exactly what you have been doing to me since you landed in Allahabad. You manipulate everything according to your convenience." Chandni was too incensed to notice that Niru Mama and Nani were at the backseat.

Advay was the one who had been literally blackmailing her ever since, and now he had the audacity to call her being the manipulator.

Advay gritted his teeth and was ready to return the verbal volley, but loud honks from the cars behind brought him back to the real world.

He started the car again. Niru Mama looked at Nani who was busy hiding her chuckle in her Saree Pallu.

But neither Advay nor Chandni observed this, lost in their own anger and thoughts.

"You still haven't told me how you got Jaggi though." Niru Mama prompted.

"We had a lucky break as far as Jaggi was concerned. The Police caught him and his friend as one of the suspects for a cold case. A Girl died in the same area where Chandni was kidnapped. But he and his friend kept insisting that they didn't commit the murder. Police tried very hard to break them, and they finally confessed that they were actually with Chandni that whole time, ensuring she was held captive. It seems Jaggi was the main guy, while his friend was the go in between to supply food and other things for Jaggi during those days. The rest was easy."

"Har Har Mahadev!! I am so thankful for you beta for doing this and rescuing my Banno from Indrani's clutches." Niru Mama said gratefully.

Chandni was mad at her Mama too now.

"Niru Mama why are you thanking him for? Isne To Kuch Kiya Hi Nahi. Everything was done by Murli, Shilpa, Veer and ACP Saab. But he is taking the whole credit for it and you are endorsing it too." Chandni mocked, looking daggers at Advay.

Advay literally stopped car on the side road.

"Excuse me ?" He raised his right eyebrow, his mouth curved, and looked at her disbelief.

"Haan ! What exactly did you do? Tell me?" Chandni demanded.

"I pulled your head out of the sand so you could look at the reality around you, and realise what a golden woman your stepmother is. You don't have to do everything physically yourself. They did everything because I asked them to. Samjhi?"

"Yeah that's what you enjoy the most, bossing people around. Everyone is scared of you so they do whatever you ask them to do. Rakshas ho thum. Mohalle me sab ko Maloom tha ki Dev kitna Rakshas hai! Everyone knew what a bully you were.!!!" She hissed at him.

"Dev ? Dev Kaun? Banno what did you just call him?" Niru Mama gasped from behind.

"Niranjan ji Advay is none other than Dev Kashyap, son of the previous Mahant of your temple. My daughter was Janaki Kashyap." Nani informed him sombrely, as it was inevitable that he should know about his grandson's identity.

"Maa ji Pranaam!" Niru Mama touched Nani's feet much against her protests. Tears of joy were rolling down his cheeks as he exclaimed " You don't know how happy I am to learn this Maaji. My Banno has prayed and cried all these years for Dev to return back, and now her prayers have been answered."

Advay's breath hitched as he locked his gaze with Chandni. But Chandni's eyes welled up, and she turned her face away from him, much to his disappointment.

Niru Mama pushed himself forward and bent so he can see Advay's face properly now. He pulled his head down and kissed him on the forehead.

"Dev Beta I am so happy now. I can't tell you how relieved I am to know you are Dev!" He choked.

"Thank you Mamaji. I would appreciate it if you don't reveal this anyone else, not even in the family for some time." Advay requested, and Niru Mama nodded his head in understanding.

He turned to Chandni and kissed her on her hair gently.

"Banno you don't realise how lucky you are. Tumhara Dev Laut Aaya Hai, Dev had returned, just like you always wished for, and that too as a successful man."

Advay raised his eyebrow and gave his trademark Thedi smile to Chandni.

"This is not my Dev Mamaji. I don't know who he is anymore." Chandni snapped back, controlling herself from pulling Advay's cheeks and wipe that smirk off him.

"Pagli you don't know what you are talking about." Niru Mama settled back in his seat and chuckled softly.

"She is just jealous Mamaji" Advay mocked.

"Jalen Meri Jooti!!! Tumse Kaun Jalta Hai ? Why would I be jealous of you? " Chandni retorted furiously.

"BADON KO AAP KAHTE HAI" Advay smirked back at her, as he started the car again.

^--------------------------^

Okay lovely readers the next chapter is up. This is the conclusion of the Revelation Chapter. Hope you find answers to all questions you had from the previous chapters. If not, I am happy to answer all your queries.

I am loving all the response this story is generating and I thank you all wonderful readers. I only know some of you but a big THANK YOU for all.

Your comments and appreciation are like oxygen to me,  and they keep me motivated to write.

And please do vote if you like the chapter too.

Lots of love

Sesi