AHEA Epilogue

I just want to thank everyone who read this story and was there from start to finish. I know it's not the normal kind of story you people read on this forum but thank you guys for liking and commenting on it. Here is the epilogue, enjoy :)

Epilogue

It had been 2 years since Shyam had gone to prison and since then everyone’s lives had changed for the better.

Payal had given birth. Akash and Payal were now the proud parents of a beautiful baby girl who was spoilt beyond imagination. Her family never allowed her feet to touch the ground and they were always super protective of her. Tara, however was a humble little girl who was wise beyond her years. Now Akash and Payal were expecting their second child and Tara couldn’t be more excited to meet her new sibling.

Arnav’s business was booming as always. In fact he had offers to extend it to Europe and America. Khushi’s business wasn’t doing too bad either. Her catering business had gotten many positive reviews and now it was a 5 star service. Arnav and Khushi were expecting their first child. And that meant that Arnav was forever dithering around Khushi and not allowing her to lift a finger. She in turn would give Arnav numerous heart attacks by sneaking off to work to make sure her business was running smoothly. Their rolls had been reversed. Khushi was acting like Arnav and Arnav was acting like Khushi. They’d argue constantly and eventually make up. One thing was for sure though and that is that they loved each other immensely.

NK had met a lovely girl in Australia. They had been dating for a year when he decided that it was time for the family to meet her. When they had arrived in India, they were received with a warm welcome. Everyone had made sure that she was treated like a member of the family and she in turn immersed herself in their religion and culture. After doing some background checks and getting the families approval, NK was going to propose to her next week.

Mamiji and Mamaji decided that it was time for them to retire. They purchased a beautiful house in Nanital and would often come back to Dehli to visit the family. They now lived a quiet life of shopping and gardening.

Naniji had decided that she wanted to visit the world. So Arnav had hired a bodyguard and a nurse for her. They had sorted out all the paper work out, gotten her a passport and gave her some money to have fun with. She had travelled to Thailand, Malaysia and Myanmar. She had briefly travelled back to India to meet NK’s girlfriend to give her approval and then she was off again. She’s currently in Morocco now. She always manages to send them pictures and presents from her travel.

And Anjili. Well she had her life in order now. She had finally finished her interior decorating course and now was working in a prestigious interior decorating company. She’s currently dating a man who makes her feel like the only girl in the world. At first she was wary of him because of her past experience with men but he managed to break down her walls. She trusted him completely and that scared her. She had told him everything about her past to try and scare him off but all he did was hug her and tell her he loved her. She hadn’t said it back but now she knew that she loved him too. She didn’t know where this was going and she didn’t want to, she just wanted to live in the present.

You might have thought that I forgot to mention Shyam. I didn’t. He was still rotting in prison and he would continue rotting in prison for a long time. As long as there is a Raizada around, Shyam will forever be in jail.

AHEA Chapter 11: Moving On

This is the last chapter before the epilogue guys.

Chapter 11: Moving On

It had been 2 weeks since Anjili moved back into the Raizada Mansion. It had also been a day since Payal and Akash announced that they were expecting their first child. They had been very nervous about it and once it was announced everyone had turned to look at Anjili. To their surprise, she was completely supportive.

Today Anjili had decided to hold a family meeting. She was getting tired of hushed talks about the baby and no one was including her in any of this. She knew that everyone thought she was going to have a nervous breakdown but they were wrong.

She had the entire family gathered around before she started talking.

“First of all, I want to say congratulations again to Akash and Payal.”

They both said: “Thanks Di.”

“I also would like to request something. I want people to stop talking in hushed tones about the baby. Some people even go so far as to stop talking about the baby all together when I enter the room.”

“Actually Di, umm we just thought umm-” started Payal.

“I love that you guys are trying to be sensitive about this.” Cut in Anjili. “But I chose to get an abortion. I didn’t have a miscarriage. So can you please stop all this nonsense? I am just as excited to become an aunt as Payalji is excited to become a mother. I can’t wait to spoil the new Raizada.”

She looked back at her family and they were still shuffling about uncomfortably.

She sighed. “I promised to tell you guys why I got the abortion when you were ready. I think you guys are ready. Firstly, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to love that child. I knew who its father was and there would be a constant fear that it would turn out like him. Or if it was a boy then it would look like Shyam. I just couldn’t take that. And when it grew up and asked about it’s father, what would I tell it? No child wants to know that their father was a vile repulsive man who is capable of murder.”

“But Di-”

“Please let me finish. I wanted to have the baby and give it up for adoption but I knew you guys would never let me do that. It was part Raizada and you would force me to raise it and look after it and I wouldn’t be able to do that properly because I wouldn’t love it. If you guys did let me give it up for adoption, then you’d all feel guilty; you’d constantly check up on it to make sure it was ok. Eventually it would find out who it’s real family was and come asking questions. Questions that only have harsh answers. I know you think I’m selfish for doing something like this but I thought about it constantly before I made my decision and I don’t regret it. I’ve made peace with what I have done.”

Everyone was quiet. They were processing all the information that Anjili had given them. Finally Arnav spoke.

“I understand now Di and I respect your decision.”

Akash stepped forward and hugged Anjili. “Me too Di.”

One by one, the entire family hugged Anjili and showed their support. Eventually they dispersed.

“Now enough about me.” Said Anjili. “Let’s talk about what we are going to buy our new niece or nephew.”

The whole family began chatting about the things that they would need to buy for their newest member. They talked about baby proofing the house, what room to convert into a nursery and all sorts of things related to babies. They also had an unspoken mutual agreement never to bring up Shyam or Anjili’s abortion again. Because they were family and they loved and supported each other no matter how many obstacles the world threw at them.

SS: After Happily Ever After Index

After Happily Ever After (sequel to In Another Life) -COMPLETE 

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Epilogue 

AHEA Chapter 10: Progress

Chapter 10: Progress

It had been 4 months since Anjili moved out of the Raizada Mansion and she was slowly getting better. The family would often come visit her in her apartment which wasn’t too far away from the mansion and she in turn would visit them at RM. A month after leaving, she had introduced her family to her therapist and they began working out some stuff together as a family. It had helped them through a lot and they had become a lot closer. Now they frequently went with Anjili.

Her therapist knew that she was 90% better. He had even worked through her anger issues and her limp was now gone but there was something that needed to be done before she could fully become a new person. And he knew just what to do. After one of the family sessions, he had asked Khushi to stay behind.

“Mrs Raizada, would you mind helping me with something?” he asked Khushi.

“That depends on what it is.” She replied.

When the therapist explained what needed to be done, she was all game.

It was a bright Sunday morning and Anjili was sleeping in when she heard a knock on her door. She groaned. She didn’t want to wake up now, she had stayed up all night working on her college project. She turned over and pulled the pillow to cover her ears but the knocking didn’t stop.

She got up and stalked to the door getting ready to unleash the famous Raizada wrath. She ripped open the door to find her sister-in-law standing there.

“Babhi?” she said in surprise. “I don’t mean to be rude but why are you waking me up so early?”

“Your phone was off. What if there was a family emergency?”

“There’s a family emergency?!” asked Anjili in alarm.

“No no.” said Khushi trying to calm her down. “I was just saying that you shouldn’t turn your phone off because if there was a family emergency, we wouldn’t be able to reach you.”

“Oh ok. But the question still remains, what are you doing here?”

“It’s a surprise. Get dressed.”

Anjili’s eyes lit up. She loved surprises. “Surprise? What kind of surprise?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Now get dressed.”

Anjili quickly got dressed and followed Khushi to the car.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise.”

Soon the car pulled up outside her therapist’s clinic. Anjili gave Khushi a look.

“Just trust me ok.” Said Khushi before entering.

Khushi had a brief conversation with the receptionist and they were directed in to a big room with a lot of gym mats on the floor. Anjili’s therapist was there sitting on a bench.

“Ah you’re both here. Good. Now put on these fat suits.” He said and handed them their fat suits.

“Is this a joke?” asked Anjili.

“No, now come on.” Said Khushi pulling her into a changing room.

A few minutes later, both of them came out of the changing room in their fat suits.

“I feel stupid.” Said Anjili.

“You’re about to feel a whole lot better.” Said Khushi.

Anjili’s therapist handed her a long foam bat.

“Go on.” He said. “Take your anger out on Khushi.”

“This is ridiculous. I don’t hate Khushiji.”

“Di, we are just trying to help you.” Said Khushi. “You’ve already had your revenge on Shyam but you haven’t had your revenge on me. So go on hit me. I am the cause of all of this-”

Khushi didn’t get to finish her sentence because Anjili had whacked her with the foam bat. She continued whacking her and Khushi just stood there and took it.

“I hate you! It’s all your fault! I’m miserable now and you are happy. It’s not fair. You’ve taken away everything I hold dear. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.” She screamed at Khushi.

After a while, Anjili dropped her bat and started crying. Khushi waddled close to her.

“I’m sorry Khushiji. I don’t really hate you.” She hiccupped.

“I know Di.” She said whilst trying to pat Anjili’s back. It was hard to comfort her because they were wearing fat suits. “You just needed to get that pent up frustration and anger out.”

“I know it’s not your fault and I didn’t mean anything I said. Honest-”

“I know, I know. I agreed to do this to help you. How do you feel?”

“Like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.” She said honestly.

“Are you ready to come home or are you going to stay in your apartment still?”

“No, I want to come home. I miss my family.”

Khushi smiled. “It’s good to have you back Di.”

Anjili returned her smile. “It’s good to be back babhi.” 

AHEA Chapter 9: Acceptance

Chapter 9: Acceptance

Arnav lightly knocked on Nani’s door.

“Come in.” she said.

Arnav opened the door and peered in. Nani was sitting on the rocking chair, petting Lakshmi and looking at a photo album.

“What are you doing Nani?” he asked.

“Looking back on simpler times.” She said showing him the pictures she was looking at. “I’ve always hated the concept of growing old but I despised it when I had children.”

“Why?”

“Because you constantly worry about them. You can take care of your kids until they become an adult, then they take care of themselves. But they never really grow up in your eyes. Even when they get married and have kids of their own you still see them as that baby that needed your constant attention. You don’t trust them to make the right decisions because you think they’re not old enough. You want to supervise everything they do but you can’t.”

Nani turned the page and it was full of pictures of her daughter with baby Anjili smiling at the camera.

“I always thought your mother was too young to marry.” Said Nani. “She was only 23 when the proposal came. I tried to talk your Nanaji out of it but he said it didn’t look good to have an unmarried woman in the house. She was happy enough to get married and soon, loved your father very much.”

Arnav fisted his hands and clenched his jaws. He hated speaking about his father.

“I don’t want to talk about him-”

“I know you don’t.” interrupted Nani. “But there was a time when she was his whole world and he hers. And they both loved you very much. You and Anjili. I don’t know who cast an evil eye on our family because this thing just keeps happening.”

“What thing?”

“A married man in our family will seduce an innocent girl and everything will be ruined. First it was your father and now Shyam. Of course Anjili is taking this better than your mother did in some ways.”

“She didn’t try and kill herself.” Arnav reminded her.

“She killed her child.” She snapped.

“Would you have preferred it if both of them were gone?” he retorted.

“I would prefer things to go back the way they were.”

“Everyone would prefer that Nani.”

“I worry about her Chote.”

“So do we but we need to support her in this.”

“What if it’s not the right thing to do?”

“We need to take a leap of faith. We need to let her know that we are there for her if she needs us.”

“Do you really think this is wise?”

“Di is a Raizada which means she’s strong willed and stubborn and I can see it in her eyes that she really wants to do this. She will do this whether we support her or not. So isn’t it best to just support her?”

Nani thought for a while before she spoke again. “If anything goes wrong, I blame you.”

Arnav shrugged. “That’s ok. Now let’s go and tell Di before she cries another river.”

AHEA Chapter 8: Support and Restraint

Chapter 8: Support and Restraint

It was 8 o’clock and Anjili still hadn’t shown up. It was a mutual agreement in the family that they wouldn’t eat dinner until Anjili was back. Akash was about to call her on her phone when she came through the front door.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” She said. “I didn’t realise that so much time had gone past. Have you eaten?”

“We were waiting for you.” Said Naniji coldly.

“I’m really sorry. Just give me 2 seconds to freshen up and I’ll join you.”

Anjili rushed up the stairs and came down 5 minutes later. She joined them at the table and everyone started eating.

After lunch, Anjili tried to sneak away but was stopped by Naniji.

“Anjili, where are you going?” she asked.

“To my room Nani. I’m very tired, it’s been such a long day and I have college tomorrow.”

“We need to talk so sit down.”

“Yes Nani.”

Everyone turned to look at Arnav expectedly. Arnav sighed.

“So Di,” he began, “How was house hunting?”

“I found some great apartments but they were either not in my price range or not good enough.”

“If you need financial aid-”

“No thanks Chote. I really prefer it if you let me do this by myself.”

“Of course Di, I’m behind you a 100%.” He said sincerely.

Anjili was touched. “Thank you Chote. That means a lot.”

“Chote!” yelled Naniji. “What are you doing?”

“Telling Di that I support and respect her decision.”

“What?!” said Nani in outrage.

“Nani, we need to give Di space to grow. If she thinks this is what’s best for her then as a family, we should support her.”

“But-”

“He’s right Dadi.” Said Akash. “I support you Di.”

Anjili was tearing up in happiness. “Thank you so much.”

“I support you too.” Said Payal.

“Me too.” Said Khushi.

Anjili flung herself at them in happiness and held them tight. She hadn’t left this happy or light in a long time.

“No!” screamed Naniji.

“Nani-”

“No! I am still the elder of the house and I forbid you to leave this house until you’re married.”

With that she walked off.

AHEA Chapter 7: Lunch Insecurities

Chapter 7: Lunch Insecurities

It was around lunchtime when Khushi decided to go and surprise her husband with lunch. She left her company and took a car to AR. She was heading up to her office when Aman spotted her.

“Khushi babhi.” He said when he spotted her.

“Namaste Amanji, I’m just here to have lunch with Arnavji.”

“Can I talk to you before you have lunch with ASR?” he asked nervously.

“Sure.”

“Umm it’s probably not my place to say but sir has been acting very strangely lately.”

Khushi frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, since he started dating you, he’s been less ASR and more human. And when he married you he was like a boss sent down from heaven. But today he’s back to his old self. He’s yelling at us for no reason and staring into space. He hasn’t done any work since he got here this morning and when I asked him why, he blamed it on me. I just thought I’d warn you before you went in.”

“Thank you Amanji, I’ll have a word with him.” She then saw the panic in Aman’s eyes. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell him you said anything.”

“Thank you Khushi babhi.”

Aman went back to doing his job and Khushi went up to Arnav’s office. She went in without knocking and saw him staring out into space.

“Arnavji?” asked Khushi with concern.

He looked up. “Khushi what are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d surprise you with lunch.”

“Thanks but I’m not hungry. Feel free to keep me company while you eat.”

“Yeah like I’m going to let that happen. You’re going to eat and then take your pills even if I have to force you.”

Arnav smirked. “I like it when you’re forceful.”

Khushi blushed. “Besharam!”

Khushi came to his desk and started to feed him whilst eating herself. They ate in silence. After they finished eating, she gave Arnav he’s pills.

“So what’s wrong?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re staring out into space and you’re employees are on edge. Something’s up.”

“They should be on edge.”

“Arnavji.”

“What do you want me to say Khushi?”

“I want you to open up to me. I want you to confide in me because I am your wife.”

There was a long pause before Arnav spoke. “I don’t know who Di is anymore.” He said in a small voice. “And that scares me.”

Khushi went and hugged him. “It’s going to be ok Arnavji.”

“How do you know?”

“Because it’s always darkest before the dawn. She’s seeing a therapist and I’m sure that they are helping her get her life together and as soon as she’s better, she’ll come back and live with us again.”

“What if she doesn’t?”

“Then we’ll respect her decision of independence and hope she doesn’t forget her family. The more we push her, the more she’ll pull away. We need to let her have some space to figure out who she is. We can’t help her do this but we can be there to support her through it.”

Arnav smiled. “I married such a wise woman.”

Khushi grinned. “I know.”

Arnav held her close. “Yeah? What else do you know?”

Khushi brought her face closer to his and then slipped out of his grasp. “I know that lunch is over and that we should be getting back to work.”

As she was leaving, Arnav called: “You own me a kiss.”

“You can collect it tonight.” She said before leaving. 

AHEA Chapter 6: Purely Psychological

Chapter 6: Purely Psychological

“What?” said Anjili in confusion.

“I have been observing you and I noticed that sometimes you don’t have a limp. For example, you ran in here today.”

“That’s because I was late.”

The doctor leaned forward to get closer to Anjili. “People with limps don’t run the way you do. You’re limp is slowly going away, probably because you’re finally accepting independence.”

“But why would my doctors lie to me?” she asked.

He smiled and leaned back in his chair. “Simply put; they’re scared of your brother. Once they had tried to tell him that you had nothing wrong with your leg but he had the doctor fired and threatened to sue the hospital.”

Anjili sighed. “My brother used to be very unreasonable. I still don’t understand. How could I consciously fake a limp? I’m pretty sure it’s real.”

“That’s because you didn’t consciously fake it, it was all unconscious. Tell me, have you always been waited on hand and foot?”

Anjili scowled at the way he phrased the question but answered it anyway. “Pretty much my whole life.”

“When was your brother born?”

“When I was 3.”

“Around about the same time you got polio?”

“Yes.”

“You were afraid that your parents would only focus on brother and forget about you. You were afraid that they’d love him more than you. So, your subconscious came up with this limp. It was a perfect way of ensuring that you would always get some attention no matter what. And it worked.”

Anjili’s temper was rising. “So you’re basically calling me an attention whore.”

“All children want attention Anjili and you were no different.”

Anjili stood up and walked to the door. She didn’t want to sit through this humiliation any more. As soon as her hand touched the door, she heard him calling her. “Anjili, we talked about how to deal with sudden bursts of anger.”

Anjili sighed and gritted her teeth. She then took long, slow breaths and counted to 10. By the time she had reached 10, she was much calmer.

“Good.” Praised the doctor. “Our session is over. Try to start walking without the limp. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow, have fun house hunting.”

“Thank you doctor.” She said quietly and left.

AHEA Chapter 5: The Therapist

I'm sorry I missed a day, my friend came back from holiday yesterday and I was catching up with her. Anyway, here's the next part. Enjoy :)

Chapter 5: The Therapist

Anjili rushed into the reception, said her name and rushed into the room.

“You’re late.” Said a man in the suit who was holding a tablet.

“I know, I’m sorry. I do have a perfectly good explanation as to why I’m late.”

The man leaned forward in the chair he was sitting on. “Go on.”

“I told my family about the abortion and about me wanting to be independent.”

“This is good progress but you couldn’t have told them last night?”

“I lost my nerve last night. I wouldn’t have told them at all if my brother hadn’t started asking questions about why my doctors haven’t been contacting him recently.”

“Anjili, we talked about this.”

“I know but I was really nervous. I mean, how do you even tell them something like that?”

“We went over than for 2 hours.”

Anjili had run out of excuses. “Ok ok, I just didn’t want to tell them.”

“Anjili, they are your family and they care about you-”

“I know I know, I care about them too but this morning was just so hard and they want to talk more at dinner.”

“I’m very proud of you and I’m glad that you finally told them. I hope you didn’t pin the blame on Khushi?” he asked accusingly.

Anjili looked away. “I tried not to no matter how much I wanted to. I know that she is just as much of a victim as I am but I can’t help but hate her.”

“I know. And I know you wanted to blame her but didn’t and this is progress.”

“I’m moving out.”

The doctor frowned. “What? Anjili, I don’t think that’s wise.”

“Every time I see her face, I just want to break down and cry. I want to hit her. I want to destroy everything. And I know that if I don’t move out, sooner or later, I’m going to do something stupid that’s going to sever the relationship between me and my brother and I don’t want that.”

The doctor sighed. “I thought that we had worked through most of these issues.”

“I thought so too. But as soon as she came back from her honeymoon, all these feelings just crashed into me. I never had such dark thoughts in my head. I didn’t understand why she got to have everything when everything was taken away from me and I just wanted to crush her happiness. This week has been torture to me and I’m having to physically control myself from doing Khushiji any real harm. So I thought I should move out.”

“That’s a very mature decision that you’ve made.”

“Thank you. Now can we talk about something else?”

“Sure, I was meaning to talk to you about your limp.”

“I have it because of the polio I had when I was younger.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Excuse me.”

“Well I’ve been talking to your previous doctors and looking at you prescription and I’m afraid that your limp is purely psychological.”

AHEA Chapter 4: End Of Discussion

Thank you to everyone who commented and liked the last chapter. Enjoy :)

Chapter 4: End of Discussion

“Di if you felt this way why did you allow Arnavji and I to get married?” asked Khushi.

“Because I don’t trust Chote.”

“What?!” yelled Arnav.

“I was afraid that not giving consent to this marriage would make you do something stupid. I could see you becoming more sexually frustrated by the day and I didn’t want to comprise Khushiji’s honour.” The couple blushed. “I know that Khushiji would never allow you to do something like that outside marriage but I know Chote is a smooth talker and can make almost anyone do almost anything.”

“I would never Di.” Said Arnav.

“Really? You might’ve grabbed Khushiji and eloped and I just couldn’t risk that. Besides, one of us deserves to be happy and I know Khushiji makes you happy. Just because I was still getting over it doesn’t mean that you should have to stop everything for me. This is why I need to move out for a while, I promise I’ll be back soon.”

“I have an idea, Khushi and I will move out.” Suggested Arnav.

“No. I really just need to be by my self for a while to figure out everything. I promise to keep in touch and I’ll be back as soon as I get better.”

Arnav sighed and gave in. “If this is what you want.”

“It really is. I promise to be back tonight to discuss what ever Nani wants to discuss. I really have to run now because I’m super late for my appointment.”

Anjili ran up stairs, grabbed her bag and ran out the door. The family was still slightly shocked at the events that had unfolded at breakfast today. They all dispersed and went to do whatever they normally did but nothing would be normal again.

AHEA Chapter 3: Craving Normality

Thank you to all the people that liked and commented on the last chapter. I'm back from my short holiday and I will be updating everyday now. Enjoy :)

Chapter 3: Craving Normality

“Di-”

“Chote please. I don’t want to talk about this anymore especially since I have an appointment soon.” She got up to leave.

“Stop!” commanded Naniji. “You are not going to run away from this.”

Anjili stopped and turned around. “I’m not running away from this Nani, I have a doctor’s appointment.”

“Cancel it. The whole family is going to sit in the living room and sort this out right now.”

Anjili laughed. “You think we can just sort this out in one day?”

“Of course. We’re a close family and we should be able to get through this in one day and go back to how things were.”

Anjili looked at her grandmother in pity. She was obviously having a hard time with all of this. She didn’t seem to understand that things could never go back to how they were and you can’t just sort out something like this in one day.

“Nani, this appointment is with my therapist, I can’t cancel. How about we talk about this tonight?”

“Where are you going to be for lunch?” asked Arnav.

“I’m going apartment hunting.”

“What?!” was the collective response of the family.

“I need to be by my self for a while.”

“I don’t understand you Di. First you say we’re not there for you and now you’re pushing us away?”

“I never said that, in fact I said the opposite of that. And I’m not pushing you away, it’s just that it’s hard for me to stay in this house.”

“Why?”

Anjili looked slightly guilty. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s because of Khushiji.”

“What?” asked Khushi in surprise.

“This is all your fault Patti Saree!” burst out Mamiji.

“No mami. Look Khushiji, every time I see you I’m reminded of my husband and the lengths he went to obtain you. It just hurts seeing your face. I know it’s not your fault but I need to be on my own for a while to get over it.”

AHEA Chapter 2: Sibling Fights

As always, I want to thank all the people who liked and commented on the last part. I'm really sorry guys, I know I said I'd update everyday but I had a lot of family over the last 2 days so I wasn't able to touch the computer. Also I probably won't be able to update until Friday but I'll try my best to update. Enjoy :)

Chapter 2: Sibling Fights

“Why were you seeing a psychiatrist?” asked Akash.

Anjili looked down at the table before answering. “I’m not ready to share why with you yet.”

“Of course.” Said Arnav. “Why would you? I mean, you’ve become too independent that you don’t care about your family and their concerns for you.”

“Arnavji!” scolded Khushi.

“Is that what you think?” asked Anjili.

Arnav looked straight into her eyes. “That’s what I know.”

“You know nothing!” yelled Anjili. “You have no idea how hard these few months have been for me. I found out that I was pregnant by my husband, the one person I loved more than anything else in the world. I also found out that he only married me for my money and status. I found out that he is a criminal and that he is in love with the person my brother loved.”

“I do know how you felt!” retorted Arnav. “I was the one who found out first and I felt just as betrayed.”

“No you didn’t because you didn’t love him as much as I did. You didn’t spend ever moment thinking about him and cherishing him. And you certainly weren’t carrying his baby. Plus even if you did feel betrayed, you dealt with it. You coped because you’re ‘the mighty ASR’. I couldn’t cope because you people have kept me wrapped in cotton my whole life. You made me believe that I lived in a strange fairytale world where no evil existed and where everyone wore traditional Indian cloths 24/7. I mean it’s really uncomfortable to sleep in a saree.”

“We did that to protect you.”

“And in doing so, you screwed me over harder. I got knocked out of my fantasy world and into reality and I didn’t know how to cope. I thought there might be a logical explanation and that’s why I asked NK to take me to the police station. But all that did was make sure I was out of my own world and into reality for good.”

“Di-”

“No. I may be disabled but I don’t need constant care. I know you were only doing this because of what happened to mum and dad but you should’ve stopped years ago and let me be a woman and not a princess. I’m tired of spending the entire day in the house, praying and planning prayers. I understand why Shyam found Khushiji much more interesting than me. It’s time I go out into the real world.”

AHEA Chapter 1: Q & A

Thank you guys for commenting and liking the prologue. Here's the next part. Enjoy :)

 

 

Chapter 1: Q & A

 

Everyone but Anjili stopped eating their breakfast and stared in Anjili’s direction. They couldn’t tell whether she was being serious or she was just joking.

 

“Are you being serious Di?” asked Arnav.

 

“Why would I joke about something like that Chote?” she replied.

 

Everyone looked at her in despair and Naniji burst out crying.

 

“When?” growled Arnav.

 

“I don’t know.” Shrugged Anjili. “About a week or two after I went to visit Shyam in prison.”

 

They all gawked at her and her ability to talk about something like this as if it were a conversation about the weather. They had all thought that she was fine. She was acting so independent that they all just left her to it. When ever they asked her if she required something, she would decline their help. They had agreed not to suffocate her or treat her like a child but no one could have predicted what she would do.

 

“Why?” asked Arnav in a broken voice while Payal tried to calm Naniji down.

 

“Because I didn’t want to bring a child into this world who shared his genes.”

 

They all knew who she was talking about.

 

“That baby was part Raizada!” protested Arnav.

 

“It was also part Jha.”

 

“Di-”

 

“Chote, you don’t understand and you never will. I will explain everything to you and the family once you’ve all calmed down and tried looking at things from my perspective.”

 

“But Di, you’ve been going to the doctors regularly.” Said Akash. “If it wasn’t for pregnancy check ups, what were you going there for?”

 

Anjili took a deep breath before she replied. “I was seeing a psychiatrist.”

After Happily Ever After: Prologue

Hi guys, I'm back with the sequel to In Another Life. This story is going to focus purely on Anjili so there will be very little ArHi moments if any at all. This story will be filled with sensitive topics and stuff so if you don't like it, simply don't read it. If you haven't read In Another Life yet, I suggest you go and read it to make sense of this story. This is also going to be a short story in terms of the length of the chapters and I will post everyday. Remember this story is focused on Anjili not ArHi. Enjoy :)

Disclaimer: I don't own IPKKND or it's characters. However I do own this story line.

Prologue

It had been a month since Arnav and Khushi had gotten married and a week since they had come back from their honeymoon. Everything was going well for the Raizada family. Khushi’s catering business was flourishing, AR’s stocks were going through the roof and Anjili had decided to go back to college. Generally everyone in the family was doing well but they all had a feeling that something was off and they couldn’t put their finger on it.

Finally one day, Arnav figured it out. He was coming down the stairs for breakfast when the thought suddenly occurred to him. He sat down next to Khushi before he voiced his thoughts.

“Di, your doctor hasn’t contacted me in a long time. Do you have any idea why?”

Anjili finished chewing before she answered. “That’s because I told them not to.”

Arnav frowned. “Why would you do that?”

“Because it’s none of your business. Besides, if something was seriously wrong, I’d tell you myself.”

“How can you say it’s none of my business? I am your brother.”

“Doctor patient privilege. Plus I’m older than you so it is none of your business.”

Arnav was going to continue arguing if it hadn’t been for Khushi kicking him lightly under the table.

“Leave it, Arnavji.” She whispered to him.

Arnav continued to eat his breakfast as he silently fumed. Naniji decided to step in and defuse the tension.

“But you’re ok na betya?” she asked Anjili.

“Ji Nani.”

“See Chote, she’s fine. And the baby?”

Anjili knew this day was coming, she had known for a few months now. She was just surprised at how long it had taken her family to realise. But then again, everybody was so involved in their own lives that they had forgotten her. Even though she wore jeans, dresses and t-shirts that only accentuated her flat stomach, her family hadn’t noticed that she didn’t have a bump even though she was meant to be 7 months pregnant.

“There is no baby Nani.” She replied coolly.

“What are you talking about Anjili?” Nani said with concern.

“I had an abortion.”