Page 117 of Since the Night We Met
‘Kartik is a thorough opportunist. Given all the time they spent filming the project, he became friends with her. He trickedher by telling her a sob story about his struggling family, about his sick mother, and how he worked night shifts to cover bills for his young cousins,’ said Mihit.
Her hand trembled as she handed the polaroid to Mihit, and she said, ‘He played his helplessness so well, even I almost bought it. But there were rumours floating around how Kartik was gloating among his friends about trapping a rich girl. We told her about it, and we were shocked when she said she could fix him and confessed they were dating.’
‘It started slowly. She began skipping on our decade-long weekend family dinners and cancelled our plans with last-minute excuses. Soon, we caught on that Kartik didn’t like her spending time with us. He was isolating her in such a sneaky way that she didn’t even realise it.’
‘We decided to confront him directly out of concern for her, but he twisted it into how we were trying to sabotage their relationship. He accused Mihit of wanting Arohi to be his, even though we were engaged by then, and we thought she’d set him straight.’
‘She came to me the next day to tell me that she didn’t wish to be a third wheel with us anymore. She told me how she saw my true face, and accused me of being jealous of her. I’d known Roohi since we were in diapers, but the woman who sat in front of me didn’t look like my friend anymore. She was angry, spewing Kartik’s poisonous words, completely under his spell.’
Her angry composure cracked enough for Siya to see the grieving friend underneath.
‘I lost my cool and we both said hurtful, bitter things to each other, and cut off ties. I was angry and hurt, and told myself it was her choice to leave us, but I thought she’d figure it outand come back. Oh god, I regret it more than anything, because things went to hell after that.’
‘Kartik finally had her all to himself with us out of the way, and then he twisted her trust into a trap for her. He’d been pushing her to get intimate for a while, questioning her commitment to him every time she said no. He must have convinced her because a few months later, we heard from our parents that they’d eloped because Arohi was pregnant.’
‘Within a day, your father dropped his original name and became Kartik Kashyap. He joined the company as CEO which was initially intended for Roohi. She’d been preparing with workshops and foreign gem certifications for years to become fit for the role, and your father stole it from her. The tragedy was that she lost the child, and by then, she was already trapped in the marriage. She vanished into his shadow, and he stepped into her world like he’d built it himself.’
Siya flinched, and rage roared beneath her skin. ‘Why didn’t she leave him?’Why didn’t she save herself?
‘I thought she was entirely under his mercy, until one night when Roohi finally called me. She told me she found out Kartik had an illegitimate son from an affair he'd had while she was pregnant with Kashvi. When she confronted him about it, he physically abused her and threatened to harm both of you to keep her silent. She was crying as she told me she won’t let her daughters suffer a life like that.’
Tears stung her eyes as Siya fisted her palm, digging her nails into the soft flesh. The pain shot up and suppressed the sob that was threatening to burst out of her.
‘I’d never heard her cry like that and told her to come over right away, but she said she’ll come the next day because she hadto take care of everything. The next afternoon, she told me on the call how she had updated her will and sent it to her personal lawyer.’
‘Did she tell you what she changed in it?’
Neena shook her head. ‘We didn’t talk for long. She was busy packing in a rush, so she could leave before Kartik came home. She didn’t want him to find out about the change in the will until she served him with divorce papers so she told me to call our family lawyer home. Roohi told me she was on her way, and disconnected the call. That… that was the last time I heard from her because half an hour later, she passed away in that fatal crash.’
Siya closed her eyes, and bowed her head. Her shoulder shook lightly as she cried silently. Her mother had finally taken a stand for herself, and never got the chance to see it through.
‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?’ Siya demanded through gritted teeth.
Neena stole her gaze, but couldn’t hide her shame. ‘Because I saw you as Kartik’s daughter. Every time we were in the same room with Kartik, we’d hear him complain about how you’re a demanding, spoiled brat who abused her privileges. And though we thought we’d never fall for his lies again, we fell into his trap and assumed you’d taken after him with no trace of Roohi in you.’
Mihit nodded, his shoulder hunched in defeat. ‘That dinner made us realise just how much you’ve suffered emotionally and mentally under his care, and we saw our mistake. That’s why we’ve been reaching out, to apologise to you. You’ve been fighting in your own way, and we let our grief and prejudiceblind us to it. You deserved better than that. We don’t expect you to forgive us but we want you to know that we’re sorry, beta.’
Siya didn’t deserve their apology. She realised with a sharp pull in her chest that she had been doing the same to their son. Once she knew his identity, all she saw him as was a rival, someone to compete with, someone to shield against, not the man who loved her. The shame of every assumption she’d made sat heavy in her gut.
‘I do understand, because until recently, I believed my father’s versions too,’ she admitted, her throat dry.
‘It’s not easy to unlearn what we’ve been taught.’
‘Wait, what did you mean yesterday when you said Dad didn’t let you see me?’
Neena shook her head insistently, and leaned forward. ‘We knew both you and Kashvi had been with her in the car, even though he kept that fact out of the media. When we found out where you were hospitalised, we tried to see you, but Kartik had the power to approve visitors and he declined our every request. He even blacklisted us from Roohi’s funeral, not allowing us to pay respects to our friend one last time.’
‘Is that why you started this rivalry with him?’
Mihit scoffed. ‘We didn’t do anything. After Arohi passed away, Kartik came into full power and used every resource to come after us. He undercut our every deal, stole our long-term merchants and waged a smear campaign with cheap rumours about our family. We recognised his revenge, and retaliated in kind, but we didn’t start this.’
Siya looked down, a lump forming painfully in her throat.Oh god, just how many lies has he told me?She’d dedicated herlife to proving herself to someone who was not only cruel as a father, he was also a horrible human being.
Neena cleared her throat and took back the polaroid from Mihit. ‘Siya, may I ask you for something?’
She nodded. ‘Yes, of course.’
‘Would you be open to letting me have the emerald star pendant from her personal jewellery she’d left with the will? She originally made it for me, and… I’d returned it to her when we fought. I’ve regretted it every day since.’
