Kaisey Yeh Rishtey - 31

Chapter 31

Khushi didn't wait for Akash to talk to Shivanya. As soon as she could, she called Shivanya over to meet her.

Shivanya was hesitant, defensive and inclined to be distrustful. "Why have you called me here?"

Khushi looked directly at her. "I haven't seen you around here for some time. Akash has finished his studies, he's got more free time now. I thought you would be around here more often, we'd see more of you, not less. I was wondering if anything is wrong."

"Ask him why that's so," Shivanya replied rudely. "Why are you asking me?"

"I've already asked him," Khushi said calmly, ignoring the younger girl's rudeness. "I want to know your answer too."

Shivanya looked angrily at her. "It's your fault, and you ask me the reason? You took Lavanya’s place, and now you expect me to be seen here? Am I welcome here any more? Do you want me here? I don't think so."

Khushi sighed. "Look, Shivanya," she said, evenly. "First of all, it's not true that you're not welcome here, at least it's not true that I don't welcome you here in this house. I always have, and I always will, as long as you care for Akash. If you remember, I was the one who called you over to help Akash with his work, his notes ... and I was happy when he went out with you and all his friends. He is happy with you, and Akash's happiness is important to me. So leave me out of this argument. The real question is your feelings, yours and Akash's."

"I don't believe you," replied Shivanya. Her tone was still belligerent, but mixed with some hesitancy. "You're here, aren't you? And Lavu di is not. You've taken her place. So why would you welcome me here? I'm her sister. You won't welcome me here. You won't welcome either of us. We'll never be wanted here because you will make sure of that.

"Who told you that?" countered Khushi. "Lavanya? or Akash? Or did you just think all this up in your own head? Because I know I have never tried to make you feel unwelcome here. On the contrary ... this family is important to me, the happiness of every member of this family matters to me. If Akash is happy with your ... friendship ... if it brings him out of the trauma of last year, I'm happy too. There's nothing I want more."

Shivanya looked down, and then back at Khushi.

"But Akash doesn't seem to think so," she said, hurt and sadness in her tone mixed with the still present anger. "He can't forget that Lavu and I are sisters. I admit Lavu di went away last year, and he is hurt by that ... but I'm not Lavu di. I came when you called me, I helped him as much as I could, I spent time with him ... but all that, it doesn't seem to matter to him now. I'm Lavu di's sister, and that's all that matters." 

Khushi looked sympathetically at the younger girl.

"So that's why he's pushing you away? You know that?"

Shivanya nodded miserably. 

"He told me. He told me that Lavu di had left Arnav bhai last year and gone away. I knew that, of course, but I didn't know Arnav bhai had asked her to stay. Neither did Akash ... then. He knows now ... and he can't forgive di for that. Neither can he forgive me."

Khushi smiled ironically. "First Akash pushed me away, because he loved you, and Lavanya is your sister. Now he's pushing you away, because he cares for me, and you're Lavanya's sister! Strange, isn't it? The way life has a habit of turning us on it's head?"

Shivanya turned away and Khushi couldn’t read her face. "If you know the reason, why are you asking me?" Her tone was belligerent, but the underlying hurt in it was clear.

Khushi turned her around and looked at her firmly. “Shivi ...  can I call you that? Shivi, I don’t want to interfere between you and Akash. I just wanted to say this – if it matters to you, don’t give up. It mattered to me what Akash felt for me, it mattered to me that he should not hate me, so I fought to win his love, his respect. I'm just his sister-in-law! if I'm not mistaken, you want to be much more. You care for him, you love him! If you love him enough, why are you not fighting to win him over? It's not difficult for a woman to win over the man she loves, when he already cares for her. You have to try, you can't just give up."

She turned away.

"That is, of course," she added, "If you want him enough, if you love him enough. That’s your call, Shivi. Think about it.”

Shivi stared at her dumbly. Khushi looked at her seriously.

"You've seen how your sister lost the man she loved. Maybe she didn't love him enough, or maybe her love was not strong enough to accept the rough with the smooth. And there was a lot of rough in his life at that time. The question is, is your love deep enough, strong enough? To accept Akash the way he is, the ups and the downs?"

She half turned away from Shivi.

"I hope it is, Shivi, because he does love you. He’s upset, he feels betrayed because of your sister and what she did to Arnav, and he’s scared because he thinks you might be the same. But he still cares for you. Love is not something you can switch off and on. He really doesn’t want to lose you."

Shivi looked at her, speechless. After some time, she managed to say, in a low voice. "And you don't mind that? You would accept me? Arnav would accept me?"

I won't be here much longer to mind or not, thought Khushi forlornly, and the thought brought a lump to her throat. She swallowed hard, and looked at Shivi again.

"It's not me or Arnav who matter," she said, firmly. "It's you and Akash, and your feelings for each other. If you love him enough, if we all see that he's happy with you, why should we mind that? Why should we not welcome you?"

Shivi spoke one word. "Lavanya."

Khushi sighed and looked at her. "Shivi, can't you understand? This is between you and Akash. Not Lavanya. Not me. Not Arnav. Just you and Akash. Think about it."

She turned and left the room.