Connected: A YHM Story (COMPLETED) - Page 10

Pls update the next one soonish 

Interesting part...

I am waiting for Ishita reaction.. continue soon..

Waiting

Hey guys, I've put this story on Wattpad. Please check it out there. My ID is _Twilight_Rain_ and the story is called "Connected: A YHM Story." I'll try to update on IF and Wattpad both. Here's the link to my story. Check it out and spread the word.

https://www.wattpad.com/story/248670098-connected-a-yhm-story 

Part 9a

“Ruhi’s mother? Sha...Shagun? Aur Ashok… Yeh sab… Aur court case?? What does this mean?” Ishita was aghast. How many times did she have to go through such pain before fate would have mercy on her? Raman had agreed to share custody, but now two more people are here claiming her child?

“Aise kaise Ruhi ka case court jaa sakta hai? I’m legally her mother! Aur aap ki responsibility hai saara paperwork process karne ki. Maine apni taraf se sab kuch thik se kiya tha. To aisa kya hua ki ab uska custody case khulega?” Ishita went on rambling with her questions without even giving Mr. Yadav a chance to speak. 

Raman, on the other hand, had simply gone speechless. It was as if history were repeating itself. That woman and his ex-boss had again swooped into his life to snatch the life away. His child was again to be fought over in court, first Adi and now Ruhi. 

Mr. Yadav somehow managed to find his voice and asked Ishita to let him speak.

“Dr. Iyer, Mr. Bhalla, please give me a chance to speak. I’ll explain everything. Dr. Iyer, four months ago, right after you took Ruhi home, I filed the last of the paperwork and I was convinced that the board would process it and you’ll legally become Ruhi’s mother. But unfortunately, the processing of the papers was stopped without my knowledge or permission. Apparently, this Mr. Ashok Khanna that I speak of pulled some strings and interfered with the process. I suspect that he has bribed the superior officials on this case.”

That damned Ashok Khanna, Raman thought. He should have known. There was no way that crooked wicked man would have stayed put after what happened in Mumbai. 

“So what does this mean?” Ishita was still trying to wrap her head around this diabolical turn of events. 

“Unfortunately, without those papers being processed, it means that you are not Ruhi’s legal guardian Dr. Iyer. And because her biological parents are divorced and there is no custody agreement in place, it means that she technically doesn’t have any legal guardian according to the system. But there are about three parties claiming her custody -- you both, and then Shagun and Ashok. So her case has to go to Delhi’s civil court.”

Ishita was flabbergasted. “What do you mean I’m not her legal guardian? I have all the paperwork right here! Ruhi has been living with me for four months now! No one knows her like I do. And if the mistake was on your side, why do I have to suffer?!”

“Dr. Iyer, I’m so sorry. I cannot imagine what you’re going through. But even I just found out today. Trust me, I tried my best to make sure Ruhi would stay with you, but there were under-the-table payments made to the superior officials which I couldn’t fight against.”

“But…”

This time Raman stopped Ishita. “Rehne do Ishita. Main is Ashok Khanna ko acchi tarah se jaanta hoon. He uses his contacts and money to bribe people and twist the situation to the way he wants it to be. There’s no use in yelling at Mr. Yadav.” After all, Ashok Khanna had done this five years ago when he snatched away Raman’s family. 

He spoke up again after a momentary pause, so as not to get sucked into the hellhole of his past. “I’ll call my lawyer, Neil Pathak. He’s the best in the city. I’m sure he’ll fix this.”

Raman reached inside his pocket to dial Pathak’s number but Mr. Yadav stopped him. “It’s not going to be of any use, Mr. Bhalla. Even the best lawyer in the country can’t do anything right now. It’s best if you focus on the next step right now.”

“And what is the next step?”

“The court is setting a preliminary date to discuss the situation at hand with all the parties, before the actual hearing. Both of you will need to show up with your lawyer to face Shagun Arora and Ashok Khanna. In the presence of both your and their lawyer and a jury member, either you can do an out-of-court settlement or decide to fight for Ruhi’s custody. Basically, the details of the custody case will be finalized there before actually showing up in court in front of the judge.”

Mr. Yadav continued to apologize profusely to Raman and Ishita but neither was in the mood for pleasantries. They were yet to comprehend the dire circumstances that had formed. 

Raman stopped Mr. Yadav in the middle of his words and left the room abruptly. He called Pathak and asked him to be in his office as soon as he could. When Raman had almost reached his car, Ishita’s incessant voice kept calling out to him which was now getting hard to ignore. 

“Raman! Raman, ruko!”

He gave out an audible sigh and vented his frustration out on her. “Kya hai tumhari problem?! Pata hai tumhari aawaaz chubhti hai kaano mein! Itna shor kyun machaa rakha hai?!”

However, he was met with just as much backlash from his opponent. “Mujhe bhi koi shauk nahi hai aapse ulajhne ka! Lekin ab jab yeh problem aayi hai, to humein saath milke iska solution dhundhna hoga na? Ruhi ka case court jaayega, to isse situation kitni complicate ho jaati hai? Hum kya karenge? Aur Ruhi ko kya kahenge…”

“Nahi! Ruhi ko tum kuch mat kehna! Dekho, maine apne lawyer ko apne office bulaya hai, is puri situation ko handle karne ke liye. Tum bhi saath chalo to hum milke iska hal dhoondenge.”

“Maine bataya to tha, mujhe ab clinic jaana hai. Aap ek kaam karo, apne lawyer ke saath meeting kar lo aur phir shaam ko mujhse saare details discuss kar lena. Ok?”

“Fine. Jaisi tumhari marzi.” And with that Raman got into his car and sped off. Ishita turned on her heel and left for her clinic as well. Ruhi’s custody case had to be dealt with but right now, her shift was about to begin and her patients’ smiles awaited her. 

Bhalla/Iyer Residence - 8:30 pm

“Papa, aap mere saath kheloge? Papa, papa!” Ruhi shook her father’s shoulder who was seated on the couch of his bedroom lost in thought. 

“Huh, Ruhi? Tum kab aayi? Sone nahi gayi abhi tak?”

“Nahi papa, Ishimaa kehti hain khaane ke baad directly nahi sona chahiye. Aur maine abhi dadi ke haath ke chole bhature khaaye na, bahot yummy the! Papa, chalo na, mujhe aap ke saath khelna hai. Main aapko apni dolls dikhaungi. Chalo!” Ruhi insisted as she pulled on Raman’s hand trying to get him to stand up.

“Nahi Ruhi, aap jaake bua ya chachu ke saath khelo. Ya phir aapke grandparents ke saath.”

“Nahi papa! Mujhe aapke saath khelna hai!”

“Ruhi! Ek baar bola na nahi!” Raman yelled at his daughter. He instantly regretted his words when he saw Ruhi’s fallen face and her eyes welling up. Ishita heard him since she had entered the Bhalla house looking for Ruhi and she immediately rushed to his bedroom. 

“Raman, what’s wrong with you? Aise koi bacchi pe chillata hain kya?” Ishita protested. “Ruhi, idhar aao beta.” 

Ishita got down to her knees and caressed Ruhi’s face to sooth her. “Aap ne dinner kiya? Chole bhature acche lage?”

Ruhi simply nodded. 

“Accha aap na, abhi ghar jaao. Vandu periamma aayi hai Shravu ke saath. Aap unke saath khelo. Actually papa thode tension mein hai isiliye aap ke saath abhi nahi khel sakte.”

“Oh, sorry papa, maine aapko disturb kiya. Main jaati hoon Shravu ke paas.” said Ruhi before she skipped out of the room with her mother. 

“Ruhi wait…” Raman faltered as he tried to apologize to Ruhi but she was out of earshot before he could even form a sentence.

Once Ishita saw Ruhi out to her flat next door, she stomped back into Raman’s room to give him an earful. 

“Raman, how dare you speak to Ruhi like that?!”

“Listen, I was just angry so I blurted it out without thinking! But I was going to apologize to her, and I would have had you not come and herded her out of here! Is this what you’re trying to do? Make me look like the bad guy while you score points with her?”

“Are you even listening to yourself, Raman? Why would I do that? I only sent her away because you clearly are stressed and you were projecting your frustration onto her. Raman, you need to get a hold of yourself and your anger. We all have issues but the last thing we can do is vent out on a child.”

“I didn’t mean to, Ishita.”

“I know it wasn’t your intention but it’s the impact that matters. You know being a parent is a tricky job, you have to…”

“Arey ab bas bhi karo yaar. Samajh gaya main. Har baat pe lecture dena zaroori hai kya?”

“You are insufferable,” Ishita sighed.

“Tum sirf yaha mere dosh ginvaanne aayi thi kya?”

“Nahi, main aap se puchne aayi thi ki aapke lawyer ke saath aapki meeting thi na? Kya hua uska?”

“Oh yeah, that. Pathak ka kehna hai ki the case has to go to court. And it’s true, legally you don’t have any claim on Ruhi. We’ll get the notice for the preliminary hearing in a bit. Until then, it’s just hope and pray. He has started the legal research for our case though.”

“I see.” 

“Ishita..?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re awfully quiet.” Raman whispered.

“I should go Raman. Amma must be waiting for me.” Without another word, Ishita left the Bhalla house.

Raman slumped onto his couch and leaned on his back. Ishita was hurt and rightfully so. She had been the parent to Ruhi that neither of her biological parents could be, but some absurd paper (or lack thereof) meant that she didn’t have any right on her. He hesitated to imagine how furious she would have been had he revealed all of his conversation with Pathak.

Flashback…

“So there is really nothing we can do Pathak?”

“Not right now bhai, there is no paperwork in the system regarding Ruhi’s guardians. Things are further complicated by the fact that there are not two but three parties claiming custody: you, Ishita ji, and Shagun.”

“Shagun wants nothing to do with Ruhi. She left her at a bloody orphanage when she was a baby! This is all Ashok’s doing and she’s his accomplice. If neither of them have any emotional attachment to Ruhi then custody has to be granted to either Ishita or me, right? Surely the judge would see that? And our social worker can vouch for us too.”

“I see where you’re coming from Raman, but it’s not that simple. Shagun will probably exploit her right as a woman to have custody of her child. Between a biological father and biological mother, the judge is likely to be biased towards the mother. And Ishita’s involvement does not necessarily bode well for us. The court will only see that she is not biologically related to Ruhi, unlike Shagun. It makes objective decisions based on facts and evidence, not feelings and emotions. This is the harsh truth.”

“You just said that the court would be biased in favor of Shagun. That doesn’t sound like an objective decision to me.”

“Bhai, I’m speaking from years of my experience as a civil lawyer in this twisted system. But I’ve only studied the case for less than an hour. Until we get the notice for the preliminary hearing, I’ll do some more legal research and we’ll take it from there.”

“Do whatever you have to Pathak, but Shagun cannot get Ruhi’s custody. Not in any chance.”

Flashback ends.

Sorry for the long wait between updates. The semester is ending so I have assignments to submit and final exams are coming up soon. The next update will also take some time. I'll be back to giving regular updates around Christmas time, when I have winter break. Until then, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay blessed! 🤗

Superb update.....

Best of luck for ur exams

A very nice update please update next part soon to know what happens next 

Awesome update

Oh no poor ishita ashok is too disgusting raman shout at ruhi ishita scolded him he said sorry hope ishra will get ruhis Custody

Best of luck for ur exams

Loved the update

Waiting eagerly to know what happens next..

Continue soon

All the best for your exams..

Beautiful update. I love this story.Please post your next update soon. Cheers