Connected: A YHM Story (COMPLETED) - Page 10

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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

Part 9b

“Come on Mihir! Spill the beans already!”

Rinki’s booming voice distracted Raman from the crisis looming over his head. He went to the living room to see for himself what the ruckus was about.

“No Rinki! Get off my back!”

“Kya yaar Mihir, hum sabko pata hai teri koi girlfriend hai. Jab se Delhi aaya hai tab se kisi ladki ko date kar raha hai, haina?” Romi chimed in. “Ab bata bhi de na. Kaun hai woh jisne mere bhai ke dil ki ghanti baja di?”

“Romi bola na yaar! Aisa kuch nahi hai!”

“Kya ho raha hai yaha?” Raman inquired.

“Kuch nahi bhai,” Mihir quickly answered while gesturing to Romi and Rinki to shut up who had been sniggering ceaselessly.

“Mihir, tera bada bhai hoon. Mujhe bhi acche se pata hai tu kisi ladki ke pyaar mein hai. Ab seedhe seedhe bata, kaun hai woh? Aur tum dono kaise mile? Kahan ki hai woh?”

Mihir sighed. There was no way he could say no to Raman. “All right everyone, listen up. Main sirf itna bolunga ki main use online mila tha jab main Mumbai mein tha. Woh yahi Delhi mein rehti hai par originally Chennai ki hai. Isse zyada main kuch nahi bata sakta. Main bhi use itni acchi tarah se nahi jaanta. We’ve only been on a few dates in the past few weeks. I’ll introduce you all to her when we’re ready.”

“Chennai ki hai woh? Matlab Madrasi hai? Just pray that she’s nothing like Ishita. Varna tera jeena haraam kardegi.”

“Kya bhai. Vaise, main sirf yahan par aap ko yeh file dene aaya tha. Yeh lijiye. Main chalta hoon ab, ghar jaana hai.” Mihir quickly deposited the file into Raman’s hand and escaped the list of questions that awaited him otherwise.

Raman retreated into his bedroom once again and sat at his study table to review the file that Mihir had brought. But all his focus remained on Ruhi’s upcoming custody trial. He could tell this was going to be a long, arduous battle as he recalled the turmoil he had been through during Adi’s custody trial. He was all too familiar now with his vicious ex-wife’s ploys.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

“Ishu come here na,” Vandu beckoned Ishita who was cleaning up after Ruhi and Shravu’s toys.

“Ha, bolo akka.”

“Yeh Mihika ka kya chakkar hai? Pichle kuch dino se dekh rahi hoon, she’s being quite secretive. Is everything okay?”

“Akka,” Ishita lowered her voice and put her arm around Vandu’s shoulder, “I think she’s got a boyfriend.”

“WHAT?!”

“Shhh, puri society ko batana hai kya? Thoda dhire bolo na!”

“Mihika has a boyfriend and she didn’t tell us! Tune bhi nahi bataya mujhe!”

“Akka, main confirm to nahi kar sakti. Usne mujhe kuch directly nahi bataya. Yeh to sirf mera shak hai. Aaj kal use jab bhi bahar jaana hota hai to extra taiyyar hoke jaati hai. Aur apna phone bhi itna chupa kar rakhti hain.”

“Ruk ja, use hi puchte hain. Chal mere saath.”

Vandu dragged Ishita into her bedroom after a quick glance at the children who were busy playing with their Tata and Paati.

“Mihika, are you seeing someone?” Vandu asked bluntly.

“Way to soften the blow, Akka,” Ishita said matter-of-factly.

Mihika -- who was shocked beyond belief -- set her laptop down on the side table and stood up from the bed to face her sisters.

“Seedhe seedhe bol Miku, are you seeing someone?”

“Vandu akka, aisa kuch nahi hai. Kya aap bhi! Ishu akka, kuch samjaao inhe.”

“No Mihika, I’m with Akka on this one. I’ve been noticing for weeks now. You do have a boyfriend, don’t you?”

“Ishu akka, not you too?!”

“Come on Miku, bata na yaar. Pleeeeaseee?”

Mihika had been cornered by her sisters and she saw no escape. But she wasn’t ready for full disclosure yet either.

“Ok, I do have a boyfriend,” she admitted and plopped down on her bed as she hid her face in a pillow. Ishita and Vandita took a spot on either side of her.

“See! I knew it!” Ishita exclaimed. “Kaun hai woh, Miku? Bata na.”

Vandu pulled the pillow out of Mihika’s hands and teased her further adding to her plight. “Oh my god, look Ishu! Hamari gundi behen sharma rahi hai! Ab to mujhe bhi milna hai is ladke se, jisne humari behen ki yeh haalat kar di.”

“Kya aap dono! Mujhe kitna pareshaan karte ho. Main abhi uske baare mein kuch nahi bata sakti. Pehle hum dono humare relationship ko samaj lein, uske baad we’ll make it public.”

“Thik hai, aur kuch nahi to kam se kam uska naam to bata dein,” Vandu prodded.

“Nahi, abhi nahi.”

“To phir itna to bata ki woh kahan ka hai? Is he Tamilian?”

“Nahi, Tamilian nahi hai. Punjabi hai.”

“Aiyoo Miku!” Vandu facepalmed at her sister’s choice. “Punjabi? Yaani un Bhallas ki tarah? You couldn’t find a nice Tamilian boy for yourself, huh?”

“Murugan, please meri behen ki raksha karna. Bas yeh Punjabi ladka jaisa bhi ho, Raman jaisa na ho,” Ishita interjected as he folded her hands and sent a prayer to the skies above.

“Enough you too! Humesha mujhe hi aise chidhaate rehte hai sab. Aur Vandu akka, aap ko der nahi ho rahi hai kya? Shravu ko leke ghar nahi jaana? Jeeju must be waiting. Chalo, aap nikalo.” Mihika forced Vandu up and gave her a slight push out of the bedroom, with Ishita closely following behind.

“Wah beta, ab hum tujhe chidha rahe hain to hume room se hi bahar kiya jaa raha hain. Yaad hai, tune mujhe aur Bala ko kitna tease kiya tha? Aur Ishu aur Subbu ko bhi to…”

The fun atmosphere immediately turned sour as Ishita’s laugh faded away, and Mihika and Vandu exchanged concerned looks.

“Sorry Ishu, I didn’t mean to…”

Ishita cut off Vandu mid-sentence. “Arey, koi baat nahi Akka. Don’t worry. I’m fine.” Truth be told, she didn’t know if she really was fine. She hadn’t thought about Subbu in a long time and she avoided dwelling on him if he ever did cross her mind. But now that he was mentioned aloud again, her heart pinched. However, she didn’t have the privilege to dwell on her sorrows. Her family was around her and she needed to stay strong for them. Or rather, hide her pain from them. Regardless of whether she had truly healed or not.

“Vaise, I really should be going. Shravu! Shravu, chalo! Ghar jaana hai!” Vandu called out to her son and stepped out into the living room. She poked her head back into the bedroom one last time before leaving. “Mihika, I better be the first one to hear about this guy when you’re ready to talk about him.”

“I promise akka. Whenever I am ready, you and Ishu akka will be the first ones to know.”

“I’m gonna hold you to that.”

Ishita followed Vandu outside to see her and Shravu off to their car. Once she returned, she called out to Ruhi to brush her teeth and change her clothes for bedtime. Soon, she settled on the bed and Ruhi climbed in and cuddled close to her mother.

“Ruhi, bolo aaj kaunsi story sunao main aapko? What about Cinderella? Ya phir Goldilocks?”

“Ishimaa, papa mujhse naaraz hai kya?”

Ruhi’s innocent question both surprised and concerned Ishita.

“Nahi betu, papa aap se naaraz kyun honge?”

“Aaj unhone mujhpe chillaya na, isiliye.”

“Baby, papa thode se pareshaan the na, isiliye unhone shout kiya. Par usme aap ki koi galti nahi hai, ok? Aap khud ko blame mat karo, thik hai? Papa aapse bahot love karte hain.”

“Agar love karte hain to phir aap ki tarah dikhaate kyun nahi? Woh mere khelte bhi nahi hai aur mujhse zyada baat bhi nahi karte. Jaise Tata, Pati, Dadu, Dadi karte hain.”

“Aap ke papa abhi Mumbai se move ho rahe hai na? Unka business or office relocate karna hai, isiliye woh apne kaam mein bahot busy hai. Aur har koi alag tarah se love dikhata hain. Papa bhi dikhayenge. Aap is sab ke baare mein mat socho. Mujhe yeh batao aap kaunsi story sunoge?”

“Woh glass slipper wali.”

“Cinderella wali? Ok then.”

Ishita began narrating the story of Cinderella and Prince Charming which slowly put Ruhi into a deep slumber. Ishita pulled the covers over her daughter and straightened her back to release her hair that Ruhi had been playing with. Her brief journey to the land of fairytales with her daughter seemed to make her forget the court case looming over her head, but her worries had now returned. Although she had refused to give an outright reaction earlier in front of Raman, the truth was that his words angered her to end. What did that lawyer say? That she, the only parent Ruhi ever knew, had no valid claim on her! How could that be possible? One damn paper. One damn paper was all it took to negate her and Ruhi’s relationship. The thought itself made her eyes well up with wet anger, but she forced herself to blink her tears away. All was not lost yet. Their lawyer had yet to finish the legal research. Their social worker had seen Ruhi’s bond with her and would vouch for her. Maybe the case could be settled out of court. After all, Raman had agreed to share custody with her. Perhaps they could strike a similar deal with Shagun and her boyfriend too. There was still hope, Ishita thought. And that meant that she couldn’t shed tears.

But alas, unlike Raman Bhalla, Ishita Iyer was not aware of the perils that Shagun Arora brought with her. Nevertheless, she was close to discovering them, be it for the better or worse.

Amazing update

Haha mihir got caught of having girlfriend but he didn't reviled about her that much just she is south Indian raman said she should not be like ishita or he will have hard time he got worried for ruhis Custody other side mihika was also caught hehe vandu and ishita are awesome especially vandu mihika just revealed he is punjabi ishita prayed he should be like raman ishru scene was beautiful omg poor ishita don't know how cunning shagun is hope ishra will get ruhis Custody

Pls update soon