Part 24
“Mr. Raman Bhalla and Mrs. Ishita Bhalla are hereby summoned to Delhi Civil Court on September 14th at 10:15 am for the permanent custody hearing of Ruhi Bhalla…”
Ishita’s words trailed off as the gravity of the situation set in. Ruhi’s trial at court. Her final hearing. The thought itself brought feelings of separation and despair from her temporary hearing. But this time she was more hopeful. She was married to Ruhi’s biological father. The court had given Raman her custody last time and asked him to prove that he could take care of her. Ishita had seen first handedly how he had changed his ways and proven beyond doubt that he was a good parent. And now, she was married to him too. That had to be another plus point. But like any mother, how could she explain to her heart what her brain already knew?
Raman, on the other hand, was less hopeful. He was a lot more critical of himself than Ishita and probably didn’t see how much he had changed for his daughter. He also recognized that this was an opportunity for Shagun and Ashok to do something against him and his family. He would never rest easy when it came to those two. But he held onto hope nonetheless, for this time, he had the element of surprise. Shagun and Ashok didn’t know that he had gotten married to Ishita. They couldn’t plan around that.
Meanwhile, Ruhi stirred in Raman’s arms and almost woke up. He quickly lulled her back to sleep and tucked her in her bed. Ishita took their luggage to their room. When Raman came back he found Ishita seated on her couch, staring at the letter.
“Ishita, staring at the letter won’t help,” he remarked. He tried being casual but his anxiety wasn’t hidden.
“I wasn’t staring, I was just lost in thought.”
“What thoughts?”
“I was thinking that our chances to win are really high.”
“What makes you say that?” Raman sat on the edge of his bed and faced Ishita.
“Well, first of all, the judge has no reason to side with Ashok and Shagun. My testimony in the last hearing cleared her false pretences. Plus, they haven’t had any interaction with Ruhi in the past three months. You’d think that if Shagun really wanted to be close to her daughter, then she’d have come to meet her sometime, right?”
“You don’t know these people. They can stoop to levels we can’t even imagine. They could pull any twist in court. Besides, the judge wasn’t sold on giving me permanent custody either. Don’t you remember all the doubts she raised?”
“All her doubts are moot now. Your temper, drinking, distance, obsession with work, everything is in control. You are as close to Ruhi as I am. If asked, she would choose to stay with us any day.”
“You’re right. Ruhi would choose us, wouldn’t she? After all, you’re part of the picture now. The judge can be biased against me and towards Shagun with her poor single mother act, but she can’t dismiss you.”
“She can’t dismiss you either, Raman. Give yourself credit for the progress you’ve made.”
How could he credit himself, Raman thought. It was his fault they were in this mess in the first place. The only reason the judge hadn’t awarded permanent custody was because she wasn’t sure of his ability to be a parent. He laid his head in his palms and rubbed his temple.
“Raman? Are you okay?” Ishita asked. This was the first time she had seen Raman be more anxious and nervous than her. Usually, she was the one to get fidgety when it came to Ruhi’s custody.
“I’m fine. We should go to bed. We’ll have to meet Pathak tomorrow and get all our documents sorted.”
Raman ended the conversation, took his night clothes from the cupboard and went into the bathroom to change, leaving Ishita on the couch growing more worried seeing Raman’s anxiety.
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Khanna Mansion - Monday, September 3rd, 9 am
“You stupid woman!” Ashok screamed. “How could you not have kept up with Ruhi?! How do you expect us to win the permanent custody trial?”
“What the hell do you want from me, Ashok?” Shagun yelled back. “You were the one who forced me to leave Ruhi in the orphanage. Why are you so hell-bent on getting her back now? Aren’t we better off without having to fuss over that rugrat?!”
“Come on sweetheart, I thought you liked making your ex-husband miserable.”
“I’d rather not speak to him again. You’re the one obsessed with him, not me.”
“Call it what you want, but I won’t rest without taking Ruhi from him. First his wife, then his son, and now his daughter. The man will be devastated…” Ashok led out a sadist laugh.
Shagun sighed and sauntered off. There were times like these when she hated Ashok but the other times when he showered her with expensive gifts and jewelry outweighed them. Meanwhile, a vindictive Ashok cooked up a plan to make sure he would get Ruhi’s custody.
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Judge Bakshi’s office - later that day
Ashok sat with his right leg over his left knee in front of the judge, who sat straight in her chair facing her guest. The crooked smile on his face unnerved the judge, but she maintained her decorum.
“How can I help you, Mr. Khanna?” she asked.
“I heard your daughter was beginning college, Ms. Bakshi. She must’ve grown up so quickly.”
Meeta Bakshi’s eyes widened. How could this man know of her daughter? Surely, he must have powerful resources.
“I don’t see how my daughter is any of your concern.”
“You know, I’ve heard college fees are not cheap. How much do you earn as a civil court judge? Our judiciary system is a mess, so it might not be enough though.”
“Cut to the chase, Mr. Khanna. What do you want?” Bakshi was losing her patience.
Ashok shifted his position to remove a piece of paper from his pocket and leaned forward. He slid the paper across the table to Bakshi.
“You must be aware that Ruhi Bhalla’s custody case is coming up. You help me out and I can help you too.”
Bakshi picked up the paper. It was a blank check. This would truly solve all her problems. Her daughter indeed needed money for her post-secondary education. Ashok could see that the judge was tempted.
“Don’t think too much, Ms. Bakshi. Like I said, we’ll just help each other out. I’ll see you in court.”
Ashok Khanna walked out the door with his chest puffed and nose in the air, while judge Meeta Bakshi slipped the check into her cabinet drawer.
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“I hereby grant permanent custody of minor Ruhi Bhalla to her biological mother, Shagun Arora!”
Judge Bakshi striked her gavel and Ishita heard her entire life collapse. This could not happen. Ruhi belonged with her. She couldn’t go to Shagun. No, no, no, no, she thought. Except she wasn’t thinking. She was screaming. With all the force in her lungs, she screamed, “NO! NO! RUHI CAN’T GO TO SHAGUN! SHE BELONGS WITH ME! NO! NO!” But her screams went unheard as the judge walked away and Shagun towered over her.
“You lose Isheeta. Ruhi is all mine…” Shagun announced, and her laughs kept ringing in Ishita’s ears. She kept on screaming.
“Ishita! Ishita! Stop it! Calm down! Stop screaming!” It was Raman’s voice, but Ishita couldn’t see where he spoke from. But what confused her more were his words. Why was he telling her to stop? He should be just as livid! How could any parent calm down in this situation?
“Ishita! Ishita! Wake up!” Raman shook Ishita with all his might and she finally opened her eyes. She looked around in confusion and saw that she was lying on her couch. Her heart pounded in her ears and she was sweating bullets.
“It’s just a dream, Ishita. It wasn’t real.” Raman’s voice brought her back to reality, and she realized it was just a dream. No, not a dream. It was a nightmare. Her worst nightmare. She sat up and threw her blanket off her. She was so shaken up that tears streamed down her face. She was practically sobbing in a matter of minutes.
“What will… happen today…?” she squealed between sobs. “Today’s hearing?”
“Just keep faith, Ishita. We’ve tied all our loose ends. Pathak is confident that we’ll win. Don’t lose hope,” Raman consoled her.
Ishita glanced at the alarm clock on the dresser. It read 2:13 am.
“I’m sorry I woke you up.” She apologized to Raman and swiftly got up to leave the room.
“Where are you going?” he asked. “Go back to sleep.”
“Mujhe Ruhi ke paas jaana hai. Main wahi soungi aaj.”
Ishita hurried to her daughter’s room and was only pacified once she saw her sleeping figure. She looked so peaceful. Ishita slid into bed beside her daughter and gave her as tight a hug as she could without waking her. No way in hell would she let the universe separate her from her little girl. They both had fought through life. They already had more than their fair share of misfortune. They deserved happiness now. Ishita kissed Ruhi’s forehead and slept through the night.
Raman peered through the doorway of Ruhi’s bedroom. He had a similar urge to cuddle his daughter close to himself, but Ishita and Ruhi looked so comfortable together that he didn’t have the heart to disturb them. They fit together like a hand in a glove. So he returned to his room and tried to go back today sleep. But his attempts were rendered futile. For his mind kept racing in a million directions, lost in thoughts of today’s custody hearing.
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Delhi Civil Court - Friday, September 14th, 10:10 am
“Ashok, how are you so smug and confident? What are you upto?” Shagun inquired.
“Don’t worry baby. I’ve taken care of everything,” Ashok smirked.
They were already seated on the left side of the courtroom in the front row, but getting there wasn’t an easy journey. Shagun had been disinterested in the case ever since the first hearing, while Ashok was adamant at using every opportunity he got to get under Raman’s skin. He checked his watch again. The hearing would begin in five minutes and although the Iyers were gathered, Raman and the Bhallas were nowhere to be seen. He chuckled thinking they might back off and not even show up. What a sight would that be! It also amused him that the Iyers were still involved in this case. Wasn’t Ruhi taken from her foster mother?
To his bad luck however, Ashok’s dreams weren’t to be fulfilled. For the Bhallas arrived at the next moment with Raman in the lead. But today Ashok saw something different in Raman’s aura. Shagun noticed it too. He wasn’t brooding or angry. He didn’t have a depressive vibe. In fact, he was… happy. Confident even. What could have possibly happened in the last three months that changed him?
As the Bhallas got settled with the Iyers, Raman took a seat on the first bench. Ishita then entered the courtroom with Ruhi by her side, and joined Raman. She guided Ruhi to sit between them, as a gesture of protection from the outside world. If only they could keep her cocooned in their love like this forever.
Ashok and Shagun exchanged glances.
“Yeh Ishita yahan kya kar rahi hai?” Ashok asked. “Uska to ab Ruhi se koi rishta nahi hai na?”
“Mujhe kya pata? Aayi hogi apni marzi se, ya Ruhi ki zid ki wajah se,” Shagun assumed.
Their conversation was cut short by the arrival of Judge Bakshi. Everyone stood up in her honor and took their seats at her signal.
“We are gathered here for the permanent custody hearing of minor Ruhi Bhalla. The contenders are biological mother Shagun Arora against biological father Raman Bhalla and stepmother Ishita Bhalla. May the proceedings begin,” Bakshi announced.
Ashok and Shagun were shocked. Raman had married Ishita. They did not see that coming. This strengthened their side considerably, Ashok thought. But he already had an inside deal with the judge. He knew how much Bakshi needed the money. She wouldn’t let him down.
Stepmother Ishita Bhalla. The words continued to ring in Shagun’s ears, even as Ashok reeled himself in. Raman was married. She was the one who had left him five years ago, but now he was married before her. All these years, she had a hold on her ex-husband which pumped her ego to the size of an enormous balloon. But now, that balloon popped. And her bruised ego manifested as an irrational rage towards Raman and Ishita.
Both lawyers gave their opening statements and one after another, presented their argument. Pathak cited Raman and Ishita’s devotion to Ruhi; Raman’s change in behavior over the last three months; the support of the Bhallas and Iyers; and both Raman and Ishita’s strong financial and educational background. He also presented statements from anyone and everyone that could attest to Ruhi’s betterment: the social worker Mr. Yadav, Ruhi’s teachers and counselors at school, and even her pediatrician.
Shagun’s lawyer did not have anything new to add from their last hearing, for his client hadn’t bothered to keep in touch with her own daughter. To his relief, Shagun stood up and demanded to speak in the witness box. The judge granted permission.
“Humare saath dhokha hua hai. Humein kisine kaha nahi ki Isheeta aur Raman ki shaadi ho chuki hai.” Contempt dripped from her every word. “I demand that this hearing be postponed. Evidence has been hidden from us.”
Pathak stepped forward to counter the witness. “Ms. Arora, this isn’t a criminal trial, so no evidence has been hidden. And Mr. and Mrs. Bhalla didn’t elope. They got married in their community hall in front of both their families. They even have a marriage certificate and their marriage is registered in court. They haven’t hidden anything. But let me ask you this? How could you not know that your daughter’s father was getting married? The daughter that you claimed to love and miss so much? Didn’t you ever go to meet Ruhi in the last two or three months?”
Seeing that Shagun had no answer, Pathak ended his questioning. “No more questions, your honor.”
Shagun stomped back to her seat, almost fuming. How could she be defeated like this? She refused to believe it, much less accept it. What infuriated her more was how relaxed her boyfriend was during all this. Didn’t he want to see Raman destroyed? His smugness didn’t escape Raman’s eyes either. They were clearly losing. Why was he so confident then?
“Bhai, I promise you, we’ve got this. They have nothing against us. They don’t even have anything in favor of themselves,” Pathak assured Raman.
“Then why isn’t Ashok at all tense? Look.”
Pathak and Raman looked over and saw Ashok looking intently at the judge. One glance at the judge showed that she was nodding reassuringly at their opponent, and Raman knew their case was done for. They had an inside deal. It was over. No amount of sound proof would change her mind. His heart dropped and rage boiled inside him.
Thankfully, Judge Bakshi’s voice boomed in the courtroom demanding Raman’s attention. He might kill Ashok but not right now.
“After hearing both sides of the case, the decision seems very obvious. Permanent custody of Ruhi Bhalla is granted to her biological father and stepmother Mr. and Mrs. Bhalla. Case closed indefinitely,” the judge decided with a strike of her gavel. “And one more thing. Mr. Ashok Khanna is sentenced to jail for seven days for an attempt to bribe a judge and obstruction of justice.”
Raman’s heart lifted. In fact, his heart sang. He was so thankful to this judge. Not once, but twice, she had returned Ruhi to him. And Ashok was getting punished for his crimes too. Maybe he wouldn’t need to kill him after all.
“Mumma, judge aunty ne kya kaha?” Ruhi asked.
“Judge aunty ne kaha ki Ruhi humesha ke liye Ishimaa aur papa ke paas rahengi!” Ishita squeezed Ruhi in a tight hug as happy tears pooled in her eyes.
“Forever Ishimaa?”
“Yes betu, forever! Ab aapko koi kabhi bhi humse door nahi kar sakta.”
“Yes! Yay!!” Ruhi cried out excitedly, as she hugged both her parents.
While all the Iyers and Bhallas were celebrating and making their way to exit, on the other side of the court, a seething Ashok was being dragged away in handcuffs. In his mind, his vendetta for revenge grew stronger. Shagun had her ego even further bruised as she saw her uncooperative boyfriend being manhandled by police officers, while her ex-husband celebrated with his new wife. No way in hell would she let him live happily when her world was being run over.
She stomped toward the celebratory parade that the Bhallas and Iyers were having. Ruhi was being cuddled and lifted on shoulders by her aunts and uncles while her parents and grandparents followed behind. Ishita, however, was pulled back by a lurch at her arm. She turned around and saw Shagun gripping her wrist, her face red with anger.
“Shagun, aapne mera haath kyun pakda hai? Chodo please,” Ishita requested.
“You selfish woman! You really think you could outsmart me? You could defeat me?!”
Raman saw that the situation was about to get really ugly. He signalled Romi, Rinki, and Mihika to take Ruhi away while they dealt with this new mess.
“What are you saying, Shagun? Please, just leave my hand!”
“Shagun, leave her hand right now!” Raman demanded.
Shagun let go of Ishita’s hand, but she wasn’t done unloading her rage.
“Tumhe kya laga Isheeta? Tum mere peeth peeche Raman se shaadi kar logi to tum Ruhi ki maa ban jaaogi? Nahi. Ruhi ki asli maa main hoon. Tumne mujhse mera baccha cheen ke accha nahi kiya.”
“Cut the crap Shagun,” Raman countered. “Tumhe Ruhi ke liye koi pyaar nahi hai. Aur jahan tak baat rahi uske asli maa ki, to har maayne se sirf Ishita hi uski asli maa hain.”
“O please Raman, tum mujhe mat samjhao. Tumne isse shaadi kyun ki woh sabko dikhta hai. Ruhi ka khayal rakhne ke liye, right? Warna tum to kisi se pyaar nahi kar sakte. Aur tum, Isheeta. Main acchi tarah se jaanti hoon tum jaisi ladkiyon ko. Koi ameer ladka dekha nahi aur bas chipak gayi us par. You are nothing but a gold digger and a bloody opportunist! Pata nahi isse pehle kitne mard…”
Before Shagun could finish her ugly statement, a sound slap came resounding on her face. Her ears still ringing, she turned to see that her own brother had slapped her.
“Tumhari himmat kaise huyi Raman bhai aur Ishita bhabhi ke baare mein kuch bhi bolne ki? Tumhe sharam nahi aayi ek aurat ke liye aise shabd istemaal karke? Woh bhi Ishita bhabhi ke liye?!” Mihir yelled.
“Tumhe sharam nahi aayi, Mihir? Paraye logon ke liye apni sagi behen pe haath utha kar?!” Shagun screamed.
“TUM MERI BEHEN NAHI HO! Tumhara aur mera rishta usi din khatam ho gaya tha jab tumhara aur Raman bhai ka divorce hua tha. Yaad hai na tumhe? You were the one who left your husband for a richer man. So who’s the real gold digger now huh? Projecting much, Shagun?”
“Don’t speak like that to me, Mihir…”
“Oye! Tu kab humara peecha chodegi haa?” Toshi bellowed. She couldn’t keep her rage contained any longer. Shagun needed to be shown the mirror.
“Tujhe pata hai Ishita tujhse kitni zyada padhi-likhi hai? Woh apna khud ka paisa kamaati hai. Woh ek bahot kaamyaab dentist hai. Aur tujhe kya farak padta hai agar Raman aur Ishita shaadi karte hai toh? Tune to humara ghar barso pehle chod diya na?
Listen to me, woman. My son and Ishita were single, independent adults who decided to get married and did so in front of both their families. You’re the one who had an adulterous affair hidden from the world. So don’t go around badmouthing my son and daughter-in-law.
Aur apni dukhi bichari maa ki kahani humein mat suna. Agar tujhe apni bacchi se itna hi pyaar tha to itne din kahan thi tu? Aaj tak kabhi Ruhi se milne kyun nahi aayi? Hai koi jawab?”
“Mujhe tum logon se koi baat nahi karni. You guys are all crazy. Pagal log ho tum,” Shagun turned around and stomped off to escape the bombardment of questions that Mihir and Toshi posed.
“Serves her right,” Mihir quipped. “Bhabhi are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mihir. No matter what kind of a woman she is, she did lose her daughter just now. I can understand where she is coming from.”
“No Ishita,” Raman said. “She lost her daughter the day she decided to leave her in an orphanage. You didn’t do anything.”
“Ishita, Ruhi is your daughter,” Toshi said with a tough voice. “You can’t be guilty in front of Shagun. Part of being a mother is also being fiercely protective. Tujhe Ruhi ke liye ek sherni ke jaise ladna hoga. Woh tumhari beti hai, samjhi?”
Ishita nodded. She didn’t have room to accommodate Shagun. She couldn’t feel guilty for Shagun’s misery. Genetics and giving birth is not what made a mother. Ruhi was her daughter and she had to believe it.
“Papa, mumma, ghar chalo na! Aap log kya kar rahe ho?” Ruhi shouted from the car.
“Aa rahe hai beta!” Raman replied. “Chal madrasan, teri beti bula rahi hai.”
“Humari beti,” Ishita corrected.
With a soft exchange of smiles, Raman and Ishita made it to their car where their daughter waited, eager to leave this ordeal behind them. They were officially a family now. Forever.
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