45.
Reyansh and Aryan decided to go home and wait for them there. Now they all were in the living room. They saw the news of what happened. Reyansh was so angry but more than that; he was hurt.
Arya's family was still there. They were not able to go home without talking to their daughter and checking if she was fine.
Strange isn't it? So many things changed in one day.
They were guilty, they realized their mistakes, and they realized how wrong they were to behave like this with their daughter.
How wrong were they to blame their daughter for everything?
Now, they wanted to mend all their mistakes and apologize to their daughter.
Mr and Mrs. Sharma were also there. They wanted to check on Arya. They had known her from the time she became the best friend of their daughter. They care for her.
Avni told them what happened that day with Arya. From that time, Divya was shedding tears while Naveen and others were trying to console her, and Ashvini was looking down all the time, blaming herself for everything that happened to the girl. While Partab was, as always, silent.
Esha Ishan And Reva were silently sitting in the corner, looking at the duo Reyansh and Aryan. They were deadly silent from the time they had come back. They were afraid of what would happen now.
As the door of the living room opened, All of them looked upward to see four of them coming in. They all stood up and looked at them. Divya was about to take a step forward when she saw Avni going towards them. She halted.
Avni started asking questions to four of them. Where were you? Are you fine? Vihaan Reyaan and Arohi answered while Arya stood silently looking at one particular person.
She looked at him to find him also looking at her from head to toe, taking in his appearance like he was making sure she was fine. He looked at her attentively, making sure she was not hurt anywhere from afar. When he made sure she was not hurt, he walked away from there.
She tried to go after him but she was held by the family. Mr and Mrs. Sharma came towards her. Mrs Sharma hugged her While Mr. Sharma caressed her head.
"Don't worry, everything will be fine, beta," She said to Arya. Who nodded with a little smile.
"I think we should leave now," They said to Mr and Mrs. Shekhawat, who nodded. They bid goodbyes and said to Arohi Esha and Ishan, "We are waiting for you outside."
Arohi met Mr and Mrs shekhawat. And went towards Aryan Arav Reva Reyaan and vihaan.
"Take care of her " She said, looking at Arya, who was now Talking with Naveen Divya.
"We will," They said in unison. She turned to Vihaan and hugged him.
"I will miss you," she whispered.
"We will meet soon," He said, kissing her forehead. She smiled and nodded.
Ishan hugged Reva and said, "See you soon". She nodded and Aryan, who was looking at them, looked away. Esha was last to say goodbye before they all went. Vihaan went outside to see off his in-laws.
They all looked at Arya Naveen and Divya decided to give them privacy.
Reyaan and Reva went to their rooms to freshen up, and Aryan and Arav also went to the garden for some fresh air.
Avni went to the kitchen for dinner arrangements.
Arjun joined her for help.
__________
Arya wanted to go to the Room and talk to Reyansh.
She saw how he looked mad, but deep down, he was hurt, and she wanted to explain.
Her mind was on only him. When her so-called parents stood in front of her.
"Arya," Divya said, snapping her out of her thoughts. Divya suddenly hugged her, taking her by surprise. Her hands struck in the air, unable to think what to do.
She hesitantly hugged her back. Divya noticed this, and tears started falling from her eyes. Her own daughter was hesitant with her and she could blame no one but herself.
Arya, sensing something wet on her shoulder, looked at her mother, who was crying silently.
"Mama," She said, pulling back. "Why are you crying?" She said with concern, which made Divya cry more.
Divya took her hands in hers and said. "We are sorry" Divya looked down. "We are so sorry," Arya stiffened, which didn't go unnoticed by Divya.
A lump formed in her throat. "W-What Are you S-sorry for?" she shuttered.
"For everything. For not believing you. For not being with you when you needed us the most. For not giving you enough attention, love, or care," She whispered and her tears were not falling freely.
"For putting restrictions on you for not supporting you in dreams," Naveen said, coming towards them.
"We are so sorry beta. For everything. We have done to you.
We were so blinded by what people think we always put people's opinions above everything.
We didn't notice that in all of this, we were hurting you so much, and now when we realize we can blame no one but us. "
Divya continued. "It was all our fault. If we had been with you that day and taken action against him, this would not have happened. You trusted us and we never believed you. It is all our fault that we let it happen again." She looked away, unable to see her eyes.
Arya had always imagined this day when her parents would realize their mistakes. She thought she would be happy, but now, as she remembered all the things that had happened to her, she realized it's not easy to forgive and forget. Maybe she can forgive them, but it's hard to forget.
"Being your parents, we should have thought.
We should have given you the attention you needed.
Love you wanted. But we always neglected you.
We hurt you so much. We are sorry, beta, please forgive us.
" Arya had a sobbing mess till now. Divya was no different, and for the first time in her life, Arya saw tears in her father's eyes.
"It's.. it's not easy to forget what happened," She voiced out her thoughts.
"We know beta, and it's all our fault. Take your time, and we will try our best to do everything to earn your forgiveness.
" She looked at her mother and hugged her, wanting nothing but the motherly love and care she had been deprived of.
She pulled back and looked at her mother. Who wiped her tears.
She turned to her father and looked at him, who pulled out his arms, and She ran to embrace his father.
All her life she wanted to hug her father and feel the fatherly embrace.
To know how it feels. And now she can say she feels safe like no one can hurt her.
Everything was fine at the moment. Her father was here to make sure that no one hurt his daughter.
"We are here for you now. We will never let anyone hurt you, including ourselves. We will make sure of it," Naveen said, caressing her head and making her overwhelmed with all of this.
Divya also joined the hug. And from the corner of their eyes, she saw their two sons walking toward them.
"Without us ?" They said, and Naveen and Divya opened their arms for their other children, who joined their family hug. They remained like this for some time, letting that beautiful feeling they felt for the first time observe in their heart.
As they parted, there was a smile on their faces. Naveen looked at Aryan for some time before saying.
"Thank you for taking care of her all the time. It was our duty but we failed to do this"
"It's also my duty, papa. After all, she is my 'choti' bhen," He said, emphasizing the word making fun of his height. For the world Arya was their elder sister but they always treat her like she is younger.
"Hey, I am not Choti. You are lambu ," Arya said, glaring at him.
"Dii bhai is right. You are Choti," Arav said with a teasing smile.
"See, I am always right," Aryan said and high-fived Arav.
"Tum dono" She ran after them, who ran away, trying to protect themselves. She felt slight pain in her feet but didn't mind because it was bearable. They were running around everywhere, laughing and giggling, and Arya was after them herself, laughing.
Their parents were seeing them with hearty eyes. Feeling guilty about what they have missed but keeping that guilt aside, they decided to live in the moment. They looked at each other and then at their children and smiled.
Arya was happy. Yes, there were still many things that were not right, but at that time, she was content. This is what she wanted as a family. A family that she can call hers. But still, this family was incomplete. Her grandparents were not there.