Life is not a bed of roses. Every day is not the same; you can’t expect each day to be smooth and joyful. Life brings bundles of surprises with every passing moment. You never know if they’ll make you happy or sad. But we must keep our spirits up. We must always try to find positivity in everything. This is something Ruhana has learnt from Vineet. They have been spending time together during work and at home as well. Lately, they’ve been visiting each other’s homes, although it’s mostly Vineet who visits Ruhana’s place and spends time with Aanya too.

When you hang out and stay around each other often, individual thoughts tend to influence the other person — and that’s exactly what’s happening with Ruhana and Vineet. She has started thinking a lot before making decisions, and Vineet secretly takes it as an accomplishment. She doesn’t react immediately, and that alone is enough for him.

Even Ruhana is surprised by this change, but she’s fine with it. After all, while her external appearance might be outspoken, rough, and tough, she’s still the same innocent girl at heart that she was in childhood. Sometimes, she feels she has drifted too far from her roots, but something holds her back from retracing her steps. That’s why people fear her — she’s a perfectionist at work, and even now, she doesn’t compromise on her work ethic. Everything has to be perfect when working with her.

Vineet has become a game-changer in her life, and to some extent, he has succeeded. She has started to change, and things have become somewhat easier for her. Well, with him by her side, life has always been easier. As of now, she has changed a little, and she’s happy about it. Lately, she has realized that being honest and direct is much easier than working indirectly and making up stories just to get business.

Over the past two months, Ruhana has come to terms with the fact that she can trust Vineet and open her heart to him. Of course, Aanya approves of him, and Ruhana has realized that he’s genuinely concerned about her. He has started closely observing her and the way she handles her business. He often says that he’ll wait as long as it takes for her to feel comfortable enough to tell him the truth.
Can she tell him the truth? Well, she has shared a part of her past with him, but not the entire truth.

There’s nothing wrong with opening up — she knows he’ll understand. Yet, her heart is scared to trust anyone so easily.

She comes out of her trail of thoughts as Vineet calls her name. She finds herself sitting in her office chamber, with Vineet beside her, gazing at her questioningly.

“What happened? Is anything wrong?” he asks, concerned.

“Um, no! I was just thinking about something,” she responds.

“If you want, you can tell me.” He gazes at her, eager to know her thoughts.

“I think I can tell you... I will tell you everything, Vineet,” she replies, taking him by surprise.

“Tell me, what is it about?” he asks curiously.

“Not here, Vineet. Come home for dinner tonight. I will tell you everything,” she says and continues, “I know; I can tell you everything.” She emphasises the last line, and he’s surprised.

Now, there’s hope igniting in his heart. She’s ready to tell him the truth, and he hopes that things will fall into place eventually.

*****

The day passes in a blur, and the two friends head home. They reach Ruhana’s house, and Vineet seems quite happy — after all, Ruhana has invited him to her home and is ready to reveal parts of her past. The house is empty except for Asha, the housemaid who takes care of the place in Ruhana’s absence.

Ruhana asks Asha to bring coffee for them while she tells Vineet to feel at home and settle down. As he looks around the house, Ruhana informs him that Aanya has returned to Pune for her second year. Meanwhile, Asha brings two cups of coffee, and Ruhana further instructs her on dinner preparations. All this while, Vineet keeps his eyes on her, observing her carefully.

This girl has grown up to balance everything. She can manage both office and home. She’s ensuring her sister gets a good education — the best thing she could do for her. He’s already aware of her love for Aanya. But now, Ruhana has made significant changes in her demeanour, and he’s proud of her. More than anything, he’s eager to learn the secrets she’s been hiding for so long. He comes out of his thoughts at the sound of her voice and looks at her. She stares into his eyes.

“I know you’re eager to know everything, Vineet. You know, everything has two sides or perspectives. Yeah, you might say that I made decisions based on my perspective, but I had no other option. After my rift with Shekhar uncle, how could I trust anyone else, Vineet?”

“I trusted him because I thought he loved me. But he didn’t; I was just a pawn in his hands. And you say that we must trust people, right? So, if we can’t trust our family members, what’s the use? Tell me?” she questions him, and he nods.

“You’re right, Ruhana. We must trust our family, I agree,” he says, knowing all that she’s shared resonates with his own experiences too.

“That’s what I did, Vineet. But my uncle cheated me. That day, in the study, he was looking for the recent research that Papa had done. He was also searching for the property papers. And when I told Papa about it, he scolded me. He didn’t want to believe that Shekhar uncle had entered the study that night.”

She trails down the memory lane.

That night, Ruhana couldn’t sleep much. Seeing her uncle in the study had frightened her. She wanted to know what he was searching for and what was so urgent that he couldn’t wait for her father.

Usually, her father and uncle worked in the study, but her uncle never entered the room without her father’s permission. Maybe he was only acting sweet in front of his brother. But she was just a teenager — she didn’t understand the difference between right and wrong.
The next morning, the girls woke up to find their parents home. Ruhana ran to them and hugged them, asking how they were. The couple was surprised.

“We are fine, honey. Why are you crying?” her father asked.

“Papa, I need to tell you something.”

“Yes Papa, Di said there is someone in the study room. She went to see,” little Aanya said, cradled in her mom’s arms.

“What happened? Are you two okay?” their father now looked at his girls.

“Yes, Papa, but I saw Shekhar uncle in the study,” Ruhana responded fearfully.

“But, honey, he doesn’t have the spare key to the study room. He can’t go in there,” her father tried to comfort her.

“No, I saw him. I can’t be mistaken. He was searching for something. Please, Papa, check once.” Ruhana pleaded, and her father reassured her that he would talk to his brother.

Ruhana agreed and went to freshen up with Aanya. As she walked to her room, she overheard her parents talking.

“Even Ruhana suspects him, Sandeep. Please do something,” her mother said, her gaze fixed on her husband.

“Ruhana is a kid. Let it be; she might be mistaken. You don’t know, Rekha ji — things will be fine,” Sandeep said, not wanting to believe what he heard from his daughter.

“Fine, but Ruhana won’t stay silent. She might use her ways to find the truth,” Rekha said in concern.

“We’ll see about that, Rekha ji. Let’s focus on business right now. That needs our attention,” Sandeep replied, and everyone got busy with their routine.

A few days later, Sandeep came to terms with reality when he found some confidential papers in Shekhar’s possession. He realized that his brother had replaced the originals with duplicates and was cheating him. The brothers had a heated argument, during which Shekhar even tried to hurt him. Ruhana knew about the fight, but her mother told her the issue was resolved. Later, after her parents’ demise, she trusted her uncle once again.

“I got to know everything later — from our house help. I didn’t know Shekhar uncle could be so cruel, hurting his own family. Yet, I trusted him. You know, this is the reason I don’t trust anyone,” Ruhana says, her gaze flickering to Vineet.

“You say I can be soft with people around me. But there are always two perspectives, Vineet. And people only show the one that benefits them. Even Shekhar uncle did that — even today.”

She pauses for a moment before continuing, “I wasn’t prepared to lose my parents, Vineet. I wasn’t. And since then, life has been hard. I’ve trusted the wrong people too many times — and that’s why I run behind money and power today.”
Ruhana says this while Vineet is stunned by her outburst.

Yes, this is one part of the story — and he understands how it feels to be betrayed by your own family. She has been through hell. She further says something that leaves him surprised.

To Be Continued.