The next morning, Miraya left to meet Aastha Kashyap before Shashank could wake up. She didn't want to involve him in this. The morning was cold and foggy. The Sun was blocked by the grey clouds. She took the Thar and drove to Aastha's residence.
A middle-aged woman was sitting in the lawn of the residence. Miraya went to the lady and asked, "Are you Aastha Kashyap?"
The lady nodded with a smile, "Yes, I am. But who are you? I don't think we have met before. Oh, where are my manners? Please have a seat first."
Miraya nodded with a small professional smile and sat down on the bamboo chair. Aastha called the servant and asked her to bring a cup of coffee for the guest. Miraya tried to refuse but Aastha insisted. The coffee arrived in just a few minutes much to Miraya's surprise. Maybe they store coffee in thermos.
"So who are you?" Aastha asked with a smile.
Miraya controlled her urge to laugh at the lady. She asked her who she is after serving a hot cup of coffee to her.
"I am Miraya Yaduvanshi. I am a corporate lawyer," Miraya took a sip of the coffee.
"And what brought you here?"
"Sandhya Sachdeva was your classmate, right?" Miraya noticed how Aastha's pleasant smile turned into a look of surprise at Sandhya's mention.
"Yes, she used to be my classmate and my neighbour too." Aastha agreed, though it was obvious that Sandhya's mention made her quite uncomfortable. It could be seen on her face.
"I'm here to gather some information about her past."
"But... why do you have to do this?" Aastha asked while hesitating, as if she wanted to say more but refrained herself.
"To save her from the trouble she is about face." It was a lie. Miraya was going to use the information to trouble Sandhya.
"Oh, what do you want to know?" But unknown to her intentions, Aastha agreed rather quickly.
"Twenty eight years ago, she got pregnant and gave birth to a girl child. The child was abandoned at the age of four in front of an orphanage."
Aastha gasped, "What? She abandoned Saira! But she told me she sent Saira to her father."
"Can you please tell me about her pregnancy in detail? And who is the father of the child?"
"Umm... Sandhya had an affair with an older man. He was about twelve years older than her. And he was already married. It was an extramarital affair. He made Sandhya pregnant. But he promised her that he will soon divorce his wife and marry her. Sandhya waited for him. She waited for four years. But he didn't come back for her. So one day she took Saira somewhere and returned alone. I was told that Saira was given to her father."
Miraya's eyes turned red with tears. So she was the outcome of an extramarital affair.
"Who is that man?" She asked, trying hard to not break down.
"Ritwik Kapoor."
Her eyes widened hearing that name. That man was her mother's ex-husband. Naintara had divorced him twenty-five years ago. Which meant he had cheated on her with Sandhya. It was hard for her to accept this revelation. She wouldn't mind being a criminal's daughter but being Ritwik Kapoor's daughter was a huge insult for her. The man who marries young girls, offers them for sex in return of business deals and divorces them when they enter their thirties. The entire Awadh knew how he earned his money.
"Are you... are you Saira?" Aastha asked hesitantly.
Miraya couldn't help the humourless chuckle that escaped her lips. Of course, she guessed it. She looked a lot like her mother who abandoned her. She didn't reply. She stood up from her seat and said with a smile, "Thank you for your cooperation, Mrs Kashyap," And she walked away, leaving the old lady clouded by confusion.
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Stepping out of the hot shower, Shashank dressed in the clothes Daniel had arranged for him. Because he didn't bring anything with him to the valley. He felt at ease after wearing the sweatpants and sweatshirt.
When he woke up, Miraya was already gone. But she left a note by his side that read, 'Out for work. Will be back in a few hours. â¡'
That heart at the end made him smile so hard that his jaw began hurting.
He again laid down on the bed and switched on the TV. The series didn't interest him that much. He began dozing off. But the door was opened and Miraya entered the room. Shashank looked up at her and the boredom flew out of window. She looked sad, maybe sadness was a small word to describe what he saw in her eyes.
She removed her coat and shoes and hid under the duvet, moving close to him. She wrapped her arms around his torso and rested her head against his chest.
"Miraya, are you alright?" He asked softly while wrapping his arms around her.
"I'm not." She replied in a heavy voice.
"What happened?" He asked again while patting her head.
She didn't reply. Instead Miraya broke down into tears. Shashank was shocked to watch her crying. He couldn't understand how to console her when he didn't know why she was crying. And he knew that she won't tell him the reason easily.
Shashank first calmed down himself before he began patting Miraya's back. A while later, her cries died down. Her body was still cold even though the heater was working. Shashank told her softly, "Miraya, let me remove your sweater, huh?"
She loosened her arms around him and he removed her white sweater. She was wearing a thin tank top underneath. Of course, her body will be cold when she wasn't wearing enough clothes in the chilling weather. He then moved to remove her pants. She was only wearing thin leggings underneath. Shashank really wanted to scold her but he refrained himself. He pushed her down on the bed and laid down beside her before covering both of them with duvet. Miraya relaxed in his arms and closed her eyes.
But then Shashank called her name, "Miraya..."
She looked up at him after a few moments, "Hmm..."
He didn't say anything and kept staring into her glassy eyes. But she averted her eyes when it got overwhelming for her. Suddenly, Miraya began feeling nervous because of their proximity. The black bra was visible underneath the tank top and once in a while his eyes were falling down on her cleavage. The hand resting on her back began moving down.
"You can push me away." Shashank mumbled as his fingers touched the hem of her top.
Miraya was sad yet she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. She was about to have a sad sex with him and surprisingly, she felt ready to do it. So she herself removed the tank top and threw it away on the floor. His eyes widened at the view in front of them.
"Are you... are you sure?" He hesitated. She was crying a while ago and now they were about to have sex.
Miraya nodded and unhooked her bra. But Shashank hooked it again before she could remove it and display her assets.
"We shouldn't do it. You are not in your right mind." Shashank told her.
But before he could get away, she pulled him in for a kiss. It took some time to break through his resistance and melt his resolve. He was controlling it too well. But Miraya put his hand between her thighs. However, she was pushed away. Shashank pushed her away. She was not in her right mind. Her actions told that.
"Miraya, you are making me feel uncomfortable. I don't want to do it." He told her while getting up from the bed.
Miraya sighed in anger, "It was you who started it." And she looked at him with eyes full of rage and frustration, and maybe embarrassment.
"But I can back out if I'm feeling uncomfortable." He replied as calmly as possible.
Miraya also got up from the bed. Being only in a bra and leggings didn't bother her as much as his words bothered her.
"Then why are you here with me if you don't want to sleep with me?" She asked him in anger.
"Miraya, are you hearing yourself? I'm not here to seduce you. I wanted to spend some time with you," He replied calmly. He kept reminding himself that she wasn't in her right mind at that moment.
Tears again brimmed her eyes. She couldn't understand how to respond. She only knew she needed him.
"I... I am sorry, Shashank." And she broke down into tears again. She really was not in her right mind.
Shashank pulled her in his arms, "It's okay, Mira. I'm here with you, hmm?"
"I'm sorry." She mumbled against his chest.
He kissed her forehead, "You should take some rest."
"No, we should return. My business is done here." Saying so she pulled away from the hug and began dressing up. Shashank made her wear extra layers of clothes before he himself changed into warm clothes.
They headed out with their stuff after checking out of the Victorian Cottage. Shashank did a fist bump with Daniel and also reminded him that he will be receiving their wedding invitation soon.
Shashank chose to drive because Miraya's attention was scattered. She wasn't in the condition where she could drive on these curvy mountain roads.
Their short trip to Rani Sahiba Ki Pahadi ended on a grim note.
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I hope it was worth the wait â¤ï¸