Journey of Hope

CHAPTER:- 19

Pratyasha's Pov

"Oh My God!" I screamed in excitement.

"Prati, are you alright?" "What happen, Prati?" Ishaan and Ashia asked me, while running towards our room.

"Nothing happened. I am fine." I said sensing both of their gaze on me. Well, I was a little bit introvert too. I never liked people's attention. In my school, everyone thought me as an attention seeker and maintained distance from me. Being daughter of the Pratik Ahuja had these free advantages, which were nothing but painful memories of mine. My classmates hated be because of the special treatment I got due to my father's reach. And that made me afraid of people's gaze.

"Why did you scream then, girl?" Ishaan asked being irritated.

"I was just excited seeing the room." I said lowering my eyes.

"That's not a perfect excuse to scream." Ishaan said making an angry face. But, I just screamed in excitement. Why was he angry over this?

"Ishaan! Why are you angry, as if I have stolen something precious of yours?" I asked in confusion.

"You interrupted our moment, stupid." He said, and then again bit his tongue.

"What moment?" I inquired. Ashia bit her inner cheeks. If I was not wrong, she was blushing. Was there something going in between her and Ishaan? I thought.

"Moment! That was... Yeah, I was having a moment while seeing this marvellous mansion." Ishaan said, circling his hand around the statue kept on the table.

"Carefully Ishaan." Ashia said in a worried tone. She hurriedly took the statue from Ishaan's hold and placed it on the table.

Ishaan looked at the room carefully. It was big, posh and beautiful. My friends said that I am the lucky princess, who have the most beautiful room. But, they should have seen this mansion once. This is just awesome.

"Man! This Raghav Bharadwaj is too rich. But, for whom did he have make such an awesome room? For the love of his life?" Ishaan said, with an open mouth.

"For his daughter. It belongs to the naive princess of Raghav Bharadwaj - Adyasha." Ashia said. Her eyes carried a different emotion while saying the name.

I knew about whom she was talking to. Adyasha was no one but, Mrs. Adyasha Ahuja, My mother and wife of Pratik Ahuja. Tears brimmed into my eyes, but I suppressed them. Ishaan was not aware about all this. He was brought up in USA. He only knew that I was the daughter of Pratik Ahuja's first wife.

But, no body had any idea about who Pratik Ahuja's first wife was. No, Sarmistha Ahuja never eradicated Adyasha Ahuja's existence from Ahuja Mansion. It was Adyasha Ahuja, who never tried to make her own place. No body in our mansion loved her, not even me - her daughter.

"This Adyasha Bharadwaj is definitely too lucky. His father brought a castle for his princess." Ishaan said in a impressed tone.

"Being a princess, having a castle is nothing. Every cinderella doesn't get her prince charm. Every beauty doesn't be able to tame the beast." Ashia said in a different tone.

"Adyasha is married or not?" Ishaan suddenly asked.

"Why are you so much interested in her relationship status?" I questioned.

"See Prati! Mom wants me to marry you for our business collaboration only. I know her intention. But if I will choose Adyasha over you. Damn I want this mansion in dowry." Ishaan joked.

"As per my information, Adyasha was already married and have a daughter of my age." Ashia said.

"How do you know so much about her? You are new in this city right?" I inquired.

"Then I will marry her daughter. But I want this mansion at any cost." Ashia smiled. Her cheeks were red. Was she blushing? But, why? Ishaan talked about daughter of Adyasha, who was me. Then why Ashia was blushing? And how come she have so much information about Adyasha, who is my Mom?

"Ashia! How do you know so much about Bharadwajs? They are just in the memories of some people." I again asked her. But this time there was a demand in my question for the answer.

"Bharadwajs, as in the previous owner. Well I arrived in India a week ago and shifted to this mansion. Like you, I was fascinated with its design and that's why I did my side of research." Ashia said with a wink. But, I found her behaviour strange. Maybe I was overthinking.

"Leave your inquiry girls. See... I want to know about Adyasha's daughter. I will marry her and take this mansion as dowry. Then I will see Ms. Ashia, how you will stop me from touching a doll here." Ishaan said in a challenging tone. Ashia laughed at his childishness.

I didn't like the conversation. I didn't say Ishaan that I was the girl, Adyasha's daughter. Because, she was no one to me. She had hurted my father. I am only Pratik Ahuja's daughter.

"What if her daughter doesn't want to claim her mother and mother's mansion?" I asked.

"She will. After all who will miss such a beautiful mansion and pretty mother?" Ishaan said, pulling a photograph from the drawer.

It was of a girl in her earlier twenties. I didn't find any resemblance of her on my face. But, I recognised her as my mother. I haven't seen much pic of hers. But, I know who she was.

"Your mother was a egocentric, selfish lady. She was a home wrecker. She wanted to break my home, take my son away from me. That's why God took her away from her own daughter." I recalled Dadi's words.

"I loved her. I changed myself for her. But she betrayed me. She never tried to get along with my family. She was the rich spoiled princess. In her stubbornness, she took your life in danger. She destroyed me." Baba's words rang in my ears.

"Your mother had no place in this home. She herself tried to rift away the family for her own selfish reasons. I never replaced your mother, because she never made her place before." I remembered Sarmistha Mom's words.

"The beautiful princess has a beautiful heart too." My trance broke hearing Ashia. She was caressing the photo of my mother. Well, my biological mother. I didn't want to be known as her daughter. I am Pratik Ahuja's daughter and that's my identity.

"Beautiful heart or she has pieces of some beautiful hearts?" I sarcastically said, with a mocking laugh.

"Oh really. Have you seen her collecting pieces of others heart?" Ashia immediately said. She was enraged. I could see the rage in her eyes. Ishaan was behind her. He couldn't see her face. "She is dead Prati. Only a heartless person can talk bad about a dead person. And that heartless person has no heart to break."

The way Ashia said the last line, I thought she was indicating towards Baba. But she didn't know him. Maybe I was overthinking. Then she didn't know about my mother too. She just knew that her mansion was belonged to Raghav Bharadwaj and his daughter was Adyasha Bharadwaj. Then why she was backing her? She was telling about the Bharadwajs like she knew everything about them.

"What do you know about the Bharadwajs? You are so confidently favouring them?" I sternly asked folding my hands.

Ishaan felt the seriousness of the situation. He could see my stern expression, as he was totally in front of me. But, Ashia was facing me, so her face was not visible to him. Ashia's eyes held the fury. I had seen her furious on the first day, when she saved me from Ishaan's anger. But, then there was a difference today. That day, she was furious on Ishaan, but today, her fury was meant for me.

"Peace out girls. Why are you fighting over a person, who doesn't even exist?" Ishaan said, ending my thoughts.

"You are just taking about marrying that person, who doesn't even alive." Ashia said, turning towards Ishaan.

A few seconds ago, she was burning in rage. But, now she was calm and composed. I was astonished seeing her control over her emotion.

"I just joked about marrying her. Otherwise, I also don't like naive princess." Ishaan said, with a teasing smirk on his face.

I felt uncomfortable. Ishaan's changed behaviour around Ashia was creating a havoc inside me.

"I think, we should go now." I said breaking Ishaan and Ashia's eye to eye conversation.

"This soon?" Ishaan asked. "We haven't attend college today. Let's chill here only. I hope you won't mind, Miss Devil?"

"Not at all. Infact I wouldn't allow you guys to go before lunch." Ashia said with a smile.

I looked at both of them. They seemed like best friends. I felt left out there.

"Ashia, you are unwell. Take rest. We will come some other time." I said, as I was not feeling comfortable there.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot. You should take rest. How will you cook then? Wait, we will leave. But before that I will order something for you." Ishaan said, pulling his phone out of the pocket.

He was not the same Ishaan Samantray. The Ishaan, whom I knew was the egoist, rude and arrogant person, who loved to show his dominance over every one. But around Ashia, he changed to a different self. Ashia had hurted his ego, but he befriended with her. He behaved different, and that's what made me confused.

"It's not that I am going to cook." Ashia said. Ishaan raised his eyebrow, as Ashia held his wrist to stop him to order food. They had a eye lock, but Ashia averted her gaze and added, "Mary Aunty would have already cook. Let's go."

Ashia said and moved out of the room. "Who is Mary Aunty?" Ishaan said, following Ashia like a lost puppy.

"She takes care of this mansion all these years, after Raghav Bharadwaj disappeared suddenly. Now, I appointed her too, as she was attached to the mansion." I heard Ashia's fainting voice.

I was still inside the room. I moved towards the bed and sat over it. I didn't felt the warmness of being in a mother's arms. A gust of wind passed and I felt protected.

I went near the desk and caressed the hand-made dolls. There was picture of my mother. I looked at it for a few minutes. Baba's face flashed in front of my eyes. How helpless he sounded whenever he talked about his first wife, who was unfortunately my biological mother.

"No... No... You have hurted my Baba. You were a bad omen who cursed his fate. I hate you. I hate you." I said and opened the door to put the photo inside.

The drawer was just below the desk. I opened it and put the photo inside. I was about to close the drawer, when a my eyes felt on a diary. I pulled it out.

It was A4 size and the cover was baby pink coloured. I moved my gaze. Everything was baby pink in colour. Maybe baby pink was her favourite colour.

"I don't like pink. I love purple colour. I am different than you. I am not like you." I said, looking at the photo of my mother.

The diary was beautiful. I opened it's first page. There was written, 'Adyasha Bharadwaj' in a beautiful Italian cursive handwriting. I caressed the name.

"I have heard about Adyasha Pratik Ahuja from a lot of people. Let's explore who Adyasha Raghav Bharadwaj was!" I said to myself and kept the diary inside my bag.

"Prati... Prati... Prati yaar." I heard Ishaan's shouting. I came out of the room, hiding the diary properly inside my bag.

"Why are you shouting Ishaan?" I said coming to the dining area.

"I thought you are lost inside the mansion." He said, smiling cheekily. "Even Ashia went behind to search for you. Look, she come." He said showing his hands towards my behind.

I turned around to find Ashia coming from the same direction. Did she see me keeping the diary inside my bag?

"I am not a child to be lost." I said, not looking at Ashia and sat beside Ishaan.

"But the mansion is definitely a maze." An old lady spoke, coming from the kitchen.

I confusedly looked at her. Her eyes held a familiar expression, but I had never seen her. Her words were bitterness. But what have I done to earn her bitterness at our first meet only.