Anupamaaa....

She knew that voice and who it belonged to pretty well. He was the last person she wanted to deal with right now.

Nonetheless she turned towards the voice and found a 6 ft tall man standing in blue suit with his jaw clenched and wearing an evil smirk on his face.

It was none other than her ex husband Vanraj Shah who she despised from the bottom of her heart.

Vanraj came and stood in front of her with a look on his face and by now she was used to it.

Vanraj :- Tum yha kya kar rhi ho ?

Anupama looked at him with indifference.

Anu :- Aapse mtlb ?

Saying this she started walking away....

Vanraj :- Pakhi ke bare me kuch baat karni thi..?

Anupama stopped in her tracks..

Anu :- Kya baat karni hai apko Mr. Shah ?

Vanraj knew Anupama very well and how much she loved her children. He knew that no matter how strong Anupama tries to be, her children will always remain her weakness.

Vanraj :- Pehle tum batao yha kya kar rhi ho ?

Anu :- Not that it is any of your business Mr. Shah but mai AK group me internship kar rhi hoo....aab plzz jaldi jo bolna hai boliye....mere pass time nhi hai......

Vanraj :- Mujhe nhi pata tha ki AK Group me kaam wali bai ki bhi zrurat hai....trust me agar mujhe pata hota to mai tumahra naam sabse pehle recommend karta...

Vanraj said with a smirk....

Anu :- Kaam wali bai se yaad aaya Mr. Shah......mujhe nhi pata tha aapne ghar ki chowkidaari ke saath saath AK Group me bhi part time watchmen ki job le li hai....

Vanraj :- Anupamaaaaaaa

Vanraj shouted in anger....

Anu :- Chillaiye mat Mr. Shah.....awaaz ucchi karna mujhe bhi aata hai...

Vanraj :- For your kind information Anupamaa....jis company me tum intern bankr aa rhii ho....us company ke ek major project ka head mai hoo aur kavya us project ki marketing head hai.......so tread carefully....

Anupamaa was shocked after hearing this. She didn't know Vanraj and Kavya had switched jobs and are now working with the AK Group. If she knew, she would have never applied for a position here. She realised that she would have to see their smug faces everyday and they would not make it easy for her.

However, Anupama was never the one to walk away from a challenge.

She was worried but she sure as hell won't give Vanraj the satisfaction of seeing the worried look on her face.

She composed herself and looked at Vanraj with a smile on her face....

Anu :- I never knew Mr. Shah that AK Group has started a project called Ponzi Scheme....(implying that Vanraj and Kavya are both cheaters and frauds)

Vanraj was now irritated and one could see the rage in his eyes....

Before Vanraj could vent out his anger, Anupama continued...

Anu:- I can see Mr. Shah apko mujhse pakhi ke bare me koi baat nhi karni....aapko sirf meri bacchi ko use karke mujhe neecha dikhane ka mauka chaiye tha....but aapse aur expect bhi kya kar sakte hai.....anyways mere pass apki bakwas ke liye time nhi hai....chalti hoo...Jai shree Krishna...

Saying this Anupama walked away....

Vanraj was furious but all he could do was to look at retreating figure of Anupama with anger. He wanted to belittle her but he didn't take into account it was not the same Anupama that was his shy , timid wife on whom he can vent out his anger. She has changed and she has changed for good.

Vanraj(to himself):- College me admission kya le liya.....tum to hawa me udne lagi.....yeh jo tumahra so called new self confidence hai na....ise dekho mai kaise todta hoo....agar tumhe wapas se wo anpad, gawar Anupama jo hmesha dari hui rehti thin nii bnaya na to mera naam bhi Vanraj Shah nhi....

Anupama reached her apartment and tried to unlock the door when she realised it was already unlocked. She rang the doorbell and Devika opened the door.

Anu :- Devu tu itne jaldi office se kaise aa gayi......

Saying this Anupama entered the living room.

Devika :- Are yrr office me ek covid case aa gaya tha to office seal kar dia hai....kuch dino tak work from home hi chalega

Anu :- Accha....

Devika :- Chal wo sab chod yeh bata....tera interview kaisa gaya ?

Anu :- Accha tha....I got the internship......Monday se joining hai...

Devika :- Congratulations meri jaaannn......dekh maine bola tha na tu faltu me tension le rhi thi....

Saying this Devika gave her a tight hug....

Devika :- I am so prouddd of you Anu...

Anu :- Thank you so much meri devudi.....sach kahu to agar tu nhi hoti....to yeh sab possible nhi hota.....agar tune mujhe tutne se bikharne se na bachaya hota to aaj mai apne pairo pe khadi nhi hoti...

They broke their hug and both of them had tears in their eyes...

Devika :- Chal pagli rulayegi kya......

Anu :- Mujhe to lagta tha ki yeh tikhi mirchi sirf dusro ko rulati hai....

Devika :- Anuuuuu....

And they both burst into laughter.

Devika :- Chal tu fresh ho jaa and change kar le.....tab tak mai tere liye kuch khane ka bna deti hoo...

Anu :- Mai krti hoo naa...

Devika :- Bilkul nhi.....tu abhi jaa aur change kar....jaaaa

Anu:- Accha baba theek hai...

Saying this Anupama went to her room....

Anupama changed into her comfort clothes and came out of the room only to find the living room empty.

Anu (to herself) :- Devika kha gayi...abhi to yhi thi ...

She went into the kitchen and saw a note stuck on the fridge. Her kitchen was not separate from the living room. There was no wall or door to separate the two but just a kitchen counter that differentiated the kitchen from the living room. Though the kitchen was not separate but it was spacious with lots of cabinets, wash basin, stands to keep the crockery. It was purple in color giving it a very girly vibe.

The note on the fridge read......

Anu tere liye dhokla aur chutney bna kar gas ke pass rakkhi hai kha lena....meri ek important conference call hai to mai room me hoo...jaise hi meeting khtm hoti hai aati hoo...mera wait mat karna..

Anu (to herself) :- Yeh Devu bhi na....pata nhi kha ke kaam kyu nhi karti hai...bilkul dhyaan nhi rakhti apna...

Anupama finished her lunch and then straight went to her room to take some rest before she went to the dance academy.

She laid on the bed and was thinking about her internship as she has no idea under whom she would be working or on what she would be working when Vanraj's words echoed in her mind. She worried that it would be a disaster if she has to work under him .

She mumbled a quick prayer to her kanhaji....

Anu (in her mind):- Please kanhaji....meri aur pariksha mat lijeye...

She was nervous but she was never the one to back down from a fight. She decided even if such a situation comes.....she would not give up before completing her internship.

Anu(to herself) :- Anu tujhe aaj hi internship mili hai....aur tu khush hone ke bajaye sad rhi hai....be happy Anu...don't let that man ruin your happiness...

Anupama was ecstatic and decided to share the news with the most special person in her life. She took out the phone from her purse and dialed Samar's number.

After a few rings, the call was cut. Samar didn't pick up the call.

For Anupama, it wasn't something new. In last one year, she has talked to Samar just a few times.

After the divorce, Vanraj married Kavya in just a few days that left the whole Shah family dejected except Toshu and Baa who were ecstatic. The irony being, Baa was against Anupama divorcing Vanraj but accepted Kavya as her bahu as soon as they got divorced realising that she can't control Anupama's life anymore. She was never fond of Anupama as she just wanted to have that control over her life where Anupama would fulfil all the responsibilities of her family so that her son Vanraj can enjoy his life. So as soon as she realised that Anupama can no more be controlled, she accepted Kavya as her bahu immediately but to her despair Kavya was not the one to be controlled.

Divorcing Vanraj left Anupama's relationship with her kids way more complicated than it already was.

Samar has always been supportive of his mother and her choices no matter what the situation is. He was the only one in the Shah family that valued her and stood up for her before his father much before Vanraj's EMA came into light but Toshu has always been his father's son. He never found any fault in his father and blamed his mother for everything whether it was Vanraj's affair or their divorce. Though not whole heartedly but he accepted his father's marriage to Kavya. He never visited Anupama or even gave her a call. Infact, he tried to avoid her as much as possible.

Kinjal and Toshu were not married when the EMA came out. Seeing this behaviour of Toshu towards Anupama, Kinjal tried to talk some sense into him. She tried to make him realise that it was his father who was at fault but Toshu was adamant on blaming Anupama. He reasoned that by divorcing Vanraj, Anupama had broken his family and now it doesn't matter how many times she tries to reach out....he is not gonna accept her as his mother. Kinjal was shocked that it took Toshu only two days to break off years of relationship with his mother without even considering the sacrifices she made for him. She realised this is not the Toshu she fell in love with and decided to take some time to decide whether she really wanna spend her life with a man who so easily breaks relationships. She decided to postpone her marriage for a few months following her mom's advice as she knew it would give her time to think.

The only relationships that Anupama was left with from the Shah House after the divorce was that with Pakhi, Samar and Bapuji but the situation was way more complicated.

She lost Pakhi in a custody battle with Vanraj and was only allowed to see her twice a month just for the weekends. Vanraj used his money and power to hire the best lawyer to prove that Anupama was not capable of raising a child as she suffered from panic attacks. Although Anupama tried to make most of the time she got with Pakhi, but she always felt the distance between them grew with time. Pakhi was a spoiled child but she loved her mother. She never wanted her parents to divorce each other and nor has she accepted kavya and vanraj's marriage but she had no other option than to accept the fact her parents will never be together. Initially she was in denial throwing tantrums like a two year old as the divorce affected her but with time, proper therapy and love from Anupama, she came to terms with her situation and decided to make most of the time she got with her parents especially her mom.

No matter how strong and supportive Samar was of his mother but seeing her suffer after the divorce as she was denied of relationships she spend building , cherishing and sacrificing for her whole life bore a hole in his heart. He blamed himself for his mother's sufferings. He always thought if he would have told Anupama as soon as he found out about his dad's affair, she wouldn't had to witness the horrible sight of Vanraj and Kavya romancing in her own room on her own 25th wedding anniversary. He knew telling her before wouldn't have lessened her pain but atleast she would have got sometime to compose herself and wouldn't have got a panic attack that was used against her in the court to snatch her daughter away from her.

Witnessing all these changing dynamics in his family, Samar was overwhelmed and hence he decided to take a job in Mumbai. He left Ahemdabad and took a teaching job in a dance academy in Mumbai. He never used to call or talk to anyone except Anupama and Nandini and sometimes Pakhi.

Anupama (to herself while calling Samar again) :- Samar....please aaj to phone utha le......bahut dino se teri awaaz nhi suni.....teri bahut yaad aa rhi hai bakuda....

The phone was cut again and a notification popped up on her screen.

It was Samar's message that read....

Mummy apko baad me phone krta hoo abhi kuch kaam me busy hoo....

She read the message and kept the phone aside. She knew Samar wasn't busy. He was just avoiding a conversation with her as he has been doing for a year and Anupama blamed herself for it. She thought that her decision of divorcing Vanraj had hurt Samar as it broke his family. She knew Samar would always support her decision inspite of the situation and would never complain even if he was hurt by her decision. She thought deep down Samar blamed her for breaking his family but little did she know that he was living with his own guilt of breaking her family.

The wall clock in the living room chimed which brought Anupama back to the present. It was 4 o clock in the evening and she had to leave for dance academy for her classes.

She picked up her bag and left a message for Devika who was still in her meeting and left for the academy....

Dance was the only thing that connected her with Samar and Dance academy was the only place where she didn't feel alone. After the divorce, Devika and Samar(before his guilt took over after seeing Pakhi being separated from Anupama) had tried their best to never let Anupama feel alone but there was always a void that nothing could fill not even her passion for her dance....

For the first time in her life, Anupama was free and had control over her life. She needed no one to lean on for support. She fought and won her own battles. In a sense she was complete and yet she felt empty......

That's it for this part.

Hope you like it.....

The next part will be updated soon....

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