Recap

Anirudh looked at the three pairs of tear-filled eyes glaring at him. Aaryan's lips were shivering but Anirudh could hear his sound.

He was aware of the thousands of questions roaming in their mind. And he was ready to face them.

"When I was a child, I always wondered that what was Papa holding that much closer to himself. When I grew up, the confused teenager in myself confirmed that it was nothing but money... It took a long time for me to realise the truth..."
He sighed.

"It was more precious than anything in the world... It was our August..."

**************

Anirudh was about to continue the story but stopped immediately looking at Simran's face. She was on the brink of tears.

None of them ever had seen her crying. She was strong, cunning, daring and most importantly has great control over her emotions. But now Simran felt as if the whole world collapsed on her. She realised the fact that she could never love herself after knowing this all.

"Stay strong..." said Anirudh while holding both of her hands.
"We need you..."

"I... I hate his blood in my veins..." She said with a great effort to compose herself from a breakdown.

Anirudh side hugged her. Simran couldn't help but cry her heart out on his shielding arms. She never got a chance to feel the brotherly affection before and now she understood why Agasthya's world always revolved around his brothers...

"Don't shed your tears for Akash Malhotra dear..."
Said Meghna to Simran and wiped her tears.

"Yes." Anirudh also agreed with her.
"He is not worth it..."

Simran nodded a little. She always wanted to know how far her father would go for money but never excepted this much. She wasted her whole life for his acceptance and now it feels humiliating.

"Do you wish to meet your mother?"
Anirudh asked her expecting a yes. He really wanted them to be together. They both deserve better.

Simran glared at Anirudh in surprise. For the first time, she was being a normal daughter who wants to run into her mother's lap. Her heart craved for her mother... Her mother, whom she failed to understand...
"Yes... I want her..."

"Go then..." Anirudh smiled. "She is waiting for you..."

Then he turned to Aaryan who was standing there silent.
"Accompany her... I had sent you the location..."

Aaryan just nodded and walked along with Simran to meet Geetha Malhotra for the first time in his life.

************

"How do you know this, Anirudh?"
Meghna asked him.

It has been half an hour since Aaryan and Simran left and Anirudh was sitting silently in the garden.

"Did you say anything?"
Anirudh turned back to face her. He wasn't in this world and that was clear from his clueless expression.

She sighed and sat beside him.
"How do you know this?

" Just a minute..."

Anirudh walked into the house and came back bringing a diary with him. He sighed and handed over it to her.

"Your mother's... Isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

Meghna gently turned its pages. Her vision was blurred with tears so that she couldn't read even a single word from the diary.

"It was written for me..." Whispered Anirudh.
"She expected that I would fix everything but... I failed..."

"No..." Meghna cut his words with a jerk.
"Don't say that..."

Anirudh chuckled sadly. He was never a loving son whom any parents would crave to have.

"I couldn't give my mother enough support and care when I was young... I used to argue with her that why she never blamed my father for leaving us alone... I remember how harshly the media and society attacked her with questions about Rajeev Thakur's departure... She wasn't ready to say a word about that... And I thought that she doesn't believe me... That really affected our relation..."

"It wasn't your mistake, Anirudh..."

"It was..." Hissed Anirudh while tears made their way through his cheeks.

"I cried in her absence but was arrogant in front of her... I never tried to be close to her like Aaryan... We lived under the same roof but I built a wall in-between us... She waited patiently for me to grow up and be mature enough to overcome my ego and wounds but fate had some other plans..."

Anirudh could never forget the day when his mother left the world. He was in his college when he got Aaryan's call. He could still feel how fast and painful each of his heartbeats were while he was rushing towards the hospital.

"She didn't wait for me at that moment... I wanted to cry aloud but... Aaryan was devastated... I had no other choice than to pretend to be strong. I had no one to take care of me, but I had to make sure that Aaryan has me as his parent..."

"Anirudh..." Meghna embraced him. She has no way to erase his sorrows other than listening to them.

"I may be a good brother, Meghna... But I wasn't good enough to born as my parent's kid. My mumma loved me and I also loved her back... We both knew that, even though it wasn't much expressive... But Papa..."

He exhaled deeply looking at her eyes.

"I can't forgive myself for hurting him..."

"Don't blame yourself for that Anirudh... Life was never fair to you..."

"I had a chance to make it fair but I didn't... As you know, Me and Aaryan shifted to Delhi after my mother's death... Then only I came to know that Papa came to Mumbai to meet us and take us with him to London. I was confused... And I hated him, I preferred to prove that I can give my brother a better life than our father could ever have... Papa contacted me once or twice... I challenged him to come back to India and live with us instead of sending money if he honestly regrets for leaving us... But he didn't..."

"He was helpless because August, who was just 10 years old, was with him..."
Meghna completed his sentence.

"I succeeded in my career... I was confident and stable... I even forgot to think about Papa... 8 years passed very fast... It was a gloomy morning when Papa's PA contacted me to inform his death... I tried to make myself believe that I feel nothing but it wasn't easy as I thought... Hatred is also a strong relation, just like love..."

"Your father will forgive you... You love Agasthya as much you love Aaryan... You are a great person, even though you never accept that..."

Anirudh shook his head faking a smile. His lady love is a true blessing, he would be always grateful for her existence in his life.

"You love me more than your life... That's what made you think so... But it's not the truth, we both know that... I hated Agasthya when I met him for the first time... He was afraid of me... I tortured him, blamed him. He used to hide from me..."

"Are you mad?" Meghna stared at him. It was getting on her nerves.
"It's over... Everyone makes mistakes."

"I am sorry but let me pour it out..." Whispered Anirudh.
"I can't cry in front of Aaryan, can I?"

Meghna regretted for shouting at him. She could feel the depth of his grief. He shielded them all from everything but by destroying himself. Who is there to hear him other than her?

"Forgive me, My dear... I am here for you and always will be..."

He exhaled deeply.
"My life was dry as a dessert and still as a statue. I used to survive, not live... I thought it was peaceful but was actually dull."

"And then he came..."
Anirudh couldn't help but smile while thinking about his little brother, who taught him to live life to its fullest...

"I don't care if he is Agasthya Thakur or Agasthya Prathap Deshmukh... He is my August, nothing more nothing less... And I am not ready to lose him... I don't want Varun to know about his true identity..."

At that time only Meghna realised the seriousness of Anirudh's struggle. Anirudh does think about Varun, which makes him different from others. She was pretty sure that neither she nor Aaryan and Simran would ever think about Varun, biological brother of Agasthya. Anirudh's heart is made for sacrifices.

"Do you remember the day when I had a small fight with August and he complained to you about that? "

Anirudh's words broke her chain of thoughts. She giggled recalling Agasthya's cute pouted face. How could she forget those happy days?

"Being free from his chit chats for some time, I was sitting in my room... At that time I read this diary and knew the truth..."

Meghna gasped. That means Anirudh know everything earlier. And she understood why he was crying that day and lied to them.

"I am sorry, I didn't tell you guys anything... But I must say that from that moment, I was living in the fear of losing Agasthya... I always wanted him in my eyesight... Honestly, I couldn't breathe when he wasn't in my hold..."

"I can understand now why you became overprotective around him... But why you always choose to suffer everything by yourself, Anirudh? Why don't you share anything?"

"Meghna... To be frank, it has been my habit. But more than that, I didn't want you to suffer... It will do nothing but multiple your grief a billion times. I would never tell you Agasthya's birth secret if I didn't fail to keep him safe. That's why I denied Aaryan's opinion to hand over the evidence against Akash Malhotra to the police. I know he was right, but..."

"No he wasn't... you were right..."

"Case regarding F4 Medicare was widely discussed at that time amongst the people in India especially Mumbai... The police called off the investigation in lack of evidence but people didn't forget that easily. Prathap Deshmukh's fame was beyond my expectations. He is still remembered by Mumbai's dark world as the cruellest yet most successful man... Many of them were affected by him, and I am afraid that they would never forget anything..."

"That means... Agasthya's life will be in danger if the world came to know his reality..."

Anirudh nodded.
"Police will try their best to find out everything regarding F4 Medicare, the case which left them in shame, 18 years back... And at last, it will end up with uncovering the truth to Agasthya... That he is not my brother but the son of the most terrible person, Prathap Deshmukh. Worst of all, the brother of Varun who killed his Papa in front of his eyes..."

Meghna held his hand tightly to gain some strength. She felt her head spinning.

"Do you think my baby would survive that?"
Anirudh asked her.

Meghna covered her mouth to control her sobs. Anirudh and Aaryan are Agasthya's only joy and this truth is sharp enough to kill him.

"I don't know if my brother gets enough food and sleep... I don't know is Varun harming him..." Cried Anirudh.
"But I am sure that he will survive and hold on until I reach there... My baby is the strongest by his birth... He was saved by the love of three mother's, and that will always protect him..."

"Yes..."

"Maybe that I am being rude to Varun's fate by hiding the truth... But I don't think he would ever change... He can't care about Agasthya as much I do... He is a criminal and a psycho after all..."

"No one can love August the way you do, Anirudh... Your brotherhood is thicker than blood..."

Anirudh thanked her for that words. Maybe the world would call him selfish but he doesn't care.

"I am not ready to throw Agasthya into the brutal reality. I can't make him hurt by the truth. He will always remain as my baby brother, the youngest son of Mr Rajeev Thakur... Whatever it takes..."

************

Precap

Geetha slowly ran her fingers through Simran's long hair. She couldn't take her sight from her beautiful daughter.

"Simran... I love you, dear..."

Simran hugged her mother tightly and smiled like a small child.

"Mumma... I love you too..."

Aaryan felt his eyes getting wet and wiped them before they could notice. She was beautiful even she was in tears.

*************

"Will you help me? Please..."

Diya bowed her head being unable to face his teary eyes.

"Diya... I know it is not easy for you... But... You are the only one who can save me... And I promise you that I will tell my brothers to not harm your Jiju... They won't deny my words... I am sure..."

"Forgive me Agasthya... I can't betray him..."

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