[candy54789 wanted me to post another update today. Blackmail kiya yeh kehkar ki behna ke liye doge na? 😁😁 Toh lo pyari behna ke liye kar diya Update. 🤗🤗]

[Everyone who said the person was Pragya was absolutely right. Dono thappad mom se hi padi Rhea ko. LOL]

Rhea looked up only to find Pragya standing in front of her, glowering at her in murderous fury.

"You are wishing death to my daughter? You want to see my daughter dead? How dare you? How dare you to even nurture such a thought? Let me tell you, Rhea Mehra, that my daughter, my Prachi, is a genuine good person and curses of vultures like you don't affect a good person as they have several people who love them, care for them and pray for their wellbeing. That is the reason that my daughter came out of every single trap you have laid down for her. I am so ashamed of myself that I have ever trusted you, considered you like my own daughter. How much lower can you stoop, Rhea? Not contented with framing my daughter in various false cases, you have actually gone ahead with framing your own childhood friend whom you claim to love so much in a fake molestation case? God! You are not fit to be left in the open as you can harm anyone anytime. Now where is your saintly aunt who dared to file police complaint against my daughter and get her arrested? How dare the person whose own blood, own upbringing is such rotten to raise questions on my daughter's integrity? Don't remain silent because silence isn't going to help you anymore. Where is that aunt of yours?" Pragya demanded.

Abhishek was stunned to learn the truth about Prachi. The girl he had felt a connection with since their first meeting itself was actually his own flesh and blood, his own daughter. He turned to look at Prachi and his eyes brimmed with tears. His lips curved into a smile as pure joy coursed through him. He recalled all the moments he had spent with Prachi. Now he knew why he used to see Pragya's reflection in Prachi. Now he knew why, in such a short span of time, Prachi became dearer to him as a daughter. 

However, the next thought caused the smile to fade away as he realized how Pragya had succeeded in giving Prachi a good upbringing inspite of being a struggling single mother while he failed to even give Rhea a decent upbringing inspite of having all material resources at his fingertips.

Rhea turned towards her aunt with tear drenched eyes and Pragya followed her gaze. Aaliya shut her eyes in frustration. No matter how much she wanted to avoid exactly this incident, Pragya had returned and once again, she would, now, take her rightful place in the Mehra family. Pragya, on the other hand, was stunned to see Aaliya.

"Aaliya! Aaliya is your aunt?" Pragya stared at Rhea in disbelief.

When Rhea nodded in affirmation, Pragya staredat Rhea as her eyes brimmed with tears. It didn't take her any time at all toconnect the dots and reach the right conclusion. Rhea was her daughter. Her ownflesh and blood. The other twin. Her youngest daughter. 

Pragya lips curved into a wobbly smile as she took a step towards Rhea. But then the smile faltered andshe stopped abruptly, as she recalled Rhea's sins, both against Prachi as wellas Ranbir. Pragya's features hardened. Even if Rhea was her daughter, anoffender should not get away scot free. Even if Rhea was her daughter, that did not automatically give either Rhea the privilege to go around ruining others' lives or Pragya the right to forgive a sinner. Pragya's sense of justice and righteousness did not allow her to do so. 

It was then that Pragya looked back at Aaliya through a red haze as fury coursed through every vein in her body. This woman had always been responsible for the annihilation of her happiness and now she had successfully managed to convert Pragya's daughter into a monster. Fuming in anger, Praggya stode towards Aaliya.

Before Aaliya could say anything, Pragya slapped her, hard. 

"How dare you hit me, Pragya?" Aaliya blustered. 

Pragya slapped her again.

"Do you have any other doubt ragarding my daring nature? I will only be too happy to clear your doubts, Aliya Khanna. What a monster you are, Aaliya! Not contented with destroying my life, your own brother's life, you have actually destroyed your niece's life too? Are you even a human being? I doubt it. I really doubt it. You claim to love your brother and you claim to love Rhea, yet you have successfully destroyed both of their lives. I was an outsider to you, an enemy, granted. But Abhishek and Rhea? Weren't they your own blood relatives? Don't you claim that blood relations matter the most to you? What happened to thinking about the happiness of your blood relations then? Let me show you the mirror today. Let me reveal your ugly face to you today. You cannot love anyone else. Whether that person is your blood relative or not simply doesn't matter. Because you only love yourself, Aaliya. You know how to manipulate people to serve your own end. You are unaware of the concept of loving others and thinking about their happiness. You are cunning, devious and malicious. But you are not loving and caring by any stretch of the imagination. And the people you claim to love are actually pawns for you to manipulate and use for your own interests. You are a curse. A curse in our lives and a curse in Purab's life too. You can never love anyone truly because that is not in your nature." Pragya cried out in mounting fury.

"Pragya, you..." Aliya began.

Another slap landed on her cheek, making her stagger back with the sheer force of it.

"Not a word more from that vicious mouth of your. Not a word more. I can't believe you have made our daughter into a monster just like you. What was your brother's mistake? That he trusted you with his daughter? That he trusted that you have changed for the better and forgave your numerous past mistakes? What was our daughter, Rhea's mistake? That she trusted her aunt blindly? The aunt whom she had always regarded as a mother figure? You were like a mother to her and you made her into an exact replica of yourself. She has grown up to be a selfish, egoistic, self centered person who cannot love anyone other than herself. You have created such a situation where even after knowing that Rhea is my daughter I can't condone her crimes. Knowing her deeds, I can't even...." The rest Pragya's words were drowned in her sobs of a bone deep despair.

Stunned, Prachi staggered back as she learned the truth about the identity of her father. Ranbir immediately steadied her and put an arm around her. Prachi's eyes brimmed with tears and breaking free of the confines of her eyes, the tears cascaded down her cheeks. All the moments spent with her 'Mehra Sir' and all the times he had taken a stand for her, defended her and trusted her above everyone else flashed before her eyes in a kaleidoscope of memories. He did all that without being aware of her relation with him and that alleviated the grudge that she had concealed in her heart for not being there for her ever since her childhood, in spite of her mother's praises of him. 

Rhea's condition was no better. She received the shock of her life when she came to know that Pragya, whom she had always regarded as a mother figure more than her own aunt, was actually her mother. And Prachi was her sister, her twin sister. She, Rhea, had committed so many crimes against her own sibling. As that thought flitted across her mind, Rhea felt ashamed of herself. The full intensity and graveness of her sins dawned on her. She realized that she had hurt her own mother to no end in her endeavours to ruin her own sister's life. The mother she had always wanted to be with but never accepted even to herself due to the venom in her heart and mind injected by her aunt's vicious distortion of the truth. The mother she had tried to find in Prachi's mother. She could have exerted her right on their mother had she been as good as Prachi. But due to her mistakes, she had lost that right. Also Rhea realized how much she had hurt Ranbir and the kohlis who had trusted her and regarded as one of their own. Was she really a curse to everyone she came across? May be she was.

Someone placed a hand on Pragya's shoulder. With tear drenched eyes, she looked up. Abhishek was standing in front of her. Both looked at each other through watery eyes. So much sadness was there in both of their eyes. Both of them had their hearts broken. Both were feeling a failure as a parent, one because of leaving her daughter and one because of entrusting his daughter to the care of the worst person. Both were going through the same agony. There was happiness too, the happiness that never failed to fill their heart and mind whenever they met each other after long intervals of excruciating separations. Shaking her head, Pragya squeezed her  eyes shut as more tears cascaded down her cheeks. Abhishek pulled her in a warm embrace. Both shed tears silently for the lost years, for their eldest daughter and for their youngest daughter too. As they pulled apart, Abhishek wiped off Pragya's tears.

"Forgive me, Pragya. I failed as a father. I could not give a good upbringing to our daughter. I had entrusted our daughter to the care of a wrong person. And as a result our daughter has turned a sinner. I have broken your faith. I shouldn't have let you go and if you still insisted, I should have let you take Rhea too. She would have been a wonderful person had she had your upbringing, just like Prachi. I am sorry. So sorry." Abhishek apologized, joining his palms.

"You are not the only one at fault, Abhishek. As a mother, I am equally at fault. I shouldn't have left. I shouldn't have let differences rise above the interests of our daughters. That way we could have succeeded in not tearing apart our family. We both are at fault." Pragya covered his joind hands with her own hands.

"And we both are suffering for our mistakes. Just as Rhea should too for the crimes she has committed." Abhishek stood strong in his decision.

"Yes, she should. Just because she is our daughter, that does not give her the leeway to do whatever she wants and to play with lives and reputations of people." Pragya corroborated her husband's point of view.

Pragya removed her hands from Abhishek's and walked over to where Rhea was standing, shedding silent tears.

"We all have to pay for our mistakes, my child. And it is through this suffering that we learn the lesson of never repeating the same mistake again. I know you hate me for leaving you when you just an infant. I too know that I was wrong. I shouldn't have. Just as you shouldn't have done what you have done. I have suffered by being away from you and your father for twenty long years. And I am still suffering by seeing my youngest daughter going to jail. However, I am not going to stop you as I am hoping that after you return, you will change for the better. Punishment is necessary to make your realize your mistake. However, once you suffer the punishment and rectify your ways, I and your father will welcome you with open arms. Do know, my child, that no matter what children do, their parents can never stop loving them. We too can never stop loving you." Pragya cupped Rhea's face and kissed her forehead with tear drenched eyes.

"I am sorry, Mom. For hating you and for believing a vicious woman like my Buji. I am sorry dad, Ranbir and Prachi. I will return after serving my punishment as a better person, so that I don't end up making you and dad ashamed of me again. Now that I know that you have loved me all along and had never left me for someone else, I can never hate you now. You will wait for my return, won't you, mama?" Rhea threw herself in her mother's arms and cried her heart out.

"We always will, my child. We always will." Pragya reassured while caressing her daughter's head.

Sniffing, Rhea pulled away and gave a sad, watery smile to her mother and then turned to her father who was staring at them with desolate eyes and smiled at him too. Finally, Rhea turned towards Prachi. Prachi hurried over to her. Rhea caught her sister's hands in her own. Both the sisters wept together.

"I am sorry. I am so sorry for everything I have done to you. Please forgive me. I hope someday I will become a person whom you won't be ashamed to call a sister." Rhea apologized in a tear clogged voice.

"It's okay, Rhea. I have forgiven you already for what you have done with me. I will be waiting for your return and I am looking forward to form a strong bond with my sister." Prachi reassured her.

Both the sisters hugged each other and wept some more. Pulling out of the embrace, Rhea walked over to Ranbir.

"I know sorry is too small for what I have done to you. And that's why I am going to serve the punishment for the offence. I just hope when I return you will be able to forgive me, Ranbir. Lastly, even after knowing that the mere words are too inadequate, still I want to apologize to you. I am sorry Ranbir. Forgive me if you ever can." Rhea apologized to Ranbir joining her palms.

"I hope when you return, you will change for the better, Rhea." Ranbir gave a curt nod, neither accepting nor rejecting Rhea's apology.

Finally, Rhea walked over to her father and yet again, joined her palms.

"I know you are ashamed of me, dad. And you are right to be so. I have committed such a heinous deed. I know you won't believe me, still I want to say that I am ashamed of myself too. Aliya Khanna had injected so much venom in me that I could not see what was right and what was wrong. I can just hope you won't hate me so much and somehow, manage to forgive me after I return from serving the punishment for my offence." Rhea sighed dejectedly.

"Like Ranbir said, I too hope that you will change for the better and never again in your life try to harm others. I hope that after your return you will follow in your mother's footsteps and not that vicious woman's whom you call Buji." Abhishek replied tartly.

Nodding, Rhea made her way to the waiting police officials and extended her hands. A lady constable fastened the handcuff around her wrists and led her away.

As another lady constable, went to fasten the handcuff around Aliya's wrist, she protested vociferously and entreated to her brother to save her. But his brother merely threw a glare full of loathing towards her.

"Listen this and listen carefully, Aliya. Even after you return you will have no place either in my life or in my family or in my business and home. After you serve your sentence, you will totally be on your own. I don't have any relationship with you anymore." Abhishek declared his intentions in a clear voice.

"Bhai! You can't do this! Aryan! Please, you tell your uncle..." Aliya began to plead with Aryan.

"I will not tell anything like that to him. I hate you, Mrs. Aliya Khanna. And I hate myself that I am your son. Take her away." Aryan retaliated.

Protesting and cursing all and sundry, Aliya was taken away by the police, followed by the Choubeys.

"I know I am a very bad father. I have never reached out to you. I was never there to steady you when you were about to fell down or to soothe your pain after a fall. I was never there to attend you parent teacher meets. I was never there to celebrate your success or to encourage you to face a difficult situation. I know you must have gone through ridicules and taunts because of my absence in your life. But do know that I have always missed you. You were always there in my heart. May be that's why I tried to find my elder daughter in you. I was wrong, so wrong, to let you and your mother go. Will you, please, forgive me? Will you please give me another chance to show you how much he has always loved you and that he will always be by your side and protect you from now onwards? Will you accept me in your life?" Abhishek entreated as tears cascaded down his cheeks.

"Yes, I was angry with you for the all those reasons but I am not angry with you anymore. My mother told me that you are a very good human being and that you didn't abandon us, you and Ma were separated due to mutual differences. When I came here and met you for the first time, it felt as if I have found my lost father. Gradually, you have taken the place of my father as you have always showered me with the unconditional love, affection and acceptance of a father. Unaware of your relationship with me, you have always stood up for me, defended me and trusted me when all were against me, of course with the exception of Ranbir. You have protected me and saved me. In doing so, you have fulfilled a father's duty without knowing the truth. That makes you a very good person in my eyes and after knowing the truth, I am very happy that you really are my father. I forgive you for the past. But on one condition. You will have to promise to never leave me and Ma again." Prachi smiled through tears.

"I promise, my child, I will never do that." Abhishek smiled and pulled his daughter into a warm embrace.

Tears cascaded down Prachi's cheeks again, but this time they were tears of happiness. Abhishek looked at Pragya with smile, expressing gratitude through moist eyes. Pragya nodded her acknowledgement with a smile. Abhishek opened his other arm and Pragya, too, stepped into the embrace. There were happy tears in every one's eyes as a long lost family united after so many years.

Ranbir was looking at them with a soft smile playing on his lips, his own eyes weren't devoid of moisture, when someone tapped on his shoulder. 

Ranbir turned around to see Aryan beside him. Aryan's face was screaming out the pain of betrayal that he suffered in the hands of his mother.

"Ranbir, after what my mother has done, I don't know how to apologize to you. But still, I apologize for everything she has done. I will understand if you won't want to be my friend anymore." Aryan smiled sadly.

"Just shut up, okay. You are and will always be my bro. Got that! Now come on, give me a hug. I was under so much stress. Have some mercy on me." Ranbir winked at Aryan and pulled him into a tight hug which Aryan reciprocated enthusiastically.

After coming out of the embrace, Aryan turned towards Prachi.

"Prachi, I am so sorry for everything my mother has done. I..." Aryan began.

"Aryan, you have always been the brother I never had and always helped both me and Ranbir. There is no need for you to apologize. You have done nothing wrong. I am grateful to have a brother like you." Prachi smiled.

"Now the thing I wanted to ask. Are Prachi and Ranbir married now?" Pragya asked, looking around.

"Yes" Ranbir replied.

"No" Came Prachi's reply.

The stupid grin on Ranbir's face was replaced by a bemused frown as he turned towards Prachi.

"What do you mean by 'No'?" Ranbir questioned her, with his hands on his hips.

3353 words! My goodness! This has turned out to be the longest update of Destined To Be. And I am tired. So let's end it here. ;)

What did Prachi mean? Did Pranbir marriage happen or not? Want to know? Then keep reading. ;)

Hope you all like this part.