Chapter 79: chapter 79

Kriti  stepped out to  participate in the next level of cooking competition where 15 out of 30 candidates will be selected.. She decided to do her best to win the spot..When she was about to enter the car she received a call from her husband "Hardik"..She hesitated for a second but finally attended it.." Kriti, I have reached India , I am coming home to pick  you up "..Kriti smiled and said," Hardik, I told you I am participating in a cooking show , I have a second round of auditions today.. ""Oh!!  ok, all the best.. do well", Hardik replied and disconnected the call..Kriti was amazed by Hardik's reply.. "Did he just wish me the best?? .."She sneered and got  inside the car..***Soon the competition started among the 30 participants..Kriti remembered her mom's words,"Along with ingredients , put heart in it.food will definitely be delicious"..It was announced that all the participants should cook some non veg item today..She quickly started preparing lamb mughlai curry with saffron rice, chicken kebab and coriander chutney..Soon the timer was up and all the participants were asked to stop and raise their hands..Kriti was satisfied with what she made.. But her heart was beating rapidly..Few people were appreciated for  cooking wonderful food and few made the judges disappointed..when Kriti was asked to present she made her way towards the judges..Judges took a bite of the food and  were extremely impressed by Kriti..She took a sigh of relief when she heard them..After tasting everyone's food , the Judges are gonna choose the top 15 contestants who will be participating in the show..Soon they  started announcing the names and everyone's fingers were crossed..They have already announced 12 names as of now and Kriti was still not in the list .She was praying to God to give her the spot and as if God had listened to her prayers , Kriti's name was announced.She had tears in her eyes and a smile appeared on her lips..." yes ,she made it to the top 15".. Judges congratulated every one and the contestants who were not selected left the centre with disappointment whereas the top 15 walked out with a proud smile on their lips..Yes why not, they are the best 15 in the whole country and soon they will be seen on T.V..When Kriti walked outside she saw a tall and handsome man wearing casual clothes leaning on his car."Hardik", she recognized him from a distance and walked towards him..He smiled at her and asked," How did your audition go??""I secured my place in  top 15"Hardik smiled stroked her hair and said," congratulations""Thanks, but what are you doing here?? Why didn't you go home after a long flight?", Kriti asked looking at his tired face.." I wanted to meet you before I go home"He opened his car door and said," come , let's go""Hardik, I cannot come to that house and besides  I am too tired to go somewhere else "" Don't worry, I will not take you there, trust me and moreover I am very hungry. Can we atleast have lunch together?", he asked.Kriti took a deep breath, called her driver and said ," You go home, I will come later"..Kriti sat in Hardik's car and the car drove towards the different side of the city..Kriti didn't ask him where he was taking her, she trusted him.. she didn't want  to say anything in front of the driver so she just closed her eyes..When the car took a halt she saw the car had entered into some gated community where there were rows of independent houses..Kriti looked at Hardik with surprise in her eyes..Hardik smiled as she got down from the car, walked towards the other side and opened the door for Kriti .Kriti got down with a question mark on her face..He took her hand and walked towards the villa..when they entered the house Kriti looked at the surroundings and asked," Hardik whose house is this??""Do you like it??", he asked.."Yeah it's good, but whose house is this??"Hardik wrapped his hands around her waist and said," it is our new house"Kriti turned around to face Hardik.. Surprise was written all over her  face.." I got to know how my family treated you in my absence from Aditya.. I am extremely sorry Kriti.. Even I hurt you the other day with my words.. I still feel ashamed for speaking rudely that day.. I was agitated after speaking to mom ...She spoke very ill about you and without even thinking I believed her words and took out my anger on you. I am sorry Kriti, please  forgive me..I have decided not to take you to the house where there is no respect for you, so I bought this house.. only you and I will live here from now on"..Kriti was speechless when she heard him.. She was trying to stay strong but tears welled up in her eyes when she remembered what she has gone through in his absence.. she couldn't control her tears in front of the person she loved most..Hardik cupped her face , kissed her forehead then her eyes and said," Shhhh, stop crying.. I promise I will take care of you from now on and will never allow my family to mistreat you.."Kriti felt relaxed after hearing him and hugged him tightly...He carefully stroked her hair and kissed her head..After some time, Kriti released from his embrace and said, " Hardik, thank you , but I cannot return back.I don't want to remain as Aditya's sister or Hardik's wife.. I want to create my own identity at least in front of the people who called me useless and said I don't deserve you..Yes , What they said is  true.. What qualifications do I have other than being the sister of Aditya.. we  didn't know each other earlier.. ours is purely arranged marriage.. would you have married me if I didn't belong to the Mehta family??. No, I would have not even come into your sight..I want to prove I deserve you Hardik.. it doesn't matter even if I lose the competition, at least if I can manage a few episodes , the whole  nation will at least know my name.. The day the program airs on the T.V,I will definitely come back to you Hardik.. please try to understand me.."Hardik's heart ached when she spoke, but he is happy that she has set a goal for herself and he will definitely support her..even though he didn't want to stay away from her, he accepted her request".."As you say ,Kriti.  I will be honoured to be called as celebrity chef's Kriti's husband.. and I know you will definitely win this competition.."Kriti felt much more relaxed after talking to her husband.. Not only her family ,now  she even  has support from her husband.. she felt fortunate..Hardik ordered food from outside and both of them ate their food in satisfaction.They both reached  Mehta mansion  and both of them entered the  house hand in hand..Everyone was surprised to see Hardik and invited him wholeheartedly because it was his mother who ill treated Kriti not her husband.. He was good to her..Kriti told everyone that Hardik bought a new house for them..Grandma was very happy when she heard her.. Go, Kriti, pack your bags and go along with your husband.."No ,grandma Kriti has set a goal for herself..she said she will come back to me when she achieves something.. I am with her in this.."Sanjana and Aditya were happy when they heard him.. but grandma was angry," Kriti are you mad?? I don't know what this Sanjana keeps filling in your mind.. don't think rubbish and go back to your husband"" Grandma, it is my decision and it has nothing to do with Sanjana, please don't blame her unnecessarily.. she was the one who showed me the light in the dark.. you are behaving the same way with Sanjana the way   my in laws behaved with me.. what is the difference between them and you??you were angry with them and cursed them for not treating me well  because they hurt  your granddaughter but you behave the same with your daughter- in- law.. I don't understand why  in this country there are  different rules for daughter and daughter in law..Change the way you think grandma, daughter -in -law is also a human being with emotions. Even if you can't treat her  like a daughter, at least treat her like a human being...Grandma was disappointed with Kriti .. she didn't speak and walked towards her room..Sanjana felt moved after hearing Kriti.. if every daughter supports her sis in law this way half of the family issues will be solved and people need not to go to court for divorce due to family issues..