Chapter 4
Yesterday, when you loved me -
"Of course you're happy. Just like you, your daughter too trapped a hen who lays golden eggs with that deceptive, innocent charm and superficial looks. Apparently, this Ranveer is even more foolish than my Harshad, because he married Ishani even after Disha and I falsely implicated him in the molestation case..."
Ishani whipped around and slammed her back against the door hard, her heart thumping unable to listen to more. Surely what Baa had said couldn't be true? Ranveer was innocent?
She ran to her room - their room, she corrected herself and threw her body on the bed, her head swimming, and the tears forming. Ranveer had married her forcefully three months ago, saying that if she didn't marry him, he would ensure that the Parekhs lost the case. She had agreed, and thus came about three months of their whirlwind relationship together. She had assumed he'd married her for revenge, that the love he'd felt for her as a young boy had long died when his family and him were brutally thrown out two years ago. But his reaction to her had given her a whiplash. Her heart stuttered uncertainly around him. He had been cruel and calm and aloof; he had been tentative and apologetic and calming, he had been kind and helpful and contemplative. He had become the incarnation of so much unexpected in her life in the past few months - a source of fear and comfort.
Even in the two years that he was away from her life, his presence always lurked around her, like a phantom pain, like a tongue returning to the fleshy area where a tooth had been pulled out. Every touch by Chirag reminded her of the way Ranveer squeezed her hand that extra one time before letting go, the way he would pull at the ends of her hair playfully. Every day away from him was shattering her a bit, and at night, she would fervishly scan the few photos they had together - a conveyor belt of bittersweet images - desperate to cling to his memory. It was the only time, she let herself acknowledge the truth - that try as she might, she couldn't hate him. It was the only time she let herself accept that she preferred the constant bickering with Ranveer over the sickly sweet nothings Chirag whispered in her ear. It was the only time she let herself finally believe that the strange calmness she felt after Ranveer had stopped her wedding with Chirag and put forward his condition was not shock, but relief. Relief at the fact that she no longer had to pretend what she felt for Chirag, she knew about his betrayal, that she'd simply used him to escape the confused feelings she held for her best friend, made worse by Disha's accusations all those years ago. And now, to find out, that all the accusations were untrue...
She could admit it now, to herself - because that was the only way she could - she was falling for him. She may not be in love with him, but something was definitely changing. He may talk rudely to her but the anger never reflected in his eyes. Those eyes still belonged to Ranveer, not RV. She knew he may never love her now, and she was okay with that. She could live with his concern only.
Her head swam, all the contradicting thoughts blurring her vision. Tiredness seeped through her pores, as she laid her head down on the bed, deeply inhaling the scent of just him, when he twisted and turned, a collection of tense muscles and taut limbs, caused by her own presence just a few inches away from him. She tried to ease his sleep by quietly slinking off one night, but his hand held hers, even in his sleep.
Her fingers fisted the sheets, clutching them greedily. It was true, you noticed those things when they're no longer there. He was always so generous with his touches when they were friends, the arm that enveloped her with its warmth and completeness whenever Baa's words made her feel cold and alone, the crook of his neck where she nestled her head. Now, it's what she looked for in his distance, searching for it when all she got were silences.
She drew a deep, shuddering breath as she sat up, seeing her own stupidity and stubbornness flashing in front of her eyes. She brought her knees to her chest wondering how her mistakes could leave so much destruction in its wake, so much love lost, hearts locked, keys forgotten.
She didn't know when being alone became such a comfort. She hated it - hated how used to it she had became, how she expected it.
Almost like an answer to her thoughts, from her tear-filled vision she saw Ranveer enter the room quickly, before he looked at her, his steps faltering.
"Ishani? What are you - why are you crying?"
With three long strides, he was on the bed, by her side.
He didn't touch her.
Before Ishani could reply, a sight froze her, the words choked in her throat.
For peeking out from under the sleek, black file in his hands was a paper that held the power to break her.
Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.
(Yeah, this one is going to be continued.)
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