Chapter 3

Chapter 3-

In the week that his boss was away, Aman was busier than usual. In addition to the tasks ASR had set for him, he had to oversee a lot of the office work. While Akash was hardworking and intelligent, he lacked his brother’s shrewdness, that keen sense of business that was ASR’s trademark. Aman had had to tactfully guide him through several important decisions but Akash’s humility and gratitude, another stark contrast to ASR, made it hard to begrudge him for it. 

But it had meant even less time at home and though she was convalescing from her cold, Pari was definitely going through something. He had taken her to a child psychologist in the weeks after Priya’s passing until the doctor had deemed her well enough that she no longer needed regular sessions. She had said that grief in children, just like adults, can be very dynamic and that they could always consult her if the need arose.

Aman wondered if he should book an appointment. The cold seemed to have transformed his adorable five-year-old into a moody teenager in the span of a week. 

Seated in his office on Thursday and battling a fierce headache, he realised that he had a more pressing call to make first. While BT had been sending him updates, he hadn’t relayed it Anjaliji as yet. 

She answered instantly but asked him to hold while she found a safe spot to talk.

“I’ve just sent you some photos…” he began.

“Amanji, Shyamji ghar laut aaye hain” she interrupted him. “Unhone kaha ke kisi client se milne unhe Lucknow jaana pada…”

“Jhoot hai, Anjaliji” he said, “Aap please photos dekh lijiye. He was very much in Delhi, in fact woh aapke puraane apartment me the.”

“Fir unhone humse aisa kyun kaha?” she asked, and then said, “Zaroor koi wajah hogi. Unke kaam ke silsile me aksar aisa hota hai…clients, case…uske baare me who kisise baat nahi kar sakthe. And…humaara purana flat bohot dinon se band pada hai.”

Her rambling wasn’t helping the throbbing in his head. 

“Anjaliji, BT ka kaam hai Shyam ko follow karke sach pata lagaana aur humara kaam hai yeh information relay karna” he said, “Ab uska aap kya matlab nikaalthi hain ya fir uss information ko leke aap kya karthi hain, that’s your lookout.”

She went silent at once. 

Realizing that he had sounded rougher than he had intended, he began to speak but she let out a loud gasp.

“Amanji, yeh last wala photo, yeh toh Lakshmi Nagar hai na?” she asked, “Yeh toh Khushiji ke Buaji ka ghar lag raha hai.”

“That’s what I was going to tell you, BT followed him there.” he said, “Woh Khushiji ki family ko milne gaye but Buaji didn’t let him in. Fir agle din jab Buaji aur Aunty paas ke market me gaye the, he snuck in through a window.”

When she didn’t say anything, he continued.

“BT ne Shyam ko Khushiji ke father ko threaten karte hue dekha” Aman said, “He felt ki Shyam was checking ki woh ab bol paa rahe hain ya nahi, kyunki unki tabiyath ab pehle se kaafi better hai. And finally, he heard him say ki agar unka muh khul gaya toh bohot bura hoga.”

He was met with stunned silence. Checking that they were still connected, he asked,

“Anjaliji, aap sun rahi hai na?”

“I don’t… hume kuch samaj me nahi aa raha” she said, her voice breaking. 

He didn’t understand either, he only knew bits and pieces of the story. He hadn’t bothered to find out more in the past as he hadn’t considered it any of his business. But Anjaliji had made it his business and he didn't like half-measures, they had to get to the bottom of it.

“Anjaliji, honsla rakhiye” he said, reassuringly. “Sab sach jaldi pata chal jaega. In fact BT has asked for some help- he has asked me to open a new account for you jiska credit card aap Shyam ko de dijiye. Then BT can track its usage and use hume kaafi valuable information mil sakthi hai. He also wants access to Shyam’s laptop, if you make sure he’s not at home tomorrow evening, BT can try…”

“Ek minute, Amanji” she said, “Yeh aap kya keh rahe hain? Aap chahthe hai ki hum apne pati se jhoot bole…unhe is tarah jaal me phasaen? Humse yeh sab nahi kar paenge!”

“BT kisi bhi tarah se sach ko dhoond nikaalega, with or without your help” Aman said, “Aap maddad karengi toh shayad it’ll be sooner, lekin usse sachai pe koi asar nahi hoga.”

He heard her take in a shaky breath and all at once his irritation at her naivety was replaced by a raging fury at the man who had put her in this situation.

“Shyamji ne ek baar kaha tha ki unhone Buaji ko unke husband ke pension dilaane me unki madded ki thi” she said, quietly. “Ho saktha hai uske silsile me koi misunderstanding hui ho… aur fir chota mota jhoot toh sab bolte haim, kya aapne kabhi koi white lie nahi bola?”

Of course, he had. 

Long before his wife was diagnosed with cancer, they had been just like any other couple. Priya and he had grown up together, in the same basti where he still lived. She had transformed from the tomboy who climbed trees with him to the beautiful woman he had fallen in love with. But despite their filmy love story, they had had their share of ups and downs. 

He had lied to get out of doing chores, cheated at whose turn it was to check on their wailing infant at midnight. Of course, he had told white lies, but never once had he given his wife cause to doubt him or his commitment to her. 

No woman deserved this, Anjaliji deserved to know the truth. 

“Agar aisi baat hai toh aap BT ki help kar dijiye, fir pata chal jaega” he said, infusing his words with challenge. His ploy was weak and obvious, but he hoped it was enough fuel to rouse the dying embers of her strength.

She was quiet for several seconds. 

“Theek hai” she said, finally. “Hum tayaar hai.”

The next morning Anjali pitched the idea of a dinner date before Shyamji left for work. He looked less than enthusiastic but there was nothing too unusual about that. The important thing was that he finally agreed. And although she took delivery of the new credit card later in the day, she hadn’t decided if she wanted to go ahead with that aspect of the deception. A dinner date was one thing but tracking his expenses was on a different plane especially since money had always been a sore point between them.

Subsequently, she was not surprised when it came up at the end of dinner. When the cheque arrived, Shyamji waved away her offer to pay. But when he tried to pay, his card was repeatedly declined.

He scrambled in his wallet for cash, spewing venom at the card company. 

“Shyamji, aap pareshaan mat hoiye na” Anjali said, reaching for her purse. 

“Hum kyun pareshaan honge bhai?” he said, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Humare saath toh Rani Sahiba hai, jinke paas paison ki koi kami nahi hai.”

Anjali handed her card to the waiter in silence. As he walked away, Shyamji continued, 

“Lekin aap toh jaanthi hain na ki hum ek sadharan vakil hai? Humaare liye aisi jagah aane ki keemat ek-do mahine ki tankwah hai. Phir bhi aapne zidd ki aur hum aapko na bhi toh bol sakthe, varna aap naaraz ho jaengi ki hum aapke saath waqt nahi bitate.”

“Shyamji, aap aisa mat kahiye” she said, tears stinging her eys. “Paise chahe aap de ya hum, use kya farak padtha hai? Hume saath me time spend karne ka mauka mila, who bhi yahan…iss jagah se humari kitni yaadein judi hai…”

She trailed off when her eyes fell on the credit card he was replacing in his wallet.

“Shyamji, yeh card toh…”

For a second there was a flash of fear in his eyes, but she saw that it had instantly morphed into an expression of curiosity. 

“Yeh toh humaara purana card hai” she said, taking it from him to confirm. “Hume laga ki kho gaya hai, isliye Chotey ne isse cancel karwa diya tha. Humne realise nahi kiya ki yeh aapke paas hai.”

“Rani Sahiba, hume bhi abhi ehsaas ho raha hai ki yeh to humara card hai hi nahi, tabhi decline ho raha tha” he said, with a small laugh.“Shayad galti se aapka card humaare paas reh gaya tha.”

“Arey, koi baat nahi” she said, as they stood to leave.

“Aap chahe toh check kar lijiye, humne kuch khaas karch nahi kiya hai usme" he said with a smirk on his face.

“Kaisi baaten kar rahe hai aap” she said, “Ab chalen?”

Later that night, Anjali couldn’t sleep. Amanji had sent her a thumbs-up emoji to indicate that BT had been successful in his endeavour with Shyamji's laptop. 

Something about the credit card was bothering her and she couldn’t shake it off. She sat up and made her way to the poolside, picking up the new card Amanji had sent that morning and wondering what to do with it.

It could have been a simple mistake, of course. Shyamji could have picked up her card thinking it was his. He had even offered that she could cross check the expenses. 

She had a vague memory of a conversation with Chotey some time ago. He had been alerted by some unusual activity on the card and had asked her to check. It was then that had reaslied that the card was no longer with her. 

So there had definitely been some expenses on it. She didn't know what to make of Shyamji's remark then. Had he mentioned checking because his conscience was clear or because he was confident she would never stoop to actually doing it? What would she find if she did?

“Rani Sahiba”

She almost screamed in surprise when he touched her shoulder and brought her back from her whirpool of thoughts. 

“Kya hua? Aap beech raat me yahan kya kar rahin hai?” he asked,rubbing his eyes. “Sab theek toh hai?”

“Ji…woh, hum woh credit card…” she mumbled.

“Kya kaha aapne?” he asked, his nostrils flaring. “Aap abhi tak uss credit card ko lekar pareshaan hai? Aapko kya lagta hai, humne card aapse churaya tha?”

“Nahi Shyaamji, humaara woh matlab nahi tha” she said, reaching for his hand.

He stepped away. She knew that he was always grumpy when his sleep was disturbed but tonight he seemed to have bypassed straight to rage.

“Rani Sahiba, hum maanthe hain ki aap humse kayi guna zyaada rais hain” he said.  “Lekin kya baar baar yeh saabit karna zaroori hai? Khaane ka bill bharke bhi aap yehi saabit karna chahthi thi na?”

“Shyaamji, aap hume galat samajh rahe hain” Anjali said, tears springing to her eyes at the accusation. She had always been sensitive to the stark difference in their financial status. 

“Arey, galat toh aap hume samajh rahi hai Rani Sahiba” he said, turning away. He raised his hand to his forehead; it was his tell of stress and frustration.

Anjali looked from the card in her hand to her husband's stooped form, her misery growing by the minute.

“Iss ghar me har waqt har insaan hume shaq ke nazar se dekhta hai, hum thak chuke hain Rani Sahiba” he went on. “Par hum who sab bardaasht kar lete hain, sirf aapke liye aur agar aap bhi…”

“Nahi, Shyamji” she said, taking his arm. “Kyun na hum bhi yahan se chale jaye? Sabse door, vaapas humaare ghar me? Yeh…yeh sab bhulake ek nayi shuruwat karen?”

In that moment, she spoke her truth. She was ready to drop everything- the conflict with Chotey, her doubts, the investigation and perhaps even if it turned out that Shyamji had been infatuated with Khushiji at one point, she could overlook even that for another chance to start over. After all, Shyamji had loved her, married her despite her past and despite all her flaws. 

“Aapko yaad hai, hum wahan kitne khush the?” she said, wiping away her tears.

But her hopes came crashing down when he turned to her, his eyebrows narrowed and a note of panic in his eyes.

“Rani Sahiba lagta hai aapki yaadaash kamzoor ho gayi hai” he said, with false brevity. “Hum wahan khush nahi, bohot pareshaan rehte the. Chota sa flat hai aur jab dekho bijli aur paani ki aafat rehti hai.”

Anjali's eyes widened, he hadn't even noticed that his tense had changed from past to present. So he had been to the apartment and was standing before her and lying to her face, not even aware of his little slip up. Did the lies come so easily then?

She plastered a smile on her face and admitted to the difficulties they had faced. Of course, in her mind, they had never been difficulties because she had been genuinely happy. 

They couldn't go back there, Shyamji insisted as he led her back inside. 

She stopped short and faced him, “Actually, jab humne kaha ke hum card ke baare me soch rahe the tab hum uss card ki nahi, is card ki baat kar rahe the.” 

He raised his eyebrows in question.

“Jab hume pata chala ki humaare hisse ke shares Chotey ne humaare joint account se humaare personal account me transfer kar diya, hume bohot bura laga. Isliye humne aapke ke liye humaare account ka naya card banva liya, hum aapko dene hi wale the ki…”

Instantly, his expression changed. 

“Rani Sahiba, aapne pehle kyun nahi bataaya?” he said, taking the envelope from her. “Hum bhi bilkul sirphire hain, yahan aap humaare baare me soch rahi hai aur humne aapko hi daant diya. Hume maaf kar dijiye”

“Koi baat nahi” she said, as he pulled her into his arms.

"Hum apne liye nahi aapke liye khush hain" he said, "Aage jaake kam se kam hume apni patni ko dinner date pe le jaane me koi taqleef toh nahi hogi"

Anjali shut her eyes, torn between the tranquillity of his embrace and the turmoil behind the reason for it. She wanted to believe his words but she had seen his expression.

She followed him back to the room and once she was satisfied that he was asleep, she sent a thumbs up text to Amanji.