Chapter 8

Chapter 8 (Part 1)-

One month after her visit to the police station, Anjali was sitting in the living room amidst ongoing festivities. Her family was preparing for their forthcoming visit to Chotey and Khushiji’s home that mid-morning. Mamiji was looking through boxes of jewellery, Payaliji was selecting sarees and Nani was overseeing the sweets. HP was busy packing up their selections and loading it into the car. 

Chotey’s phone call the day before could not have come at a better time. Convalescing from the many events that had plagued them over the last few months, her entire family had come together in their unbridled joy over the news that Chotey and Khushiji were expecting. Anjali was particularly heartened to see Nani emerge from her shroud of despair and rejoice at the prospect of a great-grandchild.

Setting aside the bangle boxes she was choosing from, Anjali tried to acknowledge the twinge of bittersweetness that she was feeling, knowing well that it would be unhealthy to repress it. It wasn’t entirely because of her own loss though, she thought. It was also to do with the fact that her niece or nephew would grow up in a different house as Chotey, though now on talking terms with them, still refused to consider moving back home. 

“Didi, yeh aap ke liye aaya hai” HP said, handing her an envelope.

Thanking him, she opened it and saw that it contained more legal papers from Mr Roy’s office. He had filed the first motion for mutual divorce shortly after the police station and had simultaneously filed a petition to waive the mandatory six-month cooling period. 

Anjali said a quick word of thanks to Devi Maiyya on reading that the waiver had been granted and Mr Roy had drafted the paperwork for the second motion of divorce. He needed her signatures at the earliest.

Excusing herself, she made her way back to her bedroom as memories of the dank interrogation room resurfaced. 

“Kya chahiye aapko?” she had asked him.

“Rani…humaara matlab hai, Anjali, aaiye, baitiye.”

Still handcuffed, he was seated at the far end of a table on which lay a single black folder. 

“Naatak karne ki koshish bhi mat kijiye” she said, sitting down and accepting the buzzer from the lady constable who instructed her to press it if she felt at disease. 

Resisting the urge to press it at once and swallowing her revulsion, she said, “Aapki sachai hum achi tarah se pehchaan chuke hain.”

With a deep sigh, he closed his eyes briefly. His upper lip curled with disdain in a way that sent shivers down her spine and when he opened his eyes, there was a hostility in them that she had never noticed before. 

“Wah Anjali wah” he said, “Agar humaare haath bandhe nahi hote na, toh hum zaroor taali maarthe.”

She stared at him.

“Bhai, daat deni padegi aapki himmat ki, aapke akal ki” he said, animatedly. “Kabhi socha nahi tha humaari bholi-baali patni humaare hi khilaaf saazish…”

“Humne koi saazish nahi ki, sirf sachai saabith kiya hai” she interrupted him. “Aapke chehre par jo achai ka naqaab tha, usse uthaara hai”

“Haan, hum bure hain!” he yelled. He banged his handcuffed wrists on the table in front of him, making her jump.

A gleam of malice in his eyes, he said, “Apni manzil ko paane ke liye hum kuch bhi kar sakthe hai…kuch bhi! Bhaad me jae aap aur aapka parivaar.”

She closed her eyes, absorbing the impact of his words. “Jiss insaan ko apne khud ke parivaar, apne khud ke khoon ka khayal nahi…usse aur kya umeed kar sakthe hain”

“Haan, humne apne hi bache ka istemaal kiya” he said, leaning forward. “Itne bure hain hum!”

Eyes still closed, she said, “Who humaari bachi thi, humaari raajkumaari. Aapne unhe maar daala…khooni hain aap!”

His eyes widened slightly as her pitch rose to a crescendo. 

“Saari duniya aapke khilaaf thi, saare sabooth aapke khilaaf the par hum…hum aapke saath khade rahe kyunki hume poora yakeen tha ki aap humaare saaath kuch bura kar hi nahi sakthe” she said, standing up now. “Aur badle me…badle me humne aapse kya maanga? Sirf pyaar…aur aap hume woh bhi nahi de paaye? Aur ab, itna bada dhoka kiya?”

Anjali turned away, feeling disgusted. Both by the pathos in her own voice and the man in front of her.

“Sab paison ke liye, hain na?” she asked, in a quieter voice. 

After a beat of silence, he said, “Der aaye durust aaye, aakhirkar aap mudde pe toh aayin. Woh kya hai na Rani…Anjali, jiss maidan par aap uthri hain, uss khel ke hum bohot puraane aur manje hue khilaadi hain."

Still standing, Anjali had narrowed her eyes at him.

“Kya aap jaanthi hai ki police ka case ho, toh talaaq tab tak nahi di jaathi jab tak case bandh naa ho jae? Aur toh aur, agar aapasi sehmathi naa ho toh talaaq ke liye court me peshi hogi.” he said. 

Giving her a moment to digest the information, he looked up from his hooded eyes and said in a low voice, “Agar baat court me aa gayi toh hum aapko aur aapke parivaar ko iss tarah zaleel karenge ke aap kahin muh dikhaane ke layak nahi rahengi, yeh humaara vaada hai aapse.”

Anjali flinched at the venom lacing his words. She realized how little thought she had given to the due process, since learning the truth, her need to get away from him had been all-encompassing.

He watched her blinking with a satisfied look on his face, his smirk deepening as he nodded at the file on the table. With trembling hands, she reached for it. Even before she could register what she was seeing, he began to speak in a loud, theatrical voice. 

“Judge sahab, hume bohot hi khed ke saath aisi niji baataon ko sabke saamne laana pad raha hai” he said, addressing an imaginary court. “Lekin humaare paas aur koi chaara nahi tha. Apni galathiyon ko chupaane ke liye agar humaari patni humpe bewafaai ka aarop lagaengi aur na jaane kon-jonse jhoote police case me fasaane ki koshish karengi…toh majbooran hume unki asliyath duniya ke saamne laana pada.” 

He continued about presenting evidence- photographs of her with a man at a café, with him in an auto and alone in a room in his arms. 

Awash with disbelief, she stared at the images of her meetings with Amanji. Only someone with as twisted a mind as the man in front of her could come to such a twisted conclusion. 

It won't hold up in court, she told herself. The evidence against Shyam was too damning. 

But he knew that too and he had changed his game. If he lost, he meant to take her down with him. To mudsling and malign her. Destroying Amanji’s reputation wouls simply be collateral damage.

Rage mounting, she realised that he was still talking. He had moved on to presenting their phone call logs and transcripts of their text messages. 

“Sher-o-shaayari toh dekhiye, your honour. Har raat ke baad hota hai savera….”

“Bas kijiye!” she said, shutting the folder and then quietly, “Kya chahiye aapko?”

Leaning back with a smile of accomplishment, he said,

“Humaare khilaaf jo case darj karvaaya hai, usse vapas le lijiye aur har mahine mu bandh rakhne ka muavja dete rahiye”

Anjali closed her eyes. 

“Ghabriye mat, iske badle me hum aapko bina koi taqleef ke, aapas me sehment talaaq denge” he said, “Fir aap apne raasthe aur hum apne.”

She couldn’t give in to this blackmail, she had to stay strong. The man in front of her deserved to rot in jail for the rest of his life, for what he had done to her, her Raajkumaari, her Chotey and Khushiji, her entire family. 

A single memory flashed before her eyes, as she tried to gather the courage to tell him where to take his muavja. 

“After all, sab kuch Pari ke future ke liye hi toh hai”

Tears pricking her lids, she couldn’t bring herself to justify Amanji’s name getting dragged through the mud. She hadn’t even told Chotey of how he had helped her for fear of repercussions. She hadn’t been able to gauge if Chotey would be grateful to him or furious that he had kept secrets and in the end, she had decided it was not worth the risk.

She startled when her phone vibrated in her hand and her eyes flew open. 

Blinking back tears, she had to read the couplet twice to comprehend it. On the third attempt, her resolve crumbled.

“Theek hai” she had said, wiping away her tears and getting to her feet. “Hume manzoor hai.”

One month had passed. He had kept his word and consented to the mutual divorce. The police case withdrawn, he had disappeared and after authorizing a standing order for payment from her personal account to his, Anjali had had no reason to look back. Until now.

She quickly signed the papers and called for HP to take them away. 

By the time she returned to the living room, everyone was making their way outside and piling into the car.  Allowing herself to be carried away in their tide of cheer and excitement, Anjali noticed that she had received a text message from Amanji confirming their meeting that evening. 

At the same cafe to settle dues, for one last time.