Part~19
I'm getting the vibe that a lot of people are getting confused. Guys if you're getting confused please let me know, PM me if you would like to, or anything because I don't want to leave anyone in any confusion. Thank you, and do comment/like :)
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'Sonali'. Ram instantly replied. 'I love her'.
'Ram this is not guess and answer! Tujhe iss baare mein bohot soch samajhke ek decision lena hi padega'..
'Guys mein iss wakt kuch nahi soch paa raha hoon. Can we please just go to Cafe Coffee Day?' Ram sighed.
'Theek hai, chalo phir'. Vikram sighed, fishing his pocket for the car keys.
In Cafe Coffee Day:
'Kaisi ho tum?' Rajat asked Priya, gleaming at her.
'I'm working my way through'. Priya smiled, sipping her coffee. 'Tum batao, how's life treating you?'
'Umm...fairly well. Kaam-vaam sab kuch theek chal raha hai, and I'm actually...divorced'. Rajat sighed.
'Oh..I'm sorry'. Priya said.
'No it's fine. It was for the best yaar. It feels right also'. Rajat admitted. 'Waise bhi mein maanta hoon ki koi aur hai jo mere liye bana hua hai, aur sahi wakt mein I will meet her'.
'I don't know about all of that but I know that everything that you go through gets better. Inn che saalon mein itna sab kuch hua meri zindagi mein, uss kadam tak aa gayi thi mein jahan mujhe jeena bhi nahi tha. Aur papa ke jaane ke baad...mein sach mein apne aapko khatam karna chaahti thi, lekin Ram...he's amazing yaar Rajat. He's just stuck beside me like glue and unhone mere liye sab kuch kiya hai. I never knew zindagi kabhi bhi ek aisi modd par aayegi jahan mein actually khush hoon, abhi bhi haan I am a little mentally affected lekin...I feel just so so so so much better. Aisa lag raha hai jaise zindagi sach mein phir se shuru hui hai'. Priya smiled.
'Tumhe aise dekhkar bohot accha lag raha hai Priya, seriously. Kitni taakat hai tum mein'. Rajat complimented.
'Sab kuch Ram ki wajah se, and of course Neha and Vikram. They've given me nothing but love and affection, aur isse zyaada mujhe kuch nahi chahiye'. Priya gleamed.
'I'm happy for you'. Rajat smiled, touching her hand slightly.
Outside the cafe:
'Haath pakadne ki kya zaroorat thi?' Ram grumbled, sneaking up on the two through the window of the cafe.
'Ram this is totally wrong'. Vikram warned. 'Yaad hai na jab tune Priya ka phone check kiya toh kitna gussa ho gayi thi tujhpe! Ab agar usse pata chala ki tu usse follow kar raha hai toh she'll go mad yaar!'
'Ram please, stop this childishness. Tumhari shaadi ho rahi hai, uske baare mein soch rahe ho ki nahi? What is this yaar?' Neha yelled.
'Tum dono chup raho!' Ram snapped.
Inside with Rajat and Priya:
'Waise tum karti kya ho aaj kal?' Rajat asked.
'Right now mein bas Ram ki shaadi prepare kar rahi hoon, it's really soon. Job dhoond rahi hoon lekin kuch bhi nahi mil raha hai yaar! There's absolutely nothing that I can apply for!' Priya complained.
'Arre I think I can help you out here! I work at a school actually, as a Math teacher. Mein tumhe recommend kar saktha hoon ek English teacher position ke liye, kyunki you are very educated in that. I'm sure tumhe interview ke liye bulaayenge. And it's a very well paid job, tum poori tarah se manage kar paaogi'. Rajat assured her.
'Really?' Priya exclaimed. 'Rajat if you can do that for me, I swear I'll bless you yaar! Ho sakhe toh please koshish karna recommend karne ke liye'.
'Haan for sure! Tum fikar mat karo, definitely I will be able to help out'. Rajat said.
'Thank you so much!' Priya said. 'Sach mein tumhe ehsaas nahi hai ki tumne mera kitna madad kiya hua hai!'
'I'm more than happy to help'. Rajat smiled.
Outside the cafe:
'Khush lag rahe hain dono'. Ram muttered.
'Obviously!' Neha exclaimed.
'Ab kya karein?' Ram sighed.
'Kya karein matlab? Tune already bohot kuch kar nahi liya Ram? Ab aur kya baaki karna reh gaya hai? Tu Sonali ke baare mein bhool gaya kya?' Vikram asked.
'Ek minute, ek minute'. Ram slowed him down. 'Yeh...yeh tum dono ka plan hai naa?'
'K-kya...kya plan?' Neha asked.
'Arre don't act oversmart Neha!' Ram shouted. 'Sonali ko yahan laana...yeh tumhara plan tha na!'
'Sonali? Sonali kahan hai?' Vikram asked.
'Vikram tune usse yahan kyun bulaaya yaar?' Ram yelled.
'Arre hum dono ne nahi bulaaya usse, I promise!' Neha swore.
Sonali was on the opposite side of the three friends, coming out of the car wearing an outfit Ram had never imagined to see her in. She was wearing a pretty yellow flowery sundress that went a bit below her knees, and her shoulders were exposed as well with the thin straps of the dress. Her long wavy brown hair was left open, not a single hair pin or clip was left in sight. This was something she would never wear!
'Y-yeh kya pehen rahi hai?' Ram stuttered. 'Sonali does not wear clothes like this! Usne kaha tha mujhse ki woh apni kurti aur jeans mein hi comfortable hai!'
Interrupting Neha and Vikram from responding walked out another man who seemed to be quite close to Sonali...leaving Ram absolutely awestruck.
'Who is this?' Ram gritted his teeth.
'Ram just relax'. Vikram calmed him down.
'Do not tell me to calm down Vikram! I love her!' Ram shouted.
'Lekin tum..tum Priya se bhi-',
'NAHI, MEIN PRIYA SE PYAAR NAHI KARTA HOON FOR HELL'S SAKE! Kaun hai yeh?' Ram yelled.
Holding each others hands tightly, Sonali and this new man seemed really close now and Ram really could not bear the pain. He clenched his fists together, wincing in anger.
'Ram jaldbaazi mein kuch mat karo. Sonali shouldn't see you here'. Neha said.
'What the fu-?' Ram muttered under his breath, watching Sonali hugging this guy intently outside the cafe.
Without listening to a single word of Neha and Vikram's, Ram stormed towards Sonali and jerked her away from him. She was clearly scared and shocked by Ram's action.
'Kya ho raha hai yeh?' Ram sternly asked, still holding on to Sonali.
Sonali couldn't get her throat to move, let alone talk. She froze looking at Ram's furious reaction.
'I said KYA HO RAHA HAI YEH?' Ram shouted at the top of his lungs.
'Ram just relax'. Neha began.
'You will stay out of this Neha'. Ram ordered.
'Ram I...I c-can explain...', Sonali stammered.
'I'm giving you exactly five minutes, what the hell is going on?' Ram repeated.
'R-Ram...t-this is...this is my friend'. Sonali said.
'Mujhe introductions nahi chahiye Sonali. Tum dono aise kya kar rahe ho?' Ram asked. 'I'm giving you one full chance to explain, I suggest you take use of it'.
'Ram we...we were just...just hanging out'. Sonali tried to be casual.
'Hanging out? Sonali hum dono pichle theen saalon se ek doosre ke saath hain aur publicly hum dono ne tak aisa kuch nahi kiya! Do you walk around with all your friends hand-in-hand?' Ram shouted. 'Sab friends ke saath hota hai yeh? Honewaale pati ke saath tak nahi hua lekin tumhare friends ke saath ho raha hai yeh?'
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Priya could recognize that loud raging voice anywhere, even in the middle of a crowd. Although she was inside the cafe, the voice was extremely loud and scary.
'Kya hua? You okay?' Rajat noticed her uneasy posture and body language.
'Ram...Ram kahin aas-paas hai. I can hear him'. Priya slowly began. 'Rajat I think he's outside'.
Priya rose up from her seat with a jerk and rushed outside the cafe, finding Ram holding the collars of an apparently random person, his face as red as blood. She got scared herself.
'Ram!' Priya shouted and immediately tried to get him off the man. 'What the hell are you doing? Marr jaayega yeh!'
'Marne do usse!' Ram gritted his teeth.
'Ram, relax'. Priya gushed. 'Let go of him'.
Priya pulled Ram away from the man with full force, and still held on to him. 'Vikram help me!'
Vikram and Neha held Ram back along with Priya, rubbing his back to calm him down a bit.
'Just calm down, all of you'. Priya sighed, scanning her surroundings and realizing that they had attracted a crowd. 'Aap log kya dekh rahe ho? Kaam nahi hai kya? Jaayiye, kuch dekhne ke liye nahi hai yahan pe'.
Obeying Priya's tone of anger and frustration, they scurried off to mind their own business, leaving Ram, Priya, Rajat, Vikram, Neha, Sonali and this new man alone.
'What's going on Ram?' Priya asked.
'Priya meine yahan Sonali aur iss aadmi ko ek saath dekha. They were getting unecessarily close toh mujhe sirf yeh jaana tha ki yeh kaun hai aur kya kar raha hai. Sonali isn't giving me a proper answer'. Ram calmly explained.
'Ram deserves an answer Sonali. Tumse bohot pyaar karta hai. Who is this?' Neha asked.
Sonali just looked at this man beside her, and everyone could notice that she did look a little guilty. She couldn't find the words to speak.
'Tum nahi bataogi toh mujhe khud bataana padega'. The man warned her.
'Is there a problem?' Priya asked, still holding on to Ram. 'Because agar aisa kuch hai toh hum log baithke yeh baat discuss kar sakthe hain'.
'Ram...I'm sorry'. Sonali began, her eyes welling up with tears.
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