Part~20
'Ram...I'm sorry'. Sonali began, her eyes welling up with tears, but she wiped them instantly. There was no sense of regret, or sympathy even sparking a little in her eyes.
'Are you...?' Priya's voice trailed off.
'Ek minute. Kuch bhi sochne se pehle, mein Sonali ke muh se sunna chaahta hoon'. Ram stopped Priya.
'Ram, mein tumse pyaar...nahi karti hoon'. Sonali admitted. 'I love Yash. Ram I have loved him for years, lekin...papa ne mana kar diya tha shaadi karne se because his financial status was very weak. Papa chaahte the ki mein Yash se kabhi bhi nahi miloon ya baat karoon, iss liye papa ne mujhe US bhej diya apni mausi ke ghar. Wahan mein tumse mili, aur tumhare paas...itna paisa hai, itna property hai. M..meine socha tha ki agar tumse shaadi kar loon mein toh mere paas bhi apna hak milega, Mrs. Ram Kapoor hone ki naate. I thought yeh paise Yash ke bohot kaam aayenge, aur phir tumhe chodke mein Yash se shaadi kar paaungi'.
Everyone fell silent for a while. Nobody had the courage or ability to say anything. Priya held Ram tighter than ever, her own eyes welling up with tears.
'You...you bitch!' Neha screamed. 'Tumhari himmat kaise hui? Kaisi aurat ho tum? Do you even have a goddamn heart? Pagalon ki tarah yeh tumse pyaar karta hai, pata hai tumko? He has been going through a whole load of shit too!'
'Neha, please'. Priya stopped her. 'Yeh sab bolke kya faida? She is so unapologetic! Usse kadar hi nahi hai!'
'Lekin Priya-', Neha began.
'I hope you have a great married life, Sonali and Yash'. Priya sarcastically smiled, and grabbed Sonali, slapping her right on the cheek. 'Meri taraf se tumhare liye yahi gift hai. May god give you the very worst in the world, because you have really lost the best'.
'D-did...d-did you just slap me?' Sonali shrieked, holding her cheek in pain.
'I sure as hell did. And you know what? Neha ne sahi kaha. You really are a bitch. Aur agar tumhe yakeen nahi ho raha hai naa ki meine tumhe thappad maar diya, toh koi baat nahi. I can slap you again'. Priya replied, slapping the same cheek one more time.
'That's it Priya!' Sonali screamed.
'Stay away from me!' Priya warned, backing away from Sonali. 'And stay away from my friend too'.
'Ram'. Vikram sighed. 'I'm so sorry'.
'Ram'. Priya held his hand. 'Ghar chalo. Yahan khade hokar iski shakal dekhne ki koi zaroorat nahi hai'.
Ram still stood there, frozen right down to his feet. His ears were dying to hear, 'Ram, this is all a joke. I love you'. Realizing this was reality, he walked away with Priya.
'Ram I'm so sorry, buddy'. Rajat interfered.
'Rajat...this is not a good time yaar. Mein tumhe call karti hoon baad mein, tum ghar jaao. Bohot late ho gayi hai'. Priya suggested.
'Theek hai. Be careful'. Rajat said and took his leave.
'Theek ho na?' Neha asked, holding on to his arm.
'Let's go home. Mein tum dono ko drop karti hoon'. Priya said.
The four silently got inside the car, with Priya driving the car. The atmosphere was so quiet, so stressful, so awkward, and every one of them hated it. They knew it was a horrible time to say anything, so they just kept quiet.
'Priya'. Vikram whispered as soon as she halted in front of the Shergill House.
'Hmm'.
'Take care of him'. Vikram said.
'Don't worry, kuch nahi hoga unhe'. Priya promised.
'Take care'.
In Kapoor Mansion:
Ram stormed up to his own room and slammed the door shut. Krishna and Daadi, including the rest of the members were very concerned with his unusual behavior. They all hurried to Priya as soon as she walked in.
'Yeh Ram ko kya ho gaya?' Krishna asked.
'Kyun? Kuch kaha unhone?' Priya asked.
'Abhi abhi gusse mein dikh raha tha, aur apne aapko kamre mein band kar diya'. Krishna explained.
'Aunty mein aapko sab kuch bataati hoon, bas mein Ram se milkar aati hoon. Mujhe unse kuch zaroori baat karni hai'. Priya said.
'Beta sab kuch theek toh hai?' Krishna asked.
'Aunty aap fikar mat kijiye na. I'll go talk to him'. Priya sighed and went up the stairs.
'Ram, open the door yaar. It's me'. Priya knocked fiercely at the door. 'Please, mujhe aapse kuch baat karni hai'.
'Mujhe kissi se baat nahi karna hai Priya, please'. Ram angrily replied.
'Ram I know what you're going through. Mujhse accha yeh dard koi bhi nahi samajh paayega. Meine yeh dard akhele sehen kiya tha, lekin aapke saath yeh nahi hoga. Mein aisa hone hi nahi dungi. Mein aapko samjhaane nahi aayi hoon ki aapko sambhaalna hai apne aapko, because I know that's really difficult to do. I have no expectations from you as a friend Ram, mein samajh sakthi hoon aap par kya beeth rahi hai. Lekin iska matlab yeh toh nahi hua ki aap akhele sehenewaale yeh dard. Mein hoon na aapke saath. Jaise ki aap mere liye the, aapne hi mujhe ek nayi zindagi di. Meri baari hai, ab mujhe karne dijiye na'. Priya said.
Ram didn't reply. Priya sighed and was on the verge of giving up, just when she saw Bansi Kaka.
'Bansi Kaka'. Priya ran up to him.
'Ji madam'. Bansi replied.
'Yeh Ram sahab ke kamre ki chaabi dijiye na mujhe'. Priya pleaded.
'Theek hai madam. Mein abhi aata hoon'. Bansi obeyed her and scurried downstairs.
'Ram ko kaise sambhaloon ab? Toot gaye hain poori tarah se woh'. Priya sighed, thinking to herself.
-xxx-
Cricket
Kumkum Bhagya
Tum Se Tum Tak
Sampoorna
