********
He had been devastated. Numb from the shock. He stood rooted to the spot for some time waiting for Sumo to come back and say that it was a prank. But she never came back. She never joked with him never played pranks on him these days. She felt different, not like his Sumo anymore. She was serious...'shit! She was serious about this!' he muttered to himself and realised the gravity of the situation.
'She wants a divorce...she wants to leave me forever' he kept muttering the same thing and realised that he needed space away from all these people who were here to celebrate his birthday or were they celebrating his divorce. He felt suffocated, the walls of the hall closing in on him. Unable to breathe he came out of the venue and started his car.
Pushkar had called him up noticing his absence from the party and he had made an excuse that he was not well and would like to rest but he should entertain the guests.
He parked the car in front of his house and went straight to their room. Discarding his coat he had loosened the first few buttons of his shirt so that he can breathe but to no avail. His chest still felt constricted and the tightness only grew with his thoughts.
He was not able to understand the reason behind this decision. Yes they did not behaved the same as earlier but they were together. Things would have improved with time. He extracted the square box from the pocket of his trousers. Opened it and looked at the ring he had bought for her. He wanted to propose her properly. Wanted to make everything right. But it was too late now. She did not wanted him.
She did not loved him any more. He has driven her too far away from himself. Where has she went from the Party it's 10:00 PM and she was still not home. He did not had the courage to call her and ask her whereabouts. He had no rights anymore. He has broken their friendship and she has decided to break their marriage.
'She does not love me anymore. I have made her hate me that is why she wants to leave me. She was with me since last 6 months, I had so much time but I never made her feel loved. Always distanced myself from her and now she is gone. The love for which I have longed since last 11 years will now be lost forever. She will be gone and I will never be able to look at her again. I will never be able to talk to her, see her smile ...never..never..' he thought to himself and closed his eyes... a lone tear rolled on his left cheek.
And then a sudden thought had struck him making his heart bled even more...'does she love anyone else? Is there another man in her life...with whom she is ready to share her life ...her smiles ...her love. No this cannot be true' the thought had made him feel sick. Has he lost her love to another man who loves her the way she deserved to be loved with whom she is actually happy? Has she moved on from him?
Once this thought entered his mind there was no stopping his train of thoughts 'is she out there with him... somewhere.. probably celebrating...because she will be released from this sham of a marriage.'
'have I myself made a place for someone else in her heart...what have I done...' the tears started flowing more freely from his eyes.
He started shaking and his hands itched to get a bottle of whisky from downstairs and drown himself in it. Maybe that would have helped ease his pain somewhat but he had promised himself that he will not touch alcohol the day Sumo has got to know about the Aditya fiasco. The pain in her eyes had cut through his heart. He knew that he was in his senses when he told Aditya about that 'Sab kuch'. He had tainted their friendship that day and all the factors which resulted in that were thrown out of his life that day.
His head started throbbing, he was sitting on the bed holding his head in his hands and did not know how much time had passed when she entered in the room.
'where were you?' he asked her. Scanning her form, trying to find any form of possible injury and when he satisfied himself he looked at her eyes and asked again.
'12:30 baj rahe hai Sumo ...kahan thi tum?' he asked her softly trying to look into her eyes and gauge her emotions.
'Woh mujhe kuch kaam tha Shravan...' she avoided looking into his eyes. She did not wanted him to see how hurt she was. She moved away from him towards the closet to get her night clothes.
'is there someone else?' he whispered the question and she stopped, her back to his. He felt afraid to know the answer but needed it like his next breath.
Suman could not understand what he was asking but something in the way he has asked made her stop in her tracks and she turned towards him.
'Kya kaha tumne...main samjhi nahin' she asked him feeling confused. He took a deep breath, steeling him self to face her. He gathered all his strength so that he can look into her eyes and not break down. He turned back and faced her.
'kisi aur se pyr karti ho kya?' he asked looking into her eyes. He needed to know this answer, needed to know where he stood with her. Whether someone else resides in her heart or not. The meaning of his question dawned on her and anger bubbled up inside her. He saw a sliver of anger flash in her eyes for a moment and then they again became the indifferent ones he has been noticing since last 3 months.
'haan' she replied and stared into his eyes. It took every ounce of strength he could muster to stand straight and not double over in pain and fall on the floor.
'uske saath thi kya tabse?...kaun hai wo?' his voice shook while asking her but he needed the answer. Needed to know the person she loves more than him. She turned away not wanting to answer. 'Let him think what he wants... it doesn't matter anymore' she thought and started moving towards the closet again when she felt his hands clasping her right hand's wrist loosely and stopped again.
'please...Sumo' the emotion in his voice made her heart clench. He sounded pained, his voice sounded thick with emotions. She looked at his eyes again and decided to give him every answer he required and in return she will get the closure.
'Nahin...main kisi ke saath nahin thi...wo kaun hai ye main tumhe nahin bata Sakti...aur jaanne ka koi faayda bhi nhi hai..kyun ki wo kahin kho chuka hai...mere saath nahin hai ...mere paas nahin hai...pata nahin kahan chala gaya hai...bahut dhundha par nahin mila' her eyes brimmed with tears and his heart broke again.
They stared at each other. He was silently trying to convey how sorry he was and she was trying to memorise his face. She thought that she will not stand this close to him ever again. Her family was moving to America and she planned to spend the remaining days with them. No one will question her and then when they would have boarded the flight she will also leave Delhi... gone to another city trying to start life a fresh. Oblivious to the fact that he knew she loved him.
After some time Suman broke their connection and lowered her eyes.
'I hope ki tumhe apne har sawal ka jawab mil gaya hai...waise bhi iske bad hum kabhi is tarah baat nahin Karenge... main kal subah hi ghar chali jaungi...Sab America ja rahe hai isliye unke saath kuch time spend karna chahti hu...koi kuch puchega bhi nahin...bas 1 aakhiri request hai ki unke jaane ke pehle ye baat kisi ko pata nahin chalni chahiye'
When she moved away from him again he did not stopped her. His head started churning. The amount of hurt he has seen in her eyes was hard to overcome. He had to think something fast to stop her from leaving him forever. He knew that if he confessed his love now she will not believe him. He started thinking but time was running away from him.
*************
So how was it?
I almost left this part at a cliffhanger too ...and then the thoughts of pretty sandals came in my mind and decided against it...
Do leave your comments...they mean a lot!!
Cheers
Shivangi
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Hindi TV Shows
Bindi
