What had it been? Almost a month? Sumo thought as she drove through the all too familiar lanes that lead to the Malhotra Mansion. The last few days had been pretty taxing for her. From losing her best friend and first and only love forever to ending up in a loveless marriage proposal and even deciding to give up on her sole dream, her passion, her PCT before she moved into a completely new city post marriage, she had been through all. And almost when she had finally convinced herself to accept the tryst of fate, life took another catastrophic somersault.
What Aditya did on their wedding day was something no one had ever imagined even in their worst nightmares. All these days she would spend sleepless nights distressing over the impending change in her life, the new relationships, the gigantic expectations and her own demons from the past. But now that everything was over, she felt nothing. Devoid of any emotion was what it felt like. The heaviness in her chest had been replaced with a profound emptiness whose possible implications she herself failed to fathom.
Reaching her destination Sumo parked just outside the gate and went straight upstairs to Shravan's room. As soon as she entered she noticed everything was in a disheveled state as if someone had broken into his room. Shattered window panes with glass shards laid all over the place, curtains were tousled on the floor and all his belongings were thrown away. She huffed out a heavy painful breath before picking up from the ground a photo frame with one of their childhood pictures and propped it up next to his bed on the night stand.
She looked around the room for him and found him standing near his study, his back towards her. She saw blood oozing out from his hand as he picked up his twelfth standard book from the shelf. Pulling out the letter that always laid safe in it, he shoved the book on the floor with a grimace. His rage crested as he opened the letter and read through it another time. The letter was the truest expression of his feelings and Sumo knew he couldn't bear to destroy it. Yet she felt his anger flare as if he regretted pouring out his heart in such a manner knowing that he was simply handing it over to be broken. She cleared her throat as he gripped the letter, about to tear it in half, causing his head to shoot up in surprise.
"What are you doing here?" He asked as his gaze met hers, his voice rough and eyes all puffed up as if he had been crying all this while.
"Woh I wanted to talk Shravan but that can wait...Your hand needs to be bandaged first" keeping her bag on the bed she reached out for the first aid box in his closet.
"Oh really? And what makes you feel you should care for that Ms Tiwari?" snapped Shravan but she didn't budge despite his protest and continued with the task at hand.
"Exactly what made you feel you should save me from Aditya last night" she spoke in a low voice taking his hand into hers and without meeting him in the eye started cleaning his wound with the antiseptic.
"WOWW Suman!!" Shravan mocked in disgust, yanking his hand away from her hold. "I must say you don't waste any time when it comes to returning favors...Or may be this special rule applies just to me?"
"Please Shravan!" she requested. "Your wound needs to be cleaned else it might get infected"
"Cut that f**king crap Sumo!! And If you don't have anything good to say better leave me on my own" as he pulled his hand another time from her hold, she looked up straight in his eyes, her jaw clenched in annoyance.
"What the hell is your problem?" she huffed. "I know you don't need me in your life and that I am no longer worthy of your love, but am I not good enough to even be your friend Mr. Shravan Malhotra?" she asked, her voice all teared up.
For once Shravan could not come to terms with what he just heard. Was this woman really so dumb or she pretended to be? He looked down at her in sheer astonishment as she forcibly took his hand into hers and bandaged his wound.
"It's a really deep cut, please take an Anti-Tetanus shot for precaution...I'll ask Pushkar to take you to the clinic. And you please take some rest we will talk later" she told before turning away to walk out of his room and he watched her in disappointed silence till she reached to open the door and step out.
"Sumo you really feel what happened last night made you any less worthy of me or of anyone else?" he hissed in slight irritation, still trying to recover from the aftershock of her bizarre thought.
This time she did turn to face him but didn't say a word. The dreadful silence that gripped her features explained it all. It was enough to leave his heart slaughtered into pieces.He sighed as the scene that had happened earlier that night flashed before his glazing eyes.
How Kamini chaachi had literally coaxed and even convinced everyone from both the families that getting Sumo married off to him was the best solution to the so called shame that Aditya's act had brought to the whole clan causing him to put his foot down in disagreement. He had firmly disapproved of chaachi's proposal and walked off from the place in anger. But his incongruity would be so terribly misinterpreted was something he had never imagined.
"Listen up Suman" Shravan sucked in a breath trying to conceal the tremble in his voice. "I really don't know what makes you believe that you or for that matter any other girl in your situation should feel unworthy of herself or at fault despite the fact it was that scoundrel who should regret his very existence but I certainly don't approve of your opinions. If that be your so called feminism I beg to differ. A marriage is as good as a living hell without mutual consent and love and believe me to know it much better than you. And I guess in our case, there is no question of any sort of love?..." he professed, the apprehension in his tone making it sound more like a question than a statement. She gasped at his sweet stupidity and the idiosyncracies of his ever so innocent and taintless heart he so terribly tried to hide behind his ruthless shell.
Taking in a small breath she walked back in his direction. "In that case Shravan, I will believe as you say only if you can answer some of my questions"
"Please!" he let out a dramatic sigh. "You still think I care to prove anything to you!"
"May be. I don't know. At least you did try to prove your point a minute ago"
"I was just telling the truth Suman which probably you fail to see" he stated reproachfully.
"So help me see it Shravan...Tell me what made you beat the living hell out of Aditya for me? In case there is no question of any feeling or love between us what made you so enraged to nearly slaughter him to death?"
"Please don't give yourself so much importance...I would have done the same for anybody else" he tried hard sounding convincing.
"Who are you even kidding Shravan!! Okay then who did you get those Tulips for? Isn't it funny you still remember my favorite flowers I mentioned years ago in one of our most casual, gibberish banter?" she demanded causing his nonchalant scornful eyes turn to a defensive downcast this time.
"Yes I got them!! And got them for your wedding specially." Shravan croaked after a pause, sheer resentment blazing in his eyes."Remember I promised to get them on your most special day? And since I thought getting rid of me must be one of those special days in your life, what better way than flowers to bid adieu to a dead relationship?" his voice was a shaking squeal and It took a while for Sumo to grasp each of the last words that came out of his mouth.
"Why Shravan? So much bitterness? So much hate? For what"
"Hate is all I have ever got sweetheart!!" he let out a sarcastic laugh. "Hate is all I cultivate!! Thanks to the amazing women in my life who left no stone unturned to help me understand hate...Now hate is all I spew...For all the rest of them"
"For heaven's sake Shravan!! Stop saying you hate women because you don't!! With the kind of perspective that made you disapprove of marrying me out of sympathy you really think I am going to believe your stupid claims. You don't hate women Shravan!! Neither do you hate me nor do you hate your mom...It's all a farce"
"And who decides that? The one who specializes in pretense herself? Who claims to be a pioneer of self-respect but seeks help in her business from an almost stranger whom her best friend had already warned for being an opportunist and a jerk? Talk of double standards hun?" he dissed and for a moment Sumo couldn't fathom what to make out of his words.
What did he mean by taking help from a stranger? She could understand all of it was in reference to PCT and her accepting papers from Aditya but wasn't it him only who asked Aditya to help her out via the investors? Then why was he acting as if he knew nothing?
"What do you even mean Shravan? Wasn't it only you who asked Aditya to help me out by engaging investors in PCT? It was you only who gave him the permission to sell the land to the investors and I would be paying a regular installment to the investors in return of PCT" she tried to reason causing him to break into a fit of laughter.
"Really? What have you been smoking off late Suman?? You actually thought I would take the shield of that bas***d to help you out when you openly refused to take any help from me or papa? And honestly, knowing his intentions, I would have rather let you be on your own!! I did give him the papers but only to prove it to him that for you your self-respect matters the most but then, It was just me who was proved wrong" he declared, his voice choked.
Sumo felt her world spin as Shravan confessed those last words!! Everything made sense now. Why he had come to PCT that day and refused to remain friends with her any more. Why he created all that mayhem and displayed such animosity!! He felt betrayed and taken for granted. He felt rejected!! All because of her. All because she refused to take his warnings seriously and confused his concern with his insecurity. She had thought it was his father who ruined his life but somehow unknowingly she did the same to him and now whether she deserved him in her life or not she didn't know. Trembling, she backed away from him slowly. Tears rolling down her face, she walked out of his room like a lifeless block of ice, never wishing to show him her face again.
Debate Mansion
