Viren walked out of his room, happy that he had finally gotten Jeevika to agree to come home. God! I have never imagined taking your wife home could be such a task.', he thought to himself.
"Bhai!" Virat called out. "Kya hua? Bhabhi se kuch baat hui?"
"Nahi yaar! Abhi toh ghar aane ke liye bohot mushkil se manaaya hai. Pata nahi baat karne ke liye kaise manaunga."
"Main kuch help karun?"
"Jee Nahi! Teri help nahi chaahiye phir kabhi. Tera hi idea than a Jeevika ko Sheena ke bare mein na bataane ka. Teri baat na maani hoti, shaadi se pehle bata diya hota toh aaj yeh problem na hoti."
"Sorry Bhai! Lekin please dheere bolo. Maanvi ne sunn liya na toh mujhe kaccha chaba jaayegi."
Viren Laughed. "Tu ek kaam karr, apni Beewi ko lekar car tak pohoch main apni waali ko sambhalta hoon."
It had been two hours since Viren and Jeevika had been in their car but Jeevika had not said a word. Viren was purposely driving slow to increase the time taken to reach home. He had not even seen Virat's car in over an hour which had sped away before either of them could say Speed'!.
"Jeevika..."
Jeevika looked at Viren with a blank expression. Her eyes were guarded and her lips were dry. She wasn't angry or sad anymore. She just looked betrayed.
"Don't do that!"
"Don't do what?"
"That! Don't put up a wall and try to block me on the other side of it. It is not fair."
"You really don't want to talk about fair!"
Neither of them had raised their voice by even half a decibel but the tension in their voices and the air was palpable.
"I love you." Viren said.
"Gaadi rokiye."
"Kya?"
"Gaadi rokiye."
Viren stopped the car at the side of the road and Jeevika got down. Jeevika was facing away from Viren with her arms folded across her chest just staring into thin air. Her hair was flying with the soft and cool Sunday morning breeze. Viren stood cautiously at a distance next tot the car. His back was rested on it and he had no idea how long he had been standing like that quietly without saying a word. The same words that used to bring a huge smile on Jeevika's face had brought out this reaction in her that he could not even comprehend.
They were in the middle of nowhere. There were trees all around them and some farms too but they hadn't seen a car pass by in a while. After what seemed like forever Viren finally broke the silence,
"Jeevika yeh jagah mujhe safe nahi lag rahi. Please car mein baith jaao."
"Bataiye."
"Kya?"
"Jo aap bataana chahte hain. Sheena ne jo kaha woh poora sach nahi ho sakta."
"Jeevika please car mein baith jaao. Hum baith ke bhi toh baat karr sakte hain na."
"Virenji main sirf sach sunna chahti hoon."
"Kaise sunogi tum sach?" The irritation in Viren's voice was obvious. He was beginning to lose his temper and it was evident. "Tum ek baar peeche mud ke meri taraf dekh bhi nahi rahi ho. Kaise bataun main tumhe sach?" When Jeevika did not say a single word Viren gave in. "Theek hai! Toh suno sach!"
"Main Sheena se London mein mila tha. Woh mere roommate Shaurya ki girlfriend thi. Shaurya and Sheena ko mile hue kuch 6 months hue they. One fine day Shaurya achaanak India chala gaya apne mom dad ki marzi se Shaadi karne. Usne mujhse bass itna kaha tha ki Sheena ko uska number na doon. Lekin usne mujhe yeh nahi bataya ki Sheena pregnant hai."
Jeevika turned to look at Viren. She had known Sheena for a very long time and she had no idea that she was ever pregnant.
"Jab mujhe pata chala toh maine Shaurya se baat karne ki koshish ki lekin tab tak woh shaadi karr chuka tha. I didn't want to ruin his married life so I took care of Sheena. I started sending her money every month and frequently flying to India to help her with the doctors appointments, etc.
Ek din main college mein tha jab Sheena ki doctor ne mujhe phone karke bataya ki Sheena stairs se gir gayi hai and uska miscarriage ho gaya hai. She was broken. I tried to help her through this tough time but she was on the verge of a breakdown. To say she was suicidal would be an understatement. I did everything I could lekin bohot time tak koi improvement nahi hua. Phir ek din achaanak woh smile karne lagi, khush rehne lagi. Mujhe pata chala ki usne mere intentions ko misinterpret kiya hai and woh sochti hai main use pyaar karta hoon and woh mujhe pasand karne lagi hai. I couldn't tell her the truth and I had to continue with this. Jab tak woh stable hui iss baat ko 3 saal ho gaye they. I wanted to tell her the truth but before I could her mother had spoken to Badi Maa about us. Bohot late ho gaya tha. Ghar pe sabko laga ki main 3 saal se kisise pyaar karta hoon. Main mana nahi karr paaya.
Lekin Shaadi se do din pehle..."
"Sheena ne aapse Swamini bua ko chorrne ke liye kaha. Aur jab aapne aisa nahi kiya toh woh Shaadi tod ke chali gayi."
"Main use pyaar nahi karta tha Jeevika."
Jeevika turned around and said, "Did you sleep with her?" Her voice was calm, composed and stable. It did not crack or vary even a little bit, perfectly hiding the storm of emotions going on underneath those five words.
He looked at her remorse filling his eyes and said, "Yes!". She turned around to face away from him again. There was nothing she could say to him. She knew it wasn't his fault. But how could she suddenly forget the last 24 hours. Everything was feeling like a lie now.
"Main tumhe sach bataana chahta tha. Lekin jab tumne mujhe Dr. Manan ka sach bataya toh mujhe laga kit um yeh sach kabhi maaf nahi karogi. Main tumhe khona nahi chahta tha." He lowered his voice considerably and cautiously spoke, "I love you." The last time he had said this she was ready to jump out of the car. This time he had no idea how she would react.
"That's a little hard to believe." Jeevika whispered.
Viren took two long strides in her direction, caught her by her elbow and turned her around. "How can you even say that?"
"Virenji Chodiye mujhe!" Viren pulled Jeevika towards the car and put her back against it.
"Maine kabhi Sheena se pyaar nahi kiya. Kabhi nahi kiya. I love you."
Jeevika could not even bring herself to look at him. She continued to look at the ground.
"Jeevika please meri taraf dekho. I love you."
"Sheena aapke liye zaada suitable hai Virenji. Jaisi ladki aapko chaahiye Sheena bilkul waisi hai. Main toh aapke liye goa mein ek dress bhi nahi pehen paayi thi, lekin Sheena..." Viren knew that Jeevika was not being sarcastic. This wasn't about him and Sheena anymore. It was about him and Jeevika.
"Jeevika..."
"Nahi Virenji! Bass! Ab aap mujhse aur apne aap se jhoot bolna band karr dijiye. Bohot ho gaya."
Guys! The next update will most probably be the last one! Thank you so much for all your support! Don't forget to like and comment! :*
Much love.
Pankhuri
Current Affairs
Cricket
