~HUMSAFAR~ Bonus Part page 14

Whole mansion was massive and every bit of grandeur and why won't it be after all it was house of India's number 1 architect Arjun Singhania. The man has quite many feats under his name. Being undefeatable Entrepreneur of the year' for last three years to appearing among top 3 in list of Asia's hottest man, he has been everywhere. He is man of few words but his presence speaks for himself. The aura he carries with himself is powerful as well as charming.

Paying no heed to greetings of servants he climbed up the stairs going directly to his room. He entered inside his room and as usual, was greeted by jingling of bangles and humming sound of his wife. She was engrossed in tending the plants they had in garden area attached with their room. A small smile was playing on her lips as she hummed one of her favorite song which he was unable to recognize due to his disinterest in music but he had heard her humming this song many times.

He cleared his throat to let her know of his presence. She raised her head to look at him and then looked at wall clock to check time. There was look of surprise on her face and why not after all he was quite early than his usual time.

"Aap kab aaye?"

"bas abhi" he replied instantly.

Giving him a slight nod she washed her dirty hands and wiped them with a tissue..."aaj toh aap kafi jaldi aa gye" the casualty of her voice told him she was not expecting any answer.

Making no move to enter inside he quietly watched her close the glass door separating room with garden area. Adjusting her bottle green colored sari's pallu she poured water in glass and walked towards him. She offered the glass to him which he accepted without taking his eyes off from her. He didn't realize how thirsty he was until water touched his throat.

"Aap fresh ho jaiye...tab tk mein coffee le aati hu" and with that she was gone even before he could say anything. Sighing he kept the file holder on bed and moved towards washroom.

When he came out of washroom after taking shower a steaming cup of coffee was waiting for him. His eyes scanned the room from her and there he found her near wardrobe, he assumed maybe keeping some clothes in it. Rubbing his hair with towel he threw it on nearby and picked his cup and folder.

"Arohi, bahar aao zara" he politely asked her and opening the glass door he went to sit on round table in middle of garden. He was feeling very uncomfortable and suffocated inside to talk about matter therefore he decided to talk here...

She came and sat on chair opposite to him. Her face reflected nothing except the small smile she always keep on her face which don't know why but made him more uneasy about whole matter.

"mujhe kuch zaruri baat krni h tumse" doesn't matter how he was feeling inside he managed to speak with strong voice.

"kahiye" came her instant reply.

He took a deep breath before continuing..."mujhe nhi pta tum meri is baat pe kese react karogi pr Arohi...I am sorry, main is naam ki shadi ko aur nhi nibha sakta. I can't pretend that we are one happy couple when in true sense we are just two strangers living under same roof. Hum dono ki personalities bhut different h aur shayad isliye hum chah kr bhi iss shadi ko nhi nibha pa rhe h...we are not just compatible. Bhut sochne aur samjhne k baad mene ye decision lia h ki mujhe tumse divorce chahiye"

He noticed there was no change in her demeanor. She was still very composed. "iss folder me divorce papers h...tumhara jo bhi decision ho mujhe bta dena"

As she took the folder in hands Arjun got up to leave. He had hardly came past her when her voice stopped him...

"Dia!"

"huh!" he turned to look at her...slipping out the pen from folder she signed on divorce papers which were already signed by him.

She stood up and came face to face with him "apko mujhse divorce chahiye...lo de dia" she spoke forwarding the folder back to him...

There was no hatred no disgust or blame in her eyes. She looked at him the way she has always looked at him and for some unknown he felt guilty for putting her through all this but it was overcome by the delight of getting the very thing he wanted and that too without any stress.

He took the folder from her "there was no such hurry...u could have taken ur time or at least read papers before signing them. I was open for all kinds of negotiations"

She smiled, a very generous one "there was no room for negotiations between us!"

"Ye tum kya keh rahe ho Arjun!? Hmare khandan mein aaj tk na kabhi divorce hua h or na hi hoga" Tej Singhania, his grandfather roared at him as he told him about his decision of taking divorce from Arohi.

He frustratingly ran fingers through his hair "Daddu ye aap bhi jante h mene ye shadi sirf apki zidd k karan kit hi...now I can't take this anymore. I want divorce and Arohi ko bhi koi dikkat nhi h"

Dejected at his own grandson, Tej slumped down on couch nearby. It was true that Arjun only agreed to marry Arohi on his insistence because he had thought both of them are perfect for each other. He never in his worst dreams imagined that Arjun would want to divorce her.

"Why u want to divorce her suddenly? Ab tk toh sab theek tha" he questioned because there was not a single moment he could think off that would explain this fall out.

"It was all an act. Aap sab khush rahe isliye mene khush hone ka dikhawa kia pr ab aur dikhawa nhi kr skta main"

Tej held his head as it suddenly felt too heavy. It was all too much for his old body to take. "Arohi is such a nice girl..." before he could even complete his sentence Arjun interrupted him

"She is, okay!...but she is not my type. She is too old fashioned for me. I can't think of taking her to parties or social gatherings with me. She always has to wear sarees, have no taste in food. Uski aur meri choice to songs me bhi nhi milti. Vo meri duniya me fit nhi hoti."

Tej sighed...maybe he managed to give the best education to his grandson but he failed in imbedding basic human values in him..."A person has more to himself than parties. U design these incredible masterpieces but u lack basic sense of judging a human.."

Arjun opened his mouth to argue with him but he stopped him by showing his hand "u have already took ur decision...ab mujhse puchne ka dikhawa mat karo..let me save u from one act at-least." He said feeling very upset over the situation. Without even glancing at Arjun he left from there for his room.

The news of divorce came as a shocker to everyone in family. After dinner Arjun himself announced his decision while Tej gave him a dejected look, Arohi was her calm and composed self. Arjun wondered if she was already expecting him to come and ask for divorce because there hadn't been any look of shock or change in her demeanor. Anyway back to dining table, Rudra abruptly stood up and looked angrily at his son "Tumhara dimag kharab ho gya Arjun! Itna bda decision lene se pehe kisi se baat hi kr li hoti"

Arjun didn't say a word and sat there quietly as he was expecting all this from family. No matter how modern they were, his family still hold traditional values and divorce was a very big thing for them to take.

"Dad...Why are u not saying anything?" Rudra's questioning eyes moved to Tej.

"Rudra, ye dono ab bache nhi rahe...bhut bade ho gye h aur apne faisle khud lene k layak ho gye h" he said sarcastically.

And for the first time Arjun observed uneasiness in Arohi's stance as she down casted her eyes.

"Arohi at least tum toh ek baar humse baat kr leti" it was his Mom Kumud who spoke this time..."ye koi Mazak nhi...it's a very big thing"

"Mom""It's not Arohi...it's me"he found himself speaking for Arohi"I have asked for a divorce from her"

He cleared his throat "now no more discussions over it...I will submit the papers tomorrow in court and since it's a mutual decision, we will be divorced asap"

Rudra shook his head in disbelief and left from there followed by equally upset Kumud. His both younger sisters left from there silently feeling too scared to even voice out their feelings.

"I hope at least now u would be happy" saying this Tej left from there.

"Don't worry..abhi sab gusse me h..pr ek baar gussa shant hoga toh apne aap samjh jayenge" her soft voice reached his ear. He gave a slight nod as she also left calling servants to clean the table.

Tej was reading a book but his mind was somewhere else. He was still upset over the fact that his grandson was getting divorced and more over his reason was something which was irking him more. He always made sure to teach his children to value a person for who they are and not for what they wear or what they do. But maybe Arjun never understood true meaning of wealth. He was judging Arohi based on things that were so temporary. Arohi is a gem and she has more to herself than sarees and food she like. A knock on door broke his reverie. He saw Arohi coming inside holding a tray. He looked at time 10:00 pm. She was never a minute late to give him his medicines and glass of warm milk. He observed her closely wanting to know how she was feeling about this whole situation. But as always he failed to read her. She never displayed her emotions on her face. She was always this calm and composed that u can never comprehend what was going in her mind.

She kept the glass of milk on his bedside table and gave him his medicine which he silently took. As sh was about to leave he stopped her..."I am highly disappointed with u Arohi. I will sound selfish but I really thought that u will make this marriage work. The Arohi I know was such a fighter...how could u give in Arjun's demand so easily...U should have protested or at least told me before signing those papers. Maybe I could have done something"

She smiled and sat across him on bed "Jis parinde ne kbhi udaan bhari hi nahi, use girne se kaise bachate aap"

Tej sighed..."Parinde khudse nhi udte Arohi...unhe udna seekhana padta h"

"Daddu, jo parinde seekhane pr bhi nhi udd pate vo ek din pedh se niche gir hi jate h" she spoke handling him his milk...

Not having any counter answer he simply sipped his milk "ye jo bhi ho rha h galat h..This is all very wrong"

"Nhi Daddu, apne Arjun se meri shadi unki khushi k liye krayi thi pr vo toh kbhi is zabardasti k bandhan me khush rahe hi nhi...jo khushi aap Arjun k liye chahte ho vo unhe mere sath rehkr nhi, mujhse alag hokr milegi" "aur apni khushi k bare me sochna galat toh nhi h!"