SS: Bahut Kathin hai part 8 page 12 (last) 21-7 - Page 4

Part 4

The day he really saw 'her'.

'Argh!' jai shouted while slamming his hand against the steering wheel. He actually had wanted to throw his mobile phone out of the car when he was directed to her voicemail box for the umpteenth time. But..Bani had gifted him the phone on his birthday.

Jai drove to his office, he was late as it was for his meeting which he couldn't delay any further. Maybe he could go to her house later?

A day passed in agony. He didn't know what the h*ll the people in front of him were talking about and wasn't even able to follow a word even if his life depended on it. Jai didn't even have the need to buy the company they were talking about. He did not see the benefit. His financial advisors had kept harping about it. To Jai it didn't even feel right, just like the wedding, it felt wrong.

Jai stood up determined and shoved his chair back. 'write me a report, I'll look in to it.' He told his advisor with a glare.' Get me the head of marketing and the distribution manager on the phone tomorrow. I want to know what's so special about this company and why they are doing such bad business when you are praising it so much.' He walked out of the meeting room resolutely leaving his three managers and financial advisors stupefied. H e walked to his own office and drew the curtains in front of the window. He sat on his own chair and pressed the button of the intercom. What's planned for the rest of the day? ' Jai asked his assistant without any preliminary niceties. The man on the other side wasn't used to any of them as it is.

'No other appointments sir.' The male voice said. ' Only the deadline of Khanna and Mittals is near. Their final answer is due in five days.'

'Good I'll work on that.' Jai decided. Bring me the necessary project files.

Three minutes later he got everything, including a steaming, hot cup of coffee. and started working in all seriousness after ordering his assistant not to disturb him.

If only he could bully Bani like this. Then she wouldn't be making the biggest blunder, no the biggest mistake of her life. He opened his files and escaped to a world of statistics, profit, losses and other figures. The world which made sense to him and of which the logic didn't change overnight. This made sense to him, whereas his best friend, his own best friend didn't make any sense to him anymore. Working for hours, dark and heavy clouds started to cover the sun. The sound of thunder startled him after hours.

At one time he would have said with pride and all the confidence in the world that he understood Bani better than any other person . They had no secrets for each other, so he thought. But she had never been happy with his marriage. Bani didn't like Nina?

Jai met Nina when he was studying in America. Smart, beautiful and lively. She did what she thought was right and at every given point could outsmart people. Nina stood out in a group and Jai felt this intense attraction. They started dating in his final year a month after they met for the first time, but their time together came to an end when they graduated. Jai had to return to India but they weren't ready to part yet. Jai proposed. Nina agreed and without informing his family Jai brought her to India when Nina's family didn't agree, stating that it was too soon to commit. They knew each other for only three months but Jai, as well as Nina, were so sure of their case. So they hoped for some support from his family. Thye had thought wrong. Even they had their doubts. Not knowing what to do further Jai and Nina lied. They lied about how long they were dating and told everyone that they had been joking before. They actually had been dating for a year.

Bani was surprised. Jai had never mentioned Nina in any of the conversations of mails he sent, until few months ago. Not even casually he had mentioned Nina.

When Bani questioned Jai he tried to avoid the subject, but in the end he gave up. Jai told the truth. Jai could remember that Bani told him to think about it again, get to know Nina, just wait for a little while and marry her in a couple of months, but Jai had been persistent . He wasn't going to change his decision for anyone, so he told her. Bani just smiled and left after that, but that smile had haunted him for a long time. It wasn't the real smile Was she hurt by him that day? Had he hurt Bani so badly that she didn't not confide in him anymore. Not even when Nina insulted her during the marriage, accusing Bani that she and Jai were having an affair, or taunting Bani for her 'low class' family trying to get into the big league.

Jai had never heard these words out of Nina's mouth. He was too involved in making his marriage work when the qualities that he found so attracting in Nina started to irritate him. Nina would jump to conclusions, make her own assumptions. She would crave for attention, even though it might be inappropriate in certain circumstances and she loved to use her looks in her favour. But behind all of this she was so insecure about their relationship that Nina was watching Jai like a hawk. She needed to know anything and everything till the point that Jai couldn't handle it anymore. On top of that he slowly noticed that Bani wanst talking to him anymore. A day turned into two days, a week, a month....till two months passed without even a message. The problems between him and Nina didn't diminish and Jai filed for a divorce which took a drastic and ugly turn when Nina accused him of physical abuse.

Jai had tried to contact Bani, but for some reason or the other he couldn't reach her. Until his mother told him what Nina had done. How she had insulted and accused Bani and how Bani left the house crying. In 30 minutes Jai had reached her house, dragged her out of it and scolded her until she started crying. Back then he could do that to bring Bani to her senses. But had he done the right thing?

Bani was hurt, he knew that. Did he do anything to take that pain away? make her comfortable in their friendship again?

No, he didn't. To wrapped up in the proceedings of his divorce, Jai just assumed everything changed back to before, but...........

Jai suddenly closed his files, took his phone and dialled a number. Rain poured down on the streets. It was near six, bani must be home.

Jai waited for someone to pick up. It wasn't Bani. It was her mother who informed Jai that Bani was still at work and was about to be picked up because of the rain. A thought crossed Jai's mind. He told Kiran not to worry, he needed to talk to Bani and would pick her up from the lab. For the first time in days Jai genuinely felt good and optimistic about something. He would make Bani understand the gravity of her decisions today.

***

Bani checked the test results again, changed out of her white coat, locked her logbook in the safe and waved at the night guard when she saw Jai's car. Still she walked to the other side of the road to catch a taxi or something else. After last night she wasn't in the mood to see him, let even talk to him.
She heard the engine of a car behind her. Jai lowered the window.

'Bani, get in.'

Bani turned around, avoiding his eyes.

' Bani, please get in. please.' Jai pleaded again. He stopped in front of her, blocking her way. There was no other option for her. Bani looked at him. She actually had never seen him like this.

Silently Bani got in the car. She looked straight ahead.

'Bani.' Jai called her, trying to get her attention.

'Bani.'

She remained tight-lipped.

' I'm sorry. About yesterday. I shouldn't have shouted at you. Look, I don't want you to make the same mistake I made then. I just cant figure out why you would want to do something like this, get married like this? '

Jai stopped the car in the middle of the road. His head turned towards Bani who was staring at him all along. The silence in the car was ear deafening and charged with an uneasiness Jai had felt for the first time.

Jai curved his mouth in an unnatural and forced grin.

'So what if someone can give you that in Mumbai? Hyderabad jaane ki kya zaroorat hai? He joked.

Bani's closed her eyes for a second, trying to control her temper, lest she says something so bad it would damage their relationship beyond repair.
' I will always be a little girl in your eyes wont I jai? Mai yahaan apni shaadi ki baat kar rahi hoon aur aapko mazaak sujh raha hai?'

'Bani get in!' Jai shouted when Bani opened the cardoor and stepped out, in the rain. 'Bani gaari me baitho!'

' Do din baad mangni ki rasam hai, aa jaaiye ga. That is if you find it amusing enough and want to laugh at me and my life of course! I'm sorry Jai, but I grew up a long time ago! I want to live my life now!'