Just a warning to you all that this is no happy read. No happily ever after for anyone in this story. This little ficlet is the result of my dark mood at the ridiculous turn the storyline has taken all of a sudden.
For those still interested, I hope you enjoy the read...
PS: Only been edited once!
Unhappiness and Unrequited Love
Aaliya fiddled idly with her nail-file. There was no point in filing down her already perfectly manicured nails. But she sat with it in any case, just for something to do.
To be honest she hadn't thought past actually getting married to Purab and keeping him away from Bulbul. Now that she'd done that her days just passed by listlessly, one just blending in to the other.
When she had been at bhai's house she'd had so many other people there to interact with, or friends to spend time with.
After her marriage Purab's chachi and chacha had taken their daughters and retreated back to the village. Good riddance, she had thought then. But in retrospect she could have used some motherly advice in these initial days of marriage.
Sure, a maid came in daily to cook and clean, but the rest was up to her. And she was absolutely hopeless. She didn't even know how to turn the blasted stove on initially.
She had tried to get help from different places. Her family, especially her dadi was so mad at her that they all hung up the phone when they heard her voice. It's not like Tayiji or Maithali Bhabhi intended to be of any help to her anyways. Her friends were no help and wanted nothing to do with her now that she was no longer living in Rockstar Abhi's house.
Even Tannu, that witch, was busy with her new, richer boyfriend, whom she rubbed in everyone's face constantly.
Finally it had been that behenji... Pragya Bhabhi that had helped her. Purab hated when she called her behenji or chashmish. He insisted on Bhabhi or Di.
Anyways, it had been Pragya that had come over one day, albeit begrudgingly (her behaviour had turned extremely cold towards the Mehra siblings post her mother's demise), and shown her the basics of household tasks (basic kitchen workings, fixing a fuse, simple budgeting, etc.). Tasks that were beneath her to her opinion but Purab couldn't afford a full time maid.
Also she refused to be out-shined by that Bulbul.
Of course Bulbul was perfect and could handle all issues in her life. But she was Aaliya. If Bulbul could be the perfect wife, housekeeper, and bahu, then so could she.
But it was one thing to be housekeeper of a house you ran yourself, and another thing entirely to be queen of a cold, empty dwelling which rarely saw one of the two permanent residents because he was always busy working.
Aaliya sighed as she glanced around the room once more.
Who knew marriage could be so lonely? She felt like she would go crazy one day with nothing but her thoughts to keep her company.
Purab entered the room and Aaliya felt herself sit up eagerly. But as usual he didn't spare her a single glance. He just grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom.
Purab barely spoke to her these days. They only had a conversation if it was absolutely necessary. If not, Purab would just reply to her in a series of grunts and never say anything himself.
Aaliya threw the nail file away in frustration. This was supposed to her honeymoon period damnit! She was supposed to be happy!
She had thought that she would pull Purab away from the girl he loves, show him what power she actually held over him, show him that she could make his life hell if she wished, and he would come back to her with his tail between his legs whimpering for forgiveness.
Well she had claimed Purab but she knew now that he would never be hers. He would live out his life as her husband and fulfill all his duties to her as such, but never would she have her old Purab back.
Aaliya sighed. This is what unrequited love felt like.
~8~
Purab sat with his heads in his hands.
Where was he stuck? Why was he in this place? How did all this come to be?
He asked himself these questions every day.
The most important question: What could he have done differently?
Not loving Bulbul was never the option. They were meant to meet and fall in love and it would have happened no matter how he ran from it.
Maybe if he had told Bulbul the truth of his engagement from the beginning.
Maybe if he had never gone along with Pragya di's request on her reception day.
Maybe if he hadn't listened to Bulbul and pursued their relationship anyway.
Maybe if he hadn't said yes to Abhi bhai in the first place.
Maybe then his Bulbul would be with him and they would be happy.
There were so many 'what if's' and so many 'maybe's'. Things could have been so different but it wasn't fated to be this way.
He pulled himself together. He couldn't have thoughts like these now. Bulbul was someone's wife. And that someone was not him. And meanwhile his own wife sat just outside.
Purab looked at his own haggard reflection in the mirror. 'I have a wife. Her name is Aaliya. She is my responsibility.'
He repeated this mantra over and over in his head as he prepared for another tedious evening with Aaliya, just one in many many more to come.
Purab sighed. This is what unhappiness felt like.
~8~
Bulbul sat Racho down on the couch after exclaiming in horror at the swelling on her feet. Racho seemed to be carrying an exceptionally big baby that was putting a lot of stress on her back and feet. Her feet would often swell up and Bulbul would massage them with oil to soothe the aches.
She massaged Racho's soles with warm coconut oil and chatted with her about baby names.
Bulbul felt her mother-in-law sit beside her run a hand lovingly over her head. Suresh's Maa had been cold towards her initially but had warmed up to her after Sarla Maa had passed. She has been a great source of comfort to Bulbul and had provided no end of love and support.
Bulbul's existence here was calm and peaceful.
Her days passed by pleasantly as she took care of her sister-in-law and spent time getting to know her mother-in-law better.
And Bulbul was determined to keep this peace in her life after the whirlwind her life had been before and all the hurt she had caused to the people around her. She was determined to keep a low profile in her new house and not stir up any kind of trouble. She kept an amicable relationship with everyone, even her husband. She tried to never have a conflict with anyone.
But was always worried.
What if Maa found out that her and Suresh didn't share any kind of relationship? What if Purab came looking for her again? What if Abhi Jeeju or Aaliya still wanted revenge from her or her Di? Would they try to harm Di? Maybe, seeing her circumstance, they would now come and try and harm Racho and her child?
Bulbul lost herself in her fears for a moment and finally it was a nudge from Racho that brought her out of her dark thoughts.
She felt tears prick her eyes as she concentrated on her task.
Yes, her existence was peaceful, but a storm was always imminent. Wherever she went, a storm always followed and destroyed the lives of those around her. Would it come and destroy these nice people?
Bulbul tried to force the horrible images away from her eyes and sighed. This is what unhappiness felt like.
~8~
Suresh watched his wife as she doted over his sister and spoke smilingly with his mother.
She was so beautiful when she smiled.
But these days her smile never lit up her face like it used to.
His Bulbul had changed and he felt helpless in this situation.
What had initially attracted him to Bulbul was that she was a free spirit. She was so unlike any other girl he had seen. She would always do what her heart told her. She always stood up for what was right. She was kind and loving, but mischievous and naughty. She had a twinkle in her eyes that was simply irresistible.
She was a complete opposite of his simple and boring persona.
This is why he never fell in love with Pragya; because she was too much like him. And they say that opposites attract, right?
But he always knew that Bulbul was out of his league. She would one day get some dashing prince that would steal her away and pamper her as she deserved.
So when she approached him with a proposal of their marriage, he had been a little more than skeptical. For this reason and also the fact that he had broken her sister's heart and she had been extremely verbal about her dislike for him.
However she had laid the proposal as though laying down a business deal. They both loved other people, she had said, so there would never be a complication of their feelings getting involved. They would live their lives as partners, friends, but never as lovers. Her dying Maa wished to see her settled had been her reasoning. She was proposing a lifetime partnership with no emotional attachment.
And Suresh had found himself agreeing instantly. He'd liked to think that he'd said yes because the love of his life was in need of a friend, a support, at the time and he would be anything for her that she needed.
But his reasons had been purely selfish to some extent as well. His Bulbul, his beautiful angel wished willingly to be a part of his life. How could he deny her? How could he give up this one chance to have her in his life in some way?
So it had been a done deal.
Suresh had thought that she would be bitter and angry towards him as she had been before, but she was surprisingly friendly towards him. She took care of every need of his sister's and had even managed to win over his mother with her love and kindness. In the eyes of the world she was the perfect wife, sister-in-law and daughter-in-law and they were the perfect little family.
But he knew his Bulbul. She was far from happy. She hid her pain well but the lines of sadness etched on her face at certain moments were too obvious to miss.
So here he stood, her clueless husband, unable to do anything for her. He didn't have the heart to relay his concerns to Pragya, who already was suffering so much in her life. He didn't have the stomach to find the man she loved and try and have him make her smile. And he didn't have the guts to attempt to comfort her himself. Her outline of their relationship had been very clear and he didn't dare overstep his boundaries here.
Suresh rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. This is what unrequited love felt like.
~8~
Pragya stood at the balcony of her room and looked down into the extensive and perfectly manicured garden of Mehra Mansion.
It was refreshing to let the cold wind wash over her.
Oh what a mess her life was. Things constantly spun out of her control and she was tired of always picking up the pieces of a shambled life.
This time it was particularly hard.
Her Maa had died 2 months ago today.
Her heart had shattered into to many pieces to even know where to begin with picking them up.
Things around her had changed so drastically sometimes things felt surreal. Sometimes she felt like she was dreaming and she would just wake up one day, safe in her mother's embrace.
And then sometimes she felt like she was watching the daily occurrences of her life from far away, as though watching someone else go through the motions.
It seemed to have happened all of a sudden leaving everything in chaos. Before she knew it, both Aaliya and Bulbul were married, and then they were doing the last rites for her mother, then Abhi's dadi's firm vow to never speak with either of her grandchildren again.
Pragya had wished to leave this awful place the moment her mother's funeral proceedings had happened, but Dadi begged and pleaded with her to please stay here. She had no more hopes from her grandson, she had said, but she couldn't bring herself to part from the best thing that had ever graced the doors of this house. She had asked that Pragya only stay in this house until she herself passed away, and then she was free from this burden. But until that time she selfishly wished for Pragya to stay with her because she was the only source of joy in an old and tired woman's life.
Pragya had tearfully agreed to this. Dadi had been keeping poor health, especially since Tannu's pregnancy scare. Even though it had been revealed as a farce, Dadi seemed to have taken a hard hit and was constantly bedridden or refused to leave her room. She had refused to attend Aaliya and Purab's wedding and had sent Aaliya away without any blessings. Aaliya had yet to come back for her pag phera ritual.
So Pragya spent her days caring for Dadi and seeing to her needs. She tried desperately to uplift her spirit, fearing that Dadi might just pass away due to a broken heart, but nothing seemed to work. Dadi seemed to deteriorate day-by-day.
Pragya could not lose another loved one. Not now. Not so soon.
She heard music coming from inside the room and wiped her tears.
She had been wrong before. She had thought she was unhappy when her marriage happened and her mother was on the verge of sickness. No. This truly is what unhappiness felt like.
~8~
Abhi strummed his guitar absently and watched his wife stand outside at the balcony.
What to do to get her to speak to him?
He always got the cold shoulder from her.
It was hard to believe that this girl and the girl she had initially married were one and the same.
Watching her with his Dadi, it was obvious that she was the same warm, loving girl.
But her behavior towards him and his sister had changed considerably. She held him, Aaliya, and Tannu responsible for her mother's death.
And he didn't blame her for thinking that way. It had been incredibly foolish to involve Pragya's family into their ploys and he had constantly told Aaliya and Tannu this. They had truly gone too far in their delusional battle for revenge and destroyed many many lives as result.
It was a good thing that the' exchange of letters' ploy and other dirty deeds of his sister and ex-girlfriend had come forward shortly after the affirmation of her pregnancy rumours being just those (the details of which had been investigated and exposed by Aakash, to his surprise). And the details of all the deeds had come out courtesy of a catfight between the two girls.
Not only did this fight manage to sever the bond between the friends, but also managed to drive a wedge between his grandmother and himself. She refused to look at, speak with, or associate with him in any way.
He would get progress updates on her health from Pragya who chose to ignore him at the best of times and usually replied with single word sentences.
The person who established that 'one does not appreciate what one had until it is lost' was both a genius and a bas***d.
He didn't realize that Pragya always stood up for him until she stopped doing so. He also never realized what a source of strength and support she was for him and still she stopped being so. Were it not for his wife he would be rotting in jail in a hit-and-run case. No matter what wrong he did in her life, she in return did a hundred rights in his.
Now that he didn't have that, he truly missed it. He didn't realize that his wife pampered him so until that pampering was gone.
She refused to speak to, look at, or even acknowledge that he was in her general vicinity. He wanted her in his life but he had screwed her too monumentally to even make that request of her.
He knew of her and Dadi's deal. If... when... Dadi died, Pragya would be free of this bond and was free to leave. Abhi never wanted the situation upon him to see what her decision may be.
He had thought that when Tannu had turned down his marriage proposal he knew the feeling, but he was wrong. Now, watching his wife stare off into the distance, eyes sad, not a hint of a smile or her previous passion for life visible, he knew exactly what unrequited love felt like.
~8~
Tannu smiled as she admired herself in the mirror. Life was perfect!
Today was her engagement party with Dev Sharma, one of the biggest businessmen in town. Today she was going to show a special bunch of people that she had won.
She had grown tired of the cat and mouse game that was being played and decided to go in for the bigger fish instead.
So what if Abhi was a Rockstar?
Dev's net worth was far greater that Abhi's. He came from old money. Generations of wealth had been passed down to Dev. And of course, she had him wrapped around her little finger.
She had made sure to invite 3 very special newly wedded couples to her party so they could see her success. And because Dev was so influential, neither of them was able to turn the invitation down.
She watched as all three couples entered one-by-one and mingled. They seemed to run into each other all at once and all 6 people froze. Tannu smirked, taking in all their expressions ranging from longing to sadness with no small amount of glee.
Behenji of course immediately went and hugged her sister. Aaliya tried to hug her brother but her made little show of it and asked her to keep her distance. Purab looked longingly at Bulbul making Aaliya glare at the girl and making Double Battery swallow nervously and dart his eyes between Bulbul and Purab.
She happily announced the all couples had to dance together to celebrate her happiness.
She watched with smug satisfaction as 3 very uncomfortable couples came together for a dance.
Her own partner was missing in action but Tannu couldn't be bothered with that now. She was sure he was busy with business associates singing her praises. As it is she was enjoying watching the dancing from her perch as queen of the castle too much to join them.
Little did the queen of the castle know that the king of the castle was currently in in a passionate embrace with a waitress in one of the numerous bedrooms in his mansion. One of the waitress' buttons had popped in a very unfortunate place. Of course Dev had to help the girl out. And help her he did, right out of her clothes and into his bed.
~The End~
Who's still with me?
If you made it to the bottom, then great! You managed to swim through the muck of my writing.
Please let me know what you thought of it. Loved it? Hated it?
-Yuks
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