61
Sanyukta nervously stepped towards Randhir, looking down at the ground. Randhir grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the room angrily.
"Randhir," Vidhushi intervened, "Please understand her... she had no choice."
Randhir ignored Vidhushi and slammed the door shut, locking her out of the room.
"Why did you come here?" he yelled.
Sanyukta fell to his feet and started to sob uncontrollably.
"I hurt you so much Randhir, I'm sorry," she sobbed, holding on to his feet and pressing her cheek against them. "I am so sorry. Please forgive me."
He looked down at her fallen figure and his heart hurt. He didn't want to see her like that. He fell to the ground too and held her shoulders. She just threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, before crying even more.
"I need you," she choked. "I will die if you aren't with me."
"Then die!" he yelled, trying to pull her off him. "Just stay away from me!"
She felt another stab in her heart and she let go of him.
"Is that why you came all the way here from India?" she asked him. "To tell me to die?"
Randhir's eyes filled with tears.
"I came here to take you back with me," he said hoarsely, "I thought I could love you even if you hated me, but I guess I'm not strong enough to take this kind of deceit."
Sanyukta then stood up and sniffled.
"I - I'll go Randhir," she told him softly. "I'll go far away... but you have to promise me you won't miss me."
"I - I won't ever miss a bitch like you," he snarled. "I know why you ran here now. It was so you could do the abortion. In India, you were afraid that people would recognize you and it would tamper with your reputation."
Sanyukta smiled at him through her tears. As usual, Randhir misunderstood her intentions. As usual, he undermined her love for him. And as usual, he was using the hatred he felt towards himself and spewing it all out at her.
"One - one last time Randhir," she whispered painfully, "One last time, tell me that you will be happier without me."
"Of course I would be," he said coldly, and she wiped her tears with her hands.
"Then I'll go... I'll go forever. This time, you won't even be able to have me come back in your life if you change your mind. Are you sure?" she asked him.
"Get out!" he yelled angrily. "Just get out of my life. I don't want to see your face again. I hate you!"
"It's okay," she whispered. "I will go. And... and I promise you, that I won't come back to bother you. Goodbye Randhir."
She stepped out of his room, to walk out of his life... but she vowed that even though she was walking away from him today, she would watch over him and protect him from afar until her very last breath.
62
Vidhushi was waiting outside the room, scared that if she left then Sanyukta would escape again and she would have no way of finding her best friend again. When Sanyukta came out of the room tearfully, she looked up at Vidhushi.
"He's really angry," she said softly, "I guess I committed a sin."
Vidhushi placed a reassuring hand on Sanyukta's shoulder.
"We can convince him," Vidhushi said. "I know he'll be convinced."
"He won't be. Not this time," Sanyukta whispered.
Not unless she told him the truth... and she couldn't do that because the truth would hurt him more than her lie would.
"Come stay with me," Vidhushi urged but Sanyukta shook her head.
"I am going back to India Vidhushi. I'll see you there," she said.
"No!" Vidhushi denied. "You will come back with us."
"I swear I won't run off. When you come back I'll meet you... I just have to get my stuff from where I've been staying. I promise I'll see you soon," Sanyukta told her best friend and then gave her a tight hug, before whispering, "Please take care of Randhir."
"Sanyukta, please don't go," Vidhushi said, her own eyes filling with tears, "You're the only one who can handle him."
Sanyukta broke the hug and looked Vidhushi in the eye.
"If I could handle him, he wouldn't be a miserable wreck right now," she said firmly. "I'll see you soon."
Then she turned around and walked away.
Vidhushi then entered Randhir's room slowly, scared of what was to come.
She saw that Randhir was on the ground, weeping. Vidhushi fell to the ground too and hugged him tightly.
"I know it's hard Randhir," Vidhushi said, her voice cracking, "I know you're angry and I know you've been wronged... but please don't torture yourself... please."
"I don't know what the point of love is anymore," he said, heartbroken. "I just don't know why it had to be her."
"I - I'm sorry," Vidhushi whispered, and Randhir pushed her back.
"You hurt me too didn't you?" he snarled and she nodded, choking.
"I'm sorry... I am so sorry," she whispered and pressed her hands together in front of him, "Believe me, it was only after we broke up that I realized how much you meant to me."
He looked at her with surprise.
"What?" he gasped.
"Nothing," she replied, wiping her tears. "Let's catch the earliest flight back to India."
"I think I'll die," he said hoarsely.
"Don't say that," Vidhushi replied, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "I promise everything will be okay."
Randhir then pulled her close to him again in another hug.
"You won't hurt me again will you?" he asked, sounding scared. "I'm scared to trust."
"I won't hurt you," she vowed. "I've hurt you enough in this lifetime."
Then he placed his hand on Vidhushi's cheek, and he looked into her eyes. As he leaned towards her to close the gap, Vidhushi pushed him backwards.
"What are you doing?" she gasped, "Sanyukta is my best friend! How could you even think about doing that with me?"
"I... I feel too lost," he replied. "I need to feel something with someone else."
"You want to use me as your rebound?" she asked him, her heart aching.
"I don't know," he murmured. "If I ever had strong feelings for anyone else, it was you."
"Look Randhir, you aren't in the right frame of mind right now. Get ready, I'm booking flight tickets," she told him.
Randhir just leaned back against his bed and closed his eyes as more tears fell. Vidhushi left his room and locked herself in her own room, her heart beating erratically.
"Oh Sanyukta, please don't put me in this situation," she begged out loud to nobody. "I only learned that I loved him after I left him... and now he loves you and you love him. I can't come between... I can't hurt either of you. I was too late, and I deserve to be alone, but neither of you do."
She wiped her tears with her hands before taking out her phone to book the flight tickets.
All she knew was that she wanted Randhir to be happy, and his happiness rested with Sanyukta and Sanyukta only, so she would do whatever it took to keep them together.
Time was limited though, especially Sanyukta's. Vidhushi did not know how precious her time would be yet.
63
The first thing Sanyukta did once she got to India was get the tumour removed. She knew that Randhir was angry, and maybe he would come to take her back... perhaps it was hope, or perhaps it was love and concern for him... but whatever it was, she wanted to leave the option open for him.
it was true that she didn't feel like living without him, but the task of a lover was never to die without your love - it was to feel your love even in the separation, and for Sanyukta, even if Randhir was miles away, she was happy to just be there, existing, for the possibility that he could find her if maybe, just maybe he needed her.
"The tumour is gone," the doctor said positively, and Sanyukta sat up on the bed after the operation. "I'm glad you took the decision to abort the child."
Sanyukta's eyes filled with tears - it was not she who made the decision, but it had been her love for Randhir.
"Come back for another check up in two weeks. There is a possibility that the tumour has spread but sometimes it can take a few weeks to leave any evidence behind. Don't forget!" the doctor urged.
Sanyukta nodded and got off the bed.
"Thank you doctor," she said with a smile.
"Rest for a bit," the doctor advised.
"I'll be okay doctor. I just have some things I need to settle," she informed her. "But I will rest at home. If I have any problems, I will come back."
"You're very stubborn Sanyukta," the doctor said, shaking her head. "I hope this stubborn nature doesn't land you in trouble later on."
How could she explain to the doctor that she had landed herself in the trouble of love, and the trouble of love was such a blissful kind of trouble?
As Sanyukta left the hospital, she touched the diamond pendant on her chest softly.
"I'm here if you need me Randhir," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. "And I will always watch over you."
At that moment, she received a phone call on her reactivated phone, and she saw it was from Vidhushi.
"Thank God," Vidhushi said, breathing a sigh of relief. "You reactivated your phone. I need to see you."
"Yes, where do you want to meet?" Sanyukta asked, knowing that she had to meet Vidhushi too.
As soon as Vidhushi gave her the address of a cafe, Sanyukta got in a cab and made her way there, knowing she wasn't in the right condition to drive.
When she got there, Vidhushi had already sat down on one of the tables and ordered two cappuccino's for them.
"Sanyukta please do something and go back to him... he's so broken," was the first thing Vidhushi said. "I can't watch over him like this... please understand."
Sanyukta took a sip of her cappuccino and eyed Vidhushi suspiciously.
"What do you mean? Why can't you?" Sanyukta asked.
"Sanyukta he's going crazy without you... he wants to revive what he feels for you with others... he tried to kiss me in his room after you left, but of course I didn't," Vidhushi said defensively. "I can't be around him like this Sanyukta."
Sanyukta's eyes widened as Vidhushi confessed what happened in the hotel room to Sanyukta.
"You love him Vidhushi," Sanyukta then said after a few moments of silence, "And I don't know whether he loves you or not, but what he felt towards me was not strong enough. Maybe you can bring him out of this madness. He doesn't even want to look at me now."
"Don't use me Sanyukta," Vidhushi begged, "Yes I know I have feelings for him, and I know that any lover will be able to see the feelings of another lover, but I can't do it. I am not strong like you. I will break if I go near him."
Sanyukta paused and sighed.
"Fair enough then," she replied. "Stay away from him. And let him be alone for a while... he'll be sad but will get over it eventually, and then he will start to pick up the broken pieces of his life again."
"But I don't understand Sanyukta," Vidhushi urged. "Please tell me why this is even happening? Why didn't you tell him about the baby? Why did you do your abortion? And now why don't you take him back?"
"I did everything for him Vidhushi. I can't see him in so much pain, but perhaps I put him in a greater pain now. I won't take him back now because I respect him. Until he wants me in his life, I will stay out of it," she told Vidhushi seriously. "No matter what I say to him, he won't understand. And if I tell him the truth, perhaps he won't even believe me. So it's not worth it. I don't want to be around him if my love is only going to make him weak."
Vidhushi nodded, unable to make any decisions on behalf of either Randhir or Sanyukta, but what she knew was that she was going to try to bring them back together, even if it caused her to suffer to the nth degree.
64
Randhir was broken. He had no reason to live anymore. All he wanted to do was die. He didn't leave his room for two weeks, until finally he looked at his phone and saw many missed calls from his father regarding work. All of the messages were threats to get him removed from the Shekhawat business. He had missed too much work.
That was when he picked himself up from the ground and felt the sunlight for the first time in weeks.
When he went to his office, his father was waiting for him there.
"Good job Randhir, I am proud of you. All in one night, you did two weeks of missed work," his father said with a proud smile. "I knew my son is a genius, and he makes up for everything he missed!"
Randhir looked up with shock. He hadn't done anything. Randhir forced himself to smile and muttered, "I'm going to my office."
His father patted him on the back and let him go. As Randhir sat in his chair, he leaned back and wondered what exactly just happened - how could two weeks of work be completed overnight when he hadn't even come into the office?
Randhir then looked around his office for signs of evidence, but it looked like all the evidence had been cleared up.
He went upstairs to check the CCTV footage from last night, and in the footage, there was someone wearing a long loose jacket and loose jeans, their face covered. He couldn't even make out if it was a male or female. Once that person entered, the CCTV footage had been deleted.
"Was there nobody on duty last night?" Randhir asked the security guard.
"Sorry sir," the guard said, sounding guilty, "Nothing ever happens, so I fell asleep."
"What the hell?" Randhir hissed. "How could you? Who did all this work?"
At a coffeeshop across the street, Sanyukta was sitting with her face buried in her hands, having had a long and exhausting night where she completed all of the office work for Randhir. Luckily, she still had the keys to his cabin. Yesterday, she heard her father speaking to someone about Randhir Singh Shekhawat bringing his business down because he hadn't been doing his work.
What Randhir probably didn't even know was that he wasn't the only genius - she had beat him at his game before, and to help him win this time, she was going to do everything she could do in her power to save him.
65
When she made the vow to herself that she would look after him, she meant it. Every step he took, she would take alongside him. She had married him from her heart, and she would fulfill her duties as his wife from her soul.
As the next few months passed, she continued to watch Randhir and help him silently. For example, if he was ever missing a pen, she would wait for him to turn around and drop a pen in front of him.
Randhir started to consider himself lucky, but in reality, his luck was Sanyukta.
Vidhushi started to talk to Randhir again slowly, after he got out of his depression. She kept her distance, but both Sanyukta and Vidhushi feared that if he didn't have a friend, it would send him right back into his depression.
"He's living his life now," Vidhushi said, with a smile after a few months. "He's starting to smile... maybe he's moving on."
"I'm so happy," Sanyukta said, tears filling her eyes. "Thank you Vidhushi."
"Don't thank me... we have a common goal," she told Sanyukta happily. "But Sanyukta, I think his anger has cooled down by a lot now, maybe you can approach him?"
"I'm not going to approach him," she said firmly. "If he wants me, he can come and find me. I don't want to unleash any of his feelings from the past."
Vidhushi nodded.
"It's your choice. Anyways, I have to go meet him now. He asked me to have a coffee with him," she said with with a smile.
Sanyukta looked up at Vidhushi and a fresh layer of tears filled her eyes. Grabbing her best friend's hand, Sanyukta whispered, "If he likes you, then don't hesitate because of me."
"I am nothing in his eyes in front of you Sanyukta," Vidhushi told her, and squeezed her hand. "Trust me."
"I don't want it to be that way... I don't want him to think about me so highly," she voiced. "Anyways, you go... he must be waiting. I'll see you some other time."
Vidhushi nodded and left.
When Vidhushi was sitting with Randhir in the cafe, he looked at her thoughtful expression.
"You're thinking about something?" he asked her.
She didn't know whether to bring it up or not, but she needed to see what he felt today.
"Yes, about Sanyukta," Vidhushi said out loud and she watched as anger took over his features and his hands balled into fists.
"Why the hell are you bringing her up?" he hissed.
"Don't - don't you think it's time to give her a call? Or see her? It has been a while," Vidhushi said softly. "I think it's a good idea."
Randhir just got up and stormed out of the cafe, leaving Vidhushi in tears. How was she going to unite two stubborn hearts?
That evening, Sanyukta had a strong urge to go the place where they had walked on coals. She didn't know what made her do it, but she went into her car and began to drive there. Perhaps she was looking for some kind of confirmation, that what she was doing was right... or perhaps it was because she was grateful that that place had given her so much.
Randhir on the other hand, had already made up his mind to go there that same evening because that place gave him peace and solitude.
He didn't know that his solitude was going to be interrupted that night by the girl he was so desperately trying to forget.
66
Randhir got there first. When he got there, he saw that the Shaikh was sitting at his usual spot with a blissful smile on his face. As Randhir approached him, he looked up.
"Ah you were expected," the Shaikh said, "What brings you here?"
"If you know, then why do you ask?" Randhir asked, and fell to the ground beside the Shaikh. "Why are you so powerful, yet you ask?"
"It is so you can see that you do not know," the Shaikh answered.
Randhir was confused - as usual, he would perhaps never understand the Shaikh's words.
"I came to search for something," Randhir answered. "I don't know what."
"The part of you that will complete you," the Shaikh replied to him. "That is what you are seeking."
Randhir looked at the Shaikh inquisitively, deciding it was better not to say anything.
"You came to the right place. You will find her here. Remember one thing... wishes cannot be reversed, only reapplied," the Shaikh said. "Words cannot be erased, only said again."
He did not understand a single thing the Shaikh said.
"Time is limited. There are many different forms of love, and the most true one will surpass the test of time," the Shaikh continued. "Will you realize this before time runs out? Only love can move destiny's heart... but remember, karma will not vanish. It will go somewhere else."
Randhir was taken aback by what the Shaikh was saying - why was he even talking about love?
"Ah there she is. There is the one you have been seeking so anxiously. She has replied to the calling of your heart," the Shaikh said before closing his eyes and smiling. "Now, it is up to you to decide if you want to respond to the flame of desire that burns in her heart for you."
Randhir turned around and saw her - the girl he was struggling to forget. Sanyukta. His Sanyukta. She was wearing a salwar suit and his necklace was still hanging from her neck.
Tears filled his eyes as he stood up. She looked at him with tears in her eyes as well, for some reason not surprised. Now she realized that she was not here of her own accord... she was called here by destiny. It had never been her decision to come here.
They slowly approached each other holding back tears, then without saying a word, Randhir engulfed her in a tight hug, and she hugged him back, burying her face in his chest, losing herself in his embrace.
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