I am my own shield
"That Dhrubajyoti Lahiri....How dare he!"
"Agni-"
"Please Tara, don't - Wait, wait. Now I get it. You helped him. You helped him in his destruction!"
It was perhaps a result of spending the better part of a year with Mr Lahiri that helped in maintaining her composure. And it was perhaps the lessons her husband (ex-husband, that is) had drilled into her which kept her mouth shut. The old Tara, so desperate for Agni's approval, would have been so eager to prove her innocence - crying and begging and praying to Radhamadhav for Agni's trust. The old Tara would be running from pillar to post to prove that the accusations thrown at her were pure, unadulterated lies.
This Tara? This Tara, with her degree from a reputed university, the experience of working for two of Kolkata's biggest textile companies and plans of establishing her own empire, couldn't care less of what misconceptions brewed in that seemingly empty head of Agni Choudhuri. He could live in his world of illusions. However, gone are the days when people would trample all over her. Back then, she used to hold the pain in her heart, screaming into the night to a father she had lost. She would cry and cry and cry, hoping that one day, her saviour will come, he would come and he would protect her. Her saviour would be her shield, guarding her from these baseless accusations. But now, Tara didn't need a saviour. She no longer needed a guardian. Never again.
For she was her own shield.
"You know, Agni, I didn't come here to -"
"Exactly. Why did you come here? I know -"
The mad glint in his eyes was enough of a hint as to what he knew. It was only because of her utmost devotion and perhaps the last remnants of the love she held for him, that made it all too clear to Tara that once again, Agni was going to come up with a completely incorrect and hundred percent stupid explanation for Tara's presence at the Choudhuri home. As always, he didn't disappoint.
"You came here to gloat!"
Now this level of stupidity surely deserved a clap from her. And because she was feeling indulgent, she added a few more. Immediately, all eyes were on Tara. They weren't expecting this reaction from the defenseless girl they had known. If anything, everyone was prepared to see her grovel in front of Agni - clutching her hands and crying buckets. But for her to clap at Agni's accusation…
Pishimoni, as always, jumped into the conversation far too late, stepping forward and grabbing Agni's arm. "Agni. Think before you speak. Tara? Tara is here to gloat? Tara is happy to see us in this state?"
"Then why else is she here, Pishimoni? Why -"
"Agni, if I am not wrong, you called me, panicked, and you asked me to come here"
His eyes were comically round as he turned to her. "Oh! Right. Just like that. You are my slave, nah, so of course, you had to come here, just because I asked you to. Just tell us the truth, Tara"
"I came here because this is also my family" Did she just say that this too was her family? Like she had another family? Well, it wasn't a lie. She had a Didi, two… kids who loved her like anything and a husband ex-husband friend. Anyway, she can think back on her relationship with Dhrubajyoti Lahiri at her leisure. Right now, the Choudhuris needed her. "I came here because my family is in trouble." And also because Mr Lahiri had promised her that his revenge was complete abandoned. And he wasn't one to make false promises. In the ten months of their marriage, he had been nothing but honest with her. No reason he would start now.
"Family. Right. Tara, everyone knows how much we mean to you. And everyone remembers you living the good life the first time we went bankrupt. Need I remind you that my family fed you, clothed you, kept a roof over your head and yet, you went running to him. Beimaan."
She had never known him to be this cruel. Even then, even on that fateful day, Agni hadn't been this cruel. Or perhaps she had accepted her part in the whole mess and thought that Agni's cruelty was justified. He hadn’t known. Now too, Agni is clueless.. He doesn’t know why she left them in their darkest days. He doesn’t know anything about her marriage, what led to her divorce, he doesn't know why Dhrubajyoti Lahiri had has stopped his attacks on the Choudhuris. Tara doesn’t know either, but that's a story for another day. What's important is that even in that painful phase, Agni had been…..Kinder.
Had time washed away at the love he had for her, just like it had been for Tara herself?
"You are still with him, aren't you? This divorce is a sham. You are still together. He must have paid for your education, and...and he is backing your new business venture, right? Right?"
How predictable of him to believe that she was nothing on her own. Yes, she went abroad with her share of money from the company, seeing he hadn’t found it necessary to change her position in the company. And yes, she did go to him for advice whenever necessary, but the company was the physical manifestation of her dream. It was all Tara and for Agni's to think that she couldn't do it herself…
"And.."
At this point, it seemed as if Agni was speaking to the air, because the other family members were busy focusing on Tara and she had been lost in her own thoughts. Having come out of her memories, Tara tried to cut through Agni's barrage of accusations. Tried being the keyword. Agni was unstoppable.
"How could you, Tara? How could you side with him? And even now, you are working with him, you are trying to destroy us! What did he offer you in exchange, money? Why did you betray us like that? Oh right, how can I forget - "
Was he really going to go there? Would Agni do that to his childhood friend, was he going to hurt the woman he claimed to love?
" - It is in your blood."
She should slap him. She had forgiven a lot, has always forgiven him for the vitriol he spewed , but not today, never again. Or she could leave, if she were to come up with a non-violent solution. But no. She didn't come here for him and she wouldn't leave for him.
"The papers."
The coldness of her tone doesn’t go unnoticed. Agni, always a little slow with perceiving a threat as a threat, and, as evident in his words of choice, he wasn't expecting retaliation. Thrown off from his chain of thoughts, Agni blinked at her, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "What papers?"
"The tender notice, the offer you made. I need to see if there is some conspiracy or if you lost the order due to your incompetence." This would do for now. Agni wouldn't be able to digest this blow to his ego.
"No."
"Agni!" Boro Maa had been a silent spectator for far too long, but she chose this exact moment to step into the battleground. For it was a battle - Agni had crossed all limits. "No, Agni, let her look at the papers. If someone is trying to sabotage us -"
"Maa, someone is sabotaging us. And that someone is her husband."
"Ex-husband." Not that it mattered to her, Tara knew that even if someone tried to sabotage the Choudhuris, it wasn't Dhrubajyoti Lahiri. His hands were clean. And the only reason Agni was trying to instigate everyone against Dhrubajyoti Lahiri was that it was indeed, nobody's fault but Agni's that they lost the order. The only reason Tara was facing these accusations was because Agni wanted to manipulate her into helping him. He knew, she still cared for this side of her family. As much as she cared for that side.
"Current, ex, it doesn't matter" It seemed that Agni wouldn't listen to Boro Ma either. Not today. "You are on his side."
Yes.
"I am on my side, Agni. I support the truth. And the truth is that you are lying."
She left him with that, and it was only when she reached the threshold did she turn. "A long while back, I crossed this little line on the floor, and I chose someone else -"
"Your husband" true to his nature, Agni was ready with an interruption. "We know."
" - today," Tara continued, as if Agni hadn't spoken a word. " - today, I choose myself." With a last, long look at the house, she left. And she left with a promise.
She would always choose herself. Always.
****
Juto tuto thik ache, tomato tao cholbe, kintu no kancha dim. 😆 Joking, all feedback is welcome :D
Edited by SG2016 - 4 years ago
First of all, I hope you are taking all precautions and barring all that, you are happy 
Secondly, I have too much time on my hands and I kind of wrote two drabbles on Dhrubatara?? 
I too, am shocked.
You must be thinking, that this Shaon is so sadist, biyer promo elo ki elo na ar divorce obdhi pounche gelo! But this is how I see their story (this is actually one of my favourite tropes that I never see in fiction, so I finally took things in my own hands, hihi) and I really want them to choose each other. Not because of a condition, not because of anything else. Just two people, who choose each other, once and for all. ❤️❤️❤️
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