Tum Mile
Chapter 1
“You can’t go through there!” the secretary shouted as she hurried around the reception desk after Geet, the sudden panic in her voice carrying across the otherwise quiet executive floor as several employees instinctively looked up from their desks.
Geet didn’t bother turning around, nor did she slow her steps as the sharp click of her heels continued against the polished floor. She couldn’t even remember the woman’s name, though she knew they had been introduced at least once. Dev seemed to change assistants every few months, usually replacing one impeccably dressed young woman with another, and after eight years of marriage Geet had stopped making the effort to remember who was who.
“I’m his fcking wife” Geet snapped over her shoulder as she continued marching towards Dev’s office, her voice carrying enough fury that the secretary momentarily faltered before forcing herself to follow again.
“Mrs Singhania, please. Mr Singhania is in a private meeting” the secretary explained anxiously as she quickened her steps, clearly torn between doing her job and the growing realisation that Geet was in absolutely no mood to be stopped.
“So he told me” Geet responded bitterly as she tightened her fingers around the phone in her hand, Dev’s message still burning inside her mind even though she had read it several times during the drive over.
“Mrs Singhania, you really cannot just walk into…”
“Watch me” Geet interrupted coldly as she pushed through the glass doors leading towards the executive offices without giving the woman another glance.
Behind her, the secretary froze for barely a second before reaching hurriedly for the telephone mounted near the reception desk. “Security!” she cried desperately as she pressed the button, her eyes remaining fixed on Geet’s retreating figure. “Can someone send security to Mr Singhania’s office immediately?”
Geet heard every word but ignored her, because her heart was pounding so violently against her chest that everything around her had started to feel distant, almost unreal, while the phone remained trapped within her clenched hand. Ten minutes earlier she had sent Dev a message, hoping, perhaps stupidly, that he would simply tell her where he was and finally agree to have the conversation she had spent most of the morning preparing herself for.
G:We need to talk. Are you at the office?
His reply had arrived less than a minute later.
In a meeting. Later.
Later.
There was always a later with Dev, Geet realised bitterly as she continued towards his office, and the more she thought about it now, the more she wondered how she had spent so many years accepting that one word as though it were a reasonable answer rather than the dismissal it had always been.
“We’ll talk later” Dev would say whenever she became upset and wanted him to sit down long enough to listen to her. “I’m tired, Geet. Later” he would mutter whenever she tried discussing their marriage after another week of barely seeing one another. “Not now” he would snap whenever she questioned something he had done or asked why a decision involving both of them had somehow already been made without her.
Later had become Dev’s favourite word whenever something mattered to Geet but inconvenienced him, and somehow she had spent years allowing him to make her feel unreasonable for wanting answers in the first place.
Not today.
Her father had told her too much that morning, carefully placing documents in front of her while asking questions Geet hadn’t initially known how to answer, and since then things she had spent years overlooking had begun arranging themselves into a picture she could no longer pretend not to see. There had been strange transactions she had noticed before convincing herself Dev understood the finances better than she did, conversations that abruptly stopped whenever she entered a room, and the way Dev became defensive whenever her father asked even the simplest questions about the company.
Then there were the documents bearing Geet’s signature, except she couldn’t remember signing them.
And Naintara.
Geet knew the name and recognised the face, though there was very little else she could say about the woman. She had seen Naintara at company events several times and vaguely remembered exchanging polite conversation with her once or twice, the sort of meaningless small talk people shared beside champagne glasses before moving towards somebody they actually knew. Naintara worked closely with Dev on some of his projects, or at least that was what Geet had always been told, but she wasn’t Geet’s friend and had never pretended to be.
She had never been invited into Geet’s home, they had never shared secrets, and they had never even exchanged telephone numbers. As far as Geet was concerned, Naintara was simply one of the many people who worked with her husband, somebody whose existence barely registered beyond an occasional mention whenever Dev discussed business.
Geet finally reached Dev’s office and wrapped her fingers around the door handle, yet despite everything that had driven her there, she hesitated.
For one brief moment, she stopped completely because a tiny and increasingly desperate part of her still wanted to be wrong.
She wanted to push that door open and find Dev sitting around the conference table with half a dozen businessmen, perhaps looking irritated because she had interrupted an important discussion before demanding to know what had possessed her to storm through his office. She wanted the secretary to be right, wanted Dev’s text to be true, and she was suddenly willing to endure every ounce of embarrassment that would follow because feeling stupid for doubting her husband would hurt considerably less than discovering she had finally been right about him.
Geet inhaled deeply, forcing air into lungs that suddenly felt too tight, before tightening her fingers around the handle and shoving the door open.
Her entire world stopped.
There was no meeting.
Not unless Dev had suddenly started conducting private meetings with half his clothes missing.
Naintara was bent over the long conference table with her skirt pushed high around her waist while Dev stood behind her with his hands gripping her waist and pounding into her.
For several seconds Geet simply remained beside the open doorway, unable to move, unable to breathe and somehow unable even to scream despite the roar that seemed to have exploded inside her head. She could feel her fingernails digging painfully into her palm where she still clutched her phone, yet even that sensation seemed detached from her as her eyes remained fixed on her husband.
Dev.
Her Dev.
The man she had spent eight years building a life around was so lost in another woman that he hadn’t even noticed the office door opening.
Naintara did.
Her head lifted abruptly and the moment her eyes landed on Geet, every trace of pleasure disappeared from her expression, replaced instantly by such naked horror that Geet almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it. Naintara looked horrified, as though she were somehow the person who had walked into something devastating.
“Dev” Naintara gasped as her widened eyes remained fixed over her shoulder towards Geet.
Dev misunderstood the urgency in her voice and tightened his hold around Naintara’s waist, completely oblivious to the fact that his wife was standing several feet away watching the last eight years of her life collapse in front of her.
“Dev!” Naintara cried louder as she reached behind herself, shoving urgently against his arm until Dev finally frowned in annoyance and lifted his head.
Then his eyes landed on Geet.
He froze.
Everything stopped.
Geet stared at him without blinking as memories assaulted her so quickly she almost felt dizzy. This was her husband, the man who had kissed her forehead before leaving for work that morning, the man who had sat across from her at breakfast scrolling through emails while she spoke to him, occasionally making distracted noises to suggest he was listening. He had barely looked up when she asked whether he would be home for dinner, simply telling her he had a busy day and would let her know.
That same man was now standing half dressed behind another woman while his wife looked directly at him.
Dev’s face lost colour so rapidly that for a strange moment Geet wondered whether he might actually faint. “Geet” Dev whispered as he immediately stepped away from Naintara, his shock gradually giving way to alarm as he seemed to realise there was no explanation quick enough to cover what she had just witnessed.
Geet smiled.
It wasn’t a pleasant smile and there was absolutely no humour inside it, yet something about it seemed to disturb Dev more than if she had immediately begun screaming, because he paused momentarily before hurriedly reaching for his trousers.
Heavy footsteps suddenly sounded behind Geet and two security guards appeared at the doorway, both men arriving with the determined expressions of people expecting to escort an angry visitor from the building before stopping dead when they saw the scene inside.
Neither man seemed to know where to look.
Geet didn’t take her eyes off Dev.
“Send them away” Geet ordered quietly as she remained beside the door, the terrifying calmness of her voice making Dev stare at her more closely.
“Geet, just give me a second” Dev responded impatiently as he pulled his trousers properly into place and reached for his shirt, already sounding irritated as though she had inconveniently arrived before he could compose himself.
“Send them away” Geet repeated more firmly as her eyes burned into his. “Now”.
Dev stared at her for a moment before glancing towards the two security guards, clearly realising that having witnesses present would only make an already catastrophic situation worse. “It’s fine. Leave us” Dev instructed sharply as he gestured towards the corridor, and both men disappeared almost immediately while the secretary, who had apparently followed them, vanished behind them without needing to be told twice.
Geet reached backwards and closed the door.
The quiet click seemed louder than all the commotion outside had been, because suddenly there was nothing between them except the suffocating silence and the unmistakable evidence of what Dev had done.
Dev dragged one hand through his dishevelled hair before taking a cautious step towards her. “Geet, listen to me” he began, using the same measured tone he always used when he thought she needed to be managed rather than spoken to.
Geet’s gaze shifted towards the heavy stone vase resting on the cabinet beside her, and before Dev could finish his sentence she wrapped both hands around it.
“Geet” Dev warned as his eyes widened and he instinctively began moving backwards.
She launched it at him.
Naintara screamed as Dev ducked just in time, the vase missing the side of his head by inches before crashing directly into the large computer monitor behind him. The monitor toppled from the desk and smashed against the floor while flowers scattered across the expensive carpet and water spread rapidly through the shattered pieces.
Dev spun around in disbelief before turning furiously back towards her. “What the fck is wrong with you?” Dev shouted as he pointed towards the wreckage, looking genuinely outraged by the destruction of his office equipment.
For half a second Geet simply stared at him before a broken, disbelieving laugh escaped her, because somehow Dev had managed to surprise her again. “What’s wrong with me?” Geet repeated sharply as she gestured towards herself. “You’re actually standing there asking me what’s wrong with me?”
“You could have hit me!” Dev yelled furiously as he pointed again towards the shattered vase.
“That was the fcking point!” Geet screamed back as she grabbed another decorative ornament from the side table, her entire body trembling now that the numbness had finally begun cracking beneath the force of her rage.
Dev immediately raised both hands while retreating another step. “Put that down, Geet” Dev ordered firmly, his expression hardening as though he genuinely believed he still had the authority to command her.
Geet launched that one too.
Dev ducked again and the ornament smashed against the wall behind him, leaving a mark across the immaculate paintwork before falling into pieces on the carpet.
“GEET!” Dev roared as he straightened.
“You lying bstard!” Geet screamed as she suddenly rushed towards him, every ounce of pain that had been trapped inside her body transforming into fury as she slammed both hands against his chest with all the strength she could muster.
Dev stumbled backwards, shock flashing across his face before anger quickly replaced it.
“You fcking lying bstard!” Geet cried as she shoved him again, her voice breaking now despite how desperately she tried to hold herself together.
“Stop it!” Dev snapped as he caught both her wrists before she could hit him again.
Geet immediately began struggling against his grip, the sensation of his hands against her suddenly making her stomach turn. “Get your hands off me!” she yelled as she twisted her wrists furiously, wanting every part of him away from her.
“Calm down!” Dev demanded as he tightened his hold in an attempt to restrain her.
Geet stopped struggling for barely a second as her eyes widened in disbelief. “Calm down?” she repeated dangerously, unable to comprehend that those were the words he had chosen.
“Geet… I…” Dev hesitated as he finally seemed to realise it was the worst possible thing he could have said.
“DON’T FCKING TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!” Geet screamed as she yanked one hand free and slapped him across the face with enough force to snap his head sideways.
The sound echoed through the office.
Naintara gasped from beside the conference table while Dev immediately released Geet, his head remaining turned for several seconds as though he couldn’t quite believe she had struck him.
Geet stared at him while a red mark began spreading visibly across his cheek.
Dev slowly turned back towards her, whatever guilt or panic had initially existed inside his expression disappearing beneath something colder. “Do that again” Dev warned quietly as his jaw tightened.
Geet stared at him for a moment before deliberately stepping closer and lifting her chin. “And you’ll what?” she challenged as she searched his face. “Go on, Dev. Finish that sentence”.
“Don’t push me” Dev responded through clenched teeth, his eyes narrowing.
A humourless laugh escaped Geet because there it was, the thing she had spent years recognising before convincing herself she had imagined it. “There he is” Geet murmured as she nodded slowly.
Dev frowned at her. “What are you talking about?” he demanded irritably.
“The real Dev” Geet answered as she stared directly at him, and saying the words aloud felt strangely freeing because she finally understood that the charming man everybody else admired had never been the person she lived with behind closed doors.
“Oh, don’t start with this dramatic bullshit” Dev scoffed as he rubbed his stinging cheek and rolled his eyes.
Geet’s expression changed immediately as something inside her hardened. “No, please. Keep talking” she encouraged bitterly as she spread her arms around them. “Because this is exactly who you are, isn’t it?”
“Geet…”
“You can stand there after I catch you fcking another woman and somehow still behave as though I’m the embarrassment” Geet continued as tears began burning behind her eyes, although she refused to look away from him even when her vision started blurring.
Dev exhaled heavily and Geet suddenly stilled, because she knew that sigh very well. A familiar shudder coursed through her as anger mixed painfully with recognition, because Dev used that exact sigh whenever he wanted to show that she was becoming too much for him to handle, whenever she cried, questioned him, disagreed with him in front of other people or simply wanted more than the scraps of attention he had decided she should be grateful to receive. It was the sound he used before withdrawing from her emotionally, the sound that had trained her over the years to immediately wonder whether perhaps she really was being difficult.
Except this time Geet didn’t question herself.
“You’re irritated” Geet whispered as she stared at him in disbelief, realising with a fresh wave of disgust that he genuinely looked exhausted by her reaction rather than ashamed of what he had done.
“I’m trying to stop you from behaving like a lunatic” Dev responded coldly as he gestured towards the shattered objects covering the carpet.
“My husband is fcking another woman on his boardroom table and you’re worried that I’m behaving like a lunatic?” Geet asked incredulously as her voice rose again, almost laughing at the sheer audacity of him.
Behind them, Naintara hurriedly began pulling her clothes back into place, but Geet barely looked towards her because, however much disgust she felt, Naintara wasn’t the person Geet had built a life with. She wasn’t the person who had held Geet’s hand while making promises in front of their families, nor was she the person who had spent eight years telling Geet that marriage meant loyalty, honesty and standing beside one another.
Dev had.
Geet shoved him again, tears finally spilling beyond her control. “You made vows to me” she cried as she struck both palms against his chest.
Dev stumbled slightly before regaining his balance. “Geet, stop” he warned as he steadied himself against the desk.
“You stood beside me and promised me there would never be another woman” Geet reminded him as she pointed directly towards his chest, her finger trembling despite the fury in her voice.
“This isn’t helping anything” Dev responded as he looked away, already trying to retreat from the conversation now that he could no longer control its direction.
“Helping?” Geet laughed bitterly as she stared at him. “What exactly would help, Dev?”
He didn’t answer.
Geet waited several seconds, studying the face of the man who once knew how to apologise if he arrived ten minutes late to pick her up but apparently couldn’t find the words after destroying their marriage. “An apology?” Geet suggested sarcastically as she tilted her head. “Maybe you could start with that”.
Dev rubbed one hand over his forehead as though the conversation itself exhausted him. “I’m sorry you had to walk in and see this” he finally muttered.
Silence fell so abruptly that even Naintara stopped moving.
Geet stared at him, certain for a moment that she had misunderstood. “You’re sorry I walked in?” she repeated quietly.
“That isn’t what I meant” Dev responded quickly as he seemed to hear his own words properly for the first time.
“No” Geet disagreed as she shook her head slowly, the pain inside her becoming sharper but strangely clearer. “That’s exactly what you meant”.
“Geet…”
“You’re not sorry you did it” Geet stated as she took another step towards him. “You’re sorry I caught you”.
Dev’s jaw tightened while his expression turned defensive, and Geet watched him preparing the argument before he even spoke. “Our marriage has had problems for years” Dev responded as he folded his arms.
Geet slowly nodded because she had been waiting for that sentence, though perhaps a small part of her had still hoped he might surprise her. “There it is” she murmured bitterly.
“What?” Dev asked impatiently.
“The excuse” Geet explained as another hollow laugh escaped her. “I wondered how long it would take”.
“It isn’t an excuse” Dev replied sharply. “You know we haven’t been happy”.
“So you fcked someone else?” Geet questioned as she pointed towards Naintara, who visibly flinched at being dragged back into the confrontation.
“I didn’t say it was your fault” Dev argued, although the self-righteousness in his voice said enough.
“You don’t have to” Geet responded immediately as she looked directly at him. “You’re cleverer than that”.
Dev rolled his eyes and that tiny gesture, something she had endured hundreds of times before, infuriated Geet almost as much as his words.
“You’ll tell me we grew apart” Geet continued as she began counting on her fingers. “You were lonely. I stopped understanding you. I became difficult, emotional, perhaps too demanding. Maybe I didn’t appreciate you enough”.
“Stop putting words in my mouth” Dev snapped.
“I don’t need to!” Geet yelled as she struck one palm against her own chest. “I know you!”
Dev gave her a cold look, something cruel briefly flashing across his face. “You clearly don’t” he responded.
Geet went completely still.
The words hurt and she allowed them to, because perhaps that was the first honest thing Dev had said since she entered the room. She clearly didn’t know him, or perhaps she had known pieces of him for years and had simply spent too much time loving the version she hoped he could become.
Geet stepped forward and slapped him again.
“Fck!” Dev exclaimed as his head snapped sideways while Naintara flinched beside the table.
“This is between us!” Dev shouted angrily as he turned back towards Geet, his cheeks flushed now from fury as much as the slaps.
“Exactly!” Geet screamed.
Dev fell silent.
“This is between us” Geet repeated as she pointed between herself and him, her chest rising rapidly beneath each uneven breath. “I barely know that woman”.
Naintara stiffened beside the table and Geet glanced towards her properly for the first time. “I know your name is Naintara, I know you work with my husband and I think I’ve spoken to you maybe twice in my entire fcking life” Geet stated coldly before turning her attention immediately back towards Dev.
“Geet, I…” Naintara began nervously, her hands still struggling slightly with the buttons of her blouse.
“Don’t” Geet interrupted as she held one hand up without bothering to look at her again. “I’m not talking to you”.
Naintara closed her mouth.
Geet stepped towards Dev once more. “She didn’t marry me” Geet said as she pointed briefly towards Naintara. “She didn’t stand beside me and make promises”.
Dev stared at her without responding.
“You did” Geet reminded him, her voice cracking despite every effort she made to keep it steady. “You stood in front of my family”.
“Geet…”
“You looked my father in the eye and promised him you would look after me” Geet continued as the tears finally spilled freely down her cheeks, years of memories becoming suddenly unbearable. “You promised him you would never hurt me”.
Dev looked away.
The movement enraged her.
“Look at me!” Geet screamed, and his eyes snapped immediately back towards hers.
“You don’t get to hide behind her” Geet warned as she jabbed one trembling finger against his chest. “You don’t get to turn this into some story about how she tempted you or how we were unhappy”.
“I’m not doing that” Dev argued.
“You will” Geet responded instantly because she knew him well enough to understand exactly how this story would eventually be told. “Because that’s what you do”.
Dev frowned at her.
“You rewrite everything until you’re the reasonable one and I’m the fcking problem” Geet accused as she wiped furiously at the tears running down her face.
“That’s ridiculous” Dev scoffed.
“No, Dev” Geet whispered as something painful settled inside her. “That was our marriage”.
He stared at her.
“You made me question everything” Geet continued as she pressed one shaking hand against her chest, remembering countless arguments where she had entered furious and somehow finished apologising. “Every time I knew something was wrong, somehow you convinced me I was imagining it”.
“That isn’t true” Dev argued.
“You told me I overthought everything” Geet reminded him.
“You do” Dev replied immediately.
Geet laughed bitterly at the predictability of him. “You told me I was too emotional”.
“You are emotional” Dev responded as though that proved something.
“You told me I couldn’t handle pressure”.
“Because you couldn’t!” Dev snapped.
Geet froze.
The words hung between them while Dev’s expression shifted slightly as he realised how easily the truth of what he thought about her had slipped out.
Geet slowly nodded. “There” she whispered.
Dev exhaled again, irritation replacing the brief discomfort on his face. “You know what I mean” he muttered.
“No. Explain it” Geet challenged as she folded her arms and stared at him.
“I’m not doing this” Dev replied as he looked away.
“Of course you’re not” Geet responded as she laughed quietly, although there was nothing amused about the sound. “Because the moment I actually question you, you walk away”.
Dev turned towards his desk.
Geet immediately followed him and caught his arm before he could put even a few feet between them. “No” she snapped as she forced him back around. “You’re not walking away from me this time”.
“Take your hand off me” Dev warned as his gaze dropped towards her fingers around his sleeve.
“You came home to me after being with her” Geet continued, unable to stop now that the thoughts had begun arriving one after another, each one somehow more sickening than the last.
Dev glanced towards Naintara almost instinctively.
“Don’t look at her!” Geet yelled as she tightened her grip and forced his attention back towards herself. “Look at me”.
Dev’s jaw clenched, but he did.
“You came home after touching her” Geet whispered, her voice suddenly becoming quieter as the reality of that thought sank deeper.
“Geet, enough” Dev warned.
“You ate food in my house”.
“Stop”.
“You slept beside me”.
“I said enough”.
“You let me touch you!” Geet screamed as she shoved him backwards again, horror and humiliation tearing through her as memories she once treasured turned poisonous inside her head.
Dev crashed against the edge of his desk.
“You let me kiss you!” Geet cried as she struck his chest repeatedly. “You let me think I was your wife while you were doing this behind my back!”
Dev grabbed her forearms tightly. “Enough!” he shouted.
“No!” Geet yelled as she struggled furiously against him. “You don’t get to decide when I’ve said enough!”
“Geet…”
“For eight years you decided everything!” Geet cried as she finally tore herself away from him, stumbling backwards before regaining her balance.
“That’s complete nonsense” Dev responded sharply.
“You decided when we talked” Geet said as she pointed towards him.
“Because you could talk about one argument for three days” Dev retorted.
“You decided where we lived”.
“The move made sense”.
“You decided when I worked”.
“You said you didn’t want the stress”.
“Because you spent years convincing me I couldn’t handle anything!” Geet screamed, her throat beginning to ache from the force of everything she had been holding inside for years.
Dev stared at her without remorse. “You made your own decisions” he responded coldly. “Don’t blame me because you’re unhappy with them now”.
Geet’s lips parted as the cruelty of his words struck her, yet instead of immediately fighting him she became strangely still.
Then she nodded slowly.
“You’re right” Geet said quietly.
Dev looked surprised, almost suspicious of how easily she had agreed.
“One decision was completely mine” Geet added as she wiped the tears from beneath her eyes.
“What are you talking about?” Dev asked.
“I chose you” Geet answered as she held his stare.
Dev’s expression hardened.
“That stupidity belongs entirely to me” Geet finished quietly.
For once, Dev had nothing to say.
Naintara shifted awkwardly beside the conference table, and the sound of fabric moving seemed almost offensively normal inside a room where Geet felt as though her entire life had just fractured apart.
“Geet, I know we don’t really know each other but I am sorry” Naintara said quietly as she finished fastening her blouse, finally gathering enough courage to look towards her.
Geet turned properly towards her.
Naintara looked nervous and embarrassed, perhaps even ashamed, though Geet found she didn’t particularly care about the distinction. She studied the woman for several seconds, wondering what exactly Naintara expected from her, whether she wanted forgiveness, absolution or merely the comfort of believing she wasn’t a terrible person.
“You knew he was married?” Geet asked calmly.
Naintara swallowed visibly before nodding. “Yes” she admitted.
“You knew who I was?” Geet questioned.
“Yes” Naintara answered softly.
Geet nodded once because there was nothing else she needed from her. “Then that’s all I need to know” she replied before turning away again.
“I never wanted to hurt you” Naintara added hesitantly.
Geet paused and slowly turned back, disbelief spreading across her face as she studied the woman again. “You didn’t?” she questioned.
“No” Naintara responded as she shook her head.
“Then you probably shouldn’t have fcked my husband” Geet stated bluntly.
Naintara flinched and immediately lowered her eyes.
Geet turned back towards Dev because her anger had always belonged there more than anywhere else. “How long?” she demanded.
Dev frowned as if he hadn’t understood. “What?”
“How long have you been sleeping with her?” Geet repeated, forcing herself to speak the words despite the nausea twisting inside her stomach.
“That isn’t going to help you” Dev answered dismissively.
Geet’s gaze immediately dropped towards his desk where a heavy glass paperweight sat beside several folders, and she picked it up slowly before turning back towards him.
Dev’s eyes moved straight towards it. “Put that down” he warned.
“How long?” Geet asked again as she tightened her fingers around the cold glass.
“Geet”.
“How. Long?” Geet repeated through clenched teeth.
Naintara took a nervous breath behind them. “Almost a year” she admitted quietly.
Geet stopped.
The paperweight lowered slowly as the words seemed to take several seconds to properly enter her mind.
Dev closed his eyes.
Geet turned towards Naintara. “What did you say?” she asked, her voice so quiet now that Naintara visibly swallowed before answering.
“It started last year” Naintara clarified nervously.
“When?” Geet demanded.
Naintara hesitated.
“When?” Geet repeated more sharply.
Naintara glanced towards Dev.
Geet slammed the paperweight down onto the table with enough force to make Naintara jump. “Don’t look at him!” Geet shouted. “I asked you”.
“The Paris conference” Naintara finally answered.
Silence.
Geet felt as though somebody had punched directly through her chest.
Paris.
She remembered Paris so clearly that for several seconds she wasn’t standing inside Dev’s office anymore, she was back inside that hotel room almost a year earlier, curled beneath a thick duvet while every muscle in her body ached from fever.
She had only gone because Dev had insisted they needed time together. He had told her she was always complaining they never travelled anymore, and when she initially said she didn’t want to interfere with his conference, Dev had smiled and promised that the work was only part of the trip.
She had become ill on the second evening.
A fever, vomiting and exhaustion had left her barely able to sit upright, and Dev had taken care of her with such tenderness that she had later remembered that evening whenever they argued, using it as proof that beneath everything else he still loved her.
He had brought her water and medicine.
He had stroked her hair away from her face.
He had tucked the duvet around her shoulders while telling her she needed to sleep.
He had kissed her forehead and told her he loved her.
Then he had said he needed to attend a business dinner downstairs.
Geet slowly turned towards him, feeling physically sick as the memory rearranged itself.
“Paris?” she whispered.
Dev released a frustrated breath. “Geet…”
“Paris was almost a year ago” Geet stated as she stared at him, waiting desperately for him to deny it.
Dev didn’t respond.
“You left me sick in a hotel room and went to fck her?” Geet questioned as disbelief spread across her face, the pain somehow becoming worse now that it carried memories she had once treasured.
“It wasn’t like that” Dev answered defensively.
Geet laughed through the tears building again. “What does that even mean?” she demanded.
“It wasn’t planned” Dev responded.
“Oh” Geet exclaimed sarcastically as she nodded repeatedly, something close to hysteria entering her laugh. “Well, that makes everything better”.
“I didn’t say that”.
“You tucked me into bed first” Geet reminded him, her voice cracking halfway through the sentence.
Dev looked away.
“No” Geet ordered immediately, stepping closer. “You look at me”.
His gaze reluctantly returned to hers.
“You brought me medicine” Geet continued as tears ran freely down her cheeks. “You sat beside me”.
“Geet…”
“You kissed my forehead”.
Dev’s jaw tightened.
“And you told me you loved me” Geet finished in a whisper.
He remained silent.
Geet laughed through her tears as she shook her head, unable to understand how the man standing in front of her could have performed tenderness so convincingly before leaving her bed and walking downstairs to another woman.
“You fcking psychopath” Geet whispered.
“Watch what you call me” Dev warned, the offended hardness returning instantly to his expression.
Geet stared at him in disbelief, but before she could respond another memory suddenly surfaced.
The move.
Her expression changed.
“Is that why we moved?” Geet asked suddenly.
Dev frowned. “What?”
“Our move” Geet clarified as she stepped closer, watching him carefully now. “Was she the reason?”
“That’s ridiculous” Dev scoffed, but the speed of his dismissal only made Geet’s stomach tighten.
“Answer me” Geet demanded.
“There were several reasons for the move” Dev explained impatiently.
Geet’s face fell.
He didn’t need to say anything else because she knew Dev’s language after eight years, and that was not a denial.
“You moved our fcking life so you could be closer to her?” Geet screamed.
“That is not what I said”.
“You made me leave everything I knew!” Geet cried, remembering the arguments, the tears and the weeks she had spent packing a home she hadn’t wanted to leave.
“You were forty minutes away from your family” Dev responded dismissively.
“You told me the move was essential for the company!” Geet reminded him.
“It was”.
“You told me I was selfish when I didn’t want to go”.
“Because you were being unreasonable”.
“And the whole time it made fcking her more convenient?” Geet asked as tears streamed freely down her face.
Naintara lowered her eyes and that tiny movement was enough to tell Geet there was truth somewhere inside the accusation.
Dev rubbed his forehead with visible frustration. “Our marriage was already dead long before this happened” he responded coldly.
Geet stopped.
The room became completely silent.
Those words should have destroyed her, because once upon a time hearing Dev say their marriage was dead would have sent her into complete panic, desperately asking what she could do differently and how she could fix whatever had gone wrong between them.
Instead, strangely, something settled inside her.
Perhaps because Dev had finally said aloud what she had spent years refusing to admit, except the reason their marriage had died wasn’t the one he wanted her to believe.
Geet slowly nodded. “You’re right” she admitted.
Dev looked surprised while Naintara cautiously raised her head.
“It was dead” Geet agreed quietly.
Dev’s expression softened slightly, almost imperceptibly, as though he believed she was finally accepting his argument and perhaps preparing to share responsibility for what he had done.
Then Geet looked straight at him.
“But she didn’t kill it” Geet added.
Dev’s face hardened again.
“You did” Geet stated.
“Of course” Dev scoffed as he rolled his eyes. “Everything is always my fault”.
“This is” Geet answered immediately.
Dev stared at her.
“This is entirely your fault” Geet repeated as she pointed around the room. “Your choices, your lies, your marriage, your vows”.
Naintara shifted awkwardly beside them, but Geet refused to allow Dev to use the other woman as somewhere to place responsibility.
“And yes, she knew you were married, so she can live with what that says about her” Geet continued as she glanced briefly towards Naintara before turning straight back towards Dev. “But you? You don’t get to hide behind her”.
“I’m not hiding behind anyone” Dev replied.
“You will” Geet warned because she could already imagine the conversations he would have once they left this room. “You’ll tell everybody we were unhappy”.
“We were”.
“You’ll say I was difficult”.
“You were”.
“You’ll tell people Naintara understood you better”.
Dev said nothing.
Geet laughed bitterly as she studied his silence. “There it is” she whispered. “You’ve already written the story”.
“This conversation is pointless” Dev muttered as he turned away.
“No” Geet replied calmly.
Something in her voice made him stop.
“This conversation is over” Geet corrected.
Dev turned back towards her. “What?”
Geet walked towards the chair where she had dropped her handbag after entering the office and picked it up, her movements becoming steadier now even though her hands still trembled slightly.
Continued chapter 1 below
Fan Fictions
Anupamaa
108 Base Hospital Uri
Web Series
Arjun
484