Part 2 (Still in Suhani's POV)
He was quiet. He sat silently for a good 10 minutes.
"Yuvraj, say something..." I begged.
He looked irritated but his anger had worn off. Now he just looked tired and sad.
"You want to work, fine...you want to talk your mangal sutra off and not wear your sindhoor...that's fine too, but please, don't you dare torture my mother by leaving home in the middle of the night and not answering any of her calls." He said.
"I talked to her about it already." I said.
"And she accepted your apology and she's been on my case ever since..." He said. He was grinding his teeth in anger, I could tell.
"Then what?"
"What? I should be asking you what. What do you want?" He shouted. He was losing his cool and breathing fast. He was on the verge of having a total breakdown. I wanted to touch him and soothe away his anger, but it was no use. My touch couldn't soothe him.
"Yuvraj, what do you want? If you knew what you wanted then I wouldn't be here right now." I replied but in a regular tone of voice. I was too tired to repeat my story. I didn't want it to sound like I had any grievances, because I didn't.
It was useless to sit here and fight. I grabbed my purse and got out of the car. He grabbed my wrist firmly and stopped me.
"I'm not finished yet..." He said. I sat back down. "Can you please tell me why you left home in the middle of the night?" He asked. He seemed calmer, like he was trying to regain his composure.
"Can you tell me why you haven't called me in the past 8 days?"
"If you don't answer any of my questions, why should I answer any of yours?" He asked.
"No one has as many questions to answer as you do, Yuvraj." I said. This time, it was laced with bitterness that I hadn't intended it to be. He looked hurt.
"I'm not saying what I did was right..." I said. "But I couldn't stay there anymore. Everything is fine now, and I'm tired of hovering around you and being overbearing and making you feel suffocated." I said.
"Where do you GET these ideas FROM?" He asked. He smiled sarcastically. "Suhani..." He chuckled. "You make it sound like I can't stand you."
"You don't love me, Yuvraj...and to be with someone whom you don't love, it can be an annoyance." I said. He once again looked hurt.
"You're not an annoyance..." He said. "Why did you leave without telling me?" he asked me politely and looked into my eyes. I shifted in my seat.
"Because I didn't want to have to say goodbye and make a big scene..."
"Why?" He asked. "It's wrong..." He said.
"It hurts to say goodbye..." I said. "Yuvraj, I'm tired...and it's hard to continue waiting for something that may never happen." I said. My eyes filled with tears. I tried to control myself.
"I'm going to leave now. I'll call you tonight, and I'm sorry..." I said. He stopped me again.
"Could you just stay? I'll drive you to your office." He said. "Can I ask you something?" He was hesitant. He adjusted his tie and looked down. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Ask me." I said.
"Why did you take your mangal sutra and sindhoor off?" He asked. He almost seemed afraid of what my answer would be, based on his expression.
"I don't want my coworkers to know that I'm married and then to somehow figure out that I'm..." I didn't know how to say the rest of it without it sounding really wrong.
"Ok, I understand..." He said.
"Yuvraj, if you want to tell Vikram who I am and explain whatever you think needs to be explained, then I am ok with it. I just didn't want anyone to make a big deal of the fact that a Birla bahu is working for their rivals. I just wanted a job and it's my bad luck that I got one here." I said.
"It's ok. I'm not going to tell him anything. It's just going to draw attention to both of us." He said. "I'm happy for you and glad that you found a job." He said. He smiled.
I smiled back. I didn't say anything else and he drove me to my office and I left without saying goodbye. He didn't drive away immediately. When I reached my office, I looked down and saw that he was finally driving away. I wanted to sit in a corner and cry my heart out because I missed him badly but I went back to work.
In the coming days, I made no plans of returning home. Yuvraj would call me daily but he never asked me to come back, although it did feel like at times he wanted to say something right before he hung up, but didn't say it. He said he had forgiven me for going back home in that manner and he understood. He said he wanted me to concentrate on my job and myself, for now, and that everything was alright back home. His family was now my family so it wasn't so easy for me to live my life without being concerned with what was happening there. More than anyone else, I was concerned about Maa and whether she was ok. I was also worried about Yuvraj. Maa told me he had gotten into the habit of going to work early and coming back late and tired, and going to sleep without eating dinner. This was unlike the Yuvraj I knew, and I was tensed by this development.
Work was going well. Another week passed. Vikram and Anjali became my closest friends at work. Vikram was very driven and focused on his job. Anjali seemed a bit childish but sweet. She trusted me and unfortunately that meant I had to listen to her swooning over my own husband. She said she wanted to see him again.
"He's so HOT! Suhani, did you see those eyes and his smile? Oh my Goddd... I really hope Vikram invites him the next time we have lunch or anything together." I tried smiling and hiding my feelings to the mention of Yuvraj's name.
"Do you think he has a girlfriend?" She asked me.
"I don't know, Anjali...maybe you should ask Vikram for his number and ask him if he does." I said. I walked off and ran into Vikram.
"Hey...be careful..." He said. He steadied me. His eyes twinkled the way they always did when he smiled.
I smile back. "Thanks."
"Hey, there's this new movie out...maybe you and Anjali can come with me tonight...I wanna go see it." He said, casually. I had no plans anyway and being at home meant I would miss and think about Yuvraj, so I said yes. Anjali agreed too, enthusiastically, and then she ruined everything by begging Vikram to invite Yuvraj.
"Oh, Yuvraj Birla? Yeah, sure...I'll call him and ask him if he wants to join us." Vikram said. He flashed me a smile and walked off. I went home in a hurry to avoid Anjali. I didn't want to say anything to her which I would regret later.
Cricket
