PART 2
Recap : Sid has moved to New York and has been there for 3 months now, settled into a workaholic routine. Things change one day when he recieves a voice mail and he informs his mother that he had to go to Mumbai but refuses to tell her the reason why.
"Good morning everyone. This is your Captain Ryan speaking. Welcome aboard Air India flight AI 636 from New York to Mumbai. Our estimated flying time is 18 hours and.." The voice in the PA system drowned off as Sid looked at the familiar skyline of New York recede behind him as the flight began to take off. There was a strange heaviness in his chest and he let out a couple of deep breaths to ease it. Just when he thought his life was back to normal, he thought to himself. Unconsciously, he fidgeted with the ring on his right hand ring finger. His eyes fell on the simple plain gold band and he almost said the name out loud "Neha."
Neha had been Sid's neighbour in Houston since forever and they'd practically grown up together. They had been best friends; they still were. If there had been one person who had seen Sid at his worst, broken self, it had been Neha. When he had returned from India, his parents had broken into a fit of rage ' his father because he'd gotten to know that his son had gotten married in India and his mother because he'd told her that everything was over between Riddhima and him ' that Riddhima had and would always love Armaan. His mom had gone on and on about how she'd known from the start that Riddhima wasn't the right girl for him and that she'd always known this day would come. Sid's dad had been even more alarmed to know that his wife knew of Sid's wedding and had not deemed it necessary to inform him. When Sid had told him that he'd asked her not to tell him, his father had been distraught and had asked him if he meant nothing at all to Sid that he took such an important decision in his life and did not want his father to know about it. Sid had had no answers. He hadn't known what he'd been doing then (Of course, at that point of time he thought he knew what he was doing, but now he knew all that he thought and believed had been wrong) and he did not know what he should be doing now. Sue had been sympathetic towards him but he did not want anyone's sympathies. That's when he'd moved out of Houston to New York. If his parents had wanted to say something, they did not ' for the fearing of losing their son or what remained of their son. So Sid had shifted to New York.
He looked at the ring on his finger again. He had bumped into Neha at a grocery store in New York. She was a real estate agent in New York and she'd helped him move into his nice little house from the dingy studio apartment that he used to live in. She was the only person Sid every socialized with. It was just her high-energy nature and liveliness that drew everyone to her. Plus the fact that even though she realized that the man who now was with her was just a shadow of the man he used to be in the past, she did not question him about his change. It was over numerous dinners and walks in the park that Sid had for once let his walls crumble and had relived and recited his past to her. For once, he wanted someone to understand him, console him, be there for him and Neha had done just that. They were best of friends and as always, their parents read more into things than they should. Both the set of parents had thought they made a perfect couple and had insisted they get engaged. For their parents' sake, they'd gotten engaged but Sid had been honest with her and told her he could never love again. Neha had said that she did not expect love and did not believe in love. Sid already knew the reason why. She had her past too, when a guy from high school had professed his undying love to her, taken advantage of her and left her pregnant. Societal and family pressure had driven her parents to force her to get an abortion and Neha had never been the same again. Of course the whole thing had happened in absolute secrecy but Neha had lost all faith in love and life as such. She did not love him neither did she expect love from him but their friendship was important to both of them. They were two broken souls who understood each other and they were willing to support each other for all it was worth. So when Sid had called Neha earlier last night to tell her he was going to Mumbai and the reason for it, she'd understood. She'd dropped him off at the airport and waved him goodbye as he had walked away from her. He'd told her his reason for going to Mumbai because she would understand and no one else would.
His reason for going to Mumbai. He closed his eyes and reclined in his seat and let his mind unlock those memories that he had firmly locked away.
He still remembered the image vividly and the pain too. The image of Riddhima in Armaan's arms, Armaan kissing her, the smile on her face, Riddhima had said those three words to Armaan that Sid had always yearned to hear from her. Despite all the pain, he had managed to wish them luck and Riddhima.. She'd smiled back at him as if nothing had ever happened between them and wished him luck right back. He had heard and felt his heart break into a zillion pieces, which couldn't have been possible because his heart had broken the day he'd heard Riddhima tell Armaan that Armaan was her love and he was her farz and she wanted to fulfill her duty by being with him. But then his heart had shattered into a zillion pieces even before that, when Riddhima had confessed him about her "mistake". How many times had his heart broken? No wonder he felt nothing. No wonder he knew with absolute certainty that he could love no more.
He had come back to Mumbai that day because he was required to be present for the divorce proceedings, just in time to see the eternal, forever couple profess their undying love for each other. He felt nothing for either of them anymore. He'd given her her freedom, he'd partied in Armaan's joy.. there was nothing left in him to give them. Nothing. So he felt nothing for them now. He had hurt so much that his pain had numbed him; he felt incapable of feeling anything ever again. The next day he'd sat in the family court, Riddhima by his side, waiting for their session to begin. He remembered the day with stark clarity.
~ PART 3 ~
Edited by neet06 - 13 years ago
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