Okay. I did it. I wrote seven pieces of heaven in the seven days of hell.
Just tell me if you want one from Imlie's POV or not.
Day 1 - Friday
So she had decided to stay at Tripathi Residence. She could technically stay there, after all, the house was hers. He himself had brought her the house. He didn’t buy it so she could leave their house and go stay there.
God, she was being stupid.
How he even listened to her was a mystery in itself. He never had a high tolerance for bullshit, but this woman served up some everyday and he tolerated it anyway.
And now she’s gone and done something like this. Staying in that house, with her Ex-Husband and his current wife, who was also her step-sister that hated her, along with the family who only claimed Imlie as their daughter and never showed it, was prime level bullshit.
If she wasn’t so smart when she wasn’t such a mess, Aryan would’ve dropped her like a hot potato.
A hot sweet potato.
God, he sighed, he had to check on her.
He had to check if she wasn’t in trouble anymore. It’s what he did, or at least tried to do, prevent her from landing in more trouble than she had decided to jump into.
He took a quick U-Turn, deciding to visit the Tripathi Residence after all. He was being what she called him, an Ajeeb Bikat Praani (A Weird Person). ABP.
The things he does for her. Only for her to ignore him and never thank them.
He left the car where he usually did when he visited Tripathi Residence, and look at that, he has a spot for his car for when he visited Tripathi Residence. He felt remorseful. However, he shook his head, ignored the sudden realisation and headed towards the Tripathi Residence.
Ringing the doorbell, hoping against hope it was anyone other than Mr. and Mrs. Tripathi on the other side of the door, he breathed a sigh of relief when the one opening the door was Sundar. He entered the house once he was invited in.
Without any care for anyone else who could be in the house he called out, “Imlie! Imlie!”
His hopes of not encountering Mr. and Mrs. Tripathi was dashed the moment they came out at his calls. Again, what did he really expect, they lived here. Then he prepared himself for the onslaught of questions that they would no doubt rain upon him.
Aditya was the one who started, “Tum yaha kya kar rahe ho? Yeh humara ghar hai.(What are you doing here? This is my house.)”
Aryan raised his eyebrows at his claim and replied, “I think Mr. Tripathi, ke aapne apni baat bolne se pehle socha nahi. Yeh ghar, Imlie ka hai. Joh maine usse khareed ke diya hai. Jiske liye Imlie mujhe---(I think Mr. Tripathi, that you spoke without thinking. This house, Imlie’s. A house I bought for her. A house for which Imlie is---)”
“Aryan Sir!”, he heard Imlie exclaim, interrupting him. He turned around at her voice, and was relieved to see her in one piece. She wasn’t even crying. This girl would be the absolute death of him.
She came at him, her intention of interrupting him becoming clearer as she stepped closer to him. He resigned himself for hiding the fact that she intended to pay him back for buying the house from the Tripathis.
An emotional fool.
She ached, her face restrained, “Tum eeha kaa karat ho Akkad Bagge?(What are you doing here, Akkad Bagge?)”
Aryan answered her, mock furious, but she wouldn’t get it from his tone, “Tum yaha kya kar rahi ho lmlie?(What are you doing here Imlie?)”
But the thing was, he knew. He knew why she was here. He knew her. He understood her. She was here to take care of her Ex-Mother-In-Law. She was here to make Aditya Kumar Tripathi stay in this house. She was here to expose the wrongdoings of Malini Tripathi.
Like the Mother Teresa she thought herself to be.
So when she replied, “Hum yaha Maa ka khayal rakhe khatir aaye hai.(I have come here to take care of my Mother-In-Law.)”, he scoffed.
Well if he couldn’t stop her, she could certainly not stop him from standing by her.
He answered her question then, “Main yaha tumhe yaad karaane aaya hun. Tumhari iss nautanki ki wajah se agar Bhaskar Times mein tumhare kaam ko kuch farrak pada, toh---(I have come here to remind you, if your work at Bhaskar Times is affected by all this drama, then---)”
She interrupted him, “Haan, haan, hum taiyaar hai office jaaye ke liye. Hum humre kaam ko kachu naahi hoye dewat hai. Tumri buddhi main ee---(Yes, yes, I’m ready for office. I won’t let anything affect my work. Why can’t you get that through your head---)”, she stopped then, paused herself, her face scrunched up in worry. She moved her hand towards his face, and he backed away from it. She turned her furious gaze on his and he returned hers with confusion.
She sighed in frustration and finally got her hand on his chin and turned his face, looking at his injury.
Oh! That. He had forgotten about that.
She looked at him like she knew what he was thinking. He shrugged out of her hold.
She took a heated step towards him, and asked, “Tum ee haalat maan gaadi chalawat ho?(You are driving in this condition?)”
He shook his head, taking a step back from her, and replied, “Itni bhi buri chot nahi hai.(It’s not a big deal.)”
She enraged, “Tum kahe ki toka taakein lage rahe. Aur phir eeka bura naahi batawat ho.(You said there were stitches. And now you’re saying it’s not a big deal.)”
Aryan answered, sarcasm dripping from his tone, “Tumko kya. Bhool gayi, tumhari jooti ki wajah se hi lagi hain mujhe.(What does it matter to you? Did you forget, it was your heels that led to this injury of mine.)”
Imlie replied spontaneously then, “Fikar hai humka tumri---(I worry about you---)", and then stopped, realising what she was admitting to and then backtracked, “---Mrs. ki. Ee haalat maan agar tumri Mrs. Lambi Gaadi ko kachu ho gaya toh?(---r wife. Mrs. Lambi Gaadi. If anything happened to her, what would we do then?)”
And applauding her for saving herself from admitting to what she almost did, she asked, “Chaabi do humka.(Hand me the keys.)”
Aryan looked at her in disbelief. Let her drive your car twice and she basically orders you for the keys. This is what he gets for letting someone else drive his car.
But Imlie was not someone else, was she? A pesky little thought ringed through his head, bringing on the beginnings of a headache.
He sighed, handing her the car keys. But she surprised him again, she grabbed his wrist and started towards the door. He looked at her, and knew that she didn’t even realise what she was doing. He knew she didn’t even know that everyone was watching them.
She said something to the Tripathis, maybe goodbye, maybe good morning, hell he didn’t know.
It was like he was in a trance. And he was just watching on, as the Tripathis were.
And all he could think was that today was just day one.
Day 2 - Saturday
It was another day, and Aryan was having his breakfast when he thought of Imlie.
Lately, it was the strangest things that reminded him of Imlie.
Was it really true? Was the reason behind him missing Imlie was her not being present there. Does distance really make the heart grow fonder?
Well he was not missing Imlie. No. He just, was reminded the day he taught Imlie to eat with Chopsticks, because noodles were in breakfast that day.
He pushed the bowl of noodles away, not wanting to eat them.
His mother and his sister looked at him questioningly, and he just shook his head, not really sure what was going on with him, neither wanting to tell his mother about any of it. And God forbid, if his sister came to know, she would never let him live it down.
The gist of the matter was that it was the weekend, and he wasn’t going to see Imlie till Monday. Yesterday, he had a reason to go to that office, then he had seen Imlie in the office, like numerous times. But today, today was Saturday, which meant no office. Which meant no Imlie either.
Ugh, if she only hadn’t packed up and gone onto that house.
He sighed, silently of course, wouldn’t want to alert his mother and his sister to his plight, lest they make fun of him.
And then, then Aryan realised, he was Aryan Singh Rathore. This missing someone was not his business. Missing Imlie was not his business. He had a million other things to do. He had no time to sit there and ignore the stupid bowl of noodles that reminded of stupid Imlie.
And wow Aryan, he scolded himself, way to sound childish.
Finally, someone put a cup of black coffee in front of him and he could see a way. A way in which he actually had a brain that was in his control.
The cup of coffee reminded him of when Imlie gave him the cup of coffee with the heart in it and he was done. Absolutely done.
As he was about to get up he finally heard the conversation taking place between his mother and his sister, and he sat back down. Arpita, the angel his sister was, said, “Maa, woh Imlie ka call aaya tha, woh usse kuch cheezein chahiye thi. Toh usne kaha ke agar hum kissi se unhe bhijwa sakte hai toh theek hai, warna woh aajayegi.(Maa, actually, Imlie called, she needed some of her things from her. So she said to either send someone if we can, or else she can come too.)”
And Narmada replied, “Arey, usse aane ki kya zarurat hai? Humein hi chalna chahiye naa. Issi bahane Aparna Ji se bhi mil lenge, unka haal chaal puch lenge.(Why is there a need for her to come? We’ll go. We can also meet Aparna Ji and know how she is faring now.)”
But before they could make any more plans, Aryan interrupted them, “Nahi.(No.)”
And both his mother’s and sister’s gaze shifted to him, Narmada confused, and Arpita knowing.
He continued after a moment, collecting his thoughts, “I mean to say, abhi Mrs. Tripathi ko ghar aaye sirf ek din hua hai. Let her rest, kuch dino ke liye unhe stress-free rehne dete hai. Aur aap ko joh bhi Imlie ko dena hai woh mujhe de dijiye, waise bhi I am gonna go there anyways.(I mean to say, it’s just been one day since Mrs. Tripathi has come home from the hospital. Let her rest and have a few stress-free days. And whatever you want to give to Imlie, give it to me, I am gonna go there anyways.)”
Arpita raised her eyebrows at that, “Tu wahan aise bhi jaane wala hai?(You are going there anyways?)”
Aryan, realising what he had said, immediately corrected himself, “Mera matlab hai, meri uss direction mein ek meeting hai. Toh main usse woh samaan de dunga.(I mean to say, that I have a meeting in the same direction. So I’ll give it to her when I go there.)”
Arpita, did he say she was an angel, she was actually the devil, teased relentlessly, “Achaa! Teri uss direction mein meeting hai. UNB kahika.(Oh! You have meeting in that direction. Bloody UNB.)”
Aryan groaned. Nothing was ever hidden from his Di.
But five minutes later, he was leaving the Rathore Mansion for Tripathi Residence with one of Imlie’s handbags in his hand.
He found a way.
When he reached the Tripathi Residence, it was to an open door. He rang the doorbell and entered the house. It was his house anyway. Well, Imlie’s. Semantics.
He heard someone’s footsteps and was glad to see Imlie coming out. A wide smile spread around her face and she came to him, her smile staying in place.
“Arey ABP! Tum, eeha?(ABP! You here?)”, she asked.
Aryan shifted back to his Aryan Singh Rathore mode, the one that was teased by his sister all the time taking a back seat and the one that always scolded Imlie taking control. He replied, “Haan. Tumhara bag. Di ne diya hai.(Yes. Your bag. Arpita has given.)”
Her eyes sparkled at that, she seemed genuinely happy to see him. She asked again, “Par tum kaahe aaye ho ee khatir? Koi aur naahi rahe ka ghar maan?(But why are you here for this? Wasn’t there someone else at home?)”
Aryan answered, “Meri yaha ek meeting hai. Main yaha ke baad wohi jaaunga.(I have a meeting around her. I’ll go there from here.)”
And Imlie nodded and then asked, “Waise naashtha kiye ho tum?(By the way, have you had breakfast?)”
However, before he could answer, his stomach betrayed him once again, and grumbled, answering her question for him.
Imlie looked at him amused and grabbed his forearm, dragging him to the dining room, where he was greeted with more Tripathis than he ever wanted to see. The reaction to his presence was mixed. The disdain ever present in the Tripathis he hated, Aditya and Malini. Confusion for Harish and Radha. And welcome from Aparna, Rupi and Nishaant.
After greeting them all, he tried to stop Imlie, not wanting to disrupt the family routine, but Imlie shrugged off his attempt. He sighed when she pulled a chair for him and then he sat down. But then she began serving him and he stopped her.
He looked at her and said, “Banane tak theek hai, but I don’t like you serving me food. Chup chaap baitho, aur tum bhi naashtha khaao.(It is okay if you are making it, but I don’t like you serving me food. Sit down quitely, and eat you breakfast.)”
He began serving himself and then noticed that she wasn’t sitting down. He looked up at her to see she was looking at everyone else. He didn’t know what the big deal was but he grabbed her wrist and made her sit down beside him.
He then served Imlie some, lo and behold, noodles, and urged her to eat with her eyes.
Still, he could hear the pin drop silence on the dining table.
He tried to gauge the reason for the silence when Aditya spoke up, “Shayad itna samay Imlie ke saath rehne ke bawajood bhi aapko pata nahi Mr. Rathore, par Imlie breakfast nahi karti.(You may have been staying with Imlie for a long time, but then too you seem unaware Mr. Rathore, Imlie does not eat breakfast.)”
He raised his eyebrows at that. Tall claims for someone who understood so little of Imlie. he turned his gaze to Imlie, only to see her avoiding his gaze, playing with her food. Classic Imlie distraction tactic.
He turned his gaze back to Aditya and answered him, “Shayad aap bhool rahe hai Mr. Tripathi, Imlie humare ghar mein rehti hai Mr. Tripathi, wahan kaam nahi karti. Imlie ab breakfast karti hai.(may be you are the one that’s forgotten Mr. Tripathi, Imlie lives in our house, she doesn’t work there. Imlie eats breakfast now.)”
Having said his piece he turned back to his food, but not before noticing the sour look on his face.
God, if this was how she was while living here, it was amazing how much she has grown from that.
He looked at the Imlie he knew, and just missed her gaze on him.
Well, she couldn’t avoid him forever, he wouldn’t let her. But he would let her today, because he keeps stumbling on these pieces of her that she didn’t want to revisit any more, and he wasn’t cruel. He wouldn’t want her to be humiliated. So he ate some, he drank some. He bid his adieu and he left the God forsaken house.
And that marked the second day Aryan found a way to enter the Tripathi Residence.
Day 3 - Sunday
The world loved Sunday. Aryan, not so much.
Sunday meant no work at all, which meant no way to get out of the marriage talk with his mother. He just didn’t want to get married. If only someone made his mother understand that.
But Sundays meant no work till after 8 p.m. because that’s when the Monday’s layout was decided and forwarded to him. That was when he had an excuse to shut himself in his study to save himself from the CVs his mother produced for him.
But perhaps luck was on his side. The editor called him at noon, and began talking business about some layouts and he wasn’t going to waste this opportunity to run away. But then when he was finally in his study, he was telling him how only Imlie’s article was pending and that was something important and Imlie wasn’t picking up her phone.
He flipped out. He got so angry. He had told her, he had told her that she could, in no way, ignore her deadlines because of whatever drama she was causing at the Tripathi residence.
He called her to yell at her, but she didn’t pick up the phone. He called her again, and his call went unanswered again.
His anger turned to worry.
He immediately left for the Tripathi Residence. If any of them had done anything to his Imlie, he was going to kill them all. He was going to turn them homeless, and he was going to kill every single one of them.
When he reached the Tripathi Residence it was to a Pooja taking place. He looked on as the members of the Tripathi Household were all there, and Aparna and Pankaj Tripathi were sitting beside the Hawan Kund, and doing Pooja. He could not see Imlie anywhere.
Everyone stopped what they were doing when he entered the house so abruptly.
He couldn’t blame them really. He was like a raging bull who had a piece of red clothing waving in front of them.
He calmed himself. These people didn’t want to harm Imlie. Well most of them. Intentionally at least.
Moving on.
It was Rupali who came forward, and he could feel all of them looking at him, but he focused on her and asked, “Imlie kaha hai? She’s not picking up her phone.(Where’s Imlie? She’s not picking up her phone.)”
And the thing was that he could see the incredulity in Rupali’s gaze, but the last time he couldn’t find Imlie was when she was locked in a car, passed out and bleeding. And the last time she wouldn’t pick up his phone, he found her suffocating between bags, drunk out of her mind. So his reaction was mostly apt for the situation.
She was like a magnet for problems.
Rupali answered him anyway, “Apne room mein.(In her room.)”
Aryan asked again, “Kahan hai uska room?(Where’s her room?)”
Rupali told him, “Aaiye mein leke chalti hun.(Come, I’ll take you.)”
Aryan stopped her, “No need. Just tell me. I’ll go there by myself.”
Rupali watched him with widened eyes and instructed, “The first room on the left.”
He just nodded and proceeded towards it, not paying heed to the various looks of disbelief, anger and misery on Tripathi's faces. Well, maybe he glanced at Aditya’s face once, and he immensely enjoyed the anger, misery and jealousy on his face.
When he found Imlie, it was to her hunched over her laptop, and typing furiously, a look of immense concentration on her face. He just stood by the doorway for a moment, looking at her. He was grateful to see her look as normal as she can be.
He liked this Imlie, burdened only by assignments and deadlines and not by stupid people who had done stupid shit in life.
She looked up suddenly, and her eyes widened.
He entered the room as he had come to the house, furious.
Aryan scolded her, “Tumne abhi tak apna article submit kyun nahi kiya hai? Maine kaha tha, joh bhi nautanki tumhaari yaha chal rahi, usse agar tumhaare kaam mein farrak pada toh acha nahi hoga. Tumhe pata hai tumhari deadline 8 baje---(Why have you not submitted your article yet? I’d told you, whatever drama you are unfolding here, if it affects your work in any way, then it wouldn’t be good for you. You know your deadline is 8---)”
She interrupted him, “Shyaam 8 baje ki hai. Jisme aur pure 7 ghante rahe.(---p.m. It’s in the evening. Which is still 7 hours away.)”
She wiggled her eyebrows at him then, and he exhaled all his fury right there.
He made such a stupid mistake.
Her lips widened in a smile and she patted opposite her, on the bed, asking him to sit down.
She rested her face on her fist and watched him then, her gaze expectant for his explanation.
He sighed and sat down beside her. He watched her watching him and finally uttered, “Tum apna phone kyun nahi utha rahi?(Why are you not answering your phone?)”
She looked around her then and found her phone, on silent with one missed call from her editor and five from Aryan.
She looked back at him and showed it to him, shrugging at him.
Aryan complained then, “This is not done Imlie. Last time jab tumhara phone nahi lag raha tha tab---(This is not done Imlie. The last time you were not answering your phone, I was so---)”, Aryan stopped himself from admitting how much he worried about her.
Imlie asked him anyways, “Tab?(So?)”
Aryan scoffed then, “Tab tum mujhe nashe ki haalat mein mili thi, gooniyon ke beech mein.(---It was so not fine. You were drunk, I’d found you between gunny sacks.)”
Imlie’s face wrinkled, and she asked, “Uu humri galti kaisan rahi?(How was that my fault?)”
Aryan snorted, “Tumhare saath joh hota hai usme tumhari galti hoti kaha hai. Tum toh bas musibat dhoondti hon, magnet ki tarah. Aur yeh musibat ka magnet mere gale pad gaya hai.(When has it ever been your fault if something happens to you? You just look for problems, like a magnet. And this problem attracting magnet is now stuck on me.)”
Imlie sniggered at that. He was being a baby, and that was triggering this.
When she finally sobered up, she cleared, “Humra article bus finishiya gaya hai, hum bheje hi wale the, aur tum aa gaye.(My article is literally finished, I was just about to send it and then you came.)”
Aryan too, got up then, leaving when Imlie stopped him by grabbing his wrist.
He turned to find her looking at him and then she asked, “Ruk jaao?(Stay?)”
And Aryan melted. He sat back down and saw her going back to her laptop. He too got his phone out and opened up his mail.
And that’s how Aryan spent the third day of Imlie staying at the Tripathi Residence.
Day 4 - Monday - Valentine’s Day
Today was one of the most overrated days of the year.
Valentine’s Day, great for business, not so great for businessmen.
Valentine’s Day marked every stupid thing that the world thought about love. The world thought of love as red, roses, tiny heart confetti, teddy bears, and everything red.
People forgot love was more than that.
For Aryan, love never had a place in his life. He believed in love, what he did not believe was that it was something for him. Love came hard for Aryan, and coincidently, it was hard to love him too.
That’s what he thought. If his sister ever heard his thoughts, she would slap him, and then pull his ears.
But he was not a baby anymore. Valentine’s Day was a day for profits. And he may not be able to make it out of a newspaper, but he had other businesses that made more profit on days like The Valentine’s Day.
So he wasn’t actually free the whole day. Yes he wasn’t gonna go to any of the Valentine’s Day Parties, but he had other things to take care of.
So when he had finally returned home at 8 in the evening, and was already going to his study to check up on his work some more, he was stopped by his sister.
She came in like a storm, informed him, “Imlie ne humein party mein bulaaya hai. Hum aadhe ghante mein nikal rahe. Ready ho jaa.(Imlie has invited us to a party. We are leaving in half-an-hour. Get ready.)”, and left him thinking about what just happened.
He then realised that even after going to office today, they had not actually talked to each other that day at all. She had been busy running around, following some lead, and he, as aforementioned, had many businesses to take care of.
He sighed, tired enough to just not fight with his sister and go with the flow.
And by 9, they were all outside the Tripathi Residence, and it was a red and white monstrosity. He looked at the decor and wow, someone went to town with all the red and white.
He thinks he has never seen this much red in a long time.
They all looked at each other, braced themselves and entered the house, only to be greeted with more red and white.
He closed his eyes, really wishing he had fought to stay home for the evening. Even Imlie was not worth tolerating this decoration.
He opened his eyes to find his mother already with her dear friend, and his sister with Imlie.
Imlie who was wearing a white saree. A White Saree that was quite translucent. A White Saree, with white blouse that was full sleeved and backless, hanging just by two threads tied together. And on top of that she had actually put in effort to style her hair, which hung low on the nape of her neck in a messy bun, few strands escaping it to frame her face.
A White Saree that was making him objectify Imlie.
He looked away then. She was beautiful.
But he was not saved from her. She found him. Yes she did.
She began, “Aur ABP, tum eeha? Valentine Day per?(And ABP, you here? On Valentine’s Day?)”
Aryan muttered, “Di ne kaha.(Arpita said to come.)”
Imlie snickered and teased, “Ab aa hi gaye ho toh tumre liye bhi dhoond le konu ko?(Now that you are here, let’s find you someone too?)”
Aryan reprimanded, “Ab tum bhi shuru mat ho jana.(Now you too, please don’t start.)”
Imlie continued her snickering and said, “Uu dekho, Kaaki Maa toh shuru bhi ho gayi.(See, Narmada has already begun.)”
He knew before he looked that she was speaking the truth. His mother was so predictable when it came to his marriage.
What he needed to do was show everyone here that he was not available. He racked through his brain for a way to do that with enough subtlety that no woman found him for the rest of the evening.
Suddenly his gaze found Imlie, and a lightbulb lit up in his head.
Imlie’s eyes widened, seamlessly reading his thoughts, and she shook her head in no.
He took her hand in his, his fingers brushing the bangles on her wrist and raised his eyebrows in challenge. There were not many things Imlie couldn’t do, and resisting a challenge, unfortunately, was one of them.
She huffed and let him lead her to the dance floor.
He smiled, triumphant and twirled her around before placing one hand in hers and guiding her other hand to his shoulder before returning his hand to her waist. Her bare waist.
He may have made a mistake.
‘Tujhse Hai Raabta’ came on and he was glad it wasn’t one of those songs that needed elaborate dance steps. It was a song they could just sway to.
He hadn’t talked once to Imlie the whole day, and this was the perfect opportunity to do it. It didn’t matter that he could feel a thousand different gazes on the back of his head. It didn’t matter that they were the centre of attraction. It didn’t matter.
He guided Imlie’s other hand to his shoulder too, before he placed his own on her waist. And then, then they swayed to the music.
Imlie was looking up at him like she wanted to ask him something and he asked without asking what she wanted to ask. She looked down then at their feet and asked, “Tum shaadi kaahe naahi karna chahat ho?(Why are you not ready for marriage?)”
Of all the questions she could’ve asked, she asked one that he himself didn’t have the answer to. He shrugged a bit, and answered, “I guess, kyunki mujhe karni nahi hai.(I guess, because I don’t want to get married.)”
Imlie smiled at that, and nodded, “Ee bhi sahi hai. Tumka maalum naahi ki tumka shaadi maan kaa chaahi toh tum abhi taiyaar naahi ho.(This too is right. You do not know what you want from a marriage so you are not ready for a marriage.)”
Aryan shaked his head sideways, “Aisa nahi hai, mujhe maalum hai ki mujhe shaadi se kya chahiye. Bus main wait kar raha hun, uska joh mujhe chahiye.(It’s not like that, I know what I want from my marriage. I’m just waiting, for what I want.)”
Imlie’s confused gaze found him and he clarified, “Jab mujhe aisa koi mil jaayega jiske saath mein life bitaana chahta hun, I’ll marry them.(When I find someone I want to spend the rest of my life with, I’ll marry them.)”
Imlie turned serious then asked, “Itna aasan rahe?(It’s that easy?)”
Aryan replied, “Shayad nahi, par aasan hona zaruri nahi hai, saath sahi hona zaruri hai.(Maybe not, but it’s not necessary that it’s easy, the necessary part is that the person you choose is right.)”
Imlie’s eyes glistened then, but she forced herself to smile and teased him, “Tum toh romantic nikle ABP.(You are a closet romantic ABP.)”
Aryan smirked, “Isse romantic nahi, isse practical hona kehte hai.(This is not romantic, this is being practical.)”
Imlie smiled genuinely then and said, “Isse romantic hi kahat rahe.(This is romantic.)”
Aryan let it go, because while he didn’t know what was romantic about wanting someone who you know is right for you is, but Imlie was smiling her genuine smile, the one not pained by her Ex-Husband’s betrayal, and that was all he wanted.
Her Ex-Family not affecting her in any way.
And with the end of the party, he left the Tripathi Residence for the fourth time in four days.
Day 5 - Tuesday - Imlie’s Birthday
Aryan actually was not aware that it was Imlie’s birthday today. But he had a gift for her anyway.
It was actually his sister that told him, and asked him if they could have a party, but he refused her and said he had something for the day that would make Imlie happier than any party ever could.
His sister had looked at him in confusion then, but he had said that she would find out soon enough.
Imlie had taken a half-day today. Apparently she visited Sitaa Maiyaa’s temple on her birthday without fail.
Imlie had celebrated her last birthday without her Amma and Dadda. She would celebrate this with the both of them, today.
He left for Tripathi Residence today, but after stopping to pick up her Amma from the Bus Stop and her Dadda from the Police Station.
He didn’t know when he started all this that it would line up today. He had started the procedure for clearing Imlie’s name before he even followed her to Pagdandiya. It was after he came back that he came to know just who had helped her to run away from lock-up.
He had called Imlie’s Amma as soon as the day of Satyakam’s release on conditional bail was set and Imlie’s Amma hadn’t even mentioned about Imlie’s birthday.
It was a true coincidence.
So today, when he rang the doorbell to the Tripathi Residence, he was unhesitant because he wasn’t unsure of the reason he was here, no, he rang the doorbell with confidence, because he had the greatest gift Imlie could ever have and he was the one who made it possible.
So when Malini Tripathi opened the door, his mood turned visibly sour.
However he did notice a range of emotions pass through her face. From irritation, to disbelief, to finally fear. She looked behind him, and that fear on her face was clear as day. Perhaps, along with the greatest gift he could ever give to Imlie, he also made up a way for her to accomplish what she had come here to do.
Before he could think anything else, he heard Imlie yell out Dadda and pass by him, through the threshold, and straight into her Dadda’s arms.
Then she began crying and Satyakam began laughing, and it was a true family reunion when Meethi joined them too.
He was happy seeing her finally happy.
He was relieved because she was crying tears of happiness.
When she left her Amma and Dadda’s embrace, she turned to him. But before he could say anything or stop her from saying anything, she was hugging him, muttering thank yous underneath her breath.
He felt air rush out through him. She was hugging him. She was hugging him in front of her parents and the Tripathis.
Aryan was such a coward. He had hugged her to stop her countless times, but he didn’t know what to do when she hugged him. He could not freeze like he did the last time she did this. She didn’t know who she was hugging then. Now she was voluntarily hugging him, and he still didn’t know what he should do.
Sighing, he rested one of his hands on her upper back, mindful of the audience they had, and his other hand brushed her hair.
But then his mindfulness disappeared and he kissed the top of her head. He kissed the top of her head and muttered a quiet happy birthday in her hair.
Time stopped and he didn’t want to look at anyone else there.
Later it would be awkward when she left his embrace. Later she wouldn’t know what she should do after leaving his embrace. Later he wouldn’t know what to do with his arms now that she wasn’t in them. Later she would look at him with her eyes wide in disbelief.
But that would all be later.
For now, he had Imlie in his arms and a good start to the fifth day of this madness.
Day 6 - Wednesday
He had no reason to go to Tripathi Residence today. He had no reason to be anywhere near her today. In the office too, meeting after meeting and no sight of Imlie. It was late and he was still in the office, because today, no one was waiting for him at home.
Arpita and Narmada had gone to some relative’s wedding, and his sister had saved him from that torture.
So here he was, in office, no reason to go to Imlie, no reason to go home. He got up to leave for home, and when he opened the door to leave his cabin, he collided with someone. Before that someone could fall he made a grab from them, and of course, he came face to face with Imlie.
She too was still in office.
He sighed, “Yaha kya kar rahi ho? Ghar nahi jaana?(What are you doing here? Don’t you want to go home?)”
She glared at him and asked back, “Tum eeha kaa karat ho? Tumka ghar naahi jaana hai kaa?(What are you doing here? Don’t you want to go home?)”
He glared back and said, “Tumse matlab?(What’s it matter to you?)”
And she replied, “Uu hi toh, tumse matlab.(Exactly, what’s it matter to you?)”
He exhaled his anger and asked again, “Kya hua hai? Ghar kyun nahi jaa rahi ho?(What has happened? Why are you not going home?)”
Imlie shook her head and avoided his gaze, “Kyunki humka naahi jaana hai.(Because I don’t wanna go.)”
Aryan snapped at her words, “Phir se kya kiya unhone? Aisa kya hua---(What did they do again? What happened now that---)”, but he stopped himself from going any further. He remembered the hug they had shared in front of everyone in that house and realised what the consequences of that had been.
Imlie sighed then. And just hearing her like this made him snap again, “Ho gayi insult? Ho gaya drama khatam? Ab bhi wahi jaake rehna hai? Imlie maine kuch nahi kaha hai in paanch dino mein, iska matlab yeh nahi hai ki joh tumne kiya woh sahi hai.(Are you insulted now? Is your drama over now? Now do you wanna stay ther? Imlie, I’ve said nothing in the past five day, this does not mean that whatever you are did, or are doing is right.)”
Imlie snapped back at him, “Tumka kaa? Hum kahi bhi jaaye? Aur uu humar parivaar hai---(What does it matter to you? Wherever I go? They are my family---)”
Aryan interrupted her, “Oh please Imlie, woh log tumhara parivaar nahi hai. Woh log sirf tumhe use kar rahe hai. But phir bhi agar tumhe unke pass hi rehna hai, toh chalo.(Oh please Imlie, they are not your family. They are just using you. But then too if you want to go to them, they come.)”
And before she could say something, Aryan held her hand and made her follow him to his car, which he drove to the Tripathi Residence. He did all this, without uttering a single word.
When they reached, he looked ahead, not wanting her to leave, but not wanting to stop her too. He heard her opening the door, and waited for her to get out.
He finally turned to look at the empty seat when he heard the door closing, only to find that Imlie had not actually left.
She met his gaze, and he too didn’t turn away from her.
This time, he would not let her win. This time, she owed him an explanation.
She finally lowered her eyes to her twisting fingers, and then cracked them. It sounded painful so Aryan stopped her by placing his own hand on hers.
He felt her breath hitch. It was like someone had yelled a ‘statue’ at her.
She finally met his eyes again and said, “Ek din, sirf ek din kaa waqat maange hum tumkaa. Ek din aur, phir hum iss ghar maan waapas nahi aayenge.(One day, that’s all I’m asking of you. One day. And then, then I’ll never return to this house.)”
Aryan scoffed, “Waade aise karo joh nibhaa paao Imlie.(Make promises that you can actually keep Imlie.)”
And his heart broke at the heartbreak on her face.
Still, she steeled herself and repeated, “Ek din maan ee ghar ki kaaya palat ho jayegi. Tab hum naa iss ghar ko apan ghar maanat hai, aur naa ee ghar humko kachu maanat hai. Ee ghar humra sirf naam maan reh jaayi hai.(In one day, everything is going to change in this house. Then I’ll not consider this place my home, neither this house will consider me anything. This house will be mine only in name.)”
Aryan looked at her then, suddenly scared of what she was about to do.
What extreme plan she had that would stop the members of this house from seeking her out.
She squeezed his hand once, and then got out of the car, her expression severe as she headed to the Tripathi Residence.
And finally, on the sixth day, he saw an end to the madness.
Day 7 - Thursday
She had asked for the day. He believed her when she said that she needed just one day.
Yes, he was scared for her. Yes, he was worried for her. Yes, his belief in her was complacent when it came to Tripathis.
But it was just one day. He could place his belief in her for one day.
And when at the end of the day he received a call from her, he felt relieved.
The call meant something had happened, finally, and the day could end.
He received the call, and heard her breathing into it. A sob, a hiccup and then, “Tum humka lene aa sakat ho?(Can you come pick me up?)”
Something must have happened for her to be asking his help.
Something must have happened because the Imlie he knew would never call for help.
She would never ask for help for herself.
So he replied, “Of course. Phone pe raho. Main aa raha hun.(Of course. Stay on the line. I’ll be there.)”
The madness was over. The war was over. And he didn’t know the outcome. He didn’t know who won. He didn’t care.
All he cared about was that she was out of it. The madness.
And to hell with the madness.
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