Chapter 2
Ishita woke up feeling too hot. When she opened her eyes she was greeted by a sleeping devil on one side and her little angel on her other side, both with their heads resting in the crook of her neck and an arm each draped over her stomach. Raman even had his left leg nestled between both of hers. He had somehow managed to remove Ruhi's leg off Ishita and put his there instead. Ishita decided to first wake up Ruhi so that she wouldn't be witness to her parents fighting so early in the morning.
"Ruhi baby, utho, school jaana hai."
"Ishi Maa, five more minutes... Ishi Maa... aap whisper kyun kar rahi ho?"
"Aankhein kholo aur khud hi dekh lo."
Ruhi opened her sleep ridden eyes to see her Papa hugging her Ishi Maa like she does every night they sleep together. She started giggling quietly.
"Haaww, Ishi Ma, Papa tho meri tarah aap se chipak kar so rahe hai! Kitne cute lag rahe hai. Meri dost kehti hai ke uss ke Mama Papa ek dusre ko hug kar ke sote hai, mujhe lagta tha ke sirf uss ke Mama Papa hi aisa karte hain, but mere Mama Papa bhi hug kar ke sote hai! So nice na, aap dono har waqt aise hi soya karo, I like it!"
"Ruhi, meri Dadi Amma, tumhe school jaana hai na? Iss liye tum jaa kar brush karo aur mein abhi aati hoon."
"Ok Ishi Maa."
Ruhi quietly walked out of her room to go brush her teeth. The second she left the room, Ishita violently pushed Raman off of her and he landed on the hard floor, now fully awake.
"Aaah!"
He looked up to see a fuming Ishita and he suddenly remembered having slept in Ruhi's room last night with her.
"Ishita woh mein- "
"Mr Bhalla, aap ki himmat kaise hui mere saath sone ki, kya koyi parayi aurat ke saath aise karta hai?"
"Tum parayi kahan ho, tum to meri patni ho tho- "
"Acha, tho mein aap ki patni hoon yeh baat aap ko ab yaad aayi. Tab kyun nahin aayi jab aap apni patni se chup chup kar kisi dusri aurat se mil rahe the? Tab kyun nahin yaad aaya jab aap mujhse jhoot boli jaa rahe the? Wah Mr Bhalla, jab aap ka mann chahta hai aap mujhe apni patni maan lete ho, warna baaki ke waqt tho mein sirf Ruhi ki Maa hi hoti hoon na?! Apne iss chotte se dimaag mein yeh baat permanently fit kar le ke mein aap ki kuch nahin lagti, hamare contract ke mutabiq mein sirf Ruhi ki Maa hoon, iss se zyaada hamara aur koi rishta nahin!"
"Ishita! Hamari shaadi hui hain!"
"Shaadi nahin, hamari business deal hui hai!"
"Ishi Maa, maine brush kar liya."
Seeing Ruhi standing in the doorway Ishita quickly lost all traces of anger from her face. Ruhi ran towards Ishita, stopping when she saw her Papa on the floor.
"Papa, aap floor pe kyun bethe hain?"
Raman remembered that he was still on the floor. He attempted to get up, but was stopped by the tremendous pain in his back.
"Aaah, Ruhi meri back mein dard ho raha hai, Ishi Maa ko bolo meri help kare uthne mein."
"Ruhi beta, mein toh girl hoon na, aur girls itni strong nahin hoti, unse itni bhaadi cheezein nahin uthayi jaati, aap aise karo Romi Chachu ko bula do, woh aap ke Papa ki help kar dege uthne mein."
"Uss ki koi zaroorat nahin hai, mein khud uth jaata hoon!"
Raman slowly got up, still feeling a severe pain in his lower back.
"Ruhi, apni Ishi Maa ko bolo na ke woh mujhe balm laga de."
"Ishi Maa, aap- "
"Ruhi beta, apne Papa ko bolo ke woh kisi ache doctor ko apni back dikhade, mein toh doctor nahin hoon na, mein toh dentist hoon."
With that Ishita headed towards the door, but not before turning and seeing Raman's lips twitching in a miniscule smile. She blinked and it was gone. His face now set in determination, an expression that instilled an excitement in her. But that excitement was over ruled by the hurt he had caused. Remembering her pain, she left the room with slumped shoulders.
"Iss dentist ke haatho apni back ka ilaaj tho mein karakar rahoo ga!"
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Everyone was now seated at the breakfast table. Ishita as usual was feeding Ruhi, Romi was asking Toshi Ji for money to meet his friends, Mr Bhalla was reading the newspaper, Simmi was eating her breakfast and Raman... Well Raman was invested in thoughts of his peaceful night. That was the first night of his life in which he had slept like a baby, like he was actually home. He realised then that Ishita is his home. And people always say home is where the heart is. Now if only Raman could prove to her that she was the sole owner of his heart. He began mentally listing ideas of wooing his wife into forgiving him for his stupidity.
But first he had to correct the mistake he'd made by hiding Shagun's crime. He got up and went to his room to call Shagun. She picked up on the first ring, as if she spent every second of her day waiting for his call. That wouldn't be a far-fetched reality; she never did have anything useful to do in her day.
"Hello Raman, itni subah subah mujhe kaise yaad kiya?"
"Tumhe yaad karne ka mujhe koi shauq nahin hai, maine tumhe sirf yeh batane ke liye phone kiya tha ke tumhe school ke baad Adi ko le kar mere ghar aana hai."
"Lekin Raman, mein wahan kaise aa sakti hoon, sab jaan na chahe ge ke mein udhar kyun aayi hoon, aur tum unhe bata bhi to nahin sakte ke hum dono kyun baar baar mil rahe hain."
"Tumhe jitna kaha jaata hai sirf utna hi kiya karo, ziyaada dimaag lagane ki zaroorat nahin hai. School ke fauran baad Adi ko le kar yaha aa jana warna- "
"Acha teekh he, mein aa jaaoogi Adi ko le kar."
He hung up and turned to see Ishita watching him.
"Ishita, mein woh... Shagun... woh...umm- "
"Maine sab sun liya hai Raman, aap ko mujhe safayi dene ki koi zaroorat nahin. Acha hai, aap ne aankh band kar ke uss ki galti ko nazar andaaz karna chod diya. Mein Ruhi ko chodne school jaa rahi hoon, shaam tak aa jaaoogi, Amma Appa ko bhi mein bol doogi ke unhe shaam ko aap ke ghar aana hai."
Raman stalked to her, his face a mask of fury. He held her tightly by the arms and pulled her toward himself.
"Mera ghar? Ishita ye tumhara bhi ghar hai! Bas karo apna yeh mera tumhara ka jaap! Tumhe samajh nahin aata kya, meri har cheez par tumhara barabar ka haqq hai, tum meri patni ho! Yeh ghar jitna mera hai utna hi tumhara hai, tumhari Amma meri bhi Amma hai, Ruhi hum dono ki beti hai, yeh kamra hum dono ka hai, woh cupboard bhi hum dono ka hai! Bas ek cheez hai jiss pe tumhara koi haqq nahin, aur wo hai meri biwi! Wo sirf meri hai!"
Ishita was getting teary eyed, Raman had never before been so adamant in calling her his. It was like he had actually accepted her as his wife. Throughout Raman's declaration of owning her they had moved closer, they were now chest to chest, looking deeply into each other's eyes, his breath fanning her face. Her breath hitched as he moved closer, if that was even possible.
"Jaise tum sirf meri ho, mein bhi sirf tumhara hoo, maine jo bhi kiya Adi ke liya kiya, Shagun ke liye nahin, uss ke saat kya hota hai mujhe iss baat se koi farak nahin padta. Shagun ka mere upar koi haqq nahin hai, woh haqq sirf tumhara hai, kyun ke mein bhi sirf tumhara hoo, aur mujhe tumse koi nahin cheen sakta. Lekin mujhe darr hai ke kahin mera Shagun ko bachana tumhe mujhse na cheen le, mein tumhe nahin kho sakta Ishita. Din ka ek pal nahin hota jiss me mein tumhare bade mein nahin sochta, har waqt yehi chahta hoon ke tum jaha bhi ho mein tumhare paas aa jaaoo. Ab to zindagi ka ek second bhi tumhare bina jeeya nahin jaata. Tumhe khone ka darr mujhe andar hi andar khaye jaa raha hai. I can't lose you Ishu!"
Raman was now resting his lips against her forehead, his tears mingling with hers. They stood like that for a few more seconds, his emotions weighing heavily upon them both. He kissed her forehead and left the room without another word.
Ishita stood frozen, wondering how Raman had been so forthcoming in sharing his fears with her. Apologies aren't meant to be easy; they're supposed to be soul-baring. And he had just bared his soul to her. He had expressed how much he loved her without really saying I Love You. But she wanted, needed to hear those 3 words from him - until then she wouldn't approach him herself. Her heart had thawed a little, but it was still frozen following the recent storm Shagun had brewed in their life. Ishita needed the confirmation that her husband would never again fall into Shagun's traps, that he would remain completely unaffected by her. Until Ishita got that reassurance she would not bring down the walls surrounding her heart.
Edited by Arooj.M - 11 years ago
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