chapter 41

Recap: "Kya phir mera koi chance nahin hai? Hamara koi chance nahin hai? Kya kabhi kuch bhi pehle jaisa nahin ho sakta? You know I have been trying so hard. Tumse countless times apologise kiya, promise kiya ke future mein akbhi aisa nahin karoongi, yahan tak ki apne words ko prove karne ki kitni koshish ki. Kya tumne kuch bhi notice nahin kiya? Tumhe koi fark padta hai ya nahin?" She asked with tears in her eyes.

         "Simmi! tumhe kuch chahiye kya?" Rini hollered from across the room.

         "Nahin. Tum log le lo. I am not hungry," Simmi replied and left the canteen.

         This whole exchange didn't escape Rey and Vicky who stood a little distance away holding their trays of food.

Present:

 

                    "Thump!"  Rey let his tray of food clatter on the table before taking his seat opposite to Nil. Nil, who was not expecting it, looked up in shock.  So did Vicky as he took his seat next to his best friend.

          "Kya hai ye dude? Tu aakhir prove kya karna chahta hai?" Rey probed, albeit a bit gently.

          "Huh? Tu kya bol raha hai yaar? Meri kuch samajh nahin aaraha", Nil answered a bit too quickly.

          "Zyada bhola mat ban. Tu sab samajh raha hai main kya kehna chah raha hoon", Rey retorted.

Nil remained silent after that while Vicky looked on the exchange between his friends with trepidation. Rey put his sandwich down and began very gently.

          "Kab tak aise hi punish karega Simmi ko?" Nil's face hardened noticeably. Rey continued fearing he would interrupt him or walk away before he could get to have his say. "Dekh, I know ye tum donon ka personal matter hai and main beech mein bolna bhi nahin chahta. Par tu is poore problem mein sirf khud ko consider kar raha hai. Tere liye bohot easy hai Simmi ko blame karna. Kyunki obviously galti uski hai. Lekin kya tune Simmi ke point of view se socha hai? Woh is realization ke saath jee rahi hai ki usne tujhe hurt kiya hai. Ke aaj agar tu uske saath nahin hai, usse naraaz hai, toh uski wajah uski galti hai. Trust me Nil, galtiyon ka bojh carry karke jeena bohot hi zyada difficult hota hai. Simmi bohot strong hai jo ab tak survive kar rahi hai. Par itna bhi use punish mat kar ke woh toot jaaye."

          Rey busied himself with his sandwich in order to distract himself from the pain that had seemed to intensify in his chest. The words he had uttered seemed to hold good for him more than they did for Simmi. He had hurt Taani. Broken her quite possibly beyond repair. And he had definitely missed the chance of spending the rest of his life with her.  His only redemption was that Taani had been strong enough to move on and choose a perfect partner like Vishesh. And he had no choice but to accept that and let her go. He had to... but he couldn't.

And he was going to make sure that Simmi and Nil never suffered from the same fate. Even if he had to drill some sense into his imbecile friend.

 

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                    Rey had to leave soon after as Sharon had called stating that she needed his help. Both best friends were still reeling from the effect Rey's words had left on them. Both had similar regrets and absolutely no clue what to do about them. As soon as Rey was gone, Vicky saw his opening. Nudging his best friend he said,

          "You know what dude? Rey is right."

          "What? Tu bhi Rey ki side le raha hai?" Nil grumbled.

          "Ab tu drama karna bandh kar! Nil, Tu bhi jaanta hai hai ke Rey sahi bol raha hai. Tujhe bas apni galti nahin accept karni."

          "Meri galti? Are you serious Vicky? Simmi ne mujhse jhoot bola! Apni identity mujhse chupayi. Mere expense par mera mazaak udaati rahi and tu kehta hai it's my fault?" Nil exclaimed indignantly.

          "That's not fair dude! Tujhe Simmi ki mistakes kitni clearly dikh rahi hai, teri mistakes ka kya?" Before Nil could interrupt Vicky hurried, "Tune bhi online par jhoot bola, apne baare mein false information share ki. Tu kaunsa sach bol raha tha? Agar Simmi ne false identity create ki toh tune bhi ki. And it's even better its Simmi. Kyunki uski jagah koi aur ladki hoti na toh tujhe cyber crime karne ke case mein andar karwa chuki hoti."

          Nil could only open and close his mouth like a fish in response. Gathering courage from Nil's reaction, Vicky carried on. "I know main Simmi ko bohot zyada favor nahin karta tha. But ye accept karta hoon ke woh aaj bhi tujhse pyaar karti hai. Agar nahin karti toh tere aage peeche aise chakkar nahin laga rahi hoti. After everything, she really loves you dude! Don't lose her."

          "Tu mujhe bada gyaan de raha hai. What about you dude? Tune bhi toh bina koi solid reason ke apne pyaar ko kho diya! Kya tune kabhi Neha ke baare mein socha hai?"

                    Vicky looked over Nil's shoulder to see Neha and Rini arguing over what chocolates to buy. Nil had no idea how wrong he was. He had no inkling that for some time now, Neha was all Vicky could think about.

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                    Vicky's conscience had plummeting rapidly into the guilt of breaking up with Neha, especially when things were finally straightening out between them. And he knew that it was his immature behavior that had led them to end what could have been a lifelong relationship. Neha was serious about him; so serious that she expected a marriage proposal from him. But after the rift between Dazzlers and Weaklings yawned open again, Vicky began feeling the first nagging doubts.

 

          Both Vicky and Neha were passionate dancers. Both were ambitious and wanted to make a mark in the world. Both were hesitant in making dance their careers. And both never spoke to each other about their fears and uncertainty regarding dance. Vicky realized quite early enough that he wasn't half as good as his friends and that he had no chance in making it big in the dance industry. But Neha was exceptional. Her victory at the Dance Camp and his failure were proof enough. Vicky was scared that Neha would want to try her luck in the field of dancing and would expect him to either tag along or be supportive of her endeavors. And at the juncture of time, Vicky thought bitterly, he could not. He could not sit at the sidelines and see his girlfriend achieve all the glory and success she clearly deserved. Could not see her become the star that she is now and be a nobody admiring her from afar.

          He admitted that was very shallow of him and quite frankly he was never proud of himself for what he did. But he expected to be happy to be rid of any complexes he might develop later. But ever since his break-up, he found he missed Neha. Missed her constant chattering and her show of affection. He missed her praises and her chants of 'Babu'. He found his happiness in her success as a star in the Bhojpuri films. He realized that he didn't mind if she became the queen while he remained a pauper as long as she would have him. And seeing what Rey and Swayam were reduced to when their ladyloves rejected them, he decided he definitely did not want to follow their footsteps. He had to win his ladylove back. Even if it was the  last thing he did.

[MEMBERSONLY]

[NOCOPY]