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Chapter 1: Regrets
It was the third night in a row. Shravan Malhotra woke up to a cold, empty bed. The room was drowned into the darkness. The only source of light was oozing from the bathroom. A fleeting image came to his mind.
"Shravan tu to jaanta hai na, main andere main nahi so sakti... mujhe darr lagta hai."
It was one of the days where she was simply vulnerable, where he could easily read her, where he could see past the fortress of her heart. He understood that she was more than just a turbulent teenage. Under her strong demeanor laid a bruised heart, a longing for love and care. He promised himself that he would be the one to heal her and today he was the one behind every tears of her.He glanced at the majestic clock in front of him. 3:02 am.
His head was throbbing thanks to the overdose of alcohol he had ingested earlier in the evening. He propped himself on his elbows and rested his back against the headboard, massaging his temples lightly, as he processed the events of the past few days.
He had married her. The love of his life. His best friend. Just like that. In a matter of few seconds. No rituals, no mandap, no colours, nothing.
"Ek choti si shaadi bina kharche wali."He had taunted her.
He had called her a gold digger but within him he knew that Suman was never the one with lavish demands for her wedding. She fell in love with simple things, such as the smell of the mud after it rains, chocolates, tulips. These things were enough for her.She had a pure heart. This was what made him fall in love in the first place. Her simplicity which made her stood out from the lot.
He remember standing in front of PCT. He didn't had the heart to go inside or let's say he didn't had the guts. He had insulted her in this very place in front of people who respected her. He won't deny it, being finally able to give her a taste of her own medicine felt good, he experienced a wicked pleasure.
For the first time, in his life he felt untouchable as if he had the power over his actions. Shravan Malhotra was no more the puppet to anyone's ministrations. He was a man on his own.
But that feeling was short-lived as the painful prickling started in his chest as soon as tears stung at the corner of her eyes. He had wanted to bury himself alive in that moment.
"Humare beech ke saare rishtey ye khokli dosti abhi aur issi waqt khatam."
The final blow. He had broken their relationship in a matter of seconds.
A relationship they had nurtured over the years, which went beyond the heartbreaks, the pain, the distance. A bound which seemed unbreakable at some point of time. The universe proved him wrong, again.
Suman and he were two poles who could never meet, who were never meant to be. If one tried to reach the other the gravity would play its part and yank them away.
His chain of thoughts broke as she came outside. It was a sight to behold. She looked so demure in that yellow kurta, her hair framing her beautiful face. It was not that she looked any different from every day but there was something about light colors against her amber skin that sets him off. Or perhaps it was the glow of her face or the blush that tainted her soft cheeks.
She looked... happy, content. A striking contrast to the downcast eyes and the forced smile which never reached her eyes. Was she happy with this alliance ? Did the thought of being together caused the million dollar smile on her face ?
Of course it wouldn't be them, if it was all easy. Life was not a bed of roses. There were thorns, some laid by them, some by destiny.
So he did what he had to do. Her color turned pale, her eyes dead at the mention of court marriage. He was hurting her and yet he went ahead with it. If she would have retorted, fought with him, like Sumo would God knows he would have stopped.
Calling her by his name, claiming her as his spread a bittersweet almost warm feeling in his chest. "Mrs Malhotra". She was his. A smile broke on his face.
Perhaps, it was not her mistake. He was just a liability to everyone, a liability they were ready to give up on, to throw away like a broken furniture, once he had been thoroughly used. Every relationship of his had been strained, every person he loved from the bottom of his heart, ended up leaving him, strained.
Now, Shravan Malhotra reached a point where he did not believe in anything and yet everytime he sees her, his heart still soften at her sight, even in a room full of people, his eyes are still searching for her, still longing for her. After everything there was till something that pushed him towards her, something that bound him to her.
After everything she had done to him, his heart still yearned for her, it still wanted her, as much as he tried to mask it with his hatred, his sarcasm, his taunts, if there was something he still wished from the bottom of his heart, was to have Suman Tiwari by his side .
The fact that she could leave him was slowly sinking in in day by day. Still there was nothing he could do about it, it was like there were shackles around his hands. Or could he ?
Suddenly a gripping fear held him. The fear of being left, again. What if she had left him, what if she had decided that it was over? That she could not handle him anymore ? Had he in his ego, his hatred drove them to a point of no return ? Was there really no hope of them being together?
She loathed him. He knew it. He had seen it in her eyes, when the truth burst open.
Her trust had been damaged. She had blinked back the tears that threatened to spill out and had spoken in an icy tone.
She was dead to him.
Sumo was dead to him. He had lost her... most probably forever.
He yanked away the blanket and trekked down, the stairs. First, he checked in the kitchen, perhaps she was having midnight cravings. Who knows ? No sign of the bulldozer.
He could recognize that shawl anywhere. She was curled up in a ball, against the very bench he sat on to drink, in the courtyeard.
The tiredness could be seen on her face. There were bags under her eyes. It was the first time, in days that he was observing from so close. She was so petite, so tiny. She had cried. There were tears on the corner of her eyes. Her nose and cheeks were red, a frown adorned her face.
He wanted to ease it, he wanted to engulf her in his arms and never let her go.
"Leave me, no choro mujhe." She was sobbing in her sleep. Her tiny fists gripping the shawl tight, her legs kicking in the air, tremors hitting her body. She was a a shaking mess.
He pulled her towards him, rubbing soothing circles in her back, brushing away the hair which had fallen on her forehead. He kespt jerking her, but nothing to do.
"Don't touch me-please."
"Sumo shh, dekho main hun yahan, utho."
He pulled her into him, her head against his chest, to make her listen his heartbeats, to calm her down. The crying subsided but she was still trembling.
He did not know what happened but he found himself falling on the cold marble.
She kicked him !
"Sumo ?"
"Suman." She corrected
It was going to be a long night...
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Finally ! Ho gaya ! Teen baar delete hone ke baad
So how was is it ?
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
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