APART YET SO CLOSE
It's been 3 days since she's walked out of their house, the once called home had turned into a mansion again. 3 days back all hell has loosened when he'd gathered the courage to tell her the truth before anyone else did. It was one of the toughest thing of his life but she deserved it. What had followed next was silence, literal silence, where she took sometime to herself, alone in the room and then walked out of the house with everything that belonged to her, top on that list, his heart.
Nobody looked him in the eye anymore, him mother and sister were back to being strangers to him while the only person who'd always been there for him, now looked at him with disgust and anger. He deserved it? Didn't he? After all he made a huge mistake, he hurted the love of him life; Farhad's dear sister; breaking her heart into a billion pieces. Currently, as they sat in the depths of his den, going through the robotic scenario like the past 3 days, he saw how questionable Farhad's eyes had been towards him. As if it was taking every inch of his self control to not pounce on him but well every damn breaks loose someday. Doesn't it?
"Why did you do it?" Farhad asked. He had been dying to let it out. Ever since he'd seen his sister cry like that in the car as he drove her away from this filthy man, all he wanted was to unload the same gun that he was taught by this brother of him.
"Farhad i don't want to talk about it. Can we please go through today's schedule." He politely refused. He had nothing to say. He made a mistake and he was gonna pay the price for it for the rest of his life. Answering anybody's question won't get turn back time or get her back into his life.
"You have to answer me. Have you seen how hollow she was? You ripped off her soul!! Do you even feel slightly remorseful for crushing her trust like that. Do you even realise what in the bloody hell you've done." Farhad have had enough of this man.
"Farhad behave!! Don't forget i am still your boss." Raghav increased his pitch still trying to stay calm.
"And she was your wife for god's sake!!" and the shoutings began.
"You think i don't know that. You don't think i regret every thing that i've done. I broke her heart. I broke her trust. I gave her place to someone else and broke her in a way that even my death won't be able to mend her. She left me Farhad because i don't deserve her. I deserve no one. And everyday without her feels like one step closer to hell. I feel choked when i don't see her around. I feel claustrophobic in our room because it doesn't smell like her anymore. Just because i made a freakin mistake." Raghav unloaded his hurt all at once. Farhad was surprised too as he saw his brother shake uncontrollably holding onto the desk for support.
"It wasn't just you who made the mistake." came a voice through the door. turning around Raghav saw Pallavi standing at the door. Just the way he remembered her from 3 days back. But still radiating that peace when she walks in. The most he knew was that Farhad had dropped her at the Deshmukh house where she has been staying until her brother and sister in law gets back home in Kolhapur. As soon as they get back, she'll be leaving Hyderabad forever and not turning back.
'Pallavi you're-" Raghav stumbled to reach her; happy to have her back until her hand stopped him at a distance, Five feet to be exact.
"Don't . I am not here for you. That night you weren't the only one involved hence it's not just your mistake. You lead onto the circumstances, agreed, but what happened later wasn't your fault. I sat back in silence and thought about it. You broke my trust. You broke my heart; gave my place to someone else but in a way it was without your consent. I am not here because i love you or i care about you; i am here on humanitarian ground. It's just the way i am because you're a women's son, a women who's like a mother figure to me, a girl's brother who's my best friend and unfortunately legally still my husband." Pallavi spoke in a monotonous tone with no emotions; neither visible in her eyes nor hearable in her voice.
"So you're here to-" Raghav felt his heart loose the hope.
"I am here because you don't deserve to be punished alone. You were wronged too. If i am asking for my justice then you have a right to. So shall we?" She replied walking towards the desk and sitting down on one of the chairs like she was here for a business deal and nothing else. And so Raghav did what she had asked for, he answered every single question of her. He could see the wince in his eyes as she listened to all the details, the hurt over powering at times that he would feel his throat turn dry and words stop until she would suher him to continue requesting Farhad to scribble everything down.
Next Day
Esha looked around trying to find a familiar face in the big mansion. She remembered being confused initially when she found a message from Raghav early in the morning asking her to meet him at his place but then she it was turned into delight as she thought maybe now that Pallavi was out of his life, he realised whom he had loved all this time, her.
"Excuse me. Is Raghav sir still not here?" she asked one of the househelp.
"I am sorry ma'am. Sir said he'll be out in a minute." the polite women replied.
"What are you doing here?" A voice roared in the empty hall as Amma launched towards her as soon as she laid sight on her startling Esha. Kirti falling short behind trying to calm her mother down.
"Amma please calm down. Amma please." Kirit held back her mother.
"Nobody will touch her." came the don's voice as he walked down the stairs.
"Raghav. Thank God you're here." Esha ran hiding behind him.
"Raghav how dare you got her in this house. It hasn't been days that Pallavi left and you brought her here!!" Amma shouted.
"I know what i am doing Amma." Raghav replied, "I know where my heart truly lies." he added looking at Esha and then turning back to her mother again.
"I have decided. Me and Esha are getting married." He announced putting a smile on Esha's face while Amma's eyes turned fierce.
"What!!" Kirti was shocked beyond belief. Wasn't he the same guy who declared his love for Pallavi liek she was his life.
"What are you saying Raghav? You love Pallavi. You can't marry this girl." Kirti spoke in disbelief.
"Raghav you really want to marry me?" Esha asked not believing it.
"Ofcourse i am. It had always been you. You said that too right. So yes i will marry you and i've decieded everything. The catrers and decorators are coming in a while, that's why i called you in urgency. We're getting married in 2 days." He gave her a smile as Esha clapped her hand sin delight.
"And i won't let you do it." Amma announced.
"Anna the caterer is here." Farhad informed bringing in a guy. The said boy was in his twenties but what made him different was the pale look he was reciving from Esha. Her face turning white with the boy's every step.
"You okay Esha?" Raghav asked.
"Yes Raghav i am fine but he can't cater our-" Esha stammered only to be interrupted by the voice of a lioness.
"Why not Esha? He knows your favourite ingredient to your favourite food too." Pallavi walked in dangling a pendrive in her hand standing right infront of Esha as Raghav detached himself from her, walking and standing right by Pallavis' side.
"What do you mean?" Esha looked anywhere but them.
"Oh common. Cut the crap. You're being married, don't shy away so soon. I even came bearing gift." Pallavi twisted the pendrive in her hand walking towards the huge tv and connecting the drive to it.
"Oh by the way disclaimer before your gift, before doing something check around yourself fro camer and a free tip, most hotels always have cameras." Pallavi smirked pushing the play button.
And there infront of everyone was the move of the Warangal night being played. 10 minutes later as the screen turned black, Pallavi addressed the crowd again.
"So anything to say in defence or should i charge?" she smirked.
"This is fake. It's her plan Raghav. Trust me." Esha sobbed denying everything.
"Oh shut up Esha. We know everything. Everything that you did." Raghav screamed but Pallavi held him back.
"Raghav told me what happened that night in detail. I got curious once he told me how many drinks he had because drinking since so many years, he did had a great capacity so something didn't make sense to me. That is when he brought in the chinese food. I mean it was smart of you to ask him to get the drinks ready while you attended this room service guy for the food where you very cautiously mixed something in Raghav's share of food but unfortunately you forgot the camera angle at the lobby. You drugged him; made him hallucinate that it was me." Pallavi charged her attack.
"But he did sleep with me. It was me. He loves me." Esha screamed.
"He slept but without his consent Esha. His fault was that he let you affect him, get closer to him but everything that happened after him getting drugged by you was not his consent and that's physical assault; something we women have been crying out for since years. Our fault is that we take it seriously when it comes to a women because reality check girl, assault is not based on gender. It can happen to both men and women. Any physicality without consent is wrong and you've wronged him. Took advantage of him when he was not in his senses so yes you're not his lover, you're his culprit." Pallavi took a few steps ahead right to that filty women.
"He was not just my husband but he is a human too. And nobody in this world deserved that. " She spoke her last words as the police hurdled in arresting Esha for rape charges. Raghav saw Pallavi among the crowd standing right opposite to him ; she had fought for him again. As she looked back at him; he realised that what he had lost was way much more than he had thought.
7 years later
Pallavi admired the bunch of people around her. It had been days that she had gotten time from her busy schedule to come out and have some fun so when she was called for a brunch , she just couldn't say no to it. She was glad to have made some friends that loved her, understood her and had tagged along her since she graduated law school. Law school, oh what a journey it had been ; she always felt a connect towards the thought of legality and justice and now as she sat as one of the best lawyer at her firm, she was proud too. She still remember that time 7 years ago when she had knocked at her home door in Kolhapur starting a new journey to her life.
"You're lost again." Riya tugged her.
"No i am not. I am just really excited for the case hearing tomorrow." Pallavi replied.
"So you've got everything prepared like always, why bother yourself. you'll do great." Anita gave her a proud smile.
"And talking about that. I gotta leave, i have some papers to go through." Pallavi got up paying her share as she said her goodbyes to her friend.
Walking out of the cafe, she stopped in her tracks coming face to face with him after 7 years. He looked the same, a lot disheleved now wearing his 3 piece suit like always but his eyes had lost the charm. He still looked at her with the same love that she had seen before walking out of his life that day, the only difference; that they now stood at the opposite sides of the road; exactly five feet apart.
O Humnava Tum Dena Saath Mera
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