Chapter 20

Break up
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She watched the lanterns reflected in the ripples of that tiny pond, extinguishing the stars overhead. Her mind was distant, trapped in a conversation that ended a little while ago.
“Meri kushi mein kush hoti hui kitni achchi lagti ho – apni lagti ho.”
She let the silence and the taste of his words remain on her thoughts for a moment. He watched her expectantly, waiting for her to say something. Then something nagged at her heart – the document bearing both their signatures, the freedom that he deserved, the family he had to leave behind for her – and the wounds now etched to her being never to be erased. 
“Zaroori nahi hai, har apni lagne wali cheeze apni ho,” the words left her lips before she could stop them. Their effect was unmistakable in his expression – his hand caressing her face fell back numbly to his side. For a moment she missed its warmth against her cheek, but in the next she turned her back to him, arms folded for safety. In the edge of her vision, a lantern had caught fire, turning to look back she saw he was watching the same thing – how the beautiful hand craft curled into flames and perished into ashes. 
“No matter how beautiful it is – once it catches fire, it ends up in ashes. There’s no turning back, no healing possible.” She said finitely watching as the fireball dropped to the ground and went off, leaving black stains of soot on the frozen earth. 
“But that doesn’t stop the maker from making them again for the next festival – then the next, people never give up.” He replied, sounding closer to her than he was before. The next moment she felt his warm hand on her shoulder. “You should always give life another chance Gauri.”
“We have to accept what is true Omkara.” 
“And that is?”
“Our ways have parted a long back –“
“You promised me,” his tone was bitter. “You said you won’t leave.”
“I know what I said,” her voice shook as she countered. “But dosti ke sivay hum kuch nahi de sakte – and you know very well, you need more –“
“I can wait,” he offered.
“For how long? A month? A year? Ten years? No one can wait a life time Omkara, and for this life time I’ve given my heart away – and got it broken. That’s that.”
“Then I’ll learn to live with your friendship,” he was adamant. 
“You don’t have to!” She said restlessly. “Why would you?”
In seconds her face was in his hands, his eyes boring into hers. In that cold night, the mist of their breath mingled together. There was no distinction between his air and hers anymore. 
“Haven’t you realized it yet – or don’t you want to see?” He asked quietly, but insistently. “In both cases let me tell you clearly – I love you – you and only you. There can never be another, however cheesy that might sound – no one can fill your gap, no one ever will.”
She didn’t know she had been holding her breath, until the moment he let her go. Air rushed into her lungs with a force that had her stumbling backwards, gasping painfully. 
“I’m done forcing you into my life,” he continued unaffected. “The choice is yours. There’s no deadline – take a life time if you want to – even then, you’d find me waiting, as if this night had never passed.”
With that he turned away and walked off, briskly but steadily, never looking back. Since then, she had been standing there, watching the lanterns in the pond water. 
“Ri?” The voice had her jerking back, with both its familiarity and the misplaced nature. Reeling from the shock, she turned around to find Aditya standing there, looking a little lost and unsure of himself. But the moment their eyes met, he reached her and pulled her in to his embrace. “Kaha kaha nahi dunda tumhe!” He muttered against her hair.
Suddenly it felt so wrong. She didn’t feel warm and secure as she had done when Omkara had hugged her a while ago – instead she felt cold and suffocating. Struggling off his hold, Ri stared at him, astonished.
“What are you doing here Aditya?”
“Looking for you of cause!” He sounded so relieved to find her that she believed him. He reached out and took her hand in his. “Let’s go Ri. He can’t stop us from meeting anymore.” He almost dragged her off, when she pulled back.
“What do you mean? Who – do you mean?”
“Your husband of cause – he brought you here to stop us from meeting didn’t he? He can’t break us apart that easily now can he? I know you sent him divorce papers Ri – don’t worry I’ll help you through the proceedings – no one can force you to live with him, especially not after all those rumors about his birth and all.”
Aditya stopped, a doubt leaking into his voice. 
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
“Adi –“ when she spoke Ri was startled to find her voice so cold and void of emotions. “Please tell me it wasn’t you who leaked that tape?”
He didn’t reply, he didn’t hold her gaze either, instead he looked down, tapping his foot nervously on the ground.
“Does that matter? Truth remains true no matter who hides it –“
“Was it you or not?”
“After what he did to us you can’t possibly –“
“Yes or no, Adi?”
“He challenged me! Said he won’t let me mess with your life anymore and to do what I can! How can he say that Ri? How can he come between us?”
She clapped a hand over her mouth gasping at him.
“He knows, it was you?” Her own voice was a whisper. “He knows it all happened because of me?”
“What are you – how does it matter?”
Ri blinked away the tears that pricked her eyes, furiously clutching a hand over her rapidly beating heart. 
“God – he did so much to heal me, when he was wounded in the process.”
“He didn’t let me see you!” Aditya repeated like a stubborn child. Ri glared at him.
“Because I said so – I said I don’t want to see anyone. Do you know, he came to ask me? Scratch that do you know what you’ve done Adi? Scratch that too – do you ever care?”
“But he –“
“Do you know who broke us apart? You did. It was you who decided to go on a business trip knowing I was going to be married – knowing someone had misguided me by pretending to be your father – why? Cause you wanted to please your father and you thought Ri ka kya hai – aake samjha dunga! Do you get it now Adi? Life waits for no one – haath se nikal gaya toh gaya – you can’t chase after your past!”
“How did you know all this?”
Ri snorted. 
“I’m an heiress of my own right Adi – I know how to find information. You can’t fool me twice by the same trick.”
“Ri you’ve got to listen –“
“No you listen – listen and comprehend. We, are done. Done. Over. Finish. Now let me go!”
**