asked you something. At least reply,’ I say.
‘Shhh... Can’t you see I am watching TV?’ he snaps at me.
That does it. This has gone on for long enough now.
I jump up and grab the remote from him and switch off the television.
He tries to grab it back but I am too quick. I dodge him and thrust it behind my back and I stand defiantly looking at him, challenging him to have a physical brawl with me if he wants it.
‘Shruti—stop acting childish and give me the remote,’ he says, his eyes blazing.
‘Look, Rishabh, we need to talk. This has gone on for many days now. Do you realise we haven’t had a proper conversation about it? Enough is enough. I explained everything to you. I told you I have buried the past long back. But yet you insist on acting like you have the whole world’s burden on your shoulders,’ I say.
‘Just shut up, Shruti,’
‘No. I will not shut up.’
‘Your handbag is on the table and your heels are lying next to it. You are making the house untidy. Go and put them away.’
‘Don’t try and change the topic, Rishabh. I told you I want to settle this once and for all. This has gone on long enough.’
He is silent for a while. I am not willing to let him go so easily. So I continue standing there and look at him till he has no choice but to speak.
‘Very well. Then listen. I am very upset about this discovery. We have been together for almost two years and today I feel I don’t know you at all. You aren’t the person I thought you were and I was such a naïve fool to have been taken in by all that you said. What else have you been lying to me about?’
‘Rishabh—I never lied, okay?’
‘I wasn’t the one who hid things from the person I am married to. That is honestly the worst thing anyone can do. So you married me on the rebound, is it? Or did you marry me to please your parents?’
‘Look, Rishabh, we have been through this and I don’t want to discuss it. I have had a tough day at office.’
‘You were the one who brought it up, Shruti. I didn’t. I was watching TV quietly.’
‘Rishabh, I am tired of fighting like this. Can we just forget this whole thing, please?’ I ask him.
I want him to just give me a hug, and I want all of this to be forgotten.
‘Shruti,’ he says and there is a kind of finality in his voice. A kind of acceptance and defeat, a kind of quiet resignation. ‘I will forget about it. After all, I have grown to love you. But the question here is not whether I will forget. Will you ever be able to forget him?’ he asks.
And his question breaks my heart.
Chapte r 12
Aman
Dipika’s playing footsie is freaking me out. There is no doubt now that it wasn’t my overactive imagination. What she is doing is deliberate. I shift my chair back a little and move my legs away very subtly.
She is smiling coyly at me now and Vikram is saying something about catching a movie the next day. I am only half able to focus on what he says.
‘Sure, I don’t mind,’ I hear myself saying.
‘What about you, Dipika? Do you want to come?’ asks Vikram.
I am certain that Dipika hasn’t heard a single word of what Vikram is saying. Or perhaps she has.
‘Yeah, of course. I wouldn’t want to miss it,’ she says.
‘Since when did you start liking action movies? It is all gore and blood, you know,’ says Vikram.
‘Hmmm, it has been so long since I saw a movie that I wouldn’t mind watching even a black and white documentary as long as I get to go to the multiplex,’ she says.
I hurriedly finish the rest of the meal and push my chair back without making it obvious, so that Dipika cannot reach my foot.
‘You have hardly eaten, Aman! What happened? Didn’t you like Dipika’s cooking?’ asks Vikram.
‘Of course, it is lovely. It’s just that I am feeling a bit queasy. Maybe the long travel and difference in time zones,’ I reply.
‘Oh yes. You must be tired. Go and rest, Aman. Let me show you to the guest bedroom,’ says
‘Shhh... Can’t you see I am watching TV?’ he snaps at me.
That does it. This has gone on for long enough now.
I jump up and grab the remote from him and switch off the television.
He tries to grab it back but I am too quick. I dodge him and thrust it behind my back and I stand defiantly looking at him, challenging him to have a physical brawl with me if he wants it.
‘Shruti—stop acting childish and give me the remote,’ he says, his eyes blazing.
‘Look, Rishabh, we need to talk. This has gone on for many days now. Do you realise we haven’t had a proper conversation about it? Enough is enough. I explained everything to you. I told you I have buried the past long back. But yet you insist on acting like you have the whole world’s burden on your shoulders,’ I say.
‘Just shut up, Shruti,’
‘No. I will not shut up.’
‘Your handbag is on the table and your heels are lying next to it. You are making the house untidy. Go and put them away.’
‘Don’t try and change the topic, Rishabh. I told you I want to settle this once and for all. This has gone on long enough.’
He is silent for a while. I am not willing to let him go so easily. So I continue standing there and look at him till he has no choice but to speak.
‘Very well. Then listen. I am very upset about this discovery. We have been together for almost two years and today I feel I don’t know you at all. You aren’t the person I thought you were and I was such a naïve fool to have been taken in by all that you said. What else have you been lying to me about?’
‘Rishabh—I never lied, okay?’
‘I wasn’t the one who hid things from the person I am married to. That is honestly the worst thing anyone can do. So you married me on the rebound, is it? Or did you marry me to please your parents?’
‘Look, Rishabh, we have been through this and I don’t want to discuss it. I have had a tough day at office.’
‘You were the one who brought it up, Shruti. I didn’t. I was watching TV quietly.’
‘Rishabh, I am tired of fighting like this. Can we just forget this whole thing, please?’ I ask him.
I want him to just give me a hug, and I want all of this to be forgotten.
‘Shruti,’ he says and there is a kind of finality in his voice. A kind of acceptance and defeat, a kind of quiet resignation. ‘I will forget about it. After all, I have grown to love you. But the question here is not whether I will forget. Will you ever be able to forget him?’ he asks.
And his question breaks my heart.
Chapte r 12
Aman
Dipika’s playing footsie is freaking me out. There is no doubt now that it wasn’t my overactive imagination. What she is doing is deliberate. I shift my chair back a little and move my legs away very subtly.
She is smiling coyly at me now and Vikram is saying something about catching a movie the next day. I am only half able to focus on what he says.
‘Sure, I don’t mind,’ I hear myself saying.
‘What about you, Dipika? Do you want to come?’ asks Vikram.
I am certain that Dipika hasn’t heard a single word of what Vikram is saying. Or perhaps she has.
‘Yeah, of course. I wouldn’t want to miss it,’ she says.
‘Since when did you start liking action movies? It is all gore and blood, you know,’ says Vikram.
‘Hmmm, it has been so long since I saw a movie that I wouldn’t mind watching even a black and white documentary as long as I get to go to the multiplex,’ she says.
I hurriedly finish the rest of the meal and push my chair back without making it obvious, so that Dipika cannot reach my foot.
‘You have hardly eaten, Aman! What happened? Didn’t you like Dipika’s cooking?’ asks Vikram.
‘Of course, it is lovely. It’s just that I am feeling a bit queasy. Maybe the long travel and difference in time zones,’ I reply.
‘Oh yes. You must be tired. Go and rest, Aman. Let me show you to the guest bedroom,’ says
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