Shakhi -REALITY

Anokhi felt her world shattered. His one action and everything felt different for her. She touched her forehead with shaking fingers just to reassure that it really happened. She saw tint of red colour on them. Though it was difficult for her to process, it really did happen. She lifted her glassy eyes up to watch the person whom she loved to her core, with her entire heart and soul. She felt as if betrayed,overpowered and ruled – the things she hated the most.

Shaurya had a sense of pride in his eyes , marking her as his forever. He lifted his hand to touch her face. Only then did she come back to her senses. She jerked his hand off. "Don't you dare Mr.Shaurya Sabherwal".

"Anokhi what happened?"...he was taken aback.

She shook her head unbelievably.

"What do you mean by what happened?Do you even have any idea what you just did".

"What did i do Anokhi ?I just marked you mine."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND OR WHAT"-She almost screamed ,tears flowing down her cheeks.

He felt a sudden pain deep down,he can't see her like this.

"Anokhi stop crying ,i can explain...."

"EXPLAIN!! ...what are you going to explain. No explanation can justify the action you just did."

She didn't even let him complete.

"Okay Anokhi i know you are shocked ,but trust me i never wanted our marriage this way. I never wanted to hurt you. The mere thought of you getting away from me was unbearable for me. I just cant live without you. I love you . "

Anokhi held his collar tight .

"Do you know what you actually did...
you have forced yourself on me. You knew very well i will never agree to marry you .So you came up with a brilliant plan to stop me from moving on right."

Anokhi had no grip on herself.She was blabbering whatever came to her mind though deep down she herself knew very well that he was the only thing she wished for.

But this was too much for Shaurya. His face turned red. He grabbed her arm tightly.

"Forced???...like seriously. You think that i forced myself on you. I caged you to prevent you from moving on. Don't we love each other?Yes i haven't asked your consent before filling your hairline...but it was only because you left me with no choice."

She laughed sarcastically and released herself from his grip.

" Don't deceive yourself into thinking that i am going to accept this marriage. Do you even know how much i have suffered to reach until here. You have once again succeeded in making me believe that all men are the same- may it be my father, brother ,that Vineet, Monty or you".

"Don't judge me on the basis of your past experiences.Even though I don't know much about your life before you came here , iam definitely not one among those people because of whom you ran away from your home.

"You know nothing Mr.Shaurya Sabherwal...You don't know anything. I wasn't one who got readymade career as yours.You have no idea about the battles that I have fought to reach until here.I struggled from my childhood to get a mere acknowledgement from my father.."...she said shaking him wildly.

"... and my 'so called' brother "...she sniffed.

"...he just considered me as a key to get his future secured. I have seen marks on my sister's body – of course the great Vineet Bhatia excercising his powers on his wife .I have seen my mom cry day and night out of helplessness. But i fought, i ran from my marriage... you know why.... because I wanted to save myself from these sucking realities of my life. Then i met you....i felt you are different..i felt attached...i felt safe but then this strange reality is hitting me one fine day that you left Shagun mam just because she wanted to pursue her dreams...just because she voiced her likes and dislikes.....what do you expect from me?....do you expect me to go back all the way i came to get trapped again at the place where i started from."

Shaurya was deeply touched. But he can't deny the fact that she had also hurt him.

"What the hell do you mean by readymade career.Yes,my family run the institution but it doesn't imply that i don't deserve what i have today. I had worked day and night to bring SIAC to this position. And you are not the only person who suffered abandonment...I was abandoned by both my mom and dad."....he paused and took a deep breath.

"Listen... I don't want you to go back to where you started from but i want you to start fresh. I dream my future with you Anokhi. Never in my entire life have i thought about a girl the way i thought about you,never in my entire life had i loved someone like i love you and never in my life was i ready to change for anyone until you."

"Change...are you kidding me? You think that you can change. You haven't even realised that you did wrong by forcing shagun mam to choose between you and her career. You haven't realised that you have done wrong by not trying to understand your mom even once. You said that you were abandoned by both Astha mam and Shaan sir.Tell me one thing honestly...was Shaan sir enjoying his life?He loved Astha ma'am like you love me today.Don't you think that you did a crime by forcing him to divorce her?"

Shaurya felt a pricking pain inside.

"Wow Anokhi iam impressed..iam impressed that you are very fast at judging. When you meant nothing to me it was okay ...but today you are standing here with your hairline filled with my sindoor but still..." ...he deliberately left the sentence incomplete.

"You understand everyone's point of view other than mine. You spoke about mom ,dad their personal suffering ..but what about me Anokhi?"

He held her arms tight ,this time more stronger.

"You think that i wanted my life to be like this. I dreamt of a proper, normal and happy family. All i wanted was my parents. I wanted my mom to take care of me when i fell ill. I wanted my dad to be my superhero. I wished to be in the top of their priority list just like any other kid would have wished
....was this too much to ask?You talked about my dad's pain. He lived his life in his own way...carefree. He never cared about HIS SON who was making his pillow covers wet all day and night ."...he moved back a little and continued.

"...But you know what I have always cared for my dad.From the very day i started accepting things ,i started looking after him.Everytime i spotted our happy family photo in his messy room,I failed to hold back my tears...I had no one to complain.I wanted him to come back to the college,take his responsibilities but that never happened and you know why..."

Anokhi looked at him with teary eyes as if asking him to proceed.

"Because in this whole world what mattered to him the most was his wife who left him.He pretended as if I never existed...he never cared for me."

"... Shagun was just an ideal daughter in law ..I NEVER LOVED HER ANOKHI.Back then i never really knew what love was.Everything started changing for good once i met you ....i found my solace in you...i felt i can also have a person who loves me unconditionally...i agree that i was wrong that married you without your consent...but i am not really sorry because....I....I always wanted this Anokhi.."

"...and if you still feel that i am wrong then go ..... wash off this vermilion"...he was heartbroken.Tears started flowing unimpeded from his eyes.He collapsed on the ground.

Anokhi on the other hand was tongue-tied. His tears triggered an unknown pain in her heart which she never experienced before.She was heartbroken hearing his side of the story.

Finally collecting herself,she knelt down.She was about to touch him when his fire eyes met hers.

"Fine I will do the honours" ....

He didn't wait for her response.He stood up the next second and dragged her towards his car.