Jo hona tha... ho gaya

Wedding night

11:00 p.m. Bar

Abhi downed his second peg of scotch. 

He was looking for some free time to relax after the hectic day filled with rituals. In normal times, he would have been in his room. But today... well... from today he couldn't call it his room anymore. There will be someone else... 'and that too... not the one I thought it would be'. 

He signalled the waiter to give him one more drink. 

"Banda is going to lose it today" said one of his friends smiling sheepishly. 

"And regret it!" said the other.

Abhi looked at them and smiled. The waiter arrived with his drink. 

"Yaar mujhe ek baat samajh nahi aa rahi hai" said his friend, "tujhe shaadi karni hi thi to woh Tanu se kyu nahi kiya... at least she looked good". 

Abhi gulped down his drink and said, "That's it guys. I'm leaving. See you later." He patted the friend who had been silent all the while, picked up his phone from the table, and left. 

"Arre... ye bura maan gaya kya?" said the friend who talked about Tanu, but Abhi didn't bother to look back. 

He regretted this outing. 

Well... he regretted a lot of things today. He regretted getting married, regretted he was perhaps giving Dadi false happiness and hope, regretted he was perhaps betraying the trust that Pragya's mother had placed on him, and regretted that he came out with his friends thinking he could have some alone time. 

'Alone time with friends!!!' he smiled at the irony, 'what was I thinking?' 

But mostly he regretted sending Purab to his uncle's place, for today was the day he needed him the most. He didn't know whether what he is doing was right or wrong and there was only one person who could have guided him. 

And about Pragya... he didn't know what to think. 

He had agreed to follow through on Alia's plans but over the past couple of days he had felt quite uneasy about it, especially today when he felt at least a couple of times that Pragya wasn't the kind of woman that Alia said she would be. 

He got into the car and the driver drove off towards his home. 

AbhiGya bedroom

It was a nervous one and half hours for Pragya and she wondered whether this was going to be a daily affair - Abhi coming in late in the night and her not knowing what to do. She regretted not bringing at least one of her books with her, something which would have given her much needed company and peace. 

She took a small walk outside her room and stood by the railing. She was overwhelmed looking at the enormity of the house and the silence. The two stairways that looked much bigger than the ones she had seen in buildings nearby her home, the huge chandelier, and the living room that looked bigger than their marriage hall made her think what she had gotten into. She could hear the echoes of her anklets as they chimed when she moved her leg. 

'This is my home now!' the thought made her nervous and she sighed. 

'He even has a bar in our bedroom!'  She did't know what to make of that - 'occasional drinker or an alcoholic?' 

She heard a door close and soon saw Abhi walking towards and up the stairs. She didn't know what to do and stood there waiting for him. 

He smiled at her and nodded and walked into the room as she followed him.