Second Wife, First Love.

39. Unbelievable Truth.

***Mayra's POV.***

"That night changed everything. Because it started with then. Priya and I were happy where we were in our relationship. We were not close physically, but emotionally we were strong together." Shaurya says.

"You mean to say you never thought of consuming your relationship with her ever?" I ask.

"I guess I never thought about her that way. We were friends and sometimes it is hard to get past their phase, especially if you are best friends. And Priya and I were never like this. We were like buddies, just like Dhruv and I." He says.

"That happens. Even Anu and Kush struggled with it too, until I pushed them." I say.

"But they loved each other, especially one of them. But that's not what happened to us. It was Dhruv's engagement party, and he poured me drink after drinks. I never get drunk, but he finally convinced Simi to marry him after five years of chasing her and he wanted to party hard. Meanwhile, Simi and Priya were celebrating in their own way. That night we were staying at a hotel. So when I came back to my room, Priya was behaving differently. I mean, it is okay for us to, you know, do it as we were married, but it looked like she forced that moment on not only me but herself too." He says and sighs.

"Then what happened?" I ask.

"Next morning, she behaved totally differently, like she wanted to forget that night and even I felt weird too. She and I tried to go back to normal but then I felt why should we behave like this at all. I tried to talk to her about it but she would just ignore that topic so in the end I let it go too. Fast forward three months later she found out that she was pregnant. She wanted it at first but then sometime later she told me she doesn't want it. Her behavior literally irritated the hell out of me those days." He says.

"So how come she agreed to keep it?" I ask.

"She didn't. I had to force her to keep it as aborting at that stage would have been dangerous for her. And her parents forced her too. After that I felt guilty for forcing her to have a child against her will. Simi and Dhruv were around so she started to accept it. I tried my best to know everything about pregnancy and babies. And the day finally arrived when Veer was born. When I saw him for the first time, Mayra, my heart melted and I felt so alive in that moment. But when I looked at Priya who was not even looking at him, I felt so upset. Then I thought maybe because she had such horrible labor pains, she was still recovering from it. But..." He says and stops and I take Shaurya's hand in mine to squeeze it.

"But what, Shaurya?" I ask.

"It was the day after Dhruv and Simi's wedding. After feeding Veer, I was coming back to the room to take a file that I forgot when I heard her talking to someone on the phone. She was upset and was crying. I mean whatever she became in the past few months doesn't make her less of a friend for me. So I decided to barge in there and ask her who is troubling her. But then what Priya said next stopped me. She was begging this person on the other side of the phone to come back to her and asking to take her away. She was confessing her undying love to the person on the other side." Shaurya says.

"Oh my goodness!" I gasp.

"But that was not all. I thought if this is what is troubling my friend then I will help. As a husband I can be angry but I never was one for her. I was her friend and the doctor did tell me that Priya looked like she was on the verge of going into depression. So I thought okay I will help her and ask her head on. But then I heard the voice on the phone and it was... it was..." Shaurya says but stops.

"Who was it?" I ask, holding my breath.

"It was a woman's voice." He says.

"What?" I ask again in shock.

"It was a woman." He says again.

"She is..." I say and stop.

"Yes. She is a lesbian." Shaurya says and sighs.

"Does anyone else know that?" I ask.

"Dhruv and Simi knows. Simi knew when Priya got pregnant but she didn't tell me because she was worried I won't take care of her friend." He says.

"So nobody except us four people, not even her parents?" I ask.

"No. This was the reason why we had a private hearing. When I came to know about this, I confronted her and she said that I would have abandoned her and judged her. I asked her how long she knew and her answer shocked me again. She told me she was still struggling with it from that night. She told me she slept with me to get away from that truth." He says.

"That means something must have triggered her emotions that night or someone." I say.

"Could be possible. I asked her many times who that woman is but she won't say. She said that she can't get that woman as she is already committed to someone else. I tried to help her but obviously she was very disturbed those days and on top of that everyone was expecting something from her. Her parents expected her to take over the company or maybe give it to me, my parents expected her to look after the family, and I expected her to at least take responsibility for Veer. She finally broke down one day and I decided I have to free her. She can't live like this otherwise she might do something to herself. So obviously I have to become a villain." Shaurya says and rubs his forehead.

"Shaurya, you did what you could. But what Priya is doing now-" I say.

"Is out of guilt. I know that. Everything happened so fast that she didn't get time to realize what was happening. Her whole life changed in a few days. But I knew what she felt for Veer was not love but obligation. I knew her parents would force her to reconcile so I asked Simi to suggest she go to Mumbai for her work. I thought everything would go back to normal. I even wished that Priya might calm down and come back to meet Veer once in a while. But I didn't expect her to do this. I mean I hate her as Veer's father but the friend in me can't hate her because I know what she has been through. I threaten her, bicker with her, even insult her but I just can't stop worrying about her. You know she is the type of person who would rather struggle alone than take help from others." Shaurya says.

"Shaurya." I say and put my arm around his shoulder.

"You must be thinking what a fool I am that I didn't realize my friend's peril and what she really was." He says.

"No. It happens, Shaurya. One of my friends realized when we were in college that he is into boys. This is not something a person is born with and can know immediately. Sometimes it takes time and sometimes you just know it. But in both the cases the person has to go through their own struggles. I can't imagine what Priya must be feeling but that doesn't mean she is not an adult. Because she is and she should know that she can't get Veer just because she is feeling guilty of not looking after him. Veer deserves love and if she had loved him. I would have backed down. But she doesn't and that's the truth." I say.

"And how would you know that?" He asks, confused.

"Because she had the same look as my mother had when she came to see me when I was 15 years old." I say as I remember the last time I saw her.