Love Happens

Chapter twenty

Mumbai
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"I'm sorry!" Shraddha said before looking at the man she just collided with who was the person who saved her from her wedding alter.

His face became astounded, as even he never thought he'd meet her in the restaurant. As his eyes wandered, he noticed Anand.

"Bro!" he called energetically and went over to him. They exchanged a brief, friendly hug. While he was elated to meet his friend again, Anand's mind wasn't really there. He was emotionally drained by Poonam's behavior. He was responsible for who she is today. He failed as a father. He blamed himself for not giving her the proper upbringing.

"There's an emergency at home. Come over tomorrow for dinner. We'll sit and catch up." Anand made an excuse. He held Riddhima's hand while Shraddha captured Poonam in a still posture.

••••

"I'm in a land far away." Only Poonam spoke in the tense atmosphere in the car. She made her hand be like a plane, and she glided it like it. They arrived home. Anand furiously exited the car and shouted the gardener's name.

In a small room, an old man is seen sleeping while listening to the radio. Anand shouted his name again, and he got up in a frightened state. He rushed out of his quarters to go and check what the matter was.

"I'm gifting Poonam's horse to your granddaughter. Tell her it is a gift from me, and she should take good care of it because it is precious. I don't want to see it here tomorrow morning."

The gardener thought he heard wrong because he knew how much Poonam loved the horse.

"Okay?" Anand added.

"Okay, what?" the man asked.

Anand sighed tiredly at having to repeat what he just said again. "I'm gifting Poonam's horse to your granddaughter. Tell her it is a gift from me, and she should take good care of it because it is precious. I don't want to see it here tomorrow morning."

Shraddha tried to take Poonam out of the car with the help of Riddhima. They took her inside and, without making any noise, went upstairs to their room. As she was already asleep, they made her rest on her bed.

"You should also go to sleep." Shraddha informed Riddhima, to which she nodded. She sauntered out of the room and returned to Anand's bedroom. In there, he was already waiting for her to present his apology.

"Good night." she mumbled, and she proceeded to her already packed clothes to take her nightwear.

"Come on, yaar. You're making me feel guilty. How could I know Poonam could lie? I trusted her blindly."

She continued wabbling her hand in her clothes, not knowing what she was even doing. Anand went there; he squatted down to her level and held her hand. She froze with her gaze glued to the floor. His touch always found a way to melt her anger, even when it wasn't meant to. This time, he repeated the same mistake he made when he married her.

"Let's start afresh. You can be the children's mother."

"You had a misconception, like the first time when you thought I accepted money to marry you. After you realized it wasn't true, you apologized, and I forgave everything without staying angry for a single second. Again, you had the misconception that I tore sister Supriya's poems. I had no idea that was the reason you were angry with me because I never tore them. Again, instead of confronting me to learn my side of the story, you reached a conclusion. If I forgive you again, you'll not learn from your mistake. You'll repeat the same thing again, and then after you realize I'm not wrong,..."

"I trust you just as much as I trusted Poonam." he replied.

"Had you trusted me, you'd have agreed to sleep in the same room with me. Had you trusted me, you'd always ask for an explanation for your doubt. I know we met recently. We don't know about each other, but the least one can do for a person he just met is trust him."

"I'm not like you. I have a hard time trusting people. It's not easy..."

"I will not stay here, Anand. Once the election is over, I'll leave you." A part of her really wanted to stay. But she knew the best decision she could make for her future was to leave, as none of them regard her as a family member.

"I'm apologizing. My upbringing will never be enough for my children. You've seen how Poonam turned out. I want the best for Riddhima. She needs and deserves a mother."

"I need and deserve a husband." she answered while sliding her hand away from his grip. "You can't be that to me, right?" She was already hopeless about it. He turned his gaze from her, and an awkward silence crashed into the room.

"I'm going to bathe." she muttered and dashed to the bathroom.

Anand got up and went over to his wife's portrait. To his first and last love. To him, she will remain the most beautiful woman in the world. Her beauty will forever be incomparable, and no woman can stand up to her in a contest. She was a born winner. He loved her for everything. He can never betray her by giving her place to another woman. No way! He and Shraddha may remain cordial, but nothing more than that. Nothing can ever transpire between them.

Shraddha was in her night saree as she came out of the room. She went directly over to the bed, as she was aware Anand would leave soon since he doesn't sleep there. She entered the duvet and closed her eyes to try to sleep. She was soon disrupted after she felt a load on the other side of the bed. Opening her eyes, she met Anand, and instantly, she straightened up while having widened, stunned eyes.

"What are you doing?" she inquired.

"I want to prove to you that I trust you. You think I don't, but I do. To prove it, I'm ready to start sleeping with you on this bed because I'm sure you'll not try to take advantage of me."

Shraddha tried hard to hide the happy smile that wanted to reveal itself. She was happy at last; she won his trust, and their relationship just took another step forward since he was now going to start living with her. But then, to show him she was still angry with him, she pretended his words had no effect on her. She reclined flat on her back and shut her eyes. She had a feeling tonight was going to be the best night because her husband was with her.

Anand closed his eyes. He thought that was the only way he could gain her trust again. He knew he had succeeded. He saw the smile she was trying to hide. Even though he doesn't want to admit it, she looks very beautiful when she smiles. Her thirty-two white teeth aren't like Supriya's. Shraddha's are lighter, and they shine brighter than the white keys on the piano. It compliments her face a lot. It makes her younger than she already is.

Both of their faces turned to face each other as they opened their eyes. Their eyes connected.

Shraddha's face was grinning with the smile she hid not so long ago. She was happy that this misunderstanding brought them closer to each other. Although it was a baby step, it was still making a difference. She will never think of staying angry with him. His one look melts her away. How can she think of living without him? It will be hell on earth.

Anand was getting too enchanted with her eyes. He was finding the solace he hadn't found for the past five years. Her eyes were the blue sea under the starry night that shimmered the more it got darker. They were the calmness in the chaos and the lotus in the garden. As his eyes moved down her face, he was welcomed by her smile. A smile very pure, so free, so real. One that can soothe a wound in a flash.

His dark stare was turning Shraddha on. She was getting heated, and all she wanted at the moment was to be in his embrace, although she knew it was impossible. She blushed and looked away to get rid of those thoughts.

"Good night." she mumbled before closing her eyes.

"Good night." Anand didn't realize when he replied to her. When he did, he blinked and hopped out of whatever imaginary world he had entered. He turned his back to her while asking himself if he was feeling alright because, on a normal day, he never looks at women the way he just did at her. Of course, except Supriya.

"It's tiredness." he told himself.

•••••

Beautiful nights always last shorter. It was morning, and Riddhima went to her father's room to wake him up. In the midst of it, Shraddha woke up. She asked her what was wrong as she looked very bothered.

"Poonam has woken up. She has been vomiting since then."

Shraddha was about to go and check what was really happening, but she couldn't as Anand held her hand.

"She will come soon. Go and stay with her." Anand replied with his eyes still closed.

Riddhima got up and left the room.

"Let go of my hand. First, you want me to be a mother, and then you stop me from doing the motherly duties." Shraddha voiced this while trying to remove the fingers that got a grasp on her wrist.

"I've decided all night long. Poonam will go to boarding school."

She hung still for a while because she was shocked by his decision. How? How could she watch him let Poonam leave for a different world all on her own?

"I don't accept. She didn't go astray. She made a mistake, but she'll realize it."

"She drank alcohol. She was aware it was alcohol, yet she didn't stop herself from taking it. You heard what she said. She has never passed a single exam by herself. Father always bribed her teacher."

Shraddha understood his concern regarding her studies, but taking her to a boarding school was definitely not the right solution to the problem. Hence, she remained stiff in not agreeing. "She will change!"

"If she changes, she will be brought back. But in the meantime, she's going."

Poonam went out of her room to go to her father's to inform him about her serious vomiting, as she knew he had medicine for it. When she was about to enter, she heard him telling Shraddha that they would take her to a boarding school.

"Okay, Anand!" She heard Shraddha agreeing. She wasn't expecting her to disagree anyway. She was aware she wanted to get rid of her for calling her a disgrace, but she didn't think it would happen soon. Clouded by anger, she promised the day would be the last Shraddha would spend in their house, even if it meant her going to boarding school as a punishment. But she won't leave without Shraddha leaving first.

She angrily left the hallway.

"Okay, Anand. You're again denying me my rights. What do you want? Do you not trust that I can change Poonam?"

"Shr...."

"It's okay."

He sighed a long breath. "Last mistake. If she repeats another, she is going, and you can't save her."

She smiled while nodding immediately. "She won't give you another reason to think of sending her away."