Raj's residence:
Raj breathed a huge sigh of relief when Divya did not oppose to what he said, when he interrupted her confession to his mother, just now. He reached there in the nick of time, to stop everything from falling apart.
He wanted to speak with her in private right away, to sincerely apologize to her for everything he put her through. He was ashamed of his actions to say the least and wanted to ask for her forgiveness for the pain he knowingly inflicted on her.
He looked at his mother and said, "Ma, I want to speak with Divya for a moment. Would you kindly excuse us, please?"
Kamla looked at her son and then at her would be daughter-in-law and smiled, saying, "No problem. But please finish it and go to bed soon. Tomorrow is the most important day for both of you. You need to wake up soon and look fresh as well. Okay?"
She paused and turned around to question him." By the way, where have you been, Raj? We were looking everywhere for you."
Raj immediately answered her saying, "I had an important errand to run, Ma."
"Could it not wait until after the wedding?" She asked
"No ma, it was something imperative." He said. His mother could not understand the underlying meaning to it.
She left the room and Raj went behind her to lock the door. Right now, having this conversation with Divya was very important for him.
He turned around to find the letter that he left for Divya on the study table, missing. This meant that she must have read it, right? He wondered. It also increased his hope of being forgiven; though it was evident he did not deserve it.
He observed that she went to stand beside the window, probably to take in the fresh air. She needed it as she looked tired and drained out. He went towards her and embraced her from behind. He was so engrossed in finding words to confess to her, that he did not notice her stiffening in his arms.
He hugged her tight and said, "Thank you so much for everything, Divya. Really, I cannot express how thankful I am to god, for having brought you back into my life."
She was silent for a long period and was acting strange. That was when he realized that something was amiss and started to panic.
She pushed at his arms vigorously and stepped out of them. Only when she turned around did he notice how upset and angry she was, which she had every right to be. He tried to reach out to her, but she stepped back and held her palm forward warning him not to touch her.
"Divya, I know that you are upset," he started, only for her to say, "Stop, just stop, Raj! I am sick and tried of all this. I do not want to hear a single word from your mouth anymore. You lost the right to explain your actions, the moment you stepped out of the house tonight." She paused to take a deep breath. "You lied, you stole your family jewels and tonight you stooped really low to cheat your mother off her property? And worst of all, you tried to elope with someone not once thinking about the plight your family would go through. Did you ever think about your doting mother, your aged grandmother, your father who is unwell and three unmarried sisters, Raj? I don't think so. Because had you thought about them, then you would not have done all that you did for the past few days" Her body was shuddering with uncontrollable anger. It was like a volcano erupting all of a sudden. She had to pause several times to catch her breath.
He knew that there was no point in interrupting her now, as she was very distressed and whatever he had to say would only go unheard. He could only stand there and hear what she had to say with increasing helplessness.
"What about me, Raj? Did you think even once how hurt I was when I found out that you were using me to make Sarita jealous? And then I came to know through Sarita that you were planning to elope with her. Do you know how devastated I was to hear that the person whom I loved for the past 12 years was ready to trample all over my heart? I was broken on the inside. But in spite of all this I wanted to support you through this because I loved you and it hurt me to see you act crazy with infatuation."
She continued," I gradually started losing the respect I held for you when I saw the family jewels spill from your bag. Yet I wanted to give you the benefit of doubt. I thought that eventually you would understand the severity of your actions. But that never happened, did it Raj? Tonight you stooped to a new low; I was astounded to find out that you cheated your mother and even left the house without a word of explanation to your family and me."
That was when Raj interrupted for the first time, "I left a letter here, Divya" which sounded very lame at the moment.
"To hell with your letter, Raj!" she said through her teeth. Then all at once, her voice dropped down several octaves. "I was such a fool to have hoped that my love for you would bring back the old Raj in you. I was wrong; dead wrong! What I did not realize was that the Raj I loved stopped existing, the day you hurt me deliberately, without any hesitation. I do not recognize you anymore. I know that the reason you are back home today is because of Sarita, Raj, NOT ME. And that gives me a clear cut answer as to where our relationship stands"
There was a long silence. Tears were streaming down both their faces and Raj could not understand where to start or did he have any hope left of making her believe that she was the one for him; he could only say, "But you are ready to marry me right?" The moment those words left his mouth, he knew that it was the final nail in the coffin.
Her laughter held no amusement. "I agreed to marry you because unlike you, I cannot put your family through the trauma I have been through. And I am doing this for them, not you. I don't think I can forgive you or love you, after what you did tonight, Raj. If anything, this marriage is just a deal to me, a deal to keep your family happy and unaware of your misdeeds."
"What about us, Divya?" Raj asked.
"There is no US, Raj! And there never will be" saying so she sped from the room.
And raj knew that he had no one but himself to blame for what happened tonight. Everything DID fall apart after all, he thought holding the dupatta that Divya left behind in her hurry to leave the room, to his face.
To be continued...
