Chronicles of Life

#chap63 #chroniclesoflife #Sagas_by_Irvika #sweetlovestory

Shruti rectified, “Oh no! We had planned that before but then Atharva seems to have had a talk with Nishantbhai after which we decided on New Zealand.”

Although she was trying to justify, it sounded weird to her ears as well. Besides that, the expression on Gauri’s face spoke volumes, making her feel like a fool. Something clicked and she excused herself. She quickly checked her passports and what she saw, proved that she had been fooled. It was evident now that Atharva had bluffed about going to New Zealand since the visa was for Australia. She tried to force her thoughts back into some semblance of order, trying to find some logic. But she was so hurt that all sane thinking evaded her. Imagine getting to know through a third person that you have been fooled, by your own husband, whatever the reason.

Shruti didn’t want to create a scene, tried to withhold herself, but it was as if, a storm was brewing inside her, and this incident merely served as a catalyst to ignite what she had been bottling inside for so long. That night, she vented it all out. Atharva tried to explain that he had wanted to surprise her but she wasn’t ready to listen. She simply felt so hurt that she was blinded by it. Atharva finally gave up and burst out saying, “Fine then, better to call it off.”

To be continued….

Shruti slumped down and cried… endlessly. She felt remorse about what she had become. Why did life seem to have turned upside down, the one person for whom she had changed herself completely, trying to fulfil everything that was expected of her, why did he make a fool of her? Her self conscious reprimanded her, reminding her that he had wanted to surprise her, but she was beyond any logical thinking. It was past midnight. Atharva had stormed out of the room and sat in the living room. He shook his head, exasperated, frustrated at the way things had gone sour. Here he was, trying his best to please her. But god knows what had gotten into Shruti.

After a while, Shruti came out, hunting for Atharva but he refused to come in. She had a habit of holding his hand at night while sleeping. During these nine months, there had not been a single time when she hadn’t hugged him while sleeping. Moreover, she felt guilty as somehow, she realised he wasn’t at fault and it was just unfortunate that she got to know through someone else.
She pleaded, “Please come in Atharva. I…I’m sorry.”
Atharva hissed, “No no… I’m sorry that I bothered about all this. The problem is that you are not even ready to listen when I’m trying to explain.”
She reasoned, “Just put yourself in my shoes and think how would you feel. Ek toh waise bhi mood kharaab tha upar se ye sab.”

Atharva didn’t want to stretch it any further and went inside the room to sleep. They both slept on their sides, each expecting the other to come forward, but neither of them took the initiative. The thought itself was tearing them apart. When Shruti couldn’t hold any further, she shifted a bit towards his side, and after she felt that Atharva was asleep, she held his arm and still thinking about the events, fell asleep.

In the morning, both found themselves in each other’s arms, as usual. Atharva gazed at her sleeping form, caressing her face lovingly, though still hurt. He decided to let her rest as it had been very late by the time they had slept. He showered and got ready as he wanted to visit the factory that day. Just as he was getting ready, she woke up with a jolt as she realised that she had overslept. She went and hugged him and knew she had been forgiven when his arms went around her.

The day passed in the preparations as they had to fly on the following day. She was contemplating about what food to carry along since it would be tough to get vegetarian when on the go. She approached her mother-in-law hesitantly, “Mummy, I was thinking of taking along some dry snacks along for the trip.”
Her mother in law barely glanced at her and replied, “Take the driver along with you and get whatever you need. He knows the shop.” She felt miserable as her mother in law barely acknowledged her but then, she had been expecting it all along. She mentally shrugged and chided herself, ‘Stop expecting Shru… otherwise you will never get out of this vortex.’