Shivani was pacing the hall in the cottage, worried as Mrityunjay had still not returned. Where was he? Why was he gone so long? He came in to find her pacing in worry. She came running to him, as soon as she saw him.
"Where have you been so long? I have been going mad out of worry," she nearly screamed at him.
He glanced at her, his eyes cold. "Sorry, I didn't realise it's been so long," he said grimly, walking into the kitchen.
"Mrityunjay!" she called out to him and followed him into the kitchen. He neither stopped nor did he look back.
He pulled a bottle of cold water from the fridge and poured it on his face. The cold water cut through the pain he had just relived. "I should have never allowed you into my life. Now I'll have to live with the burden of ruining 2 lives where it could have been just one-mine," he blurted, peering at Shivani, his eyes blank.
She watched him closely and he could tell she was angry. "You cannot insult my love by saying that. I fell in love with you... it was I who wanted this. I couldn't help it, couldn't help falling in love with you. And it is the best thing to have happened to me. Do you know what kept me alive all these days?" she questioned, confronting him head on.
Mrityunjay did not know what to say. "After all that you've had to endure because of me, you can still say that?" he asked, bewildered at her love for him.
Shivani shook her head disapprovingly. "Why are you asking me that question? Did YOU actually believe that you'd lost me forever?" She challenged him to face his innermost demons. He acknowledged, rather unwillingly that Shivani was not far from the truth. But they could not stay together. It was just not possible anymore.
“You've tried this before," declared Shivani, as though reading his mind. "You've tried to push me away from you, but it didn't exactly work that way, did it?" she stated, raising her brows.
Mrityunjay drew in a deep breath and conceded. She was right. He did try to push her away, all those years ago. But that was then, when they had just been married, when dealing with her separation had been much easier. Now, though, he had come too far. Having found Shivani again, he even dreaded the thought of losing her.
"No, we've come too far for that," mentioned Mrityunjay, observing her with a serious countenance. But the truth was, he could never become a part of that world again. All it had held for him, was lies and deception. He had been tested over and over again, losing all he loved dearly including Shivani, nearly. Maybe that is why he had lived, he conceded to himself. Perhaps he too like Shivani, knew deep down, that this was not the end of their love. But unlike her, he had refused to acknowledge his instincts.
"Why didn't you come back home, to Mumbai?" questioned Shivani, interrupting his chain of thought. He gazed at her, his eyes distant. How could he tell her? No, he'd have to wait for the appropriate time and explain to her, when she was in a condition to understand why. "Where's my tea?" he questioned instead, sounding serious. "Hahaha," she laughed out at his tactic.
Saanvi heard the laughter of a woman coming from the house, just as she was approaching. She had a spare key, which made it easy for her to come in, as and when she wanted. She was after all, responsible for the upkeep of the house. Neel didn't bother about cleaning or cooking. He did not care whether the house had been cleaned, or the clothes he wore were washed or not. He just immersed himself in his paintings, sometimes painting through the night. And he was brilliant at it.
She also realised that he must come from a very well to do family. He knew things and places that she had never heard of before in her simple village existence. He did something on the computer such that his paintings got picked up by the courier company and somehow he got money from it all. It seemed like a wondrous proposition.
In her college, she did learn some basic computing, but Saanvi did not have any great ambitions in life, except making sure the business her father ran, made profits. And she was quite good at numbers too. One could say, she was a shrewd business woman. And she feared nothing.
As she walked into the house, going towards the kitchen, her eyes witnessed, what she had never expected to see in her lifetime. Neel had picked up a woman, who seemed to be taking out some snacks from one of the kitchen shelves. Saanvi's face fell at that sight. If she had ever felt jealousy before, this was at an altogether different level. As Neel brought the woman down, there was no doubt in Saanvi's mind, the way he looked at her, that he was in love with her.
The woman too, seemed to know him very well. Saanvi could barely control the temper that rose within. If she would have had a weapon in her hand, she would have definitely murdered the woman there and then. Such was the rage she experienced.
Shivani saw the girl starring at them first. "Mrityunjay, let go," she whispered, looking embarrassed. He noticed Shivani starring at someone and followed her gaze. He saw Saanvi standing there, but refused to let Shivani go.
"Saanvi, why are you standing there? Come over," he called out. Saanvi clenched her fists hard, controlling her temper with great difficulty. Neel was openly hugging the woman. It hurt her to know, that despite knowing how she felt about him, he did this to her.
Mrityunjay let Shivani go finally while she glanced at him intriguingly. She wondered why Mrityunjay would deliberately hold her close as if to spite the girl coming in. What was going on? She would find out about it soon.
The girl seemed to be glaring openly at Shivani. She was surprised at the animosity the girl seemed to display even without knowing her.
"Who is she?" Saanvi hissed at Mrityunjay, frowning at Shivani.
"My wife," replied Mrityunjay simply.
The girl's jaw seemed to drop at his words. She looked away from Shivani
and scowled at him.
"How's that possible? You said your wife is dead," retorted Saanvi, feeling
completely gutted.
"Correction, I thought she was.... Well never mind, as you can see, she's alive and very well," he answered, studying her.
Shivani was amused at the way they both spoke to each other. Something seemed to have happened between the two of them. And it was very obvious that Saanvi was having trouble with reconciling to the fact that Mrityunjay’s wife was alive and well and present there. She didn't even make an effort to hide her contempt. There was no doubt that she had fallen in love with Mrityunjay.
Saanvi let out a sigh, inspected Shivani and then, greeted in the tradition Indian manner, "Namaste. I am Saanvi. I saved his life," she claimed, her head held high.
Shivani was shocked at the manner in which Saanvi spoke to her. She looked at Mrityunjay, who was observing her, his forehead creased with lines of concern. She smiled at him reassuringly.
“Thank you Saanvi, I don't know how I will ever repay you, for what you've done," she said, in a calm, even tone.
Saanvi eyed Shivani suspiciously. She seemed to speak nicely, unlike Neel. "I usually cook dinner at this time..." "Sure," said Shivani, making way for the beautiful girl to enter. Shivani naturally moved to where Mrityunjay was standing. Saanvi grit her teeth, trying hard to suppress her anger as she walked in, glaring at the proximity between the man she loved and the other woman.