Loneliness of the night welcomed him as he entered their room. Their bed looked untouched and heat from the light couldn't provide the warmth that his wife did. The usual warmth encircling the room was amiss that night. His heart instantly knew that his wife was not in the room, but what bothered him was where she could be at this time of the night. He was sure he saw her walking up the stairs when he was still engaged with Bheem Singh. She was disturbed, clearly disturbed. That was the reason why he made Bheem Singh bring the files home. Those were impending items that needed his urgent attention along with his wife today. She hardly had mouthful for dinner, she pretended to be tired from the journey. It was their first official trip after their wedding and definitely didn't turn out the way both of them anticipated. There was no doubt, his wife handled the situation with great professionalism but both couldn't deny the effect of the venomous words on his Anandi. The silence that enveloped them made the journey back dreadful, he felt helpless of not being able to comfort her even when he was so close to her. It was an official trip, they were both obliged to their working decorum.
He left the room and walked to the study room and it was also empty. The cold breeze guided him to the terrace where he saw his wife. She stood at the terrace, her eyes were fixed on the starry night but she was definitely not star gazing or admiring the beauty of the night. Her pallu was down and her black tresses were dancing to the silent rhythms of the night. Neither did the cold breeze nor his presences had any effect on her tonight. Against the urge to embrace her, wipe of those strains of distraught from her face, he trailed back to his room; there was something else she needed more than him. Anandi stood still, neither the chillness of the night nor the howling loneliness of the dark affected her. She was used to accusations, she had heard worst before and she thought she has grown numb towards them but today proved her wrong. She didn't know whether it was guilt or the venomous impeachment affected her but she hoped the chillness would help her grow numb again.
Anandi's body jerked as she felt herself being securely wrapped in a warm quilt. The warmth of the quilt not only brought her back to reality, but also stopped her from erecting the icy wall around her fragile heart. He was quiet but concern was plastered on his face. He held her delicate hand in his, her body, her hand felt so cold that he wondered whether she was having frost bite in India. "How can she be so careless of herself, what if she fell sick?" his heart raged looking at her state but he couldn't express it. "She was shattered and his outburst will only deteriorate her" he consoled himself. Colors were slowly coming back to Anandi's pale face, she was slowly reviving back to herself. "Bheem Singh has gone home?" she asked breaking the stillness that was surrounding them. "Hmm..." was the only answer she got and she knows that Shiv was dead worried for her and she felt guilty for dragging him into this state. "Shiv, mein theek hoon" she tried to assured him but she only got his dagger glance in reply. She could never lie to him and his glance reminded her of that. "Andar chalo" were the only words he uttered as he carried her in his arms back to the room. She couldn't protest neither did she want to;she felt so secured and solace in his arms as if all she needed was him; her shoulder to cry; her best friend; her husband. Shiv placed her on the bed carefully as if she would break any moment. "I will get you something warm to drink" he told her as he left the room.
The solitude again led her back to incident today afternoon. Anandi accompanied Shiv along with Bheem Singh and Lal Singh to Udaipur to finalize the lab setup and preparation for Jeitsar. It was their wedding gift from the CM, they had meeting with team of specialist from renowned hospital to help with consultation on the equipments and setup preparations. Little did she know that fate will bring Gauri there; what shocked her was the state that she met Gauri. Gauri was pregnant; her baby boom evidently showed that she is in her second trimester. Gauri was revolted when she saw Anandi and her eyes were bloodshot red when it saw Anandi's maang adorned with sindoor. The gaze was enough to alert Anandi of the cloud of thoughts forming in Gauri; she must have thought that Jagya was back in her life.
Before she could speak to Gauri, the meeting started. Anandi decided to uphold her duties as the Sarpanch first before confronting Gauri. Throughout the meeting, Gauri was very silent but her dagger glare were damaging. Only Anandi and Lal Singh understood the reason behind Gauri's reaction while it surprised Shiv and Bheem Singh on the weird behavior of Gauri. When the meeting adjourned, Gauri immediately left in haste. Anandi immediately excused herself and went after Gauri, what mattered most is to clear the misunderstanding that was formed in Gauri's mind. There were many questions running in her mind after seeing Gauri, she wanted to know what transpired between Jagya and Gauri, did he ever knew that she was pregnant, how could Jagya leave Gauri in this situation. She had thousands of questions pondering in her mind, as she scanned for Gauri. She couldn't find Gauri anywhere within the vicinity which surprised her; she was sure Gauri couldn't have gone far in her condition. Suddenly she heard soft sobs nearby; she immediately followed the trail of the sobs.
Gauri was taken aback when she felt a consoling hand on her shoulders; she thought it must be Lal Singh who was a common friend back in medical college where she and Jagya studied. She blinked the tears away from her eyes and turned to greet her consoler. She was shocked to see Anandi standing in front of her; Anandi was the very last person in the world after Sumitra that she wanted to see at the moment. Before Anandi could speak, Gauri yelled at her. "How thoughtful of you Anandi! So you came to see how I was coping up after you have snatched my happiness away. I don't think I have met anyone with so much of innocence in the face yet there is nothing but deceitfulness in you. You gained sympathy from everyone when Jagya left you, you knew his family was his weakness and strength and you took control of it. Instead of walking away from the family when the ties that bounded you with them were severed, you decided to stay back for their sympathy. You knew that his family will never accept him or me as long as you are with them yet you stayed on. You made it impossible for Jagya to lead on his life; you never wanted him to move on just because he loved ME instead of YOU; just because he chose ME over YOU. The stupid family of his obviously was blinded over your chaal that they couldn't see beyond your deceiving nature. You made them choose YOU over their own blood; you made them disown their own blood because of YOU! Jagya was born with a silver spoon but you made him live like a tramp because his family denied his right, you caused him to lose his self-confidence and reach a stage where he doubted his own love, he was blinded by his insecurities because of his condition. You staked my love on your revenge for Jagya while you went around pretending to be a Mahan. What amazes me is how you even plotted to so call free Jagya from your marriage by agreeing for the divorce and then snatch him back within a snap. And now without any shame, you have adorned your maang with sindoor as your victory over me. You have dragged me to the same path where you were once, the only difference that you had his family while today I'm all alone with my unborn child. The symbol of our love that Jagya is not even aware of; you have not only stole my happiness but also the rights and happiness of an unborn child, heir of the Singhs that should be cherished not taunted. Gauri vented out her anger, there was so much of agony, rage but she just couldn't describe it with words.
Anandi had so much to say, but every accusation was like dagger piercing her so deeply that she couldn't utter a single word. Only tears flow from her eyes, she grabbed the railing for support. "Arey wah Anandi, are those tears for me? Please don't humiliate me any further by shedding those crocodile tears for me; I have not gone so low to seek for your sympathy. I still have dignity left in me, neither am I going to beg for sympathy from you nor am I going to ask you to return Jagya for the sake of my baby. My baby has given me enough reason and strength to move on with live. I'm not one of those fools who will melt in your tears and dance to your tune Anandi, so cut the crap and get lost from my life!" Gauri screamed at her.
"Don't you dare to speak to Anandi in that tone Dr Gauri!", the stern tone broke Gauri from her trance. Gauri was surprised to see Shiv standing behind her, she saw his eyes were raging in anger and it surprised her how can Anandi wrap the whole world around her tiny finger. "Mr Shivraj Shekar, the collector of Jeitsar is at rescue for the Sarpanch of Jeitsar. Wow, this is just amazing. By the way, we were just resolving some personal matters between both of us, which I presume doesn't require the interference of IAS officer." Gauri chuckled throwing both Shiv and Anandi a disgusting look. "I wouldn't have interfered if it was an issue that needed to be handled by Sarpanch of Jeitsar because the Sarpanch is far more capable in handling her issues on her own without any help. Her professionalism in her duty is beyond doubt Dr Gauri for your information. It is not the collector of Jeitsar who interfered but it is Shivraj Shekar; I will not tolerate if anyone dares to speak to Anandi Shivraj Shekar in that manner. Is that understood Dr Gauri? I guess it is not too much to expect that from you Dr Gauri?" Shiv retorted at Gauri.
"Wait a minute, did I hear it well? Did you say it was Anandi Shivraj Shekar? You mean you actually married this deceiving ****" Gauri was about to taunt Anandi when Shiv snapped at her. "Hold your words Dr Gauri, another word against my wife and you won't be pleased with the consequences. Not another word from you! You have spoken enough and Anandi has heard enough from you. Now, you shall listen to what I have to say! It didn't strike me the reason behind your behavior towards Anandi during the meeting yet she handled with great professionalism. It surprises me how one can be so well educated yet behave in uncivilized manner. Thanks to Lal Singh, I got a brief introduction of you, Dr Gauri Jagdish. Neither Anandi nor her family knows what happened between you and Jagdish and it is still an unsolved mystery. Jagdish came to Jeitsar in hope to redeem his mistakes, his wrongdoings to Anandi and his family. Anandi has gone thru the unimaginable in her life thanks to both of you, she knows how painful it was and never in her wildest dream would she want even her enemy to endure it. If ever I was in Anandi's shoes, I don't think I can ever forgive Jagdish but Anandi did it whole-heartedly. She not only forgave him but she gave him back his family, their love. If she was as devious as you claimed, then she could have ensured Jagdish was never back in Jeitsar. The reason she came running behind you was because she was concern about you, especially seeing you in this condition and in return what she got was only your venomous accusation. You didn't give her a chance to even explain herself but you continued firing your accusations. Take a minute to think back, it was YOU who came in between Anandi and Jagdish and stole her happiness. You are rightful person for all the accusation that you just imposed on Anandi yet she never uttered a single word. Never once, she actually held you responsible for her situation but here you are accusing her of something that she was never aware of. Even after her divorce, she only wished happiness for both of you and made Jagdish promise that he will never repeat the same on you. Too bad that your relationship with Jagdish didn't stand as strong as you anticipated, so stop shoving blames to others and try to analyze what made your relationship break and find ways to mend them. You may have always had the pleasure of taunting and belittling Anandi in the past and may have gotten away with it easily but not anymore. From now onwards, bear in mind that it is Anandi Shivraj Shekar that you are speaking to. I hope I have made myself very clear Dr Gauri." Shiv warned Gauri as he walked over to Anandi and held her shoulders in support. He knows that what she needed now was support not sympathy, his wife was not any ordinary women who waits for others to wipe her tears off. "Chalo Anandi, we have better things to concentrate on for Jeitsar. Don't waste your time and energy on trivial matters, Bheem Singh is waiting for us in the car" he told Anandi softly but loud enough for Gauri to hear. He guided her in his arms back to the car, while she wiped off her tears and got a grip of herself leaving Gauri in fix.
The whole journey Anandi was quiet, although Shiv was busy discussing official matters with Bheem Singh yet he didn't let her off his grip. She noticed how he ensured she was ok; he wanted to give her the solitude that she needed without letting her off his sight. He decided to work from home, and politely declined the dinner invitation at the haveli. He never probed her for an explanation and even now he was more concern of her health rather than incident. Today, once again he stood by her when she needed him the most. "Drink this" Shiv's voice broke her off thoughts. He held a glass of warm milk for her."I'm ok and I'm not hungry" she tried to protest. "Maine kuch nahi sunne wala, I saw what kind of hearty meal you had today. Chup chap yeh dhooth peelo" he told her. Anandi reluctantly took the glass and sipped the milk slowly. She didn't dare to protest, his voice was stern, she couldn't gauge his emotions; there were anger, concern and sadness in his eyes and she knew that she was the reason for it. Neither one of them spoke anything, Shiv caressed her face; pretending to remove the strain of loosely hanging hair on her face but she knows that he was trying to wipe those tear stains on her face.
"Shiv... I want to tell you what actually happened today " Anandi finally broke the silence that was hovering the room. "Shhh..." he shushed her; "We can talk about it later, not today. I can't bear to see you in tears again Anandi" he told her. "I promise I won't cry." she assured him. "You better forget about crying anytime soon because you have exceeded your quota for this year" he smirked. "Kya!" she was taken aback with his reply while her lips curved into a weak smile. He was the only one who can make her smile at the most unexpected time. "I mean it Sarpanch Ji" he replied as he caressed her hair gently; nudging her to continue what she had to say. "Actually, Gauri was rude to me because she thought I was back with Jagya. I can understand her emotions; anyone would have acted in that manner if they were in her shoes. She needs Jagya badly this moment, especially when she is carrying their child. Every woman would want to have their husband by their side, welcome their child and nurture their love to their child. We need to clear her misunderstanding and try to see what went wrong between them. If not for Gauri;at least for the sake of the child; for the sake of Dadisa, Babusa and Ma; they have been yearning for their grandchild for years and it would shatter them to learn about what Gauri and their future heir is undergoing now. Jagya have left the haveli, at least Gauri and the baby would help to ease their pain and fill the emptiness in their lives. Gauri has very strained relationship with everyone especially Ma and I'm sure the baby will be bridge them back. I just wanted to explain this to Gauri and try to bring back the happiness in haveli. I expected Jagya to take care of them when I left the haveli but he left for his redemption leaving everyone in agony again. Although everyone pretends to be unaffected by Jagya's action but I know everyone is sad. They have sacrificed so much for my happiness and I'm not there to heal their wound, this is the least I can do for them." she explained. Shiv was silent, she tried to dive into his eyes and read what was going on in his mind but she couldn't gauge them today.
"Anandi, you're done?" he asked her and she nodded in response."Ok, now let me tell you what I have in my mind. Firstly despite your explanation, nothing can justify Gauri's rudeness today. I will not tolerate it at any circumstances. You were wrong about concluding that anyone in her shoes would have reacted the way she reacted today. I know at least one person who would have reacted differently; you would have never behaved that way. Even after way she treated you all this while, you're seeking empathy for her; justifying her actions to me. That makes you different from the rest, which makes you so special. You can't even bring yourself to hate someone who has caused you so much of agony. I have spoken to Lal Singh earlier, told him to find out more about Gauri's whereabouts and try to drill some senses into her thick skull about what actually happened in Jeitsar. We shall meet her in person later; once she has gained some senses to talk. Bheem Singh is already in his mission to search for Jagya. Both these actions are being handled discreetly at the moment; we shall speak to Babusa and the rest once we have a clearer picture of what transpired between Gauri and Jagdish. I don't want to promise them a dream that may not materialize but no matter what happens, I will assure you that Gauri and her baby will not be deprived of their essentials whether she gets back together with Jagdish or not. Do you have any objection Sarpanch Ji?" he asked her.
Anandi could only manage to look at him in admiration; there were no words to describe her emotions, her gratitude that moment. She might have handled the situation emotionally but he handled it so maturely. He was indeed a blessing in her life;she didn't know what she did to deserve such a gem of a person in her life. He was there whenever she needed him, he was her pillar of strength, her guardian, her shoulder to cry and yet he doesn't make her feel indebted by his actions. She was so hurt that she reclined back to her self-erected fort; staying away from happiness and sorrow. He made her break her walls, he brought back the colors in her life, happiness, laughter and love that was long forgotten and he stood strong shielding her even against the shadow of sorrow.
Without realizing, a tear rolled from her eyes and he immediately caught it. "Didn't I tell you NO more tears?" he probed her. "Yeh khushi ka aaso" she replied. "NO tears mean NO tears; I don't care whether it's due to happiness or onions. NO more tears Anandi and that is final." he commanded her. "Ok baba, no more tears. I promise. One more thing, Thank you Shiv." she replied him. "Thank you for what?" he asked her, "For everything Shiv, Everything. I will have to break my promise if you need me itemize my thank you list" she joked. "By the way, please remind me that I owe Gauri a big Thank You when we meet her the next time" he told her. "Huh? Thank you aur kyu?" she was puzzled. "If not for her, there will never be Anandi Shivraj Shekar today." he smiled and Anandi blushed hearing it. "Ok enough, we both had a hell of a day today. Now get some sleep, we have busy day tomorrow Sarpanch Ji" he reminded her as he kissed her forehead softly and tucked her into bed comfortably. Anandi thought that love will never bloom in her life but today she was wrong. It bloomed in her life in the name of Shivraj Shekar and it took her so long to realize it. He taught her the meaning of love; unconditional love and today she realized that she is in love with her husband. She is in love with her Shiv.
"I love you Shiv..." she whispered to herself today, soon she will whisper the same words in his ears...
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