Perfect Mismatch

Ch 54 - Gratitude

They ended up lying on their backs on the carpet next to the bed. Sidharth had insisted on walking the five steps they had to and lying down on the bed, but she was whining and in the end, used the brahmastra – "tujhe meri kasam, neeche let mere sath".

"Abbey yaar..." was the only thing he could say after that as he pulled the pillow from the bed and settled down as instructed. She giggled happily and snuggled closer to him, kissing his chest. He closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling with a smile subtle enough to not be seen by her.

"Shehnaaz, tereko galat laga tha mera insist karna?Agar tereko accha nahi lagta mera tere professional matters me padna, toh I will understand baba. I only meant to look out for you. Taaki koi teri acchai ka faayda na uthaye...main kabhi bhi..." he pulled up her chin to make her face him, but she interrupted him by taking his hand away. He stopped, sceptical of the way she had kind of swatted away his hand.

"Nahi Sidharth...aisa nahi hai..." she spoke softly, and held his hand under her chin. He breathed in relief at the touch.

"Phir kya baba? Itna hurt kis baat se hui?" he looked at her tenderly. Her eyes were closed as she absent-mindedly drew patterns on his t-shirt clad chest.

"Kuch ...nahi" she mumbled, contemplating whether she should share or not. Would it amount to pressurising him into things? And was it all because she overthought?

"Abhi tereko meri kasam....bata gadhi, kya chal raha hai dimag me" he said, kissing her forehead and she opened her eyes with a start as soon as she heard him say "kasam". The brahmastra backfired on his this time and now she was left with no choice.

"Tune...tune ek baar bhi ye nahi kaha ki who contract isiliye cancel karwa kyunki hamari shaadi wagairah sab postpone hua...tujhe koi farak nahi pada...aur kal bhi tune bola ki, shadi ka koi plan nahi hai...rumors hai and all?" she spoke not looking at him.

"The fuck? Tu isliye?...TU ISLIYE? ...TU EK KAAM KAR, TU GHAR NIKAL JAA ABHI. TICKET MAIN KARWA DETA HUN" he jerked her hand away and sat back up. Her eyes widened and brows furrowed together at his reaction.

"Sidharth..."she sat up too, watching him throw back the pillow on the bed and wear his slippers.

"Sidharth... MEREKO LAGGI! HUI MAIN HURT...AB MAIN HURT BHI NAHI HO SAKTI?" she said, her eyes welling up again.

"NAHI. NAHI HO SAKTI TUM HURT. YOU ARE MY FUCKING FIANCE ALRIGHT? WE ARE ENGAGED, SHEHNAAZ! JUST BECAUSE I WAS BEING PRACTICAL ENOUGH TO NOT LET A SOCIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OR A SOCIAL CEREMONY AFFECT YOUR CAREER, TEREKO LAGTA HAI KI MEREKO FARAK NAHI PADTA? KAL POORI RAAT MAINE BAS YE SOCHA KIKAHIN MAIN AGGRESSIVE HO JATA HUN TERE SAATH, TERE BHALE KE BAARE ME SOCHKE, YE MERI GALTI TOH NAHI, MAIN TERA PERSONAL SPACE TOH NAHI INVADE KAR RAHA, LEKIN TU...TERE KO ABHI BHI YE ISSUE HAI KI TUJHE LAGTA HAI KI MEREKO SHADI NAHI KARNA?..." each of his words was spaced out and he seethed in anger.

"Maine ye nahi bola ki tereko farak nahi padta, ya tereko ...Sidharth main...Sidharth..main bas" she tried to tell him what she was feeling but she could not articulate and she stopped talking and just looked out of the window with a sigh. He looked at her expectantly but she was simply silent and blank, frustrating him all the more.

"Aata hun" he said and left the room. He went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. There was no one there and he was thankful for the space. He poured himself a glass of water and found a tray with breakfast, which Ma must have set up for them but kept it aside to give them some space. He looked at the clock and realised that she had to be fed. She did not have fever but was not completely well. Heating it up in the microwave, he took the tray with him when he re-entered the room. Shehnaaz was sitting at the same spot on the floor, with her knees held up against her chest and head tilted to the other side. The sniffles she was trying to control broke his heart.