Growing up, conquering all- A RudhiTa Short Story

Part 7

Finally, after almost a month, the day came when the doctor confirmed that he was completely healed and everyone at home got happy to hear this.

Later that night, Bondita came to him in his study. The sudden excitement that he felt on seeing her pretty face leaped to his heart, but her somber expressions made him instantly wary.

"Pati babu, abh aap theek hain. Abh aap please mujhe jaldi se jaldi Dalhousie bhijwa dien. Mien bass yehi kehne ayi thy." She had uttered those words with absolute finality.

Aniruddh didn't know what to do...the only thing that came to his mind and the silly excuse that he came up with next made his skin crawl with disgust.

"Lekin Bondita, abhi tum kaise jaskty ho? Abhi woh...uhh...kaka...haan...kaka keh rhe thay ke aik maha puja aany wali hai. Uss mien tumhara hona zaruri haina?"

Bondita simply shook her head and replied with a deadpan expression,

"Nahi pati babu...mere hone ya na hone se farq nahi paday ga kyunki Chhoti Patni beth jayegy apke sath puja mien. Aur waise bhi, mera lakshya yeh puja aur ghardaari thodi na hai. Mujhe tou Dalhousie jana hai...aap se shadi khatam kerni hai. Aapki jaan chhodni hai. Aur aapke ehsanon ke badlay ke tor per Barrister Babu Bondita banna hai."

Without ever looking at his face, she turned around and quickly left the study.

If she had stayed just another minute, she would have seen him exploding with anger at what she had said.

But it was not done.

Aniruddh was fuming like a volcano on what she had misconstrued out of his foolish will to send her away.

He was already burning day and night in the guilt of his wrongdoings, but now he was absurdly angry that Bondita had completely misunderstood him, and his motives, regardless of how silly and how dangerously criminal they were for both of their lives.

Pacing in anger, frustration, guilt, and remorse, he tried to control himself before sprinting to her room. He needed to talk to her now, but from his past mistakes, he realized that he had to calm down a little first before spewing everything in front of her.

He needed to clear her misunderstanding...but all he wanted to do was to strangle her...shake her up and scream at her for even thinking about ending their marriage, thinking of herself as some kind of bojh that had to spare him now, and about thinking of becoming a Barrister just because of all those "ehsaans" that he did on her!!

These were the most ridiculous and most stupid things that he had heard, but deep down, he realized that it was all his actions lately that made her assume all of that and reach all these wrong and toxic conclusions. And that increased his guilt 100 times more.

Spending a few more minutes in the study pacing around, controlling his emotions, and thinking of what to say to her, he finally ascended the spiral staircase that connected his study to her room.

When he knocked three times at her door and she didn't open or answer it, he got extremely worried.

With a few pushes, he managed to barge inside her room.

"Bondita....Bondita...darwaza kyun nahi kohl rahy thyn?"

The carefully suppressed anger had worked up again by then as he thought that she was ignoring him.

But as he came inside the room, he found it empty.

Feeling absurdly foolish once again for reacting before thinking, he realized that Bondita was in the bathroom, and that was the reason why she wasn't responding.