BALH2 Reimagined

Reimagining E84: Ram Ka Ateet (Part1)

Context

[Ram and Priya are at an impasse after their conversation in the bakery about their philosophies of marriage. They drive home.] 

The clouds had started to gather as Ram exited the bakery, their black water-logged bodies jostling as if begging for a fight. Priya trailed behind, half expecting to be waylaid by his delight at the impending rain. But Ram barely gave the sky a second glance. An altogether different blackness occupied his mood.  

He was in the driver's seat and tugging at his seatbelt by the time she ducked into the car. He was usually solicitous, almost unnecessarily so, when she rode with him -- making sure her seatbelt was on right, that her dupatta was safely on her person and not caught in the car door. Today he ignored her, staring straight ahead, until he heard the click of her seatbelt. He put the car into drive. 

After ten minutes, it was clear that he was determined to pretend she didn't exist. 

Priya looked out the window, fuming silently. What did he want from her? She knew that it was her decision to step back and redraw the lines between them that had disappointed him. That was rich! If anyone had disappointed anyone today, it was him her. It hadn't even been one hour since he'd let Vedika run roughshod all over her and Akki. And he wanted to paint this as just another argument between husband and wife, gone awry? If he had failed to show up when it had been a matter of Akki's life on the line, then what hope had she for his support on anything else? To her mind, it was an act of basic self-preservation to forgo any expectations of him, and fend for herself. And he had the gall to fly into a sulk when she stated this intention?  

What had he said in the bakery? His defiant expression came to mind unbidden, those blue eyes liquid with emotion. You are my present, and my present is all that matters to me. She couldn't quite bring herself to believe him. How could she, when his allegiances flipped as wildly as a jumpy heart? It sometimes seemed to her as if Mr. Kapoor were two different people. 

She thought of the Mr. Kapoor that took her breath away. This Mr. Kapoor's thoughtfulness and generosity were almost too much to bear. He was the honorary son, according Ma the highest love and respect; he was the adored brother, indulging Sarah di and Sandy their every whim; he was the protective husband, crusading for her five percent stake in the business despite the risk of ire from every quarter... and she could go on. 

And then there was the Mr. Kapoor who could cut her to the quick. This Mr. Kapoor's coldness and distrust made her stomach sink. He was the suspicious fiance, demanding she sign a prenup to secure his assets; he was the mercurial bridegroom, abandoning her at the mandap after an argument; he was the aloof husband, wanting to annul their marriage...and today... 

Priya took a shaky breath. Mr. Kapoor was neither her father nor Neeraj; she knew that. They had never respected her, never cared about what she wanted. And yet, it scared her how easily he had been able to cast her aside in the face of Vedika's--why, even a stranger's--allegations. Atleast with Sir and Neeraj, she had always known where she stood. She couldn't bear the prospect of a future second guessing her priority in Mr. Kapoor's life. If it came down to her or anyone else--his family, his friends, Vedika--would she ever be his first choice? No. She chided herself for even framing it as a question. She would decidedly not be the first choice. She never was. So, it was only logical she took herself out of the running. 

She was interrupted from the whirling eddy of her thoughts, when she felt his eyes on her. She trained her gaze on the reflection in the window and was taken aback by what she saw. He looked so helpless, so stripped of his usual buoyancy, that it unsettled her. Priya contrasted the grim picture they made now with the beginning of the night. They'd been hopeful then, trying to make the most out of a scheduled date. All she had been concerned about was quashing the inconvenient realization that she found Mr. Kapoor handsome--no longer in an abstract, theoretical way, but in an alarmingly personal one! And now? She stole another glance at his reflection. He was still looking so heartachingly despondent, she began to feel guilty. Wait a minute, she scolded herself. This was not her fault! They'd both been through a stressful situation and were processing their feelings... .