The Exchange

The Ultimatum

As he walked down the stairs, he saw his family watching the news...the reports of what had happened at Maya's last concert, the videos of him carrying Akshu out of the venue, telling the reporters what the truth was...all of the chaos had finally reached India. He saw tears in his parents' eyes, and he saw a look of shock on the faces of his aunt and uncle...almost as if they were finally believing what he had been saying...almost as if they needed proof to believe what his wife had been through...as if she was not enough, as if her pain was not enough. And that was simply and utterly unacceptable to him. 

He walked in front of the TV and turned it off, staring directly at Mahima. Right as she was about to open her mouth to speak, he held his hand out in front of him, not wanting to hear a single word. And with that, he got directly to his point, trying to keep his tone low, trying to stay calm...knowing that his Akshu was sleeping upstairs, knowing that she could not hear what was about to happen here, because she would never accept it...she was too good, too pure...but this had to be done. 

"Aaj joh aap ne bola hai...joh aap ne kiya hai...uske baad humara koi bhi rishta nahi hai. Uske baad aap mere liye kuch bhi nahi hain. Aur uske baad hum ek ghar mein nahi rehe sakte...toh aaj aap log sab milke decide karlo...ki yahan pe mein aur Akshu rahenge yah phir aap..." 

"Abhimaniyu yeh tum kya bol rahe ho?", Anand said, coming to his wife's defense. 

"Abhi...beta...dekh...", Manjari said trying to calm down her son, trying to reason with him.

"Nahi Manjari. Nahi bhai saab. Abhimaniyu bilkul sahi bol raha hai...", Harsh said, standing up from the couch, leaving everyone in shock. He came and stood beside his son, resting his hand on his shoulder, showing his support....showing his support for the first time in years, for the first time in ages....

Abhi looked at his father, unable to find the words to express the thousands of emotions swirling through his heart. Harsh gently shook his head, telling him that he did not have to say anything, that he understood. 

"Harsh tum pagal hogaye ho kya?" Anand said, losing control of his anger. 

"Taoji apni avaz neeche rakiye...Akshu is sleeping." Abhi said, clenching his jaw and digging his nails into in fist, doing everything in his power to stop himself from doing something he might regret later. 

"Ok Abhimaniyu, tum jao." Mahima said, rolling her eyes, unwilling to hear what else he had to say.

"Ok, no problem." Abhi said, starting to walk away, ready to take his wife and leave first thing in the morning, ready to start fresh with her, ready to live somewhere where there was no one but the two of them, where she would get the love, the respect, the peace she always deserved. 

"Nahi. Abhimaniyu kahin nahi jayega...aur meri bahu bhi kahin nahi jayegi..." Harsh said firmly, unwilling to let his kids leave. 

"Haan...Harshji sahi bol rahen hai...itne dino ke baad woh wapis aaye hain..itna kuch bardash karke..." Manjari added, getting her strength from Harsh...knowing she had to support her family in this, knowing she could not let this house become empty, become colorless yet again. 

"Tum sab ko ho kya gaya hai?" Mahima yelled, throwing a vase from the table, stopping Abhi dead in his tracks. "Us ladki kilye tum mujhe is ghar se bhar karo ge? Us ladki mein hai hi kya? Karo tum uspe vishwash..theek hai haan usne yeh sab kiya, liken humhe kya pata usne is pichle saal mein aur kya kya kiya hoga...matlab Abhimaniyu tum itne easily bhi trust...." 

That was it. The last straw. He kicked the chair that was in the path, took the table and flipped it over, taking the bottom leg and using it as a bat to knock over all of the furniture in his path. Glass shards filled the air as he broke everything his eyes fell upon, unwilling to hear another word, unable to tolerate another word... 

"Abhi...Abhi please beta..." Manjari cried, trying, but desperately failing to stop her son. 

Mahima yelled as loud as she could, threatening to call the police, threatening to tell the cops Abhi was endangering her life. 

Abhi told her to do whatever she wanted, that he did not care. He took his phone out of his pocket, lightly tossing it in her direction, telling her to call them right now...telling her that he was ready to get arrested, ready to spend the rest of his life in jail if that is what it took to protect his Akshu, to make Mahima stop spewing venom at her...

But then, amidst all of the shouting, he heard her voice...."Abhi..." she said, standing at the top of the staircase, looking down at all of them in utter horror...

And with that one, soft word, he dropped the bat from his hands, staring at her in pain, in regret, in remorse....