✔︎𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞

31 - Loosing his Biwi

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AUTHOR'S POV

Nirmaan stopped the car, finally reaching home. Without saying a single word, he opened the door, holding her hand and pulling her out, not looking at her. "Ouch," she winced a little. He turned to see her seatbelt was still buckled, covered with her dupatta.

He sighed and opened it. "At least open your seatbelt yourself," he said, taking her hand and leading her inside.

"Riddhi," he called out as she was passing by the hall. "Yes, bhai?" she replied.

"Can you take Subi to the room? I have to go to the office," he asked. She smiled, agreeing, and took Subi to the room. Subi asked if she could take her to the balcony. Riddhi helped her and asked if she needed anything, to which Subi just shook her head. She left as he was getting late for the office.

The moment she heard the door close, tears started rolling down her cheeks. Nirmaan didn't even say a single word before going to the office, which made her feel even worse.

Slipping down from the chair, she sat on the floor in the balcony, her body shrouded in a mist of sorrow. Subi's words echoed in her mind like a haunting melody, "I'm sorry, Maan... sorry... really sorry." The silence that followed was deafening, a heavy weight crushing her heart. She felt like a fragile leaf, torn from its branch, helpless and lost. The tears she had been holding back burst forth, a deluge of regret and longing. "Mumma Papa, you gave me the best, but I've ruined it. I'm not worthy of him. He needs someone who can be his anchor, not a burden that's weighing him down." Her voice was barely a whisper, but the pain was loud and clear. "I don't want him to feel that I'm a burden."

Subi's heart was breaking into a million pieces as she wondered if Maan would leave her too. "What if he goes away? I've already lost Mumma and Papa. The thought of living without Maan is like a sharp pain in my heart," she thought, her mind filled with the darkest fears.

Tears poured down her face, and she desperately wiped them away with her sleeve, trying to stop the flood of emotions. She took a few shaky breaths, trying to calm the storm inside her.

" No, Subi, you have to be brave. He's right, I'm not a child anymore. I should stop acting like one. But how can I when every part of me is screaming for him to stay? I'm so scared of being alone again, of facing the darkness that has haunted me for so long," she whispered, her voice trembling with fear.

With a huge effort, she dragged herself to the washroom, her legs feeling heavy. She splashed water on her face, trying to wash away the tears and the desperation. Her fingers touched the scar on her face, a painful reminder of the past. She felt like she was drowning in sadness, and she didn't know how to make it better.

After what felt like forever, she stumbled to the closet, her eyes blurry with tears. She changed her clothes, not even knowing what she was putting on, but somehow managing to keep going. She felt like she was just going through the motions of living, but her heart was hurting more with every passing moment.

Nirmaan was swamped with work at the office, having missed twenty days due to his wife's illness. He was desperate to make amends with Subi after his outburst earlier that day. However, his mounting workload and a series of back-to-back meetings had left him frazzled.

As the evening drew to a close, Nirmaan's frustration boiled over, and he began to lash out at his employees for every minor mistake. Tanmay, his friend and colleague, walked into the office and intervened, saving a hapless employee from Nirmaan's wrath.

"Kya kar raha hai yaar? Bechare ki jaan lega kya?" ("What are you doing? Are you going to take his life?") Tanmay asked, rolling his eyes in exasperation.