Love Punishment

||25. The Story Only He Didn't Know||

Oblivious to what the meeting would turn out she went to the mall. Sahil was already at the entrance. She sauntered toward him.

"Sahil..." he acknowledged her presence.

"You came. I thought you would not." He let out a vulnerable smile.

"I had to. You deserve an explanation!" she mentally prepared herself for confrontation.

"What happened to us, Swara? How did we get here?" his heart scrunched as their past comes in front of his eyes. Guilt slid through her.

Having no willpower to look at his face, she lowered her head to the ground. "You have every right to get angry. After Sissy eloped leaving the letter I had no choice other than to marry Sanskar."

"You just forsake our love like that. So I was nothing for you? Then why did you pretend that you will never leave my life? You promised me you are going to be my bride and then it was so easy for you to marry him." He denounced. His face turned solemn.

"Then what could have I done? You were gone. When I called you your phone was unreachable and I had no choice." She thought back to that moment when she tried to call him. It was not like she did not try. She did all that she could until her grandmother seized her phone.

As for Sahil, he left the phone in a hasty. He thought to meet her personally than calling her from New York. Both were right in their place, it was just a situation that did not let them. However, he could take none of it.

"Had no choice cut the crap, Swara. If you loved someone you should have the persistence to win him over. Otherwise, love has no value at all. You could have run. You and I know we all have one last chance. But no you had to marry him, right?" incensed Sahil, said.

"I did not want to make the same mistake as Sissy." Her voice dropped to whisper.

****

The mall was crowded so it was difficult for him to locate Swara. Then two familiar faces came into his view. Sanskar took large strides towards them. And ceased, when he heard Sahil's words.

Feeling uneasiness, Sahil frowned. "Did you ever think about me? How I'm going to live? You said it was difficult to spend a day without me then what happened?" Sanskar looked at them in dismay. He remained silent not letting his presence known to them.

"Don't you remember our moments Swara? You were happy with me. Then what went wrong? God! Dammit! Did you ever love me?" he had every right to be angry after what she did to him. Dumping him to marry another guy compelled to or not, she chose Sanskar over him.

Though the mall was huddled, there was hubbub, Sanskar still could make out their voice and understand it.

She was taken aback by his questions. Her eyes moistened. "Yes, I do remember everything. The day you proposed to me I was the happiest girl. I loved you at that time. You were the person I thought I would spend the rest of my life." She said in a cracked voice.

Distraught, Sanskar averted his gaze, not able to see them. The word she uttered, shattered him. He could not believe it! He would never believe it! No matter how much he wanted to deny the truth, he surmised it had to be the truth. She said it. His chest heaved, gasping for air. He stumbled and trod out of the mall.

"It never occurred in my mind that one day I might stop loving you. Circumstances also kept us apart. Every time you promised me, you did not turn up. I believed you may be busy and forgot our date. You left me in the middle of nowhere and used to go. That too I never minded. But now I just don't have feelings for you." She paused, for him to grasp her words.