My Destination, My Bondita (3)

379 - The DJ Session & Baby's First Kick

When Manika found Anirudh, he was already out on his walk. 

He hadn't even noticed her, too lost in his disturbed thoughts, until she placed her hand on his shoulder. 

Anirudh turned around and as soon as he saw who it was, he looked away. 

He couldn't even face Manika right now. 

"You're here to yell at me, right?" Anirudh just asked. 

Manika took a deep breath and said, "No Anirudh. I'm here to understand you. I want to know why you left Bondita." 

Anirudh finally looked at her and asked, "Aren't you mad at me?"

"I want to be," Manika said, glaring at him now. "I want to be mad that you left your pregnant wife... and people are claiming you're married to Saudamini. But then that would mean that I don't know my best friend at all. That would mean that I don't know Anirudh Roy Choudhary, and what he stands for." 

Anirudh felt calmer now, seeing her trust in him. 

"So tell me Anirudh. Tell me why you're doing this," Manika said, "Because whatever it is that has taken over you, is not fair to Bondita. Not in the least! How can you leave her?"

Anirudh painfully asked, dejection in his voice, "Why does everyone say that I left her?"

Manika looked at him, like he just said something outrageous. 

"I know... I sent her to the farmhouse. I know I shifted her away from the haveli. But does that mean I left her Manika?" there was pain and agitation in his voice. "Does that mean, that I... let her go?"

He looked down, his voice cracking. "The truth is that... I asked her to have faith in me. I asked her to trust me. To wait for me. I w - was going to make things right, but now... now the situation has gone out of control. She found out. She was never supposed to know... she was supposed to have a happy and safe pregnancy, without hearing of the rumours, without knowing about any of this." 

Anirudh looked back up and said, "I can't tell you more than this Manika. I can only trust that you'll be there for her. I've kept her in the safest hands I could."

Manika looked at him with a saddened expression. "Anirudh I've known you for years, yet I don't think you've ever gotten smarter." 

Anirudh furrowed his eyebrows. 

Her roasting him also never stopped!

"What if there was a way, where this didn't need to happen?" 

"There is no way, Manika." 

"If you tell me, maybe we can find a way," she told him. "If you tell Bondita what the problem is, maybe she can use her intelligence and help you -" 

"Manika, Bondita shouldn't be helping me or taking stress right now," Anirudh said firmly. "She has to take care of her health."

"Okay, but me? You can tell me," Manika pressed on. 

"I can't tell you anything. For now, just assume what everyone is saying is true. Assume that I left Bondita. Assume that I left her for my ex-girlfriend!"

Manika rolled her eyes, "I won't assume that. You've basically already confessed to me that there is a reason here." 

"There is a reason," Anirudh hissed, "And the reason can be anything. It doesn't whitewash me! What if the reason is that I realized my love for my ex-girlfriend, yet I couldn't leave my pregnant wife in unsafe conditions? After all, I've got some morals!" 

Manika rolled her eyes again. "You can lie all you want. But I know, Vikram knows, and even Bondita knows the truth. She knows that something is up, and there is a reason."