Dark Secrets

15

"I need to tell you something ". It was Sanam on a video call with Shreshtha.

"what is it? And where the hell are you?" Shreshtha could hear a lot of noise.

"I eloped", Sanam said.

"what? Are you serious?" Shreshtha couldn't believe her bestie would do such a thing. Sanam panned her camera to her bags and also showed her that she was in a bus.

"Yes ,I am. I myself didn't know that I could do this. What I'm sure of is that I don't see a life with anyone else except Vivan."

"But you guys could have waited , right? What's the hurry?"

"I didn't tell you something . I overheard my dad and mom talking about fixing my marriage last month. My uncle brought this proposal from one of his friends' families. The guy is settled and all that shit. You know my parents . My sister was married at the age of twenty and I'm already twenty-two ."

"What did Vivan say?"

"He's ready to marry me. he got a promotion two months ago. we'll be a live-in couple for a few months until I get a job in Delhi. And then we'll propbably get married."

"His family?"

"they live in Mussoorie. He said he would convince them to accept me."

"Are you sure about all this? Have you thought it through? I hope yopu know that there's no coming back from this."

"A hundred times. Sometimes all we need is to have some faith. And I'm sure of Vivan as you're of Yuvansh", said Sanam.

"Just take care. Let's meet during one of the weekends. Delhi and Udaipur aren't that far apart," Shreshtha said.

"Yes ,let's meet. I'll keep you posted."

"Please do."

"If papa calls just tell him I haven't called you."

Sanam reached the Kashmiri Gate bus stop in the evening. Vivan was waiting for her. Their excitement at seeing each other was mutually infectious. They took the metro and went to Hauz Khaz where Vivan was staying alone. They dropped her bags off . As she checked his place out, she discovered that there were no basic provisions in the house. Not ever tea or sugar.

"And someone said he has everything," she taunted him,smiling.

With a naughty gleam in his eye , Vivan hugged her , kissed her cheek and said ,"I do have my everything."

Sanam rubbed her nose against his . He kissed her and just when she thought it would lead to a bout of passionate lovemaking , she pussed him away.

"Patience , mister.First thimgs first."

"Then shall we do the most basic thing? Vivan asked with a puppy-dog expression.

"Fuck you".

The two decided to visit the closest departmental store to pick up some groceries.

While they were selecting the grocery items in the aisles and loading them into the shopping basket, Vivan was getting naughty with her . Every time they happened to be alone in an aisle , he would steal a kiss or pinch her waist. Sanam , enjoying it to the hilt, asked him to hold on to his horses until that night. As soon as they were done with their selection, she approached the cash counter . That was when she noticed Yuvansh . She stopped . And frowned. She withdrew a few paces so Yuvansh couldn't see her. Vivan nudged her enquiringly . Sanam gestured towards Yuvansh and told Vivan who he was. According to Shreshtha , he ought to have been in Lucknow . As soon as Yuvansh paid for his purchases and left the store, Sanam moved inton the check- out queue. She thought it was weird for Yuvansh to be in Delhi and that too in a departmental store picking up such a big load of groceries. 

"Is he two-timing Shreshtha?" Vivan asked.

"Too early to judge ," replied  Sanam and decided to follow him. They dropped off their stuff at their  apartmernt that was around the corner and hurried back. Yuvansh had just finiished checking out and paying for his massive load of groceries. Vivan's bike tailed their quarry at a discreet distance to Panchsheel Park where Yuvansh finally parked his car. They watched him enter a hiuse. Vivan parked his bike at the end of the lane from where they still had a clear view of the house.

Minutes later , Sanam saw Yuvansh step outside on the balcony and lean against the balcony wall . A woman appeared at the doorway. She came outside a little, but then continued to hover at the balcony door .

"Oh fuck!" Sanam murmered and immediately messaged Shreshtha:

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR BOYFRIEND IS?  

"It could be a friend," offered Vivan.

" I don't care . I only care about my friend. I know how much she loves him. And she should know where he is, even if he is with "just" a friend."

The message was delivered to Shreshtha . But it wasn't delivered to her alone . Yuvansh got the same message on his phone as well. Unbeknownst to Shreshtha , her phoone had spywares after the Dharamshala incident. He tracked all her chats. He had his reasons for doing so. Yuvansh moved into the house .

Three hours later, Shreshtha read the message after the seminar she had been attending. She messaged back: 

" HE'S IN LUCKNOW FOR HIS NEW NOVEL. WHY?"

Her message didn't get delivered .Shreshtha continued with her hectic schedule for the day .Four hour later  ,Sanam 's father telephoned Shreshtha to find out if she knew where Sanam was.

Although Shreshtha felt guilty to lie to him, she said she didn't know. She immediately telephoned Sanam. Once . Twice. Thrice. The rings went through all right, but the call wasn't picked up. When an anxious Shreshtha called her for the fourth time, Yuvansh cut the call and messaged from  Sanam's phone.

MAKING OUT WITH VIVAN. CALL YOU BACK SOON.

And then he looked at the charred bodies of both Sanam and Vivan.

    Dead.