Trust in Love

Chapter 61

Megha's POV

"Jeet...."

"We are bringing Mehul home. I don't want our son to spend a second more in t...that pla..ce..  "

The slight tremble at the end gave away his inner turmoil. 

I hooked my arm in his as I rested my head on his shoulder. Our eyes were lost in the dark night ahead while mind was captured in the past.

A lone tear fell on our intertwined hands and I looked up to see my Jeet shedding silent tears.

Not able to bear his torture, I threw myself into his embrace, hugging  him tightly, offering all the support.

Words were immaterial when betrayal run so deep and it topples your world especially when it comes from the person whom you have admired all your life.

I could feel the slight tremor in his hands as he held me both for comfort and courage.

"We will bring him home.....We will bring him home....." I murmered throughout as those moments were flashing before my eyes like a reel of film.

"The man whom you idolized from childhood also left his first wife to marry me, for children....."

"What!!!!"

There was an outroar at Amma's proclamation.

"Don't you dare lie your way out" Jeet was furious

"If you think I am lying, then what are you waiting for. Ask your Acha . He is standing right there....silently...." Amma said arrogantly

We all turned to Acha who was extremely quiet to the allegation. He didn't refute her statement instead  was standing with bowed head.

A fear has begun taking root in me. Jeet was barely holding it together  knowing about Amma's reality but if his another safe haven breaks then I am scared that it will leave him completely  shattered.

"Acha,why are you being silent? Give her the apt reply to this ridiculous statement "

Jeet was urging Acha to speak up but more than his spoken words , the plead in his eyes for Acha to deny Amma's claim was evident.

It just pinched my heart seeing the desperation not only in Jeet but also in the other two who was keenly waiting for Acha's response.

"She is right"

The whispered voice sounded like a canon in the still room.

There was an omnious silence after his declaration.

The slumped down shoulder and the strain lines on Acha's forehead were screaming out his vulnerability.

He sat on the couch and with a defeated look at his sons began narrating a tale of heartbreak and helplessness.

"Her name was Smriti. She was your grandfather's best friend's daughter. We were childhood friends...."

"Childhood Sweethearts more likely" Amma interrupted derisively

I could see Acha was getting distressed on having to discuss his most personal feelings before his sons and daughters-in-law so I went and held his hand in support .

I gave him a small smile of encouragement as he looked at me with eyes full of pain and guilt.

Gulping down his tears and with a slight smile of gratitude, he proceeded with his narration.

What bewildered me most was the presence of a never seen spark to his eyes, amidst this anguish, as he spoke of his first wife.

"I rea..really liked her..She was different from all the girls of that generation. In addition to being loving and caring, she was bold, confident and self reliant. Maybe that is why Amma refused outright as Acha proposed our marriage.... Her word was the law in this house but that time Acha stood strong and finally Amma had to agree for our alliance. I was on cloud nine. I was so naive that I thought now nothing could go wrong.....We got married with  all pomp and glory and were happy for the first couple of years.... Then began the same old questions....
When are you giving us the good news?...Why are you delaying the inevitable?...Is there any problem?...We were really bumped by the questions as we ourselves were trying. Finally, we decided to visit a doctor but we were least prepared for his words. In that emotional frame of mind, we made the biggest mistake of conveying the same to my mother. The moment Amma came to know chances of Smriti conceiving is low, everything changed for us. Our happy home became a home from hell. I tried to stand up for her as much as I could but the obedient son in me could not go against Amma for long. Instead, I began advising Smriti to adjust and to not let her words to heart. That was my second mistake. Most of my day was spent in office so I was not aware of the cruel taunts and torture my Smriti was subjected to. Even she didn't tell me, knowing how much I loved my mother. But everything has a breaking point and that was when my mother crossed all limits of shame and fixed my marriage with your mother, in front of Smriti. Till then, she was forgiving everything, everytime, for me but when her self respect was attacked, she couldn't stay still.  There was a massive fight at home where I was asked to choose between my mother and wife. I was in a dilemma.  Neither could I leave my wife nor my aging parents who were solely dependent on me. In this tug of war, I made my third mistake. I remained silent. That one silence cost me my Smriti. She understood that I will never be able to leave my parents and she was also not ready to compromise with her self respect. So she took the decision to leave the house, once and for all...." Acha trailed off , lost in the brutal memories.

Seeing him lost , I looked at the brothers. Whether he did right or wrong, but now he needed his sons the most.

But I needn't  voice out my thoughts. Before I knew it, Jeet took my place with the other two on Acha's other side. Cocooned in the warmth of his sons, Acha let himself go and started to sob bitterly.

All our eyes misted seeing the ever calm , stoic Acha breaking down.

The three brothers clung onto their father who was letting go of his anguish of 3 decades....