Rab Rakha

Chapter 51

"Sid, all okay?" Mira asked as she walked into her husband's cabin with lunch.

"Look's like shit, doesn't he?" Vardhan chuckled.

"Tum chup raho, can't you be serious for once?" Mira reprimanded and turned to face Sidharth again.

"Sid, tabiyat thik nahi hai kya? I have aspirin." She asked, rummaging through her handbag to pull out a strip of aspirin for him.

"I'm fine Mira. Didn't sleep well." Sidharth finally spoke.

He was miserable, having spoken to Shehnaaz, he didn't know if he'd ever be able to get over it. It had been two days although it felt like an eternity since he spoke to Shehnaaz. He had called her and texted her if she would at least let him see her.

'I'm sorry.'
'Terrace pe milegi?'
'Please?'

It was his remorse that wouldn't even him let him wholeheartedly apologize. After waiting for her for hours at the terrace, he'd just wish that she showed up but she didn't and he knew she hated him. But he was afraid to show up at her place and ask for her forgiveness around Madhu.

Sidharth excused himself to have lunch in his office and his friends saw him leaving.

"Humein usse baat karni chahiye." Mira suggested her husband.

"Woh nahi batayega, jo bhi hai, puchne se baat ghuma deta hai. Do din se shaant rehne laga hai. I've tried." Vardhan replied.

Later in the evening, Vardhan asked if Sidharth would like to go out for drinks since it was a friday night. The boys made their way to their usual place and ordered a couple of drinks.

"Yeh shopping complex ka case toh nipat gaya sahi time me, labourers bhi recover kar rahe hain. I was afraid ke kahi baaki workers iss accident se back off na kar jaye dobara complex me kaam karne ke liye." Vardhan spoke, initiating a conversation.

"Hm. Maine bhi socha tha lekin Singh ne bhi compensation diya. That was helpful." Sidharth replied, sipping his drink and gesturing to the waiter to get them another.

"Yeah. Baki abhi yeh naye projects ache chal rahe hai, the creative team finishes everything off within the deadline so I don't need a follow up often. Tu sahi handle kar leta hai unko." Vardhan said.

"Hm." Sidharth nodded.

"By the way, um, tune last week Mira ko bola tha Shehnaaz ko leke dinner pe aayega." Vardhan reminded him.

"Nahi ho payega, Bhai." Sidharth replied.

"Kyu? Busy hai Shehnaaz? We can come over to your place if that is the case, you know that." Vardhan suggested.

"Nahi. The thing is.." Sidharth began to answer.

"We fought. Baat nahi kar rahe hain." He added, feeling his throat tightened and chest constricted. It was so hard to even express how these two days had been for him.

Shehnaaz made sure they didn't run into each other, nor did she check her WhatsApp to check his messages. He would even park his car around her office but he wasn't able to ask her out to come with him. She would book a cab home. So he'd either return his office to have dinner at his mother's place.

At Rita Ma's place, it was another situation to handle his sister, Preeti, who'd keep asking if everything was alright. Having seen them fight, Advait had told Rita Ma and Preeti. Sidharth had simply told them he didn't wanna talk about it yet and would just visit them for food.

Madhu on the other hand was waiting for Sidharth to return so that she could talk to him but the boy never really came back home in time.

"Aa gaya." She mumbled to herself, watching Sidharth's car enter as she leisurely stood at her balcony. She decided to go and talk to him, Shehnaaz was anyway in her room after dinner so she didn't mind informing her daughter about anything.