It had been five hours since Shubman had disconnected the call, yet there had been no word from him. The room was filled with a silence, Abhishek and Rishabh was waiting anxiously for any news or call from Shubman.
God, Did Shubman really married someone else? Did he really left Ishan without even saying a word?
Hardik glanced at Ishan, who was sitting next to him with a dazed look in his eyes, fixated on his watch. Hardik knew what Ishan was thinking about - Shubman's wedding - and his heart ached for this.
Ishan's voice was soft and broken as he murmured, "He's already married by now. From today onwards, he'll belong to someone else. He'll be happy" the thought of Shubman belonging to someone else causing a fresh wave of pain to wash over him.
"S-Shub khush hoga na? Maine sahi kiya na bhaiya? If I did, then why... why does it hurt so much? Why does it feel so wrong? Is it too late to want him? Is it too late to reverse my mistake?" He was sobbing uncontrollably.
The pain and regret in Ishan's voice broke Hardik's heart. He wanted to comfort him, to make it all better, but he knew there were some things that even words could not fix.
Rohit stood there, his eyes brimming with tears, his thoughts swirling with the question of whether Shubman had really married someone other than Ishan.
Hardik pull Ishan into a hug, he was crying too, "it's o-okay Ishu, please don't cry baby" Hardik whisper caressing Ishan's hairs.
Abhishek was about to leave the room, when his phone rang. He was taken aback when he saw that it was Shubman's father calling. With furrowed eyebrows, he answered the call, "Hello?"
"Hello Abhishek, beta Shubman tumhare sath hai kaya?" He asked and it made Abhishek even more confused.
"Um-nahi uncle Shubman mere sath toh nhi hai. Kyu? Kuch hua kaya? A-Aaj shadi-" Abhishek noticed the attention of every person in the room turn towards him.
"Woh yaha nhi hai. Pata nhi kaha gaya. Aapni hi shadi yeh gayab ho gya yeh ladka. Phone bhi nhi lag raha uska. Agar usse baat ho toh use yaha leke aana" his father requested.
"Ji uncle" He assured him that he would bring Shubman to them if he contacted him, but inside, he had no intention of bringing Shubman back to his home.
All eyes remained fixed on Abhishek. Rohit broke the silence, asking with concern, "Kaya hua?"
"Shubman is missing" Abhishek sighed.
Ishan quickly moved to Abhishek's side, and his voice trembled with a mix of concern, relief and fear, "Missing? Kaya matlab missing. Where's he? A-And wedding...?"
"Yes, he's gone missing, wedding didn't happen, kyuki dulha hi gayab hai. That's why uncle called, asking if he's with us. But he isn't here either..." Abhishek answered looking at all of them.
Ishan was pacing the room, his eyes filled with worry and agitation, "But...if he's not with us, then where is he?" he repeated to himself, his voice shaking.
Abhishek was scrolling through his phone, trying to call Shubman, "Pata nhi. His phone is out of reach. I've been trying to call him too, but his phone is unreachable"
"Okay, you keep calling him, I'm going to go find him on my own" Ishan said grabbing his car keys.
"Aye Bhai! Kaha dhundega use? Punjab? Ya Mumbai? And how the hell are you going to find him?" His tone was filled with a mix of worry and disbelief.
"I don't care bhaiya, he's missing. Kahi se toh start karna hi hoga" Ishan answered wearing his shoes when Abhishek's phone rang.
"It's Shubman guys" Abhishek picked up the phone and set it to speaker mode. Ishan stood frozen on the spot.
