An Estranged Wife

Chapter 15- Trashed!

Brain freeze!

Sameer experienced as soon as the words registered in his head.

Lost his all assets in gambling?? He repeated it several times; his eyes shut, and a tear leaked from the corner of his eye. His shattered hopes, and dreams laid ahead of him in the dust while he sat above on the rock like a defeated man with nothing in his hand.

Suddenly, realizing something he grabbed Pari's wrist and ushered her back to the house. She didn't question him, instead followed him as he entered her home, then the room he stayed in. He opened the cupboard, and went through his stuff again, and she watched him confused. He seemed to be searching something.

"Are you finding, something?" She asked.

"Yeah. There was a black colour diary of my financial work; though I handed everything to Mom, I kept the records of it with me. I need that. Have you seen it?" He replied continuing his search.

"Yeah. Since the papers were important so I asked the maid to keep them separately. It's in that big on the top shelf." She answered pointing at the top of the cupboard where a black bag was kept; and he immediately grabbed it. Seems like in his mad daze, he didn't even saw it.

Pari watched him keenly as he rummaged through the bag and retrieved a diary and went through the pages like a mad man.

"Do you have your phone?" She passed him her cell instantly, and he dialled a few numbers pacing around the room.

As soon as the call was received, he asked, "Am I talking to Priya Kapoor?"

"Priya, Sameer Malhotra here. I need your help. You remember I bought a house in Dehradun, and a few lands in Mumbai, and Pune few years back. Can you tell me it's present worth? It's kind of urgent." He immediately asked to the agent who had handled his property cases then when he actually just start building up his life.

Keeping a hand on the cell, he turned to Pari, and asked, "When exactly Mom lost everything?"

Pari who was confused at first, replied, "I'm not sure but it's going to be six to eight months now."

Nodding, he told the same on the call, and waited to know what he actually wanted to know. Pari waited for him to say something but before she could receive any reply, the phone dropped from Sameer's hand and holding his head, he sat on the bed, shocking Pari.

"What happened?" She sat beside him not understanding what was running in his mind.

"I'm ruined for life, Pari. Even if I want, I can't make anything ever again."

"My assets were worth 10 crores when she made a gamble on them." He revealed, and she stared at him in shock.

She knew he was into investment as well as selling of lands beside his regular job, but never did she think that it was so much.

"I don't even have a penny with me now." He said in a broken voice and rotated his head to see her sitting lost in her place. She turned her head to see his eyes fixated on her, and before she could know it, her tears spilt from her eyes.

"Do you know where she is?" He asked.

"From what Dad heard, he told that after you were gone, she became an alcohol addict, and started to adopt that rich life style but she didn't know how to balance things. Thus, when she was thrown out of the house, she went mad, and the locality people sent her to the mental asylum because they didn't want to live under fear." She explained what her father had revealed her.

"Are you going to see her?"

"No. I'd die but I won't see her face ever now. Let her die in that asylum. I'd enough of her for this life." He said; his anger rising again making him want to beat the hell out of someone. But seeing Pari shook her head, he immediately composed himself.

"I don't know how to say this......," He hesitated to say but seeing her assuring looks, he completed.

"but do you have any work which I could do?" He looked away embarrassed to even ask for a job from her now. At one point, this was the man who boasted about his job and gave the tag of illiterate to his wife, today he was the same man asking for work from the same woman whom he considered nothing.

"For now, No. But I can find something for you. I'll be glad to recommend you."

"Thank you." He thanked her awkwardly, and Pari could see the way his eyes swarmed with profound guilt and remorse.

"Stop feeling guilty now. You've punished yourself enough, Sameer. Now let it be aside and start over again." She said trying to give him encouragement to move on.

"Was it easy for you to move on?" He asked, and giving him a smile, she stood up and gazed at him for a few seconds before she shook her head in denial.

"Nothing is easy, Sameer. Not even moving on." She replied with a smile.

He stood up, and she almost felt his hot breath on her face forcing her to step back from him.

"I can't ever move on from you, Pari."

"You have to."

"Why?" He implored.

"Because we can't be together. I can't give you myself ever again, Sameer. I gave once, and it almost killed me; I've made my peace now, and I ask nothing but for you to make peace with it as well. It's the last thing I'm asking from you. And it's for your benefit only. I don't want to torture ourselves by involving again with you. And you also know this, every time we would get in that phase where we would want to show our claim on the other, we're going to be hit by that night with force. Neither do I want to see you as my tormentor, nor I want you to see me as your obligation or guilt."

As much as her explanation made sense to him, he suddenly grabbed her through her forearm, and yelled, "Neither you're my guilt nor obligation anymore because I'm falling in love with you, Pari."

Seeing her blank, he said fiercely once again. 

"I'm falling in love with you."