Finding Love in the City

46. All the time in the world

Shubham regretted shouting at Piyali. He had stormed out of the house in a rage, driving straight towards the location his meeting was scheduled at, but throughout the talks, the only thought crossing his mind was the cascade of tears that streamed down her cheeks upon hearing his crude words. But his patience had also snapped. She knew he didn't like talking about their mutual past, didn't prefer discussing Aditya or Nandini, but on their very first date, she had brought Aditya up, and on the morning after, she brought Nandini into the conversation.

Despite the long list of justifications he gave himself, he knew he had made a massive error in scolding his heavily pregnant wife, reminding her of how she had been quite the complaining girlfriend to Aditya. Texting Joanna about Piyali furthered his suspicions that she was hurt since the 50-year-old lady confirmed that Mrs. Agarwal had been crying buckets since the moment she stepped inside the house and was refusing to divulge the reason.

He was getting jittery to abandon the meeting midway and rush off to her, console her, apologize to her, kiss her, and tell her that he was ready to overlook all her pointless blabbers if she would promise to be by his side for the rest of their lives. He craved her presence by him. He had experienced utter loneliness once, and no matter what was to chance, he was sure he couldn't bear it again. Not when he was already fond of his wife. Not when he was already developing feelings for her.

But then the meeting ran long, and he was surrounded by plenty of other problems at work. Before he knew it, the day was already over, and his long-pending apology got another extension.

***

The tears wouldn't stop no matter how hard she tried, gushing down her cheeks like a freshet of rain from a cloudburst. His words rang inside her head, incessantly sending her over the edge. She could barely remember how she dragged herself out of his room and into hers, looking out of the windows listlessly. The sobbing intensified further when Joanna came in and rushed towards her in concern, repeatedly asking what was wrong. But the older lady was only met with the howls of the lachrymose woman.

His words had pierced her heart, and she couldn't believe the otherwise gentle and sober man could've such a raging temper. She had always seen Aditya lose his temper over the slightest of things, but she didn't expect Shubham to be the same, asking her to leave him, reminding her about the long list of complaints she always had ready for Aditya, enlisting the errors she made in her marriage. But in his defense, it was her callousness that had led them into the situation. Either her hormones were to blame or the apprehension in her heart was.

As realization dawned on her, she broke down more, leading Joanna to fret over the state she was in. Not only had her words hurt him the previous night, but the topic of discourse that morning might have left him in tatters since he didn't prefer talking about their exes or the past. Additionally, he had thrown the tie away, and the wife in her wondered if he was able to attend his meeting fine.

She couldn't focus on work as the briny overflow wouldn't stop tormenting her existence, and she had to take the day off to focus on herself and her marriage. Joanna had been there to tend to her needs, but she kept herself isolated, pondering over every little detail Shubham always paid attention to.

And she further fell in love with him when around lunchtime, Joanna knocked at her door and requested her to have the food since Mr. Agarwal had repeatedly ordered the woman to take care of Mrs. Agarwal.

Sniffling, Piyali opened the door and went to the dining area, allowing Joanna to wipe her puffy nose and bloodshot eyes, gulping down the cold water she offered, and letting the woman place a plate full of food at the table. At the sight of what was for lunch that afternoon, fresh tears brimmed in her eyes, and she couldn't control the sobs from resonating.