My Beginning, End & Ever After

23. Because you meant more to him

They reached the school and were welcomed by the teachers. Everyone got happy seeing their classmates after so long. They were all sitting together and gossiping about random things. As expected, Ronnie was also present there. Although it was obvious he would be there, seeing him annoyed them to no end. 

Shehnaaz was missing Sidharth a lot. The place was the same but the feel she was having was not. She nodded her head time to time or answered any question shot at her, but she was not being her old self. She seemed lost in her thoughts. Ronnie knew everything what had happened between Sidharth and Shehnaaz and he was not willing to leave this opportunity of triggering her.

"Shehnaaz, Sidharth nahi aaya?" Ronnie asked, smirking secretly.

"Nahi, usko koi kaam hai." She replied.

"Achha. You guys are still together?" He asked and all the heads snapped towards them. Who wouldn't be interested in knowing about the smartest girl and the most handsome boy of the class?

"I guess, it's none of your buisness." She said with a tint of anger in her voice.

"Arre aisa nahi hai yaar. Bura mat lagana, par mujhe lagta hai tum logo ka breakup ho gaya hai." Ronnie added fuel to the fire.

Shehnaaz was getting very irritated, she clenched her jaw. Tanishq and Harpreet were worried for her because they knew how possessive she was about Sidharth.

"You have nothing to do with it so shut up." Tanishq said.

"Tu toh uska dost hai toh yahi bolega. Par Shehnaaz, mujhe toh starting se lagta tha you guys have no match. Tu itni intelligent hai, samjhdaar hai. Par woh toh tere close bhi nahi tha. Use toh bas har samay gussa karne ka bahana chahiye hota tha. You deserved someone much better. Usne toh tujhe bharose ke layak bhi nahi samjha."

This was it for Shehnaaz. She wasn't ready to hear one more word against him. She stood up and went near Ronnie. Her eyes represented fire. Nobody had ever seen her this angry. She pointed her finger at Ronnie and said, "Tu hota kaun hai uske baare me bolne wala? Woh kaun hai, kaisa hai, yeh mujhe achhe se pata hai. Tujhse pata karne ki zarurat nahi hai. Apni hadd me reh, tere liye achha hai. Uske khilaaf ek shabd bhi nahi sunugi mein."

Harpreet and Tanishq dragged her away. While moving out, she removed one of her footwear and threw it at Ronnie. Many chuckles echoed in the room. They took her to the parking and settled in the car.

"Itne saal baad aaye hai school me. Tu aise kyu react kar rahi hai?" Harpreet asked.

"Woh Sidharth Shukla ko beech me kyu laaya?" Shehnaaz roared like a lioness.

"Shant behen. Chhod ab ghar chalte hai." Tanishq said. Harpreet drove them back to the house. Shehnaaz was sitting at the backseat. All the time she was thinking about what Ronnie said. Somewhere she knew that what he said at last was correct. He didn't trust her. But now, she wanted to know the truth. She needed to find out why he did this. She had that right, didn't she? 

(Shehnaaz's POV)

As soon as we entered the house, I directly went up to Tanishq. "Tanishq, kab tak log aise bolte rahenge? Tu mujhe sab sach kyu nahi bata deta?" I asked.

"Mujhe kuch pata hi nahi hai." He shrugged. I could tell from his face that he was lying as he was not looking into my eyes. But today, I won't hear this.

"Behen bolta hai na tu mujhe, par teri behen ko log aake kuch bhi bol rahe hai aur tujhe bura nahi lag raha? Tujhe sab pata hai Tanishq, bas tune mujhe batana zaruri nahi samjha." I yelled.

"Aisa nahi hai. Mujhe sach me nahi pata." He repeated.

My anger knew no bound now. I have had enough of lies in these 7 years. All I wanted was a coherent reason why he left me. Did I not deserve to know this? I held his collar by both hands.

"Tujhe pata hai aaj jab Ronnie jaisa aadmi mujhe Sidharth ke baare me bata raha tha, mere dil pe kya beeti. Jo bhi bola hai usne sab galat tha. Par jo aakhri line boli usne, wo sach thi Tanishq. Usne mujhpe bharosa nahi kiya. Uski jo bhi majboori thi, usne mujhe batana zaruri nahi samjha. Aur aaj tak tujhe batane se mana kiya usne. Kyu? Mein uske liye itni hi important thi kya? He didn't even say goodbye to me, why? I didn't mean anything to him?" I yelled with teary eyes.

But what happened next was unexpected. Tanishq is one of the coolest people  ever. I've known him for quite a long time. He lost his cool once in hundred days. And today was one of those days. 

"No, he didn't say anything to you because you meant more to him. It was easier for him to say goodbye to me, Harpreet or his parents. But he didn't know what he would say to you. You think he left because he didn't care? Not at all. He left because he didn't want you to face backlash because of him." He yelled. 

I left his collar and looked at him. For the first time in my life, I saw Tanishq actually getting angry. His eyes were red and his nostrils flared like anything. For a second, I was scared. If a person like him is reacting this way, there must be some strong reason. He took a deep breath and continued, trying to stay calm.

"You want to know why he left? I'll tell it to you today. I don't care what Sidharth might react to this. Even if he breaks my face, I will tell you. Because I can't even imagine YOU thinking such things about him." He settled on the sofa and asked me to sit in front of him.

"When your results were out, everybody witnessed how happy Sidharth was. He wasn't sad about his result. He was proud of you that you fulfilled your dream. When you were sitting on the stage and discussing with teachers, I was sitting with him in the auditorium. He was telling how you used to study late night and then again in the morning. He was appreciating you for leaving all the distractions and focusing only on studies. When we were quiet for sometime, we heard a conversation from the back seat. It was Ronnie speaking to one of his friends. "Abhi dekh ye Shehnaaz ne itne achhe marks se qualify kiya par uska boyfriend Sidharth, wo nahi kar paaya. Usko kitna bura lagega jab wo best institute me padhegi aur uska boyfriend aise hi kisi college me. Uske liye sharam ki baat hogi. She will feel embarrassed to talk about him."

"Woh sab usne intentionally bola, par bahut casual sound kar raha tha wo. Sidharth ne use dil pe le liya. He thought what they were telling was correct. He was not perfect for you. Aur uski iss overthinking ki wajah se use ye baat sach lagi. I tried to make him understand. Bahut koshish ki maine Sana, par uske mann me ye baat baith chuki thi ki tujhe use apna boyfriend kehte huye sharam ayegi. You will be ashamed. Teri izzat bachane ke liye usne sab khatam karna socha. I tried very hard to change his mind. But he was adamant. He didn't listen. Hum dono uske ghar gaye aur uske parents se baat ki. I was shocked when he said, "I don't want her to be embarrassed because of me. I'll study in Paris." Uncle and Aunty also gave up because he was not ready to listen. Ronnie ki woh ek baat uske mann me baith gayi thi. He left for Paris with his parents on the same day and he is still there."

"Tujhe kya laga, jis bande ne tujhe itna support kiya, jab tu raat me padhti thi toh wo bhi nahi sota tha. Tera stress kam karne ke liye tujhse bacchon jaise baat karta tha. Usne kabhi tujhe kisi cheez ke liye force nahi kiya. Uske liye sabse upar tera comfort tha. Tune ye kaise soch liya ki wo teri care nahi karta? Har din baat karta hu mein usse. Par hamesha pehli cheez puchta hai ki tu kaisi hai? India bhi isliye nahi aaya ek baar bhi kyuki wo tujhe face nahi kar sakta. Tujhe pata hai, usne waha tujhse door rehkar bhi aaj tak ek ladki ko date nahi kiya. Usko darr hai ki tu hurt ho jayegi. Woh sab kuch jhel sakta hai par tera hurt nahi. Usne mujhe bola tha ki tujhe kabhi sach na batau, par aaj mujhse nahi ruka gaya. Ab bhi tujhe lagta hai ki woh galat hai?" He was again yelling by the end. I gasped.

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SACH KA KHULASA ho gaya hai, ab kya karegi Shehnaaz? Jaanne ke liye jude rahiye.

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Till then, adios amigo!