Drafts Of Her Heartbeat

Confessing Past

She waited and waited, now it was 7:00pm in evening, no parcel had arrived. Her anxiousness was hard to hide and the team would leave no stone unturned in teasing her about it. She paid them no heeds, her tension was about the parcel. Had someone hid it? Or has the parcel-man forgot to deliver it? What if she the lack of response on her behalf, He had decided to stop pursuing her? Has he already started regretting his decision? Is he having second-thoughts on their marriage? Several questions surrounded her. But their was no answer to even one of them.
Even He was missing since morning. No one had seen him, he was no where to be found. What is going on? She had called Yash and indirectly asked about his whereabouts, but it looked like even Yash had no idea of where his son was. Damn you, Khaitan! She cursed bitterly. He raised her hopes only to crush them.
Kashish could see through her frustration and irritation. What she didn't knew was why was she so agitated? Of course both she and Vidyut had noticed the sudden arrival of parcels on a regular basis, the chocolates in them and those hidden notes from mysterious H. Though Kashish had her own doubts about the H, she never mentioned it infront of the boys or Vidyut. She knew very well, that they all will start planning on a murder if they even caught the slightest hint of what this H meant.
She wanted to question Arohi but she was stalling it, leaving Arohi to make her own decisions, but looking at her restlessness today, she decided to comfort her. She was waiting till she could have Arohi alone in the confinement of her room.
Three more hours passed, there was no sign of parcel, and now Arohi's frustration started turning into an impending anger.
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It was 10:30pm in night when she finally gave up and climbed the stairs up to her room. Anger growling and thrashing inside, she cursed her husband heart fully. Finally opening the door, getting inside the room, she closed it back again and turned to her bed. A gasp of shock escaped her lips.
There on the bed was a tall, baby pink teddy bear, sitting and awaiting her. In long three strides she was sitting on her bed, looking at the delicate teddy. There were various chocolates ranging from dairy milk, five star, dairy milk silk, bubble, nuttiest, kit-kat, to Ferrero Rocher spread around the teddy bear. Taking in the sight in front of her, she couldn't help but awe at the placement. Slowly, with hesitating hands she grabbed the teddy bear, as a result a letter fell from his tummy.
She settled the teddy beside her as she unfolded the letter attaching it.
"Dear Arohi Avasthi,
Or, Dear Wife,
Even better, My Beloved Arohi Avasthi Khaitan,
This sounds so much good. In fact the best. A name entwining both your and past and future, a name defining your identity mixed with personal bliss. I know I don't have a right to call you my wife anymore, not now, not still, atleast for you. But I want to. I also know that you were probably waiting for the parcel today and must have been disappointed in its absence. But I couldn't send it there, not in presence of your friends. That Abhimanyu would have taken and open it before you." Did she just sensed a jealousy in the letter? Anyways she continued reading it.
"And moreover it's way too personal to discuss in public. A matter to be kept between a sorry husband and an angry wife." Her heart fluttered a bit, but she managed to push the feeling down.
"I know when you came in the Khaitan house after your marriage, you brought a certain things with you. One of them was a baby pink teddy bear, your first soft-toy from your father, one who was very near and dear to you. I remember how you would caress it with affection whenever we had a fight (which was almost everytime, thanks to me) and I also remember how one drunken I managed to tarnish it with a knife. You screamed at me, begged me not to do it, but I had turned deaf to your pleas. I also remember how you cried on it after I left the room, giving it a final kick, stamping it with my feet.
Today I want to confess to you, I was jealous of you, I was jealous of that teddy. I was jealous how you had felt the love of your father in your childhood days, when I was abandoned in another country. I was jealous how a non-living thing could heal you, make you feel better after my abuses. I felt jealous how that teddy received the love and affections of my wife, taking away her attention from me. I admit to you I was jealous idiot.
I know no apologises can get you back your teddy, so here I am rectifying my another past mistake by sending a teddy to you. It is not the same, but I managed to grab the same colour. Hope this teddy will receive the same love and affections that the previous lucky one did. I just pray if you can't love me, please love this teddy, for time being. It will be enough for me, until you can bring yourself feel the same for me.
Love,
A very Sorry,
Your's Dhruval."
She folded the letter as tears started streaming down her cheeks, one-after-another, she started crying reading her husband's truthful confession. She could feel the truth in his words, guilt in his letters, yet he made her relive the pain of past in his sentences. Tears came running out, with no control of her emotions, she allowed them to flow freely.
Doors to her room opened, Kashish entering her den. The presence of the intruder was also missed by the crying eyes. On seeing her crying, Kashish rushed to her side. The teddy beside her, chocolates spread around on her bed, it took no time to guess that it was her H again. Then her eyes fell on the soul crying and a letter in her hands.
Keeping a hand on her shoulder she whispered, "Arohi?" Immediately a pair of hands flailed around her waist and she was shoulder for the weeping soul. "What happened?" She asked.
Arohi simply forwarded her hand holding the letter. Nothing was a secret from Kashish, instead Kashish was the only one in whom she confided her whole secret, from the marriage to her sudden departure, even his name - 'Dhruval'.
Kashish read the letter thoroughly, feeling every word and how sorry the soul is.
"It is good that he is sorry, isn't it?" She asked cautiously, trying to judge Arohi's emotions. "He is feeling guilty and repenting your loss."
"I am sorry" Arohi weekend "I hid it from you. I am sorry Ma'am" she cried out.
"Hid what Arohi?" Kashish asked.
"He is here. He is here." Kashish looked confused, she looked at Arohi, holding her face making her look in his eyes "Mr. Khaitan.... Dhruv Khaitan is Dhruval" she stammered while weeping. "My full name is Arohi Avasthi Khaitan. I am wife of Dhruval aka Dhruv Khaitan."
Kashish was stunned. Now she knew why Arohi behaved differently in these past few days.
"He is here so he can get me to forgive him and reconcile our marriage." She confessed. Finally.