Drops of alcohol slid down his chin as Karan gulped two concentrated shots of bear. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt whose cuffs were loosely untied.
"Crap, this sucks. I never thought I would see you like this. Drunken Romeo hurt by his Juliet's rejection."
Kabir laughed while fisting on the table. Yesterday, what happened between Karan and Preeta had scattered their relationship again. He was outraged by her words. Preeta had ignored him for the rest of the night. He had heard her weeping before sleeping. Both had again slept by their back facing each other. An unhappy married couple.
Karan stared at the table with bloodshot eyes. He was extremely nauseated by Preeta's thoughts.
"... How could she think so low of me?... I gifted her gifts, pampered her. Why does she think of it as bribing, man? Why? Look at me, Kabir..."
Kabir's face turned serious seeing his best friend suffering. He looked how hurt he was. Preeta was right on her side but she shouldn't have gave him false hope if she loathed his touch.
"... Look at me... Do I look like a villain? A rapist? She think of me as her tormentor... Is it wrong to expect love from her?..."
Kabir's eyes hardened seeing Karan's voice cracking. He stood from the table and held the glass of wine away from Karan's reach.
"... Hey, it's okay. It's not that bad, bro. She is shy, Karan..."
Karan clenched his jaws and threw the files from the table.
"... Stop fooling me. Just stop. You, Mom, dad, everyone is fooling me like her. Wait for her, wait for her. Why did she spoke those words? Tell me. How much times, I apologise to her? How much? This hurts so much. She just shoves me away everytime..."
Kabir gulped seeing his best friend heart broken. He wanted to scream at Preeta for doing this to his buddy. That girls meant everything to him and she had always played with his emotions. He thought about cooling Karan down. He was a great mess.
"... Karan, think from her side. She is scared. She is new in your home. She feels the change. Understand. Okay? It's not easy to get use to..."
Karan glared at Kabir making him shut his mouth.
"... Then, why speaking those venomous words? She can easily accept my efforts and appreciate it. No, she will cut me to the core. She said, this marriage won't work. What does that mean? Tell me. Is it a good way to refuse me? She could have reminded me to not cross limits. She doesn't even accept the fact that she enjoyed the moments between us. This is all a way to hurt me..."
He kept on bickering in his slurry voice making Kabir tense. It had been so long, Karan was this much drunk that even for Preeta. Enjoying high school parties, getting tipsy was another thing. But this whipped Karan was looking terrible. He wondered how Preeta had the power to bring misery to his best friend.
Shaking his head, he caught Karan's forearm.
"... Leave it. Think about the night. We have been so late. I will call your driver..."
Karan shook his head when Kabir picked his coat from the chair.
"... No, she doesn't want to see me... She hates me... God, I am whining like a girl..."
Kabir clenched his jaws, breathing hard. He held Karan's shoulders.
"Karan, look at me. You are not whining. She is just angry. Go home, tell her that it's your right to touch her. You are her husband. She can't object again and again."
Karan looked at Kabir with bloodshot eyes trying to process his words.
"... She can't speak such words again and again. You have been treating her so fairly. You have been enough gentle with her. Now, it's the time to show her what you are. You are her husband, not her punching bag..."
