Tujhse Hain Raabta

Reunion

 Their eager faces only made her smile. "He is good and recovering. Our married life so far has been the best." She looked down, coyly. "He is very sweet and thoughtful."

A chorus of awws broke out. "I remember he always kept to himself in such events. He'd talk when spoken to and see now, he is all smiles." The same woman from earlier spoke.

"My husband told me Arnav was quite disturbed when he had to retire. You know, the injury and all." The table suddenly fell silent. "But looking at him now, Kritika, I can say that he's happy." Kritika nodded at her with a grateful smile. They asked all about her and added her to their group chat.

Kritika turned around to get a look at her husband. She saw him talking to a group of people. He looked so calm and peaceful, very much in his element. She felt pride filling up within her.

"Hey Kriti." Her view was blocked by a man dressed in a blue shirt. "Remember me?"

That voice, she would recognize that voice anywhere. Looking up, she saw the person she was least expecting to see. "Ashok, hi." She got up and stood, face to face.

"It is a pleasure to see you after all these years." He had a smirk on his face. Kriti nodded and gave him a polite smile.

"Suna hain tumhari shaadi hogayi. Kya yaar, tumne toh shaadi mai bhi nahi bulaya." He said, shifting one of his legs infront of the other.

(I heard you got married. You didn't even invite me to your wedding.)

"Mai tumhe apne shaadi mai kyun bulaongi?" She crossed her arms. "Aur tum yahan kya kar rahe hon?"

( Why will I invite you to my wedding?) (And what are you doing here?)

Ashok scoffed. "Ex hoon toh kya hogaya? Is your husband one of those possessive controlling types?" 

(So what if I'm your ex?)

Kriti's eyes widened. "Aur tum bhool gayi kya?" I've a cousin who works in the army, bataya toh tha tumhe" Kriti could recall him saying that in passing. However, what caught her attention was his comment about her husband.

(And did you forget?)

"He is one of those types. Kachre ko ghar mai ghus ne nahi dete woh." She looked him in the eye. "That's why you weren't invited." Kriti was about to leave but Ashok wasn't done talking.

( He doesn't allow trash inside the house.)

"Ajeeb hain. Kachre se problem hain par shaadi tumse kar li." He looked her up and down. "You know, you can't give birth."

(Strange. He has a problem with trash but he married you.)

Kriti gritted her teeth. "It is none of your business, Ashok."

"Agreed." He put his palms up in the air. "It is none of my business. Does your husband know, though? Does he know that you're infertile?"

Kriti glared at him. "Asho-"

"Tumne kahi usse phasaya toh nahi. I mean, I've got to say, you've only gotten more hott-" In a split second, he was on the ground, groaning. Arnav had punched him.

(Did you trap him?)

He pulled Kriti closer. "How dare you?"

Ashok sat up and whimpered. "I was only talking, man. Your wife and I are friends."

Arnav crouched and held him by his collar. "You're a filthy low life who doesn't even deserve to breathe the same air as my wife." Arnav's hand went up and held his jaw. "The next time I see you, I'll make sure to rip your tongue out and feed it to you. Stay the fuck away from my wife." He pushed him back to the ground.

When he got back up, he didn't feel Kriti beside him. His eyes scanned the whole place but he couldn't find her.

 "I think she went towards the washroom." Someone from the crowd said.

He looked at his friends gathered. "Arnav," Ahmed put a hand on his shoulder, "we'll take care of this. Go."

He ran towards the washroom. Going inside, he saw his wife leaning on the wash basin. Her hands were slightly shivering and she was staring into space.

He walked towards her and held her by her shoulders. "Kritika, baby, breathe." He got down to her height. "Look at me, please."

Kriti's eyes were fixated elsewhere. Her mind wasn't here and she was slightly shaking. She could hear Arnav's voice from a distance.

"Kritika, look at me." Her eyes finally find him. They were filled with water. "Breathe, baby, breathe." He stepped a little closer but kept his distance because he didn't want to suffocate her. "Copy me. In and out."

Kriti slowly started mirroring his actions. Minute by minute, she returned to her normal state. "He is my ex." Kriti whispered.

Arnav hugged her. "It's okay love, he is gone." He rubbed her back and kissed her head. "I'm right here."

Ten minutes later, she calmed down. Arnav helped her to wash her face.

"We can leave."

"No," Kriti nodded. "We'll stay. I just-" She looked down, fidgeting with her fingers.

Arnav took her hand and kissed it. "It's okay, precious. No one's judging us." He rubbed the back of her palm. "If you want to leave, we'll leave but we can stay too."

Kriti nodded. They exited the washroom after a few minutes.

 Thankfully, no one asked any questions. The rest of the evening passed smoothly. There were no weird looks or hush hush whispers. Arnav stuck by her the whole time. He cracked silly jokes and was successful in making her smile. Kriti leaned into him and pressed a kiss on his clothed chest.There were hiccups but the night ended on a good note.

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lots and lots of love! 

Qotd: If you could live in a fictional world, what would it be?