"I recognized your worth only when you left me."
The day Atharva left for Bangalore, he was more than relieved and why wouldn't he be? There was nobody to nag him and all he had was peace and work; his two very favorite thing in his life.
However, that relief moment didn't last long because as soon as he stepped into his penthouse suite, he received a call and of course it was no one but his dear wife Aahana. He wanted to reject the call, seriously, but he knew he couldn't. In a way, he didn't want to worry her. But he realized how big of a mistake he did by receiving the call when she started talking non-stop.
And that went on for days. Like promised, Aahana would call him three times or more in a day, regularly. There was this one time, Atharva didn't know what was wrong with him and he snapped at her, remarking how clingy and voluble she was.
Evidently, it hurt Aahana more than he thought it would. She uttered no word and hung up. It had been two days and she had made no efforts to interact with him again.
He was guilt-ridden and regretted every harsh word that came from his mouth. But the guilt in him was swept over by emptiness when she no more bothered him.
Initially, he wasn't sure what it was. The ache wasn't familiar to him. It was something he had never experienced before, not even in the worst days of his life. The ache was raw and faint, yet he couldn't ignore it and so he realized it was loneliness. He was alone all his life but had never felt this miserable.
It was she who changed him to feel this way. And now he couldn't stop thinking about her. The idea seemed incredulous to him, for he never imagined a day would come when he'd miss her but here he was going restless in her absence.
He wanted to hear her speak. He loved the sound of her voice in his ears. It calmed him and he felt rejuvenated.
But could he call her? Never. Sure he missed her but he didn't have it in him to call her.
Just a day more. He repeated to himself and fixed his gaze on the white ceiling but not even a minute had passed before he was sitting upright, his phone in his hand.
He didn't have her whereabouts and he was conflicted about whether to call her or not.
Is she okay?
And finally, he did.
The ring went on and he felt anxious as he waited for her to answer him and when she said that monosyllable in her breathy voice, he felt his heart speed up a few notches.
"Hi."
He didn't know what to say to her. Should I apologize or greet her first?
"Uh, I'll be back tomorrow." He cringed as soon as the words left his mouth.
"I know. If you don't mind, I have to go now," she said hurriedly into her phone. Atharva could hear some murmurs on the other end of the line.
"Who is there with you?"
"Jay and Dinesh."
"Oh."
"Hmm...Okay, bye."
"No, wait!" He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I-I shouldn't have been rude to you."
She paused and waited for him to continue, a small smile playing on her lips.
"I am sorry."
Her smile widened. "It's okay."
Just two words but significant enough to pull the strings of his heart.
"Er... how are you?"
"Good. Office work keeps me busy," she said.
"Oh."
Aahana chuckled. "What about you? Are you okay?"
"I am, now that I heard you," he answered truthfully.
She closed her eyes and sighed.
Why must he say these things?
"Is Atharva missing me?" She teased, half-joking.
I miss you. His conscience screamed. He tried to say the same out loud but his lips were glued to each other.
His silence gave away everything. Aahana heard his unspoken voice and the answer was crystal clear. She smiled. "I love you, and I miss you too."
Atharva slid his mobile across the side table and fell on the bed. His eyes fluttered close and he was pulled into a deep slumber, a light smile on his face.
Aahana held the phone to her chest and giggled to herself. The two morons gave her amused smiles. Only if they knew how happy she was feeling from this phone call.
She thought things between them were changing but Atharva had to be his cranky self and spit those sour words. She was beyond hurt. Despite that, she wanted to forgive him, but Jay didn't let her. According to him, if she ignored him, he'd realize her importance and call her and to Aahana's disbelief, Jay sought to be absolutely accurate.
"So sweetpea, I was right, wasn't I?"
Aahana nodded vigorously. "Yes. Thank you so much."
Jay grinned and ruffled her hair. "What can I say? I am just an expert, y'know?"
Dinesh and Aahana rolled their eyes at the same time and laughed.
"So expert why don't you cook for us? I am starving."Aahana patted her stomach and gave him a pleading look.
"Why must I cook? Let Dinesh do it today."
"But you are the chef." They stated in unison.
He groaned and switched off the Tv. "Fine. This is only because I love you both."
"We know." They grinned and hi-fived each other and shooed him to the kitchen. Meanwhile, Aahana and Dinesh decided to play COD and though Aahana had played it for more than 8 years now, Dinesh was winning each time.
"Cheater." She huffed and threw the joystick on the mat.
He scoffed and pinched her cheeks. "Next time baby. Next time I am gonna teach you all the tricks."
"Really?"
"Now I am not a cheater?"
"I was just kidding. You will teach me right?"
"Of course. Now let's see what Jay darling is doing."
She nodded and they walked to the kitchen to see him cooking but what shocked them was, Jay wasn't cooking for three but for around 30 people. They exchanged a look of horror and moved towards him.
"What the hell?" Dinesh blinked and eyed the food.
"Oh hey," Jay muttered and resumed cooking, leaving them staring at him with an open mouth.
"Did you invite someone?"
"Yep. My family, your family, Dinesh's family, Atharva's fami-"
"Okay, I get it. You invited everyone, but why?"
"What do you mean by why? Shouldn't family members eat together?"
"Yes, but Atharva-"
"Yeah, your husband isn't here. That's another reason why they're coming."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you tell me Atharva's birthday is in May?" She nodded. "We are going to make plans."
"But there's still a month," Dinesh said, frowning, and Aahana nodded in agreement.
"He is right, and why are you planning my Atharva's birthday?"
"Not me. We, you jealous wife."
"I am not jealous, but isn't it very soon?"
"You are. If you don't start planning now, it will be too late to do anything on his birthday."
Aahana thought for a while and shrugged. "Well... okay."
"Good. Now please set the table. They will be here in 10 minutes tops."
"Okay." They nodded and skipped to the dining room.
They were quick in setting the table and piling the dinner before they heard the bell chime. Aahana reached to open the door but it dawned upon her how untidy she looked. Her t-shirt had creases from sitting on the mat and her hair was flying in different directions. Wide-eyed, she motioned Dinesh to open the door while she ran to her room.
She changed out of her sweatpants and T-shirt to a green Kurti and leggings and combed her hair thoroughly and tied it into a high ponytail. When she was sure she looked presentable, she sighed and came out of the room.
Her in-laws and parents were sitting on the sofa and chatting happily with Dinesh's and Jay's family but her eyes were trained on one and only, Urvashi. Hate embedded in her for the so-called mother and she didn't want her to be part of their celebration.
Atharva.
Her heart clenched when she thought about him and for once she was glad for his absence. She didn't want to see him in pain. It pained her. She promised herself to cherish and love him even if he refused her acceptance. She intended to keep him happy.
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