‘Me? What do you mean Jiji? Did I do something?’ Asked Khushi, thinking hard of what she had done to hurt her Jiji.
‘No you didn’t, that’s the problem Khushi. You’re hiding something from me. Something else happened on my wedding night, which you haven’t told me or any of us, and so I can’t, I can’t leave without knowing my sister is in pain Khushi. Something is eating at you from the inside I can see it but you won’t say it. Why Khushi? Have a I become a stranger for you now just because I am married, if so then why did you say that nothing would change after we were married, when you clearly decided to distance yourself from me.’ She said tears streaming down her face now, unable to hold back the hurt that she had held in her heart this past month, in hope that Khushi would come to her when she was ready, but now she was leaving and Khushi still hadn’t confessed.
Her wounded face broke Khushi’s heart further. Great, she had hoped Payal had not seen the anguish inside of her and had foolishly believed so when Payal hadn’t questioned her. But now she saw it, Payal had always known there was more to the story than Khushi had revealed, only she had wanted to wait for Khushi to tell her herself, but now she had run out of time, Aakash would be here in the evening and then she would be gone in the morning to start her new life with him. But she couldn’t go, not with Khushi hurting. She was torn, torn between her love and responsibility to her husband and her love due to her sister. She couldn’t do this; she couldn’t let Payal mess up her marriage because of her over protectiveness towards Khushi. It was time she came clean with Payal, that was the only way she would be able to give her some relief along with the ever increasing burden of her grief. She couldn’t hide it from Payal any longer, it wasn’t right, besides the truth would be out eventually she wouldn’t be able to hide it forever so best she tell Payal herself. Maybe Payal may be able to guide her. May be she was the answer to her silent prayers to her parents and DM.
Making up her decision, she crouched closer to Payal. ‘Hey sshh sshh Jiji. I will tell you everything. Just don’t cry please. The only reason I didn’t tell you before was because I didn’t know how to and then you were only here for a couple of days I didn’t want to burden you with my problems. You were going to start a new life with Jeejaji and I didn’t want you to go init carrying the weight of my issues, but I can see now how wrong I was for closing you out I ended up hurting you more. I’m sorry I won’t do that again. I promise.
‘Jiji I didn’t tell you guys the whole truth. When I left after getting you ready I went upstairs to find Shyam as he was staying in the suites upstairs, you had said how he would ogle all over me so I went to see him in hope to get him to change his mind about the wedding.’
‘But Shyam wasn’t staying at the hotel…’interjected Payal.
‘He was. He came the night before your wedding, or that is what he said when I went to see him that night, I’m not sure anymore though, he may have been there all along lying and pretending to be in Delhi while conducting his illicit affair.’ Khushi added with a bitter note.
‘Hang on. You went to see him when? On my wedding night or the night before my wedding? Because you just said you went after you dressed me but also when he came to the hotel, so when was it?’ Payal asked.
Khushi gulped, this was the tricky part, she had to tell Payal, but how was she to do it, Payal would be appalled to learn what she had done, as she should be. ‘I went both nights Jiji,’ she said unable to prolong the inevitable.
‘Why?’ Payal went on prodding her.
‘He asked me to come up; he wanted to discuss something….’
‘You found out about his affair the night before and you didn’t say anything?!! If that was so then why were you late to the wedding?’ Payal asked confused.
‘No. No. Jiji, I found out about the affair on the night of your wedding, the night before he called me to talk about you.’
‘Me?’
‘Yes, he said he knew that I would be upset as you would be getting married and leaving so he wanted to know if I was ok….only that wasn’t his only intention…he….he wanted to sleep with me too.’ Khushi added as she closely watched for Payal’s reaction.
Her eyes widened with horror, ‘THAT SCOUNDREL!! Oh my God, Khushi he didn’t hurt you did he. Did he try and force you?’ she asked scared.
‘He didn’t need to Jiji, I fell right into his trap and let him.’ Khushi said in small voice as her eyes bore into a fly that was buzzing near her feet.
It took a few moments for Payal to register what Khushi was relating to her, ‘What do you mean he didn’t need to, you let him? What does that mean….Hunh…Khushi, you didn’t…’ she couldn’t even finish the sentence. She pulled at Khushi’s face and made her look at her, ‘Khushi are you telling me you….’ But before she finished her sentence a tear meandered down Khushi’s cheek, and Payal let go of her as her hand involuntarily made contact with her sisters’ cheek, leaving an imprint of her fingers on the place where the tear had streamed down.
SLAP!
‘Have you lost it Khushi, you….you slept with him!! Before you were married!!’ Payal condemned.
Two more tears followed suit of the lone one, as Khushi’s chest began to heave. ‘Oh Khushi….’ Overcome with remorse for the slap and misery for her sisters’ reckless act, she wrapped her arms around her and cradled her. ‘Oh Khushi….why?’ she murmured as she rocked her sister and let her own tears wet Khushi’s hair.
‘Because I was stupid Jiji. I believed everything he said. I believed what we were doing was right and I thought how it could matter, as we would be getting married in a month. I believed that he loved me and even the thought that he may not didn’t even occur to me. It was not until I walked in on him and the other girl that I saw who he really was. A cheat and a scumbag!’
‘You caught him in the act with another girl?!’ Payal asked horrified. Khushi merely nodded. ‘Oh Khushi. You must have been devastated.’
‘I was Jiji.’
‘How did you even manage to come down to the Wedding?’
‘Because I knew if I didn’t you would bring the whole Sheesh-Mahal to the ground with you cries.’ They both gave a sheepish smile at Payal’s ability to cry in every emotional situation, be it happiness of sadness. The smile turned to laughter as both the girls imagined what Payal would have done and what a mess it would have made of everything.
Payal was still clutching her stomach hard with laughter, as tears continued to pour from her eyes, at the thought of her sister’s heart-break, when Khushi mentioned something that brought an abrupt stop to her laughter and paralyzed her tears on her cheek, as she stared in shock at her younger sister.
‘No you didn’t, that’s the problem Khushi. You’re hiding something from me. Something else happened on my wedding night, which you haven’t told me or any of us, and so I can’t, I can’t leave without knowing my sister is in pain Khushi. Something is eating at you from the inside I can see it but you won’t say it. Why Khushi? Have a I become a stranger for you now just because I am married, if so then why did you say that nothing would change after we were married, when you clearly decided to distance yourself from me.’ She said tears streaming down her face now, unable to hold back the hurt that she had held in her heart this past month, in hope that Khushi would come to her when she was ready, but now she was leaving and Khushi still hadn’t confessed.
Her wounded face broke Khushi’s heart further. Great, she had hoped Payal had not seen the anguish inside of her and had foolishly believed so when Payal hadn’t questioned her. But now she saw it, Payal had always known there was more to the story than Khushi had revealed, only she had wanted to wait for Khushi to tell her herself, but now she had run out of time, Aakash would be here in the evening and then she would be gone in the morning to start her new life with him. But she couldn’t go, not with Khushi hurting. She was torn, torn between her love and responsibility to her husband and her love due to her sister. She couldn’t do this; she couldn’t let Payal mess up her marriage because of her over protectiveness towards Khushi. It was time she came clean with Payal, that was the only way she would be able to give her some relief along with the ever increasing burden of her grief. She couldn’t hide it from Payal any longer, it wasn’t right, besides the truth would be out eventually she wouldn’t be able to hide it forever so best she tell Payal herself. Maybe Payal may be able to guide her. May be she was the answer to her silent prayers to her parents and DM.
Making up her decision, she crouched closer to Payal. ‘Hey sshh sshh Jiji. I will tell you everything. Just don’t cry please. The only reason I didn’t tell you before was because I didn’t know how to and then you were only here for a couple of days I didn’t want to burden you with my problems. You were going to start a new life with Jeejaji and I didn’t want you to go init carrying the weight of my issues, but I can see now how wrong I was for closing you out I ended up hurting you more. I’m sorry I won’t do that again. I promise.
‘Jiji I didn’t tell you guys the whole truth. When I left after getting you ready I went upstairs to find Shyam as he was staying in the suites upstairs, you had said how he would ogle all over me so I went to see him in hope to get him to change his mind about the wedding.’
‘But Shyam wasn’t staying at the hotel…’interjected Payal.
‘He was. He came the night before your wedding, or that is what he said when I went to see him that night, I’m not sure anymore though, he may have been there all along lying and pretending to be in Delhi while conducting his illicit affair.’ Khushi added with a bitter note.
‘Hang on. You went to see him when? On my wedding night or the night before my wedding? Because you just said you went after you dressed me but also when he came to the hotel, so when was it?’ Payal asked.
Khushi gulped, this was the tricky part, she had to tell Payal, but how was she to do it, Payal would be appalled to learn what she had done, as she should be. ‘I went both nights Jiji,’ she said unable to prolong the inevitable.
‘Why?’ Payal went on prodding her.
‘He asked me to come up; he wanted to discuss something….’
‘You found out about his affair the night before and you didn’t say anything?!! If that was so then why were you late to the wedding?’ Payal asked confused.
‘No. No. Jiji, I found out about the affair on the night of your wedding, the night before he called me to talk about you.’
‘Me?’
‘Yes, he said he knew that I would be upset as you would be getting married and leaving so he wanted to know if I was ok….only that wasn’t his only intention…he….he wanted to sleep with me too.’ Khushi added as she closely watched for Payal’s reaction.
Her eyes widened with horror, ‘THAT SCOUNDREL!! Oh my God, Khushi he didn’t hurt you did he. Did he try and force you?’ she asked scared.
‘He didn’t need to Jiji, I fell right into his trap and let him.’ Khushi said in small voice as her eyes bore into a fly that was buzzing near her feet.
It took a few moments for Payal to register what Khushi was relating to her, ‘What do you mean he didn’t need to, you let him? What does that mean….Hunh…Khushi, you didn’t…’ she couldn’t even finish the sentence. She pulled at Khushi’s face and made her look at her, ‘Khushi are you telling me you….’ But before she finished her sentence a tear meandered down Khushi’s cheek, and Payal let go of her as her hand involuntarily made contact with her sisters’ cheek, leaving an imprint of her fingers on the place where the tear had streamed down.
SLAP!
‘Have you lost it Khushi, you….you slept with him!! Before you were married!!’ Payal condemned.
Two more tears followed suit of the lone one, as Khushi’s chest began to heave. ‘Oh Khushi….’ Overcome with remorse for the slap and misery for her sisters’ reckless act, she wrapped her arms around her and cradled her. ‘Oh Khushi….why?’ she murmured as she rocked her sister and let her own tears wet Khushi’s hair.
‘Because I was stupid Jiji. I believed everything he said. I believed what we were doing was right and I thought how it could matter, as we would be getting married in a month. I believed that he loved me and even the thought that he may not didn’t even occur to me. It was not until I walked in on him and the other girl that I saw who he really was. A cheat and a scumbag!’
‘You caught him in the act with another girl?!’ Payal asked horrified. Khushi merely nodded. ‘Oh Khushi. You must have been devastated.’
‘I was Jiji.’
‘How did you even manage to come down to the Wedding?’
‘Because I knew if I didn’t you would bring the whole Sheesh-Mahal to the ground with you cries.’ They both gave a sheepish smile at Payal’s ability to cry in every emotional situation, be it happiness of sadness. The smile turned to laughter as both the girls imagined what Payal would have done and what a mess it would have made of everything.
Payal was still clutching her stomach hard with laughter, as tears continued to pour from her eyes, at the thought of her sister’s heart-break, when Khushi mentioned something that brought an abrupt stop to her laughter and paralyzed her tears on her cheek, as she stared in shock at her younger sister.
*****