You And I

Chapter 13

As Amey strode in casually, he heard nil strains of Meghna yelling to check If it was Amey, striding in. He made his steady, august treads resounding. Even then, there was no voice echoing at him, hailing his name. He made his pace, as fast as he could. The living room was plunged into a blankness. She wasn't there, at the living room .

He strode in further, to the kitchen; and then to the porch. "Meghna?", He called her , to check where she was. There were no replies. He clambered up to the terrace, and strode in. "Meghna-", Only to see her standing at one corner of that terrace, he could breathe out a relief. "Why are you standing here? The front door is open. What happened ?", His words fell in genuinely, that made her sway forward and slap on his chest against his shirt. His arms, fastened across her and mitigated her.

"What it is?"  he enquired softly. She was still freezing to him fixedly.

"Aarav came.", That was strictly a murmur. His arms tightened, around her. And his mien, inflated, with an evident anger flushing over his sensual face. She was now staggered due to his prompt and threatening shift in his reaction. Amey, gritted his teeth in angst and now probably, he apprehended that why something he had anticipated never happened today. "What did he say?"

Meghna came back from what gave the feeling of being endless, her mouth moved pitifully," Let's go down." And she walked away, weakly. Amey's brows were knit and his fists balled up, enduring the pique, at the moment. She disgorged down the stairs, and Amey's footsteps followed her.

He decided to wait until she gets ready to disclose what happened. During the while, he went in for a shower and came back in his tee and trousers. She was still sitting the way, in the same stance; when he left in for the shower. Amey started worrying seeing her like that. He strode to her and laid his arse, behind her and watched her meticulously. She turned her gaze to him, with that those pair of eyes trying to convey the solemnity, of the standpoint in which she was put in.

"Amey?", On finding some way to let it all out, she leaned onto his shoulders and wrapped her arms around his'. He put his hands around her, rubbed her gently.

"Amey. You love me.. Right?", She asked, with her glance grazing randomly on the wall. "Why do you have to ask this?", he breathed into her hair. "Let's give him what he asks for.", she mumbled, with trails of warm, salty liquid streaming down her cheeks. "What did he ask for?", His scratchy voice fell in. She gulped and let out a huge, tired sigh; and her lips moved restlessly. "He wants to own those photographs on his behalf for the contest", she let it out slowly, grimly.

"What the heck! Those are yours!", Amey erupted right away! "It is okay, Amey. I can take a thousand more photos like that-"

"Stop it! Will you?" , he thundered, taking hands up to his hip. He was already standing, his tall frame towering her, closely. She balked a little by his high-pitched tone. "Amey, let me-"

"Don't talk another word about handing over the photographs to him. Shut up! Okay?", his voice was purely annoyed and irked. "Please-"

He threw his hands up in air and gestured her to stop, showing his palm towards her. She stopped her plea, and let the tears flow down. Amey, was actually taken aback because of the tears that was being doffed. Because he had never seen her crying that way except the other day when they were talking about promising a forever.

"You think you're sacrificing the photos for him. It is an utter waste. Whatever you do, he'll not be fulfilled. He will ask for more and more of it. What made you think this, Meghna? Gosh darn! Are you mad?", he blew up. He was really offended , hearing Meghna talk like that. He doesn't know what made her jump into the decisions of giving away those photographs. Just like that! Those were the outcome of her hard work! And only he witnessed how much did she suffer and lost sleep over it! He cannot let her do that, easily! He was not able to think of something that heinous, happening to his own wife.

Meghna stood mum all the while, with the tears flowing down. He saw her dripping tears looking at the floor, he groaned under his breath and strode to her,"Meghna.. Listen!"

"Hmm!", that was an ordinary hum, with sobs that fell in.

"We don't have to give away the photographs. Understand? He'll not do anything. Just trust me.", he tried to console her trying to be as pastoral as possible. She nodded her head in negative, still looking down at the floor and mouthed,"We have to!" Those words that fell in were staunchly in fidgets.

"For f**k's sake,Meghna try to understand the actual point here. He won't make use of the photographs and do something helpful. It is all a drama. He is trying to provoke us."

"I don't care!"

Amey's features tautened more, and he stomped towards her and shook her by her shoulders and yelled,"Think with all your sanity! In anyways i am not going to allow yo-"

"He is f*****g threatening me!", She wailed shrilly that made Amey, go mum. Meghna had started to wail, by now.  A powerful, let-it-all-out kind of wail.

"You think these photographs are more important to me than you?", she wailed again. Both of them had never raised their voices against each other till today. During their arguments, it'll just be a quarrel and not this kind of theatric squabble. She moved to him. He stood stoned, with his eyes turning red in anger. Meghna's hands flew up and cupped his face,"Please Amey. Let's give those. Let him do whatever he wants. I can't afford to lose you." She really was frightened by the way, Aarav confronted her again. She had never been chilled to the bone, and had never felt blood curdling. Only to hear Aarav say those painful words that he would do away with Amey. She really didn't want to pull the bull by horns.

Amey tried to make her understand now.

"Meghna. Why don't you understand the fact that he cannot do anything more than just shaking fists at us." His composed voice took it's chore to console her. This time nothing was working.

"No Amey. I don't want to give him a chance-"

Within she could complete, Amey's breaking point was that. He pulled her arms, and shoved her aside. His hands around her's were squashing her hand and making the area numb.

"You trust me that I can protect you or not?", He blared, looking at her very perpendicularly, with his blue eyes gone bloodshot. Meghna gulped.

"Yes or No?", he blared again,with the same amount of blues, visible in voice.

"Ye.yes!" she breathed.

"In the same way, I can protect myself too. Trust me!", he hollered. Precisely,all the patience that he had till that day had terminated, and he was at the end of the road. Being unable to withhold the compression around her arms, she gasped,"Arj.. Amey! You're hurting me." Heaving a very huge sigh, in the way that even the lungs could plunk out of his nostrils, he pulled out his hold around the arms, and rubbed his forehead furiously. He really felt bad for behaving that way to her. In those eight long months, never once they'd been put in this kind of situation.

His hands got dropped down. He looked at Meghna who was standing still at the same place, to which he shoved her. He went to her, and cupped her face. It was his mistake that he'd been long way off the limits. He shouldn't have shouted at her, like that; abruptly. She must've really gotten mad at him, for this.

Once he got hold of her face, she was looking somewhere random, and swashing down the tears that were descending down in liters.

"Trust me. He cannot do anything to us.", he breathed, calmly. She was still not convinced. She didn't respond him. She filled in for a hug. And he wrapped his arms around her. He could still feel tears on his shirt. She was still dripping. All he could do was to save her in his arms, and just let his embrace answer all of her questions whirling around them. After a few more minutes, on gaining some strength and recovering back from his embrace; her eyes with stalled and seeded tears, shone against his, she muttered,"I trust you."

His hands held her face, and stamped his lips on her temples, he muttered back,"I know."

With that they decided to sleep for that night. It had become ten in the night already. On prepping off, some instant food for dinner both of them seemed to have a few pecks of food. Meghna, herself didn't eat properly which nakedly meant that she wasn't convinced still. After what felt like hours, Amey made her sleep. Her face wasn't normal, while she slept that day. She really was scared. He wasn't feeling sleepy at all. On making her head rest on the pillow,he clambered out of the bed; and took strides inside their bedroom thinking of the circumstances that made him shout like a mad man, that evening. He felt Meghna startling at his yell. He didn't really want it happen again. Never once, again!

The next morning, when both of them had started laying out,Meghna opened her mouth over the breakfast. "Amey. Photos..", she turned down.

Amey closed his eyes and let an whole gush of air blow out, as an act of calming himself down. He the mouthed,"We have already had enough of this, Meghna. Not again!"

"Amey. Please! Try putting yourself in this situation. If you were in my standpoint, will you not do this for me? Abruptly, you would've thrown off the photos or whatever he asks for flailing at his face. The same goes with me!", She tried to answer for what he said. But Amey, had come all the way long; from the point where he had the patience to hear what she said. He felt it as an act of paramount of foolishness.

"Stop all these comparisons and standpoint stuff! I thought you were convinced last night!"

"I thought the same Amey. I thought the same... That I've been convinced with what you said.. But all night trying to make myself put across what you said, all I could get is only one..." She gulped and continued,"That one fact that I cannot compromise you for anything. I cannot lose you."

"Meghna why won't you understand that You won't lose me. Trust me!", he was trying to go on with the same calm tone. Yet, it didn't feel like it could prolong in anyways.

"That's because I am scared."

"Had I told you or restricted you from doing anything till today?"Amey, probed with his tone getting stern, promptly. Meghna had already started to weep. A kind of weep, that she had never done in her whole life of long 24 years.

"Had I ever done something against your will, till today?", She gasped, looking at him with tears doing free-fall, from her eyelids. "Meghna! It is not what you think-"

"I am giving away the photographs Amey. I don't really care about what he does with those, but I can simply be contented If I do that. I will just be in solace that you'll be safe. If you really worry about my hard work, I am telling you thus I can take thousands of pictures like that. But I have only one Amey. My Amey." Tears flushed down, before words could do.

"Meghna. I can understand what you-"

"No! You can't understand what I feel right now. You really  can't!", She had started wailing again, letting it all out; once again. "But why don't you trust me that he wouldn't do anything-"

"I said I don't care about that. You should've been there when he threatened me. In a second, that guy showed how lifelessness will be! ", it was Meghna who hooted this time. She packed her backpack, and caved it on; and yelled ,"I am giving them off and it is final."

"Meghna! You're not doing this! The outcome will be severe!", he shouted from the living room. She strode out, crying to floods; and closed the door with a bang. Amey didn't comply with her, how much ever she tried to emphasize her condition, at the moment. With that, seeing her leaving the home with a bang, he wheezed out a large sigh, and his hands flew up to rub his temples.

*•*•*•*•*•

Amey was now standing in front of Crisby Street Hotel, a five star one; which Aarav had mentioned that he was staying in.

That day, immediately after to the phone call, Krish and Amey decided to fly off to New York, instantaneously. On picking up the quickest flight, they decided to search for tickets. To their fortune, they'd a few tickets unsold. However it took some two good days, to receive their visas. And those two days were the worst days of Amey's days. Without getting to know anything wholly, and being in the greatest befuddlement; what he was going through was giving him a coronary.

On booking off two tickets, they'd flown away. Amey, at first denied to take Krish with him. But however, Krish was strong enough to make Amey agree with him.

And now, here they were standing in front of the swanky, posh hotel. As Amey asked for the room number, the front desk person, intimated Amey and Aarav with the suit number. As Aarav had already informed them with the guests details, visiting him that day; they let Amey and Krish in, easily.

Once they strode in, and reached the door of the suit; with their backpacks on; Aarav was seated on the couch that was placed cozily at a corner of the living room. As he apprehended that it was Amey, striding in there; he bawled; "Hey! Amey. Welcome man."

Amey had to quickly, patch things up and rule out himself from call aloud in anger. He gulped off all those angst that started to worsen things. He thought not to mess up things with Aarav, all again. He just didn't want to play that sick game.

"Okay! What deal did you wanna make?", Aarav asked cockily, putting one of his legs on the other and leaning back on the couch, coolly. Amey's temper was going to break out any moment from now. Krish had already clenched his fists for three times from the moment they entered the suit. When they entered the suit and looked around astonishing about the money that he must have to hire to suit, Aarav coldly replied that it was all Amey's money. His heart ached for hiding this stuff from his parents, for this sick bastard.

"Aarav! We're not in the standpoint to play games anymore.", Amey wheezed heavily, and rubbing his temples. Krish, stayed surly all the while. He was really enraged, to the purport!

"Hey! We know that you still have the photographs. You're just trying to fool us. You man w***e!", Krish blistered out, grinding his teeth. Whilst, Amey had to hold back by gripping his shoulders from Krish taking moves further.

"Are you all teasing me? You think I am a fool!", Aarav yelped, with his face turning ruddy in anger and chafe. "Aarav! Please don't.. Please!",Amey breathed.

"Don't you have those photographs really?", Amey asked, being really very patient. And Aarav, had stood up from the couch in a jump, and shouted," How many times should I say that? All of you're trying to fool me. It is you and your wife playing tricks with me. The photographs are with you!", he yelled, in a high pitched tone.

And That's when the realization hit him. It would've not been Meghna who did this. It definitely is not his Meghna.

Fuck!

She had begged him to trust him and he failed to do that. Furthermore, to worsen their lives, he had hit her hard with those stupid divorce papers!

He did not f*****g trust his wife!

For a moment, everything around them seemed to freeze for Amey, except the fact that he had not trusted Meghna wholly in the issue. That day, when she went banging the door, she drove directly to the seafront to relax herself, and then decided not to handover the photographs to Aarav, which precisely implies that she trusted Amey. It just took time for her to convince herself, in that thing. Otherwise, she knew that Amey would always protect her and stay safe, himself.

But then, in the hell that Amey was put through that day, by Aarav eventually made Amey believe that it was Meghna who had given away the photographs. Though, she shouted her decision before exiting the home; Amey somewhere in his heart trusted her that she wouldn't do that since he had opposed it strongly. Amey throughly refused when Meghna told him that she wasn't the one. There were no traces of Aarav few days from that day, which obviously worsened the situation and made Amey think that he was shutting his mouth because he had gotten what he wanted!

"What do you want Aarav? Just take whatever you want. Just leave Meghna! Leave us!", Amey asked, being unable to handle all those anymore. He really cannot handle Aarav and his disgusting intimidations anymore!

"And now, that's like a good brother!", he chuckled evilly and mouthed," Keep that locker key that has all the documents right here, go back by walk, slowly!" And this didn't fail to startle Krish. In anyways, Amey wasn't much surprised to hear this. Because he knew that probably that was also one of the things that might happen in his life, due to Aarav.

"Take everything! Take !", Amey gasped, shaking his head involuntarily. When Krish started to argue for what he had done, Amey himself cut him off in the middle.

"Amey! This is not-"

"Please, Krish! Let him take everything. Let him!", Amey breathed, letting his eyes get stuck on the floor, at a place. "And If you dare to disturb Meghna again, you will not know what will happen!", and this was a blare from Amey, with gritted teeth. To which Aarav Tsked and shrugged it off, casually.

He was seriously one desperate piece of bull-s**t!

"So! Come on. Hand over the key of the trunk, and then I won't come across in your life." he opened up, in a hotshot manner. Such an arrogant ass!

Amey and Krish, kept laying their gaze with a heck of misbelief, Aarav chuckled brashly,"Believe me Brother! We're of same blood!" To which both of them didn't reply anything further that make him talk too much. Amey, placed the keys on the table before Aarav, and started walking away silently, and Krish followed his pace.

With this, except the apartment in which Amey and Meghna lived, every other damn thing; their office buildings, and their other houses everything belonged to Aarav.

"Why did you do this Amey?", Krish clanged at him, as they started to walk on the roads of the city. Amey, was all silent. He couldn't talk anything. After all, what can be expected from him, at this standpoint of life. He frigging didn't trust her and only to stand at the bloody situation like she did on that day, he did realize the importance of what she spoke on the day, in her favor. It all hits the brain, only when we're put through it.

"What do you want me to do, Krish?",Amey spoke nimbly. He was numb by now. For anything and everything.

"What will you do If your parents ask?"

"They'll not come for now! I don't think I will have this issue for another four months. They'll be staying with Anjali. For now, my problem is to let this not reach Sanjay Uncle!", Amey sighed.

"I don't think it is any possible, Amey. We can anyways talk to him and make him understand. He'll understand, may be."

"I don't know!", Amey sighed.

"Who must've stolen the photographs?", Krish probed, buckling his backpack tightly.

"f**k! f**k everything else. I want to see Meghna.", Amey's gasp escaped his lips, as Krish's lips curled into a neat smile.

"Why should we wait? Let's go no!"  He bawled and they walked towards the route map, to sort out the hospital in which Meghna was admitted in. As they walked and reached the hospital in which Meghna was being treated for her fracture, they clambered high and found out the room. On reaching the door, they knocked it. Amey's heart was doing plummets, inside his rib cage. He was going to confront the love of his life, with a heck of apologies; after a month and half!

He was now hogged in what he was thinking. He was there to ask her to give him an another chance and ask for apologies.

As the door unlocked in ten seconds, what felt like years to Amey; Julie appeared at the door. Her lashes batted like she had seen someone straight from the paradise!

"Krish!!! Amey?", she howled, with her eyes embellishing out , like a pair of saucers! She never expected these guys to come to NewYork , all the way. Krish, giggled seeing her; and pulled her out of the room. "Hey, Julie! Amey wants  to talk to Doe." He hooted as he pulled her out by wrist. Amey, stood seeing him doing things.

"Bu.. But see. She is unconscious!", Julie faltered.

What? Unconscious ?

Krish's grip around Julie's wrist, loosened, and Amey stiffened.

"What unconscious? You told me that her hand is fractured and why is she unconscious now? Did you lie to-", Amey spoke in haste alloyed with an anger and disturbance. Julie rolled her eyes at him, and watched both of them alternatively. And then she realized it that he had mistaken, totally.

" Aiyo* Amey! Stop!", Julie screeched, and decided to make things clear to them. Amey, froze in his stance, hearing Julie screech.

"Why so much of drama! She didn't sleep since two days and the doctor had given her some pills to sleep. That's it! She is in drowsy sleep. And she'll not get up for hours from now.", Julie let it out and Amey sighed a relief.

"Oh! That's it? " Amey hummed, narrowing his brows. His doubts had now gone thwarted into the air.

"Yeah! That's it!", Julie chuckled.

"Can I see her now?", Amey asked. Even with those sleep bags under his eyes, and the overgrown stubble that he had on his cheeks, when it came to the enthusiasm of meeting his love, all again; he regained all of his lost cheer. As Julie gestured him to go in, he strode in regally! Only to see Meghna lying back, with a big bundle of bandage around her arms, and a small band aid on her forehead; he started cursing his sick brain for letting her go through all that.

His eyes had already watered.

After a whole of a month and half, he was now laying eyes on his wife, that too while she is in a senseless state. He pushed the chair away from the bed side, and got down on his knees to her.

That was the breakpoint!

"Forgive me, love!", He breathed. His eyes had already watered. She was lying as such, deep in her slumber without responding to his love statement. His hands hovered over to her head, to stroke her hair. He couldn't see her like that, sleeping patiently, without her mini lips moving in the way to bring-forth Amey from them. He gulped, and bent forward to kiss her eyelids.

"I've been such a horrible husband without trusting you! Probably, one tremendous blunder in my life." He gasped, taking her hand in his'. He knew that she wouldn't be able to hear anything at the moment. Yet, he couldn't stop himself from telling all those.

"Something that I got to know during all these days is that the realization of your situation on that day!",his head dropped down, in shame. Loads and loads of only that. He felt ashamed, himself for doing that to her. As his blue eyes glanced over her flawlessly beautiful face, his lips moved and avowed," Only to have Aarav, threatening me implying you, I really understood the misery that you survived!"

"You trusted me ! You trusted me with all your heart and soul.. That I wouldn't hurt you.. But i ended up being a cold jerk..", his voice towards the ending was mere a whisper. He shook his head in annoyance and wrath that he had on himself, for hurting her. "I should've been by your side at that time. You probably would've needed someone the most, at the moment!", he breathed again, jamming her hands and taking them to his head; closing his eyes. Only to hold her hands, after a hell of days; he felt truce! A bliss!!

On inhaling a whale amount of air, that could probably fill his lungs; he breathed. "You'd always ask me about our school days. And about you being my crush!", he said and looked up at her, and automatically a small smile had started to creep along his lips. And now no one could really stop him from smiling. Because those were the days that had made him fly in the air, as if he had wings. Seeing that girl would make his day.

"You use to ask me about all those. I'd never told you.", he mumbled with a chuckle. On going into those days virtually, as the smile on his lips grew stronger; he bent forward and talked,"I saw you in my eleventh grade."

On letting out an unbridged amount of air out, he smiled again and continued," You were standing at the corridor. Opposite to my class. That was probably the second week of the school and I was a new comer."

"While every other girls were in their pigtails, you use to come to school with your bob-cut hair! They use to come and go by cars and you use to go by cycle. With that navy blue pinafore and  the white shirt; with a badge of class monitor; only I know how hard it was to take my eyes off you. You looked pure! As pure as Water is, As pure as your soul is.." , Amey's fingers had now started to play with her's

" The first time when I saw you, you were standing out of my class mouthing things to one of the boys of my class, asking him stay from a girl of your class.", He chuckled, as his eyes got stuck to her face. Even now , she looked so pure and neat, like how he saw years back, from now.

"And did I tell you this? You were not wearing your badge on that day, when I first saw you. I still remember the day, without any doubt. And I don't remember, me remembering about someone in this certain."

"Did you know how it felt! Just like as if I've seen someone for life! As If I was going to come to you at last, wherever I go; though I have never talked to you at that time."

He smiled heartily, and took her hands and kissed her knuckles,"I didn't know that the same girl would become my life and wife one day!"

"You're Precious Meghna. I'd just let you go so easily. I shouldn't have done all that. Forgive  me, and give me one more chance.", and now it was the time for the guilt to squeeze him in and out. All that smiled due to his school days  had vanished off.

"I love you and I'd like to do that forever. I am sorry for what I have done to you. Just forgive this mad man, for not trusting you; and for giving up on you so easily." His eyes had watered all again. A stinging pain of guilt hit his heart and ripped it into cuts and pieces. "I won't say that I cannot live without you and all that.. You can simply take it as I just don't want to.. I don't want to live without you.", he breathed. With that he had no more words to slither down to her.

In sometime, he pulled the chair over to her side and took his seat on the chair; and his eyes didn't move anywhere else than her face. He missed seeing her face, all the while. His eyes took a ride all around the room and finally, came to halt at the diary that was kept on the table nearby the bed. Until Amey knew, she had no dependence on diarying. But now?

On taking hold of the note and flipping  a few pages, what he saw went straight into heart, making his eyes struggle to move on those letters that carried only pain and hurt.

Amey,

You said You don't love me. Is this all real? How can this be real Amey? I am supposed to be your Meghna! How can you hate me?

What has gotten into you? It is not that easy as you think to go through a life without you, in it. I wish I can get back to you.

-Your Meghna

Amey's heart was beating wild, right now seeing that page of that binder. He felt so lowly of himself,for making his girl endure all those pain and hurt. After all, she did nothing. She did nothing other than being fallen in love with him, hopelessly!

His long fingers trembled, trying to explore the next filled page of the diary.

Dear Amey,

Its been a week since I reached NY. Life had never been this painful to me, until that day of darkness set in. I love you, Amey with all my heart and soul. All I want is a happily forever with you and I don't think there is any chance for that to happen anymore. I miss you , Amey. I miss you more than I love you.

Why did this had to happen and we're like this.. Apart by miles.. I wish I could sleep in your arms tonight.

-Your Meghna

He ran his fingers through the letters that was spilt all over the pages. And now, for sure he had realized that what he did was an unforgivable deed! Into the next page...

Valuable Amey,

Someone should probably teach me how to unlove you. All these are becoming too much handle, day by day. Even though, hearing you say that you hate me; knowing that you love me by heart; all that remains is the same, unmistakable , eternal love for you. My love for you. How would I make you understand that, Amey?

What did you do to me? And why did you do all these to me? Why did you make me believe in love? Why did you make me fall in love? Why did you do all these from the beginning? To leave me in the halfway? To let me suffer? To let me see, f*****g my own life? Why did all these happen? Why did you happen in my life?

Talking all these, writing all these, even after accusing you.. All that remains now is the same Love, Amey. I love you, Amey. And it can never be changed.

-Your Meghna

Amey was now left speechless. His heart had all gone down to the ground, melting in the warmth of the letter! Did she suffer the same way that he did?

And something that he had to see in the next page, had the power to stop his heart for a split-second.

Amey,

Do you think you're doing any fair to me?

Why did you see me on skype and talked to me? I know. It is because my appa was there beside you. You may just label that as a reason, being you in hate with me, why on the earth did I see those eyes struggling by seeing my wails on the phone.

You did undergo a mammoth fight to win, on seeing me that way. I was clearly able to read your eyes. It just screamed love and concern. And with that I knew that your love for me did not fade away and it would never.

I wish I could talk to you, with you playing with my fingers. I really need to talk to you, Amey. There is a hell lot of stories to be shared.

- Your Meghna

He couldn't do that anymore! In a flip,he shut the notebook and threw it to the table. He really wanted to throw himself at the wall and bang his head. Why was all that he did had hurt her so much? Or why did he do so much to hurt her?

It all hurt him now.

*•*•*•*•