He squeezed his eyes shut ,as each and every word is echoing inside his mind...the tear drops is wetting the side of his pillow...he clutched the pillow in pain and hurt...He already understood the meaning of the last sentence...
Flashback..
"Contraceptive pills??" Sahil murmurs looking at her shocked.
Kriti looks away in response..
'Tum itne dino se mujhse jhuth bolte aa rahi ho ki mere kamiyo k wajay se you're not getting pregnant ?? Because I am not able to satisfy you?? Aur yaha tum din k din yeh consume karti jaa rahi ho? Why ??' he asked getting hurt .
She gets up feeling agitated..
'Haan kyuki mujhe abhi tumhare bache ki maa baane ki koi shauk nahi hain..mein abhi inn sab cheez k liye ready nahi hu sahil..'
'Toh tum toh mujhe yeh bata bhi toh sakti thi na?? Jhuth kyu boli ?? Meine kabhi tumhe force Kiya kisi cheez k liye??' he asked going close to her..
She closed her eyes , 'Kyuki tumhe bache pasand h mujhe nahi..'
'Toh bache kisko pasand nahi hote ??' he asked.
'Mujhe pasand nahi hote Sahil.. mujhe.." she snapped
" aur upar se tumhare kam karte karte pure din nikal jaate hain....aur phir tumhare bache ki bojh mein nahi utha sakti'..
Flashback ends.
He cries clutching the pillow tightly remembering all those words..
Author's POV
Next day Disha came quite early to his house.Last night she couldn't sleep peacefully thinking about him.
Whether he had dinner or not? Did he slept empty stomach last night?? What he is doing right now??
She get inside to see him working on laptop.
'Kal raat aapne dinner Kiya tha?' she asked putting her sling bag on sofa.
He looked up surprisingly..
'Haa kiya tha..' he paused.
'Thora bohut'.. he responded..
She sighed going inside the kitchen to make his favourite breakfast for him for lifting his mood.
A chicken cheese sandwich with caramel pudding...With the help of tomato ketchup and mayonnaise,she makes a big smiley face on the plate..
She place the plate infront of him without saying anything..and hiding behind the pillars,she started watching him..
His eyes falls on the plate and slight smile immediately adorned his lips..
'Ab toh has dijiye sir?? Hasne mein bhi kya tax lagti hain kya ??' a voice startled him as he saw her standing with a soft smile..
He gaves a sad smile while taking a bite of the sandwich..
She kneels down infront of him, 'Sir jo apka kabhi parwa hi nahi kiya ..jo humesha aapko taane maarte thein..bina koi reason se aap k upar apni frustration nikalti thi...aur upar se aapke aapke piche piche kisi aur k sath' she paused..
'Toh aap unn k liye kyu khudko saza de rahe hain??' she asked softly..
His grip on the sandwich loosened as his eyes glistened with unshed tears.
He wanted to break down, to let go of the storm raging inside his chest, but years of holding it all in had made him afraid to appear vulnerable.
He quickly tried to wipe his tears, but before he could, she gently grasped his hand, stopping him.
She shook her head, her own eyes brimming with emotions.
"It's better to cry than to suffer alone, sir... Don't hold it in." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Am I not your friend? Then why are you hiding your pain from me?"
And then, without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him, offering him the warmth and comfort he so desperately needed.
That was all it took.
The dam inside him burst.
His body shook as he clutched onto her, burying his face in her shoulder, sobbing like a child who had finally found solace after years of suffering in silence.
She said nothing-just held him tighter, her fingers running through his hair, silently telling him that she was there, that he wasn't alone.
His tears seeped into her clothes, but she didn't care.
Between shaky breaths, he finally spoke, his voice broken.
"You know, Disha... ever since my accident, ever since I started walking with a crutch, people have only looked at me with pity. My friends... they all left, one by one. No one talks to me anymore. Only Rajat stayed by my side."
A bitter chuckle escaped him before his voice cracked again.
"I thought after marriage, Kriti would understand me... that she would be my support, my safe place. But she never did."
He swallowed the lump in his throat. "She was embarrassed to even walk beside me in public... because I walk too slowly."
"One time, she took me to her office's annual party. I was excited... hopeful, even. But that night, the crowd was overwhelming. There were too many people, too little space, and before I knew it, I lost my balance. The crutch slipped, and I fell... right in front of everyone-her colleagues, her friends."
"For a moment, there was silence... and then, I heard it. The muffled snickers, the whispers, the barely contained laughter. No one outright mocked me, but their eyes... their expressions... they said everything."
"And Kriti? She didn't say a word. She just helped me up, her grip stiff, her face unreadable. But I knew. I could feel it."
"From that day onward, she never took me to any of her office parties again."
His voice broke at the last sentence, and the weight of that memory crushed him all over again.
'Jo log aap pe has rahe thein na sir woh log insaan hi nahi hain... unlog ko kisi aur k pareshani,dukh , kasht nazar hi nahi aate' she whisper.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally loosened his grip on her, hesitating for a moment before pulling away completely. His eyes were red, his face still damp with tears, but there was a certain lightness in his expression-a relief he hadn't felt in years.
Disha cupped his face gently, wiping away the last traces of his tears with her thumb.
"Better?" she asked, her voice soft, her eyes searching his.
He nodded his head giving a small smile.
Sahil POV:-
"She is the first person in my life who listened to me silently. No interruptions, no forced reassurances, no dismissive words-just quiet understanding."
She is not like others..she is a bit different..
For the first time, I didn't feel judged. I didn't feel pitied. And strangely, I didn't feel ashamed or embarrassed for sharing my story with her.
Instead, I felt... lighter. As if the weight I had carried for years had finally started to lift, piece by piece.
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