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Gita came back home stressed due to Isha's matter. Her glowing face in the evening had lost its shine. She changed into her home dress quickly and asked the help to bring her tea.

She was tensed for Isha. Gita had insisted her to come to their home with her but Isha wanted to go back to her mansion and just be alone.

She picked her phone and called Isha to enquire about her.

Once.
Twice.
Thrice.

Isha didn't pick up her call three times but Gita was persistent. On the fourth attempt, Isha picked her call.

"Gita, please, I want to be alone." No hello or her chirpy voice, Isha was too low.

"Isha. I am very tensed for you. I know you want to be alone, but please answer my calls." Gita said like a responsible and typical sister-in-law.

For Gita, Isha was more than her sister in law. She was almost her sister, her good friend. She could never see her sad. Isha meant more to Gita than some of her own family members. Gita can never forget how Isha always made sure Gita was comfortable around other family members, when she was a newly married bride.

"Should I ...should I talk to Rohan once?" Gita asked hesitantly but she also wanted everything to be sorted.

"Hello Isha....should I talk to Rohan and see?" Gita asked again when she didn't hear any response from the other side.

Isha wanted to say yes but knew now is not the time. "No, don't talk to him. He doesn't seem in the mood to talk. I don't want to burden you with this anymore."

"Burden? Isha!" Gita sighed, "stop saying this matter will burden me. I will come to meet you after the school ends, don't say no."

Isha just hummed, having no strength to deny her. Gita kept the call feeling relieved after talking to Isha.

"Tea at night? What's wrong?" Anand's voice boomed in the room.

In panic of him hearing things, Gita's hold on the cup loosened and it slipped from her hands resulting into a mess which Anand hates.

"I am sorry. I will clean it." Gita was quick to say. Her heart still beating fast incase he heard the conversation.

"What was the reason to be so startled by my presence? When will you stop being clumsy?" Anand expressed his displeasure, a hint of anger on his face.

Gita's mind replayed her conversation with Isha. Except for the name Rohan, there was no way Anand would know anything. She didn't use the word 'breakup' or 'boyfriend' as far as she can recollect.

"Don't clean it. Ask the help to do it." Anand said. He knows how clumsy she is and didn't want the glass to pierce in her skin.

"I will do it. They must be already heading to sleep. Let's not disturb them." Gita said and cleaned it perfectly. She knew if the glass pierce her skin or is left on the floor, he will again say things to her, so she took her sweet time to do things.

"Now, tell me what happened?" It was not common for his wife to have tea at night, especially when she had come just after attending an occasion and stuffed her stomach with all delicacies.

"Nothing." Gita was still quiet.

"Oh! Is that so? Then why are you not eating my ears out on what all happened like you usually do?" It was her habit. Whenever, he came home after a long day, she would tell him all that happened in her day. She didn't mind if he listened or not, she would ramble nonstop and he would not react much leading her to think he never concentrates but Anand was always ears to whatever people are saying, he just chooses not to react.

"The engagement was beautiful. I am just overwhelmed seeing all the love between the couple." She tried to lie.

"You know, I can read people well and you, my darling, can't lie." Anand shook his head at her naivety. What did she think? She would give me some random reason and he wouldn't catch it?

She kept her head on Anand's shoulder. She just needed to be close to him and feel his warmth.

"Are you hiding something from me?" Anand asked. Gita removed her head from his shoulder and looked at him. Her face marred with worry. Did he know??

"No, Anand." She said firmly, looking into his eyes so that he doesn't get suspicious this time of her lie. His eyes told her he was satisfied with her answer.

She put her head onto his shoulder again and stared in blank space while clutching his bicep.

"Anand, please don't ever leave me." Gita had seen the tears in Isha's eyes and she was restless. Isha was never the one to cry. But love, her love made her cry. She was heartbroken. When a woman loves, she loves with all her heart. She is caring, nurturing and doesn't think before putting her love above her and the world. Gita doesn't know much about a man. Sure,men are romantic, they know to charm you with their lovely words but in the real world, a woman always has to give up more than a man.

Was it so easy for Rohan to forget Isha?

Anand was a different story. He was never open with his affection and not gentle with his words. He called a spade a spade. If Rohan who was so much in love with Isha can break her heart, it was a child's play for Anand.

But isn't there a difference?, her mind quipped. Anand is not her boyfriend. He is her husband. He cannot leave her easily, but then again, who knows?

"I would never leave you, my love." He said so and kissed her forehead.

Gita wiped his kiss from her forehead and said, "don't say thing you don't mean." She always tells him to not call her 'my love' since he doesn't love her like she does to him.

"Okay, my wife. But I am not leaving you. And stop saying such typical 90s melodramatic wife stuff about leaving you." Anand said shaking his head at her stupid words.

Gita got up from his shoulder and faced him with anger. "This may be "
'melodramatic' or like a 'typical wife,'" she hand quoted his words, "but it is because of you men. How to trust men?
Aaj Pooja, kal koi dooja." (Today Pooja, tomorrow someone else)

"Who Pooja? I don't know any Pooja." He tried to lighten her mood feigning innocence. Gita hit him with a pillow and laid her head on his lap.

"Madam, you can keep your head on my lap for 5 minutes. But we cannot sit here on the couch, I also need to rest."
Gita got up that instance and moved to bed.

"You are right. I am unnecessarily worried. No girl will come to you when you are so unromantic and blunt." She took her blanket and lied on the bed.

"Oh my naive wife! Nobody wants to romance me. Women can sleep with me for my looks and money. They don't care if I am rough with them and not romantic. I think they would like it rough." Anand teased her. He wanted for her to talk and get a reaction than to see her quiet and gloomy.

"Shameless man!! I am right here and you want to talk about other woman and all this. Fine, boys like my cuteness and....and my hair. If it was someone else other than you, he would have let me keep my head on his lap for the whole night and not shoo me away to get rest himself."
She muttered in anger. Several boys have complimented her beauty and found her cute. Some complimented her hair. Even girls have told her she has an adorable smile.

He got up from the couch and walked towards her. He moved a strand of hair from her face and was too close.

"Ofcourse, they like you for your cuteness. But this is all for me." He kissed her left cheek.

"If I see this 'someone' taking interest and coming close to you. You don't want to know what I will do to him and then to you." He kissed her other cheek. He was not angry on her words at all. But he wanted to let her know the consequences of things.

He didn't have a possessive streak in him. He was not obsessive about her location or who she hung around with. He never had problems when she hung around with her male friends as they all seemed genuine to him. But he would never tolerate someone trying to romantically approach her and come close to her. They can probably admire her from faraway because he cannot take others freedom to look and who wouldn't like her? But that was it. Not to approach his wife with other intentions!

She put her hands around his neck and pulled him close, almost touching their lips.

"And what should I do when some women look at you hungrily? I don't even know how many try to approach you in your cabin." She asked looking at his beautiful features.

He sincerely put his head down, as if in submission and bending his pride. "I can never look at them." He kissed her lips and parted away, "because they don't have your hair, your smile and this cuteness."

She left his neck and made space between them. She smiled, happy with his answer.

**

The next day Gita rushed to the family house after work to meet Isha.

Gita hugged Isha when she entered her room. Isha's eyes were visibly swollen from not sleeping and crying all night.

"Can you tell me everything now?" Fiat questioned Isha after making sure the door of the room is locked.

Yesterday, Isha didn't elaborate much except for the news that Rohan broke up with her. It was not the right time to ask Isha to elaborate. Gita was still clueless about the entire story.

"Two three months ago, Rohan's father was admitted to the hospital. Their family business was already not gaining much profit. Rohan's start up had started flourishing though and he wanted to work on that. But the expense on his father's treatment was much more than the start up's income. I had offered him money for the treatment which he refused." Isha was weeping and wiping off her tears.

"Fair enough. I know why he would refuse the money from me. But I told him he can return it to me and I wouldn't refuse when he returns the money. But, he didn't accept it."

"Then, the conversation were less. I thought I shouldn't bother him much as he would be stressed. I had gone to the hospital whenever I can but later I had to go on the trip. That time, I got to know, the start up was going through lows and he already had taken loans, so he couldn't take anymore money for the treatment or the start up. I again offered him money which he refused. He said he didn't want my favours."

"Favours? Gita, tell me are there favours in love? I wanted to relieve his stress. I was not doing any favour on him when I offered him money." Isha's tears didn't stop.

She had had boyfriends but with Rohan, she felt true love. She imagined him to be her husband. He was a laidback, chilled guy in nature as opposed to her grandfather and brother who were strict and obsessed with money and power, always clear in their goals.

She liked Rohan because he wanted to explore life. He was a great guitarist, he played at small time events. Later, he wanted to try his hand at start ups but was not interested in his father's business. He wanted something of his own. So, he worked on it. To others, he may be a failure but for her, he was someone who never gave up and constantly tried.

His father's business was a respectable size but was nowhere compared to her family business. As Isha grew up, she stopped comparing her family business to others as only the top industrialists of the country would come close to theirs.

They had same interests and goal - to explore and travel the world together after few years.

"Yesterday, he called and was spewing nonsense. He said we can't work together. He had his father and bills to take care of. His business is not going well. He had all these things to concentrate on and I would just be a distraction. He said what will people think, that he is just here for the money and he didn't want these accusations. When has he thought of what people will say?" Isha was frustrated at his reasons. Gita was all too familiar with this type of feeling but that doesn't mean he would let go of his girlfriend.

"He even said, I must be having a good time with Khanna. Khanna can give me everything while he can't provide me with my lifestyle. I told him money is not everything. I can pay for my own lifestyle. But Rohan was adamant. He said now, it's just in passion I am saying but later, he didn't want me to regret and live my life in regret by choosing 'poor guy' like himself."

Isha clutched her hair. "You know, he was talking like this mad person since a week, but I let it go. I had always given him clarification. But yesterday, he was not in the mood to listen. The past week, I thought it is just misunderstanding and stress that is speaking all this but no, yesterday he was serious."

"I had told him everything from Khanna to Bhai wanting me to marry. At that time, we were not ready for marriage and I had no guts to tell Bhai about Rohan so I went with Khanna for dates. I had given him the smallest of information of what me and Vivek talked, so that he doesn't feel insecure. My plan was to go with Vivek on these dates, few months later when we will be ready for marriage and Bhai asks me to marry Vivek, I will say no and tell him about Rohan." Isha cried like a baby.

"Believe me Gita, Rohan always knew when and where I am going with Vivek.  He had no issues because I was clear I am giving Vivek Khanna a 'supposed chance' for Bhai's sake and his deal. So that both Bhai and Daddu knows that I had given their choice a chance and it didn't work out with him." Isha had clutched Gita's hand wanting Gita to believe her.

"But Rohan is not himself since the past week. I enquired with the hospital and got to know his father is in worse condition and may be that's why he is so insecure with everyone around him. But he is serious about the break up." Gita squeezed her hand in reassurance.

"I want him, Gita. I just want him." Isha cried like a child asking for their favourite toy. Gita hugged Isha and assured her everything will be alright.

They both were a lovely couple but she had no updates about them for past few months. She can understand Rohan's dilemma about not wanting to accept Isha's money. With him being stressed about his father, it is natural for him to feel insecure about his relation with Isha especially when she is meeting a man who is successful than him. What Rohan is feeling is valid. Logically, Rohan felt he can't provide Isha what she deserves and it was better to let go of her. But when Isha wants to stick around, he should let her.

Isha had complicated things further by giving Vivek a pretend chance for Anand and the deal. Gita was definitely upset with Isha over it.

"It's okay. He will come around. We will talk to him." Gita patted Isha's back to stop her sobs.

"You should have never given Khanna a chance, even if it was just to show. I understand you didn't want to disclose your relationship to Anand. But, you could have said no instead of giving chances. Why did you do that?" Gita said what she wanted to say for a long time. Isha needs to hear the truth, even if it would hurt her. Gita was not the one to say the bitter truth but Isha was closest to her, she wouldn't support her where she felt Isha is wrong.

Isha held back a sob and replied, "And tell what to Bhai? A simple no would have never worked. It would be suspicious. I thought this all is very easy. To pretend to give chance and when time comes say no was a simple thing I could think of. I didn't think of the effects it would have on my relation since I thought being transparent was enough with Rohan."

Exactly! In the head, everything either seems too easy or too complicated than what it is actually. What rational mind never thinks is the complexity of a situation.

"Again, why is this deal so important? And is marriage a part of the deal?" Gita asked as she had forgotten the details of this. She shook her head at Anand's obsession over money and power. When will he understand that he has enough of it?

"Because we never had a base in Espognia and apparently, this family has large holds over various estates in Espognia. They are offering Bhai a good share percent but with marriage, he would obviously get more and it would be like sealing the deal. The others are also after it so Bhai wants to ensure this with a marriage." Isha explained Gita who didn't look pleased with this idea.

"Gita, this is normal here. People marry for money, deals and their interests. I also took meeting the Khanna very lightly and agreed because it is quite normal." Isha explained further.

And normal doesn't make it right, Gita wanted to say. But all Gita did was calm her down and assured her things will go well.

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Will they???

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