~ Honestly the most painful sound is a crack in someone's voice when they are on the verge of tears~

Shravan could not believe his eyes. His first response was to check if the paper were forged, if the signature was fake. That's how it works with humans, the first response after knowing betrayal is always denial. But the tiny flicker of hope in his heart extinguished on the realization that the papers were real, as real as him. And with that came the realization that his parents were not divorced, she was not Nirmala Ahuja legally.

Sometimes in life in certain situations, you can't decide whether to laugh or cry, it was a similar circumstance for him. He was confused and scared. A part of his heart knew that Suman could be right, and now that part of his heart had started pumping, with the realization that it really had a big chance to be the truth. Shravan took slow steps out of the study room, towards his own and thumped on the couch. He was grateful to see that Suman had already left for her PCT. Atleast, he would have some moments to himself, to wallow in self pity and to harbour the bitterness inside him, so that he could use some facades, maybe anger or something, to hide that broken heart of his.

A moment later someone knocked his door. He looked up to find Preeti standing, with the tray of breakfast. Seeing her brought back the memories of yesterday, and Shravan unknowingly flinched. Preeti didn't speak, just simply kept the tray in front of him and was about to leave, when she heard him calling her.

"Preeti?", His voice was raspy, as if it hurt him to talk.

"Yes?", She turned to look at him, but Shravan didn't look up at her and instead, looked at the breakfast tray.

"Why did Suman agreed to marry Aditya Preeti? When did she fall in love  with him?", Sharavan questioned, and Preeti looked at him, in complete surprise.

"I don't know how can you be so blind Sharavan. There is a limit to it. And to answer your question, Di never loved him, not even for a split second. She was forced to marry him, since Nanu refused to take medicines until she agrees. And Suman di, being Suman di, could not see Nanu suffering. So she had to say yes", Preeti almost snapped at the man, she was forced to call her brother-in-law. She had a look of pure disgust in her eyes for him, Shravan realized when he looked up at her, and it hurt him, because this was the same Preeti who was too innocent to even think about hatred. Banging the door Preeti made her way downstairs and Shravan hid his face in his palms. He could not understand what was happening. Who was right and who was wrong? He wanted to investigate till he reach the bottom line, but he knew, whatsoever the truth, it was going to hurt him only, at the end.

Two hours went by but Shravan kept sitting on the same couch, in the same position. His thoughts were all chaotic, messing up with his heart.
His heart reminded him of the day when Suman had confessed that the daal was not her recipe, but his mother's. She had promised him, no matter how much he gets angrier, she won't abandon him again ever. But she did. But she loved him, he had seen it in her eyes. He pulled his hairs in frustration. The wall clock striked five, and Shravan looked up. The entire day had gone by just like that. His breakfast still lay untouched, and needless to mention, he skipped the lunch too. But food wasn't his prime concern, the hunger for truth now more predominant in his system. Irritated but determined he got up, moving out of his house to his office, and as his car zoomed off, Suman's came in, surprised to see him leave now.

Sitting in the eerie silence of his cabin, he was going through the telephone directory of mumbai when he finally found the name he was searching for.
Nirmala Ahuja. There were five of them and with trembling hands he dialled the first one. Then the second one. Third one. Fourth one. And finally the fifth one. His heart was thumping so loudly that he was painfully aware of each of his heart beat. None of the voices was hers. Yes, even after so many years of bitterness, his mother's voice was etched clearly in his memory.

His second option was Nirmala Malhotra. There were eight of them. Everytime he kept a huge stone on his fragile heart and dialled the number, but met with the same disappointment. Still, no trace of her, and without that he won't be able to confirm the truth. All of a sudden it striked him, her maiden name was Nirmala Sharma. He searched for that and he had four options. This was his last option, to know some part of the truth, without actually confronting his parents.

He dialled the first number and the voice was someone else. He dialled the second one and his heart was already in his mouth. His leg was shaking in anxiety and one hand was clutching the phone too tight. The phone kept ringing but no one answered. He was almost going to cut the call when someone picked up.

"Hello", the voice said, panting, maybe she had come running to pick the landline but the voice had already frozen Shravan. He was unable to speak and for a moment he felt his heart had stopped beating.

"Hello?", The voice said again. Sharavan came out of the trance.

" Hello. May I please talk to Mrs. Ahuja?", Shravan tried to keep his voice firm but it was still shaky, more like a grunt. He knew she won't recognize his voice, by any chance. The other side went silent on the question.

"Mr and Mrs. Ahuja are no more. I am the caretaker of this household, Nirmala Sharma. How may I help you?", She said, and it was all that took him to abruptly cut the phone. Shravan could feel his heart shattering and bile rising up his throat. He felt like a thousand needles piercing his body at once. His hand felt numb at his side and the dialer of the landline he had used fell on the ground, developing a crack on it. Shravan felt his own limp body pain at the sight of a materialistic crack. Nothing made sense to him anymore. Just a single thought, he wanted an escape.

It was one in the night. Shravan still had not returned. Suman was pacing the room, worried. She was contemplating if to call him or not? Did he deserve her worry, or her sacrifice of sleep? His mind shouted a big no while her heart nodded. Sighing she picked up her phone, and dialled. The untouched breakfast on the table made her frown again. He was at home but didn't have breakfast, or lunch. And she was pretty sure he would not have had dinner, it was one of his childhood habits. If he was tensed or frustrated, he found some sadistic pleasure in avoiding food.

She dialled for the third time and this time someone picked up. She could hear some loud music behind. Was he in a party? If yes, she was determined to kill him for making him this worried.

"Hello. Sharavan?", She spoke when the voices died down, behind.

" Hello. Madam this person has passed out here, too drunk to even move. Please take him home, we are about to close the bar", someone said and Suman was taken aback. Sharavan was in a bar? Passed out? She felt anger rising through her as she fetched her purse and car keys.

Fifteen minutes later, she was dragging the six Feet four inch monster to her car with the help of the bartender. Sharavan was incoherently mumbling somethings and Suman looked at him in pure rage. The bartender closed the door of the car as they somehow managed to lay him on the backseat.

"Madam, I am none to interfare but I would still like to say, if there is a matter between you two, sort it out. I have seen lots of people coming here, getting drunk out of their wits, mourning over variety of things. But I have never seen a pair of eyes this sad as his today, neither have I seen someone crying that bitterly as he did before he completely passed out...", He spoke and left leaving a completely bewildered suman behind. The Sharavan she had witnessed since the last few weeks wasn't the one who could cry in a bar, in front of a stranger. He had always been too guarded with his emotions. But then, this wasn't the real Shravan either.

Petrified, she drove back home. Maybe the morning could bring some answered she was seeking.