Purvi and ishita are seated in the hospital cafeteria, where they both had a little coffee mugs in front of them, untouched, only the silence lingering between them. 

"di...kya hogaya hai humein?" questioned purvi, as ishita looked up to her, seems like she reciprocated the sentiment. 

"we had to be in a hospital to talk finally...i mean, hum toh sab share karte the na ek dusre se?" recounted purvi, as ishita sighed deeply, the answer was just too difficult and complex to give. 

"khair, ab toh kuch bhi nahi raha pehle jaisa...." remarked purvi,  scoffing at her sorry state, as ishita had a piercing gaze fixed on her. 

"purvi, hua kya tumhe aur kavin ko?" asked ishita, surprisingly genuine concern on her face, as purvi just covered her face thinking about it, shaking her head in disbelief. 

"jab main usse pehli baar mili thi na, woh kitna sweet, aur idealistic aur hardworking tha. he just was like a little kid, with bright dreamy eyes, admiring his brother and just wanting to be like him and prove himself...uski woh saadhgi achi lagi thi mujhe, par ab pata nahi kahan chali gayi woh." expressed purvi her sentiments towards kavin, of  a lost love maybe. 

"aisa lagta hai usse kho diya hai, even though usse roz dekhti ho?" added ishita, as purvi just nodded instantly, looking at ishita with concern.

"di, aap, matlab, aap aur bhai ke beech koi problem hai?" discerned purvi from her statement, as ishita smirked at her statement. 

"i wish, ek problem to solve bhi ki jaa sakti hai, lekin agar itni problems hoon ki samajh hi naa aaye solve kaunsi karni hai, toh kya karein?" remarked ishita, a self-loathing tone in her voice, surprising purvi. 

"come on di, you and bhai?" replied purvi instinctively, as if it was blasphemous to even think ishita and dushyant having marital troubles, making ishita raise her brow at her in frown. 

"i mean, aapki har anniversary pe woh ghar jaldi aate hain, aapko kahi bahar le jaakar surprise karte hain, and it's literally been 17 years! i mean, he really loves you. warna aapke har birthday pe koi aisa gift kyun laate joh aapne kabhi mall mein ghoomte hue dekha ho aur pasand aaya ho, par liya nahi! he's so caring and romantic, what could possibly be the problem?" expressed purvi her sheer disbelief at ishita's statement, astonishing ishita. 

"you know purvi, agar koi aur aisa kuch kehta na, i won't have minded it. because bahar se toh logon ko yahi cheezein dekhti hai kisi relationship ko judge karne ke liye. but, we live under the same roof, you see me with him everyday, tumhe ek baar bhi nahi laga ki main khush nahi hoon uske saath? and purvi birthday toh papa ko bhi hamara yaad rehta tha, har saal gift bhi courier karte the, but jab zaroorat thi unki and he should have been there for us, tab woh nahi the, toh that makes it okay?"  argued ishita, completely offended at purvi's stance. 

"he literally had children for you! remember something that scared him to death, but it made you happy, so he did it?" countered purvi to ishita's argument, snarkily. 

"right tumhe toh bas bache karna main part lagta hoga na, kyunki paalne ka kaam toh saara kavin ne kiya! tumhe toh pata bhi nahi hota tha tumhare bache ko viral ho rakha hai, and you'd be off for some job off yours! raaton ko uske saath hum jaage, tumhare bache paalne ke liye! ab beta hospital mein hai toh do aasun bahane se tum bahaut achi maa nahi ho jaati ho! arre tere kaaran tera bacha itna abandoned feel karta tha, no wonder woh drug addict ban gaya!" yelled ishita back, their voices only going louder. 

"acha, toh mera pati bachon ko dekh raha tha taaki main shaanti se naukri kar paon, toh usmein main buri banni! aur aap? arre jasmine toh ek saal ki bhi nahi hui thi, jab nihaal ko conceive karliya apne! sabko nahi apna career paani mein dobona hota aapki tarah!" came back purvi with another reply, to insult ishita even more. 

"oh please, kya career tha tumhara! tum ek chuti se online news website ke liye kaam karti thi joh tumhe travel allowance bhi pura nahi de pata tha! maine tumhe ek news channel mein kya laga diya badhe, thode paise kya dekh gaye woh joh so-called journalistic integrity ki baat karti thi na tum, saari udd gayi!" fought back ishita with a reality check for purvi as well.

"aur yeh mat bolna, ki agar tumhe wahan thoda lamba rehne ko milta toh yeh nahi hota. kyunki tum kisi kaam ke laayak thi hi nahi! kabhi karna kahan pada tumhe kaam kisi bhi cheez ke liye! papa ne kamaake diya, phir alimony ke sahare jiye, aur phir mere sahare! tujhe kabhi kamaana padta na, toh pata chalta. thodi mehnat karni padi, toh himmat toot gayi na, chun liya na asaan rasta! do bachon ko karne ke baad joh itna bada career break ho jaata hai usse revive karna hai pata hai kitna mushkil hota hai! nahi na, mujhe pata hai, kyunki maine akele kiya! tumhare 'caring aur romantic' jiju ne ghanta support diya mujhe! aur ab aaj woh company waalon ne bhi tumhe ek tough decision lene ko bola, tumne wahan bhi naukri chod di! kyun? kyunki bete ko iss tarah chodke jaana hai mushkil, aur sab kuch chud kar logon ko blame karna hai asaan! and you know what, you better pray kavin uth jayein, because main tumhe aur apni kamaiyi ka toh mere ghar mein rehkar khaane dungi nahi." picked up ishita her bag, giving a final blow to purvi, as she walked away. 

                                                               ***

ishita was walking outside of the cafeteria, when her arm was suddenly grabbed by someone, a grisp she recognized all too well, only to be pulled into an empty ward nearby. she looked over at the man who brought here, her anger fading away into discomfort and anxiety, she looked down, wanting to leave, but was stopped by him. he held both her hands, such that they were clasped onto his. 

"dushyant....yeh, yeh tum kya kar rahe ho.." asked ishita, her volume so low, it was barely audible. 

"i just wanted to say sorry...for before...main, i don't know mujhe kya hogaya tha...i just...actually, jabse jasmine gayab hui hai, main saara tension aur gussa tum par hi nikaal raha hoon, i am so sorry for all of it...main tumhe kabhi hurt nahi karna chahta tha, and i feel so bad for it. i guess i get intense with you sometimes, because i love you so much...and mujhse bilkul bardaasht nahi hota yeh janna ki tum mere kaaran hurt ho, i just want you to forgive me." expressed dushyant what seemed like to be coming truly from his heart, as ishita seemed a little reluctant to believe him, even though she seemed somewhat convinced. 

"i forgive you, i--uhh--i, i understand..." replied ishita nervously, as he smiled, when he caressed her cheek, she swallowed looking at him, completely puzzled, managing to fake a smile, he gave her a peck on the forehead. 

she let it linger, placing her hands on his chest, just feeling his touch, something comforting about it for her. he too let his hands cover her waist, pulling her closer, only their breaths between them. 

But they were interrupted, when the door opened suddenly,  and bani entered, causing them to separate immediately. 

"uhh, woh, equm ko hosh aa gaya tha,  he was feeling better, aur papa usse milna  chahte the, toh main usse unke paas lekar gayi, uhhm, aap shayad apna phone bhul gaye wahan...kaafi der se bajraha hai..." handed over bani his phone to dushyant, who immediately looked for who was calling him. 

ishita looked over to bani, who mouthed a tiny 'sorry', as ishita chuckled, shaking her head. 

"tumhare bhai aur papa thik hai phir?" asked ishita, as bani nodded in agreement. 

"achi baat hai, ab rona nahi, thik hai...." assured ishita, lovingly patting her cheek. 

"ACP you have got to be kidding me!" exclaimed dushyant, as their attention now turned to him, he hung up on the call. 

"nihaal aur arjun ko singhania's ke ghar se arrest kiya gaya hai, we have to go." informed dushyant, as ishita was perplexed. 

"arre, par, woh wahan kya kar raha tha?" questioned ishita, as bani swallowed, looking down. 

"pata nahi, yeh singhania ke bete ko mere hi bachon se kya problem hai.." responded dushyant with utmost of frustration, as he looked over to her, as if saying, 'we should go', to which she nodded. 

"uhh, bani beta, dhyaan rakhna phir yahan huh? aur koi zaroorat ho, just ring me immediately." instructed ishita, leaving with dushyant, as bani face palmed herself, at how much trouble she is going to get into. 

                                                          ***

author's note: hey guys, sorry for the delay in update, but i made up for it with a long one, so please forgive me. anyways, i wanted to know ki aapka kya opinion hai ishyant ki relationship ke baarein mein? like everything you have seen of them so far, kya lagta hai aapko, what is the problem in their marriage really, and are they even remotely happy together? please do tell me your opinion in the comment and vote, really appreciate it.