“how are you feeling now?…any pain?”doctor asked from swara and she shakes her head.she was laying on bed in such way that her back was attached with couple of pillows behind her back.shomi was sitting beside her on bed.shekhar was sitting in chair,which was near her bed.ragini and kavita were standing behind shekhar.ram was sitting on sofa while standing beside him with crossed arms over chest.
“can you recognize everyone?…”
Swara looks at everyone slowly,her gaze stopped at sanskar just for a second then she looked back at doctor and nodded.
“that good….”doctor smiled,approvingly.
“mr.gaddodia we need your signatures on discharge papers…”doctor said,shekhar nodded and goes with him after kissing swara on head.
********************************
MAHESWARI MENTION
Sanskar was sitting on armed chair with file open in front of him on glass table but he was lost in deep thought.swara didn’t meet eye with him which disturbed him a lot.
“what are you thinking?..”ram asked while sitting in front of him.sanskar comes back to his senses and looked at ram.
“nothing…”
“i wanted to talk about something important…do you have free time?”ram said in serious voice.sanskar nodded,closed file and looked at his worried face.
“do you know swara and her family shifted here in India one year before….”
“swara had told me about it….why are you asking?”
“what else she told you?…”
“wait!…she told me that they were shifted two years before and you are saying that…”sanskar said with lined on forehead and ram cuts him in between.
“she told you what she was told….”
“what do you mean?…”sanskar asked in confused tone.
“swara had met with accident when she was in London after that accident she suffered from slight dementia and forgot few years of her life….because of some reasons,they shifted here immediately and told swara that she shifted in India one year before and sent to work in our company so that mr.gadodia can establish business here.”ram said,choosing words carefully.
“what reasons?….and i tried to dig up swara’s background but i found nothing except some basics then how do you know this much?”
“do you love swara?….”
“dad please…don’t change the topic”
“first give me my answer honestly then i will give you, your answers”ram said in serious tone.sanskar looks at his serious and gets alarmed.he had seen him serious only thrice in his life.first that night when his mother left the house,second when she filed case to get sanskar,so that she can demand money from ram in the name of sanskar and now,he was serious again.
“i love her a lot and your behavior is making me go insane.”sanskar said in disturbed tone.
“swara is already married….”ram said in quite tone and stared at sanskar but he was looking back at him silently.both sit there silently for few minutes.
“sanskar!…”ram tried to speak but sanskar cut him.
“how do you know about this?…”
“i had asked for swara’s hand,then her parents told me about this….”
Sanskar gets up and walks out from there.ram holds his head and lays back on chair,feeling headache.
***********************
GADDODIA’S MENTION
“mama! go and take rest…i am fine now”swara said with smile on face to assure her she was fine.
“i am not going anywhere…..”
“mama! please…you were in hospital from more than 24 hours.you need to take rest”
“swara! let me stare at you…..i want to make sure that my daughter is fine.i will not get sleep like this.you are the one who should sleep”
“mama!…”swara tried speak but shomi cuts her in between.
“sleep!!….”shom show her eyes.swara sighed,lays down and shomi corrects blanket on her.
“i trouble you and dad a lot…don’t i?”swara asked while starring at ceiling.
“you never troubled us….you are best daughter of the world.”shomi said while squeezing her hand.
“don’t lie…i heard that you fainted in hospital because of tension.”swara said,gets up and sit on bed.shomi tried to speak but swara cut her in between.
“i am sorry,because of me you two have to go through so much….i am really sorry”swara said and hugged.
“are you mad…why are you saying sorry,its not your mistake.don’t say sorry”shomi said and rubs her hand on her back up and down.swara breaks hug after some time and looks at her mother.
“i made you cry…”swara giggled and wipes shomi and her’s tears.At that time one servant enters inside and bends a little,both looks at him.
“mr.sanskar maheswari has come to meet her.”servant said and swara’s heart stopped after hearing sanskar’s name.
“okay…make him sit.”shomi said after taking a glance over swara’s face.servant bend again and leaves from there.
“mama i am not feeling good,i don’t want to meet anyone.i want to sleep.please tell him,i am sleeping”swara said while fidgeting her fingers.
“okay…you take rest and if you need anything then call me or press intercom.don’t step down from bed”shomi said,kissed on forehead and gets up.she makes her lay down,puts blanket on her and leaves after switching on dim lights of room.swara closed her eyes and one tear escaped through her corner of her eyes.she wipes her tear and turns to one side.
************************
“why didn’t you stop me”swara asked from ragini,seeing shomi and shekhar leaving from the room.ragini looks at her then gets up from bed and closes the door and again sits on bed,in front of swara.
“from what?….”
“from falling for him….i didn’t knew anything but you knew it.you should have stopped me.”
“why should i have stopped you?…”ragini asked in calm tone.
“are you seriously asking this from me?…”swara asked in disbelief.
“hmm…give me one reason why should i have stopped you?”ragini asked in same calm tone.
“i am married woman…is this reason not enough”swara glares at her.
“suppose swara,if you had not met with accident then you would have taken divorce till now and if you are not stupid as much as i think then you had started to move on in your life.if you had met with sanskar at this point and would have fallen for him after knowing everything then also you had been saying all this to me?”
“i had met with accident and i am not divorced yet and even after i would have taken divorce.i had never fall for someone else because i would have known its end….if life will become what we though for ourselves then everyone will be leaving in paradise.stop fooling me.”swara said with teary eyes.
“you would have not said this if you had seen sanskar in hospital….”
“ragini you have no idea how he will react when he will come to know about my marriage….he will hate me for life time.”swara said in painful voice,remembering about sanskar’s hatred toward his mother.
“he came to meet you after knowing about marriage but you didn’t meet him…..swara meet him for once.”ragini said in soft tone.tears formed in her eyes and she looked down to hide them.
“everyone has rights to stay happy,you have also right to stay happy and trust me sanskar will understand everything……at least listen what he want to say.”ragini said while keeping hand on hers.
“i know what he want to say….”swara though while tears start rolling down from her cheek.
“are you planning to meet him?…”ragini asked,seeing her silent.swara raised her head and looked at her with painful eyes.
“you know ragini…how am i feeling right now”swara said but ragini keeps silent.
“i am feeling so confused on what i should cry….my husband,whom i loved so much, cheated on me or for the person i fell so deeply….is going to hate forever.”
“swara…”ragini tried to speak but swara cut her.
“you don’t know what i know about him….you should have stopped me.”swara said in helpless tone and new tears start rolling down.ragini looks at her sadly and hugs her.
************************
EVENING
Swara was standing at seashore,seeing the sun drowning into the ocean.small waves were washing her feet.
“beautiful sun set…isn’t it?”sanskar said after standing behind her at some distance.Swara heart stopped hearing sanskar voice.
“ragini!…’swara muttered under her breath and closed her eyes.
“will not even look at me?…”sanskar chuckled in humorless tone.swara licks her lips and gulps hard and turns back.swara looks at his face felt something stuck in her throat.he was looking so tired,dark circles around his eyes were getting dominant and disheveled hair on forehead.swara smiles in her mind,finding him cute in this attire also.
“why are you ignoring me?…”sanskar asked in disturbed tone.
“why are you here?…”swara asked,instead of giving him answer.
“don’t i deserve some answers?…”
“you know everything what else do you want to know?…”
“i know nothing except this that the girl to whom i love so much is already married….”sanskar said,suppressing his anger.
“is this not enough for you?…”swara asked in low voice while blinking her eyes to hold back tears.sanskar opens his mouth to say something but swara spoke before him.
“i had no memory about my marriage.i didn’t play any game with you….i am sorry if i made you remember your mother.i had no intentions to hurt you.”she moves forward,takes out the king from her black coats pocket and place it on his palm of right hand.
“don’t try to meet me again…”swara said while she closes his hand over the kind.sanskar looks at the tear which rolls down from her cheek and fell on their joined hands.swara moves her hand back,walks passes him and goes toward her car.chauffeur opens car for her,she sits inside and he droves off.sanskar was still standing there,holding the kind in tight fist,seeing the car vanishing behind dust.
TO BE CONTINUED……