37b - Thundering of storms(S2)

One thing that the whole incident proved today, Niharika was that her husband was a big coward. Whenever any crisis came their way, he chose to run-far away from it all.

So, Prithvi Chouhan had another name besides the king title-he was the coward who ran away from his responsibilities and abandoned them at the slightest tremor, be it an earth-shaking crisis or a mild inconvenience.

"I c...can't do th..i.is. I can't ta..k..ke any more... plea..se, ple.ase, I just wa..want to run away. o..only He doesn't get to a..act like a co..coward! always."

"H..he is a coward. Yes He is a co...w..ward, G..god, do you h..ear me? My hus..s..band runs aw..a..ay all the time. I wa..n..nt to end this suff...ering..." Niharika's voice cracked, raw and desperate.

"What li..limited option did he ch..o...oose? To run aw..ay from me..." she cried.

And in that moment, with all the anguish she had suffered, Niharika's heart shattered. "I ca..care less ab...o..out you. I do..don't care wh...what you do or w..where you go. G..go to h..hell and ro..ot t..there."If her tongue had been a weapon, it would've been a blessing.

And so, Prithvi was dying-Not physically, but a slow death brought on by his own inner demons. His struggle was just as real as hers-he was fighting, too, but fighting against himself, against what he had become. And that struggle might lead him to his own demise, just as Niharika's suffering might break her.

Maybe, deep down, both of them wanted this.

Wanted the end.

But when you're supposed to be together against the whole world, being a coward doesn't help. If one partner decides to run away, the other has to take responsibility and face the consequences. So, too, did Niharika. But right now, she wasn't really ready to face any issues. She, too, needed a distraction for the time being.

For God's sake, she was heartbroken, so she shakily dialed her last source of help after hesitating for a moment.

The phone rang only once before it was answered. Unexpectedly, she hadn't thought he would even try to keep in contact with her.

She started to speak, "D-dad," with devastating seriousness, "Wh..hy did y..o..ou do that? Dad, h...a..ave you ev..e.er been sc..scared?" she cried.

"Be..because I'm scared. B.u..ut I want to e..end this too-" she said miserably.

The answer from the other side came from her uncle.

"Niharika!" he called. She stopped and cried harder.

So it wasn't her father.

That's why the phone was answered in the first place. She started crying more miserably. Her father didn't even care. When she heard a lot of background voices, "Bhai shaab, she is asking weird questions. Why did you marry her to such a person? Why didn't you stop her? She's looking gravely serious. Bhaishaab, our Niharika..." With disappointment, she almost gave up on everyone.

She thought, maybe the last time, she could really hear from him. After all, fathers are the protective shield of all girls. Even though they didn't have that kind of bond, she thought, "Why not try?"

She started putting her phone down.

"What-give me..." She almost hung up when she hear "Niharika!" He shouted into the phone.

She could hear him now. She put the phone back to her ear and asked, gulping hard, "Wh..hy did you ma...r..rry me to h..him?"

He listened silently.

"Niharika..."

"What happened?" he asked.

She ignored his question and burst out, "W..h,,hy? Please an..answer me. You said he w..would keep me hap..p..py. D..o.o y..you know w..what he did? H...he left m..me in some un..unknown place."

"I'm sc..sc.scared to death, Da..dad. If I d..die, you will be the o..o..ne to bla..ame."

"Niharika!" he waited patiently for her answer.

Niharika picked up her phone with shaky hands, holding it to her left ear with both of them trembling. "D..dad! He's a co...coward, huh? Wh..hat do you think? Th..that he'll pr..protect m..m..me?"

He stayed silent, hearing her precariously.

"If y..o..ou had beli...e..eved me, I wo..o..uld've pro..t..tected my..self bet..t..ter than him! De..depending on hi..him has ma..de me hel..helpless. And yo..you too, Dad! See? He's le..f..ft me in the mid..d..dle of nowher..e!" she shouted with raw pain.

This wasn't just a cry for help-it was a confrontation. A way to make her father feel the same regret and anguish that she was enduring. She reminded him of everything: the choices she had made, the ones he had encouraged, and how it had all led to this moment.

"D..dad, I don't kn...now an..nyone in this pl...place. I co...contacted Bhai, b..but he... he is n..not r..reachable. W..what do I d..o?" she asked him, looking around desperately towards desolate streets.

"Ni... Niharika, wait for me on the call... call him right now. I will too." Her father was deadly serious, receiving a phone call from his daughter in the middle of the night.

His voice was layered with many unexplored emotions.

"No, Da..d, I don't w..want to an...s..swer him. I'm call..l..ing yo..ou to let you k...know if I d..die, you are the one to b...blame." she said, pointing a trembling finger toward her own heart as if her father could see the gesture through the phone. "I..if I die, Da..ad!" She screamed. "I ho..p..pe I die so yo...o..u will regret y..o..our who..o.le life."

"Niharika, call him! Don't be stupid!" her father ordered her strictly.

She shook her head in refusal, even though he couldn't see her, sobbing and shivering. She stammered, "N...o..o, Dad! I'm n..not doing it. S.s.see? He ev..en made you w..worried now."

"Niharika, don't be a fool!" her father screamed from the other side.

"D...dad! I w...want him to be d..d..dead. You kn...o..ow, dead!" She made her most wicked thought verbal.

"I'll call him, you wait on hold, don't hang up, don't try to..."

She didn't care about the call her father was trying to make. She just wanted to talk about herself right now, so she continued, "W...h..hy? You kno..o.w, Dad, re..regret is a bi..i..g thing. I t..think th..that's the only thi..i.ng that ca..an change a person. M...maybe you too, fo...r..r for..rcing me aga..i..inst my w...will."

"Stop talking!" came the command from the other side, and she stopped for a moment, waiting to hear what he had to say.

Did he answer?

"His phone is ringing?... What? he's not answering. Keep calling." But to Niharika's utter wildness, her father's distracted voice came through.

"H..h..he is ign..o..oring both of u..us," Niharika voiced out.

"Niharika, stop talking rubbish. Tell me where you are, I'll send someone. You can come back."

She wasn't interested; as expected, her joy was drained. She continued where she left off, "Y..o.,ou know, you ne..v..er tried to cha...n.nge in fro..n..nt of me. M..m.aybe after I'm g...o..one, yo..o.u'll try."

Her father listened to her silently, while in the background, the voice of her uncle echoed, "He isn't answering his phone."

She stopped and said with a smile, her overflowing tears accompanied by a dry voice, "Do..n.n't make efforts. H..he doesn't ca...r..re abo..o..ut me."

"I ho...o..pe it en..nds today. So..m..meone kil..lls me or... so..m..mething, so I n...e..ever return to th..that place, th..that home h..he forced on me." She screamed and put the phone down. Then she picked up her phone again and placed it on her ear. "D..dad, that p..p.ainting yo....o..u're stan..n,.nding in fro..nt of in the st..u.udy room rig..h..ht now..."

He stayed silent.

"I know! th..a..at pa..i..inting was made by me, y...yet why a..am I n...not present there? Th...there was n..never a home I be...belonged to."

"..."

"W..h.hy am I an a...artist who w..o..orks with c...c..colors, wh..o..ose job is to w..o..ork with colors, y..y,,yet why is m..my ro..o..om all plain, co..o.lorless, D..dad? W..why so many pretty colors, h...however n..not a...a sin..gle one that I d...de..eserve to cele...b..brate and ide..ntify m..myself with?"

"Hear me out, Niharika! And answer me-why isn't he answering? Is he at his place? That's where you were going, right?"

"I d..o,,on't know, I d..don't care..." She stopped, then spoke with strange tension and stillness, "I n..never di..a.aled you b...a..ack w..with an..y..y hope in the f..fffirst place, for h..i..im to c...cccome b..ack f..o..or me." She knew deep down in her heart she wanted him to, but she was lying. "I c..c.called to kn...o..ow yo..o..ur rea..s.son-w..why you de...decided him. I w..a.ant to kn..o.ow, one last time, wh...h..y y..o..ou fa..a.iled this ti..i.me wh..hen yo..ou n..never did befor..e?" she said, gulping hard, feeling overwhelmed.

"D..d..dad, I've e...ndu.red a l-l-lot, yet a..at the sa..ame time, I d..i.idn't endure any..yything at all. Wh..hy was th..a.at so empty? D..i..id we miss som..mething? Di..id I do s..something w...r..rong, or w..was I someone you n...never re...aally sa..aw as y..o.our chi..i..ld? Was there any d..eeeep mean.i..ing beh..ind a..a.ll of this?"

"..."

"R..right, Dad? W..will yo...our d..deal also en..nd if I d...don't return to hi..i.m? But h..he left me he..ere, right? Us..se that ag..against him. B..but, Dad, I h..had to a..s..sk you: H..how could I j..j.just be a deal b..e.etween y..you both? D..o.on't I'm y..o..our daughter? T..t.then how co..o.uld this b..e?"

"What deal?" he asked in shock.

She stopped crying, focused all her attention on him, sobbing. "T..t.he de...eal of m..me...y..ou s..s.old--" she stopped and looked up, her expression tense.

Her phone was still on her ear, and her body froze. "Niharika, he never made any deal... he didn't ask me. Listen carefully now-"

She loosened her grip, sprinting up in fear. Her phone slipped from her hand, hit speaker mode, and fell near her shoes.

"Tell me your location. He never was interested in my business. He never really cared about acquiring any leading position in my business. He just did that for you. There was no repayment deal. No one exists, it was just a marriage, like a marriage. No exchange, Niharika, are you understanding what I'm saying? I don't even know why he did it. He just stopped everything, meddling, and stepped into it."

A man came forward. Both looked down as she stared in manic fear, her hands trembling. She moved back but then left her phone behind and took another step backward.

One of the men called for others. She frantically took a few more steps to her right, breathing heavily and taking shaky steps. Finally, she sat down, listening to everything.

"I never thought of making you a scapegoat for business. You were never sold, Niharika, nor was your fate. But some decisions had to be made. There were no secret words between us. Everything just happened instantly. None of us had the time to think. Now don't be stupid, and stop crying or acting on impulse. Get on the call with him or send me your location," her father said.

She noticed one man moving toward her and picking up her phone.

A voice echoed from the phone, "Call that bastard! Where is he? Call him again! What is he doing, leaving her like this?" Her father shouted.

Niharika looked back, gulping nervously, while the man who picked up the phone grimaced at the voice coming through. Annoyed, he shook one finger in his ear.

She nodded in response.

"His secretary-call him! Find his number!" her father's voice commanded before the call abruptly ended.