43. Increasing Distances

It wasn't even an hour when Aryaman was already at her door. Maitri had been crying the whole time scared that her love turned out to be the man she hated him to be.

"Why are you living in mum's old apartment?" Aryaman asked taking a seat on her bed as she stood at the door with her mouth open.

"You need to leave Maan" She looks at him angrily.

"Answer my question first" Aryaman makes himself comfortable on the bed by kicking of his shoes and laying down on the bed and checking its durability.

"Fine stay here, I'll leave" She walked by the bed to get her purse and phone when Aryaman pulled her and laid her on the bed.

"Mayuu" He said it so sweetly that she couldn't remain angry at him and broke down.

"What Maan? You cleared it that you will not come to pacify me if I leave the palace then why are you here?" She pushed him away from her and asked with tears.

"Because I love you" He held her hand stopping her from going farther away.

"Really? If you really loved me then you wouldn't have stopped me from achieving my dreams, something I had cleared with you in the first meet itself" She looked at him with accusations.

"You are being unreasonable Maitri. You can have anything you want here and yet you want to go there to start from 0? You are a Queen Maitri, and a queen never has to strive to remain in position" Aryaman explained her calmly.

"You won't understand Maan, you won't. I want to fulfill my dreams in my way not using connections to make then come true" She pushed his hand away from her wrist.

"Maitri please... what don't you have here that you want to go there? You are free to live the life the way you want here what difference is the country going to make?" He argued with her stopping her from leaving.

"Aap... Forget it. I am leaving for the states next week" She said showing him the tickets she booked for both of them before he came and they discussed the topic. Aryaman took them from her and tore them into multiple pieces and threw them in the dustbin with a smirk as Maitri looked at him shocked.

"What did you do??" She screamed at him in anger.

"Now we aren't going, simple" He said happily, pulling her in his embrace.

"Are you mad? Why did you do this?" She tried pushing him away as tears filled her eyes.

"I tore those damn tickets you so desperately booked. We will settle here and enjoy our lives" He twirled her in his embrace. She pushed him and slapped him across his face.

"I have said what I had to say. I will go to the states and fulfill my dream" She argued with him.

"The only time you will leave for the states is when you will leave me" Aryaman said angrily rubbing his cheek.

"You don't mean that" Maitri looked at him shocked and prayed to God that he didn't mean a word he said.

"You know what to do" Aryaman packed her bags as she sat on the bed dumbfound at his words. Once he was done packing her bags, he pulled her with him to the car and strapped her. She simply kept staring at nothing as he drove them to the palace. She stepped out of the car and walked inside without waiting for him, holding herself strong. Aviraj and Aarchi hugged her seeing that she was back home but her lack of response worried them.

"Bhabhi" Aarchi shook Maitri slightly but she was lost in her trance. Aryaman entered the palace holding her bags and went straight to the room. Maitri pushed them away slightly and walked to the room following Aryaman. Aviraj called for Rishav and Kaira worried about Maitri.

Aryaman arranged Maitri's clothes back into the wardrobe happily ignoring the fact that she wasn't mentally present with him. Once he was done, he sat beside her and started kissing her neck and laid her on the bed with him on top of her. She looked up at him after a long time as he looked at her lovingly.

"I wish I never fell in love with you" She said monotonously, pulling him closer to herself.

"But you did" Aryaman bit her neck, creating a hickey.

"I've never regretted anything more than this today" A tear slid down her cheek as she pushed him below her.

"Is this why you are with me Maan?" She opened his shirt buttons and asked as tears slowly poured out of her eyes.

"No. I married you because I loved you and your personality" He pushed her down and wiped her tears.

"Leave me alone Maan because right now all I feel is like your prostitute for whom you don't care whether you are breaking her or not" She sat upright, pushing him slightly.

"Mind your words Maitri. You are my wife, my Queen, nothing less than that" Aryaman held her chin tightly looking at her angrily.

"Then why am I not feeling like that Maan? You dragged me here against my wish, laid me on the bed without caring whether I wanted this or not and yet I am supposed to believe that you respect me" She looked at him accusingly. Aryaman realized what he was doing and immediately stood up from the bed and closed his shirt buttons with regret.

"Am sorry" He apologized profusely to her, but she sat there without looking at him.

"I didn't mean to hurt you"

"And it is you who's hurting me the most Maan. Is this how you treat your wife?" She asked refusing to look at him.

"I got overwhelmed in emotions. I will do everything to stop you from going to States Mayu, everything even if it isn't morally correct" Aryaman held her tightly in his embrace which she didn't reciprocate.

"I will leave for the states as planned, do what you have to do" She raised her eyes and looked at him with a challenge.

"You will have to end our relation if you want to go" He said angrily.

"I will" She stood up with confidence and replied.

"Meaning?"

"Maine aapse kaha tha, I love you the most but not more than my self-respect" She gulped down her tears and looked at him.

"Fucking great" Aryaman pulled his hair in frustration and left the room angrily leaving Maitri crying in the room.

After a few hours Aryaman returned still angry.

"What are you doing in this room when you are ready to break our relation?" He asked with hatred making Maitri look at him.

"What do you mean?" She asked confused.

"Leave it" Aryaman walked to the closet and pulled all his clothes out as Maitri tried to stop him but he didn't pay any heed to her.

"Maan what are you doing?" She shouted at him when she had enough.

"Leaving from the room after all you'll be leaving me soon" He taunted her.

"Yes I will be because you are forcing me to leave. You had promised me and now you are going back on your words" Maitri stood her ground firmly.

"Yaar why are you making this a big thing?" Aryaman walked to her and asked.

"I am making this a big thing Maan? You are brought me here without my wish, almost had sex with me without even seeing my face, not knowing whether I was ready or not for it and I am making this a big thing? You have placed me in a position where I have to choose between you and my dreams and I am fucking making this a big thing?" She shouted at him hitting him on his chest weakly.

"Toh mat jana please" He held her hands and looked at her defeatedly.

"Agar ruk gayi toh jis ladki se aapko pyaar hua tha woh mein phir kabhi nahi ban paungi" She said crying. Both of them stepped away from each other looking at what they've become.

FIVE DAYS LATER

"Aryaman you need to attend the meeting today with the locals" Rishav said looking at Maitri even though he was talking to Aryaman. Maitri looked up at Aryaman for his one look but Aryaman ignored her royally after their fight the other day.

"Mayu" Kaira called Maitri looking at Aryaman.

"Ji ma" Maitri moved her gaze from Aryaman to Kaira.

"When is your flight?" Kaira asked. Aryaman looked at Maitri with anger and lots of unspoken words.

"Tomorrow night at 9" She looked at Aryaman hoping he'd do something, say something but all that was was silence in the tsunami of emotions. After their fight, Maitri and Aryaman did live in one room but both of them avoided each other and hadn't talked to each other in 5 days. Whatever communication was there was because of the family.

"So you'll be leaving by 6 tomorrow evening. Aryaman return home early tomorrow" Kaira said hoping that one of them will back off but none of them were ready to step back.

"If she wants to leave then what's my use in it. Not that she's going to stop if I ask her to" Aryaman taunted her and she fisted her hands tightly, stopping herself from saying anything. Maitri hadn't told her mum or her sister about the tension brewing between her and Aryaman as she didn't want to stress Juhi with something new after Akshit. Aryaman stood up and left for his work and Maitri stood up and ran to the room.

"This is getting out of hands now" Kaira banged her hands on the table and followed Maitri to her room and asked Rishav to take care of Aryaman.

AT OFFICE

"Arya?" Rishav knocked on Aryaman's cabin and looked around to see his cabin was completely out of place.

"Yeah" Aryaman looked away embarrassed at the condition of his cabin.

"What's going on beta? Why are you going back on your words?" Rishav sat on the chair as Aryaman paced infront and behind. He tried speaking but nothing came out. Rishav sat the patiently waiting for Aryaman.

"Papa...Am scared" Aryaman looked at Rishav with teary eyes. Rishav looked at him curiously.

"I am scared that once we will go to the States she will forget me. I don't want us to be like those couples she reads about in her novels. I don't want her to be so far from me that we forget the way back home" Aryaman kept walking infront and behind pulling at his hair. Rishav smiled understanding Aryaman's concerns were true at his place.

"Have you talked about this to her?" Rishav asked looking at Aryaman with a neutral look. Aryaman refused.

"How do I talk to her when all that's in her mind is going to that fucking country? She doesn;t want to hear anything other than her dreams. She doesn't have time for me here will she hae time for me there?" Aryaman looked away from Rishav ashamed that he was so insecure. Aryaman placed a hand on the floor to ceiling window and looked at the city below. Rishav stood up and placed a hand on Aryaman's shoulder.

"Tell her about your insecurities. She will understand and also listen to her insecurities. There's nothing that a good conversation can't solve Arya. I know you both love each other but sometimes somethings are greater than love and you need to pick your sides. Welcome to Marriagehood son, here none of us are completely right or completely wrong, just the capability of how much you know each other is tested" Rishav left the cabin giving Aryaman some space to absorb his words.

Aryaman came up with a plan to meet Juhi and Divya and have their opinion on this and know whether he was behaving irrational or was it Maitri's demands that were wrong since the Ranawats had made it clear they were all on Maitri's side and ignored his feelings.