The Promise (16 page)

He wanted to run away, but he could not. Shambhavi needed him. He had to be there for her. Whatever the problem was, they would go through it together. She will have him by her side.

It took him seventeen agonizing minutes to get to Shambhavi's house. He braked harshly and jumped out of the car. The front door was open; he entered.

'Shambhavi!' he called, moving around the house to find her. 'Shambhavi? Where are you?'

There was a muffled moan from the washroom on his right. He rushed to it and flung open the door, to find her sitting on the floor, sobbing. Her eyes were red and cheeks wet from all the tears she had shed. It was worse than he had expected. Tears were bad enough for him already, but seeing Shambhavi cry was too much for him to take.

Those lovely eyes, looking scared and gloomy, that sweet face, crumpled up and covered with tears-it was not a sight he could handle. He noticed that her upper lip had swollen due to crying. Her hair was rough and tangled, it was clear that she had been pulling it in worry. Her nails were halfbitten in anxiety.

As soon as she saw him, she whispered his name again, 'Arjun ...'

'Yes, baby. I'm here. What is wrong? Tell me ...he held her hands and pulled her up, into his embrace. He hugged her tightly and told her it was all going to be okay, even though he did not even know what had happened.

She pulled back, trying to say something, but he pulled her close to him again.

'Come here,' he said. 'It's okay. I'm right here, with you, baby.'

'Arjun ...'

'Yes, Shambhavi, what is it?' he asked again.

'I'm ... I'm ... pregnant; she said.

'What?' he froze on his spot instantaneously.

Of all the things he had imagined, this was the most improbable one. He pulled back in a microsecond, as his brain processed what was happening. It didn't take him long to figure that out. Once again, the ground slid from beneath his feet.

'I had not been feeling too well recently, but I thought it must be because of the hard work, so I ignored it. Today ... today I was at the pharmacy for something ... I just happened to glance at this ... home pregnancy testing kit ... and I realized that maybe I am sick because of ...'

Arjun did not say anything. Shambhavi continued speaking.

'I bought a kit, just to be sure ... because I remembered we did not use protection that night we were ... together ... So I picked up a set, and it showed ... positive...'

He could not believe that Shambhavi was doing this to him. He thought he knew her, understood her. He thought she was different, not after money and money only. But it turned out that there was nothing unique about her after all. She was a part of the same old gold-digging female community that uses men.

He dared to contemplate the chance that she might be telling the truth, but it was just too hard to believe. They had been together sexually once, just once, and that had been about two months ago. If she really was pregnant, why did she not get to know about it earlier? Why wait till she had a stronger bond with Arjun before announcing it? It was too cleverly woven a plan, not to be a setup.

His world came crashing down around his feet. All the talk about buying a big car and going to Paris and getting used to the high-class lifestyle ... she had been plotting all of this right from the beginning. It had all been a part of her evil moneymaking strategy.

He had taken a leap of faith, had trusted her, had believed that she was different ... But he was proved incorrect once again. She must be thinking what a fool he was, how easily he was trapped. He hated himself for falling into a woman's sweet trap again. He thought he had learnt his lesson the first time around. Turned out-he hadn't.

He would never trust a woman again. Let alone love.

There is silence before every storm. A perfect life is accompanied by a constant fear of it coming to an end. Some things are too good to be true, and inevitably, all good things come to an end.

Some people become a part of us such that we are forced to wonder how we were alive before they entered our lives. That happens only once they leave, never to come back.

A broken heart can be mended. Broken trust can never be fixed. The crack remains forever.

hose baby is it?' Arjun asked, pushing her out of his embrace.

'What?' Shambhavi asked. The question hadn't registered in her head. Her brain was clouded in her own worries and fears; his words had not seeped in. Her reaction was just a reflection of the bafflement she felt on being unceremoniously shoved out of his arms.

'You heard me. I don't have time to play any games, so just answer me-whose child is it?' he asked again, this time in an even harsher tone.

Shambhavi was shocked. One moment, he was holding her lovingly in his arms and telling her that everything would be okay, and the next-he was accusing her of ... What exactly was he accusing her of?

She was mad beyond any extent.

'Are you crazy? Do you realize what you're saying?' she shrieked.

'Shut up, Shambhavi. Just tell me what you want from me. Why did you do this-for marriage? Money? WHAT?'

'ARJUN. Stop it!' Shambhavi held his arms and tried to shake him out of this madness. She did not know what had gotten into him. He was suddenly a stranger to her. He had a closed expression on his face again, the same he used to have when they had first met. It scared her. She knew she had lost him.

'ANSWER ME,' he thundered.

She automatically took a step back from him. 'It's yours. Who else could it...? I was a...a virgin before that night. And have never been with anyone since we ...' she sobbed, desperately trying to make him believe.

'I can't believe I fell into this trap again,' she heard his mutter, behind his clenched teeth.

'What? What are you saying?'

'Don't act so innocent, okay? The show is over. I know what you are up to; I know this was a setup. Now just tell me what you want and get lost.'

'Arjun, what is wrong with you? Have you totally lost it? It's me-Shambhavi.' She shook him frantically again.

He pulled back roughly. 'What I don't understand is thatif all you needed was my money, why did you need to drag a baby into this? Don't you have a heart? What does an innocent child have to do with this?'

There was silence. No one said anything, no one looked at each other. Shambhavi struggled with grasping what was going on. When she had first met him, he had been aloof, closed from everyone else. All he cared about was his work, nothing else. Slowly, she had started working with him and gotten to know him better. She had sensed his struggle, a battle going on inside him. She had felt him trying to keep himself away from her, but finally giving in. And when everything finally fell into place, he had suddenly gone back to square one, leaving her alone-madly in love, heartbroken, defeated ...

'You have known me, on and off, since the last nine months, Arjun. Are you telling me that this is what you have thought of me since ... always?' Shambhavi asked softly, not meeting his eye. She was furious, and was controlling the anger she felt towards him.

'Oh, I wish I had known. I would not have let it come to this if I had, I swear,' Arjun seethed.

'This is the last time I am going to try to explain this to you; after this, I'll give up. I called you the second I got to know about the pregnancy. I had not planned on it, I had not known it would happen. It was an accident. And you know-it wasn't my fault alone. Take some responsibility. No girl gets pregnant on her own.'

'Agreed. She needs a man. And you used me-to get pregnant, to get to my money.'

'I need money, yes, but I earn my own bread, Mr Datta. I do it by my own competence. You might have a lot of dough, but I do not need a man to provide for me,' Shambhavi said bluntly.

'Not for yourself, but for your baby, I'm sure? Is this how we are going to go about it? That's where the baby comes into the picture, doesn't it?'

'The baby came in, when you put it in.'

'Of course. This has to be my fault. That is how you're going to make me pay for it. In cash, I'm sure?' Arjun asked curtly.

'Arjun-for the last time-this was no calculated trick. It was an accident. I have enough troubles in my life without consciously adding more complications to it.'

'But all those troubles can be solved by money, can't they? My money. You-'

'If that is really what you think, I think you should leave,' she said calmly, cutting him off before he could say anything else. There was excessive use of the term money in their exchange and frankly, she was getting sick of it. The storm raging inside her was cleverly concealed under the mask of detachment she wore.

Arjun stared at her for a moment, and finally said, 'Very well, then. I will send over the cheque with Faisal. If you were looking for marriage, you are in for a disappointment.'

'Get out,' she said, jaws clenched.

'Oh, stop the drama-'

'ARJUN DATTA, DON'T MAKE ME SAY THAT AGAIN. GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE.'

'You don't want to create a scene-' he began to say. It seemed like he still did not believe that she was telling the truth, which only made her more furious.