Author's pov

Aratrika entered the terrace and walked towards her clothes.

She looked around and all of a sudden her eyes fell on the figure which made her shocked to the core.

There Sanchita was standing holding the railing but what shocked Aratrika was the way she was bending over it. If by any chance she became disbalanced, she would fall down.

So in order to not to startle her, Aratrika walked towards her silently and held both of her hands which made Sanchita startled and she jumped on her place.

"Why are you standing here like this? You know how dangerous it is!!! You could have fallen down. Why are you so careless?" Aratrika scolded her as she helped her to climb down carefully.

Sanchita said with a fearful expression on her face,"Oh my God!! It's you…I thought that Maa caught me."

Aratrika shook her head and sighed in defeat.

"What were you doing here?" She asked Sanchita.

Sanchita opened her mouth to tell her that she was spying on Seema's 14 years old son whom she caught smoking many times before. But she didn't say anything because she knew that she would get scolded again.

"Umm…umm..nothing..nothing…I was just trying to see our road clearly you know." Sanchita said and made a face as she understood how studio she and her lie sounded .

Aratrika knew that she was lying but didn't pressurise her as she understood that Sanchita didn't want to tell her.

"Okay do whatever you want to do…but don't pull this type of stunt anymore. " Aratrika said to her with a smile. Sanchita nodded. Patting her cheek, Aratrika left from there.
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Piyali was lying on the bed by covering her eyes with her forearm. The lamp on the bedside table was the only source of light in the room.

Suddenly the whole room lit up brightly . This made Piyali scrunch her nose and remove her forearm . As she looked towards the switchboard, she saw Lolita standing there. Piyali got up and sat straight.

Lolita walked towards the bed and sat beside her.

"When did you come back?" Piyali asked her.

"Just some time ago…you tell me, how long will things go like this?" Lolita asked sternly without beating around the bush.

Piyali looked down and started  fidgeting with her fingers.

"What happened to you, Piyu? Everything was going fine…you also started to accept Aratrika and the marriage…then why suddenly?  Just because of Seema's illogical taunts!!!" Lolita asked her.

"But she was right…like her, everyone will make fun of me. Moreover she is just using my son ." Piyali replied.

"Just shut up ,okay. Using your son !!! Really!!!..For what? Don't forget that it was Saptarshi's idea to marry her as soon as possible. She was unaware in fact she was ready to let go of him Just for her good for nothing family's happiness….just like she is going to do now….Leave her husband..your son just for you. " Lolita said to her with irritation. She was fed up with her tantrums now.

Yes,  Saptarshi told his family everything about her family and how her mother and her Jethu were still the same and his father had changed now.

Piyali remained silent.

" Aratrika is a great girl…you also know that.
Yes, when I came here for the first time, I heard things from you ,I also doubted her. But with time, I realised that she is a gem just like our Saptarshi. They both deserve each other.
Don't forget your son loves his wife more than anything…Aratrika knows it. If she wanted to snatch your son from you ,she would have taken advantage of that love and would have left with him to stay separately .

You are taking everything on your ego…everything in the sense whatever Seema taunted you about. That's why you are not ready to accept her.
You know that she is perfect for your son ….even after knowing that you are trying not to understand it deliberately.
Don't let their words affect you. You know Aratrika more than an outsider.
Her Age, her being a widow — these things are  irrelevant…it really doesn't matter. So please, Don't be so stubborn…open your eyes and then judge things. " Lolita tried to make her understand.

Piyali still remained silent. But Lolita noticed that she was in deep thoughts.

"Think about what I have said." Lolita said and left her alone to analyse her words.
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It was 1 am at night.

Saptarshi's bike stopped in front of his house. He parked his bike and got down from his bike after locking it properly .

He walked towards the main door of their house and took a deep breath.

The last few days had been a punishment for him…especially emotionally and mentally. To avoid the pain and release the frustration, he had started to work his ass off. In the Police station everyone is facing his wrath if they made some mistake or weren't working with attention.
Currently, he is not allowed to interrogate the criminals by his seniors as he knocked out two of the criminals during interrogation two days back.

Opening the door, he entered and locked it.

Silently he climbed the stairs and walked towards his room without giving a glance at Aratrika's room ignoring his stupid heart's whining.

Entering his room, he switched on the light. Keeping his wallet, gun in the proper place, he was about to walk towards the washroom to take a shower when a knock on his door made him frown.

"Ke ekhon abar?(Who is it now?)" He murmured and opened the door only to get opposite reactions from his heart and mind.

Aratrika was standing at his doorstep.

His heart jumped in delight seeing her but his mind made him upset due to her words. His heart clenched as he saw how pale and upset she looked.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her. He tried to keep his voice as cold as he could.

Aratrika was waiting for him to come back. When she saw him entering their house with his bike, she decided to talk to him.

Though she was expecting his emotionless tone and demeanour, still it hurt her.

"Won't you have dinner?" She asked him. She had noticed how he was avoiding eating at home.

"Why do you care?" He asked her with a frown. She remained silent.
"Anyways, tell me…What do you want?" He asked her.

"Umm…I am leaving tomorrow. " She said softly and looked down. She didn't have the courage to look at him.

Hearing her , Saptarshi's blood started to boil in anger  His nose flared and veins popped on the side of his forehead  in anger.

" So, what ? What can I do? You have already decided everything…then why are you telling me?
Go..leave…do whatever the fuck you want to do." He said gritting his teeth in anger and shut the door on her face ignoring her teary face .

Aratrika was sobbing silently and gasped in horror when she heard something breaking inside his room.

"Saptarshi, are you okay? What happened" She asked in panic, knocking the door furiously.

"Leave from here….I said LEAVE." She heard him yelling from inside. She took two steps back in fear.
Breaking down in tears, she sat on the floor and cried her heart out.

"Aratrika ,what happened?"

She heard Sanonda's voice and looked up. Sanonda helped her to get up from the floor.

"What happened?  I heard Saptarshi's voice.. Are you okay?" She asked anxiously and looked at Aratrika. She was checking the copies of the exam when she heard the commotion.

"He..he doesn't want to talk to me. I came here to tell him that I am leaving tomorrow..After that he went inside and I heard something breaking…I…he isn't coming out, Pimoni,I don't know if he is hurt or not….What can I do? ." Aratrika cried.

Sanonda sighed.

"Why do you care if he is hurt or not…if he wants to talk to you or not? Because you have already decided to leave him." Sanonda asked her.

"But I care for him ,Pimoni. " Aratrika said to her.

"I love him." She said in her heart.

Sanonda shook her head and said, "Then why are you leaving him despite knowing how it is affecting him?"

"I don't want Mamoni and his relationship to get destroyed just because of me. If my absence made their relationship better, I am ready to do it for their happiness." She replied.

" Running away isn't always a solution. Saptarshi's happiness lies in you. He wants to stay peacefully with his mother but that also with you by his side.
Why didn't you try to convince Piyali whatever she was doing wrong because of her insecurities? You didn't try enough to save this marriage.. you also made a wrong decision by choosing to leave.
Aratrika, selflessness is not always the right thing you know. " Sanonda said.

"Anyways, go and sleep.  It's already late." Sanonda said and left from there.

Aratrika went to her room with a heavy heart, giving a last glance at Saptarshi's door.

She walked inside her room and broke down into tears. She sat on the floor in front of her Maa Durga idol which was kept on the study table.

"I just want…I just want his happiness, Maa. I know…. how much…how much  it hurts when your own mother turns cold towards you…I know how much it hurts to see your own mother's cold behaviour for you….I don't want him to face the pain. I love him too much to make him go through that difficult phase because I know how much he loves Mamoni." Aratrika said while crying.

" It's not easy for me to leave him…the thought itself breaks my heart into pieces. I can never imagine my life without him…He is in every breath I take. When everyone turned their faces away from me, it was him who stood beside me like a rock..for me ,he fought with everyone.
How can I not care about him?
How can I not love him?
How can I live without him? " She said while sobbing .

She wiped her tears and took a breath.

" But I will do it…only for him and Mamoni.

I know that Mamoni is a very soft hearted person..she loves her family . For the sake of her love, she made such a decision. She just wants his son's happiness .

More than my right on Saptarshi…it is Mamoni who has her right on him….she is more important than me. Her love is much bigger than what I have for him.

Mother's love is very precious…I can't let that snatch away for him. I can't…that's why I will leave the house…no matter how much difficult it is for me. " She said with determination but tears still continued to roll down her cheeks.

That night neither Saptarshi nor Aratrika slept…only tears were their companion for the rest of the night. The universe witnessed their pain of upcoming separation.

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Next Morning

Everyone was at the breakfast table except Saptarshi when Aratrika climbed down the stairs with the luggage in her hand.

"Aratrika, " Seeing her with the luggage, Lolita got up from the chair.

Everyone already heard from Sanonda about her decision in the morning just before breakfast.

Lolita looked at Piyali in disappointment.

"I am leaving." Aratrika said softly.
"Thank you for giving me the love which I always wanted. You guys never let me feel unloved for a second. I am so lucky.
Please don't blame Aunty, she isn't at fault. She did what she thought was right for Saptarshi. " She said with a small smile with tears in her eyes.

"Is it necessary?" Sanchita asked her sadly. Aratrika looked down.

Siddhartha shook his head in defeat. Sanonda and Lolita looked at each other.

Saptarshi was climbing down the stairs in his uniform while wearing his wrist watch when he noticed Aratrika with her luggage.

Ignoring her and the pain in his heart, he was about to leave but stopped when Aratrika called him from behind.

"Saptarshi, " She called him. He stopped but didn't turn to face him.

She walked towards him and stood beside him ,facing his left side.

She held his left hand in hers in nervousness. Luckily he didn't snatch his hand away.

" I know that I don't have any right to say anything to you anymore. But still I want to say that you are very precious to me..I care for you a lot. I…umm…I…" She couldn't say anything as her throat started to get heavy due to emotions.

Controlling her emotions ,she opened her mouth but was interrupted by Saptarshi immediately. 

"Are you done?" He asked him coldly. It was difficult for him to see her like this and to see her leaving..that's why he was leaving. To stop himself from crying after hearing her words, he stopped her.

Aratrika left his hand as tears slipped from her eyes.

She turned around and walked towards Piyali.

"Ma…umm..Aunty, I am leaving. I never wanted to snatch Saptarshi away from you. You are his mother..your right on him is before everything and everyone. I am no one to snatch a son from his mother." Aratrika said to Piyali softly.

Piyali just kept looking at her with an emotionless face.

Aratrika tried to smile at everyone wiping her tears and took the luggage in her hand.

Sanchita looked at Saptarshi in a hope that he would stop her. But Saptarshi stood there with an emotionless face.

Aratrika looked at Saptarshi one last time…one last time their eyes met.

Her eyes held pain whereas his eyes held rage ,hurt and pain. Aratrika smiled sadly as she saw the love still there in his eyes…it soothed her heart.

Turning around she gulped and took a step to walk towards the main door.

It was her time to leave.

Hmmm......

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