Shakhi SS Marriage Of Convenience 

Chapter Thirty

Tej was going through his files when Alok knocked and entered his study room. He signalled his brother to sit down and signed few files before looking up at his brother.

"Bolo Alok" Tej said as he removed his reading specs.

"Bhai Saab, yeh Patiala campus ke file hai" Alok said extending the file to Tej "Wahan voh joh issue hua na, iska report hai yeh"

Tej gave a slight nod as he took the file from Alok. His eyes scanned the contents of the file while Alok waited for his brother to finish. Tej looked up at Alok once he's done with the file.

"Tum ne Shaurya se check kiya Alok?" Tej asked extending the file back to Alok.

"Nahi Bhai Saab, voh Shaurya aaj jaldi nikal gaya tha college se" Alok said getting the file from Alok.

"Accha? Toh kal Shaurya se ek baar check karlo. Uske baad report file karlenge" Tej said as he leaned back on his seat and when he saw Alok unmoving, he asked, "Kuch bath karni hai kya Alok?"

"Voh Bhai Saab, Bhabhi ji ne bola hai ki hum sab Kapurthala ja rahe hain voh 13th din puja ke liye" Alok said with a slight hesitation in his tone.

"Haan, voh toh pehle hi decide kiya tha na hum ne, Alok. Phir kya hua?" Tej said fixing his eyes on his youngest brother.

"Bhai Saab, is ka matlab yeh hai ki aap aur Devi Bhabhi ab Astha Bhabhi ko wapas apne zindagi mein, is ghar mein lekhe aana chathe hein?" Alok asked making Tej sigh.

"Alok, mein ne in sab cheezon ke bare mein nahi socha hai ab tak. Shaurya ghar chod ke chala gaya. Bete jaane ke dhuk mein Devi badli badli si hai. College ko sambhalun ya Devi ko ya is ghar ko, mujhe kuch samaj mein nahi aaya" Tej sighed and added, "Astha ke maa baap humhare Sabharwal kandhaan ke samandhi hai toh humhara farz bantha hai ki hum waja jaye"

"Voh sab toh teek hai Bhai Saab par mujhe Devi Bhabhi ko dekh ke lagtha hai ki unhonhe Astha Bhabhi ko apnaaney ka mann banaliya. Kitne care kar rahe the Astha Bhabhi ki!"

"Sach kahun toh mujhe bhi dekh ke aese hi laga tha, Alok. Aur tum ne dekha na Shaurya jis tarah se Astha se bath kar raha tha. Mujhe kuch samaj mein nahi aaya paar ithna zaruri hai ki Shaurya kush ho bas"

Tej paused before adding,

"Hum ne 25 saal uska parvarish kiya hai. Humesha baath baath pe Bade papa Bade papa kehtha rehtha tha. Mera ek sabaash sun ne ke liye kya kya kartha tha. Mera kudh ka bacha nahi hai par Shaurya ne uske kami mujhe kabhi mehsoos nahi karwaya. Mujhe dukh hai Shaurya ke ghar chod ke jaane mein, Alok. Shuruwaath mein mujhe gussa aaya par mujhe ehsaas hua ki mein Shaurya ko kitne miss kar raha tha. Gusre har din ne mujhe yeh relaize karwaya ki hum kitne taken for granted attitude se behave kiya hai usse. Voh gusre pal ne mujhe Shaurya ka aur bhi value karna sikhaya hai. Mujhe patha nahi ki Shaurya ke dimaag mein kya chal raha hai par ithna toh mein clear hoon ki mera beta kush rahe"

Alok looked at the worried face of his elder brother and let the matter go. He sighed, leaned forward and placed his hand on top of Tej's.

"Chintha math kijiyeh Bhai Saab. Humhare Shaurya kush hai aur jaldi ghar bhi aayega" Alok comforted his elder brother, giving him a reassuring smile.

Tej could only smile weakly.

~ * ~

"Noor?"

Astha looked up at Shaan who extended her a cup of tea. A smile touched Astha's lips as she accepted the tea with a thank you and Shaan sat down on the chair opposite to Astha.

A classic Hindi song was playing in the background as the duo sipped on their tea in the silence of the night.

"Yaadh hai pehle tum kitne karab chai bayana karthe the, Shaan" Astha said laughing at old memories.

"Haan, ek baar toh mein chai powder ke badle black mustard ke powder se chai banaya tha. Usse peene ke baad Alok ka chera dekhne layak tha" Shaan said laughing. Astha joined the laughter as they duo discussed what happened next.

"Aaj kal tum acche chai bana rahe ho, Shaan. Jab tum wapas Chandigarh chale jao ge toh mein tum hare hath ke chai ko miss karungi" Astha said with a soft smile.

"Tumhe miss karne ki kya zarurath hai, Noor? Tum bhi mere sath Chandigarh aa jaana" Shaan said as he placed his hand on top of Astha's "Agar tum Sabharwal House mein nahi rehna chathi toh hum mere flat mein bhi reh sakthey hain"

"Shaan, hum ne pehle bhi is baare mein discuss kar chuke hain aur mein ne pehle hi tum se meri decision ke bare mein keh chukhi hoon" Astha said heaving a tired sigh before she added, "Meri life yehan pe hein, Shaan, Kapurthala mein"

"Nahi, Noor. Tumhare life tum hare parivaar ke paas hai. Mere aur humhare bete paas hai, Noor. Sirf mein nahi, Shaurya bhi yahi chatha hoga"

"Shaan, kya tum he lagtha hai ki Shaurya ne mujhe apne dil se apna liya hai?" Astha said fixing her eyes on Shaan.

"Agar voh tujhe apne maa nahi manta na Astha, voh tere paas hi kyun aatha?" Shaan said heaving a tired sigh "Usse sach patha hai Astha. Usse sach ko accept karne mein time lagtha hai, teek hai. Par pyaar toh rahega na apne Maa se"

"Shaan, Shaurya aaj bhi mujhe apne pu re dil se nahi apnaya. Yeh tum bhi janthey ho aur mein bhi" Astha said making Shaan heave a tired sigh.

"Astha me-"

"Aur Shaurya ka teek hai, Sabharwal House ka kya? Us ghar ne mujhe kabhi bhi nahi apnaya aur mujhe wahan jana bhi nahi hai"

"Mein tum he humhare zindagi mein aaney ke bath kar rahi hoon, Astha. Bakhi sab ken ahi" Shaan said heaving a frustrated sigh "Aur waise bhi, mujhe nahi lagtha hai ki Tej Bhai Saab aur Devi Bhabhi kuch kahenge"

"Tum ithni sure kaise ho ki un log kych nahi kahenge, Shaan? Tum he yaad hai na ki un logon ne kya kya kiya tha humhare sath?"

"Maanthi hoon Astha par voh sab toh pehle ki baat hai na. Ab toh mujhe ehsaas ho gaya ki Devi Bhabhi ab badal gayi hai"

"Matlab?" Astha asked scrunching her eyebrows in confusion.

"Devi Bhabhi ne Anokhi ko accept karliya hai, Astha"

"Voh toh Devi Bhabhi ne Shaurya ke khushi ke liye kari hogi, Shaan" Astha sighed in frustration not convinced with Shaan's answers.

"Nahi, Astha. Jab se Shaurya ghar chod ke gaya hai, tab se Devi Bhabhi mein bahat changes dikhri hai. Na sirf Devi Bhabhi, balki baaki sab bhi badal ne lage hai. Anokhi ne bataya ki Tej Bhai Saab ne uske sath diya college mein jab kuch students Anokhi ko pareshaan kar rahe the. Kitty aur Bebo, un dhono ne Anokhi se acche pesh aa rahe hai aaj kal. Alok bhi Anokhi se aaj kal kuch ulta seedha nahi boltha. Devi Bhabhi ne sab ke samne hi bola hai ki Shaurya aur Anokhi ki jodi acchi hai aur Anokhi Sabharwal Kandhan ki Bahu hai. Shaurya ke dhoor jana sab ko kuch toh badhal diya hai, Astha. Agar Anokhi ke pyaar ne Shaurya ko badal saktha hai toh Shaurya ka pyaar un logon ko bhi badhal saktha hai na, Astha"

Astha became silent as she heard Shaan's words. Her mind goes back to the day Devi visited her and apologized her. That day Astha didn't want to believe Devi's words but today she was confused.

"Devi Bhabhi ne kissi se bhi kehne se mana kiya par ab mein keh raha hoon... Devi Bhabhi ko heart attack aaya tha Astha" Shaan said shocking Astha.

"Kya?!"

"Haan, voh thankfully humne jaldi hospital leke gaye the. Kuch complications the par ab Devi Bhabhi teek hai, Astha"

"Tum ne mujhse kuch kaha kyun nahi, Shaan?"

"Voh Devi Bhabhi ne mana kar diya kisi se bathane ki. Shaurya aur Anokhi ko bhi nahi patha. Sirf jo ghar mein tha, un ko hi patha hai"

"Kab hua yeh sab?"

And when Shaan said which day, Astha realized that it was four days before Devi came to visit Astha. She sighed heavily as she placed her hand on her forehead before sitting straight. Now that explains why Devi looked weak that day.

"Things will be different this time, Noor. Mera vishwaas karo" Shaan said placing his hand above Astha's.

"Mujhe ab iske bare mein bath nahi karni, Shaan. Mein sone ja rahi hoon. Good night" Astha said pulling her hand back from Shaan's.

Astha had too many thoughts going on in her head and she needed to be alone. She sighed to herself as she stood up, took the empty tea cups, put it on the sink before walking towards her room leaving behind a silent Shaan lost in his thoughts.

~ * ~

"Please come in" Mrs. Ahluwalia greeted Shaurya and Anokhi into her residence.

The couple smiled at the old lady as Shaurya placed his hand on the small of Anokhi's back as he guided her inside.

Mr. Veerjot Ahluwalia was Shaurya's favourite professor during his college days. The professor was fond of Shaurya for his deep love for economics. Shaurya would spend his free time in college with Prof. Veerjot until the professor retired.

Prof. Veerjot have invited Shaurya for lunch and asked him to bring along his wife and so, the couple accepted the request and came for lunch. As they reached the living room, Shaurya and Anokhi bowed down and touched the elder one's feet making a smile break out of her as she blessed the couple.

"Accha tum dhono beito. Mein Veerjot ko bulake aathi hoon" Daljeet Ahluwalia said excusing herself.

"Ek minute, Mam. Aap beithiyeh mere biwi ke sath. Mein jaake Sir ko bulakey aatha hoon" Shaurya said circling his arm around Daljeet's shoulder and guided her to sit down on the couch.

"Shaurya" Daljeet caressed Shaurya's cheek fondly with a smile which Shaurya reciprocated and winked at Anokhi who's watching everything with an amused expression before walking towards Verjoot's study.

"Shaurya used to come here often during his college days. After college, not so often as before but he makes sure to visit us whenever he gets time" Daljeet said looking at Anokhi looking at Shaurya slipping inside a room.

"I have heard a lot about you two from him, Mam. The smile on his face when he talks about you two is priceless" Anokhi said, her eyes blinking with happiness.

"We have heard a lot about you from Shaurya too, Anokhi. He talks about how talented you are. Veerjot is looking forward to meet you"

As the women engaged in conversation, Shaurya emerged out from the study with Veerjot Ahluwalia. He's a tall dark man, same height as Shaurya and had a gentle smile on his face as he approached the women in the living room.

"Welcome, Anokhi beta"

Anokhi got on her legs and moved towards Veerjot with a smile. She was about to bow down when Veerjot stopped her in mid and gave her a side hug instead.

"I heard a lot about you from Shaurya, beta. I read your paper on 'Economic Slowdown in India' Must say, you're really talented, Anokhi" Veerjot said as they all sat down.

"He said you're talented than me, Anokhi" Shaurya said with a proud smile while Anokhi was overwhelmed.

As they three engaged into conversation, Daljeet look over the lunch preparations and after asking their maid to get everything placed on the dining table, Daljeet asked them to join the table for lunch.

Shaurya and Anokhi sat side by side and Veerjot and Daljeet was seated opposite to them. When Veerjot started talking about Economics again, Daljeet smacked his arms asking him to stop talking about academics making Shakhi chuckle at Veerjot's face expression.

Through out the lunch, Anokhi noticed how playful Veerjot was in front of Daljeet. Seeing them no one would say they are on their late sixties. Their eyes held love and admiration for each other.

When a rice grain sticked to Veerjot's moustache, Daljeet laughed as she removed the rice grain while Veerjot broke a joke and Daljeet blushed as she smacked his arm playfully and turned straight.

Shaurya started to tease the elder couple while Anokhi was amused seeing everything.

"By looking at you two, one can say you're in their late sixties" Anokhi gushed as a big smile broke out on her face.

"They give tough competition to young couples, Anokhi. Even we won't last in front of them" Shaurya said winking at Daljeet.

"Shaurya!" Daljeet said shaking away her blush while Veerjot gave a laugh.

"By looking at us, you might think we are an ideal couple who laugh and romance around. But the reality is far away. In the beginning of our marriage life, we fight like cat and dog" Veerjot said reminiscing the old memories.

"Yes, he's understanding, loving and all that but he used to get angry easily and piss me off"

"But I did learn to control my anger eventually" Veerjot said and turned to Daljeet, "Only for you"

"As much as we had our lovely moments, we had our fights too. We both are stubborn and adamant. We are two individuals who believe that what we do is right. Eventually we sort out but damn the fights were intense" Daljeet said making Veerjot frown.

"Intense? I would stop right away if I knew things get overboard. You know why? Anger, disappointments are momentary but my love for her is constant. When the argument gets intense, I recall the smile she gives me when I surprise her with her favourite Ice cream"

Shaurya and Anokhi were listening to the couple intently, a smile playing on their lips.

"And who would apologize first?" Anokhi asked with an amused smile.

"The one who's at wrong would apologize first" Veerjot said and added, "Mostly, it would be me"

"Not like that. I had my fair chances of apologizing to him too" Daljeet said giving a slight nudge to Veerjot making him smirk.

"See, in the forty years of our marriage life, we had our ups and downs. We had our happy and sad moments. We had our laughter and fights. But above all what matters is the trust, love, care, understanding we had among us" Veerjot said giving a loving smile to Daljeet.

"There would always be fights and misunderstandings in marriage. No one can say their marriage is perfect. Such fairy tale relationship doesn't exist. It was arranged marriage for us. We took our time to build trust; we took time in finding love. We had our arguments, disagreements but we also had understandings. We have hurt each other with words. We have gone to bed in tears and anger. But at no point we regret being with each other. That's the beauty of our bond"

"One time I remember we had a big argument and I have hurt Daljeet that day. Something inside me shifted and from that day I have decided that I wouldn't let my wife go to bed with anger or disappointments. From that day to till now, I don't let my wife go to bed with tears. We talk our issues. That's the reason for our successful marriage" Veerjot added making the young couple look at the elder couple in awe.

After a hearty lunch and chat, the young couple excused themselves from the elder ones. Throughout their way home, Shaurya and Anokhi can't help but talk about Veerjot and Daljeet's love for each other.

Shaurya heaved a sigh as he recalled the incidents which took place a month ago. He now could relate with Veerjot and Daljeet's words. After last evening's argument they both haven't exchanged any words.

Shaurya came home late and slipped next to Anokhi who was already asleep and left to Patiala early in the morning as he had to take part in the management meeting. He only reached SIAC at afternoon.

Shaurya removed his specs and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Reema has told him what happened at college the last day and so, he has asked the peon to get Sheetal Patel.

No one is allowed to talk in such a manner to his wife or make comments on their relationship. Also, ragging and any forms of bullying are not allowed in such a reputed college as SIAC.

A knock pulled Shaurya out of his thoughts as he muttered a come in. Shaurya's face harden as he saw Sheetal Patel standing on the door. Shaurya excused the peon who was at the door and gestured Sheetal to come in as he glared at her, making Sheetal's hand go cold in fear.

The peon went back to his allotted desk which is opposite to Shaurya's cabin. Whole college knows that Sheetal is a spoilt brat. He heard about what Sheetal did with Anokhi and he's sure she's going to get it from Shaurya.

True to his belief, minutes later the peon saw an angry Sheetal storming out of Shaurya's cabin clearing her tears. A grin settled on the peon's lips as he leaned back and relaxed on his chair.

~ * ~

Hey guys, hope you all are doing good. I hope you enjoyed reading. My health is on and off consistently. That's why I couldn't focus on all my works. I received my exam schedule yesterday and so, I will be busy mostly till October 10. So, one shots are out of question but will finish this story in few weeks.

Thank you for reading.

Nan ~