...And Then Love Wins!

She smiled at him as he waved to her, her love for him shining through her eyes.

Kevin was the love of her life. They had met quite accidentally five years ago. Now, they were leaving for their honeymoon. Their bus had stopped at a dhaba and as she sat on a rickety old cot, he went to purchase a bottle of water and some juice from the counter. She smiled as she remembered their marriage ceremonies, their relatives who wished them well and still others who had evil forebodings that this marriage would fail. Well, according to them how could she, a Khushi Kapoor live happily with a Kevin D’souza?

So, they had had two marriages – exchanged wedding rings and also promised to ‘drive each other mad till eternity’ as they took the saath pheras. As she sat reminiscing the happy days she yawned and looked about her. It was then that she noticed a couple caught up in an argument. She couldn’t help but hear the heated exchange.

“Payal, stop behaving like a fool!” said the young man.

“Do you think I’m behaving like a fool?” argued the girl.

“Yes, of course! I told you we can’t be together any more. I’m breaking up with you!”

“But why? What have I done, Nitin?” asked the girl bewildered.

“You don’t suit my style. You’re too old fashioned. Look at your dressing sense! And, you’re fat too!” said the guy, callously.

“What! And, you realised all this now, after dating me for almost four years? Is this the only thing you’ve seen in me for these many years?” the girl questioned him, incredulously.

“See... stop making a scene Payal! I don’t want to talk about it! I’ve told you what I had to say! I came here only because you kept calling me up and messaging me!” replied the so called Nitin.

“Nitin... why are you doing this? You said you loved me! What happened to all that love?” wept Payal.

“Now Payal... Stop it! Stop behaving like a child! People change! Love changes too! I don’t love you anymore. I have no feelings for you. People move on. When two persons cannot live happily together anymore they should move on. When one of them finds their joy elsewhere the other person must not be selfish to stop him or her. Please stop harassing me and calling or messaging me otherwise...”

“Otherwise...?” whispered Payal with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“That’s it! I’ve had enough! I’m not going to answer any of your questions!” said an irritated Nitin.

“Nitin, please don’t leave me. I love you. I can’t live without you. Please, Nitin!” begged Payal, clinging onto his hand as he rose to go.

“Stop it Payal! Stop it...before I slap you!” said Nitin angrily, raising his hand.

Khushi’s hand flew to her mouth as she choked back a sob. Her mind raced back in time. It was eight years ago.

“That’s it Khushi! See we’re not meant to be together! I don’t love you!”

“Kunal, after we’ve been together for almost seven years, you’re telling me this? After you’ve cheated on me so many times? Each time you came back and said you were sorry, I forgave you. Because I loved you! And, now you say you don’t love me?” she had asked the man with whom she had fallen in love as a young college graduate.

“See... It was your choice. You shouldn’t have forgiven me if you didn’t want to. I didn’t force you!” Kunal had replied, cruelly.

“Kunal... how can you speak to me like this? I’ve done so much for you. I’ve gone out of my way to adjust according to your likes and dislikes. All your bad mood days and break up woes... I tried to support you through all that. Have you forgotten everything? I’ve always seen your parents as mine. They knew we were serious. What will they think? What will everyone think? What about my family, what will I tell them? My relatives will taunt my parents. Kunal, please! Just think about me, once.” She had begged with tears flowing.

“O come on, Khushi! Please! Stop being so backward! People keep breaking up all the time. It hurts at first but then life goes on. Learn to move on. As for people, they will talk for some time and then forget about it. I’m not going to ruin my life just because of what people have to say.” said Kunal, heartlessly.

“You’ve found someone else! Is that it? It is that new girl from your office... Right? The one you were talking on the phone to that day? Kunal... why? Do you know how much it pains me when you cheat?” She had asked him.

“Khushi! Mind your own business! How dare you talk about Vinita? I’m planning to marry her by the end of this year. Stay away from her!” Kunal spoke angrily.

“What? You’re planning to marry her? You’ve been in a relationship with her then for all this while? Again, you cheated me! Why did you do it?” She had a hard time accepting what she was hearing.

“Because I don’t love you! I never did! How could I love you? Look at you... You look more like an aunty! My aunt said the same thing about you. Vinita is sweet, she looks cute too!” Kunal dug the knife deeper into her bleeding heart.

“Kunal...!” She had whispered, unable to believe what he said. Then squaring her shoulders she spoke, “I’m going to contact Vinita somehow and tell her everything. She must know.”

“You dare not! Otherwise... you will regret it!” he had threatened.

“I will! And you can’t stop me!” she had shot back defiantly.

“You will not!” he had shouted, slapping her hard across her face and shaking her roughly before leaving her in a crumpled heap on the floor of her own drawing room. “If you dare to cross your limits... you will pay for it!” He had threatened.

Time had passed by. Kunal had married Vinita. There were questions. But she had no answers. She watched the world go by. For three years she had put on a smile for the world each morning but at night wept herself to sleep. Each day was a struggle. She remembered how she gradually immersed herself more and more into her work. At times, she tired herself out to the point of exhaustion, so that when she lay on her bed sleep consumed her at once. She rarely spoke at home but when she did she laughed a lot. She always gave the impression that she had many projects running simultaneously. At work, she was very professional, a perfectionist who got things done. Many were envious of her, hardly ever realizing the cursed life she was living.

And then, during a conference, she met Kevin. She had found him irritating and over enthusiastic. Over smart, to be precise! But she couldn’t deny the fact that the guy was a perfectionist like her and charming too. She watched him laughing, talking, socialising and making presentations. The conference came to an end and they went their own separate ways.

Three months passed. She remembered she had been busy with a presentation. It was very important for her boss to get this deal and hence it was crucial to her career too. Her phone had buzzed but she had ignored the message at the time. But when she had checked it at lunch time she nearly dropped her phone in surprise. It was Kevin! He wanted to talk to her, he had messaged. And, when they had, he told her that he had got her number from the organisers of the conference because he couldn’t gather the courage to ask her for it. But then he didn’t message her earlier because he didn’t want to be turned down. She couldn’t help smiling at his frankness. An initial hesitant call turned into frequent calls daily and Khushi remembered she had actually begun to smile again, live again. Kevin was a wonderful human being. The layers of ice around her heart had begun to thaw. Kevin was sunshine. He sensed her pain beneath the external show of calm. He was always there to support her. Love began to blossom and when he asked her to be his ‘forever’ she had no reason to refuse. Their parents had been happy to give their blessings and they had got married just a week ago.

“A penny for your thoughts!”

“Kevin! They’re worth more than that! In fact they’re priceless!” said Khushi, rousing herself from the past.

“Khushi... are you alright?” Kevin looked sharply, noticing the tears in her eyes.

“Yes... Yes... I’m fine” Khushi replied as she smiled.

“Then why are you crying, darling? Are you sure you’re fine?” asked Kevin with growing concern, sitting beside her and putting his arm around her shoulders.

“I’m perfectly fine! These are tears of joy! I was thinking how fortunate I’m to have found you!” she smiled.

“Really? If that’s the case then I don’t mind even if you cry me a river!” he laughed. “Now let’s hurry! There’s the bus driver honking!”

They walked towards the bus holding hands and boarded it. The bus honked at a man cycling by as it moved into the gathering dusk. The stars were just beginning to peep out in the twilight.