Chapter 10
Next Day, morning-
"God Rhea, talk to me please! You are killing me here!"
"Rhea?"
"Rhea?"
"ANSWER ME DAMMIT!"
"What the hell is your problem, Daya? Why are you screaming?" said Priya as she burst into the living room, towering with rage.
"Ask your daughter! She hasn't spoken a word to me since she came home yesterday! She owes me an explanation! She just can't walk out of the house without telling anyone. Doesn't she realise we have been so worried for her?" said Daya angrily.
"Daya please calm down. She's might not be in a mood to talk yet" said Priya calmly.
"Oh really?" said Daya unable to keep anger out of his voice.
"Listen, I have to go to the supermarket to buy groceries. Can you manage to keep your temper down till I return?" asked Priya.
"Priya, I want -"
"Daya please! I promise you when I come back, we will sort this out together, alright?" said Priya.
"Fine. Fine!" said Daya.
"Good. I will be back in an hour" said Priya and left the room taking the car keys with her.
Daya chanced a glance at Rhea but she refused to look at him. So he wandered outside and found Shreya standing at the foot of the staircase looking scared.
Checking that they were out of earshot, Daya went to her and asked in a low voice, "What's the matter?"
"You need to come upstairs. I have to show you something" said Shreya.
"What?" asked Daya.
"Come with me. It won't take a minute" said Shreya.
They quietly marched upstairs in Shreya's room and Daya shut the door.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I - I had completely forgotten about it. I found this the night Rhea went missing" said Shreya and extented a shaking hand towards Daya.
It was a torn photograph of Daya and Rhea which Shreya had found the night Rhea had disappeared.
"Where was this found?" Daya asked gravely.
"It was lying on the floor amidst all the mess. I wanted to show it to you but it competely escaped my mind. I found it today and I wanted to tell you. Oh, I am so scared. I think Rhea knows about us. What do we do?" asked Shreya clutching Daya's arm.
"Don't worry." said Daya cupping her face. "I will figure something out. I-"
The door slammed open. "You really can't keep your hands off each other, can you?" Rhea's voice rang out sharp and clear.
"Rhea" Daya whispered, too shocked to speak aloud.
"Rhea listen to me-" Shreya began but Rhea's screaming made her stop.
"OH SHUT UP!" Rhea yelled at the top of her voice. "JUST SHUT UP! HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME? HOW DARE YOU? YOU DESTROYED MY FAMILY! YOU DESTROYED EVERYTHING! LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO MY FATHER! HE DOESN'T LOVE ME ANYMORE. HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT MY MOTHER ANYMORE. ALL HE THINKS ABOUT IS YOU... I HATE YOU... I HATE YOU SO MUCH!"
Shreya's eyes were swimming with tears. She seemed to be trying hard to get a grip on herself. She stared at her feet, feeling too guilty to speak anything
"Rhea stop it!" Daya said loudly.
"NO I WON'T STOP!" shouted Rhea. "SHE CAME HERE FOR STUDYING NOT TO SEDUCE MY FATHER!"
"WATCH YOUR MOUTH RHEA!" Daya yelled in anger.
"I SAW YOU DAD! I SAW BOTH OF YOU IN THE WOODS. I KNOW WHAT YOU TWO WERE UPTO. OH, EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT GIVES ME CREEPS" she broke off throwing a disgusted look towards Shreya.
"Listen, I can explain" said Daya trying to stay calm.
"No. I don't want you to explain anything. I know what's going on between you too. You have cheated me dad. You have cheated mom and me. Never in my dreams had I thought that you would cheat me. You were my hero dad and -" she broke off sobbing softly. "Why dad, why? What did mom do? Why did you cheat mom?"
"I... Rhea I didn't want to cheat your mom... look this is adult business really. It's a bit complicated."
"You hurt me as well as mom What mistake did I commit to be worthy of such punishment? Why me, dad?"
"Listen Rhea, sweetheart, I love you. I had never intended to cheat you. I was going to tell you" said Daya moving closer to Rhea.
"When exactly? After you had run away with her? Were you planning to leave mom and me? And how could you even think that I would have accepted this? That day when I saw saw you... I felt pathetic... I felt disgusted... I wanted to kill myself... please dad... I can't live like this... not anymore..." said Rhea and she broke down crying.
Daya closed the distance between them and wrapped his hands around his daughter. "Hey, hey, listen to me... you are not going to do anything stupid alright? You know I love you, right? Please Rhea, if anything happens to you, I will never be able to forgive myself. It was a mistake. I am sorry." said Daya patting her back.
Shreya was shaking. She didn't know what her and Daya's future was going to be amd how exactly were they going to handle the situation. She hadn't expected Rhea to find out about them like this. Certainly not like this. Rhea had all right to shout at her and be angry with her. But Daya was equally responsible for this. He too had taken the initiative. He too had confessed his love for her. But when she heard Daya's next words, the floor crumbled under her feet.
"Promise me, Rhea that you will not do anything to hurt yourself" Daya repeated. "Promise me that and I will promise you whatever you want"
"I want her out of this house. Right now. I can't stand her. She betrayed me. She betrayed my family." said Rhea pointing a finger at Shreya.
Both Daya and Shreya looked at Rhea, stupified.
"What?" said Daya after a moment.
"Promise me dad that you will forget about her and you will never meet her ever again. Shw destroyed my happy family. She's is a cheat. I don't want her here" said Rhea sniffling.
"Hey, Rhea listen. We will talk about this when... when things have calmed down a bit. Look, it's not Shreya's fault altogether. I can explain" said Daya.
"IT IS HER DAMN FAULT! MY FATHER CAN NEVER GO WRONG! I KNOW IT! I JUST KNOW IT. SHE HAS YOU TRAPPED, DAD!" Rhea shouted.
"Stop shouting Rhea please" said Daya. "Let me just handle the situation. I promise I won't hurt you or Priya"
"No, there is no need to handle anything dad. I know what I want. I want you and mom together. I don't want anybody else." said Rhea flatly.
"Rhea please try to understand..." Daya began but Rhea cut him mid- sentence.
"If she doesn't leave now, I will tell mom." said Rhea.
Daya stared at his daughter, befuddled. "Is that a threat?" he asked vexedly. "Are you threatening your father?"
"I swear I will tell mom, dad. I want both of you. I won't let her tear apart our family. She has done enough damage already" said Rhea.
"Rhea please" Shreya tried to speak but kept silent when Rhea shouted back, "I DON'T WANT TO TALK TO YOU!"
"Dad, you need to choose - it's either me and mom or her" said Rhea jerking her head in Shreya's direction.
Shreya didn't know how he was going to convince Rhea. She seemed too determined. She looked at Daya, her nerves jangling, waiting for him to say something.
Daya flopped down on the nearby chair, with his head in his hands. Nobody spoke for next few minutes. Shreya couldn't stop the tears streaming down her face while Rhea's face showed nothing but stolid indifference.
The clock ticked away and Shreya's heart filled with dread when she saw Daya get to his feet.
"What have you decided, dad?" Rhea questioned.
"You win. I will tell Shreya to leave the house" said Daya and without another word to either of them, he left the room.
Shreya's gasp of horror was not missed by Rhea who gave Shreya a contemptous look amd followed Daya out of the room.
Shreya's couldn't believe her ears. Daya had told her to leave the house. What was she going to do? Where was she going to go? What was going to be their future? A plethora of questions were swimming inside her head, none which had any answers. Clutching her chest, she collapsed on the floor. She couldn't even cry. She was too shocked. She wanted to be dead. She wished she was dead...
Shreya didn't know how long she stayed there. She heard approaching footsteps and she didn't even flicker an eyelid when she saw Daya enter the room. He sat down next to her and took her hand in his but she snatched it away. "Don't touch me. Please" she said.
"I am sorry! I am as helpless as you are. I really don't know what to do. I tried to talk to her. I tried to make her understand but you saw it. You saw it all, Shreya. We had spoken yesterday that we should stay away from each other for sometime. I know this is going to be difficult for you. For us. But I can't see any other way out right now. If she tells Priya, she will kick you out. She will ruin your career. She will never let us be together" said Daya.
"You did it so easily. As if it was the most easiest decision for you. You tossed aside like a used toy." said Shreya staring into the void.
"Look" said Daya exasperatedly. "Don't start this again. We have been over this yesterday. Don't you realise that I had no choice? I had to do it? You think I am happy? My life has turned upside down. I am in a fix. I don't know what to do!"
"What is the thing that you are so afraid of? Let her tell Priya! She had to know someday! Why not today then? She will kick both of us out. Then maybe we can live in peace! You love me, right?" asked Shreya looking in his eyes for the first time.
"Are you insane? Live in peace? What about Rhea? What about her?" asked Daya.
"You didn't answer my question" said Shreya looking away.
"For heaven's sake Shreya, how many times do I have to tell you? I love you. I do. But -"
"But you love Rhea more" Shreya finished for him. "If given a choice, you will choose your family over me. Ofcourse I should've known" said Shreya.
"It's not like that! But I can't just leave Rhea here all alone like this" said Daya.
"But you can leave me" said Shreya.
"Shreya stop this nonsense!" said Daya angrily.
"Why did you even come to talk to me? Just go. Go and take care of your family. Just go." said Shreya heatedly.
"YEAH I WILL! DON'T YOU TELL ME THAT!" he yelled.
Shreya let out a false laugh. "I was so stupid Daya. I shouldn't have gone that far. You are right. I should leave. Probably, it's the best thing for for everybody" she said.
She got up and had barely made a few steps towards the door, when Daya caught her wrist and held her back.
"I said don't touch me!" said Shreya.
"I am sorry." said Daya forcing her to look at him. "This is not my fault, Shreya"
She melted at his words and began to cry her heart out on his chest. "How can I leave you... I've gotten so used to your presense... I..." she broke off.
"I know sweetheart, I know" said Daya kissing her gently. "Look, listen to me. You have got to trust me. Give me a few days time, I promise you, I will make Rhea understand. I promise I will be with you soon. I need you Shreya. I need you in this difficult times. Please trust me, can you?"
She nodded, tears still running down her cheeks.
"Don't cry" he said, kissing away her tears. "I hate to do this to you. I am so sorry"
"No, no. Please don't apologize. Just promise me you will be with me soon." said Shreya.
"I will. I will." said Daya embracing her tightly.
They staying in the embrace for few more minutes and then Shreya said, "I should probably leave before... before Priya comes home"
Sneak peek into next chapter - Priya gets suspicious about Shreya's sudden departure. How will Daya face her questions? Will he be able to keep his promise he made to Shreya? Will he be able to convince Rhea?