Chapter 5
Inside the bedroom, Daya was relieved to find that his cellphone's screen was intact. He picked up his watch from the table and pocketed it. He knew he was being rude to Tanya. He knew only he himself was to be blamed for the acts of the previous night. He had kissed her first. He had made the first move. Tanya was not at fault. But he also knew that Tanya was being ureasonable. She was unwilling to find a solution to the problem. And he knew he would never agree to whatever Tanya was suggesting. He could never cheat Shreya. Not one more time. He knew he needed to distance himself from Tanya.
The knife tightly held behind her back, Tanya walked noiselessely into the bedroom where Daya was gathering his things.
He stopped when he saw Tanya standing by the door.
"You are leaving?" She asked.
"I have to Tanya. Please try to understand. I don't want to run away from this. I am not tossing you aside. I am just saying that we will work this out together" said Daya.
"What are you going to do, huh? You will tell me to calm down, to forget about what happened that night and that's that" said Tanya.
"What do you expect me to do?" asked Daya.
"I want you to take responsibility of your actions, that's all!" said Tanya.
"Define that. What do you want? Money? Anything else?" said Daya.
"Money, really? Do you really think that this is about money? I have more money than you ca imagine. I wasn't going to blackmail you for money. Nope. I don't want your money. I am not a whore which you can buy with money. I want you. I want more of your time. I want you in my bed atleast for a few nigh-"
"WHY THE FUCK DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND? I AM NOT GOING TO SLEEP WITH YOU EVER AGAIN! I CAN'T GIVE YOU WHATEVER YOU ARE ASKING, YOU GOT THAT? I LOVE MY WIFE. WE CAN'T BE TOGETHER. WE CAN'T!" Daya shouted.
"It is so easy for you to shout" said Tanya.
"Tanya please! We are going through the same things again and again. I can't be with you. I just can't. I am sorry. I..." he broke off.
"Fine" said Tanya
"What?" said Daya looking at her in surprise.
"I said fine" Tanya repeated. Her hands were hidden behind her back. She was aware of the knife in her hand. She held it at an angle and pressed it to her wrist, making an even cut. She winced as the blade pierced her skin. She could feel the blood dripping all over hands.
Daya looked at her stunned. A moment ago she was asking him to stay and now she was letting him go? Just like that? He couldn't fathom the mystrey behind her decision.
Tanya was already starting to feel dizzy. Without wasting more time, she sliced the other wrist. This time she couldn't stop herself from crying out in pain. A few drops of blood fell on the carpet, staining it.
Daya watched the scene before him in horror and it took him an entire minute to realise what she had done.
"Tanya!" Daya yelled and he launched himself across the room. He grabbed her arm and pulled the bloodied knife out of her hand and threw it on the floor.
Tanya was flashing him an odd, mysterious smile. Daya went numb with fear when he saw blood flowing our from both her wrists.
Tanya gripped Daya's arm to as her head began to spin.
"What the hell have you done?!" Daya bellowed and scooped her in his arms. He began to walk to the bathroom.
"Put me down!" Tanya shrieked, kicking wildly. "I want to die! Put me down!"
"St- stop it!" Daya yelled making infutile attempts to keep her still. "What the hell is this Tanya!"
She punched him in the chest, soaking his shirt in blood. Angry tears sloshed all over her face. "I WANT TO DIE! PUT ME DOWN!"
"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE" Daya yelled in a superior tone.
"I don't want to stay alive! I can't do that without you!" she wailed.
"Tanya please" Daya pleaded.
"NO!" she yelled, managing to free herself from his arms.
"Don't be stupid Tanya! You need immediate medical attention!" said Daya fearfully.
"I don't want to live. If you are not going to be a part of my life... I don't want to live!" said Tanya.
"Tanya you are talking nonsense!" said Daya exasperatedly.
"Promise me that you will see me again. Promise me that you will meet me!" said Tanya.
Daya had no other option but to agree to her demands atleast for time being. He knew this was not the time to argue. He couldn't put her life in danger.
"Alright, alright! I will see you again" said Daya accepting defeat.
"Promise me" said Tanya.
"Yes I promise." said Daya. "We need to stem the blood flow"
He rushed her to the bathroom and washed the knife wound. Taking out his handkerchief he dabbed the wound repeatedly. After few minutes the blood flow stopped and he heaved a sigh of relief.
He made her sit on the bed. "Please don't do anything stupid Tanya" said Daya softly.
"Please don't leave me" Tanya murmured.
Daya wiped away her tears. "I have to go now. But I will come back to see you. I will."
"Okay" she said sniffing.
"Please take care" said Daya.
"Can I call you?" asked Tanya.
"Later. Not today" said Daya reluctantly.
Before she could make him promise something else, he left her house in a hurry. He checked his watch. He had a lot of time before Shreya came home.
He hadn't even dreamed that Tanya would take such an extreme step. He knew he had committed a grave mistake by agreeing to meet her demands. He still couldn't stop feeling guilty about his acts of the past night. That one night stand had put his life in jeopardy.
I have to fix this soon. I can't keep meeting Tanya. I can't keep betraying Shreya anymore.
When he arrived home, he found the milk bags and newspapers lying on the floor - reminding him once again where he had spent the previous night. He picked them up and opened the front door latch. Dropping the milk bags on the kitchen counter, he went into the bedroom and sat on the bed thinking.
What was he going to do? How was he possibly going to make Tanya understand? And how would he be able to face Shreya? What if she found out about this?
His head was swirling with questions and his frustrations grew by each passing minute. He looked around their bedroom. It was neatly made for it hadn't been used after Shreya left. He couldn't leave it like that.
He knew he would never be able to forgive himself for what he was about to do. He felt like a criminal, dressing up the crime scene. He never wanted to lie to Shreya. But he couldn't tell her the truth. It would hurt her too much.
He mussed up the bed so it appeared that it had been slept in. He opened the blankets and tossed them around the bed. He lay the newspapers on the floor and pulled out a few clothes from his wardrobe and threw them carelessely on the chair. Now he room looked like the usual self - messy. He did the same with the other rooms so that it appeared that he was in the house the entire time. He prepared some coffee and watched television for sometime. Then in the evening he went to the mobile repair shop and the repairman took entire two hours to get his cell phone repaired.
When he arrived home, he found the door ajar. He stood looking at the door, his heart pounding loudly.
Was it possible that Tanya had found out where he lived and was waiting for him, inside?
He pushed open the door slightly. It was totally dark. He couldn't hear any noise.
He took a step inside.
And another.
And another.
"Hi!" he jumped at the sudden whisper right in front of him.
But he relaxed as he received a kiss on his cheek and a familiar pair of hands wrapped around his waist. It was Shreya.
He hugged her tightly, simply enjoying her body close to his. "You arrived early"
"Yeah. I got an earlier flight. I was going to text you but I thought of giving you a surprise" said Shreya.
"Mmm... I love your surprises" he said picking her up in his arms and carrying to the couch.
Shreya giggled. "Atleast close the door"
"Forget the door. I missed you" said Daya, placing her gently on the couch and switching on the light.
"I arrive half an hour ago. Where were you?" asked Shreya.
"Mobile repair shop" said Daya.
"I cleaned our room. It was so messy. How typical of you whenever I am not around" said Shreya.
Daya looked away, hating himself to the fullest. She trusts me so much. I don't deserve her. I really don't.
"You are so quiet" said Shreya. "Anything wrong?"
"No, just tired I guess" said Daya.
"Get some sleep. I'll cook something for dinner" said Shreya.
"No, just sit with me for sometime. I think we should just order something for dinner" said Daya.
"What? It's fine. I am not tired at all. I'll cook" said Shreya, laughing.
"No. Please just sit with me. There is no need to do anything for me. I don't think I deserve your love and care" said Daya.
Shreya frowned at him. "What's the matter with you? What's wrong? Why are you talking like that?"
"Nothing. I just feel I am not worthy to be your husband -"
"SHUT UP!" Shreya scolded him. "You are the best thing that has happened to me. How dare you say something like that!"
"Sorry" Daya murmured.
She snuggled closer to him letting her head rest on his shoulder. "I love you" she whispered.
Sneak peek into the next chapter - Daya battles with his inner self whether to tell Shreya the truth. Tanya gets frustrated when Daya begins to avoid her and finally reveals to Daya a shocking new detail.