LOVE.. This four-letter word has the power to make anyone’s life as blissful as heaven or worse than hell. Some call it a feeling that can’t be expressed in words while few others say it’s the decent name given to satisfy physical needs but for me, it’s something that goes on till eternity and has maintained its supremacy since ages.
Here I am going to share a painful chapter of my life that used to haunt me till last year but now I have overpowered it and walked over my past, thanks to an angel who has filled my life with happiness and taught me how to live a happy life.
It was a beautiful evening of 2006 when I saw Tanu at the MBA coaching centre where I used to go. I initiated the conversation and soon our casual ‘Hi.. Hello..’ changed into romantic talks. We had similar hobbies and ultimate compatibility so a bond was created between us and I told my parents about her. My family is pretty modern and as they didn’t have any problem as long as I focused on my career, I proposed to her in a filmy style. She was crazy about Bollywood movies and Shah Rukh was his favourite actor. I copied his style from one of the popular movies and she just couldn’t resist it. Her eyes were teary and she had a smile on her face; she said ‘Yes’ and I was on cloud nine.
Time flew and years passed like few moments in her love. I opened a firm with my childhood friend Samar and Tanu also had a fair share in the company. We worked very hard and soon our business flourished beyond our expectations. Our families used to live in small towns and we were in Mumbai so I and Tanu had a live-in relationship. We had not just emotional bonding but physical intimacy as well. Life was happier than I ever thought it to be and now I only wanted to give our relationship a name by getting married to her.
I talked about it to Tanu and every time I used to discuss the topic of wedding, she avoided and started talking about something else. I could feel that she was ignoring me but I was not able to understand the reason. After few months, she started showing disinterest in bed too and it worried me. Somewhere in my mind I had the fear of losing her. She was my life and I tried everything I could to please her. I cooked her favourite breakfast, took her to movies regularly and dinner at her favourite place but all in vain. She used to smile a little but the broad and cheerful laughter was nowhere to be seen.
Once I had to go out of the city for a week and I was broken to see that she was not at all affected with the separation of 7 days. I remembered she constantly used to cry even if we separated for a couple of days and then came a phase when she remained unaffected by a week long distance as if I didn’t exist for her.
Anyway I left for the airport and when I covered almost half of the distance, I got to remember that I forgot important papers without which meeting couldn’t be possible. So I asked the taxi driver to return. When I left for the airport, Tanu also said that she was going to office. We had two keys of the flat so instead of ringing the door bell, I opened the door with my keys. Papers were right on the computer table so I took them and as I was about to leave, I heard some voices. At first I got scared but then I found that moaning and laughter familiar. It was Tanu but what was she doing at home when she was all set to go to office?
Thousands of thoughts struck my mind and I was not able to move. A strange fear appeared to have paralysed my body and I stood still for about 10 minutes. I gathered courage and tried to console my heart that Tanu couldn’t cheat with me. I moved to the bedroom and as I opened the door, all the blood of my body was frozen when I saw Tanu in a compromising position with a man. He was none other than my childhood buddy Samar.
The two people whom I trusted the most in my life deceived and broke me from within. I said a loud ‘Hi’ and both were shocked to find me there. Tanu was wondering how I returned in an hour when I left for a week and later asked for apology. Finally they accepted that they were in a relationship and Tanu had lost all interest in me. I wanted to take their lives for stabbing behind my back but that couldn’t have brought Tanu back to my life. I returned from heavy heart, went into depression and my life shattered.
It took me two years to lead a normal life. My parents supported me a lot in this duration and the best thing they did was finding Jyoti as my life partner. Although it was an arranged marriage, I didn’t hide my past from her and she supported me in every phase of life. She is not only my wife but best friend and soulmate who has played the most important role to help me forget the past. I have even forgiven Tanu and Samar now who got married after I found out about their relationship. I can proudly say that after so many years, I am leading a happy life and the better one than I imagined as Jyoti has given me two precious presents in the form of Ankit and Pari, my two little kids whom I love the most in this world.