Zoya took a sip from her cup and said "Toh sunaiye apni kahani . I am listening."

Yash exhaled the smoke from his cigarette and said "So the thing is , Pooja was a chronic alcoholic and I got tired of taking care of her. She almost killed our daughter because she drove completely drunk one day. That's the reason I wanted to move away from her. She made my life a living hell. And I wanted my daughter to move away from her as well. So there you go , that's my story."

Zoya narrowed her eyes and said "That's it ? "
Yash cleared his throat and shifted a little on the bench and said "Yeah that's it."

Zoya said "That's just a load of crap. You honestly want me to buy this bullshit story of yours?"

Yash opened his mouth to say something but she put her cup down and stood up and said "You are liar , Yash Arora , that's exactly what you are. Oh! God I can't believe I walked all the way here just to listen to you and your nonsense. Aditya was right , you are a pathetic human being." Yash again wanted to say something but Zoya's face made him stay shut.

She was walking away when she suddenly stopped in her tracks and turned back and said "Don't you dare take our daughter away from us. She is Mrinalini Hooda Siddiquie. She is not going to go with you. Stay away."

Her finger was pointed at him and
she was fuming with anger but Yash smirked and held her pointed finger to which she said "Leave my finger."
Yash left it and said "Listen Zoya , I really think you need to hear something. Please sit down. Yes, fine I agree I lied to you. Just sit down and listen to me."

Zoya sat down reluctantly and said "Just get it over with now. I don't want to hear any more stories."

Yash said "Well that story that I told you may not be true but believe me when my wife will present the same in court it will seem believable. She is the best lawyer for a reason. As a result I will get Mrinalini's custody. Now we can go through this or you can convince your husband to let me have my daughter."

Zoya was disgusted with him and said "You are honestly so pathetic. You are ready to put your child through trauma and make her believe lies about her mother just so that you can get her custody. I can't believe I thought you actually loved your daughter. You should be given an oscar for your performance. You..."

Yash said "Enough Zoya. I am not telling you all this so that I can hear your judgement about me. I have heard that all my life anyway. So give me a break."

Zoya snorted and said "You deserve all these judgments.".

Yash's face darkened and said "Why ? Why do I deserve these judgments exactly?"
Zoya said "Do you really expect an answer?"
Yash said "No of course not . Because I am the one who was wrong isn't it? Do you have any idea what I went through?"
Zoya rolled her eyes and said "Oh god another story. I dont have time for this Yash, so spare me."

Yash said "Yeah everytime I wish to justify myself this is what I hear. The truth is Zoya , I didn't love Pooja , okay. Yes I loved her because she was my best friend but that was all. I never wanted to marry her.
Zoya said "Then why did you?"
Yash said "Because she and her family forced me to. The Hoodas have a tendency to just think about themselves."

Zoya said "Careful Yash , you are talking about my family."

Yash said "Yeah sorry. Anyway as I was saying. I didn't want to marry Pooja. She was my best friend since school till college.

However since we both were single and when we are around twenty three years old we decided to be in physical relationship as well. It was nothing serious. It meant nothing to both of us. But then Pooja got pregnant with Mrinalini. I told her let's get an abortion. She agreed as well. But then.."

Zoya snapped and said "Yeah then she asked you to get married and you thought you were stuck for ever with her. You are so damn selfish. Not for once..."

Yash said "You really need to shut up some times you know. Yes , I was selfish because I was being practical Zoya. We were both too young to take the responsibility of a child. We weren't even well settled in our own lives , how could we have looked after another innocent soul.

When individuals aren't ready to be parents they shouldn't be. Just like we shouldn't have. So Pooja agreed with me at first and told me that she would convince her parents but suddenly one day out of the blue I find her family discussing her marriage with me. I asked her if she really wanted this and she acted as if this was our plan all along , to get married and have a child without achieving any of our dreams.
I couldn't do anything after that , I was stuck and I felt betrayed."

Zoya looked at him but this time she had a softer expression and said "Go on."

Yash took a deep breath and said "We gave birth to Mrinalini soon after. I looked for a stable job so that I could support all of us. Pooja's ego and pride didn't let her borrow money from her family. I struggled.

I asked her to look for a job as well, but you know what Zoya, she couldn't find a single job . Why ? Because of this stupid decision. She couldn't complete her post graduation degree because she never thought this practically. She wasn't qualified enough to work in any of her favoured places."

"I finally found a job, a job that could pay me well. After a few years Pooja found a job as well but it was a mediocre job and her talents were wasted in it.

She was such an intelligent person and so bright but she had to settle for mediocrity. It frustrated her soon. Everything frustrated her , her job , Mrinalini and her responsibilities and of course her unrequited love for me."

Zoya said "You didn't fall in love with her ? Even after all those years?"

Yash said "Of course I loved her Zoya , I still do but like a best friend. I loved her a lot and that's why I tried to be a better father and a husband but she wanted me to love her like a man loves a woman and I couldn't do that. I just couldn't. "

Zoya said harshly "So you decided to have an affair ? This is your justification to that?"

Yash said "I am not justifying anything that's wrong,Zoya. I will tell you everything , just be patient. For me Pooja was still my best friend who was also my wife. She was still the one with whom I could discuss everything and for whom I would have all the solutions or try to have.

But things couldn't remain the same for us for too long. Neither of us met each other's expectations. I was sick of fighting with her everyday.
I wanted her to live free of this relationship and let me be free as well. It was getting toxic for both of us.
But we never let it affect Mrinalini though. We were careful about that. We both loved her even if initially she was too much for us to handle. But she is my daughter after all and I really love her. "

Zoya said "What happened with Pooja then ?"

Yash said "Even after all those fights she wasn't ready to divorce me. Our friendship had died along with our relationship long before I met Shreya.
When I met Shreya I didn't have to think twice whether it was love or not. I fell in love with her and I knew she was the one I was meant for. I wanted to tell Pooja about this but before I could..."

"She found out, because you were stupid enough to have Shreya on your bed in Pooja's house before you two were divorced.." completed Zoya.

Yash said "Yes that's exactly what happened. And I agree I shouldn't have done that. It was mean and stupid of me.
I should have never said I was bored of Pooja and that's why I was in relation with Shreya. She thought I was doing it out of spite.

I know I messed up. I messed up real bad. I just never thought Pooja would commit suicide. She loved her life. She put everyone else after her life. But maybe I just didn't look after her enough in the last years. Maybe I didn't think of her mental health nor did I bother to find out."

Yash broke down but controlled his sobs as he went on to say "Believe it or not Zoya , it kills me everyday when I realise that Pooja has passed away and I am the reason for it. I wake up with guilt and regret each morning. I have a room in my house filled with Pooja and my memories.

No one is allowed to go inside. I go there everyday to talk to her. To apologize to her. That's where I share my victories and my defeats. That room knows my vulnerabilities more than Shreya does. Of course I tell everything to Shreya as well, but I tell her after I have let go of my emotions which were at the surface. I try to be a better person with Shreya so as to not have Pooja be disappointed with me again."

Zoya lightly patted his shoulder and then Yash said " I am not a bad person Zoya. I am just a person who made bad decisions. I try to rectify them but trust me i am not all bad.

And I do love my daughter which is why i would never ever want her to go to a court and have her undergo the mental trauma of choosing a parent. I would ask her myself whether she wants to be with me or with you all. It's her decision. But if Aditya interferes and doesn't allow me to speak to my daughter then I will take the step that I would never want to take."

Zoya said "Will Shreya accept her and love her like her own mother ?"

Yash wiped his face and said "Yes of course. She really wants Mrinalini to come to our house. Mrinalini has met Shreya before and both bonded very well."

Zoya nodded and said "I will try and talk to Aditya about this. I know he will sense after some time. It's just that he is very emotional about Mrinalini."

Yash smiled and said "Yes I know. The only time we both ever agreed was when I said that he was a better parent than Pooja or me.

He is like Mri's father since the day she was born. He looked after her , bathed her, changed her diapers, dropped her to school , looked at her homework, everything.

And I am so grateful for that but I want to do that now. I want to know whether my daughter still likes pink or has she grown out of it , or whether she still detests the smell of jasmine. I want to catch up on all the things I missed these two years. I want to drive to her PTA meetings , I want to fulfill her demands, I want to scold her , I want to pamper her. I missed her these two years and I stayed away only so that I could create a better life for her."

Zoya believed his earnestness and said "I will convince Aditya to let you have some time alone with Mrinalini."

Yash said "Thank you. And thank you for listening to me. I have no idea why I opened upto you. I just met you. Maybe it was because you saw right through me when I lied to you."

Zoya smiled and said "If you ever need a friend , I can be there to listen you."

Yash nodded in gratitude and then said "Zoya, there is one more problem. We have to tell Mrinalini about her mom's demise. It's not right to hide it from her anyway. And since now that I am here I think I should handle it along with you, Mr.Hooda and Aditya."

Zoya nodded gravely and said "I don't know how to go about it."

Yash said "Maybe I can tell her that Pooja passed away in a car accident while coming here. I don't think there is any reason to tell her that Pooja commited suicide, it will break her completely. "

Zoya said "Maybe that is the best solution to this. I will talk to Aditya. I think we should head home, Mri will be back in an hour or so, I will talk to Aditya till then. You wait in the garden till I talk to him."

Yash agreed. And they headed home.

3 more chapters to go. The next chapter will deal with some therapy sessions as well , so if reading anything mildly about depression or its treatment makes you even a little disturbed then I will request you not to read the same.
I hope you liked this chapter. See you soon. Hope you all are well.
Lots of love
Cold Dragon