When fictitious tales of a gleeful married life met the reality of a mendacious husband and disloyal sister, there was a cosmic explosion that violently snapped her back into this frontier- a state of equilibrium. Its frame of consciousness which allows a decision to be made with a kind of rationale she has been missing for a while now.

She supposes it is better than an agonizingly slow poison that watches sadistically as its victim stews in the clutches of a grotesque hand crushing her ribs and squeezing her life force out, leaving her wailing uselessly for a saviour.

She has learned it the hard way- life is anything but a fairytale with happy endings; for her own one had left her reeling in the teethers of heartache and despair- sinking weightlessly further in the hellfire of cynicism.

Tejo Kaur Virk, Sandhu- I dont even know what my last name should be anymore- crumpled defeatedly to the ground with bloodshot eyes glaring a hole into it at foot of her- the bed of his desolate room. It's over. The thought echoes in her head, leaving just as quickly as it arrived. The sudden statement is a merciless reminder of her current predicament. The option of denying the cold hard facts is long gone. The truth had emerged victorious after warfare in the fortress of lies; built by her beloved husband and sister. It is staring back at her as if daring the professor to retreat into her cocooned paradise of denial. At the same time, it ridicules her naivety.

The thought of it alone makes her erupt with rancour and bitterness. How pathetic was she to fabricate a fantasy as an escape from this unforgiving world that had given her so much - anguish and betrayal above all.

Every fucking time.

Her glossy eyes skimmed around the room, engraving every part of it into her brain. The picture frames, memories desperately cling onto the wall so as to not slip to the floor and shatter into thousands of unhinged chunks. Even they know that although the pieces can be glued back together, they can never be the same. They once caused butterflies in her stomach. Now, they make it lurch around uncomfortably as it looks for a way to disintegrate. Her appetite for patience and kindness and love had perished. Those were the three things that led her to where she was right now- standing on the terrace with a bottle of unopened vodka in her hand, cheeks tainted with dried tear marks in the dead of the night.

Tejo was neither an alcoholic nor a social drinker. But let's see if this is really that effective in numbing these stupid feelings. Dropping down unceremoniously into one of the decaying wooden chairs, she wondered when she had stirred their relationship in the wrong direction.

Maybe it was because she believed all the lies his filthy mouth spewed. Maybe it was ignoring the growing chasm between them. Maybe it was not seeing or rather accepting earlier that the man she had fallen in love with was capable of doing something so unscrupulous. If she did, then the pain would be so excruciating to the point where she wanted to gorge out her insides. Maybe when she had kept the truth of his sister that led him to her attempted character assassination.

And the audacity he had to say I want him back. Who the hell does he think he is? Idiot.

She had seen it the moment a gruesome choir of tortured screams rippled through her body. He was burning in hatred. It radiated off him, in his oh so soft brown eyes. But she knows, the flames will consume him whole and he will repent for his wrongdoings in due time. This time I won't be there to guide him to the rite of passage. She would feast as he became more and more of a pariah and rotted in his own cage, incarcerated by the so-called love of his life. He would long for the sunshine and grass to quench his thirst for a peaceful respite in life. He would look through the cracks and hark back to a time where he had everything. Tracing back to the moment it was all lost, he would see how much of a nihilist exploration Jasmine was. It sounded barbarous but Tejo was far from the moral ground after his nefarious crime.

She's tired- exhausted from everything and everyone.

It was a rather rude awakening to her how toxic the people around her were. She didn't have the ceaseless pit of strength available to sugarcoat her words or conceal her parents' shortcomings. They were spineless and partially responsible for her state. If her father had grown a backbone to tell his covetous spirited daughter the truth about Fateh's job, she wouldn't have had to marry that horrible excuse of a husband and get her self-worth beaten into a pulp, again. His mere suggestion of fighting for her right was ridiculous enough to make her tune out. If her mother and grandmother had not been so self-absorbed, Jasmine wouldn't have turned out this way. They failed to discipline the girl who enjoyed playing the game of beggar thy neighbour and allowed her to walk all over them. As if that wasn't enough, they always found a way to make her pain about themselves instead of being proponents.

Jasmine was a sly viper. She waits in the shadow, carefully lures her prey out and when they least expect it, she seizes the opportunity. Her unapologetic disposition was harrowing to Tejo.

"Tejo! Tejo! Look at the giving tree." little Jasmine cried in ecstasy pointing out a random tree on the family fields as they walked home from school.

Tejo chuckled at her little sister and let herself be dragged towards it. She mildly regretted reading that story to her the previous night because every time they walked by a huge tree with numerous branches on the way home, she screeched her lungs out. They had even gotten a few strange looks in their direction.

Jasmine clapped her hands merrily as they took cover under the shade of the tree. "Tejo, we found the giving tree. I am going to ask for lots of apples. Mom, dad, aunty, uncle, Abhiraj and Navraj grandma will be so happy!"

"The tree doesn't literally grant wishes, Jasso. It's more of a metaphor." Tejo shook her head slightly.

"A meta...four?"

"Metaphor," she corrects while Jasmine shrugs carelessly. Tejo paused for a moment, thinking of an earlier way to explain it. "It's like a game in which everyone has different roles. The tree gives the people she loves everything they want even if it's at her own expense. The boy takes and takes without experiencing any form of gratitude. Eventually, he takes until there is nothing left."

"Is that bad?" Jasmine scratches the back of her neck, trying to decipher what her sister just said.

"What do you think?"

"Well, I think it is honourable of the tree to be selfless but the boy was a meanie. He didn't say thank you. That's bad manners," her nostrils flared in anger over the fictional character. "Wait! Does that mean I am a bad person?" tears pooled in her big eyes and she looked ever at Tejo- the person she always goes to when distressed.

Tejo frowned in confusion. "No. Why would you think that?"

"Because you're the giving tree. You love me and give me anything that I ask for."

"No silly," she chuckled, scooting a little closer to her sibling and pulling the latter onto her lap. "The boy in the story was ungrateful. You on the other hand are appreciative. That's a difference that makes you a good person, not a meanie."

"Really?" Jasmine sniffed, using the back of her palm to rub her nose.

"Really," she affirmed.

Tejo didn't realise when she became the self-destructive giving tree, jasmine the selfish boy and when they got sucked into this labyrinthine. This wasn't the sister she held in her arms that day as she came to terms with her habit. She couldn't even call their relationship an ambivalent one anymore. It was one of resentment and Erida ruled over it, basking in her misery.

Liberating herself from this burden of a marriage was the right decision, she knows without a shadow of a doubt.

Maybe I should just jump off this roof. That would be the panacea of this endless loop of self-sacrifice. The sinister smile on her face and concerning thought left her blank for a second. she jerked forward with a dry heave. Collecting herself, she paused to recall if the vodka had made its way into her system. After confirming that it in fact hadn't, the epiphany of how precarious her mental state currently was, struck her.

Since she couldn't trust herself to not do anything stupid out there, she decided to head back to the room and call it a night. Perhaps the next dawn will bring with it a new reason to live.

"Going somewhere, professor?" a hoarse voice asked from the door just as she stood up.

---Oh hellfire, swallow me whole---

Anger, disappointment, sadness- so intertwined that Mahi believed their names were simply synonyms of each other.

Unfortunately, they are not. Anger is the fight mode and sadness fuels it, snorting as the person loses themselves and goes around taking in out on living and nonliving things- like a mad man in his primitive state. Anger is detrimental to her fleeting sanity. So she breathes deep, clutched onto her curtailing self-control and reining the wild animal back to the barn.

She appointed Fateh as the one to be a guiding path of morality. It seems that Mahi should have asked if he could actually deliver on that before placing her faith in her big brother whose principles were so malleable. Life had given her a fair share of disappointment. This one was grief, an end to something serene- the removal of Fateh from the pedestal he was placed on. There were no regrets for someone who had derailed from the walk of righteousness and was unworthy of that title- in broad daylight, it seemed.

Mahi had never detested someone with this much zest in her entire life. She hasn't always been servile with her father's decisions but this time she was nothing but compliant. His ruddy face was insufferable to look at. He was lucky to have left the building before she got her hands on him to disfigure it. Jasmine wouldn't have had a handsome boyfriend after that. She will probably leave him if he doesn't have the looks to back up his low IQ and EQ personality. She mulled over the thought for a bit. Maybe then he will finally let go of his 'ibadati Ishq.

Always the hardworking and righteous one, Fateh was the person she looked up to her whole life. When she needed help with schoolwork, upset over a boy, needed a break from all the madness going on and most importantly; when Simran had left, he was there for Amrik and herself. He steeled them in a raging storm but today lost himself in the blizzard. the golden child of the Virk household. What a pity that the bar is set so low.

Mahi loathed herself as well. Fateh had created an illusion, one that everyone including herself injudiciously believed. It was a false pretence aimed to encourage Tejo into accepting that they were happy. She actively fed that belief and raised her expectations leading to this cataclysmic demise of the trust in people.

"Apne dekha nahi hai kya? Veer Ji apko kaise pyar bhari nigahon se niharte hain."

Lust.

"Jasmine veer ji ka past thi. Unka future aur present app hi ho."

Fallacious.

"Veer ji aapse bohot pyar karte hain."

Deceit.

In retrospect, it wasn't the best idea to continue down that train of thoughts because now she was walking towards the kitchen to get an ice pack to nurse her bruised knuckle.

Cursing her luck, Mahi stood at the kitchen threshold- fist balled and ready to launch once again as she witnessed two people sharing flirtatious smiles. Her brother found nascent methods to stoop lower and lower right in front of her eyes and he didn't even have remorse.

Barely keeping the gag in, she stomped over the couple and yanked them apart. "I know you don't have any morals or ethics left," she seethed through gritted teeth, staring him dead in the treacherous eyes. "But at least spare a thought for the elders in the house who have to bear your puke worthy romance play out." she spat in utter disdain.

"Watch your tongue," Jasmine interrupted before Fateh could retort. "I am standing right here."

"What makes me think your I give a damn about your irrelevant presence.'' Mahi whirled around and took a threatening step in the abominable girl's direction as she scrambled back. Looks like she does have a brain after all.

"Fateh, look at your sister! She is threatening me." Jasmine shrieked in her annoying high pitched voice. Taking cover behind Fateh, she smirked that contained a stinking superiority complex.

Nevermind. I take that back. "What you two do is none of my business but I will not tolerate it in my house. If it bothers you so much, you know where the door is. Get your own space and do whatever the hell you want."

Fateh gritted his teeth. "You can't throw us out."

"Bite me." she challenged with a raised eyebrow.

"Even if you do throw us out, we can make a living on our own," he raised his shoulders a tiny bit as if the action could somehow confirm his words. Mahi knows better. "We don't need anyone."

Mahi contemplated his arrogance reeking posture before letting out a sarcastic chuckle. In all the years they lived in the same house, this hubristic behaviour was turned a blind eye to. It's a wicked uncovering of long-buried palpable notions. Golden child after all.

"Really? cause all I see right now is an insecure man waltzing around the house his wife lives in with his mistress as if he has done the noblest thing in the world."

"I love Jasmine..."

"Spare me the bullshit," the younger girl raised a palm to halt his insolent rambling that was rapidly becoming hackneying. "I don't want to get ear cancer from listening to your ibadati ishq crap," she swept a glance between them. "Since you're both delusional, let me burst your bubble. this isn't love. It's an unhealthy obsession. And honest to god," she crossed her fingers in front of her chest. "I didn't think you were so susceptible to manipulation."

"Don't joke about my love for her." he snapped, frustrated by everyone walking along and insulting his relationship and feelings.

"Well you've turned Tejo Ji into a joke," Mahi mentally slapped herself for using such words on her former sister in law but this asshole needs to hear this. "Actually, you are the biggest joke of all. Loving Jasmine, marrying her sister, making Jasmine the mistress and sleeping with Tejo Ji. You couldn't be loyal to any of them. Neither are you independent nor courageous enough to get your life together. Tejo Ji is the one that revived your dying career. your self-respect has been hibernating for a good three months," when he kept mum, she added, "Simran di would be so disappointed."

Her mind filled with witty retorts Simran would never hear to the jibes she can never say. Mahi wanted to call her softly to see if she could step out of the little frame behind Fateh in the kitchen.

Fateh shot his head up at the mention of his oldest sister. "Shut up!" he boomed, getting into her face.

"Did I hit a nerve?" Mahi placed her hand on her heart in mock pity. "Oh, did I hurt your fragile ego? My heartfelt condolences. I hope it does not rest in peace. I forgot that you're a spineless jerk that can't handle a little teasing."

"Shut up Mahi before I lose my temper."

"And what will you do then? Hit me? Or bring another sister as a replacement for me like with your wife. One that would suck up to you and your mistress. Not sorry to disappoint but no one is going to want to be the sister of a sick man like you." she hissed, wishing for every word to have pierced his stone heart and cause the kind of agony Tejo was in.

Ice pack forgotten, she turned on her heel to leave. Fateh grabbed her wrist, however. "I am not done talking," he stated, tightening the grip on her wrist, almost digging his nail into her skin.

"You have a mistress to listen to your rubbish," She winced a little but refused to show any sign of weakness. He didn't get to enjoy that satisfaction. "I am not interested in investing my time and energy into imprudent talks." He held her wrist in a vice-like hold and glared daggers, unable to come up with a befitting reply.

"You're treading on thin ice," Mahi shut her eyes in irritation. "I will punch your face if you don't let go," she warned.

One.

"Fateh let go,'' Jasmine chimed in, noticing how serious the other girl looked in her ultimatum.

Two.

"No. first apologise for this disparaging attitude." the venom bled into his words, the look of an operetta army poised comfortably on it as if unaware of its own existence. Mahi didn't recognize this hollow shell of a person her brother had turned into.

Three.

"What the fu-" he shouted abruptly, releasing her wrist marked with fingerprints. He stumbled a couple of feet back and cradled his jaw. "What the hell Mahi!"

"I warned you Fateh," she stated as a matter of fact rubbing the sore spot to relieve some pain. Her eyes fell to the ground where a broken bracelet laid scattershot, beads dislodged from the thread tying them together. The thread itself has been cruelly ripped apart into two separate pieces with no intention to reconcile. Fateh followed her sight and cursed himself. The bracelet he had given her a long time back as a birthday present had taken the brunt of their tussle. More precisely, his hands that tugged it along when he lost footing.

Poetic.

"I am sorry," he bent to pick it up and collect the pieces. "I'll get it fixed."

"Dont."

What is the need for a material manifestation of a relationship that has already broken?

She stood at the door before breathing quietly into the night, "You can't fix this mishap." Fateh knew she wasn't just talking about the bracelet.

Anger, sadness, disappointment- Mahi didn't know which one took precedence right now.

---Oh hellfire, swallow me whole---

"Going somewhere, professor." Mahi croaked out when she saw Tejo on the terrace.

Tejo immediately hid the bottle under the table and cracked a smile at her sister in law- former. "Yea, to bed."

"You don't have to hide that. I am old enough." Mahi giggled walking past her, looking for something in the corners blanketed by shadows.

The older woman raised an unamused eyebrow. "You're not and I don't wanna see you anywhere near alcohol. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

"What are you doing here late at night anyway?"

"Stargazing," she answered simply. The terrace apparently had a hidden mat in the far corner of it that Tejo hadn't seen until now. Mahi got onto her back to survey the sky filled with glimmering stars. "You are free to join."

"I didn't know we had a mat here." Tejo said as she settled herself beside Mahi.

"Only Simran di and I know," she lets her mind fill with Simran's tranquil voice. If she squints hard even she can hear her humming like she's just a few feet away. "We used to camp out here all night and watch the stars. That is until...well you know."

The look of pure visceral longing gave Tejo a pang of guilt in her chest. Simran's choice to stay away while not meant to be punitive was torturous for her family. Kushbeer had kept a straight face but somewhere deep down, he did yearn for his eldest child. "Simran di does miss you all very much." Tejo blurted and only realised it when Mahi sent her a confused gesture.

"She told me how much she misses the family and wants to come back...on call." Tejo scrambled to cover up.

The younger girl bought the excuse and returned her attention to the canopy above them. "Then maybe she should."

They sat in comfortable silence with the pandemonium of thoughts under the star's watchful sight upon them. It was amazing how the busy city continued about their blithe lives, blissfully oblivious to their turmoil.

"I am sorry," Mahi announced after a beat, soft and genuine.

Tejo glanced back at her curiously. "What for?"

"Giving you false hope. I really thought he moved on and I kept reiterating how much he loved you. God that Instagram post was the dumbest one. I have taken it down but I am so sorry." she whispered earnestly.

"It's okay. I don't blame you. If anyone should take the fall, it's that brother of yours." she said as a matter of fact.

The younger girl grumbled under her breath at the reminder of that man. "Yea, I really hope he falls and gets hit on the head. Maybe then this obsession will wear off."

"I don't think that's happening anytime soon."

"What a pity." Mahi deadpanned.

"Yea well...is that a bruise," Tejo asked in a panic, grabbing her hand used earlier to punch the blue walls of her room and brother's face.

Mahi shrugged nonchalantly. "Yea. got it while punching that paragon of hopelessness," she explained, conveniently leaving out the part where she lost control and rammed them into the wall adjacent to the mirror.

"What! Why!" she chided. In a second, the professor was on her feet charging to the kitchen to get the ice pack.

"Wait don't go to the-" Mahi called but she was already gone. "Kitchen." she waited impatiently, releasing the breath she didn't realise she was holding when Tejo returned. Looks like she didn't meet the one-trick pony and his mediocre sidekick.

Tejo carefully placed the cool patch on her knuckles bowling on her gently as Mahi grimaced. Like brother, like sister. She winced at the mere thought of it. Mahi is not like that cheating jerk. Looking carefully, she spotted the red finger-like marks on her wrist. "What's this?"

"The reason I punched him."

"Ass," she muttered under her breath.

Mahi watched Tejo like a hawk trying to decipher what was going on in her head. The more she observed her the more exasperated she grew. "Stop," she finally clamoured. "Just stop. What are you doing?"

"Nursing your hand?" Tejo frowned in confusion.

"No, you're putting other people's needs above your own. This has to stop. The world is filled with bad and selfish people, okay? They aren't going to change just because someone showed them kindness. That's not how this works."

Tejo understood what she was speaking of. "What do you want me to do," she threw her hands up in the air, discarding the pack in the process. "Just walk away and leave everyone here."

"Yes."

Tejo recoiled a little at Mahi's bold answer to a question seemingly bearing no weight. "what?"

"Leave Moga. Go somewhere these people and memories can not haunt every waking moment of your life. I can see how much just being in close proximity to that man is hurting you. Your self-respect is suffering and we all can see that. So why are you putting yourself through all that just to satisfy others? When are you going to start living for yourself."

"Biji is sick, Mahi. I can not just up and leave. I am not selfish or irresponsible like Fateh," The name tasted like acid in her mouth. "I am gutted."

"Don't kid yourself, Tejo Ji. You and I both know you can convince the family if need be," Mahi rolled her eyes. "I am not asking you to do it right now either. But what you chose to do with your life is solely your decision. No one has the right to dictate that," she scooted a little closer to her sister and held her hands gently. "You can still be papa's daughter while pursuing your PhD somewhere in Punjab like you wanted to. You can still be biji and bauiji' granddaughter while making a life for yourself. You can still be Amrik and my sister while doing the things you love. You can still be the Sandhu's daughter while doing all of that."

"What if I fail?" Tejo looked at her lap where their hands rested. "Two failed marriages in a row, Mahi." she wept, leaning against the younger girl.

"These two marriages were not your choice. You did it because your, and I apologise for my curt language, toxic family coerced you into it."

Tejo pondered how Mahi was using the exact words she did earlier that night. Looks like everyone knows how dysfunctional they are.

"What if even after this I can't get anything right?

"Until today, which major decision have you taken for yourself?"

"Taking up psychology as my career choice."

"Was it hard?"

Tejo chuckled a little. "Definitely, I wanted to quit so badly. My interest waxed and waned all the time. but then I knew that I made this decision and I had to see it through to the end."

"Exactly," Mahi nodded. "This was yours and you knew giving up was not an option." Mahi paused, letting that sink it. "If you fail, then get up and keep going until it works. It's your decision, there isn't an option to give up."

"I don't know if I can do it. My whole life has been doing whatever they said."

"As the Chinese saying goes. Three feet of ice is not formed by a day's cold spell. I am not saying everything will be fine the minute you go away. It will take time but you will get there."

Tejo exhaled a sigh, nodding her head. "I know."

"But," Mahi dragged out playfully. "hypothetically if you still can't figure it out, then call me and I will tell you how to fix that mess. I do happen to be an aspiring psychology student myself."

Tejo finally laughed wholeheartedly. "I am sorry but you?"

"Yes, me. Why is that shocking."

"Because your brain is the size of a bird."

"I am blocking you," the younger of two threatened mockingly. "And then you can kiss good advice goodbye."

"Whatever you say," they resumed the previous position on the mat and gazed at the sky. The atmosphere was lighter with giggling and teasing. "You have grown up," Tejo said after a moment of brief silence.

"Does that mean I can drink that vodka sitting under the table?"

"No," she stated, plainly rejecting the idea instantly.

As the younger girl slowly drifted off to sleep, Tejo left her thoughts to wander. The last couple of days had brought with it a number of surprises and realizations. She embraced them, letting wisdom sink in thoroughly. It was a cathartic experience lathered with self-assurance and epiphanies. She soothed the ire, letting it dissolve into the background of things.

Mahi had certainly hit the mark with some things. Tejo didn't want to be here right now. She had decided to leave the country temporarily to get away from him and her. Like clockwork, she was yet again in lockstep with what others wanted. Biji's health was of paramount importance to her but she couldn't stay here forever. it was imprisoning- persecution like.

She looked at the sleeping girl beside her. You can still be papa's daughter while pursuing your PhD somewhere in Punjab like you wanted to. You can still be biji and baiji' granddaughter while making a life for yourself. You can still be Amrik and my sister while doing the thing you love. Nodding to herself, she made an imperative choice- living life on her own terms from now on.

"I want a divorce."

Tejo Kaur was worth more and she just had to educate herself on how and why.

A/N: If Fateh didn't make sense to you, it was intentional. That is what he sounds like to me in the show- downright stupid. Dont forget to R&R!