The next day Tulika's awakened to the sound of some busy chattering with laughter. It took some moment for her to understand the source of the notice, which was the living room. Her ears perked up hearing a woman's laughter aloud and soon she knew her maternal aunty was awake and was very excited about something.

With tired steps and irritation, she walked inside the living room to witness the reason behind the chaos- that was sitting on the couch while looking very much lively with a childlike grin on his face listening to her aunty.

"... marriage does that to men dear! One day you will turn like these men too, forgetful. And lazy. Or boys are just born like that, I wish to understand one day!" Aunty granted.

"I only do that purposely darling." Tulika's uncle quipped raising his voice a little for his wife to listen and then turned to Suvro, "I mean I can die for the sassy reply of love from that woman. The charm of a married couple, what say son!" He mouthed and laughed out loud in his most usual way.

Tulika's aunty made a face in mock anger mouthing a "nonsense!!!" While her mother blushed in coyness. And her father cleared his voice to hide his laughter.

Suvro's face gathered all the blood of his body seeing this little teasing banter of the old couple. He was enjoying such married scenario imaging of his 'someday', when the just got out of the bed figure of Tuli standing at the doorway came in his sight.

Her still sleepy swollen ditsy eyes were burning on her.

She was looking at him with utmost awe. Awe, more than irritation, more than disgust, more than anger. How could that man was laughing at jokes, after getting thrashed so much by her? What the fuck had gotten into him!

Seeing her daughter Mrs Sengupta ushered her, "oh, you are up, see Suvro has come... go and get freshen up quickly..." she made hast but got shot down with an un-assumed interruption from Tuli.

"I have seen who has come, mother. You don't have to state the obvious." She hissed in a sleepy tone and stormed inside her room.

All the audience in the room was taken aback by this sudden snapping comment of her. The circumstances of the room got changed abruptly.

Tulika's uncle tried to clear his throat awkwardly but that didn't change the subject. The secrecy behind the marriage was naked in front of the relatives.

And that moment just prophesied about the whole day.

It didn't stay as much fun as the day before.

No matter how much jokes or laughter raised, an awareness stayed. Some murmurs, or cautiousness in the eyes of relatives were suffocating Suvro. Tuli didn't leave even one place, one person, in front whom Suvro could think them of as a normal married couple anymore.

***

The ride back home was filled with silent again except the traffic. Due to the arrival of the prime minister of the country, some of the roads were evicted from the normal citizen's use, so the alternative roads were packed and the polices were struggling badly to control the traffic.

In such a situation, Suvro and Tuli were sitting inside a car waiting for the signal turn to green. Well for a normal couple that might not be a bad situation but there was nothing normal in them. And again and again, she had established that truth to him.

He was frustrated as well as tired and was eager to go home. And she was irritated seeing no kind of baffling sign in him. He was not even looking at her. Which could have been a good thing except it was very much normal for her. He never in his life stared at her for a long time like any creepy "in love Romeo" would do. But it was his presence, his body language - that could scream out how much he was into her.

And at that very moment too, sitting inside that car his body language didn't change a little, except his face, that was just expressionless like a goddamn bloody white paper.

She huffed in irritation and he sighed looking at the traffic light.

And then his phone rang up.

"Yah" he picked up seeing Arun calling.

"Where are you?" Aru asked in his common way.

"Just returning..."

"Oh. Dinner is done?"

"Yeah."

"What was on the plate?" The foodie inside the Suvro's this lawyer friend asked. But Suvro was far from being amused.

"I will talk to you later," he said tiringly.

"Hey, did she do something? What happened man?" Arun didn't fail to notice the tone. Suvro pinched the bridge of his nose.

Damn the red light wasn't even changing for a bit. The temple of his head was throbbing badly again.

"Man, what have you done Suvu. She is wreaked, man. Fuck man... this marriage..." Arun started mouthing feeling bad.

"Listen Arun just shut the fuck up okay! I know what I have done very well. I am not feeling well right now! Faltu gal kheye jabi. For no reason, I will start abusing you so shut the fuck up." Suvro hissed cutting Arun's ramble and threw the cell phone over the dashboard cutting his call. Gripping the gear fixer tightly he looked at the traffic light clenching his jaw tightly.

Sudden scoffing of Tuli made him turn at her with a jolt.

"So none of your friends supports your this marriage huh?" She looked at him with a cruel smirk on her face. "I wonder why! You know why?"

He kept looking at her blankly.

"Cause they knew him." She hissed. "They knew him, and they know you. The real- you!"

He looked away with a jolt and wished to get out of the car immediately. But the traffic light turned into green and he accelerated the car with all his might.

Tuli kept rambling. "You are such a... full of manipulation, ego, and pretence... Just a dramatist you are! You know! Oh, I love her! Oh, there won't be anyone else to love her as much as I do. And what about her? Did anyone ask? Nooo! Wow, such a well groom he is, such a good pay! Such a well groom who didn't even bother about his bride's consent!" She hissed in a calm and cold tone. Her eyes burning on his face but his eyes stuck on the road. Though he could not go far, the traffic again clogged the road.

"I hate you so so much, you have no idea about it." She hissed.

And he kept looking at the road. His jaw's clenched got tightened as well as his grip on the gear and the steering wheel. But he stayed mum nonchalantly.

"Tell me one thing. How did you exactly felt when he died? When you heard he was not there anymore, he was not with me, around me anymore... when you heard there was not in your way anymore... how exactly did you feel?" Her voice broke, tears trembled down but her fuming eyes kept burning on his face. "Did you do a little victory dance? Or just planned all of this out at that very moment itself?... you know what, sometimes, I don't even believe it was an accident even... I think it was you, all you!"

He couldn't but looked at her with a jolt. He couldn't believe his ear that she just said that. The hurt in his eyes was vividly visual to her. "I believe that wasn't impossible for you at all. I despise you that much." She looked away wiping the tears off her face.

His eyes pained looking at her. But he would never cry in front of her. Never!

Rest of the ride was again in suffocating silence. Suvro felt a dagger was stabbed through his heart, and more he breathed more it got twisted inside.

"You were supposed to be my friend! My best friend!" He heard her murmuring with a choked voice.

***

'She thinks of me as a monster! Am I one?' The question kept repeating on his mind again and again.

He dreamt of him that night being on a boat. He was alone in that boat on a vast sea. There was no land anywhere around. He was looking around alarmed and skittishly. And then suddenly the water turned into grain of sand of the desert. The sun was burning on him brightly making him almost blind.

In that vast desert, he suddenly saw Tuli standing afar. Quickly he rushed towards her calling her name. But as he was about to approach her she elaborated into thin air. But then again he found her standing in a distance of some hands, he rushed, and again she got evaporated. And then, again and again, it was repeatedly.

That night there was rains on Suvro's bed, without him knowing. Tears rolled out while he was sleeping soundlessly. The person inside him, he wanted to scream; yell, forget everything that ever happened to him. He just wanted to scream till his vocal cord tear apart, to let everyone know about the ripping off his heart that was increasing with each passing moment.

But what he didn't dream of even in his wilderness, was of her, standing at the doorway looking at his sleeping figure tossing and turning. Her head rested on the door wearily looking at him and sighed.

'Give it up Suvro! Stop fighting for me!' She kept mumbling in mind...

This was a long chapter, hope it was not boring. Now vote! Vote! Vote!
And comment, so I update it soon...