21

Chapter 21

Arjun walked towards the fest arena of the college with Banishree by his side. He found his friends, Lola, Chola, and Nikhil, waiting for them.

"Arey, Bani, you are looking extremely gorgeous," Nikhil said. (Hey, Bani, you are looking extremely gorgeous.)

Banishree blushed, looking down and said, "Aap bhi." (You too.)

They were waiting for the singer to start the fest when Chola said, "Shit, I never knew our fellow resident doctors were this beautiful." A group of three female resident doctors was making their way to the fest arena: Riya, Shreya, and Swati. Riya came running when she spotted Arjun and hugged him tight.

Bani looked at them with a smile on her face. Growing up, she hardly ever had friends in the village because of her influential paternal family. Children of her age would avoid playing with her in fear of getting into trouble. And here, her husband was friends with everyone; he was so popular that everyone sought his friendship.

"Riya, this is Banishree, my wife. Bani, ye Riya hai meri dost," Arjun introduced the two. (Bani, this is Riya, my friend.)

"Namaste," Bani said. (Greetings.)

Riya just offered a small smile in return. She was a paediatrics resident and also a highschool friend of Arjun.

Swati said, "Girls, let's go stand there. There's a fan stand and it's near the stage. Bani, tum bhi chalo." (Bani, you come too.)

Bani looked at her husband, to which he nodded, and she went with the three women.

Everyone was grooving to the sizzling vocals of Sunidhi Chauhan, including Banishree, who was singing her heart out. For a moment, she could hardly believe she was seeing Sunidhi Chauhan up so close. She had spent days in her childhood dancing to the song "Sheila Ki Jawani." She was jumping and singing, fully immersed in the music.

"I am going to the washroom, does anyone want to go?" Shreya, the orthopaedic resident, spoke over the music. Both Riya and Swati refused. Seeing that, Bani said, "Mujhe jana hai" (I need to go), providing company to Shreya so that she wouldn't have to go alone.

"You don't want to use the washroom?" Shreya asked, washing her hands at the sink.

Banishree shook her head. "Nahi, hum toh bas aapke saath aa gaye. Warna aap akele aati. Idhar koi hai bhi nahi." (No, I just came with you. Otherwise, you would have come alone. There's no one here.)

Shreya smirked. "Oh, so kind of you. How old are you, by the way?" she asked, looking at Banishree from head to toe, making Bani uncomfortable.

"Unnis." (Nineteen.) Bani answered.

"Hmm, so you love Arjun?" Shreya asked.

Bani nodded.

"Or do you love the fact he is a doctor, earning well, and also comes from a wealthy family?" she asked.

Bani looked at her and said, "Aap...aap aisa kaahe bol rahi hain. Hum Doctor Babu se pyaar karte hain." (Why... why are you saying this? I love Doctor Babu.)

"What? You call Arjun what? Doctor Babu?" Shreya threw her head back laughing. "Aren't you the typical ‘gawar’ from the village? Do you think someone like you suits next to someone like Arjun? You aren't even educated. Had it not been for that forced marriage of yours, men like Arjun don't even look at girls like yours’ way." She laughed.

Bani stood there with tears streaming down her cheeks, looking down. She had no answer to Shreya. Every word she said felt like it was true.

"Anyways, if not for the marriage, he would have surely married Alia," Shreya said.

Bani looked up, confused.

"Oh, you don't know who Alia is? Your Doctor Babu didn't tell you about his girlfriend? Well, Alia was Arjun's girlfriend. They were going strong, and you broke it all," Shreya said.

Banishree's eyes widened. The hurt inside her heart was unbearable. She stood there, shell-shocked. Looking at a broken Banishree, Shreya smirked, leaving behind a crying Banishree in the lonely and empty washroom. Her work was done.

Shreya had secretly harboured feelings for Arjun since they began their PG residency. Every time she gathered the courage to confess, some girl would beat her to it. First, it was Alia, and now it was Banishree.

Back at the fest, Riya noticed Shreya returning alone. "Hey, where's Banishree?" she asked.

"Oh, she went back to the dorms. She told me she's got a headache," Shreya replied smoothly.

Riya nodded, unsure. Bani had really looked like she was enjoying the fest. But not thinking much of it, she continued grooving to the music with Swati and the others. Shreya, meanwhile, allowed herself a small, victorious smile, satisfied that her plan had worked for now.

Banishree stood there completely shattered. She couldn't bear the thought of breaking a relationship. No matter how much she had come to love and admire her husband, breaking a relationship to make her spot was against her ethics and morals. With tears streaming down her face, she walked back to the dorms, broken. She could hear the music fading with each step towards the dormitory. She had no place to go, but she also knew she couldn't stay here anymore.

She looked around the room she shared with her husband and sadly smiled. Suddenly, she remembered the first day she had set foot here. They had tried to be discreet with their arrival, but her husband didn't step back from introducing her as his wife. She smiled. Maybe she wasn't meant for happiness. There wasn't any forever for her. Crying silently, she packed her belongings, making sure to only take stuff she had brought with her from Dholpur.

Her Maami (Maternal Aunt) had given her some money for emergencies. She didn't know if it was enough to head back home. She counted the notes. It was one thousand and two hundred rupees. It wouldn't be enough to go anywhere. Half-heartedly, she opened the drawer where her husband kept money for her to use. She took out a few 500 rupee notes. "Three thousand would be enough to head back," she thought.

Picking up a pen shakily, she wrote, "Hum teen hazar liye hain. Koshish karenge aap ko lauta dene ki. Khayal rakhiye ga, Doctor Babu apna. Banishree." (I have taken three thousand rupees. Will try to return it to you. Take care of yourself, Doctor Babu. Banishree.)

Wiping her eyes with her sleeves, she gave the room one last look and left.

Back at the fest, Arjun noticed Riya and Swati dancing but not Banishree. "Where's Banishree?" he asked Shreya, who was standing nearby.

"She went back to the dorms. Said she had a headache," Shreya repeated.

Arjun frowned. "She looked fine a while ago," he muttered, concern etching his features. "I'll go check on her."

As Arjun made his way towards the dorms, Shreya's heart sank. She watched him leave, knowing that no matter what she did, Arjun's heart belonged to Banishree now. Her plan had caused pain, but it had not brought her any closer to Arjun. Instead, it had left her feeling more isolated and bitter than ever.

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Hello!
I hope you all are doing well. I know, I am late with the update. Been dealing with so much since the death of my grandmother in April. It's like I have lost interest in everything. I hope it gets better with time.

May Lord Shiva's blessings bring peace, happiness, and prosperity to your life. Happy Shravan!

Hare Krishna

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