Chapter 24

Arjun approached the banyan tree where Shreya sat with Riya and Swati. Laughing as if nothing had happened. His face was a mixture of fury and disbelief.

He stood tall, his voice cold and laced with anger. "Shreya!" he barked, startling the three women, their laughter abruptly dying.
The smile on Shreya’s face vanished as she turned to face him. She immediately noticed the fury in his eyes and shifted uncomfortably.

“Arjun—what’s—” she began, but he cut her off before she could say anything more.

"How dare you?" His voice was low but sharp, each word dripping with disgust. "How dare you say those things to my wife? You think just because you're educated, you’re better than her?

"You think you’re superior because of your education? You think that gives you the right to belittle my wife?" His words were venomous, and everyone around the tree went silent, watching in stunned silence.

Shreya’s face turned pale, and she opened her mouth to say something, but Arjun wasn’t done. He stepped closer, his voice steady but filled with rage.

“Banishree may not have your degrees or your ‘city sophistication,’ but she has something you clearly lack—morals, respect, and dignity. She’s a better person than you’ll ever be.”

"Arjun, you’re misunderstanding," Shreya tried to defend herself, her voice shaky now.

"Misunderstanding?" Arjun repeated, his voice raising in anger. "You told her she wasn’t good enough for me! That she broke a relationship she didn’t even know existed. You insulted her just because she comes from a village! How dare you treat her like that? Does your education give you the right to treat people like garbage?”

Swati and Riya sat in stunned silence and disbelief.

"Let me tell you something, Shreya," Arjun continued, his tone cutting through the tension like a knife. "Education means nothing if it doesn’t teach you respect or kindness. And clearly, all the degrees in the world won’t help you because you lack basic humanity.”

Shreya swallowed hard, her eyes flickering with unease.

"And don’t you dare think she’s not talented," Arjun added, his voice louder now, his anger growing. "She’s an incredible dancer, actor  and singer, something you probably never cared to know. Everyone has their own talents, Shreya, and Banishree shines in ways you could never imagine. Just because she’s from a village doesn’t mean she’s any less than you.”

Shreya’s gaze darted from Arjun to her friends, but no one came to her defence.

Arjun's eyes narrowed as he glared down at Shreya, his words cutting deep. "You know she's only nineteen, right? Nineteen. She’s young, inexperienced, and new to all of this. Yet, instead of guiding her or being even a little kind, you tear her down? What kind of person does that to someone so young?"

Shreya blinked, her mouth opening but no words forming.

"She's trying to find her place, and you, someone older and supposedly wiser, instead of helping, choose to belittle her? You should’ve known better, Shreya. You should have been more compassionate, more human.”

Shreya’s face flushed, the weight of his words pressing down on her.

"Someone like you," Arjun continued, his voice sharp, "who's spent years studying to become a doctor, someone whose profession is built on empathy, should’ve understood that. But instead, you made her feel like she was nothing." He shook his head, disgusted. "You talk about being educated, but education clearly didn’t teach you kindness and humanity.”

Shreya’s face flushed with embarrassment, her hands trembling slightly.

He turned to leave, but before walking away, he added, "Banishree has more strength, heart, and character in her little finger than you could ever dream of having. Don’t ever talk to her or about her again.”

Arjun stepped even closer, his voice now low but dangerously firm. "If you ever speak about Banishree again, if I even hear a whisper of her name coming from your mouth, it won’t end well for you. Understand?"

Shreya nodded, speechless, her bravado shattered.

Without waiting for a response, Arjun turned and walked away, his chest still heaving with fury, leaving Shreya sitting under the banyan tree, humiliated and speechless, while the rest of the students who had been watching the scene stayed in stunned silence.

Arjun rubbed his face, feeling the weight of exhaustion and frustration settle in. He had called his parents, explaining the entire situation. His father, always composed in a crisis, was already using his connections to trace Banishree’s whereabouts, contacting anyone who could help. Yet, none of it eased the tight knot in Arjun’s chest.

He glanced at Banishree’s phone, which she had left behind, lying on the table like a symbol of her absence. With a sigh, he picked it up and absentmindedly began scrolling through the gallery. His breath hitched when he realised the gallery was full of his pictures.

In some, he was deep in study, completely unaware she had been watching him. In others, he was smiling, laughing, or even asleep. She had captured every moment, her affection for him clear in every frame.

Arjun's fingers paused on a picture where he was hunched over a textbook, the look of concentration on his face. He smiled sadly. ‘I didn’t even know she was watching me like that,’he thought.

His heart clenched tighter as he scrolled further down and saw their wedding pictures. Both of them standing stiffly beside each other, no wide smiles, no joy in their eyes like there should have been. The weight of their sudden, forced marriage, evident in their expressions. Back then, he hadn’t known what to expect. Neither had she.

But they had come such a long way since then. From strangers to something more. Something unspoken but real. He closed his eyes for a moment, the realisation settling deep in his chest.

‘I can’t live without her.’

He set the phone down, his heart aching, knowing that wherever she was, he needed to find her.

The next day, after a draining day at the OPD, Arjun was more determined than ever to find Banishree. With Chola by his side, he made his way to the campus gates. His mind raced with possibilities of where she might have gone. As they approached the gate, Arjun turned to the security guard on duty.

"Bhaiya, parso raat ko aap hi the kya duty pe?" (Brother, were you on duty the night before last?) Arjun asked, his voice steady but tense.

The guard shook his head. "Nahi sir, ye Kamlesh tha," he said, pointing to another man behind him.

Arjun didn’t waste a second and quickly walked over to Kamlesh, pulling out his phone and showing him a picture of Banishree. “Bhaiya, aapne inko dekha hai?” (Brother, did you see her?) he asked, his eyes searching Kamlesh’s face for any sign of recognition.

Kamlesh squinted at the phone, studying Banishree's picture carefully. After a moment, his face softened in recognition. "Haan sir, parso raat ye rote rote ek bag haath mein lekar chali gayi." (Yes sir, she left crying with a bag in her hand the night before last.)

Arjun's heart sank hearing this, but he nodded, keeping his composure. "Bhaiya, kis taraf gayi?" (Which direction did she go?) he asked, desperate for more information.

"Woh seedha gayi aur ek auto le liya." (She went straight ahead and took an auto.)

Arjun exchanged a quick glance with Chola. At least now they had a lead. Without wasting any time, Arjun thanked the guard and hurriedly walked toward the auto stands, his mind racing.

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Hare Krishna