Swara and Sam both froze staring at Don. Sam began stuttering
‘Had an, uhm, safe trip? Gonna t-tell me all about it, yeah? Ha ha’
Swara wanted to slap him silly for behaving so awkwardly but she tried to keep her cool. She remembered the fact that she was majorly upset with Don, and there was no reason she should break out of that mood. So she crossed her arms over her chest and looked him straight in the eye.Don’s hand was still on the doorknob and he shut it swiftly and loudly
‘What the hell’s going on?’ he asked quietly, terribly gravely
‘Whatever do you mean?’ Swara asked
‘Maybe you’d like to tell me where you’ve been, husband of mine’ she raised an eyebrow
Don raised his eyebrow as well, throwing his briefcase onto a corner table ‘No, no. I asked first’ he chuckled his sardonic laughter
‘Now. If you’d please answer my question. Sam, you first. What were you just doing before I opened that door’ he gestured towards the entrance for effect
Sam stared at his boss for a few moments, then tried to act as casual as possible‘Talking. Aur kya…?’ he managed to utter in a small voice
Don frowned as he leaned over the counter of the bar ‘Talking. Ok, your turn, Swara. And please’ he added intensely ‘Try and be more specific’
She continued to look at him with her brow raised ‘Am I being interrogated? Are you just stalling because you know you’ll end up having a lot of explaining to do?’ she asked calmly yet annoyed
Don was visibly angry ‘Just. Answer. The. Damn. Question. –Please’
Swara had her legs crossed and began moving her right one, agitatedly ‘We were sitting on this couch. Talking about Sam’s in-laws’
‘Is that so?’ Don gritted
‘Precisely’ Swara tried to keep a straight face
Don squinted at the both of them. Eventually, he pointed at Sam and said in a grave tone ‘You. Get out’
‘Excuse me?’ Swara uncrossed her legs and straightened her spine‘Don, …?’
‘Don’t make me say it again’ Don gritted, shooting Sam a deadly look
‘Sam!…’ she watched Sam stand up and slowly walk to the entrance
‘Sam, wait!’The moment Sam walked out the door she stood upand walked right at Don ‘What the hell was that!?’
‘Sit down!’ Don ordered her gravely
‘To hell with your orders!’ she shouted in his face but before she knew it, Don pushed her by the shoulder right back onto the sofa
She yelped in disbelief.
Now you listen to me very carefully’ Don hovered over her ‘I don’t want a single word out of you until I have my double shot of whiskey. Is that understood?’
She frowned at him questioningly.What the hell was he up to? Surely he knew they had lied to him, but just how much did he know? She didn’t want to get herself into more trouble than she already was.
‘Answer me damnit!’ he shouted and that made her sink intothe sofa and even cover her face in terror. She nodded in acceptance and resolved that she had only seen him this angry when she’d confronted him right after he’d gotten her out of jail, when she’d lied about being pregnant, thinking he had lied to her the whole time and had had an ongoing affair with Ayesha, while the knew she couldn’t have been and was convinced that she had been plotting to get him arrested all along. In a swift moment,that whole terrifying incident played out before her eyes.
Don downed the whiskey and placed the crystal glass back on the counter so powerfully that it made her snap out of her reminiscence. she began panicking more than before.
She didn’t want things to play out the same way they did back then. She needed to tell him the truth
‘Don, I…’
He chuckled ‘Well, I can’t be mad. After all, I did say to be quiet until I finish my whiskey.Wait. I think I underestimated the amount I needed’ he stepped back and poured himself some more
‘Don, listen to me…’ she began, on a more softer tone
‘What, sweetheart,what do you want to tell me, hm?’ he approached her with his glassful of whiskey in his hand, showing his dimples. It was an act that made her even more scared than before
‘What?’ he crunched in front of her and caressed her cheek
‘That you won’t even let me as much as kiss you without flinching…’ he started, moving his thumb across her lips, and then he began frowning and gritting his teeth as he whispered
‘…but you go ahead and f*ck Sam in a f*cking hostel?!’
Swara gasped but she didn’t even get the chance to react that he threw his glass away and grabbed hold of her hair with one hand, while he strangled her neck with the other
‘I was about to slay his throat right here in front of you. But not before I confronted you’ he went on, grimacing
‘Because I want to know. I want to know why.Meri ankhon mein dekho and tell me why’
He moved his hand from her neck to her jawline, framing it, and she gasped for air as he had really applied pressure on her airways. She looked at him terrified.
How could he even think that!? She searched his eyes,in terror, and couldn’t even come up with something to say. But what she saw next was what really shocked her. Tears were starting to well up Don’s eyes. He was fighting it, but sure enough tears began rolling down his face as he was contorting his face trying to keep it together.
‘Tell me’ he whispered ‘Why did you do this to me? I never…never thought you’d…’
his grip was softening and eventually he let go of her altogether
‘Argh!’ he grunted, looking away, hiding his face and his tears fromher.
Swara didn’t know how to react. She was totally blown away. He stood up and walked over to the ceiling height window and rested his forearm on it. She could see his reflection across the view of the skyline.He was panting and frowning, she could see all his veins from afar, threatening to explode under tension.
But suddenly it hit her. He was accusing her of cheating on him. That too, with Sam. She felt sick. She wanted to scream. But she couldn’t externalize anything. Don had probably seen them come from the hostel together. He’s seen how hurried they were to reach the penthouse before Don. She was also well aware of what she was wearing. And also that they had been visibly hiding something. But never had she thought that Don would actually not only suspect, but downright accuse her of being unfaithful.
She, of all people. The one that has stood by him in spite of everything. The one that overlooked everything and even loved him in spite of all that. She just couldn’t believe that all that meant nothing in his eyes, since he was in such a hurry to make assumptions.
She slowly stood up and said gravely but calmly,not looking his way
‘From this moment onward, I don’t care what you think. But Sam has no fault, so it is my last request to you to let him be. It’s the only thing I’m asking, if what we had meant anything to you at all’
she looked his way and saw that he had turned towards her ‘I won’t even tell you what the truth is. You won’t hear of it, anyway. And I don’t care what you believe. From now on… I just don’t care’
she then met his gaze ‘It’s over, Don’ she almost choked saying it out loud.
But she just knew that it was the honest truth, she couldn’t stand looking at him, knowing what he thought of her, let alone share the rest of her life with him.She grabbed her purse from the sofa, and without giving him a second look, stepped out the door.
She was surprised to see 3 men blocking her way, out of which one was holding Sam. She looked at him and they didn’t need to talk for both to understand what was happening. The men looked Don’s way, and he gestured for them to let her through, so she… left.
_________________________________
Swara opened the door to her apartment. How weird it felt, she thought, to enter that place that was once her home.The flight to Londn was long and tiring. She couldn’t sleep so she downed some wine on the plane.Now she had a headache.
It was late at night in London and luckily nobody saw her going into her apartment. She needed to find another place to stay. Being there was very dangerous. She could bump into one of her former co-workers at any time. She was supposed to be in jail, after all.
She threw her handbag- her only luggage on a small corner table near the door. She then looked around. She sighed. She’d lived there for so long, and still, the only memories she had of the place were those of Don.
She felt like she should figure things out, but she just couldn’t deal with reality for now. She needed a break from thinking. She needed to get drunk, she resolved. That headache was going to have to beat it.
She entered her small kitchen and thanked God she still had whiskey in the house. Whiskey after wine was probably not the best idea, but she couldn’t care less. She needed to be numb.She tried turning on the tv, but of course there was no cable, as she hadn’t paid for it in so long.
She was surprised there was electricity, if anything.She went to change her clothes. She hated what she was wearing. She quickly disposed of them and threw on an old pair of sweatpants and a tank top.
She then sank onto her sofa, sipping on her whisky. It was damn quiet. She was damn lonely. She could only hear his voice in her head over and over again
“What, sweetheart,what do you want to tell me, hm? That you won’t even let me as much as kiss you without flinching…but you go ahead and f*ck Sam in a f*cking hostel?!”
She shut her eyes tight, trying to get rid of the echo of Don’s words. But to no avail.
Everywhere she looked around her,she could see him. He’d only stayed for a few days in this apartment, but somehow every corner reminded her of him. But it was the only place she could call her own, the only place she could go and he had no business being at.
Was it risky? Absolutely. Was it insane? Most probably. But she had nowhere else to go. She suddenly realized how alone she was.She was worried sick about Sam. Only God knew what was to become of him. She only prayed that Don would consider her last request, and spare him.
She had her doubts, though. There was no telling what he would do in such a state of rage.
Tears were rolling down her cheeks but she didn’t even feel them. She was numb from all the alcohol but her heart was aching terribly. There was no shortcut, she had to go through excruciating pain
The following days, all Swara could do was stay in bed,crying herself to exhaustion, then waking up and crying yet again.She had no food in the apartment, only drank tap water since the alcohol was long gone, and even the sound of London traffic outside didn’t cover up the silence she had drowned herself into.
One evening she decided to go and buy some food. She couldn’t go on without food for much longer.
Swara was a very principled person, very righteous… she never once thought she’d actually contemplate suicide. Of course,she thought, she’d never go through with it. But she contemplated just sitting in that apartment until she’d have starved to death. She imagined what Don would’ve done upon hearing that.
She imagined he’d have been very sorry for what he’d done to her. She dismissed those thoughts rapidly, and got dressed before she could allow herself to think more about it. But she was shocked to realize that the hypothesis actually appealed to her, in a very scary way.She was really careful stepping out of the apartment.
She didn’t want any neighbors seeing her coming in or out. She kept all the lights off at night as well. She needed to be invisible.She wore a baseball cap outside and although it was dark she was very careful not to stand out in the crowds.
The crowds helped a lot. The noise, the smell of street food, the background music… it was all catapulting her into real life. She needed that. She felt cared for, she felt at home, in a strange sense.She bought something to eat and slowly started making her way back home.
She needed to figure out a way to sell her place and buy something elsewhere. Maybe in , she thought.
It was too dangerous. Anyone could recognize her there. Just as she thought about that, she heard someone call her name from behind her, in a whispered tone
‘Swara!’
She froze, but kept on walking. Hers wasn’t your traditional hindi name, but she still hoped that whoever it was, was not calling her!
‘Swara!’
the tone intensified and also she could hear the person speed up behind her
She began panicking. She tried to act cool, clearly whoever it was had recognized her. She needed to lose the person in the crowds and not raise any suspicion.
She picked up her pace but she felt the person do the same. Before she could speed up even more, the person touched her elbow from behind and that’s when she decided to make a run for it.No matter what, she couldn’t let that person see with their own eyes that she was actually there. She ran as fast as she could, but she was weakened and her joints were stiff.
She began panting almost immediately. But she gritted her teeth and pushed herself forward.
‘Swara!!’ the person was closer and closer
She began crying, to make things even worse “this is it” she thought, this was how it was all going to end. She’d be caught and thrown into jail, where she belonged in the eyes of the authorities.She began slowing down, her feet couldn’t moveanymore.
She was hysterically crying and she almost tripped as well.The person finally caught up with her and grabbed her shoulders. She didn’t want to lookup to see who it was. She couldn’t handle the situation
‘Let me go’ she cried, hoping to gather attention from the people around her.
Maybe someone would help her out, thinking that the person was harassing her. She kept her face hidden beneath her baseball cap hoping someone would interfere
‘Help!’ she also yelled, trying to stall some more time
‘Swara! It’s me! It’s Sam!’She somehow didn’t even hear him the first time. She kept shouting
‘Help! Somebody!’ but she was out of breath and her voice was hoarse and shaky
‘Swara, it’s Karan. I’m here! You’re safe!’ Sam bent just enough to make eye contact with her. Her eyes widened.She couldn’t believe her eyes. Was he really there?
‘S…Sam?’He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight
‘It’s ok. It’s ok’She shakily put her arms around him as well, and hung onto him for dear life
‘Sam!’ she gasped before
she broke down crying onto his chest ‘Sam… you’re alive!!!’He smiled between tears as well, and tilted her chin while removing her cap
‘I am, don’t worry…I’m here’She cried for a while longer . She felt so relieved. He was alive! He was there! God, how she needed a friend!
‘Swara, let’s go to my old place here.You’re not safe at your place’
‘I know’ she shook her head ‘I just…I had nowhere else to go, Sam…’ her voice was breaking down again and he put his arm around her shoulders before she could start crying again, urging them forward
‘I know. Don’t worry. We’ll figure things out. Let’s go before we attract any more unwanted attention’
Once they got to Sam’s studio, further away from her neighborhood, they could finally talk freely
Swara hugged him again ‘I can’t believe you’re here! Is it really you?’
Sam chuckled ‘Of course it’s me. Let’s get you something to eat’
She nodded ‘I must’ve dropped my bags… I can’t even remember. It’s such a blur… how did you find me?’
‘I was coming to see you. I’d just landed in London a couple of hours ago. I first stopped by here to make sure the place was in check and then I went to get you at your apartment. I knew you wouldn’t get the door if I called so…I kinda broke into your apartment’
Swara gasped ‘God…’
‘When I didn’t find you there I panicked. I didn’t call you because…you know… Don is tracking your phone… and I didn’t want him to know…’
Swara shut her eyes tight upon hearing Don’s name.
‘I’m sorry…’
‘It’s alright. I want you to tell me…. What happened, Sam…? Tell me rapidly so I can get it out of the way…’
Sam sighed and sat opposite her at the table ‘He told me that you asked him to spare me… as your last request. And that he wanted to kill me, but he loved you more not to respect your wish…’
Swara just stared at Sam incredulously. She couldn’t believe that Don had actually kept his word. Actually, he hadn’t even promised her that he’d respect her wish. But he had. And she really hadn’t expected it.
‘Sam… to be really honest… I really thought he was going to kill you’ she said, trying to fight her tears back
‘I’ve…never seem him that angry before’ she almost whispered
Sam sighed ‘Thank you, Swara.I know he would’ve. He sure wanted to…’ he shook his head.
‘Where are Yana and Maya?’ she asked
‘They’re in Berlin… at Yana’s folks… I couldn’t figure out anything safer for now…’
‘Don would never touch Maya’ she said, staring into space
‘He loves her so…’
‘But he hates me the most. So… I really don’t know anymore, Swara’After a long pause, she whispered
‘Sam… tell me the truth… what was he doing in Belfast?’Sam avoided her gaze for a while but finally gave in
‘Swara… I can’t be too sure. I only know bits and pieces… honestly’
‘Tell me what you know’He inhaled then said
‘He was…getting in touch with his former connections… his underworld connections…’
Swara stared at him and just blinked several times ‘I can’t believe this…’ she said in a small voice ‘… What?’
‘He never explained why he wanted to do this… he didn’t tell me much about it. Maybe he was trying to make sure you’d never find out… us being friends and all… but I can’t know for sure, Swara’
‘Stop defending him… for God’s sake, Sam… it’s over’ she said
‘You can tell me. He’s not your boss anymore’Sam sighed
‘Swara I’m telling you all I know. And waise bhi… you should know. He never told me the full story to anything. He never reveals what all he’s doing. The only one that knows everything is himself’
Swara looked away. She was feeling downright furious now ‘For how long has this been going on?’
‘Just recently. But again, Swara, I don’t know what he was planning’
‘Want me to spell it out for you, Sam? Selling illegal drugs’ she yelled
‘Arre! Keep it low na, my neighbors might hear… Swara. Honestly, I don’t know whether he went through with it or not… I tried to interfere, kind of told him to reconsider… but he wouldn’t budge nor let me in on whatever he was doing. So I can’t be certain’
‘Ok then, what do you think?’ she squinted at him
He shrugged ‘Of course I think he went back… Why else would he seek meeting up with his old connections? Surely not to sell them antique jewelry…’
Swara scowled. She felt like confronting Don, telling him all that was going on in her mind right then. But she couldn’t. And that infuriated her evenmore.
Swara was lying on Sam’s pull-out sofa. Obviously he had no room for a bed in his studio. He’d insisted he’d sleep on the floor, but she wouldn’t hear of it.Instead, he was now long asleep on the other side of the sofa.
She kept staring at the ceiling. She couldn’t believe all this was real. Don had betrayed her. He’d gone back to his old ways. Never once even led her to believe he was hiding something. She realized just how little he knew him. What else had he been hiding? A silent tear rolled down her cheek, as she contemplated whether he’d been with other women all this time they hadn’t been sleeping together anymore. How could she have believed that he’d remained celibate for so long?
“Swara, you’re so stupid. You deserve your fate’ was all she could think of. She imagined him taking other women to bed, and as tight as she’d shut her eyes she couldn’t shut those thoughts away. Who cared, anyway. He’d never be hers again. It was over. He was more than free to do whatever. At least now he wasn’t going to cheat on her. That’s what he was, she resolved. A cheater.
He’d lied to her about everything. She rolled to her side, hugging the pillow tight.Deep down, she knew this was the end. There was simply no way she could erase all this from her memory, and most importantly from her heart. The man she loved so much and wanted to build a future with had proven to be no more than what all men were.
She’d thought him to be special, in his own twisted, demented way. She’d always looked up to him. She’d forgiven his evil doings from the past only because she’d grown to know about his upbringing and what had led him to be the man that he was. And she had also witnessed him change and overcome the darkness he had engulfed himself in. Only to discover that it had been all a pretense.
She was furious. She’d never felt so deceived. In her heart of hearts, she knew she could never forgive him.It was tearing her up inside, but that night, she decided to never go back to him, no matter what. She knew that right then he was angry with her, believing that she had cheated on him, and that too, with Sam (how he could possibly even imagine that was beyond her reasoning), but she knew him well enough to be sure that he’d soon realize that she couldn’t possibly have done it. She’d come all the. way to London to show him just how much he’d hurt her by accusing her of such atrocity.
But upon her recent discovery, it had turned into much, much more than that. She was running away from him.She knew that, given a chance, he’d most certainly be able to change her mind somehow. She knew just how weak she could feel under the spell of his mere presence. She knew how easily he could persuade her into coming back to him. The only way to make sure this didn’t happen was by keeping him away. And there was only one way to do that. She’d have to make him not want her anymore.
Tears were rolling down her cheeks one after the other, and she wondered how it was even physically possible to cry as much, but the tears wouldn’t dry up. It was the hardest decision of her life. She knew she’d never be happy without him. Forget being happy, she knew she could never truly live without him. She’d still breathe, and eat.and sleep and roam around this earth but there would never be another day when her heart would beat the same. But it was simply too much to take. She could not accept what he had done.
That night she put her plan together. She only hoped that she would have peace, if not a happy, normal life.
Sam returned to Berlin, anxious to see his wife and daughter. Yana had taken Maya to live with her folks for a while. Sam had explained what had happened, and Yana knew Don well enough to fear what he might do (as much as he loved Maya) so it was best to go where she felt safest while Sam went to help Swara sort things out.
They’d talked over the phone numerous times, short conversations but enough to assure Sam that they were alright.That’s why when Sam entered his in-laws’ house and found a devastated Yana, and no sign of Maya, he fell to his knees immediately realizing what had happened.
‘Sam!’ she gushed running towards him, throwing herself into his arms
‘Sam… he took her’ she cried
‘He took our baby!!!’Sam was looking into space, tears rolling down his face while he was absently comforting his wife. She didn’t need to tell him. He knew from the instant he entered what had happened
After a long while, Yana calmed down and sat him on a sofa, telling him ‘He just left before you arrived… I think he knew you were on your way here’Sam nodded, still staring into space.
In the span of a few minutes it seemed as though he’d aged by 10 years. Don had taken away his most precious possession, his little girl.
‘Maya was so happy to see him. I didn’t want to cry and yell in front of her… didn’t want to scare her’ Yana was barely keeping it together ‘But I told him, I begged him not to take her away… not to take our little girl away’ she couldn’t help it anymore and started sobbing again
‘What did he say?… Did he say anything?…’ was all Sam could utter
‘Yes… he said he couldn’t bear the thought of his little Maya growing up with the low-life traitor his father is…’ Yana could barely repeat Don’s words
‘I’d never seen him like that… he was as if in a trance. He was so cold and mechanic. I can’t explain it… his cheeks were so hollow and his eyes were so clouded… ‘ Yana kept crying ‘And he’s taken our little girl with him!… Sam, that monster took our baby! What’s going to happen!?’
Sam couldn’t even reply. He couldn’t even look at his wife. He only blamed himself for what was happening. He couldn’t look Yana in the eye and tell her any words to comfort her, because he knew there just weren’t any. There was no way he could get back his daughter.
Don had spared his life, but he did something much more painful. He’d taken his baby girl away.
‘He’s gone mad, Sam. He’s totally lost it! He kept looking at Maya and his eyes would turn all warm suddenly. He kept telling her she was to go with “uncle” and to say bye-bye to mommy. He kept telling her how he loved her and how he’d take good care of her… she waved bye-bye to me, Sam…’ Yana sobbed, her face in her palms, trembling ‘Then he’d look at me and his eyes would suddenly turn cold again. I’d never seen anything more frightening in my life, Sam! He took her away just like that. My parents kept telling him not to take her, but his men were there, there was nothing we could do… I didn’t know what to do… I couldn’t do anything, I was so afraid not to scare her… now I know I should’ve yelled, I should’ve shouted, I should’ve tried harder…’
‘No, Yana… there’s nothing you could’ve done… trust me… nothing could’ve kept him from taking her’ Sam’s voice cracked and he began sobbing uncontrollably.
He’d never felt so helpless in his life.Don had taken his ultimate revenge. And there was nothing he could do.
Before he’d left, Sam managed to sell Swara’s apartment successfully. It was worth more than what she got for it, but for a quick sell it was more than ok. She had sold it the way it was, furnished, and hadonly taken away her clothes and things that held sentimental value.All that was now crammed into Sam’s small studio.
He was to come back with his wife and daughter to help her move to a newplace.She knew Sam couldn’t contact her (because Don could have been tracking their phone calls), so she was to wait patiently for them to arrive.
Totally unaware of the crisis they were going through in Berlin, Swara sat at her old laptop looking at different apartments that were in her price range.By then a week had gone by, and she was feeling numb. She’d crawled on the floor, crying hysterically, she’d drank herself to sleep, she’d taken sleeping pills to just keep dreaming, refusing to face reality, although her dreams were excruciating, but now she was just feeling numb. No more crying, no more nothing. It was as if she was having an outer body experience. She couldn’t feel anything. Her subconscious kept telling her not to get too used to it, surely an emotional outburst would take over soon.
But she felt thankful for a moment of nothingness. There was only so much pain and suffering one person could take.She needed to recharge her batteries for the next round, when her feelings would again knock her out.She was also dreading seeing Maya again.
She could only imagine how much Don loved her and how great he was with her. It reminded her of her miscarriage and how it all went downhill. She kept wondering if all this was her own fault. Had she been
“woman enough”
to deliver her baby, none of this would’ve happened. Don would’ve been a happy father and he wouldn’t have felt the need to go back to his old ways.
Everytime she would catch herself starting to think he was the victim, she shook herself and kept repeating to herself that he was the one at fault. Whatever the reasons, he shouldn’t have done it.Not after all he’d promised her. Not after all they’d been through. Not after everything they had together.In one swift motion she swept her laptop off the table, along with other things that were sitting next to it. It was enough to trigger the next emotional outburst that she was expecting.
She began sobbing again. She peaked between her tears at her laptop scrambled on the floor, the apartment she’d been checking out was still displayed on the screen. She decided not to wait for Sam and go buy whatever was on the market the very next day. She couldn’t bare another moment of her past life any longer.
_________________________________
So how was the chapter I know u all must be shocked???. What happened…
Swara left Don…Don hate Sam and he took Maya with him..
I know u will all tell me to post soon bcz u all must wanted to know what actually Don is doing why he did this…so I’ll update tomorrow for sure…till then think what will happen…take care and love you all???