Another Half Of Me - Chapter 27

Siddha sat down in his car and sighed heavily. The day had been so hectic with meetings that he had lost count of time. The matter was still not settled. Today, he had only managed to meet his staff in Bangalore trying to find what material had gone wrong. He rested his head on the back of the seat and thought about his meeting with Balaramji the next day. That would be a tough nut to crack. Looking at Rudy, he gestured him to move towards the hotel.

Sitting down on his bed, he looked at his phone. No messages or calls from Roshni after her initial reply to his arrival message. He thought of calling her but decided to freshen up and then call. He was a little disappointed that she had not even sent him a message. After having his bath, he climbed in bed and dialled her number. It kept on ringing but she did not answer. A little concerned, he called Sandhya’s number but her number was not reachable.

What was the matter?

Siddha dialled Roshni’s number and kept listening but again no answer. Had she already slept? But, it was only 10:30 at night. Slipping inside the blanket a little, he dialled her number again and listened. As it kept on ringing, his eyes closed slowly with exhaustion and the phone fell down from his hand on the bed.

*****************

Roshni cleared the dining table thinking about what Sandhya had said to her. He had not called or messaged her since morning after letting her know about his arrival at Bangalore. She cleaned her hands and looked for her phone. Last she remembered keeping it on the bedside table in the afternoon.

Siddha had called her 3 times and the last call was 5 minutes ago. Hurriedly she dialled his number. It kept on ringing but he did not answer. Had he already slept? She dialled again: same response. But, how can he sleep in 5 minutes? Feeling irritated and confused, she switched off her phone and kept it inside the drawer not wanting to see it again.

Sandhya looked at her questioningly as she handed her daily glass of milk. Shaking her head, Roshni drank it at one go. She needed sleep badly. Resting her head on the pillow, she fell off to a drugged but disturbed sleep.

**************

Siddha suddenly woke in the middle of the night with a start. The light was still on in the bedroom. He did not understand what had woken him up. All he remembered was seeing Roshni vanishing in thin air. Sweating and shaking hard, his fear engrossed mind kept on playing the same image again and again. Without thinking, he picked up the phone and dialled her number.

Switched off!

Anger started to rise in him slowly. She had called him but he had slept off. If only he had kept awake. Dammit! And, why was her phone switched off? He felt like packing his bags and leaving Bangalore there and then, but somehow controlled himself. It is only a matter of 6 more days then he will home with her. Closing his eyes, he tried to conjure images of them together and slowly fell in deep and drugged sleep.

Siddha was ready to leave for the meeting with Balaramji in the morning, but before that he wanted to speak to Roshni. He dialled her number but it still said switched off. He tried Sandhya but same response: not reachable.

As he sat down in the car, Siddha dialled Sid’s number.

“Check on Roshni now and make her speak to me. Leave now!” he ordered the moment Sid picked up.

What’s the matter with you, sweetheart, where are you? Why aren’t you speaking to me?

**************

Roshni woke up as Sandhya shook her shoulder.

“Sid is sitting outside. Come on!” she said.

Rubbing her eyes hard, Roshni ventured in the drawing room.

“Good morning, Bhabhi. I just came to…”

Before he could finish, Roshni stopped him raising her hand. “Siddha has sent you to check on me. Tell him I am ok and will call when I have time.” Saying this, she went inside the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

Gaping in surprise, Sid felt totally confused.

Placing her hand on his shoulders, Sandhya said, “Mood swings. Happens at this time. It’s natural. Tell Siddha she is ok.”

Nodding, Sid left and called his brother to give him the news.

**************

Siddha’s day was not going at all good. It was becoming harder and harder to convince Balaramji about the quality of their construction material. He pressed his temple as it had started to pain real hard. Looking at the Balaramji’s manager, he found him whispering something in his boss’s ear. Losing his patience, Siddha got up and walked up to Balaramji.

“Have you ever heard from any of our clients that we have fouled on materials?”

Balaramji shook his head clearly knowing that Rajput Construction was known for their quality and since the time Siddha had joined the company, the quality had increased by many folds.

“Then how can you tell us to stop the construction all of a sudden,” Siddha asked trying his best to make Balaramji understand.

Suddenly there was a knock in the door. Irritated, Siddha looked on as Balaramji’s manager hurried to open the door. Now who?

A woman clad in a pristine business suit walked in smiling at Balaramji. He got up and hugged her.

“Let me introduce you two. Siddha, this is my daughter, Rohini.”

Siddha smiled and extended his hand.

“I have heard about you a lot. It’s finally good to meet you,” Rohini said shaking Siddha’s hand amiably.

As they talked and discussed the issue at hand, he realised that Rohini was smarter and sharper than her father. She understood their reputation and also trusted Siddha when he observed that nobody had ever complained about them. By the time the meeting was over, Siddha was convinced that soon they will commence construction.

On her way out, Rohini looked at Siddha and said, “Please join us for dinner at home.”

He was about to say no but looking at Balaramji’s stern face, he said yes.

While getting ready for the dinner invitation, Siddha remembered Sid’s words about Roshni. “Bhabhi is ok, Bhai. Just pregnancy mood swings. She said that she will call once she has time.”

She does not have time to talk to him? Siddha? Slowly anger started to bubble inside him. Tonight, he will speak to her no matter what; even it meant flying off to Delhi.

The dinner went well. Rohini was pleasant company and the food was excellent. But Siddha’s mind kept on going back to Roshni. He wanted to hear her voice.

He and Rohini were strolling outside after dinner when she noticed him looking at his watch again and again.

“Are you getting late?”

“No, actually I need to call somebody.”

“Girlfriend?”

“Nope, fiancé,” Siddha said proudly feeling elated.

Rohini smiled and he excused himself. As he was getting in the car, Rohini came running.

“I need that file where you have the test details of the materials. Need to study it before getting into the meeting tomorrow with the municipal authorities.”

Not thinking twice, Siddha invited her in the car and instructed Rudy to drop her back home.

As soon as he reached his hotel room, Siddha went inside the bedroom looking for the file. Looking around, he felt somebody had changed things around his room. Shaking his head, he started to look again.

Rohini sat down on the sofa in the drawing room waiting for Siddha. She was busy on her phone when she heard his phone vibrate on the table. Should she pick up? She was about to when the call got disconnected. But she did not hesitate a second it vibrated again.

“Hello,” a female voice said from the other side.

“Hi, Siddha is inside the bedroom. Can I take a message?” Rohini replied not knowing what else to say.

The moment the other person heard her voice, she asked, “Is he in the hotel?”

Answering in affirmative, Rohini was about to ask for her name when suddenly the caller disconnected.

Siddha handed over the file to Rohini and she left his room without telling him about the phone call.

***************

Roshni sat on her bed shocked to the core. There was a woman in his room. Who is she? Has he found somebody else? Would she be in the same state as Surbhi? No, she will never commit suicide. Touching her womb, she mentally promised her child: sweetheart nothing will ever happen to you no matter what.

But what if Siddha has already decided to do away with her? Then what?

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