The Stigma Called Love - Chapter 4

Nishant looked in the mirror at himself and felt a familiar uneasiness in him. Closing his eyes, he turned his head sideways sighing hard.

He is supposed to be happy today. He was getting engaged with Rushali but still there was no ray of joy in him. All he felt was discomfort and annoyance.

Even though she had known Rushali since childhood but still something was deterring him to get engaged with her. Not only were they friends but their fathers, Virendra Sharma and Naresh Naik had been friends since Naik Builders, their construction company came into being.

Their engagement and marriage had been fixed between the families when he was made the MD of Naik Builders. Virendra Uncle had not only been one of their partners but also was the first person to finance them. Although, now he had a separate architectural firm, Sharma Architecture, but still he was a family friend.

Clutching his temples, he tried to let go of the discomfort but couldn’t. Whether he wanted or not, this engagement will happen. He had no power to stop it. They were not only getting engaged but their families along with their businesses were getting engaged. He sat down on the chair just as Siraj Ahmed, his aid, driver and long-time friend came into the room.

“Bhaijaan, everybody is waiting for you downstairs,” he said looking at Nishant in the strange manner. There was something wrong with Bhaijaan. He looked tensed, Siraj thought to himself.

When Nishant did not respond, he went and stood beside him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, he asked, “Is anything the matter?”

Nishant looked up at him and smiled. If only he could speak his mind: but that would be truly unwise. Shaking his head, he got up and buttoned his coat.

Vikrant and Shefanjali Naik, Nishant’s elder brother and sister-in-law were waiting at the threshold of the stairs for him. As he came down with Siraj, Shefanjali smiled and extended her hand. They had been buddies since Shefanjali had got married 4 years ago to Vikrant. In fact, Nishant was the catalyst for getting them married otherwise if she had left it for Vikrant then they would still be waiting for the right moment.

Nishant smiled at her and placed his arm around her.

“Tensed?” Vikrant asked.

Shaking his head, Nishant just smiled. Shefanjali smoothened his hair on his forehead and looked into his eyes. He looked strained. As Vikrant moved towards the lawn where the party had already started, she leaned forward and whispered in his ears, “Don’t run away.”

Nishant couldn’t help but laugh. His sister-in-law knew him well. He just shook his head and went towards the lawn with her followed by Siraj.

2 hours later, Nishant looked at Rushali standing beside him clutching his arm, talking amiably. She looked happy; even their parents looked happy, but he felt as uneasy as ever. Excusing himself, he went outside.

Standing near the pillar, he looked up at the sky, trying to think why he was not happy. Well, he should be, right? He had always known that he would get married to Rushali, then what was the reason for this discomfort?

Not able to figure out, he turned and saw Siraj looking at him strangely.

“Bhaijaan, are you okay?”

Nishant nodded but in reality he wanted to get out of this place. Everything around him was slowly becoming too constricted. Any more of this environment and he would suffocate.

“Let’s go to the farm house,” he ordered Siraj in an irritated tone.

It started to rain as the car entered Ashram. Taking off his coat and rolling up his shirt sleeves, Nishant sighed as he realised that it would now take ages to cross the city borders. By the time they reached his farm house in Kasol, his family would be frantically calling him on the phone. And, he would again have to face all that drama, which he had faced every now and then when he was in college.

Everyone in his family knew that he had a wild streak in him. His father, Naresh Naik always complained to his mother, Meera that their younger born was a bit of a black sheep. He always believed that Nishant needed good lesson in taming.

He smiled to himself thinking about what his brother, Vikrant had once told him when they had been drinking at his apartment.

“Dad thinks you need domestication.”

He had laughed but the words had pinched him a lot. But, still he adored his father from the core of his heart. He knew deep down both his parents cared for him. They missed him. Even though, his father never said anything but he knew he did.

Nishant’s reverie was broken as the car halted with a jerk.

“Sorry, Bhaijaan, the traffic is horrendous today,” Siraj said apologetically.

Nishant touched his shoulder, reassuring him that he was okay and opened the window on his right. Placing his arm on the window sill, he looked outside. It was not raining anymore, but a slight drizzle was still there. He rested his head on the back of his seat and closed his eyes. If only he knew why his heart felt so out of place and why his mind kept signalling him to rethink the decision of getting engaged to Rushali, then he wouldn’t need an escape plan.

Suddenly Nishant felt a warm and tingling sensation on his arm. He opened his eyes with a start and saw and woman’s hand on his arm.

Her hand was still wet and tiny droplets of water glistened across her skin. As she removed her hand, her fingers brushed past Nishant’s skin. Everything inside him came alive with the touch. Suddenly, his discomfort and uneasiness was gone in a flash of seconds. Instead, he felt his body bursting with sensations he had long forgotten. He wanted to feel that hand all over him. He wanted to kiss those fingers and lick the small droplets of water. He wanted to mesh his fingers with her and never let go.

But, before he could do anything, the woman’s hand had slipped away from his arm. Something heavy slipped off her hand and fell inside the car. Nishant jerked opened the door and jumped outside. Looking here and there, he tried to find her but couldn’t.

He was still looking frantically when he felt Siraj grabbed his arm.

“Bhaijaan, what’s the matter?”

Nishant knew she was gone: vanished into this huge crowded city.

“Nothing,” he replied getting inside the car.

“Let’s go home,” he told Siraj, realising that now no matter where he went, he wouldn’t find peace. 

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