22 Chapter 22

The next day, Sneha slept in late again, she had another headache. She continued to sleep till 10 a.m. and Rohan didn't want to wake her either. He thought that when he would come home in the evening they would discuss everything. He went to the office earlier than usual and became immersed in his daily work throughout the day. Avoiding Stella became an enormous problem. She would follow him everywhere; or rather find him everywhere he went. She was like a ghost haunting its prey and he started spending a long time in meetings that he scheduled even when they were not required.

However, Stella's audacity was increasing by the hour! At one point, when he was in a meeting with his colleagues she stood near the glass entrance door and gave him a flying kiss! To Rohan's embarrassment the office clerk and his secretary saw her in this foolish act only to make a joke about it later. Finally the clock struck six and he fled home.

It took him longer to get home; at least that's what it felt like it to him. Maybe he was just excited to see Sneha as soon as possible but somehow it was taking longer to reach home. He went to the lobby and found a lot of people waiting for the lift. As soon as it arrived, he pushed his way inside and stood pressed against an old lady who seemed to enjoy it!

He opened the door to his apartment with a lovely smile and called loudly for Sneha, but something was wrong! Where was all the furniture? Where are the paintings? Why is the apartment empty? Only the furniture that he had had before they married remained. What happened? Where was Sneha? He started to panic.

Sneha entered the room and was dressed in blue jeans and a green shirt and sat down to tie her shoes. Rohan was stunned; he couldn't understand what was going on. Sneha was dressed to go (was she leaving him?), and her red suitcase trailed behind.

"I'm leaving the house. It's good you came home while I was still here otherwise I would have given the keys to the guard," said Sneha in a matter of fact, quiet voice.

"What's this Sneha? Where are you going? And where is all the furniture?" Rohan demanded.

She gave him a penetrating look and said, "I'm going Rohan…leaving you. I guess it's the best for all three of us. Our marriage is too crowded. You love Stella and it clearly shows. I don't want to be in the way you and Stella being together. This doesn't seem to be the right thing to do; our parents certainly didn't understand how much you loved Stella. I can't bear to be around this any longer," her eyes teared up again. "Its time I moved on and I want to end this mess as soon as possible so that none of us is harmed permanently. Believe me, if we linger in this mess for even another day, our lives will become hell. This can never be a healthy relationship, Stella knows you well and is the right woman for you," she added.