24 Chapter 24

Sneha took a cab to the airport. She hadn't taken long to decide she had to leave Rohan now before things got worse. She was aware that waiting for a husband to be happy with her in their marriage would be the silliest mistake. Rohan had a connection with Stella, she thought. Then she asked herself, 'But why did Rohan marry her? Why didn't he tell his parents about his relationship with Stella?'

If he was so involved with Stella, he shouldn't have agreed to marry her. Did Ramona aunty know about this? If she did, why did she force her into this marriage?' She wondered, 'Did she tell papa about Rohan? The fact that she was talked into a marriage whose preparations began months ago annoyed her and she was not finding any easy answers.

However, why has this marriage been so different? Blaming destiny is irrational, as it could have been prevented. Sneha remembered the time when she confronted Rohan and asked why he got into this relationship when it was already doomed. "You had no right to ruin my life," she spoke assertively.

He got into this marriage knowing it wouldn't work because he wanted another. What was he thinking when he married me? Ramona aunty must have thought about this earlier, no wonder he was so quiet at the wedding.

She wondered, 'Where do I stand in this situation? I've been tossed around like a toy all over the house for fulfilling whose wishes? Obviously Rohan didn't want me. It was his parents who forced us into getting married; what were they thinking?'

'This whole situation about his previous affair shouldn't have been covered up. I have the right to know about my future. How could I let people play with my life?'

Maybe Ramona aunty and Sumit uncle thought our marriage was best for our future, or they didn't like Stella? They must have decided to marry us in a hurry just so they could avoid Rohan's and Stella's marriage. Rohan should have told me at least once.' Sneha's mind brimmed with questions she wanted to avoid. She couldn't stop, it was too important and they confused her.

The cab driver asked, "Madam is everything alright? Do you want me to stop?"

"No, please hurry up, I have a flight to catch," she replied.

The cab driver was the last person she would share her feelings with, but it was not his fault. With tears rolling down her cheeks almost anyone would ask a woman what was wrong with her. The cab passed by the restaurant where Rohan had brought her for dinner. The memories came flooding back and she started sobbing even harder.

By the time she sat down for her flight, she was feeling sad. The hostess was showing the safety instructions to all the passengers aboard before they took off and the man sitting beside her was so tired he was already asleep. It was an 8 p.m. flight and even though the flight had one stop and was of longer duration than usual, she had taken it anyway. She didn't want to stay in City M for a day longer and she he hadn't wanted to stay with Rohan for a second more. It was okay to be in a flight for ten hours with a hop over; a non-stop flight to City B was less than two hours from City M. Staying in City M was draining her physically and emotionally.

She'd informed her father the day before about her arrival. He was surprised at her sudden visit and wondered why Rohan wasn't accompanying her. However, he calmed down when Sneha said she missed both him and Ankur and she wanted to see Ankur again. She told him she was feeling homesick but didn't reveal any of her marriage problems to her father. She didn't want papa to know about this situation now - perhaps she was waiting for a miracle or perhaps she didn't want papa to be shocked and hurt.

He had arranged her marriage with lots of love and blessings, and a dream. She didn't want to shatter his dream but how would she manage to keep this a secret from him while she was there. She decided to stay quiet for a few days and then slowly reveal it to him. She also decided to stay at her home instead of staying at Ramona auntie's home. She was in no mood to meet her new in-laws, but she wanted to meet her old uncle and aunty. It was a dilemma she tussled with.