IF ONLY....
3rd May,2013. Carter Road, Mumbai.
Gunjan was pacing her living room, checking her phone for messages & contact list. She was waiting for her husband Rajeev to arrive home. It was already 10:30 PM & he was late today. Though Gunjan was used to wait now for him as he usually arrived late. Rajeev had told her to not wait for him & instead told her to rest as even she had her own boutique to attend to but Gunjan never listened & still used to wait for him.
As she sat down on the Couch, she reminscised about her days with Rajeev. It had been almost 9 months since they got married. It was an Arranged Marriage for both of them. Rajeev's Mother Savitri & Gunjan's Mother Sneha were Best Friends & wanted both their children to get married to each other. Just 1.5 years ago, Gunjan had came back from US after completing her studies & acquiring a degree in Fashion Designing. It was her passion & now she was a famous Fashion Designer owning her own boutique. Gunjan's Mom had convinced her to meet Rajeev just once & Gunjan hesitantly agreed. She wasn't sure whether she really wanted an arranged marriage but she still decided to give it a shot as she had been unlucky in Love where her relationship's always ended badly with her Past Lovers. She & Rajeev met for the 1st time at a Coffee Shop & Gunjan had felt immense physical attraction to him that day itself. He was of the perfect description like they say in those movies & books: Tall, Dark & Handsome. Rajeev with his gentleman behaviour impressed her even further & Gunjan started liking the idea of spending her life with him. She asked for some more time for her mother & they both started meeting more oftenly. After 4 months, Gunjan had given her approval for the wedding & It was a Yes from Rajeev's side too. She had fallen in love with Rajeev during those 4 months & couldn't wait to get married to him. Rajeev was the complete opposite of Gunjan, where Gunjan was an extrovert, full of life, always bursting with happiness but at the same time, She was impulsive & impateint too. Wheareas Rajeev was an introvert, quiet & intense, he was a complete Gentleman but was also mysterious. These qualities of Rajeev attracted Gunjan towards him & she wanted to unravel his mysteries slowly.
After marriage, they had moved to Mumbai from Delhi, as Rajeev's father wanted him to handle their family business in there. Mr & Mrs. Agarwal still stayed in their Delhi home along with their younger son, Vihaan, who had completed his studies in London & was back to Delhi just 2 months ago. Gunjan hadn't met Vihaan yet as he didn't even come for their wedding due to his impending final exams.
Gunjan surely had the Perfect Life which every girl dreamt of. She had followed her passion & was a successful fashion designer, she had her own house, a high standard of living & most importantly, an ideal husband, who cared for her & pampered her beyond limits. She felt really lucky to have a husband like Rajeev. There was just 1 imperfection in her perfect life. Her husband Rajeev, did NOT love her.
She knew this well. Her husband was the ideal one, always caring & attentive of her but she couldn't see the same Love in his eyes for her which Gunjan had for him. She Loved him a lot & wanted him to love her the same way but it couldn't happen yet. They were Husband & Wife in all ways & made Love to each other too but Gunjan could sense that Rajeev lacked that passion for her which she had for him. She had asked him a lot of times, Do You Love Me? & Rajeev would just smile & nod his head in a Yes but Gunjan knew it was not true. She didn't complain to him but & usually responded with an, I Love You too & a Kiss. She knew Rajeev didn't want to dissapoint her & so used to lie to her but Gunjan loved him so much, that she could sense Rajeev's dissapoinment. She knew something was hurting him, something probably from the Past which Rajeev hadn't told her yet. Nevertheless, She was ready to wait for him, Today & everyday of her Life. Her Only wish was to get him to love her, like She did. If Only...
The doorbell rang & Gunjan was pulled out of her reverie. She opened the door & saw her husband smiling at her, she smiled back at him & welcomed him home. Inquiring about his day, she asked him to freshen up & served him dinner. She sat with him at the table talking to him & gazing at him lovingly. They retired to their bed at midnight & Out of habit Gunjan snuggled in Rajeev's arms closer to him & Rajeev hugged her tightly as he kissed her & they slept peacefully.
2 Days Later,
Vihaan was in Mumbai due to some work & desired to meet his brother & bhabhi. Rajeev told him that he would be late & asked him to still go home & spend some time with Gunjan. Vihaan arrived at their residence & was greeted by Gunjan with a warm smile. Vihaan made himself comfortable & both of them begin to bond over a cup of coffee, talking random things.
"Sorry Bhabhi for not coming for your & bhai's wedding. Those exams didn't allow me to. MBA is seriously hectic! BTW Your really Beautiful & Fantastic, I am Proud of Bhai's choice"
"Thank You so much Vihaan. Even your brother is handsome & I am really lucky to have him". Gunjan said blushingly.
"Wait, umm, what Past & what Accident?" Gunjan asked with a puzzled look & intrigued by Vihaan's words.
"What Past are you talking about? Look, Vihaan please tell me. I always had a doubt that there is something in Past which is troubling Rajeev but I never asked him cause I didn't know for sure but now hearing your words, I feel my suspicion was right. Vihaan Please tell me what is the matter? PLEASE?
"I promise Vihaan. Not a word".
"It's all a thing happened in the Year 2007. Almost 6 years back. Bhai was in Love with his Childhood friend, Avantika. She was Arvind Uncle's Daughter who was Dad's Best Friend. We called her Avni lovingly. Bhai was very much in Love with Avni & even Avni was. They had attended High School & College together & were always with each other which made their love even stronger. They could feel each other's love & it just grew stronger with each passing day. They had just not confessed their Love to each other & Bhai was planning to do that. Just after completing his Graduation, Bhai, Avni, Me, My Girlfriend Rachna & few other friends packed to go for a vacation to Shimla. Bhai had Planned to propose to Avni there at the Hill Point in a very romantic way. One evening he took her in a Jeep to propose to her, we all knew about it & so had decided to not disturb them & let them go alone. After sometime I got a call from Bhai's phone informing me about the accident that had taken place. We all rushed to the hospital & asked Mom & Dad to arrive immediately. Bhai & Avni's Condition was very critical & after an operation Bhai was saved but unfortunately, Avni couldn't survive due to blood loss & internal injuries. When Bhai came to know of Avni's death, he was in a state of Shock. He couldn't handle the trauma of loosing Avni forever & blamed himself for her death. His condition was so bad that we had to send him to a Rehabilitation Center for treatment to overcome the trauma. It took him more than a year to overcome the Loss & start life afresh in a normal way. Slowly he started to live again, got himself involved in Dad's Business. He was not ready to get married & was deciding to live a single life. It was after a lot of convincing & blackmailing from Mom's side to get him to agree for marriage & after a lot of rejecting, he finally decided to marry you, maybe because you remind him of Avni. She was just like you". Vihaan Smiled.
Gunjan was almost in tears now. She couldn't imagine what trauma her husband had to go through. He always tried to make her & the people around him smile despite of being so hurt himself. She felt really even more lucky to have him In her life now.
"Thanks a lot Vihaan, Thanks for letting me know". Gunjan said wiping her tears.
Vihaan just squeezed her hand & gave her a reassuring smile.
That Night, as Rajeev & Gunjan lay on their Bed, Gunjan was still lost in her thoughts. She looked at Rajeev & saw him already in deep sleep. She had a million thoughts flowing into her head after that conversation with Vihaan. She felt that Rajeev was still hurt with that Accident & blames himself for Avantika's death. Deep in her heart, she also knew that Rajeev was probably still in Love with Avantika. What she couldn't figure out was, what was keeping Rajeev away from loving her? The Guilt which he faced cause of Avni's death? Did he fear that he would lose her too if he loved her? Or was it that Love for Avantika, from which Rajeev couldn't move on yet & so he couldn't bring himself to love her? These thoughts were causing a Hovoc in Gunjan's mind. She turned on her place in bed & was facing Rajeev now. She stared at his face & all her thoughts vanished from her head. Placing her palm on his cheek, she kissed him on his forehead & smilingly thought to not give up. She would try hard & even harder to gain Rajeev's Love. She would not give up on her Love for him & will make him fall for her. Her faith on her Love was very strong & she was sure that even if Rajeev never loves her, her love will be enough for both of them for their entire lifetime. She would try her best to make him forget his dreaded past & fill his life with only sweet memories. With a determined look on her face, she had decided to make him fall for her & to make their life perfect. With this thought, she snuggled closer to Rajeev & resting her head on his chest, she put her arms around him smilingly. Rajeev hugged her back tightly & smiled contentedly in deep sleep as if reassuring her faith in him unknowingly.
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