Chapter 76: chapter 76

"You slut," Nisha  whispered and saw Mowri  shake her head a little. "Do you know who I am?" she said."Language!! You keep asking me that," Mowri  said with a sarcastic smile, "I wonder if you have amnesia or it is your favorite line," she said."You..." Nisha  said, "you think you are so smart. But you are not. Because had you been you would never have married a loser like him. Do you have any idea what he had done to me? I was practically under house arrest. Do you know how that feels? I was used to taking my own decisions, doing my own things, being with my friends and he took all of that away from me. You have based your judgment on what he told you," she screeched, "how do you know he told you the truth? I was miserable, bored, my life had taken a back seat while he went out enjoying his job to the hilt. I was famous and he couldn't stand it. I had to deal with his family who always interfered in everything I did. I had no privacy, no life, no happiness that was what my life had become married to him, so don't put the blame on me when it was all his fault," she yelled.Mowri  looked at Nisha . Was she for real? Since she stood here in front of her she was. Was she worse than Simrit? Maybe."Is that how it was or is that what you told yourself to justify your acts?" Mowri  asked quietly."What?" Nisha  spat."Okay, for a second let us leave all of this," Mowri  said, "do you have children?" she asked her.Nisha  looked as if Mowri  had lost her mind but she decided to humor her."No," Nisha  replied."Were you ever a science student?" Mowri  asked again."No, I was an Arts student," Nisha  replied wondering where this was leading to."Same here," Mowri  said and smiled but it never reached her eyes, "but I did study the subject till about a certain age. Do you know what happens when you are pregnant?" she asked."I have never been pregnant so how would I know," Nisha  said irritated with Mowri  and her silly questions."I have never been pregnant either," Mowri  said then let her fury unfurl, "but I still know that when a woman calls me and tell me she is seven months pregnant and she has taken a fall and is bleeding, it is an emergency," she said loudly for all to hear, "and that shopping can wait because it is life or death situation for that woman. And you have the gall to stand here and insult others or call others names," she said furiously. "You are lacking in IQ and for someone with your brain size it means Intelligent Quotient, but you never even had an EQ. Before you ask, it means emotional quotient. As a woman you couldn't understand how Jassi felt that day, what she went through, how much pain how much trauma," she said, "and all because you are incapable of any feelings. It has to be all about you. Isn't it? This man, here has the capacity to feel pain because he did. He felt Jassi's loss, her pain and he felt guilty at not being able to save her unborn child and all because his wife hung up on her and didn't tell him why she had called," she said painfully, "so pardon me if I don't believe a word you tell me," she said disgusted with the woman.She watched as Nisha  hung her head in shame. So she did have a feeling or two. She saw Jassi's eyes filled with tears and her heart went out to the other girl. She shouldn't have brought this up with her around. But then she was surprised to see Jassi raise her hand and give her a thumbs up and then smile. Her friend stood in support of her and her respect for the other girl went to a whole new level. She took in a deep breath as she brought her concentration back to Nisha  who stood there utter disbelief at the how things had taken a turn."You are blaming this man," she said and pointed towards Arnab , "for what? He restricted you because of the dangers out there in a city like Srinagar. He didn't want you to get hurt he didn't want to lose you dammit," she said angrily, "you are blaming him because he wanted you safe, because he loved you, because he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you. Because you meant that much to him. You are not worth anything he felt for you," she said hurt on Arnab 's behalf. "What was his fault exactly Mrs. Raheja?" she asked. "He went against his mother's wishes to be with you and you call him mama's boy. You couldn't balance your life around him, you couldn't adjust to the little things that come with being married. And yet it is all his fault. You know what your problem is, you are unbalanced. You never could balance between your wants and your duties. You had the rights but you also had duties towards your husband towards his family just as he had towards you and your family and from what I know of Arnab  he must have done his duty without any laxity. You said he was having fun on his job tell me something have you ever been wounded by a bullet?" she asked and at the horror she saw on Nisha 's face she concluded apparently she had never even got a scratch, "Arnab  did. He was more than just wounded when you left him. He was lying half dead in the hospital thinking, hoping you might come back and things could get better. What did you do? Wasn't it your responsibility to stand by him in his hour of need no matter what the problems? Instead you took the opportunity and filed for divorce. How insensitive do you have to be to do something like that? You think you are beautiful," she said with disgust, "go home and look in the mirror again, you are the ugliest creature I have ever seen, you are cold both on the outside and on the inside," she said, "and if beauty is anything like you I guess I am better off being a hellion," she said and paused.Nisha  didn't know where to look or who to call for her defense. She had felt victorious for a little while when she had hurt Arnab  because she had known he would never retaliate no matter what she said max he would just walk off. But Mowri  was another matter. She was passionate about how she felt and the anger Nisha  had just witnessed was the tip of the iceberg. She had despite everything still reined in her exact feelings. Was Mowri  right? Was she really lacking in her sensitivity towards others? Mowri 's words had shaken her belief in herself and who she was. And the way she had stood up for Arnab , she looked at Nihal  who looked lost himself. Mowri  was strong and Nisha  will have to give her that. And it seemed she was very much in love with Arnab . Maybe that could be a weaknessshe could attack."Don't tell me you are in love with the loser?" she threw the words at her."Don't call him a loser," Mowri  warned dangerously, "because you are the loser in all of this, because you lost someone like Arnab , because of your incapability to see beauty in others and I am grateful to you because had you been still married I would never have met him. He is the most beautiful human being I have ever met. He is loving, caring and the best of all he is my best friend. And I will never make the same mistake you did because he is a treasure I intend to keep with me for always," she said proudly, "I love him with everything I have and I will see to it that his past never breaks him the way you had when you had left," she vowed, "and may both of you find solace in the company of each other," she said coldly as she looked at Nisha  and Nihal .Nisha  was stunned at her words. And Mowri  groaned inwardly. She had wanted to tell Arnab  how she felt but not like this. It was such bad timing but she couldn't let Nisha  get away."Now get out before I decide to humiliate you further," Mowri  said as she put her arms across her chest again, "I won't think twice before shredding that image in front of one and all so keep your claws under wraps," she told Nisha , "as for you," she turned towards Nihal , "I believe you will get your transfer stopped and even if you don't you will do the right thing by staying away from Arnab  and cause no more hurt," she said then as an afterthought added, "and if you ever find another friend like Arnab  don't make the same mistake," she said and then looked away dismissing them.Nihal  had never known a woman so fierce or passionate about things she believed in. In the last half an hour or so she had avenged Jassi, Arnab  and herself without using any foul words or raising her voice too much. She had here and there but that was given. Arnab  was lucky to have found someone like her. Someone who loved him so much for who he was. And he hoped that one day Nisha  might be able to love him too if not as much then just a little. He knew of where he stood in their relationship but he also knew she was very important to him and he would do anything to keep her happy. Maybe it was pathetic but he loved her. She had her faults and granted they were many but she had some positives too and he hoped he would be able to turn those faults into positives someday. He looked at Arnab  who stood stock still. Nihal  didn't know what he was thinking but he hoped he would know how lucky he was to have Mowri  in hislife."I am sorry man," Nihal  said regret evident in his voice, "I really am. And I hope one day I will be able to get to know you better," he said then nodding at Mowri  he put his arm around Nisha  and walked her back inside. He wasn't sure how she would fare once back because for now she looked strained and defeated.Jassi came to Mowri  and then hugged her with all her might as she cried slowly. "Thank you," she said and at Mowri 's confused expression she explained, "I never could tell her of how much it had cost me that day, thank you for being my friend Mowri ," she said honestly, "and thank you for being there with us today," she said and then glancing at Arnab  she said strictly, "and you better treat her nicely. I hope you do know what a treasure you have got," she said and then hugging Mowri  again left to find Harpreet.Now that she and Arnab  were alone Mowri  wasn'tsure what to do. She didn't dare look at his face. She knew he stood just a few feet away from her and he had heard every word she had uttered. Including her confession of how she loved him. She was suddenly conscious of herself but she will have to face him so she braced herself and turned to look at him. She hadn't been sure what she would find but she hadn't been prepared to find his face cold. Even his eyes that usually were warm were stark clear of any emotion. She had no clue what he was thinking or how he was feeling. And she felt dread fill her heart. This was not the reaction she was expecting and then without a word or a glance at her he walked towards the door that led him inside. Mowri  hoped he wouldn't do anything rash and with that she slowly and painfully made her way back sending up a quick prayer. ************