The Inconvenient Wife - Chapter 60
It took nearly three hours for Sneha to put everything back in its place. Rohan wasn’t talking to her. He had called home to talk to his parents. There were long arguments. He wanted to slap Sneha for behaving like a small child and running away, not caring for her safety.
When he could no longer take continue with this anger, he went to her and hugged her.
“I am sorry. I don’t know what is happening, Sneha. I have been trying to manage things here. Stella has filed a sexual harassment case against me and then she was found murdered. Every lead points towards me. I am not even remotely involved in this – you know it. And now a lethal attack on you? I am so confused.”
“I promise.” He said this with his hand on his chest.
They smiled and hugged again. Rohan felt lighter now that his pillar of strength was here with him.
For the first time in many days Rohan could sleep well. It was as if he had transferred all his worries to Sneha, because she found it hard to sleep a wink. When she eventually managed to sleep, the doorbell rang. She checked the time. It was 2 am. “Who would visit us at this time? It must be a mistake,” she thought and she went back to sleep.
But this time the doorbell rang harder. This cannot be a mistake. Someone is actually there. “Don’t tell me mummy and papa are here!”
She nudged Rohan to go and check the door. Rohan cursed the person who was disturbing his sleep. Reluctantly he got up and went to open the door. He peeped though the peephole first. His reaction was that of utter disbelief and surprise. He looked back into to the room.
“Stella! How can she be here? Am I dreaming? This means she has not been murdered. She was kidnapped. But why has she come to my home? She has filed a sexual harassment case against me.”
Sneha had entered the room by this time and saw the terror-struck face of Rohan.
“What happened?”
“Hush. Keep your voice low. I think I just saw Stella through that peephole,” replied Rohan.
“Are you crazy? Let me take a look.”
There was no one at the door. It seemed that the person who was ringing had left because they didn’t open the door.
“There is no one! God! What is wrong with you Rohan? You are becoming obsessed with Stella. Leave her. She’s gone.”
She went on to open the door, to which Rohan protested. When the door opened they couldn’t see anyone.
“I saw Stella! I am not imagining it. She was standing right here.”
Sneha closed the door and urged Rohan to go back to sleep. She was beginning to get worried about him.
Rohan couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night. He kept thinking about Stella, and by the time it was morning he was convinced that he had wronged both Stella and Sneha. He was so nervous that he broke down.
Sneha made strong coffee for him and forced him into having it. He really needed to calm down.
The day passed without much interaction between them. Sneha tried to talk to Rohan but he was so rattled by the previous night’s occurrence that he kept himself to himself. “He is getting sucked into his delusions,” she thought. It seemed hopeless. He seemed helpless.