𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴

• 9 •

Finallyyy, the next chapter is here *drum rolls*
Hope you like it.
Happy reading :)

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The news of Pandit's departure was hurtful for both him and Sameer. Munna's condition too wasn't better when they had informed him about it. He had wanted to come but the workload didn't allow him. On many requests of Sameer, Pandit had decided to spend time with him on the day of his flight so that they could go directly to the airport to see him off. They had their breakfast together, talking and discussing work, with mostly Sameer telling him about the do's and don'ts when he would be handling his own business. Pandit had listened to his words patiently noting down every important point in his mind.

They were having tea together on the porch when Pandit all of a sudden raised a question, "Sameer, aage ka kya socha hai tune...?" Sameer couldn't understand the meaning of his words, "Aage ka? matlab...?"

Pandit gestured towards Naina who had just come downstairs going towards the kitchen due to which they were out of her hearing range. She knew about Pandit's presence in the house, so not to bother anyone, she had confided herself in her room doing her pending work.

Sameer sighed after getting what he wanted to say, "Sach bolun, mujhe kuchh bhi idea nahi hai yaar....Na woh inn sab ke liye ready hai aur na hi main. Main toh uske baare mein kuch jaanta bhi nahi hun thik se. "

Pandit asked him, "Tujhe kaise pata woh ready nahi hai?"

Sameer told him about their entire conversation from that night when they had come to the decision of letting it go as it was going and not focusing on this marriage for now. Pandit was quite for a minute or so and finally opened his mouth to say, "Par aisa kab tak chalega Sameer?"

Sameer answered in a dubious tone, "Pata nahi. Mere liye filhal Nanu ka sapna pura karna zyada important hai aur yeh baat Naina bhi jaanti hai. Mujhe isme koi bhi problem nazar nahi aa rahi hai."

"Tu yeh kya bol raha hai? Don't you think yeh uske saath na-insafi karna hoga?" Pandit took a pause before continuing, "Accha ek baat bata mujhe, tu Nanu ka sapna pura karne ki baat kar raha hai, tum dono ki shaadi bhi unka sapna tha, Uska kya?"

Sameer rebuked him, "Pandit please, jab usey ya mujhe koi problem nahi hai toh tu bhi mat please kuchh mat bol" He took a deep breath to calm himself down, "Tu bhi jaa raha hai aaj, pata nahi ab kab milenge. Main tujhse koi behas nahi karna chahta ... "

His painful expression displayed how much he was struggling inside himself. First Nanu, then Munna, and now Pandit, it was like a high tide of suffering had swept away the fortress built of their strong relationship and togetherness, leaving behind the remnants of misery and agony. The low performance of the company too was adding up the already growing pressure. Pandit so wanted to stay back but decided to do against it, knowing Sameer's firm nature.

Being aware of Naina's clear-sighted and discreet nature, he was satisfied with their marriage. Though they never really got into a conversation, he had observed her way of working and her limited interactions with others. She was much more responsible towards her work instead of just loitering around like most of the others.

One day, while on a car ride, he had caught sight of her distributing some packets of biscuits to the slum children near the temple. In that very moment, she had made it to his good books due to her generosity. This is why he felt that she didn't deserve this and he was sure that his friend would not pay any heed to his words. They would have to handle this by themselves.

After their Chai-time, they returned to Sameer's room to give the last check on the luggage and the tickets making sure they hadn't missed anything. Amidst doing all this, Pandit's phone ringed, his mother's name displaying on the screen. Sameer was in the bathroom taking a shower since they had to leave for the airport in half ab hour.