The whole day went good. Everyone except Ria was happy while shopping. Soma, Nabila and her mother were too enjoying Titli's unlimited chatterings. She was feeling lonely inside, her cheeks started to pain with her fake smiles. On the other hand,Soma literally had missed the absence of her daughter- a companion in her house since Ria's marriage, now she could truly see a daughter figure in Nabila. Ria's fake smiles alao assured her in her decision of marrying her daughter to Koustav. Her children were happy....this gave her inside peace.

Informing her MIL that she would have dinner here, she busied herself in arranging her previous room with the help of Titli. Titli was now quite free to talk about her crush with her.

Ria started to remeber her days during her first crush. It seemed that the evening passed too fast. Their gossip came to an end with the knock on her door. Soma stood there with mouthwatering mutton-curry and rice- "the ultimate favourite of bengalis".

Titli needed no invitation after this. Ria almost choked her food while laughing after seeing her gobble her food. Soma ran to fetch water for her.

Soma was almost downstairs,when she saw Koustav entering her house. Sending the bottle through the help, she welcomed Koustav.

His eyes started to look for her amidst his MIL's numerous quarries. As a bengali son-in-law must expect, the table in front of him started to fill with various plates of foods. To make his wife's mother happy, Koustav picked some and ate.

Titli finished eating almost in a marathonic speed. Ria started to drink the water after taking it. Titli took their plates and hopped downstairs to keep them. Seeing her brother there, she came back fast.

" Ria di, dada is here!",Titli declared coming inside the room.

" I wanted to be here for some time more ....your house, your room feels so cozy", Titli added further. Patting her back, Ria replied,"Me too."

She now started to look for her bag and mobile. In between her pillows, her phone was laying. Unlocking it she saw 18 missed calls were from him, along with 7 unseen messages. Hurriedly she went downstairs.

Koustav was served tea, when his eyes got her view. Seeing him looking Ria slowed her speed.

"Now your wife has come, chat you two. Titli,come with me, help me in packing gifts.", Soma smiled and left after saying.

"How are you? ", Koustav asked in between his sips. Before she could even answer, he shooted,"Stay close to your phone, people get worried when calls are left unanswered. Or otherwise, don't use one."

"Why are you here?", Ria answered finally and picked up his cup.

"For you.", saying it he stood up " Lets go home" he added looking at her.

" What if I don't want to?",Ria asked not turning back. Suddenly a pair of hands snaked her waist from back, "I'll pick you up like this over my shoulder and take you to my house."

To which they both laughed. Calling Titli, they came back to home. That night , Koustav groaned in his sleep.He was shaking for some time. He started to blabber some incoherent words. Ria woke him up and helped him to sleep again. But her sleep was gone.Numerous thoughts started to rumble in her mind."Are his bad dreams coming back?",she thought.

The next day passed in a blur. From the morning, Koustav was busy in his phone talking with various people.They got no chance to talk about his nightmares. Ria was called by Mita to help her in cooking. Mita knew Ria's state of mind so she decided to make her busy in something good.

After lunch too, Ria got no time with Koustav. While Koustav went for a nap, Ria was instructed to start preparations for dinner. This plan of Mita worked well. Ria got busy and on the other hand,Koustav started to miss her badly.

Though she was only downstairs, still he felt guilty. Around 5:30, the cooking was done. Ria went upstairs to pack those well in his bags. Mita sent Ria herself.

The room was messy when she entered, found him searching something. "What are you looking for?", She asked frowning.

"My tickets.", Koustav replied scratching his head. "I packed them already. You should have asked me once before messing this whole room up.",said Ria sighing.

"I would have helped you, if I hadn't my train in 2 hours.", added Koustav in a low voice.

This made Ria more upset. Her throat suddenly perched. She hugged him with all her strength. Her head on his shoulder. His blue shirt got large tear stain from her crying.All Koustav could hear except her mumbling was, "Don't go.please.....I can't. I simply can't." .She could not complete her sentence, Slowly Koustav uncaged her from the hug and made her sit on the bed. With her teary eyes the only thing she saw was Koustav's going out of that room along with his luggage.

A soft hand patting her back, broke her trance or sleep.She couldn't realiae she was sleeping or thinking sonething. Her head hurt.Ria sat up from her sleeping position only to see Titli sitting beside her.

"Can I stay in this room with you? Atleast for some days?", asked Titli softly. Ria always had deep affection for Titli. From the very first day this girl gave her strength. These words made Ria more grateful to her." Somewhere, to some extent, we all fear loneliness. Unfortunately all people does not get the depth of it.",said her inner-self.

Ria nodded. She changed her clothes and looked at the time. 8:30 pm. It meant he had boarded the train already. She then checked her phone to see missed calls and texts from him. She checked them but replied to none. The phone remained in silent mode.

During dinner she sent Titli to eat but ate nothing herself. Rather she installed some apps to see where the train was. That app let her knew that the train was on time.

Titli came back after dinner. Mita was not happy as Ria did not show up for dinner. Nilima started to pass comments too.

" Who asked him to leave?", asked an upset Mita to Sumit. To which her husband only sighed."It has not been 3 months to his marriage yet. Who leaves his wife for a office tour so soon? They haven't gone on a honeymoon too! Why does he need to work outside when you have a business.....that too a running one?", Sumit knew if he would say a word, this conversation would turn into a fight. That too a prolonged.

"Talk to your son when he comes back. I can't see his future in this. There is not a single percent profit in his job too.",Mita said and slept on her side.

After talking about many stuffs, Titli fell asleep. The whole time Ria acted of being sleepy. She did not even answered his calls too.As soon as Titli turned to her side, she turned to her side too. Her stalking habit was back. She first checked where the train was,then if he got online or not, saw his new messages. Then kept looking at the outer view from the window.

The Night got deeper ,and deeper. Each passing second her inside hurt. Her eyes stinged. She felt like betrayed.

Then there was morning. A beautiful one. But she felt empty. She kept lying on the bed, closing her eyes. Titli's phone started to buzz. Titli answered it." Good morning...

She is not okay. For you, she was crying all night. She didn't even eat last night.

I can't and won't do anything for you. No I won't give the phone to her.

Have you reached or not?

Oh...alright...bye",said Titli.

Ria kept listening, she was sure this call was from Koustav.

Slowly Titli went near her and whispered," dada has reached."

Mumbling a hmm Ria tossed to the opposite side.

The whole week passed like this. The first day was awful for her. While going to market with Titli, she missed him more. The places where he used to pick him up, the auto stand...everything reminded her of him. Every time he called,it pained her more. The day when he was supposed to take the flight, at last her mood was okay. In six days,she answered his phone for the first time. His voice soothed her insides. They ended the call soon.

Physically she was not okay today. The sleepless nights, the tensions were taking their tolls now. The pujo was nearing, they had to pack and wrap much.Taking Titli beside her,she left for her mother's house but her head started to spin and soon she saw everything black in front of her eyes.

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Hey loves! Thanks for being here. Do VOTE,COMMENT AND SHARE the book. I'd love to know your views and suggestions regarding the chapter. Take Care...Be safe....Stay happy......♥️♥️♥️♥️