Six months- this was the time which she spent being 'friends' with Pankaj. But only she knew what Pankaj really meant to her. He was not just a friend to her. If that would be the case, then why she had to keep that a secret from Rahul? In these six months, both Pankaj and Vaishali started to know each other closely. Rahul got a research project at Sanjeevani hospital so he started to get busy in that. But in spite of that, he was trying very hard to take out some quality time for both of them...maybe he was trying too hard.
"It's been three weeks Vaishali...I want to meet you." Rahul said to Vaishali over the phone. he had been very busy from couple of weeks and finally he managed to buy some time for the two of them. He wanted to make it special, he wanted to cover up all the terrible mistakes he had done in the past by making her feel special-something he haven't done for Vaishali for a long time now.
"But...you know...umm...i am having my...surgery today, so I can't make it." Vaishali was now finding it very hard to lie to him, she didn't want to lie either. There was no surgery that day. Pankaj had earlier asked her to meet his parents for lunch at his house and she had already given her commitment of coming at the lunch.
"Some other doctor will take care of it, you just come." Rahul once again tried to convince Vaishali but he knew it was difficult, but he was still trying.
"I can't come. Its very important." She replied
"But.."
"I will call you back once I am free. Bye love you." She said and disconnected the call. Pankaj was walking towards her, holding two cups of coffee. It had became a routine for them now- Vaishali would come to the hospital early carrying a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches with her and Pankaj would bring the coffee. They called it their 'Pseudo-dates'. But little did she knew that the 'Pseudo' was eliminated from their dates a long time ago, before they could even realize that.
"I want to confess something to you." Pankaj said suddenly. He was unusually quiet today. Normally he was the one who talks continuously but from some days his behavior had changed.
"What is it?" Vaishali asked. She already sensed that something big was about to happen in her life but was not sure whether it was going to be good or bad.
"You now why I insisted you to meet my Parents?" Pankaj said while looking her in the eye.
"Because you wanted me to meet them, i guess?" Vaishali tried to lighten the situation but it didn't help at all.
"What is it, Pankaj." Vaishali once again asked him after hearing nothing from him. he kept looking at her which was making her uncomfortable. He muttered all his courage and started to speak.
"Dr. Vaishali Gupta, I want to confess to you that I have fallen in love with you...I was in love with you when i first saw you, I was in love with you when we performed our first surgery together, I am in love with you now, and I think i will be for the rest of my life. You have given my life a new meaning Vaishali. I have been in relationships before, but nothing seems more invaluable than this...this 'Pseudo date' thing we are having. I swear I never loved anyone more than this in my life."
"But Pankaj I am in a relationship and I love Rahul." Vaishali tried hard to find the words to reply to him but she was failing miserably. Deep down her heart, she knew that this would come to her one day but she never anticipated it to be this soon. She wasn't ready for this now.
"I know you are, and I am not asking you to leave him either. I wanted to tell you how I feel, that's it...I don't want to ruin your relationship with him. He is a fantastic Surgeon and a lucky man to have you in her life." Pankaj clarified to her.
"I think you already ruined that Pankaj."
"I didn't mean to hurt you, I was just telling you the way how I feel about you Vaishali...and I am not asking you to feel the same way for me. Just ask yourself about it and you will find the difference between 'Loving someone' and 'Saving a relationship'."
"What do you mean?" Vaishali asked Pankaj in an angry tone. She was trying hard to defend herself but she knew that all her attempts were futile now. Pankaj knew her more than she knew herself. They were that much close by then.
"You know what I mean. Just take your time and think about it Vaishali. Is it really worth to save a sinking relationship?" He replied. Rahul and Vaishali's relationship was started to get on his nerves now but he tried to hide it s much as possible. But there is a thing about patience-It has its limits.
"I think you need to go Dr. Pankaj Rana." She said to him without even looking at him.
"But Vaishali..." before he could say anything Vaishali interrupted him.
"I SAID LEAVE." Vaishali shouted in full rage. tears started flowing down her eyes. Pankaj kept looking at her for a moment and then silently walked away. He was not wrong...Rahul and Vaishali's relationship was nothing more than a brain dead patient which is being kept alive by machines. It is not that hard to love someone, is it? If she loves Rahul, then why she didn't call him for three weeks? and if she didn't love Pankaj, then why her call log was full of only his contact number? She had to find out, it was killing her from inside. She took out her phone and dialed a number on it.
"Hello." the other voice on the phone said.
"I am ready for lunch." Vaishali replied, after clearing a lump on her throat.
"But what about your surgery?" Rahul asked her.
"It's cancelled. I will meet you at 7." she said and disconnected the call.
No comments:
Post a Comment