The darkness of evening darkened more as covering the whole sky with the quilt of cloud it started down pouring making the surroundings a little abstract.

Tuli gulped a lot of the water in a go. Her heart was drumming in an abnormally quicken tempo. She inhaled sharply closing her eyes. Her limbs were shaking terribly.

A peaceful silence surrounded them only with the under tone of the mumbling of rain and to cross that the wiping sound of the wipers.

All this while sitting inside the stopped car when all the passer-by cars were passing them in their own speed, Tuli sat composing herself under a pair of eye's cautious scrutinizing gaze. Though Tuli was not looking at them she could feel them on her poignantly. But the hovering of those eyes were not uncomfortable for her. She realised she was feeling relived and some what secured.

"Subhro, drive the car now, I am fine." Tuli spoke up gently after a time. She looked away from nowhere to him. "I don't think we are supposed to park the car in the middle of the road..."

"Are you fine...?"

"I said I am fine."

He sighed sharply and pronounced, "I am so sorry Tuli. My mind was some where else."

"I get that. Now please start the car." She appealed in a soft voice and looked at the front settling herself anticipating Suvro to start the car. Her tone occurred to him softer than than she intended to.

After some momentum when he didn't start the car and she felt his eyes on her again. She looked up at him with a questioning furrow.

His intent gaze stayed on her like he was trying to convince her mind telepathically and then as he mumbled out what he was thinking she squirmed.

"You are not thinking about what Riya told, right?" He asked. Fear was vivid in his eyes. His fear stricken eyes stayed on her observing her face.

She couldn't understand what he was thinking about, she could have easily demanded a divorce if she wanted to, its not like Riya told her something she wouldn't have thought herself.

"Subhro..." she opened Her mouth but go interrupted by him, making her jump on her seat.

Quickly his hands were grabbing her right hand. "Tuli just do not think about it please. Riya is so stupid she doesn't know what she is talking about." Words bubbled out in the most vulnerable way making her feel like sinking. She forgot to retreat her hand from his grip looking at him. "When I married you I pledge to take care of you, kaku kakima gave me your responsibility..."

"I can take care of myself Suvro!" Tuli fished her hand out of Shuvro's with poignancy.

"I never denied, but you need help and you can not deny that." He replied. God! Why was he having the same fight again and again!!!

"I don't need help. And certainly not yours. God!" Tuli's eyes flared up as Riya's words rang in her ear. "I never asked you, now did I?"

"Everyone needs a little help Tuli..."

"Stop being melodramatic. You this stupid action made your sister say I am taking advantage of you. Not for once I..."

"Tuli you are not taking any advantage. You are my god damn wife. You are my responsibility!"

Tuli's sentence got interrupted as Shuvro almost yelled up. He couldn't believe his dearest sister messed up the relationship he was building like a Jenga building with so much care again. Tuli looked at him with widened eyes. Shuvro ran his fingers through his hair and then punched the steering wheel out of frustration that was not getting a way out.

"I... I just... I am telling exactly this to you. Do not let her get your mind. You are not any of those bulshit she talked about. She does not know what she was talking about."

"Well I was not thinking. Its you who pushed it in my mind. I was just surviving the race you were apparently racing with this car!" She lashed out and exhaled heavily clenching her jaw.

What!!!

Shuvro's jaw touched the ground.

"And it's not Riya's fault its you. I was having my worst nightmare Shuvo. Do you realise how much speed in you were driving? You..." she bit her lower lip as it started to trembling. Tuli's eyes urged to well up tears. She could almost visualise Sumedh's bike skidding across the road when Shuvro's car was speeding. And every time the car passed another car she would flinch thinking it would ram. She was reliving the night each time. Goosebumps appeared all over her skin as memory ran through her mind. She clasped her palms with each other tightly as tear rolled down her eyes.

Shuvro sat there tongue tied.

"I was not thinking." Shuvro murmured after minutes of science. "I..."

Tuli sniffed. "I don't care. Drive the damn care. I am tired!" She lifted up her moist eyelashes to look forward.

"Tuli I am really sorry. I didn't realise..."

"Ofcourse you didn't realise Shuvro. You never do. You think you do. But no." She hissed bitterly still looking away and sniffed.

And then Shuvro did something he didn't think of, neither he was aware of while doing.

Unconsciously his hand lifted up to the drop of limpid that was rolling down her cheek, and rubbed it. But before his finger could touch her hand raised and slapped it away fiercely.

"What are you exactly doing..." she flinched.

But he caught her hand.

"I am really sorry Tuli." He said.

His deep serious voice claimed her attention as his eyes claimed her eye's

Tuli jerked her hand to free it. "I don't care. I said drive and let me go Shuvro!"

"You know how much sorry I am Tuli." He held her gaze resisting her fight of freeing her hand.

But her fight got distracted a little as she looked into his eyes. His gaze penetrated hers and she was not sure anymore what he was saying sorry for. It occurred to her that he was saying sorry for all her pain, all that was wronged to her. And something inside her jerked up shaking her.

"Let go Shuvo." She hissed.

No! She couldn't take it. She was not going to accept his apologies. She knew what she knew, but she also knew once she accept those things, she would not be able to hold up the wall.

Hating him was more easier than hating herself and giving up.

"Let go!" She looked down at his grip on her hand to look away from his eyes.

"Look at me." His free hand suddenly grabbed her nape to make her look at him. His eyes maddeningly pouring his heart out into her. "You know how much sorry I am Tuli. I really am." He uttered looking into her eyes. "I am sorry."

As his eyes bored into her, unaware of what she was doing her hands raised up freeing herself from his grip and caged him in her arms.

Snaking her arms around him and burring her face in Shuvro's shoulder, barrage of Tuli's all lament smashed down.

*

None had any idea for how much of time they sat there. While she cried her heart out he sat there holding her in his arms tightly - assuring her of his being there. Her tears moistened his shirt and his rub on her back had all the intention of soothing her preventing all the hurting. The intimate state was flaring the warmth inside him after long term of almost three years. Her heart's beat against his was making him believe of not being left alone in a world of stranger. The two year old orphan inside him demising with her each beat.

***

"I am gonna grab a cold drink. I don't think the food had digested yet... you want anything."

Shuvro asked as he pulled over his car on the side of the road at Deshapriya road crossing after a drive of an hour.

"No." Tuli mumbled shaking her head. She was feeling unusually light and tired.

"Sure?"

She looked out of the window to look at the shop over side walk hearing Shuvro's question.

"I don't think they have the black forest corneto." She quipped.

"I will ask. Anything else?"

She shook her head in negation.

After some minutes when Shuvro returned Tuli was standing leaning against the car. Her head turned at the road watching how the lights of the cars were reflecting on the wet road from the down pour.

"Here." He held the ice cream up for her.

She grabbed the food and much to Shuvro's surprise his half drank bottle of the Coca-Cola too and took a long sip.

"You wanna have cold drink? Should I but you one?" He asked innocently, not even thinking what he was about to get as the reply.

Tuli looked at him to take a long look of him and then hissed. "You can't even share a bottle of Coca-Cola with me, and I am your responsibility, your wife, and all those big words you said!!!"

"No I thought... its just if you want I can get another one. This is almost finished that's why..."

"Zip it!"

She handed him the bottle with a glare and turned to open the car gate to slip inside with ice cream saying, "This one is mine." implying on the ice cream.

Shuvro stood there for a moment with an almost empty Coca-Cola bottle stunned looking at her wife...

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