Hiraeth

34

"I'M HAPPY THAT SHE CHOSE YOU FOR THIS." Mrs. Khanna, one of the major investors associated in that alliance patted Sitara's cheek as soon as the presentation got over, drawing out a subtle resemblance between her and her late mother in law's work. 

She could only smile big in response. A huge weight had finally lifted off her shoulders and there was nothing else that could compare to this moment for her. She had never really seen her achievements be this vast. She never knew what it was like to be praised like that. 

"Hey, are you alright?" A slight concern arose in Aditya's eyes as soon as he heard the faint clicking of her heels coming closer. She had tears in her eyes and was trying to side herself away from the crowd. 

"Sitara." He softly touched her arm, giving it a gentle squeeze and she took in deep breaths; avoiding any form of eye contact with him as her orbs were full of tears. 

"I'm so proud of you, we all are." He whispered, smiling and she too ended up giving him a little grin. A loud hiccup too escaped her lips in process, making them both laugh. 

"Couldn't have done anything without you. Thank you for being there." She didn't wasted a moment in giving him his rightful appreciations. Sometimes, it was him who put in all his time and efforts despite her not being present in the office due to her personal and medical issues. 

"Who's ordering pizza from Sitara's behalf?" Aditi, her other colleague walked in mumbling her a 'congrats' and yelled in a playful tone, earning a response from the entire boardroom that now only comprised of her team as the investors had left. 

"Why pizza? I'll take you all out for lunch today." She gave her a warm smile, wiping away the corner of her eyes from the ends of her blouse sleeves. She wanted to take them all to the same place where he had taken them yesterday. She really liked their food and ambience. 

And that was when she remembered him again. In all this chaos, she had nearly forgotten him and even the kids for a little while. She had conveniently eradicated all the remembrance of the storm back home from her mind. 

She hadn't called him all morning. She didn't even make his coffee or took out his tie. Due to joining office again, there were so many days when she hadn't done this and there was nothing unusual about it even now but even on those days when she was busy, she greeted him in the morning and they did share a conversation, sometimes on the dining table or even the balcony where he liked his morning tea on his lazy days. 

She didn't hesitate a bit into walking backing into their room in the morning, an hour before his alarm went off and did her usual routine in that confined time. It was an important day for her and she didn't want to ruin its very start by getting into something ugly with him again. She was at peace that he slept till the very last minute of her presence there. 

She left the house very early, informing the nannies prior. She hadn't heard from him in a very long time but that didn't want her to initiate a call. Her chest still hurt when her heart ended up recalling yesterday. 

Her eyes turned glassy again when she settled into the front seat of Aditya's SUV, softly thanking the guard for opening its door for her. Her driver had gone back to her husband's office perhaps due to something urgent and she never bothered to check. She liked having a company more than sulking in the backseat alone. 

Four more people were in the car and there was never a moment of complete silence. She realised that she was struggling to recall the name of the restaurant as she had never paid much attention to it while arriving there, yesterday.

"Call your husband? He'd know." Naina suggested, making everyone else except Sitara agree in unison. For a moment, she felt pale and let out a dry chuckle as her mind work overtime in order to avoid that completely.