The Other Side of the Story Part-1

People laughed and Meera looked in the direction from where it roared. She was right. Vansh had cracked a joke and once again stole the show from every gorgeous model in the party. She smiled and turned her attention back to the investor.
"You're a true power couple. See where you have brought the company. Now buckle up for the next show. If that's a success too then you guys would be a rage," a short, stout guy talked while clinking glasses.
Meera smiled but she just wanted him to be quiet. She excused herself and looked at Vansh again. He was surrounded by people and gorgeous models. She had an unbearable itch to smoke. She checked her clutch and found a Marlboro neatly tucked in a corner; visible to her eyes but hidden from plain view. Being an addict, she knew she wasn't supposed to smoke but the pain got unbearable.
'Just one drag,' she promised herself and slyly walked out of the venue. She quickly lit the cigarette and took a drag. Phew! It felt like someone had given her the much needed oxygen to her lungs. She broke her promise once again and finished half of her cigarette. It was then when her conscious hit her gut and reluctantly she threw it.
She turned around. She was living her dream. She completed her Fashion Designing Course from a top notch institute as she always inspired to become a designer. After convincing her parents, she moved to Mumbai to make her dream come to reality. Fate wasn't kind to her, still she got small assignments. It was on one such assignment that she met Vansh. Like her he was a struggling photographer. The wavelength matched and after few coffees and dinner dates both of them found themselves head over heels in love with each other. Both of them wanted to make big in the Fashion Industry, so they ended up opening their own venture. As their company grew, so did their relationship and within no time they found themselves taking pheras.
Life was blissful. Two hardworking, ambitious and madly in love individuals were making a life for themselves. They both fought like crazy. Meera wanted her designs to be soothing and enchanting, whereas Vansh wanted the images to be bold so he most of the time rejected her designs. Their fights used to create Tsunami in the office but the very next minute one of them used to draw the shades of the cabin and make out in such a torrid and passionate way that the argument was soon forgotten.

Meera got back to the venue and heaved a sigh of relief realising that nobody registered her absence. Vansh was as usual surrounded by people. She was feeling famished. She walked towards Vansh so that they both could have dinner together but stopped dead in her tracks the moment she saw he already had a plate in his hand, she changed her direction. 'So now one meal of the day too wasn't a priority,' she thought. She cursed herself for throwing her cigarette but then calmed herself down. Suddenly the venue started choking her, so she decided to go out. However, before she could go out and calm herself Vansh's voice rang in her ears, "Meera, shall we leave? Tomorrow I've an early shoot so have to manage a few things."
Meera waited if he would ask her had she had dinner but nothing of such sort happened. He was busy looking at his phone. "Sure." Hearing this Vansh started walking, leaving Meera stunned. She used to say sure only when she was hurt disappointed/angry. Earlier this word used to be like a gong bell for Vansh that something wasn't right, but this time the word didn't even get any reaction.
After bading goodbye to hot shots of the event they drove away. Meera sat quietly. To fill in the silence, Vansh turned on the FM. She looked at Vansh and a sense of betrayal washed over her. Whenever Vansh and Meera used to go on a drive it was a pact that FM  won't be turned on. They used to talk endlessly and when none of them had anything to say they used to hold each other's hand and be a part of other person's silence.
The road was also like Meera's life. Deserted. When did it happen? Meera and Vansh fell in love and then they got married. Unlike other couples, their dreams and aspirations were this company. Both of them sacrificed a lot to see their company on this height. So, while walking towards their dreams where did they lose each other?
Meera loved Vansh with such a ferocity that at times it scared her. She knew Vansh loved her too. He was a selfish guy who really sewed his thoughts in words but she could vouch for the fact that he loved her in his own weird way. So, what went wrong? Now they no longer went on dates. The office drapes were no longer drawn for make out sessions. Vansh earier whenever went for shoots, he used to ask for her pictures.She was his muse. Other were just models. His pictures were somehow inspired by her. Nevertheless, out lately she had stopped feeling that.
She looked at him again. Vansh's eyes were fixed on the road. She didn't blink but Vansh didn't look back. In vain Meera only started looking out of the window. It was becoming unbearable for her. Where did the love vanish? How can people change over a period of time? A tear dropped but Meera quickly pulled herself back before sinking into the well of disappointments.
"Which shoot were you talking about earlier? We haven't got any shoot lined up. As far as I can remember this coming week was our free week," she shifted so that she could look at Vansh.
"Yeah I know. It's just that Tashi today shared an idea with me. It's brilliant for my conceptual shoot so told her that I would click her tomorrow. Som I need our studio and some of your designs tomorrow. Moreover, it's an off tomorrow so will wrap yp the work quickly in maximum 8-9 hours."

Tashi! She started deep breathing. She hated that girl. Not that she didn't trust Vansh but she just hated that girl. Why? She asked herself this question many times and one day suddenly her devil side gave her an amazing answer, 'Why do you hate Tinde? Is there any reason? No! But you can't stand the sight of it, so same is with Tashi.'
Meera knew that the day Vansh would become a successful photographer she would start a battle with herself where she would be fighting against invisible enemies. She tried not to show it but everyday somehow or another she ended up saying it thereby, straining the relationship further. According to Vansh, he hadn't given her any reason but what he failed to understand was that Meera was indeed jealous and insecure and it was his responsibility to bring her back to the greener path.

Silence had engulfed the two living souls. Meera wanted to break it but didn't know how. Vansh had created an ice wall around him. There was no sunshine that would make the snow melt nor did Meera have suitable tools to break it down. So, she was patiently carving a door so that it could lead her to him one day. The car entered a posh society. Meera desperately wanted to say that she didn't want to go home. She wanted Vansh to take her somewhere so that they can find their way back to each other but, no words came out of her mouth. The car stopped and Meera looked at the building. It was their dream home in one of the most posh societies of Mumbai but she when did home become house, she had no idea. Vansh got out of the car and was clearly waiting for her. With great difficulty she got out of the car only to be stumbled as tears blurred her vision.
Back at their home, Vansh went to the room to change. Meera on the other hand went to her yesteryear room. She called it her 'Den'. She switched on the light and suddenly the vision brightened her soul. The room was a living proof of Meera and Vansh's journey. Their stupid selfies, notes that they passed each other in the office, their wishlist and what not. Just like that one wall was dedicated to her mother. Oh how she missed her. One person was lost to her and she was on the verge of losing another person. She looked at her hands and they were shaking badly. She needed a cigarette and she started fumbling things but couldn't find one. Her shaking increased and she tightly clutched them so that it could stop, but it didn't. She wiped off her tears and went to her room.
Vansh was already working on his laptop. His gear bag was ready for the next day. Probably he was working on the poses he wanted from Tashi. Meera started changing her clothes. She stripped the gown and looked into the mirror. She was still beautiful but somehow it felt as if she had stopped appealing to him. She turned her gaze to Vansh but his eyes were still fixed on the poses. Meera wore the gown and this time she didn't even try to take off her makeup.
With her back towards Vansh, she longed for a hug but she knew she may never get. She stretched her legs so that they could touch Vansh, so that there's at least some connection between them. It started raining outside. Meera looked at her hands. They were still shaking but the intensity had decreased. Because there was some connection in between the two souls that night. As probably her mother wept from heaven for her daughter, Meera wept for what all she was set to lose.