Page 48 of Substitute Bride

Vikrant knows that he truly is angry and that things might worsen if he continues, so he quietly sits on the sofa. Sharda goes back to her room, choosing not to get involved.

In the room, Jhankar starts packing her clothes.

She carefully selects only the items she brought from her home—nothing else.

Tears begin to fall from her eyes, and though she tries hard to stop them, her heart is so heavy she cannot.

Holding her bag tightly, she looks at herself in the mirror and says,

“I don’t know why I ignored everything when I shouldn’t have. This marriage was always fake and it will always remain fake. I should’ve understood that long ago. Why didn’t I stop myself? How do I explain this to myself now? I have to leave. And this time, I won’t come back.”

She wipes her tears and neatly finishes packing.

She makes sure not to disturb Vikrant’s belongings or leave anything behind that he would have to clean up.

After finishing everything, she slings her bag over her shoulder and hurries down the stairs.

Vikrant notices her and moves toward her, but she walks past him without looking.

He begins to follow, unwilling to let her go alone.

At the car, as Vikrant gets into the driver’s seat, Jhankar opens the door, takes her purse—which she had forgotten earlier—and shuts the door quickly. Vikrant stares at her, but she walks toward the gate without delay. Vikrant rushes out and calls out,

“Jhankar…”

She doesn’t stop and keeps walking. Vikrant runs after her, grabs her hand, and says,

“If you want to go to your house, I’ll drop you. Stop this attitude and sit quietly in the car.”

“Sorry, sir. I know how to handle myself. I don’t need anything from you. Just ask your men to open the gate. I’ll leave by myself.”

“Jhankar, you’re making a big deal out of this.”

“I’m ending it, Vikrant. Some things in life require clarity, and I’m giving it. I’m going to my parents’ house—not to return.”

“You can’t do this. Sharda Maa needs you.”

“She’s completely fine. She doesn’t need you or me.”

“The doctor hasn’t said anything like that, and I don’t want to listen to any more of your nonsense.”

“Same here. Now please open the gate. I have to go.”

Vikrant can clearly see the determination in her eyes. He doesn’t want to escalate things further.

“Fine, you don’t have to come with me. The bodyguards will drop you—but you’re not going alone.”

Jhankar just wants to leave, knowing that arguing with Vikrant will lead nowhere.

She quietly gets into the car. Vikrant signals his men, who get into the vehicle without delay.

Her car drives away in front of Vikrant.

His eyes remain fixed on her, but she doesn’t look back even once.

As the mansion disappears behind her, tears once again begin to fall, but she lowers her head so the bodyguards won’t see.

Vikrant comes outside, watching the car until it disappears completely from view. A strange pain has settled in his heart, leaving him disturbed and lost in thought.

Slowly, Vikrant returns to the mansion. But inside, something feels broken—something he doesn’t fully understand.

He quietly enters his room. The moment he senses the lingering fragrance of Jhankar, he closes his eyes and starts to smile faintly.

He notices how well everything has been arranged.

He understands obviously that Jhankar left everything in perfect order before going—and this realization unsettles him deeply.

A strange emptiness consumes him. He sits on the bed, and his eyes fall on the pillow where Jhankar used to sleep.

He gently strokes it and softly whispers,

“Jhankar…”

~~~~~~

Vikrant comes to the dining hall, and as soon as he sits on the chair, his eyes immediately go to the chair next to him, but there is no one sitting there today.

He smiles and looks at the chair in front of him, where Sharda is also not present.

After some time, Ravindra arrives. Noticing that Sharda is absent from her chair, Ravindra does not say anything specific.

The servants serve the food and then stand away from them.

Ravindra looks at Vikrant, starts eating, and says,

"Aunty is very old now, and she thinks exactly the way my mother used to think.

I couldn't say anything to you in front of her, which is why I haven't said anything until now, but I’ve come to know clearly that you and Jhankar had a fight today.

Look, I want to tell you one thing clearly: I was never happy with this marriage.

I wanted you to marry into a good family, and frankly, I do not like that girl very much. "

"The one you're talking about, Papa, is my wife."

“Are you fooling yourself? Jhankar means nothing to me. We used her as a pawn in your marriage so that our name wouldn’t get tarnished.

At that time, many prestigious people were present, and I couldn’t afford to risk my honor under any circumstances.

Now, Aunty is quite well, and this entire drama is over.

I accept this marriage because it makes you happy.

I genuinely feel joy for your happiness, but in today's fight, I see a reflection of myself in you.

I don't want you to end up like me. You should also understand gradually that this marriage has no meaning.

That girl has already understood this, and she didn't acknowledge your feelings and like you; that's why she left you.”

“What are you trying to say? Tell me clearly.”

“There’s nothing you don’t understand. Still, if you want to hear it spelled out, let me be clear: it was obvious from the beginning that you two weren’t meant for each other, so it’s best to separate.

You were maintaining this marriage for Sharda Aunty’s health.

She’s absolutely fine now. The girl knows that a marriage like this holds no value.

Everyone knows you’re engaged to Viren Chandel’s daughter. Let’s end this here. Divorce the girl.”

Vikrant, hearing all these words from his father for the first time, clenches his fists tightly. Ravindra, noticing this, stops eating and looks at him. Vikrant looks back and says,

“You wanted me to get married. I am married now. That’s the end of it. Jhankar is my wife. You’ll have to accept it. I will not say more on this matter.”

Vikrant immediately leaves his meal and stands up.

Ravindra looks at him, surprised, because Vikrant has never answered back before.

Moreover, leaving his food midway is a big violation of his routine, as he is very particular about his diet and doesn’t like missing even one meal.

Vikrant walks straight to his room and lies down beside Jhankar’s pillow, gently stroking it and murmuring to himself:

“There is no point in marriage… This marriage is a small deception in front of everyone… That’s why you wanted a divorce… I’m sorry…”

Vikrant doesn’t regret his words because now he’s truly beginning to understand Jhankar. He immediately calls her, but she doesn’t pick up. He calls her two or three more times, but she doesn’t answer. Looking at his phone, he mutters,

“I really want to understand your importance in my life… I’m waiting for you…”

~~~~

Raghunath and Chitrali are watching Jhankar, who is getting ready to go to the office.

She had suddenly arrived three days ago.

Neither of them has the courage to ask her anything—and in truth, they probably don’t want to.

Vikrant hasn’t called in the last three days, which makes the situation clearer to them, but they would rather not burden their daughter by saying anything.

After breakfast, Jhankar heads to her room and notices her new phone ringing. She immediately picks it up.

“Hello, sir…”

Vikrant closes his eyes as soon as he hears her voice because it’s the first time he’s heard it in 24 hours.

He only calls her once a day now and doesn’t want her to suspect anything, so he can’t call her repeatedly or talk to her otherwise.

Since Jhankar isn’t answering his calls, he can only talk to her by pretending to be the CEO of her company.

“Hello… Is everything fine at the office?”

“Sir, everything is fine. But I feel Mr. Patil may have figured out that someone has complained.”

“Are you sure? Because I’ve looked into the matter you mentioned earlier. No girl has lodged a formal complaint against Patil. It’s true that none of them are working, but they all claim they left willingly.”

“Sir, if you don’t want to believe me, I can’t help it, but I know I’m not lying.”

“Okay…”

The call disconnects, and Jhankar quietly sits on her bed for a few moments.

Then her phone rings again, showing Vikrant’s name.

She stares at it without picking it up. She immediately leaves the house because she has to reach the office early.

As she steps outside, Vikrant’s car is parked there, as it is every day.

But she has decided not to accept any kind of help from Vikrant anymore.

So, as usual, she completely ignores the car and walks forward.

The bodyguards follow her. She doesn’t say anything to either of them and keeps walking.

At the bus stop, she stands waiting, and Vikrant watches her clearly from his car parked at a distance.

Through an earpiece, he connects with his bodyguards and instructs them:

“Madam should not be left alone even for a moment.”

“Don’t worry, sir…”

Vikrant silently watches Jhankar standing at the bus stop.

He cannot take his eyes off her even for a moment.

He wants to meet and talk to her, but Jhankar is not willing to meet or speak to him.

He would rather not involve her parents in their conflict, but he’s beginning to feel the deep emptiness her absence has created in his life.

It’s making him restless about everything.

“Jhankar… You can’t leave me…”