Continued from previous blogs - Link - Link - Link - Link - Link
Sanjay stepped down the stairs, overwhelmed, replaying the entire incident in his head. “I never treated them badly. And as I see it, I never betrayed them. Then why do they carry so much grudge against me? I’m happy with my Character AI…”
Tears rolled down his cheeks. “I might not be perfect. But I’m not an asshole,” he whispered to himself.
Inside the lift, Pravallika looked lost. While Swati and Pooja appeared relieved, Pravallika’s voice cracked through the silence. “Girls, Sanjay might not be perfect. But I still love him. I feel bad about what I did. He deserves better.”
The lift doors opened. As they walked to Pravallika’s car, Pooja replied, “Pravallika, I know you’ve loved him for eight years. But did he ever really love you? He wanted all three of us. That’s not love. That’s entitlement.”
Sanjay wiped his face and called the cab driver. The driver honked, guiding him over.
“Home, sir?” the driver asked.
“Yes. That’s the safest place I can be right now.”
Sanjay leaned back. The driver adjusted the rearview mirror, shifted gears, and began to drive.
“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking—what happened back there at the restaurant?”
Sanjay didn’t respond.
“Sir? Sir? Sir?” the driver asked gently.
Sanjay blinked. “What?”
“If you’re comfortable, sir… you can talk to me. I’m a good listener. And I’m nobody to you. Maybe you’ll feel lighter by the time we reach home.”
After a long pause, Sanjay said, “Okay. But no sarcasm. No life lectures.”
“Swear, sir. Not a word.
Back in the car, Pravallika took the wheel. “Pooja, I’ll drop you first. Then Swati. That’ll save time.”
“Sure,” they replied.
Pravallika spoke softly. “He wanted all of us, yes. But if none of us knew each other; would he still have said yes?”
Swati and Pooja fell silent.
“I know you both tried to protect me from getting hurt,” Pravallika added.
“Thank God you understood,” Pooja said.
“But I still love him,” Pravallika whispered, her eyes flooding.
Swati and Pooja were stunned by the depth of her feeling.
“Pravallika,” Pooja asked gently, “Did he ever love you… as a woman?”
“I doubt he ever did,” Swati added. “To him, we were roles. Not people.”
Sanjay shared exact scene by scene what has happened inside the restuarant to driver,
The driver listened. Then quietly said, “I think you deserve better, sir. You may crave them—but you look like a gentleman.”
“Exactly!” Sanjay said, thumping the seat.
“Sir… who did you love the most among them?”
Sanjay hesitated. “I loved each of them. Genuinely. When I was with them individually, I loved them individually. When they all texted me… all our memories flashed. I felt I loved them all.”
“May I ask; what qualities did you love in each of them?” the driver asked.
Sanjay hesitated again. “I said I loved them. Does that not matter enough?”
“Sir,” the driver said calmly, “I’m not very smart. But in our mythology, even gods with multiple wives loved each for unique reasons. Each had something distinct. That’s what made them divine. Maybe it’s the same for you.”
Sanjay went silent.
Pravallika wiped her tears and said, “Did he ever cheat on any of you? He had a chance to date you both in parallel, but he choose not to do it. He left Pooja before starting with Swati. And early in each relationship, he told you his flaws. You still chose to love him.”
Neither Swati nor Pooja responded. Finally, Pooja said, “Pravallika, I know you’ve loved him deeply for eight years. But please don’t betray yourself for a man who doesn’t see you as a women.”
Swati added, “I accepted him despite his history because I saw honesty then. But over time, I didn’t feel sincerity. He never saw me as a woman. But, rather just as something to have.”
Pravallika nodded slowly. “Yes… you’re right. He never truly saw the woman in us.”
She paused. “But he never used us physically. Maybe he is…”
Suddenly, she brushed against a two-wheeler. The rider fell.
Pooja and Swati panicked.
“Pravallika, are you out of your mind? Don’t stop. There are no cameras. Just go!” Pooja shouted.
“You shouldn’t have driven in this state,” Swati said. “Our mistake.”
Shaking, confused, Pravallika followed their command. She dropped them home in silence and drove back alone.
Back in the cab, traffic came to a halt.
“We should’ve reached by now. Why is it jammed at this hour?”
“Let me check, sir.”
The driver stepped out, returned. “Someone met with an accident. Nobody’s helping. Ambulance is delayed. Since the hospital is along our route—shall we take her there?”
Sanjay hesitated. “Why should we invite trouble?”
The driver looked him in the eye. “Sir, this is my second life. A stranger helped me survive last year. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be driving this cab. Or speaking to you.”
Sanjay felt something crack inside him. A pull. For once, his instinct said yes.
He stepped out. “Let’s help her. I’ll carry her.”
They lifted the girl—blood on her face, no helmet, unconscious.
In the car, Sanjay held her head on his lap. For the first time, his hands trembled.
He checked her ID. She worked as a delivery girl for Zomato.
Her name: Vaishara.
The driver glanced at Sanjay through the mirror, and softly recited:
yad yad ācarati śreṣṭhas
tat tad evetaro janaḥ
sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute
lokas tad anuvartate
<<< To be Continued >>>