Mrunal sat quietly on the edge of her bed.
The room was silent.
Her school bag was still lying near the door. She had not even opened it after returning home.
She picked up her phone and looked at the screen.
There was one name she had been staring at for several minutes.
Vishwak.
She hesitated for a moment.
Then she pressed the call button.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
No answer.
Mrunal waited until the call ended.
She looked at the screen again.
Perhaps he was busy.
Perhaps he was in a meeting.
Perhaps he was studying.
Perhaps...
She didn't know.
She took a deep breath and called again.
The phone rang for a few seconds.
Still no answer.
Mrunal slowly lowered the phone.
Her eyes became moist.
From outside the room, Raghav had been watching her.
He didn't want to disturb her, but he couldn't ignore what he was seeing.
He finally asked,
“Did Vishwak call you?”
Mrunal immediately looked up.
Her father was standing near the doorway.
She wiped her eyes quickly.
“Yes, Daddy.”
Raghav noticed the hesitation in her voice.
“He called?”
“No... I mean...” She paused.
“He is a little busy.”
Raghav remained silent.
Mrunal tried to smile.
“He is in training now. You know that, Daddy. He has a lot of work.”
Raghav nodded slowly.
“Yes. He has become an IAS officer. He must be busy.”
He deliberately kept his voice calm.
“He will call you when he gets time. Don't worry too much.”
Mrunal nodded.
“Okay, Daddy.”
Raghav walked away.
But he wasn't convinced.
He knew his daughter.
Something was troubling her.
And he knew it wasn't simply because Vishwak was busy.
For the last few months, he had noticed small changes in her.
She had become quieter.
She spent more time alone.
Sometimes she would look at her phone for a long time without saying anything.
And whenever Vishwak's name appeared on the screen, her expression changed.
Raghav didn't know what had happened between them.
But he knew something had changed.
Inside the room, Mrunal was still holding her phone.
She stared at Vishwak's name.
Her mind went back to the past.
The man she had known was different.
The Vishwak she had married had once waited for her calls.
He used to tell her everything.
His problems.
His fears.
His dreams.
His failures.
Even the smallest things.
But now...
She couldn't understand him.
“What happened to you, Vishwak?”
She whispered.
“Why are you behaving like this?”
Her eyes filled with tears again.
She remembered the days when he had nothing.
She remembered how hard he had worked.
She remembered the nights when he studied until morning.
She remembered telling him,
“You will become an IAS officer one day.”
And he had smiled.
“Only if you stay beside me.”
She had stayed.
Through everything.
She had believed in him when nobody else did.
She had supported him when he had almost given up.
She had never cared about his money.
She had never cared about his position.
She had loved him for who he was.
So why was he changing now?
Was it because he had become an officer?
Had the position changed him?
Had the people around him changed him?
Or...
Had someone else entered his life?
The thought frightened her.
Mrunal immediately rejected it.
“No...”
She shook her head.
“Vishwak wouldn't do that.”
But another thought came into her mind.
Then why is he avoiding me?
She looked at the phone again.
She couldn't stop herself.
She called him one more time.
This time, the call was answered.
“Hello?”
His voice was on the other side.
Mrunal's heart suddenly began beating faster.
“Vishwak...”
“Hmm?”
“Where are you?”
“I'm busy right now.”
There was no warmth in his voice.
Mrunal remained silent for a moment.
“I called you twice.”
“I know.”
“Then why didn't you answer?”
“I couldn't.”
“You could have called me back.”
“Mrunal, I'm busy.”
She swallowed her tears.
“I just wanted to talk to you.”
“Can we talk later?”
“When?”
There was silence.
“I'll call you.”
“You always say that.”
Vishwak didn't respond.
Mrunal's voice became emotional.
“How many times should I call you, Vishwak?”
“I told you I'm busy.”
“I understand that you're busy. But I'm your wife.”
Her voice broke.
“Don't I have the right to talk to you?”
Vishwak sighed.
“Mrunal, please. I don't have time for this right now.”
Those words hurt more than she expected.
“For this?”
She repeated his words quietly.
“Talking to your wife is 'this'?”
“Mrunal...”
“No.”
She wiped her tears.
“I don't understand what happened to you.”
There was silence on the other side.
“You weren't like this before.”
Vishwak didn't answer.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Still nothing.
“Tell me, Vishwak. What did I do?”
“I'll call you later.”
The call ended.
Mrunal stared at the phone.
For several seconds, she didn't move.
Then she slowly lowered it.
A tear rolled down her cheek.
Outside the room, Raghav had heard enough.
He had not intended to listen.
He had simply been walking past when he heard his daughter's trembling voice.
He stood there silently.
He had heard the last few words.
“Did I do something wrong?”
Those words broke his heart.
Inside the room, Mrunal wiped her tears again.
But this time she couldn't control them.
She covered her face with both hands.
The woman who had always been strong...
The woman who had encouraged Vishwak when he had nothing...
The woman who had believed that their love could survive every difficulty...
was now sitting alone, trying to understand why the man she had loved so deeply no longer wanted to speak to her.
And for the first time, a frightening question entered her mind.
“Did I lose Vishwak when he became successful?”
Outside the room, Raghav stood silently.
He had no answer.
But he knew one thing.
This was no longer just a busy husband and a worried wife.
Something had changed.
She is thinking something deeply.
Will Vishwak ever realise how deeply he has hurt Mrunal? Is success changing their marriage forever? Find out in the next episode of Love Marriage – Downfall of Life.