Chapter 285

An announcement that echoed over the airport interrupted their conversation as both were interested in knowing about the flight status. Both paid attention to what was being announced and were happy to hear that the flight will be arriving at the estimated time. He turned around and said "That sounds like some good news" and smiled at her. She forced a smile on her face as she was already feeling a little awkward regarding the earlier conversation. Realizing how she was feeling he said "How is your friend doing? The one who met with the accident? Did you get a chance to visit him?" He face turned a little pale and he cursed himself for asking that question considering how scared she was that day. They exchanged no further words for a couple of minutes. Her expression was worth thousand words and feeling a bit unease since he was the one who had asked the question he said, "I am glad you are okay. You don't have to answer that." He paused for a minute and reached out and touched her fingers that were rested on the table. He gently stroked them and said "I know it is hard, but it would be good for you if you visit him or at the least make an attempt to find out how he is doing. You might actually feel much better". He held her index finger between his thumb and pointer gently massaging it. "I think it is time for me to go especially with the security check and all. Take care" he said. He got up, walked next to her, leaned forward and kissed her on her cheek and walked away without turning back. She sat there watching him until he disappeared from her vision slowly realizing that it is for the best that they keep a distance from each other even tough she wanted him to be around.

Finally the flight took off and he had an extra seat to spare as it was a weekday the flight was partially full. He turned his cell phone off and buckled up. He picked up the magazine that was in front of him and brushed through the pages. He looked up and there were a couple in front of him occupying the row besides him while the man tried to fit the carry on luggage’s in the over head cabinet. He looked at least ten years younger than her. There was no doubt that they were a couple as one can say by looking at the way they looked at each other. He guessed her to be thirty five and her ring finger had an impression of wearing a wedding ring for a long time which indicated that she was once married. She seemed proud to be with the guy next to him, a little flattered that she could attract younger men. Not wanting to stare at them anymore he turned towards the window and looked outside. It was dark as the flight had been considerably delayed. He was not hungry but a little tiered from lack of sleep and closed his eyes thinking about Diya and Carissa. He remembered the earlier conversation with her and how difficult it had been to bring himself to tell her that its best that they keep away from each other. He had also given the impression that he was not sure when he was going to be back even though he had a return ticket. Not wanting to think about her anymore he thought about Carissa and all the things that had come to light in recent events. He was not sure why but he felt compelled to be with her as there was something that was nagging him of which he was not quiet sure. He had never had a closure about their breakup and many things about it didn't make sense, especially when he had recently thought about it. He felt pity for her and that made him sad. Not wanting to think about it he opened his eyes not realizing that he had partially dozed off and was half conscious and saw the couple whom he had seen each other kissing.

Chapter 284

He just had a carry on luggage and did a e-check in and arrived at the airport exactly an hour early only to find out that the flight had been delayed by an hour and a half. He found a spot in the corner of the food court and sat down with a can of coke watching the twin boys that were at the nearby table giving a tough time to their mother. It brought back some old memories, when he and Carissa had talked about having kids. He had wanted three children a boy and two girls. She had wanted four kids two boys and two girls. They had wanted to move out of the city and find a nice house and raise the children there. When they had been to a restaurant Carissa had changed her mind about having boys as there were two of them next to their table who were extremely naughty. All those memories brought a smile on his lips. Thinking that it was all in the past he finished his coke and walked over to the display to see what time his flight was expected. When the screen flashed a couple of times updating the information he was really bored to find out that his flight was further delayed by another forty minutes. He turned around in frustration only to be completely taken by surprise to see Diya standing there. She didn't notice him and was on the phone while checking the flight information. He contemplated whether to talk to her or not, especially after talking to Pryag on the phone, how nice he had been to him thanking him for helping her out. He had even called a "Good Friend" which made him hesitate especially after the fact that he has now accepted that he was attracted to her. He stood there for a minute unable to decide which way to go, towards the direction she was standing or away from her. Someone asked him if he could move as he hadn't realized that he was standing right next to the garbage can. When he apologized and stepped aside she stood there right in front of him.

She was equally surprised to see him and looking at the suitcase she enquired where he was off to. It turned out that both were waiting for the same flight. The fight in which he was leaving was the same flight that she was waiting for as she was there to pickup someone on her brother’s behalf as he was not around. They walked over and found a corner table and took a seat. He said, "Every time I meet you I learn something new about you. Today I learned that you have a brother" and smiled. "Yes I do. He is somewhere in Africa right now with his fiancée doing something. I don't quiet seem to get him nowadays. And yes in my family it is just the two of us" she said. "Well I think I can say the same thing about you too. I learnt that you are a good cook that day or should I say a Chef?" It reminded both of them about what had happened later that day and both of them looked around not knowing what to say after that. There was an awkward silence between them for a few minutes while they tried to avoid eye contact. He broke the silence by asking her if she would like to drink something. She nodded and said "No thanks. I am fine". Sensing her discomfort he said, "I think I will go check on the status of the flight. Can you keep an eye on my suitcase?” She nodded in approval and he left the table. She had thought about it long and hard and wanted to make it clear to him that it was just a moment’s thing and she was committed to Pryag. She also wanted to say that they keep away from each other at least for few days. She went over it in her mind and decided that she will talk to him about it once he gets back. When he got back to the table she waited for him to sit down. He said, "Hopefully it shouldn't take much longer, maybe another ten minutes." He paused and said "I am off to Chicago and will be there for at least one week. I just found out something about a friend of mine, some kind of illness. You being with Pryag in his time of need, well I am off to be with someone whom I really care about in their time of need." Diya starred at him. He continued, "Sorry about that day, it won't happen again and please convey my greeting to Pryag.

Chapter 283

It felt like a new day in spite of the fact that she had to fly that afternoon to Chicago for her appointment the following day with her doctor which, given a choice she would have avoided, but she knew better as it was probably a crucial one as the results that she had been dreading would be in, especially at this moment she really didn't want to think about it. Last night had turned out to be something she unexpected. Her encounter with Akshar and the events that had happened after that had been a major twist of events. The secret that she had been keeping away from him had been exposed, well not completely which she had yet managed to keep the crucial part hidden, what had happened then when they were together and what is happening now. She was happy that he didn't ask any further questions and realized that he still loved her and that was good enough for her. When she had woken up in his arms in the middle of the night all she had even wished to die right in his arms happily. She looked at him still sleeping on the bed, his cheek where she had slapped exposed to the ceiling still seemed a little red. She walked over and ran her fingers gently on his cheek and kissed him and murmured "Sorry I hit you". He was fast asleep and she didn't hear her. She got up and called in for room service for breakfast and then called in to confirm her arrival at the Chicago hotel that she had been staying during her visits. She got up and went ahead to pack her things as she had requested a pickup and drop off service from the hotel. By the time she was done, she noticed that the room service was in and the knock on the door had woken Akshar up. He rubbed his eyes and with his shirt partially unbuttoned he looked liked a teenager waking up in the late afternoon still feeling sleepy.

He looked at her and she was all dressed up and ready to leave. He jumped up and rushed to the bathroom to freshen himself up. He took about fifteen minutes to get ready and when he came out he looked very clean and nice except that a little hair had sprouted due to lack of trimming on his face. They had their breakfast and he walked out with her and helped her checkout. She insisted that she can get to the airport on her own as she was flying from Newark International from New Jersey. Unable to argue he agreed and waited till she took off and drove back towards home. On his way he called and confirmed his tickets to Chicago that he had booked last night when she was sleeping as there was still a piece of the puzzle that he knew she hadn't revealed to him. He had noticed something last night, her medication and that he was not sure what it was about. It was a prescription pain killer; it was such a strong one with narcotics in it. It could either mean that she was addicted to it or she was in such bad pain she needed it for day to day survival. Knowing her all these years he knew very well that there is no way she would be addicted to it. They didn't really talk about it after that but he knew that she was suffering from something which he had no clue about, but at least he was getting somewhere. He knew he had to go and pack everything and get ready to get to Chicago. He wanted to be there for her, he couldn't just let her go through this anymore. Until now he was in the dark, but now that he knew he was determined to be with her and help her through this every step of the way. He had already spoken to his boss about this unexpected trip that he had to take and he had been very understanding. He had some time in his hands before his flight so he decided to find out more about the drug she was taking as soon as he got home.

Chapter 282

She walked towards him and slapped right on his face. He lost his balance, dropping his coat on the floor and ran his hand right on the cheek where she slapped and looked at her in shock. Her face was blood red. Tears rolled down her eyes even messing up the waterproof mascara she were wearing drawing black lines on her cheeks. She said, "How dare you?" and paused for a minute breathing heavily. She looked like a dragon taking a break to catch its breath before blowing fire. It was so evident that she was deeply hurt; one could see her pain through her eyes; especially the messed up mascara added more drama to it and it really was not an exaggeration, she was in agony. She looked at him straight in the eye and said wiping her tears away "Don't you dare question my love for you. I will always love you and I always have". She continued after a pause, struggling to control her emotions that were mounting in the form of a waterfall in her eyes and as a volcano in her anger. "Even if you have changed I still love you. You have turned out to be someone so different that I never though possible, so materialistic and so inhumane. If all you care about is spending the night with me, you are not who I think you are. Do you even know how much those words hurt me? They hurt me more than the pain I an enduring physically right now. They are nothing compared to what you just said". She couldn't control her tears anymore and they came down almost like a huge tsunami wave hitting its coast destroying everything on its path.

She said, "You want to know what I am hiding from you?" She tore her eight hundred and fifty British pound one of a kind designer signature blouse into two and the glittering stone buttons came off shattering all over the place. He starred at her in shock. The way she looked at him made him feel low. "I will show you, if that’s all you really care about, look at me" she said. She ran her hands through her hair and with great pain took it off revealing her bald head. Something was happening to her, she couldn't breath and before he could react she managed to say, "Excuse me" and ran to the bathroom. He stood there still holding his cheek that had turned blood red and had bulged a little reminding him of the time he had gotten a black eye. He slowly took his hand and turned in the direction of the bathroom where he heard weird noises. He knew she was probably throwing up but he didn't know what to do. He was a little concerned but decided to stay right there under the circumstances. She came out with a towel in her hand wiping her face. Her eyes were red and sunken in and her face looked swollen. She looked up and starred at him and tears started rolling down her eyes again. He stood there in shock speechless unable to react to what he had witnessed. It was of a much bigger magnitude than he had anticipated. She had scars on her back that looked like some allergic reaction. It took him a couple of minutes to come to his senses and he walked over to her and hugged her in spite of her protests and ran his had on her back gently calming her down. It took her more than ten minutes to calm down. She was tiered and he took her to her bed and cuddled with her. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep. Once she was completely asleep he apologized to her "I am sorry. I know you that is the only way to get the truth out of you. I am so sorry for hurting you" and kissed her on her bald head and closed his eyes. He didn't realize the tiny droplet that had sneaked through her eyes.

Chapter 281

He looked into her eyes, his eyes filled with passion and she remembered the way he used to look at her when they were together. She could see that somewhere inside his heart he still loved her. She knew he was neither drunk nor out of his senses, this was absolutely because he wanted to. She felt her love for him when he kissed her, she absolutely didn't want that to end at all; she had been secretly longing to know how he feels about her and now she knew, definitely knew that there is a place for her in his heart, there always will be no matter what. She grabbed his lips and wouldn't let go, she could feel her heart beat in her lips; she was pleased about the way he still felt about her in spite of all the things that happened, the feeling that their love was eternal gave her the satisfaction of lived with him all these years. He grabbed her tight and close and she reciprocated in unison. He was gentle as usual and nothing has changed over the years; he was delicate yet persistent and lovable. He gently ran his fingers around her neck and slowly started to undo her blouse. Under any other circumstance she wouldn't have objected but not today, not now. She loved him too much to cause him more pain. She knew she can't let this happen; if he finds out what she had been going through it would hurt him more and she couldn't let that happen but she wanted to kiss him and she knew he wanted more, she could sense him. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she had to and she remembered something, and she realized he cared for her deeply but they were not a couple, especially when she remembered the way he was when he picked up the phone. She knew something happened between him and Diya, she knew his body language too well to ignore that and she decided to use that as an excuse. Even though she regretted it, she gently pushed his hand away from her and let go of his lips and said "I don't want you to do anything that you would regret later".

He ignored her and continued to kiss her on her neck and she gently moved him and said, "I am sorry, but I have to turn you down. I don't want you to regret this later, especially today being a birthday; I don't want you to have any regrets tomorrow." She got up and walked over to get a glass of water. He turned to her in surprise and said, "Why do you think I am going to regret this?" He paused for a minute and got up straightening his shirt and said, "You mean to say that you would regret this. I get it" in a tone that clearly indicated that he was not happy. She turned around, looked at him and said, "I saw the way you looked at her at that day, and the phone call earlier today, I know how you feel about her. As for me, I would be delighted even if it is a one night's stand, I care about you too much to turn you down, but right now I can definitely say that you will regret this tomorrow and it open doors for more pain." He looked at her straight in the eye and said, "Don't turn this around on me. You don't care about me as much as you claim to. If you really had you wouldn't keep all sorts of secrets from me, I would be the first person you would share it with." He walked over and sat down to wear his shoes and his tone changed even more for the worse. She looked at him not knowing what he was talking about. "To begin with you don't love me, sometimes I even doubt if you ever did. But I still care about you and for that I am absolutely stupid" he said. Her face stiffened and she couldn't even blink. His words pierced through her heart like the molten larva of a volcano creeping through the luscious vegetation destroying everything in its path and turning them into ashes. He continued, "I can't help notice a lot of things, you threw me out of your life in a heart beat for your career - to top it all I have always supported your ambitions. You come back into my life after all these years, with secrets. To begin with the way you dress, your hair, your skin and your visits to Chicago - all these, I know something is going on. If you ever loved me, if you really loved me - forget it. At least I finally know the truth about how true your love was" and he walked towards the door.

Chapter 280

By the time he reached his office it was almost lunch hour. He walked over to his cube and was surprised to see a gift beautifully wrapped with a red ribbon tied on top onto a beautiful bow on his desk. His messages indicated that there were three of them waiting for him. He took his coat off and hanged it on the hanger outside his cube. He removed his cell phone from his pocket and left it on the next and booted his desktop. He proceeded to check his message and all three were work related and he erased two of them and wrote something on a piece of a paper regarding the other. While waiting for his machine to come up, he noticed that his cell phone was turned off. He remembered turning it off in the morning as she was around and he didn't want any distractions. He had voice messages and about five missed calls. He ran through them and four of them were from his sister and one was from Carissa. The first voice message was from his niece singing "Happy Birthday to you". He looked the calendar and he had completely forgotten what day it was and with Diya staying over, a smile adorned his face and he turned around to open the gift. He opened it up and it had a box of finest Belgium chocolates and a card. He opened it up and it was from Carissa. He was not sure how she got his office address and had it delivered here, but the card was beautiful. It also said that she would like to have dinner with him if he was free. He picked up one of the chocolates and continued to work while savoring its flavor and that was when he realized that it was liquor filled chocolates and decided to keep them aside and not eat them at work.

He walked over to her room after dinner and they spent some time chatting about a lot of things. She noticed that something was on his mind, especially after the phone call he had received. She had noticed the way he had picked up the phone and had been a little surprised after that. She knew something was going on and guessed that it might be a girl and she had clarified that by looking at the missed call on his cell phone when he had stepped out for a minute. As she had suspected it was from Diya and by the way he had been surprised and way he had spoken on the phone after that she guessed that it must have been her fiancée on the other end and not her. He looked a little different after that and seemed distant. He had walked over to her room with her as she stayed in the same hotel and he had helped himself to a couple of rounds confirming that something was definitely on his mind and this time she knew he was a little disturbed. She knew very well that he doesn’t go for more than two glasses of wine at any given time under normal circumstances. Now he was helping himself with a third one from her room and especially after that phone call, she knew something was definitely on his mind. She gently walked over to him and sat next to him and took his hand in hers and suggested that it is not wise to get drunk on his birthday and leaned over to give a peck on his cheek. He grabbed her and kissed her on her lips; she was caught off guard but she absolutely wasn’t going to stop him from kissing her as this was something she had always longed for. He picked her up in his arms and walked over to the bed, with his hands around her waist he continued to kiss her while kicking off his shoes.

Chapter 279

She smiled and said, "Long story short; I ended up spending the night at a friends and directly rushed to work" and continued to sip hew wine. The waitress showed up and enquired if they needed anything else and if everything was okay. Satisfied with their answer she walked away. She was sipping her wine slowly in-between her bites. The food was good and her thought slowly drifted into how her early morning breakfast was. She had absolutely enjoyed every bit of it and every moment with him. The day had started with a great laugh and had turned into something even sweeter. On the whole it had been a successful day but the laughter and the breakfast; she had forgotten herself and had enjoyed herself like a child opening its birthday gift. She had not paid much attention to what was going on around her; but knew that Pryag was there and was hardly listening to what he was saying and smiled at him occasionally. She found it very difficult to give him her undivided attention; She felt a little unease when he finally took her hand and asked forcing her to pay attention to him, "Are to listening to me, or you are in your own world?” Feeling a little embarrassed she immediately said," Of course, I am with you". He smiled at her and said, "Good. I just wanted to make sure. I am glad you and I are on the same page. I think I will talk to my parents first thing tomorrow. Maybe we should have some dessert, I feel like it. What do you say?” He let go of her hand and turned around and called for the waitress.

They decided to go with the house special. It was called the "Mini Spumone". The waitress explained it to them what it was. It was a dessert often referred to as the half-cold or semifreddo. It had a layer of cake, the next layer was lemon custard topped with a chocolate Genoise and all around the plate were some pistachio nuts and chocolate chips, on top drizzled with chocolate and some grated chocolates. She brought it in with a couple of spoons. He took the first bite and his expression was obvious that it was delightful. She tasted it a little bit and even though it was good she had too many things on her mind that prevented her from enjoying it. Just like the puffy cloud hiding the bright sun and the sky gets darkened, he mind was gently coated with a layer of guilt of the realization that she had been attracted to Akshar. To add to it, she had not paid any attention to what Pryag had been talking and she had been thinking about the earlier events of the day, and had missed out on what he was saying and now she had no clue, which seemed a little scary. She had eaten enough and adding a little more desert could cause enough damage and at the same time when Pryag had ordered she didn't really have a heart to say no so she had agreed to share a dessert which was ridiculously smooth and tasty. With all these things on her mind, at least to overcome her guilt she did want to tell him that she had stayed over at Akshar's but she couldn't bring herself do so, at least not under the circumstances as she would be a fish out of water, especially not knowing what she had agreed to when Pryag had said, "I am glad we are on the same page". Somehow that seemed to bother her more than anything else.

Chapter 278

She was quiet exhausted after the meeting and she had barely touched her food as she was neither hungry nor was the food tasty. But somehow the clients seemed to have enjoyed the food and that was good enough for her. By the time the days events ended she realized that she didn't have time to go home and take a shower as Pryag will be waiting for her at the restaurant. She didn't want to cancel as even though all she wanted was to change and go to bed. Her day had started wonderful and even the presentation was a success and she had caught up most of the work as Lisa had helped her by staying late. In spite of all that she just didn't feel happy, guilt spread over her, as if she had done a terrible thing, she had betrayed Pryag even though she couldn't deny the attraction she had felt for Akshar earlier that day. She called him on his cell requesting him if it was okay with him if she comes in a little late as she felt the best thing to do would be to take a nice shower and maybe she might feel better. But by the time she got around to call him it was quiet late and she ended up asking Lisa if she could give her a ride as she realized she was too tired to drive. Lisa dropped her off as it was not too far from where she lived and Pryag was already at the table waiting for her. Before she joined him she freshened up and the cold water seemed to help both her exhaustion and her guilt.

He looked fresh and nice, actually quiet handsome. He helped her to her seat and took the one opposite to hers. He smiled and said "I took the liberty of ordering for the both of us as you were running late and I knew you would be hungry as I heard that you had hardly touched your lunch." The riming was perfect and the food arrived within five minutes and he had ordered a bowl of soup and spinach lasagna paired with Italian house wine. He had taken the safe side by ordering something that he knew for a fact that she likes. She was hungry and she had not realized it until the food touched her tongue. She didn't talk much until she finished her soup. She felt a little refreshed and someone was singing something in some language that either of them paid any attention to. He asked her how her meeting with her classmates was. She didn't give away much, but just smiled and said,” On the whole it was nice". Her expression immediately changed as she remembered the accident last night then continued with caution, "One of my classmates met with an accident on the way back. I probably have to go visit". She wanted to spare of the details of what had happened and how she could have been the one and most of all she didn't want him to worry about her. "Oh. Hope he or she feels better. I am just glad it is not you and you had a nice time. And it is quiet unusual of you to wear something casual to office especially when you have a meeting" he said and continued to eat while she sipped her wine with a blank expression wondering how to explain.

Chapter 277

The cab was on time and she was able to get to the meeting; she doesn't like to be late if she is the one who called fro a meeting especially if it is with a client. It is a matter of business etiquette and she likes to keep it that way. She was glad that she had asked Lisa to postpone the meeting by half hour and it had turned out that the client wanted it to be delayed by an hour. Lisa had sent the documents via email and she was able to print them at Akshar's before she left. Considering an hour’s drive she had enough time to go through everything and be prepared for the meeting. Everything seemed to be a rush and she loved Lisa for having everything ready; she had even enquired what the client likes to eat and had arranged for lunch as it had turned out to be a lunch meeting. She had also called Pryag and cancelled his lunch date with Diya due to the meeting on Diya's behalf and had made it a dinner date by cross verifying her schedule and had even made reservations as his request. Lisa never ceased to amaze Diya; for her she knew thing wouldn't run smoothly; she was so organized and methodical and very friendly with customers. She had hired her because of Chari's recommendation. She had been reluctant initially but within a week she had proved to be an excellent asset. From then on Lisa had become her right hand.

Diya would have preferred to look more professional in a suit but due to time constraints she didn't have much of a choice and didn't even get a chance to shower and all she had time to do was freshen up and spray some perfume. She didn't want to look as if she was partying all night and fortunately she had not worn something that was that obvious but something more casual that she can get away with. Her cell phone vibrated and she knew who it was but was a bit busy with her work so decided not to pick it up. After a few minutes she checked her messages before getting into the meeting. There were two messages, one from Akshar and one from Pryag. Akshar's message was short and sweet and he just wanted to know if she had made it on time and that she had left her watch at his place. She looked at her left hand and realized indeed she was not wearing one. She thought about that morning and the wonderful breakfast and how much fun she had had that day and her lips bore an elegant smile. The phone continued with the next recorded message which was from Pryag. He wanted to know if she would meet him at the restaurant or if he would like for him to pick her up at her home. He had also mentioned that he was looking forward to the evening and had something important to discuss. She felt a surge of guilt pass through her; but before she could react to it Lisa was at her door indicating that it was time for the meeting. She picked up her papers and walked out leaving her cell phone on her table. There were three of them who were there for the presentation.