Chapter 349

It has been almost three weeks and she had not returned any calls that she had received from Akshar. With her brother and Kathy around and with Pryag back in her life along with the new order that they had received it was actually easy to postpone calling him back. To some extent in the back of her mind she felt guilty not returning his calls and at the same time she felt that if she did it would not be fair to Pryag. She had feeling for the both of them and that was something that she didn’t want to confront herself with because choosing one over the other was not that simple. Something he brother said has been bothering her. No one in the family knew about Akshar as she never mentioned it as the time was never right. Being back as a part of Pryag’s family with his brother and Kathy to add to it felt very fulfilling. The dinner conversation gave a sense of satisfaction and she realized that she had missed it so much over the past few years with his brother not with her and especially lately with the disconnect with Pryag. On a casual conversation while playing cards after a nice meal on a Saturday evening the topic about love came into play. Pryag’s sister and his brother-in law, Diya, Pryag, Diya’s brother and Kathy were the ones having a late night rendezvous. Pryag’s brother-in-law asked, “I am probably an old school guy as mine is an arranged marriage and to some extent I thought if something went wrong I can blame my parents rather than blaming myself, but luckily every thing turned out great.” Looking at Diya’s brother he asked, “But I have a question for you. You guys seem so much in love; you know the kind of thing you see in the movies. How do you know that Kathy was the one for you?” He laughed and said, “It is very simple. I liked the instant I met her. She is pretty, smart and had a big heart. And unlike other women I have met she had a purpose in life. She was willing to go out of her way to help others. I wanted to date her and spend time with her and get to know her better. The only way was to get involved in her charity work and I realized that that was more to her that meets the eye. She didn’t cease to amaze me and to some extent she made me realize that I was living a selfish life and not really thinking about anyone.”

Kathy smiled and said, “I can’t say that I fell in love the instant I met him but the more time I spent with him I realized he was a wonderful person. It is not easy for me to trust men with my bitter experiences from my past. But with him, I knew that he actually loved me for who I am and I knew he is the one.” She leaned forward and kissed him and said, “I have no doubt about it.” The both kissed and Diya felt a little awkward sitting there. When the conversation had taken another direction and they had been discussing other things, her brother had said looking at Diya, “I don’t have any problem with whom you fall in love with as long as it is not some charming British guy. I just don’t trust them. “That had been bothering her on and off and that was also one of the reasons she never mentioned about Akshar to anyone. She knew very well she had feelings for Akshar. But lately that seemed insignificant. She felt more connected to Pryag. Being a part of his family made her feel wonderful. She felt as if it was her family and not just his. She had not felt that way before. With all these things going in the back of her mind, she wanted to make some kind of decision and avoid mulling over this issue over and over again. She couldn’t quiet relate to what her brother said nor Kathy said, but she felt more connected to Pryag, more than ever before. She thought about Akshar. She said to herself, “It was fun while it lasted. But that is not who I am. I love parties but I am not a pry girl. I have things to achieve and places to go in my life. I think the fun should end now. She walked over to her room and picked up her phone and called Akshar. It went to the voice message. “Hi how are you? Sorry I didn’t return you call. Well many calls. It has been crazy out here. I was wondering maybe we can meet sometime this week?” Before she could hang up Akshar picked up the call. He was a little breathless. He said, “Hi, I was wondering what happened to you. How are you? I missed you very much? Tell me the time and place I will be there to pick you up and drive you there.” She laughed and said, “That is really sweet. Are you free this Saturday?” Akshar, “I have to wait that long to see you?” She said, “I am too busy. I will call you?” He said, “Sure”.