Chapter 369

Akshar's phone was on vibrating. He was in Chicago with Carissa. Carissa was at her doctors, her follow up. This time she had also combined her visit with business and a charity event. Akshar was accompanying her and instead of waiting outside she had requested that he go with her. So when Diya called him, he looked at the caller ID and noted in his mind to call her back later as he was flying back the next day morning. He was sitting in a chair at the corner of the examination room while she was being examined. Carissa had undressed and had a hospital gown covering her front but partially revealing her back. Akshar admired her for her courage and strength and what she had gone through in his mind and gave a smile when she glanced at him. He realized that even with all physical ailments she was still so beautiful. He had recently learned about her younger ages and how she had suffered the betrayal of her step-father and how she had suffered long before he had met her. When the doctor was examining her she gave out a cry of pain. Akshar felt a dagger go through his heart as someone so selfless and so beautiful has to go through such hardships in their life. What he felt was not pity but pain; he felt a surge of pain for her. He thought that God was not being fair to her. He really wished that he could do something to help her, make her life better, but there was nothing he could do at this point. His inability to help her made him feel very frustrated and angry at himself but he just pounded his right fist onto his left to let it all go and calmed himself and looked at her.

The doctor was doing a thorough examination while keeping up a light conversation with her. Carissa seemed to keep up with the conversation by answering her questions with an occasional moan of pain. During the examination the she was questioning Akshar too but mostly he gave out a smile or kept his answer short. He was not interested in small talk but was eager to know how Carissa was doing. Carissa was very special to them, the nurses, the receptionist, the doctors and everyone there. It was not just because she was a famous but also because she had donated a huge sum to their organization and when she revealed her illness she had spoken very highly about them too. Akshar was happy that they went out of their way to take care of her but was still not thrilled that to some extent it was all because of the money. He tried to ignore the fact and concentrate on what the doctor was saying. The examination was quick and seemed that Carissa was doing fine. She suggested that Carissa continue on her current medications. She also gave the paperwork for more tests to make sure everything was fine. When the examination was done and when the doctor said that she would like to see her after six months and left the room, Carissa got up to change her cloths. Akshar got up and said that he would wait outside while she changed; Carissa waved her hand indicating that he stays and she didn't mind. For a couple of seconds she was completely naked and Akshar could see her back from where he was standing. She was breath taking even with a few scars yet to diminish from her back. She was done in a minute, turned around and smiled at him with the same spark in her eyes that he had seen when he fell in love.

Chapter 368

Three days have gone by but Diya didn't get a chance to call Akshar. It had been just crazy both at work and at home. Chari had chest pains and she and Pryag had rushed to the hospital. Diya had volunteered to stay at the hospital as Pryag had to take his mom home as she fell sick with worry and refused to eat anything. Chari had a mild heart attack was in the hospital for a couple of day for observation. In the meantime Diya had to drive to the airport to drop off her brother and Kathy for their last minute trip. She had been working off of her laptop from the hospital and had stayed up at night to catch up on things. She was suffering from lack of sleep and stress. She had been surviving on coffee mostly and the caffeine had helped her get through the past two days. Calling Akshar was no were on her mind even though she had wanted to actually meet him in person. One thing that she didn't worry much about was work as things were moving smoothly even though she had things to do to keep them that way. She had missed many calls and had been screening them when she was at the hospital and had returned only the ones that were relevant. To top it at at some points she didn't have a signal and it made things more difficult. Before she knew it was already mid week and she had hardly been home. When everything was settled at Pryag's and she was finally able to get to work and with the help of caffeine get through another day, coming back home and kicking her shoes off and sinking on the couch felt like heaven. She was so tired and dozed off within minutes while she was still in her work cloths. Diya did not hear her phone ring both her cell and her land line, nor did she hear her voice messages. Someone had been at the door bell and Diya was so exhausted and sound asleep it didn't disturb her at all.

When she opened her eyes it was 8.30 AM next morning and she was famished. She had skipped her dinner last night as she was exhausted and her body gave up on the couch. She felt fresh and energized finally but there was still a slight residue from sleeping for so long. She guessed that she must have fallen asleep probably last evening around 5.30 or so. She remembered checking the clock when she had filled gas at a gas station nearby. She had stopped to pick up some milk after that and had gone straight home. That was at 5.10 PM. She fixed herself her usual egg and bread. As it was already late, she called in to let her assistant know that she will be in a little late that day. A nice warm shower and a delicious breakfast did the trick. She then saw the lights blinking both on her land line and her cell phone. There were a couple of calls from her brother informing her about his return flight, one on the cell and one on the land line. Pryag had done the same but had indicated that nothing was important and that his dad was doing fine and also thanked her for helping them out. There was one more message and before she could listen to it a call came in from her office and Diya took that call right away. It was a brief call and she realized that she had a meeting at 10.30 that day and it was already 9.40 in the morning. She knew it wouldn't take long at this hour and if she left the house in about five minutes she will be able to get there a bit earlier and be prepared. She started to collect her thoughts for the day's meeting and the missed voice message completely skipped her mind. As expected everything went well and Diya had a smooth day at and she eased in perfectly into her routine. She noticed the icon on her cell indicating that there was a voice message. She picked up her phone and scrolled through the missed call list, she accidentally dialed Akshar's number.

Chapter 367

Thirty minutes later they were out. When Pryag was alone the mystery lady had given him her number. She was indeed attractive and that had absolutely flattered Pryag. Diya was a bit restless as Pryag had not said anything and she was reluctant to start the conversation. Akshar was on her mind and she wanted to give him a call later tonight but really wanted to know how Pryag felt. She did not want to talk to Akshar until she was able to discuss everything with Pryag. With all this in the back of her mind and when she was pondering if she should start the subject again or not, Pryag broke the silence. “Diya, Do you know I actually spoke with the mystery maiden? She gave me her number when you were out to the restroom.” Diya was surprised. Then she responded, “Wow! I didn’t know so much could happen in five minutes.” In order to steer the topic towards the direction she wanted, she said, “Surprising that she would come over and give you her number when you are dining with another woman.” Pryag said, “She asked me if you were my girlfriend. I said that we are just friends and nothing more. That is true isn't it?" He gave her a look and continued. "You have been dating someone and I have also known it for a while. When I repeatedly see the same car in your drive way it is not that difficult to put one and one together." He paused for a minute and said, "At least I am not that dumb." Diya didn't know what to say, she just walked with him. Pryag continued, "If you have been dating someone and you consider enough to talk to me about him, I know he must have made quite an impression on you. May I add you are not that easy to impress. Flattery might make way to it but doesn't really last that long. Whoever this person is you must definitely feel something for him."

Diya glanced at him for a second. She was so surprised at how he could know everything about her. On second thought he had known her all her adult life. But it was still surprising and her guilt about her hurting him eased a bit as she realized that he kind of knew what was happening around him. Then she said, "Pryag, I am not sure what would be the right thing to say" and she paused for a couple of seconds and continued "Neither did I intend to keep this a secret or something like that nor did I plan on it, our paths crossed and..." she didn't know what else to say further. Pryag said, "That is fine Diya. Things happen when you least expect them to. We have drifted apart and when I thought that I was seeing the light at the other end of the tunnel...." he paused and took a deep breath. Diya was concerned and was like a kid watching the climax of a movie sitting at the edge of the seat. Pryag continued. "Diya, I love you and I always will. There are one of the two things that are happening here. Either you have been seeing this guy and you feel that I should know about it because you are serious about him and or you want us to pick up where we left off and you want to be honest with me. Or there is a third possibility that you feel compelled to tell me because of your guilt or you are forced to make a decision. Or it could be all of the above reasons." Diya was spellbound. She couldn't believe that he could read her so well. It was just too much and her lips quivered in shock. She took deep breaths to revive herself. He continued, "Let me be honest with you too. If you decide that you feel a connection with this mystery guy and want to continue to see him, which obviously means that you are ending things with me. I can't say that I am happy for you. Because as much as I love you, I am not a saint to say that I am happy as long as you are happy. But life has taught me some valuable lessons, so I think life is too precious to waste any time pondering." They both got into the car and he said "Well, maybe you need some time to spend with someone to realize what I really mean to you. Or is that you already realized that and that is why we are having this conversation?"