You Are Missing In My Heart!

Part 28:

“What happened, Abhinay?” Arjun asked innocently as Abhinay sprang to his feet.

Abhinay did not respond immediately. He looked at Arjun. Arjun’s expression did not give away anything. After taking a slow breath, Abhinay said, “Nothing Arjun. I think I have got my answers. There is nothing else to talk about.”

“Nothing else? Are you sure? Don’t you want to talk about whether I should discuss about the information I collected about you with Nethra?”

Abhi stiffened, yet managed to say, “Does that really matter? What I say about it? Are you going to stop if I say so?”

“Depends! But tell me this Abhinay.. Why are you after Nethra? Your ex-lover is back in your life! So, why can’t you leave my Nethra alone?”

“You already answered your question.. As you said, she is my Ex and she is not in any way back in my life”, Abhinay said between clenched teeth.

“Then what is she doing in your office? Don’t tell me that you appointed her because you can’t survive without her talent!” Arjun said sarcastically.

“Of course not! The only thing that I can’t survive without is Nethra!” he said, his eyes teasing Arjun.

Arjun raised a single eyebrow mockingly and said, “You still have not answered my question”

“Mhmm! And, why should I answer you?”

“Because my decision depends on your answer!”

“If you mean what you just said, then hear my answer! She is in my office because, she was appointed by my friend without my knowledge under the misassumption that we might patch up”

“And, you will not?”

“I never will”

“Hmm.. I see! But, it would have been better if you patched up with her”

“Likewise, it would have been better if you just stayed as Nethra’s friend”

And, both of them laughed mildly at their last exchange.

“Ok, come lets have lunch”, Arjun invited.

“Oh no thanks! I already had an early lunch on the way”

“Then, I will bring you something to drink at least”, saying Arjun got up and asked, “Hot or cold?”

“Hot.. Coffee!” said Abhinay.

Arjun returned with two cups of coffee in a few minutes.

Sipping the coffee, Abhinay asked, “So, have you made your decision?”

“I think I will play it fair. Though, all is fair in love, I don’t think I really need to play it dirty, at least not at the moment” Arjun said.

“You are more generous than I thought, thank you!” Abhi said sarcastically and rose to leave.

“So, starting back to Bangalore?” Arjun asked.

“Yes!” Abhinay said and walked towards the door.


Nethra sat before the television flipping through the channels. Nirmala was preparing ghee laddu to pack for Nethra and Raghavan’s family and Nithyavasan was helping her. The day was very special for them. It had turned out special the moment Nirmala saw the saree box in the trash bin. She immediately called Vasan and showed it to him, both exchanging meaningful looks. Nirmala rushed to her daughter the next moment and tears filming her eyes hugged and kissed her. Vasan who followed her, kissed the top of his daughter’s head and his eyes conveyed what he felt. Nethra did not ask the reason for this sudden outburst of love. She knew.

Nethra’s mobile beeped and as it was her recent habit, she took it with anticipation to check the text.

“Hello Madam” – Her mobile screen displayed Abhinay’s name and the text under it. He had sent it in whatsapp. This was the first time he texted in Whatsapp.

Nethra’s face lit-up seeing the text and immediately she frowned a little, 'So, it took him 2 days to text me' she thought.

Opening the chat, she typed, “Yes Sir” and hit send.

“When are you starting back to Bangalore?”

“Tonight..” ​

“By bus?”

“No.. By train”
As she replied, she wanted to ask him what he was doing, but she continued to just answer his questions.
​

“Oh! You got tickets in train? I heard its difficult unless you book months in advance”

“Yeah! It is! I booked a month back and its RAC”​

“”

“” ​

“RAC? That’s bad. So, do you want a ride back to Bangalore?”

“Ride back?!”
“Oh! Sir is going to fly to Chennai with his car and give me a ride back to Bangalore?”​

“Why should I fly? Its just 3 PM.. If I start now, I can be there at 9 max.”

“Stop kidding, Abhinay!” ​

“ Of course not!”

“Oh really?! Even so, I don’t prefer travelling that late in car..”
“What if you sleep while driving? I can’t risk my life ”​

“I can drive perfectly even with my eyes closed!”

“Do you have fangs too?”
She giggled as she typed it. ​

There was a pause before he started typing,
“So, Vampires drive with eyes closed? ”

“Heard so..” ​

“Ok, tell me.. at what time you will start then? If you won’t start after 9?”

“Why? Are you seriously considering flying?” ​

“General Knowledge!”

“I see. Not later than 7.. so that I can reach Bangalore by 12 or 1”
She typed, as she knew he can’t reach there by 7​

“Ok then. Text me your address..”

“What? Are you kidding? Stop this Abhi..” ​

Abhinay noticed the ‘Abhi’ and smiled.
“Why? You just agreed to come with me if I come there before 7 right?”

“But, how will you come? Don’t confuse me.. Where are you?”​

“At home”

“Aiyo…” ​

“No tension.. just text your address? Or, should I not visit your home?”

“Nothing like that! OK.. here is the address..”​

She typed the address and sent it, all the while confused and excited at the same time.
“So you are in Bangalore and you are going to come here in another 2 to 3 hours, is it?”​

“Of course not! How would it be possible? Are you kidding, Nethra?”

“What?!!!!” ​

“Atleast you should have told me yesterday, if you want me to come and pick you up..”

Though she herself thought that he was kidding, she could not stop the sudden disappointment that struck her.
“I didn’t ask anybody to pick me up”
She sent and throwing her mobile on the sofa, went to pack her things.​

Exactly at 6 o'clock in the evening, Nethra heard the doorbell. She checked the clock and something in her urged her to rush to the door. Though, she knew that what she was expecting was practically impossible, she still hoped it was Abhinay. Her face lit-up and a faint blush coloured her cheeks as she walked towards the door.

As she opened the door, her face fell on seeing the person standing outside, the expectant expression changing into a huge disappointment!

(Contd.)