Pursuit Of Love - Chapter 9

I was waiting at the Bangalore International airport lounge. My flight to Hyderabad was delayed by an hour. I got an economy class ticket at a slightly elevated price due to my last minute booking and weekend rates. I was rehearsing mentally the course of my action plan as soon as I would reach Hyderabad.

- Check into a hotel close to Prime Regalis apartment. Fresh up and have something to eat and then reach Prime Regalis.

- Wait for Ashish Roy to come out or probably check his flat number with the security unless he is ready to share it with me especially after the turn of events that happened between us the last time.

- Wait until I meet Ashish or Laura and talk to them.

I alighted from the flight and took a taxi to the same hotel where Victor and I stayed the last time since I had not wanted to waste time in finding some new lodging accommodation and I was quite familiar with this one. I checked into a simple deluxe one bedroom sufficient enough for my one day stay. I quickly freshened up, grabbed a bite to eat and walked towards Prime Regalis.

I saw the security guard from his window sitting briskly on his chair in his room inside the main gate. It was half-past three in the afternoon. I quite confidently marched towards his room to enquire Ashish and Laura’s flat number.

“Hello sir, remember me? I am Ashish Roy’s friend. Could you please give me his flat number?”

He was a little startled at my sudden and unexpected approach.

“Oh, madam you are here again? What happened that day? You did not come back?”

“I lost some things valuable and had to immediately return to my home place for something urgent. Anyway can I have Ashish Roy’s flat number?”

“Oh Ashish saab.... He lives in flat number 201 but I don’t think he is there at his home right now. He has gone out for work. But maybe you can check if his wife is at home.”

I thanked him gleefully and strode towards flat number 201. There I was standing in front of their door, my heart was palpitating harder. I was going to meet Laura for the first time and I was quite nervous. Suddenly I felt my confidence level streaming down. Will Laura be ready to talk to me after knowing that I am dating Victor? What if Laura had moved on and not really comfortable discussing her inglorious past? I was confused for a moment. All the excitement and the zeal I had to meet them were descending a little bit but I composed myself and rang the bell.

After a couple of minutes someone opened the door.

“Yes?”

I saw a lady probably of my age standing in front of the door. She was the same one I saw the other day with Ashish, the one in niqab. She opened her veil and enquired who I was. There was a terrible black patchy scar on her left cheeks. I could not recognize her.

“Is this Laura?”

“Yes I am Laura? Who are you?”

I was appalled to know that she was the one I had been obsessed with all these days. She was not that beautiful attractive woman I had seen on the photo the other day. This lady was looking hideous with a burnt scar on her face.

“Oh! Hi! My name is Sarah... Sorry I could not recognize you...”

“Oh...this...” she touched the scar on her face....” Well... uh... sorry do I know you?”

“No you don’t...I am Victor’s friend. I have seen you on your both wedding photo.”

In no time her face narrowed down on hearing my words and she turned sullen and gloomy. I sensed a feeling of reluctance and embarrassment in her to converse with me.

“Oh! Uh... Hello... uh...Is he alright? Oh sorry please come inside.” After a bit of hesitation she opened the door wide open for me to step inside.

I went inside their small and compact apartment. The living room was bright, neat and impeccable. There were some archaic and classy artefacts collection arranged neatly on the showcase. The house was not swamped with furniture or wooden stuff and there were things that were just needed.

I sat on their black velvet inflatable couch facing their 36 inches flat screen Samsung LED. On the wall there was one big portrait photo frame of Ashish and Laura together, the beautiful and blemish less Laura I had seen before, not the one sitting here right across me.

“How do you know Victor?” there she asked me the question direct and candid.

“Well, we have been engaged and have been dating for a couple of months now.”

‘Engaged’- I was questioning myself. Well we may not be officially engaged but it felt nice to tell that way to Laura- Victor’s ex- love interest or even now which I was not very sure of.

“Oh that’s nice. Glad to know Victor has moved on too.” She told with a contented smile yet a tinge of envy somewhere across her eyes. I felt a slight sense of victory but not totally which is why I was here, to confront to Laura about Victor’s disturbance and seeking for solace.

“Well not really this is why I am here...”

“Sorry I do not understand” she remarked.

With a sense of queasiness to discuss her past, I made up my mind that I had no alternative and began to speak.

“I am Sarah and I work as a Lecturer in the University of Bangalore. Victor and I started dating a few months ago arranged by our parents. In the beginning I was sceptical about this entire process of arranged marriage but I eventually began to like Victor and indeed fell in love with him. Although he had shown signs of liking me in return he has not acknowledged outright if he loved me the way I wanted him to and was quite furtive about many of his activities. Then one day I confronted him for his unusual behaviour at times which was when I got to know about his past, both your past.”

I saw Laura was getting a little restless and uncomfortable when I mentioned that I knew her outrageous past but I was determined to continue.

“He said he loves me but he is unable to move forward towards marrying me as he is still left with a grave sense of humiliation and disappointment because of the way you had left him and gone. He is suffering from the fear of a remarriage probably afraid that he might fail again. He needs some redressal, a way of coming over his ignominy. He has been avoiding people whom he knew from the past, people who knew his past and confined himself to a small space whenever he ran into someone like that. This cannot continue. I want him to move on and forget what had happened and get into me totally. I realized he still has some emotions hidden for you. That’s why I have come here to seek your help, to help him come over this. I am not certainly trying to affront or disgrace you. I know it may be even inappropriate for you to do this and at this juncture married to another man you may hesitate to offer this favour but I don’t have another choice and only you could resolve Victor’s problem which has become my problem too now. “

Laura was looking at me flabbergasted. She was sitting still and pensive. She got up and went inside some room. I heard her sobbing. A little while later she came outside. Her eyes were puffy and face reddened. She drank a glass of water and offered me one too. She sat across me and looked at me sallow and distraught.

“Sarah, this is so surreal. I honestly don’t know where to start and how to start. Victor and mine was an arranged one too. Our families knew each other for a long time. I guess you might have been aware of this.”

I nodded.

“Victor was a gentleman. He was extremely sweet, kind and loved me a lot. I thought I had loved him too. I was naive and vulnerable. Victor’s job nature was really disturbing our marital life. He was on tour every month, sometimes he used to stay away from me for weeks together. I was feeling lonely and dejected. His absence continued to affect me mentally and physically. It was at that time when my dad and mom also moved to Mysore as my elder brother got a new job there. Although they used to visit Bangalore temporarily, Victor’s absence and my parents’ inaccessibility started to trouble me. Ashish was Victor’s best friend. He used to visit our house quite often. It was one such time when Victor was away on his weekly tour and I fell ill. Ashish was the only person around me who took care of me all day and night. This was the point when I was weak and depressed and needed some shoulder to lean. We became friends. We used to hang out and spend time with each other and in the course of time I started enjoying his company. I began seeing him a little too often with and without Victor and I don’t know when but we both fell in love with each other. I realized that I don’t love Victor as I had presumed. Things became ugly between Victor and me and we parted our ways. Ashish and I got married and we moved here to Hyderabad four years ago.

Although I was happy with Ashish something began to bother my inner conscience. I was disloyal to Victor. There was no mistake on him but I punished him cruelly. Two years ago I met with a major fire accident and it was luck or god’s grace that I survived but with serious burns on my face and left side of my body. Since then I have been covering my face and body, but the scar on my face reminds me of the inerasable scar that I had left in Victor’s life. My beauty and arrogance have been inundated down under my impurity. The only blessing was I had Ashish. He comprehended the pain I was undergoing and was doing his best to help me. There were times he had even suggested that I go and speak to Victor but I lacked the courage and more than that I could never face him.

But now after listening to you, I want to redeem my sins. I feel God has given me one last opportunity to set back things right which I had defaced. This would help me get back my sanctity and inner peace.”

I was exhilarated when I heard Laura speak to me. I was happy that most part of my job was over and rest was in executing my last step of plans.

“Thank you so much Laura. When I came here I never knew what would be the result and how you might respond to me. But I genuinely from the bottom of my heart appreciate the step that you would take for Victor and indirectly me and thank you sincerely.”

“No. Indeed I am indebted to you to come all the way here and help me get that strength to face Victor and seek apology for the irreparable mistake of my life. If this can set things right for you and him I would be more than happy. I will speak to Ashish tonight. How long are you in Hyderabad?”

“I would be leaving tonight as my sole purpose was to meet you and talk and I have accomplished that. I stay in Hotel Comforts, 3 km from here. My flight is at 8.00 p.m. Please give me a call once you have spoken to your husband and then we can devise the plan for your all meeting in Bangalore” and I gave her my phone number.

“Sure. Ashish will be back from office by 7.00 p.m. I will talk to him and give you a call. Thank you once again Sarah.”

“Thank you too.”

I smiled and bid her goodbye until next meeting and left to my hotel accommodation. Back in my flight to Bangalore, I was pondering about my encounter with Laura. My outlook about her changed. Though she committed a heinous mistake, she was not a bad person totally. It was destiny that had designed such a cruel fate for Victor and her, but thanked the same fate which diverted Victor to my life.

(To be Continued...)


Pursuit Of Love - Chapter 8

 

@leenarajaryan @peddadas @Deepu04 @Rampuri9 @curiousgal

Hello friends! The wait is over and the cat is out of the bag. I have posted Chapter 8 and Chapter 9. Enjoy reading them while I will meet you all soon with the concluding chapters next week.
Happy Ganesh Chatturthi ! Happy weekend!

Cheers,
Bhargavi

 

Thank you

 

Thank you

 

Thank you

 

Thanks a lot dear glad you all are liking the story and its flow... I like being optimistic and would mostly prefer a positive flowing story which would manifest hope in life meet u with the ending chapters soon.