Chapter 21: Of Love and other demons.
"Umm Shivay, they want to know about why we broke up" said Mallika softly. "Huh" said Shivay now looking away from Anika and turning towards Mallika, "Why did that come up?" he asked. "Bhaiya, we wanted to know why you guys broke up, I mean who in their right mind leaves Mallika didi and hooks up with Lady Baba" gushed Rudy, earning a jab in the ribs and pointed frown from Saumya and Shivay respectively. "Come on Shivay, do tell!" said Om quietly.
"Well then," began Shivay, "First things first, I did not leave Mallika, she left me."
Pin drop silence ensued accompanied by Mallika's wistful head nodding, stifled gasps by Prinku and Sumo, Om's raised eyebrows. The muse of tragedy etched on Rudy's face and Anika rolled her eyes with a stifled smile. "What was that for, why are you rolling your eyes?!" snapped Shivay. "Oh well, any woman in the right mind would rather hook up with a cactus than you!" said Anika. "You take that back!" began Shivay, "besides this is a private matter between Mallika and I, not fodder for your entertainment" he continued. "Come on now Shivay!" said Mallika, "I will tell you what happened" she added.
"Shivay was my first serious crush and who I considered my first true love and my best friend to start with. How could a girl not fall for him?. He was simply the best in school, best at acads and sports, chivalrous and loyal. My heart would race and bound every time he came to cheer me on at one of my several debates. He would be on time and in the front row at all my plays. When he suggested that we date, I was over the moon. It was everything I wanted. Just perfect. I still remember the pride I felt when he flew me into Boston for his first social at Harvard. I believed my fairy tale had come true. I had a guy every girl was dying to be with, despite his height" she now paused to giggle, "he was dapper and always did the nicest things for me" she continued. Prinku and Saumya sighed while Om smiled serenely. Anika, well, simply personified disbelief. Shivay blushed making Mallika giggle. "Didi, why were you so heartless to leave my bhaiya, despite his height, you agree he is the best!" whined Rudy. Still giggling Mallika continued "I was so giddy in love, my day started with messaging Shivay "Good Morning" and ended with messaging him "Good Night" with several other messages in between. All my passwords were some variant of Shivay's name. I even began designing a dream holiday home for us. But one day Cosmo shattered my fairytale". "What???" began Saumya, "Cosmo??Seriously?" she asked. Grinning, Mallika continued "Yeah, I did this quiz on how balanced the relationship was. Unsatisfied with the results and to prove Cosmo wrong, I decided that day I would not message Shivay. He would definitely miss me and message me back. Night rolled into day, and there was not a peep from him. Every time my phone beeped I anticipated a message from Shivay. When it did not at the end of the day, I pulled a Shivay and smashed my phone. Days rolled into weeks and I realized a message would never come. Waking up from my dream, I noticed, Shivay did not really love me in a passionate way. He was kind and he cared for me, but there was no passion. How could there be? He was married to his work by then, even when in school he was focussed on conquering the business world. I was the mistress in his marriage to his work. Thats when I realized I should step away. Shivay took our break up really well. A little too well for my liking, but that just reaffirmed by decision. But because he was always kind and nice to me, my best friend, I could never resent him. See he never lied to or cheated on me. In fact when I announced my relationship with Sid to him, he was genuinely happy for me. He did stop hiring my firm for consultation and did not let me get my hands on any of his plum projects, but he still remained very civil and affectionate towards me. Despite their differences, he saw Sid made me truly happy and so being the gentleman friend that he is, he celebrated my joy. And so Rudy, to keep my best friend, I broke up with my boy friend" finished Mallika.
"Aww" said Saumya and Prinku in unison. "Love is quirky, makes you want to hate to love and love to hate.." began Om. "Come on now, snap out of it" said Shivay, "And I did love you", he said turning to Mallika again. "Come on Shivay, I am not your girlfriend any more, you don't have to lie" said Mallika. "There was no passion, that magic called Love, was not between us" she said. "Oh come on Mallika! your notion of love is overrated and doesn't exist" began Shivay now with annoyance. "Every relationship is a contract. A well thought decision made after weighing all the pros and cons. Look at Tia, she is well read, fluent with latest trends in society. She will be a charming hostess and a perfect complement to me. Besides, merger with her company will strengthen the Oberoi stocks. Taking over their ventures will give us monopoly over the textile markets. In me she gets a wealthy spouse, in her I get a socially perfect spouse. Now thats a perfect deal, besides being Shivay Singh Oberoi's wife is a statement and a privilege for Tia!" he finished. "That is the fundamental problem with you Shivay, you think emotion can be bought, dealt with and traded over. Most emotions and relationships can be bought in the currency of your choosing, but that one true love, that one person who has the power to soothe and inflame, the power to give and take all, cannot be bartered or bargained for. Marrying Tia will not change anything for you." sighed Mallika. "What do you think?" she asked turning to Anika now, "Do you agree with me?or with Shivay?".
Silence again as all eyes, except Shivay's turned towards Anika. "I, umm, well. What can I say?" said Anika. "Come on Anika, you judge people well, tell me what you think" prodded Mallika. "Well I must say, I agree with Bagaad Billa" said Anika. "WHAT??" gasped Mallika, Om and Rudy. Saumya and Prinku were too stunned to react. Shivay too was now stunned with disbelief and failed to hide it. "Mallika, don't get this wrong, but even if Love has no price, it is definitely a luxury. I hope and pray that your life is always as rosy as it is now. But most of us see life through a different lens. The Love you talk about does not happen to ordinary people like me. Life is often checks and balances for people. Survival is not built on love but on the foundations of money and comfort. For me the very essence of life is survival. I have had to fight my way through the realities of this world for every breath I take. When it rains, a person living in a palace or even the confines of a secure home can think of romance. But every time it rains, people like me think of a leaking roof and how many skipped meals it means to get the roof repaired. Love is for people who have the leisure for it. I worked two jobs throughout my teens to put myself through school and to put food on the table. I have been running a race, and fighting for survival since I can remember my self. All I can ever hope for is a break from life. That being said, I do really wish what you say is true. That I find someone who can place me on a pedestal. That I can experience the flushes of Love. That I have enough time to spare to go giddy in Love. I would like to fall in love for...", "Having loved and lost, is better than to not have loved at all" finished Saumya, now looking into Anika's eyes and nodding. A message passed between the two of them, of knowing and understanding. Stunned for a second, Mallika looked at Shivay and then at Om. Messages passed between them as well. Visibly disturbed Shivay muttered an indistinct "This is nonsense" and walked away in a huff. "Well Anika, I do hope and pray that you experience this magic, that you find someone to put you on that pedestal" said Mallika. "Cheers to that!" said Om raising his glass.
Rudy quickly turned the now heavy tone of the conversation to something light with his skillful use of comedy. Rudra Singh Oberoi was specially skilled at difussing tense situations with comedy. He was no fool. He noticed the change in Saumya's face and wondered what was it that made her so sad. But even before he could ponder over that, Mallika didi's remarks had him looking at his phone, in anticipation for a message from Bhavya. That message never came. Something in him knew, that message would not come tonight or maybe tomorrow morning either.
Shivay was annoyed. Trust Mallika to say things that put people in a spot. He was currently wrestling with his feelings. He never fell for sob stories. Oh come on, if he did, he would not be the ruthless business man that he was. But something about working two jobs, made him feel sad for Anika. An emotion he hated to admit to. A sudden urge came over him to double her pay. That is when he realized, he did not know how much they were paying Anika. Making a mental note to find out, he decided to talk to Badi ma. But before that, he paused and looked over. Anika was smiling. Gone was the woe that took over her features when she spoke about love. Watching her smile and now giggle at Rudy, his discomfort eased. "She looks good smiling" he thought. Now that made him angry again. "Urgh! Need to get to work!" he thought and headed to his home office. Drowning himself in work would help him forget this stupid conversation he thought. Little did he know, the night was still young and things had just began.
Edited by writerff - 6 years ago
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