Chapter 2 – “You, my girl, need a vacation!”

A/N - Hello readers! Thank you for the immense love you have showered on this first chapter of this story! I am truly humbled!

You met my Aryan in the first chapter. Time to meet my Imlie in this one!

Happy reading!

Love,

AA

**************************************************************************

Previously,

Entering the large bedroom, he saw a large suitcase spread open on the bed with clothes scattered all over. A suitcase? How long was this crook planning on staying here? Gotten herself a little too comfortable, hasn’t she!

Aryan stepped further into the bedroom and stumbled upon something. Catching himself from falling flat on the ground, he balanced himself in a ninja stance and looked around to see if the almost fall attracted the intruder’s attention. 

The humming voice was coming from the bathroom. 

He slowly let out the breath he was holding, relieved to have remained undiscovered so far. He did not want to lose the element of surprise while nabbing this trespasser.

Swearing silently, he looked around to see what he tripped over and saw a pair of women’s shoes uncaringly lying in the middle of the bedroom floor.

Whoever this little shit is, she’s messy as f-ck!!

**************************************************************************

30 minutes ago.

Imlie rubbed her tired eyes and dragged herself out of the plush couch to the upstairs bedroom. She liked the couch; it was luxurious and oh so comfortable. Better than anything she’d ever experienced in her modest lower middle-class lifestyle.

All she wanted was to curl up under the soft throw blanket that felt like cotton and clouds and take a quick nap.

But she knew the moment she closed her eyes, the fatigue of the journey from Delhi to Shimla and the heaviness in her mind would take over and next she knew, she would have spent the whole night sleeping on the couch.

And what a waste that would be!

As much as she liked the couch, the cozy king-sized bed in the master suite looked even more comfortable, and she had every intention of putting it to proper use.

She gathered her long hair together and rolled it into a quick messy bun, thinking how lucky she got with this vacation rental.

She couldn’t give herself any credit though. It was Rupi Didi who had practically forced her into this vacation. 

Imlie recollected their conversation with a sad smile slowly creeping on her face.

“Imlie, will you stop brooding and get yourself a life for God’s sake?” Rupi Didi had chimed on a warm Delhi evening as they were sitting in the balcony of Imlie’s small one bedroom flat that she had moved into just a month ago.

Imlie took a deep breath and hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on them.

She tilted her head and gave Rupi Didi a forlorn look.

Rupi sighed, and her shoulders drooped a little as she said “Alright, I admit it has been an incredibly hard few months for you, but you can’t go on this way, can you? You must start picking up the pieces of your life and find your happiness. You have to start moving on, Imlie.”

Imlie turned her gaze back to the sunset, recollecting the last few months for what seemed to be the millionth time.

Could she move on?

Was it possible to truly move on from the fact that the man she was forcibly married to, the man who didn’t consider her his wife for the entire one year they were married and made no secret of his feelings, the man she taught herself to love and make the best of her marriage…cheated on her with his best friend? That she caught them in her own marital bed? And that he somehow found a way to blame her for his infidelity and lapse in judgment?

If she knew how to move on from something like that, maybe she would have forgiven him. Maybe she would have agreed to give the marriage a second chance on his request, which she knew was out of guilt and family pressure more than any willingness to stay in the marriage.

Instead, she did what she could do to preserve whatever was left of her self-respect. She asked for a divorce.

The family wasn’t happy about it, but Imlie remained adamant.

After 5 months and a finalized divorce, she had moved out of their house, resolving to never put her heart in a position to be hurt by another again. 

Rupi Didi was her ex-husband, Aditya Tripathi’s cousin sister and one of the few members of the Tripathi family who understood her and sympathized with her situation. She had helped Imlie find a new place, and now she was trying to help her find a new life.

In all the chaos, if there was one blessing, it was having Rupi Didi by her side.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead with her thumb and index finger, trying to soothe the heaviness in her head.

She had secured the divorce, but she didn’t know how she could begin this herculean task of moving on from here, from the past 1.5 years that seemed more like a scene from a low budget movie than her own life.

Still facing the sun, eyes still closed, she spoke in a low voice, “I…don’t’ know…”. She paused, trying to find the words against the pounding in her head. “I don’t know…how to…. where to even start, Rupi Didi”.

Rupi’s heart broke for Imlie.

The girl had been through so much, seen so much in such a short period of time and still dealt with everything with so much grace and respect.

She was inspired by Imlie. And she was going to make sure she started living again.

She was all of 22 years old after all, she had her entire life in front of her!

Rupi turned Imlie in her chair and forced her to look in her direction.

“I know just what you need!”

“Ummm…what’s that?”

“You, my girl, need a vacation!”

Imlie frowned confusingly.

“Yes! That’s what you need. You need to get away from here and clear your mind. Treat this getaway like drawing a line in the sand. From here on, you leave behind all the misery and tears, the betrayals, the disappointment…and you start thinking about your new life. Shut the past and embrace your bright future!” Rupi almost whispered that last part excitedly.

Imlie smiled remorsefully “It’s a great thought Rupi Didi and trust me it’s tempting. But you know my situation better than anyone. I cannot afford to blow off the little savings I have on a vacation right now. There’s so much I need to figure out. I haven’t even received my first salary on the new job.”

Imlie was a graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, and she had always wanted to be a journalist. It was almost by luck that she had landed the internship at Bhaskar Times, a troubled but reputed print and media news organization. She had started a week ago.

Rupi shook her head animatedly and said “That is of no concern. I can…”

“No Rupi Didi, I know what you are about to offer. I cannot and will not let you bear my expenses. No.” Imlie interrupted her with a firm shake of her head.

“Ugh, let me finish! Isn’t there a small amount of alimony that Adi bhai offered to you during the divorce. I know you refused to take it, but you must be practical and stop declining it. It’s the least he can do for what he has put you through and you deserve the money.”

“But…I don’t want his money” Imlie said in a low voice.

“Imlie, principles are important, but you also have to live in the real world. The law allows you that money by right. And it’s not a huge sum. I forbid you to deny it. You are taking that money and using it for this vacation. We will decide what we do with the remaining amount later, okay?”

After some more protesting, Imlie gave in. She knew she needed this. And the money was her right, wasn’t it? She wasn’t taking a favor from anyone.

Rupi quickly talked to her travel agent and made the bookings.

Imlie liked the hills but never had the resources to go on a real vacation, so they decided on Kufri.

It was the perfect place to give her some quiet, alone time to relax and forget about all the unhappy memories, even if temporarily.

Imlie thanked Rupi Didi again in her mind for pushing her to do this. She already felt lighter, and it wasn’t even a full day since she got here.

She pulled clothes out of her suitcase and grabbed a towel before stepping into the bathroom. Gosh, this bathroom is bigger than her bedroom in Delhi. Whoever owns this place must be loaded.

She stepped into the shower stall and turned the water. The hot water felt so good it made her let out a sigh.

She closed her eyes and started humming, letting the combination of the water and the music soothe her body and mind alike.