Anything for You

Anything for You

Our first date. I almost blush like a teenager. I should have known better after Arjun, but it seems I haven’t learnt anything. I don’t think you are like him, I pray that you aren’t. You were so well behaved, charming, and calm, and you didn’t even fight me when I insisted on meeting somewhere private because of my private nature and you instantly invited me over. Your invite surprises me a little, but you seem so earnest that I push my worries down.

Your house makes me dream. It’s warm with pictures of your friends and team members. Will I be in one of those pictures, someday? When I had asked you about any previous girlfriends, you had told me shyly about Asmita, who had broken up with you, and in that small second, I had almost reacted like a human and had winced because I knew what it was like to deal with a heartbreak.

“Maya, you ruined it! You have ruined me. Please, leave me.”

“Never! I have done so much for you. How can you say I ruined you? You are mine, only mine.”

The sight of blood I had seen that night never leaves me. I shudder and pull myself out of those thoughts.

Our next few dates take place in your house when you shyly ask if I am interested in more, but I shake my head, and you nod.

“You do know what the next step is, right?”

I glare at you, but I let the joke slide.

“I’ll have you know that I have been in a serious relationship before,” I blurt out before I can stop my words.

“Arjun Sharma,” you whisper darkly.

I can’t place my finger on it, but for a split second, I think your eyes have gotten a deranged look in them. Is that jealousy? I wonder, hoping it is.

Jealousy, they say, is a passionate emotion, and with Arjun, I had experienced it a lot, especially with Sharon around him, and passion and I were never a good mix. I still miss him a lot.

“He...he is the past,” I say instead and lean in, wondering if it’s the right thing to do, but you move away.

I wonder how are you when passion takes you over.

You hold my hands and look into my eyes.

“Remember, last week I had to cancel our date because of Rinni’s injury? I have planned the perfect way to make it up to you. It’s a small farmhouse that my dad owns, just on the city border. It’s quiet, like you would like, and scenic. We could also go bird watching. The season is perfect to do so,” you say.

Your eyes seem vacant, and my heart is thudding in my chest.

Something’s wrong. I can feel it. But I am in love. I am convinced my heart is thumping for you. I smile and agree with your plan. Anything to make you happy. Anything to keep the man I love happy, even if it was discrediting an intern to protect Arjun from being charged with stealing her work. Anything that was within and beyond my power.

_______

A week later

Sharon walks in. Her beautiful smile brightening his house.

“Baby, I missed you so much!” she says, and he kisses her forehead. She was just adorable. Did she know that?

“I am so thirsty. Can I have a glass of water?” she asks as you break the hug. He kisses her nose and goes to the kitchen. When he comes back with the Diet Coke can in his hand, she has her phone in her hand, the screen in his direction.

“She died in an accident. Can you believe it?” she says. He shrugs.

“What are the odds? Arjun committed suicide after accepting that he stole my work, even though Maya tried to protect him so much. And now she died almost within a year.”

“They hurt you, Sharon. They deserve it,” Swayam said, pulling the phone from her hand.

“No one can hurt you, and get away with it,” he continues in a grave tone.

He will protect her. He had failed her once, but not anymore.

He will do anything for her.