Note : I've changed Priya's mother name! And guys this update is going to be very shockingly so just sit tight and read it 😉
Chapter 10
As Neha drove away from Priya's home she noticed a car follow her. Then it sped up into the lane beside her and drove along side. Neha looked sideways. It was Mr. Sharma. He motioned for her to roll down her window. At the next set of lights she did just that.
"Neha, I need to speak to you." Mr. Sharma pleaded,
Neha began to wind up the window, when he said, "Please Neha, let me explain my actions back there. It was all an act"
Neha thought a second then said, "Follow me Abhay, I am heading home. We can talk there."
"When the lights changed, Neha drove on and Mr. Sharma maneuvered his car behind hers. She rang Vikram on the mobile and warned him that Mr. Sharma was coming back with her. When they reached home, Vikram was waiting at the door.
The two men shook hands. Vikram looking confused.
"Vikram I am terribly sorry, but I had to speak to Neha urgently. I did not want Priya to see me talking to her, hence the dramatics." Mr. Sharma explained then turning to Neha "I hope I did not scare you"
"A little at first, but I have to admit, I am very curious to hear what you have to say. I will make one thing clear, hurting Priya or Ram is not an option you have." Neha was still on guard.
"And, if I was meaning everything I was saying about Ram, I would not blame you for feeling that way. Neha the truth is that I have great respect and admiration for the man. But I was playing a part for a reason." Mr. Sharma explained,
"In that case, you better come in Abhay. We can talk there." Vikram invited him in,
Five minutes later they were seated at the kitchen table, coffee mugs in their hands.
"OK Abhay, so what was all that about?" Neha started,
"Neha you are a good friend to both Priya and Ram. Almost from the very first moment that I saw them together, I have believed, that Ram did not look upon Priya as just another employee. I am ashamed to say that the first time I saw them; I thought this was another sleazy little office affair. Then I saw Priya. The truth is, she was not the kind of woman Ram would just have an affair with. And I also saw the way Ram looked at her, protected her. The irritation he showed at my lunch invitation to her, his anger at seeing us having dinner together. These were all signs of a man who feared losing someone who was very special to him. Again, at first I thought it was because she was a valued employee. But his behavior today, cleared up any doubts that I may have had. I believe he is in love with her himself."
"Abhay, even if he is, which I personally do not believe, it is really none of our business. His personal life is his to lead as he wishes." Vikram said,
"That is very true. But if we can see two people love each other, and also see that they are drifting apart because they are misreading each other's clues should we not put them back onto the right path?" Abhay asked,
"And what if we put two people on the right path, but they really don't want to travel together, what happens then Abhay?" It was Vikram again who did the asking.
"Then I'll stand by the wayside and befriend the one that wants to leave" Abhay said soberly,
Vikram and Neha exchanged glances. Wasn't this the very thing, I told you this morning, her eyes said.' But it was too early to express their sentiments to Abhay. They had to know more about his intentions.
"Abhay I work with them. Their relationship is purely on business terms. In fact until my recent bout of morning sickness, they barely spoke to each other. They have never met socially, they don't know the first thing about each other. Believe me, there can be no romance there." Neha uttered words that were contrary to her thoughts,
"Then why does he drive by her place at 10 pm at night?"
"Abhay that is a public road, anyone can drive through it" Vikram said,
"True, but why would a man drive through a No through road', park, then seeing me with her, drive off in a mad rush?" Abhay added,
"What were you doing there?" Neha asked,
"Soon after Ram and Trisha left, Priya complained of a headache and wanted to leave. I drove her home. So sure was I that he would come there after dropping Trisha,that I hung around until he did." Abhay sounded as proud as a sleuth would have sounded when he had solved his cases.
"Since you have studied him so closely, do you think Priya feels likewise?" Neha asked,
"Oh she is in love with him. Whether she is aware of the knowledge herself or not, I am not certain. You see, at the restaurant, she saw Ram dining with Trisha. I could feel the pain she felt at that moment. Ram told me she resigned this morning. Now I told myself, what an odd thing for a girl to do who less than 24 hours earlier had told me of her love for her work and the company. So I asked myself, if she was not running to something, what was she running from? It was definitely not Ram himself because she was happy to work for him. So it must be her feelings for Ram" Abhay saw he had Neha and Vikram's full attention. "Believe me, if I did not feel that Ram is in the same boat, I would never try to bring them together. One sided love-affairs are the most painful and damaging relationships."
"Abhay, you are forgetting one thing. If Ram loves Priya, then why is he engaged to Trisha? Your meddling will mean at least one person will get hurt, if not all of them" Neha added,
"Engaged? Who said that to you? He did not introduce her as his fiance. In fact just this morning he said that Trisha was an old friend. You don't call the person you are marrying as an old friend". Things have changed a lot from when I was young, but surely not that much. There was no mention of romance between them. Did he tell you himself?" Abhay was bemused by this piece of information,
"Priya saw them holding hands, saw her engagement ring. And they have been seeing each other regularly" Neha continued, while Vikram merely listened.
"Now how did I miss all that? Guess I was concentrating on Priya reactions, though that in itself is a hard job when she never takes those glasses off."
"She has sensitive eyes." Neha defended her friend,
"Did you say Priya saw them?" Abhay said reflecting back "Don't you see that proves my theory. Why would she mention that to you about someone who was a mere "boss"? Hang on Neha, you know more that you are telling me. In fact, I'd say, you already knew what I have just concluded, didn't you Neha?" Abhay had once again judged correctly.
"Abhay, I have a question. Why are you concerned? Granted you have known Ram for a long time and are very fond of him. But Priya is a very new acquaintance. If you really want them to become an item, then why are you giving the wrong impression at every step? My feelings were that you liked her yourself." Neha said avoiding his question.
"I don't just like her Neha, I love her." Abhay addressed them, then after a moment's silence, continued, "I need an assurance from both of you that this conversation will be kept in total confidence. It is of paramount importance." Abhay waited for their response.
"Will such a promise, hurt either Ram or Priya?" Neha was the first to ask."
"No, but breaking that promise will" Abhay finished,
Neha and Vikram were now more than intrigued. Abhay's actions and comments this past week had been very strange. His attack of Ram's morals and work was slanderous. Yet now he was sitting with them, wanting them to believe that all he felt was concern for Ram and Priya's feelings for each other.
"You have our word." Neha said, confirming it with Vikram,
"Abhay, I don't understand one thing, if you love Priya yourself, then why are you pushing her towards Ram?" Vikram was the one to ask,
"Yes I love Priya, but I am not in love with her, he is. There is a difference in the kind of love we both feel for her." Abhay replied promptly.
"Answer this then Abhay, why have you taken on the task of becoming their match-maker. What do you gain from it? And who are you really trying to help, Priya or Ram?"
"It does not matter who I am trying to help. If my deductions are correct, then they belong together."
"Then let's go back to what I asked earlier. What do you gain by it?" You are practically a stranger to..?"
"No Neha, I am not a stranger. Far from it! You see, I am Priya's grandfather." Abhay's words stunned Vikram and Neha. Neha's mug fell from her hands. Vikram merely stared at Abhay's face.
"You are what?" Vikram exclaimed,
"My wife Nandini, and I shared one child. A daughter named Malvika. Though we loved her very dearly, we got caught up in ensuring that our business was a success. Nandini and I worked long hours and we established a thriving company. Malvika went to the best of schools and lacked nothing that money could buy. We did not realise that the one thing that she wanted from us was the only thing we could not give at that stage. That was our time. We grew apart. Then when she was seventeen, she announced that she was pregnant. Twenty-eight years ago, society was not so accepting of unwed mothers. We gave her an ultimatum; it was either marriage or an abortion. The next day she left home. For a week Nandini and I searched every nook and corner and met with all her friends. But there was no trace of her. From her friends, we learnt that her baby's father was married. A week later we received a letter from Malvika. She told us she never wanted to see us again. She wrote that we had let her down at a time when she needed us the most. That she would not abort the child and that she could not marry the father. She said she would bring up her child herself and that as long as we did not try to find her, she would send us a photo of the baby every year on its birthday, for old times' sake. But if we made any attempt to find her then she would break all contact with us. Nandini and I decided that some news of our daughter was better than none, so we agreed. Malvika had a baby girl twenty-eight years ago. Every birthday after that, she sent us a photo. Seeing our grandchild grow year by year and finding that we were missing our child too, Nandini and I began fighting and blaming each other for what happened. In the end, the pressure was too much for our marriage. We first separated, and later divorced fifteen years ago. Malvika wrote of her disappointment is us. She sent one last photograph of our granddaughter. Our granddaughter was 12 years old in it. We never heard from Malvika again for the next five years. Then suddenly I received a letter from her. She told us that she was dying. That finally she came to realise how hard parenthood was. That she had promised to always be there for her daughter. But when Priya's father died she was unable to cope with his loss and had taken to drinking. Her daughter began keeping very late hours, dancing away till the early hours of the morning. Then one night Priyanka was brutally attacked. Had it not been for a couple of men who had come out of the dance hall to have a cigarette, she would have been raped, maybe even killed. When Malvika learnt of it, drunk as she was, she accused her of asking' for it with the way she dressed, and the hours that she kept. Priyanka left home that night, taking all the money in her personal bank account. Her father it seems had made large deposits on a regular basis. I guess it was his way of making up for not being there for Priyanka. Malvika was sure Priyanka would be able to cope on her own and at twenty-one would inherit not only a home but also a substantial amount of money from her father's estate. She said she did have one regret, that in her anger at our divorce, she had told Priyanka that her grandparents had died in an accident. That was our last communication from her. We searched everywhere for Priyanka. The letter was postmarked Broome, but no one in Broome had heard of either of them. We lived in dread for a couple of years. Dreading every phone calls in case it was the police with the bad news. Dreading the papers, in case we read her name. In her letter the only clue that I had about my grandchild was that her name was Priyanka. I didn't know if my daughter lived under an alias. And I didn't know what surname she had given her daughter." Abhay saw Vikram and Neha listen with rapt attention.
"I am sorry to hear all this Abhay, I really am, but how can you be sure that, Priyanka is Priya." Vikram asked,
"Malvika had the same breathing problem. I think Priya is about the same age as what Priyanka would be now. I am sure of it. Her features resemble her mothers." Then looking at Neha he said "And I think Neha is sure of it too."
"Priya has not told me much of her past. But I do know she was attacked once. And that she left home as a result of that attack. And that she was disappointed that her mother had not stood up for her." Neha said "but the two incidents could be totally unrelated and mere coincidences."
Abhay reached into his back pocket and took out a wallet. From it he produced a photo. In it a twelve-year-old child was smiling back. Her black hair fell in gentle curls around her shoulder. You could call her a pretty child, but what made her look truly beautiful, were her eyes.
"I have never seen Priya without her glasses, but I can bet anything, that her eyes are cobalt blue. Neha, am I right?" Abhay asked. Vikram too looked at Neha questioningly.
"The deepest cobalt blue: the clearest cobalt blue. God! Can it really be true? Why haven't you said anything to Priya?"
"Both Priya and her mother have this habit of disappearing on us. I wanted to make sure that Priya had reached a point when she could trust me enough to stay when I told her about us. Don't forget that she has been told that her grandparents are dead. I was hoping to befriend her, and once she trusted me enough, I would have told her my side of things. But then the two of them had to go and fall in love. And I could see that Priya was going to run anyway, unless I did something about it. The girl had already resigned. I thought if I could get her to admit her feelings or to stay on at R & K Kapoor a bit longer as a result of my so-called dislike of Ram, I could buy more time. I need that time, Neha."
"Abhay even if we are sure of Priya's feeling, Ram has not confirmed our suspicions. What if he is just being nice? Ram has always taken care of his employees. And since his brother's death, he has been extra careful of any employee who has a disability." Vikram put in,
"Ram's parting words this morning were Let's put it this way, Abhay, if Priya goes, as far as I am concerned, so do you'. Now why would a man jeopardise an annual quarter of a million dollar account, for a mere employee?" Abhay finished,
"So what do we do now? There is Trisha to think about, Priya's resignation, and Ram's feelings too." Neha started.
"You are going to concentrate on the little baby within you, and leave the rest to both of us. You haven't been well lately anyway." Vikram clarified.
"I agree with Vikram, though I will ask you to keep an eye on Priya for me. I know I hurt and upset her today. Until I get a chance to explain, please put in a good word for me every now and then. I don't want my only grandchild hating me too." Abhay said,
"Look I will take care of myself, but Ram is a very good friend of mine. I think I should be the one to talk to him." Neha argued,
"Don't tell him anything about our conversation. That all can wait till later. By the way, what's this about Priya having children? The times I have been there, she has been alone and she has never spoken of them." Abhay asked,
"Who told you she has children?" Neha asked,
"Ram, I think he thought the news would act as a deterrent to me." Abhay smiled,
"They are not her children. Priya does voluntary work at a cancer hospital. Their mother has cancer. Priya gets the children every alternate weekend, to give the parents time to rest and be by themselves. The mother is at her worst after her chemotherapy on Fridays and her husband likes to give his full attention to her needs. It's a regular arrangement at the moment. So I just hope, it's not going to be Ram who is going to be deterred by their presence." Yes, thought Neha, she needed to have that talk with Ram.
"And the wedding ring? I noticed she wears one." Abhay questioned,
"Even though Priya has pretty much recovered from that attack in physical terms, she is still emotionally scarred. She has done a lot to herself, in order to protect herself from anything like that happening again in the future. Trying to make herself look ugly and inconspicuous was one of her defenses. She had built a fortress around her against all men, but I guess she must have a guardian angel somewhere out there. In less than a week, she has two men fighting for her love. I used to pray that someone nice would come along for her. Now I hope that the someone nice', will want to stay." Neha became pensive. A lot of relationships could be irrevocably damaged if things did not turn out as they hoped. Their little game could back fire really badly on all of them.
Vikram and Abhay were thinking the same. Neha's meeting with Ram, was going to decide if they, the three match makers' were going to get involved.
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