Part Twenty Four: Paradise Segment_1
"How did you find me? I still can't believe this." Amar held her hand and walked toward the nearest bench to sit.
"Sharad dropped me here. He broke off the engagement." Amar beamed with love and pride for his best friend. Divya realized that she didn't need to say anything more. Sharad and Amar know each other so well, love each other so much, he fully figured out what Sharad did! Nothing more needs to be said!
"I didn't even thank him." She looked down.
He embraced her shoulder and kissed her head, "He is beyond petty formality D." He smiled pressing his both lips together.
"So what should we do now?" Divya anxiously asked holding on to Amar's hands and snuggling closer.
"Lets go tell your parents and then find a priest to get married" Amar squeezed her hands and winked trying to lift her spirits up!
"Really?" She felt elated at the thought of it even though she knew Amar was joking!
"You are so adorable Divya. No, we can't marry like this. What will your parents think? You went out this evening all set to marry Sharad and now return home dead set to marry me, it will be the shock of their lives! I need to tell my parents too. So now we will have dinner somewhere because I am starving. Funny I didn't realize that till now!" He smiled. He touched her face and added, "I have so much to say to you Divya!"
"I am starving too. I barely ate anything last two days." She continued, "But I don't want to go home today." She whined as he led her to the car rentals! Amar rented a car and they went to Divya's favorite Italian restaurant.
"Where will you stay tonight? We need to find you a hotel" Divya said as they waited for their dinner.
"Actually I have an apartment in Dupont Circle. Sharad made me buy it last year. He thought it was a good investment."
When they were done eating, it was almost 11 at night. He paid the bill and took her hand and went to the parking lot. "It's getting late. I should take you home now."
"Can't I stay with you tonight, please?"
He started laughing seeing her cute pleading face, "You are most welcome but what will your parents say?" he held her nose and shook it gently a couple of times. "Lets go!"
She made a serious face, "I am not telling them about us right away. If I tell now, they won't let me stay with you tonight. But we have so much to talk. I can't imagine staying apart even for one second. So I will just lie." She smiled guiltily. "I will tell them I spending the night at a friends house."
"Omg! Are you serious?" He burst out laughing this time, "Divya, it's not right to lie to parents."
"Everything is fair in love and war darling."
"You are crazy."
"It's not my fault. You are responsible for it. You leave me alone the first chance you get. Did it eight years ago! I told you, I will never give you that chance anymore! You can't even imagine how sad I was all these years, the past month was the worst! In the last two days I wanted to die so many times! You can't imagine how I feel now. Please let me stay Amar! Please?" she was on the verge of crying.
"Ok! Please D, don't cry! Call your parents and tell them you will be late. We will go to my place and talk for a bit and then I will drop you. How does that sound?"
Divya beamed as if the she won a million dollar lottery. Who'd guess she was almost shattered a second ago!
Amar looked at her and chuckled, "This type of blackmailing won't work always D, so don't think about using it often."
"We will see." She smugly smiled back!
They entered his apartment in Dupont circle. It had an amazing view of the Mall and the Monument.
"It's a little dusty because this time I stayed at Sharad's place. Make yourself at home; let me see if I have coffee."
Divya looked around the living room and then went to the balcony. She stared at the Monument and its red eyes blinked back and kept on blinking.
Amar came back with two mugs of hot chocolate. "Sorry I don't have any coffee!" he handed her a mug.
"Amar, how will we face Sharad again? How will he cope?" She asked earnestly.
"He has a huge heart Divya. He knows we never meant to hurt him in any way. It was beyond our control! He realized he is standing in between us and did what any true friend would do. He is hurting now for sure but trust me he is immensely happy for us too. I just hope Sarah realizes her mistake and comes back or he finds someone who would love him back." He ended in a sad tone.
Divya didn't say anything. She felt as if she committed a sin, hurting a true friend, who deserves to be happy. She kept looking down at her feet. Amar seeing her silent, continued,
"And about seeing him again, he is my brother, my best friend D, an inseparable part of my life. Don't worry, he will show up with a huge smile pasted in his face. He will never make you feel awkward."
"I am sorry. I messed up. I have created this awkwardness between you two. May even have distanced you two!" Tears welled up in her eyes.
"Hey!" he put down his mug down, and held her face with both his hands, "You did nothing wrong. Nothing can cause even a scratch in our friendship. I would have done the same for him without even thinking. Nothing between us has changed. Don't worry about it. He will come round. If you have married him, it would have been even worse for him! This is the best solution Divya. I am so proud of him for taking the right decision!"
She didn't say anything, sighed and rested her head on his chest, embracing him at his waist. He leaned his chin on her head and held her. They stood there in embrace and in silence.
Arjun
