Sorry guys!
I know that I am awfully late for updating, but I was really busy!
But here I am with a longer update than usual;)
CHAPTER 8:
Arnav got back with dinner only to find the most cute and mesmerising scene in front of him; Sameera clad in large yoga pants and plain T-Shirt and asleep (head down) on the table, with a lovely pout adorning her mouth. Then it him; there were so many candles lighting up the room and the poor soul has probably fallen asleep waiting for him.
"She's really putting up great efforts", thought Arnav, "shall I wake her up or not? But she has to take her medicines."
Hence, Arnav decided to carry her to their bedroom and lay her on bed. No matter how swollen she was, he thought he knew her touch, but then again why does he sense a different feeling?
He was broken out of his trance when Sameera stirred or rather hissed in pain.
"Hey, you're back?"
"Yeah, eh- actually, do you need something as in some pain killers?"
Damn me! How can I have betrayed such a loving and caring fianc?
"No-no Arnav. That's totally alright. I'll just have my medicine before and after dinner; which I hope isn't spicy," she said cheekily.
And then the killer smile came across his face.
"How about a dinner on bed, I mean it's nothing like the hospital right?"
"But..."
"No buts or ifs, don't worry, I won't let your arrangements go to waste. I shall bring your scented candles here itself," Arnav said with a smile.
Dinner was a rather quiet affair. Not one that Arnav was waiting for. He was expecting questions... A hell lots of questions. Still, he couldn't help but notice a distant look in Sameera's eyes, as if she was contemplating to ask him something. But what?
To be or not to be- That is the question!
Oh Shakespeare me... Huh??!! What crap?
Urrghh... What the!@#$ %^&*()
Arnav sat at his desk, staring blankly at his laptop. After dinner, he'd returned to his office to work as he usually did. He spent most evenings working. Newspapers didn't run themselves, and given that most of his days were filled with unproductive but necessary meetings, it was the only time he could dig through his email and actually get something done. Some people might've been bothered by the long hours he put in to keep the Observer at the top of its game, but Arnav didn't mind. In fact, over the past few years, his office and unending stream of work had become a sanctuary from his failing relationship.
And yet tonight, with at least a hundred unread emails in his inbox, he couldn't focus on the work. His thoughts kept straying to Sameera.
He watched her roam around the apartment through the glass French doors that separated his office from the living room. When he'd left to pick dinner, he thought things were okay between them. Better than okay if he let himself think too long about her shower-damp skin and the skimpy bath towel she was wrapped in. He hadn't seen that much of Sameera's body in quite some time, more precisely since the University Games where she was swimming champion in 400m freestyle; and his visceral reaction to her was immediate and powerful. Fortunately the brisk walk to the takeout place had served as a cold shower, and by the time he had returned, he had it under control.
But now she seemed nervous around him. They'd eaten their Thai food in their bedroom, filling the space between bites with harmless small talk. But he noticed an edge that wasn't there earlier. When the phone rang, she nearly launched from her seat to beat him to answering it, and it was just Vanshika checking to make sure she was settled in. The mother and daughter chatted while he cleaned up dinner and disappeared into his office.
Arnav couldn't help but think that maybe she'd picked up on his attention and it made her uncomfortable. He'd mentioned the possibility of a future together- nothing was impossible- but he wasn't sold on the idea. He just wished his body and brain were on the same page.
He wasn't surprised when she disappeared into the bedroom fairly early. She was probably exhausted after her first day out of the hospital. On top of the physical challenges, their talk had stirred up a lot of information that could be stressful to process. Dumping their past on her today was probably a mistake with her fragile condition, but she wanted honesty.
Given her nerves around him, he should probably sleep in the guest room tonight- not that they've been in any sort of that physical relationship before. It would however make everyone more comfortable, and he could use the space to keep objective about all this.
With the apartment silent, Arnav was able to focus on his work again. He finally shut down for the night near midnight. He would be up the next day by six, but those were standard hours for him. He could sleep when he was dead. Or retired. Whichever came first.
The next morning, he was up, dressed and having coffee by the time Sameera stumbled into the kitchen. She was wearing navy silk pyjamas under her robe, her hair pulled into a ponytail. Her eyes were still blurry and her face lined from a night of heavy sleep. The woman he knew would never let anyone, not even him, see her like this. She always emerged from the bedroom with her hair and makeup done. Arnav had to swallow his surprise in a large swig of coffee. He really needed to come to terms with Sameera as a new person, but it was hard to change his every expectation of her.
"Good morning," she said, gently rubbing her eyes.
"Morning, he replied, getting up to refill his mug. "Would you like some coffee?"
"No," she said wrinkling her nose. "I tried some in the hospital and didn't like it."
Arnav returned to the table and slid a plate with a couple pieces of buttered whole-wheat toast toward her. He couldn't stomach much more than that this early, but if he didn't eat something, he'd never make it through the morning column reviews. "I made some toast. There's tea and cocoa in the cabinet if you're interested."
Sameera settled into one of the kitchen chairs and took a piece of toast from the plate. She seemed a lot more relaxed than she had last night, and Arnav was relieved. Perhaps some time alone in the apartment would help her adjust.
"I hate to leave so soon after you got up, but I need to get to the office. I'm going to try not to stay too late."
"You work a lot," she commented.
Arnav shrugged, rising from the table and putting his mug in the sink. "I do what I have to. Now, the maid should be here today around noon, so you won't be alone. I asked her to make dinner so we don't have to go out. She's planning to go through all the classic recipes so you can try them. I think we're up for pot raost chicken tonight."
"Okay." She nodded, although her brow was wrinkled in confusion again.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"It feels weird to have someone cook and clean up after me. I guess it probably shouldn't, but it does."
"I'm sure you'll adjust to the luxury of it in no time, especially once you try Anita's eggplant parmesan. She's truly gifted in the kitchen. If you need anything," he said as he slipped into his suit coat, "call on my cell phone. I've left you a list of numbers on the refrigerator, including your folks and some friends if you get lonely."
"Thank you," she said, standing up to see him out.
They walked to the front door, where he grabbed his laptop bag. "I'll see you tonight." On reflex, Arnav started to lean in to give her a goodbye kiss. In that fraction of a second, he noticed her eyes widen and her body tense up. Given her reaction after yesterday's kiss, it was probably a horrible idea, even as a casual goodbye. He stopped short, pulling back awkwardly, and instead threw up a hand to wave and darted out into the hallway.
Travelling down the elevator, Arnav could only shake his head. What the hell was he doing? He certainly wasn't acting like a man on the verge of moving out. He was getting sucked in by her, like quicksand. The more he struggled, the more he was sure to sink.
It was better he get to the office as quickly as he could. At least there, he knew what he was doing.
Sameera stared at the closed apartment door, more confused than ever. Her heart had fluttered in her chest when she thought he might kiss her. Their kiss the night before hadn't really counted and just left her anxious for more. Arnav had set his hostility aside after their talk yesterday, but things were hardly on track for serious romance. She knew it was too soon for any of that. Kisses would only complicate things.
But that didn't stop her from fantasizing about what his kisses would feel like or how his mouth would taste. When he leaned close to her, the scent of his spicy cologne was enough to send her pulse racing. DHAK- DHAK-DHAK-DHAK... It made her thankful she wasn't still hooked up to hospital monitors that might give away her attraction to him.
Shaking her head, she locked the door and went back to her room to get dressed for the day. She wasn't exactly sure why- she had no intention of leaving- but it seemed like the thing to do. Reaching into the back of the closet, she pulled out a pair of khaki pants and a long-sleeved blouse in a dusty shade of pink and the slipped them both on with a pair of Christian Louboutin Louis Suede Sneakers.
Returning to the kitchen, she boiled water for tea and slathered another piece of toast with raspberry jam she found in the refrigerator. When the tea was ready, she poured a cup, grabbed her toast and went to explore the room Arnav had said was her private office.
She'd glanced at it briefly the day before but hadn't ventured inside. After their talk- and Shyam's call- she was afraid of what she'd find. Today, she wanted to tackle her past head-on and set it aside for good. She settled at the glass-and-chrome desk and ate while taking it all in. A large space on the desk was cleared off for her laptop, which had been destroyed in the crash. Stacked around it were glossy magazines and file folders. It was all very neat and precise. It made her want to reach out and shuffle some of the pages around. There was simply too much perfection.
Across from her desk were a red leather love seat and a chrome-and-glass coffee table. Several large advertising posters and a few framed magazine ads were hung on the wall for products she recognized. Her best guess was that these were campaigns she designed. Her family told her she was a successful partner in Madison Avenue advertising agency.
Looking at them, a feeling of unease washed over her.
Not only were they completely unfamiliar, but she had no thoughts about the marketing strategies that went into them. All she could come up with was that she liked the dress one of the modes was wearing. That was it.
Without her memory, she was going to need a carer backup plan, and fast. Especially if Arnav opted o leave as planned. He'd left the door open for a relationship, putting the ball in her court to decide what she wanted. If she'd really hurt him as badly as he'd said. He was right to leave and she wouldn't blame him. But last night's discussion with Shyam had shown her that she did want to try for more with Arnav. She wanted him to stay, and not just for the financial support.
And yet, knowing he always had one foot out the door made her hesitant to invest too much. She might be the one to get hurt this time. It was a sobering thought that sent her scrambling for a chore to occupy her mind.
Sameera opted to start shuffling through paperwork, partially out of curiosity and partially out of hope that it might jog something in her head. She opened files and thumbed through pages about different campaigns and clients. Mostly it was unfamiliar gobbled-gook. The advertising lingo was completely lost on her.
Setting them aside, she opened a drawer in her desk and fished around. At the front of the drawer were neatly stacked and aligned office supplies. Further back was a pile of envelopes. Sameera pulled them out and eyed the outside. They were all addressed to her. Some of the postmarks went back as much as a year.
Picking the oldest one, she removed the letter and started reading it. It was a love letter from Shyam. An actual, hand-written love letter. It was sort of an odd thing to do in this day and age, but he explained in the first one how he thought it was the only sincere way to express how he felt. Email was cold and impersonal. She'd probably kept the incriminating letters for their sentimental value.
With a sigh, Sameera sat back into her chair. She knew she'd had an affair, but being confronted with evidence of it was disconcerting. It was quite the romance they'd shared. He was a struggling artist she met at a gallery show. Since that time, they'd been meeting secretly at lunch, going away for weekends together under the guise of business trips and taking advantage of Arnav's long hours by flaunting their relationship in the apartment she shared with him.
The letters were more romantic than she'd expected from a fling. She couldn't know what she wrote back to him, but they seemed to be in love. It boggled her mind, not jiving with what everyone told her about herself. How did an uptown society girl fall in love with a poor artist from the Bronx? She didn't understand. Was she just using Shyam, or was she too embarrassed to be with him publicly? Daddy and Mommy certainly wouldn't approve. Did loving Shyam and marrying Arnav somehow give her the best of both worlds?
Sameera felt sick and was thankful to only have toast in her stomach. She thought she wanted to regain insight into her old life, but now she never wanted to remember the truth. She wanted to erase it all.
Piling the letters into a heap on her desk, she dug around for anything else incriminating. Her laptop and cell phone were gone, so any digital evidence of her relationship with Shyam went down with the plane. If and when she got a new computer, she'd purge anything left behind in her accounts. Arnav had already mentioned replacing her cell phone. She'd make sure to ask for a new number that Shaym couldn't get his hands on. In her office file cabinet, she found a folder with various cards from Valentines' Day and her birthday inside. None were from Arnav. Those were added to the pile, as were some photos of Sameera and a black haired Indian man she didn't recognise. They looked far too cozy and the location far too tropical. She could take no chances with this. It all had to go.
By the time the housekeeper, Anita, arrived, Sameera had a fairly stack of things to destroy. She went out to meet the woman in the living room. She was a pleasantly plump older woman with greying hair. Quite efficient, she'd already begun dusting the mantle over the fireplace when Sameera found her there.
The fireplace. Perfect.
"Miss Shroff." She smiled, although Sameera didn't detect much sincere warmth behind it. "It's so good to see you back home. I'll do y best to stay out of your way."
Her housekeeper didn't seem to like her either. Did anyone? "Please call me Sameera. And you're no trouble. I'm happy to have someone here with me. Let me know if I can help you with anything. I feel bad just sitting around watching you work.
Anita looked as though she was struggling to hide the surprise on her face, simply nodding when she apparently failed. "Thank you Miss Shroff, but I can manage. Do you need anything before I get started?"
Since she asked..."Actually, I'm a little chilled this afternoon. I'd love to just curl up with a book in here. Any chance we could get the fireplace going?"
PRECAP
Sameera shares her career fears with Arnav on a day out😊
Hey people, I know that I am late as usual, but normally, the story is always ahead two to four chapters in advance however, typing has never been my forte... Not even during my computer classes at school😕
-ISHMEETA
PS: Dear readers, please send me BUDDY REQUESTS for future updates, it'll be easier for me to send PMs!!
Thanks😃
Edited by Ish-Loves-Anya - 13 years ago
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