Part 2- The Girl in the Paintings
Viraj was going mad. It had been six days since the party and every painting that Kabir drew was of Mrs. Nisha Raghavan. He refused to tell him what had transpired between them, but Viraj knew it was nothing like his other one-night stands.
"What is so special about her? Other than her bitchy attitude at business meetings and her sharp mind?" Viraj yelled in frustration as his brother mixed the paints.
"I can't answer you, Bhai. Have you met her before? How is she?" His eyes twinkled.
Viraj sighed. "She knows her way with business. If it wasn't for her, her husband would have been doomed." Kabir nodded. "If Ritesh Raghavan is the king in chess, she is the queen. She knows how to handle bas***ds." "Except for one., her husband" Kabir smirked.
"What did you do with her?" Viraj asked.
"Nothing, I swear." Viraj cocked up his eyebrow.
"Fine, we just kissed." Kabir continued painting.
"Then why are you obsessed with her?"
"I don't know," Kabir said and smirked. He himself had no idea why was he so obsessed. He was so obsessed that he had reduced his drug intake too. Kabir refused to leave his gallery and had painted about fifteen paintings of her.
Viraj had almost fainted when he had seen her first sketch. It was the best he had seen, till date. Kabir hadn't allowed him to speak her name, for some stupid reason, a pact that the two had made at the party. Finally, Viraj had almost shouted the name to him, going that knowing her name would make him realize how stupid he was behaving, but Kabir had thought that the name was the most beautiful one.
Someone knocked at the door and Viraj opened it, just enough to see who it was. He couldn't afford to see his father witness his brother's new obsession, their business rival. It was one of the house staff.
"Sir, a Mrs. Laxmi Gangwal is here to see you. She says that she wants to talk to Kabir sir, about her daughter Nisha Raghavan."
Viraj's eyes went wide with horror. He nodded and closed the door. Kabir was looking at him, confused.
"Mrs. Raghavan's mother? You didn't get her pregnant, did you?" Viraj yelled.
"Which woman got pregnant by kissing, may I know? Now, when she comes, I want you to leave!" Kabir mocked him. He nodded. A few minutes later, a woman in a white saree entered the room and Viraj left.
"I see where Nisha gets her beauty from," Kabir smirked flirtatious. Laxmi looked at the pictures in utter shock. She was dumbfounded and gasped for words.
"I am sorry, did you say something?" She asked in a few seconds.
"You shouldn't do this to yourself, Mr. Singh Rathore," She spoke, before he repeated his statement.
"I promised her a sketch," He replied.
"One sketch." Her voice was flat.
"I have found my inspiration," He pointed around the room.
"Did you know anything about her, other than the fact that her husband raped her almost every night after getting drunk, and she yearned to be loved?" She asked him.
"No," He said and felt his heartbeat increase.
"Is she fine?" Laxmi nodded in a no and burst into tears.
"She committed suicide, three days after the party." Kabir felt the world spin around him. He held the canvas to support himself. Laxmi fell to the ground.
"She was three-week pregnant and that night, after she left the party, she started bleeding. That night's injuries led to her injuries. Her doctor told her about her pregnancy, which she wasn't aware of, and her miscarriage. She went in severe depression. She locked herself in a room and refused to come out for two days. After that, she hung herself."
Kabir looked at the mother who had just lost her child and then at the paintings. He had drawn a beautiful smile for her. That smile, those lips, those eyes! They were dead.
"You should stop this Mr. Singh Rathore, she is dead! Please don't bring her back, I beg you!" She joined her hands and started crying. "We didn't deserve her here. We broke her, murdered her almost every day. She is happy wherever she is." She cried for a few minutes.
"Whatever this is that you share, it's not love. I am not sure about lust, but it's an obsession and it can harm you Mr. Singh Rathore. You have a whole life infront of you, don't spoil it. I am sure Nisha wouldn't have liked it if you hurt yourself, like this, in such an unsual way. This has to end."
But for Kabir, it all seemed to have already ended. He couldn't think of anything but the taste of vodka and chocolate that he had tasted that day. The chocolate brown eyes seemed to haunt him. Tears trickled down his cheeks.
"She never shared her feelings, but I found a letter that night. She hurled curses at her husband and father, blamed me for being weak and spoke of you. She said that she wanted to be with you, maybe for another night, if not for a lifetime. Her letter made it evident that she didn't know your name, but I wanted to find out who was the man she was talking about, and my personal assistant informed me that it was you, this morning. I came to inform you of her death Mr. Singh Rathore. I should take your leave now," Before he could say anything, Mrs. Gangwal stood up and left.
Viraj entered the room in a few hours. The suicide was all over the news by now. He screamed in shock as he looked at his brother, lying on the floor, among the paintings. The white powder was spread all over the latest painting he was working on. He tried to wake Kabir up, but he felt no pulse, no heartbeat. His face had an cold expression, and his eyes were closed. A few seconds, reality hit him. The artist, like his masterpiece, was dead.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Edited by _._shibani_._ - 7 years ago
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