Chapter 62: What's love got to do with
it? – Part 3
Before she could ask
what mystery liquid the bottle contained, Gauri continued.
"But if you fail
even after this practically fail-safe method, then you must admit defeat." She turned around now. "And you must get out of his life. No more embarrassing public advances or
displays of your ardor for him."
Ah, so that's what she really wanted. But…
"I take it your
husband does not know that you are setting me loose on him with the assistance
of whatever this practically fail-safe
method is?" She asked Gauri as she shook
the bottle in her hand.
Gauri did not answer
that question and this time, her eyes swept low once before she raised them
again.
Thalia gave a small
laugh as she walked toward Gauri.
"I see… so, a part
of you wants me to see that Shiv is definitely not interested in me and this final
experiment is going to prove that. And
another part of you is dreading how this experiment will really play out."
Gauri turned around
to look out the window again.
"Trust is just a
word I see…" Thalia said, if only to rub
it in again.
"Thalia, I don't
know that a woman who attempts to publicly claim another woman's husband by
cheap displays of lust is any authority of trust. If anything, it shows that she is operating
under a practically non-existent moral code that has nothing remotely to do
with a virtue like trust. So, save me
the preaching."
"Sanctimonious
much?" Thalia couldn't resist asking.
"No, actually
not. But I have also not made it a habit
to openly pursue adultery."
"But see, that's
where you would be wrong. I am
blissfully single. It means that I can
go after any man I want and it would not be adultery."
"Would you like me
to be more precise in my choice of words, Thalia? That you are a debauched, devious, depraved
tart who promotes adultery?"
"Gauri, I am not
quite sure if you are convincing me to sleep with your husband or stay away
from him. Make up your mind girl. Which one is it?"
This time she
watched Gauri take a deep breath before turning around.
"I want you to
seduce my husband. If you lose, like I said before, you will back off."
"And if I win?"
There was just a
moment of startled confusion in her eyes before she collected herself and said,
"If you win, you can have him. It should
be easy enough to grant him a divorce on the basis on adultery."
"Grant him? Ha!
You do have quite a way with words.
So, you will grant him a
divorce on the basis on adultery? Now, I
am starting to wonder if this is not just a ploy you and your old lover hatched
just so that you can get a divorce and go back to him." Thalia wondered out loud as she wandered
across the room.
"Don't put you and
me in the same category!" Gauri's eyes
flashed with anger now.
"Oh come on Gauri,
don't be a hypocrite! You are asking me
to test your husband's faithfulness to you.
Either that, or you want to be out of this marriage so that you can go
back to your ex. Those are the only two
reasons good enough to make up a convoluted scheme like this. So, don't be like a pot and call my kettle
black."
"Thwarting you
wouldn't be enough of a reason?" Gauri
asked.
"There are many less
painful ways to thwart me. After all,
there's always a possibility that your incredibly sexy husband with his
glorious charm and wit and – I am making a conjecture here - amazing prowess in
bed – would be tempted and just give in to a woman like me." She watched with a smile as Gauri turned back
around to the window. The girl was easy to provoke when it came to
Shiv. "Like I said, there are far less painful ways to do this otherwise… But at least with your ex-lover, you can be
guaranteed that there would be no cheating.
The man doesn't look like he has balls enough to run a red-light, much
less commit adultery."
"And yet, he managed
to find the balls to leave me on the
eve of our wedding to go rescue some miserable, selfish lowlife from her last
escapade, whatever it was. Something
tells me that there is lot more to him than he ever let on."
Her heart clenched
for a second as she stopped in her tracks.
"Maybe it was unavoidable this last time. Maybe it won't happen ever again." She said in a low voice without thinking.
"And how would you
know that?" Gauri turned around from the
window and asked.
She shook off
whatever emotion that had seized her in that second and forced herself to face
Gauri.
"I don't. I was merely making a guess. Either way, it appears we are at a
stalemate. I think we could go all
evening making assumptions about each other's motives, but ultimately it is all
irrelevant. What matters is whether I
will agree or not."
Gauri nodded.
"I will agree on one
condition. And you cannot ask me any
questions about it."
Gauri tilted her
head in a motion asking her to continue.
"Do I have your
word?"
"I will agree to
consider it."
"Alright then. If I am successful, I want your word that you
will give a fair chance to the man who is now back in your life."
"The man who is now
back in my life? You mean,
Shashank?" Gauri asked, perplexed.
Thalia nodded.
"What is it to
you?" Gauri asked.
"I told you, no
questions. I would like your word that
you will strongly consider it. He loves
you very much."
Gauri appeared
poised to ask more, but then stopped herself.
"Very well then. Once you drink it, you will have roughly
twenty minutes before you feel the effects."
"Which is what?"
"It makes you more
desirable, Thalia. I know that you may not think there is a need,
but believe me. This will make you irresistible to any man."
This time Thalia
laughed out loud. "This I Got To See."
"Believe me, I know
it works. I was the first human subject
that it was tried on."
"You're
serious?" Thalia asked now, looking at
the seemingly ordinary bottle and its contents.
"Like a
heart-attack" Gauri replied for the
second time that day.
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Edited by sridevi27 - 13 years ago
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