~Chapter 1~
"Raman Kumar Bhalla", he turned as he heard someone call his name, only to be disgusted by the source of the voice.
"Ashok", he acknowledged the tall, well-built man who stood in front of him; the man whom he had come to loathe with every fibre of his being.
"I'm surprised you're here, Raman. You do know that this happens to be an award function, don't you? Come to celebrate my impending victory?" He smirked as he swirled the glass of champagne in his hand.
"Ashok, my friend," Raman smiled back sarcastically, "the last time I checked, the award was for the best CEO of the year; not for CEOs with pea-sized brains. So let's not jump to conclusions, shall we?" He walked away, wiping the smirk off Ashok's face.
Later that evening..
"..And the award goes to Mr.Raman Bhalla, CEO of PSR Group of industries!!"
He was the centre of attention for the rest of the evening. He had surprised both his contemporaries and superiors alike with his victory. Not that he didn't deserve it, but for someone as young as him, to win such an award in a competitive industry was a matter of great honour. He felt elated; as if he had been running a marathon, and had finally crossed the finish line that he had been chasing for so long.
"Congratulations, Raman." He heard her voice, and froze for an instant.
She stepped forward so that she was now standing face-to-face with him. She was easily the most beautiful woman at the gathering. But the hatred he felt towards her was so overwhelming that he noticed none of her obvious beauty. All he saw was the woman who had betrayed him, who had broken their sacred vows of marriage and walked out of his life. Shagun Arora, his ex-wife, was the reason his life had turned into an endless rut of sadness and misery; the reason he had made it his life's mission to be as wealthy and successful as the man she had left him for. And he had finally triumphed. He had finally dethroned Ashok Khanna and was now the most successful CEO of the country.
He had always wondered what it would feel like. Would he see regret in her eyes? Would she realize that she had been a fool to have thrown away his love? He didn't want her back. The day he had come to know of her betrayal had been the day his love for her had died completely. Nevertheless, he had wanted her to realize that he had always been capable of giving her what she wanted; that she had made a mistake in choosing Ashok over him. But as he looked at her, he saw nothing but a smug smile on her face.
"Raman", she called again, "Hello..!"
He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself and replied, "The thing is, Shagun, I'm in a really good mood right now, and I don't want to ruin it by talking to you."
"Oh, come on, Raman," she flashed a smile at him, "don't be so childish." When she got nothing but a glare from him in response, she continued, "I don't believe this! It's been three years since the divorce, and you're clearly still affected by it! It's not healthy, Raman. Let it go. You should move on."
"Baby, don't waste your time", Ashok stepped in between them and wrapped an arm around Shagun's waist. "Some people are just not worth it." Then looking and Raman, he added, "By the way, congratulations, Raman. You've clearly come a long way, man. I didn't know you had it in you." He sneered at him, "You remind me of my early days you know. Even I had the same zeal, the passion, the will to succeed.. but how things have changed now! Lately, I've had to divert my passions elsewhere." He grip on Shagun tightened as he said that. Clearly enjoying the anger evident on Raman's face, he spoke to Shagun, "By the way, babe, did you give Raman the good news?"
"Oh, I completely forgot." She turned to Raman and happily announced, "Ashok and I are getting married next month. We're throwing a small party this weekend to make it official.."
"We would have invited you," interrupted Ashok, "but considering the circumstances, we didn't want things to get awkward."
Raman didn't realise when his hands had curled into fists at his sides. He noticed the glint in Ashok's eyes and painfully realized that he hadn't really won after all.
"Oh, then I must congratulate you both", he heard himself say. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's getting late and I should get going."
He made his way to the parking lot in a haze, and slumped against his car. He had heard people say that revenge was sweet. But he felt nothing but bitterness inside him as he remembered the way Shagun had looked at Ashok, her fingers entwined in his, her eyes full of love. He clutched the award that he had received that evening and wondered why in spite of everything that he had achieved, he still felt like a failure.
He couldn't bear it anymore. The pain.. the humiliation..it was getting too much for him. She was ruining his life, bit by bit, and he needed to do something about it. He knew that his work was his only respite. Then there was also his family to think about. They're all that mattered to him now. But for the sake of his sanity, he needed to get as far away from Shagun as possible. And fast.
*****
A loud clap of thunder made him swerve his car to a halt at the side of the road. He gripped the steering wheel tightly as memories of the previous night washed over him, and he felt a fresh wave of fury swamp his senses. Getting out, he slammed the car door shut and glanced upward. He swore as he saw the angry clouds that had darkened the sky overhead.
He had driven around aimlessly for a few hours last night unable to go home. He knew his family would be overjoyed about the award, but he had been in no mood to celebrate, and overcome by exhaustion, he had ended up falling asleep in his car. By the time he had woken up, he had made up his mind. He would move to Mumbai.
He needed to get his bearings, and he needed to throw her out of his life, once and for all. The more he thought about it, the more his resolve strengthened. And so, without thinking about much else, without even informing his family, he had set off in his car away from his home, away from Delhi.
He had been driving for three hours straight, he realized, as he checked his watch. So lost had he been in his thoughts that he hadn't been concentrating much on the road. He noticed now that the traffic on the highway had increased substantially, and he reckoned that if it began raining, it would take him many more hours than anticipated to reach Mumbai.
What's the big rush? It's not like anyone's waiting for me there,' he muttered to himself.
Looking around, he saw that he had stopped near a small restaurant, and headed towards it deciding that he needed a break, anyway. Besides, judging by the way the wind had picked up, he wondered if he would reach a decent hotel in time and figured that he needed to restock for the long drive that lay ahead of him.
"Jassi da Dhaba," he read on a signboard nearby. The restaurant, though not very lavish, was quite crowded. Travellers', he mused, as he spotted a bus parked nearby. There was a counter at one end and long, wooden tables scattered around the area with benches arranged on either side of the tables as seats. The tables were placed in the open air for which he was glad, as he felt the cool breeze ruffle through his hair. He bought a glass of tea for himself and as he made his way to one of the empty tables, his phone began ringing.
He saw Mihir's name flash across the screen and sighed. Mihir had been calling him incessantly, and he now felt guilty for having kept him in the dark about his whereabouts. He answered the call as he sat down.
"Bhai, where have you been? I've been trying to reach you since hours. Everyone's starting to get worried here."
"Mihir, will you listen to me for a sec. I'm on my way to Mumbai. I'll call you once I reach, alright?"
"What? Bhai, but why Mumbai? You didn't even come back home last night. What is it? Did anything happen at the function? Shagun was there, wasn't she? Did she.."
"Enough, Mihir," He snapped at him, "Look, I won't say anything right now. Just manage everything at home, will you?"
He heard nothing but silence at the other end for a few seconds.
"Mihir..?"
"Okay bhai," he heard Mihir's reluctant voice. "But remember that we're always with you no matter what, and we want you to be happy. So please don't do anything silly. And keep me in the loop, bhai."
"Fine!" he muttered and cut the call.
He closed his eyes, feeling helpless. For now, he only hoped that his decision would provide him with some peace of mind, at the very least, if nothing else, because happiness was something he had given up on long ago.
He sighed, and looking up, was surprised to notice that he was no longer the sole occupant at the table. He almost got up to leave, irritated that his moment of solitude had been disturbed, but then he took a look at the woman sitting across him, and found himself unable to look away.
Edited by nrn1486 - 10 years ago
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