Can Love Be a Reason or Mistake? - Part 2

She burst into tears. Samarth invited her to stay at his place till the water situation was brought into control.  She literally swam through the water to reach his place. Samarth was waiting for her at the doorstep. There was no power in the building. She collapsed in his arms.  Samarth caressed her forehead and puller her into his arms, hugging her tightly. She never felt safer. She had a quick shower and put on Samarth’s shirt and the duo had dinner under candle light. They sat on the couch close to each other reliving their college days. Shreya couldn’t stop looking at Samarth’s eyes. In spite of the darkness, his eyes comforted her. The events of that day were haunting her with even though she knew she was safe. Her fingers were trembling while she held the cup of coffee, her favorite Cappuccino flavor that he offered. Samarth could feel her fear which was quite obvious from her expressions even though she was trying hard to look normal.

Samarth sat beside her and as he was covering her with a shawl, he hugged her and whispered in her ear, ‘Don’t worry, you are fine. I am there with you right. You are my brave Shreya.’ Tears started rolling down her cheeks as she let go the shawl and cried embracing him. She had no clue what was happening but then she wished to be with him. While he told her to calm and he wiped her tears, his fingers caressed her cheeks. His kissed her forehead and she was speechless. ‘Can I kiss you, Shreya’, he asked. Time stilled that moment and all she wanted was love. She leaned in to kiss him.  And within no time, they were exploring each other’s bodies. It was the first time she felt like a passionate lover as in the novels she read, craving for physical pleasure. Samarth was warm and wanted to shower his feelings of concern for her. The severity of the rain slowed down and the sound of the winds calmed down by mid night. That night, Shreya slept peacefully. When she woke up next morning, she saw Samarth lying next to her. She didn’t know how to react and left without informing him. Facing Samarth at work became difficult after that. Though she didn’t feel guilty about the fact that they made love, there was something that she couldn’t understand about the relationship.

The week at office was uneasy for her. She was finding a name for her relationship with Samarth. She was a small town girl, ambitious and was confused about what happened. Days passed and Samarth’s boss, who was also his friend, was moving out of town. Samarth had discretely told Shreya few weeks before the night episode, he got the news that she needs to look for a job as the company was not performing so well in the last few months. But Shreya loved the comfort zone she was in and the pay was more than sufficient to pay off her rent. After that night, Samarth had called up many a times as if nothing really happened. She was afraid to ask him fearing something which was unable to understand. He had of course asked if she was fine and she had said with a positive answer, she was. She loved listening to Samarth every day despite the emotional upheavals and believed that everything would work out fine. She had fallen for Samarth.

By the end of the month, Samarth went on long leave.  Shreya’s heart was literally jumping with joy when he came back. But Samarth didn’t look his usual best. He told Shreya that he had a girlfriend who was a Bengali, but his parents didn’t want him to marry her as they wanted him to marry a girl from their caste and from Lucknow.  That’s when it struck Shreya. There was another woman in Samarth’s life, with whom she wanted to spend the rest of his life with. She was shocked. She had no idea how to cheer him up and handle her own emotions at the same time. She choked. She didn’t ask him a single question. Instead, she got him a glass of water and gave him a comforting hug. He smiled. When she returned to her seat, her heart was pounding. What was happening to her? She confessed to Samarth that there was more to the relationship and that she had fallen for him.

But the moment she confessed her feelings for her, he began acting strange. She started losing focus at work so much so that when Samarth quit as hinted, she put in her papers without another job in hand. Samarth had begun maintaining a distance from her. When the frequency of calls had come down drastically, she began stalking him online. Though Samarth lived in the same city, he was barely in touch with her.

She willed herself to not check her phone to see if he had replied. It had been about three days now. She hated that she was constantly checking his 'last seen at' status and yes, he had logged in just five minutes ago. Yet she couldn't stop herself. This sinking feeling to find absolutely no communication from him was becoming unbearable, almost torturous.

And then, just as she sat down in her chair, her phone vibrated. With her heart thudding in her ear, she unlocked her phone and stared at the screen. Finally! It was his message.

But when she opened it and read it, she nearly stopped breathing. She didn't know if he was joking or not. What was this?

 ‘It was a mistake. Look I am sorry. You trust me right?  I am getting engaged next week and its time you accepted the truth. I tried helping you that night. There’s nothing more to it. My parents and I want you to be there for the engagement function. Please come Shreya. Thanks, Samarth’.

She considered him her best friend, mentor and a loving person. He understood her much better than her; and she had always respected his feelings and valued his words. But when she wanted to hear those magical words from him, all she received was ‘a mistake’.

The entire phase in her life seeking his love and care was gone- just like that. What was she to do now?