"One ought to always lie, when one can do good by it"

~Mark Twain~

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Reyansh had been dreading the thought of meeting Aabha alone; he had an inkling that she would not be pleased with having been forced to accept the Rathores' proposal. He was also not sure as to why Ishaani had not agreed to his idea of simply telling Shaurya the truth about him and Aabha; in his opinion that was the simplest thing to do and would have avoided all these unpleasant encounters. When he had mentioned the same, she had given a smile, just as one would do to a child who cannot be explained to and patting his cheek had said, "Trust me, I have very valid reasons."

'Valid reasons, my foot,' he thought, easy for her to say when he was the one who had to go around implementing the plan. The first step was easy enough, as Ishaani had predicted, his uncle had quite readily agreed to the entire thing; to sending the dossier on Shaurya's achievements, the idea that they seek expert assistance for the proposed organisational re-engineering as well as to the suggestion that the person be Aabha, and had also volunteered to smooth things over with the family. 

In the company's subsequent weekly progress meeting, Reyansh updated that he had taken the chance to send the dossier detailing the backward integration process with a request to include it as a case study and also casually mentioned that it could be a good idea if an expert could be brought on board to enable better operational efficiency. He slowly expounded his cause; they could have a tie-up with a reputed institution, whose students could be considered for placements in the Rathore Industries, at various levels, summer trainees or as full-time employees, and they could take advantage of the additional publicity that would garner. It would further help build the image of the Company too, as a prospective employer. When his suggestions were enthusiastically received, it was a very relieved Reyansh who then prepared for the next step.

He pulled out the dossiers they had already prepared on the professionals to be considered and sent them to Shaurya. The next step had been to ensure that Shaurya raised no objection to finalise Aabha's selection. He reminded Shaurya about their decision to bring in an expert for the re-engineering project and requested Shaurya to approve Aabha's appointment. Shaurya looked into the file giving her academic qualifications and when he saw the photograph, he was startled; he had not been told that Dr Aabha Sanyal was Ishaani's sister. Shaurya was hesitant, keeping aside the fact that she was Ishaani's sister, which would in no way influence his decision, and while he agreed that her academic qualifications were good, he was not going to approve of her as she did not appear to have had any major experience in organisation re-engineering. All her consultation assignments had been for very brief periods and in conjunction with her thesis for her doctorate.

It was at this point that Reyansh fully appreciated Ishaani's propensity to think ahead, he had been sure that Aabha's professional qualifications were certainly good enough for the proposal to be carried through, but Ishaani had not wanted to leave anything to chance. Hence a very watered-down version of the truth was told to Shaurya.

Thus Reyansh mentioned Dadiji's ultimatum to Shaurya, who as expected, agreed that it was indeed high time that he and Ishaani were married. He also firmly stated that Reyansh's stance of waiting till he got married was sheer stupidity and unfair to Ishaani too. Reyansh pretended to waver and finally capitulated stating that he was ready but then Ishaani was still stubbornly clinging to the condition that her sister should get married before she did. Reyansh closed his eyes as he struggled to gather the strength for the next few lines he would say. 

He opened them to see that Shaurya had finished reading the other two files and was back to Aabha's file. That gave him some courage and in what he hoped was an even tone, he then continued, " Bhai, I do not know why Aabha left home nor why she refuses to come back, all I know is that Ishaani is being stubborn. I love her, Bhai and if you agree for Aabha's appointment we can ensure that at least she is here for her sister's wedding. Please, can you help me?"

Reyansh could never identify what made him say the next few words, it would be an eternal puzzle for him, maybe it was desperation or frustration but as he looked at Shaurya who was still not convinced, it was in blind panic that he promised, "I only have one request, do approve Aabha's appointment. And I promise I will never ask anything else of you. Shall we make a deal?"

Shaurya could feel it in his gut that there was more to what Reyansh was saying than what met the eye and Reyansh could never really keep an impassive face in front of Shaurya. He was sure that there was something quite unusual in the way Reyansh was pushing for Aabha's appointment and he would have had much more to say till he heard the last line. And somewhere, something in his mind clicked; an echo of him saying those words and a sudden warmth enveloped him, strange and familiar at the same time, lost in that feeling, he nodded his acquiescence.

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It was almost another week before Aabha could leave for the two-month assignment with the Rathore Industries. She was yet undecided if she would stay with her family during that period or take advantage of the accommodation facilities being provided for the other two members of her team.

The two-hour car journey to the city that held so many lovely memories and had also caused her such agony, was difficult for Aabha. She was trying to maintain her composure but was not sure how long she could hold up. She then decided that it was a better idea to go home first, if she broke down, at least she would have the comfort of her family. She also felt guilty that she had chosen to stay away from them all these years.

But as she neared her colony, Aabha hesitated with her decision, it had been almost three years since she had left her home and this city, the regular phone calls would always leave everyone emotionally drained as they often ended in tears, for all of them. She got out of the car and wondered if she was doing the right thing, she knew that however understanding her family was at her stance of not coming back, they were also hurt that she had stayed away from them. Seeing the house brought back all the fond memories of the times she had spent with her family and for the first time since she had left home, she felt a sharp regret for the pain her absence must have caused.

She stood at the gate, unsure as to whether to walk in or simply go back, but then the option of turning away disappeared as her team members had already given instructions to the cab driver to proceed to their guest house. It was then she realised that she need not have worried; Ishaani, who was aware of her plans, had half hoped that Aabha would come home and was actually pacing the veranda. The moment the car stopped and Aabha stepped out to the gate, she was met by a shrieking Ishaani who had simply run to the gate and hugged Aabha as though her life depended on it. Her screams had caught the attention of her family and soon Aabha found herself swamped by all of them. She was glad that her colleagues had already left, 'it was a good thing,' 'she thought, 'they would have probably scared off by her crazy family's histrionics. But that was when she realised how much she missed her mad family.

It was much later during the day, when they gave her the news of Ishaani's forthcoming wedding, that Aabha had her first doubts, she did not believe in coincidences. And she knew that Reyansh would have never had the idea to bring her in nor could he work up the courage to convince Shaurya, so it must have been Ishaani who had initiated the whole thing and cajoled Reyansh into doing her bidding.

Aabha paced the room that was once hers, nothing had changed about it, it was like Ishaani and her mother were determined to freeze time to those happy days when life was simpler and love had not tainted their hearts with broken hopes and shattered dreams. Once, those walls had been a sanctuary and home, now they were a brick and mortar prison. She glared at Ishaani, who was sitting on the bed, a picture of angelic charm and ranted, "Ishaani, can you simply not be happy that you are getting married to Reyansh, why worry so much about me? I am happy just the way I am, I had a life out there, I agree it was lonely being away from all of you but then there was no hurt either. I do not know how you managed to manipulate everyone and if you even have any clue as to what you have done. I have to spend the next two months with Shau..." 

Aabha choked, even voicing his name was painful, it was a like screaming an entreaty to the deaf fates. She dropped to the ground and hugging her knees, sat in heated silence. Ishaani waited for a few minutes and then went to sit beside her. She looked at her sister, her brave sister who had once been full of life even though she had not believed in love, her strong sister who always radiated goodness and laughter, her lovely sister who had been luminous when she had found Shaurya's love, the one who was now lost somewhere in the angry, hurt woman who sat beside her. 

Ishaani wanted that sister of hers back and she had realised that only Shaurya could heal Aabha. It had been a desperate move on her part and now, as she watched Aabha, she was a little scared, for she knew that Aabha was still hurting and that seeing Shaurya would reopen all the old wounds. Reaching out for Aabha's hand, she uttered a silent prayer, hoping that this time, the Gods would be benevolent towards them and that the gamble she had taken would not end up breaking her sister.

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Aabha had been overwhelmed by the welcome she received from Vardhan and Pratap, they openly expressed their happiness at seeing her at back. As though understanding her apprehensions, Pratap went to the extent of saying that they were sure Shaurya would not have any adverse reaction to her reappearance. Aabha was slightly reassured but then nothing had prepared her for what happened.

'Shaurya had not changed much, he was as handsome as ever,' she thought, even stress and work pressures had not wrought many lines on his handsome face, though the air of warm friendliness was gone, replaced with a hard jawline and slightly cold eyes. But what was shocking was the absolute absence of familiarity, they had shaken hands on being introduced, he had given a curt nod and had not spoken a single word apart from the customary greetings.

She looked at him as he stood in the corner of the large conference room; he had excused himself to attend to his calls, his stance indicating that she and Reyansh could hammer out the details, and at that instant, his casual dismissal of her, hurt even more than it did the first time. This time, there was no hope of him remembering to safeguard her heart. She knew it was irrational, but could not help feeling betrayed; she had almost given up everyone for him, 'he did not ask for it,' her mind cautioned; he had taught her to love and she still lived with the pain of being a stranger to the only man she had loved, 'he is not able to remember due to a surgery, her mind reminded her; she had been forced to come home and he was absolutely indifferent to her presence, 'it is not intentional, he is a busy man and the call must have been important, you know him well enough to realise that he would never be rude,' her mind chastised her.

But her heart was unwilling to heed to the call of reason, unable to handle the fact that the man who made her believe in love could now be the one who was oblivious to her presence. At that instant, she felt a cold rage rise within her which appeared to burn away the love she carried for him and even the pain beneath which she had buried it.

And  here ends this Act. The third and the final act will see them again on a journey, familiar and forgotten till they reach what destiny had truly intended for them. Do let me know your views on this update.

love,
Nyna