"Darkness is not the absence of light; it is the absence of you."

~Unknown~  

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The dossier and the detailed file lay on Aabha's table; she knew what it was about and hence was hesitant to read it. She had kept postponing the review but then the Dean had firmly told her that he wanted her opinion on the same by the end of the day. Sighing, she reached out for the dossier and read the title:

'Proposal for inclusion in the curriculum of Operations Research as a Case Study (for the Post Graduate Courses):

The successful backward integration of the lumber mills into the Retail Housing Division of the Rathore Industries

Or

How the ailing fortunes of the division were single-handedly restored by Shaurya Rathore'

The dossier summarised the methodology adopted and how the initial idea to retain the mill and subsequent decision to use the timber only for captive consumption for the already loss-making retail housing division had appeared to be more of a gamble than a sound business call. But most had reckoned without Shaurya's business acumen and determination, it had taken longer than anticipated but the near-miraculous recovery seemed worth the time and effort expended.

She recalled a conversation she had with Shaurya when she had casually wanted to know why he had never pursued an MBA or an equivalent management course. He had smiled and said, "I had an opportunity to learn everything in a practical way and gain real hands-on experience, anyone can learn from case studies, someday my story would be a case study." 

He had done it, she thought; both had actually achieved their dreams, just not together.

And even after more than two years it hurt, the agony and anguish of being forgotten by him were as fresh as it had been that day, though her love for him had been smothered by painful bitterness.

It was almost three years, she noted, since the day she had run from that hospital, afraid of breaking down. She was not going to admit to anyone how devastated she had been when Shaurya had woken up and asked for Nisha. She could not tell which hurt more, that he did not remember her or that he had asked for Nisha. Even then she had held a sliver of hope when he had asked who she was and appeared to be interested. When she had said that she was Shivani's friend, he had simply dismissed her. It had hurt, more than she cared to admit and unable to watch the man she loved not remember her, she had run away. She buried herself in her studies and once her doctorate was awarded, joined the faculty. She was quite popular with the students and was admired by her faculty peers.

As Aabha built a life for herself, her love for Shaurya appeared to recede; she rarely seemed to notice the ring on her right hand finger or remember his engagement ring that she still wore round her neck. Her days were bright with her classes, discussions with faculty and the occasional projects she undertook. It was the nights that terrified her, long and empty, with recurrent nightmares about her inability to reach out to Shuarya. 

Then there were the days, especially the holidays when she missed her family and Ishaani. She missed Ishaani the most and would be tempted to go home, to meet them. But then she would remember that they stayed in the city where she met Shaurya, had fallen in love with him and where he still stayed, after forgetting her. The pain would rack through her and all thoughts of going back would disappear, only to leave fresh tears in the wake of those memories.

She would brush off that longing, she no longer had a home; and was almost used to that idea when the dossier had arrived.

Aabha opened the dossier and started to read, it was a well-presented synopsis and when she finished reading it she realised that it would be an interesting case study. But if she gave her opinion, she knew that she would be required to interact with Shaurya, there would be multiple meetings before they assessed and confirmed the factual accuracy of the study. Aabha was not willing to meet him, she was sure she would not be able to stay in his company, looking at him and hearing him speak to her as though she was a stranger. She had allowed him and fates to play with her life once, the scars on her heart were proof enough, she would not go through it once more.

But then it was not fair that the study be dismissed on account of her fears either. She pondered about how to go about it when an idea struck her, the beauty of it was that it was based on irrefutable fact. With a smug smile, she went to meet the Dean and put forward her case, agreeing that while the study could be considered for inclusion, she should not be the one who would review it, as she knew the Rathores; they were family friends and she would not like the case tainted by possible charges of nepotism. 

The Dean's reaction was exactly as she had envisaged, he immediately agreed to what she said and decided that the review of the proposal would be handed over to another faculty member. Aabha let out the breath she had not realised she had been holding, when the Dean's next few sentences, took her breath away.

He smiled at her and said, "Your stance was expected and I am actually happy that you have decided not to review the case. The Rathores did inform me that you could adopt this stand and they placed another proposal, one in which your friendship with them would not be a hindrance."

Aabha listened with a growing alarm as the Dean continued; the Rathores had been on an acquisition mode over the last few years and were planning for a complete restructuring of their organisation and re-engineering of their business processes. Currently, their conglomerate, which consisted of multiple entities of various sizes, appeared to resemble an ambling mammoth with overlap of certain positions, conflicting work ethics and duplication of processes. While the financial and legal advisers were already assisting them, the Rathores, more specifically the younger ones, were of the opinion that they could benefit from the advice of an expert in operational research and organisational re-engineering.

He further went on to state that the Rathores were also planning to actively participate in the Campus Placement and Summer Internship Programme and were also interested in the Corporate Collaborations Programme and that their involvement would be advantageous in terms of increased placements for the students.

The Dean finally ended with, "In fact, I have already more or less agreed to it, so your assent is a mere formality, it is mutually beneficial to both our institution and their company, so I am sure you would forgive my presumptuousness."

Aabha sat numb, unable to clearly think her way out, especially when the Dean had informed her that her assent was effectively given. She had been a little stunned, it was a quite unlike him but the proposition would have been enthusiastically welcomed by Aabha herself if it had been from any industrial house other than the Rathores. She agreed with everything the Dean had said but then she was not sure how she could talk her way out of this latest development, especially in light of the fact that she had just turned down the review. And she was a little curious too, she could not understand as why the Rathores would specifically ask for her; Shaurya did not remember her, Devansh would never think that far and Reyansh, she was not sure if he could really plan out such a proposition and even if he could, she just could not understand why. However, before she could even raise a token protest they heard a knock on the door.

"Ah, that would be them," said the Dean and even as he rose from his seat in welcome, Aabha continued to sit, too dismayed to even turn around.

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

'At least, it is not Shaurya,' thought Aabha, with a mixture of relief and disappointment as she sat while the Dean and Reyansh exchanged pleasantries. Aabha used the few minutes of respite she had gained to marshal her thoughts; she could get the answers she wanted from Reyansh if he was alive after she finished strangling him.

But that would not change the fact that Shaurya would be stepping back into her life, even though it was on a purely professional basis, she was nervous about meeting him, unsure of how she would react and a little frightened of how it would be for them. She had hoped that time could dull the pain of being forgotten by him and that she was stronger to face him. 

However, it seemed that she would have to wait for some more time before she could meet him, he was traveling but had already signed off all the requisite contract papers and hence Reyansh had driven down alone to finalise the entire contract.

Aabha stared at the papers, knowing that circumstances were moving too quickly and there was no way she could avoid it, refusing to do so would not only be unprofessional on her part but also damaging to the Institute's repute. It was not every day that industrial houses volunteered their time and funds without being asked. As she signed off her assent, she knew she had been expertly manipulated into going back home and to the city she had hoped she would never have to visit again.  

So that is how Aabha found herself going back home. The next chapter, the final one in this act,  would explain how Reyansh went about it and also the initial meeting of Shaurya and Aabha. How do you think it will be? 

Do let me know, as I say, I just love to read about your views and all feedback, good or bad, is welcome.

Love,
Nyna