PRESENT

"I should have taken your word of caution seriously. Voice of reason, they call you, don't they? As I stood at the receiving end of accusing looks from Smitha Bua for months, fear had begun to creep in me. The intoxication of intimacy had pushed me to relinquish my hold upon humility and had acquainted me with vanity and arrogance. I was struck by the reality that I was clutching this relationship so tightly that it had pierced through me," read Vivaan solemnly, his baritone voice transitioning from humor to sorrow as he realized what lay ahead in the book for them.

Vrinda shifted uncomfortably as she turned her head, which was resting against his shoulder, to face him. "Who is Smitha Bua?" questioned Vrinda, with every hint of enthusiasm fading away from her as she took a note of his tone.

"Smitha Bua is the wife of Shankar Desai, the mentor of your father. He was the Chief Advisor for DioTech and one of your father's closest aides. Smitha Bua loved you as her own child till one of sons committed suicide because of lack of funds to pursue the course he desired. Shankar Kaka could never ask for money in return to the knowledge he had shared, and your father did not want to insult him by offering him money. But Bua, she was distraught that you were enjoying the fruits of the hard work meant for her children, as she believed that Shankar Kaka was the sole reason behind DioTech's success," explained Vivaan, reminiscing the stubborn friend of his, the son of Smitha and Shankar, who gave no chance to anyone to explain themselves or put him out of misery and ended his life, leaving them with a life of regrets.

"She is justifiably distraught. Although the behavior of Paa and Kaka sounds ideal but for a mother who lost one of her children, it makes no sense. None of those ideals could prevent him from going away from her," remarked Vrinda, snaking her arm around his biceps as she drew him closer to her.

"You are right," he replied, shutting the book closed and placing it on the table at the side of the bed, surprising Vrinda.

"I want to know further. I know, I can feel we are close to the complete truth. Don't stop now, Vivaan, please!" she pleaded, sitting up straight and leaning across him to grab the book from the table. And she could see that he was visibly unnerved by the very prospect of it.

"She had brought an alliance for you and your father arranged for the meeting before even asking your opinion about marriage. We had just completed our final year exams, back then," stated Vivaan, wincing at the way pain danced over her features before she dropped the book onto the table and distanced herself from him.

"What?! I thought my father loved me, and don't tell me I am married to someone else. I swear, I will kill you!" threatened Vrinda in a shocked whisper, with her eyes turned into saucers as she grabbed his collar, causing him to sit upright.

"You are not married, Vrinda! The groom was very understanding about our relationship, but your father wanted to go ahead with the alliance, with no delay. In fact, the meet between the groom and you was just for the sake of it. Yes, your father loved you, Vrinda, but hated 'love' with a vengeance. Also, in his world, I was not worthy of his daughter and he did not want her to sully her name with someone below her league," he answered, myriads of emotions ranging from pain to anger to guilt swirling in his eyes.

Not that he completely blamed Vrinda's father for the mishap that separated him from his ladylove. He had always wondered if, in the future, his daughter loved someone like him. Would he allow her to build her future with the guy? He was sure about his love and his devotion towards Vrinda, but would it be enough to sustain life? He could never arrive at a consensus.

"Not worthy of me? Seriously? Couldn't he see you made me overcome selective mutism? Was he blind to the unconditional support you gave me to learn to dance?" she demanded, crestfallen by the revelations.

"He was not, and honestly, I think we have had a messed up equation from the beginning. Radha, he did not like me because he thought that if I was not conceived, my father would have left my mother after some time and would not have married her. I was rebellious, believed in love, pursued his own daughter of all and you seemed to accept every word of mine, even if it was against his. I was everything that he was pitched against, Radha, and it is not his fault. He had your best interests in mind, according to him, and they somehow did not align with yours," he narrated, clutching her hands between his as he looked straight into her eyes which were brimming with tears stemming from the angst of betrayal and conflict.

"The groom. You said he was accepting of our relationship. How did he know?" asked Vrinda, unable to string anything together to speak about her late father.

"You told him about it when you met. His name is Vijay Purohit. He had promised his consent to his father for the marriage, and hence could not refuse the relationship himself, but he encouraged you to speak out about us in front of everyone. He assured you he would support you in every way, as your engagement with him was scheduled for the very next day of your meet," said Vivaan, remembering his last meet with a furious Vijay Purohit at the airport months ago.

"If I was about to speak about us, and the groom was supportive, what happened that everything was destroyed, Vivaan? And how did I lose my memories?"