Love, Arranged by mother nature

Part 24

Arjun got out of the shower searching for his phone. Rummaging through his pockets he found nothing but some change. On realizing he had left it at the bar counter he made a call to the same and had it delivered to his room. His call log was empty. He dialled Amrita's number his heart beating fast. It rang on and on making Arjun more and more agitated. Just as the call was answered, the doorbell rang.

Trisha stood there, dressed, but barely, in a plunging red dress.

Arjun looked, annoyed, his eyebrows raised in question over her late visit.

On the other end of the phone, Amrita sat alone in her room, looking at her phone's screen displaying Arjun's name. What was he calling her for now? An explanation? Her gut told her to not answer the call to spare her more heartbreak, but she did nonetheless, not being able to resist hearing his voice regardless of the situation.

"Hello?" she ventured carefully.

On the other end, Arjun was standing at the door, the phone at his ear, impatience clouding his judgement waiting for Trisha to speak.

"Hello," he heard Amrita's soft voice speak from the other end.

"Amrita," he answered. "How are you?"

Trisha was alarmed. Arjun talking to Amrita in the situation was bad prognosis for Trisha's current condition. She decided on being proactive and took the opportunity of Arjun's momentary distraction, to move closer to where he was standing. She put her hands on his chest and said, loudly enough for her words to reach the caller on the other end. "Had your shower, have you? This blue bathrobe makes you look so fantastic. How about we go have that dinner now?"

Amrita was taken aback. How close were Trisha and Arjun? Had Arjun been frivolously playing with her these past few weeks? Amrita hung up the phone not wanting and being able to hear any more.

"What?! No! Amrita don't hang up!" Half of Arjun's words directed at Trisha and half at Amrita.

Arjun had had enough.

He threw his phone onto the couch, took Trisha's infiltrating hands by the wrist, and flung them off his chest. She looked at him with shock. "Get out of my sight now," he said in a menacing tone. "And don't you dare touch me again." He slammed the door in her confused and offended face.

Arjun dialled Amrita's number over and over to no avail. Frustrated, he left her a message, "My Amrita, please answer my call. I need to talk to you."

Amrita was sitting in her bed, weeping. She had shut the door and the light off so that no one would know she was upset. She had no tolerance for superficiality in relationships. She seldom invested into something emotionally, and when she did, it was deep.

She saw the message and replied in a fury, "You have no right to call me 'your' anything. Don't bother me from now on and let me live my life peacefully."

Arjun cursed under his breath.

Trisha is nothing to me Amrita, please talk to me. This is a misunderstanding.

He texted.

When she did not reply he texted, "I know this might be a horrible time to tell you this but I want to come clear. Trisha was in my batch in business school and I had asked her out and gotten rejected. Now she is here with the Investment group we are collaborating with. She has nothing to do with me."

But Amrita had switched off her phone and fallen into a lull of a sleep needing a break.

Arjun lay in his bed, brooding over the events, till sleep took him in due to exhaustion of body and spirits.

Amrita woke up the next day, her mind, somewhat cleared. She switched her phone on and saw the text message Arjun had sent her the night before, feeling once again, agitated. Feeling like a fool for believing Arjun so easily, Amrita set the phone aside without reply. It had been wise on her part to not accept Arjun's marriage proposal, she thought.

Had getting close to Arjun been the right decision? She wondered. Although her heart was much into it, her mind was bubbling with concoctions brewed up in some good herbs and some very slimy ones. She wanted to run away and get time to think. She needed her peace back.

She sat in the back office of her bakery, the laptop open in front. She opened a bookmarked page on her browser. Picking up her cellphone she made a decisive call.

"Yes, I understand." The school in France had rejected her.

"Yes, I will get back to you very soon." The one in New York remained.

She needed money or a good alternative. She did not want to bother her parents with monetary issues now that she was in a position to make arrangements of her own for the same. Amrita poured over her account books. Having sent her work experience and qualifications, all that was left was to hear of her being qualified to be part of the school she had had her eyes set on.

Meeting Arjun had flared up her desire to better herself and explore her passions. Seeing him intensely absorbed in his work, letting no stone unturned in the pursuit of that which made his life more meaningful, had set fire to already inflamed passions towards her art. At the moment, focusing on the business of arranging funds to further her ambition was acting as a balm to soothe and distract her wounded heart.

If she wanted to study in New York, she could arrange half the funds, a fourth by an education loan and another fourth through her savings. But it would be impractical to deplete all her savings in one go. She had to find an alternative or always regret. The present felt like the right time.

Her phone beeped and seeing Arjun's name displayed, she, not being able to help herself, opened the text message.

Why are you not responding? Are you fine? This is an insignificant matter which will not be solved by not talking. Talk to me.

"Insignificant matter!" Amrita laughed humourlessly.

She picked up her phone and made a call.

"Amrita! Are you okay? I am sorry."

Arjun said on the other side of the call.

"Listen don't feel bad, nothing happened between me and Trisha,"

he paused.

Amrita took a long breath. "Do whatever you want to do Arjun, and with whoever you want to. I have no intention of begging for your attention or faithfulness. It is yours to give."

Arjun was stricken, "But you are misunderstanding me."

Amrita replied, "I might or might not be. But I have realised that I am the only one who is going to support myself till the end. I shouldn't depend on anyone else for my happiness." She felt bad after having said it.

When Arjun didn't say anything, she said, "I have submitted my application for the pastry school, it's not in Paris."

Arjun's breath hitched, "Then where?"

"New York."

"Okay," was all he replied.

That was the last time they talked, for two months.