And The Hell Broke Loose.
It became a regular occurrence for everyone in the house. They would wake up, wait for Vulcan to join them at the breakfast table and eventually conclude that he isn't in his room, again. Vulcan who remained wide awake every night, slept like a child every afternoon. Weirdly enough, he had no dreams, no nightmares for the entire two weeks. What surprised him more was how staying awake and waiting for Pihu became the most comfortable part of his daily life. A part that somewhat recharged him for the entire day ahead. His photoshoots started getting insanely well , more brighter in comparison to his other works. His behavior towards everyone suddenly improved, his appetite came back and most surprisingly for Leo, he was having a good long slumber, be it in the afternoon or night. Something was changing, Vulcan was changing. Leo and Purnit seemed happy but Ritwik remained conflicted.
"Something isn't right." He kept saying. But the others found nothing wrong. They were happy seeing Vulcan healthier than before.
Vulcan would wait outside the same flat every night, wait for her to come out and eventually start following her car. He kept tracking her every move, kept tracking everyone she talked to. Found out how she works for "Confianza Limited" as the Chief HR Manager. She also runs some free educational study centers around the town for the underprivileged kids in collaboration with some of her friends and colleagues. There was something happening inside him, a change, a change of perspective, more accurately a change of personality that he had no idea of. Something he tried to avoid, something that already started happening without his knowledge.
The initiation of the inevitable has begun. The obsessive personality he tried so hard to keep buried, was slowly raising its head, spreading its tendrils and he didn't even realize it.
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"Didi.. come outside and see who is here?" Brinda calls out happily. Pihu immediately comes out of the kitchen and stops at her track the very moment she sees the people standing at her door. She looks surprised but happy at the same time because standing infront of her door is her parents. She was just about to get closer when the smile from her face drops and in comes her boss, Mr. Dashis Sharma.
"What? Not happy to see me here?" Dashis asks with a smile on his handsome face, his brown eyes gleaming with mischief. Pihu immediately composes herself and her face breaks into a forceful smile.
"To be honest, I am not good with unannounced guests but I am happy to see all of you here. Please have seat, sir." She urges and Dashis laughs.
"I know I am your boss, you don't have to remind me. Please call be by my name, atleast outside office." Dashis urges taking his seat on one of the couches.
"Yes, you should. He is such a gentleman." Pihu's mother utters, getting inside and walking towards the washroom.
"Yeah. Why not. But you didn't inform me that you'll be coming, papa? I could've arranged everything earlier." Pihu says walking towards the couches as Brinda gets inside the kitchen.
"We didn't know. Dashis called me some two days ago, said he has everything arranged, he just wants to surprise you. Your mother and I agreed. He sent his men to bring us here, there was no hustle at all." The aged man with a protruding belly says proudly. Pihu looks at him feeling extremely astonished.
"And you just agreed? What if it was a trap? What if this wasn't him? What if.." She gets interrupted by her father.
"Why won't I know? Don't forget I, Dibakar Bhattacharya, am your father, not some fool. This gentleman here, is the only person who kept in touch with us for the last three years, whenever you kept busy. I know him quite well. Even Bratati does." Dibakar explains throwing another wave of shock towards her, but this time she wasn't only shocked but angry. She immediately snaps her head towards Dashis.
"Why would you do that? Why would you keep it hidden from me? This is weird Mr. Sharma. What are you upto?" She stands up.
"This is no way to talk to your boss Pihu!" Her father scolds.
"Oh! Now he is my boss? This man kept communicating to you people without my knowledge. He brings you here without informing me and I can't ask the most valid questions? What's wrong with you papa?" She revolts.
"Okay. Wait. Please don't get angry. I had no ill intentions Pihu, trust me. I merely wanted to know more about you. As I've always said, you intrigue me. I.... I like you Pihu. Because I wanted to know more about you and because you would say nothing about yourself, I had to go out of the league to do this." Dashis explains standing up from the couch as well.
"This is obviously not the right way to learn about a person, sir. This was very, very unprofessional of you. I am your employee. Just because you are my boss you cannot exploit my confidential informations this way. This creates a breach in the strong wall of trust we build for each other. Anyway, why did you bring my parents here?" She asks crossing her hands over her chest.
"Why are you talking to him like that? Do you have any idea how much he helped your father while he was sick? Don't behave like this. You should be thankful Pihu." Bratati, Pihu's mother, comes out and joins the argument.
"Wow! My father was sick and I get to know it now. Why are you even telling me this? For goodness sake, why am I not informed when it happened? What is even happening here? You know what, this is humiliating and extremely frustrating. It seems like you trust him more than your own daughter, then why don't you just leave and stay with him? You'll be more comfortable. " She says and turns around to leave.
"Please, Pihu. See, it's my fault, I told them not to inform you because you already take a lot of unnecessary burdens. I am sorry. Seems like I messed up big time. But I brought them here because I wanted them to attend my birthday party. I thought seeing them will make you happy. That's it. If you don't like that, I'll just send them back. Okay?" Dashis says.
"No thank you. I am indeed happy to see my parents here, but the entire "hiding everything" episode is something I cannot accept. And also, about the 'unnecessary burdens', there is none Mr. Sharma and I am also not willing to explain myself to anyone. My parents did wrong, you did too. Apologies won't suffice." She says, her back turned towards her father and Dashis.
"Yes, I get it. I messed up. It was extremely stupid of me. I won't apologies, I will prove myself to you. Give me one chance to correct my mistakes. I'll do everything in my power. Trust me, please." Dashis requests.
"You should give him a chance and yourself as well." Dibakar says standing up.
"Papa!" She turns around.
"I have said what I needed to say. Dashis needs to do some marketing. He wanted me to accompany him but right now I feel tired due to the journey. Do me a favor, sweetheart, go with him." Saying so Dibakar walks towards the washroom. Pihu stands there with her eyes closed in frustration.
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The black car keeps waiting on the other side of the road just like every other day. Vulcan's head rests on the seat as his eyes remain closed. His hands are crossed over his light blue dress shirt, his dark denim wrapped legs are spread wide apart. An alarm goes off, signaling 'it's time'. His grey eyes snap open, he sits up straight as his unruly and untied hair falls on the side of his sculpted face. His sharp and slightly crooked nose gives him a dangerously attractive aura, something he doesn't even know of. He opens the cap of the bottle and drinks some water patiently waiting to see her. Her usual time has already crossed. Why isn't she coming down? He keeps thinking, when increasing his confusion comes out the same young girl who always stays with Pihu, all alone. The girl walks out towards the bus stand.
All of a sudden an uncomfortable feeling settles in his stomach and small beads of sweat that forms on his forehead start trickling down his face slowly. He finds it difficult to seat inside the car anymore and immediately comes out of it. He folds the sleeves of his shirt, unbuttons the first two buttons of it, revealing a good amount of his tattooed left side and then he stands there, resting his back on the wall while supporting his folded left leg there. The morning wind blows his wavy hair as he hangs his head behind, placing it against the wall. His grey eyes stay fixed at the entrance of the flat.
There is no trace of her.
Atleast that's what he thought until he sees her coming out with her hair tied back in a ponytail and looking ethereal in a lemon yellow salwar suit.... with a man. A man he recognizes as the CEO of "Confianza Limited". His whole body tenses up as he stands straight. He sees the man getting inside the parking area as she stands outside patiently. A few minutes later a white car comes in view and the man hurriedly comes out of the driver's seat almost running towards the passenger's seat. He opens it for her, beating her attempt to open the door herself. Vulcan stands there, trying to remain calm, extremely calm, until his eyes fall on the man's hand.
He is holding Pihu by the small of her back, guiding her inside the car. And that's it, the hell breaks loose. The rage he was fighting to keep within him breaks the barrier and comes out. Before he could realize what he is doing his eyebrows furrow, an animalistic growl comes out of his throat and his strong fist lands on the hood of the car, triggering the shock alarm. But he stands there like a statue, his whole body keeps shaking, his eyes bloodshot. He understands nothing when someone pushes him towards the passenger's seat. He doesn't even realize when someone starts driving his car. He sits there, while his mind keeps repeating the picture: he was holding her by her waist....he was holding her by her waist....
....he was touching her.
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Love, Puja. 💜