Happy Valentine's Day to you all. I love each one of you! And thank you all so much for all the love and support you gave to this story!
Dedicated to: Lovehna933
Chapter 38:
'Love' a simple four letter word is so complicated, isn't it? It makes you smile, love others and yourself but it also gives you tears and pain. Love has the power to help one get going but it also has the power to break you.
His tough facade was slowly slipping away, he got more restless and mad about everything in his life with every passing day.
Loss. Defeat. Hitting all time low.
These were the words that defined Ronnie's career and life. He couldn't think straight. All he knew was that time was slipping fast. All he knew was either she hated his guts now or she was a better actor of the two. He tortured himself by thinking how happy Kathy was with Monish or how she would forget him and move on in life with Monish as her partner. Guts was all he wished he had. His fear of rejection made him a lifeless human. But he wasn't wrong, she was the only one who ever cared about him, who understood him, who loved him like a friend. He couldn't lose such an important person. He valued her, he loved her more than he loved himself. This pain was driving him mad.
Past two months had been terrible for him. He lost many contracts, made a lot of wrong decisions, faced huge financial losses, and was quiet in news for drunk driving, mistreating employees and slapping a news reporter for a certain question asked. He began drinking a lot, he hardly went home as he didn't want to see how happy Kathy was without him. He did not know how he'd talk to her.
"Ronnie what are you doing? What's wrong with you?" his dad once asked him.
"What did I do? Oh-the losses?! I'll pay you Mr. Shenoy, don't worry about that... I've a lot of money!" he slurred, his mouth reeked of alcohol.
"You're drunk?" he asked him.
"Shit no." he laughed and made himself comfortable on the couch when his legs faltered and he couldn't stand straight.
"Kathy, do you know anything about this sudden change of behavior?" his dad asked her tiredly.
"Mr. Shenoy are you drunk too? She must be at home, she doesn't work here!" Ronnie said but shut his mouth and sat straight as soon he saw her. It had been weeks since he had last seen her. The pain in his heart resurfaced the second he looked at her. Her face was tired, her eyes were bloodshot and dark circles surrounded them; her hairs were tied neatly though. He wondered if she had lost some weight too.
"I-I don't know why he is doing this! He was alright a month back." she lied, avoiding their gaze. Ronnie let out a bitter laugh at that moment and shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. His face had a week old stubble and his eyes were blood shot from drinking so much. The shirt he wore was messy with half of the buttons undone and sleeves rolled up. Kathy stared at him and tears began trailing down her face as she took in his condition.
"Talk to him Kathy, he can't behave like this. Make him understand that he is the Ronnie Shenoy, legal heir of La'Homme, he has certain responsibilities!" his dad told her tiredly.
"Y-Yes!" she quietly replied and walked upto Ronnie. Narendra Shenoy walked out of his cabin and closed the door behind him as Kathy tried to pull Ronnie and helped him sit straight.
"Why are you here?" he asked rudely as he avoided looking at her. She did not reply; she just sat there and took in his face. She brought her hands forward and tried to comb back his messy hairs with her fingers. He closed his eyes and took in the feeling of her touch.
"Why are you doing this Ronnie? What went so wrong? Why did you bring us here at such cross roads?" she asked him tiredly, as her fingers kept running through his hairs. His eyes opened wide and he pushed her away from him.
"What did I do? I didn't harm you. I'm not troubling you... See, I'm out of your way now!" he told her with a sad smile.
"You think you aren't troubling anyone of us by doing this? Look at you...see what you've done to yourself! You think this doesn't affect me?" she choked on her words. He avoided looking at her and walked up to his desk to grab his unfinished bottle of liquor. Kathy followed him and then took away the bottle from him.
"Just give it back to me!" he yelled. He felt desparate and exposed. He needed liquor to make him forget everything, to get rid of that unbearable pain.
"No!" she said, her voice calm but firm.
"I'm no good Kathy. I don't want to harm you...just give it back to me!" he told her tiredly but she didn't budge.
"Talk to me Ronnie, tell me what's troubling you, let it out!" she pleaded as her hands cupped his cheeks. She felt him lean in to her touch and they kept staring at each other, lost in their own worlds, with their own thoughts.
"Did he say something?" the spell broke as Narendra Shenoy's voice rang in the empty room. Ronnie pushed her away from him and grabbed the bottle from behind her.
"Alright, I'll tell the guards not to let him anywhere near our office. Kathy, I want you to work for us from now on!" he ordered when no one answered him.
"But-" Kathy started.
"That's my final decision." he said and walked out of the office. She stood there stunned. She had to do something. All this belonged to Ronnie, she couldn't just take it all away from him. She had to make him understand, she had to bring him back to his senses. She had to leave him and everyone behind if that was what it took to bring him back to his old self.
"Listen to me Ronnie...just listen to me!" she said and threw his bottle across the room, breaking it and making him growl.
"You have to keep moving. You can't stop living because of anyone or anything. The show must go on...I want you to get back to your normal life. I want you to promise me that you'll try to go back to your old hard working self. Do this for me...do this if you ever considered me your friend, or if I meant anything to you at all; do it for my happiness!" she pleaded, her voice urgent. Reluctantly, he shook his head up and down as he promised her to atleast try and become his old self. She heaved a sigh of relief and left his office.
'I'd have to inform his dad later on' she thought as she exited their office premises.
She'd faced a lot of questions and faced anger of her loved ones in the two months that Ronnie had messed up. She tried to lie and come up with excuses each day; she was hurting herself, she was breaking. She knew that she was the reason behind everything but she didn't get a chance to explain herself. One chance was all she wanted but maybe she had asked too much from him.
She had seen him drinking his ass off, getting close to random girls, making losses, getting defeated by newcomers, mistreating people who cared about him, he'd often treat her badly in his drunken state; she had seen all of Ronnie's negative side in those few days and the worst thing was that she still loved him with all his follies. She was hurting because of him.
"How are you? Did he talk to you?" Vinnie asked her as soon as Kathy reached home.
"I'm fine and yeah we talked. He'll not create scenes from now on." she said and then locked herself in her room.
"I've to do something, I can't let him hurt Kathy like this...they need to talk! I'll make sure they do it before it gets too late!" Vinnie promised herself.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Days went by and Ronnie tried to keep up with the promise he made to Kathy. He went to work, even though he still wasn't at his best, he tried; he went back home after work, stayed away from alcohol and girls, and apologized to that mediaman he'd slapped. He was asked to totally avoid facing the crowd whenever he could, thereby creating less havoc and he obeyed those orders. Kathy also began keeping herself busy; she continued going to her dance academy and tried to make herself a better dancer. She'd planned a few things for future and it was like she didn't want anything to stop her from reaching her goals anymore.
A few days later when Kathy had invited Ronnie's parents over lunch, they told them how they were planning about throwing a party for Kathy and Ronnie's first wedding anniversary that was only two days away.
"It'll be a great opportunity to improve his tarnished image! Besides, it'll be a dual celebration...the end of this contract and start of a new, a real relationship!" Ronnie's mom said happily.
"I agree. Kathy is really good for our son. We should throw a party and call a lot of people. We'll make sure that our image comes clean after that! It is indeed a double celebration!" Narendra Shenoy added making Ronnie laugh humorlessly.
"It is Ronnie's 25th birthday!" Kathy piped in excitedly, shocking others at the table.
"Uh-yeah, my son will t-turn 25 that day!" Mrs. Shenoy replied hesitantly after recovering from the shock and shame that they had no idea of when Ronnie's birthday was.
They began talking about how they'd organize party, decided on a theme and finalized a list of some special guests, ignoring the fact that Kathy and Ronnie were no longer on friendly terms. They still lived in the same house but tried to ignore the existence of one another.
"You still remember my birthdate?" he asked her once his parents left and she shrugged in response.
"You seemed very excited then...why?" he asked her thoughtfully.
"I want them to celebrate for a real reason." she simply said without elaborating further and there was no need for it as both of them perfectly knew and agreed to the meaning behind those words.
"Did you tell y-your parents about u-us?" he asked hesistantly.
"So that they hate me for making fun of something as pure as marriage?" she mumbled.
"I understand. What are your plans then?" he asked her, wanting to know everything about her and yet trying to keep himself away from her.
"Let's see. I don't know!" she lied and went back to her room. Truth was, she had planned everything and she knew where exactly she was heading from there.
Next day began with a phone call from her in-laws which made her quick on her toes and she began working and making arrangements before the party that was only a day away now.
Ronnie woke up and came out of his room to see Kathy bringing in boxes filled with some gift items. He walked upto the couch lazily and sat down there and began reading some business magazine when he heard a buzzing sound. He looked around and found Kathy's phone vibrating on the coffee table. He looked up to see where Kathy was but instead he saw an empty room. He reached out for her phone and recieved it for her.
"Hello Kathy, everything's sorted out. A girl called Mariah will come to recieve us at the airport tomorrow. And see you by 21:30 tonight, our flight is scheduled at 22:15! L.A. here were come!" said an excited voice and he ended the call after that. His head began swirling and he felt sick in the stomach.
"Ronnie what are you doing sitting there? Help me pack these boxes...I've to send them to the guests!" Kathy called him from the dining room. He took a deep breath and his mind began thinking.
She was leaving him, she was leaving everyone behind without anyone knowing...she was going, he won't get to see her ever! he kept on thinking as he reached her and sat down to help her.
"Stop staring at me like that!" she said after a while, feeling conscious of herself.
"Let me see what kind of masterpiece you are...let me look at you and find out every hidden secret!" he mumbled unintentionally, as he kept looking at her and memorizing her face. She brought her hairs forward as she tried to shield her face from him.
"We don't have all day to do this. Let's just get this done!" she muttered and turned away from him.
"Yeah, we don't have much time left. Lets get this done with!" he said, understanding the exact meaning behind all her words.
That entire day he kept her close to himself. He followed her to every house she went and delivered the gifts with her. He stood in the kitchen watching her as she made some snacks and followed her to her room when she wanted to get changed too.
"Stop following me! I need to change my dress, so don't enter my room." she warned him.
"No. You don't need to change. You look perfect in this dress." he said childishly as he stood close to her and brushed a strand of loose hair away from her face. A blush made a way up to her face and she turned around, praying he would stop making it more difficult for her.
"Just leave!" she tried to say it in a strong voice but it came out in a small whisper. She closed the door behind him when she finally pushed him out of her room.
It was six in the evening and she had only three hours left...she'd invited her family and friends over dinner as some kind of a farewell for herself. It was her last night there with her parents, her friends, her cousins and Ronnie.
"What are you doing standing at my door?" she yelled the moment she opened the door and Ronnie fell inside and his bum hit the floor. He got up from the floor and followed her in the kitchen.
"I said stop following me!" she said with a hint of irritation in her voice. She bought forward the knife that she was holding in order to scare him away. He smiled at her stupid behavior and hugged her tightly, making her the knife fall on the floor.
Kathy wondered what was wrong with him as he wrapped his hands around her waist possessively and rested his face over her head. Kathy slowly brought her hands around him and hugged him back with equal force. Her eyes filled with unshed tears and her heart became heavy with pain. Ronnie pulled her closer and kissed her on the head, trying to emote his feelings through his actions.
"Get a room you two!" Vinnie yelled, smiling.
"Get lost Vinnie...you've the worst timing!" he said, still not ready to leave Kathy. Her heart went wild at his comment and she pulled away from him hesitantly but he still kept holding her hand.
Slowly their house became chaotic as the number of visitors increased and they began talking, playing games and sat around for dinner. Kathy was a great host and it didn't change even when this was her last party for them. She looked around as everyone was having a great time oblivious to everything. Her eyes filled with tears and she turned around so that no one would see her crying. She knew that the dam would break if someone asked her any questions.
"Come on guys, we've a bigger party tomorrow...you all need to leave now so that we can go to sleep and wake up early tomorrow in order to complete the pending work!" Ronnie yelled when he saw her teary eyed. He pulled her closer to himself and rested her head on his chest with one hand patting her head and the other around her waist. Kathy prayed that he'd stop doing all this and pulled herself away from him.
Everyone left soon and Kathy walked in her room, locking the door behind her as she did not want him to follow her at that time. She had to pack a few things that she'd left out in to her bags and leave in 20minutes. She began grabbing things that were messily lying in room and stuffed them lazily. She then walked up to her table and looked at the videotape she'd made for Ronnie as a birthday present and a few tears escaped her eyes. It was special to her as it contained every single picture, every memory she had with him. Taking out a glittery wrapper, she packed the videotape neatly and then stuck a silly cartoon card on the cover with her initials on it. She entered his room and placed it on the bed-side table, glad that he wasn't around at that time but hoping to him for the last time.
She made sure that she had all her bags before she came out of her room again and then headed towards the main door.
"So...this is it?" a voice stopped her. His voice. Goosebumps covered her arms and neck and a shiver ran down her body when she heard his voice. She stopped but didn't turn around.
"What's this gift for? Is it my birthday present or just a small token before you leave everyone behind?" he asked once again. She knew she'd break down if she stayed there any longer. She took further steps ahead.
"Why do you have to leave like this? Why?" he sadly asked her.
"Don't forget-you won't get in any more problems Ronnie; you won't hurt anyone who cares about you...you promised me! I really got to go, good bye!" she instructed him as if talking to a child as she unlocked the door.
"Why does it matter to you? You're the one who is hurting everyone right now! Do you really have to go away like this?" he asked her. His eyes were moist and he wanted to keep her to himself, away from everyone else...but he knew he couldn't act selfish. She kept quiet.
"Yes. I've to go!" she replied once she was sure of her voice.
"Why?" he cried in pain, desperation and defeat.
"Because... I can't see you hooking up with other girls. I can't keep hurting myself over your moody behavior. I don't want to stop. I don't want to stay here anymore... I don't want to hear how embarrassing I'm. I don't want to keep loving you knowing that you'll never love me back!" she cried and walked out, locking the door behind her and placing the keys inside the letter box.
"Don't try to stop me Ronnie, please?! This is the only thing I want from you. Good bye Ronnie... I love you!" she said through tears and walked away.
"I've always loved you Kathy!" he fell on the floor, crying. But he was too late. She was gone.
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I'm sorry about the way this ended; I'll make up for this in the next chapter but before that I want to know what LOVE is for you? Please post your definition of Love and an idea of a perfect date and I'll include the best one in the upcoming chapters. Please COMMENT.
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Thank you for reading this.
-Hemii :)