The Abyss Called Love

Part 10

Kriti excused herself from Shipra's call, and searched for another number, belonging to the man who would know the whereabouts of the man behind her torment - Vivek Nagar.

"Hello Kri! Long time. What's up?" spoke the affectionate voice from the other end of the phone. He had, in their intertwined past, tried to gain her affections, but he had backed off after learning her clear disinterest in him and, much to her joy, the rejection did not stop him from being a close friend to her.

"Vivek, I'm afraid I don't have the time for pleasantries. I will tell you the details soon, but I need to meet Aniket. It is an urgent matter."

"Give me a minute," said Vivek, who also was a high-ranking employee of Aniket's company. He started looking up for Aniket's schedule to find out where he could be. The few moments of waiting passed with a loom of dismay.

"Kri, he would arrive at the office in ten minutes, according to the schedule. He did not ask for any changes. He'll be here, and I will make sure he meets you first," said Vivek, wondering if Kriti's need to meet him had anything to do with the meeting Aniket had requested with Vivek's lawyer earlier that morning.

"I will be there, Vivek. Please make sure I meet him as soon as possible. I will also have to reach to my clinic after that."

Before she had seen the contract papers, she had wanted to take the day off, but she knew she direly needed distraction from the situation. "I will take care of it. I will also look forward to knowing what happened. See you soon, Kri."

______________________________________

"Kri! Glad to see you. Aniket is in his cabin. This way," he said, escorting her towards Aniket's cabin.

He stopped in front of Aniket's cabin and Kriti barged inside the cabin, shredding every bit of professionalism and etiquette she had learned over the years. "Aniket Rawat! What is the meaning of this contract?" she spat, as she banged the contract papers onto his desk. Her eyes stung with furious tears, and her form trembled.

To say Aniket sat astounded in his chair would be an understatement. The auditory impact of her slam compelled him to jump to his feet and eye the woman who could burn him down if gaze could ignite.

"It is a valid contract, Ritz. You agreed to be a surrogate after I kept my end of the bargain. I heard the child has an invisible and insurmountable bond with the biological mother, and I don't want to lose my son or daughter because of their attachment to you. Ritz, I am sorry."

"Sorry? This is not a mistake, Aniket. This is an intentional shrewd strategy." Kriti took a step in his direction with an accusatory finger pointed at him. "You drafted a contract that would prohibit me from meeting my child and you. How did you even think I would agree to this?"

"I lost the woman I loved for fourteen long years to a faceless man. I don't want my progeny to drift away from me and towards you." He mocked himself how his attachment, his desire and his obsession with children had matched up to the Dasharatha, who had made him want to become a father. And he knew that his obsession was higher than his concern for Kriti.

"Fourteen long years, Aniket? If your fourteen years count, then my love of twelve years should also count. Is this the price I pay for loving you without conditions? Never being able to look at my child or the man whom I loved? Since you are keen on fulfilling my conditions, I have a condition to agree to your contract," she said, donning the mask of nonchalance over the writhing pain of love.

Remorse like never flooded his heart. Her justifiable questions compelled him to question his sanity for placing the clause. All for what? His insecurity? But his insolent heart had forced him to ask her of the condition she sought. "What is your condition?"

"Divorce Ashna, and I will sign this contract," she said, looking straight through his eyes. "What's wrong with you, Kriti? How is that relevant, and why should I divorce her?" he asked, crossing over his desk to erase the distance between them.

"It is only fair you lose the love of your life when I lose mine, Aniket. Maybe losing her would make you understand my torment." she mocked, her face set into an embodiment of wrath.

The silence she received as an answer encouraged her to continue further, "You cannot divorce your wife, but you expect me to never even look at the child whom I carry for nine months and deliver? Do you have any idea how much of an emotional attachment motherhood is? Especially when the child shares half the genes from the man whom you loved for half of your life. You won't understand, Aniket. You never will, and I will never trust you," she said, slamming her palm with the contract papers against his chest, and he hung his head in shame and remorse.

Sparing one last look at Aniket, she walked out of his cabin, not allowing him to utter a word.

___________________________________________________

"The results came," said Preeta.

"Everything's fine, right?" he asked, concern lacing his tone, and he grabbed the results from her hands to have a look at him, overlooking the fact Preeta was a practicing clinician.

"Yeah, she's stable. We had to transfuse two units of blood, but she'll be fine. If she had not opened the door when she did—"

Words betrayed her when she thought of the fate which had awaited her friend if reality had been otherwise. Over the years as Ashna's consulting physician, she had grown to dote upon her as a sister, and the mere thought of losing her burned her heart with an incurable ache.

"All for the idiot who cannot even call back after about a hundred calls. I called up his assistant - that Vijay or Vivek. He said he will connect me to Aniket, but that never happened. The line just disconnected. Rascal! I just don't know why Ashna ended up in love with him, and doesn't want to give up on him!" exclaimed Sandeep, banging the papers against the wall in frustration.

"There's no coming back in love, Sandeep. You know that better than me. After all, you loved and faced the anguish of unrequited love from the same woman," she said, placing a consoling palm on his back and with assurance lining her tone.

She prayed that all the parties involved would receive the solace they deserve, but the pragmatic part of her wondered if there was an answer to the heart-wrenching puzzle that could placate everyone involved.