Circle of Trust

Chapter 15

The cool breeze from the sea blew across her face whipping her hair while the scorching heat of the blazing sun steadily beat down on her back. Her toes dug into the wet strands of the sand underneath her bare feet, as she sat gazing into the waters that rose to the lures of the high tide on one of the most secluded beaches of Nashid.

Naina heart beat to the rhythm of the roaring waves that greeted her feet, occasionally skimming, kissing, and drenching her with its purposeful attention. They reminded her of her husband – compulsive at times, unconcerned and distant at others. Like the sea that trapped the mysteries in its depth but sung an alluring song teasing a rare glimpse of a conch, a pearl in its oyster.

Varun was her allure, her mysterious sea and she a pearl trapped in his charm, his love, his life. He skimmed her with his kisses, but held back his heart with the darkest of secrets, his thoughts, his desires kept wrapped out of her reach.

It troubled her that he wouldn’t talk about what happened between her and Shiv all those years ago. She had tried once and was shot down so badly she had since learnt to skirt any issue that hinted at that incident. She had waited for years on end to know what was in his heart, but Varun excelled in keeping things light.

He teased, kissed, or seduced her till she virtually couldn’t remember her own name whenever a dark gloom settled on her face. She had long suspected he was a mind reader but over the years she knew better. He was too scared to talk about anything that reminded him of the past that he perpetually looked for signs and nipped them in the bud.

With Shiv back in their lives, Varun would have no choice but to face the truth of what happened. The three of them knew in their hearts, it could have gone either ways.

They had been at a fork and one person had stubbornly chosen for them all.

Naina wound her arms around her raised knees and rested her cheek on it. She closed her eyes, savoring the sea, the heat and the cold, and the music of the waves. She finally recognized the ache that had lain hidden in one corner of her heart, a place even Varun’s love couldn’t reach - the loneliness that had invaded a small part of her when Shiv had left her life.

With a sigh of relief at solving a puzzle that had plagued her all these years, she let the tears fall unbidden down her cheeks into the waters that skimmed her feet.

Over the years, she had wondered about her reaction if and when she met Shiv. Not in her wildest of dreams had she imagined it to be one of relief – immense relief, that he was fine. He was here, talking to her…in his all too familiar soothing voice.

Shiv hadn’t changed all that much since the two years she had known him. Except for that hair. Dear heavens! What happened to his glorious hair that had flowed to his shoulders?

She frowned. Why would that small detail matter to her? Her fingers tingled, and she clenched it till her nails dug mercilessly into her palms. Tears coated her eyelids as she closed her eyes.

The vibrations on her hip alerted her to where she was, and she reached inside her handbag for her phone.

She saw her husband’s name flash on the screen and quickly wiped away her tears. But her fingers hovered over the phone wondering how she was going to tell him about Shiv. She knew his fears; at least she could take a good guess since he had never spoken about him or asked her for explanations, just nothing. It was like his best friend stopped existing for him. And it was her fault.

She rested her forehead on the phone and dragged in quick small breaths. Her phone stopped ringing and she jerked her head up to stare at it. There were three missed calls and she knew without doubt all three were from Varun. How lost had she been in her thoughts that she hadn’t heard them?