A new chapter-Part two

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Read the first part here.

Kavya rose to a beautiful morning next day. The air was cool from last night’s rains. The warm rays of the sun played peek-a-boo with the fluffy clouds casting lovely hues of orange and yellow around. Despite a tumultuous previous night, Kavya felt calm and clear-headed.

Shekar seemed pleased and slightly relived to see Kavya that day at her usual chirpy self. She had seemed guarded and withdrawn in the last few meetings and it had made him a little uneasy. Much as he liked to hop from one victim to another, he thrived on attention.

“Isn’t it lovely that I’ll be spending the entire day with you?” Kavya exclaimed, twining her fingers around Shekar’s. “The project is finally over. I handed over the entire report just yesterday to Kunal, the Mr. Critic of our team and asked him to grant me a day’s off.”

Of course, darling! I was worried; you did seem a little disturbed lately, didn't you? Shekar cupped Kavya’s face and looked sincerely in her eyes.

Kavya looked away, breaking eye contact “Yeah! That Kunal has been acting up lately. He wanted me to do all the detailing required for new software we are coding. It does take a toll, you see!Of course, Kunal wants me to do well.” 

“Oh, you better stay away from this Mr. Critic then. He can find someone else to slave over his project” Shekar butted in. “Anyway, enough of office talks. Let’s enjoy our time now”

Something about the meeting with Kavya that day disturbed Shekar. Kavya’s phone had beeped frequently-something that rarely ever happened. She had kept in on the notification mode but seemed distracted with the interruptions. She was probably having a tough time at work, Shekar observed. He had to leave on a business trip to Delhi the next day so he left the matter there.

He checked his other phone. 8 missed calls from Sneha. She was getting difficult now. He called back on the number and heard out a sobbing Sneha who sounded desperate as her parents had begun groom hunting for her. She wanted an immediate commitment from Shekar, albeit known to her as Mohan. Shekar pacified her with his smooth talk and asked her to wait till he came back from his trip.

Sneha was so prone to hyperventilating, a complete contrast to the calm and composed Kavya, thought Shekar. Sneha made him feel wanted but Kavya turned him on. With Sneha he became Mohan, the gentle person who would soothe and give strength to Sneha. With Kavya, of course, he was Shekar, a macho-man who knew what he wanted in life. He loved the dual-roles as it satisfied his ego on many levels. Who was he indeed? Who cares? Life was exciting this way.

As Shekar stepped out of the Delhi airport into the cab that would take him to his hotel, he bemoaned the sweltering heat of the capital city which he found to be more oppressive than the weather in Mumbai, where he lived and worked. He glanced at his watch-just enough time for him to check into his hotel, shower and be in time for the conference that was to take place at the same venue. The cab pulled into the expensive hotel. Shekar looked around the lobby appreciatively while collecting the keys to his room. He loved this aspect of his job where he got to travel frequently and stay in luxurious settings.

Just as he turned to pick his bags and walk towards the lift, he caught the sight of a couple getting into the lift. The girl was engrossed in an animated conversation with the guy whose arm was around her hips. Something about the girl struck him as very familiar. It happened swiftly and the image was too short for Shekar to know for sure.