Adhrit Solanki stared out of the window beside his desk. The clear navy-blue sky seemed like someone had spilled shimmer over it and had drew marvelous art using the sky as the canvas. Situated on the 31st floor, his cabin surely boasted of one of the best views one could enjoy.
For a normal observer, Adhrit Solanki had everything one would want. He had married love of his life, was one of the top businessmen of the world and was blessed with good health. But the man in question himself would deny the claims with a regretful sigh. He had married the love of his life, but the marriage proved to be the root of all his worries. It began to make him lose focus over his business and soon his health started deteriorating.
Years ago, he was preparing to be a doctor, but family business was thrust onto him while he was pushed into Business Management studies, which he aced every time. As his mind drifted into the past, he reminisced the way he had colored the town in red with his current wife and then girlfriend. The passion they seemed to possess back then had mysteriously gotten lost after their marriage.
People would kill or die to be in his place to be able to marry their childhood sweetheart or their first love, but he knew better. He wondered if the destiny was a bit different about his parents, would he have fallen for his wife or someone else would have stolen his heart and he would be much peaceful than he was.
A knock on his door interrupted Adhrit's peaceful gazing of the world on the other side of the glass. Sighing deeply at his recently developed lack of focus, Adhrit granted the permission to enter. Adhrit's secretary, Rupa, walked into the room, following his words.
"Sir, it is quite late. Can I leave for the day? My mother asked me to return home early after listening to the recent rape case in this street," she said, her eyes stuck to the ground, hoping that her boss would not shout. His mood had begun to fluctuate to extremes over the past few days and she did not want to be on the receiving edge of the negative extreme of his emotional range.
Rupa's words made Adhrit glance at his watch to realize that the hour hand of the watch had crossed the number nine quite long back. He had been staring outside for that long?
"Sure, Rupa. Convey my apologies to your mother for keeping you in office for so long. I will ask for a company cab to drop you at your residence. You can leave at seven-thirty everyday unless the schedule dictates otherwise and every time the schedule keeps you here for longer than that, the company takes the responsibility from now on," he said, standing up and pulling the intercom to dial the reception to call the cab.
Rupa was relieved to see his calmer side. He could be so sweet if he wants, she thought as she smiled widely at him.
"Thank you so much, Sir. No need to call the cab. I will be fine. My boyfriend came to pick me up," she said, her eyes lighting up with the mention of her boyfriend. Lucky bloke thought Adhrit with despair flooding his mind.
"Fine then. Good night, Rupa. Bye," he said suddenly and walked away from the room as he picked his phone from the desk.
Rupa stood floundering, wondering what had happened to her boss suddenly. Deciding that she would not be able to understand her boss ever in her life, Rupa left the room after switching off all the electronics in the room, with a smile on her face, expressing her eagerness to spend time with her boyfriend.
"What have you done to my son that he jumps at the mention of getting the vaccination done, Dr. Neysa Thapar ? He just loves you," said Shipra, clutching her son to her chest.
"It's just my charm, baby. Aur Rahul and Mausi have a secret, don't we Rahul?" asked Neysa, looking at the chubby child with adoration and affection, who reciprocated her emotions with the same intensity.
Rahul bobbed his head as an answer to Neysa's question. Neysa raised her hand towards him for a high-five which felt more like a gentle touch to Neysa.
"Do you plan on sharing the secret? Ever?" questioned Shipra, feigning her anger at her best friend.
"Arre Shipra, it is called a secret for a reason. You know, I am a very trustworthy person. I know how to keep my secrets," joked Neysa, winking at Shipra.
It tugged at Shipra's heart to see Neysa's child-like behavior. Neysa could keep her pain a secret from others but not her best friend who had unknowingly been the reason for her pain. How she wished that she had learned of her friend's heart before she had herself confessed and stopped the swinging of her heart to the forbidden region.
"I know of that very well. You are so proficient in keeping your secrets that you don't let others know that you are in deep pain. Why don't you move on, Neysa?" Shipra asked, clutching Neysa's arm.
Shipra's question made the smile on Neysa's face fade away. Her expressions began matching her internal pain, which was hidden in a corner of the heart which was dedicated to someone who made her forget everything which she had learned. Neysa reminded herself that she was seated in front of her pseudo-sister who was analysing her facial expressions and gained control of herself.
"Who told you that I did not move on? Remember Advait, my boyfriend?" reminded Neysa, with a smile playing on her lips.
"We both know that it is just for show, just as your smile, Neysa. Till when would remain lost in his thoughts? I guess it is all my fault. It is because of me that you both met and..."
"Mumma, it is time for my favorite cartoon. Let us go home!" said Rahul, cutting his mother's statement in half.
"I think you should go, Shipra. Trust me, I am fine," assured Neysa, her heart mocking at her for overusing that phrase when it was false. She stood up to make sure that she made Shipra leave.
"But..." Shipra tried to argue but stopped seeing Neysa's pleading expression.
"I will leave for now, but we are having this discussion soon," Shipra said, as she walked out of the room.
Neysa slumped back onto her chair. She pulled one of the drawers of her table to reveal a photo which reflected her teary face. It was the photo clicked at the ramp walk at their last day of secondary high school. What she had thought would vanish away along with his presence, continued to be what influenced her the most in her life.
While she clutched the photo close to her heart and smiled at the memory of being in his arms, the destiny wondered if there was a paradox more complex than in the case of Adhrit Solanki. On one hand he had a person who still loved him without any limits and on the other, he was in love with someone, whom he believed, cared only about the limits which defined him and his position.
"Mohini Thakkar, how many times do I need to tell you to stop taking these anti-depressants? You are taking them for years now," berated Preetika Thakkar, consulting physician of Mohini Thakkar, wife of Adhrit Solanki, since several years.
Mohini had fainted during one of her shoots when her team had called for Preetika. Dizziness, one of the side effects of long-term usage of anti-depressants, had caused her to give up on her consciousness and it did not take Preetika long to diagnose the same.
"You know why I take it and why I cannot stop," replied Mohini, clutching her head which was feeling extremely heavy with her shaky hands as she rested her back against the support.
"You are putting yourself into unnecessary pressure. These pills are causing you to gain weight and eating disorders are following which you cannot afford being a model. You cannot have the opposite ends of the spectrum, Mohini. Why don't you confide this to Adhrit? He has a right to know and I am sure that he would understand without fail," explained Preetika, helping her patient and friend to sip some water to quench her thirst.
"That's whole point, Preetika! He would understand without fail but in his own way. He would not understand my point of view. I remember, he told me once that the reason he fell for me was because my feelings towards him were unconditional and I had no expectations from him like his family. I don't want to take away the basis of his love, Preetika. It's just his love which keeps me going," revealed Mohini, signing to her secretary to bring some wine for herself as she often did when she was distressed but could not take the pills to prevent the overdose.
"Alcohol, anti-depressants, strenuous exercise, sleep-deprivation and crazy schedule. What is this if not the perfect brew to ruin your health. I understand that you don't want to lose him but as your doctor I cannot allow you to take any more of these anti-depressants, Mohini. You must find another way out of this," said Preetika, pouring herself some orange juice as Mohini indulged in the habit she had obtained several years down the lane.
"Love, depression and addiction are like an abyss, Preetika. Once you have fallen in it, there is absolutely no way out if you are the one with weak will and now I don't think I have any will left in me," mused Mohini, swirling the golden liquid in the glass as she eyed the shimmery sky.