Part 8 – The Lovers

Karan and Mervin were cousins, but the urge to succeed at any cost made each different. Karan was grounded, kind, sincere and a self-made man. In contrast, Mervin wanted to enjoy the fruits of success without any effort or hard work. He always pushed Karan to take him into his company. But aware of his intentions, Karan kept him away from his business. Despite being siblings, Mervin and Karan’s fathers never got along, as their principles were poles apart. Mervin’s father had made good money and had left quite a huge property for him. But the wealth diminished slowly, owing to Mervin’s lavish lifestyle.
This made Mervin enter Karan’s business by hook or crook.

“Good morning, Aunty.”

Mervin’s call early in the morning surprised Mrs.Valenti.
“Good morning, son. First of all, thank you for informing me about Samiksha. She is such a sweet girl.”
“Yes, maybe. But I wonder how a girl can make such an important place for herself in business, too, in a short period. Don’t you find this strange? I mean, she is in a relationship with Karan too, if I am not mistaken.”

“Yes, your guess is right. But your opinion about Samiksha is wrong. She is a woman with self-respect. She has reached heights only due to her ability. Hard work does pay off. Am I right?”
Her sarcastic remark hit Mervin in the right spot.

“Well, I was just trying to help. See you soon.”
Mervin was disappointed by the trust Mrs Valenti had developed in Samiksha.
As a result, he started thinking about his next move.

Samiksha was relaxing on a lazy Sunday. Mrs. Samuel was busy cooking a delicious lunch for her daughter. The phone’s ring interrupted Samiksha’s rest.
“Hello, who is this?”
“This is Rose. Karan’s mom.”
Mrs.Samuel was taken aback by the voice on the phone.
“This is Samiksha’s mom. May I ask your name again, please? I could not hear it properly.”
“Rose, Mrs. Rose Valenti”.
Her voice and her name sounded familiar to Mrs. Samuel. She was trying hard to recollect.
“May I speak to Samiksha, Mrs.?”
“Maria.”.
On the other line, even Mrs. Valenti doubted the voice she just heard.
Samiksha took the phone and continued.

“Hello, Aunty. Hope all is fine over there?”
“Yes, dear. Just spoke to your mom. Felt good talking to her. Rather, I thought we had met before.”

“That’s great.

It’s quite a possibility. You were here in Mumbai a few years ago, right? Karan told me. You probably met her then.”
“Yes, maybe. Well, I called specially to invite you.”
“Invite?”
“Yes. Karan is coming here the day after tomorrow. Right?”
“Yup, his trip to Bangalore is fixed for the day after tomorrow.”
“Rather, why don’t you come here along with him? I would be pleased to see you here.”
“I will let you know, Aunty. Even I would be happy if we meet again.”

Samiksha told her mom about her invitation.
She agreed but was trying to recollect the voice heard some time ago.
Maybe she was overthinking, she concluded.

“Hello, sir.”
Karan looked at Samiksha’s glowing mood, which matched her face on Monday morning, and wondered what the reason might be.
“I have been invited to Bangalore by a very special person.”
Samiksha said, slowly sitting on the hands of his chair. First of all, he was excited to see her forget the inhibitions of his cabin’s see-through glass.
He gave an intense look.

“Ms Samiksha, I love this bold makeover of yours. It seems like the people out there are no longer embarrassed by you. Or has Karan Valenti transferred his naughty traits to you?”
His giggle after the talks proved his naughty mood.

“I guess you have explicitly transmitted the traits, Mr. Valenti”.
She encircled her arms around his neck and said
“Particularly, I am accompanying you to Bangalore.”

There was

an unusual joy in her talks.
As he tried to figure out her mood, there was a knock on the door.
Consequently, she got up, and Aarun entered the cabin.
“Here are your tickets to Bangalore.”
He handed over two tickets to Karan, leaving Samiksha a little confused, as she had just informed him about her accompanying him.

“Have a nice time, both of you. Give my love to Aunty. See you. Need to rush.”

“So you had already planned to take me with you then?”
She asked, with her hands on her hips.
“I feel like getting interrogated by Mrs. Karan right now.”
He laughed at her pose, and she tried to hit him with a fist.
He caught her hands and looked at her happily.
“Madam, you will be on my journey from now on. That is by default now.”

Their plane landed in Bangalore at around 10 a.m. It was August, and hence, the weather was unpredictable. Therefore, they rushed towards their home.
“So glad to see you, Sami.”
She gave her a warm embrace and was happy.
“I am left out in this duo meet, I guess”, Karan said.
She hugged her son and said, “You are the reason for our bonding, Karan. Thanks for gifting me with such a wonderful daughter.”

Samiksha made lunch with Karan’s mom, and they savoured it amid jokes and discussions.

Karan and Samiksha

attended the meeting in the evening. It was in a Karnataka village where he would start a new industrial construction work. It was proposed by a resident millionaire. The meeting was about the final agreement for the same.

Credit: Google Images

After the meeting, they had some breakfast and then proceeded back home. Meanwhile, it was already dark. The weather forecast predicted heavy rains. Eventually, Mrs Valenti told them to return soon.

On their way home, it started raining heavily, along with thunder and lightning. The intensity of the rainfall increased, and soon, the roads were full of water. With this in mind, Karan had to slow down his car’s speed. First of all, the view of the road was not visible, and Karan found it risky to drive in such a situation when Samiksha was with him.

Credit: Google Images

Without delay, he stopped his car near a hotel. They came out and ran inside the hotel building. Both were drenched, and Samiksha had already started sneezing. The manager gave them the room keys, and they went quickly upstairs. Karan called his mom and informed her about their whereabouts.

The room had one bed and a washroom and was big enough to accommodate two people. It was the need of the hour, or else Karan would take Samiksha to a better hotel room that met his standards.

She was shivering

a bit in drenched clothes. Karan was woried for Samiksha. In due time, he managed to get a pair of dresses from their luggage bag.
“It’s OK, Karan. I will manage.”
She sneezed.

Now Karan caught her hand and made her sit down.
“Don’t be stupid. Take this. Go to the washroom and change. Go.”
He pushed her towards the washroom. She went inside, hesitating.
Karan removed his coat, tie, and shirt and kept them on the edges of the bed and chair. He rubbed his palms to get some heat. The room was dimly lighted, and the window doors were restless due to the wild breeze.
The hustling of the leaves of trees nearby was accompanied by the blowing wind.

Karan was trying to call his home but could not because, due to the rain, there was no network at all.

Samiksha opened the washroom door and peeped to see where he was.
“Thank God you changed. Come.”

Stepping out of the washroom, Samiksha approached the bed where Karan was seated. Her walk was slow and hesitant. Karan, who had been a passive admirer of her divine features until now, got up from the bed.
And Samiksha stopped.

There was

an awkward silence in that small room. Their breaths and the thudding of their hearts were audible in that place.
Karan was mesmerised by Samiksha’s untouched beauty, graceful poise, magnetic aura and purity.

He could not take his eyes off her. She was very nervous because of the situation they had gotten themselves into.
“Samiksha, sit. Be comfortable. I know we are stuck in a situation we had not even imagined. But don’t worry. Hopefully, the rain will subside a bit by morning, and we can go back okay. I informed Mom about our whereabouts when the network was available.”

Samiksha was touched by his chivalrous, courteous behaviour. She sat on the bed and nervously played with a corner of the towel she wore. Finally, she gathered courage and looked at him.
“You are also completely wet. There is one more towel. Please dry yourself.”

Karan refused and replied,
“No way. I am fine.”
He moved his fingers in the wet hair. Water was still dripping from his hair and beard.

She stole glances and watched his features in the dim light. He looked like a Greek God to her.
“Sit,” she told him finally.
He smiled and, aware of her nervousness, continued standing, rubbing his palms on each other.
“Oh God. There is no source of heat here. Hope you are fine?”
“Yes, I am. Don’t worry.”

She could no longer

see him standing like that in wet clothes, and she got up and brought another towel from the washroom.
“Now, please sit.”
“But.”
“Sit, I said, she said in a commanding tone.
And as a result, he realised the future Mrs Karan was active in her now.
She made him sit on the bed and wiped his wet hair with the towel.

She caressed his face with her tender fingers.

The moment was very special and pure. Their love was the witness of this pure and deep bond they shared.
“Samiksha.”
“Hmm.”
“What is your heartbeat telling me?”
She searched for words and likewise replied,
“That we need to sleep now. Good night.”
She smiled. He got up from the bed and sat in a chair nearby. “You sleep on the bed, alright, Princess?”

She was again thankful to God and her Universe for sending this gentleman into her life.

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