Cupids and Crossbows

Demons of the Past - I

Have you ever felt you are going to burst into a million pieces because of the conflicting emotions battling inside you, that overwhelmed you beyond words?

Well, that's exactly how I felt when I saw Prithvi on that day in the meeting room. I was surprised, happy, shocked, sad, and nostalgic. More than everything I felt something pull at my heartstrings on hearing him call out my name.

God how I wanted to forget the whole world and run into his arms to be wrapped in a warm hug that I was so used to.

How I wanted to cry into his shoulders with his soothing scent engulfing me when I sobbed.

How I wanted him to kiss me senseless knocking out my breath and leaving me as nothing but a disoriented mess.

How I wanted him to make love to me in an animalistic need that would drive me to shout his name in the throes of passion, loud enough to shatter the walls.

How I wanted to hear him say those three words "Love you, Dhira" again, at least once.

Well, those may be the things my heart wanted. But there is this innate enemy inside us called the brain that brings up all the unpleasant memories pushing the heart's desire to the backseat. As fast as the rush of adrenaline from seeing him had propelled me to go into his arms, my brain had stopped that thought instantly by bringing up an image of why I left him in the first place. The brutal recall made me stay rooted to the ground with just my eyes reaching out for the man before me, taking in every inch of him. My eyes stopped their scanning route, the moment it landed on the lit-up cancer stick between his fingers, slowly losing its life to fire.

He had started to smoke again. Was that after I left? Was that because of me? I had been the reason for him to stop at one point in time. Now I am not sure anymore. While I don't know the reasons for him to pick up the deadly habit again, the rational part of me was telling that I had no right to even be angry at him for it since I no longer held any influential part in his life. That hurt more than I thought it would despite it being the harsh truth.

I couldn't deny the slight disappointment I felt when I saw him then. As if my thoughts had burned him, he hissed after a moment shaking his hand when the cigarette made contact with the floor. Or, maybe it's just the cigarette. Had he completely erased everything about me from his life? Even my one or two disapprovals that mostly concern his health? Do they no more hold any importance to him since I am no longer his lover? Above all why am I irritated with his smoking habit of all things? I have so many important questions that required attention rather than my boyfriend's masochistic addiction to burning up his lungs. No. Ex-boyfriend. I winced as soon as the last thought popped up into my mind.

"I missed you so much." My eyes shot open as soon as I heard those words. I looked up to be met with the eyes of the man who was still standing there in obvious shock. Judging from the way his eyes were drilling holes into my form, his gaze must have been fixated on me this entire time. For a moment I thought it was him who had uttered those words. I was proved wrong the next second when I heard Rishi continue to talk. "Why didn't you call Prati? You have no idea how broken I was. How could you do this to me? Baby, please talk to me" Rishi pleaded his voice so desperate that even I had trouble keeping a straight face without tearing up.

However, his words didn’t seem to get through to his unrelenting wife who was sitting in a chair with her fingers folded and her head down. I could see her jaw clench tight on hearing Rishi’s voice. Guessing from the way she was avoiding his eyes and looking anywhere but her pleading husband, she didn't want to see him either. Either that or she was going through an inner turmoil to either give in to her husband’s pleas or to stand her ground for whatever had driven her to apply for a divorce.

"You have the guts to even show your face to her after what you have done, you jerk. She has nothing to talk to you. We are here to get a very bad influence like you out of her life so that she can start to live peacefully at least from now on. Let's get this over with soon" a woman's voice spoke. It was right then that I noticed a raven- haired girl in a pitch-black dress sitting beside Pratiksha with her legs crossed and her eyes narrowed at my best friend. Her heavily painted red lips were twisted in a sneer and even though she was sitting down and Rishi was standing tall with his six feet frame, she was looking down on him with obvious disapproval and disgust. Not so surprisingly Rishi seemed to be sharing the same emotion which led me to wonder if he knew her.

"Shut up Riya" Rishi barked at her confirming my suspicions. "This doesn't concern you," he said through gritted teeth, and my God if only looks could kill, the lady would have been burned to a crispy treat by now. "She is my little sister, you heartless moron" she shouted and continued, "As her sister, I have the responsibility to look after her. I care about her a lot unlike you and I want only the good things for her. I want her to be happy and safe. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for you" she said uncrossing her legs and banging her hands on the table before her.

"Oh yeah? Where were you until two years ago when she needed you? Where were you when she needed someone with her when she was growing up on her own? Did you care about her enough to think that she would be yearning for some love from the only family she had? I know why you came back. I know why you are putting on that lovely sister act. I also know why you want to get rid of me that bad. Prati may be naive enough not to realize your antics but I have enough wits to see through a snake, like you" Rishi shouted, his rage rising by every minute. The veins on his forehead popped angrily making his anger more prominent to the people around him.

Nevertheless, she didn't seem to be affected by that. To be honest it only riled her up more and she shot out of her seat with a pointed finger, "You know nothing asshole. I am her family. I may not have been there for some time. But I came back. Family always stays together. I am here now for Pratiksha. You are right at something though. I regret not being there when you guys got married. Otherwise, I would have never allowed her to get involved with someone like you."

"Allowed her to? God, you act like you are her mother or something. She is an adult for God's sake. Stop living her life and let her make her own decisions. She is fully capable of it unlike you" he shouted back thoroughly infuriated with Riya's constant meddling.

"She may be an adult but that doesn't mean she couldn’t make bad decisions, too blinded by love; too naive to realize when something is fake. I am here to make sure she doesn't make those mistakes which she would regret for the rest of her life" she said with enough malice in her voice towards Rishi.

"Oh right. You know all about making the right decisions, don't you? And all about family. Because that was the only possible explanation why you married a fraudster who robbed you blind and ran off with your money. Oh no. That's not right. My bad. I completely forgot. Your husband is in prison now for selling drugs, isn't he? Wait. Was he the one after the thief or were there more men who screwed you over?", he shot back. "You must be the last person to help someone with life decisions" he added his eyes not once losing the hatred he had for her.

"How dare you? I always knew you were a cold-hearted lowlife who had never heard of the word polite. Come on Pratiksha. We are done here. Let's get this wrapped up some other time when the i***t over there grows up" she fumed and picked up her bag ready to head out. I didn't know how long both of them were going at each other throats like they were just waiting to sink their claws and draw blood. Because as much I tried to focus on my best friend, my eyes kept darting towards the other male's presence in the room that occupied my entire attention.

There were so many questions running around my mind, starting with What is he doing here? I mean, I know he and Pratiksha were good friends at University but was that the reason he was here? Just as moral support for his best friend? I know I was here with Rishi for the same reason. But Prithvi was a multi-millionaire and the CEO of a reputed company. As much as he prioritizes friends and family over everything else, he had so many responsibilities that he couldn't afford to ignore. He couldn't have flown from London just for this meeting, could he? Then why was he here?

"Stop treating her like a f*****g marionette, woman" Rishi bellowed again throwing his arms up in the air. He rushed around to reach for Pratiksha but his path was effectively blocked by Riya. "Step out of my way" Rishi started his hands forming fists at his sides and his eyes spitting fire even more in anger if that was possible.

"Or else what? You gonna hit me?" she replied meeting his glare dead on and refusing to budge an inch. Sensing that things were getting heated quickly, Kyle moved forward to pull back Rishi by his arms. At the same time a tall guy in a grey suit, who I noticed for the first time, came to stand between Rishi and Riya, putting his hand out in a protective manner. I half expected Prithvi to do something about this situation like coming forward to protect the girl and avoid a fistfight. But when I turned towards him to see if he was about to say something I saw him glued to the same place as before with his eyes still fixed on me.

His gaze was so powerful and he was staring at me without even blinking like he was trying to break through my walls to look into my soul. God those eyes! I literally cannot describe what those eyes were doing to me right then. I could neither look at them nor look away from them. They were trying to tranquilize me with their magnetic pull while searing my skin with the heat they emitted. I was mentally writhing because of how uncomfortable I was under his gaze.

"Enough!" A scream tore through the air echoing heavily in the glass-enclosed conference room. Every pair of eyes in the room instantly focused on the source of that cry. Pratiksha was out of her seat and was heaving in and out heavy breaths.

Her eyes strayed to Prem's for a split second that constrained too many emotions behind a wall.