Soulfully Fated

1.The Beginning

AUTHOR's POV: 

Dev was exhausted by now. It was 10 at the night yet a sense of restlessness enveloped me. This feeling was not new to him. He had been experiencing this since he had lost his mother to cancer at the tender age of 9. Deciding not to prod over his unsettling thoughts, he quickly packed his bag, picked up his coat, and left for the cellar. He got into his black Mercedes and drove off to his penthouse. He had been living there for the past five years. Ever since he succeeded his father as the CEO of the Verma group of companies, he had been living here. Throwing his coat and bag on the bed, he quickly stepped into the shower discarding his clothes. The warm water descended on his body making him sigh. He was advised to take a warm shower so that it would help him sleep better. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Dev stepped out of his shower, pulling out gray sweatpants from the closet. He wasn't hungry. He had a business dinner with one of his clients that evening and decided to sleep. Gulping down the sleeping pills that lay on his bedside table, he pulled the comforter above his head in an attempt to sleep. With the feeling of restlessness still haunting him.

DEV's POV:

"Mom, no"

"No mom, please. Don't leave me here. Take me with you. I don't want to stay here without you."

"MOM....Nooooooooooooo."

I woke up breathless, clutching the comforter to my chest. A nightmare again. Despite everything, these tend to haunt me to no end. The bedside clock displayed 3:30 AM. It was hardly 5 hours that I had slept and yet I was woken up by them. Knowing that I could no longer get sleep, I pulled the comforter off me and headed to the kitchen to make myself a glass of warm milk. Taking the glass in my hand I headed to my study to look into the pending work. It was about 7:30 when my phone began blaring. I sighed looking at the caller.

"Hello." I breathed out.

"Dev! I need you to come home today. I and your dad have something to talk to you about." She said.

"I am not free today. I have certain meetings and important clients to attend to. I cannot come today." I replied. It was true. I had to sign a deal with the Malhotras. After so many rejections and proposals, today was finally 'The Day' for the deal. It would be a big bonus for the company.

"No matter what, I need you to be here by 7 today." She countered. I sighed. If I were to go there I know that I would not be able to sleep at all. I have gotten used to being sleepless, but I still craved the bare minimum amount of peace that I could get in my penthouse.

"What is it that I cannot do from here? Why do I need to come there?" I asked knowing that there would be no answer.

"Why can't you just come once? It's not that I call you every day and ask you something!" She barked. Yeah! You have never asked me how I felt when you slyly took away my mother's properties and made them yours. You have never asked me if I had eaten or not. You have not asked me for my company, despite making a plan to take it away from me. My stepmother was a lot to handle. If not me, then she would manipulate my dad into something and rile him up against me.

"Fine. I'll be there." I replied ending the call. This was bad. My stepmother didn't call me unless she needed something.

I quickly took a bath, changed into my suit, picked up my bag, and headed to the dining room. Martha was already there cleaning the kitchen counter.

"Dev! I thought you were sleeping", she exclaimed seeing me. I chuckled and shook my head at her antics. She was a cheery 50 yr old woman who cooked and cleaned the penthouse for me. She had the spare keys to this house and was a second mother to me. She has a daughter and a son who are studying in Pune and her husband is a bus driver working for Maharashtra Tourism.