River & Desert

Part 27

He proposed Mitali could find love if she searched well, hoping she would understand his hidden message.

"I don't have the energy to search for love anymore, Mr. Sinha." She shook her head and rubbed her palms together with a tight-lipped smile. "Love shouldn't be an excuse to exploit me again. If someone had told me years ago that I would give up on love, I would have called them an idiot. My past self was too naïve to believe in the universal presence of that emotion."

The man's initial disappointment dissipated as he noticed her scrutinizing gaze had returned to him. Mitali heaved a sigh and cleared her throat. "I think I was under the influence of hormones when I said I wanted love, or perhaps I was missing Amma. I'm sorry."

Adhrit Sinha rejected numerous women over the years who professed their love for him due to his disbelief of love, but when he finally fell in love, the woman no longer believed in it.

Although he believed she valued marriage greatly, and thought marrying her would prove his love, fate had closed that opportunity for him.

The horrors etched into the chapters of his past had painted a rather dark image of the institution she coveted. When his brother-in-law turned his back on his sister, the disdain for the relationship only increased. The very action which had lead to the decision of thrusting the responsibility of siring an heir onto him. In what way could he ever tie himself to a commitment that he detested?

That thought brought upon another realization. He couldn't give up his beliefs and dislikes for her, so how could he expect her to compromise her powerful will that made him fall for her?

"Your mother is not aware, is she?" he asked, taking a deep breath as he tried to steer the conversation in a different direction before the churning developing in the pit of his abdomen turns him into its puppet.

"She is not. I don't think she would ever agree to this." Mitali's foster mother's profound love for her is evident as Mitali revealed her mother's willingness to do anything for her happiness, even trade her soul.

Adhrit eyed her and the gears turned in his mind to turn her wishes into reality. "Can you think of any way you can meet her? I don't think a video call is enough to make up for the eventful months of separation."

"It is not." Looking down at her lap, memories of her mother's love flooded her mind as she expressed her wish to hug her mother and become a daughter again before being a mother herself.

"Then, meet her. It's too early for the bump to show," he informed her, and she nodded in agreement after some thought.

"Your level of earnestness caught me off guard. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts with me," he acknowledged.

A playful smile played on her lips. "Mr. Sinha, is this the first time someone has proven you wrong? I'm looking forward to doing it again!"

He was torn between her smile and her laughter as the reason for his enchantment, yet he yearned for time to pause and let him bask in the moment and remember it eternally.

"You have no idea how many times you've achieved that feat, Ms. Pathak!"

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Gupta House,

"Mitali!" squealed Pushpa, excitement lacing her voice as she took her daughter into her warm embrace, forgetting about their audience.

Adhrit had informed Anurag about their visit, but meeting the sister he had wronged caught him off guard. He was conscious of his sister's precarious position between two extremes, where her smile could turn into a frown and her happiness into tears at any moment.

"I miss holding you in my arms, my child! You can't even call on time! You just don't care about your old mother!" said Pushpa, as she caressed her daughter's cheeks and straightened her already set hair.

Her affectionate gestures caused Mitali to tear up, and her lower lip twitched as she struggled to hold her emotions.

"Will you talk about everything at the doorstep, Maa? She has company," reminded Anurag, placing his palm over Pushpa's shoulder, realizing Mitali's emotional turmoil and the need to divert the direction of the talk.

Pushpa stepped back and glanced over her daughter's shoulder when she noticed the man with her. He opted for a three-piece suit, which looked pricier than all of their clothes put together.

His ensemble exuded arrogance and pride, which made her heart throb with fear for her daughter's working conditions, but his eyes conveyed humility and compassion, providing her the assurance she needed.

"Adhrit Sinha..." said Mitali, looking at Adhrit with a smile as she took it upon herself to introduce him.

"Your boss?" asked Pushpa, pulling the end of her saree over her opposite shoulder, wondering if she had dressed appropriately for the meet.

When her mother asked about their relationship, Mitali struggled to find the right words. The memory of her relationship question left him tongue-tied, and it now floated amidst the turbulent waves crashing at the banks of her consciousness.

What were they? Their relationship was too intricate to be labeled as just friends or employer and employee. Neither was the tag of marriage acquired through signing of a few legal documents, real, nor did it feel right to call each other acquaintances.

She had little knowledge of him, but trusted him beyond her own self and wondered why. The time since she had met could amount to the hardest times she had lived through, and yet, she could not label meeting him as a mistake.

What were they? Two strangers left adrift in a stormy and unforgiving sea - forced to rely on each other to survive. What would one call such an inexplicable bond?

The bond that brought them to live through experiences beyond her imagination and reveal sides of their persona that only they knew. How could she find a name that justified the bond?

Anurag confirmed he is her employer to prevent Pushpa from getting suspicious because of Mitali's long silence.

"Namaste, Aunty," greeted Adhrit, with a slight upward curve of his lips, wondering what had gotten her tongue. Her silence fanned his hope that someday, maybe even in the distant future, she would see their relationship in a different light and find the name he had failed to find.

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