Broken Beads

Chapter 6

Riya stretched her body lazily, her eyes moving to the clock; it was half past nine in the morning but she didn't had the energy to be up. She had to take all patients of Dr Smith as a new patient seemed a little on edge and his session lasted few hours. After that long day a work, she  had decided to watch movie , have her favorite food and sleep till ten the next day as if was her off. But things changed when Nirali called and kept asking if she was fine. Riya could make out that Nirali had been stressed about something , but latter kept denying. She tried probing and next moment it was Lakshay on the phone. Riya had asked him straight if they had a fight and he accepted. 

They spoke and Lakshay did most of the listening. He wished and they called it off. Riya knew in their relationship, Nirali was volatile one but she could never hear a word  against her friend. After a fateful incident, Riya had to cut contacts with all who she held dear to her heart but Nirali never stopped looking for her and after she came to UK, it was her aunt who told her that her friend has been reaching to get it touch. Nirali's messages and concerned voice mails had left Riya emotional. Had she heard them before, she would have asked for help. And she knew Nirali would do all to help. She huffed recalling the small quarrel her friend and husband had. Riya smiled praying for the their well being. 

Riya moved to her coffee machine but then her heart yearned for her ginger chai. Smiling, she made her way to the refrigerator to get her tea done. She heard the intercom and security informed she had package and checked if it was okay to be left at her door. She agreed.

When Riya opened her apartment door, she found bouquet of roses in every color a her door along with an envelope. She smiled, Shaan had done this for years to cheer her up and let her know he was there as a friend, but he would always pick yellow. The colourful bunch today surprised her. She picked it up moving in . She was curious about the note and pulled it out of envelope. It was a card, a simple card which had just one word ''Sorry!''

Riya stared at it, she knew it wasn't from Shaan. She knew that Varun was closer than she thought, she had not just imagined him under her window on the stormy night, she had felt him around her. She had loved him for so long that she could feel him even without looking at him. She knew he had been watching her but strangely , she wasn't bothered. 

Riya picked her tea and moved the living room, she flipped the news paper around shaking her head. News paper were to keep her updated of her surrounding but these days, all they had were the details of error in human behaviour . Feeling a little disturbed , she moved to the window sipping her tea. Her mind replaying the word in the card, but in Varun's voice. How long had she waited for him to say that. On the day he diched her, on the day of her wedding,the day she came to a new country and in countless dreams, but it never happened, and when it happened, she was so over it. It didn't feel a thing. Riya kept her cup aside, pulled out a trash bag and dumped the flowers into them.  She was going to leave it in a public trash Bin that very day.

***

Past

''What is this?''  Riya asked Shaan. he smiled at her and took a seat beside her. ''You did well, these are the fruits of your labor. You are accepted for medicine course.''

She stared a him dumb found, this man, who was her husband by law came in her life in form of an angel. Shaan never demand a thing, not even his congenial rights. He understood her like no other and still she wasn't in love with him. Riya broke down, she sobbed hard, her face hidden in her palms.

''Riya, what's wrong?'' Shaan asked worried, he sat opposite to her trying to calm her but to no avail, so he let her pour all out, patiently waiting for her to speak. When her sobs reduced to hiccups, he offered her a glass of water.