HIS INNOCENT DESIGNER

THE LONELY WEEKS

The flight back home was uneventful. But before Jay could go home he had meetings lined up for the next few days all over India.

He sent Veronica back directly from Paris to Delhi but his flight landed at Mumbai. His new contracts had increased his responsibilities.

Not only was the wedding collection a success but his samples of The A & J Modern creation had also been appreciated by the suppliers in Paris.

Jay,s marketing team of Mumbai was the best so the entire presentation and marketing was to be handled by them.

After Mumbai he headed to Bangalore where he was too meet Sky Advertising- one of the most famous fashion magazine of India.

The editor of Sky advertising was an old classmate of Jay so together they spent the next few days working for his benefit.

Veronica on coming back was hell bent on making life miserable for Cia. She never lost an opportunity to undermine her. Forever she would be criticizing Cia for her dressing sense indirectly poking fun at her small town status. She even hinted that Jay and Veronica were now together and that Jay had never loved Cia.

Cia had only been a change, a time pass for Jay and nothing more.

Once or twice Sahil confronted Veronica on her behavior but Veronica silenced him by asking him not to interfere in her life

Cia was quietly completing her work and also preparing for her departure. But she never confided in anyone.

Her suffering was observed by everyone but she would not say a word. She would keep on working day and night.

Days were easy to pass but the nights were lonely for Cia. She loved Jay with her heart and soul but her love was not returned. She did not expect anything from him but a little curtsey was not too much to ask.

Sometimes she would lie awake all night thinking why she had to fall in love with the wrong person? Why couldn't she have fallen in love with Akash? Akash was a safe bet but her heart did not flutter on seeing him. He had never awakened any feelings in her.

Working here was getting tougher day by day. She just wanted to run away but she was a brave girl. She was a responsible person and would not leave before her work was completed.

This weekend she was planning to go to her friend Navya in Delhi. She was taking Monday and Tuesday off as her designs were complete awaiting approval from Jay.

She just had a month left and then she would be away from all this.

Weekend with Navya cheered her up. On Saturday they visited Connaught place, went for shopping at Janpath and had lunch at York Restaurant.

In the evening they had a light dinner and went to sleep early. Sunday they had planned a picnic brunch with old college friends. In college they had been a group of four friends all from small towns in Himachal Pradesh. Now all were working in Delhi and Gurgaon so once in a while they got together on Sunday for a lunch or coffee.

Today they planned to meet at India Gate – a spot famous for family picnics. Cia's two other friends were Neha and Sapna both working with export firms in Gurgaon.

They enjoyed the entire Sunday talking about their jobs and friends ,even going for boat rides on the lake.

Navya had taken Monday and Tuesday off as well so they planned to go to Agra for a day.

Cia and Navya boarded the bus for Agra on Monday morning , checked into the hotel and spent the evening visiting the local markets there.

On Tuesday they spent the entire morning sightseeing the Taj Mahal and the Agra fort.The Taj Mahal –a monument reminescent of the love of Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Begum again reminded Cia of her unrequited love.

They reached Delhi around 8PM. Cia planned to stay at Navya,s place for the night since it was late and would go to her office the following morning.

Cia however did not know that Jay had come back on Monday and would leave for London on Wednesday for a family wedding and she would not be able to meet him for another two weeks.

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