A SUMMER GETAWAY

 

Golden shimmers & luminosity, extravagant food & liquor, and overwhelming music, amidst the lush green landscapes of Lavasa, made a perfect first-anniversary getaway in the heat of April for Kavya & Kashish. To make the party fun-filled, all of their close friends were called to grace the special occasion.

Kavya, bold & beautiful, a self-made woman was an owner of Bello cosmetics. An ailurophile by nature, she owned a snow-white Birman named Robin. The only family she had was Robin & a 24/7 personal assistant Monica D'sena before she met Kashish. Always being a mysterious woman, Kavya hardly made any public appearances despite the increasing popularity of her brand.

Kashish Arora, born & brought up in a filthy rich, though conservative, Punjabi family, was a fashion expert & owned a line of clothes named Shor. Obstinate as much as handsome, Kashish too achieved all of this at his own will against the family business.

Kavya & Kashish met at the anniversary party of the common website company through which they sold their products. An interesting conversation & a passionate one-night stand made them believe to be ultimate soulmates. A few months of passionate affair & a decision of lifetime companionship was sealed. A year had successfully passed making them an adorably perfect couple envied by all. With the wedding being so successful, they decided to merge their business & run through an independent website.

The party was yet to start, where the guests were waiting for the ravishing two-some to make their entry. Kashish was in a velvety black opulent tuxedo & Kavya adorned in a beautiful white embellished gown sexy enough to float someone's boat yet elegant enough to be sober. The romantic duo made an entry with their arms entwined. "Happy Anniversary love," muttered Kashish lovingly in Kavya's ear & graced with a lingering kiss. Kavya coyed & returned the love, "Same to you sweetheart!" The duo mixed with the crowd to luxuriate in the flow.

"Hey, Kavya! I want you to meet Mr. Rahul Khurana, our investor," said Kashish nearly screaming in Kavya's ear from behind. Kavya turned around to greet the person, "Hello Mr. Khurana!" She paused & was astounded to see the man. Infact, so was Rahul. They both stared into each other's eyes against the dim disco lights. Rahul extended his hand to greet Kavya, "Happy Anniversary Mrs. Arora!" Kavya reluctantly shook hands with him & Rahul kissed her held hand. "May I steal her for a dance Mr. Arora?" requested Rahul. "Sure, why not? Go ahead," affirmed Kashish. Kavya looked at Kashish with dismay. Kashish gestured her to go with his guest. Kavya had no choice but to proceed. Rahul gazed into Kavya's eyes & Kavya glowered at Rahul. An awkward silence arose in the raging party. Rahul wished to break the silence, but before he could do that Kavya excused, "I'm sorry I need to use the loo." And she left Rahul in between the dance. Rahul was not going to keep himself at bay from the sexy hostess. He followed Kavya quietly.

Kavya kept staring herself in the mirror & gasped horrorstruck, “No! This is all a dream. He is not here in real.” And she felt a cold hand running through her bare back. “No Babu! I’m real,” hissed the cold voice & pulled her in a tight hug with his hands trying to get into her femininity. “Stay away from me!” barked Kavya with a violent push & an unexpected smack on his face. “You’ll pay for this… HARD!” cursed Rahul & stormed out into the party with a motive. Kavya recollected her poise & proceeded to mix with the crowd, trying her best not to bump into Rahul again.

The party was raging at its peak, the cake cutting ceremony was done, foods were served, liquor was flowing, people were already tipsy & amidst all of this the duo trying to mingle with each one at the party. Suddenly Kashish pulled Kavya from her arm & almost dragged her into the room. "What a lovely gift have you given me on our special day!" grumbled Kashish in sarcasm. "What are you talking about?" enquired the perplexed lady. Kashish pulled out his phone & showed her an intimate photo of hers with Rahul. "So you have been his mistress already!" bellowed Kashish. "Mind your language Kashish. That was my past. And we married at a condition that we shall never discuss my past until I decide to reveal it to you," scorned Kavya. "Really! Who else & how many have you slept with then!" disgraced Kashish. Kavya was utterly wretched with those words. She gushed towards him, caught hold of his collar & snarled, "How dare you disgrace me, you scoundrel!?" Kashish pushed her, smacked her hard & barked, "You are a disgraceful whore!" And Kashish left Kavya miserable.

The next morning Kavya's bed was found to be occupied by her & next to her was Robin instead of her husband. Monica entered her room & opened the curtains to wake her up. She opened her bleary eyes when the cat, all seven pounds of squirming flesh, climbed onto her belly. Squinting into the sunlight streaming in from the open window, she discovered that she was now the weary possessor of a pounding headache, and at some point, had managed to lose both a tooth and a spouse. Monica ordered, "Rise & shine! We have got a lot of work to do." Kavya was still very sleepy, "What are you doing here? You were supposed to be on a leave." Monica, "Not anymore. I have a life to fix. Come on, get up! Your special summer weekend getaway is ruined, which might ruin your kingdom. But first here's the painkiller & your black coffee to pacify your hangover. I'm waiting for you at the breakfast table." Kavya slogged out of her bed, finished off her morning routine & headed to the breakfast table. The villa showed no signs of Kashish. "He's staying at the hotel. Don't search for him," stated Monica. "I know," said Kavya sadly.

Monica, "Kavya, you need to be strong at this point. First of all, I have fixed up an appointment with the dentist & then you have to attend the press conference on the launch of your website & merger.

Kavya, “Are you serious? Press conference? Merger? Nothing of it is going to happen now. I’m doomed.”

"No, you are not. Remember, you have created this empire on your own. And you cannot let this doom down just due to one stupid incident. Take charge of your life. Reveal the past pages of your life your way before anyone else tries to intervene. The media are those hungry wolves who feed upon the dignity of people like you."

“Have you had ecstasy in the morning? You know I am not very proud of my past life. And I don’t want anyone to know. I never revealed it to my husband & you are talking to reveal it to the whole wicked world.”

"Husband? You guys never loved each other. Having sex doesn't always mean love-making. If you really loved him then you would have told him the darkest of your secrets in the first place. And if he really loved you then he would have punched the person right in his face who tried to molest your dignity. So forget about it. I'm sure Kashish will attend the press conference. Before he portrays your character to be disgraceful you put up your life story yourself."

Kavya sat there quiet & confused. She couldn’t decide whether all of it was real or a nightmare. Those pages of her life that she had torn & packed away, were flying loose in front of her eyes. She had to gather the courage to recollect those pages & pin them back at their appropriate place. “Come on Kavya, you are a fighter & you have to do it for your dignity,” encouraged Kavya to herself.

The press was ready to hunt down the duo like hungry wolves. Kashish & Rahul were amazed to see Kavya's presence in the press conference after the last night's incident. Kavya didn't make a single eye-contact neither did she stop by to talk to them. She headed straight to the dais. The separate entry of the most talked-about duo made the press whisper amongst them. "Good evening people!" Kavya greeted. "Perhaps all of us know the reason for this press conference. Before coming to the decided agenda, I would like to intervene in it." Kashish & Rahul had no clue what Kavya was up to. Kashish tried to interrupt, "Ahem...! Kavya we can do that later, isn't it? We can't waste their valuable time in something uncertain." Kavya replied with a smile, "Of course! But this is equally important. Moreover, there are some clarifications that the media always wanted from their 'mysterious businesswoman'. So today this 'mysterious businesswoman' would like to reveal her actual identity." Kashish & Rahul looked perplexed. Kavya continued, "I'm sure, each one of you is fed with the embarrassing situation that took place last night at the party. And each one of you is more interested in asking the questions about it rather about our planned merger. So before you start with your round of irrelevant questions, I would like to make some clarifications. All of you know me as Kavya... Just Kavya. My actual full name is Kanan Mahesh Solanki, daughter of the famous Gujarati businessman Mahesh Solanki. I am not very proud of my past life & hence I never revealed it to anyone, thinking that no one shall be bothered about. But now when it has come to my dignity, I decided to reveal it. Rahul Khurana, all of you know him as the investor in our company, had been my boyfriend during my college days. Being brought up in a modern family, my parents always knew about my life. We decided to get married with the consent of our parents. But unfortunately, Rahul couldn't convince his parents & somehow ended up getting engaged to someone else. My immaturity & stubbornness led me to leak some of our private images to the bride which ruined their relationship. I had shamed my parents enough to disown me. I was on my own, no family, no money. I ended up with the wrong companies at the wrong timings. Yes, I ended up being an escort. An elite class escort, whose identity was never revealed. I realised I didn't want to be known as an escort. So I started saving my money to complete my studies. I fled away & started a new life with a new identity. I completed my M. Sc. in Cosmetology & started with small scale business. Gradually I started making my own products. People started liking them & I started building up. And the rest is a history that all of you are very well aware of." There was pin-drop silence in the conference room. Kavya was choked, tears started rolling down her eyes. Kashish & Rahul couldn't believe their ears. "I would like to take up after a short break if you guys could excuse me," faltered Kavya with a heavy voice. And she left the podium. Kashish followed her to apologize. "Can you forgive me yet?" probed Kashish trying to make eye contact with Kavya. "Don't bother!" commented Kavya. "Here's your Anniversary gift, my love." And she handed him a brown envelope. Kashish opened the envelope to find a legal divorce agreement. Kashish was shocked & stuttered, "WWWhat.. what is this? You can't be serious, are you? Listen we can work it out. I promise I shall never do that again." Fear was all over Kashish's face. "Listen... I know you are more concerned about the merger than the divorce. Let's face it. You don't love me. You only love your business. I had always been an asset in your life more than being a life companion. I want someone to love me, the imperfect me. And don't worry about the merger. We are still business. And I'm not revealing our divorce in the press for our business. Don't worry I won't make your loss," implied Kavya & left the washroom. Kashish stood there feeling low of himself.

The remaining conference was solely about the merger & the new website launch which was successfully completed. Kavya felt light as a big burden was off her conscience. That day Kavya had been the happiest since she was disowned. She finally made peace with her past.

"Rise & shine!" appealed Monica while drawing the curtains open. "Monica! It's a Sunday. My day off," muttered the sleepy voice and drowned her head in her quilt. "Oh come on! It's already 8:00 am. You have some special guests to see," announced the caring P.A. while holding up the quilt. Kavya slowly got up & asked in confusion, "I don't remember about any such special guests I might have invited." Monica smiled at her & stated, "Waiting for you at the breakfast. Make it quick." And she left her in dilemma.

At the breakfast table, Rahul was waiting for Kavya. “Are you the special guest that Monica was talking about?” enquired Kavya. “You’ll soon know,” smiled Rahul.

Kavya, “So you are here for?”

Rahul, “Apology! I really want to apologize for the hideous act of mine.”

 “I accept your apology! I too need to apologize for whatever I did in your past. It wasn’t right on my part. I am really sorry.”

"Your apology reached me way back when my fiance wished to patch up months after the break-up. And I knew it was you who might have convinced her. I tried searching for you but you had disappeared. That night when I saw you at the party I was outraged. And I wanted to make you feel the grief of losing a relationship. I never imagined it would have turned out to be so bad.

“Don’t bother! At least that incident made me realize that the man never loved me & perhaps me too. I am thankful to you for saving me.”

"Well, then we are equal now. Now that everything's sorted I wanted to give you an anniversary gift."

“I am no more Kashish’s spouse.”

Rahul smiled at her & left to fetch something. Kavya's eyes were glued at the entrance to satisfy her curiousity. Rahul had brought a gift of a lifetime. "Dad... Mom!" gasped Kavya. She ran to hug them. "Please forgive me...! I am sorry...!!" sobbed Kavya. "Let's go home Kanu!" demanded Kavya's mom, Arundhati.

Kavya turned towards Rahul with the tears still fresh in her eyes, “You have given me the best gift of my life. I shall be grateful to you all my life.”

"That's not all. There's something else too. Look there," stated Rahul pointing his finger towards the garden. Kavya saw a big bouquet of her favourite flowers in the shape of SORRY. "I owe you an apology, big time," whispered a voice in her ear from behind. It was Kashish. "You have unlocked something in me. I.. I wish.. I could... I just.. I don't know.."

Kavya went closer to Kashish, “You still need to make a lot of amendments to impress me.” And she smiled slyly at Kashish.

And everyone broke out into laughter.

It’s said ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL.