Leap of Faith

Sound of the broken heart

Shweta sat beside me wrapping her arm around my shoulder. The silence was broken when Christina Perry started singing 'A Thousand Years'—my ringtone. I pulled out the phone from pant pockets and answered without waiting.

"Hello?"

"Trisha," Aayan called out in a velvety voice. I sucked in a breath as if his voice brought a life in me. 

"Aayan," I said.

"I longed to hear your voice." The strain in his voice shook me from within.

"You lost your deal and I lost my dignity," I managed to speak out.

"The deal is not important. It is you and only you," he said convincingly. But it sounded empty to my ears.

"I told you that I wanted to keep myself away from all this. Yet here I am, humiliated in front of the world. My career is over. Thanks to you." My voice sounded broken far from angry.

"Please, Trisha. You still work for SpeedEx. And I will ruin every single individual who started that rumour," he pleaded.

"I no longer care," I replied sternly. I wanted no more drama. I had had enough.

"You need time, I will give you time," he paused. "But don't say that we are over. We will never be." His voice sounded muffled.

"Focus on your work, forget about me," I said.

"I need you," he stated simply.

"Take care." I disconnected the call and kept my phone on the coffee table in front of me. For a long time, I could not help the fresh stream of tears flowing down my cheeks. For one moment, it was going good, great in fact. I had never been so thoroughly happy and loved before. But in the next moment, I woke up in a nightmare. I wished I could flip a switch and go back to my earlier life.

I wiped my tears away; I had to concentrate on my job. Whatever it was that awaited me at the office, I would face it, for my own pride and dignity. I decided to face all the judgment people had to offer me.

I got ready and peered at my own reflection. A good amount of makeup did the trick. The dark circles under my eyes were now well concealed. Sighing, I picked up my bag and made my way downstairs. As soon as I hit the bottom landing, a horde of reporters came in my view. They advanced getting passed the security and clicked away madly.

"What's your relationship status with Vikram Kar?" One of them shouted.

"How did you manage both relationships?" A woman on my right thrusts her microphone towards me.

"What do you have to say about your relationships with one of the most powerful businessmen?" A reported with India News badge asked. 

I looked at them and a new courage born within me. These people didn't know me and I was certainly not going to oblige them with any explanation. It was my life and whatever might be their theories, it would not stand true if I simply ignored.

Ignore, that I did and managed to get myself through the crowd. I hailed a cab and hopped on. 

At SpeedEx House, the same scene was seen from afar. They were ready to pounce on me. Fortunately, Adam, Aayan's assistant, motioned me towards the service door entry of the building, saving me from the attack. I knew instantly that it was Aayan's thoughtfulness.

I had started going through my emails one by one, most of them from Aayan. He wanted to make sure I was okay, I guessed but I stopped myself from reading them. When Harshit called me to his office, I took deep breaths and composed myself before entering.

"Good Morning, Sir." I greeted him with a small smile.

"Morning, Trisha. Sit down," he replied still looking at his laptop.

As I sat down, he looked intently at me, as if studying me. "I am sorry for what's happening in the media."

I just nodded looking straight into his eyes. "Is there something you need me for?"

"Well, yes and no." He stood up, went to the window behind his desk, thinking hard on something. It intrigued me.

"Yes. If you are ready, we could visit our manufacturing facilities and get you trained in maybe two weeks' time. That way you will get a better idea of the shop floor," he paused and turned and said, "No. because I don't know if you are going to continue working here."

"I am ready to get the training started, Sir. And I am not going to quit the job." I straightened out.

"That's great. Then get ready. We will start our training next week," he smiled and I smiled back fully.

He was literally an angel saving me from myself. I really needed a getaway and a lot of work to occupy my mind. I felt relieved. The rest of day passed going through the company documents and Sonali again inquiring me about my relationship with Aayan, constantly telling me that she did not believe that I could cheat. She was hurt because I had trusted her enough to tell her the truth; for some reason, she had come to believe that she and I were great friends. I could only agree with her, not wanting to get into a long conversation. At the end of the office hours, I was sipping my evening tea, when Raghu came to meet.

"Hey, my friend! Or am I not even your friend anymore," His sarcastic remark cut through.

"Hi, Raghu. How have you been?" I asked him, ignoring his tone.

"I have been better. Better when we were friends," he taunted.

I kept mute, as I did not have anything to tell him.

"I liked you, Trisha. I practically begged you to date me. But you betrayed me. Not by going out with the CEO but by not telling me a thing."

"I am sorry for not telling you. But I am not sorry for my life decisions. Yes, I liked him before I knew he was rich. One more thing, I was never into you. I did not lead you to believe that I was interested in you. So don't put this on me." I argued back.

"So you are saying that he is your type and I am not," he snapped.

"Why are you acting like a lunatic? I don't like you that way Raghu. Deal with it! And whom to like or whom to date will be my choice. Not yours." My tone went one notch higher.

He sneered, leaning casually before saying, "Maybe it's true what they say. You slept your way to the top. I am utterly disgusted."

I slapped him hard across his face. I was shocked at his remark, making me doubt about my taste in friends. I should have known, should have seen through his pretense of friendship.

"Don't ever talk to me. Just get the hell out," I spluttered angrily knowing fully that the raised voice must have attracted every gossiper's attention in the office.