An Aesthete - A triangle love story

Chapter 37

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Veda

Yet another day of sunlight sweeping into my house.

It's Saturday morning and I'm as excited as the first time for the arrival of Darshana into my home. It's been one and half months since she officially entered my house and made it into a home after the fire accident. Though it was caused by Hridhay, I would have lost him and Darshana to the fire. But gratefully it has brought them both close to me.

The information of Hridhay being the person behind the fire accident, broke me more than the fire accident, thinking whether he hates me more than my father did. The last night when we were all under the same roof, my father burned the paintings and certificates of my mother's and mine. One of my mother's main fears since Beguile launched was that my father could do something to the gallery.

He didn't but her most loved son did.

Gratefully, my mother was not alive to witness these.

But hearing the news, I didn't feel angry or hatred for Hridhay. I felt only sorry for him. Maybe I'm the reason for Hridhay hating me. I should have stopped mom from sending him with our father. He must have endured a lot from our father's hand equal to what I have gone through for which he must be thinking that I'm the reason. He must have been pushed to the level of hating me.

Though he had passed the order to burn the gallery, he has not fully turned into a monster like our father. His guilt was killing him and he had made dyes and paintings for me. But Dr Durairaj gave me a way to rid him of the guilt and it worked. He wanted me to accept the compensation money and I agreed.

Though I didn't touch the money and created an FD in his name, he is at least guilt free thinking I have taken the money. He didn't stop making dyes for me but he didn't actually do too. He taught Darshana how to make dyes which Darshana and I converted into acrylic paints. The journey reminded me of my moments with my mother and I guess Hridhay would have also felt it.

That was not the only thing we did together but Darshana also got into her drawing phase. She is indeed a good artist who just needed to polish her skills. With her fast learning capability she has shown tremendous improvement. She also helped me to draw again by holding my hand as I drew.

Sometimes, like a mother teaching her child to ride a cycle, she used to leave my hand and let me draw on my own. I wouldn't realise it until I miss her presence next to me. When I turned in search of her, she used to be standing far away looking at my painting and start laughing the moment our eyes locked.

With her support and motivation, I took up a new painting project and I'm using the advance money in renovating the gallery. Now I'm able to draw on my own and only two paintings are left out to be completed. Probably by this weekend, I would be completing the paintings and I'm just waiting for Darshana's arrival to complete the project in her presence.

The weekend passes with her presence and the weekdays passes by waiting for his presence.

Though it started as five hours every weekend, Darshana has slowly started staying late at noon on Saturdays and arrives early by evening on Sundays. She talks a lot and she made me talk too. I can just sit and listen to her talking for a day. She becomes animative whenever she talks or explains about how she did anything and I'm falling more and more for her.

If she shows one sign. Just one sign to imply that she likes me, I would express myself and keep my heart out to her.

I walked into the studio room through the connecting door and stood in the middle of the room where the empty canvas is fixed to be filled with life. My phone rang and I took it out of my pocket with a smile as I know the only one who would be calling me is Darshana as Girish is also at home, making digital copies of my paintings.