Tying The Knot With Ex's Brother

GUILTY CONSCIENCE

It was already dusk when they checked in at the hotel.

"Are you hungry? Let's go and grab something to eat," said Sparsh as soon as they entered their room.

"Give me five minutes," said Ragini and walked into the bathroom.

In the meanwhile Sparsh informed his mother about their arrival. Ragini had called her parents when they were waiting for their flight at the airport. Her parents got emotional and began crying on the phone and her eyes welled up with tears as well.

In another ten minutes, they were in the streets of Mumbai. Ragini was familiar with those streets, she went back to the time she had spent in the city of dreams.

"Is this your first time here?" asked Sparsh.

Ragini nodded as she couldn't say no. If she said no, she would have to answer who she came with, and she couldn't tell him that.

"What do you wanna eat?" asked Sparsh while his eyes scanned for a nice restaurant.

"Vada pav, if it's okay with you!" said Ragini while pointing toward a vada pav stall.

"Are you not gonna eat it?" said Ragini when she heard him ordering just one plate.

"I'm not a fan of street food. Too much oil for me!"

Ragini got her vada pav and the moment she took her first bite, she instantly loved it. She had asked for more spices in hers and the taste was definitely enhanced.

"One more," said Sparsh to the vendor.

"Lemme finish this one first," said Ragini with her mouth stuffed.

Sparsh took the plate and said, "For me," while pointing to himself.

Ragini shrugged and continued with her eating while Sparsh began eating as well while stealing glances at her often.

They went to a few more food stalls and when they were full, they walked back to their hotel.

"I'm full. I ate too much. I wanna sleep now," said Ragini.

"Get changed and go to sleep."

"Aren't you tired too? What are you doing with those papers? "

"Going through some material for the conference tomorrow."

Sparsh expected to see her return from the bathroom in her red nightie but to his surprise she was wearing a white satin night suit.

"What did your parents say?" said Sparsh while reviewing some papers, sitting on the sofa.

"That I should visit them after returning."

Ragini was unable to sleep, because of the lights. She tossed and turned and Sparsh sensed it. He turned the lights off.

"How are you gonna study with lights off?" asked Ragini.

"Don't worry, I'll use my phone." And he began reading with the help of his phone's torch light.

Ragini had assumed that by phone he meant the pdfs or whatever content stored in it. She didn't expect him to use it that way.

The light from his phone was enough for aiding Ragini to switch on the lights again.

"Your eyes will be affected adversely if you read like that."

And she went to sleep with her tender arms blocking the light as much as possible.

Sparsh had his conference beginning at 11 o'clock the next day and it was supposed to last for around two hours.

"Will you stay at the hotel or wanna go with me?" asked Sparsh while they were having their breakfast at the hotel's dining hall.

"I'd rather stay here. Maybe I'll explore the city later."

"Then, I'll call you when the conference is over and I'll pick you up for lunch."

They were back at their room and Sparsh got dressed in a black formal three-piece suit and he surely looked dapper.

"Then, it's time for me to leave," said Sparsh.

"Wait!"

Ragini went closer to him and said, "Your tie..."

She fixed his tie while he continuously gazed at her. His heart began beating faster and it was not a secret at all.

"You should leave before it's late. Hope everything goes well!" said Ragini and he left.

A few seconds later, she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door and it was Sparsh.

"I don't have your phone number," he said.

He handed her his phone and she dialled her number.

"I got yours too," said she.

He opened the door to leave, then stood motionless for a few seconds and then turned to face her and walked toward her. Ragini wondered what else he had forgotten and looked at him with curiosity obvious on her pretty face.

"Did you forget something else?" asked she with questionable facial expressions.

He nodded and did something so unexpected that Ragini held her breath in for a few seconds before finally coming back to her senses.

He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"See you later," said he and left for real.

A sense of guilt was deeply embedded in her conscience. She got married because she wanted to make Sid jealous, she wanted him to regret, she wanted him to realize how much he had hurt her. She wanted revenge. She could have easily had her marriage cancelled but she didn't. She was so overcome with her resentment and revenge that she didn't even once thought of the innocent people who would suffer because of her one wrong decision. Now she regretted getting married.

She wanted some fresh air so she decided to go for a walk along the beach. She picked up her phone and saw a credit card lying on the nightstand with a sticky note beside it. It read-

"Use it in case you go for shopping."

And under it, he had his PIN noted down. He was a caring person, kind, nice and really sweet but she was betraying him and this thought made her heart ache. She couldn't give him the love he deserved. Tears were already flowing down her cheeks.

The chilling, moist air relaxed her mind a little after an hour of incessant crying. She sat on the sand with her eyes closed for she was scared she will cry again if she opened them.