79. Connecting The Dots!

Arjun’s PoV

I tried to finish my office work as soon as possible because I just wanted to go to Anika and be with her. I couldn't shake off her thoughts from my mind. All of me wants to be with her. Just her thoughts gave me boner and I was struggling hard to keep my hormones in check. I kept on checking my phone to see if she had messaged me or called me. Why didn't she just find out that I am the stalker yet? I have given her enough clues for her to find it out.

“Here, that man you wanted to know about, he is working in Abrave Solutions. He is at his office right now. This is his address. He is sharing a room with three other guys near old Mahabalipuram.” Praveen came to me with the details of Arun’s whereabouts after our lunch.

“Thanks, da. I will take it from here.” I told him.

“Uh huh. No. I will come with you. What is bothering you, Arjun? You are either angry or confused or happy. Why can't you be neutral?”

“Haha no human can be neutral. I am extremely happy, Anika and I are pregnant. Nothing is bothering me.”

“Wow, congratulations,da. I am so happy for you.” He hugged me.

“Thank you, Praveen. Now take care of the office. I will be back.” I told him while picking up the paper he gave me with the details of Arun.

“Wait, Arjun. Who is this Arun? I will come with you.”

“I will handle it. You take care here.” I cut him off. I don't want him to know about Anika’s past even though he is my best friend.

I drove straight to his office. I know Abrave Solutions Managing Director Mr. Santhosh. Their office flooring was done recently with Tinite. I want to know the motive of Arun and then turn him into the police. He cannot live free after all he did to sabotage our relationship.

“Hi, I want to see Mr. Arun.” I told the receptionist girl.

“Please wait, sir. I will inform him.”

I sat there on the couch when Arun came out. He stopped in his tracks when he saw me, fear evident in his face. I just wanted him to finish him off there but I controlled my anger and stood up and motioned him to come outside.

“Sir, I am so sorry, sir. I will never bother you or Anika ever again.” He said as soon as he came to the car park.

“Do you remember what I told you when you came to me? The next time I see you, you will be dead. You made me find you.” I tried to keep my cool.

“Sir, sorry, sir. I did this for money. Preethi gave me money to do this, sir. I have a mom and a sister to take care of. I did it for money. Please sir, just forgive me for this once.” He said that shook the insides of my body in pure terror.

Preethi gave money to Arun to sabotage my relationship with Anika? But why? Preethi has not even spent a penny after she had come back from Nilesh’s home, oddly I remembered what Praveen had said. Anika was right in just one meeting with Preethi. Where did I miss? No, I still couldn't believe Preethi would do something to ruin my life.

“Why don't you tell me the complete truth, so that I can rethink the idea of turning you to the police?” I asked him.

“Sir, Anika and I had a relationship when we were in college. I have had no friends who were girls and when Anika became my friend I thought that to be love. But when I came out here, I realized what we shared was not love but friendship. I broke up with her. One day, Preethi came to my office and offered me one lakh rupees to meet you and tell you that we are still in love. I thought it was just one time and I agreed. I was lavishly spending the little money I earn here and that huge money made me do that horrible work. I was extremely scared of you after the encounter and tried to move away from Preethi but she came back to me with another offer. She gave me Rs.30,000 every month for four months now just to call Anika’s number from a phone she gave me. She asked me not to talk until she asked me to.”

“So you called Anika’s number from a phone Preethi gave you and didn’t talk?” I felt like an idiot to have not listened to Anika when she said there is nothing between Arun and her. Preethi has been giving her salary in whole to this idiot.

“I spoke only twice but Anika never spoke a word back to me ever. I doubt that Anika doesn't have her phone with her anymore. Because when I called her for the first few times, she would say hello and ask for who it was but later, someone would just attend the call and there would be no sound. As Preethi said, I would just wait for 10 minutes or 15 minutes before I cut the call. She asked me to come to the mall one day and gave me a paper with dialogs and I just talked on the phone pretending that there is someone talking on the other end. Preethi recorded it on her phone and I left. And she called me a week before and asked me to call Anika and ask her to come meet me. After that Anika blocked that number. Preethi never contacted me again. I am so sorry, sir. I will never mess with you again.” The first time she tried to instill doubt in me on Anika but the second time was pure coincidence? Nope, she knew that Anika was with me and asked him to call, how?

“So you decided to do things for money even though I clearly stated that I will finish you and your family if you ever think of meddling with me again? Guess, I didn't make my points clear to you.” I told him and walked into his office to meet his MD, Mr. Santhosh.

All the time Preethi talked ill about Anika, Anika’s instinct, everything about Preethi and her behaviour was right? Why is she doing all this? I drove straight to my home after terminating Arun from his office stating to them that I am planning on legal proceedings on him.

Anika’s PoV

Priya and I decided to keep it low and not to involve elders. Even after I told her everything, Priya was still in disbelief that Preethi would do something like that. I was in a mixed emotion, relieved that Preethi is exposed, hurt that I made too many dents on his heart with my harsh words everytime, and confusingly happy about the way Arjun behaved today. Just then Tarun came running in with the chocolate tray,

“Anu aunty, can I have one?” He asked me.

“Oh, sure, dear. Give it to me, I will open it for you.” I took it from him and just then remembered that Arjun gave me a note along with the flower bouquet.

I ran to our room to look at it. While running, I remembered everything that happened today. He gave me a flower bouquet, he gave me chocolates, he said it was a special day! He called me ‘beautiful’! He said he has always been happy to share his ups and downs with me! I don't remember him talking about his ups and downs with me ever, not in these 5months of marriage. Then when? In the emails he was sending me. Could that be even possible? Is he the Stalker? But how?

That day before yesterday, when I asked him if he believes in Preethi, he said I am not an idiot like you think! Why did he say that? The exact same day I sent an email to the stalker telling him that Arjun is an idiot who couldn't understand that Preethi is cheating him. It was not just a coincidence like I thought. What else have I sent him through email? I pulled out my phone to check out the mails I sent him after our wedding. He must have known that I was in love before wedding with that stupid mail I sent him to know about love. The stupid he is, he was not aware that it was him that I was talking about. With Arun’s intervention, he thought I was in love with Arun and that was the starting of all the problems.

‘All I wished was to bury my past and move forward in life but my love and mistake came haunting me.’

What are the odds that he mistook this mail completely from a different angle? He would have thought that I was talking about Arun. That explains his anger the next day when he broke my earrings and his attempts to punish me. I picked up the rose bouquet and looked at the note.

‘Hello Beautiful,

I may be an idiot, arrogant, angry man. But I also know that your respect and love for me is growing beyond this universe. You think I am a compassionate man? Well, maybe but I want you to know that my compassion is nowhere near the love I have for you. I was completely taken under your spell when I saw you first in your college. I still remember the tulip bouquet you gave me to welcome me. Your smile! That was a great medicine for my then hurt heart. I never knew that was love! But when I saw you in your distressed times, all my heart wanted to drive your misery out of your way. That push I found inside, was not me, Beautiful! That was love! Even after your insults, I felt responsible for you. When my dad tried to hook me up with some girls for the wedding, all my heart saw only you! I knew you were the one when Preethi said, ‘well she made an impression on you!’ It is true that I have flaming desires on you just like you have my name on your phone, ‘Ardent’.

I love you, Beautiful! I know I have hurt you so much with the circumstantial evidence and failed to give you the benefit of doubt. Please give me a chance to treat you like the Queen you are. Forgive me for all my mistakes just this once. As our reconcile dialog has always been, Shall we start again, fresh?’

OMG, That is him! He is the stalker. He has proposed to me on a sorry note? He is done for good! I wanted a dramatic proposal. I turned to leave the room when I saw him standing on the doorstep, leaning to a side with his hands across his chest, looking intently at me without even a blink. My breath hitched at the contact with his eyes and I was at a loss of words.

“Hello Beautiful!” He said that made me laugh.

“Hello Stalker!” I said and ran into his arms.

“I am so sorry, Anika. I should have listened to you. I was in the wrong all along and refused to believe in you. But trust me, Rose Bud, I love you. I love you with all my heart and I realized that I could not even spend a day without you being in my sight when you left for the hostel.” He hugged me tight.

“I am so sorry, Arjun. I should not have talked ill about you without knowing the back story. I guess I will never talk like I used to, ever. I love you, Arjun, from the bottom of my heart. I knew the minute I decided to separate from you that I cannot live without you for even a minute. Thanks to my uncle. He was the one that told me to move away and think about it. Without him, I am sure we wouldn't be here at this point. We would have still been pelting each other with words.” I told him.

“You mean my dad?” He asked me, astonished.

“Yes, Arjun. On the day we found out about our pregnancy, I met your dad. I told him about our misunderstandings and he was the one that advised me to move out and see things from a third person point of view.”

“Well, I guess we should thank him.” He said with a little peck on my forehead, holding me near his chest in his embrace.

He told me all about Arun, how Arun met him, what he said, the video Preethi showed, the calls I have been receiving, how he admitted that he did everything for money and Preethi gave him that money. I felt disgusted that I even thought him to be a nice man.

“Shall we press charges against him, Arjun? I don't like that he can get away free after tormenting us for months.”

“Sure, I have made sure that he lost his job. I must confront Preethi. I don't think I am ready yet.” He said completely broken.

“I will be with you, Arjun. Preethi is in love with you and I think you failed to notice it. If at all you have noticed it and denied her, she would have not done anything that she has done now. I think it is the failure of even expressing her love to you that has made her do all these horrible things.” I explained to him about the meeting with Nilesh and Sharanya and the confession of Savithri, still hugging him and burying my face in his heart.

“You mean she set up this whole affair for her husband just to get a divorce citing that? And all this time I was hurting inside with a guilt that I didn't look enough into Nilesh’s background before marrying her to him?” He asked me out of shock.

“Yes, but Nilesh believes that Preethi is suffering from HSDD. I doubt that. Either way, she is fighting depression and I think she needs to be hospitalized, locked up if necessary.” Just then Arjun’s phone rang.

“It’s the doctor I wanted to take Preethi to.” He told me before attending the call and putting it on loudspeaker.

“Yes, doctor. Did you analyse the test? What is the problem?”

“Mr. Arjun, these answers are very carefully written. But with the answers, we think that the patient is suffering from Bi-polar disorder. She is a danger to herself if not for others. She needs to be hospitalized. We need to start medications and counselling.”

“Is this curable? What has caused this?” He asked the doctor.

“This is not curable, Mr. Arjun. It is a condition, not a disease. The reason for this condition is not known, Mr. Arjun. It can be several factors that have disturbed her brain or she may have been born with this. We cannot tell for sure. Delusion, Hallucination, extreme brilliance, failure to express emotions in a situation, too much happiness, too much anger, too much sadness, trying to seriously harm someone and finding reasons for it. These are some of the symptoms that she must have exhibited and you have failed to notice.”

“I will bring her in, doctor. What is the next step?”

“We need to analyze her and give medicines to calm her nerves. The medicines will give her good sleep. It will reduce the stress and hallucinations. This cannot be made better overnight. It needs time and this can be controlled.”

“Thank you, doctor.” We got off the phone and looked at each other before we went out to go to the farm house.