A moth will always be drawn to the flame......

"Okay. What's going on?"

Saumya paused to look at him as Mrityunjay asked her, suddenly stopping his stride and focusing his deep dark orbs on her.

"What?" Saumya asked confusedly.

"A girl has been following me around for the past few months. Constantly and accidentally tripping over me to get attention. Either be it in the morning when I come here for jogging or be it at the cafe near my house or at the club where I weekly meet my friends. I would be kicked out of the army if I was that oblivious." Mrityunjay stated casually crossing his muscular arms over his very much defined chest. Not that Saumya was noticing, was she?

"I don't know what you're talking about. It's just a coincidence." Saumya denied with a shrug.

"Coincidence happens for once or twice. Not forty seven times in five months." Mrityunjay said again.

"Are you faulting me for starting jogging in the early morning or joining an entertainment club? And that cafe has the best donuts in the entire city." Saumya said defensively.

"You hate waking up early, you don't have time for some club activities and you don't eat sugar." Mrityunjay replied in the same manner. Casual, but focused.

"Well, I ----" Saumya struggled to find any other logical explanation that would prove she wasn't following him. Because she wasn't. She definitely wasn't.
"Wait! How do you know about those? Are you keeping an eye on me?"

Mrityunjay looked away as a slow smile crept up on his face.

"What do you want Saumya?" He asked again, but more softly than before.

Saumya's restless eyes shifted around as her mind went blank. She has been telling herself that it was all just a coincidence. After all, why would she follow him? But there was no other explanation for it.

"I--I don't know. I'm sorry. It was not intentional." Saumya replied feeling awkward.

Mrityunjay stared at her for sometime before taking a step closer to her. Saumya was looking down in embarrassment. He put a finger under her chin to lift her face up so their eyes could meet.

"Should I send my parents again?"

Saumya's eyes widened for a moment at his question. She gulped before breaking the connection and took a step back.

Mrityunjay's soft expression changed into an impassive one as he turned to leave.

"Please stop!" Saumya hurried after him and stood before him.

"I---Can you please meet me this evening?" She asked hesitantly while nervously playing with her fingers. Mrityunjay kept looking at her without answering.

"Is there any point?" He asked after a few minutes. Saumya finally met his eyes again.

"Does there have to be one?" She asked instead. "I'm not asking for too much, am I?"

Mrityunjay's eyes never left hers as she waited patiently for him to answer.

"Where?"

***

"You made a mistake, Gauri. Now we all will have to bear the consequences." Sudhir commented gravely.

Gauri had been trying to call Saumya for the past three days without any response from the other side. After returning from Singhaniya mansion, she had been in contact constantly. Gauri had called her everyday and talked to make sure she was fine. Everything seemed okay or so Saumya told her. But why was she suddenly not taking her calls?

Gauri frowned at her husband. Mistake! What was the mistake?! Was thinking about her daughter's future a mistake? Three years! It had been three years since the day Mrityunjay died. Three years of engagement, two years of marriage and then three years of widowhood. Saumya had already wasted eight precious years on that man! And she had lost a lot. Including her child. That man never deserved Saumya. Much less the love she had for him. Gauri could never understand why Saumya remained with him even after everything.

"Our biggest mistake was to agree to her marriage with Mrityunjay. And we have already suffered the consequences. You may remain indifferent to her suffering, but I can't. Her happiness is my only wish." Gauri said harshly and left the room.

Sudhir stared at the way she went impassively. He should not fault Gauri. She was probably right in her place. Considering she knew not even half of the story, she couldn't be faulted. She was a mother who saw her daughter's sorrow, saw her daughter's life darkening. But she didn't know that her daughter had embraced the darkness too.

***

The fresh air of the early morning soothed Saumya's senses. She had found it difficult for the past few days to fall asleep. The unseen and unpredictable days ahead made her anxious. When had her perfectly planned life gotten so messed? Saumya knew the answer though. There was no use in wondering what ifs. Still our hearts loved to confuse us.

Heart. Such a strange organ. Scientifically it pumped blood to all the other parts of our body through veins and arteries. The cardiovascular system worked relentlessly to keep the blood flowing and send nutrients to other organs. But metaphorically it meant so much more to people. People made it the center cause of their emotions and sometimes actions too. They blamed the innocent organ for something that had nothing to do with those reflexes. Saumya found it laughable that the entire process solely happened in brain and somehow the whole world got fixated on poor heart.

But then again she couldn't fault them. Just imagine someone proposing a girl with a brain shaped balloon and saying, 'My brain wants you only!'

Saumya's phone vibrated drawing her attention to it. She answered the call without looking at the id. She knew who it could be and she had waited for it for a while.

"Your suspicion was right." The caller confirmed without wasting time in formal greeting. "Police are investigating. What did you do with the organ?"

"I cooked it and fed it to my new husband." Saumya said nonchalantly. The followed silence from the other end told her that the person was in dilemma either she was telling the truth or not. Saumya snorted before saying,
"Don't worry. It won't get on their hands."

"What are you going to do with Rudra?"

"What about him?"

"You know what I mean."

Saumya paused for a while before answering,

"I'm a heart specialist. Playing with hearts is both my passion and profession."

"Be careful Saumya. This is going to get very ugly."

Saumya disconnected the call without replying. Ugly. Her life had become ugly a long time ago. She released a deep long breath but her heart still felt constricted. She had gotten quite used to this feeling. Saumya went back towards Singhaniya mansion.

As she was going towards her room, she suddenly collided with a hard chest. She was going to fall on the floor, but a hand wrapped  around her waist stopping it. Saumya looked at Rudra to find him frowning at her. He was in his gym clothes which was wet from his sweat. He had also just finished his exercise and was going back to his room.

"Be careful. Or else it won't take much time for you to break." Rudra said with a solemn expression on face. Saumya stared at him for a few seconds before she smiled. She found it amusing that the morning had just started and she already heard the 'be careful' from two different men. This time too, Saumya didn't reply and straightened instead.

"You too." Her suddenly spoken words gave Rudra a pause as he was about to leave. He turned at her questioningly.
"Heard you're full of fragrance (Mehek) these days. Be careful or you may get notorious."

Rudra's jaw clenched in anger as he understood what she meant. He didn't bother to entertain her with a reply and left without a word.

Rudra entered his room shutting the door behind loudly. He took his towel and went straight to the bathroom. Turning on the knob of the shower, he stood under the cold water trying to calm himself. He wanted to say something very rude to that woman, but couldn't. Not when the fault was his.

One thing Rudra hated the most was betrayal. And he never could be one of those people who ended up being a betrayer. He should not have met Mehek. But then again was it really a betrayal when he and Saumya had a non-existent relationship. When his heart still beat for Mehek and Saumya's for Mrityunjay. When he had no idea where he stood or what he should do. Hell. What was he going to do?

To make matters worse, his father had ordered him to take Saumya with him on his tour. He was going to be out of town for a few days and Mr. Raj Singhaniya thought it to be the perfect excuse for them to spend some time together. Surprisingly Saumya did not refuse.

Rudra came out of the shower and threw a shirt on before his eyes widened and he froze.