SwaRon FF - Desire - A/N Pg 73 - Page 43

Originally posted by: Hp_TvD_mAnIc

Wow aswom update ..

fiercy sharon nd now the fight

updatee soonnn

Originally posted by: Applef

Awesome update..

Swayum finally started to regret..

Even though not really admitting it..

He did took it overboard this time..

Taani's confrontation was really needed though..

Sharon's dad is back and so is Rey..

But him blaming Sharon was not right..

She was running all over for them.. And this is how he treated her..

Disappointed at Rey..

Kria is back..

Really curious how this story is going to take shape..

Originally posted by: Autumn_Hue

A gripping chapter again.

A broken love story mending somewhere and a mended one slowly breaking away.

I wait to see what Swayam will do to say a sorry to Sharon. Eager to know how he will make it up to her.

The brother sister angst was a well written part too. Poor Sharon though paying for the sins of another and being the unwarranted scapegoat all the time. I wait for her to take matters in her hand and set things correct.

Please update the next part very soon the wait for the next chapter is very killing.

Love.

Chapter 19 - The News

Later that evening, Sharon was going over her father's medicine timing with a nurse, whom they had hired to help out at their home. Just a few hours ago, she had that unsettling argument with Rey. After meeting their father, he had straight away receded to his room, ignoring Sharon completely. She was waiting for him to calm down.

A part of her was angry at Rey for what he said. How could he blame her for any of this mess when she was the one doing everything to placate every one? From her class, to the Dean to Rey in prison, father in hospital and Swayam at office she was juggling everything, trying not to lose her mind in the process. It happened yesterday in a span of few hours but to her the day had felt like an eternity bombarding her with one bad news after another. She had no one to turn to, no one to help her or comfort her. Yet she had handled everything the best she could given the circumstances. And Rey simply disregarded it all.

On the other hand, she tried to reason. He was in custody for a crime he didn't commit, he was fired in front of all his employees, he must have felt so humiliated. That was why he was angry at her. He just needed some time to calm down, she reiterated her thoughts.

Sometime later there was a knock at her door and Rey entered. He looked much better than he had earlier that afternoon. There was no rage on his face rather gloominess.

Sharon was cautious. She didn't speak anything lest she set him off again.

"Did you watch the news?" were the first words out of his mouth. Without waiting for her answer, he turned on the tv in her room and switched to a business news channel.

A man was speaking to a few reporters. Sharon recognized the guy. He was the company's spokesperson for Shekhawats. She vaguely knew him. He was the one talking to the media at her and Swayam's wedding, selling the fake love story angle. Now he was speaking about Rey.

"We, at Shekhwats Co., know the importance of credibility and integrity and we believe in the principles of honesty. We are committed to upholding high ethical standards even if it's against our ex-employee. There has been some incidents by Mr. Reyansh Singhania in the past with allegedly bribing a politician. Due to some recent incident, we have suspended him in accordance with our company's no-tolerance policy on mal-practices. We have set up an internal committee to probe the matter and we'll issue a statement as soon as the committee compiles their report."

A female reported interrupted, "If the charges against Reyansh Singhania are not concrete then why was he arrested and later set free on bail? Is it because he is brother-in-law to Swayam Shekhwat?"

The company spokesperson replied, "I would reiterate that once our internal committee finalizes the report, we'll take stringent action against the accused. We don't let personal relations come in way of our principle. We always uphold values..."

The man went on again about how the Shekhawat Group was an ethical organization. Rey muted the audio. The news channel replayed the spokeperson statement.

"What does this mean?" Sharon asked, worry evident in her voice. "What action will they take against you? You haven't done anything."

"They won't." Rey asserted, "They can't. They have nothing to go on. It's just a PR stunt they painted themselves as the good guys and made me the unethical businessman, while distancing themselves away from me."

"So this story will die down in a few days?" Sharon inquired. "We just need to wait it out, right?"

Rey shook his head slowly, his brows knitted in a frown, "It doesn't work like that Sharon. There is already a doubt on my credibility in the market. The bribe news is not even a year old and now this," he gestured to the tv screen, "I want to start something of my own but we don't have the money and now I don't even have the credibility. No one will invest in me."

"I am sure it's not that bad..." Sharon felt so silly trying to reason.

Rey pinched the bridge of his nose. "It is worse than last year; especially with dad's health. I am sending him to London, to our aunt's place. He needs to recuperate and more importantly he needs to be away from this. Any upsetting news might deteriorate his health. I will stay here and try to salvage what I can."

"Of course," Sharon nodded, "I'll ask the staff to make arrangements." After a pause, she asked with uncertainty, "Do you blame me for all this?"

Rey sighed, "Sharon, I was humiliated and tired and angry. I didn't mean every word of what I said."

"Yet I was the first person whom you assigned the blame. Why?" her voice quavered.

Rey gulped and sighed but he didn't answer her question.

Instead he spoke, "I have some news for you too. The Shekhwat's lawyer called Malhotra uncle to talk about your and Swayam's marriage. They will file for... divorce."

Sharon felt her heart squeeze tightly in her chest. Her dry lips parted but no sound came out.

Rey noticed her pale face and put his hand on her arm, "It's been just 8 months and they want to wait for another 4 months to avoid any complications. Once you've completed a year...

Rey was speaking but Sharon couldn't register any word. Swayam wanted a divorce. Divorce...

"Sharon!" she heard Rey exclaim but his voice sounded so far away. She felt her brother's arms trying to shake her. For a moment, everything slowed down, all sounds were muted. She could hear her heart leap out of her ribcage. There was a loud ringing in her ears. Divorce... she wanted to say but no sound came out, only a short gasp of breath.

She felt Rey clutch her more tightly, his hands lightly tapping her cheeks. Slowly his voice cut through the sound of her beating heart.

"Sharon!" came his voice and with it her tears.

---------

Swayam felt a wave of relief as he saw the final result of half a day's work. He was at the small quaint cafe where Sharon and he had come for their first proper date- the place where he told her his feelings, where they danced and talked and forgotten all about their past. It was their new beginnings of sorts till he went ahead and ruined everything. But this would be the start of a new chapter. He had reserved the entire cafe for the evening, decorated it with her favourite flowers, placed candles all around to be lit when she came. He set a table at the centre and strewn it with petals. The music, the food, the wine, the flowers he had personally decorated the entire place. Tonight had to be perfect.

All he needed to do was call her and plead her to meet him here. He would apologize to her, he would tell her how he had seen the error of his ways and how he would never hurt her again. He fidgeted with his cellphone, his finger wavering over the green call button on the touch screen.

There were hordes of missed calls and unread texts some from his parents and some from his office and lawyer. He had ignored each and every one of them. Tonight his priority was his wife Sharon. Others could wait.

He tapped his finger nervously at the edge of the phone but couldn't bring himself to dial her number. He was so ashamed, embarrassed at his behaviour towards her, at his actions towards Rey and at the words he had used for her. Neither the excuse of Kria nor Vicky could justify the behaviour that he had displayed to the girl he loved.

Yes, he loved her. He never said it to her, he never said it to himself but the void that he felt after she left the Shekhwat mansion showed him the reality. He had never realized how intertwined their lives had become. She wasn't just a part of his life, she was his life. How daft had he been that he never noticed this before.

Yet he hurt her like he was taking out a business rival, a small voice in his head reminded him. He flinched when he thought of how he had behaved with her in his office.

That was in the past, he assured himself. Like some remnant of a past insecurity which made him doubt what he had with her. But no more. He was going to make everything right -starting tonight. Only if he could muster up the courage to dial her number.

The next second, the display of his cell phone lit up. Sharon was calling him. For the first time since she had left his office yesterday, she was calling him. It was like she heard his heart's desire.

He answered it, "Sharon." He breathed her name.

"I want to meet you," she spoke, a sense of urgency in her voice.

"I want to talk to you too..." Swayam began, "I know it's not enough but I am so so so sorry-."

Sharon interrupted, "Can we please talk in person?"

Swayam nodded, almost as if she could see him, "yes. I am at that cafe where we came for our ... date."

There was a pause over the other side of the line. "Where you said you liked me?" Sharon scoffed at the irony. Without waiting for an answer she replied, "I'll see you in a few minutes." She hung up.

Swayam still held the phone in his hand, pressed to his face. Sharon coming to meet him was supposed to make him feel happy but he could sense something was wrong. He waited with bated breath counting each minute to her arrival.

---------

Swayam had seen Sharon just a day before but the girl standing in front of him bore no resemblance to her. It was as if overnight something in her had changed. Her eyes seemed devoid of any sparkle and there were shadows beneath them. She didn't even spare a glance at the arrangements Swayam had made. They stood alone in the cafe which smelt of sweet roses.

A heavy silence hung upon the room. Swayam willed her to say something, anything. She looked listless, the only movement was of her eyelids blinking.

Swayam pursed his lips before he began, "Sharon... I can't even begin to imagine how I hurt you." He paused, waiting for a reaction, which never came. He carried on, "I know a sorry won't cover it-."

"If forgiveness is all you ask," Sharon interrupted, her voice almost robotic, "I forgive you. Since we are parting ways I don't want to hold any grudges." She finished with a shrug of her shoulder.

"Parting ways?" Swayam mumbled, in confusion.

Sharon nodded, "A divorce after 4 months and Rey's career down the drain I expected nothing short from a Shekhwat. Well done." Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Swayam gave her an incredulous look, "What are you talking about?" and then it struck him. His mother had reminded him twice for a PR meeting about a story for the media. This is what she went with. A divorce!

Swayam shook his head fervently, "I had no part in all this. Trust me. I have no idea what's been going on. I am here since a few hours now." He went on about his parent's idea of PR and the story they cooked up. "But I'll make it right," he concluded.

"I believe you," Sharon replied coldly. Over the course of the past few months, Swayam had seen the many moods of Sharon happy, angry, sad but never indifference. It felt like she didn't care for his words. She believed it but it didn't matter to her any more.

Sharon chuckled thinking something and Swayam looked at her, confusion now replaced by dread. Why was she smiling to herself?

Almost as if she could read his mind, Sharon spoke, "I was just thinking how naive was I? I let my father and brother manipulate me into marrying a stranger, someone they despised because I was so desperate for their acceptance. I lived away from home for more than a decade and finally when my family asked something from me, I jumped at the chance to please them. You were right my family traded me to save whatever was left of their business empire."

Swayam flinched when she repeated his words that he had said the night of Taani's news.

She went on, "Somewhere deep down I wanted my father and brother to accept me, and I thought marrying you would make me a core part of the family, like it was when mom was alive. But nothing has changed. You know," she wiped her eyes as they began to tear up, "It didn't take Rey a second to blame me for him going to jail. He blamed me more than he blamed you or himself. That day, I was running from the hospital to the station to your office putting my life and career on hold and it didn't even take him a second to blame me!"

Tears were freely flowing down her face. She sniffled, "And you, remember how you treated me during the first few months? Almost as if I was invisible. I was so naive that I thought trying hard to make the marriage work would restore some normalcy in my life, that you would start caring for me but you didn't even spare a glance at me, before sabotaging everything."

"Sharon..." Swayam walked to her and held her arms, "I feel miserable about it. I despise myself for what I did, I have been cursing myself for hurting you like that but I promise, I will never do something like that. I promise."

"It's not enough," Sharon sighed and wiped her face, "I am tired Swayam. I am tired of all this. I can't do this anymore."

"What are you saying?" Swayam asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.

"I am going back to Delhi away from my family, your family, this business and you. I need time to think." There were tears in her eyes but determination in her voice.

"No, please," Swayam's voice choked, "Don't punish me like this... Sharon I..." his words caught in his throat.

"Please don't try to stop me. You said once that you liked me and if you still do, please don't stop me. I might stay back but I'll never be happy. I have to go. I have to do this." She repeated her words.

Swayam kept shaking his head, "We'll work through this Sharon... I will... please don't leave me." He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, whispering, "Please, please."

Sharon's arms lay listlessly on her side. She was no longer crying. She had cried a lot, begged a lot. Now she just wanted peace. With a gentle push, she came free of his grip. She took a step back, "I will go through with this and you'll not protest Swayam," the resolve was back in her voice, "I am done with all this. I want a clean slate."

Swayam had thought he would tell her how he felt, he would confess that he was in love with her. Saying that now would be selfish. His heart ached but he knew she was right. If she wanted time and space, he would give her that. He owed her that and so much more. With a heavy heart Swayam slowly nodded.

"Thanks." She muttered after much deliberation.

She turned her back to him and slowly headed for the door. She willed herself not to look back. It took her all she had to stop herself, from looking back.

For if she had, she would have seen his eyes moist, she would have seen his knees buckle, she would have seen how tightly he clenched his fist, his fingers digging deep in his palms. She would have seen how he regretted what he had done and the only thing he wanted today and everyday was her. Only her.

She never looked back.