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Deepak ran his fingers through his hair and leaned back on the sofa. The last thing he wanted to hear was this statement. What should he do now? How could he assure her and regain her confidence? He had become aware of his feelings for her and certainly was not ready to give up.
But he was not able to envision his path to proceed.
“I admit I made some serious mistakes dealing with Roshni; however, I developed feelings for her, but unfortunately after I came here, work and projects became my priority, which again was a bad move on my part. I sure made some grave mistakes here,” Deepak confessed.
“Deepak, your marital life is
a mess, and how could you ignore all this and focus so much on work? You really screwed up your priorities!” Vivek shook his head. “If you lose work, you can find another job later, but your wife, especially a girl like Roshni…how could you take all this for granted?” Vivek was fuming at Deepak, and Deepak needed to hear it. After all, they were such good friends!
He thought for a few seconds. “I accept all the blame. Roshni had nothing to do with any of this, but unfortunately she is paying for it. I really want to address this. How can I?” Deepak looked at both of them, expressing his genuine interest and that he needed help.
“What do you mean address? Do you want to initiate the paperwork for divorce?” Vivek asked, being stern. His expression indicated to Deepak that he’d played this game enough and now it was time to be serious.
“No,” Deepak replied very emphatically.
“So what do you want to do now?”
“I don’t know. I am so nervous to take any step for fear of losing Roshni. I don’t want to lose her.” He repeated, “I don’t want to lose her. I am beginning to believe she is the right life partner for me, and I want her.” He was moved, and his eyes were watery as he spoke.
Vivek and Vaishali noticed this, and they knew he was very candid when he said he wanted her back in his life.
Vivek made sure Deepak was serious when he made that statement. “Deepak, are you a hundred percent sure you want her in your life?”
“Yes, positive! I have no doubts in my mind. I have already caused a lot of pain to Roshni, and now I want to fix this. But how can I?”
“Deepak, as we said before, the ball is in your court, and it looks like you want her back. If this is true, Vivek and I can help you…and then we have to wait for Roshni’s response. Just keep in mind this will not be an easy job. She is a wounded lioness at this time.” She looked at Deepak. “And it will be a great challenge for you to change her mind with your determination and credibility.”
Vaishali glanced at Vivek, and he agreed. This statement brought a huge relief to Deepak. He was aware this certainly was a challenge.
It was past lunchtime, and Vaishali warmed up the food. Deepak joined them for lunch. It was late in the afternoon, and Deepak had to go to work, for some of his team had planned on meeting him. After all the discussion, he was not able to focus; his brain was flooded with thoughts. He decided to call off his meeting. He thanked Vivek and Vaishali for all their support and promised them that he would make sincere attempts to reconcile with Roshni and bring her back into his life.
As Deepak prepared to leave, Vivek said, “Deepak, a couple of things you need to do now.”
Deepak looked at him.
“Call Roshni immediately, and show genuine interest in talking to her. She may not want to talk to you but insist. By the way, do you have her mobile number? How about her e-mail address?” Vivek was now on the task to help Deepak.
Deepak did not have her cell number but remembered the e-mail address she had given to Sanjay in Jammu.
“If you call home, she may still give excuses not to talk to you. Get her mobile number and call her; she would have no option but to answer and talk to you,” Vivek suggested.
As he left, he looked at Vivek and Vaishali. “Thank you both. I really need guidance and support at this time. I know I can count on you both. I will catch up with you after I talk to Roshni.”
“Very good, your wife and your life are a priority at this time. Keep this in mind,” said Vivek.
“Yes, I will.”
And he left a little relieved. He needed this rude awakening. He needed to put his priorities straight. He was concerned as to how he would resolve the situation with Roshni, but he had a steadfast goal to win her and live with her all his life. He came home and paced up and down the family room, thinking of various ideas. He was relaxed after meeting with Vivek and Vaishali, and with excitement combined with restlessness, his mind raced at a very high speed.
He went into flashback mode…one underlying theme in all the conversations was the respect and praise for Roshni.
Deepak questioned himself. How could I not see this? Why was I so inhuman? What was I thinking? Why did I have to distress her? I was so immature. Why? Why?
He eagerly waited to call Roshni, and the clock seemed to crawl. It was 6 p.m. He could not call India this early, so he decided to go grocery shopping to keep his mind off these thoughts. It was 7:30 p.m. in California. He unpacked groceries and then called home. Roshni was not available. Sashank, Akash and Roshni had gone out for a walk. This was news to Deepak; when did this start? He asked Kaki and learnt that they had been doing this for a few weeks now. He smiled at this new development.
Deepak was impatient and sat next to the phone, watching the clock tick away. Finally he called India again. He had a brief conversation with Akash and asked for Roshni.
She picked up the phone. “Hello.”
