Stalker trouble

It was after dinner that Priya decided to open the topic of her marriage. The whole family was in the living room .If it were a normal day Priya would go to her room but today she lingered around. Her father clearly sensed that something was unusual when he saw Priya standing next to the couch and watching him. Her mother was as usual indifferent to her presence and was reading a magazine.

"Priya, do you want to tell me something?", he asked cautiously.

"F-father, yes I need to tell you something..I-I--don't want to marry right now. I want to study and work for a while before I get married. I do not want to marry Raj.Please father", Priya told pleadingly.

Her mother immediately slammed the magazine onto the table livid at what she had heard. Her father sighed deeply , as if he had lost a battle, and said " This is the best match you could dream of Priya. Raj is everything a woman wants in a man. He is a self-made man, intelligent, smart, good looking. What else do you want?"

"Father, please. I am not faulting Raj in any way but it is about my desires and wishes. It is about how I had planned to lead my life. Getting married was not part of the plan. Please understand me. I never questioned anything you and mother for so many things you had done. But this is something I will not give up on" , she said, her voice breaking a little.

Her mother got up and moved towards with a livid face and said " This was one thing you could do for your father and you refuse to. Do you understand that this marriage is not just about an alliance between two families? It is about saving your father from bankruptcy. Don't you even have an ounce of gratitude in you? Can't you keep your ego aside for one second and think about your father once? " ,she huffed with anger, her finger constantly pointing at Priya.

Priya baulked at what she had heard. Tears welled up in her eyes and fell silently on her cheeks. She looked at her father with some hope that he might support her. But knew it was hopeless when she saw her father turn his face away from her.

She sucked a sob and ran to her room. The pain was too much to bear. Her parents hated her. That realization hit her hard. She buried her head onto the pillow with muffled cries. She could hear her parents coming up the stairs and moving to their room.

Presently she heard her father say "I will die Suman. I will die. The day my company is bankrupt, I will have to put 1000 families on the road. If I see that day, I will die.I am telling you I will die" ,his voice breaking as he spoke.

"Shhhh, don't say that. Priya will agree. I will speak to her again. If anything happens to you, how will I live?Think about me as well, " her mother spoke with a soothing voice.

After hearing that, how could Priya have not agreed to the marriage? The wedding was a grand affair with the who and who of Mumbai attending it. Priya was a zombie throughout the wedding. Raj was his cool self and all smiles.

It was after the wedding that Priya had told Raj what exactly she thought of the marriage. He had asked her only once that if she could do anything she wants, would she be willing to get to know him better? When she had refused that offer as well, he had turned into a silent ,dutiful man who ensured that she got all the comforts she could get but never attempted to touch her, for which she was grateful. Many times she would catch him gazing at her but he would always turn away when their eyes met. Priya on her part ensured that her father-in-law received all the care and attention he should get as an elder as his health was deteriorating day by day. Raj on his part, had taken over the company in his father's absence and had helped Priya's father pick up his business as well. Their bedrooms were separate and Raj never entered her room even once. She always wondered why Raj was still holding on to her when she was clearly not giving him anything in return. What could be the reason?

The reason soon became very clear when Raj's father passed away in his sleep. Raj went through the funeral in the most dignified way as he could , Priya a mere shadow behind him. For the first time she felt a tinge of guilt at her behaviour as she was not giving him any support he needed. But how could she suddenly open up to him? It was not in her nature. All her life she had learnt to suppress her feelings and endure them so that was out of question. Priya just watched all the mourning proceedings and lingered around Raj showing support in her own way. But Raj hardly seemed to notice her. Only once or twice she felt his gaze on her when she would shed tears for her father-in-law. Priya truly cared and respected her father-in-law because he showered so much love on her during the little time she got to spend with him. She would be always grateful to him for that.

When all the twelve days of mourning were over and the guests had left one by one, Piya was all alone in the huge living room of the palatial bungalow Raj owned. She watched Raj enter the house, after he had seen the last of the guests off, with an unscruitable look on his face and sit on the single futon opposite her. His white mourning attire of kurta pyjama was making his face look paler and tired and she couldn't help feeling empathetic towards him.

Raj,presently cleared his throat and started "Priya, the time of charade is over. You do not have to pretend anymore. I understand that the last three months have been very painful to you and today it will end. I will start the divorce proceedings as soon as possible.We can get divorced silently. And don't be alarmed that I will end the deal with your father because of the divorce.That is a business matter and it will continue as it is and as far our relationship is concerned, no that there was any, it will end amicably. You can leave whenever you wish to. Unless you have something to tell me"

His face was flushed now. What could she say? What she had heard was what she wanted since the beginning. But her heart didn't want it to end this way when Raj was going through a personal tragedy. She wanted to tell him that but somehow couldn't, all she could muster was a "Sorry for everything."

Raj's eyes widened at her response and seemed to be screaming at her, as if asking her "This is all you could say??" He shook his head and let out a deep sigh.

And that was the last conversation Priya had with Raj. After that things happened pretty quickly.Her parents didn't care about the divorce as long as the business deal was on. The court ordered a mandatory two years separation period before they granted divorce so Priya had to wait.Priya used up the time to finish up her final year course. After that she worked on menial jobs to earn enough money to follow her dream of doing a course in creative writing in the US. And two years later ...

BRRROOOOOONNNNNN....

The blaring car horn brought back to her senses and to the PRESENT. With all the past behind her now she had just the bright future to look forward to isn't it? But deep in her heart Raj's face kept flashing no matter how hard she tried to erase it. As she kept thinking and walking, she realised that she had reached her bed-sit apartment. The apartment was what she could afford with the limited budget she had. She had refused any alimony from Raj and her parents. For her travel and university fees she had taken credit from the bank. With her university campus part time job as a copywriter she was able to pay her rent and a portion of the credit. Though it was hard work, she was enjoying every bit of her independence. Of course her independence did come with lots of glitches and hurdles. She suddenly felt uncomfortable thinking about that guy with glasses who kept staring at her in the class and followed her all over the campus. By God's grace it had not gone beyond it. He never approached her and never came within an arm's distance to her. With a deep sigh she opened the latch of her apartment main entrance with the passcode and opened the apartment door with the key. As she entered the apartment she couldn't help but admire the way she had made a small home for herself in the limited space she got. The apartment was not exactly located in a great locality and her friends thought she was living in a seedy area which sometimes unsettled her while she walked back to her place. But what else could she do? This is all she could afford. The apartment was sub-let to her by a college acquaintance and he had assured that it was much safer than it appeared to be. She took his word of assurance and decided to move in within two days. And what else choice did she have anyway?

She decided to make a good dinner for herself to distract herself from all the events of the day. The open kitchen was tiny but she managed to use it efficiently with minimum utensils and kept it clean. She took out the tofu from the fridge which was the indian version of paneer and some fresh tomatoes and onions. While she was cutting the veggies , she heard her mobile phone ring. She quickly cleaned her hands with a cloth and ran to pick it up.

"Hello" , she said

Nothing from the other side, except for silence. She repeated saying "Hello, who is speaking please?" . When she heard no answer from the other side, she hung up. She tried to look up the number on the web and couldn't trace it to anybody. But she did find out that it was a local Arlington, VA number.

The phone rang again. It was the same number! She picked it and this time she heard a deep breathing sound which sounded too eerie and a chill ran through her spine. She quickly hung up and wondered if it was the stalker from her college or was it Raj? The phone rang again. This time when she picked up , a voice told her ( a deep male voice ) "I know where you live, I will soon reach there" and saying that he hung up.

Priya's heartbeat reached her ears with a thumping sound. Her hands perspired and she could feel her legs trembling at the thought of a stranger entering her house. What could she do ? Should she call the cops? Or wait for sometime? Maybe the caller was playing a prank on her?With these chaotic thoughts she wouldn't be able to do anything rational, so she decided to calm down first and give it a half an hour before she did anything. Priya took three or four deep breaths and sat on the single couch. She waited for the phone to ring and none came for which she was relieved. After half an hour she went to her window and looked out to see if any stranger or that guy from the college was lurking around. To her relief the street was practically empty with daylight slowly fading away. She closed the curtains and went back to her kitchen to finish up the dinner she had left half way through though she lost all the appetite to eat anything. She decided to put away everything in the fridge and took a glass of cold milk to drink.

Her mind was still unsettled though she was much calmer than before. Instinctively she walked to the window with her glass of milk and peeped through the window. Her eyes widened at the sight with her breath stuck in her throat. There HE was. The guy from the college. He was standing right across the street opposite her apartment and staring. She closed the curtain in a short tug and shrunk back before she hit the couch and hurt her knee.

"Ouch" she exclaimed and sat down nervously. What should she do now? He was right across the street. Will he force himself into the apartment? What did he want from her? How can she leave the apartment now without any help? She didn't dare call any of her friends as their lives may be jeopardized because of her and she didn't want that to happen.

She put her head into her palms and cried out in frustration ,her hand hitting the corner of the table where her assignments were spread. The action made her assignment fly all over the place and along with the papers fell Raj's contact card. She stared hard at the card!

Yes! Raj! I will call him.He will take me out of this mess for today and tomorrow I will decide what to do.Maybe I can move into my friend's apartment. Raj will surely not refuse.

With these racing thoughts , she quickly called the number on the card. It was a mobile phone number so surely Raj will pick it up wherever he is. The phone rang,

One ring -no answer

Two ring-no answer

Third ring -no answer

Priya's forehead was perspiring now, a lump was forming in her throat. Why was he not picking up?

She was about to hang up when she heard the phone answer her call. A deep voice on the other side said "Hello, who is this?"

Priya sighed at hearing his voice. It was Raj! Oh it was indeed. But words were failing her right now, as if her tongue had been tied with a string.

"Hello,hello, who is this? Please answer?" Raj asked. He sounded frustrated.

Priya panicked and quickly replied "Raj, this is P-Priya."

Silence and deep breath was all she heard, then slowly Raj spoke,

"Priya? Are you alright? Why does your voice sound tense?" His voice somehow had some urgency which she could feel and sense. That broke her resolve not to cry, into pieces. Thick tears welled up in her eyes and she literally burst out on the phone with her single but deep sob.

Raj's voice became even more urgent at her sobs and he quickly jumped in with,

"Priya, Priya, what happened, Please tell me. What is wrong? Shhhh..don't cry, if I can, I will surely help you, but for that you need to tell me what happened first."

Priya told him about the stalker and how he was standing right across the street not moving away at all.

Raj heard everything patiently and finally said " Ok, I am coming there right away. When I reach there I will give you a call and you can open the door for me. Send me your address on the phone. No, forget it, tell me right now.One more thing , till I come, bolt all the doors and windows and DO NOT OPEN , I repeat , DO NOT OPEN at any cost.. Do you understand? Now what is the address?"

Raj's words somehow soothed her and she gave him her location.

"I am coming in 15minutes.Ok? Priya?" Raj told her with a firm voice

"Y-Yess?" she asked shakily.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen. I will make sure that you are safe. OK?. See you soon" , Raj told her with a voice that didn't seem calm to her but a little shaky.

"Mmm" was all she could reply with.

Raj's voice had relieved her a little. She re-checked if that guy was still standing and he was STILL there.

She sat on her couch and waited....

It was exactly 15 minutes later that her phone rang again. It was Raj's number. She quickly picked up to hear

"Open the door, this is Raj here."

"O-Ok" Priya replied and opened the door with the security passcode.

After a few seconds, she heard the knock on the door.

She quickly ran to it and opened it to find Raj. To see someone of your own in distress is the biggest balm anybody can get . Tears welled up in her eyes but she controlled them and gestured to him to come in.

She found him staring at her as her unshed tears had pooled up in eyes threatening to roll down any second. His fists tightened and she could hear him swear something under his breath and speak.

"You are not staying here even for a second. Come with me RIGHT NOW! You will stay with me till your course gets over" Raj thundered.

Priya was stunned at this announcement. Stay with him?? Was he out of his mind? How can I stay with my soon-to-be-ex-husband?

"Stay with you? I do not understand. I agree I called you to take me out of this situation but tomorrow I will see what I could do to protect myself.I will ask my friends and see if I could stay with them." She tried to sound reasonable with her voice.

"Ms Priya Malhotra, hope you understand what situation you are in right now. This is a serious matter. Your teenage minded college friends cannot do anything. They cannot be with you 24 hrs. You need serious protection. So please stop arguing and start packing your stuff." Raj's voice was stable but sounded final.

This angered her immediately.

"Well, I understand that I am in a dangerous situation and my friends may not be able to help me out but I still do not understand how moving in with you will help? Are we going back to our pre-wedding days where I was blackmailed into marrying a person I never wanted to, because of a selfish business deal? Do you even realize what I lost because of what happened?" She retorted furiously.

This got Raj so wild that he stepped closer to her , just inches away from her with his eyes spitting fire which made Priya flinch a little and when he finally spoke his voice was low but very firm.

"You say you lost a lot but do you know who was the biggest loser of all? It was me. Think about it will you? What did this marriage give me? Your father saved his business. My father died a happy man believing his son had a happy loving family. You packed your bags the moment my father died .And what did this deal give me anyway? I didn't even get the wife I was promised! So Ms.Priya I was the biggest loser of all."

Priya's face lost all the colour at his harsh stinging words. His words hurt her as if sharp arrows had pierced into her heart. The pain was too much to bear. This was the rut she had been facing since childhood. Every misery, every problem was pushed onto her when all she would do was to express her wishes and desires. Was it too much to ask your parents to stay for her birthday part? Had she gone overboard when she asked her father to come to her annual day celebrations to see her performance? Does a child need to feel guilty for asking to be loved? The same guilt trap again and again ....she was tired of it.

But I won't tell him that. I will not make him privy to my feelings and make a fool of myself again.If he believes I was a selfish bitch then so be it. I will not do anything to change his mind! She thought fiercely and let out a "Ahh" and turned her back on Raj.

She heard Raj let out a deep sigh.Maybe he will go.She thought and she said

"Raj, it is very clear that we cannot stand each other for even ten minutes. I am sorry I troubled you at this hour. Please feel free to leave."

Raj gave out a grunting sound and held her shoulders with his rough hands and turned her around. His deep brown eyes now were unscruitable to her. He sounded gruff when he finally spoke with " I am not leaving you here tonight with this stalker. We are leaving now. We can discuss the rest tomorrow morning. Do you understand? Please , this one time will you listen to me?"

For some reason, Priya felt tired.Tired of arguing and making her case with him. She decided it would be best to do as he was saying. She looked into his ,now tired, eyes and said "Ok, I will come with you.Thank you for your kind offer". It was rather very formal for her to say but she did that intentionally. She did not want Raj to think that she was giving into his plan of making her move into his house.

Raj just sighed and said "Let me see if that guy is still around" and moved towards the window to peep through the curtain.

"He is gone now,so don't worry.I will take care of this fellow tomorrow. Take whatever is important right now. We will come back for your stuff later . Ok?"

"Ok, I will get my purse and books with me as of now."

Raj nodded.

In another ten minutes they were out of the house. As soon as Priya came out in the open,she shuddered at the thought of the stalker and instinctively shrunk behind Raj. Raj turned back and took her hand in his and walked to the car. For once she was relieved to have his hand holding her hand. It made her feel safe,protected. He made sure she settled in the car seat and walked across to get into the driver's seat of his Tesla.

He turned the ignition on and they were on the way to his house.

Raj's house. What was awaiting on the other side of the night? She wondered as they drove on…