Chapter 22
Mantra was at the library later that week working on her thesis. It was the most progress she had made in months. It was the Tuesday after her weekend with Yash, and she still shuddered at the memories and delectable sensations.
Yash had taken her home on Monday morning on his way to an appointment. The moment she had dreaded about the weekend being a casual fling never occurred. She knew it was more than a fling.
Yash took her to her apartment and kissed her hard as if it was difficult for him to walk away from her.
Yash was different. He gave her the space she needed, unlike the other men she had dated. She didn’t need the pampering and wasn’t good at smothering. She had texted Yash telling him she wasn’t going to see him at The Red Room or his place. He had texted her back one of his signature messages that made her want to run to him, but she smiled and put her phone away.
It was almost eleven at night when she realized her phone was buzzing inside her bag. She wasn’t expecting Yash to call, but she was disappointed to see an unknown number flash on her screen.
“Hello.”
“I can’t take it anymore. I left him.” It was her sister, Sloka, on the phone.
“What?” Mantra spoke into her phone trying hard not to yell.
“I am sick of it, Mantra. Nothing will make it better.”
“Where are you?” Mantra grabbed her bag and stuffed her laptop into it as she dashed out of the quiet library.
“I walked away. I cannot live like this anymore.”
“Sloka, are you safe? Where are you?” Flashes of the phone call her brother made to her before he killed himself replayed in her mind.
“I’m fine. I’m at a hotel.” Her sister sobbed.
“What’s the address and stay put… Sloka, stay where you are until I get there.”
“Okay, I’ll send you the address.” Her sister sniffled.
“Please do not do anything stupid, Sloka.”
“I won’t do what Vedh did… don’t worry.” Her sister’s words made Mantra want to throw up.
“Sloka, please.”
“I’m here, Mantra. I promise not to do anything stupid.”
Mantra’s eyes burned with the unshed tears as she drove to the hotel where her sister was staying. The memory of her brother’s death always left her with a pain that threatened to consume her.
“I miss you, Vedh.” She sobbed wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
Fifteen minutes later, she pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. It was almost midnight. She walked past the front desk avoiding eye contact with the woman stationed there.
She walked to the elevators and went up to her sister’s room.
Her sister opened the door and threw her arms around her sobbing like a little girl. “Mantra, thank you for coming.”
“Sloka… easy. Let’s go sit down.”
Mantra followed her sister into the hotel room and sat on the bed next to her. Sloka put her arms around her and buried her face into her shoulder.
“Talk to me, Sloka.”
“I told him today, Mantra. I told him I have been getting off myself and have been cheating on him with a vibrator and that I need more than his words for me to be happy,” she growled.
Mantra gasped but did not say anything. She held her sister to her and tried to calm her down. She knew her sister was miserable and felt disconnected from her husband.
“How did it go so far?”
Her sister straightened her back to look at Mantra. “I took the entire week off to spend time with him. I did what you suggested. I was home waiting for him… I even pushed the limits of seduction but… nothing changed.”
“And?”
“I lost it today when he brushed me aside to go for a run. I put in an effort. I decorated our bedroom, and I put on makeup and put myself on a platter for him, but he… am I not attractive… what does he want?”
“Sloka, slow down.” She put her arms around her sister. “You are beautiful, Sloka. I don’t want you to lose yourself or lose the confident sister I have because her husband has something else going on.”
“I just don’t get it.” Sloka shook her head.
“Where is he?”
“At home.”
Mantra looked around the room and saw her sister’s purse and car keys on the side table. “You walked away without anything?”
“I was pissed, and I didn’t want to see him again,” her sister scowled.
“Does he know you left him?”
“He went for a run. I left right after he did. My phone was dead even before I left home.” Her sister was a total mess, and Mantra knew she had to do something fast.
“Let’s go.” Mantra stood up and reached for her sister’s purse and keys.
“What? where?”
“I’m taking you home in your car, and I will come get my car later.”
“I am not going back.”
“Sloka, you are absurd. You cannot just walk away. You need to figure this out. Give him a chance.”
“I am done trying. I don’t know what else to do.”
Mantra took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling. “I can’t believe I am saying this, but I will work with you on your relationship. It’s going to be weird, but I can’t let you do this.”
“I’m miserable in that marriage.” He sister refused to move.
“You will be more miserable later. I know how much you love him.” She took her sister by her hand and led her out of the hotel room.
“I can’t face him now, Mantra. I said mean things to him.” Her sister wailed.
“Sloka, he loves you enough to forgive you. Let’s go.”
Her sister didn’t object and walked with her to the elevator. They rode the elevator and walked into the lobby in silence.
Mantra gave her sister her purse and keys. “Go sit in your car, and I will talk to the front desk and check you out of the room.”
Her sister nodded and walked out of the lobby. Mantra was talking to the woman at the front desk about checking out of the room and leaving her car overnight when she heard giggles behind her.
She didn’t want to turn immediately, but something about the way the woman conversed with the man made it very clear she was getting impatient waiting to get a room. It was a good hotel and wondered if random people showed up at that late hour.
She thanked the lady at the front desk and turned to walk away and looked at the man standing right behind her next to a woman.
Mantra looked at the man and stared blankly at the familiar face unable to place him. It took her a moment to realize it was Gaurav, Yash’s brother-in-law, and he was not with his wife, Sona, but with another woman.
Gaurav held the woman close to him. “Good to see you, Mantra. Are you staying here?”
“Oh… good to see you, too. No, I’m here to pick up a relative.” Mantra was in shock—one, to see him with another woman and two because he was in no way trying to cover up the reason for him being with another woman.
“Are you and Yash working together? Sona was hoping you guys would.” Gaurav gave her a cool smile, ignoring the woman’s whispers.
The conversation was becoming weird with him mentioning his wife when he was with another woman, and all Mantra could do was force a smile. “Yes, we are. I… I have to go. Take care, Gaurav.”
“You, too. Good night.”
Holy shit!!
Mantra wasn’t sure how to handle the fact that she saw what she saw, but she shook her head pushing her thoughts away. She had more important things to deal with at that moment.
“You should not be taking me back to him,” her sister grumbled as Mantra got into the car.
“Sloka, if he were physically or emotionally abusing you, its one thing, but…”
“This is a form of abuse by not letting me be part of him. He was fine when we dated and after we got married. I just don’t know what went wrong.”
“So you guys were fine in the beginning?”
“Well, yes… not as horny as your boyfriend, but he was okay.”
Mantra blushed but recovered. “We are not talking about me, and he is not my boyfriend.”
“Whatever.” Sloka reclined her seat further.
“Sloka, I will go into the house only if you want me to help you.”
Her sister sat up from the reclined seat. “Are you kidding me? I’ve been begging you for months, and at this point, I need serious help.”
“Promise to seek professional help if me talking helps.”
“Yes… thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” She took a deep breath as she pulled into her sister’s driveway in their eerily quiet suburban neighborhood.
The house was dark as she turned off the engine.
“I told you… he probably didn’t even notice I wasn’t home.” Her sister spat, and the moment the words left her mouth, the lights on the driveway flashed on, and the garage door started to roll up.
Mantra watched the relief sweep over her brother-in-law’s face as he walked over to the passenger side.
“Sloka… I was so worried when you didn’t answer your phone. I’m so glad you are okay.” He put his arms around his wife and held her to him like she was the most precious thing in his life.
Mantra saw the love he had for her sister, and the image from the hotel lobby of the man who was cheating on his wife flashed in front of her.
Sloka stood still in his arms like she was still upset.
“I knew you were angry but…” He pulled back to plant a kiss on her forehead. He turned to look at Mantra in the driver’s seat. “Mantra, I’m so glad you were driving.”
Mantra got out of the car and walked over to where Sloka stood frozen in her spot. “Rajeev, I need to talk to you and Sloka. She thinks I can help, and it can be totally weird but…”
She lost her words when he pulled Sloka to him. “Anything she wants.”
Mantra didn’t know how to react to his enthusiasm and wondered if he knew what to expect.