Page 45 of Love Locked
She had become an actual zombie, working more than twelve hours a day. She was lucky to be living alone at the time as Nitya was out of town for two months on business. This gave her the time and room she needed to gather her wits. She was absolutely miserable, and she spent the entire day at work. She needed to do something about it, or she needed to ‘do’ someone. The latter, however, was unlikely because ‘that’ person was not there. Let alone the city, ‘that’ guy had fled the country.
She was so pathetic.
She just wanted to forget everything that happened in Roopganj. She carefully changed the subject to avoid talking to anyone about the trip. She got goosebumps on reminiscing how it had been to wake up with Kabir that morning. She couldn’t help but think back about their heated interactions. Her goal was to distract herself from Kabir, who had made a permanent home in her mind, but it was impossible to stop thinking about him. She knew things would change once they returned to Mumbai. They would get busy in their routines and slowly get over what happened; she was okay with that. But she never expected what actually happened.
It had been a month.
More than a month.
Precisely, thirty-five days, two hours and twenty minutes had passed since the fateful business trip with Kabir. One month had passed since he was MIA. Initially, she thought he was avoiding her, but while she was at Vaayu’s place for drinks and dinner, he disclosed that Kabir was out of the country. She recalled clearly what Vaayu told her.
“Dad and Adil wanted Kabir to lead the new project for our manufacturing sector. We have to set up offices in London and Sydney for that. A lot of travel would be involved, so staying here didn’t make sense. Kabir will be working out of our Mumbai HQ for a month or two.”
The worst part was that he didn’t even say goodbye. Not that she was expecting it. Her naive heart yearned to speak with him even though she knew there was no chance of that. She hoped he would contact her and maybe tell her it was utterly stupid of him to leave like this.
She had started to lose interest in everything, be it food, reading and work. Her sleep schedule was out of whack, and no company was interesting enough. Continuous ice cream and chocolate binges had become a lifestyle.
Every sunset she caught through her full-length glass windows made her sigh in misery, signalling the end of yet another day without Kabir. Her heart raced whenever the phone rang or an email notification appeared. She shook her head and reminded herself not to let these relentless thoughts drive her insane. She then got up to finish some paperwork before she left for the day.
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At the same time, Mumbai International Airport.
“I’m at the airport, V. No one is here to pick me up,” Kabir murmured impatiently.
“I’ll be there in about ten minutes. Mumbai traffic is kicking my ass for leaving five minutes late.” Vaayu was only half-listening to Kabir.
“What is taking you so long?” He quickly shifted his Louis Vuitton bag out of the pedestrian’s way.
“Calm down, Bira. It’s not like you’re returning home from war.” Vaayu mocked.
“Will you just get here quickly?” Kabir cut off the call sternly.
Kabir scoffed silently at Vaayu’s war comment. He was, in fact, returning from war. The war between his head and his heart. It was a war he tragically lost. One month of working sixteen to eighteen hours a day took its toll. He was mentally and physically exhausted. Kabir’s eyes groaned in the bright lights of the departure area, despite the expensive shades he had worn.
His mind was filled with Kyra’s thoughts as he left the country after returning from Roopganj. He closed his eyes and thought about her bright smile. She was demure yet possessed a seductive innocence that was off-the-charts hot. He wasn’t sure if it was right or wrong for him to be with Kyra. He had no idea if Kyra wanted him or not. He just wanted answers.
He wanted to see if his obsession with Kyra would develop into something more. That was why he returned home and was now waiting for his brother in the arrivals section, where the cab drivers were hounding him to take a fucking taxi.
“Finally!” Kabir exhaled a sigh of relief when he noticed a Maserati driving into the arrivals. “Did you fall asleep at the wheel? Who drives to the airport so slowly?” Kabir fired, tossing his stuff into the backseat and sat inside the car.
“Fuck off, Bira. I almost broke two traffic signals to pick up your ass. I can’t believe you are so eager to get home.” Vaayu said, driving out of the airport.
Kabir sank into the comfortable leather, only to fire up. “Take me to the office.”
“Dude, you can start work from tomorrow. You must be tired. Let’s go home now.”
“Drop me at the office. I have some work to finish before I call it a day.”
“Bira—”
“V, don’t fucking test me. If you are not going to drop me off there, stop the car. I will take a fucking cab.” Kabir snapped.
“Geez, fine. I’ll drop you, you crazy workaholic.” Vaayu shot him a glare.
Kabir sighed and closed his eyes. Reasoning with Vaayu was like trying to meditate around a five-year-old.
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