Chapter 3
I enjoyed my leave for the whole New Year's week. I slept through the long hours of day and studied at night. I opted for a data analysis course and started preparing for the exam. Even if Nargis was my best friend, learning from her mistakes, I didn't want my life to end up like her. Completing my education was important for me to land on a decent job. I didn't read that book any further. Not because I was too busy with my studies, but because I wanted myself to wake up in reality. The idea that seducing a wealthy man can take away all my problems seems ridiculous now.
I still worked in the restaurant, but now I avoided entering the kitchen area much. Seeing Nargis with that man was the last thing that I wanted to witness. I was given the reception desk and most of my job was all about greeting the customers as they entered or exited, checking reservation lists, helping customers find table, accepting payments and taking care of their stuffs.
"Welcome to Royal eats, sir."
I was promoted because Singh wanted me to keep my mouth shut. Although he didn't deliver it verbally, but I knew that he was scared that I might get him into jail for having sex with a minor.
It did irk me that I was getting this treatment at the cost of covering for a crime. But I decided not to care. I let it be a personal choice of Nargis. I couldn't refuse the opportunity when it came to me by itself. And I am not sorry for anyone.
I stood at the reception, beside the main gate. Where I could view every table there was.
"Good Evening, Sir, Mam." I spoke, as two more customers walked in.
"There's a reservation for two, under my name, Parv Maheshwari."
"I'll check in a moment."
I took unusually long to confirm the reservation, even when his name was right in front of me. Seeing him there, a lot of things were going in my mind but I didn't let it show on my face. I was certain that he would have never remembered me.
I looked at my screen for too long, till he became impatient and asked, "Is it not there?'
"The network is probably down, sir. I would appreciate another moment of patience."
I randomly scrolled through the list, when there were only two tables reserved that day. I just wanted him to look at my face for a while, thinking that maybe he would remember me. I caught a quick glance at the girl beside her. To my surprise, Ridhi was there.
"It's fine, Parv. There are many empty tables, why don't we just take one?" she said. I could assume that she was uncomfortable around me.
"There it is." I said. "You can take the table beside the pillar. Enjoy your meal."
I had never thought that I would be seeing him again. It was not long when things like fate or destiny started to pollute my mind again.
"Such a creep you are, Penny."
I sighed seeing the two of them heading toward their table. I had assumed that they were a couple now. And a feeling of envy crawled up my body. I realized that I could only look at him from the reception desk and that I could only imagine, what it would be like to have a meal with someone like him. It's not that I thought about him every day after I got infatuated with him, but now that he was in my view I wanted this man to look only at me, even though I was just too trivial for him to remember. But I remembered everything about him so vividly.
As I impudently stared at them, I saw them having an argument about something.
I was curious what would have happened to him after that night. Did he manage move on? Did he go on to drink more?
This man had me dreaming about him by just existing. How can anyone be so perfect and still cry for a girl.
"I desire to be that girl, he so deeply loves."
Suddenly, a girl came at the reception, distracting me away from his face.
"How may I help you, mam."
She observed a moment of silence and then ruffled through a purse that she carried with her. She had a plain kurti on and covered her hair with a scarf. She looked intimidated by something as her hands shivered as searched through her purse.
"Can I… I pay for my meal in part by any chance?" she asked.
She appeared weak and her voice was faint, and waivered as she spoke.
"I am sorry to say, but it's not possible. You can wait here and call someone if you ran out of cash." I told.
She kept looking back and to her sides every now and then. She looked as if trying to avoid getting seen by someone. It did occur to me to ask if she needed any kind of help, but I didn't ask because I strangely wanted to figure it out by observing more.
"I don't have anyone to call and help me. Can you please let me leave? I promise that I will pay for it as soon as possible. I didn't want to ask anyone. But you seemed like someone who would help me, so please." She said.
I wondered what quality in my appearance she saw to think that I could help her. Maybe it was my old fashion clothes or an innocent face. I also thought of it less as a compliment and more like a persuasion trick.
"I trust you. But I can't change the rules here." I said. To this, she lost her straight posture into a lose one. She looked more helpless than she did before. I realized that she had indeed considered me to be the only one she could ask help from.
"But," I proceeded, "I can settle the bill for you."
Her eyes filled with gratitude and respect for me. I was only trying to convince myself that I was making the best use of the dirty increment in my salary.
"Thank you so much. I knew it looking at you that you are a ray of sunshine in the dark."
I was flabbergasted, and taken aback listening to her praising my good heart.
"I will try to pay for it as soon as I can." She further said. I nodded to it slightly.
She turned to the main gate after putting inside the on the bill, whatever she had on her. I took out from my wallet, a note of two hundred rupees and put it on the bill with rest of the money. I started counting the money in my head, when she suddenly came before me and stood with an utterly different countenance on her face.
"I had never thought that I would be meeting a person like you in todays' world." She said.
Now her compliments were starting to sound more solemn and over the top. I was just looking at her as she stood in front of me with a hint of pride in her eyes. She grabbed her purse again and searched through it more roughly. I thought that it was nothing but one of those social experiments and she might be taking out a hidden camera or recorder. But what she had in her hands was much more baffling to my eyes. A twinkling diamond ring was sparkling between her fingers and she handed it over to me that I couldn't help but pull my hands away because I was afraid to touch it. It was so gorgeous that I didn't want to put my dirty hands on it to ruin its shine.
"Please keep it with you. Until I don't pay you back, you keep it as a mortgage with you."
I was now starting to get scared and immediately regretted the decision to help this girl. She was giving me a ring more expensive than my entire worth (if I were out on sale by organs), for a mere 200 rupees help. She was indeed crazy.
Before I could come out of my amazement, I realized that the girl was gone and I was holding the ring in my hands. I tried to look for her by going outside but she was nowhere to be found like she had never been there. I was clenching my fist tightly to keep the ring out of other's sight. I secretly put it in my pocket before any one could she it shining in my hands.
For a second I thought that I had just encountered a fairy who gave rewassrds for kindness shown to her. s
I kept one of my hand always on my pocket to make sure that I still had it. I couldn't believe that my luck was showering me with a lot of things that I didn't earn. First, this promotion and then a diamond ring.
The I girl I had just met was either a thief or a billionaire woman. But why would a billionaire would not have 500 rupees to pay, It was obviously the former. Then suddenly, a loud argument broke out between Parv and Ridhi. Almost everyone turned their eyes towards them.
"I beg you, Ridhi. Please don't create a scene here." He said behind his grinding teeth.
My attention diverted from the ring in my pocket to their altercation.
"I am not going to stand here and fight anymore. You have hurt me enough now. I believe that it was my mistake, caring about you in the first place. You are hopeless." She said, and stormed out, bumping into a waitress in her way, making her drop the tray in her hand. The floor was stained with sauce and macaroni, and most importantly, the waitress was hurt, spraining her ankle. I rushed there and helped her get up.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"I think I sprained my ankle." She tried to get up on her feet. "Ahh…" she screamed out of pain.
"I'll have guards take you to the hospital right now."
I called people to help her to a hospital and remained there to handle the customers.
"I sincerely apologize for the disturbance, everyone. Please enjoy your meal and let our staff know if there's anything you need."
The crowd soon minded its own business. On the other hand, Parv held his face forehead in his hand, trying to cover his face from me. I went to him and asked, "Is there any way I can help you with, sir?"
He shook his head without even lifting his head up to look at me. I bowed slightly and my hand slightly touched my skirt. I felt that my pockets were missing something. Suddenly the fright of having lost that ring came to me. I went in a frenzy looking for it. I touched my pockets again and again but it was still not there. I searched the floor near me and the place where I crouched to help my fellow worker. But no matter how much I looked, I didn't find it.
It was unimaginable thinking what I would do when the owner comes asking for it. I had already came up with the solution to deny any responsibility.
"Where the hell did it go?" I asked myself.
Then, I felt a hand on my right shoulder. I realized that someone had been saying, "Excuse me" for a while now, which I was unable to hear and I could only respond when I felt the touch.
"Are you probably looking for this?" asked Parv. Holding in his hands, the ring I lost.
I sighed with relief. "Thank you so much. I thought I lost it." I took it from his hands and put it in finger. "Where did you find it?" I asked.
He stood there quietly, staring at me with a frown. "Is everything alright, sir?"
"Who gave it to you?" he asked.
I was taken aback by his sudden inquiry. This was probably the longest he had ever looked at me and I was going crazy by just trying to meet my eyes with him.
"My fiancé," I said. It was just something that came to my mind hearing that question.
His stare became deeper and more grave as I answered it. "Who is your fiancé?" he asked. "Do you have any idea where he is right now?"