Emotional Persecution: When Luck Hits You Hard

By Vikrant Dwivedi

Ashu is a young, charming boy from Punjab.
Anshu is a sweet, beautiful girl from Delhi.
It’s love at first sight. He proposes to her at their
very first meeting. She thinks he’s joking at first. Before long he’s the center of her universe. They spend a few magical months together discovering what is to truly love and trust someone. And then there little paradise on earth is shattered. She discovers that he is not who she believes him to be. He realizes she’s not the kind of person he wants to spend his life with. And neither of them is willing to change. This is the story of what happens to both of them after their paths tragically diverge and they learn the true meaning of betrayal, heartache, retribution… and love. But sometimes we learn our lessons far too late…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Notion Press
• Release date: Nov 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9789352064670

Book preview

story.

Chapter 1

Y

Current time

It was the rainy season. Water was pouring down from the skies. A young boy was running through the beautiful valleys of Himachal Pradesh. He reached the corner of a road and looked up at the skies. His clothes were shabby He had long tousled hair which covered his entire forehead. It seemed from his eyes that he had just stopped crying. He reached the corner of a mountain.

He gazed at skies with red, wet and anxious eyes.

He closed his eyes.

Around one year ago

Things in life are not easy, be they practical or emotional, and sometimes, we pay more than we earn to settle issues in life. Fate is one such thing. When it is giving, then we feel like we’re on top of the world. But when it sulks, then even God can’t save us because even God doesn’t intervene in how our destiny plays out. Everything is pre-planned, and pre-determined.

The same transition happened with Ashu, a sweet charming boy from Delhi University. He belonged to a rich farming family from Punjab, and was the only son of his parents. So he was always treated affectionately by his family. When he joined college to do his post-graduation, he started enjoying life to the fullest as he was away from his family, and getting a big amount as pocket money. His father gifted him a car when he completed graduation.

Therefore, he was a person who never put in any effort to get things in life. And that was why he enjoyed life without too much fear of losing things. He had a frivolous nature and was rather filmy. His easy-going nature made him famous amongst his group.

One day in the late summer, he was enjoying getting wet in a light drizzle in the college garden. That was when he saw Anshu, a very sweet and beautiful girl from West Delhi. Her looks amazed him, the first time he saw her. She was wearing pink top with black jeans. Silky strands of black hair touched her neck. He was suddenly lost in his dreamland and started thinking about her. When he came out of it, he saw her standing right in front of him.

‘Hello,’ Anshu said, ‘could you please tell me the way to library?’

Ashu looked into her eyes for a moment and then suddenly said, ‘I love you.’ He put on a filmy attitude.

‘Excuse me?’ Anshu said, surprised. It seemed like a movie scene.

She gave him a little smile and walked away. He also threw her a lovely smile, spanked his head, and turned around – only to see her standing behind him. She was still carrying a little of her smile in her eyes.

‘Good you hit your head otherwise I would’ve slapped you,’ Anshu said. She turned to leave that place.

‘Why you didn’t slap me then?’ Ashu asked loudly. She looked back, gave him a rather big smile, and left him standing alone. He also left then, but he didn’t forget her smile and kept thinking for her entire night

Oh God, how beautiful she was. Her eyes looked like heaven when she smiled… Is it Love? …No, Yes…No…Yes…

He imagined that moment he first saw her in the rain. It took a long time for him to fall asleep

Next morning, he woke up early. He was keen to get to college, for the first time in the last two months. Actually, he was curious to know the answer to his question, which she had not replied to the day before. He reached college at exactly 9:45 am and waited for her in front of the college gate. She reached college at around 10.15 am.

‘Hello ma’am,’ Ashu called to her. She turned back

‘Excuse me, are you calling me?’ Anshu asked.

‘Yes, I am,’ Ashu said. ‘Just wanted to reply to the question you asked yesterday. Library is on the first floor, just opposite to the vice principal’s room. I’m sorry I didn’t reply to you yesterday and I also accept your apology"

‘Excuse me,’ Anshu said. ‘Why should I apologize?’ She sounded puzzled.

‘Because you didn’t reply to my question either, when I asked why you didn’t slap my face.’ He was quiet for some time and then said again; ‘Now you’ll apologize as you are a decent girl. So, I’m accepting you apologies in advance.’

He tried to act smart. She seemed surprised by his behavior but she laughed and said; ‘Okay, so I didn’t slap you because you slapped your head on your own and I’m sorry I didn’t reply to you yesterday. Is it fine now?"

He placed his right hand on her left shoulder, looked into her eyes, and said; ‘But your eyes were saying something else.’

‘Are you a psychologist who can read feelings by looking into eyes?’

By now they were inside the college premises. She wanted to go, but he said; ‘By the way, I also know the way to canteen, if you don’t mind. In fact, you shouldn’t mind as I’m not committing any sin.’

She looked at him again with curious eyes, but she had no other answer to his offer other than to accept his proposal for coffee. They shared lot of things with each other over coffee. They talked about their names, families and hobbies. It seemed they were compatible with each other, though everything always seems compatible when a relationship is about to begin.

As the days progressed, the two of them connected with each other through various social networking tools and started meeting with each other almost on a daily basis in the college. They shared lot of things about their personal lives. Actually, they were getting into the one and only relationship in this world that gives pain and relief together and with the same person.

While he was filmy, attractive, and a smart kind of person, she was very sweet and pampering kind of girl with lot of emotions and feelings in her heart. She was actually the kind of girl who took commitments seriously and would give her life for her partner. She was also very religious. She went to the temple, fasted regularly and remembered God on every occasion. That was her nature

She started enjoying her time with him, chatting until late in the night. They both started going almost everywhere together. Soon she introduced him, as her best friend, to her family. But her younger sister, Manya, and some of her close friends knew that he was more than a friend to her.

She always thought about these questions, about whether she was giving her trust to the right person. The way she saw it, if you trusted and respected a person it meant you loved him or her. We normally trust people at offices and colleges, people who are part of our friend circle etc. But we do not always respect them and sometimes we respect people who we do not trust.

Nevertheless, it is very difficult to find a person who we can both trust and respect since trust is something that gives us the confidence to be committed in a relation. These were Anshu’s thoughts about love and relationships.

Anyway, who cares when we are in the starting phase of any relationship? We think ask ourselves a lot of questions when we are not together, but when we get just one message, all thoughts and philosophies go into the gutter.

Now she had started thinking for him throughout her nights and planning for the next day. She believed that we miss only those people whom we forget. If we don’t forget anyone even for a single moment, then there’s no point in remembering that person. Therefore, if somebody says ‘I don’t remember you’, it does not always mean he or she has forgotten you. There may be a possibility that he or she thinks of you all the time.

The rainy season had ended and the weather started to turn slightly chilly as October arrived. This was the month of Anshu’s birth. Her birthday was on the 18th.

Obviously she was expecting him to make some special plans for the day, but he was very quiet and had not even talked to her nicely the day before her birthday. She asked him why he was bring so cold, but he only said; ‘Nothing. I’m not well.’ And he didn’t even meet her on 15th, 16th or 17th of October since he was going back home, back to Punjab, for his cousin’s marriage. She tried his cell many times, but he did not reply and most of the time she found that his phone was switched off. She got very angry.

She was not in a good mood and almost crying on the night of the 17th because she did not get a single message from him. He didn’t even reply to her calls. She got a lot of messages at midnight from her friends and relatives but nothing came from the one person she was expecting to wish her. She felt depressed and frustrated that night but replied on all the messages she got, saying; ‘Thanks for your wishes.’

She closed her eyes to sleep, with a tension in her mind and probably in her heart too.

Chapter 2

Y

Next morning she woke up late since she had no plans of going anywhere. She was angry about the way Ashu had behaved on such an important day of her life. However, her friends kept sending her messages and asked her to come to college. She thought about it and then decided to go there in the end. But she was still feeling low. While leaving home, she prayed to God: ‘Please do something that gives me pleasure and an actual smile at least today.’ She folded her hands and looked up at skies with closed eyes.

In college, her friends wished her with all the regular words: ‘God Bless You’, ‘Stay Happy’ etc. She spent some enjoyable time with them. They organized a small party with snacks for her in a restaurant close to their college.

They were sitting in the restaurant, laughing, making jokes about each other. It was a nice and pampering environment, but she suddenly started feeling uncomfortable with the group she was sitting in. She was confused why it was happening with her. Everybody around was very pampering and caring. Anshu take this…Anshu take that…Looking cute today…Looking like a doll today…

She was getting all these complements from her friends. Some of her friends were even feeding her with their hands. She was smiling, but actually not happy from inside.

Suddenly she excused herself and went to the washroom. She looked at herself in the mirror, checked her cell to see whether she’d got a message from someone special then again looked in the mirror. She took a long breath and thought why I’m not comfortable with such sweet company and such a nice party? Am I missing something?

She looked at her face in the mirror. She observed a teardrop falling from her eye. She wiped it off and then saw one more drop coming out of her eye. She wiped it off too. But by now her eyes had started raining tears. She was not able to control the flow and started crying.

Why did you do this to me Ashu? I don’t want these people in my life. I just want you to be with me. I need you today, where are you, damn it?

She was talking to herself with closed eyes, but even her closed eyes were leaking tears. She was quiet for some time. She realized that her crying was not going to change anything now. She wiped her face and came out.

But there was a surprise waiting for her when she came outside. Ashu was standing in front of her, in the restaurant. He was smiling sweetly, lips closed. She suddenly started feeling happy from inside, but then remembered his behavior over the last three or four days. She ignored him completely. She wanted to get out of restaurant. ‘Where are you going?’ her friends called to her, but she ignored them and came out of the restaurant.

He also came out behind her, leaving the restaurant. He called to her, but she ignored him. Now he held her hand from behind .She tried to get away from him but he did not release her. He now held both of her arms and said; ‘Happy birthday.’

She did not reply and looked in a different direction. But then he said again; ‘Happy birthday sweetheart.’

Now she looked at him with anger. ‘Ashu, please don’t do this to me. Leave me and don’t call me sweetheart.’ He left her but did not release her hand. She said; ‘Okay, I accept your wishes, but you don’t need to be happy since you are the last one to wish me.’

‘No,’ Ashu said. ‘I’m the first one to wish you.’

‘How?’ she asked surprised.

‘Okay, let me explain. I accept everyone wished you before me because they know today is your birthday. However, what they do not know is the time of your birth. I know it is 2:28 pm and I wished you exactly at 2:29 pm. So I’m the first person who wished you on time. Others wished you in advance.’

She was quiet for some time and then started thinking over what he said. It was a pathetic excuse he was giving her, but this rubbish, this foolish and baseless excuse of his, made her smile a little. ‘Ashu,’ she said, ‘your excuse is such a…’

She could not say anything and started thinking over what he’d told her and suddenly it seemed very logical, when she thought about it.

Normally, people care about dates, but timing is a very small thing which people do not pay attention to. Even our families do not do it though they always remember everything about us. We normally pass on our wishes exactly at midnight. Nobody cares about the timing. But still she was angry at him. ‘Where is my birthday gift?’ she asked, discourteously

‘I love you,’ he immediately said.

‘Excuse me?’

‘Not now… Please be quiet and look into my eyes.’ He put his finger on her lips. ‘Look, I know many girls, but I don’t know what I feel for you that keep attracting my senses all the time towards you. The last four days I kept thinking about this. I don’t know what this is, but if I don’t meet you then I start feeling a bit of pain in my heart. The pain reduces when I weep, but after some time, when I don’t feel and see you around me, then the pain starts in my heart again and this situation has been uncontrollable for me for days now.’

Anshu looked around. People were staring at them, but she ignored them. She was actually excited and could not believe the words he’d just said to her. They were both quiet for some time and then. Anshu said; ‘I hate you.’

‘I know that’s because you actually love me from inside,’ Ashu said. ‘Look, we hate only those people whom we love because we don’t expect anything from those whom we don’t love and it doesn’t matter to us whether they care for us or not. So I love you baby.’ He started smiling.

She could not hold back her feelings and hugged him immediately without even thinking about the surroundings. They both left that place immediately with sweet feelings in their hearts.

They spent the rest of the day with all the friends who were waiting for them in the restaurant. Anshu was now actually enjoying the party. In the evening, when she got back home from the party, she thanked God as she’d got what she prayed for in the morning, real happiness. In the night, there was a party at home. She went out with family to see a movie along with cake and dinner.

She looked very happy now as she stepped into the new relationship in her life. All her pain and frustration was gone. That night, they had a long chat by exchanging messages and she told him everything that she did with her family.

The final messages they both exchanged were ‘I love you.’ and ‘I love you too’.

Was it really the end of her pain and frustration or was it just a start of some new journey that would take her to an unexpected place?

Chapter 3

Y

As the days went by, they got closer to each other. Now they started meeting even on weekends, going around for parties, kissing, holding each other’s hand, sharing personal things etc. She started pampering and caring for him, taking care of his activities, started becoming possessive of his doings. ‘Don’t do this’, ‘Don’t do that’, ‘Don’t go there it’s not safe’. Actually, they were going through a beautiful phase in their lives that was removed from all right doings and wrong doings.

On New Year’s Eve, they planned to spend time together at a club where they could dance and have fun. She was very excited about the New Year party. They reached there at around 8 pm. But she saw him there, for the first time, in a very different mood and was a little surprised. She knew he drank occasionally but she had never seen him in such a passionate and frivolous mood. It was actually not the wine .One thing which he never told her was that he occasionally did drugs with his party friends and the second thing that he had never told her was that he was a party animal.

That night, she observed all his party friends and did not like any of them. They were all misbehaving with people and doing bad things that a girl at least would never like. She complained to him, but he was in a different state and so could not respond to her. She soon realized that he was also one of them. She immediately left the party without informing him

He noticed her absence after a while. He called her, but without success. He ignored everything and started enjoying the party. After the party, he sent a message to her saying ‘I Love You’ but did not get any reply. Next day, he tried to call her, but she was not picking up her phone. He tried her number many times, but wasn’t able to reach her. Finally, he decided to go to her house.

She was more than surprised to see him there. However, she kept her cool and took him outside for a walk. He was quiet for some time then he said; ‘Is somebody dead?’ She did not reply, but looked at him angrily. He said; ‘Okay, we need to talk.’

‘About what?’

‘I’m sorry for everything that happened last night.’

‘That’s okay,’ she replied coolly.

‘Oh please, I know that is not okay. Why are you okay? Slap me, abuse me, hate me, but don’t be okay." He knelt down and apologized holding both his ears.

‘Please Ashu,’ Anshu said, ‘don’t create scene. Be normal.’ She was quite for some time and then said; ‘Okay, you did wrong and that’s okay because we all make mistakes. But what bothers me is that you hid these things. Look Ashu, respect and trust are the two things that make a relationship stronger and these things can come only if we keep transparency in the relationship. Hiding things are bad and may be harmful to any relation.’

‘I love you,’ Ashu said. ‘Give me a chance to explain myself. If it is not fine with you then leave me. But please give me chance.’

She did not say yes, but she stopped walking and looked at him. It seemed she wanted to listen to him. Ashu said; ‘Look, when I came to this city, I didn’t have these habits. But when I met these boys, I started enjoying it all. I know this is all bad, but look at me: I am living in this state without my family and I’ve always felt alone. When I met with you, I thought to come out of these things, but my problem is that I can’t do it now because I’m stuck with these people.’

‘How?’ Anshu asked curiously.

‘Because I have taken lot of money from them to satisfy my needs and if I ignore them now, they won’t leave me be and will blackmail me in many ways. Please trust me that after meeting with you I met with these people only two or three times. I just wanted to

Reviews for Emotional Persecution

[Sant Vashishatha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Good book for romance fiction/Must read for any value. Thx