Pursuit: Drawn by Destiny

By Pooja Poddar Marwah

All Kate wanted was a man who loved her and
desired her..
All she knew was that Edward Scott was so not the
one! And yet, as destiny would have Her way; a
chance business meeting leaves her in the midst of a
whirlwind friendship.. romance... or something - that
none in their right mind could call love!
Set among expatriates in the bustling city of Mumbai,
Pursuit reveals the complex shades of a mature,
modern day relationship between two strongly
opposite individuals.
What is the mystical reason that Kate holds on... or
does she let go? Is he really worth risking her sanity
for? Is she Edward's desire or is she is the reason he
feels freed?
Pursuit captures the true essence of a relationship -
Just as is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd
• Release date: Apr 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9789388573658

Pooja Poddar Marwah

Your typical girl next door and yet she is everything but typical. Having written as a ghost, blogged as a NYC girl,and one who’s really born and bred in Mumbai, Pooja is quintessentially one of the craziest and dreamiest womenyou will perhaps ever meet. When she’s not writing, she baking, or attempting to bake chewy chocolate chip cookies,which more often than not resemble the night sky.A chance meeting with a stranger left a soulful impact that affected her in every sense. Shuttling between the cocurricular’s of both her kids, Pooja penned down Pursuit,while waiting in city parking lots.She did get quite an eyeful from local cops who wondered what this woman did each and every day with a laptop and a Thumps Up for company. A die-hard mush magnet, she writes passionately about romance and explores its depth and darkness. She makes you want to laugh, feel and just be – whoever you are meant to be. To know more about her, get on Google and find a way to reach her mind!

Book preview

PRELUDE

She jumped up from her slumber, her entire body cold and numb. Tears were rolling down her eyes. For want of comfort, she hugged her knees close to her chest.

Those eyes! Those troubled, painful eyes that haunted her ever so often! It was a recurring dream that caused her entire body to tremble and shiver. She couldn’t put a name to the man’s face but his eyes... There was something mystical about them. It was as though he were calling out to her… as though he needed her… or was it she who needed him?

She glanced at the clock – 4 AM.

Damn! Even the time doesn’t change, she mused. What was it about those eyes? Who is this man, and what is it about him that has such an enamoring effect on me? How can someone I haven’t ever met control my sleep?! It’s insanity!

Cold beads of sweat glistening on her fair forehead, Kate walked up to her red bay window and slid aside the shears. She tossed the colorful silk cushions onto the mahogany floor and made way for herself on the ledge. Her mauve cotton vest swayed a little with the cool nighttime breeze. It hugged her contours perfectly – neither too loose nor too tight. The silhouette of her round breasts made their presence felt under the semi translucent vest. She sat cross-legged, letting her shorts rise up her honey coloured thighs. Her legs were slender and long, and there wasn’t an ounce of unwanted fat on her well-sculpted body. Her dark brown hair was tussled loosely and fell in long, casual waves, teasing every vertebra on her back. The sky was lit with a zillion twinkling stars and she glanced upwards, looking, maybe, for divine intervention of sorts.

Lord Shiva! Her savior, friend and guide. As a child, the three-eyed deity fascinated Kate. It were the values her family had instilled in her, that changed this fascination into an ardent worship. She found peace and solace when she prayed and soon prayers became a part of her day, a part of her life. She always believed that things happened for a reason.

At each point in her life, whenever Kate needed an answer or was in a state of mental chaos, a simple, quiet prayer to the Lord gave her a solution almost instantaneously… almost always – except this one time. It had been two years since she first dreamed of those haunting eyes, and she still woke up every other night in a state of anxiousness.

CHAPTER 1

Kate’s mind raced back to that empty curvaceous road. He was standing in the middle of it, still and calm – waiting patiently. She had no clue as to what place this was and what she was doing here. And even though she was scared and frightened, she kept walking slowly, hesitantly towards him, one step at a time. As she got closer, she could really see him.

She would have described him as beautiful, the most beautiful man she had ever seen – not ‘beauty’ as used in the standards for women, but beautiful, earthy, like the mountains. He stood tall at about 6 feet, broad shoulders accentuating his well-built physique. Except for the slight paunch on his stomach, he was perfect. The purple colour of his shirt added soft hues of pink to his pale cheeks. The first two buttons on this purple shirt were open, revealing a smattering of grey hair on his chest. He wore faded blue denims and a brown leather belt with a Harley Davidson emblem.

His salt-n-pepper hair was neatly cut. His oval face was perfectly chiseled – striking jawbone and all. He had thin lips with a cut at the center. As she looked closely, she saw what looked like the silhouette of a third eye on his forehead.

This startled her. How can this be possible? She wondered. She looked at his face... assessing. Is the silhouette a sign too? No… It must be my imagination… Snap out of it, Kate!

She didn’t know his name or who he was, but his dark brown eyes were filled with warmth and tenderness. He stretched out his right hand and very softly said, It’s OK, Kate, I won’t harm you.

He knows my name? She reflected, startled, yet again.

Reluctantly, she gave him her hand and, as he held it, a shiver ran down her spine – it was electric. She looked up at him and saw his dark brown eyes staring right at her. It seemed as though there was nothing in the Universe except that moment. Just them.

He stared at her intently and she at him… in utter silence. Her mind was a whirlpool of questions and thoughts, yet, her eyes widened as his gaze stayed consistent. Something about this felt reassuring and as though they were meant to be.

And then he spoke again. You are the most beautiful thing that has touched my life. You’ve given me reason to smile, laugh and live again. Your innocence gives me unimaginable joy and every moment I spend with you is one to cherish. You are my angel… yet I’m fiercely protective about you. My ways may be unusual, but without you in my life, I’m incomplete. I love you, Kate, and I want to spend the rest of my time in your arms. I want you to be my every morning, afternoon and night.

Try as she might, she couldn’t take her gaze off his face. The wind blew a little stronger, ruffling her hair into her face. She lifted her left hand to push back the loose strand of her hair that had found its way near her lips, but he got there before her. Feeling his hand graze over her lower lip made Kate quiver… with anticipation? Or passion, maybe?

Sweetheart, he continued, Your smile radiates a light that puts sunshine to shame. Ever since I first saw you, I knew this was it. Something stirred inside of me. Sometimes we spend our whole lives searching for that one person whose madness plays well with ours. I know you feel the same Kate. I just knew it when I first kissed you and you melted into my arms. I’m an old man, and I don’t have an eternity to live. But this I’m sure of. Be mine, now and forever?

Kate just looked at him, too stupefied to react. Her mind was racing, her heart thumping so loud that she was sure he could hear it. But he stood still and stared straight at her without so much as blinking.

Kissed me?

I melted??

Who is this???

And just as suddenly, there was a strong gush of wind. She felt the grip on her hand getting tighter.

Oh Kate! he let out a loud, anguished groan.

There was a loud noise and she could have sworn she saw the silhouette of his third eye open.

The sound was deafening and the bale of the wind too strong. A moment later, everything was still. Kate found herself a few feet away on the concrete path. Her eyes were brimming with tears. She felt too weak to even stand. She looked around and there was nothing, no one. Just an empty long curvaceous road!!

CHAPTER 2

Buzz! Trring! Buzz! A flurry of rings and sounds of people talking excitedly, urgently – 8 AM and the usual office drama had begun.

She smiled to herself and looked at the cup of steaming black coffee in her hand. Kate was at her desk, fresh and ready to begin another beautiful day, or rather a ‘kickass day’ as she termed each day of her life.

Her office was an opaque glass-enclosed room, and on the walls were happy and motivational quotes, her favourite of which was Clive Barker’s: You just have to trust your own madness! The placement of the dark grey desk in one corner made the room look larger and more spacious. It was clutter-free except for her Mac and her coffee. To the right, she had two black leather couches arranged in an L-shape, and in the center of these was a small rectangular glass table with short straight legs in grey, and large silver screws. An arrangement of fresh Birds of Paradise sat beautifully on it, adding colour to the room.

She turned to put on a score of soft 80s instrumental tracks on her Bose system and was just returning to her chair when her cellphone buzzed.

Hello, she said softly.

Am I speaking to Ms. Kate Princeton? asked a rather loud, high-pitched female voice.

Yes, this is she.

Oh Good! I am glad my secretary got me the correct number. I just can’t waste time going through the intercom facility for most offices. I have a manicure appointment at ‘Prim’ in twenty minutes… and she rambled on about the said appointment until Kate felt she absolutely had to interrupt.

Is there anything I can help you with Ms…?

Oh! Darling, you know me very well. I’m Natasha Scott.

Oh my God! I wonder what she wants so early in the morning, thought Kate to herself. She had read about Mrs. Scott and her infamous soirees. A regular page 3 socialite, loud, obnoxious and oh-so-fake! There was speculation that she’d had work done on her nose, her lips, her thighs and her breasts. If Kate was to believe everything she heard, Natasha Scott barely had anything left of the body she was born with.

Oh wait, remembered Kate suddenly. Didn’t I recently read about her tryst with her Greek piano teacher? Or was he Italian…?

She rolled her eyes and let out a loud sigh. Well Mrs. Scott, what can we, at Semicircle Entertainment, do for you?

Kate, you know how very busy I am these days, and I’m sure you must have read about my latest gift, the Gran Canaria Island, off the coast of Spain! Haven’t you, darling? Well… She went on rambling about the island.

Anyway, so I want to host a 72 hour-long party, starting right here in Mumbai and ending at Gran Canaria. And I feel that only your Circular Entertainment is equipped to handle my celebration…

Semicircle Entertainment, Kate corrected, but the older woman seemed not to have heard her.

…So, would you be free to meet tonight at Epicure at 8 PM to finalize the details? Natasha Scott continued. But she didn’t wait for Kate’s response. Darling, I’m at my spa, will see you tonight then. And then came the (yucky) fake air kisses.

Phew! Kate sighed as she slid the call end button. What an insufferable woman!

She had read about her island acquisition in the Travelogue Magazine earlier this month. It had a coastline of about 147 miles with endless possibilities to enjoy and explore the sea. It did seem like quite the paradise for water lovers. Kate remembered thinking that the pictures of pristine white sandy beaches made for the most romantic of all settings. It was a miniature continent where every turn took you to unexpected changes of nature – one moment, you’re near the sea and the next, you’re in between two mountains. One moment you’re on horseback through green fields and the very next, you’re on a sand dune!

Gran Canaria. Heaven on earth! Luxury redefined.

A loud knock at the door snapped Kate away from the serenity of Gran Canaria to the mayhem-filled office of Semicircle Entertainment.

Ma’am, Mr. Ashton is here regarding the Whitson wedding in Goa next weekend. Should I send him in?

Yes, please Dinyar. Thank You, Kate said, as she put on her rimless Louis Vuitton glasses and switched on her MacBook Pro.

It was a usual Semicircle day – meetings, conferences, budgets and exotic locales. Oh! How she loved every bit of her job.

Hi, Kate, you’re looking good today! Green suits you, my dear, said Peter Ashton, personal assistant to Mr. John Whitson of the television show Legal Counsel’s fame.

Kate was dressed in an emerald green blouse and a knee-length fitted black skirt. She had accessorized her ears with a large pair of white pearl drops, a gift from her grandmother. Her right hand had a tennis pearl bracelet and she opted to leave her neck bare. The green blouse was buttoned up and Kate looked tasteful, elegant and charismatic.

Thank you Peter, said Kate, warmly, pecking the 52-year-old man on his cheek. How is John doing?

"Radiant as ever, my dear! Julia and he are already in Goa with the entire cast and crew of Legal Counsel."

Legal Counsel was one of Kate’s favourite TV soaps. It centered on 45-year-old Steve Castle, played by John, and his co-assistant, 32-year-old Julia Shawn, who played herself. Steve and Julia were New York City’s legal counsels, famous for crime investigations. Steve was the quintessential good-looking lawyer, and headed Castle & Grey Legal Inc. Julia was the sharp and bright intern at his office and he only recently noticed her when she succeeded in winning them a child abuse case, simply by relying on intuition. Since then, Steve had taken Julia under his wing, determined to make a fine lawyer out of her. Every episode took them from one gory crime to another and inspite of the gruesome nature of their work, the show had recently started focusing on the attraction between them, which, to viewers was already pretty evident. It was the way they casually flirted while talking about their cases – which sometimes got personal as far as themes go – that made Kate smile. It was fresh and raw and they just seemed so in sync. They hadn’t made love yet, but the passion was so evident that, even as a viewer, Kate could feel her cheeks flush!

John Whitson was in his early forties and had recently divorced his wife of twenty years for his co-star Julia. They had a brilliant onscreen chemistry, which had transcended to the real world from the reel. He was tall, about 5 feet 11 inches, had curly hair, dark black eyes and a wide smile. He was what people call a thorough gentleman – courteous, polite and well groomed at all times.

Kate had met him a few times regarding the details of his second wedding and was quite fond of the man himself. He came across as true and earnest when she had asked him why he had given up a 20-year relationship. He had simply said, "I fell out of love with my wife. She is a wonderful human being, but I didn’t want a mother hen. I guess that, over time, our priorities changed. I wanted passion and love and she wanted formal luncheons and dinners. And that’s when Julia came along. You may