Romance With A Stranger

Episode 2

A one night stand a….. professor?!

The annoying announcement from the clock woke her up first thing in the morning. Pressing a button just above her head,the curtains automatically opened up allowing the sun to shine it’s way into the room.

She stood upright yawning and stretching her arms. She removed her eye band,blinked her eyes before opening them.

Putting on her slippers which were beside the bed and walked to the bathroom. She chose the bathtub to have her bath in. She let the warm waters fill the bathtub with some added sweetenings inside to help relax her body and make it smell nice.

Smiling as she inhaled the sweet smelling fragrance that had filled the entire bathroom and was certain it had diffused into the entire bathroom.

She dropped her towel and stepped inside the lathered water. A sigh escaped her parted lips once her muscles relaxed ,she wanted deep into the water and closed her eyes.

The running water was like a lullaby and she hummed a song her mother used to sing for her and her sister when they were young.

“Morning sun,sun bright I see this morning. I wish i may,I wish I might have every wish I wish all my life,”she snorted and grabbed the rose fragrance bath jel and the soft body scrub. She started cleaning herself with the combination of the two.

Once she had rinsed herself and confirmed that she smelled nice she grabbed a new dry and clean towel by the bathstand and wrapped it around her wet body and stepped out of the tub to the sink.

Her hair was held up into a messy bun ,some of her hair was sticking on the base of her forehead and neck. And that’s when she saw it.

A big red bump on her neck. No not one but four of them. She traced her fingers along them confused as to what they are.

“Are…..these what they call kiss…..kiss marks?!” She stuttered as she kept looking at them and admiring them. She found herself thinking about the amazing night she had two nights nights ago with a total stranger and she wasn’t ashamed of herself at all.

The guy knew what he was doing and he was super great at it. She but her lower lip to suppress her cheeky smile. The ring on her finger caught her eye.

“But how do I take this off? It’s not even mine. It was his girlfriend’s,”she struggled to take it off but it was stuck to her finger like a second skin. “Well,he did say I could keep it,”she shrugged with a pout then continued her busy by brushing her teeth.

=========

Today he had a long schedule. He had to pass by the hospital and check if he had any medical conferences to log into. The exhaustion of an international doctor and an entrepreneur was too much. But he loves his jobs,he chose them for himself and dealing with patients is what he is good at. He built his own hospital with his own savings and he is proud to count himself among those people who are called self made billionaires. He had nothing when he first started. He built the hospital with his own savings and now he has everything. He is an international doctor,the title itself is enough to mark him as a famous person. His wonderful work is known across all nations. Now he has everything he could ever ask for except happiness and love. One wise person did say,money can’t buy happiness.

After checking with the hospital he had to go by India School of medicine. He has been requested and asked to pop in as a substitute lecturer since he is anyway a part of the staff of the college. He couldn’t say no. He was excited to meet new students who were interested in saving lives of other people. He really admired such people.

Coming out of the shower he walked to the sink to brush his teeth and that’s when he saw the scratches on his neck and they went down to his back. He turned to the side to inspect his back and there they were,printed out all proud on his skin in their red color.

“What was she? A tiger? Look at what she did to me,”he hissed in pain as he tried to touch them. “Bloody hell! After giving her the best night she could ever have,she left!” He scoffed. “Living behind some petty money notes. What does she take me for? A beggar? A poor man? Didn’t she notice the fancy of this house? Bloody Ms. No name,”he gritted his teeth staring at her marks on his body. He then noticed a red patch on his arm and collarbone.

It was swollen and bright. Even after it has been two days,the hickey was still visible and wasn’t wearing off anytime soon. With a frown he continued his daily business.

He worked into his walk through closet and picked out an outfit. A black polo shirt,faded blue jeans,brown timberland boots and a leather jacket. He grabbed his doctor coat and hooked it over his arm and he was good to go. He smiled at his handsome face in the mirror before setting off, grabbing his new BMW i8 car keys and walked out.

~~

“Where is Sanyukta?”

“I’m right here,”she replied as she descended downstairs fixing her lab coat and her hair. She smiled at her mother. “Good morning Mom,”she gave her a cheek peck. “Good morning Dad,”she gave him a warm hug then sat down next to her sister. “Good morning sister,”she gave her a peck on the cheek. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Rajdeep prepared everyone’s favorite dish today. He made today’s breakfast grand because the son in-law of the house has come over for a visit,”her mother replied with a bright smile.

Sanyukta dropped her toast just when she was about to bite her teeth right through it. Everyone turned to look at her.

“Mom remind me why you love smiling so much?” She asked with an innocent grin on her face. “Now we all know that Dev is not a famous person. He is failure and his company is a sinking ship and my Sanju has to suffer for that. Remind me why you love smiling so much when you say that idiot’s name? Mom, you’re one of the people who pressurise me to stop smiling.”

“Sanyu not this morning. Please don’t ruin anyone’s morning,”her father scolded.

She rolled her eyes and poured herself some coffee.

*Sugar?” Her mother asked.

“No,I love my coffee black and bitter.”

“As you’re a bitter person,”Dev quipped as he took a step beside his wife and gave her a rough kiss on the lips. “Good morning father and mother.”

“Dev,we all know how much you love Sanju. You love her so much that you adorn her with bruises everyday,”Sanyukta said smiling at him. “Okay tell me something,why are you still here Dev. Wasn’t yesterday enough for you? I thought you would be hospitalized by now. Next time I shall hit harder then.”

“Sanyukta that’s enough. Let us eat our breakfast at peace at least for today.”

“Oh dad, everything got ruined the day you overlooked your daughters happiness and only focused on your career and businesses. Dad,I love you so much and I would do anything for you but I won’t stay silent when I see something wrong done on the person I love the most.”

He sighed shaking his head and sipped his green tea.

“And Dev,my suppose to be brother in-law coming to your sarcastic mark. The atmosphere of this house is already bitter. Like take Mom for example, she’s so meek and submissive that she listens to everything that dad tells her to do failing to support her daughter’s.”

“Sanyu stop…..”

“Oh hoooo sister let me talk today,”she cut her off.

“Whenever I see mom’s face I add one spoon to my coffee to sweeten it a little bit. And when I see dad’s face,I add five more spoons to make it a more sweeter but when I see your face so early in the morning I add the whole sugar in the coffee. Like this,”she demonstrated as she stared right at his angry face. He was fuming that his ears and nose were all red all of a sudden. “Still it doesn’t make a difference because at the end of the day the coffee will always be bitter, that’s because your face is enough to make anything bitter and sour,”she looked away from him and breathed out. “Enough now. Enough of the family drama. Your family drama is too much that it can make one lose their appetite. I got college today so I will leave,”she pushed her chair and stood up.

“You didn’t answer any of my questions last night Sanyukta,”her father’s voice made her halt and twirl around to lock eyes with him. “Where were you the other night?”

“At a friend’s house.”

“Don’t lie to me Sanyukta Anjana Agarwal!” He raised his tone. “I know you don’t have friends because of your blunt attitude. You were at a club last night and got yourself drunk like a lunatic!”

Her mother gasped. “Club? Sanyu?”

“Where did you go afterwards Sanyukta?”

“What? You have started sending your spies on me now? Are you monitoring my every move now dad?”

“One daughter of mine was enough to disappoint me and I don’t want another one to kill me and you won’t kill me Sanyukta.”

She saw Sanjana shift in discomfort after her father said that.

“The Shuklas are coming today for lunch,make sure you are home by then. I have agreed to the alliance and your marriage with Yash Shukla is fixed.”

“Bullshit,”she said dryly.

“I will pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“I’m off to college,”she said and walked away, practically running away from there since she was feeling suffocated.

“Sanyu wait!” Her sister came running and stopped once they reached her car. “Here,I wrapped something for you to eat. I knew something like this was going to happen so I made all the preparations for you.”

“Thank you sister,”she smiled at her.

“Sanyu, I want you to be strong and bold. Don’t let dad dictate your life like he did with mine. That time I didn’t have a strong will nor was I brave like you but I know that if there’s anyone who can break dad’s stone heart is you. Don’t let him run your life. What I went through I don’t want you to go through it okay?” She said with teary eyes.

“I promise sister. I do love Dad but I don’t love him so that he could destroy my life. This is my life and it is my choice. If I have to get married it will be a man of my choice and heart desire.”

“Very good. I love you Sanyu.”

“I love you too Sanju and I promise you I will end your suffering. I promise,”she hugged her. “I will take my leave now. See you later okay?”