They are not mine,
These are borrowed sorrow;
How they bore a hole,
Until my heart bleeds;
Now I know what you endure,
In the winter's chill.
-------
5 yrs. later:
It was a cloudy and gloomy morning. Monsoons in autumn were a rare phenomenon in this part of the country. But who is to regulate the will of nature? Who is to question the occasional breaking of laws? Just as humans, nature also likes to break free of its self-imposed limitations.
Frank woke up with a heavy heart and emotionally drained spirit. He was standing by the window, looking up in the sky, searching for the golden sunlight when his eyes caught sight of Arya. She was standing in the garden, looking at him attentively and was puzzled by the gloomy expression on his face.
"Frank, are you not feeling well? Should I call the doctor?" she said as she walked into the room and sat on the sofa.
"I am fine." - he replied. "It's just this weather; I don't like rains."
"But you are always so lost these days! My father was also complaining how ruthless you have become in your business pursuits. He fears that, at this rate, you will not only lose business, but also earn yourself a host of enemies. What has come over you?"
"There is nothing wrong with me. It's a tough world; one needs to be one step ahead so as to survive the competition."
"Slow down a little Frank, we have all that we need, there is no need to be always competing and chasing. You need to rest yourself in order to lift your spirits. Let the business grow organically."
Frank allowed himself a smirk, "Rest! It is the luxury of the rich; of those whose home and heart are warmed by love; mine is warmed by gold. I must go on until I have it all."
"What is this empire then, that we have built together? It has given you power, position and success. Learn to enjoy it, Frank."
"You won't understand." he replied,
"But I do."- she insisted. "I have seen your anxieties and your struggles and it has taught me to value what I have. Watching you slog all those years has taught me discipline and dedication towards work. You are my best teacher, best university because watching you I learn the meaning of life. I am not a saint, Frank, I cannot look into you but I can try to understand what you need if you tell me."
"I have no such exceptions." He replied irritated.
"There is kind of a …. I don't know….something that you are looking for as if something was taken away from you…what is it called?
Frank shuddered; he hadn't expected her to be able to look into him. He did not like this invasion. "Anyways, it has nothing to do with you." - he said irritably.
"But I want to make it my business. Why don't you tell me what happened that day, five years back? You have never been yourself since then."
Frank turned hot and angry glare at Arya and made her shudder. "Don't pry Arya… my heart and it's matters are no one's business."
Frank and Arya's engagement was more of a business partnership than an emotional attachment. They were childhood friends who grew up together and complimented each other well. They were both practical and logical and were so engrossed in making wealth that love had not found its place in their list of POAs.
But then, something happened five years back that shook the very foundation on which Frank stood. It stunned him and stirred his heart out of slumber. And he was not the same Frank anymore.
The painful memories of the past returned once again and clouded his heart. Bitter feelings rose and fell. He battled with them and suppressed them…that's what he had been doing for last five years. "Don't think anything … don't feel anything" – he reminded himself.
That's how he became what he was now – Ruthless!
They were sitting in the living room, waiting for the news from St. Georges. The phone rang and Arya jumped to answer it.
"Give us good news Stephen." Arya spoke nervously.
"It's done. We've got the deal." came Stephan's decisive voice.
Frank drew in a long breath of satisfaction and turned around slowly. His eyes were lit with pure joy. They had struck a profitable deal in an acquisition that he and his team was aggressively pursuing.
Both it was not easy; Frank had meticulously planned out the sequence of action. First, the rival groups, who were contesting keenly, had to be smartly eliminated.
Frank designed a sly trap for them. Days before the bidding, he changed his own stance from an aggressive bidder to a disinterested party on the brink of a withdrawal. This sudden shift in interest startled his rivals.
Detectives were hired; the company's credentials were double checked and it's market value was reassessed. But they found nothing that was not already known or declared.
It confused the rival bidders more. They scratched their heads and pulled their hair and eventually on the day of the auction, they withdrew their stake.
Just what Frank wanted. Secondly, his men stepped in immediately and forced a compromising deal on the owners. It reduced the purchase price to nearly half of what was initially demanded.
The owners, the Frons family, was on the brink of bankruptcy. They were hoping to carve a profitable deal from this auction. But with this sudden turn of events, they had no choice but to agree to Frank's terms.
It was the same amount that Frank had quoted a year back when he had first shown his interest in their ailing company.
He had finally got what he wanted. He was expecting his team to arrive any moment. The victorious team was to accompany their crafty leader to St. Georges, to finalize the deal of his life.
They say, nothing succeeds like success. Financial prosperity successfully plasters the cracks within any relation and brings forgiveness and unity.
Frank's eyes met Arya's sparkling eyes and their hearts elated with pure joy. All the bitterness was forgotten. Arya sprang on her feet and jumped to Frank. She placed a loving kiss on his happy cheeks. "You have done it again!" she said admiringly.
Frank received his wife joyfully. "There is nothing that would not come to me if I really want it."
"That's what I love about you." Arya said with a grin, "You make the impossible possible."
He noticed admiration in her eyes and rewarded her with a peck on her cheek, the first in five years. It surprised Arya and she leaned away to take a full look at him.
Through the long years that she had known him, he never showed affection physically. She always thought perhaps he did not have it in him.
Frank felt her surprised gaze on him and became a little embarrassed. He turned around and went to the window. Fresh air had a sobering effect and sense returned.