Alka was becoming alarmed. "Is something wrong?"
Rajiv nodded. "I wanted to tell you this for a long time now but my parents urged silence. I guess you have to know eventually but I beg you to have mercy when you hear."
Alka nodded. Her eyes were wide and frightened.
"Three years ago, I went to Ludhiana on business for my father. A drug gang attacked me. Apparently I closely resembled somebody who did them wrong. They attacked me so viciously my testicles were crushed."
Alka gasped. "What?"
Rajiv ran his hands through his hair, a tremor in his fingers. "Alka, I have no sex drive. I am like a eunuch. I can't make love to you."
"Oh Rajiv," Alka said, touching his hand sympathetically. "I am so sorry to hear about what you went through. Are you in pain?"
Rajiv shook his head shortly. "No, it really doesn't hurt anymore. I am just not really a man who can ever please his wife. My parents refused to inform your parents but I think you should be told. You should have the opportunity to go and to live your life without this marriage agreement weighing you down."
A sense of relief so strong that Alka almost trembled when it washed over her. She could go back to Jamaica. She was free. Free to love Aaron, and she did not have to feel guilty about dishonoring her family. Rajiv had given her an out.
Then she looked at his face. He looked miserable and gutted. Her elation subsided guiltily. He was suffering and here she was happy at the bad news.
"Listen," Rajiv said earnestly. "Before you do that, I have a favor to ask."
"What?" Alka said, feeling magnanimous. "Anything you want, Rajiv."
"I need a wife now that I am establishing the company. It would give me more prestige and would give my investors more confidence in doing business with me. Right now, I am trading off the Singh name; a wife by my side would be the icing on the cake."
Alka stiffened. She found herself shaking her head vehemently. "Rajiv, I love somebody else; he is back in Jamaica. I want to go back there. I am sorry about what happened to you but this is my opportunity to be with the man that I love."
Rajiv looked at her pleadingly. "Alka, you are just eighteen. What you are feeling may not be love. Help me out, please."
Alka got up. "No, Rajiv."
"If you tell your parents about me they will let everyone know about my condition," Rajiv said, a hint of despair in his voice. "I'll be ruined in business and my family name will be ruined for life."
Alka spun around. "Why does everything have to be honor and reputation? Why does everybody's honor rest on me? I am tired of it. I want to be happy!"
"I will send you to university to study medicine," Rajiv said, getting up. "I heard you telling Vani that that is what you want to do. You can take lovers. I won't mind, just do it discreetly. I want you to be happy too, but I want you to be here."
"No!" Alka said vehemently.
"Think about it." Rajiv grabbed her hand. "Please. I beg of you. If you don't agree I might have to deny all of what I just told you about my accident and imply that you are the one who is at fault. You know who they will believe. It will ruin your family… don't make me do that."
Alka looked at his hand scornfully. "Blackmail, Rajiv! Really!"
"Really." Rajiv nodded. "What I am offering you is not a bad deal. I am from a wealthy family; I am offering you education and freedom. All I ask is that you act like a wife in public and save my reputation and my family name."
"But I love Aaron." Tears came to Alka's eyes. "This is my chance to be with him."
Rajiv sighed. "Tell you what, we will revisit this every five years. If you still love this Aaron guy I will let you go. I will grant you an amicable divorce, where both our family's honor can be preserved."
Alka thought about it—five years. In five years she would be twenty-three. Aaron would be twenty-nine. With a deflated feeling of horror she realized that he would have moved on by then. Maybe he would be married to someone by then and have children.
She looked at Rajiv's outstretched hand as he encouraged her to shake on their agreement.
She placed her hand in his, hoping feverishly that she wasn't making a decision that would haunt her for the rest of her life.
"Every five years. It's a deal." Her voice was shaky and unsure even to her own ears.
Chapter Five
January 2012
"Boris, Aaron," Gordon Lee said solemnly in the quiet space of the manager's office at the new Paradise Palm Hotel.
"This year I am sixty, as you both know. For the Lee men, sixty is generally the time when we step down and give the reins of the business to the next generation."
Aaron and Boris nodded. They had both been expecting the speech. After all, for years their father had gone on and on about retiring at age sixty.
"Like my father before, who had four sons, only two of which were interested in the business, I am in a position to choose one of you to succeed me. Of course, that decision has to pass the board too, so it's not up to me only."
He steepled his fingers. "I must say, Boris, you did a very good job in overseeing this Paradise project. Kudos to you, my boy."
Boris looked at Aaron smugly. "I came in under budget too. I did something that Mr. Vice President here has never done."
"Yes, yes." Gordon nodded. "We have noted that and we are quite proud of you."
Aaron watched as his brother preened. The credit should mostly go to the contractor Ian and his team; they did an excellent job with the project. He could have pointed that out, but that was Boris' style, not his.
They were at the launch party for the hotel; his father had called them into the manager's office for a private toast. He was now taking the opportunity to tell them about his retirement plans.
"There is, of course, the morality clause," Gordon said.
"That dratted clause," Boris murmured. "I can't stand it."
"Your great-grandfather put it there to ensure that whoever ran the Palm Tree Group of companies would be aboveboard and would not cause any scandal to be attached to the company's name."
"It is so outdated," Boris said. "The stupid thing says you have to marry a woman of unquestionable morality in order to be president. What was that about? I am not getting married to please anybody, and women of questionable morality are more exciting."
Gordon frowned at his son fiercely. "It also says you have to live a morally upstanding life. Grandpa Lee was a Christian and he wanted his company to reflect those values."
Aaron grinned. "I think that means that Boris is automatically out of the running for president."
Boris straightened his shoulders defiantly. "Not on your life. After all, you aren't married either, and I can simply go to church. I used to go there once."
"A long, long time ago," Aaron taunted him. "You escaped church as soon as Mommy stopped insisting."
"Well, I'll go back and I'll find a bad little Christian girl there. How hard can it be?"
"You both will be under scrutiny for the next six months." Gordon Lee said, a warning tone in his voice.
"We went through this years ago," "for the vice presidency, Aaron said, Why do we have to do this again? Obviously, I am the better choice; the board thought so then."
Boris frowned. "And I have grown since then. Admittedly, a few years ago I was not as serious about the position as you were. You worked late nights and getting that merger with Tropics Hotel was a steal. And you kissed everybody's ass to get the position: you played golf with Granduncle Wesley and went to gym with Uncle Graham and you had cozy private chats with Dad and Grandpa at church, when I wasn't around.
"This time, I am very sure that I can run the Palm Tree companies blindfolded and with my hands tied behind my back. So what if I am not as stodgy and staid as the rest of the men in the family? I shouldn't be punished for that. What matters is the bottom line."
Aaron sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Boris' rant.
Gordon looked between his sons and then fold
ed his arms, resting back in the office chair, a deceptively calm air about him. He was not feeling as inwardly casual as he looked; the future of the business rested in one of his sons' hands and at the moment neither of them seemed as if they wanted to settle down with an appropriate woman and get married. To him that meant that they were both unsuitable for the current post. It was his old fashioned opinion that a good woman was integral to the smooth running of a man's life. He didn't think he could have done such a good job with the business if Dina had not been in the background running his life.
"If one of you is married to an upstanding woman, preference goes to that person for the position—along with the other factors, of course," he told his sons, watching their expressions carefully.
Aaron quirked his brow. "That's not even funny."
Boris looked at his father contemplatively. "Is that so?"
"That's why I got the presidency over your Uncle Graham," Gordon said innocently. He picked up the wine bottle and poured the dark purple liquid into their glasses. "May the best man win."
Aaron sighed and raised his glass and sipped the wine slowly, watching as Boris knocked back the liquid and grimaced.
"This is non-alcoholic!" He got up. "I am going to rejoin the party. I hope they have something better out there."
Aaron watched as he left the office and then looked at his father.
"What have you done? You know you are forcing him to go and find someone to marry. Maybe he'll find some innocent church girl who might think he is the answer to her prayers."
Gordon shrugged. "What about you? Level the playing field and marry somebody too. What about Dawn? She has been lingering in the background of your life for years. Put that girl out of her misery. She would not only be an asset to you but to the company. She is a serious businesswoman."
Aaron shook his head. "I don't know."
"Why not?" Gordon said, "She is capable, efficient, and pretty. For the past five years that she has been our public relations officer she has certainly handled herself well. You are thirty-four, Aaron. Your mother and I want grandchildren."
"You don't say," Aaron said sarcastically. "I would never have known after you have invited practically all of the eligible girls from church to dinner when I visit."
"Okay, so we are obvious." Gordon sighed. "I don't know why you have to be so picky. Nobody is perfect. You will never find a perfect girl."
"I know that," Aaron said, "but somebody was perfect for me once, a long time ago and I never found anybody who could compete.
"You should see my friends, Dad. Carson has Alice, Ian has Ruby, Xavier has Farrah, Logan has Melody. Each couple is happy; in some cases they waited a long time to be together again..."
"Oh Aaron, you might have a different fate from your friends. You shouldn't be waiting for anybody. You should be living in the here and now. Dawn is here now, she is a lovely girl and she won't be around forever; she is too much of a good woman for that. Don't let your youth pass you by as you wait endlessly for some ideal woman who may never come your way again."
Aaron got up. "I am not letting my youth pass me by, I am just being cautious."
His father sighed and got up too. "Cautious is good but there comes a time in every man's life when he just has to make a move. "
They headed through the door together and joined the party.
*****
"Are you sure that this is a good idea for me to come here?" Alka asked Farrah worriedly. "I mean, I haven't seen Aaron in ten years and here I am showing up at his hotel launch party. I wasn't even invited."
Farrah looked over her friend, a warm smile on her face. "I couldn't leave you at home alone. Our company planned this event and I had to be here. Besides, I don't want you out of my sight for even a second. I am so happy you are here! I am really, really happy! It's like Christmas again. I mean, last night was not enough to catch up on years and years of life. You fell asleep on me."
Alka grinned. "Sorry. I was bushed. I still feel jetlagged. Nineteen hours of flying is no joke."
She looked around the ballroom. There were several persons there already and the function had not officially started yet. The women were dressed in glittering gowns and the men were in tuxedos. She glanced at the program that Farrah had given her and then at the beautiful floral arrangements. She felt a little underdressed in her plain knee length burgundy dress. She had not come prepared for a high-end party like this. She had mostly packed for the beach.
Farrah was looking at her, a pleased smile on her face. Her friend looked so happy that Alka hugged her impulsively. It was good to know that the years had not changed their friendship much. When Farrah had picked her up from the airport last night, after her impromptu decision to visit Jamaica, she had never imagined that things would have so drastically changed for her friend.
She found it hard to process the fact that Farrah was working at a real job, something that she obviously relished, and that she was married to Xavier and giddily happy. Her friend had gotten her heart's desire. Alka had always known that Farrah and Xavier would be right for each other.
Even more surprising was the fact that they were both living in a small cottage. She would never in a million years have thought that Farrah Knight would be slumming it in a humble little cottage and loving it.
She felt guilty for intruding on them. They had limited space there and when Farrah had suggested that she stay with her, she had no idea it would be at the cottage. After a night on the sofa, she had reluctantly decided to stay at her parent's house. It had been left empty for the past four years, after her mother had moved back to India and then her father had followed. Her parents were happily ensconced in their village in Punjab and the house was sitting here empty.
The truth was, she had no business being in Jamaica now. She had walked out of the hospital after a particularly stressful day and had bought a plane ticket. She had been due for a vacation anyway. After arranging the vacation with the administration staff, it was just a matter of packing her bags and calling Farrah.
She hadn't expected that she would be in close proximity to Aaron so soon after arriving or that she would be at the place, now highly transformed, where they had said goodbye to each other so long ago.
The hotel was aptly named Paradise Palms. In its wild state it had been gorgeous but they had somehow managed to build it to reflect the beauty of its environs. She wandered outside after Farrah excused herself to talk with her fellow event planners and found herself following a brick-lined walkway down the stairs and onto the expanse of white sand beach.
The day was just right, partly cloudy with a breeze strong enough to whip her hair around her.
She got irritated every time a gust drove her heavy hair around to her hit her face and bunched it up into a loose ponytail. She had tried several times to cut it but Rajiv had forbidden her from doing so.
His business associates envied him for having a wife with such gorgeous hair and Rajiv loved that. He had developed an unhealthy possessiveness concerning her. The more successful he became, the more he paraded her before his friends and business acquaintances in a manner that said, Look, here's my gorgeous wife. I am lucky; my wife is better than yours. Alka was now feeling like a soulless mannequin.
She closed her eyes and inhaled. She would forget about India today, and for the next two weeks of her vacation she would not think about her life there.
Here, right now, she was Alka Duggal not Dr. Alka Singh, Rajiv's wife. She wanted to see Aaron Lee. She wanted to satisfy her curiosity. She had thought about him off and on for the past ten years, usually when she was lonely, which was most of the time. Sometimes she would find herself so achingly lonely in the middle of a party or even at her busy hospital job as a gynecologist.
"Hey gorgeous," a voice behind her purred. She turned around slowly. The cocky expression on the guy's face turned to shock.
"Alka! Alka Duggall."
Alka nodded resignedly. When she had just turned around, for a
split second she thought that it was Aaron and her breath had caught in her throat and her heart felt as if it had stopped beating. Her breath returned to normal.
"Hi Boris." She smiled. "I am surprised that you remember me."
"I can't believe it." Boris walked closer to her. "Of course I remember you. You are still absolutely gorgeous. How long has it been?"
"Ten years." Alka inclined her head. "Are you still giving young women trouble, Boris?"
"I have always been the epitome of propriety," Boris grinned. "Those days are far behind me. Though when I saw you were all alone on the beach, through the security camera, I just had to come and check out who you were."
Alka smirked. "You sound like the same old Boris to me."
Boris winked. "Only for you, beautiful." He pushed his hand in his tux and adopted a relaxed pose. "Does Aaron know you are here?"
Alka shook her head. "No, he doesn't."
"Oh," Boris said nodding. "We were just talking about marriage and settling down and he was gushing about our PR rep, Dawn. He is head over heels in love with her. She even goes to his church."
Alka inhaled shakily. "That's good for him."
Boris nodded. "Yes, I am happy for the old chap. He is finally settling down. He spent the past couple of years sleeping with one woman after the other and discarding them like yesterday's socks. I have been pleading with him to settle down."
Alka frowned. "That doesn't sound like Aaron."
Boris shrugged. "People change. He went from boring to whoring all in one swoop."
Alka swallowed. "That's awful."
"Yes." Boris groaned. "Oh darn it, where's my sensitivity? Weren't you guys together like some eons ago?"
"Yes," Alka pushed her trembling arms behind her. She wanted to leave the conversation with Boris and find a quiet place to digest what he was saying to her. All her dreams about Aaron had been just that—dreams. She should feel a sense of relief. After all, if she had stayed some years ago she would have just been a notch on his belt. She would have dishonored her family for nothing.
Broken Harmony Page 4