A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 75 (Epilogue)

Cover designed by Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan with the help of Canva. 

Thanks to www.canva.com.

 

 Epilogue

               

             Martha never left the asylum. She couldn’t leave it, not after what John told her one day. “Martha, the day when I was supposed to meet you at Dr. Benedict Hussey’s clinic, I reached there only to be greeted by a shocking placard displayed on the door of the clinic. “We deeply regret to inform you about the sad and untimely demise of Dr. Benedict Hussey, today morning. Kindly note that all his appointments have been cancelled.”

             

             “I then contacted his secretary who told me that you, my dear Martha, had murdered him. Knowing that something was grossly amiss, I rushed to the police-station. I told them that you were my colleague and a very good friend of mine and that you couldn’t hurt a fly; leave alone a human-being, as good as the kind Doctor, who was treating you. They were also baffled as they hadn’t been able to pin-point your motive behind the gory murder. You were still lying, weak and unconscious at the hospital and they hadn’t been able to get your statement.”

             

             “When you survived the ordeal of your attempted suicide and recovered after 2 weeks, the police obtained your version of the events that led to the murder. They obtained a search warrant and searched the entire apartment for clues. In the Doctor’s closet, they found a cleverly concealed compartment that contained your novel.”

              

             “I was in regular touch with the Chief Investigating Officer-in-charge of your case. When he told me about the discovery, I was elated that your efforts had not gone in vain and that it could still be published. But I was pained to note that nothing in this world could bring the Doctor to life. Oh, Martha, why did you have to act so hastily?”

              

             Shell-shocked, Martha had just continued staring at him. She was speechless. She was guilty as hell. Now she would be the one who would be damned to Hell! She had killed an innocent person out to cure her, impulsively, irrationally and insanely. She knew now that she truly belonged to the mental asylum! Forever!

               

             Her novel titled, 'A Suitor for the Princess' was published by Norman’s publishing house and was a resounding success. It was top-most on the best-sellers’ list for several years. John gave Martha a copy to read in the asylum. Now its characters didn’t overwhelm or disturb her at all. Only one ghost would continue to haunt her as long as she lived. Dr. Benedict Hussey’s ghost! Forgive me Benny! Oh, please forgive me ………

THE END

******************************************************************************

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh 

Swaminathan.

            

 

                                

A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 74

             Norman received a call at his office about the murder by his associate and fiancee Martha at 5.30 p.m. He couldn’t believe his ears. “It is not possible officer. She is just not capable of such a violent act. She is the gentlest person on earth. Besides, why in heavens would she murder the doctor who was treating her? It just doesn’t make sense!”

            “The fact remains that she has committed the murder. We have done our duty by informing you,” the officer said curtly and disconnected the call. Gentle indeed! He smirked.

              Norman placed his head between his hands with elbows resting on his table and broke down. He was devastated.

              The next day’s newspapers all over the state carried the shocking news of Martha’s arrest on charges of murder. The whole state was filled with disbelieving people who loved Martha and her writings. “What a waste of a promising writer? Surely, she must have had a valid reason for her act!” they sympathized. Everywhere one went, there were hushed whispers or animated conversations centering round Martha’s deed.

                 The office staff didn’t know how to react. They were very concerned about the well-being of their esteemed Boss. What an irreparable loss for him! They just held an urgent meeting and decided to be as discreet as possible. Norman warned them against speaking to anyone about Martha. They in turn, valued their bread and butter, hence kept mum. “No comments” was all one could get out of them.

                Susan intimated John with great trepidation, one evening. “John, I hope you know about Martha,” she began. “Yes Susan. I’m sure that it is all a horrible mistake. She will soon be acquitted. I’m sure about that. I’ll stand by her even if the whole world goes against her. Thanks for your concern.” 

                Susan felt happy that John had so much faith in Martha. She was also of the same opinion. She just couldn’t imagine that elegant lady committing a cold-blooded murder without any motive. Or did she have any? She felt uneasy as she remembered Martha’s fainting spells and vague behavior on certain occasions. Was she unhinged totally? A shiver ran up her spine.

                The trial ran for several months. Seeing her hysteria, violence and mental condition, the court ordered for her to be admitted into a mental asylum. The Government’s panel of doctors had earlier passed the verdict that she had Paranoid Schizophrenia. The murder was an outcome of one such unfortunate episode when the patient, Martha had not known what she was doing!

                John went to the mental asylum to meet Martha. She appeared depressed and just soulfully looked at him with tears streaming from her beautiful blue eyes.

                “I’ll wait for you Martha,” he said in a choked voice. He had decided that Martha was his for life. He would stand by her till death did them apart. So what if they hadn’t exchanged wedding rings or sacred marriage vows! She was his life-partner. He’d wait for her till eternity. Little did he realize that his task was far from over! His patience would be tested life-long.

               The Princess had at last, found her suitor.

                                                                        

THE END

The copyright of this story is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 73

                 Nervously, she twiddled her thumbs and paced around the house like a caged lioness, growing restless by the minute. Her thoughts were disarrayed. Even the balcony had been searched, so where had the elusive folder vanished? She racked her brains for the answer as she waited impatiently for the Doctor to wake up. Then sheepishly she realized that she couldn’t search his room, as it would mean that she suspected him of stealing it or equally worse, it could imply that she had visited the room in his absence! It was a Catch-22 situation!

                 She decided that she would search for it after he left for the clinic. John was going to come to the clinic only at 4 p.m. so she would be going there at around 3.30 p.m. to wait along with the Doctor for his arrival. The Doctor had suggested the previous night that she come slightly early to the clinic, than John. However was there any harm in casually inquiring about her folder? she thought and so when he came into the living room to have his breakfast at the coffee table, she asked him evenly, trying hard to keep away the anxiety in her voice, “Benny, have you by any chance seen my folder containing the novel, as I am unable to find it? In fact, I have searched through all the possible places where I could have kept it, but haven’t been successful in locating it. I’m very, very worried. She was on the verge of tears.

                Calmly, slyly, the Doctor said, with a very straight face, “Oh that folder!”

                Her hopes raised, she looked at him expectantly, waiting to hear that he had seen it and kept it safely somewhere. Nothing could have prepared her for his next words.

                “Martha, please listen to me carefully and calmly. Promise me that you’ll hear me out and then speak!”

                 Intrigued, she agreed. Tersely, she said, “Yes.”

                 The Doctor looked at her squarely, his small black eyes glinting maliciously as he slowly, very slowly said, “I burnt it.”

                 Not believing her ears, she said incredulously, “I beg your pardon?”

                 He repeated confidently, “You heard it right Martha, I burnt it. I have destroyed your demons forever. You’ll never be plagued or haunted by the ghosts in that damned novel of yours!”

                  Instantaneously, Martha pounced on him and held his throat, uncaring about her gown that had come apart at the front, or the fact that she was nearly astride him in an awkward position; on the couch near the coffee-table. Her eyes darted fire as she venomously shrieked, “You devil, how dare you do that? You scumbag! You knew that I had slogged on it for a whole year and yet destroyed it perversely. You knew that I had intended to send it for typing and that I didn’t have any copy of it; didn’t you? You mean, wretched fellow! You’ll rot in hell for your misdeed. Just wait and watch!”

                  Her hysteria kept rising as she shrieked, raved and ranted, tears streaming down her smooth and beautiful cheeks. As the Doctor quietly, guiltily, cowered under her attack, she went berserk on a murderous rampage in that immaculate apartment. She broke all the lights, lamps, vases and collectibles, smashing them to smithereens. Then she took a table-knife and tore all the expensive canvases of original paintings. Next, she pulled down all the freshly laundered and ironed curtains from their rods and tore them to shreds.

                  She broke all the china-ware and sprayed sauce and syrup on all the imported rugs. She took the flower pots that she had recently bought and hurled them through the balcony on to the space in front of the building, damaging the Doctor’s expensive Audi car in the bargain as well as quite a few of the other vehicles parked there. Lastly, in a fit of blinding and uncontrollable rage, she plunged that knife through the Doctor’s chest. He shrieked with unbearable pain, begging her for mercy. Not satisfied, she plunged it again and again through his body, till he lay limply on the smudged, carpet on the living-room, lifeless and bloodied.

                   Then she slashed her wrists till pools of blood streamed from the wounds, slid down and mingled with those of the Doctor’s. She fainted and was relieved from further agony. By then, the security guards were knocking frantically on the door of the apartment. Not getting a response, they broke open the door and were shocked to see that gory scene of death and destruction. It was a scene straight from a crime-movie; nauseating and blood-curdling. The pesky next-door neighbor, who was peeping from behind the security guards, was repulsed and had to rush back into her apartment to vomit. She’d never forget that horrible scene of murder and attempted suicide, throughout her life.

                   The guards rang up the nearest police station. Policemen arrived immediately and took charge. The doctor’s body was sent for postmortem. Martha was taken to a hospital for treatment. If she would survive her suicide attempt, they would charge her on counts of murder, attempted suicide and vandalism.

To be continued....

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 72

                 That evening, the Doctor took Martha for dinner. It was a very relaxed affair, with both of them in the best of spirits. They had a splendid time, cracking jokes, gossiping and chatting like two close buddies. Martha realized that the Benny was very good company. She thanked him for everything that he had done for her and even declared that she would be acknowledging his help on the first page of her novel! The others who would find honorable mention would be Norman, Arnold and John D’ Costa, but undoubtedly, Dr. Benedict Hussey’s name would top that list. “Thanks, Martha that is very generous of you!” he had remarked, obviously pleased with her gratitude.

                The next four days, Martha busied herself cleaning Benny’s apartment. She vacuum cleaned each and every room, every nook and crevice; laundered all the curtains and bedding items, polished the furniture till it gleamed as if new and bought new exotic plants to place in the living room and the study. In spite of his protests, she had given the help who cleaned the apartment, four days off so that she could personally tend to the house. In fact, she felt that she owed the benevolent Doctor, some kind of compensation, for his invaluable help in getting her life back on track. As she knew that he would outright reject any cash compensation, she had decided to repay in kind! Little did she know that the Doctor had an entirely different kind of compensation in mind! He wanted to possess her and make her his forever, by hook or by crook!

                When Benny beamed and praised her efforts lavishly and remarked, “See, this is why every house needs a woman to make it a home!” she blushed and shyly said, “Yes, I see!” She dreaded what would come next. She just hoped that he wouldn’t propose to her next! But of course, he knew that her heart beat for John, so he wouldn’t do the unthinkable, but she couldn’t be sure. She felt vaguely uneasy as she knew that the Doctor had been secretly having a soft spot for her! She even knew that he found her to be very desirable and wouldn’t mind jumping into bed with her, given an opportunity. Hence she always diplomatically kept him at arm’s length but never gave him any indication that she could read his mind. Two could play at this game, she thought wisely.

                 She had deliberately kept herself occupied fruitfully for four days, to tide over her excitement and anxiety over the forthcoming meeting with her beloved John, in the presence of the Doctor. She just hoped that she had fully recovered and didn’t faint on seeing him as she usually did. She had stopped having hallucinations about her characters and now they seemed so distant that she never remembered them. The novel had left her system and she could breathe freely and sleep soundly once again. She felt that she had become the original, contented and uncomplicated Martha again. Only her life continued to be complicated and tangled due to her three suitors; Norman, John and Benny! But Monday would clinch this uncertainty for her. Now she couldn’t wait for Monday to dawn. But she had to yet suffer through the spoilsport Sunday! Never had she hated Sunday so much!

                   Throughout the week, Dr. Hussey had been plotting his next move. His plan of action was ready. He was waiting impatiently for Sunday night. His plan would be implemented that night. Hopefully, he would get Martha all for himself on Monday. He gleefully visualized Martha becoming violent and fainting on seeing John at the meeting. He would see to it that she got agitated and out-of-control. Only then would John get really scared and give up the thought of marrying Martha. After all, which sane person would ever want to be saddled with a mentally-disturbed person for the rest of his life! Norman too would give up on Martha, again on his (Benny’s) well-meant advice and only he would be Martha’s savior and guardian angel. She’d always need him and feel safe and protected with him around. He could live with his beautiful patient all his life.

                     After spending the Sunday lazily at home, both the Doctor and Martha decided to turn in early for the night. Both couldn’t wait for Monday to come. And when it came, all hell broke loose in the Doctor’s apartment.

                    As soon as the alarm went off at 5 a.m. in the morning, Martha jumped up from bed and excitedly went about her chores. She had already decided to take her novel’s folder to the clinic to show it to John. After searching for it in vain in her closet, puzzled about its absence there, for she was certain to have placed it there, she tried to see whether she had kept it in her suitcase that was placed near the closet. To her utter surprise, the suitcase opened without her having to insert her key. She always used a combination lock as well as a key for double-safety.

                    Besides, no one knew the combination numbers, apart from herself and no one else had the key! So who could have opened it? She was horrified as she wondered whether she had absent-mindedly forgotten to lock it, after all! Hastily, she began rifling through its contents for the precious folder. Lord please let me find it, she feverishly prayed. As more and more clothes and personal effects poured out without any sign of the folder, she became increasingly nervous and felt the hysteria bubbling within her.

                   Where on earth could it have gone? She was cent per cent sure that she had kept it in her room only. She was a very organized person and never carelessly left things lying around! She suddenly felt guilty as she hadn’t even bothered to look at the folder since the past five days. But there was no reason why she should have! Hadn’t she been very busy!

                    Very distraught now, she started searching in each of the five rooms in that spacious apartment. She systematically searched each drawer and closet in each room. She had cleaned the entire premises hence knew the positions of all the furniture by heart. She hadn’t seen her precious folder then so the chances of its being found anywhere other than her room were remote; still she labored on, as hope gave wings to her frenzied search. Ultimately, only Benny’s room remained to be combed. But he was fast asleep. It was 6 a.m. and he woke up only at 6.30 a.m.!

To be continued....

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 71

               She gathered all her note-pads and loose sheets which had been meticulously numbered and dated and arranged them in serial order. She had roughly 200 pages of manuscript written in her neat hand-writing (a typist’s delight!). She’d ask the Doctor to recommend a good typist for doing the needful. She didn’t want Norman’s typist to type her manuscript as she wanted her story to be under wraps before publication. She’d be putting the typist under contract to keep the story confidential.

              Tired but elated, she tiptoed to the Doctor’s room, carefully picking her way in the dark apartment, as it was way past midnight then. She wanted him to be the first to get the good news. “I’ve finished the novel, Benny? How’s that?” she had planned to ask him and surprise him. She had finished the novel in two days flat. She still had some days to rest in his apartment. She had to even ask Benny for an appointment to call John and fix their meeting. To her disappointment, his door was closed. Maybe he was fast asleep and she didn’t want to disturb him at that unearthly hour.

                She returned to her bedroom and decided to phone John and Norman. John sounded dazed and sleepy when he picked up the phone on the second ring. “Uh, Martha? Are you all right? What’s the matter, dear?” he said. She excitedly told him, “John, guess what? I’ve just finished writing my novel. Now only the typing part remains and voilà, I can publish my book!”

                 “Very good, darling! Congrats! You’re sure you don’t want to run it through me before sending it for publication?” he asked, knowing very well that her answer would be a determined “No”. She was one confident dame, in the area of her expertise. “Yes, I want to give all of you a surprise. If the book is read and dissected now itself, there’ll no fun left. Though I assure you that I value your opinion, this once you’ll have to excuse me and trust my judgment,” she said politely, but with laughter in her sweet voice. He started missing her immediately. “Martha, I want to see you and talk to you. Have you talked to Dr. Hussey about our appointment, as yet?” he implored.

                 “Tomorrow, first thing that’ll be my target. In fact, I wanted to brief him tonight, but I’m afraid it’s too late and I cannot disturb him. In fact, I’m sorry that I disturbed you and woke you up from your sleep. Good night, then. And yes, I miss you too. Love you. Bye.”

                   Then she called up Norman. She knew that she could take the liberty of waking him up at that unearthly hour as they were quite close to each other. She knew that he was always ready to help her. “Hello, Norman?” A very sleepy voice saying “Hello” reached her. She froze when another voice interjected his “Hello” and said crossly, “Who the hell is that?” It was that of a female. The snooty secretary’s voice! Martha knew better than to disturb their cozy rendezvous. She however couldn’t help the tears that rushed to her eyes. Norman was supposed to be engaged to her, wasn’t he? What was she doing in his room then? Obviously, Norman wasn’t missing her at all!

                  Her mood was thoroughly spoilt by that thought. It was just as well that she had seen his true colors before any further commitment and she thanked God that she wasn’t married to him. He obviously didn’t lose time in moving on from one lady to the other. Maybe he could make do with any one who was ready and available! Disgusted and disillusioned, she decided to catch up on some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be an important day.

                 For a long time, sleep eluded her as she kept going over Norman’s infidelity. When she finally reached a conclusion that he couldn’t be really blamed and couldn’t be expected to remain celibate, till she became fully all right; she stopped thinking about him and fell asleep with a profound realization. He was not a patient suitor. Cancelled.

                 The next day, she woke up at 7 a.m. and was pleased to see the Doctor watering the potted plants in his balcony. “Good morning, Benny. I’ve good news for you. I finished my novel last night. Since it was way past midnight, I didn’t dare disturb you.”

                 Surprised and genuinely pleased for her, the doctor exclaimed, “Wow, that’s surely great news. “Hearty congratulations, dear! We must celebrate today in the evening. I’ll take you out for dinner tonight. So today, you can just laze around and do whatever takes your fancy. At last you’ll be able to afford that much-needed break!”

                “Benny, can you give me and John an appointment to meet at your clinic tomorrow? It’s very urgent!” The doctor’s sensors were on red alert. He’d have to very careful if he didn’t want to displease Martha. Of course, he had to buck up and plot his plan of action to get Martha immediately. He was dangerously close to losing her, now that her novel was over! He felt desperate. Slowly, he told her, “Um, my diary is chock-a-block with appointments till the next week. Why don’t we wait till next Monday? Now I don’t foresee any trouble for you. So just relax and enjoy.”

                She was disappointed but knew that she couldn’t force the busy doctor to reschedule his itinerary just for her sake! She even felt foolish and unreasonable. Just because he was bending over backwards to help her, she couldn’t take him for granted! She sighed and agreed. Then she went to the kitchen to make French toast and coffee, while he went off to have a shower. She didn’t know that he had tiptoed into her room and seen the neatly kept folder containing her precious novel, on her desk. He knew that she’d later keep it either in her suitcase or the closet. His mind was racing furiously.

To be continued...

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 70

             “You both can adopt a child after a year,” said the King smoothly. Even as both Juan and Myara looked at him skeptically, he declared, “So it is decided then. Both of you will be married after the period of official mourning of a month. Prepare your selves for the same.” He meaningfully looked at Juan and he and the Queen left the couple alone for further deliberations. Both of them looked like defeated souls. This wasn’t what they had sacrificed for! They felt wretched at the loss of Sara’s life. Could they ever live happily with her soul haunting them? They had both failed her. So much for all their attempts at sacrificing for her! They felt as if they had been flung from a high precipice. The precipice of that forbidden shrine! The master’s curse had worked and ruined everyone’s lives at Regina.

                   The Princess hadn’t found a suitor after all. Her suitor had found another Princess, Myara to spend the rest of his life with!

*****************************************************************************

               

              Martha thought for a moment. Would this ending be suitable for her story? Weren’t fairy tales supposed to end on a happy note of ‘And they lived happily ever after!’ or ‘They rode into the sunset;’ where the hero always got the heroine after triumphing over myriad obstacles in the path of their union. But then hers wasn’t a fairy tale. It was a story filled with the angst of unrequited love. The Princess Sara had failed in her love-life for no fault of hers. Destiny had dealt a cruel blow on her dreams.

               Martha was convinced that her ending was appropriate as the readers these days didn’t expect all the love stories to end on a pre-determined, happy note. Wasn’t life in reality full of unexpected twists and turns too? One couldn’t really predict what would happen in one’s life next. Again if one could, it would take the anticipation and excitement out of living. Now take my case, she thought. Even I don’t know what course my life will be taking after finishing my novel. Will I really get well thereafter, as the Doctor had suggested? Will I marry John or…..? Will my life have a happy ending?

                She thought that she would ruminate on an alternative ending for her novel though she was absolutely convinced that the novel was just fine in the current state. She wondered whether she could take the Doctor’s advice on a plausible ending. But she wanted to retain full ownership of her work. She didn’t want anyone else to take credit for the ending, especially after so many months of hard work on it, at the cost of her health and peace of mind!

               Forcing her self to concentrate on the last chapter of her novel, she started writing the first words that struck her.

*********************************************************************************

                

               After the mandatory one month of royal mourning, Juan and Myara were united in holy wedlock with no fanfare. It was a subdued ceremony with just the ex-King, the ex-Queen, Juan’s mother, the Minister and a handful of other ministers showering the newly-wed couple with colorful confetti and heart-felt blessings; in the chapel. Though the Minister was hurt at being left out of the confidential deliberations that led to this marriage, he kept mum as he knew how to stay within his limits. The King’s decision was always final in Regina. Who was he to question him? He knew that the King would have had a very valid reason for not taking him into confidence. He trusted his judgment.

                 Myara wore a simple white satin gown, especially ordered for the occasion by the Queen and Juan wore a trouser suit in jet-black with a red cape. He had appeared dashing even with the black leather patch over his right eye. His other bright eye had devoured the radiant Myara who still had dark circles under her sparkling eyes, with the sorrow of grieving over the death of her most beloved friend. The ceremony was somber and was followed by a small party for those present.

                Needless to say, the people of Regina were astonished to see Myara occupying the Queen’s throne the next day beside Juan. Then the Minister proclaimed that in the best interests of Regina, it had been decided after the tragic death of the earlier Queen, Sara, the queen’s place couldn’t remain vacant and hence Myara, the valiant and loyal Myara had been chosen for that honor by the royal couple. As the whole Assembly broke into spontaneous applause, Juan and Myara looked at each other, silently vowing to be loyal to Regina and do her proud for the rest of their lives.

                  King Juan and Queen Myara ruled forever in Regina as they were both immortal. For centuries thereafter, generations of people in Regina venerated the ever-glowing and youthful royal couple who were so just and dutiful; as living deities. Regina had always flourished under their benevolent rule and would do so for many more centuries to come! No one knew whether they had ever had children and no one cared! The ones who knew about the couple’s secret were long dead and buried and those and their subsequent generations had been wiped out long, long, ago.

                  Long live King Juan and Queen Myara!

                                                             

                                                                        THE END

                    ******************************************************************************

              As Martha wrote the final words, she was filled with a sense of accomplishment. She was so pleased with herself that she got up from her desk and did a small jig around the room, giggling like a school-girl. She was ecstatic. What a perfect ending she had given the novel! She felt that she had done justice to all the characters in her novel. Now it remained to be seen whether her novel was acclaimed or panned by the critics. Frankly, she couldn’t care less! She was satisfied with her writing and only that mattered at that moment.

              She would have to get the novel typed and proof-read at the earliest, so that she could give it to Norman for publishing. She knew that even if he didn’t really approve of her concept or its execution, he couldn’t refuse to publish it as she had already decided to pay for the publishing and make it see the light of the day. She mentally patted herself on her back. Bravo girl! Way to go!

To be continued....

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 69

               When the home-delivery arrived, he knocked on her door courteously and walked in. Martha sprang up from her bed as if an intruder had walked in and then on realizing that it was him, said sheepishly, “Oh, Benny. I’m sorry that I didn’t even thank you for bringing me home. Shall I make lunch for us?” So saying, she glanced at the alarm clock and was flabbergasted to see that it was way past lunch-time. It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon.

            As she looked at him utterly confused, he smiled and said, “Lunch is waiting for you on the coffee-table in the living-room. I ordered for pizzas and ice-cream. Come, let’s have it before the pizzas become cold and the ice-cream becomes warm. Just joking! I have kept the ice-cream tubs in the refrigerator.” She looked guiltily at the kind Doctor. She had again slipped up. She surely couldn’t expect him to wait on her day and night and do all the house-work too. She was bound to share the chores!

             She walked to the couch in the living-room and said, “Benny, let’s share the chores while I’m here. I don’t want to burden you with all my work. I’ll be cooking for both of us from today evening. I’m very thankful to you for all your kind help. I probably don’t even deserve it. You are too good to be true.”

             Feeling pleased, he good-humoredly said, “In that case, please pinch me to see that you aren’t dreaming!” She blushed and laughed heartily. Then they both tucked into the mouth-watering pizzas. He watched her contentedly as she ate hungrily and unselfconsciously with cheese and lettuce sliding off the corners of her pretty mouth. Again, he had an irresistible urge to grab her and kiss her soundly. He had to however appear prim and controlled so that he didn’t put her off. How he wished that he was her lover and not only her shrink!

             Out of the blue, she asked him innocently, “Tell me, Benny, have you ever been married or have you always been a confirmed bachelor? I don’t know anything about you apart from the fact that you are the best psychiatrist in town!” He sighed as he thought about it. Then he said carefully, “Frankly speaking, Martha, I never came across anyone as beautiful, desirable and talented as you, otherwise I’d have married long, long ago.”

            As she gawked at him awkwardly, he added, “Yes, I have always been a confirmed bachelor and even prided on my self-discipline! You see, I’ve always been a nerd, so involved with my practice that I’ve never had the time or inclination to pursue anything in a skirt. But now I’m having second thoughts…” As he saw her alarmed look, he laughed and said, “Relax Martha. I’m not going to rush you for an answer, but yes, I’d definitely like to think that you could be my wife one day.”

           Now she looked angrily at him. “Doctor, I’m glad that you informed me about your feelings. But I’m sure that you’re aware about my feelings for John. In fact, I’m here to finish my novel and hoping that you’d help my union with John, in case you’ve forgotten.”

           “Now, now, Martha, please don’t get upset. I was only being honest with you. Let’s drop this talk if it offends you so much. I apologize and promise you that I’ll never rake this issue again. Happy?” She could fathom that he didn’t sincerely mean what he said. She decided to not blow the issue out of proportion and rock the boat, though she knew that their equations had irreversibly changed with his candid confession. So he did fancy her!

            She politely declined the ice-cream, cleared away the dishes, washed them and placed them in the drying rack, muttered a hurried “Thanks Doctor. See you later” and fled into the safe sanctuary of her room. Oh why did he have to mess things up by confessing his admiration and longing for her? Why couldn’t he have remained the same strict and seemingly inaccessible Doctor? She cursed herself for making small talk which had boomeranged on her. Why had she asked him such an obviously personal question? She had asked for it and got an unpalatable answer in return. She was very cross with herself.

              She closed the door to her room, latched it and then returned to her writing. She reviewed what she had written earlier.

               Myara had returned with Juan’s mother and the soldiers to the palace that was shrouded in mourning. She felt suffocated and wretched. The tears refused to come for the first few hours as she stubbornly resisted them. When she saw how empty the palace seemed without the lively presence of the beautiful and gregarious Princess Sara, her best friend and then her grieving mother who appeared as if she was also about to die, the enormity of the tragedy struck her like a bolt of lightning and torrents of tears gushed down her cheeks. It was as if a storm had hit her hard.

              Her heart was filled with unbearable sorrow for the death of a young girl who hadn’t even tasted the nectar of happy and fulfilling marital bliss. She, Myara was the cause of her death and hence she too didn’t deserve to live. Just as she was about to plunge a scabbard into her chest, Juan pounced on her and begged her to change her mind. His mother, the King and Queen implored her to save Regina.

              “Please Myara, you must marry Juan now. We can only trust you. You’ve proved yourself to be selfless, brave and forthright. Though you blame yourself for Sara’s suicide, you must realize that that was an act of cowardice. One must always face life’s trials and tribulations head-on. One must not shy away from the truth, however painful it might be! Sara couldn’t reconcile herself with Juan’s honesty when he told her that he was impotent. She couldn’t be a good wife to Juan. Now only you can be his wife as only you know his secret. We must keep this a secret at all costs.”

               Helplessly, Myara looked at all of them. They obviously set great store by her. She instinctively felt that she couldn’t let them down. “But how will we get a successor to the throne of Regina, Your Highness?”

To be continued...

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.