What Dreams Are Made Of: Episode 41

#Episode_41

 

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Chrissy shivered involuntarily remembering the cold water she had fallen into and almost died. And also the time when she had fallen sick in the party leading to her spending the night in Nikloi’s room.

 

Chrissy almost laughed at the irony of all of it. Susan had tried to kill her because she wanted her out of Nikloi’s life but both the attacks had ended up getting them closer. Nikloi had spent that night in the room with her, albeit watching her from a distance. And the accident at yacht had actually thrown them together in a much more vulnerable position, thereby, pushing Nikloi over the edge. He had openly shown his desire for her after ignoring her for almost forever.

 

She was tortured by her twisted mind which kept flashing images of them at the yacht. Her almost na.ked body entwined around his hands and mouth, those and other ecstatic moments which had eventually led to his rejection. He had rejected her body and soul. It was impossible not to feel the pain of rejection all over again.

 

And she gave in to that strong desire to cry her heart out. Tears of loss, pain and hurt kept flowing down her eyes as if a dam had been broken open. The dream that she had but couldn’t be fulfilled, the love that she had but couldn’t be blossomed, the life that she had but couldn’t be lived. The agony was too much for her heart to bear and she wept inconsolably.

 

 

Richard watched her breakdown. He felt miserable but there was nothing in this world that he could say to lessen the pain. Susan was the perpetrator of her wretchedness but he knew he had played a perfect ally to her hideous schemes. He was as much to be blamed, for making the innocent girl bleed her heart. This was his punishment, his redemption, if at all there was one for his actions.

 

Chrissy didn’t know how long she cried and how long Richard stood next to her, silently watching her cry. His head was hung low but he didn’t utter a word. She thought maybe it was for better that he didn’t try to soothe her crying, allaying her pain.

 

She knew he was the man responsible for her fallout with Nikloi, for causing her this deep pain, but somehow now that he confessed his role, she felt she could hold any grudge against him. There was a calming bond he had developed, even though she was unwilling to have anything to do with him. It must have taken him immense effort to come up to her and own it all up. And in spite of her unbearable loss, she felt lighter after a long time. As if part of her had already forgiven him.

 

When Chrissy’ tears dried up, she eventually looked up to him and saw the regret on his face. She knew he was sorry but she didn’t feel any anger any more. She stood up and told him she would return from restroom.

 

Richard still didn’t say anything and watched her go inside. He couldn’t change the past but he was glad he came to her. She was the most pure person he had come across. A breath of fresh air among all the vultures that lived in his society including himself. She didn’t belong to this world and he felt a sudden protective impulse towards her.

 

Richard was still lost in his thoughts when the phone in the living room rang. He looked around to see if Chrissy was back but she was still inside. He knew there was nobody else at home. The phone kept ringing. Not knowing what to do, he called Chrissy but there was no response from her. Just when he thought that the incessant sound was going to disturb the neighbours, the ringing stopped.

 

 

He relaxed visibly and sat down on the couch. But before long, the phone started ringing again. Chrissy was still not out. Thinking that it might be important, since somebody was continuously calling, Richard picked up the phone.

 

“Hello?”

 

 

There was no response from the other side. Richard thought if the phone was disconnected but he could see the red light on the handset indicating the call was on.

 

“Hello, who’s speaking?” he tried again.

 

Again there was no response from the other side.

 

He was wondering what to do next, when Chrissy walked b

 

ack in the room and asked, “Who is it? I heard the phone ringing.”

 

Richard replied, “I don’t know. There is no voice from the other side.”

 

Chrissy took the phone from his hands and spoke into the mouth piece, “Hello, can you hear me? Who is…”

 

Before she could complete, there was a sharp disconnect sound from the other side and the line went dead. Chrissy had a bad feeling about the call. She wondered if it had to do with Susan. Wasn’t Susan done with all the pain that she had caused her already? Was she still after her life?

 

The thought scared her but she immediately reminded herself that she was imagining things. May be her brain was in hyper-sensitive mode because of whatever she had learnt today from Richard. But she just needed to relax.

 

Eliminating all those thoughts, she kept receiver back. When Richard asked her who it was, she told him about the line going dead.

 

“How are you feeling now?” Richard asked her gently.

 

 

Chrissy had taken her time in her room gathering herself together after her breakdown in front of him. But the concern in his voice made her emotional again. She drew a long hard breath to control her emotions.

 

Moving away from him she said, “I had never imagined Susan would want me dead. It is difficult to come to terms with such hatred but I guess I will be fine with time. Right now, it’s all too much for me.”

 

“I know. And I am really sorry for causing you all the sufferings. That was never my intention but I know what I did is unforgivable. So if you do not forgive me, I will understand but I would still like to do whatever I can to ease your troubles”, Richard said.

 

“It is okay. You need not feel guilty. Coming here and sharing all this with me is proof that you didn’t mean to harm me”, Chrissy answered him with a weak smile.

 

“You truly have a big heart, Chrissy. Only you could forgive me so easily. But I am still responsible for this mess. Let me help you”.

 

“There is nothing to do. It’s all in the past now”, Chrissy said dejectedly.

 

“At least let me be with you in your future. I know you aren’t going back to Swaroski House for work. So if I can do anything to help you with your work, I would be really happy”, Richard insisted.

 

Chrissy didn’t know what to tell him. She herself didn’t know what to do with her future. Her heart was in a mess and she had hardly thought about her professional work.

 

Seeing that Richard really wanted to help, she didn’t want him to feel that she had not yet forgiven him. She also needed to get her life back on track. At least for her mother and her sister, she couldn’t really give up. She told Richard that she needed time but she will call him if she needed his help.

 

Richard was not fully convinced but he decided to let her have time. She was an independent woman, manging the responsibility of work and her family but the fact was that she was still a young girl. Life had been too demanding on her and

 

 

she had carried all the burden all by herself. He had a strong desire to take away all her troubles. He didn’t know where these thoughts were coming from but if it was the only thing he could do in this world, it was to protect Chrissy.

 

He couldn’t share any of this with her but he decided would be there for her in whatever she allowed him to be. That was his only chance at redemption. With those thoughts, he bid her farewell and left her place.

 

Chrissy was shaken by whatever he had told her that day but at least she had answers to most of her questions now. She knew why Richard had done what he did and what was Susan intention. And she knew, down and broken she may be, she had to find her life again, life without Nikloi. A tear dropped of her eye with the resolution.

 

What she didn’t know was a black SUV standing outside her home watching her bid farewell to Richard.

 

 

 

The meeting with Richard made it clear to Chrissy that she had to severe all her ties with Hotel Le Swaroski. She knew she was not at fault but she didn’t want to struggle to prove her innocence any more.

 

Her team did not know what had happened between her and Nikloi but they cou

 

ld sense some problem. There were quite a many calls from them asking her to come to the hotel but she had declined all requests citing some reason or the other. It had already been more than two weeks since she stopped going to the hotel and she knew she couldn’t go on avoiding the situation forever.

 

A part of her had cried to go back to Nikloi and tell him everything Richard had told her but she had lost her energy.

 

Nikloi had not believed her earlier. He wouldn’t her now. Nor he would believe Richard, especially after knowing Richard’s original plan. He would assume that this was their joint plan to fool him again.

 

Then there was the Susan’s issue. Richard had stressed that she should stay as far away from Susan as possible. He was worried that there was no knowing if Susan

 

 

would still attack her even after her fall out with Nikloi. And if Susan came to know that Chrissy knew of her hideous plans, she may get even more violent.

 

To help Chrissy start afresh, he had offered to help her find another job or even help her set up her business independently again. Chrissy didn’t want to take his help and had immediately refused but Richard didn’t give up.

 

Chrissy knew she had to decide quickly as her team was bound to make speculations about her weird behaviour. They knew she was highly dedicated to her work and would not neglect it for so long without a reason. She had to come to a conclusion.

 

Finally, even though she was not fully convinced, she decided to accept Richard’s help as there was no other option. But she refused to take money from him. Richard promised to speak to some people he knew to help her find a new job.

 

Chrissy send in a letter to end her contract to Swaroski House. She knew it was a mere formality and as expected, it was immediately accepted without any meeting or questions. As per her contract, her shop and all its items were the property of the hotel and hence it was an absolutely unprofitable deal for Chrissy. Especially in her business, it would be next to impossible to gather the collection she had made acquired after so many months of hard work. But she had to make a clean start. There was no way she would be able to get it from Nikloi to change the contract terms considering the way things stood between the two of them. Also it was essential for her own good to leave all of that behind. It was no longer a choice, but a necessity for her own stability. She had to move on.

 

Only thing left for her to completely severe all connections with Swaroski House was the collection of her personal belongings from her office at the hotel. There wasn’t much, just a few of her things she used in office. And a picture of her family, one of the rare ones where all four of them, her parents, Alice and herself, had been together. One from their happier days.

 

 

 

Chrissy didn’t want to put foot in Le Swaroski hotel again. She didn’t think she would be able to face the place which had given her so much and later snatched it all away. She thought about it for a long time. She could ask one of the staff to

 

 

collect all her things and send it to her or she could even ask Linda to get her stuff for her. But in both the cases, she was not comfortable asking them to do it her. It included things that may not mean much to others but for her, they were memories of a time that would never return.

 

She didn’t want anyone going through those things and asking uncomfortable questions. Already Linda was shocked with Chrissy’s decision and had been questioning her continuously. Chrissy had told her that it was for her mother. Doctor had advised them to move away from London to help her recuperate faster.

 

But Linda wasn’t convinced. She knew Chrissy was happy at the hotel. Though she was very different from most of the others who belonged to her business, she had found her grounds and was doing very well.

 

People had also accepted Chrissy in spite of all the differences because they could her genuine soul. So to Linda, this decision to move out was utterly confusing. According to her, Chrissy’s mother would obviously benef

 

it more by being closer to all the medical facilities she could get in the proper city. Moving to a smaller town may, therefore, not be the best option as per her.

 

Story_Continues

 

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