Undeniable Commitments

Rupert searched for Shimonthini everywhere. Monique did not retain any property in either her own name or that of Rishi. She had apparently evaporated from the face of the earth. His search took him back to India where her mother had a very little clue to give. Shinjini and Rahul's marriage was already in troubled waters and Rupert's presence only gave fuel to the fire. Shinjini was apparently upset that Rupert had allowed her sister to go missing. As if it were not crime enough he was trying to open a dialogue between her husband and herself regarding the future of their relationship which she did not want. What Rupert did not know was that a secret liaison between the erstwhile engaged couple went on in the very shadows of the household. Neither was Rahul or Damyanti privy to the information. Only Imli had decided to indulge a child's fantasies before they would come crashing in the face of reality.

Rupert's last visit in India had been a secret adventure in search of his roots. He did not know where to begin and where to end. All he had was a name that his father had provided and a church that his adoptive father had told of and he had started searching for a Tammy Edwards that did not exist. This time Rupert knew exactly where he was going and who he was going for. What changed was the paraphernalia associated with his visit. The media got wind of the Business tycoon visiting Kolkata. Several conjectures were drawn up among news channels forecasting everything from a business investment to an illicit scandal. What no one guessed was a husband looking for his wife.

Rupert, though tried out of his patience and wits went through all the uproar solemnly. He did not have a person to vouch for, a political campaign to promote. His words spoken after careful consideration was never partisan. His business partners considered this visit an opportune time to open a dialogue with India and reopen lost trade routes and Rupert even indulged their wishes. What he did not indulge was his heavy heart to scream out for his wife he couldn't find.

Why was Rupert in India? He was not there for business, neither for a family that accepted him not. He was there for the woman that destiny had joined to him. Yet he was clueless about her whereabouts.

When Sipra received the news from her younger daughter she was devastated. Why her daughter had not run away when presented with ample causes? Shimonthini had refused to run away when she herself beseeched her to do so yet now she was gone without a trace. Aunt Rupa wouldn't let the worried mother pray to her Gods in peace for she continued to curse the day when she was born.

Outside the two households, the concept of a foreign invasion into the Indian Business scenario was abuzz. Shinjini watched with a gloomy expression as politician after politician came home to pay homage to the man she had once safely shared a bed with. She wanted to seduce Rupert at any cost but there was very little to make him budge from his devotion to his wife. The height of her exasperation came when her own uncle followed one of the political goons into their house to meet the foreigner. The foreigner on the other hand only asked for assistance to find his wife.

All the attention to their home proved harmful in only a short span of time as news channels that have very little real news to focus on starting investigating the Mukherjee Real Estates climb to wealth. No one found any flaws till the sanction letters were found to be too many and too soon. Funds embezzled in the name of gifts lay in the accounts of more than one politician with questionable character. The results of the investigation were as much a blow to their power as was a blow to the reputation of the Mukherjee household. Rahul was soon taken in for questioning. That led to further probing. Soon Rahul Mukherjee, the eldest son of the Mukherjee household and the son of the Late Ramakanta Mukherjee, an advocate of Law was charged with extortion, trespassing, corruption and even murder. Till the charges could be proved he was kept in custody. The entire responsibility fell on the shoulders of the man who had drawn so much attention to their home. Rupert tried hard to convince Ravi in taking up Rahul's place in the family but Ravi chose to go abroad for higher studies instead. Shinjini chose to go with him. With Shinjini and Ravi out of the equation, Rupert was forced to intervene into his mother's family matters. Damyanti Devi, who couldn't sign her name, refused to sign papers that were to be dealt with by him. Ignorance breeds distrust more than any other vice. With the entire property of Mukjherjee household on the verge of extinction, Rupert had to intervene forcefully even against their wishes. Soon Mukhjerjee Constructions ceased to exist and Mornington Real Estate was founded.

Sipra by this time had undergone a stroke and lay in a hospital waiting to see her two daughters once again. The wish seemed too much for Time it seemed for Shinjini had finally gathered the wits to seek a divorce from her criminal husband. Newspapers spread the news like a piece of hot cake. Yes, it was great news for them, almost a nail in the coffin for the businessman whose case was denied by the top lawyers of the country. Rupert tried to use his contacts in the matter but Rahul refused to take his help. Apparently sleeping with one's wife couldn't be forgiven even in the face of life imprisonment.

The months that his stint in India took had numbed the emptiness in Rupert's heart at Shimonthini's absence. Shimonthini was wrong however in thinking that he worked from self-denial. Was it really self-denial to chalk out a place in other people's heart, a place that could not be denied by death or departure? Rupert no longer hated the woman who had given birth to him. In a strange sense of justice, he too was abandoned by his spouse. The only difference was that he did not have to carry the added responsibility of another life.

Rosaline did. The thought of his young daughter bearing the burden of raising a child tugged at his heart. He had promised her that he would let her be independent. That did not prevent him from placing her under twenty-four hours surveillance. That was for his own peace of mind he would argue to his conscience. Rupert did not go and visit his daughter or disrupt her privacy but he could if he wanted to. He did not know where she got the money to purchase the house she lived in California though it had been registered in her name recently. What he could not do was to know that the older woman with whom his daughter was lodging was none other than the woman he was married to.