12/24/21, 12:48 PM Studio@PocketFM

Shanmugapriya G

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Mumbai
Someone is screaming!
Forgotten Love
In alove
True heartbeat, I know
can conquer it is In
everything! me.
caseI of
jerk
Aliaawake and they
and Damien, sit upright onthe
conquered my bed,
great my heart
distance between
their cultures and got happily married to each other. But when Damien's deepest secret comes crashing
roaring against my ribcage. My hand trembles as I push my long hair back from
down upon their marriage, will their love survive against all odds?
my damp forehead. He can’t be dead; this was just a dream! I chant that thought
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while taking huge calming breaths. This is the third time this week I’ve woken up
like this, feeling like he’s gone. The fact that I’ve lost all touch with him screams
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inside me that something is drastically wrong else he’d never be silent for this
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long; his phone would never be switched off like it has been this last week. I shut

my eyes, anxiety weighing me down. How long should I convince myself there is a
Male + Female POV requirement
reason for his silence?
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I grab the photo frame from my bedside table. It is a picture of Damien and I
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from our honeymoon. His arm is around me and both of us are smiling into the
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camera, theFilewaves of the Indian Ocean crashing behind us.

I run a finger along his face, tracing that bearded jaw, visualizing him in my
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mind’s eye. Those striking grey-green eyes that sparkle whenever they rest on
me, that heart-stopping smile that almost always makes me melt. I miss him! I
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his chin when he hugs me. I miss his scent and I miss
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how his strong arms and tall frame wrap around me when we sleep, making me
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feel protected and cherished. This is the first time we’ve been separated for so
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long and perhaps that’s what is making me anxious. I shake my head. No,

something is wrong. I can sense it.

God! Please let him be safe, I pray.

Love is a strange yet powerful emotion that hit me when I least expected it and
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swept me off my feet without me even knowing it. And now, five years later, it 
is

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the faith I have in that love that makes me believe he would never leave me
without contact—unless he was in trouble.

Fear for him slithers like a poisonous snake across my veins but I have to tamper

it down because I have one more reason to remain sane, to stay anchored to the
belief that Damien will be fine, no matter what. I breathe in deep, letting the

familiar hum of the air conditioner soothe my nerves before I slide off the bed.

My feet hit the cold marble floor and I head to the other bedroom where I tip toe
inside.

My darling little boy—an angel with his mouth open and a tiny hand clutching his

rather overlong hair—is sleeping in his cot. A small smile skates across my lips
and my heart warms as I stare at him for a moment before lifting him carefully

and putting him on my shoulder. He wriggles for a moment but soon relaxes in

my arms, his nose digging into the side of my neck. I inhale his soft, sweet

fragrance, and shut my eyes for a few seconds. Rian is ten months old and the

love of our lives. Reluctant to let go of him, I hold him for a second longer before I
gently tuck him back in his cot and caress his beloved face, so similar to his

father.

My cell phone rings and I run to my room, glancing at the clock that shows it’s

three in the morning. I pray fervently that it’s finally him calling. Please God, let

that be my husband!

I lift the cell, scanning the caller id and my shoulders slump.

“Gabriel!” I breathe into the phone. “Where is Damien? It’s been a week since I

heard from him. One whole week with his phone switched off and you giving me

a different excuse each time I call. I’m scared, Gabe. You can’t even begin to

imagine the thoughts running through my mind.”

His silence only fuels my fear.

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“Gabe, please,” I plead. “Where is he?” 
“Aaliya, he…he’s been in a car accident!”

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“No! God, no!” I shudder. “Is he-”

I swallow against the pain in my throat and try again, because I need to know. “Is

he fine? Please tell me he’s alive!”

“Aaliya, he’s fine. He was in a coma for a week. He’s just woken up now.”

“One week!” I gasp out. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tears burn my eyes, threatening to spill over. “His trip to London was planned for
two days not ten, Gabe. I’ve lived in terror this last week ever since I lost contact

with him. You knew how worried I was and yet you fed me with one excuse after

the other. How could you keep his accident from me? I deserved to know, Gabe.”

“Aaliya…”

“Don’t you dare try and placate me!” I yell, unable to hold it back any longer.

“You should’ve called me the minute he was admitted to the hospital.”

“Aaliya, I’m sorry. I truly am!” His voice comes out broken. “This is hard for me
too. I didn’t tell you because he told me to look after you and Rian first if anything

happened to him. I never imagined that he’d meet with an accident so soon after.

You may not understand this now, Aaliya, but I did this to protect you both.”

“Protect us from what?”

Gabe sighs. “How much do you know of the English aristocracy?”

My fist squeezes tighter around my phone. “I don’t care about the damn English
aristocracy. Tell me about Damien. How is he?”

“Like I said, he’s fine now. He woke up a few hours ago. He’s injured his head, but

he will be fine. There’s a lot to tell you, Aaliya. Damien hasn’t told you entirely
who he was…is.”
“What do you mean, Gabe? Don’t talk to me in riddles. Besides, I know who he

was...” I shake my head. “…he is. I know about his life in England. So, stop trying
to tell me something else.”
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I’ve known Gabriel Westcott for as long as I’ve known Damien, which is five years

now. He is Damien’s best friend, his business partner and was his best man at our

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wedding. Since Damien was an orphan, Gabe was also the only person to attend
from Damien’s side. This last week he’s given me one excuse after the other

regarding the silence from Damien and now he’s feeding me some nonsense
about my husband that I refuse to believe.

“Damn it, Aaliya. You need to listen to me!” Gabe shouts. “Damien is the second
son of the Duke of Kittridge. He returned here to England ten days ago not on a

business trip, like he told you, but because his father and brother died in a car
crash. He came for their funeral and because of his new responsibility. Damien is
now the Duke of Kittridge.”

“No!” I whisper, dropping down on the bed. “That can’t be true. He would have
told me. No! I don’t believe you.”

“Google it. Now! It’s K I T T R I D G E.”

He spells the word as I grab my laptop and open Google and type the letters. My

eyes widen in shock. Oh my God! The cords in my neck strain as I stare at the
images on the screen. There are dozens of pictures of Damien. He’s at a funeral.
He’s with an older woman. Another picture shows him with his arm around a

younger blonde woman, comforting her. Who are these women? What in the hell
is going on? I read tweets on him.

“The new Duke of Kittridge”

“Missing son returns after five years”
“The Devil Lord is now the Devil Duke”
The Internet has the whole history of Damien; it knows things I’ve never known.
My Damien is not Damien Alexander, as I’ve always known him; he is Damien

Alexander Talbot, now the Duke of Kittridge.

“How…how is this possible?” My voice trembles. “How could I have not known?”

“I will explain it all to you, Aaliya. But first, you need to come to London as soon
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as you can. Can you organize to leave Rian with someone for a few days?” 
“I’ll bring him with me. Damien will want to see him.”

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“Aaliya,” Gabe lowers his tone and my heartbeat accelerates yet again, “he

doesn’t remember you. He has no memory of the last five years of his life, which
includes Rian and you.”

Did he just say that? No! It can’t be true. But I know to the core of my being it is
true. This is why my instincts have been roaring at me since the last few days. My
stomach plummets, the hollowness spreading through every inch of my body. A

whimper escapes my mouth and I press a hand on my lips to stop myself from
screaming.

“Aaliya, are you there? Aaliya, please say something.” Gabe’s imploring voice
breaks into my spiraling thoughts.

The tears I’ve so far held at bay flow like a river down my cheeks. I trace a finger
down Damien’s handsome face on the laptop screen in front of me and that’s
when it finally hits me. The man I’ve loved for the last five years has been

someone else. He lied to me about everything. He told me he was an orphan and

I believed naively that he didn’t have anyone. But now I know the truth. He has an

entire life in England—a family I don’t know of and now…now he’s forgotten me,
forgotten our child and our life. I choke down a sob as my heart shatters into a

million pieces.
Another sob threatens to free out of my lips but I can’t breakdown yet. I need
answers first. Taking a huge gulp of air, I ask, “If that is his actual life, then what

is this here? Him and me…was that ever real? Did he even love me?”
“Stop right there!” Gabe orders. “Aaliya, you’re his world, you and Rian. In the

last five years, he has been the happiest I’ve seen him. I helped him disappear
from this life in England that he hated. He abhorred his family. His father was a

monster, his brother more so. They were cruel, heartless and powerful. They’d
have never accepted you in his life. And that’s one of the main reasons he didn’t
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tell you about them when he fell in love with you. He wanted to keep you safe.
He

left that life behind when he came to India five years ago. Meeting you and

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marrying you was the best thing that ever happened to him. So, don’t think for
one second that he didn’t love you.”

I remain silent, unable to make sense of what I’ve learnt. My life has turned
upside down in the space of a few minutes and I don’t know which way is north
or south. I scroll through the various entries on the laptop and holy shit there is a

Wikipedia entry on Damien! I click on it and glance through details about him,
facts I have no clue of. It’s as if I’m reading about a completely new person. In

that instant, I know that my marriage as I’ve known it will never be the same
again.

“Aaliya, please. You need to come here. His doctor hopes that seeing you will
return his memory.”

I take a deep breath and then another. There is nothing to decide. Of course, I’m
going to go because in the end all my roads will always lead up to Damien. He’s

my love. He’s my life!

“I need a day, Gabe. I’ll be there. Keep him safe for me please.”

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