Disguising myself as a waiter, I served them on Valentine’s Day and was barely able to stop myself from pulling his chair out from under him before she perched on his lap. Hidden in the bushes, I watched him present her with an anklet and beg her not to leave him. At the dance in Trivandrum, I saw him shrug off the harem of girls and stalk away with a sober expression the instant Kelsey left in tears.
Invisible, I eavesdropped on their conversation on the yacht right after Ren regained his memory and thrilled for a brief moment when Kelsey said she was going to stay with me. But fast-forwarding a bit, I came upon them locked in a very intimate embrace in his cabin, at a time when, supposedly, she was with me. As I gripped the amulet, the scene disappeared. Anguish tore from my lips as I spun in a whirlwind, not knowing where I should go next or what I was really trying to accomplish.
My mind settled a bit, and I decided that what would comfort me the most, and help me to understand Kelsey’s feelings for me, was to relive the moments when I felt her love. A smile came to my face when I watched our ice cream fight and relived moments in Shangri-La that probably meant more to me than they did to her. She seemed comfortable holding my hand as we walked through the jungle and held on to me tightly when I carried her after she sprained her ankle trying to rescue Ren.
When I got to the day I proposed, I frowned, seeing that she was distracted. It took studying the scene from several different angles, and finally disguising myself as a beach goer lying out on the sand, before I realized that she was distracted by Ren. As my past self was struggling with what to say and how to sound romantic, all Ren had to do was walk out of the water and every female within a mile was lusting after him, including my soon-to-be fiancée.
Ren froze when he saw me offer Kelsey the ring, and then he shot off up the hill like a bolt of lightning, changing to a tiger as soon as the bushes gave him some cover. Even then, at that time, I’d had an inkling that something was wrong. That Kelsey seemed almost sad as she accepted the proposal. I shrugged off the disappointment I felt. The fact was, she did become my fiancée. Even though she knew Ren saw everything, she’d made a commitment to me, and it was obvious by watching the two of us together that she did have feelings for me.
Leaving the beach, I time jumped back to our date on the yacht. From the shadows I watched our kiss again and again.
“You must have been so lonely,” Kelsey said as I watched the scene for the tenth time.
“I was,” the other me responded. “I’d been alone for so long I felt like I was the last man on Earth. Then when I saw you, it was like a dream. You were an angel who’d come at last to rescue me from my miserable existence.”
I still felt that way. The curse was broken for Ren but not for me. I was still stuck in a miserable existence, and this one girl was the only person in the universe who could bring it to an end. I folded my arms and leaned against a post, moving my lips to the words I’d long since memorized.
“I wanted you, and I didn’t care who I hurt or how it made you feel. I was angry when you asked me to back off. I wanted you to want me in the same way, and you didn’t. I wanted you to feel the same way about me that you felt about Ren, but you couldn’t.”
“But, Kishan—”
“Wait . . . let me finish.
“Maybe it’s what that idiot bird did to me in Shangri-La, but I’ve been able to see more clearly since then—not only about my past and about Yesubai but also about you, about my future. I knew that I wouldn’t be alone forever. I saw that in the Grove of Dreams.”
I reflected for a moment on the visions given to me in the Grove of Dreams. Perhaps it had been pride that motivated me to hide the knowledge that Kelsey’s baby had my eyes. That sweet little babe with golden eyes being cradled by his beautiful mother was an image that haunted my every waking moment.
She’d named him Anik. That much I’d told her, but what I didn’t share was that his middle name was Kishan. Anik Kishan Rajaram, my golden-eyed son. Maybe if I had told her what I knew, she would have felt differently. Our relationship might have been easier. Ren less of an influence. But my ego got in the way. I wanted her to choose me because she loved me, not because of a vision.
Stupid! What difference would it have made? Kelsey made a decision without having all the cards on the table. How could I expect her to stay when she didn’t know what I knew? I turned my attention back to the scene playing out in the candlelight.
I saw the Kishan below touch Kelsey’s lips. If I closed my eyes, I could still feel the velvety-smooth texture of them on my fingertips.
“I wasn’t really ready to be in a relationship then. I didn’t have anything to give, anything to offer. Not to a woman of this time. But Shangri-La gave me something more valuable than six more hours a day as a man. It gave me hope. A reason to believe. So I waited. I learned how to be patient. I learned how to live in this century. And now . . . most importantly, I think I’ve finally learned what it means to love someone.”
My old self had at least a drop of common sense. He, or I, had been patient, and that patience had paid off. Perhaps if I could gather a bit more patience, things might end up okay. There was still time. Loads of it, actually. There was no reason a wedding had to happen. I could stop it before it went too far.
I heard a squeak as Ren stepped into view. He crouched on the deck just below mine and watched the couple below with the same fascination and attention I’d been giving. His fingers tightened on the deck chair next to him.
The old Kishan said, “So I suppose the only question remaining, Kelsey, is . . . are my feelings echoed in your heart? Do you feel even a small part of what I feel for you? Is there a piece of you that you can reserve for me? That I can name mine? That I can lay claim to and keep forever? I promise you that I will cherish it. And I will guard it jealously all of my days. Does your heart beat for me at all, love?”
After a brief moment, Kelsey responded, “Of course it does. I won’t let you be alone ever again. I love you too, Kishan.”
I watched the kiss, remembering the power and passion of it, and was jealous of my old self for having that experience at that moment. Kelsey’s words echoed in my mind. A piece of her belonged to me and always would. I knew that to be true. As Ren lost his mind, threw a deck chair, and general chaos ensued, I quietly murmured the words of Kelsey’s promise into the dark, balmy air. “I won’t be alone.”
“Of course you’re not alone,” a scoffing female voice declared behind me.
Chapter 6
Capture
Spinning at the sound behind me, I found a smirking Anamika. My instinct was to grab her arm, but seeing the look she gave me made me pause, and I caught myself just in time.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed.
She shrugged. “You’ve been gone for a while.”
I was about to say I’d return the next morning and it didn’t really matter how long I was gone, but obviously I hadn’t returned or she wouldn’t be here now. The fluctuations in the timeline gave me a headache. Instead I asked, “How long was I gone?”
“Two weeks. How long have you been here observing yourself fawning over Kelsey?”
“None of your business.”
She took a step closer and gazed at the scene below. As she passed me, the soft jasmine scent of her skin and hair swept over me. Her presence made me angry and the fact that I liked her scent made me angrier.
“How did you get here anyway?” I whispered.
“Shh.” She held up her hand.
“Are you . . . all right?” the old me asked Ren.
“I am now.”
“What happened to you?”
“The veil of concealment was lifted.”
“A veil? What veil?”
Ren said, “The veil in my mind. The one Durga put there.”
I glanced at Anamika, who regarded the scene with a raised eyebrow and a shrewd analytical gaze.
“I remember now,” Ren said. “I remember everything.”