Blurb:
On the outside, Tara leads a perfect life. A home of her own, a handsome husband, a doting son and a promising career as an author.
But inside, she is a wreck. Her marriage is a sham and she hasn't succeeded in forgetting her one true love, Manu, the man she had wronged. The man she had almost married.
Manu, now the senior editor with a science portal, firmly believes that he has left Tara where she belonged: in his past. But in reality, he hasn't forgotten anything. Not the love nor the hurt.
Their past and present collide when they accidentally meet in Chennai. The city has come to a standstill after facing the worst flood in a century. While nature is unleashing its fury on humans, they must make peace with their past.
Will they have the courage to do that?
Can they fight the attraction that still burns bright?
Or will the bunch of people they are with, teach them new life lessons?
How long can Tara hide her secret from Manu when it has the potential to tear them apart?
Excerpt:
Tara had been looking forward to the book launch since months. Yet now, when it was happening, she was in a stupor of sorts. All thanks to the man who was sitting next to her.
She was on autopilot and not fully aware of anything that was happening around her. She did what she was supposed to do. She answered the random questions that were thrown at her both by the audience and by the moderator. She also read out from her book and signed copies for those who had bought her book.
Manu had not changed much in appearance. But his attitude towards her had undergone a sea change. The lover who cherished her presence had transformed into a stranger who made her feel unwanted.
Manu’s questions during the launch had felt personal to her.
"Why do you write romance?"
"Do you believe in true love?"
Tara didn't remember her answers. She had faced the audience when she answered them. Whenever their eyes had met, Manu’s eyes asked her a thousand questions for which she had no answers. Together with guilt, regret held her heart in an icy grip.
All through the function, she prayed for a chance to ask him for forgiveness. When he left her on the stage to allow the readers to get the books signed, Tara watched him stealthily whenever she got the chance. If he had slipped away, she might have abandoned all pretence and ran after him.
Much to her relief, he didn't leave. Maybe he wanted to talk too. He kept standing, hands in his pocket staring around as if bored by whatever was happening. Next time when she looked up, he was gesturing to Aryan to go to him. Aryan pulled at her saree, asking for permission. When she nodded a yes, he ran toward Manu, clutching his angry bird plush toy.
When Tara glanced up next, Manu who was listening to Aryan's babble, burst out laughing. The sound sent a shudder of excitement through her. She had not forgotten his laugh. The deep, hearty sound always did strange things to her heart. It had been one of the first things that had endeared him to her.
Preethi Venugopala is a civil engineer during the day and a writer and blogger in all her free hours. She has many short stories traditionally published on Juggernaut books but she opted to self-publish her novels on Amazon KDP.
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