498 I look like her - 2
"Akira I never meant you to find this way," he said and bent down to hold her.
"You knew before me. Didn't you? And that's why you seemed so disturbed in the car."
"Akira, let's talk in the room," Raymond said and tried to hold her in his arms but she shrugged him off by moving her hands away.
"That's why you pulled me away from Dr. Nelson's room? Didn't you Raymond?"
She said and looked up into his eyes, unable to understand why he had to hide it from her.
"Why did you hide Raymond?"
"Why did I hide? You are asking me this Akira? For real? Why did I hide?" Raymond asked with a disturbed voice.
"Do you not know how difficult it was to get you back in my life? Do you not know how many people are out there to take you away from me? Do you think it is easy for me to digest to see another man added to that list? And that too a man like Dr. Nelson !!!"
"What do you mean Raymond?" she asked, unable to understand what was going on in his heart.
Raymond sighed and stopped pacing around. Pinching the space between his eyebrows he again let out a deep gasp of air and then said,
"I was scared because Dr. Nelson is different. He is a good man, in fact, a great man whom I can't even hate even after knowing all this about him. Don't you think that it will scare the hell out me?"
"But why?" asked Akira and she got up from the floor.
"Becasue when I myself am unable to hate him, how can you?"
All the anger and resentment that had built up inside her, washed away after hearing him speak. Coming close to him she asked,
"Are you scared that ..."
"Don't even say it Akira. Don't you even dare," said Raymond and pulled her close to himself. Hugging her tight in his arms, he said,
"I am done fighting with people. I don't have the strength for another battle. I can't fight a good samaritan like him. I am not perfect like him. So just forgive me from keeping this away from you because my heart can't even let you think about anyone except for me."
Pulling him even closer, she whispered into his ears,
"Who told you that I need a perfect man in my life? You are the only man I need Raymond," she said and buried herself in his warm chest. That was all that he wanted to hear. He had been constantly worried that she might develop a soft corner for Dr. Nelson, given the entire situation. He had been worried because he didn't want Dr. Nelson to emerge as the bigger man here.
If he would have said or done anything against him, then that would have made him look weak. So he didn't know what to do in the situation. But her words were enough to give comfort to his troubled soul.
"Do you think he was kind to me because I look like her?"
Raymond looked at her for a moment, contemplating whether he should speak out his mind, or avoid the question altogether. But then he decided to speak out the truth.
"I do not think so."
"You think?" asked Akira with hope in her eyes.
Raymond hated to that glimmer of hope, but being a man of honor he said exactly what he felt.
"Maybe initially he would have been trying to know you, because of ...." and his voice trailed.
"Becasue of how I look like her," and Akira finished the sentence.
"I mean yeah. Maybe initially. But he knew you were with me. If he had any intention of taking you away from me then he wouldn't have helped me to this extent. Maybe a part of his might be wanting you..." saying that he paused to look at her reaction.
"But I think he was a genuine friend, not just yours but mine as well. I couldn't have done some much. I couldn't have been so giving like him Akira. Probably the reason why he hid it from you was not to hurt you."
Akira heard him silently for a while and then asked,
"Was he hurting then? I mean did it hurt him every time he saw me?"
Taking a deep breath Raymond said,
"Probably yes, probably no. I am not sure Akira. I really don't know what he had in his mind," he said and sat on the bed.
Akira stood there for a while trying to understand everything that she had heard. She understood why he hid everything from her. She understood why it was bothering him. But right now she was bothered because of something else.
She remembered each and every incident and suddenly everything started making sense.
'The way Dr. Nelson's staff, Stella had frozen seeing her at the clinic.'
'The way Dr. Delson called her Alita when he opened his eyes.'
'The way people mistook her as Dr. Nelson's wife. The bartender, the nurse.'
Everything started falling into place.
"I was probably stupid not to notice the hints," Akira thought to herself.
She then remembered the scene at the party.
'That protective look on his face on the dancefloor that said that he would her no matter what.'
'The way his eyes were longing for someone when he was dancing with her.'
But in the end, she could clearly remember the way the grip of his hands had tightened around her when she left him to go to the stage to join Raymond.'
It all came flashing back and looking at Raymond she said,
"I need to visit him, right now !!!"
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