ArHi FF: Jaane Doh Naa Updated 150 [Feb 4, '13] - Page 41

"Urgh," Ayesha groaned, throwing the cloth she was trying to cut on the floor. "I had enough of this place!"

 

Khushi pretended to not have heard. It was almost a habit now to listen to Ayesha's rants about the various difficulties in designing.

 

"Lets got out na," Ayesha said. "Why not catch a movie tonight? A Salman Khan movie?"

 

Khushi froze upon hearing those words as she was inwardly reminded of her pervious encounter with Arnav. It was almost two days since their dispute that night and still, there was no sign of him. While it was definitely good news that there was no news of him, Khushi couldn't shake off his outburst.

 

The small doubt which managed to creep into her heart was now eating away at her peace. Was she really rude with him? Did he deserve her silence? Was she too hasty to judge him? All these questions were left hanging, their answers out of reach. But what troubled her the most were the small beads of guilt, accumulating ever since she turned her back on him on that stormy night, not even bothering to utter a thank-you when he saved her from the menacing goons.

 

Putting aside their differences, wasn't it minimum manners to be grateful to the man who saved her in her hour of need?

 

"What's wrong?" came Ayesha's voice.

 

Khushi looked at her best friend. "I don't know," she replied bitterly, frustrated with the conflict of feelings she was experiencing. "I am sure that someone did… did some kind of kala jadoo on me!"

 

Or I should say Laad Governor did, she added mentally. So far she kept her best friend away from this mess, the reason for which she still didn't know. In the last two years there wasn't a single thing that she hid from Ayesha, but Arnav's confession of sorts somehow felt too personal to share. His anguish, his anger, his grief, all which seemed fake two weeks ago, were suddenly appearing to be real and she had no idea how to explain it, forget justifying it!

 

Besides, she knew what would be Ayesha's reply to the situation at hand.

 

Oh please, she would say. Just because he saved you from a few rowdies, doesn't mean he is a saint! If he really cared for you, what happened when he forced you into that godforsaken marriage?

 

And the imaginary voice of Ayesha had a point, Khushi thought vaguely. If he really loved her at one point, he wouldn't have betrayed her. And now that he has betrayed her, he can't really be saying the truth, right?

 

Then why the hell am I feeling so damn guilty? She thought angrily.

 

She closed her eyes, hoping to clear the disarray her heart was caught in. Except, Arnav's plight became even more clearer. The look on his face, when she silently got into the car without even uttering a good-bye made her wince in pain. What she wouldn't give to never have seen the sorrow his eyes held at her indifference?!

 

Hai Devi Maiyya, she called out wordlessly. What kind of test is this? How can I feel bad for walking out on him, when that's all he did to me ever since we met? Why am I being so weak?!

 

"I think you need a break," Ayesha said, cutting through her thoughts. "The more you are in here, the more you will think about useless things. Why don't we go shopping? I seriously need to de-stress right now!"

 

Khushi sighed and resumed her embroidery. "You need money to go shopping Ayesh. We are broke right now!"

 

"What nonsense!" Ayesha replied. "We have enough money!"

 

"Not for your kind of shopping!"

 

"What does that mean?!"

 

Khushi looked up. "When was the last time you went shopping and the bill was less than fifty thousand?"

 

Ayesha averted her eyes, causing Khushi to say, "I thought so. Now get going! We have a deadline to meet."

 

Grumbling to herself, Ayesha resumed working. However, her mind was blocked. She just couldn't get herself to create the master piece that usually flowed from her hands as easily as taking in a breath of fresh air.

 

"I can't," she said five minutes later. "I need to go out, if not I will lose my mind in here!"

 

"Well I came at the right time then. Aren't you one lucky soul Ms. Kapoor?"

 

The two girls turned around to see Arnav standing in the doorway of their designing room, dressed in his usual colours of grey with his hair gelled back into obedience.

 

As per routine, Ayesha talked first. "Excuse me?"

 

"I said," Arnav explained, walking into the room. "You should be thankful for this."

 

He held out an ivory coloured envelope, which was stamped with a very familiar logo.

 

"Nina is holding a party?" Ayesha asked, instantly recognizing the expensive paper.

 

"Not bad," Arnav answered. "You know the market well."

 

"Of course I do," she snapped. "She is our direct competition. But what I don't get is why that old hag is inviting us. She literally hates us."

 

"That she does. And if  you actually bother to open it, you will see that it's sent to me, not to you."

 

 "So you basically want to flaunt around how important you are in the industry and belittle us in the process? Well, what a waste of time."

 

"I see that misunderstanding others is a problem that runs in the entire company."

 

Khushi looked up at that comment, but Arnav's face was controlled, his eyes focused straight ahead, not even wavering towards her by accident. He was ignoring her.

 

Ayesha was confused. "What?"

 

"I can bring a few guests with me tonight and I have decided to take you both. So be ready by seven o'clock. I don't like being late," was all Arnav replied.

 

"And what gives you the impression that we want to come with you to a party which practically put a 'no-entry' board on us?"

 

"I didn't ask for your permission," he said.

 

"But the point remains," Khushi said, speaking for the first time. "Why are you bringing us?"

 

Arnav's eyes reluctantly travelled to hers. "Because one, you have nothing better to do and two, to know what your competition is like. If you haven't noticed, I don't take chances. When I invest, I make sure I receive a profit."

 

And somehow, Khushi knew he wasn't talking about their contract.

 

"Sometimes its not all about getting a profit," she said. "because not all investments yield one."

 

"There is always a profit in every investment," he countered. "You just may not see it right away. So, all you need is patience, because its guaranteed that one day or another, it will find its way to you."

 

"And what if it doesn't?"

 

A dry smile worked up his face. "Then you are not trying hard enough."

 

He then looked at Ayesha, and said, "7 o'clock," before leaving the room.

 

"What the hell was that?" she asked, perplexed.

 

But Khushi understood all the same.  "It means," she said quietly. "He is not a quitter."

 

* * *

 

"How should I do my hair?" Ayesha asked, analyzing her figure in the floor length mirror.

 

It was evening time in Pune and the city's top designers were found in their two bedroom apartment, dressing up for the big event that night – Nina Rathore's Party.

 

"Just do anything," Khushi answered, who was lying on the bed, staring gloomily up at the white ceiling. While she debated about her actions earlier that morning, she was now completely convinced that she was wrong on one account – she shouldn't have walked away.

 

Ayesha turned around. "What is wrong with you? I am watching you since morning; you are so lost!"

 

Khushi didn't answer. Arnav's cold behaviour only proved that she made things just that much more worse now. Instead of ignoring him for the duration of the contract, as she initially planned, she was now giving him personal reasons to make her life hell. As he explicitly said that morning, he collected his dues.

 

And she was in his debt.

 

"And you don't even give a damn to this party," Ayesha said, shaking her head. "Do you even realize that this is one of the best parties in town?"

 

Khushi rolled her eyes. Sometimes, Ayesha was too superficial to bear.

 

"I agree Nina is crap," she continued, turning back to the mirror. "But the party is so worth it!"

 

"It would be fun if that stupid Laad Governor is not coming to ruin our moods," Khushi muttered.

 

"And since when do you care what he does? Besides, he seemed off today…Not the usual lover-boy type. I wonder what happened!"

 

"That is his usual self. Arrogant, bitter and cold."

 

"Seems like you know him a lot!"

 

"That's what I thought too."

 

Ayesha scrunched her eyebrows in confusion. "So are you telling me you are actually having this sad-fest because you thought you knew Arnav Singh Raizada?"

 

Khushi turned to look at Ayesha. "Sad-fest? I am not having a sad-fest!"

 

"Then why are you lying on the bed like a Devdas?"

 

Khushi sat up immediately. "Happy?"

 

"No! Of course not! We have a party to get to in an hour and half and you haven't even picked out your dress yet!"

 

Khushi slumped back down once again. "Do I have to come?"

 

Ayesha merely picked up the straightening iron in answer.

 

"Besides," Khushi continued. "I don't even have a dress to wear…"

 

"What exactly is your problem?" Ayesha asked, looking at Khushi's reflection in the mirror. "That you have to spend the night with him or that you have to wear a nice dress and high heels and pretend that you like them for a good six hours?"

 

"Both!"

 

Ayesha put the straightner on the dresser, before turning around to face her best friend. "Well, first, I will be there with you, so you won't have to put up with that stupid Arnav Singh Raizada for the whole night and second, you will absolutely be gorgeous once I am through with you, so you won't even feel the pain of wearing a nice dress and high heels!"

 

"But I still need to see his face…"

 

"Well suck it up," Ayesha said. "Because that face is getting us into the party."

 

"You know sometimes I wonder if you like your job more or your family."

 

Ayesha's face hardened. "There isn't a family without a job. I told you that."

 

"But sometimes its better to listen to your heart."

 

"And what is good in that?" she retorted. "If you listen to your heart and don't come to this party, then you will lose potential clients and an opportunity to promote our company. It's a complete loss."

 

"Sometimes its best to listen to your heart Ayesha. It knows better."

 

"Yes," she agreed. "Its knows better how to cry. And that's not a part of my world. If you want money and if you want status, you have to let go of it."

 

Khushi stared hard at her friend, seeing not the twenty-five year old Ayesha, but the mighty Arnav Singh Raizada, who she locked horns with from their very first encounter. And shockingly, the more she thought about it, the more she realized that the two enemies were very alike. Much more than she liked. How was it possible that she loved the courage of one and hated the guts of the other?

 

"And you, yourself have taken a blow from this world," Ayesha continued. "many times over. So, how can you still believe your heart knows better?"

 

"Because it made me trust you Ayesh! And you are honestly the best thing that happened to my life!"

 

"Then why are you still pissed at him?" Ayesha asked. "Isn't your 'heart' telling you to forgive him?"

 

Khushi was quiet. Being caught in the chaos of emotions, she didn't have a straight answer to the question. While her heart did pressure her into apologizing for her impolite behaviour, she couldn't justify the need. Afterall, wasn't she playing the same dirty game he played once upon a time?

 

"See?" Ayesha said triumphantly. "You can't forgive him because you know its wrong. You know it's stupidity to trust him again. Following your heart is just an illusion."

 

"No," Khushi replied, shaking her head. "I can't forgive him because my heart won't let me. There is nothing to it."

 

"So are you telling me that the flowers, the jalebis… they don't mean anything to you? That you really felt nothing when he did all that for you?"

 

"NO!" Khushi fired, as she was once again unwillingly reminded of her last encounter with Arnav. "Making a jalebi doesn't change six months of pain!"

 

"There you go… that's an equation that only your mind can come up with. Not your heart."

 

Khushi was stumped. While Ayesha's point was very straight forward, just like the one Arnav made, she couldn't believe it. She was not being ruthless; she was just trying to be fair.

 

"Anyway," Ayesha said, cutting through the quiet of room. "Get ready. You have all of tomorrow to debate if I am right or wrong!"

 

And with that, she pulled Khushi from the bed and pushed her into the bathroom with a dress in hand.

 

"And please," Ayesha begged. "do not wear leggings!"

 

Khushi didn't hear her. She stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying to find the principles she led her life with. The beliefs which set her apart from the man who she turned down. Was she indeed becoming like the people she detested?

 

"No," she said detemindedly. "I have a heart that feels… and I will stick to it."

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