Taani woke up, got dressed and left for office. She worked on the designs throughout the day alongside Gauri and Ayushman. From there she went to see Rey and spent some time with him. And then returned home late at night. This had become her routine. She would stay back at Rey’s on some days when he insisted her. She didn’t mind as she had left a few essentials of hers at his place.
Taani woke up in the middle of the night feeling a cool breeze coming through the window. She stretched her arms to pull the comforter over her and found the bed empty. She opened her eyes wide and looked at the empty side of her bed and sighed. She ran her hand on the pillow next to hers and then curled up into a ball, hugging herself. She closed her eyes and opened them the next instant hearing the loud thunder from outside. She got out of her bed and closed the window shut, but the sound didn’t go. She got inside her comforter and pulled the pillow over her ear to muffle the noises. That didn’t help either. Frustrated, she got up and sat on her bed resting against the head rest. She picked up her phone from the side table and surfed idlily through everyone’s stories on Instagram bragging about their day. She rolled her eyes looking at a few. One in particular caught her attention.
“Week ke beech mein party? Arjun ke bade maze chal rahe hai Pune mein! Mere calls ka reply text messages mein deta hai. Isse toh chodungi nahi main!” She smirked and typed in a quick reply to his story. “Arjun Kirloskar, call me urgently!”
She tapped through a few more stories and was done within a few minutes. She refreshed her page two to three times to make sure that she was done when a new story popped up. She furrowed her brows and opened it.
“So proud of my baby to wake her mommy up at 5 in the morning!” She read Rey’s caption and saw the screenshot of his FaceTime call with Muskaan and Kiara.
Taani reacted using the laugh emoji and her phone started buzzing instantly.
“Bolo.” She answered the call and chuckled seeing his knitted brows.
“Tu abhi tak soyi kyun nahi?” Rey asked.
“Tum bhi kahan soye ho?”
“Haan toh mujhe kaunsa kal kaam pe jaana hai.”
“Mujhe neend nahi aa rahi thi.” Taani replied and he heard the thunder.
“Bola tha rukne aaj ghar pe.” He cocked his brow.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Taani asked, ignoring his cockiness.
“Neend nahi aa rahi thi and then I saw Muski was up, so I called her. Ek ghanta mast Kia ke saath mazze kar raha tha.” He replied fondly.
“Yeah I saw your story.” Taani chuckled.
“Kia ne usse do ghante pehle uthaya aur uske baad sone bhi nahi diya. So, she was online.” He laughed back.
“Tune hi Kiara ko bigaada hai.” Taani sneered at him.
“Geetika ke paas na bua ke liye koi competition nahi hai. Par Kia ke paas mamoo ke liye hai. And I’m not going to let bhai win!”
“Tum pagal ho?” She scrunched her nose.
“Teko pata nahi tha?”
“My bad! I asked a stupid question.” She rolled her eyes at him and was startled on hearing the roar of thunder again.
“Ear plugs laga ke soja na.” He said looking at her sleepy eyes.
“Can’t find them” She yawned. “Sorry.”
“Ek kaam kar earphones laga and make the volume max aur soja.” He suggested.
“Volume max kiska rakhu? Mujhe voh soothing sleep noises se neend nahi aati.” She scoffed.
“Abbe gadhi, phone chalu rakh!” He facepalmed himself.
“That’ll be so creepy to look at each other sleep.” She made a disgusted face.
“Toh voice call karte hai.” He wiggled his brows.
“We can try that. But phir tujhe neend nahi aayegi.” She pointed out.
“Put yourself on mute!”
“Let’s try if it works.” Taani disconnected and made a voice call to him.
“Any better?” He asked.
“I can’t hear the rain, but your voice is too high.” She flinched.
“Sorry.” He whispered. “Now go to sleep.”
“Good night.” Taani pressed the mute button and tucked herself in.
“Asleep yet?” Rey whispered.
Taani chuckled but didn’t answer back.
“I so wish you were here.” He sighed. “Sleeping right beside me, in my arms.”
“Rey shut up! I’m trying to sleep!” Taani turned her mic on.
“Where am I stopping you?” He replied holding back his chuckle.
“Rey main phone rakh rahi hoon. It’s three-thirty. Kal bohot kaam hai mujhe.” Taani scolded him.
“Sorry. Sorry! I promise I won’t trouble. Good night.”
“Ayeee, don’t shout!”
“Sorry!” He whispered extremely softly.
“Good night!” She chuckled and closed her eyes.
“Rey where are you going?” Juhi asked as he walked towards the door.
“Maa bahar bas walk karne ja raha hoon. Itna toh doctor ne bhi allow kiya hai.” He turned to face her.
“Your car and bike keys!” She forwarded her hand.
“Matlab bharosa toh bilkul nahi hai na?” He scoffed and handed her the keys.
“Jyada door mat jana. Your leg has still not completely healed.” She instructed him.
“Sharon se milne ja raha hoon. Usne bulaya hai.” He shook his head at her concern and moved out.
He walked up to the gate and saw Sharon pacing to and fro at the door. He knitted his brows and went to her.
“Chal.” She pulled him to the backyard and sat at the gazebo.
“What’s going on? Tu aaj ghar pe?” He asked her.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me!” She covered her face with both palms and propped her elbows on her knees. “I feel so horrible right now.” She sniffed.
“Shar.” He pulled her up. “Baat kya hai? Swayam ke saat jhagda hua hai?”
“I wish that was the case.” She looked at him.
“Gautam uncle ya Avi aunty ke saath kuch?” He asked and she shook her head in negation. “Then who?”
“Ayu.” She whispered.
“Kya hua uske saath?” He asked her calmly.
“Office mein jab bhi main uss se milti hoon, we both hit it off so quickly. I feel like I forget that I’m dating Swayam when Ayu is around. Pata nahi kyu ho raha hai yeh sab. And in the middle of all this he wants to talk to me about something. I’m terrified of facing him. More so as I don’t know what I’m capable of doing.” Sharon looked at him asking him to tell her that she would be fine.
“If you’re scared that you’ll go back to him then let me tell you that I know you won’t!” He held her hand and comforted her.
“Jabse voh SRP wala incident hua hai tabse I’m scared of myself. The moment he is around me all those closed doors open up.” She leaned on his shoulder.
“Kya SRP?” He furrowed his brows.
Sharon sat up straight and looked at him to check if he was fooling around.
“He brought up the suggested retail price in one conversation.” She informed him.
“See, you had a past with him..”
“Rey that’s not the point!” She stopped him. “It’s Swayam. Voh bata nahi raha but usse iss cheez se problem ho rahi hai. He acts okay but he doesn’t like when I unintentionally end up taking Ayu’s side.”
“Of course usse problem hogi. But he knows where you’re coming from.” Rey made her understand.
“And Swayam has been so understanding. Knowing our past, he has not questioned me even once. That’s making me even more guilty.” She went back to lean on his shoulder.
“Ayush se baat karne se pehle Swayam se kar le.” Rey suggested and she scoffed.
“Swayam ne khud meko bola ki Ayu ko baat karni hai.” She sighed. “Kya ho raha hai yeh?” She wailed.
“You know what forget it! You don’t have to talk to him. But uske wajah se aise ghar pe baith ke ro mat. Office jaa aur kaam kar. If he tries to talk to you, ignore him like you’ve been doing.” Rey squeezed her in his embrace.
“Aur Swayam ke saamne Ayu ko support kar rahi hoon uska kya karu?” She asked.
“Mat kar, simple.” He chuckled.
“Terese baat hi kyun karti hoon main?” She hit him.
“Relax yaar. Swayam is the last person who would get jealous of Ayush.” He made her understand.
“Kyun tu uske pehle line mein hai?” Sharon mocked.
Rey raised his brows and looked at her with a straight face, blinking a few times. They both burst out laughing, the very next instant.
…
“Coffee?”
Taani got startled and immediately stopped yawning on seeing the coffee mug in front of her face.
“Have it.” Ayush placed it in front of her and sat across her.
“Thanks!” Taani smiled at him batting the sleep off her eyes.
“Raat bhar boyfriend se baat kar rahi thi jo abhi kaam pe so rahi ho?” He raised a brow.
“Nahi voh kal raat ko bohot thundering ho rahi thi so I couldn’t sleep well.” Taani explained.
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of it!” He narrowed his eyes and scoffed lightly.
“No nothing like that. It was just too loud.” Taani smiled lightly.
“Good to know that you’re not a scaredy cat.” He chuckled with a wink.
“Hey!” Her mouth hung open.
“Kidding!” He started laughing and she joined him.
Ayushman saw Sharon walk towards the canteen and sighed.
“All good?” Taani asked him.
“Yeah.” He looked back at her. “She is driving me crazy.” He mumbled.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you don’t seem to get along with Sharon.” Taani pointed out.
“You’re right. Anyway, it’s complicated!” He shook his head.
Taani’s phone pinged indicating a message. She read Purvi’s name and sighed thinking about the work that was pending.
“I gotta go.” Taani stood up picking up her phone in her right hand. “Get back to work.” She showed her phone indicating the message.
“Taani.” Ayushman held her free hand and stopped her. “Coffee leke jaa. You’ll need it.” He pointed at her coffee mug.
“Thanks!” She pulled out her hand from his and picking up the mug, left.
Ayushman leaned back on his chair and shook his head at her. He furrowed his brows as a thought crossed his mind. He remembered Rey telling him that Taani was engaged and also some conversation with Purvi and her where Purvi was making fun about it.
“She wasn’t wearing any ring. It’s definitely some inside joke which I feel left out of. Kisko poochu?” He wondered.
Ayushman saw Sharon leave the canteen and walked out behind her. He followed her through the corridor to her cabin. She got in and closed the door.
“Tu yahan?” Swayam looked up at Sharon.
“Haan ghar pe bore ho raha tha.” She walked to her desk.
“What? Rey went back to sleep?” He chuckled.
“Huh?” She squinted.
“Kaam tha na tera Rey se?” He reminded her.
“Haan voh.. hogaya.” She informed.
“What’s wrong?” He walked to her.
“Can we talk about this sometime later?” She asked. He nodded.
“Academy ke interiors ke designs final kiye?” Swayam asked.
“Rey ko bola tha karne. Did he not get back?” Sharon furrowed her brows.
“Not yet.” Swayam shook his head.
“Isse Manas se pange lene itna maza kyu aata hai?” She huffed and started working, cursing Rey.
…
“Yeh corner wale ka proportion kya hai?” Taani squinted at her screen and asked Purvi.
Purvi didn’t answer. She was just fixated on her screen.
“Purvi?” Taani called her. “Purvi?” Taani walked to her and shook her.
“Haan?” Purvi asked startled.
“Kya hua? Kahan khoyi hai?” Taani asked concerned.
“Kuch nahi. Tu kya bol rahi thi?” Purvi shook her head.
“Main pooch rahi hoon ki baat kya hai?” Taani sat next to her.
“Main batati hoon baad mein. Abhi let’s finish our work.” Purvi told her.
“We’ve done a lot for today. Aur tu baat ko mat taal.” Taani glared at her.
“Arjun ko wapas Mumbai nahi aana.” Purvi looked down and answered Taani. “He wants to keep working there with Parul.”
“It’s been just a few months there. Usse at least ek saal complete karna ho.”
“He told you this?” Purvi asked.
“No, I haven’t spoken with him for a while now.”
“Did I take the wrong decision of staying away from him?” Purvi looked at her.
“Teri baat huyi hai uss se?” Taani asked.
“Haan, kal shaam ko call kiya tha maine. He was at Parul’s house. Wahan party chal rahi thi.”
“Yeah, I saw his story.” Taani nodded.
“He said it was some success party.” Purvi informed.
“Okay. And?” Taani asked her to continue.
“They were playing spin the bottle and it was very noisy. Toh main phone rakhne gayi and..” Purvi trailed off.
“What happened?” Taani placed her hand on hers.
“I heard people chanting Arjun and Parul’s name and shouting ‘Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!’” Purvi closed her eyes shut. “I don’t want to assume the worst, but what else can that mean?”
“Aaj teri baat huyi hai Arjun se?” Taani asked.
“Nahi.”
“You might have heard just a part of it. Toh please tu kuch bhi galath mat soch. I know how you are feeling right now. But trust me you’ll feel worse on learning the truth. So please talk to him and don’t assume anything until then.” Taani made her understand.
“It’s difficult yaar!” Purvi sighed. “Mom, dad se lad baithi thi main uske liye. Kya hua uss sab ka use? He isn’t here.”
“Tu ek kaam kar, ek week ke liye Pune chali ja. Spend some time together. You’ll feel better.” Taani suggested.
“Aur yahan jo kaam hai voh?” Purvi looked at her.
“I’ll handle it!” Taani smiled at her.
“Riddhima!”
“Chilla kyun rahe ho?” Riri entered the room. “And what the hell are you doing here?” She asked looking at the mess in the room.
“I can’t find my file. It must have gotten mixed up with yours. Help me find it!” He looked through a rack of files.
“It’s not here!” She glared at him as he knocked down a few files. “Get out of here right now!” She flared her nostrils at him. He went out.
“Found it!” Armaan yelled from the living room.
“Good.” She came out and stood in front of him with her arms on her hips. “Now clean all the mess that you’ve made inside!” She pointed to her room.
“I have a meeting right now. Will do it after I return. Bye luv!” He quickly left before she got a chance to say anything.
“Ugh!” Riri gritted her teeth and turned to go back into her room to tidy it when her phone rang, and she answered it.
“Why so grumpy?” Rey asked as soon as he saw her sullen face.
“Kuch nahi!” She sighed and shook her head. “How are you?”
“I’m tired of sitting at home. I wanna get out!”
“Ligament has healed na?” She enquired.
“Haan, I have a check-up in a few days. Hopefully I’ll get a green signal after that!”
“What else?” She asked arranging her files.
“For the past few days, I’m on call with someone or the other the entire day. Abhi Sara is supposed to call me in an hour or two.” He told her.
“I wish I could do that. Hospital is so tiring.”
“I had told you to wait back.” He chuckled.
“It’s so difficult to get back into the routine after those few months away!”
“Mere saath bhi same hone wala hai. But still I’m somewhat connected as Sharon kuch na kuch bhejti rehti hai.”
“How’s she doing?” Riri asked.
“Matlab?” Rey squinted.
“She had called Armaan yesterday. He told me that she was sounding upset about something.” Riri informed.
“Yeah, she’s going crazy. Nothing new!” He chuckled.
“What else?”
“I’m waiting ki shaam kab hogi.” He smiled.
“Taani comes home every day?” She asked with a smile.
“Almost.” He smiled wide. “The time I’m getting to spend with her is the only good thing to have come out of this injury.” He laughed.
“She seems to be managing it pretty well with her new job.” Riri pointed out.
“I feel so bad calling her home every day. And she doesn’t even complain about it.”
“Why do you want her to complain?” She furrowed her brows.
“So that I can tell her ki roz itni bhaag daud karne ki jarurat nahi hai. But voh complain hi nahi karti and the selfish part in me keeps calling her home.” He pouted.
“Tu pagal hogaya hai ghar pe baithe baithe.” Riri giggled. “I would suggest ki you get back to work.”
“Soon!” He chuckled. “Waise tu ghar pe? Going in late today?” He asked.
“Haan, just wanted to relax for some time.” She finally sat down after placing the last file on the rack.
“And bhai?” He asked.
“Office, where else?”
“Has bhai told you when is he planning to come here?”
“No. why?”
“Stock khatam hone wala hai. Kuch mangwana tha.” He laughed.
“I’ll let him know.” She joined. “He is leaving for New York soon. Wahan se shayad aaye Mumbai.”
“Oh great!”
…
“Come on say yes!” He persuaded.
“No!” Simmi screamed in her mind.
“I know you want to.” He smiled.
“Why did I say yes for this date in the first place?” She wondered looking at his face.
Nil was walking past the restaurant when he spotted Simmi on a date with a guy. He chuckled seeing her disinterested face.
“I had a good time today.” Simmi smiled at him.
“So, you agree that we should meet again?” He asked, grinning wide at her.
“Umm..” Simmi stopped him from continuing further. “I think we shouldn’t spoil the memory of this day.” She forced a smile on her face hoping that he understood. “He did not sound this dumb in his messages.” She wondered looking at him, cursing herself for agreeing on this date with him.
“You definitely enjoyed spending time today, didn’t you?” He asked.
“Yeah..” She answered.
“And well you agreed that I am an interesting person!”
“Hmmn..” She forced a nod at him.
“So you won’t mind going out with me again?”
“Huh?” She looked at him dumbfounded.
“Learn to take a hint man!” Nil walked to them. “Does she look interested in you?” He pointed at Simmi.
“Excuse me?” He raised his brow at Nil.
“Let me tell you what my friend here is trying to say.” Nil sat on the empty chair between them. “She hated this date. She found you extremely boring. And she definitely doesn’t wanna go out with you ever again.” He stated.
“Amaira?” He looked at Simmi.
“Amaira?” Nil started laughing. “Abhi toh mein likh ke de sakta hoon ki isko tere mein koi interest nahi hai!”
“Amaira isn’t your real name?” He asked her.
“No.” She nodded.
“Wow!” He raised his eyebrows, still digesting the fact. “Bye, whoever you are.” He got up and left.
“You’re welcome!” Nil grinned at Simmi.
“Ugh! Thanks!” Simmi rolled her eyes and kept her head on the table.
“Bad date huh?” He chuckled.
“Worst!”
“You should have told him that. Uske saamne toh aise sweet bane baithi thi.” He shook his head at her.
“What are you doing here?” Simmi looked at him and sat back straight.
“Why would I be in a restaurant?” He raised his brow.
“You have a date?” She asked.
“Yeah. Still got some time though.”
“How long?”
“An hour.”
“Why are you here so early then?” She squinted at him.
“To make sure everything is fine, and things go as I’ve planned.”
“Didn’t know you put in so much efforts.” She smiled.
“I had told you to come on a date with me.” He smirked.
“Don’t start again!” She glared at him but had a light smile on her face.
“So abhi kya plans hai?” He asked.
“Kuch nahi. Ghar jaake main aur mera laptop ek room mein band!”
“No room for anyone else?” He chuckled.
“Why are you being so persistent?” She furrowed her brows.
“Ever heard of charity?” He smirked.
“You are such an assh*le!” She rolled her eyes at him and got up.
“Arre, where are you going?” He got up behind her.
“Enjoy your date! I’m out of here.” She left.
“Pagal hai poori!” Nil chuckled, shaking his head and left the restaurant when he saw her get into a cab.
“Hello!” Rey sang into the phone.
“Hello!” Taani replied back.
“Kya kar rahi ho?” He asked.
“Kaam kar rahi hoon.” She connected her earphones and continued to work.
“Kya poora time kaam hi karti rehti hai tu?” He pouted.
“Don’t pout.” She laughed.
“Waah! Tu audio call pe mere expressions padhna seekh gayi!” He praised.
“Abh din bhar hum phone pe baatein karte rahenge toh obvious hai na ki yeh sab pick karne lag jaungi main!” She chuckled.
“Sachchi bata, I’m not annoying you na?” He asked.
“Yeh kaisa question hai?”
“Arre tu kaam kar rahi hai. I don’t want you to make a mistake because of me. Ayush aur Manas dono tere pe chad jayenge!” He laughed.
“It’s fine, ho raha hai manage.” She smiled.
“Kahan tak pahuncha hai project?” He asked.
“Designs are almost ready. Next week se kuch colleges mein kaam shuru hojayega.”
“Taani.” Ayushman entered.
“Haan?” Taani looked up at him.
“Mansi ka koi reply aaya hai email pe?” He asked.
“Haan unhone reply kiya tha but she hadn’t answered all the points we raised. So follow up karna hai mujhe.” She informed.
“And what is holding you back?” He raised his brows.
“I’ll do it right away.” She nodded.
“After that is done, please take a break. Subah se yahan se bahar nahi nikli hai tu.” He smiled.
“Yeah, I’ll just complete this first.” She smiled back and got engrossed in the screen in front of her.
“Subah breakfast toh kiya tha na?”
“Haan Rey!” Taani answered as Ayushman left.
“Good! Listen to your boss and take a break!” Rey said.
“Haan agar nahi gayi toh coffee leke he’ll be back.” She giggled.
“As in?” Rey furrowed his brows.
“Kal se he is randomly appearing in front of me with a mug of coffee. And right when I need it!” She laughed.
“Itni care?” He joked.
“Shut up!” She pouted.
“Jab main samne na hoon tab pout mat kar.” He complained.
“Kyun?”
“Kyun ka kya matlab? I don’t wanna lose the opportunity of seeing you pout!”
“Rey don’t. Office mein hoon main.” She replied trying not to blush at his statement.
“Okay relax, I won’t.” He straightened up. “Waise, tu aaj aarahi hai na?”
“Mumma aur bhai bhi aarahe hai.” She informed.
“Kyun?”
“Arre unko apne damaad ke haal chaal dekhne hai.” She giggled.
“Jabse tune bataya hai na ki Shivam ko tere yahan rukne se problem hai, tabse I don’t wanna meet him. Especially when I can’t run to save myself.”
“Ruko bhai ko yeh bolti hoon main. Pakka class lenge voh tumhari.” She laughed.
“Tu mil shaam ko. Sabke saamne khada rehne layak nahi chodunga!”
“Uh, excuse me?”
“I mean teri achchi class lunga.” He explained himself.
“Rey think before you speak.” She scolded him.
“And you stop taking the nonsense I say so seriously!”
“Sure!” She shook her head. “Accha sunn.”
“Suna.”
“Aati kya..” She stopped immediately. “Rey!” She exclaimed and laughed.
“Sorry.” He laughed as well. “Bol kya hua?”
“Voh.. uh.. Sharon aaj office mein hogi? I’m trying to reach Swayam but I’m not able to. So, I was thinking of calling Sharon.”
“Nahi aaj voh site pe hai. Baat kya hai?”
“Project related kuch. Nothing important. I’ll call Purvi.”
“You sure?” He asked.
“Yeah yeah!”
“Cool!”
“Tum kya full day phone pe hi lage rehte ho?” Taani asked when she heard a ring.
“Bhai kyun call kar rahe hai?” He wondered while looking at his laptop screen. “Oh haan!” he suddenly remembered.
“Toh main rakhu?” She asked.
“Tu hold kar sakti hai. Bhai se bas do minute ka kaam hai mera.”
“Mujhe email send karke lunch ke liye jaana hai. Toh main rakh rahi hoon.”
“Okay, luv! Bye!”
“Bye!”
…
“Rey is gonna kill me. Iske cabin mein wallpaper kisne laga diya? He hates it.” Sharon looked around Rey’s cabin at the academy.
Sharon spotted Naveen monitoring a worker and walked to him.
“Cabin mein wallpaper kyu laga hai?” She asked him.
“Five cabins mein wallpapers hi toh lagne hai.” He answered.
“Yeh wale mein nahi!” She glared.
“I’ll just check and get back to you.”
“Forget checking, get it removed. ASAP! And get it painted” She pointed at the cabin.
“It’ll take some time, as finishing phir se karni hogi.” He informed.
“Naveen, I don’t care! Just get it cleaned immediately.” She ordered and walked back into the cabin.
“Yeah!” He nodded.
“Rey parso yahan definitely aayega after his appointment and then he is going to kill me for this!” She mumbled. “Abh kya karu main?”
“Main kuch help karu?” Ayushman entered.
“Tu yahan kya kar raha hai?” Sharon asked startled.
“Relax yaar, it’s just me!” He walked forward to her.
“Ayu? What are you doing here?” She raised her brows.
“Tujhse baat karni hai.” He replied calmly.
“Teko kaise pata chala main yahan hoon?” She furrowed her brows. “Only Rey knew about it.” She mumbled.
“Pata chal gaya. That’s not important.”
“Okay let’s get over with it. Jo bhi bolna hai jaldi bolke nikal ja.” She folded her arms across her chest.
“Why are you behaving like this?” He knitted his brows. “Baat karni hai bas. I’m not gonna ask you to get back together!”
“I would never!” She glared.
“Me neither!” He glared back.
“Then why the hell are you here?”
“Can we just talk like civilized people?” He took a breath to calm himself.
“I’m not interested in talking to you.”
“Shar it’s been over six years now. You can’t be still mad at me!”
“Ayu, meko koi problem nahi hai terese. But please just give me time. I can’t talk to you right now.” Sharon turned to leave when her foot got entangled in a wire and she tripped.
Ayushman held her arm and saved her from falling. She had stretched out her other hand to hold for support and felt a sharp prick on it.
“Ouch!” She hissed turning her palm to check it.
“Looks like a splinter.” He took her hand and inspected it. “Let me help.”
“It’s paining!” She wailed.
“Haath mat hila. I’m removing it.” Ayushman managed to get a grip on it and slowly started pulling it out.
“Jaldi!” Sharon closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.
“Keep your hand still.” He scolded her.
“Ayu bohot dukh raha hai.” She cried.
“It’s almost out.” He said and pulled it out. “Lo nikal gaya!”
“Thank you.” She hugged him.
“Shar?” He separated them.
Sharon looked at him with wide eyes. She pushed him and stumbled back herself.
‘Shar, I really love you!’
‘I love you too Ayu!’
Sharon’s couldn’t help but remember these words. She closed her eyes shut to clear her mind, but it wasn’t of any use. She ran out of the cabin without saying anything to Ayushman. He stood there dumbfounded, unable to decipher what had happened. She ran down to her car and locked herself in.
“Rey, I didn’t expect this from you. Maine bola tha I’m not ready to face him phir bhi tune usse yahan bheja.” She flared her nostrils controlling her tears from flowing out. “Why did I go near him? Kyun usse khud ko affect karne de rahi hoon main!” She hit the steering wheel hard to remove her frustration.
Ayushman came out of the building and saw Sharon inside her car. He felt bad for storming in on her when she wasn’t ready to talk to him. He made his way to his car and drove off.
“Rey needs to answer for this!” Sharon turned her car on and left to see Rey.
“Hello?” Ayushman picked up his phone.
“Hello Ayushman, I’ll be leaving a little early today. Just wanted to inform you.” Taani said.
“Okay see you tomorrow.” He replied curtly and disconnected the call.
…
“Hey.” Tyler entered the house. “You’re up already?” He asked Sid.
“Yeah.” Sid turned off the television.
“At seven in the morning?” Tyler pointed out.
“I knew I had to be up early today and because of that I just couldn’t sleep well.” Sid sighed.
“All good?” Tyler went and sat next to him.
“Yeah.” Sid leaned on his shoulder.
“What were you watching?” Tyler asked.
“I have no idea.” Sid chuckled.
“You do know that he isn’t gonna reach here before ten, right?” Tyler looked at him.
“What took you so long?” Sid asked, ignoring his question.
“I was at Joe’s for his birthday party.” Tyler informed.
“Obviously.” Sid mocked, sitting straight.
“I had asked you to come.”
“I wasn’t in the mood!”
“Clearly!” Tyler got up.
“Where are you going?” Sid squinted.
“I’m going to sleep. You should as well.” Tyler went into his room.
“Ty?” Sid walked in behind him. “I wanted to tell you something.”
“Right now?” Tyler paused while taking out clothes from his closet and asked.
“I’m already very late.” Sid looked down.
“Go on.”
“I’m ready!”
“For?” Tyler raised his brow.
“I do love you. And I’m ready to accept it.” Sid looked at him.
“Okay!” Tyler picked up the clothes and started to make his way out.
“Ty?” Sid stopped him. “Okay?” He looked at him.
“You were ready to accept me as your boyfriend back then as well. But you didn’t. I don’t want to get disappointed again.” Tyler turned away from him.
Sid pulled the clothes out of his hand and threw them aside. He turned Tyler around to face him. Sid took a step forward and cupped his face. He leaned in and kissed him.
“I love you!” Sid brushed his lips against Tyler.
Tyler cupped Sid’s face and started kissing him back with fervor. He poured out all the angst he was holding in him for months into the kiss. Sid could feel the aggression coming off of Tyler. He felt guilty of holding on to his emotions for this long.
…
“Time mil gaya call karne?” Taani mocked picking up her phone.
“Sorry yaar bohot busy hoon yahan.” Arjun smiled apologetically.
“Haan abh tu parties attend karega toh busy toh rahega hi.” Taani taunted him.
“It was a work thing. I had to be present.” He said disinterested. “Tu bata, urgent call karne kyun bola?” He asked further.
“Yeh tera urgent hai?” She raised a brow at him.
“Class kyun le rahi hai tu meri?” He frowned.
“Tu mere calls ignore kiye ja raha hai. Itna toh main tera favor return kar hi sakti hoon.” She smirked.
“So, how is your job going?” He asked.
“Great! Thoda extra workload hai, but that’s because of our beloved Mansi ma’am.” She chuckled.
“Ghum phir ke tu wapas SRS hi pahuch gayi. Iss se better tu wahin apply kar leti.” He laughed.
“No, I’m happy working at Xen. It’s very relaxed here.” Taani told him.
“Matlab Purvi is the only one slogging?” He let out a chuckle.
“Yeah. Mera aaram se kat raha hai, tu bhi wahan chill kar raha hai. Bas Purvi ki lagi padi hai.” She laughed.
“Mumbai has finally started to rub on you.” He pointed out.
“Aur tune thaan li Punekar banne ki.” She wiggled her brows.
“That’s not true.” He denied.
“Toh wapas kab aaraha hai?” She asked.
“Pata nahi yaar. Filhal toh koi plans nahi hai. Let’s see!” He carelessly shrugged his shoulders.
“Yeh baat Purvi ko bhi bata de na.”
“She knows!” He squinted trying to understand what she meant.
“Voh mujhe bata rahi thi ki tujhe wapas hi nahi aana hai.” Taani explained.
“I never told her this!” He denied immediately.
“Baat kar le na uss se. She is really upset these days over you not being here.” Taani informed him.
“I make it a point to call her every day. I agree kabhi kabhi nahi ho pata. But whenever we do talk, she keeps telling me to come back. I know long distance is taking a toll on both of us, but I can’t just leave everything here and come back.” He opened up.
“I understand, but you guys can at least make it a point to meet every week or even two weeks, right? Yeh distance kyun create kar rahe ho?” She asked him. “Tujhe pata hai main peechle ek mahine se almost roz Rey ko milne uske ghar ja rahi hoon, and whenever I don’t go, I feel incomplete. Agar mujhe ek city mein rehke aisa feel ho raha hai toh Purvi ka tu khud soch. The last you guys physically met was two months ago.” She made him understand.
“You’re right.” He agreed. “I’ll talk to her about it.”
“Abhi kar call!” She ordered him.
“Yes ma’am!”
“Rey bata raha tha ki destination wedding ke plans hai dono ke. Place decide hui?” Tanya asked Juhi.
“Sabki alag alag suggestions hai. Armaan ne toh chod diya hai sab ki tum log decide karke bata dena.” Juhi chuckled.
“Aur Riddhima?” Tanya asked.
“Madam ko beach wedding chahiye.” Rey answered.
“Toh Sneha maani?” Shivam asked Rey.
“Unfortunately humari baat toh usne maani nahi. May be voh kisi aur ki sunn le.” Rey smirked lightly at Shivam.
“Don’t tell me Rey ke liye bahana diya tha tumne.” Rannvijay entered with Taani.
“No way! Bahana toh aapse milne ke liye deke aayi hoon.” Taani giggled walking to the living room with him.
“Badi jaldi aa gayi aaj.” Rey raised his brow at her.
“Haan, Paa ke saath time spend karna tha.” She mocked him and sat next to Rannvijay.
“Paa, what the hell yaar?” Rey sulked.
“Abh isse meri company jyada pasand hai toh main kya kar sakta hoon?” Rannvijay chuckled.
“Toh karo enjoy tum sab. Main chala apne room mein.” Rey got up and walked to the stairs.
Sharon barged in at that instant shouting for Rey. She saw him standing at the stairs and beelined for him.
“Did I not tell you that I wasn’t ready to see him?” She flared at Rey.
“Who?” He squinted, forgetting about Ayushman for a short second.
“Stop acting! Kal toh bada bol raha tha ki forget him, don’t talk to him and what not. Toh aaj usse milne kyun bheja?” She shouted.
“I didn’t.” He replied.
“Shut the f*ck up!” She glared at him. “You f*cking know how I feel phir bhi yeh sab kiya?”
“Shar trust me..”
“Trust you?” She scoffed. “After all this?”
Tanya passed a confused look at Shivam and then looked at Juhi. She was about to get up to doze their fight when Juhi signaled her not to.
“Let’s go out and talk.” Rey said sensing everyone’s gazes on them.
“Kyun? Are you afraid ki in-laws ke saamne tera impression kharab hojayega?” She scoffed looking around.
“Shar please.” He insisted.
“First answer me why did you send Ayu to the academy?” She demanded.
“I did not.” He was adamant.
“Why the f*ck are you lying?” She flared her nostrils at him.
“Yaar jhoot kyun bolunga main?” He snapped and took a breath to calm himself. “Trust me, maine usse nahi bheja.” He spoke calmly.
“Rey, you know he is an assh*le. And even after I told you that I don’t want to face him, you still sent him there? Sirf teko pata tha ki main academy ja rahi hoon. Tune nahi bataya toh aur kisne bataya usko ki main wahan rahungi?” Her voice started to break.
“Ayushman ko maine bataya tha ki tum wahan hogi.” Taani walked to them.
“What?” They both looked at her with furrowed brows.
“He requested me to find out.” Taani replied meekly.
“Isiliye tune Sharon ke baare mein pucha tha?” Rey squinted thinking about their conversation in the afternoon.
“Usne teko pucha aur tune itne easily usse bata bhi diya? Bade favor karne lag gayi ho uske liye.” Sharon taunted.
“Shar.” Rey reprimanded her.
“Oh come on Rey, clearly dikhta hai. Mujhe laga tha uss din ke incident ke baad yeh thodi cautious rahegi. But it doesn’t look like it.” Sharon scoffed.
“Shar go home. We’ll talk about this later.” Rey gritted his teeth to control his anger.
“She is literally leading him on!”
“Sharon just shut up and leave!” Rey blasted on her.
“Meko chup karne se truth change nahi hoga. And you know Ayu!”
“Sharon. Leave. NOW!” He shouted.
“Fine!” Sharon barged out.
Rey made his way up the stairs and went into his room. Taani walked up a few stairs and was stopped.
“Taani ruko. Uska gussa shaant hone do.” Rannvijay called her.
Taani walked back down and sat on the couch with her head lowered.
“Taani?” Juhi called her.
“Main.. voh..” Taani gulped a few times unaware of what to say.
“Hey..” Shivam went and sat next to her. “Kya hua hai?”
“I didn’t do it purposely.” She replied softly. “Aur Sharon ne jo kaha that’s not true.” She looked at him with teary eyes.
“We know that. Tum kyun ro rahi ho?” He squeezed her hand in his and she started weeping.
“Mujhe ghar jaana hai.” She hugged him.
“Yeah, we’ll.. uh.. leave.” Shivam looked up and saw Rannvijay standing in front of them.
“Taani.” Rannvijay ran his hand over her head.
“Paa voh sab..”
“Stop crying.” He told her.
“Main voh..” She sniffed.
“Tum ro kyun rahi ho? Tum pe koi blame nahi daal raha.” He smiled at her.
“Par Sharon?” She looked at him.
“Voh gusse mein thi aur yeh inn dono ki bachpan se aadat rahi hai ek dusre pe bhadaas nikalne ki.” Juhi said.
“Haan, I know.” Taani nodded.
“But you didn’t know one thing. Never interrupt them while they are at each other’s throat. Dono ka saara gussa divert hoke tum pe nikal gaya.” Juhi told her.
“Itna gussa kis baat pe tha?” Tanya asked.
“Voh toh nahi pata, but they’ll sort it out. Abhi just let them be.”
“But Juhi, it’s not healthy.” Tanya pointed out.
“Yeh dono ek dusre ke punching bags hai. Pehle poori bhadaas nikalte hai phir next moment they sort it out on their own.” Rannvijay told her.
“But she left angrier than she had come in.” Shivam pointed out.
“Have you ever punched a bag?” Rannvijay asked him.
“Yeah, back when I was in college.” Shivam answered.
“How would you have felt if the bag had started punching you back?”
“What?”
“Confused right?” Rannvijay chuckled lightly at his face. “Sharon yahan Rey pe bhadaas nikalne aayi thi. Rey ne uspe chillana shuru kiya, which confused her. And that made her angrier.” He explained.
“Sab meri galati hai.” Taani mumbled.
“You look very exhausted. Chalo dinner kar lo. You’ll feel better.” Juhi made her stand up and led her to the dining table.
…
“Sharon?” Swayam rushed into the room when he saw her crying hysterically by the foot of the bed. “Kya hua?”
“Swayam, I’m sorry.” She cried more.
“Here have some water and tell me what’s wrong.” Swayam handed her a bottle from the side table.
“I don’t know what is happening to me.” She wept, denying the water.
“Kya baat huyi Ayush se?” He asked calmly, placing the bottle aside.
“Tumhe kaise?” She looked at him wide eyed.
“Sit here properly and tell me.” He made her sit on the bed and sat next to her.
“Aaj voh academy aaya tha meko milne. One thing led to the other and..”
“Okay..”
“No!” She looked at him. “I just hugged him!”
“So you’re sorry because you hugged him?” He asked her.
“Yes and mainly because all those feelings rushed back to me when I hugged him. I don’t want to feel that way. Kuch samajh nahi aaraha. Voh saamne aate hi why do I think about my past?” She held her head.
“He was a part of your life. You can’t erase him even if you want to. You just need to be okay with it.” He put his arm around her.
“Are you okay with it?” She looked at him.
“Honestly, I hate when you two team up against me. But I know that all he can ever be is your friend. And mujhe uss baat se koi problem nahi hai.” He smiled at her.
“He is not my friend.” She denied.
“He isn’t a foe either.” He reminded her.
“He is just an annoying ex who knows how to suck the life out of me! Idiot suck-sena!” Sharon cursed Ayushman.
“Feeling better?” Swayam asked her.
“For now.” She sighed.
“Tu kyun itna soch rahi hai? Just hear him out once. May be you’ll get the annoying little ex to stop bothering you.” He placed a kiss on her forehead.
“Can you accompany me?” She scrunched her nose.
“Sharon.” He looked at her with a straight face.
“See, he does affect you!”
“It’s between the two of you. Don’t pull me into it.” He got up.
“Swayam please?” She wailed.
“Itna hi hai toh ask Rey. He’d be happy to kick Ayush’s ass, if needed.” Swayam chuckled.
“Matlab?” Sharon squinted.
“Remember the party which we had a month ago in our office?” He asked. She nodded. “Ayush was pretty vocal about Taani and Rey wasn’t quite happy about it. He has very much kept himself involved with the project just to be sure of what’s cooking.” He chuckled.
“Isn’t the simpler option just to tell Ayu that him and Taani are engaged?” Sharon asked.
“Voh decision usne Taani pe chod diya hai and she is completely oblivious of Ayush.” Swayam shook his head.
“F*ck!” Sharon widened her eyes as she recalled what happened at Rey’s place.
“Abh kya hua?” Swayam squinted.
“Rey is gonna kill me. You need to talk to him.” Sharon pleaded.
“Main tum dono ke beech nahi aaraha.” Swayam raised his hands.
“Swayam please. Just this one time. I said some horrible things and wahan Taani ki mom aur bhai bhi the. Rey is gonna be super pissed at me.”
“What exactly did you say?”
“I was mad at Rey aur uspe chilla rahi thi when Taani interrupted me and told me that Ayu ko mere whereabouts usne bataye the. Then I got mad at her. Usko aur Ayu ko bohot baar maine canteen mein dekha tha. And I don’t know why I just said some stupid stuff. No wonder Rey riled up. Usko please shaant kara jaake.”
“I can go and talk to Taani right now if she is still here. But Rey se teko khud baat karni hogi.” He told her.
“Okay.” Sharon agreed.
Swayam went next door to Rey’s. He pushed the door open and walked in to find everyone sitting at the dining table.
“Swayam?” Juhi saw him.
“Hi.” He smiled at them.
“Sharon?” Rannvijay asked him.
“I just spoke to her. I came here to say ki..”
“Swayam don’t say a word.” Rey walked down the stairs. “Usko bol khud aake sorry bole!”
“Rey, she is a wreck right now.” Swayam told him.
“I know.” Rey nodded. “Par tu uske behalf pe sorry nahi bolega.”
“Don’t pull me in the middle of your fights yaar.” Swayam complained.
“Then you shouldn’t have come here.”
“Right!” Swayam left.
“Maa, I need my bike keys back!” Rey walked to Juhi.
“You’re not getting them.”
“Maa yaar kal doctor waise bhi go ahead dene wala hai. Just give me those damn keys. I need to go out!” He sounded annoyed.
“Rahul has given me clear instructions to not let you drive for at least a week more.” Juhi told him sternly.
“Fine!” Rey turned on his heels.
“Rey.” Taani stopped him.
“Taani hum baad mein baat karte hai please. I’m not in the right frame of mind.” Rey told her and went back to his room.
Taani fought back her tears.
…
“Sid, door!” Tyler groaned on hearing the doorbell ring.
“Ugh!” Sid grunted in his sleep.
“Bell’s ringing!” Tyler groggily opened his eyes and shook Sid, but he wasn’t ready to get up.
Tyler got out of the bed, picked up his pants and walked out wearing them. He walked to the door and pressed the intercom.
“Yes?” He asked.
“Hey Sid, It's Armaan. Let me in.” Armaan spoke into the intercom.
“Yeah!” Tyler answered and buzzed him in.
Armaan made his way up to the apartment and walked in.
"Hi?" Armaan squinted at Tyler.
“Tyler!” He introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you." Armaan smiled at him.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Both of us were fast asleep.” Tyler yawned.
“It’s totally fine. I’m sorry to disturb you.” Armaan sat himself on the couch.
“Make yourself comfortable, I’ll wake Sid up.” Tyler turned to leave.
“Let him be. I’ll rest till the time he wakes up. You should too.” Armaan pointed out when he saw him yawn again.
“Come I’ll show you to your room.” Tyler walked Armaan to the guest room.
The three of them drifted into a deep slumber. Tyler woke up at one in the afternoon, feeling hungry. He saw that Sid was fast asleep next to him. He went out to the kitchen to make coffee. He poured a cup for himself. Sid had woken up by then and he walked out of the room.
“Dude, wear your clothes!” Tyler told him on seeing him in just his boxers.
“What’s the time?” Sid asked, rubbing his eyes. “Armaan should have been here by now.” He mumbled.
“It’s one!” Tyler informed him.
“What?” Sid asked aghast.
“Tell me honestly, did you sleep last night?” Tyler asked.
“No, I didn’t.” Sid shook his head. “Did Armaan come?” He asked Tyler.
“I thought I heard you guys.” Armaan walked out of the room.
“Hi!” Sid went forward and hugged him. “Finally, you’re here!”
“Yahan aake kapde pehenne chod diye?” Armaan mocked Sid.
“Tu aaraha tha na toh nikal diye!” Sid laughed making him laugh as well.
“What are you guys laughing at?” Tyler asked them.
“You.” Sid joked.
“Carry on. I’ll be in my room.” Tyler smiled at them.
“Ty, wait.” Sid stopped him. “Meet Armaan, my best friend.”
“Finally I get to meet you.” Tyler looked at Armaan.
“And who is he?” Armaan raised a brow at Sid.
“Tyler.” Sid answered.
“I know his name!” Armaan rolled his eyes at Sid.
“Are you guys hungry?” Tyler interrupted them.
“Very!” Armaan answered.
“Let’s order something.” Tyler walked to the kitchen and pulled out a couple of menu cards.
“Why not just go out for lunch?” Sid suggested.
“I’m tired, you guys can carry on.” Tyler told him.
“Let’s just order in. I’m tired as well.” Armaan said.
“Cool!” Sid agreed.
Tyler Wilson
Tyler is a bartender and an aspiring model, living in New York. He has been sharing an apartment with Sid for the last year. They were casually dating for a couple of months but haven’t been in a serious relationship yet.
“Like now, now?” Swayam asked into the phone.
“I know last minute hai but dusre bhi bohot kaam hai so later possible nahi hoga.” Abhimanyu informed him.
“No problem. You text me the location. Main dekhta hoon.” Swayam disconnected the call.
“Kya hua?” Rey asked.
“Yaar voh supplier se milne abhi jana hoga.” Swayam informed him.
“But isn’t that Ayush’s..”
“Yeah, yeh just backup ke liye bhai se baat ki thi. Unhone Abhi ko contact karne bola and he suggested this person. Mansi se bhi baat huyi. Uska bhi kehna hai ki we should keep a backup ready.” Swayam told him.
“Theek hai na tu jaake mil le.” Rey said.
“Pehle tujhe office toh chod doon.” Swayam looked at him.
“Theek hai driver jee. Chalo abh, signal green hogaya hai.” Rey pointed.
“Ek aur baat.”
“Kya?”
“Tujhe aaj meeting attend karni hogi?”
“Pagal hai kya tu?” Rey widened his eyes.
“Sharon won’t and I can’t. So you have to!”
“Main supplier se milne jau?” Rey asked him.
“Teko main drive karne nahi dene wala.” Swayam denied.
“Yeh Rahul sab badle poore kar raha hai!” Rey cursed him under his breath.
“You’ll handle it right?” Swayam asked.
“Let’s see.” Rey chuckled and shook his head. “How is she doing?” He enquired.
“She’d be happy if you ask her this.” Swayam smiled at him.
“Taani ki mom thi yar wahan.” Rey passed a sad smile.
“I know.” Swayam nodded. “Teri Taani se baat huyi?”
“I tried. But I don’t know usko kya bolu main?” Rey sighed. “That she shouldn’t have intervened us? Or apologize for what Sharon implied? Or tell her ki main Ayush se jealous feel karta hoon and it annoys me that she is so bloody oblivious to him trying to flirt with her? And the fact that she isn’t wearing her engagement ring could be a problem here?”
“What?” Swayam squinted.
“Kuch nahi yaar chod!” Rey rested his head on the head rest. “Tune Sharon se baat ki? She was paranoid about your reaction to her and Ayush.”
“I spoke to her and she will take some more time. Par teko Taani se baat karni chahiye. If what you told me is annoying you, let her know that.” Swayam suggested.
“Kya bolu? Meko tere boss se problem hai and you should stay away from him? With this logic she can’t interact with any other male than me.” Rey rolled his eyes.
“Tune kal sach mein baat nahi ki?” Swayam asked.
“We texted.”
“Got it!” Swayam shook his head. “Chal abh meeting attend kar le and please for God’s sake, be sane!” Swayam stopped the car in front of the office entrance.
“Oh shut up! Meko faltu ka gussa nahi aata!” Rey got out of the car.
“Yeah right!” Swayam rolled his eyes.
…
“Hey.” Ayushman walked into the meeting room and greeted everyone present.
Rey looked up from his file at him and got back to reading without acknowledging him. Taani observed this and felt a pit in her stomach. She could tell that Rey wasn’t mad at her for what had happened, but he definitely looked annoyed.
“Since everyone is here, I think we should start.” Mansi announced.
“Purvi?” Ayushman asked her.
“She has taken a week off due to some family emergency.” Mansi informed.
Rey looked at Taani on hearing Mansi. Taani averted her gaze and looked down. The meeting started and they covered the points that were in the agenda for the meeting.
“Lastly, let’s talk about the sudden speculated spike in the budget.” Mansi looked at Ayushman and then at Rey.
“The quality that he is supplying is really good and he is charging for that.” Ayushman replied.
“Is it the best?” Rey asked.
“It almost is.” Ayushman answered.
“I’m not putting in extra money for something that is almost best.” Rey mocked.
Taani squinted at Rey. He sounded different to her. She had attended a lot of meetings over the month and this was the first time she felt a thick air in the room.
“Rey I tried to negotiate, but he is not ready to lower the prices.” Ayushman informed.
“I have another supplier who is providing the exact quality at a much cheaper rate. Let’s just hire him instead.” Rey told them.
“Rey contract..” Mansi tried to remind him of their contract, but he gave her a look which made her stop.
“We have worked a lot with this guy in the past and trust me we’ll have no complaints about the quality.” Ayushman was adamant.
“Haan maine toh raaste mein se kisiko bhi utha liya hai.” Rey taunted.
“What I’m saying is that this is the best quote he has offered, and he is not ready to negotiate further.”
“You have a knack of forcing people to talk to you. Why don’t you use it on him and get the prices lowered? If not we’ll go ahead with our back up!” Rey got up and exited the room.
Ayushman kept quiet and saw him walk out. He knew that this personal attack on him was because of his interaction with Sharon a day ago.
“Excuse me.” He got up breaking the silence in the room. Mansi passed a curt smile at him.
“We should get to work as well.” Gauri told Taani.
“Yeah.” Taani nodded.
“Taani, do you have a minute?” Mansi stopped her.
“Gauri I’ll join you.” Taani asked her to go ahead.
“Purvi ki jagah Naveen is going to work with you, but he already has some other project so just coordinate with him.” Mansi informed her.
“No problem I’ll do it. Thanks.” Taani smiled at her.
“Also..” Mansi looked at her. “Do you know what’s wrong with Rey? I’m seeing him after a month, and he didn’t seem his usual self.” She asked.
“He.. uh..” Taani hesitated.
“Nevermind, I’ll talk to him. You carry on.” Mansi told her and she left.
Taani walked out of the meeting room engrossed in her thoughts. She walked through the corridor and slowed down as she closed in on Rey’s cabin.
“Taani.” Naveen called her. “Chale?” He wiggled his brows.
“Haan.” She smiled back.
“You’ll have to walk me through the project. Mansi ma’am ne last minute inform kiya and I haven’t had a chance to look into this.” He told her.
“Yeah sure.” She agreed.
Taani and Naveen immediately got to work. By lunch time they had managed to complete most of the work for the day. They decided to take a break and relax for a while.
“Can I ask you something? It’s a bit personal so you can choose not to answer.” Naveen asked her.
“Okay. Go ahead.” Taani replied wondering what he wanted to know.
“You were dating Rey sir, right?” He questioned.
“Were?” She furrowed her brows.
“I mean I heard he got engaged, but you aren’t wearing any ring. So I was just curious.” He clarified himself.
“We are engaged.” She replied.
“Congratulations!” He forwarded his hand. “I know I’m a little late, but you didn’t inform me earlier about it.” He joked.
“Thanks!” She laughed lightly and shook her hand.
“Lunch ke liye chale? Baki kaam baad mein kar lenga.” He suggested.
“You go ahead, I’ll join you.” She smiled.
“It’s totally fine. Enjoy lunch with your fiancé.” He chuckled.
“Naveen!” She glared but started laughing the next second. “I’ll see you after lunch.” She left.
Taani walked to Rey’s cabin and knocked on it.
“Come in!”
She let out a breath and walked in.
“Hey.” Swayam greeted her.
“Hi.” She smiled at him and then looked at Rey. “Hey.” She walked to his desk.
“Hi. Kuch kaam tha?” He looked at her.
“Haan.” She nodded.
“Bolo na.” He gestured her to sit.
“Swayam, do you mind if I ask you to leave?” Taani looked at Swayam.
Swayam raised his brows and exchanged a short look with Rey and then looked back at Taani. “Not at all!” He got up and left passing them a smile.
“Toh kya kaam hai?” Rey asked her.
“You had told me that I can walk into this cabin whenever I want. Does that not hold true now?” She took a seat opposite to him.
“Of course it does.” He leaned on his desk, extending his hand towards her.
“I’m sorry.” She spoke after a minute of silence.
“You don’t need to be. In fact I feel horrible for what happened that day. I should have stopped her sooner.” He looked away.
“Or I should have just kept shut.”
“Yeah that would have helped too.” He let out a chuckle.
“But she was blaming you for my mistake.” Taani held his extended hand.
“What you did was not wrong.” He squeezed her hand.
“Accha?” She cocked her brow at him. “Toh aaj subah meeting mein Ayushman pe itna kyun bhadak rahe the tum?”
“Usne mere best friend se pange liye hai aur usse yeh pata hona chahiye.” He smirked.
“Is that the only reason?” She asked.
“No.” He shook his head and sighed. “Taani, I’m not putting any blame on you, but he is somewhat smitten by you. And I..” He looked at her. “I don’t like it.” He said honestly.
“You can rightfully blame me for this.” She got up and walked to him.
Rey squinted as she took her hands behind her neck and untied a necklace.
“Yeh..” His eyes widened on seeing her ring in the chain.
“I was wearing it close to my heart.” Her lips curved into a smile making him chuckle as well. “Now I want you to make me wear it and I promise you that I won’t ever remove it.” She held the ring to him.
“You don’t have to..”
“Rey I’m asking you, please!” She went down on her knees and forwarded the ring to him.
“Propose kar rahi ho?” He wiggled his brows.
“Kya din aagaye hai mere. Fiance ko propose karna pad raha hai!” She sat down on the floor crossing her legs.
“Toh usme kya problem hai?” He got down and sat next to her.
He took the ring from her hand and made her wear it.
“Third times a charm?” He raised his brow.
Taani hugged him tight, pouring out all her feelings in the last forty-eight hours. Rey reciprocated the same. She separated from him and sat holding his hand.
“Rey, mujhe tumhe kuch batana hai.”
“Kya?” He started unconsciously playing with her fingers.
“Sharon mentioned about Ayushm..”
“You don’t need..”
“Please let me finish!” She quieted him.
“Go on!”
“Ayushman ne ek din mujhe Sharon samajh liya tha and he had approached to talk to me. He had stood right behind me and had asked me for my price. I panicked after that and honestly didn’t know how to react nor tell you about it. To be honest, I felt disgusted about it. Phir next day, he clarified it. Toh maine voh baat wahin chod di. It felt like a genuine mistake.” She looked at him.
“Price? As in suggested retail price? SRP?” He asked.
“SRP?” She furrowed her brows.
“Sharon Rai Prakash!” Rey clarified.
“Oh!” She understood what that meant now.
“Haan, A-man Suck-sena and Suggested Retail Price! Voh dono ek dusre ko aise stupid names se bulate the.” Rey told her.
“As I was saying, Sharon had seen that interaction aur phir uske baad I was behaving normally around him, so she must have felt weird. And I understand her outburst.”
“But still, she shouldn’t have said it. Not in front of your mom.”
“Don’t worry, mumma ne usse galath nahi samjha hai.” She smiled.
“Mera voh matlab nahi tha.” He looked at her.
“I know.” She cupped his face. “Aur jo hua voh shayad accha hi hua. Warna mujhe kabhi iski importance nahi samajhti.” She looked at the ring.
“I love you.” He connected their foreheads as his eyes watered.
“I love you more!” She connected their lips.
…
“Shup up Naveen. Bohot jyada ho raha hai abhi.” Taani warned him as they walked to the meeting room.
“Jyada kya isme? Main kabse bas yeh pooch raha hoon ki did you have your lunch properly or not?” Naveen bit back his smile.
“Naveen!” She gritted her teeth to stop the smile that was taking shape on her face.
“Fine don’t answer. Bhalai ka jamaana hi nahi raha hai.” He made a sad face and shook his head.
“Dikh rahi hai teri bhalai.” She squinted making him laugh.
“Chal main Mansi ma’am ko yeh report dene jaata hoon. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Day after.” She reminded him.
“Right! Bye!” He walked ahead.
Taani stopped at the meeting room and turned to open the door to get in. Ayushman was walking out of the room and they both bumped into each other. The file in his hand slipped and all the papers were scattered.
“Sorry.” Taani instantly apologized on seeing the mess that was created.
“I had just finished arranging it.” He sighed.
“I’ll help you.” Taani picked up the papers and walked to the table.
Taani started arranging the papers into the file. Ayushman observed her work.
“Hogaya kaam?” He asked her.
“Haan. Naveen and I are a good team. Kaam jaldi hojata hai uske saath.” She said.
“Good.” He nodded.
Ayushman walked up to her and helped her. She smiled acknowledging his help. He handed her a few papers to put it into the file.
“You should’ve clipped them in. Fir itna mess nahi hota.” Taani said, clipping the papers in the file.
“Thanks for the tip.” He chuckled.
Taani laughed looking down. Ayushman heard a clinking metal noise and furrowed his brows. He took a quick glance around to see its source. He heard it again, and it came from Taani’s direction. He looked at her and noticed it clinked every time she gathered the papers from the desk. He looked at her hand and noticed a ring on her finger. He knitted his brows in confusion.
“Done!” Taani handed him the file.
“Thanks.” He diverted his attention from the ring.
“I’ve also added the progress report for today in it.” She informed him.
“Oh great!” He smiled at her.
“I’ll take your leave then. See you tomorrow.” She waved at him.
“See you.” He waved back.
Taani walked out and pulled out her phone when she heard it ping.
“Call me when you’re done. I want to take you somewhere.” She read Rey’s message.
“I’m done.” She texted back.
“I said CALL” She laughed reading his reply.
“No I will only text!” She chuckled, typing in her response.
“I’ll see you outside in five minutes.” He texted back with the side eye emoji.
Ayushman walked out after her and started to make his way out. He saw Taani walking ahead completely engrossed in her phone. She bumped head on into someone.
“Sorry.” She quickly looked up from her phone.
“Yeh phone ne tum sabko bigaad rakha hai!” Rannvijay taunted her.
Taani looked down embarrassed. Rannvijay laughed at her and put his arm around her shoulder and started walking out with her. Ayushman looked at them in confusion and followed them.
“Ghar chal rahi ho na?” Rannvijay asked her.
“Aana toh hai, par nahi aa sakti.” She told him.
“Kyun?” He asked back.
“Rey wants to take me somewhere.” She informed him.
“Date bolte hai usse.” Rannvijay teased her.
“Paa please.” She wailed.
“Toh kahan ja rahe ho?” He asked.
“Pata nahi. He didn’t tell me.”
“Theek hai. Jao enjoy kar lo.” He smiled.
Rannvijay turned to head to his car when he saw Sharon get out of hers and head to the office. He waved at her and she walked to him. She spotted Taani behind Rannvijay and glared at him. Rey walked past Ayushman and went towards Taani. He noticed Rannvijay and Sharon there as well. Taani and Sharon looked at each other and smiled lightly. Both were hesitating to speak. Rey came and stood behind Taani, and Sharon looked away.
“Uncle, aapke kuch signs chahiye the. Aapko thodi der aur rukna padega.” Sharon diverted her attention to Rannvijay.
Ayushman was observing them from a distance. He could easily tell that Sharon was trying to put up a façade. He wanted to apologize for barging in on her but decided to wait for her to be ready. He wasn’t going to force her to talk again.
“Theek hai chalo.” Rannvijay gestured her to lead.
Sharon gave a short look to Rey and Taani and then started walking. Rey held her hand and stopped her. He pulled her into a hug. Sharon felt a burden lift off her chest.
“Tu theek hai?” He asked, separating them.
“Ho jaungi.” She smiled at him.
“Sharon.” Taani called her. “I wanted to..”
“Taani don’t.” Sharon stopped her. “Pehle tum sorry bologi, phir main bolungi. Phir hum ek dusre ko it’s okay bolenge. So let’s just cut all of it and hug it out?” She asked with hopeful eyes.
“Yeah!” Taani smiled and hugged her. “But I am sorry.”
“Sorry bolke saara moment kharab karna jaruri tha?” Rey taunted.
“I owe you a sorry as well. Par abhi nahi bolungi warna yeh hum dono ko maar dalega.” Sharon pointed at Rey and laughed.
“Chale abhi?” Rey squinted at Sharon and then asked Taani.
“Haan!” Taani laughed.
“Kahan ja rahe ho?” Sharon asked.
“Academy.” Rey answered.
“Aaj mat ja.” Sharon told him.
“Kyun?”
“Bola na mat ja, toh mat ja!”
“Alright!” Rey shrugged carelessly. “Ghar chalte hai phir.” He put his arm around Taani’s waist and they both walked away.
“Rey and Taani?” Ayushman widened his eyes at them.
…
“Where are you taking me?” Taani squinted as Rey started walking to the basement.
“Chal yaar!” Rey tugged on her hand.
Rey walked Taani to his rehearsal hall in the basement. She smiled looking around and then faced him.
“Yahan kyun laaya?” She had a smile plastered on her face.
“Would you like to dance with me?” He forwarded his hand.
“No.” She denied still smiling.
“No?” He pouted.
“I’d love to. But not now.” She shook her head.
“Rahul ne teko bhi phone kiya tha kya?” Rey squinted.
“Jeeju has strictly warned all of us to keep an eye on you for this week. Voh bol rahe the ki doctor se green signal milte hi tum uchalne lagoge.” Taani laughed recalling Rahul’s words.
“Yeh Rahul ko toh main chodunga nahi!” Rey cursed him.
“But!” Taani walked close to him and put her arms around his neck. “We can slow dance, right?”
“Definitely!” Rey grinned and circled his arms behind her back. They both started swaying.
“Prom wali feeling aa rahi hai.” Taani giggled.
“You had prom in school?” Rey squinted.
“Yeah! We were trying very hard to be fancy.” She laughed recalling it.
“So, who was your date?” He asked.
“Juno!” She replied with a lopsided grin. “What about you? Did you have prom night?”
“Yeah we had organized one in college.” He nodded.
“Who did you go with?” She wiggled her brows.
“Aashi!”
“Aur Sara?” Taani questioned biting her lower lip to stop herself from laughing.
“Voh Delhi mein hoti thi. Bas vacations mein yahan aati thi.” Rey pulled her closer to him.
“Waise aur kaun kaun thi? Sabke naam bata hi do!” Taani asked tongue-in-cheek.
“Sabke naam jaan ke kya karna hai. Abh se bas tum hi toh ho.” He pecked her lips.
Taani grinned at Rey and hugged him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her. Taani tilted her head and kissed him on his chest. Rey closed his eyes feeling the touch.
“I love when you do that.” He whispered to her.
“And I love when you kiss me.” She separated from the hug and cupped his face.
“I love that too!” He grinned and captured her lips.
Rey devoured her lips pulling Taani even closer to him. Taani entangled her hands in his hair and fisted them. She bit and sucked on his lower lip creating wild sensations throughout his body. His hand travelled down her lower back and rested on her curve. He suckled her lips and squeezed her flesh, pulling her onto him. Taani inhaled in a sharp breath as she felt his arousal. Rey stopped kissing her and slowly opened his eyes to see her face. Her eyes were still closed but her face had a pink glow.
“Taani.” He whispered brushing his lips against hers
She opened her eyes and looked into his. Her lips slowly curled up into a smile and she quickly separated from him and ran out of the rehearsal hall. He stood there with a wide grin, looking at the door.
Hello!
To all those readers who were mad at how I ended my last chapter, I hope you are happy now
Agar last chapter mein yeh sab hota toh yahan kuch nahi milta
Always remember, patience is key!
To which lock, I don't know. But it is the key!
Question of the update:
What unique quirks or pacts have you made with your friends?
I have posted a New OS in the book Their Filmy Love Stories.
Do read and add that book to your library as well!
Hit Like and Comment down below!
Posted: July 31, 2020
The promo was a perfect prompt for me to write something in my ishtyle! ...
Amidst the tumultuous storm of a high-stakes trial, Anushka Raisinghani, a ...
Comments (29)
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Trisha @Trisha49
+ 2
3 years ago
And that ending, uff things getting hot!!! Ahaha why does she run away😂😂 bollywood heroine kahi ki 😂😂😂Oof fills my ❤Wanna read the update noww ab!!
Trisha @Trisha49
+ 2
3 years ago
Ab bas tum hi toh ho and all ha, filmy mohabbaein ekdam, Sach a cute slow dance momentRehearsal hall ke warm up moments yaad aagaye by God❤
Shweta @2111_shweta
+ 5
3 years ago
This cabin floor sceneee❤❤ love the third ring wearing 😭❤😭❤ cutiesYaha Swayam ko nikala samaj me aata hai, last time ka I'm still unhappy 😂😂😂Navin is such a cutie yaar, and I'm waiting for Sneha too. Tu SneVin ko bhi mast time degi uska wait haiLoved how Rey just hugged Sharr! ❤That's how you end a stupid fight! And Ayush ko TaaRey ka jhatka laga😂😂😂 mujhe toh laga he'll assume Taani is with Ran😂😂😂, on that note Ran❤❤-Trisha49
Trisha @Trisha49
+ 2
3 years ago
Meko faltu ka gussa nahi aata😂😂😂😂😂😂 pehle jee bhar ke is statement pe has lu mai😂😂😂😂 aur abhi toh reason bhi hai, bhaisahab aapki fiance pe line baar rahe hai😂😂😂 gussa nahi aag ke gole pheko tum toh uspeKnack of forcing people to talk to you😂😂😂😂 bigg boss waali harkate bhai sahab😂😂😂😂
Trisha @Trisha49
+ 2
3 years ago
The hell with Rey! Swayam bola he's involved with the project to keep an eye😂😂😂😂 and oblivious Taani, very nice!
Swayam kya mast boyfriend hai! Lol kisi ke beech nahi aayega! He's like tum apne khadde khud khodo, khud hi bharo, mujhe beech me laash banake mat gaadho😂😂😂😂
Trisha @Trisha49
+ 2
3 years ago
Yayyy SidTy❤❤❤❤They both deserve happiness yaarrChalo Tanai ArVi ko bhi set karrahi haiSo glad she's got an understanding family! So happy for all these kids!!
Trisha @Trisha49
+ 2
3 years ago
Whys he feeling guilty about calling her! Bhai ye usko kitna khush karta hai❤ also AR❤Nil literally said charity? CHARITY?! Matlab bhai sahab mushkil se miniscule sa chanda bane aapka toh usko personally jaake dispose kardo very nice! Warna coffee leke aa jayega sounds like he's threatening her with a date😂😂😂Break lele warna mai apna heart break karwaane aajaunga😂😂😂Khada rehne laayak nahi chodunga🤦♀️🤦♀️ welcome to 50 shades of Rey😂😂😝😝Aur ye SharAyu ka kya chaalu hai be, kis disha me chala ye? 😂 interest nahi but that special feeling toh they share, whether past or whatever!
Trisha @Trisha49
+ 2
3 years ago
Ayy she's missing Rey beside her😭💘Yaar ye Rey ka call na😂😂 said this a hundred times but still not tired, kya cuties hai ye donoStill laughing at her reaction ki sote hue dekhna kitna creepy hai😂😂😂 aunty aap aise side me nahi soye kabhiHe's also missing her itnaInka live in ka time aagaya kya? That would be interesting! Bharosa kaise hoga aunty ko, walk pe gaadi ki chaabi leke jaaraha hai aadmiShaRey😂❤❤ bhai Rey ki advise me point toh haiAyush needs to get away from Taani uska waise bhi ladkiyo ke maamle me esteem low hai😂Bro Tu na solid darayi meko yaha Arvi ke maamle me, Godd!! Not them😭
Aektajp @Aektajp 3 years ago Amazing work every thing show up carefully detailing can”t wait to read it more
anitaanu @anitaanu
3 years ago
It's a month now plzzzz plzzzz update soon 🙏🙏🙏🙏