Chapter 19

Part 19 [NOCOPY]

Suryakant (coming down the stairs): kyun ab uthne ke liye mujhe tumhari permission chahiye?

Armaan shuts up and looks down………………………

Suryakant glares at Arjun: tum fir aa gaye? Aur ye ladki…

Shweta: Surya jaane bhi do…please, bachon ki khushi ka sawaal, Arjun usse pyaar karta hai

His eyes widened in surprise. A flicker of happiness passes through but he suppresses it.

Suryakant: kya?

Shweta: ha, dono shaadi karna chahte hai, please…mere khaatir hi sahi, (trying to coax him) humare bete ki shaadi hai Surya

He scrutinized the couple and took a deep breath. Suryakant nodded.

Smiles broke on faces. Shweta is elated.

Shweta: main abhi pandit ji ko bula leti hu

Armaan whispers to Arjun: kya baat hai bhai? Mother India ne toh kamaal kar diya

Arjun whispers back: isliye toh woh mother India hai

Suryakant: main taiyaar hokar aata hun

Arjun nods. He turns to go back to the bedroom. Recollecting something he turns from the staircase.

Suryakant: waise tum ho kaun?

Riya freezes, unable to move a muscle. Understanding her hesitation, Arjun opens his mouth to answer but Shweta beats him to it.

Shweta: uska naam Riya hai, software engineer hai

He nods and leaves. The kids heave a sigh of relief and sit again. Shweta calls up the pandit, asking him to come as soon as possible. She re-joins them. Suryakant too arrives in sometime putting a break to their chatter.

Riya shifts a little mv “oh god! Riya relax…kuch nahi hoga…Arjun ko already pata hai koi problem nahi hai, sab theek hai. Everything is normal.”

The doorbell rings. The servant comes out to open the door. Pandit ji enters and they exchange greetings. Shweta introduces Riya to him and asks him to get dates for marriage.

Pandit ji: waise beta tumhari janam tithi kya hai?

Riya: kyun?

Pandit ji: kundali ke liye

Arjun: kundali? Pandit ji main is sab mein nahi maanta… aap sirf date nikaliye

Shweta: nahi Arjun, ek baar dekh lene do

Arjun: but maa…

Shweta: Arjun

Arjun again tries to protest but Riya gestures to him that it’s ok. He looks at her as if asking that she was sure. She nods and gives her birthdate.

Shweta: Arjun ki kundali toh aapke paas haina pandit ji?

Pandit: ha, ha

Arjun raises his eyebrow: meri kundali hai?

Shweta: of course tumhari kundali hai

The pandit calculates and matches the horoscopes.

Pandit: hmm, gun toh bahot milte hai, joda bahot hi utam hai par ladki par Shani ka saaya hai

Riya rubs the back of her neck nervously(whispering to Arjun): ha usi ki toh maya hai

Arjun whispers back: please bhaari joke mat maaro

Riya: joke nahi, fact hai

Arjun looks at her sternly. She purses her lips to suppress her smile.

Shweta: toh koi upay?

Pandit: uski zaroorat nahi padegi, abhi patit ho chuka hai, aage sab mangal hi mangal hai

Armaan mutters in Arjun’s ear: are waah bhai, jungle mein mangal hai

Arjun whispers back: Armaan tu pitega mere haath se aaj

He giggles.

Shweta: fir koi acha sa muhurat nikal dijiye pandit ji

Pandit: ji…(he calculates with his calendar again) vivah ke liye do mahino baad ka utam muhurat hai (Arjun and Riya look at each other in delight) sagayi agle do din mein kabhi bhi kar lijiye bas rahu kaal ka dhyaan rakhe

Shweta: ye toh bahot hi achi khabar hai, hum sagayi kal subah hi kar denge

Suryakant mv “mujhe jald hi kuch karna padega.” He stands up.

Shweta: kya hua Surya?

Suryakant: ho gaya na? office mein kaam hai mujhe

Saying so he leaves. She feels disappointed but is still happy he let Arjun stay and participated for so long. She pays the pandit and he takes their leave.

Arjun: acha maa, ab hum bhi chalte hai

Shweta: ruk jao na

Arjun: maa, mujhe bhi office jaana hai already late ho gaya hai aur upar se team ko bhi batana hai

Shweta: unhe bhi kal ghar bula lena

Arjun chuckles: nahi bulaunga toh bhi Sam lekar aa jaayega

She smiles. They hug again.

Shweta: raat ko rukoge?

Arjun: theek hai, aa jaunga

They too leave. Arjun hugs Riya tightly the second they are out. Riya is startled and almost jumps. He leaves her.

Arjun: main hu, kya hua?

Riya: kuch nahi woh mera dhyaan kahi aur tha, sorry

Arjun(concerned): tum theek hona?

Riya: ha kyun?

Arjun: thodi khoyi-khoyi lag rahi ho

She smiles: bas thodi nervous hun

He takes her hands: ab kya nervous ho? ho gaya sab kuch!

Riya: ha but …you know me

Arjun : ha woh toh hai, waise aur koi kaam nahi haina tumhe?

Riya: kyun?

Arjun: kyunki I was thinking tumhe office le jau, warna Sam mujhe maar daalega

She smiles: ha free hun

Arjun: great! Toh pehle Jeevan Nirmal jaate hai, Savita Tai ko bata kar invite karte hai fir office jaate hai

Riya nods. They get into the car and Arjun drives away. Needless, to say the NGO and the ETF are both in cheer on hearing the news. Sameer literally blackmails the commissioner for the day off and the next day so they could all go shop.

However, throughout the day Arjun notices Riya being jumpy. When asked, she denies and attributes it to her general nervousness. He is suspicious but she didn’t show any other sign of distress and therefore, lets it go thinking she was probably getting overwhelmed. They hadn’t exactly planned that the wedding and engagement would happen soon.

They go back to the NGO after an early dinner in the food court and shopping bags. Riya arranges everything neatly in her cupboard as Arjun watches her. He sees an alert on her phone.

Arjun: Riya tumhara charger kaha hai? battery low ho gayi hai

Riya: woh side table ke drawer mein

Arjun: ok

He goes to the bed and opens the drawer. But the next second Riya realises her mistake.

Riya: Arjun ruk…

But it was too late.

He was looking at the paper inside in amusement. He puts her phone to charge and closes the drawer. Riya clenches her eyes shut. Arjun walks across to her.

Arjun: Riya?

Riya: hm?

He feels like laughing on her state. He wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her to him.

Arjun: aankhein toh kholo

She hesitantly opens her eyes: woh…woh darasal

Arjun: hm? Bolo

Riya: Arjun woh…woh main…main bas use nikalne hi waali thi, correction ho gaya

Arjun: acha? Jaha tak mujhe pata hai tum students ke drawing room mein toh nahi rakhti, woh sab toh locker mein jaata hai aur agar yaha baith kar, kar bhi rahi thi toh sirf Prithvi ki drawing waha kyun hai?

Riya: woh…woh…

Arjun: waise jaha tak mujhe yaad hai, us din toh tum use daant rahi thi aur woh paper apne saath le gayi, dusri drawings chod kar toh…ab iska matlab samjhi ya samjhau?

Riya mutters under her breath: itna sab yaad kaise rehta hai ise?

Arjun: kuch kaha tumne?

Riya: huh? Nahi…nahi toh

Arjun: ajeeb hai, fir bhi mujhe tumhari meethi awaaz sunayi de rahi hai (he caresses her cheek) khair agar tum chaho toh, us painting ko hum frame karwa sakte hai

Riya fumbles: na…nahi…

Arjun: kyun? kitni pyaari hai, mujhe toh karwaani hai (leaning closer) aur use bed ke saamne waali deewar par laga dunga (she closes her eyes) taaki roz uthkar use dekh saku

He softly kisses her cheek. She clutches his shirt. He smiles seeing her reactions.

Arjun: Riya? dekho na

She slowly opens her eyes.

Arjun gazes into her eyes: I love you

She blushes: I love you too

He leans further. He pauses to gauge her reaction. She waits nervously for him, lowering her eyes.

Arjun: Can I?

She nods in the lightest way possible. He smiles. With a thudding heart, his face moves closer and their lips meet in a kiss. Riya freezes momentarily, then she loses her sanity all together as butterflies dance in her stomach. As for Arjun, he’s in the same position. Still thinking that all of this was a dream, a dream that he didn’t want to come out of…ever!

She hides herself in his chest when they break away. Arjun rests his chin on her head while stroking her hair. They had the largest smiles their lips could curve into.

An hour later-

Her mind was continuously playing the proximity that she had shared with Arjun. Her lips are still tingling with the sensation. Goosebumps crawled over her skin. Her face is crimson due to the roses. For the first time in her life! She had liked a man’s touch. The feeling sent shivers down her spine… pleasant ones.

The intercom rang breaking her trance. Taking a deep breath, she got up from the bed.

Riya: hello?

Kinjal: hey! Koi tumse milne aaya hai

Riya: kaun?

Kinjal: pata nahi (softly) koi uncle hai, maine pucha toh kaha ki kaam ke silsile mein

Riya(confused): acha?...bhej do, main dekhti hu

Kinjal: ok, kuch ho toh bolna

Riya: ha

Call Disconnect

Kinjal allowed the man inside. A few minutes later, a knock resounded on Riya’s room. She opened the door. Her eyes widened in horror. The man steps inside ignoring her expression, closing the door behind. Riya’s brain starts working overtime.

What was he doing there? Why did he come there? What was his intention? His gaze was making her afraid. She feels exposed as horrid memories come flashing through her mind. Her pulse increases. Sweat beads form on her forehead. For a second, she thinks to scream but is unable to move a muscle. She curses Arjun for going early that day of all days.

Then again, he would definitely not want to see his father coming in the night to his fiancée’s room. She didn’t want to give him the glimpse either. That was also why she had kept her mouth shut in the morning.

Suryakant’s hand came up terrifying her but it went into his coat pocket. He removed an envelope and wordlessly extended it to her. Riya gathers all the courage in her body to voice out her doubts.

Riya: kya hai ye?

Suryakant: khud hi dekh lo

Reluctantly, she lifted her hand to take the envelope. Her hands shivered as she opened it. A paper fell out.

Riya is confused: blank cheque?

Suryakant: jitna amount bharna hai bharo aur is shehar se aur mere bete ki zindgi se humesha ke liye dafa ho jao!!!

She froze………………………