Chapter 9 - “Now she wants to talk?”

A/N - I miss Arylie! 😭😢😭😢😭😢

I have been trying to watch some other shows and it's only making me miss them more. The Music Video was cute!! And FK's interviews have us all hot and bothered. There's some motivation to keep writing this story, but Arylie have spoiled me for life 🤧🤧🤧

Any who!

In the last chapter, we left off this story at a point when Imlie and Aryan have a sweet (ahem) encounter in the office pantry, leading to Imlie suddenly getting conscious about the electric attraction and flirtatious dynamic between them and runs away.

Ab, aage.....

Enjoy reading!

Love,

AA

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Previously,

Aryan sauntered lazily towards her.

Mortified that she was gawping at him shamelessly, she looked away, suddenly becoming very aware of the shift in energy between them. Her expression turned from captivated to troubled.

This change in demeanor did not go undetected by Aryan. He stopped his advance, reckoning she wasn’t up for this game anymore.

Imlie placed a cold palm on her forehead and then over her mouth, trying to calm her state of panic. She couldn’t believe how she’d allowed this change of dynamic between them from formal to flirtatious, and more annoyingly her welcoming reaction to it.

She looked down and muttered a quick sorry before rushing past him out of the pantry, leaving a perplexed Aryan standing in the pantry.

What had just happened?

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Imlie scurried back to her desk and dumped herself in her chair, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She rested her elbows on the desk and dropped her head in her hands.

No! What was that? He is my boss, for God’s sake! My boss’s boss’s boss rather!

What had just transpired between her and Aryan in the pantry was electric to say the least, not to mention highly unprofessional. To top it, she’d gone ahead and emptied an entire glass of water on the CEO of the company she was merely an intern at. He could fire her in an instant for this outrageous liberty she just took with him. What had come over her?!

Imlie wasn’t naïve. She knew a man’s touch. She and Aditya had been physically intimate with each other in an attempt to make their marriage work. She knew how it worked.

Aryan Singh Rathore was different, however.

Admittedly her experience with physical intimacy was less than limited, but she knew enough for her to recognize that the carnal tension she felt around Aryan was exponentially more than anything she had ever encountered. 

His touch sent quivers down her entire body, leaving her wanting for more. He intimidated her, and yet she could feel this irresistible pull towards him.

For a man she barely knew, he was an inexplicable force that made her feel safe.

No, no, no! I had made a promise to myself. How could I forget that promise? I cannot let anyone come close enough to hurt me again. Never.

Her scoff at her own thoughts was ironic.

As if he wants you…of all the women he could have!

A pang of dismay.

Admonishing herself for feeling disappointed, she withdrew her elbows from the desk and prepared to get back to work, urging all thoughts of a very distracting man out of her mind.

The man in question walked around the office floor with his gaze glued at her sitting at her desk, trying to fathom what made her recede the way she did.

Deciding to let it go for now, he pushed the door of his office and stepped inside, letting it close behind him.

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Imlie shut her eyes in relief hearing his door close behind her and got back to her research with a resolve. She had worked on it for an hour when Aarohi put her bag next to Imlie’s monitor, startling her.

“Aarohi! What is wrong with you! You scared me.”

Receiving a sheepish grin from her colleague in response, Imlie looked around the office floor which had started to fill now.

“Good morning! You sound peachy”, Aarohi quipped sarcastically.

Imlie let out a deep sigh and looked at Aarohi apologetically. She’d been irritable since the encounter with Aryan, and she hadn’t made much headway into the research in the last hour either.

“I’m sorry, I was just startled. I was here early and couldn’t even have my coffee…”

“Why not?”

Imlie kicked herself mentally at what she was about let on and made a quick excuse.

“Umm…. I couldn’t figure how to work that damn machine”

“Ohho, I showed you! Come on, let’s go get you one”

Aarohi coaxed Imlie into the pantry, chattering about everything she did since they left each other at work the night before. 

Imlie felt like she’d found a lovable but annoying little work-sister. She liked Aarohi and loved her youthful energy most of the time, but there were moments when she wished she would stop talking, or maybe just slow down. 

This morning was one of those moments.

She was too flustered to register anything Aarohi was saying, so she pretended to listen and nodded her head through it.

They returned from the pantry with their coffee to find another fellow intern waiting at their desks.

“Hey Shyam! How’s it going?” Aarohi greeted him excitedly. Imlie bit back a smile. She had a feeling Aarohi had a little crush going on Shyam.

“Good morning, ladies. I’m good! Did you hear, Mr. Tiwari has summoned all the interns in the conference room in 10 minutes.” Shyam informed them.

Aarohi blushed at this very bland piece of information and smiled at Shyam.

“How nice of you to stop by and inform us!”

Imlie shook her head in amusement and turned to Shyam.

“Thank you Shyam, we’ll be there”

10 minutes later, all new interns assembled in the conference room. The light murmur died when Mr. Tiwari, the editor-in-chief of Bhaskar Times entered the room. Everyone turned to him, curious to hear what the meeting was about.

“Good morning, everyone. You have now spent more than a week here as interns. I have had a chance to watch each of your strengths with the initial assignments given to you. To make sure you make the most of this internship, I am putting forth a task for this group.”

Imlie listened intently along with the other interns.

“Each one of you will write an opinion piece on the importance of investigative journalism in this day and age, and how we can make it more responsible as a media house”

Another wave of low murmur swept across the room. Mr. Tiwari went on.

“You have 2 days to turn in your submissions. I will personally review each of them. The two most impressive opinion papers will get a chance to be featured in our op-ed section”

Excited whispers.

“Additionally, the interns whose papers will be selected as the top two will also get a chance to work on an important story with me.”

Imlie’s eyes shone with excitement. Investigative journalism was her passion, and the reason why she wanted to work for a media house like the BT. She knew this could be her opportunity to secure a full-time position with BT, or at least get a great reference at the end of her internship. Her chance to make Amma and Dadda proud.

She sat straight in her chair and looked at Mr. Tiwari with a resolve on her face. She was going to nail this task.

“Any questions?”, Mr. Tiwari inquired.

Several hands shot up. 30 minutes later the interns shuffled out of the conference room, their queries patiently addressed by the editor-in-chief.

Imlie hurried back to her desk, eager to get started on her opinion paper. She had just started making some notes when her phone dinged. She distractedly picked it up, glancing between the monitor and her phone screen.

For a second, she didn’t register the name on the text notification. She blinked a few times and looked again. Aparna Tripathi. Aditya’s mother.

Why is she texting me?

Imlie paled. She hadn’t stayed in touch with any of the Tripathi family members except Rupi since she’d divorced Aditya and left their home.

Most of the family had never misbehaved with Imlie, but also did not empathize with her situation or blame Aditya for his infidelity like they should have. They were upset that their son’s marriage was over, but no one seemed to think that Aditya needed to even so much as be rebuked for how he’d treated her.

Imlie was never the wife they wanted for their star son. She was no more than a forced affliction on the family. Despite that, she had respected them while she lived with them, even trying to build relationships in the initial days, but most of the family members stayed unaffected, disinterested in her, his mother included.

And now she was texting her. What could she possibly want from me now?

Imlie’s hands trembled as he unlocked her phone to read the text.

Imlie beta, how are you? Would you be able to meet me today?

Beta? Since when did she start being so nice to me? And she wants to meet me? Why? Why now?

Aditya’s mother had not tried to talk to her when she was brought to their house, a newly married, confused girl who wanted nothing more to go back to her Amma and Dadda. She hadn’t tried talking to her when Imlie had yearned to find a mother in her. She hadn’t tried talking to her when Aditya would come home drunk and lash out at Imlie. She hadn’t even tried talking to her when she disclosed Aditya’s infidelity to the family and announced her decision to leave.

Now she wants to talk?

Taking a deep breath, Imlie implored her racing heartbeat to calm down. After staring at the text for a few more seconds, she started typing a response.

Hello Maa, I’m good thank you. I am working today

She decided to keep it vague. Hopefully Aparna Tripathi will get the message. Imlie was busy and would rather not meet her.

No problem, we can meet later in the evening. I can come by where you are.

Ugh.

She wasn’t taking the hint.

Imlie bit her lip. She really needed to know what she was walking into before committing to meeting her ex-husband’s mother. She closed the text window and dialed Rupi’s number.

Voicemail.

Oh God, Rupi Didi! Where are you! I really need to talk to you right now!

She waited a couple more minutes and tried Rupi again.

Voicemail again.

She texted her and waited. No response.

5 minutes passed.

Imlie’s phone dinged with another text. Hoping it was Rupi, Imlie unlocked it with haste, only to find another text from Aparna.

Imlie beta? Are you there?

Dammit. She wasn’t going to let this go. And Rupi couldn’t be reached.

With a loud sigh, Imlie decided to text her back.

Sure Maa, I can meet you around 6 pm. I will come by the café near the house.

Leaning back into her chair, Imlie closed her eyes. I hope to God this isn’t a mistake.

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6:15 pm

Imlie walked into the café situated a few minutes from the Tripathi residence. She and Rupi used to spend many hours in this place, both looking for some time away from the Tripathi house. She had fond memories of the café, having spent those hours bonding with Rupi, leading them to find a sister in each other.

She gave a small wave to the café owner who immediately recognized her. As she moved to the seating area to find her usual table by the window, she saw Aparna Tripathi sitting in one of the tables.

Aparna Tripathi showing up for a meeting before time? That’s a first!

If Imlie had learnt anything about Aparna in her time at the Tripathi residence, it was that Aparna took pride in her upper middle-class status and liked to move in circles with connections. Being fashionably late was nothing less than a motto for her, giving an impression of importance to her acquaintances, who were just as shallow and superficial.

She stopped and surveyed Aparna for a moment. The Tripathi matriarch looked tense. Her hands rested on the table, wringing restlessly, and she was looking around in visible discomfort. The usually confident and disinterested Aparna Tripathi seemed anxious, nervous even.

“Imlie!”

Imlie was shaken out of her thoughts by Aparna’s enthusiastic greeting upon spotting her. She advanced towards her ex-husband’s mother and folded her hands in respect.

“Hello Maa, how are you doing?”

Aparna stood up from her chair and walked around the table with a smile so saccharine, Imlie wondered if she’d need sugar in her coffee today.

Without a warning, Aparna hugged her. Imlie was dumbfounded.

Never in the year and a half Imlie had spent in this woman’s home had she ever even put a hand on her head in sympathy, let alone show any love to her daughter-in-law. This was so out of character for Mrs. Aparna Tripathi.

A very confused Imlie hugged her back awkwardly and took a small step back after only a couple of seconds, not intending to prolong the embrace any longer. Aparna let go of her almost unwillingly and took Imlie’s hands between her stubby fingers, squeezing them.

“How have you been, Imlie? Everyone at home really misses you!”

“Really?” Imlie blurted without thinking, a confused expression plastered on her face.

“Of course! You became a stranger after you left!” Aparna feigned a pout, which Imlie thought looked more like a lip filler gone wrong.

I didn’t think this constantly disinterested face could curl into a pout, Imlie mused.

Waving a hand towards the chairs, Aparna urged Imlie to sit. They settled into their seats and placed an order of coffee.

“So how’s work, Imlie?”

“It’s good, Maa. Busy.”

Whatever this meeting was about, Imlie wanted to be done with it quickly and work on her assignment. She didn’t know what Aparna wanted, but knowing her, it wasn’t anything Imlie would look forward to. With a desire to get straight to the point, Imlie decided to put the niceties aside and nudge her to the purpose of the meeting.

“So, why did you want to meet me, Maa?”

“Does a mother need a reason to meet with her daughter?”, Aparna droned, doing a very shoddy job at pretending to mean what she was saying.

Imlie gave Aparna an uncomfortable smile. Aparna knew she was fooling no one. Giving a resigned sigh, she decided to get to the point.

“Beta, I have come to you with a request”

Here we go.

“Please come back, Imlie. Please forgive Aditya and come back to him”.

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PRECAP: Aparna puts forth overwhelming requests of Imlie which remind her of the past and leave her distraught. Imlie makes a decision. Aryan is working late, AGAIN!

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