Chapter 10

                                                                                                                                      -Ryan Jennings

Sitting with his back to the window, a high precision ruler and a pencil in his hand, and a spare pencil tucked behind his ear, Akash was concentrating on the interior designing of a studio. Challenging and difficult, it was, for it was extremely hard to please the man who had given him this work, his brother, Arnav.

 

Akash considered Arnav more than a brother. He was a father figure to him. Arnav's zeal, his love and enthusiasm  towards his work, his passion in life, his craziness for taking risks and entirely believing in himself, made Akash feel more confident about himself. He had grown up seeing Arnav working, listening to his pep talks had changed the perspective of how Akash viewed the world. Vinay believed in a firm foundation but Arnav believed in letting it go. He was a free bird and that freedom caught Akash beneath, becoming the wind for his wing...

 

There were times Akash thought he knew his older brother better than anybody else. But there were times, where Arnav seemed completely alien to him. Arnav had been his support but never directly. Never had he been warm towards Akash, assuring and comforting and encouraging like his own brother. All Arnav did was scold. Scold, reprimand, admonish. He was hard on him, pushing him do things that Akash never dreamt of. It was he who had molded his muddled thoughts, giving them clarity. It was he who had made him realize his love for interior designing and architecture. It was he who had made him fall in love with a subject he thought he hated the most.

 

 

Every challenge Arnav threw in his way slowly helped him understand himself, but never before he had realized this. Arnav's strictness was making him suffocated when he was a kid. He used to think he was a tyrant and just to prove him wrong, to make Arnav shove that dirty attitude up his good for nothing ass, Akash used to work extremely hard and win the challenge. When he would go and hold the book under Arnav's nose with a sheer victorious smirk on his face, Arnav would just nod and say, so you got that right?!, in an airy tone and walk away, leaving Akash flustered and angry.

 

Akash was steadily climbing the ladder of success. His performance was appreciated greatly and everyone started adoring him and his smartness. A dull head, scrawny, bespectacled kid suddenly had become a genius. That was when Akash started perceiving Arnav's cold behavior towards him in a very different light. While everyone consoled him for his failures and encouraged him to do better next time in just mere words, Arnav's hard actions had unconsciously made Akash feel better about himself. The bitterness Akash had for his older brother had been instantly replaced by an unbound respect and pure brotherly affection which, Akash was sure, Arnav reciprocated, not by words but by eyes. Akash would go to any lengths just to see that rare twinkle of affection and love in those gorgeous deep chocolate orbs, and a smile that only his eyes were capable of conveying.

 

Thinking hard about how to go on, Akash was sketching rough sketches when his phone rang, cutting through this concentration and annoying him. Clicking his tongue, he picked up his phone, "Akash Raizada."

 

"Akash..." his brother's deep baritone made him smile while his irritation vanished, "bhai! What a pleasant surprise!" he exclaimed excitedly, "how have you been?"

"I am fine," a no nonsense reply, "how are things at your end?"

"I am good bhai!" he said and was about to ask a question when Arnav's voice interrupted, "how is the design coming up? When can I expect to see?"

"In another week, bhai..." he muttered, "almost done..."

"Yes bhai...precise." He smiled at the OCD* his brother had.

 

"Bhai, when are you coming ba..." a dead tone of the phone told Akash his brother was off the line. Sighing, he picked up his pencil and got back to work again. Coaxing answers out of his brother was just impossible!

 

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Payal hurried across the street, fidgeting with her purse, as she adjusted her hair and calmed herself down before she entered the caf, craning her neck to see where her boy friend was seated. A small smile crept on her face as she saw the familiar jet black hair, lightly gelled and neatly centre parted came into her view and she walked down to the table.

 

"Hey," she muttered in a sickly sweet voice and bent down to kiss his cheeks as he looked up at her grinned cheekily.

 

"Sweetheart, how are you?" Shyaam winked at her before lightly kissing her wrist, making her blush profusely like a hormone imbalanced teenager.

 

"I am good\..." she smiled back at him, settling down opposite to him on brown ruffle chair and gulping down some water.

 

"How did the rehearsals go?" bless him, he is so genuinely caring about me, thought Payal before smiling and assuring that all went well.

 

"By the way, how is that movie prospect going on?" Payal quizzed him, eager to know if she was going to make it to the silver screen any time soon, "are they interested in me?"

"Payal...sweets," Shyaam was careful to chose his words maintaining his love sick boy friend image up to the T, "they are still considering it...they are still not impressed by your portfolio. In their opinion, it is just too bland. They are looking up for some hot, sizzling stuff."

 

Payal contemplated. She knew the amount of sacrifice she had to make in order to thrive in the entertainment industry. Shyaam knew this as well, for he was the one who had convinced Payal to set foot in the entertainment industry from the modeling world. Though Payal's pictures were anything but decent, this lecherous man was not satisfied, he wanted more, more exposure and more scandal.

 

"But Shyaam, it is going to be very difficult for me to shoot," whispered Payal, a tad too nervously, fidgeting the lining of her purse and struggling to find her voice, "you know the situation at my place..."

Shyaam got up from his chair, pulled it next to payal and held her hand, "Payal, I know what you are undergoing. But to be famous, some amount of sacrifice has to be done...you know how this industry functions right?"

 

Payal gulped hard and nodded, "so what do you want me to do?"

"Come over to my place," he offered very innocently. Payal looked up startled. Shyaam knowing that he had uttered very offensive thing in her eyes, immediately launched into damage control, "I meant to say that I have a very professional camera and apt settings as I am a fashion photographer myself and knowing it was I who has taken your previous pictures, hardly this is any alarming fact." Payal turned beet red when she realized that she had panicked without any reason. She held his hand tenderly and muttered, "What would I do without you Shyaam?"

"Ah, my sweet, that's the same question my heart has been plagued with," smiling crookedly he kissed her hair.

 

Ruffling his hair and kissing him on the cheek, Payal bid him goodbye and left the cafe thinking how lucky was she to have a caring boyfriend she had.

 

Little did she know how very wrong she was...

 

For he sat there smiling a cruel, manipulating smile, as he watched her retreating back. "You are just a pawn, Payal...my destination is something else and your naivety is going to be my biggest asset," he whispered menacingly as his eyes clouded over some distant dream, a dream that had been elusive to him till now but not any more...that day was very much near, very much near his grasp, that day when his dream finally came true...

 

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Garima kept the receiver of the 80's deep green model uncle brown jack phone with more force than required and sauntered back to the living room, her face mirroring her disappointment at the caller who she had talked to moments ago.

 

The elderly woman in a brown saree and heavy mahogany brown spectacles eyed her suspiciously and hollered in a Lucknow Hindi accent, "kaun tha, Garima?"

"Khushi..." she answered looking at her sister in law, "kal ghar aawat hai..." in a tone of contempt.

 

"Hay re Nandakisore!" Madhumati blurted out, "kyun hamari musibat aur bhadawat ho prabhu?"

 

Garima, frustrated, kept a hand on her forehead and sank down on the sofa, next to her sister in law, who was still busy asking her invisible god on why he was being so hard on them. The arrival of that girl in their house was sure to spread the fire of hate and detestation. She was unsure whether, this time, she would be able to handle everything. Last time, when Khushi came back 4 years ago, the atmosphere in Gupta house was nothing less than a war of Kurukshetra. Woe beholds what bad luck would that girl bring home this time.

 

Payal walked in to find her mother and aunt sitting as though the sky had fallen on them. She frowned and asked, "Kya hua mom?"

 

Garima jumped as though she received an electric shock when she saw her daughter standing near the door way, looking annoyed. She fumbled, "woh...payaliya..."

"Oh, stop it mom!" she groaned, "batao kya hua hai?"

"Wooh ladki ayi rahi hai!" Madhumati spat out, "Khusi!"

Payal stared at her family in horror. WHAT! "Why the hell is she coming?"

"Humka ka pata hai..." Garima replied, "phone kiye rahi batane keliye ki kal aawat hai!"

 

Tomorrow! Effin tomorrow! SHIT! "Mom, aap usse bata kyun nahi dete ki nahi aasakti woh!" Payal was extremely pissed. That woman, Khushi, was loud, nosy, obnoxious and highly irritating. All those times that she had the worst luck of spending time with that good for nothing cousin of hers, she hated her more, and not just hated, she detested her with all her heart.

 

"Kaise bataye?" Garima was tied up with the burden of family relations. Her husband would swell in pride when he would come to know that his Khushi was to come. For Shashi, she was nothing less than a daughter. He never differentiated between his own daughters and Khushi. But what he essentially and more importantly, conveniently failed to see was his family had disliked her and continued to do so...

 

Payal held up her hands in frustration and yelled, "Great! Just f**king great!"

 

The whole stay of Khushi at the Guptas was going to be one hell of a long and not to mention, a downright miserable one. But clearly, they were wrong.

 

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Arnav, now, was a man controlling his emotions, keeping them at bay. A small talk with Akash had helped him to come out of his personal hell, helping him revert back to his old strong, determined and ruthless self. He being the highly practical self that he was chose to forget the emotional breakdown he had suffered moments ago. The black hole was strong but not forceful enough to drown him inside it, compelling him to rot. No it just couldn't! for there was another force which was equal and opposite to it, tugging at him, rescuing him from devastating, cocooning him in its blankets of love and affection. That force would never leave him, never leave him alone.

 

 

Throwing all the clothes that was left out into his suitcase, he asked his servant to take it to the car. His private jet had incurred some problem in the engine and he was forced to board a normal flight back to Delhi. But it wasn't bothering him.

 

His aviators back in place, he strode out of his penthouse to his car and took off to John F. Kennedy airport. India here I come, home...not really!

 

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The night had ebbed away, giving rise to new, hopeful dawn for Khushi. More than just glad to be out of this city, into the welcoming arms of her home soil, Khushi literally flew around packing and in just minutes, had checked out of the hotel. With a smile of freedom and peace, she got into the taxi, silently watching and disliking the towering mass of ugly cement and glass, reached the airport.

 

The journey though uneventful had replenished the lost interest in Khushi who was now super excited and extremely crazy. Checking her watch, she realized there was lots of time to check in and hence decided to play with stray trolley that was left unattended near the departure entrance.

 

Keeping her luggage near the security guard and asking him to keep an eye on it, Khushi ran to the trolley and started sliding it across the floor, making squeaking noises and making heads turn. The passersby were laughing at her crazy antics while Khushi was completely oblivious to the entire happenings while she was happily busy with turning the trolley here and there.

 

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Arnav unloaded his suitcase onto a trolley and wheeled it towards the entrance. He was so lost in the checking his itinerary that he didn't notice a flash of red coming and colliding with his trolley and the impact was so huge that both crashed to the floor while the suitcase flew out from the trolley and fell on the floor with a thud.

 

Sprawled on the ground, Arnav, who was extremely agitated and annoyed, looked up to see the same irritating face of the girl whom he had encountered the previous night near Starbucks. She was staring at him, her face revealing that she was trying very hard not to burst out laughing at this posh looking item spread on the ground, his Armani pants having flecks of dirt and his sunglasses askew. The passersby took pity on the man and rushed to help him get up.

 

Arnav never felt so degraded in his life. He angrily brushed up the dirt off his expensive three piece suit while waving off the people who came to help him.

 

"Are you crazy?" he burst out, "are you a bloody kid of 5? Why the hell are you playing with that goddamned trolley?"

"I am so sorry..." Khushi apologized, "I really am. I didn't see you coming."

"I guess, you are blind!" he seethed, "its broad daylight and you don't see a man coming right in front of you? Idiotic woman!"

"Excuse me?" she had narrowed her eyes in annoyance, "I apologized...there is no need insult! Learn how to speak to women."

"So you are going to teach me how I am supposed to behave," Arnav roared, liking this girl less and less every passing second, "who the hell are you?"

"I seriously don't think that a rude pig like you should be explained about who I am!" she hissed, her hands knotted, preventing from taking down the man in front of her by force, "and even if I explain, you wouldn't understand coz the brain of yours stop working when you are in anger."

 

Arnav caught her by her shoulder, "shut up!"

"No!" she struggled to get free from the clutches of the monstrous looking man, "Behave yourself!"

"I won't!" he whispered dangerously, "what are you going to do?"

"I will scream bloody murder!" she warned to which she saw a slight smirk on his face which just vanished faster than it had appeared, "I am warning you...I will really do it!"

"Go on..." he hissed, "SHOUT!"

 

His deep, husky baritone momentarily cast a spell of Khushi, who was gawking like an idiot at the command of the man standing in front of her, holding her as though only he had the right on her. She didn't seem to process anything further. She fumbled nervously, "I...I will..."

 

He smirked and let go of her. Khushi stumbled, watching him pick his suitcase up and walk the entrance leading the VIP hallway, but her curiosity took over and she yelled, "are you sure your eyes have got no problem? You don't seem to be willing to part with those sunglasses of yours..." she smiled wickedly.

 

Arnav turned around and yelled, "It's my wish! Who the hell are you to ask?"

"Nobody..." she scowled at the attitude of him, "I was just curious..."

"Exactly, nobody..." he replied scathingly, "stay as one, because I don't give a damn if you exist or not...for all I care, you could be another gold digger! Women will be women!"

 

Khushi was furious and she started to yell "Excuse me," when the stranger turned around and walked away briskly, leaving no room for another conversation and Khushi had to shut her mouth lest she should create another scene. She went to the guard, collected her suitcase, gave him a rueful smile and walked into the departures.