Chapter 29

 

He had zoned out, completely. He wouldn't know even if a meteorite fell onto the earth and wiped out everything because his mind was floating somewhere else, in the past, thinking about all the things that had happened from the moment Arnav had carried an insentient Anjali into RM. It was a fight unlike no other, that had brought out some pretty nasty, bang on truths about his family out into the open and it had made him realize that may be he wasn't the third wheel after all. There was someone behind him, looking after him, taking pain to notice even the minute details of his life. Only, he wasn't vocal about it.

 

Akash sat in the front row, geared up to cheer his brother for his biggest show but his mind wasn't in it. He couldn't really concentrate on the proceedings and let his mind reel back into the clash that was no less than a full blown battle between the two most level headed individuals of his family and in a certain way, nemesis of each other. Arnav and Vinay were two contrasting individuals in every aspect of defining dichotomy and they didn't back down from expressing their views. But the striking factor of the fight was the people who had chosen different sides. While NK, Lavanya, Anjali Di and him-self were backing Arnav, the rest were behind Vinay, profusely defending them-selves against every truth NK was so kind enough to point out.

                                                                                                                                                                                              

Akash couldn't really fathom how his cousin knew more about Arnav than anybody in the family but the camaraderie they shared and the amount of trust they both for each other was evident in the way NK was fighting. For every shard of painful remark from his own brother, NK had an equally powerful retort against him. Moreover, NK had the power of truth siding him and he was right in every aspect when he shouted how tunnelled the whole family was for the sake of Anjali that they refused to see anything past her.

This comment, rather a painful truth had hit the bull's eye and Vinay had no comeback against it. Not even his father or mother or the ever powerful wisdom grandmother had anything to say in this regard. Their silence had explained the profundity of the blunders they had committed. It was the biting reality of the Raizada Household and the reason why Anjali still found it almost impossible to emotionally shield her-self or brave to do anything on her own. Because she had never been given that chance. Someone or the other was always behind her, ready to take any load that came crashing down on her, relieving her of the suffering in turn making her grow weak day by day. That suffocation of being unable to do anything had reached its zenith the previous night and Anjali had collapsed, powerless against the onslaught of poignant riots.

 

Akash turned around to see Anjali sitting next to him, silent yet determined to support her brother in the biggest event of his life. She had made up her mind and refused to give into any more emotional blackmailing of her husband and her family and accompanied Akash to the fashion show despite her fatigue. She had realized the err made by her kin to protect her against all evil and the effects it had on the rest of her neglected siblings and was resolute to never repeat the same with her eternally scarred brother. Akash could see that unflinching love and pride for her Chhote in her eyes as his creations were displayed to the world by the dazzling models. Akash was almost hoping that he had extra pairs of eyes to take in the splendor weaved by his bro. Its exquisiteness was indescribable and Akash soon found himself losing in its sheer magnificence.

 

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World seemed very cold to Vinay as he stood staring outside the window of his room. Anjali had walked out of it a while ago, not giving into his requests anymore. She had tears of disappointment flowing from her eyes relentlessly as she looked at him. It had pummeled him into the lowest place in the world. He was very wrong with Anjali. Very, very wrong.

 

In that desperate fear of losing her, Vinay had gone overboard in his protectiveness for her which sapped her individuality and confidence bit by bit until she couldn't bear to lose it anymore and collapsed, unconscious, yearning for that freedom to fly, to run, to do whatever the hell her heart told her to. Anjali had sacrificed everything for him and what had he done, shattered the whole life of someone who was responsible for all that happiness back in her life. Arnav.

 

What Arnav had yelled at him with utmost contempt in his voice was true to the word. His heart had been speared with bloodstained arrows of hurt, loathing and above all, painful unacceptable truth.

 

Arnav's words had hit him like red hot rods, pulling him under the huge tide of mortification and ultimate shame. Being the elder brother, he didn't even know what was Akash's favorite colour, his favorite food, his choicest movies. He was so concentrating in paying such vivid attention to Anjali that everything else hazed out. The one who had no blood relation with Akash knew more about him than he himself did which was the finest example of being a high class douche.

 

He owed a huge apology to his little brother who had suffered enough. But Akash was royally ignoring him not bothering to receive his calls which he didn't blame. Akash had earned the right to be a jerk with him. After all, Vinay had given him that opportunity himself, hadn't he. No point in moping now!

 

He felt ashamed of himself and the only thing that was on his mind right now was beg for forgiveness from everybody he had ignored in his blind concern and love for Anjali and he had to make it up to her by letting her free...

 

He didn't have any choice but he had to take that last step...

 

Which he would die rather than do it...

 

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Tears of desperation and humiliation never seemed to desert Lavanya as she sat in a dark corner, being a loyal audience to Arnav's fashion event. She had taken her refuge away from her cousins and her brother as she couldn't look into their eyes without seeing that expression of sympathy in them. Not for Arnav, but for her. Pity that she was unable to understand him. Pity that she never decoded the enigma that was Arnav Singh Raizada and learned to look beyond his mask of perpetual annoyance to get acquainted with a heart of gold that beat for others' happiness and well being. How could she have missed it, Lavanya had no answer.

 

The previous day was an ordeal for her. In a span of few hours her whole world had turned upside down. It was always convenient to blame Arnav and his aloofness for her heartbreak. He was there and she had found someone to put the burden of her failed endeavors and never stopped to consider the fact that he had never asked for it. He was there for her, his friendship was priceless but it was her mistake to miscalculate his affection for love and dump every hard feeling on him when he was already buried under a ton of debris of his past, unable to extricate him-self out of the pit of self inflicted misery. She had lost him when she gave a name to her infatuation as love and forced him to accept her as a part of his heart. What she didn't know was he had already lost that part to someone else. Someone who wasn't there physically but very much present in the deepest corners of his subconscious, etched permanently in his heart.

 

It had pulled the rug beneath her feet to discover the real reason for his rudeness towards her and the depth of his loyalty and adoration towards that one individual who was vastly responsible for making his life golden during his childhood and for crafting his unwavering character. The power of that innocence was so potent that it had left its vestiges of emotional connect embellished in his heart forever. That was love, pure, untainted and genuine. Compared to that, whatever she had felt for Arnav was impotent, nave and juvenile. As she rubbed her tears vigorously, NK's words rang in her mind, giving her a clearer perspective of her own emotions and feelings she had felt for the person she had not so long ago met.

 

In that moment of truth, Lavanya knew that her deference for Arnav had reached its pinnacle. He had proved to be a beacon of light for her and she resolved to make his sacrifice termed precious and value it until she breathed her last. She promised herself that she would stop wallowing and step up to the challenge of crafting her life in a different light and make sure that she achieved whatever Arnav had hoped that she would. She rubbed the vestiges of salt water on her cheeks and cheered for her friend who had created another benchmark for himself.

 

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NK's shouts were the loudest among the audience and caused quite a bit of ruckus in the front rows. But no one from the volunteers or security could do anything to him as he was a private invitee of the chief designer of the show and the managing director, Arnav Singh Raizada.

 

Arnav was watching the clips from the back room and couldn't help but chuckle at the exuberance NK was displaying for him. He could see him cheering loudly at every outfit that was displayed and he could also see the discomfort of people around him. But Arnav had no heart to go and stop NK from being enthusiastic about his show. NK's zeal gave him a new sense of excitement that had dipped because of the absence of Sister Avantika.

 

Arnav didn't expect her to be there. He had only hoped but he had already known the answer. Sr. Avantika seldom attended any event that wasn't in the name of God and her presence in a highly social fashion event would be preposterous. But secretly, with all his heart Arnav had hoped she would arrive not as a Sister but as a mother. He was disappointed.

 

However, on the bright side several improvements had taken place before the show began and the best moment was when Lavanya literally ran to him and enveloped him in a huge hug that conveyed everything that he needed to know- she was happy for him. She was finally in a happy place and didn't blame him the slightest anymore for anything that might have been misinterpreted and she was back with a bang as the third musketeer. Arnav couldn't have asked for more. It was monumental relief to see his best friend back as a friend in his life. He needed that support very badly.

 

Secondly, Akash had stopped his self pity and assured him that he was going to go ahead and do everything he could to get his girl. Arnav had broken the ice for him by revealing who NK really loved and what Diya actually meant for him. It was another form of relationship that he and Lavanya shared and NK was pretty sure that Diya wasn't in love with him unlike Lavanya.

 

Anjali was ultimately out of the box and the true Raizada nature was beaming in her. She finally had decided to break her faade and face the real world like a true woman instead of lurking behind the shadow of her husband. Vinay too had realized that he had been wrong with Anjali and accepted that she had to do her stuff on her own. Whatever that brought out, Arnav still hadn't forgiven him for ruining his life. That would take a really long time and neither did Arnav want to actually bury the hatchet with him. 

 

All is well that ends well, he thought and fetched a candle to make a wish and cut the cake on behalf of his sweetheart, who if alive, would have turned glorious 25 years today. He was ready to give anything in the world to have that time back with her. He could almost picture her innocent, dazzling smile while she closed her eyes to make a wish. A wish that always had him in the centre.

 

It was dream that was left a dream...

 

Tears made its way down as he blew the candle and asked for an impossible wish for a miracle and his Chippu being alive. Arnav knew that it was too farfetched but couldn't help himself from not wishing. If only he knew that his Chippu was alive, not too far from where he was, silently remembering her own birthday and the way her Rinnie celebrated it every year.

 

They were very close yet very, very far...

 

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 Chris stared at Khushi who was sitting cross legged on the seat, looking absolutely bored. He silently chuckled looking at her predicament. Khushi hated social events and top of that this was a full blown fashion show which Diya had dragged her into coming. Ms. Dynamite knew how to go up the wall when it came to her nature loving society hating harebrained sister. Diya was sitting on the other side of him, crossing her fingers and praying fervently for the designer bloke to come out on the stage.

 

Whoever it was, Chris had already realized he was just amazing. His talent oozed out in the form of his designs and one upon another, each and every design was mind blowing. The theme was Indian, soft and traditional with loud colours to describe the conventional Indian mentality yet, every single fabric had its own essence wafting. The event was huge and the venue, it blew his breath away.

 

But his concentration in the show was dipping. It was as though he was ADHD, his brain wired only for science, math, complex equations and research. Fashion and every other thing other than science were like Greek and Latin to him. Completely on a different tangent. Damn it! 

 

Yet, there was something that intrigued him. Khushi's face spoke boredom while her eyes, her eyes were speaking something else. He started to see the pattern now. She was fidgeting around in her seat, but her eyes, her eyes had never left the show. She was concentrating on it like she was a designer herself and those fabrics, the colours spoke to her. As far as Chris knew, Khushi was a hardcore scientist. Her brain was as messy as his and booted only to understand science. Then why the hell was she staring at the designs. It spooked him to no end. Could it because it reminded her of that person, Rinnie?

 

Chris couldn't get to an answer. His vision tunnelled as someone came into his view. His coffee buddy and the woman who confused him, Lavanya.

 

He silently got up and approached Lavanya who was trying to escape out to the lawn. Her face was hilarious. Like she was trying to flee from a very annoying shadow. He went behind her and whispered, "Trying to run?"

 

She shrieked and dropped her purse, extremely startled. Her eyes were wide with an unknown fear and it almost took a few moments for her recognise him, "Damn you, dude! You scared the hell out of me," she whispered, clutching her dress.

 

"Funny I ran into you here," Chris laughed, "How are you? What are you doing here?"

"Oh this is my friend's show," she replied while she caught his hand and dragged him to an isolated corner near the pool, "and I work for AR. I am a designer."

"That's amazing!" Chris exclaimed, "Do you know the dude who's the designer?"

"Yeah," Lavanya eyed him weirdly, "I just told you he's my friend. Why?"

"Oh my friend is a crazy fan of his," he smiled, "She's always gushing about him. She's sitting there, crossing her fingers so that he'll come out."

"Really? Then I should meet her and tell her to not waste her breath," Lavanya smirked, "He won't come out. He's the shadow guy. Always stays in the backstage, does everything for a show to become success but doesn't come out to celebrate you know."

"That's odd," Chris muttered, "I mean why would put in so much of hard work and then not bother to celebrate the success?"

"Yeah, he's like that," Lavanya smiled, "By the way, who's this friend of yours?"

"Oh she's sitting there," Chris pointed and shouted, "Dynamite!"

 

  Lavanya waited for some random fan girl to come out but was pleasantly shocked and surprised to see Diya coming out, insanely waving at her. In a flash, she had hugged her fiercely, shouting her name while Chris was standing with his mouth open, scratching his head, "You two know each other?"

"She's my long time friend and sister of my classmate," Diya gushed excitedly, "Thanks to her we have got such awesome tickets. By the way, I met NK yesterday!"

"I know!" Lavanya smiled, "It was a surprise to me as well. By the way, how do you know each other?"

"Oh, McKinley is Khushi Di's best friend and co-worker. He's here for a project with her," Diya smiled. "Wait Khushi Di's here. I'll call her," and she ran away to get her sister.

"So you are Khushi's friend," Lavanya smiled, "interesting."

"Yeah the world is small!" Chris laughed and they proceeded to where Khushi was sitting only to discover a note in Diya's hand which just said, "I am going home. Call you later."

"Why did she leave?" Chris wondered while Diya was looking crestfallen. Chris felt sorry for her. Diya was very excited that her sister was accompanying her to this show where she would make her see the man whom she had a hopeless crush on. But looked like Khushi had zoned out, uninterested to see anything. In that very moment, Arnav Singh Raizada come out on to the stage, causing an uproar and visibly shocking the audience and took a bow, accepting the appreciation and adoration people had showered him with these many years. Next to him, Lavanya looked stunned while Diya, forgetting her sister's absence, jumped up and down like a maniac, cheering for him.