Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Delhi, the capital of India is a proud city. It has the parliament and various international embassies. The ministers have their bungalows and the rich their mansions. One of those huge mansions belonged to the Raizadas. Ajay Singh Raizada, a well-known businessman, rules the vast Raizada Empire. He started as a mere small-time explorer of clothes and fabrics. And from there began his amazing journey that was destined to reach AR Designs, his most successful venture, a world-renowned fashion house that was known for its cutting-edge designs and quality.

What others called Raizada Mansion, was his home, his Shantivan. Even though he had reached great heights of success, he was as humble and grounded as ever. Maybe that is the tehzeeb that Lucknowi's prided themselves in. He lived with his fun loving mother who never behaved her age and kept the mood in their house as lively as ever. He loved, adored and respected his beautiful wife Ananya, who was a mere housewife to the world, but she meant the world to him. He credited her for standing by him through his poverty and difficult times and raising his children with as much harshness as love. She inculcated all the right values in them, which had flowed down in the Raizada legacy. He doted on his younger daughter Anjali who was completing her course in commercial arts to pursue a career in advertising. And he loved and was proud of his son Arnav Singh Raizada, who had just returned from Harvard a few months ago and had taken over the responsibility of AR Designs completely. Ajay was now a relieved father, soon to enjoy his retirement with his lovely wife.

The Delhi traffic could really drive you crazy sometimes. The hot scorching sun, the chaotic honking and hordes of restless travellers could be seen around a red Ferrari. But Arnav was in a good mood today, grooving to his favorite number, humming the lyrics, he sat in his car tapping at the steering wheel. Life had been awesome for him in the past few years. His two years' experience at Harvard had been brilliant. He had learnt a lot in business management, about international standards in design and technology and a few new tricks about fashion to take his dad's empire a few notches higher. He knew there were a lot of expectations from him; it wasn't easy being a successful businessman's son to shoulder the whole Raizada Empire. But he had taken up the challenge, and in a few months of returning from the States he had taken complete charge of AR Designs. He knew it was his dad's baby, but he had grown up dreaming to handle it one day. And he was now. In these past 2-3 months he had signed a few big deals and managed to launch new 2 clotheslines. Life was good, and it couldn't get better, or so he thought.

As the traffic slowly started moving, he thought about his last few years of fun and friends. He had made a large number of friends at university, being an extrovert it came to him naturally. And his romantic life had been great too, dating a few girls on and off. But never ever had he fallen in love. He had always been fascinated with the idea of it. He had seen his mother and father since childhood, so madly in love with each other. How was that feeling, he wondered? He had tried to feel it for a few girls, but had known this can't be it. There was this unknown sparkle missing in his own eyes when he looked at his girlfriend's then. He had always seen that sparkle in his dad's eyes when looking at his mother. It may sound weird, but the heir to Raizada Empire, a 24 year old entrepreneur, one of the most eligible bachelors had never fallen in love.

Today was a day dedicated to his mom. His beloved mother whom he loved and admired immensely. She was his strength and weakness both. He could do absolutely anything for her. And he was not at all ashamed of being called a mamma's boy by Anjie. His mom had requested him to take his morning off from AR and attend a function in old Delhi. She had promised those organizers that her son would attend it once he is back from the US. And as 'maa ka har hukum sar aankhopar', he was headed towards the given address. As he turned right to a narrower lane from the highway he found a slight jam. People had come out of their vehicles and trying to look ahead what was exactly causing the jam. He sat patiently for a few minutes humming to the tunes of 'Scream' by Usher.

The sun was really glaring in his eyes and he was getting a little late to reach the function. The most important thing that he had learnt from his dad was punctuality. So anything that would make him a little delayed got him pissed off. And at the moment he didn't know who to vent his frustration out on. The venue was close-by and he could reach there within 10 minutes but this unnecessary delay was annoying him a little. He checked his mails on the phone, replied quickly to a few. Messaged Aman, his assistant to take care of a few things, so once he was done with the function he would get back immediately into a few meetings. Even after 10 minutes when the traffic hadn't moved an inch Arnav got off his car and tried to look what the commotion was all about. He could see a crowd of people gathered and to have a better look he moved closer towards the commotion.

As he peered through the crowd he was surprised to see a small, frail girl yelling at a car driver. He tried to overhear the conversation but she was using too much 'Shudh Hindi', just like his mom and nani did. And it had always been tough for him to understand. Of whatever he grasped, it was something about a broken headlight and reversing the car. He found it really silly to waste so much time over such a petty matter. He couldn't really see the girl. She had a helmet on and was facing the other side still screaming and arguing with the car owner. Was this girl really driving that scooter, he wondered? It looked like an old vespa, maybe her father's. She was wearing a white salwar khameez, giving her a very simple yet elegant feel. He didn't know why but he itched to see her face and started moving around the circle of the crowd. And as if she heard what he wanted she pulled off her helmet in one swift motion. And her beautiful, long, lustrous hair that had been hidden away from the world came cascading down.

He stood still, motionless. He saw her put a strand of hair behind her ear. That one simple movement stirred an unknown string of emotions in him. And he hadn't even seen her face yet. He did not have time to rationalize or think through what exactly was happening. She turned around flipping her hair in a beautiful swirl, to look at someone behind her. And his heart skipped a beat. She was an angel, in white, so beautiful, so pristine. Her fair complexion devoid of any makeup, he could not make out the colour of her eyes from this distance but he could bet they were hazel. She started speaking to someone and her lips moved in such a beautiful motion that he could feel his heart hammering in his masculine chest. Her slim yet full figure was adding to the chaos that was happening in his mind. His whole surroundings had gone blurred and mute. All he could see was her, this beautiful unknown angel. He saw her widen her eyes at something and he couldn't help the smile that formed around his lips at that small gesture. Those big hazel eyes had been the death of Arnav Singh Raizada.

As he saw her wear her helmet and get onto her scooter, he wondered how someone can do such an artless task so gracefully.And as the crowds dispersed, he just stood rooted at the spot, mesmerized by the vision he had just seen. A few honking horns got him out of his daydream and as he searched around for her, she had disappeared. She was gone. What the! Had he really seen someone? Had all this really happened, he wondered. Shaking his head in a dejected way he rushed back to his car to drive away. He was now already 20 minutes late. He drove quickly to the given address and parked his car. After getting into the car, he had not got a moments peace. Her long hair, her white clothes, her beautiful lips, her soulful eyes, he could never forget them. Real or fantasy, they were now imbibed in his memory, etched in his heart. As he entered the gardens of the venue with a smile on his lips only one thought struck his mind, something had shifted in his universe. He could feel, he wasn't the same man anymore.

I hope you'll enjoyed the chapter. Do like and comment! 😊

Note: Add me to your Buddy list if you want a PM for updates for my other stories.

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 2