Chapter 14

Chapter 14: A New Beginning

He had expected that meeting Khushi will give him some peace of mind but Arnav was even more restless than before. The look of pure hatred that she had given him would haunt him till the end of time.

Until today he only knew that he'd hurt her but now that he had seen the extent of the damage he had done, he knew one thing for sure. He would never be able to forgive himself' not if he died a thousand painful deaths... He hated himself. And her words were like red hot knives being twisted in his heart. What had he done! He was a rapist. So what if he hadn't executed the horrible act. He did not deserve to be forgiven. He deserved punishment. He sank down on his knees next to his bed & curled into a ball on the floor, tears flowing from his eyes.

~~~~~~

She had expected that meeting ASR would destroy her again but she felt oddly at peace. Maybe because she had finally been able to vent out all that her heart was screaming for over a month & that too, to the man who had wronged her. Forgive & forget wasn't something that she would be able to manage in this situation, but there was a feeling of calm that she hadn't felt for days.

She lied down on her bed & instantly fell asleep. For the first time in over a month Khushi slept peacefully & dreamlessly.

~~~~~~

Next day Babuji walked in to Khushi's room to find her already up & ready.

"Good morning sweetheart." Babuji smiled as he sat next to her.

Khushi smiled at him while snuggling into him.

"So did you enjoy at the wedding?" He asked.

"Yes Babuji, I'm so happy for Karan & Pari." Khushi replied.

"Well bitiya, I wanted to talk to you about something." Babuji said a bit unsure.

"What is it?" She asked curiously.

"I was wondering, what do you plan to do next?" Babuji asked her.

"I haven't decided yet. But I guess I'll start looking for a job again." Khushi replied.

"No Khushi, I don't want you to do that." He said.

Khushi looked up to him, "but Babuji I must work. Otherwise how will we..."

"No dear" Babuji interrupted her, "and that's what I've come to talk to you about."

Khushi looked puzzled.

"I know Khushi you had to work earlier due to my illness. I was in no position to run the sweet shop & we had to temporarily close it down. But now I've fully recovered & the shop is doing well too. So you don't really have to work. Though I won't stop you if that's what you want but there's no rush. Besides I would be much happier if you pursued that 6 month fashion designing add-on course that you were so keen about." He said smiling at her.

Khushi couldn't believe it. She had been very excited about the course and had almost enrolled herself last year when her Babuji had had a heart attack & she had to start looking for a job.

"Thank you Babuji. I would certainly prefer to take up the course if that's Ok with you." She said hugging him.

"Absolutely" He hugged her back.

~~~~~~

Khushi got herself enrolled for the course & completely dedicated herself to her studies. Fashion designing was her passion. It was one of the reasons she had chosen to work at AR Group too. She had hoped to learn all the technicalities of the business. But fate had other plans there.

She still had those terrifying nightmare's but not as frequent as the previous times and even if she did wake up scared, she didn't scream.

At the end of 6 months Khushi was one of the top 3 students of her class & completed the course with flying colours. It was now the real world for her where she could fulfill her dreams.

Khushi decided to just chill out at home for a week before she started looking for jobs. But just two days later she got a call that changed every thing.

"Hello, Am I speaking to Miss Khushi Kumari Gupta?" A sweet female voice asked.

"Yes" Khushi answered.

"Good Morning Miss Gupta. My name is Zara & I'm calling from RC Creations. We got your information from your Fashion Institute. One of our Directors would like to meet you regarding your designs. Would you be interested?"

Khushi's mind was galloping on fast track. RC Creations was one of the top fashion houses in Delhi. "Of course I would be interested." She replied instantly.

"Excellent, the meeting shall take place tomorrow. I will be e-mailing you the time and address for the place of the meeting in a short while. Do get your profile along with you."

Khushi confirmed Zara had the right email ID, thanked her & ended the call. She was extremely pleased to get her first job offer from a large fashion house like RC Creations.

Half an hour later she checked her mail & surely there was a mail indicating that she would be meeting Mr. Rohan Chaudhry at 2 PM the next day.

~~~~~~

Khushi was tremendously nervous as she was ushered in to the plush, tastefully decorated office of Mr. Chaudhry. Going by the fact that Rohan Chaudhry was one of the directors of RC Creations, Khushi expected to meet at least a middle aged man but she was shocked to see a 24 year old guy wearing blue jeans , white T-shirt & a leather jacket.

Khushi stared at him for a moment. He was very handsome & had honest looking black eyes. He looked up as she entered & smiled a very pleasing smile. It was infectious, Khushi couldn't help but smile back, all her nervousness gone out the window.

"Khushi right?" He asked as he held out his hand to her.

"Yes." She said shaking his hand.

"Please sit down." He said, "Oh I hope you don't mind me calling you by your name. It's so much easier than Miss Gupta." He said, "You can call me Rohan if you like but for heavens sake don't call me 'Sir'. It makes me feel 20 years older." He smiled.

"Of course you can call me by my name, thanks Rohan." She smiled back.

"Great now Khushi, I've taken the liberty to order coffee and a few snacks for the two of us. Hope you don't mind. This meeting might take a nasty long time & long meetings make me hungry." He admitted sheepishly.

"Of course I don't mind Rohan." She replied, "But meeting? I thought this was an interview."

"Oh no, I'm not offering you a job." He said matter of factly. "Didn't Zara tell you? I wanted to meet you regarding your designs."

"Oh?" Khushi was thoroughly confused.

"Okay... Let me explain." He said settling deeper into his chair, "This is not a job opportunity, this is a business opportunity. RC Creations belongs to my father Ram Chaudhry. Very recently I have joined this office. But my Dad wants me to prove myself. He has asked me to single handedly start a new venture and run it."

"Alright, but where do I come into picture?" Khushi asked.

"Ah Yes!" He exclaimed, "Now I have many contacts in your fashion institute & that's how I came across your designs that you had created for your various projects. What I was planning is to start a Designer studio 'Emerald' with wedding theme. I've seen your designs & you seem to have a fine talent in bride and groom clothing. Your designs are fresh, innovative and yet haven't lost the traditional touch." He explained, "What I'm planning is that you work with me on this project as my partner. You do all the creative part of designing & creating while I'll do the financing & bring in business and we share the profit. What say? Are you interested?"

Khushi was quite taken aback. This was like a fairy tale & Rohan was like a prince, who had come to realise all her dreams. She had always wanted her design studio but she had always taken for granted that she would have to slog for years before she could make that happen. But here she was barely beginning her life & she was getting an opportunity of a lifetime.

"Umm... Rohan? I have a question here." She hesitated.

"Shoot!" He said leaning back against his chair.

"Now your father has given you such a huge opportunity... Why do you want to work with a fresher like me? Your name is big enough that any well known designer in Delhi would jump at the chance of working with you..." She trailed off.

"Exactly!" He pointed his index finger at her, "and that's what my Dad doesn't want. He wants me to do something on my own. I have to show him my worth and what I'm capable of. If I hire a well known designer of course I'll succeed but then what did I do? The studio will be a success, thanks to the designers reputation not my hardwork. So I will be working with all new names. I've almost recruited every one about a month ago except for my head designer who would also be my partner. That's when I came across your designs & I knew that my search was over." He smiled at her.

"How many partners are there in all?" She asked.

"Oh mainly 'Emerald Design Studio' will be a brand of RC Creations but essentially Only the two of us will be partners & will have all the rights for making any decisions. Apart from that I have recruited a Manager for the Store and a few assistants for you and an accountant." He replied.

"Why does the head designer have to be your partner? Khushi enquired.

"Don't ask? It's an RC Creations policy. Since RC Creations is the parent company we have to follow some of its root policies. My Dad insisted that the head designer be my partner, so that's what I'm doing." He answered simply. "So... What do you think?"

Perfect, she wanted to say, "I think I'd love to work with you Rohan." She smiled at him.

"Awesome!" He exclaimed punching the air. "All right let's get into the finer points then."

Khushi was glad that Rohan was a foodie too because as promised the meeting did take a nasty long time. And four hours, several mugs of coffees & lots of snacks later the meeting finally ended.

"Mind-blowing." Rohan said finally, letting out a deep breath. "This turned out better than I thought. We'll make a great team Khushi. We start next Monday so you still get your week off before we start working." He winked at her.

Khushi gasped in shock, "How did you know, I was taking a week off?"

"You thought I'll not do some back ground check on my head designer?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Khushi smiled at that, "So what more did you find out in your background check?" She asked.

"Hmmm... Well you make yummy Jalebis which I'm surely looking forward to taste real soon... And yes you've worked for AR Group for 6 months right?" he asked.

Terror shot through her for a moment but she controlled herself. Still she had an uncomfortable expression on her face which didn't go unnoticed by Rohan.

"Any issues?" He asked.

"Rohan, Now that we are to work together I'd like to request one thing. I don't like to talk about my time in AR. There were some... problems due to which I resigned but they are too personal for me to discuss." She said not meeting his eyes.

"Certainly Khushi, if it disturbs you so much, I won't mention it again." He said seriously. "I'm not concerned with what might've happened in the past."

"Thanks for understanding." She said giving him a small smile.

"Anytime..." he grinned widely.

"Alright, I'll take your leave then." She said standing up.

"Sure, be here at 10 AM sharp on Monday. I'll get our partnership papers made for us to sign and then I'll take you to the design studio where you'll get to meet your new employees and see your new office."

"Sure thing..." She said & took his leave.

~~~~~~

Khushi went straight to the Mandir to thank Devi Maiya for such a huge opportunity. If every thing went well, she would be a big name very soon. That was it... the turning point in her life. She was finally moving ahead leaving behind the bitter memories of the past...

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