Chapter 10:And what she saw there swept the ground beneath her.
The whole house was dark due to the closed windows and curtains. Few things were out of place, like broken glass pieces on the floor and the sofa cusions scattered here and there.
But what shoked Riya most was the man laying in front of her.
Arjun was laying on the floor with a photo frame near his chest. His wrists were cut, and blood was oozing from there and there was a minor injury on his head.
Riya rushed to him and tried to wake him up but he didn't respond. Then she splashed some water in his face and slowly he got conscious but was still a bit dizzy.
Riya without waiting any further lept onto him and started crying. The outburst of the morning and worry about Arjun was too much for her to handle. Her force resulted in there fall with Riya on top of Arjun.
Arjun who was bit confused about the happenings forgot every dilemma of his seeing Riya's state. He just held her tightly and patted her back consoling her.
Riya after a while gathered herself. And all the worry changed to fury which landed on Arjun. "Kaha the aap? Aur kya kar rahe the? Aapko maine kaha na ki kal raat ko jo bhi hua, uske baareme soch kar pareshan mat hoyie. Aur yeh bhi kaha tha aapka jo bhi faisla hoga mujhe manzoor hoga. Kya maine aapse kaha ki aap mujhe reject kar denge toh main apni jaan le lungi? Ya kisi aur tarike se aapko force kiya? Nahi na fir aap kyu itne pareshaan ho rahe hai? Aur yeh Kya aise zamein pe kyu lete the aur haath kyu kata hai?" Riya was very worried seeing his wrist.
While Arjun just glanced at his wrist. It appeared he himself didn't know his wrist was cut. Sighing deeply Arjun looked at Riya apologetically and said. " I'm sorry Riya. Kal raat jo bhi hua woh thik nahi tha. Tumhe samajna hoga Riya tum mere saath kabhi khush nahi reh sakti, khush choro shayad zinda hi nahi rahogi. Riya tum bohut achchi ho aur duniya ki saari khushiya deserve karti ho. Aur tumhe toh aisa husafar milna chahiye jo tumhe har khushi desake. Tumhara jaisa jeevan saathi kismaat waalo ko milta hai. Riya apni iss khubsurat life ko mere liye barbaad mat karo. Aur rahi baath mere haal ki. Toh bohut thakaan mehsus ho rahi thi. Sone ka man kar raha tha. Issiliye shayad teen chaar sleeping pills kha liye. And don't worry mai thik hu chaar sleeping pills se koyi marta nahi hai. Aur ussi nashe mein gir gaya tha to uss kaanch ke tukre se haath kat gaya aur table corner se sar pe bhi laga."
"Aap fresh hoke aiye fir baat karte hai." Riya said sternly. Arjun without arguing did as she said. One because he didn't want to hurt her any more and second he knew contradicting her in this condition would surely ring his death knell.
While Arjun freshened up, Riya arranged the room. And then arranged for some food for both knowing very well that he had skipped both dinner and lunch.
After he arrived he tried to talk with her but she glared at him which silenced him. And she indicated him to have his food which he had without much complain.
After everything was done Riya made Arjun sit on the sofa and knelt in front of him. "Aapse pyar jaan bujhke nahi kiya bas hogaya. Aur aap jo keh rahe hai apki wajah se meri jaan jayegi toh ek baat sun lijiye. Iss jaan ko aapne hi kayi baar bachaya hai. Aur jo bhi pehle hua usme aapki koyi galati nahi hai. Toh bina wajah khud ko kosna band kijiye. Main Abhi jaa rahi hu aur kal office jaate waqt mujhe pick kar lena. Bye."
With that Riya left. She left hurriedly because a minute more in front of Arjun would break the strong image she held in front of him. She was sure that she saw the same emotions in Arjun's eyes which she had for him but was not sure whether it was true and she would not be able to handle if it was false. So she left without waiting for Arjun's reply.
Arjun on the other hand for the first time understood Riya's misery. He still thought he was not right for her but he'll definitely not let her suffer. Because he knew the pain of losing love. He decided he'd accept the proposal whole heartedly and give Riya all the happiness she deserves. And about her protection he'd do anything possible and this time he won't trust on anyone.
Deciding these things he again went to sleep. May be the sleeping pills still had their effect. But that night he again had the nightmare. Which again made him ponder over his decision.
On the other hand in ETF office:
Sameer left for his cabin as soon as Riya left. He couldn't hold back now. He knew every word uttered by Riya was true. He felt like killing himself for his deeds and the pain he had inflicted on his so called brother. He felt more guilty when he heard Riya say that Arjun couldn't move on in his life because of the beliefs he had instilled in his mind.
Others were still in conference room. Trying to think what to do next. They were planning to make up for their mistakes but here it appeared that there crimes were too big to forgive. Sakshi who understood the situation better than the others indicated Ayesha to go to Sameer.
Ayesha though hesitant at first knew she was right and went to his cabin. There she saw the most terrible sight which she never wished to see again. There in his cabin Sameer sat on ground, face covered by the hands and he was shaking.
Ayesha without thinking any further rushed to him. He looked at her and said in a cracked voice "Ayesha, main layak hi nahi hu uske jaise dost ka. Riya ne jo bhi kaha sahi kaha. Uske haal ka zimedaar main hi hu. Uske har dard ka karan Sikander se kahi zyada main hu."
Ayesha who couldn't beer to see Sameer in that state so she just hugged him tightly trying to comfort him and give him the much needed solace.
They broke off after sometime Ayesha wiped his tears and said "Rathore Sir galti hum sab ne ki hai toh saza hume milna chahiye. Par aap aise har mat maniye. Arjun Sir aaj bhi aapko apna dost mante hai warna apke liye, humare liye itna kuch nahi karte. Please Hume unse maafi mangni hai aur woh jo saza de woh bhi Hume manzoor hogi. Toh aap itni fikar mat kijiye."
Rathore was relieved a lot because of Ayesha. And he pledged that he'd do every possible thing to gain Arjun's forgiveness and try to get back his friendship as well.
Next morning Riya and Arjun were in his car. The journey was unusually silent and when they reached the office, Riya gestured him what's wrong.
To which Arjun just sighed and looked at Riya. Taking a deep breath he continued. "Riya mujhe ab bhi lagta hai tum mere saath kabhi khush nahi reh sakti. I know you love me. And I love you too and you know that..."
Riya was on cloud nine hearing this. Yes she knew Arjun too felt for her but never imagined it all to be real. And here he was confessing it. Riya didn't let him continue and said "Aapne itna keh diya na yahi mere liye kaafi hai. Main apni puri zindagi isike saath bita sakti hu."
Arjun wanted to make her understand his perspective and again he started to degrade himself when suddenly he felt his lips were sealed. He froze for that moment.
There first kiss turned out to be a shock for him. Responding to her was far from his concern. He was so shocked that he couldn't move a bit. But that didn't mean he didn't like it.
After a while when Riya broke off. Both looked away blushing. Arjun didn't look up to Riya he still tried to feel her taste which he had few moments ago.
But then he heard Riya say "I think I'm the man of this relationship." To which Arjun looked up to her confused. So she explained "Areh propose toh maine kiya aur ab kiss bhi main hi kar rahi hu. Toh kuch Samjhe ya Samjhau." She smirked saying this.
Hearing this Arjun looked down blushing. Riya smiled seeing her effect on him. She actually loved this new side of Arjun.
Then she said "Ab jaldi chaliye, late mat kijiye." Saying so Riya left running.
Arjun just looked at her direction and smiled lovingly. He took out the ring Riya had given her and kissed it gently. Now he knew what he'd do.
After sometime when Riya entered her cabin she was shocked to see a note on her table along with the ring she had given to Arjun.
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