Ek Kahanii Pyaar Kii - NEW! part 3

Ek Kahanii Pyaar Kii

Rhea paced around her room, impatiently, waiting for a call from her friend, Avni. She couldn't believe that she would be seeing her the day after. It had almost been a year since she had seen the Malhotra family. Her pace slowed as she thought of them. Rhea tightened her yellow bath robe as she sat down on a rocking chair near the window and smiled. One name. That one name made her smile like she had never before. Every time that name came in her mind she smiled that same smile. She wished it wasn't all memories. But did her wishes ever come true? Rhea sighed.

"Rhea," a voice called from the door.

Rhea got up and opened the door.

"Yes, Ms. Maria?" she asked, smiling at the hotel clerk.

Maria's eyes narrowed. "I told you, Rhea. No Ms, Mrs. or Miss! Just Maria. I feel old when you say that! And if you still call me that, I will call you Miss Sharma."

Rhea frowned, "Okay. Sorry, Maria. Happy? Anyways, how can I help you?"

Maria smiled. She knew how much Rhea hated calling elders by their names. "Okay," she said. "I just received a message from your friend, Avni. She said that she tried calling your cell but you didn't pick up."

Rhea looked sideways, beside her bed, at her cell phone. "Hmm…" she wondered walking to the table. "I was here the whole time and I never heard it ring." Rhea picked up the phone and looked at all the missed calls. "No wonder!" she exclaimed. "It was on 'vibrate' the whole time."

Maria let out a small laugh and said, "Even my kids are smarter than that, honey. Anyways, Avni told me to tell you that she won't be able to make it to Toronto tomorrow. Neither will her parents and brother."

Rhea let out a big sigh. Thanks a lot, God, she said, sarcastically, in her head as she looked up.

"But-" Maria continued. "She said her other brother will come tomorrow and she, along with the rest of her family, will be here after two weeks."

Rhea looked at Maria, curiously, and asked, "Did she mention her brother's name?"

Maria bit her lip as she tried to recall her memory. "I think I started with an 'A'."

"A?" Rhea questioned whining. "Both of her brothers' names start with A! That doesn't really help!"

Maria shrugged, "She did mention it I think. But I really don't remember which name. I am really sorry, honey. I think my age is really getting to me."

"That's okay," Rhea replied. "I will call her and ask."

"Avni said that she is leaving for India today because she has to attend a wedding. So I am not sure if you will be able to reach her. But why don't you give it a try?" Maria informed. "I have to get going now. My shift is over and my kids must be waiting."

Rhea smiled at Maria and walked her to the parking lot. After she returned to her room, she gave Avni a call home but the servants said that they had already left for India. Rhea sighed as she changed into her white pajamas with blue and yellow butterflies on it. She walked back to her rocking chair. She sat down hoping to see his face tomorrow.

"No," Rhea told herself. "What am I thinking? Do I really want to see him after all that happened? I won't even be able to talk to him."

Tears dripped from Rhea's eyes as she thought of all that had happened in the past three years. She didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't help it.

-Flashback-

"Ma," Rhea sighed. "Calm down! I'll be absolutely fine in LA!"

"Yea, Mom!" Soniya exclaimed. "Di is old enough to go on her own."

Shalini looked at her two daughters. It seemed like only yesterday when they played in her lap. She snapped out of her thoughts. If she was like this with her daughter going for her studies, how was she going to react when her daughter got married and moved out?

Soniya sighed and looked at her older sister. Rhea looked back and shrugged. They had no idea how to calm their mother down.

"Ma," Rhea started. "It's not like I am going forever! I'll be back as soon as I finish my studies. And of course there will be visits every few months. Promise. Besides, Ma, you have dad and Soniya with you."

Shalini sighed, "I know, beta. But can't you stay with your friend, Avni? She even suggested you do that. Why'd you say no to her?

"Mom," Rhea began. "I want to experience life. I want to get the feeling of living alone, being responsible. Besides, Avni's family is really rich. It will be so hard for me to adjust to their lifestyle. And I don't want to be a pain for them."

Shalini gave up. Rhea was stubborn and no one knew this better than she did.

"Okay," Shalini agreed. "Call me at mama's house the second you step into LA. And make sure you call me again when you reach your campus and get to your dorm."

Rhea smiled and gave her mother a tight hug. "I don't think I can call the second I get into LA, but I will try calling as soon as I can. And tell dad that I'll miss him."

Soniya looked from her mother to her sister and back. "Mom?" she asked. "I don't have to live in a hostel, do I?

Shalini gave a small smile and replied, "I am defiantly not letting you step out of Toronto. I'm not going to repeat this mistake again."

"Hmm…" Rhea added. "Don't you worry! You're only sixteen years old right now. Watch both minds change as the years pass by."

Rhea bid her family a goodbye and left.

As she reached the airport in LA, the excitement almost gave her a heart attack. She was so happy to be in a place where no one knew her. She was so happy to be in a place where no one asked her questions about what had happened. Rhea had been longing for a new beginning. A fresh, new life. This was her chance!

After finishing formalities, Rhea gave her mother a quick call to tell her that she had had a safe flight. Rhea then walked to Gate 29 with her luggage and waited for her friend to arrive.

"Where is she?" Rhea wondered out loud.

"Where is who?" a voice came out from behind her.

Rhea instantly recognized that voice and turned, with a huge smile on her face.

"Avni!" she exclaimed, hugging her friend.

Rhea had last seen Avni and Avni's twin brother, Aditya when they were nineteen years old. They had met at a conference in Atlanta, Georgia for young adults going into architecture. Three years had passed by, but nothing had changed. Though Rhea and Avni had spent very little time together, they had become very close friends. After the conference, Rhea and Avni had begun having long conversations on the phone and computer."

"It's been so long," Avni said, as the girls broke apart. "You still look the same, gorgeous."

"And you don't look different either," Rhea replied grinning.

The girls took a seat in Avni's shiny, black BMW. They talked and made plans for the next few days while the driver placed Rhea's luggage in the trunk and drove them to the campus of Rhea's university.

As Rhea walked to the trunk of the car to retrieve her luggage, Avni stopped her and asked, "Rhea, are you sure you don't want to stay at my house? It'll be awesome. Just like having a sister! I'm not forcing you. But just consider it as one of your options."

Rhea smiled and assured Avni that whenever she felt homesick or needed her, she would defiantly not hesitate.

"Okay," Avni agreed. "Why don't you go and check in with the dude who's in charge and then come and get your luggage?"

Rhea shrugged and did what her friend asked her to.

"Hi," she greeted a middle-aged lady who seemed to be in charge of the dorm. "I'm Rhea Sharma and I have a room reserved here."

The woman looked at Rhea, confused, and replied, "I'm sorry, sugar. Didn't you get a letter saying that the dorm rooms are going to be renovated? The students must move out for two weeks."

Rhea's eyes widened. "Are you serious?" she asked. "I didn't get the letter."

"Are you from LA?" the lady asked.

"No," Rhea replied furiously. "If I was from around here, do you think I'd come and live on campus?"

"Sorry," the woman apologized. "Did you have a friend here that helped you in the applications and stuff?"

"Yes."

"Well then, we'd have sent the letter to them about 2 months ago. That gives them a long enough time to inform you. We also had students call us and tell us to prepare a place for them to stay. But we needed to be acknowledged of this information a long time ago so that we'd have enough time to get everything ready. I'm sorry but there is nothing I can do now."

Rhea's eyes narrowed as her head turned to look at Avni.

-

"Avni!" Rhea exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Avni grinned and said, "I told your mom!"

"You told my mom? Really? When?"

"I called to tell you. I was happy that the rooms were getting renovated because then you would at least stay here for two weeks. But your mom picked up and said that you weren't home. I gave her the message and begged her to try and convince you to stay at my place. Auntie said that she would love it if you agreed, too. But we both know how stubborn you are. So instead of telling you, we thought we'd give you a surprise to no option."

Avni laughed while Rhea sighed. She knew that she had lost. Her mother and Avni knew her too well to argue back. "Let's go," she muttered.

"I am sorry, Rhea," Avni started. "I know you really don't want to stay at my house. But just try it for two weeks. If you still don't like it, you can move back to the campus. I promise."

"No, Avni," Rhea replied. "It's not that I don't want to. I just didn't want to give your family a hard time. I am also not very good at adjusting in different environments that easily."

Avni laughed. "Is that what you're worried about, silly? You're an idiot. You won't give anyone a hard time. And as far as adjusting is concerned, you'll adjust pretty well with my family. I think they'll love you. Wait, I KNOW they will love you. You already know Aditya. And my parents are amazing! You'll love them!"

Rhea smiled seeing the enthusiasm on Avni's face.

As the girls got closer and closer to Avni's house, Rhea started getting butterflies in her stomach. She was so nervous. What would Avni's family be like? Avni was so rich. Would her family be like the ones that are shown in the Indian soap operas? Would they be snobby and arrogant? Rhea closed her fingers and hoped she was wrong. She was hoping to start a new, fresh life and she hoped that this wouldn't go lead her in the wrong direction.

"Wow…" Rhea whispered as the car pulled up at the big, iron gates of the Malhotra mansion.

Avni grinned and said, "Welcome home, Rhea. Make sure you treat this just like your home in Toronto. This is our home. Not mine. Our. Okay?"

Rhea smiled back at her friend, Avni.

"Steven," Avni called as the girls stepped out of the car. "Take Rhea's luggage upstairs to her room, please."

A middle-aged man walked to the car smiling and replied, "Can do, Avni."

"Oh and Lawrence," Avni called to the driver. "Mom told me to tell you that you have the whole next week off. Just like you asked."

Lawrence smiled and thanked Avni. Avni smiled back and turned around to knock on the big double doors.

Rhea sighed and thought, "Maybe this won't be that bad. Even the servants are happy working here. The Malhotras are probably really nice."

As her thought ended, the doors opened. Rhea looked inside and saw a middle-aged lady standing. She was wearing a light blue sari. She looked very kind and warm-hearted.

Avni stepped in and hugged her as Rhea looked behind them at the beautiful house.

"Rhea," she said looking up. "This is my mom, Sheetal. And Mom, this is Rhea."

The lady smiled and said, "Come inside, dear."

Rhea stepped in the house as Sheetal closed the doors. The ladies went in and sat down in the den.

please do reply...i know it is not very good 👎🏼but i want to make it better

sorry for the delay. i havent had time to writ ethe next part. i will write it today and hopefully it will be posted up by tomorrow 😊