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Chp. 56 Reality bites
Armaan awoke at the break of dawn and turned off the alarm in his cell phone. He looked at the wallpaper and his lips curved into a smile. Ridhima. A pic which he'd managed to get stealthily without her knowledge.
"Good morning, Lady love. Will my patience bear fruition today or do I still have to wait for your answer?"
Armaan laughed at himself. He couldn't believe that his life -or rather he himself- had undergone a transition from Armaan-the-no-nonsense-I-don't-believe-in-love-business-guy to Armaan-crazily-and-insanely-in-love. How could a girl bring about such a change in a man? He hadn't even in the wildest of his dreams thought of falling in love, let alone so crazily. But now he realised the beauty of the feeling and the joy of having that special person in your life. He now understood how his father had felt after his mother's accident and what had changed him so much. He walked to the window and stared at the mural of a sky painted in vivid shades ranging from deep midnight blue to cold steely gray flecked with light pink and crme. A cold wintry breeze whirled around signaling the advent of monsoon. The city was yet to rise and the calm of early dawn always filled Armaan with a sense of peace. His gaze drifted back to Ridhima and then the date caught his eye. Damn! Two weeks later was the day and date he really didn't care much about and he wished he could say the same about his family - 14th February.
He'd never really felt happy about celebrating his birthday even in his childhood days. His mother's traumatic accident -and later the turn of events in Nikita's life had assured him that there was little to celebrate in life and- had wiped out any boyish fantasies or dreams he'd ever had in life distancing him from his father. Over the years the relationship had become more formal than bonhomie and Armaan soon realised that his father treated all his children in the same manner. His wife's accident had changed him. Armaan had had parents, but not in the real sense but instead of being affected by it, he'd used it to his benefit. He had learnt not to depend on anyone, trust very few and indulging himself in work had always been preferred. The more engrossed in work he was the less time he had to waste on lost affection. His early start had given him an advantage and at 26, he'd handled more million-dollar business deals than his father had in his entire life. He'd created an empire which could be associated with his name alone. In the process however, he had become a person whose life had no room for intimate feelings.
Marriage in the Shishodiya clan was always an early affair but Armaan had managed to evade it for three years now and then had finally given up and agreed to tie the knot with whoever his father and choti maa selected -because attending a bride fest and choosing a bride was something he couldn't even think of- and he'd been ready to live the relationship till the grave carefully steering away of all feelings in the process until Ridhima waltzed into his life and rocked his world off its axis. Waltzed. Yes, that was the word. With merely a smile and those expressive eyes, she'd managed to crumble his carefully erected defences and made him believe that love did exist. It was only a matter of time before one found it. She'd filled in a void in his heart that had never seen real affection carving herself into his heart and soul in the process in a manner which made it impossible to think of a single day without her. He wondered how he'd lived without her for the past 25 years.
There was another reason 14th February hadn't held much appeal to him before because it was associated with St. Valentine or with love for that matter. But now the day suddenly seemed welcome. If Ridhima was not successful in providing him an answer by then, she had a surprise coming her way. The thought was sufficient to strike up a grin. He replaced his wallpaper with a formal one as usual and dashed into the shower. Then his normal routine followed. Swordfighting in the swordsroom, horseriding in the forests or around the sprawling Shishodiya lands and archery in the gardens. Breakfast at eight and then off to the office.
***
Nikita had taken it upon herself this year to organise her brother's birthday bash. The excellence and grandiose of the engagement party had left her awed and so Nikita decided to let Garv handle the arrangements with a few inputs from her side. The royal banquet hall was totally entrusted to Garv and the preparations of the party had begun. Nikita made a mental note of warning her brother away from this place for the next two weeks. Nikita walked in and was impressed by the pace of work. She had been provided by a few themes and was yet to give her final approval on the final one but the basic stuff was already in progress.
"Garv, a moment please," she called out to Garv who was busy discussing some designs with Afra.
"Hey, Nikita! Join us," he called motioning her to their table.
"Hey Afra, what's up?" Nikita asked as she took a seat beside her.
"Just discussing a few designs for the upcoming shows," she replied with a smile.
"Inputs from Garv?"
"Yeah, for a few accessories and brooches," Afra grinned.
"Oh, I was wondering if Garv had suddenly taken to designing Hijabs," Nikita mused.
Garv chuckled and shook his head, "Oh, no no, that isn't my cup of tea. That's best left with Afra, I'm happy with planning and designing events and parties."
"Which reminds me," said Nikita, "Here, I've finalised this theme for the party."
An eyebrow jerked up in surprise, "So you like incorporating the Valentine idea with the birthday theme?"
"Sounds interesting to me. Besides, I want this day to be a memorable one for Bhaiyya," Nikita chuckled.
"Cool. That'll be done. Is his valentine gonna turn up for the party?" Garv asked. "I want a grand entrance for her."
Nikita sighed, "That, I doubt, will be possible."
Garv and Afra's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Long story, guys. But I'll give it a try, will talk to Abhimanyu and let you know. Meanwhile you can proceed with the other stuff."
"Sure," Garv smiled.
"So since that's settled, I'll leave. Have some other issues to attend to," Nikita said, "I'll be around."
"Hello guys," a familar voice greeted.
"Ryan! A pleasant surprise."
"Have a seat."
"Thanks."
"Afra, where are your upcoming shows being held?" Nikita asked.
"Delhi, Bangalore, Ahemadabad and Mumbai," Ryan answered for her.
"Good luck with those but I hope that you don't miss the birthday party," Nikita said hopefully.
"Oh no, not a chance. Her shows shall keep her busy from the 20th Feb till around mid-July," Ryan said.
"Afra, Ryan seems to be your walking-talking calendar," Nikita teased.
Everyone laughed.
"Well, it's my responsibility to stay updated with the schedule of this beautiful lady," Ryan explained.
"Yeah, right," Afra rolled her eyes and hit Ryan playfully on the shoulder.
"Nikita, before you leave I want you have a look at a few things," Garv said.
"Sure," she said and followed him.
"I'll join you too. Afra, you coming?" asked Ryan.
"Um, no, I'll need a moment before I finish these designs."
"Alright, then."
Ryan joined Garv and Nikita while Afra worked to complete her designs. Ryan looked around taking in the sight of things. Suddenly an idea struck him.
"Garv, how about if the party is held in the palace grounds?" he asked. "Um, I know it might be a bit difficult but overall it would be fabulous."
"Sounds good to me. In fact, the Shishodiya grounds have lured me since the moment I stepped on the property," Garv replied with a grin. "What do you say, Nikita?"
Eyebrows raised, eyes twinkling, Nikita asked, "Why did it not occur to me? But Garv, would it not be tedious? I mean, you guys have already started working here and moreover the theme has also been finalised, so..."
"Well, no issues there. A few changes will have to be made in the theme and plan but the design wouldn't be difficult to incorporate. So it's agreed then, the palace grounds. Thanks buddy," he said giving Ryan a pat on the back.
"Welcome," he grinned.
Anjali was standing at the door taking in the playful scenario. The easy banter among the group struck a chord of disappointment within her. She took in the sight of everyone. Nikita in her plain, white, boring salwar kameez, Afra in a knee-length coat, jeans and a headscarf, Ryan in jeans, a white figure-hugging t-shirt and a brown leather jacket and Garv in a black polo neck, full sleeved t-shirt, black trousers and an emerald green scarf around his neck. She didn't like being left out. Afra was working alone on the table so Anjali decided to join her.
"Heya," Anjali took a seat beside Afra.
"Hi, working for bro's b'day?" queried Afra.
"Hmm," Anjali lied. "Garv's working really hard for this party."
"Yeah, what's success without hard work?" Afra smiled.
Anjali rolled her eyes, "What are you doing here?"
Afra shot her a quizzical look.
"Um, I mean..."
"Nikita asked me to be here," said Afra.
Silence. A long moment.
"When's Garv's birthday?" Anjali asked.
"Hey, I thought you liked Ryan?" Afra teased.
Afra was just teasing her casually but the pang of jealousy was too big to ignore so Anjali couldn't keep her pretense of being friendly and suddenly lost it, "And I thought you liked Garv but you keep juggling the two! When I think you're interested in Garv and I can be in peace with Ryan, you appear out of nowhere pretending as if Ryan has always belonged to you. And when I think about Garv, then you're there too, making your presence felt in people's talks and thoughts! It's like you dominate their thoughts. Tell me girl, who is it that you want? Why can't you just pick one and leave the other for me? Or is it that you want both?"
Afra blinked, "Anjali, why do you have to always read between the lines even when it's blank? You know, I really pity your mentality and also your knowledge about the social circles. You're so engrossed in your own life you don't know what's happening in the world around you. You see and hear only what you wish to. Ever heard of Esperenza di Castilo, the famous Spanish designer? The sister of Alejandro di Castilo, the renowned movie-maker. Garv and Esperenza got married a year ago and Esperenza's even expecting."
"Oh, so since Garv's outta the picture, you now want Ryan, huh? You b****!"
That was a little too far and before Anjali knew it, Afra hit her hard across the face. The sound seemed to reverberate in the hall because suddenly the whole place was silent. Nikita, Ryan and Garv stood stunned.
"Isn't that Princess Anjali?" Garv asked in a whisper.
Nikita nodded.
"Boy, what was that about?" he asked.
"Dunno. Must be something grave because Afra doesn't lose her temper easy," Ryan supplied in an equally hushed voice.
"Your language doesn't go hand in hand with your social status, Princess Anjali. I really didn't want to talk about Ryan to you because I wanted you and Ryan to sort this out by yourselves but you've left me no choice. Ryan isn't single, he's engaged to Alisha Mirza and they're planning to tie the knot soon. Alisha Mirza, ring any bells?"
Anjali had hardly recovered from the shock of the first slap when the name felt like another slap across her face.
Afra walked away but stopped a few steps later.
"I know Anjali, words like 'friendship,' and 'siblings' don't exist in your vocabulary but do look them up in the dictionary sometime. It will really be helpful. And you know what, don't bother about me. Think about yourself," Afra flashed her hand and a diamond encrusted platinum wedding band dazzled on her ring finger. "Hey, for your information, Ryan is my cousin, 3 years younger to me. And talking about dominating people's thoughts, then it's the personality and not the person who dominates the mind and thoughts."
Anjali's head was spinning as Afra walked away. Garv was married, Ryan was engaged to- to Alisha Mirza, of all people! Ryan and Afra were siblings. Even Afra was comitted! Anjali felt as though she'd been deceived, she felt sick. Her world suddenly looked like a fragile sand castle which was washed away by a single tidal wave.
***
Precap: AR moments.
I am now setting the building blocks to the most awaited moment of this story: the revelation. And I intend to surprise you any time now. Do keep dropping your comments, helps to know your expectations and thoughts.
Cheers!
Edited by tes_v1 - 14 years ago
Vanshaj
Love Friendship Dating and Relationships
Udne Ki Aasha
CID
Hindi TV Shows
270