|AN Writing Challenge~Closed*UPDATE pg 150* - Page 67

Originally posted by: wow123

Hahaha You loved it because they kissed😆

Or you loved that emotional part.

Very nice update and liked new twist too. Update soon.

YOU'RE STILL THE ONE

'Hey Nikki, kya baat hai? You have been very quiet from the time we left Sid's house. Are you ok?' Ridhzi asked Nikki, as Armaan was driving them home.

Nikki was too engrossed in her thoughts to hear Armaan. She was looking out of her window, and thinking about ...... about what Tia had said. She just could not stop thinking about Abhi with that other girl which Tia had pointed out.

'Nikki .....' Now it was Armaan who said in a louder voice, which pulled Nikki out of her thoughts.

'What's wrong with you? Ridhzi has been asking you for last 5 minutes if you are ok. Where are you?'

'Ya .... ya .....I am fine .... I think ....' she said in a faint voice as rest of her sentence trailed off.

Both Ridhzi and Armaan exchanged a look, and gave a secretive smile. They knew what she was thinking.

'So did you have a good time? Did you like our surprise? Sid was so excited about the whole thing, we thought he would be the one to spoil the surprise before anyone else!' Armaan said making fun of Sid.

'You guys are too much! I could never guess. And I am surprised that Sid never mentioned that he was seeing Tia! So for how long has this been going on?' Nikki asked Ridhzi.

'Nikki, that you will have to ask only them ..... but we came to know about it only a month back when they both announced it to everyone after both the families approved.'

'So Nikki, did you talk to Dr. Modi?' Armaan asked.

'No' she replied seriously.

'Why?' he prodded further.

'Armaan, what's your problem?' she retorted with agitation, 'You should be happy that I did not talk to him, anyways, you never liked him.'

'Well, Nikki, people change' Armaan answered back in a cool tone.' You know, I have changed. And he has also changed. So somewhere down the road .... we have managed to establish a peace .... and also in that process learnt to see the better side of each other.'

'That's good for you!' Nikki said sarcastically. 'As far as I am concerned he can never change'

And once again there was silence in the car. Both Armaan and Ridhzi had decided not to push her too much for they knew that Nikki would once again just jump and run if they did that.

Nikki will never forget that night .... the night he had barged into her home, insulted her and then left her in a shocked state without giving her a chance to understand or explain. Her heart had broken into a million pieces .... she remembered.

***********FLASHBACK BEGINS **************

Nikki did not realize for how long she had been sitting there and crying. She was on the floor, her legs folded and pulled in close to her chest, her hands hugging them, and head bowed down buried into the knees. She had cried incessantly, until no more tears were left. Goofy had been next to her, nuzzling her, trying to get her attention. But even he had not been able to make Nikki stop crying. And then when she had looked up, she had seen him sitting right in front of her, looking sad with tears in his eyes.

Finally, after a couple of hours, she had dialled Sid's number. And as soon as she heard him asking what the problem was, she had broken down once again and not been able to answer him. Sid had come immediately to her place. He was shocked to find her in this state, and just took her in his arms, trying to console her. Once again she had broken out into sobs, crying her heart out. He had just held her, till she had stopped crying, then went and got her a glass of water and asked her if she had eaten anything. He has made some noodles for her and forced her to eat it. Then when finally she was a bit calm, he asked her what had happened .....

'Sid, what happened at the meeting today? What did you tell Abhi?'

So Sid narrated to her what all had transpired ...... starting from the beginning.

'Dr. Modi, you will have to be patient with the presentation, since most of the stuff here I am presenting is for my father' saying that he had gone into details about the New Sanjeevani Project. He had covered in detail the pros and cons of the project, the financial details like investment, return on investment, etc.

'Now coming to ACE Healthcare, Dr. Modi you already know that they have hospitals across the world. They are 2 main goals now ' first is to expand by establishing more hospitals, increasing their turnover and profits and the second is increase their footprint in India. From this point of view ....financing the New Sanjeevani Project is not the solution'

Abhi was shocked. Siddhant could see that he had not been expecting this. And he could not blame him also. Because there was no denial that the project was good .... but just not the right fit for ACE.

'So Siddhant, are you saying that ACE should not invest in this project' Mr. Shah interrupted.

'Yes, dad. You see, by financing Sanjeevani project, Sanjeevani is the one who will be in the limelight not ACE. ACE will still be only in the back ground, having no role to play in the management or running of the hospital. ACE is into running hospitals not financing, dad. Moreover, even if we over look this aspect, the ROI for this project is not good for the first 5 years. Only after the initial costs are recovered, they will start making money .... which is not bad for hospital business .... but not good enough for ACE at this stage ..... because we are looking for immediately growth and returns .... hence the project does not serve the 2^nd aim too ... So all in all it will be win-loose situation for Sanjeevani and ACE. Sanjeevani wins and ACE looses'

Dr. Shah was in deep thoughts, and Abhi had still not recovered from the initial shock.

'Tell me Siddhant, does Dr. Nikita know about this decision of yours?'

'Yes ...... but .....' and before he could say anything further, Abhi's pager had beeped and he was called in for an emergency.

'I will have to go, there is an emergency.' Abhi excused himself.

'We will wait for you here, Dr. Modi' Sid told him ... before he left ....since he had not finished his presentation with the most important aspect yet to be discussed.

'No Siddhant, that will not be possible. I am not sure how long this might take, so we can meet tomorrow .... but you can finish of the discussion with your father.'

So Sid explained to Nikki, that he did not get a chance to present his alternative solution to Dr. Modi. Before he could do that Dr. Modi had left the meeting. But his Dad had been very impressed. He had liked the idea of a merger between Sanjeevani and ACE. He had told Sid to finalize the proposal and present it to both the members of Board as soon as possible. He wanted Sid to do the presentation to ACE Board members and Dr. Modi to do it for the Sanjeevani Board Members.

So that was when Nikki had realized what had happened. Abhi had jumped to his own conclusions ..... he had thought that Nikki had supported Sid in his decision to reject the financing of the New Sanjeevani project .... and also kept it from him even though she had known about it. But what Abhi did not know was that ..... Sid had tried to explain to her the whole thing on Saturday .... how financing will not work. He will work out a different solution ' a merger. She had not been too interested in knowing what Sid was proposing since it had become very complicated for her to understand, but she knew that ACE was going to pay for the New Sanjeevani project. That was all that mattered .... and had told Sid that she did not want to understand all the nitty-gritty of financing.

After she had calmed down, Sid had left. But Nikki had been unable to sleep for the whole night. She did not know what she should do. On one hand, she knew she loved Abhi too much. There was no way she can live without him. And on the other hand, she did not know why Abhi had this deep rooted mistrust in her. Was it just because of that one incidence where she did not stand up for him? Will he ever be able to forgive her? She had accepted that she had been wrong, but whatever was done then cannot be undone now. If that incident was going to be between them like a thorn for the rest of their life she better do some serious thinking. For her the other name of love was trust. If there was no trust, there was no love. It was as simple as that!

**********END OF FLASH BACK**************

Nikki had been catching up with Muskaan and Rahul, when the Modi family arrived at Sid's home for the engagement ceremony. She was dressed in her pastel green chiffon saree with light embroidery. Sid's mom had presented it to her and insisted that she wear it during the engagement function. She had teamed it up with a halter neck golden blouse. Nikki as usual was looking beautiful in it. Her long straight hair was cascading down her bare back. She had worn some simple jewellery to go with it, giving her a classy look.

'Oh here they all come!' Rahul said.

Niki and Muskaan who had been busy talking to each other, turned to see who had come. And as soon as Niki saw Abhi, her heart started racing. He was looking so handsome in his blue-green brochade sherwani . She could not take her eyes off him ..... and a blush rose on her cheeks as she noticed his exposed neck and part of his chest. She kept on starring at him, taking in the minutest detail of him and storing it in her brain.

'Oh my God! Isn't Dr. Modi looking handsome?' Muskaan blurted out before she could stop herself.

Hearing her voice Nikki realized that she was staring at him. And now he had also caught her looking at him. He had a slight smile on his face, but it did not reach his eyes. As soon as they both caught each other starring at the other, they were embarrassed and looked away.

'I am sure he is going to have a tough time keeping all those beautiful ladies at bay.' Rahul said jokingly, agreeing to Muskaan. 'But you better keep away from him, Muski, warna mein kya karoonga?'

'Hain, hain, aise toh hamesha bolta hai ki mein tere gale padi hoan. Toh ab kya hua?' she asked him laughingly. And their bantering continued.

But Nikki was in her own world. Her eyes were following Abhi all the time. She just could not help it. Sid's parents were introducing Abhi, Anitha and Tia to their family members. She found that the younger girls of the family were openly flirting with Abhi......and seeing this Nikki was getting agitated with every passing minute.

Then she saw Sid's dad introduce Abhi to a tall girl, with a smart short hair cut, in a designer salwar suit. She looked very classy. Abhi held out his hand, when he was introduced to her, and she offered hers in a handshake. It seemed like Abhi was holding her hand forever .... and when he let it go there was a smile on his face which was much bigger than usual. Nikki getting more irritated, tried to look away and concentrate on something else. But found it impossible. She found that even after 10 minutes Abhi was still talking with the same girl, deeply engrossed in what she was saying, giving his full attention. He had eyes only for her and no one else. Nikki was so deep in her thoughts that she did not notice when Tia came and stood next to her,

'Hi Nikki!' Tia said with a smile.

'Hi Tia, you are looking gorgeous'. Nikki took both her hands in hers, lifted them and squeezed them gently. 'I don't know how Sid is going to survive the whole evening.' She said with a smile, teasing Tia.

'Thanks, Nikki.' Tia responded blushingly. 'He picked the saree for me. Isn't it perfect?'. To which Nikki nodded with a smile. Tia did look beautiful in her pastel peach saree with beautiful silver embroidery, which was teamed with a spaghetti straps blouse, showing off her beautiful figure. She was wearing grand diamond and pearl jewellery which matched perfectly with her saree.

'And you look gorgeous too. I am so glad you wore this saree. Sid thought that it was perfect for you, when we picked it.'

Then Tia noticed, that Nikki was a bit edgy and kept on looking at Abhi's direction.

'Nikki, are you worried that Bhai will bother you, will try to put pressure on you?' Tia said in an understanding tone. 'Don't worry! He will not! He understands that he made a mistake, and also knows that you will never forgive him for his mistake, and so just like you he is also trying to move on.' Tia was observing Nikki's expressions very closely as she said that. Nikki's face was sad, and she could see there was pain in her eyes. 'You know I mentioned about Sid's cousin, Sneha, in the morning. I convinced Dad to make sure that he introduced the two of them today. And I was right, they both seem to have hit it off. I haven't seen Bhai talk to anyone for so long.' Even Nikki had observed that. He had been talking to this girl for so long, and she had never seen him do that with anyone else earliar. She sighed, letting her breadth go slowly, not understanding what was going on in her mind. Then turning to Tia, she said,

'Tia, you better go .... I think the ceremony is going to start.'

'Okay. But you also come along .... I am sure Sid wants you right next to him. He does seem a bit nervous.' Tia said teasingly. 'What do you think? Is he having second thoughts?'

'No way, Tia! He is madly in love with you. He must be nervous thinking about what if you have second thoughts. And then it is a big step for him, a lot of responsibility .....to make sure that he takes care of you, protects you and keeps you happy. Maybe he is nervous thinking about what if he fails in doing that' Nikki told Tia as they both walked towards the stage, where the ceremony was going to take place.

'Nikki, you know, he is the best thing that has happened to me. And I have to thank you for that.'

Now they had reached the stage, and Sid held his hand out for Tia. She gave it to him as she climbed up and they both walked towards the place where they were supposed to sit. Sid whispered something in her ears, and Tia's eyes turned watery as she looked upto him, with all the love in her eyes.

'They make a perfect couple' Nikki thought to herself. All who were present there could feel the love the young couple shared and were happy for both of them.

As the ceremony started, Abhi had moved next to Tia, and was completely engrossed in it. He had to do the duties of a father. He had not even once looked in Nikki's direction. It seemed as if he was not interested in her. And Nikki could not understand why that irked her so much. He was doing exactly that she wanted him to do .... leaving her alone!

The ceremony was short. The rings were exchanged and finally Tia and Sid were engaged. As soon as the rings were on their fingers, there were fire-works.

And Sid pointed out up in the sky, as Tia read,

'Tia, Love you Forever' glowing in fire-crackers in the dark sky.

There were tears in Tia's eyes as she hugged him tightly. Even Nikki's eyes turned watery when she saw the two of them. As she wiped away the tears and looked up, she saw Abhi looking at her intently. They both kept on looking at each other, lost in their own world, unable to look away. There was so much pain, sadness and regret in their eyes. Nikki was thinking about her lost love, making her extremely sad. Whereas right at that moment, Abhi made up his mind, that he will never let his love loose, he will do everything in his power, to make sure that Nikki came back to him, and stayed his for the rest of their lives.

************

After the ceremony was over, Sid and Tia were busy getting the blessings of the elders and best wishes from the youngsters. Nikki slid out, wanting to be alone. She wanted some time to herself. She had noticed that once again Abhi was with Sneha. This time they both were standing close to each other, saying something into each others ears, smiling and laughing a lot. And then when she noticed Sneha had put her hand on Abhi's arm, maybe just to get his attention, Nikki could not take it any more. She had to get away from here. She did not understand what was happening to her, but hated the closeness between Abhi and Sneha. Nikki did not want to stay in the same room as Abhi and Sneha.

Nikki was standing by a railing, leaning against it, with both her hands holding it tightly. She was staring into the sky, trying to understand the deep pain that she was feeling in her heart. Suddenly, she could not bear it anymore and her eyes started to water and tears started to roll down her cheeks. She did not even try to wipe them away, just let them flow hoping the tears will wash away her pain.

Abhi had seen Nikki go out into the balcony. Though he had been busy with Sneha, talking to her about the hospital business and his role as CEO, his mind had been on Nikki all the time. She looked so sad. Though she had been successful in hiding her pain from everyone, Abhi had caught its glimpses in her eyes. Her eyes were the most expressive, and she cannot hide anything from him. He read her eyes, like he read his own mind.

After about 10 minutes, as soon as Abhi got a chance, he too slipped out into the balcony. He saw her standing there, gazing into the sky. She was looking so beautiful in the moonlight! The saree suited her so much. As he moved closer he noticed the streaks of tears on her cheeks, and his heart just broke. He wanted to take her in his arms, and wipe away all her pain and tears. But he knew he cannot do that .... he had promised himself that he will give her as much time as she wants to forgive him, not rush her or do anything that will cause her more pain than he had already given her.

He went and stood against the railing a little distance away from her. For a minute or two she didnot notice that he was standing there. But when she did, she straightened herself, wiped her tears immediately, and started to turn and walk away.

'Please don't go!' Abhi told her in a husky pleading voice. And she stopped in her track. She looked at him with surprise, but he was not looking at her. He was staring straight ahead into darkness. She could not make out what he was thinking but decided to stay back.

Both of them stood there, without saying a word to each other, just looking at the beautiful sky and sharing their silence. Neither wanted to speak and disturb this peace. For words had always ruined everything between them. Both of them were remembering that beautiful time they had at the picnic, before everything between them had been ruined. Nikki had thought that she had showed Abhi her feelings for him that day even though she had not said anything. But the next day she knew how wrong she had been. She was still unable to forget those hurtful words Abhi had lashed out at her ..... nor was Abhi able to forgive himself for saying those things to her. Life would have been so different, if that fateful night things would not have turned out the way they had. They both were sure they would have been one by now! And with this thought both of them turned towards each other to look at each other. Nikki 's sad eyes could see the regret reflected in Abhi's eyes as they gazed at each other.

Nikki turned and started to move towards the hall. But Abhi held her hand from the back, and stopped her. She twisted and turned her hand, for him to release it, but he held on firmly.

'Abhi .....chodo' she started but realizing her mistake, she corrected, 'Dr. Modi, please leave my hand' as she refused to look at him.

'Ok, I will. But you have to answer my question first' Abhi relented. Now he was standing in front of her, with hardly any place between the two of them, still holding her wrist firmly in his hand between the two of them.

'Why? Why should I answer any question you have?' she retorted angrily at him. 'You have no right to ask me anything.' She continued to struggle to get her hand free. But in front of Abhi's strength she could not do anything so she continued angrily,

'Dr. Modi ..... why don't you leave me alone? Why don't you go back to Sneha .... who seemed to be enjoying all the attention you were showering on her' she now gave a push against his chest with the hand that was free. But this had no effect whatsoever on him. Instead Abhi tugged at her with the hand he was holding bringing her even more closer to him. Nikki could feel the heat of his body through her chiffon saree and her whole body was aware of his closeness. She felt she could hear his heart beating next to hers. Just as she was sure he could hear hers. His face was so close to her, and his lips were just a few inches away. She did not even realize that she was holding her breathe.

'So you noticed?' he asked with a smirk 'Isn't she beautiful?' he gave a dreamy look and continued, 'you are right, apparently she was enjoying my company a lot. You see we have a lot in common' he was observing her closely, to see her reaction.

'Good. So go back to her and leave me alone' Nikki said angrily. Abhi suddenly released her hand and took a step back and said, 'You are right, maybe I should spend time with people who appreciate my company, rather than forcing myself on someone who does not.' Saying this he walked away leaving a gaping Nikki, looking at his back with her mouth open. She did not understand what was happening to him. One minute he was completely focused on to her, and the next minute he just left her. Slowly she followed him into the hall.

She went and joined the gang. Ridhzi and Armaan immediately noticed the sullen look on her face and asked her,

'Nikki, are you okay? We were looking for you for quite some time now, where were you? '

'I am fine! I had just stepped out for some fresh air.' Then they both turned to see where Nikki's eyes were focused. They found Dr. Modi talking to Sneha, both of them in an animated conversation. Armaan and Ridhzi both understood the reason for the sad look on Nikki's face.

Just then, there was an announcement. The entertainment for the evening was about to start. And it was going to be karaoke evening. Everyone old and young, had to take part, and it was going to be girls family verses the boys family. There was lot of excitement, and everyone started settling down in groups, getting ready for the game to start.

The lights were dimmed in the hall, and whole room turned into a very romantic setting with candles glowing everywhere around. The anchor started the evening with a beautiful romantic shayri congratulating Sid and Tia on their engagement and then announced that Sid and Tia had chosen to sing their favourite song for all of them to start the evening with ' the song was

"Kaise Mujhe Tum Mil Gayi"

(Click here for the song, let it go on in the background as you read further) '

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O-9P9YcvH8&feature=related

There was a round of applause as they both started with '

"Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh"

The first part was sung by Sid .... he did a full justice to the song ..... as he sang it with full conviction .... meaning each and every word of the song ..... pouring his heart into it ..... looking at Tia ..... into her eyes.

Then it was Tia's turn. Sid held her at her waist, pulling her closer to him, as she looked a bit nervous. She started to sing in her soft voice, looking only at Sid, as if she was singing only for him. It felt as if the song was written for just the two of them ...

Nikki had never realized that Sid was such a romantic. No one looking at his carefree side would have thought he was serious about anything. But today her opinion changed. Infact, she was introduced to this side of him when they were working on the New Sanjeevani project, when she was surprised to see how serious he was about his work, and today she saw how serious he was about Tia, how much in love he was with her, though he was very subtle. Completely opposite of Armaan ... she smiled, thinking about it. They both were so different yet so dear to her.

And as Tia sang looking into Sid's eyes '

Badlengi rituye ada, par main rahungi sada
usi tarah teri baaho mein baahe daalake, har lamaha, har pal

Nikki could not help looking at Abhi ..... and she was surprised to find him staring at her. At one point of time, Nikki had believed those words were so true for her and Abhi. She could not have imagined a life without him. But the reality had been completely different ..... as Abhi could see the grief which he had caused in her eyes. They both were unable to look away from each other as they both shared this pain of their separation.

As everyone joined in the chorus singing, 'aa aa aa aa aa ' she realized what she was doing and looked away. What was happening to her? Why was she behaving like this? This last one year, she had spent all her time and energy to keep her thoughts away from Abhi .... and now after coming here, she found out that she was where she had been one year back. She just did not understand this effect he had on her. He made her forget everything, everyone, every resolution she had made, every promise she had made to herself to keep away from him. What was she going to do, how was she going to ever get over him, how was she ever going to move ahead in her life if she was not able to leave him and the thoughts about him behind?

Everyone participated, singing old and new songs, dancing and enjoying themselves. Then it was Abhi's turn to sing ......

And he choose his favourite song "Ab Mujhe Raat Din"

(Please click on the link to see the VM I have made with AT singing it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bqLn7aneTE

Everyone was flabbergasted hearing his voice. No one knew he sang so well till today, except ofcourse his mom and Tia. He was as good as any professional. There were so much emotions in his voice as he sang each and every line of the song. Even Nikki was surprised. She had never heard him sing earlier, nor did she know that he was such a fabulous singer. She kept on looking at him as he sang the song. She felt as if he was just singing it for her. They both just kept on looking at each other, remembering the beautiful time they had spent together. They remembered their fights, their caring moments and then the pangs of separation of this last one year. And when he finished the song their eye were bright and shinning with a trace of tears, but was gone before anyone could notice it.

As soon as the song was over, Tia got up and ran upto Abhi as he was getting down the stage and gave him a hug. They were close to where Nikki was sitting, and she could hear Tia say,

'Bhai, that was so beautiful. Thanks for singing it today.... I know it is one of your favourite songs ..... you always used to tell me that you will sing it for that special person .... when you find her.' Tia looked from Abhi to Nikki and then back to Abhi. 'So tell me, who she is? Is it someone you met today?' she was deliberately trying to make trouble ..... trying to get a reaction out of Nikki.

Abhi then looking at Nikki replied to Tia's question saying,

'Maybe ......'

Just then Sneha walked upto them, and congratulated Abhi,

'Oh My God, Abhimanyu! That was out of the world! No one would have guessed that you are such a great singer. And if anyone sang that song for me, the way you just did, I would be his forever.' Nikki could not take it anymore. Sneha was gushing all over Abhi, and Abhi seemed to be enjoying all the attention he was getting.

'Why, thanks Sneha! I am glad you enjoyed it so much. And who knows, maybe, it was for you!' he replied with a big smile flirting with Sneha. There was a surprised look on Sneha's face, for she did not know how to take his comment.

Nikki sat still in her place. Refusing to move away from there or to look at him. If he wants to flirt with someone, why should she care, let him do whatever he wants, she thought to herself, as long as he does not bother her. She is well off without him!

The party was great, and it was past midnight when they wound up everything. Tia had left with Abhi and her mom. Armaan and Ridhzzi had left with Rahul and Muskaan. Sid didnot let Nikki leave. He told her that the driver will drop her later ......

Then when everyone left, only Sid and Nikki were sitting, having a cup of coffee, Nikki asked Sid, why everyone thought that she was responsible for Sid and Tia being together. So Sid told her about what all had happened after she had left Mumbai ......

After Nikki had left Mumbai, he had no chance to see Tia. But suddenly he had received a call from Tia one day ....

'Hi Sid, How are you?' she had asked him casually over the phone.

'Hi Tia, I am ok!' he had been taken by surprise.

'Sid, can you meet me for a cup of coffee? I need to talk to you about something!' she continued and this had shocked Sid. He could not reply to her.

'Sid ... Sid ... r u there ?' she had asked him.

Then hearing her voice he had come back to the present and agreed to meet her at a coffee shop that evening.

When they met in the evening, once again he was blown off by her beauty. From the first time he had seen her, something had stirred within him. But she had always irritated him. And they had ended fighting with each other all the time. But today something was different. She looked sad. Her eyes were not brightly sparkling with the mischief he had seen earlier.

'Hi Tia!' he had greeted her ... and led her to a table for 2.

'Hi Sid! I am sorry to bother you like this! I know you do not like me much ..... but thanks anyway for coming inspite of that.' Sid was taken aback by her honesty.

'Is there is some problem, Tia? You do not seem to be yourself today. We are meeting after such a long time and you are not even pulling my leg ... or mocking at me. There has to be something drastically wrong.' Sid asked her .... worrying and teasing her at the same time.

'You are right, Sid! There is a problem. I need to contact Nikki. But I do not have her number. I know you are in touch with her .... so can you please give it to me.' She asked him pleadingly.

Sid could see that she was on the verge of tears ..... she was trying very hard to control herself.

'Tia, you know that is not possible. I have promised Nikki that I will not share it with anyone. And you know what will happen if she comes to know that I gave you her number .... she is very stubborn, you know that na?'

'Please Sid, I need to talk to her' and now tears were rolling down her cheeks. Sid had no idea what to do .....

Slowly, he took the tissues which were lying on the table and gave them to her and watched her intently as she tried to wipe her tears. But they refused to stop ..... then he took both her hands in his .... and said,

'Tia, bas ab, you will make yourself sick. Just calm down and tell me what is the problem .....'

'Its Bhai!' she said between the hiccups which refused to stop and so did her tears. As soon as she said this, she broke into another bout of crying .....

'Tia, please tell me properly, what is wrong with Dr. Modi? Is he okay? I had met him only yesterday and he seemed to be fine.'

'Bhai ..... bhai .... is driving himself towards a breakdown, Sid......He had not been sleeping properly, resting properly nor eating properly. All he does is work, work and work. I am so scared that something will happen to him soon, if he does not stop this. Sid he hardly sleeps , maybe less than 3 hours .... he works out like mad for like 3 hours daily. He says if he does not do that, he will not get those 3 hours of sleep too. Sid, I know he does this to take his mind of Nikki ..... he does not give his mind a rest for a minute also .... for he will start thinking about her'

Sid had been hearing intently. He had observed that Dr. Modi was doing 2 peoples work ... he was always in the hospital before everyone and left much later than everyone else.

'Sid, I have a feeling he is heading towards a nervous breakdown! Ma and I have tried to talk sense into him, but he is not ready to listen .... he says that he is fine. But today, when I went to see him at the hospital during lunch break, when he got up from his chair, he blacked out. His head was swimming .... and he was about to fall. If I had not held him in time he would have hurt himself for sure. When I told him to go and see Dr. Kirti or Dr. Gupta he refused .... saying it was nothing and he will be fine. He can be very stubborn. Sid, I need to talk to Nikki and tell her to speak to him, please ....'

'Tia, knowing Nikki, it will not work. She is also very adamant. And I do not blame her for she has a right to decide whom she wants to see and talk to. I know that Dr. Modi has hurt her very badly .... it was something that he has said to her ..... she was in shambles when I saw her after that..... though she never told me ever what had happened between her and Dr. Modi.'

'Please let me try .... she is the only hope I have left.' Tia pleaded.

Finally Sid relented, and instead of giving her the number, dialled Nikki's number from his mobile. He chatted with her for a few minutes and then gave the phone to Tia.

'Hi Nikki!' Tia said cautiously.

But then her eyes were suddenly filled with tears. She was very quiet and then gave the phone back to Sid.

'What happened?' he asked her and then saw the phone was disconnected.

'I think it got disconnected' Tia said sadly.

'Should I call again?' Sid asked .... knowing what she had meant.

'No, Sid, I think it is fine, maybe I will try later'she said. Then after a few seconds she asked sadly 'Chalein?'

'Tia, why don't I get you another cup of coffee. You did not touch your first one and it is already cold. Then maybe we can leave.' Sid told her. He just did not feel like letting her go when she looked so unhappy.

She just nodded her head. She was also not in a mood to be on her own. She needed someone to distract her. She watched Sid go and fetch her a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate cake.

He handed her her coffee and started to dig into the cake. Tia watched him with her eyes wide as he polished off the cake in a few minutes. He did not even offer her! So ill mannered, she thought!

' What? ' Sid asked her as he found her starring at him.

'You are too much, Sid! You finished off that cake in one go, and didn't have the courtesy to offer me also.' She said with a smile teasing him.

'Why you like chocolate cake?' he asked her innocently.

'Yup. But that does not matter. You should have atleast offered.'

'No way! I don't share my chocolate cakes ..... if you like it, get one for yourself' he said with a straight face.

They continued to tease each other as Tia finished her coffee. Then Sid got her a piece of chocolate cake along with one more for himself.

'What, one more?' Tia asked.

'What did you expect, that I will keep looking at you enjoying yours?' he asked her making a face, but then added ' Unless you want to share yours with me!' Tia started laughing ...... and he was relieved to see her relax.

And that's how their friendship started. After that they continued to meet regularly. Every time Tia wanted to talk about Abhi and Nikki, she would call Sid and pour her heart out. Every time there was something that bothered her, and she needed to share it with someone, she would call him. And after some time, if she did not call him, he would become restless and finally end up calling her. Neither realized that their friendship was headed into something deeper, until one day, when they were having dinner at a restaurant and,

'Tia?' Abhi called out to her with shock. He had come with some other doctors to the same restaurant.

'Hi, Bhai!' Tia greeted him innocently.

'Hello, Dr. Modi! How are you?' Sid too greeted him.

But Abhi ignored their greetings, and looking at Tia asked her with irritation, 'What are you doing here with Siddhant. Ma told me that you were going out with some friends' he asked her accusingly.

'Bhai! Sid is my friend! And I told Ma that I was going out with a friend not friends!' she replied back.

'Tia, please go home right now. I will talk to you after I get back home' he told her. He threw an angry glance at Sid now.

'Bhai, I came to have dinner with Sid. I am going to have dinner. And when you are also done we can go back together if you want.' She said stubbornly.

'Dr. Modi .....' Sid tired to talk to Abhi.

'You keep out of this. This is between Tia and me.' Abhi replied angrily glaring at Sid. Then he turned towards Tia, but Tia just folded her hands across her chest and refused to budge. Finally Abhi had to relent, and it was agreed that they both will go together after Abhi's dinner meeting was over.

When he left, Tia looked at Sid sadly. She found him looking at her admiringly.

'What?' she asked him with surprise.

'You have guts, standing upto Dr. Modi like that! Most of the people I know would have crumbled under that angry look he gave you, and that tone.'

'Bhai, is a softy. He just looks tough on the outside. And anyway, he knows I was not doing anything wrong, I was only having dinner with a friend.' She said. Sid was now looking at her very intently. He asked her softly,

'Tia, is that it? Do you consider me just a friend?' Sid's mischievous eyes were very serious now. He was closely observing Tia's reaction. And looking at her hopefully.

Tia's eyes widened in surprise ......... and the truth struck her.

They both kept on looking into each others eyes for a long time, without saying a word. Their heart beating fast, and a thousand and one thoughts going through their heads at the same time. Slowly Sid, took Tia's hands in his and rubbed her palms caressingly with his thumbs. A shiver passed through Tia. She was not sure what was happening to her, why her heart was beating so fast or why her cheeks were feeling so hot. She was unable to continue looking at Sid, and so lowered her eyes with shyness. A small smile came to Sid's lips, as he heard,

'Sid, please .......' she said shyly, not knowing what to say 'I don't know what you mean'

'Tia, it is simple. You mean much more to me than just a friend. I want to know how you feel about me. I want to explore, where this friendship can go. Are you ready to give me a chance?' he said squeezing her soft hands and looking deeply into her soulful eyes.

Tia just kept looking at him .... and then her eyes turned towards where Abhi was sitting. She could see he was scowling at her. Slowly she tried to release her hands from his, but Sid did not let them go.

'Tia, please don't worry about Dr. Modi. I will talk to him. If you want I will talk to him today. But before that you have to tell me, what is on your mind. Are you ready to see where this friendship takes us?'

Tia's reply was a just a nod, but Sid saw everything he wanted to see in her eyes.

They hardly spoke after that ...... and then just when they were finishing their deserts, Abhi came upto their table 'Are you ready to leave, Tia?' he asked still very upset with Tia,

'Dr. Modi, why don't you join us for a few minutes? I need to talk to you.' Sid said getting up and indicating Abhi to sit down.

'No thanks. I need to leave now.' But Tia looked at him pleadingly, mouthed a please, indicating him to sit down.

'Ok, fine. Just for 5 minutes.'

'Thanks, Dr. Modi. In these last few months, Tia and I have spent a lot of time together, got to know each other pretty well, and have become very good friends. But for me Tia is much more than just a friend. And today only, I found out that even Tia feels the same way about me. So I want to spend more time with her, get to know how she feels about me and see where this friendship goes.'

Abhi kept on looking from Sid to Tia and back to Sid. Both Sid and Tia were staring at him. He was surprised by Sid's frankness. He was not prepared for this, nor did he know how to react to it.

'Siddhant, what are you trying to say?' he asked finally.

'Dr. Modi, I would like you to give us permission to see each other, date each other and see where this relationship leads to' Sid said very frankly. Tia was shocked when he put it in black and white. She had didnot know a single guy who would have had guts to ask this on Abhi's face.

'Tia? ' Abhi asked trying to make some sense out of all this and also to make out what she felt.

'Bhai, you know I would not see anyone without your permission .....so please think about it ..... ' she pleaded to him.

But Abhi understood what she wanted. After thinking for some more time, he relented ......

'Okay, but Siddhant remember .... if I see tears in her eyes, you are a dead man. You will not even know what hit you ....' hearing this Tia jumped and gave Abhi a hug,

'I love you, Bhai. You are the best. You see, I will never disappoint you.' She said with tears in her eyes.

'Dr. Modi, thanks. And you can rest assure .... I will never hurt Tia' Sid said extending his hand towards Abhi for a hand shake.

Abhi took his hand and gave him a smile.

"Siddhant, remember that I am doing this for Nikki. If she had been here, she would have approved it and made sure that I also approved it. Since you are her friend and I trust that you won't do anything that will hurt her or Tia'

Sid told Nikki that this was the first time he heard Dr. Modi mention Nikki's name after such a long time. And he was surprised to see that there was a strange look of satisfaction on his face.

And that is how this beautiful relationship between Sid and Tia started ..... and led to the engagement.

'Nikki, he has changed a lot. I am not saying this because he is Tia's brother, but because I have worked with him closely this last one year.' Sid said.

Nikki was surprised to hear this from Sid. Even Armaan had mentioned the same thing.

'As Tia had mentioned, he was headed for a breakdown after you left Mumbai. But then suddenly one day something changed. As if he had realized what he wanted in life and how to get it. He was a changed person. Sometimes I felt as if you were behind him, helping him make the right decisions. I used to feel as if you were with us, whenever he was around. It was a strange feeling, but both Tia and I felt the same way.'

There were tears in Nikki's eyes when Sid finished. But she did not say anything except

'Sid, I want to go home, can you get the driver to drop me now, please?'