And here I am again, to give you all an update. Well, this is again on a whim and quite unusually [pour moi] I havent thought this through. I'm just typing waht comes to mind.Well, enjoy!Later, that evening:"ASR" Lavanya wailed, her now annoying voice jolting him from his wayward thoughts. "What Lavanya?" he sighed in an agitated manner, automatically putting the first bite of pasta in his mouth. Whereas she had been whining a minute before, Lavanya Kashyap immediately shut up. He'd used her name. Not La, but Lavanya. And that was a subtle cue for her to stop talking.She shook her head mutely, digging her own fork into the tasteless salad that lay untemptingly ahead of her. Alas! This was unfortuantely the way of the fashion world. If you wanted to be the best model in the industry, there was a lot to compromise. Tasty food was one of them Lavanya mused, thrusting another piece of lettuce into her mouth. "Send the contract to Ms. Gupta's house tonight. She will join tomorrow" Arnav commanded, breaking into her less-than-interesting thoughts. As was her, and the other employees that worked at AR, automatic response; she nodded.
As his words dawned a second later, she halted with the wine halfway to her lips. "Ms. Gupta got the job?" La enquired, her fingers tightening on the fragile stem.
Arnav only nodded in answer to Lavanya's question. It was getting boring now, he could feel the headache coming on. As subtly as he could, he began the conversation that had been brewing since Ms. Gupta had stepped into his office.
"Lavanya I think its-"
His ringing BlackBerry caught him in the middle of his sentence. Dammit. Why couldn't he just finish this-
"Di? What's wrong?" Arnav's frustated tone turned to one of immediate concern as he signaled discreetly to the waiter, requesting the check.
"Nothing Chotte, I just wanted to tell you that your Jeejaji is back from Delhi and he's fine" his elder sister's sweet voice echoed through the device. "That's good then, I'll be a little late today" he replied. He needed to end things with Lavanya- and that too quickly.
"Actually Chotte, I was wondering whether you could take care of Adit? Shyam is back after so long and I was just..." Anjali trailed off, her voice lowering to a deceptive soft tone. He would have betted a million bucks that she was sporting an infamous puppy dog expression.
Jesus, he groaned inwardly. He would say no.
"Sure Di. You go have a nice time." Arnav winced at himself as the words poured involuntarily from his mouth. His sister could make him do anything.
A rueful smile made its way across his face as he signed the bill. His Di...his mother.
His everything.
"Lets go" he told Lavanya, and watched tired as she gathered her coat in a meek and walked out with him silently.
She was so..easy.
Unlike the delightfully feisty Ms. Gupta, Arnav thought as another boyish grin stretched his mouth. He clenched his fist as he snapped his car door shut.
He pulled on his seat belt and stared directly ahead, unseeing and unthinking. His only tabs lingered on his driving, so that he wouldn't get himself killed.
Arnav dropped Lavanya to her house, politely refuting her brazen lets-do-this-now looks with a concrete shake of his head.
If she was disappointed, she didn't show it. After all, women who had been with him knew the score. No attachment, no emotional entanglement.
Oh no, Arnav had never been so crude that he paraded his girlfriends for one sole puprose-sex. No, they were successful, beautiful women who werent looking for something serious.
Well, neither was he.
So it was all good.
But as he drove back home to his two year old nephew Adit, his mind lingered on those unique, bespectacled hazel eyes. God those eyes, that color. There had never been something so wonderful as the shape and color of them. And her lips, those rosy lips. Pinked naturally.
He braked suddenly, going against his own dead set rules of driving safely. Why was this woman invading his every moment since he'd seen her a few hours ago?
Arnav leaned his head back on the seat, fatigue taking over the handsome features of his face.
He took a deep breath and resumed his driving, making it home in another ten minutes. Parking the SUV in the carport adjacent the huge mansion, Arnav hurried inside, only to have an amazingly fast creature wrap its arms around his knees.
"Adit baba, come back-" a voice cried from behind the cozy maamu-bhaanja duo. Arnav looked down to his nephew clinging onto his legs like a little puppy.
A laugh breaking out from his throat, he picked little Adit up and swung him into his strong arms. "Maamu!" cried the young boy. His eyes, so alike his mother's-and Arnav's glinted with uncontrolled enthusiasm.
"Here comes Adit's favorite person in the world" exclaimed the older woman who had been running behind the little brat just previously. "Has Di gone Naani?" Arnav asked his grandmother as she looked upon the two with affection.
"Yes Chotte. Anjali told me to thank you from her side."
"No problem Naani" he muttered distractedly, his thoughts already on Adit. "So what would Nawaab Sahab like to do today?" he asked the gleeful toddler who was laughing merrily in his uncle's strong arms.
"Plants!" he shrieked, or rather as his lisp-y voice allowed-"pwants!" Arnav grinned at Adit. This was definitely Anjali Di's son, just as obsessed with greenery and flowers as his sister was.
No wonder she was a major in Horticulture. Gee, no surprises there Arnav thought, rolling his eyes as he trudged outside to the garden with his excited nephew.
At the same time, different setting:
"So my butterfly, how was the interview?" Shaina asked a presently unalert Khushi.
Those eyes...where had she seen them before? Why had it felt like they had been searching her soul?
Her thoughts created a whirlpool in her mind, and this did not go amiss by her best friend.
"Khushi, you havent eaten a single bite"
Her roommate's words fell on deaf ears. Those lips...they had been such a tempting sight. Were they as soft as they looked? How could a man have such beautiful lips?
"Khushi Kumari Gupta!" Shaina finally screamed, earning her-thankfully- a reaction from the now fully alert Khushi. "Whats wrong?" she screamed as she jumped up, holding the fork like a weapon in her hands. "Devi Maiyya, I'm too young to die. Please dont kill me yet!" she shouted, running circles around the little bistro table.
"Khushi!" her roommate finally clutched her shoulders, shaking them in hard manner. "Whats wrong with you? Nobody is killing you!" Shai shouted straight into her face.
Khushi took a deep a breath, unefffectively trying to calm herself down. Inhaling like a marathon runner after a 400m hurdle, she collapsed back into the chair.
"I'm sorry Shai-I'm just so tired" she uttered in a meek fashion, not knowing why she was acting like this. "Its okay Khush! But you havent eaten at all!" her friend replied, worry etched into her tone. "Did anything happen at the interview-"
"No!" Khushi replied immediately, then corrected herself "I mean yes. I got the job." Her words were followed by a hugeass hug from Shaina. "I KNEW YOU HAD IT IN YOU KHUSH! YOUR FIRST JOB! I AM SO EXCITED!"
The whole builiding probably heard her friend's extremely loud outburst. "Cant breathe" she ground out, instantly gulping down deep breaths of air as Shaina left her.
"This calls for celebration" she grinned. In response, Khushi only nodded weakly, still clutching her ribs; which she was sure, Shai had ended up breaking.
"Lucky for you babe, we have some of the left over champagne from my meeting last week and some Coke for you!" she gushed excitedly, pouring the fizzy drinks in two glasses.
She handed the soda to Khushi and settled beside her with the glass of champagne. They both sat atop the vivid pink sofa in a comfortable silence, quietly sipping their drinks.
"How was Vivek?" Khushi finally turned to Shaina, her coke almost finished. She turned wary as a familiar emotion flitted through her friend's eyes. "What? Already? But you only became a couple last week!" she cried in exclamation, taking in with reproach her fried's most recent break up.
"We have to move on in life Khush! And anyway, Im no Sati Savitri like you. You've never even had a boyfriend Khushi! And you're 23! I've probably had more boyfriends than your age!" Shaina complained, downing her champagne in one go.
"Hmm. Well, you dont exactly stick with one man do you? And I'm not telling you to live a celibate life like me. All I'm saying is, give relationships importance Shai. Not just wild sex." she explained to her friend, like a mother to an errant child.
"I dont have brains like you Didi." Shaina whispered, turning her face away from the woman seated beside her.
The words had only just left her mouth, but Khushi realized that something was very wrong. Shaina had called her Didi.
There had only been one other time she had called Khushi that. And God knew that she didnt want to relive that moment.
A knock halted Khushi as she made her way to the kitchen. Her gaze strayed to the clock hanging beside the wardrobe. Who would come at 2 am?
Settling her dupatta tightly over her chest, she waked to the door and pulled it slightly apart.
A young girl of about 16 stood there, trembling in the icy wind. Her appearance was battered; the clothes all torn.
Khushi raised her eyes to the girl's ravaged face, marred by bruises. Without thinking for a further moment, she pulled the young girl inside.
"What is wrong?" she asked the stranger in Hindi, worry tightening her tone at the poor child's condition.
"Didi, please save me. They-my parents-they will kill me-"
She didnt allow her to continue, merely pulled the young one into a hug. "Sshhh, dont worry. You'll be fine"
She stroked the girl's hair and gently rubbed soothing circles on her back. Pulling back slightly, she wiped away the girl's tears away from the purplish cheeks. "What is your name?" Khushi asked the little one, once again in Hindi.
The little girl hiccupped. "Shaina" she said.
She hugged the girl once again and kissed her head. "My name is Khushi. From now on, you'll be my little sister."
Khushi snapped into the present and immediately turned to Shaina. "Shaina-whats wrong? Did someone say something, did someone do something?" she spluttered as she traced her little sister-now her friend's face.
She sneered and shook her head "no one has to say anything, I know it."
"What do you know Shaina? What's wrong?" Khushi almost sobbed as she heard the venom in Shai's voice.
"They just want my body Didi. All those boys. They see nothing, nothing other than this flesh. For them, I am a fling." she replied, flinching as something hit her from the inside.
Khushi pulled herself together and turned her friend towards her "Who said that Shaina?"
"Last week it was Rahul, today it was Vivek. Tomorrow it'll be someone else"
Khushi had had enough. Whoever these boys were, they were wrong. They were just douchebags who didn't even deserve to be talked about. Shaina was a gem, and it was important she knew that.
She voice her thoughts, pleased to see her friend smile slightly. She went on, "Shai-you're wonderful. You're beautiful. Inside out. Dont let anyone, anyone ever make you feel less than what you're worth. I love you. Everyone loves you."
She hugged her and dropped a kiss on Shaina's tousled hair; so much like the first time she had come into her life, like that night 5 years ago.
"But what about the man I love Didi? Will he love me too? Wont he hate me for sleeping around so much?" she wailed into Khushi's arms.
"The man who will love you, really love you will never care for all this. He will accept you as the wonderful person you are and will cherish you for that. Dont worry Shai, now go get some sleep." Khushi explained to her soflty, withdrawing from the hug and keeping the glasses away.
"Didi, can I sleep with you tonight?" Shaina asked her. Once again, Khusi was transported to that night 5 years ago. She never wanted to see Shaina like that, ever.
"Of course you can. You go sleep. I'll be right there." she smiled as Shai disappeared into her bedroom.
Life was painful sometimes.
LONG UPDATE HAI. KAAFI LONG UPDATE HAI. KHUSHI RAHO.
COMMENT KARO.
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I'll update again tomorrow (AHJ) I HAVE A SECOND THREAD IN THAT! OMG THANK YOU ALL.
See ya. đ
THIS IS ENTIRELY MY WORK. YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY RIGHT TO COPY OR REPRODUCE ANY PART OF IT.
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