Chapter One
A girl dressed in black skirt and light blue shirt walked down the stairs towards her elder sister who had just finished doing her morning aarti.
Girl: Good Morning Di!
Sister: Good Morning Chutki! Yeh lo Prasad.
Girl: Thanks Di! Bhai jogging se wapas aagaye?
Sister: Haan who apne kamre mein thyaar ho rahe hai office ke liye. Tum jake dining table pe bait jao. Ma aur Papa bhi wahi hai '. Hum nashta leki aate hai.
Girl: Theek hai di!
Dining Table '
Girl: Good morning ma, papa!
Ma & Papa: Good morning Beta!
Papa: How's your office work going beta? I hope tumhe koi takleef nahi ho rahi hai!
The girl was just about to reply back, when she heard her brother's voice who was dressed in a three piece suit that was walking towards the dining table with their elder sister who was carrying breakfast for all of them.
Brother: Good morning Ma, Papa and my gorgeous little princess!
Girl: (She screamed)BHAI!!! How many times have I told you not to call me princess. It sounds like I am a kid. And now you call me that at work as well! Not fair Bhai! What will our employees think when they hear you calling me that? I have a very strict image in front of our employees.
Brother: (In a very stern voice) I don't care what the employees think ' you are my princess and you will always remain as my princess! NO MATTER WHAT! I hope that's clear!
Girl: (Sighing) There is no use of arguing with you! If there is anyone in this world Khushi Gupta can loose in an argument, then that is with you Mr Jay Gupta.
And she chuckled making everyone at the table laugh as well. This is how the whole family at the Gupta Mansion spend their time together ' laughing, arguing for silly matters and most certainly loving and caring each other. They always had a smile on their face when they were together; they behaved like best friends; share everything with each other. Their bond was very strong and unbreakable; especially the bond between the brother ' Jay Gupta and his sisters ' Anjali Gupta and Khushi Gupta. Their parents ' Shashi Gupta and Garima Gupta were very proud of their kids and used to call the trio 'The Three Musketeers'. Anjali was the eldest from the trio, followed by Jay and then Khushi.
The Gupta's were settled in Sydney for last 35 years; Shashi Gupta and Garima Gupta had migrated to Australia after their marriage and since then they have been in Sydney. The Gupta family owned an event management company - Gupta's Event Management (GEM) Pvt Ltd which was very famous in Sydney. They managed almost all types of functions ranging from conferences to other major events. They were the best at the event management field. It was now managed by Jay and Khushi.
Khushi had joined GEM six months ago after finishing her Interior Architecture and MBA course at Oxford University in London. Khushi had a cordial relationship with her employees, but she hated it when anyone used to be unprofessional '.. She would make an employee's life hell if he/she did not do the given task properly, or were dressed inappropriately or if they were late to work. She liked everything to be perfect. She had become an asset for the company in these few months; all the events she had organised had become a great success. Since she had joined GEM the company had become more popular inter 'state as well.
The Gupta family was also well known in the city especially in the Indian society. Most of the Indians in Sydney gave very high respect to the Mr and Mrs Gupta. They used to attend parties and all other functions. Each and every single person in the Gupta family loved to interact with people.
Similar to Gupta family, there was one more Indian family that were well known in the city ' the Raizada's. The Raizada's own a fashion house ' AR Fashions which is now managed by the eldest son of the Raizada family ' Arnav Singh Raizada. It was originally managed by his father Amar Singh Raizada ' but after Arnav had graduated, Amar handed over the business to him. AR Fashions was very popular throughout the country; they not only had western trends but also had Indian trends.
The Raizada's were a private family ' they had very few friends and they hardly used attend parties or functions unless it was an important one.
Arnav was the eldest son of the family. He is a ruthless business man and wants to win at any cost. He has no consideration for relations and thinks that anything can be bought, even love. He was a boss that every employee resented due to his cold and unsympathetic nature. His priorities in life were money, fame and success. He had no life beyond his professional life '. Office and work were the only pillars of his life.
Arnav stormed in to his office wearing a black Armani suit. He could hear his employees rushing out of his way looking for a place to hide. He always found the hallways deserted when he walked through them. All his employees were scared of him and that's just what he wanted.
Arnav was settling down in his cabin when he heard a knock on the door.
Arnav: Come in!
Arnav's secretary Aman entered the cabin.
Aman: Good morning Sir!
Arnav: What's the schedule for the day?
Aman: Sir you a have meeting with Mr Stuart at 11.00am and a staff meeting at 4.00pm to discuss about the next season's magazine.
Arnav: Ok! Let me know when Mr Stuart comes and make him sit in the conference room! I will meet him there! And make a proper agenda for the staff meeting and send it to the staff! I want everyone to be prepared for the meeting.
Aman: Yes Sir!
When Aman was about to leave the cabin he heard his boss's voice again.
Arnav: Have you booked my ticket to India?
Aman: Yes sir ... It is booked for Saturday! But it was a bit hard to find tickets at the last moment ... So I was only able to book for economy class!
Arnav: Ok! You may leave now!
Arnav was busy the whole day with meetings and going through designs for the next season.
Even Khushi had a very long day at work. She had to attend meetings with her clients and also make arrangements for the events she has to organise. After reaching home and greeting her family, she went directly to her room to freshen up before joining her family for dinner.
At Raizada Mansion
Everyone in the family was seated at the dining table for dinner. As usual it was a quite affair '. Dadi sitting at the head of the table, next to her Arnav's dad ' Amar Singh Raizada, beside him Arnav's Mum ' Chandini Singh Raizada and opposite to both of them were the Raizada sons ' Arnav Singh Raizada and Aakash Singh Raizada. While all were eating their dinner, Arnav started talking '
Arnav: Mumma my ticket to go to India is booked for Saturday.
Chandini: Ok Beta! I will let your mama and mami know about it.
Arnav: Thanks mumma!
Chandini: All of us will join you once Aakash finishes his final exams.
Arnav: hmmm
And silence was erupted once again in the room.
If there was anyone that Arnav had a decent conversation then it was with his mother' But still there were boundaries. Chandini always tried to break the ice walls that had formed between her family members but she always failed. Her only prayer to God was to return the happiness back to her family.
Back at the Gupta Mansion '
Everyone were sitting in the living room and chatting after their dinner '
Anjali: Chutkki, Lavanya had called in the morning! She wanted to know when you will be reaching Pune for the wedding.
Khushi: I know Di ' She had called me as well! I have booked my ticket for Saturday and the rest of your tickets are booked for Wednesday so that you all don't miss the pre ' wedding ceremonies.
Lavanya was Khushi's childhood best friend' in fact they are more like sisters than friends! They know each other like an open book. They went to the same school and even studied at London together. Lavanya also works at GEM as Khushi's assistant. Lavanya's marriage is going to be held next week at Pune with her lover boy NK. And Khushi was going to Pune on Saturday ' one week before the wedding so that she can spend some time with La (that is what Khushi calls Lavanya).
Khushi: Dad can you let buaji know about my arrival to Pune?
Shashi: I will call her tomorrow morning and let her know!
Khushi: Thanks Dad! Di, we have to go shopping tomorrow! I need to buy gifts for La and NK!
Di: Ya Sure! I will be ready in the morning!
Khushi: Great! Well its late ' I am off to sleep! I will see you all in the morning. Goodnight everyone!
Rest of the family: Goodnight!
And everyone else in the Gupta Mansion also retired for the day like everyone in the Raizada Mansion.
End of Chapter One
Hope you all liked the chapter and forgive me if I have made any mistakes Do hit like/comment and pls let me know if you have any suggetions.
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