The unexpected connection-Ch 16,17 in Pg 120 - Page 75

THE UNEXPECTED CONNECTION

CHAPTER 16

Later that night in their apartment, Aishwarya decided to tell her brother about her recent encounters with Prithvi. Arjun was busy on the phone for a long time and she waited for him to join her in the living room. After thrity minutes, he threw his phone on the table and slumped on the couch next to her.

"Busy?" she asked him.

"A bit."

"You should take some rest for a while."

"Next month we'll go for a holiday. How was your day?" he asked her.

"I don't really know how to answer that."

"Why?"

"I met Prithvi."

His eyes narrowed. "Where?"

"First time in the dance competition. Second time in a party and third time in office."

"You met him three times?"

She nodded and told him about all the three encounters including what she felt when she was close to him. He listened to everything and leant his head back on the head rest of the couch.

"Do you trust him?" he asked after a long time.

"I don't think so."

"What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. I just wanted you to know everything. That is why I told you. I am not really interested in Prithvi." She rubbed her chest and said, "Whenever I am with him, he makes something happen inside. But it's okay. I'll manage it."

Arjun closed his eyes and sighed. He knew what she was talking about.

"Bhaiya, do you trust him?"

"From what I have seen, no."

"Do you think he could have changed?"

"I don't know how to answer that, princess. He used to go after girls when he was seventeen. A long time has gone by and he could have changed. But the question is, you were his friend but why didn't he search for you earlier even though we are in the same city. Why now?"

Before she could think about it, her phone rang. It was an unknown number.

When she turned it to silent mode, Arjun asked her, "Whose number?"

She shrugged. "Unknown number."

"Put it on loud speaker and attend it."

She attended the call and a well known voice greeted her. "Hello...!"

"Hey Angel!"

She glared at her brother for making her attend Prithvi's call.

"I am sorry. I think you have the wrong number."

"Aishu... Aishu... Don't cut the call."

"What do you want? I was sleeping," she whined.

"No, you weren't. Let's go out tomorrow."

"Excuse me...?"

"Come with me tomorrow. Let's go for lunch."

"I have college."

"How about dinner?"

"What makes you think I will go out with you?"

"You used to come with me for having ice creams."

"That was a different time. And times have changed."

"But you haven't changed, right? You are still the same and we can have what we had before."

"Prithvi, I am really sorry but it is foolish to think that we can go back."

"Don't hate me so much," he pleaded. "You were a special friend and I don't want to lose you."

"You should have thought about that before placing that bet and... Did you say special friend? Are you for real? We have been in the same city all these years. Why didn't you search for your special friend' all these years? What do you want from me, Prithvi?"

"Just you, Aishu. Just you. Nothing else," he replied and she could almost visualize a hurt expression on his face.

"For your information, I don't have time for you. Good bye."

She threw her phone on the table beside her brother's phone. Thankfully, he didn't call her again. She linked her hand with his and leant on him.

"Why do I have the feeling that I am being cruel to him?" she asked after a long time.

"That's because you are kind at heart."

She shook her head. "That can't be true. I have a few men in my To Kill' list. So, I can't be kind at heart." After a small pause, she asked, "Bhaiya, am I doing the right thing?"

"A part of me wants to keep my little sister away from further problems. The other part of me heard the truth in Prithvi's voice and wants to give my sister a chance at happiness. In this battle, the protective brother will always win and tell you to stay away from him whether it is right or not."

She took a deep breath and said, "I want to stay out of problems, too. I have seen enough of it that I am still having trouble with it."

"You will be fine. I'll take care of you, like always."

Her eyes twinkled. "That is the best part." She glanced at the clock and said, "I am going to have a shower."

"I am going for one, too. How about a late night movie today? The recent Wolverine movie is on Airtel Digital. We can pay for the movie and watch it."

"I love Hugh Jackman."

"So Wolverine it is."

After a shower, Arjun sat on the couch and relaxed himself. His phone rang and he saw the name Tanya' flashing on the screen.

"Hi Tanya...!"

"Hey Arjun! Still awake?"

"Yeah. I was waiting for your call and Aishu and I planned on watching a movie."

"What movie?"

"Wolverine. The second part."

"I love Hugh Jackman. You guys are enjoying without me," she complained.

"Kya enjoy, yaar? Bore ho raha hoon main."

"Kyun? Aishu hai na?"

"I miss you too much," he told her. As an afterthought, he said, "And Aishu is boring."

Aishwarya's bedroom door opened and she glared at him. Only when he saw the phone in her hand did he understand why she was angry.

"Arjun, did I forget to mention that we had a conference call?" Tanya asked him with a chuckle.

"Bhaiya, main boring hoon?"

"Nahi, princess. You are not boring at all," he tried to reason with her. "Why didn't she tell me it was a conference call? Stupid Tanya," he muttered to himself.

"Main stupid hoon?" Tanya asked from the tother end.

Arjun looked at his sister and then at his phone and said, "Mar gaya."

Aishwarya took a cushion from the couch and threw it at him. It hit him square on his face.

"Aishu, stop. I was telling that to pass time."

"What about calling me stupid? Aishu, throw another one at him for my sake."

"Gladly," Aishwarya told her and threw another cushion at him.

He ducked and it hit the wall.

"Aishu, stop it. I am sorry."

He ran to the other side of the couch and she ran after him as he threw another cushion.

"Ladies... ladies... I am sorry. Both of you are my darlings and neither of you are boring or stupid. I love the both of you very much."

Aishwarya stopped throwing the cushion and jumped in excitement.

"Yayyy...! I won... I won... Bhabi, I won."

"Won...? What did you win?" Arjun asked her.

"Bhabi and I knew that you will mess up something with us. I told her that you first say sorry and then that you love us. Bhabi said you will say I love you first and then sorry. You did what I told her and I won. Bhabi, you owe me a new lens for my camera."

"This was a bet? You did that for a camera lens?"

Aishwarya nodded.

"And Tanya, what if you had won?"

"A new canvas for painting," Tanya replied.

"You both did that... Forget it. Aishu, you are so dead."

He caught her in no time and squeezed her ear. She pulled away from him and kissed his cheek.

"I love you, bhaiya," she said with an innocent look.

"Nautanki... Anyway, I love you, too."

"Bhabi, you and bhaiya can talk. I am signing off. Bye, bhabi. I love you."

"Bye, Aishu."

To Arjun, she said, "Bhaiya, call me after you finish talking with her. Until then, I'll complete my assignment."

She went to her room to finish her work while he spoke with her. Forty minutes later, Arjun entered Aishwarya's room. She was on the phone with someone.

"One second, Rahul. Let me ask him. Yeah, one second." She turned to Arjun and said, "Bhaiya, it is Rahul. His guitarist is not there. Rahul is singing today and he doesn't want to do two things at the same time. He wants to know if you could join him."

"I don't know, Aishu. It's pretty late."

"Come on, bhaiya. It is for our Rahul and moreover, it has been a long time since I heard you play."

He thought for a while and said, "Okay."

"We'll be there, Rahul."

Aishwarya told her brother the location and they were there within ten minutes.

Rahul gave him a guitar and said, "We are fifteen minutes late, Arjun. Shall we start?"

"What song?"

"The first one will be I swear' and the next will be Cloud number nine'."

Aishwarya high fived Rahul and said, "Awesome songs."

Arjun checked the guitar and tuned it to suit him.

"Ready to go?" Rahul asked him.

Arjun nodded and gave him a thumbs up.

The music started and then Rahul sang. Aishwarya stood in the front and cheered the guys.

THE UNEXPECTED CONNECTION

CHAPTER 17

Arnav and Khushi loved their previous night out and decided to have a walk along the same place. They saw the makeshift stage and the crowd and stopped by to see one of Rahul's performances. They were surprised to see Arjun playing the guitar. They stayed behind until most of the crowd left and then went to talk to the three.

Rahul noticed him first and said, "Mr. Raizada, what a surprise? You are here again. How was our performance?"

"You guys rocked," Arnav told them.

The door of a car which had black tinted windows opened and a man in his late fifties got down. Another man in a pair of jeans, t shirt and a denim jacket walked behind him.

Aishwarya ran to him and hugged him. "Uncle, Rahul didn't tell me you were here."

"I told him not to. I wanted it to be a surprise. Arjun, long time. How are you?"

"Fine, Uncle. How is Aunty?"

"She is fine." The man noticed Arnav and said, "Mr. Raizada, nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Singhania," Arnav said and shook his hand. "This is my wife, Khushi."

"Hello Mrs. Raizada!"

"You can call me Khushi, Sir," she told him with a smile. "Nice songs, Rahul."

"You know them, Rahul?" Aishwarya asked him.

Rahul out his arm around her shoulder and said, "Yes, I do. Mr. Raizada sang a song for his wife last time and we got acquainted."

"How do you guys know each other?" Khushi asked them.

"They are childhood friends, Khushi," Ram Singhania answered for them. "Difficult to separate them. There is one more guy in their gang. His name is Subash. When the four of them join hands, nothing can stop them."

A flash went off from a camera and they turned to see who it was. It was a young man in a pair of jeans and a loose fitting shirt.

He walked forward to them and said, "Mr. Singhania, I am working for a magazine. Would you like to tell us what you are doing with a bunch of college kids?" Before giving them time to answer, he asked, "You have always kept your personal life under wraps? Is the lead singer and guitarist, Rahul, your son? And the girl near him. Is he his girlfriend? When are they going to get married?"

"Rahul is my son and the girl next to him is his best friend. The whole Earth will freeze over before they get married. Meaning, no, they will never get married."

The man in the denim jacket stepped in between Ram and the journalist and said, "That's enough."

"Destroy the photos," Ram whispered before walking away with the rest.

The man nodded and took the journalist aside.

"Nosy people," Ram muttered under his breath.

"Find a girlfriend soon, Rahul," Aishwarya told him. "See? That guy is associating me with you. Find someone."

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked her as he tried hard to hide a grin.

She slapped the back of his head and said, "Idiot."

Arnav noticed their playful banter and said, "You look like really close friends."

"Very close, Sir," Aishwarya answered. "I know this idiot from the time he wore his..."

"Aishu, we had a deal," Rahul interrupted her. "You promised me you wouldn't tell anybody."

"You didn't tell me that I couldn't tell friends," she said with a wink.

"Dad, look at her," he whined.

He chuckled. "You brought this upon youself, son."

She turned to Arnav and said, "As I was saying, I know this idiot from the time he wore his underwear above his pants saying that he was Superman and that he was going to save the world."

Arnav and Khushi laughed at Rahul who groaned.

"You are going to pay for that," Rahul told her.

"And how is it that you are going to do that?"

"I will tell them about your fear."

Her playful expression changed to a sad one within a second. Arjun closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Rahul..." Ram scolded him.

Rahul cursed himself under his breath. Arjun held her hand and squeezed it.

"Aishu... Aishu, I am really sorry. I spoke without thinking."

Arnav and Khushi exchanged glances. Arjun, Aishwarya and the people around them were always mysterious.

Aishwarya nodded and said, "It's alright, Rahul."

"We are fine?"

"Yes, we are." Even though she managed a smile, it didn't have the original happiness and excitement.

"Dad, can I spend a couple of days with Arjun and Aishu?"

"You can, son. You don't have to ask. You just have to inform."

"Thanks, dad." He told Arjun, "I'll follow you in my bike."

The three bid goodbye to the other three and left.

After they left, Ram said, "Nice kids."

"Yeah, they are," Arnav said.

"You know them, Mr. Raizada?"

"You can call me Arnav. And yes, I know them. Aishwarya is doing her internship in my office."

"You know something, Arnav? She is like my daughter."

"I am sorry. I don't understand."

"Let's keep this private. My wife and I had a daughter. She passed away when she was young. We couldn't have children after that. We thought of adopting a baby. We liked Rahul and we adopted him. But when we took him home, I understood that I was taking a part of three children's life away. I promised myself that I would never be a problem between them and Rahul. Those three are Arjun, Aishwarya and Subash. Do you know why I am telling you this, Arnav?"

He shook his head. "Do I have to?"

"Yes. Because I know that you are a ruthless businessman. You maybe an angel in disguise for your family but for outsiders, you are a cruel man. Even though it is Rahul who carries my name, the other three also have a place in my heart. They are like my own children. Don't hurt them. If you hurt them, you have to face me."

Arnav smiled and said, "Nice to know that you are taking care of them. But let me tell you, Aishu and Arjun are a part of my family, too. If I hurt them, it will only hurt me back."

Ram smiled. "Anyway, it was nice meeting you. I'll see you later. Bye, Arnav, Khushi."

It was late by the time, the three reached the apartment. They postponed their movie plans for the next day and went to sleep.

The next morning, Aishwarya made a stop in Siddharth's place before going to college. She first went to Arnav's house and was informed by Hari Prakash that Siddharth and Anjali were in their house.

She found them in the kitchen. Siddharth was having a hard time in making Anjali drink the whole glass of milk.

"Anjali, what is this? You have a baby inside and you are behaving like a baby," Siddharth complained.

Anjali pouted. "How about we take this slowly? See, I have already finished three fourth. Tomorrow, I'll finish the whwole glass."

Aishwarya laughed at her childish excuse. She knocked on the kitchen door and the couple looked at her.

"Good morning, little one."

"Good morning, dosth."

"What are you doing here? Aren't you late for office?"

"I have to go to college today and I thought I could drop by and give you this before going to college."

She gave them a big parcel wrapped in brown paper. Siddharth held it while Anjali opened it. Inside the brown wrapper was a black and white portrait of them. It was the one Aishwarya had taken when Siddharth had placed his hand on his wife's stomach while Anjali touched his cheek.

"This is... awesome," Anjali told her. She hugged Aishwarya and said, "Thank you so much."

"How did you arrange it within a night?" Siddharth asked her.

Aishwarya lifted her imaginery collar and said, "I am a genious, that's how."

"Okay, Ms. Genious. Thank you so much. We love it."

"I'll get going. Otherwise I'll be late for class."

"Bye."

OMG OMG im fiiirrrsssttt...yaaahhh!!! Lovely update...I was waiting for it for a long time...

16
omg you are back
and back with a bang too
so prithvi wants to be her friend again
but aishu dont wanna give him a chance
after what happened
which isnt clear fully but we have some idea
that he placed some bet with his friends regarding her
and of course that would have hurt her
arjun is right if he wanted to be her friend again why didnt he try to contact her before
even if he has changed arjun is right in not wanting prithvi near aishu
so tanya called
wow these two ladies sure got arjun poor dude didnt know what hit him
they were cute
so playing guitar huh arjun
loved this update

17
ahhh so arhi saw them too
bless thats some coincidence right
so it was rahul dad who came
and some media person caught them but was dealt with
i know right aishu and peeps near her are very mysterious
seems they are real good friends these three
there is another person but he aint here
and mr singhania treats all four as his own
he warned arnie not to hurt them
though arnie said if he would then he himself would be hurting
am glad he is opening to more and more people arnie
what was that all about aishu and her fear
omg anj is so cute right
not drinking milk sid got her
ahhh that was so cute of aishu to give them that pic
ahhh so we shall know more about aishu and prithvi past cool

loved it

welcome back after long time wonderful update

i have been waiting for this update! loved the update!! what is aishu's fear???? plz continue soon! and i have a request...i wanted to ask if you could pleaseee share my new ff, it's called Gauntlet of Enmity or Love? and thank you in advance!!!

amazing updates