Dust motes swirled in its path, before hesitantly landing on the grey fabric of his jacket... it's almost as if even the dust particles are frightened of this man! Seems like Arnav and Aman have a far closer relationship than hitherto seen in any of the fan fictions. Interesting to note Arnav practising austerity... something that seems out of character with the ASR we are so familiar with... of course, your ASRs have all been unique! Lavanya and NK already a couple... hmmm, interesting. The Aman-Arnav convo about the restorers and the local artisans having no clue as to where to get the material needed to bring back Sheesh Mahal to its original glory very smoothly paves the way for Khushi's expertise and arrival on the scene. Looks like Aman got was given the opportunity to work for Arnav due to his skills rather than due to his experience or lack thereof... no wonder Arnav is surprised that he doesn't pay it forward when it came to Khushi... Aman owing so much to ASR is making doubly sure that nothing goes wrong, which is understandable... Khushi's repeated visits for the job reek of either desperation or persistence, am not sure which! Without even having seen Khushi's face or spoken, Arnav being drawn to her is a nice touch. Hope her meeting with Lavanya and NK will get her the job and will be the start of a lasting friendship. When Khushi was first introduced, she seemed to have secluded herself, and I wondered if it hadn't been because of some physical trauma or disfigurement... however, her changing her mind and stepping out to look for a job with ASR made me change my mind... now, Arnav being so reclusive and seemingly interacting with Aman, the housekeeper and the Kashyaps raises similar thoughts once again... is Arnav physically scarred or is it emotionally, especially as he says that he can't allow himself to feel the myriad emotions Khushi aroused in him. Shades of Beauty and the Beast, by chance? Looks like the Arnav-Khushi connection is as potent as usual... each has already felt the other's allure even if they don't know why their emotions are affected. The role reversal of Lavanya exuding warmth and NK being slightly aloof during the first meeting with Khushi is a nice touch. Juhi, I like that you create such believable characters, especially strong female ones and confident male ones who don't mind deferring to their wives / girlfriends. And for a few, magical seconds, the great hall of Sheesh Mahal vibrated with something that hadn't been heard there for years. The sound of unbridled joy... that's somehow very sad! As the car had taken him closer and closer to Sheesh Mahal, that sense of calm had rapidly been replaced by a burning...urgency. He felt like there was something that was pulling him towards it...calling him home, almost... is it possible that it was the latent link, he seems to have to Khushi, was calling him? Pleased to note that my guess turned out to be partly right. I am very glad that, unlike his on-screen avatar, this Arnav dresses in jeans and shirt, too... in the show, whenever he was less formally clothes " minus his waistcoat and tie " he did look good! ...she was his employee, and he was bound to be polite... now that's something new: generally, the belief prevails that one doesn't need to be polite to those in one's employ, that one can be curt and dismissive of their feelings... a welcome change, I must say. The courtesy and the whole night-time encounter brought the aforementioned fairytale to mind again. Eagerly awaiting the unfolding of the story so as to learn what tragedy lies in Arnav's immediate and distant past... also eager to learn why Khushi left her previous job without notice... did that have anything to do with her putting away her bright clothes and opting for sober hues, before reverting to her earlier style? A very promising beginning to the story!
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