Mismatch/ Identity - THE END! (pg 93) - Page 56

hey ...plz update soon........waiting for update ........for toooooooo long now.........

Part Thirteen - Satin Peace

Some feelings are better understood in silence…

15^th August 2010

Khanna Mansion, Cedar

The night was long, unpleasant, and not at all comforting. The stars gleamed brightly in the night sky, the moon wept, and somewhere a child fondly stared at the big bright sports car, while his eyes twinkled with delight.

Elizabeth Khanna leaned back on the high wrought iron gates secured in front of the driveway, as she pulled out a cigar from her purse, and stood facing the lush green lawns. The sound of water running could be heard from the water sculpture planted in the left; the gazebo sat in the middle overlooking the waterfall piece, while along the sidelines she identified roses, lilies, and daisies. The rest were foreign to her.

She closed her eyes in exhaustion, and rubbed her temple absently. The mere thought of her grandson, Angad Khanna was enough to make her tremble. Earlier today, he hadn't even acknowledged her presence, as he had just slipped past her, as if she were some invisible barrier, thoroughly ignoring her. It had hurt.

It still hurt, she realized.

She had been sitting in her room comfortably reading her favorite novel for the tenth time, savoring it's time, when she had heard the slamming of the door from the adjacent room. Placing the book face down on the side table she had walked out of the room only to come across a visibly disturbed Aubrey.

Aubrey happened to be their Anglo Indian butler, who had settled in Cedar about thirty years ago, and had worked with them ever since. He was older than Karan, yet he was so much more patient, and understanding with everything.

But, today for the first time he appeared tensed, "Everything alright Aubrey?" She asked almost immediately, "What was that noise?"

"Master looks furious, Ma'a,m" he said quietly with his head bent, "Aubrey" said Elizabeth instantly catching his hand, "Don't you call me Ma'am"

"He tossed a bunch of glass coasters on the wall…" Aubrey finished with his head bent in shame, as he held the tray in his hand steadily, yet Elizabeth could catch sight of his hands. They were shivering.

"And?" Elizabeth prodded, yet Aubrey remained silent. He was a gem of a person, she decided, always covering Angad's words.

"He asked you to get out didn't he?" Elizabeth asked at once her body turning stiff at once, Aubrey remained silent, yet the unmistakable color rising on his cheeks confirmed Elizabeth's suspicions. As she had been strolling out of the room she had heard her grandson's words, yet she hadn't been sure, whether she had heard them correctly.

"God save that boy today!" She scowled, "I'm going to throw him out of this house today! Seriously, this is no-"

"Lizy," Aubrey said calmly holding her hand, "Master is furious, so his words are quite understandable."

"Don't you justify his actions, Aubrey" she snapped, "That boy should learn his lesson. Seriously, this is no way to speak with anyone!"

"I'm sure he doesn't mean anything Lizy. Please don't scold the lad, as it is he has suffered major setbacks"

"And, what have we not suffered anything Aubrey?" Elizabeth's fury had by now escalated to rage "We don't have a temper; we don't have a problem Aubrey? Yet, we manage to set a boundary to our words, and to our actions. We all do have problems, and it's high time that boy learns he isn't the only one with problems here." Once she was finished she marched past him to find her grandson only to be treated like a sculpture in the mansion. Nonliving.

She continued to massage her temple. As his grandmother she was entitled to certain rights. One of them primarily being his happiness and well bring. But, no, the boy never understood. He always wanted to keep his personal life private. And, she hated it.

Not that it was wrong to give him some space. But, you could give a sane person some space, certainly not Angad Khanna, he wouldn't be categorized, as exactly sane, in her opinion. With what working twenty four seven round the clock like a maniac, barely eating, barely sleeping, and looking like hell, yet continuing it daily, were not signs of a stable mind.

His mind was unstable, she had realized it, not literally the unstable one, but something more like troubled his thoughts, and haunted him. That, in her opinion, partially explained the reason he worked like a maniac.

She guessed that he wanted to be buried in his work, so that he wouldn't have the time to think. A lot of people tended to do that. And, she sincerely hoped so did her grandson, and that apart from this, there was nothing specifically wrong with him.

He was just running away from something. More like someone.

"Hello gorgeous" clipped a voice from behind her that belonged to her second grandson, Mahen Khanna. And, instantly all her tensed thoughts easily slid away like ice at Mahen's sight. He was a charming young boy.

A bit reckless, and slightly crazy, but overall at least a very delightful, and happy individual.

He kissed her soft cheeks briefly before turning his gaze on her, "Stop thinking" he murmured with a grin before kissing her temple, as rubbed her shoulders, and watched her, "You need to chill."

She stepped away from the glare of the light to glance at him, and her brows widened in disbelief at the slow lazy grin on his face. Boy was he up to something. That devilish grin of his always meant trouble. Either to her, Ali, or Angad. Instinct warned her this time, it was trouble for Angad.

She opened her mouth to say something, but then withheld her words, and instead tipped her head sideways, as she gave him a breathtaking smile, "Will you enlighten me on the subject of your brother?" she said in annoyance, while his grin widened.

"Let's see" said Mahen, "He can be shallow, rude, a jerk, a pompous maniac, and a total ass. Doesn't that say it all?" She punched his shoulders lightly, "When will you learn to appreciate the good qualities in your brother, Mahen?"

Shaking his head in disagreement he muttered calmly, "Sadly, I never had the impression the guy had any good qualities in him!" Elizabeth grinned.

She understood Mahen's intentions clearly, even though he was clever enough to polish his words, and didn't make it evident, that most of the words were deliberate on his part for the benefit of the front person. He was caring, and loving, just like his grandfather.

But, she was his grandmother. And, she had seen him, since the day he was born. The guy could be very well charming when he wanted to be. Especially, since now he had noticed that she was in distress due to his brother, so he had very easily managed to turn a serious situation into a light one. Not by discussing it, but through other means.

A smart lad, she admitted to her self, as she caught sight of a shadow disappearing round the corner.

"Alright" said Mahen, as he snapped open the lid of the letter box, "Why don't you let me know what's cooking in that beautiful head of yours?" He pulled the letters out, and closed the letter box tight shut, and started to flip through them.

"Well" Elizabeth began, as she caught sight of a letter addressed to her granddaughter, "What's that?" she said instantly pulling the brown envelope in her hands, "Ali going to the saloon, as usual" Mahen replied calmly with his gaze still on the letters, "To impress-" He stopped.

Elizabeth instantly realized she had gotten distracted. "Where was I now?"

"I believe you started with 'well'"

"Oh yes" She replied instantly forming her thoughts, "For starters what the hell is up with this place?" She snapped. Mahen jumped.

"Does your blood pressure just shoot up in a matter of seconds?" He asked her from a feet away, as he turned back to flip through the letters again, "Yes." she mentally cursing herself, "I'm afraid I'm getting old"

"Don't say that" It was Mahen's turn to snap, "You are young and not to mention gorgeous! Darlin' you have a long life ahead of you."

This time he tipped his sideways grinning, "And, if you weren't' my grandmother by any chance, then I would have definitely given you one hell of a proposal! You are smart, sexy, and boy does your head heat up like a hot pan on a stove" She threw back her head, as she laughed endlessly.

"You flatter me, boy" she said chuckling, as she stepped in front straightening his hair, "Now, would you care to explain to me why my grandson walked past me today-"

He shook his head in disbelief, "I wouldn't do that." he declared, "Thank you. Why he is being such a …" She couldn't come up with the right word.

"Pig?"

"Yes." She said smiling, "And, what the hell are you & Ali constantly whispering about?"

"Did he by any chance resemble an angry bull when he walked past you?"

"Angry bull?" She asked with a frown.

"Never mind" He replied shaking his head as he smiled fondly at some sweet memories, "A girl once mentioned to me that Angad was a pompous maniac, a pig, and he resembled a angry bull" He looked very satisfied at the end of his sentence.

"That's very unkind of her" muttered Elizabeth instantly jumping up to her grandson's defense, "Believe me darlin' if you are aware of the things he made her go through. You would agree with her"

"What makes you think that?"

"Mahen, is that you?" called a voice from behind. And, they both turned around to catch sight of a disheveled Aaliyah walking down the marble steps of the Khanna Mansion, as she rubbed her eyes nervously, "What's going on?" She asked at once with her one hand resting on her thigh, and the other dug up in her hair.

"I came with the intention to ask Elizabeth whether she wants to catch some fireworks"

For a second, he unmistakably saw confusion cross over her features, but soon it was replaced with a glint of amusement, "She placed him a call?" Aaliyah Khanna asked, with her mouth wide open.

"Yep" replied Mahen grinning, "You relied a lot on fate here" she said positively beaming, as she tightened her robe, "Not necessarily" he replied, as he played around with his car keys.

"What do you mean?" she asked frowning, "I have a lot of players in this game" Aaliyah looked surprised, "You do?" she looked in disbelief, "Yeah" Mahen finished with a smile.

"Players? game? What on earth is going on in here?" Elizabeth asked in fury. She hated it when her grandkids hatched a plan together, and left her out of it, "Would anyone care to elaborate?"

"Wait a second Lizy, "Ali said carelessly, as she failed to notice the fury cross over Elizabeth's features, "Mahen, where the hell is the kiddo?"

"I got Aditya-"

"What?? You got my-"

"Yes. Sorry. I didn't have much of a choice-"

"Kiddo? What the devil is going on in here?" Elizabeth was beyond furious now. She had no idea of the kiddo, fireworks, game, and the female, who had placed someone a call. Seriously, it made no god damn sense. And, that infuriated her.

"Sit in the car Elizabeth" Mahen said patiently at once, as he held her hand steadily, and opened the door for her, "And, I'll you narrate you the tale of your grandson"

"It better be one hell of a tale, because if it ain't, then I'm going to disown you!"

"Believe me darlin" Mahen replied, as he squeezed her hand lightly, "This one has all the ingredients romance, suspense, humor, and a tragic ending"

"A tragedy?"

"Yes, and it's up to us to fix this tragedy. Why don't you get in the car now? While, I narrate you the tale, as we head to Chicago."

*****

Starlit Apartments, Chicago

"Hello Angad" The melodious voice came from the back and as he turned around he instantly caught sight of her, as she rose on her feet. She had grown definitely an inch or two, than the last time he had seen her. Hell, the last time felt like an ancient dream. Had it really been three years?

The answer was yes, as it reflected clearly in Kripa Sharma's body language, and looks. The pale young woman standing in front of him didn't appear anything close to the teenager he had once encountered. And, his mistake lied in coming with the same picture of her in mind.

She had infinitely changed. She was wearing a creamy Armani suit, a plain black skirt, which ran down till her thighs. Her honey brown hair fell down lazily across shoulders. It was curly now and rich brown in color. Her face was much paler than the last time he had seen her, and he could see the dark marks and eye bags under her once fine looking eyes. The lines made her appear more aged, than she was.

She had definitely lost a good ten pounds, and judging by the kid's picture on the dresser, he had spotted earlier it was a wonder how she managed to even lift that kid. Their kid, he reminded himself.

She looked much more tired, and worn out, as if there was this heavy burden on her shoulders. Yet, one couldn't over look her beauty, especially those heavily lashed eyes focused on him.

She led the way towards the couch, and once both were seated, he realized she was now seated on the high rise chair opposite him with her jaw firmly set, her eyes steady, and her left hand resting gracefully on the other, as she turned her attention towards him. Their eyes met.

She was cool, calm, confident, yet he could unmistakably catch the intense emotion of pain, and fear for her son flickering in those light chocolate brown eyes of her hers. She acknowledged his presence with a brief polite smile, which lacked warmth, and depth. Her eyes were distant, and aloof on him.

"It's been a long time" she began with that same polite smile highlighting her features, especially her eyes, "So, how have you been Angad? Did you get married by any chance? Any kids?" she chuckled lightly at the mention of kids.

Kripa Sharma was a bundle of nerves, as she sat across from the man, who had stolen her heart a long time ago. She could feel the wetness in her palms, as she brushed them absently with the cotton fabric of her faded skirt.

Had she forgiven him?

The answer was yes. After all, one couldn't force a man to love them just because they loved him. If her love was true after all, perhaps one day he would come to love her. No, she decided, there was no way she was going to delude herself into thinking like that.

In these past three years, she had come to accept, and understand that perhaps he had said those bitter words, as a means to diminish his guilt. And, if that was going to make him happier, then it was fine. She had rather have the pain, than to see him living through it.

Did she have a big heart?

Not at all, but, when it came to this man things always tended to be a little different. He had taught her to love, and to be loved. For that, she would always be grateful to him, because he had guided through a different path, in a different light. Truly, the most beautiful, and spectacular light.

She stole a quick glance at him, and saw him watching her with narrowed eyes. Why did he still have to look that hellishly handsome?
"I wasn't aware I'd one, until today" he replied bluntly, and he noticed her shift slightly. The smile on her face disappeared, and he noticed she was watching him now.

She had envisioned their meeting a million times in her mind, either during daylight or during night in her sleep, yet nothing came as close as this today.

His presence was indeed alarming, almost complicating things for her, and it had in a way provided a major distraction for her, she realized, as guilt tugged in her heart. If he hadn't bluntly reminder her, then she would have completely forgotten about her son. Shameless.

At his sight, she had almost forgotten about her son, bloody hell! She chocked on the intense clot forming in her throat., "I'm sorry you had to learn about him in this manner" The mahogany floor felt cheap, and out of place, as she gazed it, and she made a mental note to remove it, "I wish I'd related this to you in better circumstances"

"You weren't planning to inform me at all, Kripa"

"Well" she paused trying to gather her thoughts. He was right. She wasn't planning to inform me at all, yet admitting it would be rude, "I'd it in store for one day"

"When was that one day supposed to come Kripa? After my death? You would relate it to my dead body?"

She turned pale at his words, and he saw her clutch on her jaw. That was his intention. To infuriate her. He couldn't bear to deal with a cold lifeless robotic Kripa.

"I've been trying to remain polite to you ever since you walked in that door. And, yet you are so eager on pissing me off. If you are going to be bitter about not being informed you'd a kid, then let me remind you, it was you, who accused me of seduction. And, any mother for that matter would never inform her child's father that he has a son, if the man accused her for such a…" She looked disgusted, "cheap act"

He'd been waiting to hear that ever since he walked in the door today, "And, I'm sorry for that" he said calmly pressing his eyes.

Had Angad Khanna just apologized to her? Kripa studied him in disbelief of all the responses she had anticipated from him; apology was never one of them. Goodness, he'd apologized, but that still didn't change much, did it?

Her eyes went up in flames, "That doesn't matter" She dismissed his words, "I have forgiven you for it. I no longer hold any grudges against you. But, yes Angad, next time before you convey this to any lady. Please do try to be considerate as to her feelings." He thought he heard a sob, as she finished, but the way she stood up, and slid her feet in her strapless sandals, and walked out the door, the sob was out of question, yet it had come, he knew.

As she vanished out of sight, he realized, there was an aura of mystery to this girl. He didn't know her at all. Apart from the fact they had been together three years ago, she had virtually changed herself so much that she had become a complete mystery, almost a stranger to him now. He didn't quite like it. Yet, it was the mysterious thing about her that captivated his interest the most right now. Especially, the way she handled him with such distantness.

He wanted to break that invisible wall she had crafted between them. To see the girl that lied at heart.

Because, once upon a time, he had taken a fine liking for that girl.


*****

I'm sure many of you will be surprised w/ their interaction! I for one anticipated fireworks, but since it's the same normal routine I decided for a change I wouldn't torture you all w/ Angad's anger, even though it's quite justified in it's own way. In the big picture it's his mistake, and he has to realize it at one point. I chose that time, as this one.

Regd Angad's feelings, they will sprout soon, especially since he is now wounded by Kripa's cold shoulder. Do let me know your thoughts on this part! I wish I'd the time to write more, and go in detail w/ this whole process, but I don't have time, and you're lucky to be spared from the details! 😆 I will post the next part on Friday, and the last part will follow soon.

Highlights for the next part - Arin's return, Dinner with the Family, Meeting w/ Aditya, Disco, and a brutal fight (Lots of jealousy in store!)

i love you! that was amaziing!!! you just made my day! furreal man!! it was so different then i expected! perfectly written! i truly have no words to describe it, absolutely superb! Yay Arin's coming back! Mahen is such a cute flirt😳 Cont Soon!

awww........that was so sad and cute.........ak r living a miserabe life......damn if this ff is ending soon then make it a happy ending continue soon

Great part. Long part. Loved it . I loved Angad's grandmother she seems so nice and cool. I loved when she was with Mahen and Aliyah not knowing what was going on. Also, Angad is just a mess I mean he going through a horrible time, and even Kripa I feel sad for both of them. Can't wait for the next part. Continue soon. Take care. 👏 👏

this is a great update!!!
lizy the grandma is soo sweeeeeeeeeet!!!
mahen and ali are hilarious!!

i love mahen 😆
brilliant

nw get them bck together

fab part
i loved it...
i bet it is all mahen's plan 2 bring AK 2gether...
who is aditaya??
continue soon
cant wait

hey tht wz a reeely nice part.........feeling bad for both angad n kripa but its angad's fault........n he will realize it...continue sooon
luv
Anamika

amazing part
i loved the way kripa is giving him cold treatment
that's gr8 only then he would learn his mistakes
thanx for continuing. i was so imaptient to
read the next part .
i loved the preview.
cont soo



________
~Sana~