Brush with normal
She did show up after work that evening Tapan was in calls, Gagan was asleep, his parents and Vyas had been invited to chai at Dubeys
Parul and everyone was, but they couldnt go
Parul wanted to be there so amma would not be a blabber mouth
But Gagan's arm was hurting because he accidentally used it last night to get off bed, tearing a ligament on his shoulder as confirmed by his hospital surgeon later this afternoon
Arya and Rahul were out with grandparents also
Mohit had let Tapan use the car for as long as he wanted to
Tapan was actually looking to buy two, one for himself and one for Gagan
Parul wanted him to wait until the parents left
She had too much pride, she was protecting Gagan from his own parents ironically
tapan was talkingt o his friends and had stopped by at a dealership to check them out
But they were not getting a break from the drama whatsoever
He had managed to tell Manik in the fracas though
"If you dare hurt my family, even for half a second, I will not be afraid to end your life. Trust me on this Mr Grover! You KNOW I can do it! I stole a bunch of deals from you in retaliation last year
I can do whatever the f--- I want"
Parul had Shubhra and was slithering out of the crowd to meet up with Vyas and her in-laws as they approached from the rest room
Thank fully Shubhra had not heard
The parking attendant had almost assaulted Tapan when he had said that
Something about the threat must have sounded frighteningly concrete to the attendant's ears
Tapan did not regeret it one bit
After seeing Parul cry like that
He never claimed to be classy or dignified he whispered audibly as he stood in the balcony staring down
"Di and jeeu are all I have... I dont know Nitin will take a blow for me"
That thought saddened Tapan enough to invoke tears in his eyes. He wanted them to be as close as Vyas Kedar and Gagan
He thought that was being cemented by parents passing
But turns out it had driven a canyon between the two
He wished he had a Vyas in his life to bounce ideas off, as to how to be safe what to do next, who to call
He imagined the brothers Zoom calling to plan strategies to keep Parul safe
But nope
He was on his own
Nitin would most likely ridicule him for falling in love with a mob boss's daughter
Nitin's in-laws were plain as vanilla
Just another regular UP family settled in NOIDA with a 100 relatives, lost in a crowd types
Tapan had wanted a life like that
Going over to in-laws for phera daalna, teej and holi
Like Parul did in the initial days
Stand in the chhatth and fly kites on Sankranti with the saale
Assist wobbly Taujis and Phuphajees on and off autos
He had falled for a chick who was out of his galaxy
She was the daughter of a man that bayed for Tapan's blood
He ideally should have given up all hopes of normalcy when Sanchita Maheshwari broke up with him
That was the only brush with "regular everyday middle class paradise" he was blessed to get
The door bell rang
Parul was making chai watching a movie online
"Dekhoooo" she shouted
"Gagan uth jaayenge" she shouted
"Itna chilla rahi ho aap woh to waise bhi uth jaayenge" Tapan laughed
Lo and behold it was the gal that knocked his socks off
dressed in a gorgeous taupe designer cotton kurta with a muslin like fine palazzo pants, holding a giant basked of custom arranged roses
"Hi" she greeted nervously
"Hey" he opened the door wide letting her pass
"For me?" he muttered
"Parul hai?"
"HHaan... just in time... she is making chai"
"Kaun hai?
Parul peeked
"Hi!" Shubhra whispered
"TUM?" Parul was shocked
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