FF-Tera wafa...Wo Bewafa!! EPILOGUE- page 35 - Page 6

Haan hogtini ond saari 😃

yes , i am from bangalore 😃

yes , sure ..I will ask my mum and PM you the recipe ...I am loser when it comes to cooking 😆😆

I will update by tonight dear , sorry i messed up a bit end part now trying to fix it ...Sorry for the delay , hope you like it because for me it is looking such a drag ...😕

When he heard her name, it's like something clicked opened in his mind, like thousand butterflies fluttered its warm wings at once'the mere mention of her name sent thousand thoughts running in his mind '.he longingly looked towards door , he felt desperate to get a glimpse of her, desperate for her heady scent ,Desperate for her smile. In between all this he heard Tyagi muttering under his name " nice name though " leering at door giving one of his ugly smile '.He contracted his fingers in tight fist controlling his anger ..He felt rage swallowing him whole, he looked away and breathed hard as if controlling his over stressed nerves ' Even before he could react...He heard the door to his cabin clicked open and there she stood! His Nidhi'..

His eyes lit up and glowed under her gaze, he saw so many emotions reflecting on her face , colliding with one another 'those questions lurking in those eyes, staring back at him devoid of emotions '.swelling with exhaustion. And The smile replaced with disdain, repulsion ...And even in that situation, he felt the memories came rushing to him, churning up with fresh sprout of love and longing '.At the precise moment , it occurred to him , he loved her outrageously and immensely like there is no end '.And Still he loves her same way , just like he always did !

It was Tyagi who coughed and got up from his seat and extended his hand '"Hello 'Nidhi ..verma , Please sit down .."

Nidhi nodded her head and sat still staring at him, unblinking '.contemplating this whole absurd situation .Ashuthosh looked away unable to hold her accusing look 'How much he imagined this very moment, to find her again somewhere in his life and here she is sitting right in front of him but he is not able to look at her '.he felt this guilt growing bigger than what he feel for her immersing him deep in its embrace ' Tyagi took her papers " So Nidhi '..tell me do you have any experience in this field ?"

Nidhi mumbled "no"

"How well can you manage in stressful situation '.? Will you be able to take hours of stress when you are bogged down with work"

" I think , I can "

"You think? , or you can ?"

" I think I can 'As I have not faced such situation '.don't have any experience in this field "

What are your expectations? "

Nidhi swallowed and spoke " nothing '."

Tyagi looked at her " nothing , That's strange 'people come here with expectations '.can I ask why No expectations?"

Not even looking away from Ashuthosh's face, she mumbled "Because I was told not to expect much ''.Considering my lack of experience and I know what expectation do to people "

Ashuthosh shifted in his seat '.Tyagi laughed "you are brutally honest! You should pretend a lot in this corporate world to stick around '.such honesty will cost you a lot lady "

" I don't like to pretend '."

"But everyone does pretend lady to get what they want? '..it's human nature "

Nidhi gave faint smile " I know everyone do,pretend to get what they want but I don't '."

"When can you join '? We don't want people keep us wait and in the end drop us '.are you ready to join immediately?"

"Yes, I can join immediately '"

Tyagi smiled " we don't want brains here to make our work done , even a toddler can learn what we teach here '. we want people who stick around for long time, Not creating much fuss ,can you promise that ?"

She barely mumbled " yes .."

"Great then ...Welcome aboard Nidhi Verma 'you are selected "

Its then that she let go her gaze from his face and looked at Tyagi..." you have not even looked at my profile ..."

Tyagi laughed "Honesty girl, you have it ''.I believe it is ones biggest strength , I don't want anything more ..Ashuthosh you want to add anything 'I feel she is perfect for us, what you think?"

She saw him stiffening in his seat as her electric gaze again fixed on his face " ohh I forgot to introduce myself 'I am Tyagi and he is our new MD Ashuthosh ..Ashuthosh mathur , he returned from London just 6 month back'.."

Ashuthosh got up and extended his hand, she touched his fingers, felt the faint thumping of his heart, felt his warm blood pulsing through his fingers ''She looked away as fresh tears gathered in her eyes'just then when she was about to take her hand back..Ashuthosh uttered suddenly, it was more on an impulse than intentional '" Do you ever wonder why things have to turn out the way they do."

Nidhi stared back at him and took her hand back" No '.." she muttered and turned around and went out closing door on his face ''

Tyagi , who was looking at this exchange of words , mumbled to himself .." that's strange question to ask in interview 'very strange indeed!"

"How dare he?" she hissed to herself '.how dare he react to her as if nothing happened, Forget about apologizing for what he did to her but he acted as if he don't even know her 'he dint even looked at her face for second , it pricked her ,Pained her'."so what now he don't even remember me? "She muttered to herself '.. Finding him again in front of her made her happy and sad at once , its mixture of emotions which she felt 'a part of her happy to see him after all these years but same time suddenly its her hurt which cracked opened, fresh and raw '.reminding her of days where she really felt , that he left her '.that she did not mattered to him! 'those blur days shifted in her eyes clogging her mind to think straight '. Pain , shock , fury, joy all so intensely ,all so immediate ..one intense emotion banging with another , leaving her weak and trembling '

6 years, 6 long years...he walked away from her leaving her hurting, helpless...Hopeless. not even showing a courtesy to tell her that he is leaving '.it still shamed her to think the mass of confusion and misery she had been for weeks when he left '..But then again as months passed she rebuilt her life back, rising from ashes of dreams which meant nothing to him '.!

Yes she raised but not completely, even though she got over the hurt but she could not love anyone over the years like she loved him...no one could made her feel the way he did ! She felt its gone , something in her ..He snatched it from her while going away '.

She was pulled out to reality as her phone started buzzing to find call is from manya" Reached home Nidhi '..?"

Nidhi breathed in '." Yes Manya , Just now '.tell me how come you called me ?"

" To ask what happened with your interview ?"

" Oh nothing ..I got it ..!"

" ok 'what ? did you said you got it 'then why such Luke warm response 'girl , I was expecting you to jump in joy "

Nidhi smiled " yes , I want to 'but I am totally exhausted to do so ?"

" want to come for dinner at my place '.?'

" No Manya , I am fine 'I packed some food on my way back ..I will eat and sleep '"

" Ok , call me tomorrow first thing '.and tell me about it now sleep well "

Nidhi throwed her phone on bed and aimlessly wandered in her small room and after a while she pulled the small wooden box'. her treasure box, which her baba gifted her when she was 8 and asked her to fill it with things which is close to her heart '.She slowly opened it and her vision blurred looking at the things , each piece carrying memory 'There was a small butterfly hair pin which Db gave her ..There was small chain made of sea shells which baba gave to her when he took her to Mumbai '.her vision blurred as never ending memories clogged her mind '..And in the bottom, she found it...His picture, which she carefully buried so long back 'She remembered how she stole it from his drawer 'its small picture of him, with him smiling '. She could see his grin spreading across his face ..its lovely shot with lot of sunshine and movement !

Staring at his picture she muttered to herself '" I will block him 'I will block all my feeling for him , I don't let him enter my head '.my heart , I will not let him near me again 'Not anymore"

Life was not easy for him, it never offered him everything in neatly arranged in platter instead it always dished out to the most unbearing things towards him 'he had to struggle for everything to climb up this ladder of success, many time he had to struggle with his needs and what other need , It is his dreams which died in between all this, shattered to meet others expectations 'He lived most the time as if he owe whatever he got in his hand , a life chosen and carefully knitted by others for him'... Memories of his childhood, so vague..very blur '.he remember ,standing alone in empty street , hungry , miserable and dejected '.And then one day he saw him ,his baba coming towards him , taking his small hand leading him to a home which he so craved for '.a home where he feel secure , where he belong !...but it never came , he never felt the emotional security nor the feeling of belonging 'he wondered is this something because BB did not adopted him or is this because somewhere deep down still he feel , he is not completely accepted by his baba'

Over the years , as he grew up ''Bb expected him to study hard and he did 'first to please his baba and then because he owe that much to him and when he came back from England finishing his masters 'he bowed his head again and joined his baba's friends business even though his interest lie somewhere else ,..his passion to teach and share knowledge, to be a mentor , his dream to see his young student emerging with big dreams '..And over the years when BB asked him to marry avantika his wife ..he bowed his head again, even though his heart lie somewhere else '.with nidhi !Only thing which he chose in between all this Ayan'it was completely his decision to adopt that Kid , Even though he told BB that he is doing it to cover up the mess his wife did, but deep down , he knew he did that as he couldn't see one kid grew up like an orphan , whole life craving for home ''

Even after all these years ,he is the same person 'his shyness transferred to indifference and his open trusting nature to bitterness '. if today people try to help him , be kind to him 'he end up looking at them suspiciously thinking that they are with hidden motives '! He was always like that , uncertain , insecure ''And it is only with nidhi that he ever felt safe , secure , more at home'it is only with Nidhi he ever shared his dreams to be teach and open a school for under privilege children's'Nidhi believed in his dreams more than he believed .back then he was easily touched by her kindness and innocence 'when he first took her to Chai ki dhukan which was located just outside town , he remembered how her eyes lit up just the way it do with children's who find something new '.curious to know the outside world because they not at all scared by life '.'.She was like that always '.Easy to love !

He had a choice right back that time '6 years back , either to be with her or to leave her and bow his head for what he was committed to '.He chose the 2^nd one and now he standing here with guilt bigger than life '.in confusion , whether he really did correct thing, with nidhi ? With him '.. If not anything , he owe her an apology for leaving her so abruptly , for giving her so much of pain 'but then again he wondered , did life has given him another chance to mend his mistake? What he should do now?...it's true that he still love her immensely just like he always did and that is tangled root of many problem now ..Yesterday He clearly saw the pain in her eyes; the betrayal shimmering with intensity which scared him 'Even though he never acknowledged their relationship, he can't deny There had been too much between them'.'If there had been nothing, the Spark, that one moment of connection when their hands met wouldn't have happened..He saw the same emotions reflecting in her eyes , mixture of joy and extreme happiness to see him after all those years ..if this what life wanted to tell him , to go back to her ..yes, he will do that , he will hold on to this and win her back' 'if not anything , he will make sure , she is free of questions which must have haunted her over the years on his departure '.yes he will do that !

That morning, Tyagi and Ashuthosh were discussing deal which needs to be finalized, suddenly one of his supervisor came to his cabin ..." Sir , our customer "one era", declined our service from here on '.They were dissatisfied with our services "

Ashuthosh stared at him "How does it possible, I have seen there appreciation mentioning about our immediate and good services, what went wrong suddenly "

"Sir, it is one of our new employees, who did the mistake and ignored their email to solve their problem caused due to our software '.! "

"Send that person in '.I want to talk "

He briefly nodded and left '.Soon Nidhi was led to Ashuthosh cabin, without even looking up from his file, he muttered "I hope your supervisor discussed your mistake with you, I want explanation for what you did?"

Nidhi looked down " I am sorry , it was mistake 'I will make sure , it will not happen again "

"The question is not about your mistake Ms Nidhi ...it's about our customer ..."

Just then Tyagi jumped in " Ohh Common Ashuthosh , it happens'She is new , people do mistakes while learning don't they ?...Give her some time "Ashuthosh did not missed this, one look at his face he understand all his motives ..he gritted his teeth controlling his rage '..he hated this Tyagi for coming in between and speaking in favor of her 'he know what his intention are , he very well know his game plan .. " you can go now Ms Nidhi , talk to your supervisor and try to clear the mess " he uttered in a voice full of anger '

Nidhi nodded her head and went out '..

Nidhi buried her face and closed her eyes thousand times in irritation'. after coming out from Ashuthosh's cabin her supervisor called her '." I want you to clear the mess you did first thing by today...They are our good customer and I don't want to lose them"

Nidhi nodded her head, she remembered once her Baba told her how to tackle angry customer..." Nidhi listen to them first, upset customer wants to be heard, once you take the feedback, apologize and start taking action to uplift the customer, it's not time to skimp but to win back the customer ' " and Nidhi tried to did the same . After sending final service recovery report to the customer '.she shut down her system and got up from her seat. She checked the time and it was nearing to 8, she was about to go out when she got call from Tyagi in her intercom ..." Nidhi, heard you are still working 'Mind to come to my cabin for few minutes to discuss one of project "

"At this moment sir, I mean ...Can't we do it tomorrow ..."

"No ...I have busy schedule from tomorrow '."

She mumbled a "yes" and got up to go to his cabin '.

Ashuthosh wrapped up for the day and collected his things to go, he know she will not be there at this time but just out of curiosity... he peeked towards her cubicle to find all her things still lying on her table 'he passed empty corridors and then about to swipe his card to move out when he heard Tyagi's voice coming from his cabin '.Ashuthosh was not interested in what he was talking but he freezed when Tyagi muttered something like "Nidhi" '.

When Nidhi went to his cabin, she found tyagi sitting in his couch stretching his leg" So nidhi verma 'I called you to ask will you be interested to work for me in my next project '.?"

Unsure, she just nodded her head '" well , don't feel bad about Ashuthosh's words ..he is difficult boss , never get satisfied 'so I will ask him to change your reporting to me ? You will not get such treatment as you got today '"

" I don't think Whatever he said was wrong , I did a mistake '. So its fine with me Sir ..."

"Don't call me sir, don't you know the rules of this office ... Address each other using their first name, its shows bonding between the people '."

Nidhi glared at him, if not true the guy was not sounding correct even his eyes giving her dirty look'"Ok 'Thank you for the offer "

She was about to go out when Tyagi spoke again "have anyone told you before 'that you are beautiful?"

Nidhi turned around..." Ohh, don't take me wrong way '.I believe in appreciating beauty...is it so wrong?"

Ashuthosh who was controlling till then burst opened the door and came inside '.looking at ashuthosh's face, Tyagi tried to give smile but he failed " Oh Ashuthosh ..You are still here, well I was just telling Nidhi about our new project '."

He looked towards Nidhi "Nidhi, go out and wait outside ...I will come in few minutes ..."

When she did not stirred from where she stood..he glared at her " I asked you to go out and wait for me "

Once she is gone, Ashuthosh spoke to Tyagi in very calm and controlled voice " I wanted to tell you this from some time Mr Tyagi '..Dont even dare to look at her, you got me right? Yes, don't even dare '..If you do, you know what I am capable of "telling this he stormed out of the room '

When he came to parking lot, he saw Nidhi waiting for him 'he opened the door of his car for her 'She backed off and looked away ," That was not necessary for you to behave like this for your mere employee Mr Ashuthosh ..that was not needed ". Ashuthosh saw the expression on her face bitter as nightshade" I did not behaved liked that for one mere employee 'you know that "

Nidhi glared at him " no , I don't "

He tried to reach out to touch her hand "We were friends once nidhi '"

" Were we ?" she stared at him with her cold eyes " I dint knew that, I dint knew that you still remember me Ashuthosh Mathur 'remember the girl you left behind .."

Ashuthosh stared at her " oh , don't give me that stare Ashuthosh as if you don't know anything 'what I am talking about!"

Sensing his silence she continued '"you very well knew that I 'I ..was falling for you 'you also knew that ' that one day you are going to break my heart but still you did not stopped me '..you made me fall for you and then you left me in middle without even giving explanation '.."

" its not what you think Nidhi '.."

"Then tell me what it is like '.? "

" I had my own reasons to leave you behind '."

She cut him in between " yes ..Reasons, but I am not interested to hear any of it ! 'Anyways , I don't want your care ..I can take care of my self "

She try to move away but he grab her hand" no , you cannot '.you always needed someone to take care of you , I know you 'more than you know yourself !"

She struggle from his grip" people change over the years, they don't remain the same '.I too changed'

He stared into her eyes " No 'you haven't changed a bit , you still the same ' innocent '. and beautiful "

He whispered in his husky voice making her tremble , giddy as his warm breath nuzzled her cheeks 'she closed her eyes in desperate attempt to hide her turmoil and then with whatever strength she have .. Moved her hand on his heart and pushed him away 'deliberately pushed him away and moved away from him!...leaving him behind alone to stare out at empty sky ''

I answered 2 Qurestions -

A) Ashu was not married when he was with nidhi

B)Ayan is his adopotive son ..Rest I will cover up in next chapter

Hope you all Like it ...Please do comment 😃