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Chapter 17
1
"Tumhe jaana hai to shaukh se jao, main yahi pe tumhara intezaar karungi. Aur ye yaad rakhna, ki zindegi ke iss safar mein koi aur tumhara saath de na de, main hamesha tumhare saath rahungi. Tumhe shayad koi farak nahi padega, lekin... I'm sorry. I'm truly very sorry." Swayam looked up with a guilty face.
Sharon was reading her lines when she furrowed her brow upon hearing the last words.
"Shekhawat, ye script mein nahi hai!" She spoke with a raised eyebrow.
"I know... this is not in the script. It's, it's me... I just..." Swayam fumbled.
"Do you get paid for wasting my time?" Sharon interrupted him in her usual manner.
"No, no...I..."
"Listen!" Sharon once again shut him up showing her hand. "I will learn these lines on my own. There is no need to narrate. If there are changes, let me know on the floor. Tum ja sakte ho."
"Sharon..."
"And yeah, send me more coffee. That'll be all. Thanks."
Sharon lowered her face into the script. Swayam looked on for two seconds more and dejectedly turned towards the door, when Reyaansh popped in.
"Hey guys!!!" he exclaimed in his usual ecstatic manner. But seeing both Sharon and Swayam in a somewhat grave state of mind, he seemed disappointed. Regardless, he pulled Swayam into a hug, after hugging Sharon.
"Aur bata, teri saheli kaisi hai?" Rey smirked.
"She's fine. And since it's her day off she's probably drowning herself in coffee," replied Swayam.
"Oh, I see. Tu kaha ja raha hai? Baith na. Abhi abhi to aaya main..." Rey demanded.
Before Swayam said anything, Sharon intervened. "Rey! This is my make up room!"
"I know Sharon... tum make up karo na. We don't have a problem."
"Rey!!!"
"Yaar I have to go. Bahat kaam hai, milta hoon thodi der mein," Swayam excused himself.
"Swayam bichara, kaam ka maara," Rey sighed. "Aur ye kameena Karan, hamesha chillata rehta hai ispe. And Sharon tum bhi kuchh kam nahin ho haan."
"Of course. Swayam Shekhawat, Mr. bichara!" taunted Sharon. "Anyway, tum batao, kal ghar kyun aaye the?"
"Aise hi, tumse milne ka mann kiya. Tell me, lilies ya carnations?"
"What? Tum ye puchhne ke liye aaye the?"
"Haan. Ab batao, lilies, carnations, ya the old-fashioned roses?"
"Orchids. Send her orchids." Sharon nodded and smiled at her best friend.
2
Bloody hell!
The door bell rang for the 6th time in 4 hours. Kriya prayed it wasn't somebody trying to sell her an aqua guard or a set of overpriced encyclopedia. Along with bad memories, she also had a bad hangover. And to deal with it she helped herself to some coffee Swayam left for her in the flask. Sadly for her, along with her headache it took away her sleep too. But her eyelids were still tired. Rubbing her eyes, she slowly got up on her feet and went to the door.
Outside her door on the floor, lay a neatly arranged bunch of lilac orchids along with a small note. Astonished, Kriya picked it up and came inside.
It was written in black ink with clear legible handwriting.
If you still wanna see the real Reyaansh
Like you said last night,
Then be ready at 7.30 pm.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
PS: Let me know if you've other plans...
Plans! What other plans! Right now you're my only plan Rey Singhania.
Kriya hurried to take a shower. It's almost 3. 4 hours more to go! Wait a minute! Why is she running about like this was a date?
3
Five hours had passed and Swayam couldn't find one opportunity to talk to Sharon. She had put up this icy wall in between them and Swayam was tired of banging his head against it. This was more frustrating than when Sharon constantly got him in trouble. At least there was some form of communication between them. But now, she had completely shut him out, shunned him. And he didn't like it. It made him restless. And now she was going home. She had an early pack up today. Three more hours, before he saw her again for her Bengali lessons. That's it! He has to speak to her in the evening. Yes.
"Hey Swayam!"
Swayam turned to find Sharon's secretary Juhi. She giggled and hugged him when he greeted her.
"Tum kaam ke beech mein mujhe distract karne aayi ho?" remarked Swayam freeing himself from her embracing arms.
"No! I just came to inform you that aaj tumhe ma'am ke ghar jaane ki zarurat nahi," said Juhi brushing her fingers through Swayam's hair.
"What! Why?" shouted Swayam.
"She said she isn't well. She'll see you tomorrow!"
"Oh! Okay. Tomorrow. Fine. Great!" Swayam tried to force a smile.
"Yes. Toh main soch rahi thi, aaj hum dono dinner ke liye bahar chale?" asked Juhi wrapping her arms around Swayam again.
"Aaah... you know Juhi, I'd love to, but aaj meri mummy ka birthday hai so I'll have dinner with her," Swayam lied effortlessly.
"But your mother is in Calcutta!"
"Yes. We skype every year on this day. Now, if you excuse me. I've some work."
"Swayam, you always have some excuse... pichhli baar it was your nephew's birthday!" the girl complained. "When would we go for dinner?"
"Tomorrow... kal," replied Swayam as he walked away.
4
Let's do it tomorrow? Aaj thoda kaam hai.
Kriya sent the text to Rey. She didn't want him to think this was a date, or worse, that she was one of those women who would jump at the opportunity of going out with Reyaansh Singhania. True, that she did jump a couple of times, but he need not know about that. Hence, she decided to postpone their second 'meeting'. The message was delivered. Kriya stared at her phone for a few more seconds and then chided herself mentally as she found herself waiting for a response. Deciding against it, she got up to leave when her phone rang. It was Rey. He called her back, instead of texting.
-Hi!
-Hi. Yeah, tomorrow's fine with me. But I thought today you'd be free.
-Yeah well. But you know... chutti ke din ghar pe kaam hota hai and all. And I've some personal work too.
-That's okay. So I'll see you tomorrow?
-Yeah.8.30.
-Should I pick you up from home?
-Office.
-You work a lot!
-I do...
-So 8.30 it is.
-Yeah!
That didn't go bad, thought Kriya as she hung up. He didn't sound like he was judging her or he had any vested interests. May be she was thinking too much. May be he's just a harmless flirt and not what the media portrayed him. That's what Swayam said. And the person she met the previous night, from whatever she recollected of her fragmented memories, he had a deep understanding of life. Like, he had seen it all. One acquires that kind of profundity when one has experienced and learnt a lot from life. Anyway, she'd soon see Rey for what he really is. Just a few more hours.
This was a nice day. It may have started on a bad note, but now it was all nice. Kriya went to her small 4/2 balcony and stood there, admiring the white fluffy clouds floating in a clear blue sky. She took a deep breath. Life's good!
The only bad thing about this was that Swayam would tease her to death. He'll make her life unbearable for the next 24 hours!
5
Kriya was reading her own article online when Swayam returned. He looked exhausted than usual. There was something forlorn about the way he appeared tonight.
"Hey!" Kriya greeted him cheerfully trying to lift his spirits. "Guess what!! I cleaned the kitchen."
"Thanks."
"Also, I called the electrician and fixed our refrigerator!"
"That's great Ghai," replied Swayam in a monotone.
"Aur sun, aaj tujhe khana banane ki koi zarurat nahin," declared Kriya.
"Why??" Swayam looked a little terrified.
"Don't worry, I didn't do any experiment. Ordered food from the Punjabi place. Tera favourite, butter roti and dal makhani! Well, not your favourite exactly, but you like it and I love it!!"
"Oh! Good."
"Achha sun, I'm going to meet Reyaansh tomorrow. He wanted to see me tonight but I said tomorrow. He sent flowers!" exclaimed Kriya pointing at the orchids in the vase on the table.
"Nice!" said Swayam and moved to the kitchen. He needed a beer.
"What! 'Nice'! That's it?" Kriya was shocked and followed her friend to the kitchen.
Swayam sat and drank a beer.
"What is it? Why are you replying in monosyllables? Teri naukri sach mein chali gayi kya?" asked an anxious Kriya.
"Nope. My naukri seems to be safe as of now."
"Okay. How's Sharon? Tune maafi maangi?"
"She is avoiding me like the bloody plague."
"Obviously! But you should keep trying."
"I tried, but she's completely avoiding me. Aur main uska paltu kutta nahin hoon."
"That's what is bugging you, isn't it? Wo tujhe bhav nahi de rahi hai. Yes. I solved it! I'm a genius." Kriya grinned and threw her fists in the air.
"Kal raat ki utri nahin abhi tak?" Swayam didn't seem pleased.
"Oh come on! You're Swayam Shekhawat, the veritable good boy with a charming smile and floppy hair. From 16 to 60, women love you! Except this one woman and she is completely ignoring you now. And it's driving you over the edge."
"That's easily the shallowest thing I've heard." Swayam was mad.
"That's surprising, considering you work in the glamour industry!" retorted Kriya.
"Well at least I don't make a living out of yellow journalism!"
"You know what? Go back to your monosyllables. You're so much better when you're quiet!"
Kriya stormed out of the kitchen. She didn't have to take his crap. She had a meeting to look forward to. But why was she getting so excited about this? Was this a meeting, or a date? She hated the ambiguity. It was making her restless with each passing second.
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Anupamaa
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