ArHi FF - Aftershock: Chapter 9, Pg 26, 23 September - Page 16

^ Who should be fighting in courts - I meant the Corporate industry like Arnav's and the Environmentalists if they are the ones creating trouble..

When I mentioned sides I meant if Arnav was conducting his business ethically. :)

Thanks for your reply :)

Originally posted by: kclovearshi

^ I meant the Corporate industry like Arnav's and the Environmentalists if they are the ones creating trouble..

When I mentioned sides I meant if Arnav was conducting his business ethically. :)

Thanks for your reply :)

Environmentalist is calling them politely. What's revolution for one is rebellion for another. Its a matter of perspective. Objectively however, it can be neither or both. :)

Let's see what Arnav has been really up to :-)

I came across your story yesterday.. read all chapters in one go.

Originally posted by: happypeace

I came across your story yesterday.. read all chapters in one go.

this is a very interesting read, very well written and i've loved it so far!

please continue soon :)

Thank you :) Update will be posted soon :)

Chapter 9:

"Did you know about this?" Arnav all but yelled at her. They had just stepped into the old farmhouse Arnav owned, tucked away in the fringes of city limits where foliage hid the glistening tar road and sound of birds was louder than occasional traffic. The idyllic nature of the house reminded her one of the many properties her father owned, built under same principle and used extensively by her father when he wanted to retreat away from the mundane.

She briefly wondered if this is where Arnav took people to yell at them - away from people where he could drop his persona of cool cucumber and join the rest of humanity in their need to be petulant yelling and screaming beings when cornered. Instead of responding, she gave him an irritating look. "Of course I knew there were minor hijinks going around any chemical-related factories and manufacturing units. But I didn't know anything about a message left behind. Let alone this." She said.

"How long have you known about these incidents?" Arnav asked quietly, voice accusatory and eyes betrayed. Khushi understood neither of the emotions. It just annoyed her some more.

She shrugged casually. "I have known for a couple of years. There have been whispers about a group of people targeting those who they believed have wronged against nature in some sense. Do you know why they poisoned those people from that pharmaceutical company?" She asked dusting soft with dusty cushion. It wasn't her smartest idea but she felt she had to do something to keep her temper in check.

Arnav scoffed. "Enlighten me," he said without much interest in a manner of humoring her for the time being. His disinterest didn't deter her but it did make her smile sadly. The incident had given her an insight to the problem at hand and she was able to decipher certain irregularities in the story that she had collected over the years. Arnav didn't have a clue how big it had gotten as the previous incidents were ignored and now he was acting like a brat.

"The lake where they dumped chemical waste was incorrectly assigned by government as wasteland. First of all there were no announcements around the lake stating the water was contaminated. Even if there was, the wildlife wouldn't have understood. Secondly, the company bribed officials from agriculture, industrial and forest department to certify the lake as a wasteland. Sure no humans died but many animals that consumed the water did. And there were some humans who actually fell sick because they didn't get the memo. The villages around the area didn't know and consumed water. When the villagers went to their MLA to file a complaint, they were rebuked. When these people went to company begging them to reroute their chemical waste, they were promptly ignored and thrown out of the property." Khushi sat down on semi dusty sofa and patted next to her, flashing her teeth in a smile that wasn't meant to be one.

"Touchy story that I have heard a zillion times. Here is how it continues. And the villagers manage to find themselves a NGO that fights for environment but is really a decorated PR company, blackmail the pharma company for money and other resources to avoid making a big deal out of it or go to media as they know one of the competitors of the pharma would definitely pick it up and rally against the company with the government in front of media. To avoid hassles and affecting their stocks, the pharma company come to an agreement with NGO who in turn wipe villagers' tears, offer them some loose change and pocket the rest. End of story." Arnav sat next to Khushi and raised an eyebrow at her. She couldn't tell if he was narrating based on his experience or just heresy. She couldn't refute that story or the probability of happening as she had been one of the person to make such a negotiation with a bunch of people. It was a different matter that the company she worked for had refused to take any responsibility.

She leaned back on sofa and simply stared at him. The evening had worn him off and the surprise at the end of meeting had shaken him up. She was glad she wasn't the only one who was rattled at the discovery but she knew how Arnav was going to react. He never reacted well before when they were teenagers and now with this ginormous company to back, his reaction was only going to get worse.

"Honestly, it's a story I don't give shit about." Khushi replied easily. She wasn't here to defend anyone's actions. She wasn't paid for that nor did she have the kind of time to get into moral debate. "But the primary concern remains. The pharma company screwed up the lake and someone got pissed. That's about it." She wasn't surprised when Arnav's expression turned sour with every word she said.

"And when they got pissed, they donned a cowl and became vigilante." Arnav said flatly. "Now they attack any company that owns a manufacturing unit," he added with an unreadable look.

Khushi looked at him and wondered if Arnav was purposely being obtuse or he really had no clue to.

"Not just any company," she said leaning forward, her action forcing Arnav to look away from random space he was glaring at and turn to see her watching him. "They have targeted companies that have messed with large bodies of water or land." She explained with the knowledge she had.

"Are you saying Raizada industries have violated environment laws?" Arnav demanded, turning fully towards her. He was the last person to intimidate her with his offensive body language but it didn't make the conversation any less weary for Khushi.

"Are you being a dense idiot or plain nave?" She challenged, leaning back on sofa offering him a disinterested look. Arnav looked baffled at her accusation. "Oh please Arnav," she scoffed looking at his expression. "Are you seriously telling me you haven't violated any regulations set by government agencies?"

Arnav didn't respond. She knew him enough to understand his anger drove him to silence first before all hell broke loose. "I assure you I have ensured each and every one of my departments have been advised and monitored by enough internal policies and audits to ensure we follow all the guidelines as given to us," he said in a strained voice. His patience was dancing at the hinges and they hadn't even touched the real concern yet. Khushi for what was worth honestly didn't want to talk about it just yet.

"Someone has f**ked up Arnav," she said, forcing her voice to be gentle. "You may not know about it Arnav but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened in the past or happening right now."

"I don't believe you," he replied after a moment of silence. Khushi looked visibly struck at that. She couldn't fathom his thought process anymore. "Especially when we both know why I am being the target here."

"Enlighten me," she mimicked his words from earlier in way of mocking him at his stubbornness to refute what was blatantly presented in front of him.

Arnav glared at her. "Why did you join my company Khushi?" He asked, repeating the question from the interview. Arnav swallowed when Khushi visibly winced and then deflated at "my company".

"I liked your maternity leave plan." She deadpanned. Trust Arnav to think she had something to do with all this, she thought bitterly.

"Akash was obsessed with the picture! He had obsessed over it for months since his stupid computer program generated one. He was perpetually angry for the loss of his parents at Bhopal Gas Tragedy and he had vowed to teach companies that break the law a lesson. And you f**king encouraged it!" Arnav shouted the last part.

There it was, she thought watching the real Arnav Raizada shed the layers of images, masks, costumes he wore as a weapon shielding from people wanting to look at his naked skin. The rawness of his unbecoming was fascinating and she felt immediately saddened to see that the boy she fell in love with as a teenager was long gone - the boy was lost in the conspiracies, in the missed calls, in ignored introductions, in jaded memories and memoirs she now came to associate as tales of the dead.

"So I am sorry for not trusting you for a f**king second because you have known exactly what's going on and have done nothing to prevent that." Arnav finished his diatribe with a flush high on his cheeks and anger blazing in his eyes.

Khushi simply stared at him for several moments and watched him compose himself. She felt laughing at the entire thing. When she took the job she had sincerely believed that Arnav's company was a ticking time bomb because of the people he surrounded himself with. Now, she wasn't so sure anymore. She still couldn't come to a conclusion about Arnav's involvement in the whole thing. If Arnav did know about environmental regulations violation, then her role became more complex than it already was. If he was truly innocent as he implied to be, getting the company back on track would be much easier. For now, she couldn't do anything but wait. Before that she had one thing to clarify.

"Akash is married to Payal. He is family and has never stopped being our family." She said and offered Arnav a wan smile that didn't reach her eyes. It was a smile of mocking and chiding the older man for unwarranted accusation and discrediting her integrity. The implied Where as you left me to the wolves' rang loudly as an unwanted subtext. "It may come as a surprise for you but there are actually couple of people who believed that my parents didn't actually poison all those years ago." Khushi said, briefly looking at Arnav and getting a thrill from his shocked expression.

"But that doesn't mean he isn't organizing these little rebellions." Arnav said, staring at her. "It only means I can't trust you, that's all." He said, his voice suddenly very soft.

Khushi chuckled. "It's not like you ever trusted me Arnav. We are just two people who happened to know each other for a little while." She shrugged carelessly at that. It felt there was a ton of weight on her shoulder or the weight of the world she once knew - she couldn't say. But it made the shrug hard and painful as her gut clenched at her self-deprecating statement and Arnav's expression of misery.

"That's not true. We weren't just two people Khushi." He said urgently, drawing a look of disbelief on Khushi's face. She recovered from that very soon.

"After my parents died, it did seem like that to me and to everyone around us." She said tonelessly.

Arnav sat back as if she had slapped him and bent his head down, avoiding to look at her. If he had seen her, he would have seen defeated expression dancing on her face and her eyes desperately trying to reign back her tears.

What they once had was severely severed. She had hoped to find reasons when she joined his company but the issue seemed to be much deeply rooted than she believed it to be.

She wondered where they would go from here and if they had any hope for a future together at all.

Arnav cleared his throat. "Please find out the extent of corruption Raizada industries is involved in. Tell me what you need and I will see to it that's done."

Khushi lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "I thought you don't trust me."

"I trust you to do your job." Arnav simply replied.

Khushi didn't have a reply to that. "Yes sir." She said softly.

"Khushi..." Arnav breathed out, pulling his hair harder than required. "I am sorry." He said, hand in his head.

She didn't ask him what he was apologizing for and he didn't betray anything on his own. Her silence screamed at him, her refusal to acknowledge his apology tearing his skin to pieces.

She waited for him to continue but nothing further was said. There was more to his behavior than what he was showing but she would wait for it. She deserved answers and she would get them. She would work it out of him if she had to. The way he treated her after the scandal wasn't right and she wasn't one of those people who stepped to sidelines and ignored people from past. She would get into Arnav's face, invade Anjali's personal space, make Shyam Jha's life a living hell and then ask them for an explanation.

Till then, she had work to do.

I must admit that by the time I finished reading this chapter...I was pulling my hair harder than ever.

Hi

I agree with Sandhya's comment on this update. I honestly don't know what to say. The story had enough cryptic bits and pieces already. This entire update was cryptic to me. We don't know their back story and the current dialogues are not giving enough of an insight into either to the characters mindset to figure out what is going on.

Had to clarify certain bits in the update by answering parts of below comment.

Originally posted by: AquaSandhya

I must admit that by the time I finished reading this chapter...I was pulling my hair harder than ever.

Arnav and Khushi's reactions to be were weird to say the least.

That incident about a company poisoning the large water body and the PR company dressed as NGO ... Yeah. Such incidents happen more often than we like to believe and both versions...Khushi's and Arnav's are the two sides of that argument.

However what took me aback was Khushi's reaction. I know she is not there to fight for the villagers or anyone else. Yet...it was a callous reaction - "I don't give shit about that story". And she is the VP of a company. Somehow I expected better from her for she was a victim too.

She is talking about his part of the story or rather the part the he gives in his defense. Maybe I should be clearer in that so shall modify the lines accordingly. She doesn't believe there is an ulterior motive by villagers in this scenario (though it isn't unheard of).

And Arnav...what is up with him? Today he, the owner of multiple giant companies came across very confused and very immature. He trusts Khushi and he doesn't trust Khushi. Why the f**k did he hire her when he didn't trust her. He contradicted himself a few times today. Boss!Really?

He says he trusts her to do her job and its implied that his trust ends there. Its an old conversation they are revisiting where Arnav says exactly the same thing and again he implies that's all he trusts her with it - her job.

Obviously, it is too early to understand anything.

I can understand why Khushi is all screwed up but what is Arnav's problem. His family was not the one that got screwed. So whats his deal. I guess we'll have to wait.

One thing that was clear in all this is confusion was Akash's stand. So he lost his parents to Bhopal gas tragedy...hence his desire to fight against those who screw with environment.

When you said screwed up characters, I didn't understand the extent they were screwed. On one side Khushi behaves like a crusader by encouraging Akash and on the other she behaves like a woman scorned and from another angle she behaves as though she doesn't give a damn as to what happens to the environment as long as she has her personal vendetta.

As she mentions she has worked on both sides of argument and that's all there is to it. She isn't pro or anti to anything. At this point she is doing what she was hired to do.

I'm really sorry Ishtar. I apologise for venting so hard. Those two really annoyed me today. I'm thinking that was your intent whislt you wrote this chapter.

Yes, they are frustrating characters. They are well in their thirties and have two decades of buried issues to talk about. So it's natural they come out blazing, defensive and totally offensive when they feel threatened. The conversation was an absolute disaster and that's exactly what was intended.

They are screwed up people with truck load of issues (not to mention their assholic tendencies they tend to display from time to time). Arnav's past will be revealed in coming chapters and reasons to his reaction to ignoring Khushi after the scandal.

Originally posted by: Peda

Hi

I am really enjoying this story...just when I thought I'd get some answers the plot thickens.

Oh the tangled webs that people weave.

I really enjoy your style of writing.

Please don't take too long to update

Thank you. They are venting out at the moment and its messy. It will be untangled soon :)

Thanks! Update will be end of this week!