Arakshi FF: Now-Before-Later! (Completed!) - Page 7

so shiva is the one sakshi's dhi is trying to set her up
and arun is helping him to woo sakshi
and team is still spying on arjun which arjun knows 😉
thanks for pm

Part-16:

Being crazy doesn't annoy others that understand it, it annoys only the ones unwilling to try and understand.

The next day I went to office with an ear drops bottle and the first thing I did once put the bottle on the desk was packing the microphones away.

Shiva came that evening.

"New shirt," he insisted.

As he did not get a response from us, he said, "A snap?"

"The battery is week!"

I muttered without turning to him.

Chottu asked him to sit.

Ayesha said, "My mom was happy."

"Oh, that's nice to hear."

Then after a silent moment, he asked, "I need your help."

"Regarding Sakshi?"- I asked.

"Yes, I want to know her favorites. Arjun said you knew her well."

"Did he?"-I.

"I see!- Chottu.

Ayesha slowly started, "In colors it's white."

"Shall I note it down?" he asked politely.

"Sure, sure!"

Then we made him write an essay like list that he started sweating soon in the middle and begged us to stop.

"I think if I follow this much, I can reach her."

"Reach? She would just fall for you!"

#

"Finished?"

"I actually made a list of them."

He waved the list and extended it to him.

"No, no! No need for that. Just make sure that you never forget, not to follow that list."

"You mean I don't forget to?"

"No, you heard me right."

Shiva looked at him in confusion.

"But this is her favorite's list!"

He tried to reason with him.

"Hardly it is! See whether there is a chocolate or ice cream name in that list."

"Why, no! How did you know?"

"It's simple. Which girl doesn't like a chocolate?"

"I suspected it, but-but they are her friends, after all!"

He was still in shock.

"Exactly, that's why they've done this."

"I don't get this," he sighed and looked the list helplessly.

"They think they are helping her."

"But, why should they've to give me false information? All I want is to know her mind. That's all!"

He stood up.

"Wait, maybe they didn't know you are perfect for their friend."

"So they have some idea about perfectness!"

He said sarcastically.

"No, see it this way. They don't know about you much, that's all!"

Arjun tried to calm him down.

"Right, what I've to do now?"

"Just ignore them. If she accepts you then what these friends can do?"

"All right, see you later!"

As he moved toward the door, Arjun followed him to make sure that he was not meeting us on his way out.

There Sakshi was approaching them with an angry look on her face.

#

"Don't worry, this won't upset our plan in the future, it's just to show him that we are innocents still!"

I said to Chottu and Ayesha.

"He'll definitely think we are fools!"

"Then we'll show him what fools will do."

A flash back unnecessarily:

We smirked at each other once Shiva went away.

"If he went to meet her in a-"

"Checked Shorts with a-"

"Vintage scooter with his hair-"

"Lengthened up to his shoulders and mustache-

"Trimmed to a Hitleric-"

"Hey, what about his smile?

"Like angry Monalisa?

"His bag filled with horror books-"

We laughed uncontrollably that we could not go any further.

"She would-"

"She would scream-"

"And-"

Suddenly our laughter stopped short as we saw a figure was standing there, actually, watching us quietly.

poor shiva if he would have followed that list sakshi for sure would have kicked him out 😆
is nobody else following this story 🤔
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Part-17:

We can fake our smiles but not our feelings.

Sakshi was standing near a window and was seeing the traffic that was moving fast and everything was a blur reflecting her own mind. Suddenly life had changed its course without a hint or warning and breathing became difficult as she could not make it with its speed.

The most unfortunate thing was she could not even share her thoughts with anyone.

It seemed everyone turned against her. It seemed fate too had forsaken her, which would usually play with her- which usually would break her into pieces in her every move- while it broke the rules of the game.

It seemed her friends always in the computer room cabin, doing something.

Her friends, she did not know if she could mention them still by that name, were avoiding her. Even Ayesha, to whom she would share nearly everything, had changed.

Not that they were not speaking to her, just were stopping the speech suddenly if she approached them.

As she could not understand the reason for the change, she had started avoiding embarrassing them with her sudden entry.

The old Sakshi was surfacing more and more as days went.

[Here, Old Sakshi= Crying Sakshi]

But none cared about it this time, she thought.

The one, who tried to change it once, was now- it seemed, giving her more work and engaging her in work most of the day deliberately.

She became silent again. But no-she could not be silent in the house. [She was staying in her Uncle's house now.]

Actually the fate was now playing with her a new game, the marriage.

Her Dhi was chanting only one thing every time she took the phone.

She could not tell her that the fellow who was loved by her was a rogue, but she was not still ready to think about someone else.

Her gaze fell on the gate through which Shiva was entering in his two- wheeler.

'Another nuisance! Why should he come here?' she thought.

She was going to ask him that day hotly.

She turned and sat in a chair.

Her gaze fell on the dust bin and a bitter smile escaped her lips.

She saw that day when Ayesha threw a sweet box into it. She did not ask them about it, not a word.

It was crushing her ever since, not that they did not share the sweet with her, but the news- at the least.

Did they think she was not that much important, to share a sweet thing with her?

What about those days, those lovely days, they laughed together, supported each other, hugged in pain, smiled in sorrow together?

Where were her friends now?

God, had she lost them too as she did her love?

She could not see what was in life- left for her.

Shiva!

Shiva? Wait a minute. Where is he? What is delaying him this long?

Her doubts were confirmed and she did not like the scene her mind was making.

She had already seen him with Arjun.

What could be in common for them both, what made them meet in the office?

She had to stop this if she was the Damn reason for their meeting. Her Dhi once outlined that her boss was happy for her. She thought commissioner uncle was the one she mentioned. But she started doubting it too, now.

She stood up and left the room.

When she crossed the computer room she could not help but stop to see the scene.

Her friends were talking something irrelatively and were laughing hysterically.

Once the laughter stopped at seeing her, she felt guilty and had to explain her sudden intrusion.

"Uh- Where is Shiva?"

"In Arjun sir's room?"

She turned vigorously and moved toward his room.

She stopped short as she saw they were coming out together.

She glared at Arjun who raised an eyebrow in return.

She looked at Shiva and said suddenly, "Can we go to the coffee shop? I got this weird headache."

"Why not?" he took a step forward at once, but stood and turned to Arjun.

"Bye Arjun!"

"Bye!"

'Arjun?'

'Became that much closer?'

She turned to see him at the turning of the stairs. He smiled at her sweetly.

She hid her shock and returned his smile.

what is it that sakshi wants to talk with shiv now
thanks for pm

Part-18:

She had become accustomed to being lonely. She was used to walking alone and to being considered 'different.' She did not suffer too much."
Betty Smith

She got on the pillion and said, "Drop me in the house."

"You said you had headache?"

"Then go fast!"

"That's what happened!" Shiva was explaining the previous evening to Arjun over the phone.

Arjun smiled and thought, ''Clever!'

"She had headache, that's why she urged you,"

"But she said she wanted to go to a coffee shop."

"But still she asked you to drop her, not any of her friends, right?"

"True."

"So she is considering you as a friend. It's a good sign. You know-"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm! And one more thing, we don't want to meet in the office until she accepts you."

"Her friends?"

"That's right! If she says you are something to her, they can't deny it, right?"

#

"Where this fellow has gone suddenly?"

"Maybe they dropped the plan and denied the proposal."

"I don't think, it's the case," Ayesha interrupted, "If it is, then why should she is like this?"

She waved a hand toward Sakshi who was coming there with a file.

"Sakshi, what about Shiva?"

She asked her.

"Hmm.. I don't know," she replied.

She approached me and gave the file, "Arjun asked he needed the details of this one from five years back."

I took the file from her.

"Sakshi it seems you are working 24*7, busily that you can't even stop by and talk to us."

Ayesha smiled mirthlessly at that.

"Hey, why are standing, come on sit here," Chottu showed her a chair.

It was as though lifting her spirit a bit.

She sat down and saw the screen as I started working.

"You are not talking to us," Ayesha complained.

"As you said I'm just busy," she smiled, still watching the screen.

"If you work at this rate, you'd become the next DIG soon," Chottu commented and laughed.

"I don't see any connection for her to that post," I looked up.

"I too don't see any connection for her to this work. See, why should she to do it in the first place?"

"He said-" Sakshi started.

"Right, go ahead. If he says it should be correct, so do it. If he says to marry this fellow Shiva, just do it."

Sakshi glared at him and stood up to go.

Ayesha put a hand on hers and said, "Come on Sakshi. No need to react for this comment. He knows well that he is just teasing you."

"Why, can't I tease you?"

Chottu asked her apologetically.

"If it's not you, then who can?"

She was enjoying the talk. After all her friends were talking to her after an age, freely. Even a smile came to her lips.

#

"Did he call you?" Ayesha asked.

"No, why?"

"The plan dropped?"

"No."

"Can't you talk to your sister that-" she stopped short as Sakshi smiled mirthlessly.

"If he is not they'll show another one."

"So you are going to-"

This time Sakshi snapped and turned her face away.

"Hey, I just asked what you have decided, that's all."

Still there was no reply from her and when she turned Sakshi's face toward her, she saw tears in her eyes.

She stopped talking then and was just patting her hand for a long time.

#

"Trace his mobile, Shree,"

Chottu said suddenly.

I shook my head shortly.

"At least, trace Shiva's-"

He got one more vigorous shook from me.

"See, Shree, we can't do anything, if we don't know their plans."

"Last time when he found us and arranged neatly to put cotton balls in my ears. If he found out again, he would arrange to put cotton balls in my nose, this time, neatly, instead."

"Then what are we going to do?" he whimpered.

"I have other plans for that!"

nice update
will sakshi's friends be able to help her
thanks for pm

Part-19:

Love involves a peculiar unfathomable combination of understanding and misunderstanding.

Diane Arbus

"Sakshi, please," Ayesha looked at Sakshi who was crying helplessly.

It was as though the pent up emotions, events, the bitterness when she thought of that day's miseries', her incapability of not expressing anything of that night to anyone -were coming out of her eyes through the colorless liquid.

Ayesha waited some more to Sakshi to rise her head from the table to face her. But Sakshi was not going to change her mind.

"Stop it, Sakshi!" she raised her voice at last.

Sakshi responded for this and she slowly lifted her head and when she looked at Ayesha her eyes were blood-shot.

Ayesha thought a moment to call us then decided against it. Something said she had to face this herself.

She looked at her in the eye and said, "See, if you want to cry go ahead and I know there must be some good reason for you to cry like this. But before that just tell me what it is or if you think-"

She stopped as Sakshi saw her with her red eyes.

She could guess that Sakshi was glaring at her behind that red, but it came out as though she was begging her to stop.

She stopped.

Sakshi started in a lower, hoarse voice.

"I've to say a lot to you, but-"

She looked at her complainingly, "But if you are not interested-"

"Don't you know I'm very much gossipy and in your case I could forget even the food?"

Ayesha smirked at her.

Sakshi smiled at that, "That much I know,"

Ayesha got that Sakshi was now ready to talk and she would not cry anymore.

"What I don't know is whether I can talk to you still."

"Still?"

Sakshi nodded and looked away.

"What's it?" Ayesha turned her face toward her and asked.

"I don't know why but you've changed. All of you," she accused in return.

"You mean-"

"Everybody!"

"Even Arjun sir?"

Sakshi smiled bitterly and said, "Hmm.. no, he hasn't!"

"Ignore him, what about us?"

"Don't you know Ayesha, you guys avoided me and did it deliberately? I don't know why, but you are now talking to me and-and like a fool I'm telling this all to you."

She lowered her head.

"Sak-" then Ayesha decided to call us at once. She took her mobile and dialed.

"Wait a minute. I call them too. We'll sort this out, ok?"

"No need Ayesha. I can understand-"

"Understand what Sakshi?"

Her voice hardened and she cut the call.

"I thought at least you would be with me when I needed a shoulder to cry up on."

"Right."

"But suddenly you don't like me."

"Then?"

"I think perhaps, because you fed up with my crying episodes."

"Wow!"

"And I can accept the truth that I'm becoming a nuisance to all."

"That's it?"

"I'm tired of knowing the real faces of the people around me."

Ayesha was just taken aback and asked, "Meaning?"

Sakshi checked herself in time, God, she was going to tell about that night in the pinch of the moment. How embarrassing it'd be to even utter about it!'

"I- no need to pretend Ayesha, I have eyes!"

She turned the topic back to the matter she started, before Ayesha could smell it.

"I just don't know within a week how and why you became mad!"

Ayesha exploded at last.

"One week? You say it was merely a week? It seemed to me as though it was an eternity. Every day was sharpening its butcher knife to slash me. You don't know Ayesha, sometimes I thought if I could kill myself, I didn't have to bother anyone, who-"

"I think Ive heard enough," Ayesha said emotionally and was thinking where to start to tell her that we did never think that our mission would affect our relationship with Sakshi. She decided to tell her everything, why and when we started thinking about this mission against Arjun. If once she could out with it, we could speak freely and could even use her for our work. She thought innocently.

She pated Sakshi's hand and started.

"See, Sakshi, I never suspected that you were undergoing this much stress and I think it's time to tell you everything," She looked Sakshi who was shocked to hear that there was really something going on as she suspected.

"Let me tell the rest of it!"

A voice heard behind, that shattered the silence in that room.

The girls turned toward it in utter shock.

#

My mobile buzzed.

I took it and saw that it was a missed call from Ayesha.

"Where are the girls, Chottu?" I asked suddenly.

"Went to the conference room some half an hour ago, why?"

"I think we've to pounce in, before she exposes us."

"I don't think she-"

"I think," I got to my feet, "Now!"

"Where is he?" I asked as we moved toward the conference room.

"I didn't see him in his room."

I literally started running toward our destination, then.

Part-20:

People were created to be loved

Things were created to be used,

The reason why the world is in chaos is

Because things are being loved,

and people are being used.

When we approached the conference room, we did not see Arjun there, but the girls were still talking and Ayesha was telling, " ...I think it's time to tell you everything,"

As I wondered she was ready to damage the oath we had taken.

I glared at Chottu.

He lowered his gaze for he gave me the surety about Ayesha's mind, back in the cabin.

I plunged in and said hardly, "Let me tell the rest of it."

The girls turned towards us and Ayesha looked at me as though she was caught red-handed.

"Where is Arjun sir?"

I asked to ease the situation.

"He's gone out long before-"

"So you peeps decided to talk and cry in the conference room freely?"

I asked sarcastically, seeing Sakshi's puffy eyes.

When she lowered her eyes a moment I blazed Ayesha.

Sakshi turned to me as expected and said, "Tell me."

I cleared my throat once and took a seat.

"Right, see, it all started when Shiva came here one day," I started dramatically, "He said, he was willing to marry you and he wanted our help," Chottu and Ayesha looked at me in shock that I was twisting the story.

"No Chottu, no use of hiding the truth now, see, we've to tell Sakshi everything as she would decide that we were working against her," I had no way but to pull Chottu in, since Sakshi who was watching me ever since I started the story eyed Chottu and Ayesha as my eyes briefly went toward them and had to be in doubt about their shocked looks.

I decided to pace the floor to avoid eye contacts.

I said, "We too were shocked like you Sakshi," I stood up slowly and started pacing.

I made a note that I had to finish here soon and return to my place, before Arjun's return.

"Then we said, we didn't know what to say. He asked, where our boss was, we showed Arjun sir's room. Then he visited him often as you know well. Sometimes he would come to us to ask about your favorites and we would tell the things you disliked the most. And it was when you found us the other day in the cabin while we were imagining what if he came to meet you with all the things we informed him falsely about you and we thought you would throw him away from that moment then we would be happy as before."

I stopped to take a breath and wondered, 'what a long speech!'

"My favorites?"

Sakshi said bitterly.

Always a stirred pool is a good place for doing something like our mission.

"We didn't think then that if it was not him, your family could always show someone else."

Sakshi looked bewilderingly.

I said a moment later, "You may think, we were avoiding you, Sakshi," she looked at me again, "No, it is not your fault. Just try to understand it was not ours too."

She frowned.

"Yes, it was Arjun sir, who kept you busy ever since he met Shiva, but you were- Oh God, how terribly you worked Sakshi, everyday, alone! He kept us busy too, Sakshi. Now I suspect that it all is his plan and he has done it deliberately. The worst thing in this is he has planned to separate us cunningly. He didn't know even 'he' couldn't part us."

Even though I was avoiding their eye contact, I could see that Ayesha and Chottu were looking at me in amazement, now.

I decided they could wait and said, "I think you can see that we were helpless and were trying to help you," I looked her in the eye and got that she was confused, but she nodded the next moment, seemed decided.

She looked at me as I continued, "If I'm not wrong, he must have given some work for you to be finished before his return," I reminded her.

Her eyes narrowed as expected.

"See, Sakshi, we can't do anything now except just pretending that we suspected nothing, so we can go back to work now," I said softly and stopped.

She nodded and got to her feet at once.

I got that she had decided something and there would not happen any scene like the one happened that day again.

#

We left her there to do her work and came back to the cabin quietly. Once checked without question that he had not yet returned we sighed in relief and settled in our seats.

"God, I didn't think you could talk like that," Chottu started.

"I saw Arjun sir at times, when you convinced her that it was he who had planned to separate us," Ayesha astonished.

I quietly said, "Why, can't we get half of his cunningness after working with him this long? Then what you thought, I would expose us at this point?"

I looked at Ayesha.

Before-2 ends here..

Part-21:

Later-2:

The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.

This scene is after the restaurant scene with Shiva. [ After a long while, right?]

From the restaurant scene:

[ Sakshi stood up suddenly and Shiva looked shocked.

"What happened, Sakshi?"

Then she felt that people around them were staring at them.

But she would not sit back-No she had heard enough.

"I want to go," she insisted, "My head is aching."

She was not lying then; her head was pounding like a hammer.

"I think you've to consult an eye specialist. It seems it's annoying you often. That day too-"

"Very well, you don't have to marry a girl with defects," she said hotly.

"Sakshi, I-"

"Shall we move or I?" ]

The next morning:

The fate was not ready to leave her alone, she got that at last. But she was not going to admit her defeat still.

She would have killed the fate the night before itself, but it ran away once its job there was over.

Now she was lying in lurch for the right time. It came that day once she reached the office.

#

We saw the same Sakshi as she came the next day of 'That day', when Arjun said to talk to her, but this time there was no beaten Sakshi we saw. She was like a hungry tigress and was about to plunge.

This time we got the courage to ask her, what happened.

"What happened?" Ayesha started.

We knew that she was going out with Shiva.

Sakshi glared at her.

"He brought me to the same restaurant! How dare he?"

We got three things then. The first he' was Shiva, the second he' was Arjun. But what was the same restaurant' between the two?

We waited.

"Hell, he is behind this, I know! He has even told him what to order there."

She looked away.

"He has told him to pick me in the car!" she said sarcastically.

"He asks me if I wanted ice- cream. What I've to tell him, if he mixes, I'm ready to eat even poison? Non sense!"

We saw that her words were hardening.

"You know, he says, I've to see an eye specialist. Idiot! I said, he had no need to marry a defective girl!"

"You did?" I talked for the first time.

She blinked and looked at me in confusion.

I did not see it had a hint of refusing a marriage in it, but I asked, "The same restaurant?"

That caught her off-guard and she winced.

"Yes, he took me to that restaurant that day."

She said shortly.

We did not ask her who and which day, for we knew it well.

Until now we did not know what happened that day after the car faded from our view. Our best guess was things went wrong and they might have fought over something, but we did not know, it would come this far and he would be ready to help a fellow against her in marriage to avenge her.

Nothing mattered, before our mission, I reminded myself.

I squared my shoulders.

Now it was time to move to the next stage.

I started, "You say, he is in this?"

"I'm not saying it, I just know it! Can't you see? Just to taunt me, he-"

"There is a chance that, it might be a co-incident. Shiva could have-"

"Co-incident?", She said bitterly, "After he asked that-"

"Come on Sakshi. Ice cream is a common thing. Anyone would like to eat it after dinner."

I tried to reason with her.

"You said, you told him my favorites, right?"

"Just the opposite, yes!"

"Then how could he order Paneer tikka followed by coconut kheer?"

"Are you sure?"

I asked seriously.

"You know he- yes, I'm sure. He is behind this all. I would have told Shiva in a straight line that- that I was not going to marry him if only he didn't take me there."

She was little bit breathless now.

She was giving us information unknowingly, that we might use in the future against Arjun, deliberately.

"Now we really need your help, Sakshi,"

I said suddenly.

She caught her breath and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"See, I've already told you, we should pretend that we didn't suspect him. Now, if we are going to help you, we really need your help, Sakshi."

I chose my words carefully.

"I didn't get this."

"Right. See, we've to face Shiva," she nodded, "We need proof that we know their plan and particularly Arjun sir in this. For that, we need solid evidence. If we got something, we can trap them easily. You know Arjun sir well."

"Yes, I know him well."

We ignored the sarcasm in it and waited.

"Tell me, what I've to do!"

Now, we knew, she would do anything we said.