FF// Untold Stories; Note Pg. 18 + Link to Ch. 6 (Pg. 20) - Page 5

Originally posted by: cheers2all

"Untold stories" by An-Ex-IPK-writer! What else can a Arshian wish for If you had to create a new one because your old one became non-functional, chances are I haven't read any of your old works. I am a late entry to the IPK world. But many Thanks to Savera84(Raji) 🤗, I can join the ride for this one.

Khushi comes with a baggage of failed marriage and not-so-supporting family. To add to her woes there's a psychopath ex husband who is not willing to let her live in peace and a job that that she desperately needs, but hates to her core. Looks like her "disturbing cynicism" is heavily inspired by her life experiences. But I loved the witty sarcastic comments and her equation with Lavanya. It's probably a first for me, where Arnav is actually scared for his life when Khushi is around carrying heavy objects. I was ROFLing at that image. Instead of gust of wind, there's an air of discomfort and Rabba Ve is replaced by some bollywood gangsta song involving goli, bheja and shor LOL

Arnav's reaction at Khushi's resignation was awesome and his confusion at the door slamming was just epic!! No wonder Khushi is mad. He definitely needs to work on his social skills.

Oh, and I loved the way Anjali railroaded herself to Nainital. It will be interesting to see a fuming Khushi, a chilled out Lavanya, a bubbly Anjali & a clueless Arnav interact with each other in Nainital 😊

"Instead of gust of wind, there's an air of discomfort and Rabba Ve is replaced by some bollywood gangsta song involving goli, bheja and shor LOL"- amused me to no end. Thank you so much love, and welcome to the story, glad to have you here!

Loving all the insightful comments guys, thank you so much for penning down your thoughts behind. Appreciate it!

The next chapter is in the works and will be up soon! :)

Very different concept and I love it. Eagerly waiting for the next chapter.

Originally posted by: cheers2all

Shyam?? Why do you think I am expecting Shyam in Nainital.

I find it rather interesting that there are no sparks between Arnav & Khushi...yet. It will exciting to be part of their "falling in love" journey

🤪 😆

Originally posted by: pakpearl

I thought ur bollywood gangsta song involving goli, bheja and shor also involves Shyam..

🤪 😆

LOL No Fauzi, that song is dedicated to our very own Khushi 🤣

Originally posted by: cheers2all

LOL No Fauzi, that song is dedicated to our very own Khushi 🤣

Writerji..update soon !!!!

CHAPTER III

Of Unpredictable Plans

" 'Coz you can't jump the track,

We're like cars on a cable,

And life's like an hourglass,

glued to the table"

~ Anna Nalick, "Breathe"

“We are not going to settle in Nainital Anjali!”, Arnav couldn’t believe that his sister had packed two big suitcases for just four days.

“You are going to work bhai. I am going vacationing and I need all of this stuff.”

“I am not paying for your extra luggages remember that.”

“What a cheapstake!”

“Anjali!” Devyani Raizada chided her grand-daughter and delivered the periodic lecture on her age difference with her elder brother, and how, for some godforsaken reason, it mattered. Then turning to Arnav, she said, “Let it go Chotte, wait till you get a wife. Shout like that and there’d be no trip to go to in the first place.”

Anjali stifled a laugh and was rewarded by Arnav with a cold stare.

“Don’t kill each other there, you two”, Nani said, circling a thaali vehemently around the heads of her grand-children. She had reluctantly agreed to let Anjali accompany Arnav, but it would help with the twinge of guilt she felt every time she turned down her grand-daughter’s request for adventures. Maybe, one time wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

______________________________________

Khushi couldn’t get over how beautiful the place was. Far across you could see the vast expanse of steeping mountain ranges adorned with white caps. They stood boasting their magnificence; their enormity mesmerizing. Khushi had never seen hills this closely before and was completely besotted with the view. Much near to their place was a maze of narrow streets, wet with molten snow and vendors with their little shops on either side. Street lights had just been lit, though it wasn’t yet too dark. When the breeze hit your face through the window, it was cool and smelled of trees, which was not a surprise considering the thick belts of green that she could spot below. It was particularly windy today, and as the cold winds from the mountains made their way through the thick trees, you could almost hear them whistling in glee. She wiped her hand across the glass panes clearing the haze that the fog had made upon them and sighed, grateful for the enchanting view that their hotel provided.

The project meeting and the conference had both gone well, and much to her satisfaction, no unforeseen bumps had been encountered in the process of negotiating the final deal. Tonight was the formal party that had been thrown by the host company and Lavanya, who had arrived just that morning, would be joining her. She had half a mind to call in sick for it, if that would mean she could just sit beside the window and gaze outside at the view all night long. It was her last formal occasion as an employee of her company however, so she decided to make this one last unwilling effort in that capacity. Lavanya was already dressed in a self designed beautiful black gown with a white fur coat and had handed out to Khushi an outfit that she had handpicked for her considering that fashion and Khushi were two fairly unacquainted terms.

“Come on, I’m ready”, Lavanya called out from the other room and Khushi sighed as she had to put in herculean effort to pull herself away from the window.

________________________________________________

“This is so not the vacation I had in mind”, Anjali grumbled over the drink in her hand. “I haven’t done half the fun I had in mind and all because of your stupid schedule”.

“I had warned you beforehand that I would be busy”, Arnav replied.

“Well, if you wouldn’t have played pseudo-Nani all the time, I could have done far more exploration of my own”.

Arnav was about to reply to that when he saw Khushi and Lavanya approaching them. Khushi looked in a much better form than her usual sulking office self that night. In fact, it took him a second glance to recognize that it was indeed, her. She caught his eye and politely smiled and whispered something to a girl next to her whom he had never seen before. Whatever she must have said was apparently amusing enough for the dimple cheeked girl to stifle laughter and he didn’t have to be told that it wasn’t something that would have particularly pleased him.

There was polite shaking of hands and quick introductions thereafter. Anjali had extended her hand before Arnav had a chance to introduce her.

“Hi I’m Anjali. Nice to meet you. I’m his sister, although I’d be glad if you did not judge me on that sole ground”

Khushi and Lavanya both laughed, Khushi a little harder and had to remind herself to stop when she saw the non-amused look on Arnav’s face.

“Your dress is absolutely gorgeous Lavanya”, Anjali gushed and Lavanya quite blushingly welcomed the compliment.

“Thanks. I’m a designer. It’s my own piece”, she grinned.

“Oh my God seriously? That is so cool. Bhai did you hear that?”

“Bhai”, meanwhile, was having the most awkward time of his life. Being stuck with women gushing on fashion was Arnav Singh Raizada’s nightmare come to life and he had no idea what prompted his pea brained sister to coerce any contribution on the topic from him. He could see that Anjali had already become a hit with the two women, all of them talking animatedly like long lost friends. This wasn’t new for him— this out of place feeling at social gatherings. When he was younger, he used to disappear into some remote corner of parties and while away time, if not avoid them altogether. It did not help his cause, that his detachment was seen to lend an aura of “mystery” around his personality apparently, and in it’s wake, brought even more unwanted attention towards him. By now, he had developed a callous indifference to what people thought of his social ineptitude. Also, in the professional capacity, such formal parties were an inevitable baggage that came along, and he had gradually learned how to deal with it.

“Yeah. Nice”, he managed to put together and then politely excused himself from the group.

Anjali rolled her eyes after he had left. “Bhai... Anyway, I was saying I hope you guys have enjoyed Nainital more than I have.”

“Actually”, Khushi said, “we plan to start the real thing from tomorrow. Lavanya and I are going to be spending a week more around here.”

“Seriously?” Anjali enthused, “Where are you guys planning to go?”

“Well”, Lavanya took over, “Not Nainital per se, but there are these places around few hours’ drive away. We’ve planned quite a few stops. Very beautiful and far less crowded than here, what with the tourist season and all. We were hoping to enjoy some quiet time there and then spend a couple of days here again on our way back.”

“How amazing!” Anjali let out a yearning sigh. Khushi and Lavanya exchanged sympathetic looks. It was so obvious that the girl wanted to be invited that it would be almost rude to not ask.

“You want to join?” Khushi asked without a second thought. She knew what it felt like to be missing out on all the fun because you were stuck with company that ensured none of it happened.

“You aren’t saying this just to be polite are you?”, Anjali asked tentatively.

“Of course not”, Lavanya chimed in, “We’d love to have you in.”

“That is so great. Thank you so much for salvaging my trip at the eleventh hour. I will let Bhai know. He wouldn’t be too pleased, but who cares. We are going to have so much fun”, her face beamed with excitement.

Shit. Oh shit, shit, shit.

In her willingness to be kind, it had totally escaped Khushi that inviting Anjali came with the added bonus of Arnav Singh Raizada’s company which would pretty much ruin everything. Anjali was a welcome addition; she looked like someone who brought in fun by just being there. But Arnav? What had she been thinking? She cast a furtive glance towards Lavanya and saw the exact realization donning upon her friend.

What do we do now? She sent a silent question in her direction.

Can’t help it. Lavanya signaled with a slight shrug of the shoulders.

“Bhai!” Anjali called out, as he approached them after closing discussion with a business associate, “Guess what? We’re extending out trip”

Arnav arched an eyebrow, “What?”

“We will be accompanying Khushi and Lavanya for this amazing trip they’ve planned which they were sweet enough to invite us to.”

Just how long had he been away to give his batshit crazy sister enough time to pirouette to that level of idiocy?

“No I don’t think so. Anjali just a word with you?” He held her elbow and pulled her away.

‘Is he always this abrupt?” Lavanya asked, after the duo had left.

“Much worse”, Khushi said with sip upon her drink.

***

“What?” Anjali asked once they’d moved away from Khushi and Lavanya’s hearing range.

“What were you thinking?!” He bit out.

“What? They have this ama-”

“yes I heard. But we are not going with them”

“Why?”

“Because it is not appropriate. Khushi is no longer my colleague. She has handed over her resignation and it would be very improper to sabotage some trip she has planned in celebration of it.”

“She has resigned? Why? She is so sweet!” Anjali asked in surprise.

“Well, as flattering as it is that you think our business runs on sweetness, I don’t know why.”

“How can you not know? She must have told you she’s leaving right?”

“Yeah. So?”

“So you must have asked her why?”, Anjali asked pointedly.

“Why would I?” Arnav shrugged his shoulders.

Anjali widened her eyes, “How can you not ask? What did you say then?”

Arnav did not understand what the fuss was about ,“I said okay”.

“Okay? Okay? That is all you say when a person who’s worked with you closely for three years decides to quit?”

“It’s not my business. Neither yours. Bottom line is, we are not going. How can you plan something like that without checking with me?”

“BECAUSE I am twenty two okay Bhai?! And I am not letting go of one last chance to redeem this trip because you messed it up with your colleague. They’re really nice people and I am just sick of spending half the day inside a hotel room!”

“I have office to go to!”

“Come on its Thursday! There’s a weekend ahead of you. Okay, how about this? Just two more days. Okay? After that we head home. I promise”

“Anjali no!”

Anjali was furious. “You know what they say is the biggest advantage of having an older brother? That you can have fun and adventure. That you don’t need to inform about every intake of oxygen to the older ones! Not that you get to sit and stare out of windows half the day and then say no to trips to mountains and have a brother who takes the place of your grand-mother and- and who knows the scene at home and how I never get to do anything and how UPSC is all that I hear about but still-”

“Okay shut up! But I will have to talk to her first”

“What?”

“Khushi, I’ll have to check with her about this.”

Anjali blinked at him as she processed the fact that her headstrong brother was finally melting down and then pursed her lips into a cheeky smile.

“See that is the biggest advantage of having an older brother”.

“You are a pest”, Arnav did a slight eye roll as they walked towards Khushi and Lavanya.

“Love you too”, Anjali grinned back.

------------------------------------

“Yes?” Khushi enquired after Arnav had asked her aside saying that he wished to check something with her.

“Anjali seems to have taken your polite offer too seriously.”

“It’s fine”, Khushi brushed it aside, “It will be nice to have her along. The offer was genuine”

It is you who is the problem.

“See because if it is a problem, we can just go separately. You don’t have to ruin your trip-”, Arnav continued.

“Did I hear ‘trip’?”, a cheerful voice boomed from behind Arnav.

Aakash Aggarwal was the male version of what Anjali would turn out to be in the next seven eight years. Always is the best of spirits and sharing the same ‘seize the day’ gene that Anjali possessed, and with an optimism that reminded you of Mary Poppins, he was famously the office jester. Ironically, he was also Arnav’s close friend from his college days—pretty much the only friend he had, as he so often pointed out in jest to Arnav. He was in an altogether different department at their office however, so Khushi just knew him from cafeteria discussions, office parties, and mutual friends.

He shook hands with Khushi and slapped Arnav on the head which wasn’t the least bit amusing for Arnav, who grimaced at the action.

“My friend and I are going for a small trip along with Arnav and Anjali around Uttarakhand”, Khushi forwarded the explanation.

“I see”, Aakash replied and then turned to Arnav, “and I was not invited because?”

Twenty minutes of discussion later, Aakash Aggarwal had invited himself in for the trip. (Lavanya had been a little too favorable to his addition after a mischievous wink in Khushi’s direction which made it very clear to Khushi that Lavanya had gotten an object of interest beyond mountains and snow for the trip). Personally, Khushi hoped that Aakash’s presence would help negate the gloom that Arnav would bring to the party. That way she could redeem herself from the guilt of having handed out the hasty invitation to Anjali without thinking about Lavanya and the inevitable consequences.

“So…are we going?” Anjali asked in excited anticipation once Arnav joined her back.

Arnav shrugged his shoulders, “I guess?”

----------------------------------------------------------------

They left at around three in the morning while it was still dark. Though it hadn’t been a problem for Lavanya who was a late sleeper and a late riser, Khushi had had to down two cups of filter coffee to keep herself awake. The two of them had rented a Scorpio for the ride from before and had to pick up Anjali, Aakash and Arnav on their way, for which Lavanya, quite prudently decided to drive.

It took a while to manage to fit all of their stuff inside, considering that now they were five in all. Arnav insisted on driving, and Khushi sat down next to him on the passenger seat with a paper map (how could they be sure the network wouldn’t ditch them? Khushi had argued) that Arnav and Aakash kept pointing out there was no need for (men!). Khushi had to mentally prepare herself for drives such as these. Shyam had a drinking problem, and she would shudder to remember all those times when she had to clutch both sides of her seat in sheer panic as the car would zig-zag dangerously across the road. One time, Shyam had almost killed someone. It was then when she had decided to learn driving herself, after her marriage. She would firmly snatch the keys of out Shyam’s hands and take control of the steering wheel unmindful of the row that would definitely follow later.

Aakash offered to drive for the second half and sat next to Anjali on the back seat and both of them dozed off within minutes. Lavanya put earphones into her ears, pulled down the car window and gazed dreamily outside, eventually falling into slumber herself after a few minutes.

Khushi set her eyes firmly on the map under the dim light of the car and glanced apprehensively at Arnav who turned the ignition keys. If he would be drunk, she knew what she had to do. He suddenly turned his head and looked at her straight in the eyes, as if having heard her apprehension aloud, and just like that, she quickly looked away.

The tyres left marks of dirt in the pristine white snow as their journey began, in the most unplanned way any of them would have thought. Arnav glanced to his left at Khushi who had a cup of coffee in one hand, Google Maps open on the phone in her lap, and a map clutched tightly in her right hand. She had insisted on being up and keeping track of everything. You would think she feared he might whisk them away or ram them into a stone wall or something. He adjusted the rear view mirror to check on Anjali who had a history of car-sickness, and seeing her dozing off made himself comfortable on the driver’s seat, as he did what he loved best—drive away.

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And so the fun begins!

Also guys, thank you so much for all your likes and comments on the previous chapters. It's amazing to see readers pick on subtleties and engage so well with the story. Keep them coming!

New readers, heartiest welcome to the story, and here's hoping that the ride proves worth it for you!

Waiting to hear from you guys on this one.

Love!

Nainital is a beautiful place. Especially surrounding the area of Tal. Actually Nainital was the fist hill station I visited.

Arnav and Khushi were busy with the conference and Anjali wasn't able to do much without Arnav. So, none of them have really enjoyed the place yet.

Looking forward to know about other places of their trip.

Lavanya is sweet as always. Anjali is cheerful but, she literally bulldozed her way into joining them on the trip. Khushi was worried about Arnav's presence but, Lavanya was fine with either of them.

Hmmm, Lavanya is in favour of Aakash joining them. Interesting!

Arnav turned out to be a sensible guy, and considered about Khushi's feelings when everyone was busy making plans of their own. It looks like Arnav is attuned to Khushi's thoughts and feelings. Lovely! Is Khushi going to change her opinion about him by the end of the trip?

Nice chapter.

Cheers.......

Here ❤️

I am absolutely loving your Anjali. Her zeal for fun and determination to have it is infectious. I think, she can talk her way through anything. Especially when it comes to her Bhai. I don't think he can refuse her anything, once she starts her convincing talk & emotional blackmailing 😃 I have a feeling she will be the glue between Khushi & her Bhai. Akash is a welcome addition to the mix. I hope he keeps Lavanya busy while our hero & heroine have their share of Rabba Ves 😆

Khushi's dislike for Arnav is evident and it doesn't look like Arnav is unaware about it. Although the feeling isn't mutual, Arnav doesn't seem to have any fascination for Khushi either. He noticed the difference in her demeanor when she's out of the office, but there are definitely no sparks flying at the moment. It will be interesting to see them interact with each other outside work in the snow clad mountains amidst these madcap people.

Khushi has become a control freak because of her past experience and it doesn't look like Arnav would mind sharing some of the responsibilities with his co-passenger, considering rest of the passengers are lost in their own world. This ride is definitely looking promising! I hope by the end of it, the resignation is either retracted or denied

Arnav could be termed as having low EQ. He is not comfortable around people except in a work situation and as such does not really read the emotional cues that folk give out or even if he understands does not take that into account. His reaction to Khushi's resignation is a good example. He knew she had not been pleased with his reaction, but it just did not occur to him that he should have tried to find out the why behind it and it is perfectly acceptable to do so. It would be seen as being empathetic. In a way I feel they both have formed certain ideas about the other (especially Arnav about Khushi's disinterest in work, her divorce, without really knowing how her life has been) which they have not tried to change and nothing in their work interactions has given them the opportunity to learn otherwise. So could this trip be the chance when they really get to see the other, what they are really like.

My heart in many ways goes out to Khushi for what she has had to go through and her family's reaction to her situation is so disheartening while not been surprising at the same time. Folk ascribe marriage as a solution to many things including alcoholism. The load of expectation of course falls on the girl with no support for her situation either from the in laws or one's own family. At this point I don't care whether there is a romance or not, but I hope she gets to live her life on her terms without having to please anyone except herself.