Once upon a time in a fairytale - P7 Pg18 - Page 8

I ended up rewriting most of Part 5 following an interesting twist in someone's life that I got inspired by. I am sorry for the delay in posting this and please excuse any shortcomings. 😳

And a special shout out for my Tin Tin baba and TY darling as I am missing them sooo sooo sooo much! 🤔🤗

Part 5

Soon the increasing intensity of rain snapped Arnav out of his daze and he too left to go back to his room. He knew he had to get out of this cruise ship as soon as possible. If Iti saw him now, and if that happened in front of Khushi, everything would be spoiled. As he walked absorbed in these thoughts, something he stepped on caught his attention. He bent down to see what it was and realized it was the same anklet he had noticed Khushi wearing earlier. He realized it must've fallen when she rushed out of there a minute ago. He picked the anklet up and put it in his pocket, thinking he would return it to her the next time he met her, as he knew that would happen very soon.

It was almost 10AM, the estimated time to arrival at the excursion place. He went back to his room, dried himself, changed, and packed his bags. Just as he was about to leave, his phone rang.

"Aarzoo! Kaise ho?" A sweet voice spoke softly but excitedly, as soon as he picked up the phone and said hello.

"Di aap? Main bilkul theek hoon. Aap kaisi ho?" Arnav seemed very happy to hear his Anjali Di's voice.

"Hamara haal toh pooch hi mat. Hamara aarzoo toh hame bilkul bhul hi gaya hai!" She replied in fake sad tone.

"Di pehle toh aap mujhe is naam se pukaarna please bandh kijiye. Aap ko pata hai na mujhe yeh naam bilkul bhi pasand nahi! Aur dusra aapne sahi pehchana, aap se bachne ke liye toh bhaag ke aaya hoon." He spoke as he sported a naughty smirk.

"Zyada badmaash banne ki zaroorat nahi hai bachchu! Hume pata hai aap humse chaar din nahi milte toh aap khud hame kitna miss karte ho." Anjali reacted to his mischief.

"Toh phir aisi silly baatein karti hi kyun ho aap di?" Arnav retorted.

"Woh hame aap ki shaadi ke bare mein aap se kuch baat karni thi aur aap hai ki aap ka kuch ata pata hi nahi. Aur haan, kitni baar kaha hai ki hum toh aap ko aarzoo hi bulayenge aap ko pasand nahi aata hai toh woh aap ki problem hai. Haan toh main pooch rahi thi ki.." Anjali now tried to get to the topic she had really called about.

"Uh, uh Di! Abhi nahi. Abhi mein bahot jaldi mein hoon. Hum is topic pe baad mein baat karte hai. Bye I love you!" Arnav abruptly hung up the phone. He was afraid and tired of getting into the same routine conversation with his mother and his Di regarding this topic, and ran away from it as much as he could. He felt bad, but quickly realized he was running out of time and gathered himself.

By now the ship had already stopped at its destination. He left the room, spoke to the crew, filled out necessary early checkout paperwork, and waited until everyone had gotten off. When he felt it was safe, he quickly put on a beach hat he had bought just the day before from a souvenir shop right before he boarded the ship, and his sunglasses, to avoid getting recognized as he walked out. Thankfully the rain had stopped and the sun had come out, saving him from looking abnormal at wearing sunglasses in the rain.

On the other side Khushi, Iti and all got together and went to the beach. Iti initially had decided to remain in good books with Khushi to get closer to Arnav, but by now her jealousy and insecurities had already overpowered her. She was getting troubled at the idea that Arnav had a new young and beautiful business partner, and may get close to her. Getting rid of her at any cost seemed like the best choice since she wanted Arnav all to herself. Iti had already learnt about Arnav's meeting with Khushi on Friday. She knew that if Khushi did not turn up for the meeting, the strict ASR would get angry and throw her out of the contract. Finally, to put her perturbed heart to rest, she chose to take Khushi to the town and get her lost there. The ship rules were that the only way you could come back after missing the departure, would be in the next cruise ship two days later.

Iti walked up to Khushi who was about to get in the water. She stopped her and said "Khushi, beach pe toh hame agle bahot din rehna hai, aaj chalo na market chalte hai. Yahaan ka market bahot bada hai aur shopping ke liye bhi bahot mashhoor hai."

"Lekin Iti main toh apne saath ship se kuch bhi nahi laayi, phone aur wallet bhi bhool gayi." Khushi answered in confusion.

"Arrey kyun chinta karti ho? Mere paas phone bhi hai aur paise bhi hai toh abhi ke liye main bill de dungi tum baad mein mujhe waapis kar dena." Iti persuaded her more.

"Haan magar hame wahaan ka rasta maloom nahi hai. Yeh excursion sirf 4 baje tak ka hi hai, aur phir baaki sab already paani mein jaa chuke hai." Khushi now grew worried.

"Khushi tum bahot ghabrati ho. Yahaan public transportation bahot acha hai. Main yahaan pehle bhi aa chuki hoon. Hum sirf do teen ghanto mein toh waapis bhi aa jayenge abhi toh sirf 11 baje hai. Aur baki sab yahaan enjoy kar lenge. Tumhare dost tumhare bina ek din bhi nahi reh paayenge kya?" Iti answered in frustration.

Khushi remembered that she had promised the girls the night before that she would not leave them alone for the rest of the trip. "Nahi Iti, mujhe lagta hai hume yahiin pe rehna chahiye!" She finally made up her mind.

Iti was by now really annoyed. She was not going to let anyone ruin her plan even if it meant getting others involved in helping strengthen her point. She spoke to Vaacha and convinced her to ask Khushi to go with her to the town. Vaacha insisted to Khushi and Khushi finally gave in.

Ecstatic, they both went to town where they walked around, shopped, ate, and spent the next three and a half hours in sheer bliss. Khushi enjoyed her excursion to town thoroughly and was glad she had decided to come. It was 3PM so they both decided it was time to head back. Iti asked Khushi to stay inside the restaurant they dined at, while she went out looking for transportation, as she didn't think wandering around with all those shopping bags was a good idea. Iti left and Khushi sat there waiting.

The island they had come to was pretty big and the airport was nearby. Arnav had gone straight to the Airport and bought the next flight to Khushi's hometown where the Friday meeting was supposed to take place. After three hours of incremental delays however, they finally announced that his flight was delayed by 2 and a half hours and would now leave at 530PM. Hungry and disappointed, he too decided to go to town to kill time.

As he surfed around town looking for a place to eat, he landed up at the same restaurant where Khushi was waiting for Iti and saw her worried. Concerned, he immediately walked up to Khushi and asked her what was wrong. It had already been more than half an hour since Iti had left and the Cruise departure time was approaching fast. Khushi at seeing Arnav busted out in panic and started gabbing almost incomprehensibly. "Azad, dekhiye na hum Iti ke saath yahaan shopping karne aaye the. Ab woh kitne time se vehicle ka intezaam karne gayi hai lekin waapis hi nahi aayi. Ship leaves in 20 minutes. Agar miss ho gaya toh kya hoga? Friday ko meri ek bahot zaroori meeting bhi hai. Aur mere paas kissi ko contact karne ke liye apni koi cheez nahi hai. Paisa bhi nahi."

"Relax! Shant ho jao Khushi! Chinta mat karo. Main hoon na!" Arnav put his hand on her shoulder and blinked his eyes tenderly in hopes to comfort her. "Main pahoncha deta hoon tumhe ship tak. Chalo jaldi se apna saara saaman mujhe de do." Arnav responded reassuringly.

He took all her shopping bags in one hand, Held and pulled her by his other hand, and went outside. It took a few minutes, but they managed to find a ride to the cruise just in time to get Khushi back safely before the gates closed. On the way, he explained to her that she should be cautious while befriending and trusting strangers. He also pleaded her to stay away from Iti for the rest of the trip as he sensed she was trouble. Khushi agreed wholeheartedly as she was frightened by the trauma she had just endured.

As Khushi walked in the ship gate, Arnav stood outside waving her goodbye. "Aap andar kyun nahi aa rahe ho Aazad? Gate 5 minutes mein band hone wala hai." She spoke nervously.

"Tum jao andar mein 2 minute mein aaya mujhe peeche crew quarters se hote hue aana hai wahaan kuch kaam hai." Arnav had no choice but to lie again though he hated it to the core.

Khushi agreed and quickly walked in. Arnav hurriedly turned back to leave for the Airport. He made it just in time to catch his flight. Finally, the plane took off and he reached his meeting destination seamlessly, surviving on airplane meals for the third day in a row, and ended up spending the next 5 days in a hotel room fighting a terrible cold and fever.

Khushi spent the next few days of her journey completely dedicated to her friends, and ignored Iti every time she tried to talk to her. Iti wondered how Khushi managed to make it back to the cruise on time and continued cursing the failure of her plan. She also whimpered over the idea of having spent so much money shopping and losing the money and artifacts both to Khushi. She didn't know however that Khushi had already passed on all items to Iti's friends.

Khushi enjoyed her trip but continued mounting restlessness as she could not get rid of Azad from her thoughts. Her eyes looked for him, and wondered where he had disappeared to. Where had he gone? What kind of hold did this stranger have on her? Why had her heart beaten faster every time he was in the vicinity? She didn't know. But she only wished she got to see him one last time before the cruise ended, so she could thank him. Well, it never happened. She was sure she was never going to see this man ever again...

I just read all the parts and I found them very sweet. A departure from tension and angst between the two protagonists made it all the more a worthy read. Good job!👍🏼

Loved it Mohz... Arnav I mean Azad being helpful...haiii dream come true!!...do continue soon

Originally posted by: FebruaryFlower

Hey Mohini!!🤗

Love the update. I'm really glad Arnav helped Khushi, it was a nice twist.

I'm looking forward to them meeting now, and her finding out that Arnav is none other than Azad, the man shes been thinking about for the past couple of days!

I wonder if Iti is out of the picture, or is she going to be back?

Update soon dear...looking forward to the next part!!

😊

Originally posted by: pgm7

I just read all the parts and I found them very sweet. A departure from tension and angst between the two protagonists made it all the more a worthy read. Good job!👍🏼

Could you PM me the next time you update? thanks!😊

P.S.-I love the title of the OS.

Originally posted by: Minnie.

omggg lovellyy updatte i wwass w8in 4 ages 4 u to update loll

bless ya

u took ur tym

anyways perfect update cant w8 to read more

it defo is a fairytyl lloll

Originally posted by: mahi0809

Loved it Mohz... Arnav I mean Azad being helpful...haiii dream come true!!...do continue soon

All: I deeply apologize for not posting this earlier! I will try to be more quicker next time! 😳🤔

Part 6:

Cruise ended on Wednesday morning and Khushi and her friends reached home safely by that evening. They waved each other final goodbye as they reminisced over how exciting and absolutely memorable this adventure had been. Khushi spent all of Thursday recuperating from her journey and catching up with family. But it was the least relaxing day as her anxiety at the idea of meeting Arnav Singh Raizada was growing by the hour. She had dealt with many execs before but she never felt the way she was feeling today. This unfamiliar striking sense telling her something unimaginable was about to happen overpowered her mind and soul. A strange uneasiness had left her confused but she tried her level best to brush it off and get on with her day.

Finally, it was Friday morning. Khushi was supposed to meet Arnav Singh Raizada at the Raizada Branch Office in 2 hours. Both were looking forward to, as well as dreading this meeting for their own reasons. "Will it be awkward?" They both asked themselves this question over and over again in the mirror as they got dressed. "What will I say to justify myself?" Arnav wondered. She on the other end grew even more fidgety as the time drew closer. Ultimately, she gathered herself and left to get to the Raizada office.

She reached there exactly half an hour early so she could get settled in with her presentation and the rest of the setup. At reaching the office, she met with Laksh, Arnav's assistant who had just flown in from India to facilitate this meeting.

"May I please be pointed to the conference room so I can get started on setting up for the meeting?" Khushi met with Laksh and politely asked him.

"Ma'am it would be my pleasure, however can you please give me 5 minutes as I have strangely been unable to locate Mr. Raizada. It is highly unlikely of him to have gone missing like this. We've been trying him for the past hour but he hasn't attended a single call." Laksh pleaded in deep concern.

"Sure, take your time." Khushi responded as she walked to the waiting room and stood by the window looking outside.

The weather had been fluctuating the whole week and kept changing from bright days into cloudy rainy days and vice versa. It started to slowly drizzle as she continued looking at the outside view. The Raizada office was located away from the industrial area and had large property which had been turned into marvelous landscape. The fully bloomed flowers of various colors, the rich trees, and other greenery were mesmerizing. All colors were turning a shade darker from the touch of water now starting to disseminate across them. The intensity of the rain was only growing. Just then, the flash of her previous encounter with rain flooded Khushi's mind. She remembered Azad's relentless gaze at her on that deck, as the rain had immersed them in each other. She remembered his words, "Hum mausam ki nahi, pyar ki barsaaton se dar ke bhagne walo main se hai." "What did he mean by that?" She wondered.

Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted as Laksh came from behind and spoke to her. "Excuse me ma'am!"

Khushi turned around, a little startled. "Yes Mr. Laksh?"

"Ms. Khushi, I have been able to trace Mr. Raizada and he is unable to attend today's conference live as he has fallen terribly sick. He has however agreed to attend it as a video-conference as he does not want to back out from his commitment." Laksh explained.

Back at the hotel room, this was Arnav's way of avoiding the meet with Khushi, as he had not yet figured out how he was going to answer the scorching questions in her ever so innocent eyes when she would see him. He had already recovered from his fever, and had even gotten dressed to get to the office, but chose to stay in and connect using the internet instead.

Khushi felt mixed reactions at hearing this news. This meant she would not be able to meet Arnav Singh Raizada today. She was sad and relieved at the same time. It was a reaction she wasn't used to sensing coming from herself. Alas, she shrugged it and got to work. She setup the video conference and prepared the presentation. Arnav was supposed to call five minutes before the scheduled meeting time. Everything was all set now only awaiting his call.

The phone rang just moments later. As had already been decided, an exhilarated yet frightened Khushi answered. "Good morning Mr. Raizada. Thank you for calling in despite your illness. Hope you continue feeling better. We have the presentation all setup. Please direct us when you are ready and we shall get started."

Suddenly, Arnav's world just stopped at the other end of that phone. He had conversed with Khushi many times before, but hearing her voice today ignited sensations inside his soul like never before. He sat there relishing her voice on that speaker phone as if listening to the jingling bells so endearingly on Christmas Eve. His heart seemed to start beating a bit faster but he didn't know why. He just assumed and nodded it off by calling it the anxiety of hiding the truth from her.

Finally, a voice from the other side snapped him out of his daydream. "Are you still there Mr. Raizada? We cannot see you on the Video for some reason." Khushi spoke on the other side.

"Yes, actually that is what I was trying to figure out. My software seems to be acting up on me. I think we must just go ahead with the web presentation without the video." Arnav dodged the threat once again.

In the conference room, Khushi just as well went silent at the instant where she heard Arnav's voice. This familiar masculine voice reminded her so much of Azad. Was she imagining this? Could she be missing him that much? "This is absurd." She told herself, and carried on with the presentation. They spent the next two hours discussing, brainstorming, and exchanging layout, plan, and content of their next few months, all the while the restlessness growing inside both their hearts.

At the end of the presentation, Arnav was thoroughly impressed with Khushi's attention to detail, her in-depth knowledge and insight in her field, and her ability to express her thoughts and vision so clearly on paper and verbally. He had concluded that there was nothing more to examine about Khushi. She was more than capable of handling the projects assigned to her and he needed not to worry. He expressed the same thoughts to the team, wished her good luck, and told her he will see her in India in a week.

Overjoyed that he had evaded this confrontation with Khushi for another week, he felt extremely relieved and went out of the hotel to get fresh air and grab some lunch.

As he pulled into T.G.I Friday's, someone else tried backing their car out to park properly, getting into a fender bender with Arnav. Angry and annoyed, Arnav got out of the car to scold the driver, but ended up overjoyed and overly frightened at realizing who it was.

Khushi's reactions on the other end were same to same!