Friends thanks a lot for ur support. This chapter is dedicated to srahs. Thanks a lot dear for showing interest in my writings. After a tiring saturday in off ur msg in the inbox inspired me to spend time & write this chapter.
I hope this chapter is up to the mark & u really like it.
Chapter 22
Shanthivan 2011
"In fact i have told you sorry many times before."
His words were reverberating in her ears. She smiled. It was true. He had apologized to her in the past not many times as claimed by him but still... It always brought a smile on her face.
AR Towers 2010
The place was abuzz with noise & it was chaotic all around. Most of the designs for the GIA collection were ready & ASR's star designer Mona was arriving to display the final lot that have made the mark. Kushi had already heard a lot about Mona from Pooja. She was an arrogant B* & had an attitude with a capital A. There was also a rumour that there had been a tumultuous brief affair between her & ASR.
Of course he would have had an affair. She scoffed inwardly. All this combined with the information that she already had on him only confirmed her judgement on him. She absolutely hated him, abhorred him. But you are also attracted towards him baby, a small voice nagged her from within. She shook her head angrily. Of course the devil is handsome but that doesn't change the fact that he is evil. A delicious, delectable devil. Hey Devi Maiyya. Here she was again drooling over him as if he were something edible. Lost in thought she collided with something solid.
WT*.
She jerked her head up & ended up staring into those chocolate eyes. Oops talk of the devil...
"Watch where you are going sissy. Girls like this just wait for a chance to collide with a rich handsome guy. Stop staring & move your ass."
Shocked by this onslaught of verbal venom she turned to see a ravishingly beautiful woman standing before her clinging on to ASR's arm.
"Ms GUPTA would you mind moving aside. You are blocking the way."
That sarcastic tone was back & the laughter that she had seen previous night was completely absent. She hastily moved aside. She turned just in time to find Mona throwing her a dirty look before galloping along with ASR still clinging tightly to him.
She had a mad urge to prise her hand off her Arnav. She gulped. HER ARNAV? Hey Devi Maiyya i think i am really going mad. Please help me.
The dress rehearsal for the ramp show started & Kushi forgot all about Mona & her caustic remarks. She & Pooja were responsible for the complete show & they were extremely jittery. Lavanya had dumped all the donkey work on them & was busy trying to cling on to the other arm of ASR periodically shooting visual daggers at her rival Mona who was cooing to ASR all the while.
Kushi wondered how ASR managed to tolerate all this cat fight. In fact he looked annoyed with both the females & was fidgety. Their eyes met & she hastily turned away but she felt his eyes boring into her. She sneaked a glance & was disappointed to find him turned towards the ramp watching the models closely.
There she goes. Kushi Kumari Gupta stealthily checking him out. He chuckled inwardly. For some reason he always found her harmless flirting cute & endearing. There was an unabashed innocence to it & he felt almost like a guy in college who an innocently pretty girl was hitting on. He chuckled again when he recollected the way she had collided with him. If Mona hadn't made that snide remark she would have continued gaping at him. Then he frowned. Mona was becoming a problem. He saw her just as a talented designer with whom he had had a brief one night stand but now Mona was trying to rekindle the affair. He was just not interested in women. They hid behind the words LOVE, MARRIAGE etc when all they wanted was a guy with a hefty bank balance who satisfied them in bed. He had never sought women. It was they who sought his company both in & out of bed for his money & good looks. It's been a long time since he had looked at a girl leave alone being attracted towards her. He suddenly had a mental image of a girl drenching in rain, him saving her from a runaway car & her clinging to him just like the rain drops clinging to her hair, her fingers, her cheeks, her eye lashes, her quivering lips. Every night he dreamt of those innocent eyes & that lush lips. Come on Arnav. Shake out of it. Stop behaving like a teenager horny for the girl next door. But automatically his eyes searched her & he finally found her on the other side of the room actually staring at him. He caught her eyes & raised an eyebrow & smirked when he saw her startled & look away in embarrassment. He smirked again. Kushi Kumari Gupta. Seriously this girl was MAD. Every time he looked at her there was a lump in his throat. She made him feel younger & laugh out loud. His thoughts flashed back to the previous night when he had laughed at her antics. Sheesh what was wrong with him. She affected him in ways he couldn't fathom. It would be in his best interest to avoid her. He turned towards the ramp & the models totally tuning out Mona & Lavanya who were droning non stop.
Kushi was rattled. Once again he had caught her staring at him unashamedly. She wouldn't be surprised if her mouth had been slightly open. He affected her in ways that she couldn't fathom. She jerked out of her reverie when Pooja plopped next to her.
"I have just dumped all those tons of shiny confetti near the stage."
They were supposed to strew it at the end of the show. Frankly Kushi hadn't been impressed by the designs. They were just ok nothing extraordinary & was surprised that Mona's designs were so hyped up in the market. In fact she had already made some mental corrections to the 2 show stopper dresses one in red & another in black. She snatched a paper & started working furiously. Pooja peeped at her work curiously & whistled out loud.
"WOW Kushi your design is way better than that crap on the ramp."
Kushi snorted.
"Of course mine is better."
"Hail Ms Chanel." Pooja yelled & both of them burst out laughing.
"So my designs are crap & yours is mind blowing is it Ms Chanel."
The words literally yelled at them stunned them into silence. Kushi swivelled around & her jaw dropped. Mona was standing next them looking in thunderous mood & she dint even have the courage to look at ASR. Who knows he might strangle her right then & storm out.
Kushi gulped many times.
"Actually we were just joking."
"But i dint find it funny. How dare a Ms NOBODY like you dare criticize my designs. What the F* do you know about designing. I am even surprised that ASR hires tittering nitwits like you in his office. You bloody F* sissy"
By now everyone in the room were crowded around them.
Something inside Kushi snapped.
"Just mind your words Ms Mona. Your vocabulary is similar to the dresses that you design. Both make us cringe."
A throbbing silence followed something akin to the silence when a volcano is silently bubbling before it royally erupts.
"This is it ASR. I ve had enough. I am leaving. Since my designs are crap you can use Ms Chanel here to design for your collection. I am done."
"WAIT Mona".
He turned slowly towards Kushi.
"GUPTA apologize to Ms Mona right now"
"I wont" she whispered. She still dint have the courage to look at him.
He grapped her roughly & yelled
"Look at me when i am speaking to you. LOOK UP DAMMIT"
She swallowed hard & looked up. She saw a multitude of emotions flit across his face & his eyes spooked her. She shivered slightly looking at those eyes.
"Apologize right now"
She turned & looked at Mona.
"I am sorry. I am really sorry for saying all those stuff. Please forgive me."
"I want you to get on the ramp & tear those designs in your hands & apologize before everyone. I want you to say that you are stupid & made a big mistake by thinking that you could design. Do this or i will walk out of this project right now."
"MONA"
"No ASR I am fed up. Either the girl does what i said or AR Industries suffers. CHOOSE".
Arnav closed his eyes & clenched his fists. Mona had crossed all lines now & he dint know what to do. The collection was to be launched in another 2 weeks & they dint have the time to find another designer. He suspected that Mona was using this opportunity to make him grovel, punish him for rejecting her. Jilted gal taking revenge. SHIT! Now Kushi was the scapegoat. He had to hurt her. There was no other option.
He opened his eyes & looked at Kushi. He was taken aback to see her eyes literally pleading for his support. No. He couldn't give in to those eyes. NOT NOW.
"Kushi Kumari Gupta. Do as she said"
Kushi felt as if her whole world was crumbling. How could she ditch her self-respect & dignity. She looked at ASR & was shocked to see his eyes literally pleading her to understand. His face was still impassive but his eyes reflected her pain. Then it was gone & once again his eyes became cold.
She swallowed hard & moved to the ramp as if in a trance. She somehow managed to say the words. Her hands were shaking when she tore her designs. She felt a sting in her eyes. NO KUSHI NO. Dont cry. That means they have won. Walk away with your head held high.
She got down from the ramp, her legs shaking & stumbled on a high table & the next minute a load full of confetti cascaded down on her. She fell to the ground covered with all that colourful, shiny stuff. She started shaking frantically trying to get rid of them & everyone started laughing at her. She was almost becoming hysterical. It reminded her of the movie Carrie & wished she had telekinetic powers like her to reduce everyone into ashes. She ran out of the room & blindly ran to the make-up room. She collapsed on the floor & started crying. Her entire body was shaking & she just couldn't control her tears.
She looked at her arms still covered with all that confetti. Uttering a growl she started tearing at her skin as if she wanted to shred it into ribbons.
A strong hand caught her & she knew who it was even before he spoke.
"GET OUT MR RAIZADA".
He dint let go & she started struggling against his grip.
"STOP IT KUSHI"
"I WONT. WHO DO U THINK U R COMING & ORDERING ME ABOUT. JUST GO. JUST GET OUT BEFORE I KILL YOU. YOU WANTED ME TO QUIT RIGHT. FINE! U WIN. I AM RESIGNING. TO HELL WITH U ARNAV SINGH RAIZADA."
She then collapsed against him, her body shuddering with her sobs.
He closed his eyes. He couldn't tolerate her tears. It tore at his heart & made him want to scream. He pulled her closer. The next minute she was clinging to him tightly & crying loudly.
"Kushi please don't..." He whispered.
It was that broken, husky tone which brought her back to her senses. She realized that she was actually in his arms, hugging him tightly, his shirt balled in her fists, her head on his shoulders.
She jerked away from him & became silent. She slowly raised her gaze to find him staring at her, those chocolate eyes drilling into her, melting her, drawing her towards him. She tore her gaze away & just to keep her hands & mind occupied resumed her earlier attack. His hands stilled her, ensnaring her hands within his.
As if in daze she saw him come near her & start removing the confetti from her arms. He was touching her bare arms, then her shoulders & his fingers finally rested on her neck. She could feel his fingers tapping out a music of its own on her body. His fingers were hovering & fluttering all over her. She felt him caress her cheeks as he softly removed the paper from her face. He flicked the paper off her cheeks, her forehead, her eye brows, her chin & finally her lips. Each time she felt his fingers hover over her skin, it tingled her senses & spiralled her into confusing ecstasy. His tenderness broke her heart & made her want to cry out loud. He then bent slowly down. She closed her eyes. She could actually feel his breath on her neck just below her ears. Her eyes jerked open to find him close, impossibly close to her. She could see his eyes, those eyes which caused havoc inside her, she could even see a thin scar just above his left eye. Again as if in trance she lifted her hand & traced the scar lightly with her finger.
He inhaled quickly & pushed her away. She was shocked by her response & was scared to see him silently taking deep breaths.
She thought that it was better to leave.
She was almost near the door when his voice stopped her.
"I am sorry Kushi".
It was in a barely audible whisper & for a minute she was not sure if she had heard him right.
She turned slowly towards him.
"I am really sorry for what happened today. I couldn't help it since if Mona had left it would have been a huge loss to the company. I am very sorry for putting you through all this."
Before she could reply he left the room quickly leaving her stunned, confused, dizzy & one big mess of tangled nerves.
Guys plz plz plz do post ur comments. Even brickbats r ok. If u dint like a particular chapter do say so. It ll help me in improving. I just love reading all ur comments. So do post ur feedback 😳
Edited by Angels11 - 13 years ago
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