First, a very hearty thank you to everyone who commented and liked this FF... muuaahh!!!! ...Second, I intend to wrap up this story between 12-14 chapters...maybe even 15 if it does stretch out ...unlike my other FFs... so buckle up for this short ride...and I will do my very best to make sure that you all enjoy it...okay here goes...wish me luck!!!
CHAPTER 2 : THE "ACCIDENTAL" MEETING
Khushi woke up with a sense of impending doom in the pitch black, two-room apartment. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew instinctively that something was dreadfully wrong! Naturally, she checked the baby first to see if she was fine, then did a quick perimeter check of her small apartment, when her eyes had adjusted to the darkness. Nothing!!! But she couldn't help it as the dreaded terror slowly crawled its way up her chilled spine.
She forced herself to go back to bed. Her heart beat got erratic. She hid herself under the blanket, protectively scooping the baby to her body. All her senses on high alert, she tried to tune into the slightest sound that could be heard in the surrounding. Still Nothing!!!
A couple of minutes later, when she still couldn't calm herself, she tip-toed her way to the phone, carrying a very sleepy & disgruntled Riya. She picked it up and dialled.
trriing...trriiing...trriiing...triiing...trriiing... "C'mon...please answer your phone," she begged the unreachable friend.
trriing...trriiing...The number you have dialed is busy, please call again later...Khushi tried the number again and again, each time ending with the same result.
While Khushi had been busy on the phone, Riya had settled down and fallen asleep just as quietly. Frustrated with her helpless state, Khushi burst into silent tears, shedding them profusely as she hugged Riya. There was pin-drop silence in the apartment, apart from her sniffles and sobs, there were no other sounds. Its a good thing too that there were no other sounds...cos then she would not have heard that slight screeching noise.
It was such a slight noise, and yet so distinct. The noise of someone cutting through the glass!! Khushi stiffened immediately. Her eyes darted from one window to the other, hoping against hope that it might be someone else's apartment that was being broken into. She stoodup (balancing Riya on her Shoulder) and inched her way to the door, all the while her scared eyes flitted from one window to the other.
Her free hand pressed down hard on her mouth to prevent any scream from alighting when she saw a shadowy figure in furthest corner. Damn!!!! She had totally forgotten about the bathroom ...
Silently, she reached for the key which she always hung next to the apartment door (wordlessly thanking the gods for this good habit of hers) and quickly fitted it into the keyhole. With the door unlocked, she slowly turned the door knob, trying to open the door. She quickly glanced over at the burgler that had disturbed her peace and found he was rummaging through her cupboard. Taking this opportuniy as a blessing in disguise, since that meant she could get out of the room safely without being spotted, she dashed out the front door. She broke into a run, or rather as close to a run as was possible for her slender weakened frame.
Trying to run while carrying a 7-month old baby certainly was no picnic.
Especially if you didn't want that baby to wake up and start crying which would then most certainly draw the attention of the thief.
The weight of the baby hindered her progress, causing her to break out in sweat and gasp for air for her starved lungs. As soon as she reached outside her apartment building, she stopped to catch her breathe. She was dead tired and then she had been so upset just before she had fallen asleep that she hadn't even eaten anything. Turning around to take one last cursory look to see if her quick escape had been detected, she dashed out into the night, hoping that the darkness will cloak her and Riya from any further danger.
Suddenly, she walked into something hard, which caused the air to be knocked out of her. She staggered backwards due to the impact. She would have fallen sideways with Riya, had a pair of arms not come to her rescue. She raised her eyes to quickly thank the stranger. She was met with the brownest, chocolate lucid eyes, which reflected concern, protectiveness, astonishment and mild pleasure. However, there was one other vague emotion present in his eyes which she couldn't understand. Was it anger?? But before she could assure her theory, it was gone. Had she imagined it? She must have, she thought.
Afterall, she was pretty sure she had never seen him before so there definitely could be no reason for him to be angry at her!!
Giving Khushi ample time to regain her balance, he stood back and asked her,"Are you alright?" although his tone said that he couldn't care less if she drowned right infront of him!
"Yes, thank you," responded Khushi. She re-adjusted Riya on her other shoulder and started to walk away.
"There's a group of drunken man down that path...," He said, hinting at her to change her path. She mouthes an "O" and quickly changed her course of direction.
"STOP!!! Look its dark and the next time you trip and fall, the baby will get hurt too. Let me know where would you like to go and I will drop you off," he said. Khushi turned around and eyed him, from top to bottom, not realising that he had voiced his concern for the baby only!
She didn't trust rich man. Especiailly the ones that exuded charm and strength. She had paid dearly for it the last time she had fallen for that trick!
"Nn...nnn...No thanks...I can...mm..manage," she replied.
"Get in the car!", he ordered, ignoring her reply.
"Don't worry, I don't date taken women...and you are not my type...AND my PA is also in the car...so take it easy...".With that said, he grabbed her arms and steered her towards his parked vehicle. Khushi breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted an elderly 40-ish old woman sitting in the car. The woman smiled gently at her. Khushi got in and tucked Riya into a more comfortable position. "Hello dear, what's your name? I am Margaret, and what's your littleone's name?" the old lady asked, trying to strike up a conversation to relax Khushi.
Meanwhile, HE closed the door behind her, and walked to the driver's side. He looked back at the direction Khushi had come from and smirked. He quickly texted: Job Well Done, the money will reach your account in the next few minutes. And that, he pushed the mobile back into his pocket, before getting into the car. Happy that Stage 1 of his plan had worked so smoothly. He had known that if Margaret had not been present in his car then Khushi would not have gotten in.
However, Margaret was unaware of her contribution to his plan's success. For her, it was just another one of those days when she had to work over-time.
Putting the key into the ignition, he revs up his car and said "By the way, my name is Arnav Singh Raizada," as he drove his car away from the kerb.
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Comment and Like please... put it this way...your comments are an antidote to my laziness ...lol...no reaaly...please...and thanks once again for all yours generous feedback...loved every single one of 'em
Edited by s-576 - 13 years ago
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