ARIYA SS: Dil De Diya...Chapter8 LAST page 29 - Page 7

It was 7.30 AM in the morning and as usual Arjun was jogging in the park.

'Hi uncle', a sweet voice called him. He stopped in his tracks and turned around to look as to who called him. He saw Aaliya waving at him sitting on her bicycle. A smile automatically spread over his lips as he saw her. She drove her bicycle towards him and he started to jog beside her.

'Aap yaha?', she asked him riding beside him.

'Ha, main toh yaha roj aata hu. Aur aap?', he asked her smiling.

'Cycling karne aayi hu', she replied sweetly. 'Uncle, hum itni bar mile, aur mujhe toh aapka naam bhi nahi pata?', she said creasing her eyebrows together. He smiled at her cuteness.

'Arjun. Mera naam Arjun hai, aur aapka?', he asked her. She stopped cycling and he stopped beside her.

'Hi, I am Aaliya. Aap mujhse doti karoge?', she asked forwarding a hand towards him. His smile grew wider at this.

'Jaroor', he replied shaking her hand. 'Aap yaha akeli aayi ho?', he asked as both of them resumed their cycling and jogging.

'Nahi Mumma ke sath. Wo rahi mumma', Aaliya said pointing forward towards Riya. Riya turned after hearing Aaliya's voice and walked towards them..

'Mom, Arjun uncle', she said pointing towards Arjun. 'Arjun uncle, Mumma', she introduced Arjun to Riya.

Arjun and Riya both stared at each other for a few moments.

'Mom, aap log baatien karo, I am gonna take one more round of my cycle!', Aaliya said riding her cycle.

'Par Aaliya...', Riya tried to say something, but she had already gone. Riya looked at Arjun again and smiled lightly. Arjun was really happy seeing her dimpled smile after so long and his heart skipped a beat. He tried to calm himself as he realized that she was not single anymore.

'Hi Riya', Arjun greeted her.

'Hi... Arjun sir', she greeted back hesitantly.

'Riya, ab main tumhara senior officer nahi hu. Tumhe mujhe Sir bulane ki jarurat nahi hai', he said smirking.

'Kya karu sir?, itne saalon ki aadat jo hai. Itni jaldi chhootegi nahi', she said giving her dimpled smile again.

Both of them were silent for a while. Both didn't know what to say to the other. Just then Aaliya zoomed past waving at them to take another round of her bicycle.

'Aaliya bohot pyaari hai', Arjun said looking at her riding away.

'Ha, bilkul apni ma pe gayi hai', Riya said smiling to herself. Arjun looked at her Ha, I have no doubt about that, he thought. But there was something in her smile that was not right, and it didn't go unnoticed by him.

'Aur tumhare husband?', Arjun asked. Riya's eyebrows creased in confusion at the word husband. 'Wo kaha hai?', he asked. Riya looked at Arjun and the questioning look in his eyes. Of course. He must have thought that I am... she thought. Her features relaxed and she smiled lightly at his confusion.

'Sir meri shaadi...', she said but

'Aahhh...', they heard Aaliya cry out.

'Aaliya..', Riya shouted and both of them ran towards Aaliya who fell down from her bicycle. She was crying as the cycle was on her leg. Arjun quickly picked up the cycle from her leg and Riya took her in her arms. Thanks to her less speed she didn't get hurt much. Just her left knee was bruised. Riya carried her to the nearby bench and Arjun followed. She was crying so Riya calmed her down. While Arjun took his handkerchief and gently tied it on her bruised knee.

'Aap thik ho?', Arjun asked her softly and she nodded.

'Aaliya, ab ghar chalte hai. School ke liye ready bhi toh hona hai na?', Riya said.

'Ok Mumma', she said and got down from the bench.

'Aahhh...', Aaliya cried out in pain as she took a step. Arjun immediately picked her up in his arms.

'Kya hua?', he asked her.

'Mera pair... du...dukh raha hai', she said crying as tears ran down her cheeks. Arjun made her sit on the bench again and examined her ankle that seemed to have twisted. He pressed her ankle a bit and she again cried out in pain.

'Bohot dard ho raha hai?', Riya asked sitting beside her and placing her motherly hand on her cheek. Aaliya nodded still crying silently. Arjun kneeled down in front of her and took her ankle in his hands. He looked up at her, put up a childish frown on his face and asked,

'Arre yeh to bohot chotisi chot hai, aap itnsi chot pe ro rahe ho?'. She stopped crying and looked at him with her innocent teary eyes.

'Dukh raha hai...', she said in her childish tone.

'Aapko pata hai, jab mission pe hume aisi choti moti chot lagti hai toh hum kya karte hai?', he asked gripping her ankle firmly.

'Kya?', she asked curiously forgetting about her pain. Arjun smiled at her excitement.

'Batata hu..', he said. 'Arre who dekho pigeon', he said indicating towards the tree. She looked up to the tree and he immediately twisted her ankle.

'Aahh...mom', she shouted and closed her eyes clutching Riya's arm tightly at the sharp pain.

'Ab apna pair hila kar dekho', Arjun said releasing her ankle. She opened her eyes and looked at him anxiously. He nodded and assured her. She slowly moved her leg and a wide smile spread over her face.

'Wow... Dard to bilkul gayab ho gaya!', she exclaimed happily. She jumped down from the bench and hugged Arjun.

'Thank you Arjun uncle', she said and broke the hug. He just smiled.

'Ab chalein Aaliya? School ke liye late ho jayenge?', Riya asked her with a smile and she nodded. Riya looked at Arjun.

'Thank you Sir', she said sincerely looking into his eyes.

'Its okay Riya', he said.

Aaliya waved a good bye at Arjun as he watched them leave.

ETF office

It was a usual day for the team. A case, investigation and finally the case was solved. Today they had simple case, so it was solved earlier. But throughout the day Rathore noticed something was troubling Arjun. Finally everyone went home, only Arjun and Rathore were left.

'Rawte, kya bat hai? Kal se dekh raha hu tum kuch pareshan ho?', Rathore finally asked. Arjun got up from his chair, walked towards the window and stood looking out of it. 'Arjun', Rathore spoke more casually this time. 'Kuch hua hai kya? Tum aise...'

'Sameer', Arjun cut him off 'Riya vapas aa gayi hai', Arjun answered silently.

'What?', Rathore asked shocked. 'What did you just say?'. Arjun turned to look at him.

'Riya vapas aa gayi hai', he simply answered. Rathore smiled widely at this.

'Sach!', he held Arjun by the shoulder and Arjun nodded. 'Arjun you're mad! Itni khushi ki khabar tu aise suna raha hai?? Tujhe toh khush hona chahiye ki Riya aaj...'

'She is married Sameer', Arjun said. Arjun's words shocked him to the core and he released him.

'Kya?', Rathore asked shocked. He didn't believe it. How is it possible he thought. 'Tujhe kaise pata?', Rathore asked him. He didn't want to believe it. Arjun recalled the incident from the super market and from the park in the morning. Rathore listened patiently, but he was disturbed inside. He was unable to believe it. He didn't want his friend to go through the same pain again. He was worried for Arjun. How could god be so unfair to him? And how could Riya be married to someone else? He knew Riya loved Arjun.

Arjun just walked out of the office silently leaving a worried Rathore looking at him.

It was 5.30 PM in the evening and Arjun was driving towards home lost in thoughts. His thoughts unknowingly wandered towards Aaliya and a small smile crept up on his face. He didn't know why, but he felt a certain pull towards her. As if there is a some connection between them. As if her meeting to him has some significance. While he was wondering about Aaliya he saw her. He stopped the car in front of the school gate and looked at her. She was standing by the gate, playing with her water bottle looking bored. The school was almost deserted except for a few children and the gatekeeper.

Arjun got down from the car and walked towards her.

'Hi, Aaliya', he said smiling at her.

'Hi Arjun uncle', she said beaming as she saw him.

'Aap ab tak yahi ho? Ghar nahi gayi? School ki chutti toh adhe ghante pehle hi ho gayi na?', he asked her.

'Ha, but mumma ne kaha aaj wo late ho jayengi. Unki koi important meeting hai na!', she answered him sweetly.

'Oh! Toh isiliye aap yaha par bore ho rahi hai, hai na?', he asked her and picked her up in his arms.

'Hmm..', she said nodding.

'Okay. Toh... aaj main aapko ghar chod du?', he asked her and her eyes lit up.

'Really?', she asked him and he nodded. 'Haa', she said happily.

'Ok, to fir main aapki mumma ke liye message chod deta hu, aur fir hum chalte hain. Okay?', he asked and she nodded happily. He went and informed her teacher about it and left a message for Riya. He also told the gatekeeper to inform Riya about it. He got the address from Aaliya's ID and both of them left towards her home. He didn't know why he was doing this, but felt like spending some time with this cute little girl.

Done. So how was it? Boring? 😕 Pathetic?🤢 Okay? Lovely? 😊

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