Chapter Thirteen
It was late and dark and temperature had dropped several degrees over the last couple of hours but Arnav Singh Raizada showed no sign to return. He sat on swing of the secluded park, the only illumination being the yellow lights from the street next to it. The air around was freezing but nothing moved him from his spot. He was getting claustrophobic in his room. Pulling his black Parka in closer, he noticed the broken swing beside him. It was almost like it was screaming out the irony of the situation to him. "Did she give up on him?" he asked for the thousandth time but got the same reply again: Silence.
~
Payal had reached the point where she couldn't bear the pains of such a monotonous job anymore and thus decided to move to Kanpur for a better job opportunity. Well, monotony was just an excuse that she had presented to her family when in reality she was disgusted with Malik. He had tried his move on her and that appalled Payal to no end. She had put down her paper the very same day to the HR department. The city was closer to Lucknow which was an added bonus but she was scared of leaving her baby sister behind with Buaji all by herself. After the Raizada catastrophe, Buaji played a little too sake when it came to Khushi but no one could blame her, now could they?
"Was I wrong in letting Khushi continue with Arnav? His father is a beast! What if Arnav turned out to be the same? What if he hurts Khushi? How could I have been so stupid? How could I not foresee it? What kind of an elder sister am I, leaving Khushi to fend for herself in Delhi?" mixed emotions waged through her. The two sisters were on their bed but no one said a word. Payal was supposed to leave the next afternoon and Khushi was mighty upset about it. She turned to face her Jiji but was taken aback a little when she saw her expression.
Payal's eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were staring at nothing but were pretty intent. Khushi knew something was worrying her to the core. Such expressions were rare on Payal's face as she knew pretty well how to mask her fears from her family. Even if a storm waged inside her, she never let it show on her face. Like Khushi had mastered the art of smiling, Payal had mastered the art of keeping her emotions to herself. She knew her parents were already in a lot of worries; bills, doctors, rent, the list went on and Khushi was a baby, it would be wrong to burden her with her worldly worries. Finding no confidante around her all her life, she had learnt to resort to herself during tough times but today, it was getting too much to handle. The thought that she was being selfish gnawed her heart. She couldn't help herself up anymore.
Every time she thought of staying back, Malik's face played before her eyes. She had held on for too long in the name of 'Khushi' but she couldn't anymore. She had decided to shift her job but stay in Delhi but even that was not possible after what happened the other day. Generally, she would ignore the fleeting moves from her Boss. She had tried complaining to the HR but it was of no avail. It seemed like a lot of employees had already done the same but since the beast was the Boss; no one could do anything to bring him down.
She was in the conference hall in new building of the office, setting up the room for the meeting which was to be held when Malik walked in. Few important international delegates were coming to meet her Boss and there was no chance of any slip-ups and she knew that. She was managing everything single handed; from setting up the files to placing the name cards on the table to keeping water bottles for everyone.
As Malik walked in, Payal swiftly moved to the other side of the room. "Everything set, Ms. Gupta?" he asked in his usual booming voice, moving around the table with his hand trailing on every chair. Payal nodded curtly in return and shifted quickly and resumed what she was doing, placing files on the table for every delegate. As she moved, she noticed a file on the other side of the table which wasn't kept straight. She leaned over and tried to fix it with her fingertips and as she did so, she felt a shadow cover her. It was before long Payal felt Malik grinding his hardness against her back as she leaned on the table.
Scared and shocked as she was, she got up and tried wriggling her way out of scenario. Just as she thought the worse was over, she was pulled back by her arm and pinned against the wall. Her heart was racing miles a minute as the olderly man neared her. "Ms. Gupta.." he crooned softly as he trailed a finger down her cheek. Payal looked away, trying to fight his iron grip. "Don't play so shy! You know very well why I hired you, don't you? You're supposed to be my personal secretary. You're so pretty and innocent and I didn't want to scare you away. You're even good with your work, I must say. Your files are always perfect but now I'm tired of our little cat and mouse chase. It's time we get down to business, Ms. Gupta. I'm tired" said Malik as he neared his face to hers.
They were inches away, when he felt a felt a sharp thrash across his cheeks. He looked up, shocked and took a step back and Payal used this moment to escape the spot. As she held handle of the glass door to open, she heard him growl in anger "How dare you?" He started to approach but his steps were cut short when they heard footsteps nearby. "I quit" replied Payal, softly but trying to maintain her bravado. "You can't escape, Ms. Gupta. Not after what you've done. Wherever in Delhi you are, I'll find you" he replied snidely.
~
"Jiji! Jiji?! JIJI!!!!" screamed Khushi, snapping her fingers before Payal, trying to bring out of the trance she was in. "Huh?" replied Payal, suddenly awakening from her living nightmare. She thanked her Gods that Malik didn't know about Khushi. She knew there was no way he could reach her Khushi if she left the city. If she stayed, she knew for sure that he would find out about Khushi and that would make the matter worse as Khushi was his son's girlfriend. She had to leave no matter how hard it was.
"Jiji! Kya hua?" (Jiji! What's wrong?) asked Khushi, flopping down beside her with worried eyes. Payal instant changed her expression and replaced it with a sober smile. "Kuch nehi, Pagli! Buss tujhe akele yahan pe chor kar jaane mein chinta ho rahi hain!" (Nothing. I'm just worried about leaving you all alone here). "Arre Jiji!! Apko iss baat ki chinta hain? Uff!! Aap bhi na!!" chided Khushi, gently. (Arre, Jiji! You're worried about this? Uff!! About such menial stuff?)
"Apko toh kisi aur baat par sochna chaihiye!!" (You should be worrying about something else, you know!) she said with a wavy funny tone, trying to cheer to cheer up her sister. "Kaunsi baat?" (About what?) Payal looked at her with confused eyes. "Jiji!" started Khushi as moved down the bed and lied down and rested her head on her Jiji's lap. As Payal's fingers started caressing her hair, Khushi continued "Apko apke nay kaam ke baare mein sochna chahiye. Wahan ke log kaise honge. Ap wahan kya karenge. Aur shayad aapko wahan pe apka Sapno ka Rajkumar mil jaye!!" (You should be worrying about your new job, the atmosphere there, your work place. And maybe that you'll find your Prince Charming there!) The last part of sentence had a giggle added to it, making it sound mischievous. "Hutt pagli" rebuked Payal softly as she tapped Khushi's head gently. The rest of the hours passed in sisterly talks discussing what time had in store for them for future.
The next morning was filled with parting tears. As Khushi packed her sister's bag in their room, tears streamed down her cheeks. As she zipped the last bag, she felt Payal beside her and she turned and embraced her in a bear hug. It was miserable, parting ways with your siblings. Buaji walked and saw them hugging and bawling their eyes out. "Hay re Nand Kishore!" she commented, resting her one arm on her head. The girls broke their hug and turned to face their aunt. "Ee ka ho raha hai? Aise laal laal aankhein leke koi ghar chorta hai kya! Ab hasslo! Itni sundar chehre par aansu bilkul achcha nehi lagta hai!" (What's happening here? You're parting with such sad eyes! Smile! Tears don't suit your pretty face) said Buaji, walking upto Payal and caressing her chin. Payal's lips broke into a smile as the three ladies group hugged for one last time. Buaji and Khushi walked Payal to the door from where Happy Ji took her luggage and kept it in the car he was done repairing with. He had agreed to drop Payal at the station, obligingly. Khushi waved as Payal ducked inside and watched as the car drove away leaving a dusty trail behind. Buaji retreated back but Khushi stared on at the emptiness.
~
Life had just started to get difficult. As she closed the wooden door, she slumped down. This was a hard as letting Arnav Ji go. She remembered the last time she saw him. She was coming out of college; it was her last day of exam. Arnav had come down to the campus to catch her last glimpse. She looked pretty in a green and yellow anarkali. Preeto was beside Khushi, Arnav noticed. As Khushi spotted Arnav, she smiled but then her eyebrows furrowed. There was no way she could meet him at that moment. As if reading her thoughts, Arnav nodded his as if he understood. Smile crept up his lips as she saw Khushi's expression relax. They both smiled pleasantly as emotions of a complete opposite kind waged through them and it was before long when Preeto dragged her away down the road.
The same emotions gripped her heart again; the feeling of watching your loved ones walked away. She broke down and started sobbing with head in her hands. She did it till her heart was content and finally she raised her head and wiped the tears away. She wouldn't cry again, she swore. She had promised her Jiji and Arnav Ji that she would take care of herself and that was what she was going to do. She got up straight, readying herself for the fight ahead.
Payal's cellphone was the only source of contact through which Arnav and Khushi could actually talk but now that her Jiji was gone, Khushi had to rely on her college computer and internet for contact. Buaji had confiscated her phone and showed no sign of return. She didn't even dare to ask. Sometimes, at nights, she would muster up courage and call from the landline but it didn't happen very often as Buaji was known for her sharp senses.
Other than that, she busied herself over multiple works. She joined as an intern in a publishing company and drowned herself in work but her academics did not get neglected either. Her college society took up a lot of time as well. She was juggling so many things in her hand that by the time she hit pillow, slumber took over her in entirety.
~
It was winter and she got over with her third semester. Buaji had noticed how she worked so hard and how tired she was. She forced her to take a leave from the office which was in sync with her winter breaks so she could relax her over strained body. Khushi had to oblige as her Garima and Sashi, her parents called her up as per Buaji's pleadings and convinced her to do the same.
As she sat on the bed on a chilly January morning, thoughts of Arnav Ji filled her mind. It was almost a month since she had last talked to him. It was getting too hard to bear. She closed her eyes, trying to calm her hurling mind. It was aching with worries. Christmas and New Year had passed but she didn't get to wish him, she sighed. "Just two more weeks, Khushi! Just two more weeks" she consoled herself.
~
Arnav was on the swing with his elbows on his knees and his fingers locking each other. His head hung low and hidden in his parka hood. He looked up with a jerk as he heard nearing footsteps. He looked expectantly as the figure neared, silhouetted from the light coming from the street behind. He almost expected Khushi when he saw the flipping hair but immediately held himself back. His heart saddened a little more. "Michelle" he muttered as he traced out the person from her outline and hung his head back, like it was before.
He heard the footsteps stop a few steps short of him but he didn't look up. "ASR" he heard the girl say but did not respond. It was just a sentence, not an exclamation or a question. The girl sighed, she had tried too hard but he never acknowledged her moves. "You scored the highest" she informed and hoped a slight reaction from the guy she crushing on but was disappointed when all she got was a passing nod from his hung head. Finally giving up, she stamped her foot. "You're arrogant and you're rude, Arnav! Do you get that! That's what you are! And it's not just me, a lot of people tend to think that!" raged the girl, as she turned back and stormed away. ASR looked up from his position and studied her retreating figure and smirked. His eyes gleamed from the distant lights.
~
Chapter 14: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/73123553
Oh! Happy New Year!😊
~
LINK TO MY OTHER WORKS:
WiniWonka's Chocolate Factory
_____________________________________________________________________________
HIT THE LIKE BUTTON
DO LEAVE A COMMENT!!!
SILENT READERS: PLZ RESPOND!!
It takes a lot of effort to write...
Buddy me for PMs
comment:
p_commentcount