FF: Betrayed by Love: T2 *Note and a teaser page 143* - Page 10

Hello everyone, I am back with another update.😃

Part 23

Sameer moved towards Arjun's office without dwelling further on what he will say to Arjun once he was in front of him. He knocked on the door lightly before opening the door and walking in.

Sameer halted just inside Arjun's office and took in the closed blinds and the dark shadows in the room. For a minute he thought Arjun was not in the office and just as he was turning to leave he noticed a movement in the far corner of the room.

He took two more steps to take a closer look and spotted Arjun standing by the window, legs apart and arms crossed over his chest, gazing at the parking area below intently.

Sameer walked towards him silently and followed his gaze to see what had Arjun so occupied that he did not notice Sameer's presence in his office.

Sameer's expression softened when he saw what or rather whom Arjun was staring at. Priya had just walked out of ETF alone, preoccupied with her phone. Sameer saw Arjun tense when he realized Priya was alone and completely unaware of her environment.

Sameer kept swirling his head between the scene below and Arjun. He watched as Arjun stepped forward and placed his hand on the window as if he wanted to call out a warning to Priya to not go alone. He visibly relaxed when Shree and Chotu also came out of the building two minutes later and called out to Priya.

Sameer shook his head, unable to understand the love between his two best friends. Swati had been right, Arjun had loved Priya in the past and those feelings had never died, they had just lay doormat while he was married to Roshni and thru the aftermath of her death. But now that things are starting to clear and Arjun was able to think clearly those feelings were once again resurfacing with vengeance.

Arjun's feeling were more clear now but how he was handling the guilt along with his feelings was completely wrong and it was time Sameer pointed that out to his friend.

"Why do you ignore her at every turn yet watch out for her constantly? Sameer finally asked to get Arjun's attention.

Arjun turned his head towards Sameer then looked away quickly in embarrassment. He had no excuse or answer for Sameer's question, he was caught red handed. He stepped towards his desk, "Was there something you needed Rathore?" He asked instead as he stepped behind his desk.

Sameer moved to stand in front of Arjun's desk. "Yes, I want to know if putting your life at risk constantly is assuaging some of the guilt you are feeling." He said directly.

Arjun fringed ignorance. "I don't know what you are talking about Rathore; I am only doing my duty." He said without meeting Sameer's eyes.

Sameer cursed under his breath and glared at Arjun. "Damn it Rawte, learn to work as a team or else take your guilt and find another way to kill yourself. Do you even know that every time you risk your life there is someone else who holds her breath until you are safe and that she dies a little each time you put your life in danger?"

Arjun turned away from Sameer, "Then tell her to stop worrying for me." He said harshly. How can he tell Sameer that he was ashamed to face Priya? How can he tell his two best friends that his guilt was not letting him die nor was it letting him live in peace?

"Do you think she put her life at risk to save yours just so that she can see you kill yourself in front of her eyes? Don't you think she lives with her own share of guilt and regret for being unable to save Roshni?" Sameer asked Arjun softly.

"That's just it Rathore, she should have never been put in the position to save our lives at the risk of her own life. And everything that has happened to her is my fault. I can't face her Rathore. How do I say sorry to her for mistreating her? How do I thank her for saving my worthless life?" Arjun said.

Sameer inhaled sharply at the despair in Arjun's voice. He clenched his fist and thanked god that Arjun doesn't know the whole truth yet or else he would have taken even bigger risks with his life. "How is any of this your fault Rawte?" Although Sameer had an inkling of why Arjun was feeling the guilt and regrets.

Arjun opened the top drawer of his desk and pulled out a piece of paper. He held out the paper to Sameer, "Read this and you will have your answers."

Rathore frowned but took the paper out of Arjun's hand and opened it. It looked like a letter of some sort, he scanned the name at the top and then at the bottom and was shocked to see that the letter was from Roshni to Arjun and it was written two days before her death.

Dear Arjun,

If you are reading this letter then that means that I am far, far away from you. You are probably wondering why I am leaving this letter for you but I had no other way to tell you what I am about to tell you.

I know that what I am about to tell you will make you hate me and I won't blame you if you do. I have done something very unforgivable. I won't ask for your forgiveness because I don't deserve to be forgiven for what I have done.

If you are reading this letter then by now you also know what I have done. What I did is not even excusable but I would like to explain myself anyway.

When I accepted your marriage proposal I did it for all the wrong reasons. I should have never married you knowing you will never love me. And I did not love you but as I said I married you for the wrong reasons and I think by now you may know my reasons for marrying you also.

I did not plan to fall in love with you but as I got to know you I couldn't help but love you, but with this also came the fear of losing you. I feared that if you ever found out my true reasons for marrying you then you would hate me and leave me forever. I also feared that if your first love ever came back in your life then what amount of love you felt for me would also be wiped out.

And one day I felt as though all my fears were not baseless. The more you worked with her, the more my fears made me insecure.

I tried my best to tell myself that you loved me and would never betray me but one overheard conversation between you and her made me take a step that put all of our lives in danger.

My one mistake is undoable now and all I can do is try to do some damage control and save you. Please don't blame yourself for what happens to me because I have brought whatever comes to me, all on my own.

Please take care of yourself and I will pray that life gives you a second chance to be with the one you love the most.

Roshni

Sameer threw the letter on Arjun's desk, "This letter still does not prove that what happened was your fault. If you want to blame anyone then blame the people who are responsible for what happened not yourself."

Arjun turned sharply when he heard the sincerity in Sameer's voice. "That is easier said than done Sam." Arjun said quietly. He surprised Sameer by calling him Sam after a long time. This told Sameer that his friend was well on his way to being his old self again; he just hasn't realized it yet.

"Why did Roshni think you didn't love her?" Sameer asked.

Arjun closed his eyes at Sameer's question. "Because she knew I had loved someone else before I met and married her."

"And that someone was Priya, right?" Sameer said.

Arjun turned towards Sameer in shock, "How did you know?"

Sameer went to stand next to Arjun, "Did you forget that I knew you from the inside out. I just couldn't figure out why you never said anything to her or why you decided to distant yourself from us suddenly." Sameer said sadly.

Arjun was ashamed to meet his friend's eyes. Here was his best friend who had read him so easily but he in turn had misunderstood the one person who always understood him so easily. "Because I thought you also loved her." Arjun finally confessed.

"And what made you think that?" Sameer asked.

Arjun finally turned towards Sameer fully, with a frown on his face. "What do you mean Sam?"

"I mean we were at the academy together for a year. You and I both spent time with her but what in my behavior told you that I had romantic feelings for her?"

Arjun thought back to the academy days but he really couldn't pinpoint anything other than what he had seen that one time before their training finished. All the other times there had been no indication of romantic feelings between Sameer and Priya. Added to what he had seen was what Shukla had told him and Arjun realized he had been played by Shukla on that day.

"I saw you that one day," Arjun said. "You were sitting close together, deep in a conversation, I could not hear what was being said but I knew whatever you two were talking must have been serious. That was the first and only time I seen you two hug."

Sameer knew exactly which time Arjun was referring to, "Did that hug looked like it was a romantic hug or just one friend comforting another."

Now that he looked back on that day with a clear mind Arjun realized that the hug had only been friendly there was nothing romantic in it. "Now that I think back on it I realized that it was not but my mind was already clouded with Shukla's snide remarks and when I saw you two deep in conversation I misunderstood the whole scene."

"Shukla, what does he have to do with it?" Sameer asked.

"Did you know Shukla is Roshni's cousin?" Arjun asked Sameer.

Sameer rubbed his chin wondering where Arjun was going with this. "No I didn't know this, but he wasn't at your and Roshni's wedding." Sameer said in confusion.

"I don't know why he was not at our wedding or why Roshni never bothered to tell me but the bottom line is that Shukla manipulated me into thinking you and Priya had a relationship and I think he had lot to do with mine and Roshni's alliance." Arjun explained.

"I still don't understand why Shukla would try to create a rift between the three of us." Sameer said in confusion.

"Because he had a thing for Priya and he knew Roshni had also disliked Priya with intensity that bordered on the lines of hatred." Arjun couldn't think of any other reason for Shukla to hate Priya and after reading Roshni's letter he was sure that Shukla had to be the one to talk to his father about Arjun and Roshni's marriage. Nothing else made sense because he knew it wasn't a coincidence that he would marry the cousin of the girl he had loved.

"Then you need to place the blame where it belongs and not on yourself. You may be punishing yourself but you punish Priya too when you take risks with your life." Sameer said.

"How can I not feel guilty Sam? I can't imagine what kind of torture she would have suffered at hands of Vikram and his men." Arjun said his voice full of guilt and pain.

"You have to let go of your guilt for Priya's sake Rawte," Sameer said moving closer to Arjun. "How do you think Priya feels when you take risks with your life? Don't you think she would feel guilty too for not being able to save Roshni? She doesn't know you put your life at risk because you feel guilty about what she may have been through. I am sure she blames herself because she thinks she hadn't been able to save your love."

Arjun never looked at from that perspective and realized Sam was right. He had been so immersed in his own guilt that he never once thought about how Priya would feel seeing Arjun put his life at risk, the life she saved while putting hers at risk. He turned to Sameer. "You are right, I never thought about how she would feel seeing me like that.

Arjun hesitated for a moment, "I owe you an apology too Sam for pushing you away when you tried to help me."

Sameer acknowledged Arjun's apology with a nod, "I understood why you did it." Sameer hesitated and decided not to tell Arjun about his conversation with Priya on the day Arjun saw Priya and him hugging, it would only add to his guilt of misunderstanding them.

He stopped at the door and turned back one more time, "Just think about what I have said Arjun," Finally calling him by his first name. "When Sikandar comes back she is going to need you at her side to fight him. For the past two years she has worked hard to gather as much information as she can to find him."

Sameer didn't wait for Arjun's replied and walked out of the door as quietly as he had entered.

Once Sameer left Arjun once again found himself staring out the window of his office as he thought long and hard about what his friend had told him.

*~+~*

Thnak you everyone, please do tell me how it was.

"And that someone was Priya, right?" Sameer said.

Arjun turned towards Sameer in shock, "How did you know?"

Phew! The whole world.. I guess even Mars inhabitants know about it, by now.. Tch tch.. Tiger.. 😛

But yes.. Very well done, behna..

And finally the best bit about this one.. You know, I've been eagerly awaiting this one..

'Life and lies of Shukla'.. 😆 Finally, they've managed to connect the dots.. But must say, he did play his cards very well.. Add to it, Roshni's shrewdness and they managed to breaking beautiful friendship and the possibility of what could've been a simple and dreamy love story between the Tiger and Tigress! 😃

"You have to let go of your guilt for Priya's sake Rawte,"

Yep yep! Tiger Rawte.. Don't hurt her any more than she already is.. Go make it up to her..

And behna, now I can rest assured, knowing that Tiger, the Tigress and their mushkil prem-kahani isn't going to be that mushkil either..

Really.. That was a masterstroke and now I see clearly, where this is headed to.. 👏

Oh! And finally, the two hotwas have resolved their differences, apologies made and accepted.. All in all, the stage is set for the next phase in the story to begin..

Brilliant work.. Only you could have made their seemingly simple and straightforward conversation so intriguing and appealing.. That goes on to show, how well u have the characters drafted in your head! Honestly, you amaze me every single time..

It's not only the dhamakedaar revelations but these little bits, that I look forward to, in BL, coz nothing is really insignificant here..

And that my behna, is a feat you've managed to accomplish! I'm sure the other's would echo similar sentiments.. 😃

Wokay.. enough of taareef now..

Please update jaldi jaldi and long longwala updates next time onwards.. 😉😛

Thanks for the PM! (plural) 😉😆

Awesome update B1

Wonderful Di !!