FF: When Love And Hate Collide... Pt26 pg145 10/07 - Page 68

Originally posted by: aparna4karanika

Yaayyy yaay update..
Hahaha ds dhondhu bhi na.. I cd imagine d scenes lol..i loved ur fun approach.. Btw whose msgs were dey?? N wt do u mean by opening wounds?? Am afraid ! :/ :(

Originally posted by: mysticlover

You have no idea how I managed my laughter!!!!
The scene between Arjun n D made me ROFL!!!! Did D actually thought that Arjun is gay????? Oh my!!! After this interesting piece of info I don't think I can force my mind to analyze this update!!! Besides it was a fun filled update so i was pretty comfy reading it with a light heart feeling!!!!
But I really loved how both Arjuhi agreed that they are alike in certain ways n somehow I feel after the reopening of old wounds there will be more than similar character... it will be more like sharing similar pain... you do this to everyone or is it just me 😆
I am waiting for those revelations...
Now to my other favorite persons in this ff... D n Nats!!! They are so damn funny even when they are serious!!! I can't stop laughing thinking about Nats' reaction after D will fill her in!!!! She will be shocked n I guess will defend her best friend...

Originally posted by: zoya_naziya

Such a wonderful fun-filled update Di:)

D-Nats convo's are as usual so FUN to read...Loving the camarederie they share...

Arjun-Arohi taking baby steps in discovering each other...

Coming to the EPIC Arjun-D convo, it was truly hilarious... Man!!! D thinking that Arjun is gay... Am waiting for him to spill the beans to Nats and am looking forward to an exasperated Natasha...🤣

Am totally loving the way this whole story is shaping up... Arjuhi, D-Nats, Arjun-D, Dadi, Sudhir, Rudra-Kumud... Each of their chemistry, though not visual but is so pleasing to read... It's like you have brought each character to life... The warmth, the energy , the charm that each and every character is exuding in this story gives me such a joyous feeling...

Originally posted by: AAKMH2

omggg


I love u sheetal!!!!!

kya haseen mulakat thi Dhundu aur Arjun kiii ...i cant stop my laugh

to ye arohi kiske mdg pr khilkhila rhi thi? socho socho 😉

gosh..i love deir.convo...also coated wid garam masala

realy ek jese...dono pagal


I love.deir realixation of feelings


wanted to knw whr it will lead


matasha aur dhunds...wht a hrabn made.cmnbo


lobe dt little chupn chuppai

dhundu me kya kya... dnt knw jassu ya gussa krun

ahr arjun sch mrn peeche hat gya...nhiii


waiting eagely fr nxt updt


lobe to.see hw deir.relation grow

whtever u hv mind..put it in words ..hv trust in u


thnks fr updt thank you for commenting mahi... itne time ke baad 😳

a century complete! wow... i cant believe it that this story has come so far... and to think of it, i started writing it as an SS 😳 thank you for all the love guys... and the patience to wait for the next update 🤗

PART 19

Natasha could not stop smiling. She still remembered the conversation she had with Danish late at night. Poor harrowed D had tried to rack his brains trying to digest the misconception and argue it out at the same time, resulting in losing the plot! When his reactions started worrying his wife, he decided it was time he confided about this to someone. And who better to understand him than his collegue and friend from office. So he had called up Natasha just before she was going to sleep and vomited everything that happened and his dilemma regarding Arjun.

Nats could not remember, at which point it stopped being funny and crossed the border of being downright hillarious. She was sitting on the rug of her living room when she had taken the call. By the end of it, she was rolling on the floor laughing, and that's how Aman found her when he heard the loud noises coming from the hall. Even the shocking puzzled look from her husband could not bring back Nats to sanity and she continued laughing and rolling till tears sprang from her eyes. D's exasperation on her reaction made her laugh even more and with a quick assuarance that hes mistaken and she will speak to him tomorrow, she hung up. The moment she kept the receiver, the bouts of laughter returned and finally Aman had to carry her to the bedroom in his arms as she had lost the energy to stand and walk.

She had been still giggling in his arms and minutes later on the bed too. To avoid Aman getting irritated, she told him about the entire conversation and he agreed that it was pretty funny. More than the misunderstanding, it was Dhondus reaction and his fight with his own brain was what tickled Natashas funny nerve. Over this small period of time, she realised how much she and D had started off as colleagues and grown as friends. She was actually fond of this man! Not as much as Arjun, but she knew that he had his heart in the right place. Plus in this day and age, it was difficult to get a man with so much honesty and innocence in him. His fierce and unconditional loyalty to Arohi was one of the reasons she respected him a lot too.

When she cuddled closer to Aman after he had fallen asleep, the smile had stayed back on her lips. It was amazing the way we never imagine what kind of relationship we are going to develop with that person in the first meeting. She knew that the same was happening to Arjun and Arohi. They had met on a completely wrong foot, not once… but twice! And that's the reason why it was difficult for them to accept their feelings. Even though Arjun was more open about it, he still termed what he felt for Arohi as attraction. And it was Ok, because Natasha knew that the first step to love was attraction. But now she just hoped that Arohi atleast opened her mind a bit to think about Arjun.

When she had first met D, she had never thought that they would become such good friends and confidantes. If she was true to herself, she could say that she even loved him… like she would love any of her friends. Having him as a friend was truly an asset and Arohi was really lucky. And finding a person who steadily refused to walk the path of love… but was falling for her very hard, was even luckier. If just Arohi would realise that, then it would be easier for both of them. Because Arjun may take the first step towards Arohi in the name of attraction, but only she could make him ultimately realise that what he felt for her, was much more than that.

The phone call with D in the morning to clear his misunderstanding, suddenly popped up in her mind and Natashas funny bone got tickled again. She remembered visualising D and Arjun dancing to the tunes of 'Maa da laadla bigad gaya…' when she had heard the way he had ranted about Arjun and his s***al preferences, and the laughter refused to die down. She tried to concentrate on her laptop screen in front but could not help laughing. Looking consciously around, she stilled when she saw Arjun looking at her through the glass partition with his one eyebrow raised in question. Lost in her own thoughts, she did not know for how long he had been observing her. Her thoughtfulness and then the sudden laughter must have confused him, which was written all over his face. Grinning at her boss indicating that she was fine, Natasha turned her attention back to the screen.

Arohis cabin…

"Lets have lunch together???"

Arjuns question in the morning reverberated in her mind resulting in a smile on her lips. Arohi had spent the entire day yesterday pondering over the few minutes of sparks that had flown between them, in Arjuns car on their way back from the studio. They both had been busy in office in their respective works and had not seen each other after that. So when Arohi entered the elevator in the morning and saw a familiar strong hand stop the doors from closing, she had felt her heart stop too. The doors had parted and Arjuns smiling face came in her view. At that moment Arohis heart told her that this was what she was longing to see.

The journey from the lobby till the 20^th floor seemed like taking a lifetime. Awkwardness, anxiety, thrill and many more alien emotions flashed through her mind. It was not their talks that was bothering her, it was the silence. From being uncomfortable in his vicinity to looking forward in having him around was confusing her. Day by day, holding on to the bad memories, was getting difficult as she and Arjun were making brand new good memories of them together. She had learnt the art of not expressing herself to him but her thoughts continued to go haywire.

They exited the lift together and entered the office. Arjun stopped in front of her cabin. When she opened the door and turned to say a casual 'see ya' to him, his question momentarily stunned her and then she automatically nodded in response. Now all she could think was it was only 45 minutes to lunch time, something that never bothered her before. She did not know whether to look forward to it or not. Hoping that her dad will be there to act as a catalyst, Arohi shrugged herself out of his thoughts and pushed her glasses up her nose to read her emails.

Arohis phone buzzed on the table and she grabbed it eagerly.

Aaj kya khabar puttar? Wapas jaarahe kya Sanjay nu milne ;)

-Dadi

Arohi chuckled reading the message. She felt like a child whenever she was around dadi.

Nai dadi… kal ki ek mulaaqaat bhaari pad gayi thi usse! Aaj bichare Arjun ko baksh dete hai :D

-Aru

Pressing the send button, Arohi giggled. She was having too much fun connecting with Arjuns dadi. Now she knew where he got his sense of humor from. If only he would adopt the idealogies too. Arohi sighed at her wishful thinking, kept the phone back and turned her attention to her laptop when her phone buzzed again.

Achha hai! Waise bhi tujhe mere liye bahu dhundni hai… damad nahi! Yaad rakhiyo…

-Dadi

Dadis message made Arohi laugh and with the same smile on her face, she answered the landline which had rung at that same moment. After listening to the conversation for 2 minutes or so, Arohis smile dropped and anger started filling in her eyes.

Corridor… 1o minutes to lunchtime…

"Hi Shanti…"

Shanti looked back in surprise and her eyes lit up seeing Arjun in front of her.

"Hello Sir… how are you?"

"Im doing great!" Arjuns killer smile flashed across his face and Shantis smile widened. It had been quite a while since he had made an effort to talk to her himself. He had been too boggled down with his issues at hand, but now that he knew how he felt, he was feeling… happy.

"I guess the new project must be keeping you too busy Sir. From what I heard in the market, it is going to be one of India's biggest. People are already waiting to buy shares."

"That had to happen! When people like Sudhir uncle and Arohi are involved it had to be the best. That's the reason why I've come all the way from US to work with them."

Arjuns happiness was evident in his smile. There was something more to it, is what Shanti felt. He looked genuinely happy working in this office.

"Can I tell you something Sir?"

"Yes. Anything."

"Your smile is very infectious."

Arjun grinned wider.

"I mean not that people don't smile in this office, but the kind of joy and happiness that you exude is something that was lacking."

"Thanks Shanti. I really appreciate that…"

"I mean don't get me wrong Sir but in the name of discipline, this place had become quite dull and boring to work in. Aapke aanese iss office mein jaan aagayi hai."

"Thank you for the compliment Shanti. But if I have to be honest, then im quite impressed with the way you guys work. Though im an Indian born, my working culture has always been American. We value time a lot, which I had felt was lacking in the Indian way of working. But ever since ive the way this company works, ive changed my mind about the 'indian indiscipline'. And this has been possible only because of Arohi. So right now you all maybe feeling that she is a tyrant or 'Phoolan Devi', but trust me, in the coming years you will not only agree with her way or working but also appreciate it."

Shanti stiffened when Arjun mentioned Arohis office name given to her by her staff, worried that Arjun knew about what they spoke about Arohi behind her back. But Arjun just smiled at her bewildered face and walked away towards the bandit queens cabin.

'Did he just defend Arohi???' His steps slowed down as his brain woke up. 'Wasn't he the one who mocked her for being so uptight about rules and regulations in her office? So then where had that come from!'

The answer was simple… he was allowed to tease her all he wanted, but when someone else criticised her, he didn't like it. Why… Arjun didn't even want to go there! Right now he just had difficulty accepting the fact that he had defended Arohi like a mother tigress in front of her own staff!!!

When he had asked D about the strange rule regarding relationships in the office, he had found it to be absolutely ridiculous. But when he went home and thought about it, he realised that he had never seen or heard Arohi even talk about any of her personal life in office. Infact he didn't think she even have had a boyfriend… ever. There was no mention about any boy in her life, neither in office nor at home. That was probably why Arohi was so focussed in her work. Did that mean, that he was the first man in Arohis life?

The thought swelled Arjuns chest with pride. It seemed a bit good to be true though. A girl like Arohi, and not a single man had wooed her? Well… he was about to change that now.

With the same fogged brain, Arjun entered Arohis cabin and seeing her scurry from one end to other, his eyebrows scrunched up in more confusion. What was she doing?

"Im sorry Arjun… I will have to cancel our lunch plans. There is some issue at the plant and I have to go there asap."

Arjun pushed his hands inside his pant pockets. This girl had to slow down. "Arohi… aisi kya problem hai jo ek ghanta wait nahi kar sakti hai? Lunch karlo fir chali jana."

Without looking at him, Arohi bend down on her desk standing, and started logging out from her laptop. "Nai… I wont be able to eat anyway. Its better I attend to the issue immediately."

Arjun frowned more. Arohi was looking like she was upset over this issue. But whatever it was, it could be solved right? Why did she have to be so tensed about it always. She did not look good like this. He had seen the carefree, fun, freely smiling Arohi and he liked her that way.

"Arohi… kahi tum uss employee ko toh lunch pe khaane ke plans nahi karrahi hona… jiski vajah se ye gadbad hui hai?"

Still bent over the desk, Arohis eyes looked up at Arjun, above the rim of her glasses. His handsome face broke up in a teasing smile and Arohi turned her attention back to the screen. There were very few people in this world who could joke with her when she was in such a dangerous mood. She tried very hard to fight it but a small smile still came on her lips. Arjun caught it and his confidence increased.

"C'mon Arohi… don't cancel lunch. Mujhe bohat bhook lagi hai. Work will always be there even after we eat. The moment we are done, you can leave, I wont stop you. Come… lets go."

Arjun went and stood in front of her desk, waiting for her to finish her task and leave with him.

Arohi had almost decided to have a quick bite before leaving, when her laptop pinged, indicating a new email. She clicked on it and read it. It was a stinker from the client regarding the goof up that her staff had done. Anger and irritation returned with double magnitude and Arohi sat down on her chair to write an appropriate reply.

"I cant Arjun. Please ask the staff the set up the table for you in your cabin. I will eat when I get back. Im sorry."

"Arohi when will you learn to let loose a bit?"

"Arjun… I just… cant. You go ahead…" Turning her attention back to the screen, Arohi typed away furiously at the keyboard. Just because someone had not done their job well, the client had raised questions about her and her companys credibility. And that was something that Arohi could not tolerate.

"Well, now is the time to try! Everything does not have to affect you so much you know…"

Arohi finally snapped. "Arjun please! Just leave me alone ok??!!!"

Arohis angry eyes clashed with Arjuns. He could see the irritation in them, but he could not see a valid reason for it. Her furious look and insulting words gave rise to his own anger but he kept his volume in check.

"You're already so alone Arohi. How much more alone do you want to be???"

Anger flew out of Arohis eyes and it was replaced with something that was beyond words. But ego had blinded Arjun to the hurt look that flashed in her eyes. Turning around swiftly, he marched towards the door and banged it shut behind it.

Arohi stood in the same position for a long time. Her only reaction was flinching when the door closed with a bang! Tears of anger, frustration and pain welled up in her eyes. Taking a deep breath she sat down to finish her email and rang the bell for the peon to carry her stuff to her car.

Late evening… Arjuns cabin…

Arjun swung the chair back and forth as he stared out of the window. The sun had set and a dark orange hue had set upon the sky, making the clouds look peach and pink in colour. But his gaze was stuck at a point in the horizon, completely lost in his thoughts. The lunch that had been laid out for him on the table, had lain there since afternoon… cold and forgotten. For the nth time that day, he mentally slapped himself for saying those words to Arohi. This was not the first time he had seen her react so to a problem at hand. She took her work personally and that's what made her such a sharp businesswoman.

If he really considered Arohi as his friend now, then he shouldn't have reacted the way he did. She was stressed and upset and he had tried to lighten her mood. But he pushed her more than necessary and maybe she was still not ready for it. All said and done, he had hurt her because she had yelled at him and hurt his ego. The problem was, she had a reason for it, he didn't. Other than stupid egoistical revenge, his motive was not justified.

He was looking forward to a nice friendly lunch with her where he could gauge her feelings for him. Talking to D had been totally useless and he could feel his emotions slipping away from his control every single day. The need to discuss this with her and hear the same from her mouth was making him desperate now. His emotions had started scaring him and he had done the one thing that he should have never done. Hurt Arohi.

After the kissing incident, this was the second time he will have to apologise to her. But this time, along with that, he will have to talk to her about them too. It had been too long that he had put this discussion on hold and all he wanted now, was to bring it out in the open. He knew it for a fact that she will never acknowledge the truth in the first time. He still remembered how she had completely been indifferent about the kiss incident, so there was no way she was going to accept her feelings for him!

Even today after the visit to the plant, Arohi had not returned to office. When he asked Shanti about her, she said that Arohi will be working from home for the rest of her day. The indication was loud and clear… she was avoiding him! This woman could confront you with guns when you made a mistake regarding work, but if you hurt her personally, she will just hide in her shell… completely cut herself off from everything!!! It was so difficult to understand her. Arjun would have preferred if she would have slapped him again. But the hurt look on her face was squeezing his heart very painfully.

Now he had to be very careful. He cannot afford to push her in the corner anymore. He anyway had a lot of work cut out for himself… getting Arohi to admit her feelings was going to be very very difficult. But he was not going to back down. Arohi had done all the running that she had to do, now was the time for some confessions and the truth. And to get that from her was like a mission for him. So he should have pity on himself and not worsen things more.

Letting out a sigh, Arjun got off his chair and left his cabin to go home. He was jingling the car keys in his hand, his mind strategising for tomorrow when he saw a figure near his car. Arjun looked on curiously as he reached the spot. Stopping at the door, his eyebrows lifted in surprise and he was on his way to giving a small smile, when he stopped.

He tried to figure it out but still did not know why Danish was again giving him the 'Arohi' famous death glare!

Ab Arjun ka kya hoga??? 😆