Chapter One
"I don't want to marry him mom!" Aarti said helplessly. "I don't want to marry anyone. I just don't want to get married."
"But why not Aarti?"
Aarti lowered her eyes in shame. She couldn't tell her mother about Prashant. She couldn't tell her that Prashant was the only one she had ever loved, that he was the only one she had given her heart to, and when he cheated on her, she never got over it.
When he left, he had snatched away her self-esteem, he had stripped her of her identity. Even though they had broken up six months ago, she just couldn't get over him. A three year relationship had gone down the drain, leaving Aarti broken. They had big plans for the future - as soon as University ended, Aarti would have spoken to her family about their wedding. But all of those dreams got crushed when he left her for Nida.
"Aarti you've changed. You aren't the same lively girl. Is there something troubling you? Ever since you returned from University, you just haven't been the same."
Aarti had completed the last year of her undergraduate studies at a University in Canada and returned home last week. She had lived in Canada ever since she was four years old.
She had not spoken much to anyone ever since she got back home - she only answered their questions. She tried to smile and act normal, but she just couldn't bring herself to be very responsive. The breakup with Prashant had really changed her.
"Aarti," Shobha, her mother said, placing her hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "Just meet him, talk to him, and then decide whether you want to get married to him."
Aarti felt her eyes tear up. "Mom! I said I don't want to meet anyone right now!"
"He comes from a good family Aarti. He's a very good boy," she urged, trying to get her daughter to accept. "Please Aarti, I'm asking you for your own benefit."
"Mom, no means no!"
"Aarti at least meet him," Shobha pressed on, equally stubborn.
Aarti frowned and folded her arms. Then she gave in to make her mom happy.
"Fine. I'll meet him. But I'm still going to say no!"
Shobha smiled causing Aarti to nearly smile too. It was nice to see her mom happy. She felt guilty that she couldn't say that she made her mother smile very often.
Just then Aarti's phone rang.
"It's Mansi," Aarti told her once she looked at the screen.
"Alright you girls gossip. Do tell her about this guy, maybe she'll talk some sense in you, even though she is a really shameless girl."
Aarti nearly laughed. Mansi didn't hide it from anyone that she ogled guys like they were showpieces. Shobha left the room and Aarti picked up the phone.
"Hey Mansi."
"Aarti! You're going out with me tonight," Mansi said excitedly.
"What? Why? I don't want to go anywhere Mansi!" Aarti whined.
"I want you to have fun. It's been so long since we went anywhere. You haven't been anywhere since the week after you and Prashant broke up. Now don't say no, you're coming with me. Exams are over, we're finished University Aarti! We're going to have some fun and party hard!"
Aarti sighed, deciding that this might actually be best for her. "Alright Mansi. I'll come pick you up at nine. Or do you want to drive?"
"Nah you drive. I'd rather not. I'm planning on going all out tonight Aarti. Now if you want to go all out too, I can make other arrangements."
"Make other arrangements. I might need to drown my sorrows tonight."
"Oh man Aarti, you need to stop being so depressed! Cheer up beautiful! He isn't worth it."
"He was worth it Mansi," Aarti said gloomily.
"Hey girl, smile! We'll talk later. I need to call Aman and ask him to drive us!"
"Alright, bye Mansi! I'll see you later."
She told her mom that she was going out with Mansi and then went to take a shower. She wanted to look nice. She was going to let herself have fun and would try and make herself look desirable. She didn't know for whom, but she knew that she wanted to move on. She didn't want to cry over Prashant anymore - she had already cried long enough. No. Now she had to be strong. Mansi had been right. How long would she be depressed for?
Soon Aman stopped outside of Aarti's house and Aarti quickly put on her heels and grabbed her phone and some cash before she left.
"Hey Aman!" she greeted politely, climbing into the back seat. Mansi was already sitting in the front and touching up her makeup in the mirror.
"Aarti, you ready to have some fun?" she asked.
She held out a bottle of vodka for Aarti to take. "Here, if you want to take some shots before hitting the club, take them now. I've already taken three or four."
Then Mansi's gaze shifted to Aman. "You know, you could take a shot if you want too."
"No Mansi, I'm driving tonight. I'm not drinking. Maybe next time when I'm not driving."
Aarti rolled her eyes. Typical Mansi and her risky behaviour. She twisted the lid off the bottle and took shots straight from it. Her head already felt heavy by the time the car stopped.
"You look so pretty Aarti," Mansi gushed, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards a table as soon as they entered the nightclub.
Aarti could already feel herself losing her balance as she walked.
"Whoa," Mansi said, raising her eyebrows. "You drank a lot didn't you? Oh well, you only live once - or like us Indians say it, kal ho na ho!"
Aarti giggled at Mansi's words. Her chest did feel heavy, but Mansi was truly being funny and Aarti couldn't help but laugh.
"Mansi, you know you're my best friend right?" Aarti asked, hugging her tightly. "You know that I love you?"
"Girl aren't you overdoing it? I love you too but tone it down a bit or people will think we're a thing - oh that'd bring more attention to us! Guys find that hot!"
Aarti giggled at first, then her smile turned to a frown. "Prashant found it hot."
Mansi scrunched her nose in disgust. "Ew, he found what hot?"
"Two girls... when two girls, you know," she whispered, feeling her heart feel heavier. "He found it hot."
"What a loser. I mean, I know a lot of people find it hot, but still doesn't change the fact that Prashant is a loser," Mansi said rolling her eyes. "Anyways, don't waste your time thinking about him. Let's go to the dance floor!"
"D - dance floor?" she asked, feeling her tummy roll around nervously. "B - but I don't know how to dance."
Mansi rolled her eyes again and turned to Aman who was quietly standing with them. "Aman, can you bring me a shot of vodka please?"
She turned to Aarti, grabbed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye.
"Aarti what happened to the confident you? Why did you lose your confidence somewhere along the line? Aarti I know it too, and so do you, that you're a very beautiful girl. You've got a great personality. Aarti, you're amazing! Don't let a douchebag like Prashant get in the way of your confidence. As for dancing, this shot should be enough for you to not give a damn about the way you dance."
Mansi took the shot from Aman and handed it over to Aarti. She downed the shot quickly, feeling the alcohol burn her throat.
"Alright, let's go!" Aarti said, smiling. Mansi was right. She was not going to let Prashant ruin her fun. Why should she?
The three of them approached the dance floor enthusiastically. Mansi immediately started to grind with someone as Aman took Aarti's hand and turned her around. Aarti smiled and kept on dancing with Aman.
In the midst of her and Aman's dancing, she didn't know when she fell over onto someone else's body, but when she did, and when her eyes met this man's, she couldn't stop staring at them. She suddenly felt her body burn with desire and her cheeks burn in embarrassment. She was in this guy's arms and he was trying to straighten her up, but she didn't want to be straightened up. She wanted to stay in his arms. She felt nice, she felt protected, and most importantly, she felt like she belonged there.
On top of that, she felt like she had some sort of connection with this man. She didn't know what gave her that feeling, because the face was very unfamiliar, but she felt like she knew him.
"Do I know you?" she whispered breathlessly.
Whoever this was, he had swept her off her feet in the literal sense, and she didn't want to let go of him. She wanted to stay with him, in this moment, forever.
Edited by ilovepyaar - 11 years ago
interesting,,,,
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
