PART 2: Bittersweet Nights and Unexpected Phone Calls
1 am. Ranveer was lying in his bed, thinking about the date he had just come back from. It had been a week now that he and Nainika had been dating. She was sweet, intelligent and pretty.. and they seemed to agree a lot. And yet thoughts of Her kept cropping up out of nowhere.
Like when Nainika had asked him if he had ever ridden a camel.. He automatically thought of Her voice shrieking "You dehati camel!"
And when Nainika twists a lock of hair around her finger.. He just remembered the way She used flick her hair behind her.
And when Nainika asked him to dance.. well what else could he think of but those dances with Her.
She didn't want to be with you Ranveer, remember?! I'm sure She's moved on by now. She's probably better off without me in her life, probably found someone new, who won't fight with her or hurt her.. who's probably richer and classier than me.
I'm sure she's so happy that she doesn't even think about me.
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1 am. Despite a tiring day at work, Tia just couldn't sleep. It was one of those days when she got an unsettling feeling at the back of her mind. She couldn't explain it, but it frustrated her to no end. She had tried all her usual aromatherapy baths, the lotions and potions, but in the end only one thing worked. Him.
Some people count sheep to fall asleep. But Tia counted the number of times she had found herself in His arms: the almost-kisses, the desperate embraces, the slow dances.. His scent, his breathe, his touch, his voice. Every caress and every word.
Of course she hated doing this, because that phase of her life was finished, and these memories of "the way we were" only weakened her current determination, and made her so sad. Yet she couldn't deny that it worked like a magic, because after only thinking of a couple of these memories, she would fall into a peaceful, dreamless sleep. He was her bitter-sweet solace.
In the morning she made herself strong again. She remembered convinced herself she was doing the right thing...Tia Ahuja didn't need any more heartbreak.
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"Hello?"
"Hello.."
"Tia?!"
"Meher? How are you angel? It's been so many days since I last spoke to you..."
"Tia, voh sab baad mein.. I have some really bad news – Pri's really ill."
"WHAT?????? Omg what happened to my angel??? Where is she???? Meher you should have told me earlier!!! How could you not tell Tia about her angel!???"
"Tia I'll explain everything to you, you just come home right now. Pri needs you babes."
"I'm getting the next flight to Bombay. Talk to you soon."
Tia put down the phone with her trembling hands. Her mind kept coming up with awful situations and explanations about what could have happened to her Pri. She and Pri spoke to each other all the time, even more than she did to her Papa. Something must have happened to her today itself.
Tia rang up the travel agent to book a flight, and then her work to tell them that an emergency had come up. Then in a rushed frenzy she began stuffing everything she could find and think of into her Louis Vuitton suitcase.
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"Hello? HELLO? Ranveer?"
"Yes speaking."
"Ranveer, main Vrinda bol rahi hoon"
"Ohh Vrinda! Kaisi hain aap? Aman kaise hain?"
"I'm fine.. But Aman is really ill.."
"Aman???? Kyaa hua Aman ko????"
"Voh.. Ranveer I think you need to be here. Can you come to Mumbai??"
" I'll be there as soon as possible."
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Vrinda puts the phone down and looks at Anvesha. "He's coming as soon as possible. Ashi he was so worried, I feel terrible for lying like this", she said.
"Me too Anvesha! Tia sounded like she was having a heart attack when I told her Pri was ill", added Meher.
"Meher, since when did you become a Mehereshwari? You and Vrinde, do you both really think that if we told them the truth they'd come out of their hibernation or exile or whatever they think they're doing? If you told them "Ashi is back from her around the world trekking tour and is dying for a Maurya High class reunion, so please please pretty please come" they'd come? Na-uh; They'd be the only 2 missing people from the whole year group.. It would be like a smile with two missing teeth!"
"I guess you're right. Some day or the other Tia has to face Ranveer and solve out their problems. They are meant to be together", said Meher.
"Hey Bhaggu! Timbo to Timbo hamesha rahegi, but why is Thakur acting so stubborn?"
The three girls sat in silence in Ashi's kitchen while waiting for the kettle to boil. Everyone knew Tia and Ranveer were apart, but not everyone knew why. Tia hadn't even fully confided in Pri and Meher.. they too only knew bits and pieces of the story. All they knew was that it was a bad idea to bring it up to her, and to him.
No one knew what to do...but then came Ashi's plan. She had been trekking through the Amazon rainforests, scaled the peaks in Peru, safaried in Africa and swum with sharks in Australia, dragging Yuvi along everywhere with her of course ;) Yet when she had recently returned to Bombay, she was filled with a longing for her classmates, and decided that 4 years apart was more than enough, she had to have everyone together in the same room again right now! Then she put 2 and 2 together, and realised that this was in fact the perfecto opportunity to get Tia and Ranveer to meet. It wouldn't be easy, but Ashi had a spirit and an energy that could change the world, so what were two troubled souls in comparison to that? Now phase 1 of her plan was complete.
"What happened happened. Now all we need to do is get them in the same room together, and they'll be pulled towards each other like magnets.. By the way Vrinda and Meher, you're performances were award-winning!" laughed Ashi.
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Will Ashi's plan work? How will Tia and Ranveer react when they find out the truth? And what exactly did happen to TiaRa? Find out soon 😃
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