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Part 5
Arohi tried to keep up with Arjun's long strides, but what with her heals and the rain she was having a hard time. Not that she was going to let him see that. Almost as if he sensed her discomfort he turned back around and stopped under a large tree. "I told you to stay in the car!" he said furiously as she finally caught up with him. "And have myself murdered or raped!" "No thank you." she replied wrapping her arms around her. "We're not staring in a horror film!" he snapped. And the chance of anyone attacking you are next to none." Arohi glared at him. "How do you know that?!" "Is being able to tell the future, part of your long list of attributes." Arjun stared at her as he raked his hand through his hair pushing it back. "Do you want me to run through some of my attributes with you." he asked in a husky voice. Her eyes widened as she pushed her hair out of her face. "No thanks!" she snapped. Turning away she thought she must look a sight and Arjun Singhania even in the damn rain looked delicious. How was that fair? she thought to herself. "Okay stop arguing with me!" he said, suddenly all business. "I don't see anything but road." "We need to figure out if we want to continue on this stretch of the road or do we want to veer off to one of the side roads and hopefully come up to someone's house who will be able to help us?" Arohi shrugged. "I think continuing down this road will be best." she said. "A side road would be better." he said ignoring her. Arohi narrowed her eyes at him. "Why'd you ask if you had no interest in taking my suggestion?" "I would have followed your suggestion, if had been the right one." he said as he started walking again. Arohi fought the urge to reach out and strangle him. He was the most irritating man.
Arohi tried to keep up with Arjun's long strides, but what with her heals and the rain she was having a hard time. Not that she was going to let him see that. Almost as if he sensed her discomfort he turned back around and stopped under a large tree. "I told you to stay in the car!" he said furiously as she finally caught up with him. "And have myself murdered or raped!" "No thank you." she replied wrapping her arms around her. "We're not staring in a horror film!" he snapped. And the chance of anyone attacking you are next to none." Arohi glared at him. "How do you know that?!" "Is being able to tell the future, part of your long list of attributes." Arjun stared at her as he raked his hand through his hair pushing it back. "Do you want me to run through some of my attributes with you." he asked in a husky voice. Her eyes widened as she pushed her hair out of her face. "No thanks!" she snapped. Turning away she thought she must look a sight and Arjun Singhania even in the damn rain looked delicious. How was that fair? she thought to herself. "Okay stop arguing with me!" he said, suddenly all business. "I don't see anything but road." "We need to figure out if we want to continue on this stretch of the road or do we want to veer off to one of the side roads and hopefully come up to someone's house who will be able to help us?" Arohi shrugged. "I think continuing down this road will be best." she said. "A side road would be better." he said ignoring her. Arohi narrowed her eyes at him. "Why'd you ask if you had no interest in taking my suggestion?" "I would have followed your suggestion, if had been the right one." he said as he started walking again. Arohi fought the urge to reach out and strangle him. He was the most irritating man.
It felt like they'd been walking forever. Arohi's feet were killing her and she was so close to just telling Arjun to leave her there to die. Okay she was being a little dramatic now. But she was tired of looking at the back of Arjun's head as he raced ahead of her. His arrogance showing even now! Just as Arohi was about to break down and beg Arjun to carry her, she heard him say. "Look over there." I think it's a small house." Arohi couldn't make out anything in the dark. But if Arjun thought it was a house, she prayed it was. The rain was still coming down. Arohi watched Arjun run up ahead. Monster! she thought to herself wincing in pain as she tried to catch up.
"It's a house alright!" Arjun said happily as they finally reached their destination. "House!" "It looks like an abandoned shack to me!" "Would you rather sit out here on the side of this dark cold dreary road in the rain!" he snapped. Arohi rolled her eyes but finally shook her head no. "Well then stop complaining!" he said as he ran towards the "shack" Arohi followed behind slowly, vowing she that she would never wear heals again. As they walked into the small house, they saw that indeed it was abandoned. But surprisingly in not as bad shape as Arohi had originally thought. Not great shape, but not a rat infested hole either. And it had a fireplace! Thank god, she thought running towards it. But her happiness didn't last. "No firewood" she said sadly. Arjun walked over. "I'll check in the back and see if there's anything there." he said. Arohi nodded shivering as she wrapped her arms around herself. As Arjun disappeared she wandered around the small space. One small bed, a small table, 2 chairs. and a broken down 3rd chair. Her gaze shifted back to the small bed. There was no way she was sleeping on that with Arjun. No way! Arjun walked back inside to find Arohi chewing on her top lip, staring at the small bed. "I found some firewood." he said snapping Arohi out of her thoughts. He made quick work of lighting a fire and Arohi went and stood infront of it to warm herself up.
Arjun watched her over the glow of the fire. He didn't think she'd realized that her dress was almost transparent. Arohi glanced at Arjun and felt her breath catch at the look in his eyes. His eyes had turned a golden brown, they were so intensely focused on her.. So intense that Arohi couldn't look away. "You should cover yourself up with something unless this in an invitation for something more." he said in a husky voice, raking his gaze down her body slowly. Arohi gasped and quickly tried to cover herself up. Arjun walked over to the bed and pulled off a sheet. "Here." he said holding it towards her. Arohi snatched it from his hands. "Look away" she said. Arjun rolled his eyes but continued to stare at her, his arms folded across his chest. Arohi took a deep breath. "Arjun, please look away." "I'm freezing!" she said pleadingly. Hating that Arjun had the upper hand right now. Arjun slowly turned around starting to unbutton his own wet shirt. Arohi glanced his way and quickly slipped out of her wet dress and wrapped the sheet around her as securely as she could. Hanging her dress on to a chair to dry. She lifted her hair off the nape of her neck, trying her best to bring to it some semblance of control, giving up and just tucking it behind her ear, she finally said "you can turn around now, if you want." The only thing that gave away that he might at all be affected by her was the darkening of his eyes. Arohi moved towards the fireplace. He came and stood close to her holding his hands out. "It's 1:30 now." "We can try sleeping for a few hours and as soon as the sun comes up it'll be easier to contact someone for help." he said softly. Arohi nodded. "I'll just grab a pillow." she said." Quickly turning around she almost walked right into him. As a reflex she held out her hand and it made contact with his gorgeous chest. She snatched it back like she'd been burned. She couldn't make eye contact because she knew what she'd find there...smugness. Instead she walked around him and to the bed. "I should get the bed" she finally said. "Why?" he asked turning towards her with questioning eyes. "Because I'm the girl." she answered. Arjun shook his head and laughed. "It's funny how you girls want equal rights and all." "You can do anything a man can do, etc etc." "Yet when you want your way, you use the I'm the poor delicate girl line." "You guys are one to talk!" she replied. "Girls wouldn't need to resort to using these kind of tactics if guys weren't such jerks." Chivalry is dead!" she said. "I was talking to DJ and she was telling me how sweet men were in her time." "Opening doors, " Pehle aap" "Whole love stories started just with the eyes." "Now, guys think one date and a girl should be ready to sleep with them." "There is no courting as DJ called it." Arjun stared at her, with his mouth open. "My grandmother and you were discussing SEX!" he shouted. His face turning red. "We weren't discussing sex." "We were discussing relationships and love. " "I know they aren't things you're familiar with since you fall in the category of the guy who expects sex after a first date."
Arjun raised his brows at her. "I don't expect sex after a first date." "Second date, now that's a different story." he said straight-faced. Arohi glared at him and then watched Arjun burst out laughing. "You're not funny." she said rolling her eyes and sitting down on the bed. "Actually I am," he said seating himself on a chair across from the bed. "Can we please talk about something else!" Arohi finally said. "Sure, tell me why you decided to become a journalist." Arohi looked at him suspiciously. Why was he asking her that. As if he had read her mind he said. "It's just a question, stop acting so suspicious." Arohi paused for a minute and finally said. "Because I love uncovering a story." "All the facts and how they happened and how does it all fit." "It's like a puzzle." "Piece by piece I put it together so the whole world can know what the truth is." Not all journalism is about truth." "Most is about sensationalism" he said. "For me it's about truth." she said. "I work very hard to try to keep it to facts." "You cover celebrities so what truth and puzzles do you put together?" An actress is actually a size 2 rather then the rumored size 0." he said shaking his head and rolling his eyes at her "Are you making fun of me?!' she snapped. "I might JUST cover celebrities but if you've ever read an article of mine you'll see that even gossip has a degree of truth. "I try to show them for what they are." "Sometimes that's good and sometimes it's not!" "Besides this is just a stepping stone." "I have other plans." she said. "What other plans?" he asked. "Why should I tell you!" she replied. "Is it that you want to host one of those celebrity shows where you interview them and try to find out all of their deep dark secrets?" No!" she snapped. "I want to host a talk show where I can bring to light all the social issues that are sometimes minimized." "Like spousal abuse which is unfortunately rampant even in this day and age, and the issue of corruption in every aspect of government." "The common man takes one step forward and is then pushed four steps back in the name of bureaucracy when it's actual corruption. "The list is endless." "I want to do something that will make a difference." "Even if it only changes one person's life." "Even if it changes only one person's thinking" "I would have succeeded. Arjun stared at her speechless. This was not what he had expected to hear. "What?" "No ridicule Mr.Singhania?" she asked. "No, what makes you think your show will be any different from the other 20 out there discussing similar issues." Arjun continued to stare at her. After a few minutes Arohi couldn't take it anymore. "What?" she snapped. "I think you could make a difference." he finally said softly. Arohi wasn't expecting that. Now she was at a loss for words. "Thanks" she finally replied.
"Why did you become an actor" she asked. "Is that on or off the record?" he asked with a small smile. "What do you think?" she replied rolling her eyes. "Well, let's see." he said thoughtfully. "I became an actor for the hot girls." he replied with a teasing smile. "I thought so!" Arohi said turning away from him. "Arohi, learn how to take a joke!" he said exasperated. "I became an actor, because I liked acting, I felt like I was good at it, and for all the other usual reasons... the fame, the hot girls, the popularity, the hot girls...etc etc. " "You know the whole spiel." "BUT...I became a GOOD actor for my fans." he said, for once, seriously. Arohi looked at him questioningly. "My fans are the ones that have compelled me to do my best." "I didn't realize what kind of effect I had on them until I went into the children's ward of a hospital about 6 years back." "I was there for some fund raiser and a nurse asked if I could stop by for a few minutes." "I agreed and those kids blew me away." "And they thought I was the hero." "When clearly, there's no doubt in my mind, they were the true heroes." "They were reenacting whole scenes from my movies, and they were good" he said with a laugh as he remembered back. "They were sick." "Some of them very sick." "Yet each one had a huge smile on their face." "You would never even have known they were suffering in anyway because they were so full of life, atleast when they talked to me." "I ended up spending 2 1/2 hours there." "And when I came out of there I knew that I needed to work hard to be the best." "Because my fans deserved that." "They're the reason I'm where I am today and I never forget that." Arohi stared at him, not knowing what to say. Arjun looked up and smiled. "But the hot girls are a definite plus in my line of work." Arohi laughed and shook her head. "What?" he asked. "You're so hard to figure out." she said. "Are you psychoanalyzing me Dr. Ahluwalia?" he asked raising one eyebrow. "No." "I'm just trying to figure out who you really are." "You're so confusing." "No I'm not." "I'm just a typical guy who happens to be famous, who values his privacy, loves his family, and dates hot girls." he said the last with a smirk.
Arohi stared at him for a few seconds and then got up from the bed and walked to the fireplace." Except that there is nothing typical about you." she murmured "Sorry?" he asked. "Nothing, "I'm cold." she said holding her hands out infront of the fireplace and then hugging herself. Coming up behind her, he said softly. "Do you want me to help warm you up?" Arohi closed her eyes and tried to ignore the flutters in the pit of her stomach. Turning around she said "Keep your lines for your girlfriends!" "I am keeping it for my girlfriend." "For my pretend girlfriend." he said softly, now standing way too close to her. Taking a deep breath Arohi moved away to the window. "Look at it coming down out there." "It doesn't look like it's ever going to let up." she said softly. Arjun came up behind her, looking out at the rain pelting down. Arohi stood infront of him shivering as she rubbed her hands down her arms. "You should sit by the fireplace." he said putting his hand on her shoulder. Arohi jumped and quickly pulled away. "Yeah good idea" she mumbled walking away from him, back towards the fireplace. Arjun watched Arohi run away. She looked way too sexy right now for him not to be having the thoughts he was having. But he knew he couldn't act on them and the way she was running, he had serious doubts she'd even let him.
Arohi could feel Arjun's gaze on her and it was making her very, very uncomfortable. Get a grip Arohi! she thought to herself. Think of something else. But as Arjun came and stood next to her she suddenly couldn't figure out how to string two words together. "It is definitely cold." he said stroking the fire. "I don't know how much longer this fire is going to last either." This was all the firewood I was able to find." "Once the fire dies down it's going to get really cold in here." he said watching Arohi from the corner of his eye. He noticed that Arohi was doing what she always did when she got nervous, chewing her top lip. "What are we going to do then?" she asked. "Well, we'll probably have to provide eachother heat in other ways." Arohi's eyes widened as she swallowed. "What other ways?" she asked in a soft voice. "The only other ways available to us." he replied moving a little closer to her. Arohi sudden intake of breath was the only sound that could be heard. "You mean body heat?" she asked in horror. Arjun looked at her with a confused expression. "Body heat?" "Who said anything about body heat?" "I was talking about these 3 wooden chairs, we'd have to use them as firewood." he said hiding his smile. "Chairs?" "Oh you meant the chairs." she said smiling with relief. "Yeah, but I think I like your idea better." he said stepping closer to her. Arohi almost tripped as she quickly backed away. "No, no we can't do that." she replied in a panic. "Are you sure, cause you just suggested it" he replied. "And far be it for me to say no to a lady." Arohi's eyes widened. "There's nothing for you to say yes or no to" she said stepping back again as he walked towards her. Arjun coughed to hide his laugh. "Arohi if you want me all you have to do is ask." "You don't need to make up excuses." Arohi eyes widened as her jaw fell open. "Want?" "I don't want you." she said shaking her head. "What was happening here? she thought. Looking at Arjun she finally noticed his eyes were full of mischief. Her own eyes narrowed. "You're such a jerk!" she said stepping closer to him and pushing him angrilly. Arjun finally let out the laughter he was holding in. "You should have seen your face." "It was priceless." he said still laughing. Arohi glared at him with her hands on her hips. "Ha Ha!" "I don't find you funny." "And you made me think that's what you were talking about!" she said, still glaring at him. Arjun's laughter died down and he smiled at her. "It had to have been on your mind to begin with, for you to have thought it." he said softly. Arohi stared at him not saying anything. In the silence they could hear the rain pounding against the roof top. And then everything happened so quickly. Arohi saw the flash of lightening against the window and as the thunder roared she reacted before she could help herself. Arjun caught Arohi as she fell against him. Pressing her head against his chest, her eyes squeezed shut. It felt natural to wrap his arms around her, to hold her tight as it stormed outside. As the thunder died down Arjun and Arohi didn't move from their embrace. Arohi slowly opened her eyes and let herself burrow into Arjun's warmth for a few seconds longer before she began to pull away. But Arjun wasn't ready to let her go. She looked up at him and felt her breath catch.
"Arjun" she began but his lips cut off the rest of her sentence. Arohi moaned. He deepened the kiss pulling her closer. Her hands which were already pressed against his bare chest. moved up to his shoulders. His moved to her hips. Releasing her lips he moved to her neck. His mouth driving her crazy. "Oh my god" Arohi whispered. "You're so sexy" he said as he kissed along her jawline. "I've been thinking about kissing you right here since the night in Sunny's cellar." he said kissing the base of her throat at her pulse point. Arohi bit her lip to stop her moan. His mouth made his way back to hers as his kisses became more aggressive and demanding. Arohi wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. They kissed greedily at first not getting enough of eachother. Arjun pulled away from her lips and trailed kisses along her ear as Arohi brought her hands back down to his chest, skimming her fingers against his rock hard abs. Arjun's mouth made it's way back to her lips and he gently pulled at the tie that held her sheet in place around her neck. Arohi felt her heart in her throat. Now was the time for her to act and say no, she thought. But all rational thought went out the door as his mouth came back to hers for a long sweet passionate kiss. She first felt the sheet slide down her body and then Arjun's hooded hot gaze raked over her. She was just wearing her bra and underwear now. Pulling her back for another intoxicating kiss he picked her up and carried her to the bed. As Arjun's kisses continued to drive Arohi crazy the sound of ringing slowly penetrated through her passion filled haze. The phone was ringing. Oh my god the phone was ringing she thought. "Arjun," "Arjun" she said pushing at his chest. "Your phone is ringing." Arjun shook his head as if to clear it. He could barely understand anything past Arohi's soft skin and luscious lips.
He forced himself to pull away from her and grabbed his phone. Arohi quickly got up and wrapped the sheet around her again. Oh my god in a moment of weakness she had almost done something very very stupid! Arjun hung up. "It was bhai." "They've been calling for hours." "I thought we didn't have reception?" she asked not making eye contact with him. "I don't know, but they got through now." "They're coming to get us." he replied. "What timing!" he thought to himself. As Arohi grabbed her still wet dress she asked Arjun red faced if he could turn around. "A little late for that, don't you think?" he asked, nevertheless turning around. Arohi quickly dressed. Grimacing as she felt the cold damp dress against her skin. Dressed she wrapped the sheet around her and stayed at the other side of the room not meeting the piercing gaze Arjun had on her. Hearing a car pull up outside about 10 minutes later, Arohi practically ran to the door. As she passed Arjun, he grabbed her hand. She looked back, to hear him say softly. " We're not finished." With that he finally let her hand go. Stalking past her. Arohi waited a second before she followed him outside.
Arjun's whole family was awake when they got home. "Are you okay?" Arjun's mom asked worriedly. "We're fine mom." "We found shelter." Arjun answered. Arohi gave his mom a reassuring smile. "Okay you two must be freezing." Go up and get out of your wet clothes I'll send you up warm milk." Arohi nodded, she was suddenly dead on her feet. She slowly made her way up and into her room. Stripping and showering. Changing into a long sleeved shirt and pajamas she made her way to her bed and was asleep within seconds.
"Arohi beta, wake up." Arohi groaned and turned to her side. "I know you're tired but it's quite late now." "You've already missed breakfast and I'm worried you're about to miss lunch." Arohi opened her eyes to see Arjun's mom leaning over her. "Good morning." she said groggily. "More like good afternoon." his mom said with a smile. "I was just worried about you I hope you don't mind that I woke you up." Arohi shook her head and sitting up, she yawned. "Here's your tea." His mom said handing her a cup of steaming chai. "Your the best." Arohi said taking a sip of her tea and sighing. Arjun's mom smiled and patted her cheek. "I'll see you downstairs when you're ready." she said leaving Arohi's door ajar. Arohi got up slowly and stretched. The events of the previous night already running through her mind. Arjun and her talking, even opening up to eachother and then her almost letting him make love to her. Talk about insane. She wasn't the type to jump into bed with a guy she just met. Actually she wasn't the type to jump into bed with anyone. Not that there hadn't been opportunities. She just wasn't interested. She always thought she would wait for "THE ONE." "Except last night she'd lost her mind completely. Arjun just had that effect on her from their very first kiss she had been lost. But she didn't like that feeling. That feeling that someone had so much control over her physically that she could lose herself in him. Especially someone she wasn't even sure she liked as a person! Okay maybe she didn't hate him, and after last nights talk he had kinda grown on her, but that didn't mean he was "THE ONE" "She wasn't stupid to think that Arjun Singhania could ever be her "THE ONE." He was a heart breaker and she had no plans of having her heart broken. Neither did she believe that she could be Arjun's "THE ONE." She was sure someone like Arjun had a "The one" in every city. She'd been a distraction for him. "His final words to her had been disturbing. "We're not finished." But she was sure he would be over that notion now. That had been in the heat of the moment. She had no plans what so ever of pursuing an affair with Arjun Singhania. Last night had been a one off, okay maybe a third or fourth off...but still! This was it. No more making out. She was going to be strictly profession with him. Only as Arohi thought that she frowned. The only problem with that was she had come into the house as his girlfriend. How could she be strcikly professional. Sighing she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She was giving herself a headache. "Just breathe" she told herself as she headed for her bathroom.
Arohi approached the dining room table and seeing Arjun her steps automatically slowed. He looked up from his plate and smiled at her. "How are you feeling now?" he asked. "Fine." she answered seating herself on the other end of the table. Arjun looked at her and shook his head mumbling something under his breath. She hated when he did that. "What?!" she asked. "Nothing other then the fact that you've just reinforced what I said to you last night about you being so weak at your fake girlfriend skills." Arohi stared at him. He was right ofcourse. His mother would probably question why she was sitting a mile away from him. Sighing she got up and moved to the chair opposite him. Arjun smirked at her. They ate in silence. Arjun finished first. "I need to talk to you." "Meet me out on the patio after you're finished lunch." Arohi slowly nodded. "She didn't really want to meet him anywhere alone but she had a feeling she had no choice in the matter. After finishing lunch and chatting with Arjun's mom and then DJ and then going upstairs and freshening up her make -up and then flipping through a magazine. she finally went out to the patio. As she stepped outside and looked around for Arjun, her gaze fell on the chaise. Arjun lay on his side, sound asleep. Arohi walked over and felt a little tug at her heart. He looked so peaceful, so boyish, even innocent in some way. She had a odd desire to caress his handsome face and sweep his hair away from his face. She was reaching out her hand before she knew it. Catching herself inches from his face. Slowly she pulled back her hand. What had she just told herself hours ago?! The road she was headed down could only lead to heartbreak. Arjun wasn't the type you got into relationships with.
Arjun's eyes flickered open and his sleepy gaze shifted up the length of Arohi to her face. Taking in her straight legged white linen pants and short thin blue sweater that fell over one shoulder leaving it bare. Arjun remembered kissing that shoulder last night. He remembered kissing more then just her shoulder last night and how good she had felt against him. He'd never wanted anyone as much as he had wanted Arohi last night. One kiss and he'd felt like he'd been drugged. He was so intoxicated by her soft skin and beautiful lips, not to mention her amazingly hot body. Arjun's eyes finally made contact with Arohi's. Arjun slowly turned onto his back, his eyes never leaving her face. No wonder he was such a good actor he didn't even need to speak, his eyes spoke volumes for him. The way they almost burned now, telling her to run orelse get burned right along with him. Without realizing it, she took a step back. He slowly pulled himself up into a sitting position. "What time is it?" Arohi glanced at her watch "3:30" she replied. Arjun's eyes widened. "So you've been hiding from me for over 2 hours?" he asked. "I wasn't hiding" "I was busy." she answered. "Right" Arjun said raising his eyebrows. Arohi slowly swallowed and tried not to look at him as he continued to stare at her. "Could you please not look at me like that." she finally said. Arjun smiled and then throwing his legs over the side of the chaise he stood up. Even in her heals he towered over her. "Do I make you nervous?" he asked in a silky smooth voice. "No" she answered biting her top lip and turning away from him. A slow smile spread across Arjun's lips. "Do you know what I think?" he asked from behind her. His face inches from her ear. Arohi's hand drifted to her stomach trying to calm the butterflies "I think, after last night, and what happened between us, you're scared." "You're scared of what you felt in my arms." "What I made you feel." he said. "I, I am not scared and I felt nothing." she stammered.
Arohi jumped as she felt Arjun's feather like touch drift over her neck as he shifted her hair over to one shoulder. "Relax." he said in his deep sexy voice. "You're so tense." "His lips drifted over the nape of her neck. Arohi closed her eyes biting back a moan. "By now it's apparent to you that I want you." "And I can tell, you want me just as much." "So it's going to be hard but I think once we get back to Mumbai we should get eachother out of our systems." Arohi was barely comprehending what Arjun was saying. Between the sound of his sexy voice which spread over her like a caress and the soft kisses he was giving her neck, it took her a while to figure out what the words were that he spoke. But as she did figure it out her eyes snapped open and she gasped. Pulling back and turning around to stare at Arjun. Her eyes narrowing. "Are you propositioning me?" she asked softly. "Propositioning?" "In what way?" he asked "I'm just suggesting that the two of us spend a pleasurable evening in eachother's company when we get back to Mumbai." Arohi was furious as she clenched her hands to her side. "Exactly what would be doing during this evening she asked." "Well we can start by finishing off where we left off last night." Arohi was not a violent person but she really wanted to kick Arjun's a*s right now. The worst part was the garbage that was coming out of his mouth seemed normal to him. "And, And," she took a deep breath to calm herself down." "What would we be doing after this so called pleasurable evening." "Nothing, we would go our separate ways." he answered without hesitation. "You're even worse then I thought you were!" she screamed and then taking another deep breath she spoke again. "I'm not like one of your usual "girlfriends" and I use that term very loosely. "I don't know what kind of impression you have of me but last night was a one off!" "I don't fall into bed with guys I barely know, hell guys I barely like." she said glaring at him. "I wouldn't sleep with you if my life depended on it." Arjun's eyes narrowed as he folded his arms across his chest, listening to her rant. "I have no plans of starting anything with a person like you." "As for Mumbai," "After these 2 weeks are up I don't ever want to see you again." "I wouldn't even watch one of your movies, that's how badly I would never want to see your face again." "ENOUGH!" Arjun yelled. "Where was all this anger and indignation last night when you had your almost naked body pressed against mine, begging me to make love to you." He caught her hand just as it reached his face. "Guys like me," "You were saying." "Girls like you give mixed signals and then blame the guy." "Forget about last night, 2 minutes ago I almost had you seduced in my own back yard!" Arohi's gritted her teeth trying to snatch her hand away. "You don't want me to touch you!" "DONE!" "But your self righteous attitude, you can keep that to yourself!" Letting go of her hand he turned around and strode to the door without a backwards glance.
The next two days Arohi and Arjun avoided direct contact with eachother. Arohi always made sure she was surrounded by his family. Now she was even more committed to getting her story and getting away from Arjun. The only problem in that plan was that she'd have to leave his amazing family. Arjun on his part seemed to be noticeably grumpy. His family noticed and even asked her about it. "Did you two have a fight?" his mom asked her on the second day. Arohi paused "Um, no." she finally replied. Arjun's mom gave her "I don't believe you look." "Couples fight, but it's important that they make up too." she said smiling at Arohi. " I can tell Arjun misses you." "I hope you two can make up soon, his surliness is getting hard to live with." Arohi didn't miss the suggestion in Arjun's mom's voice that she try making things better. Sighing Arohi went back to helping Arjun's mom with dinner.
"Arjun, may I speak to you for a moment." Arohi asked after dinner. "I'm busy" he said as he played cards with his youngest cousin. "I know, but it'll just take a few minutes." she said softly. Arjun looked up at her showing no emotion. "Arjun" get up, I'll take over" chachu said taking the cards from Arjun's hands. "I'm winning chachu." "You better not make me lose." Arjun said in a serious tone. "Fine, now go and talk to Arohi." "Hopefully when you come back you'll be in a better mood." Arohi led Arjun to the family room and shut the door. "I wanted to talk to you about our misunderstanding." "Misunderstanding?!" Arjun snapped. "You accused me of a lot of things that day." "Fine, I'm a heart breaker but atleast I'm upfront about it." "I'm not interested in being in a long term relationship so I let them know that right away." "I don't play games." "But apparently that's so wrong." "Listen Arjun, there's no point in rehashing this." "We're never going to agree." "I just think for your family's sake we should stop fighting." "You've been so surly towards them." "My family?" "You don't need to worry about my family!" "And who are you to be telling me anything" he said suddenly angry all over again. Arohi stared at him. This was ridiculous! She opened her mouth to tell him so when she heard her phone start to ring. Glancing at the phone display, her eyes widened. "I love my family more then anything in the world." "They're everything to me." "And you, who I met, what 3 weeks ago, thinks you can come into my house and..." "Where are the hell are you going?" Arjun said as he saw Arohi turn around, and run out of the family room. He'd just been in the middle of a tirade and she had just left him standing there still furious. "I don't think so" he thought to himself. That day she got her say, today was his turn. He marched outside and out to the great room. Everyone was there but her. Taking the stairs two at a time he checked her room and bathroom. No Arohi. Walking downstairs he remembered the one place he hadn't checked.
It was already dark, Arjun looked around and didn't see anyone. He thought she might have come out into the backyard to hide from him, but I guess not he thought. Just as he turned around he heard a sob. Turning back around he listened. Someone was crying. He walked closer to the sound, which lead him to the far corner of their backyard. Arohi stood with her back to him, her whole body shaking with her sobs. "Arohi?" he said softly. Arohi paused on a sob, trying to control her crying but it had a mind of it's own. "Please, Please Arjun go away just give me a minute." she said not being able to stop her cries. Arjun walked to her and turning her around, he pulled her into his arms. She struggled against him, crying and trying to catch her breath but he didn't let her go. Finally she stopped struggling and let him pull her against him wrapping his arms around her tightly. She stopped fighting the tears, and let herself cry freely now. Her head pressed against his chest. Her hands holding onto him for support. He didn't speak, he just let her cry it out, holding her tight and hopefully feeling protected.
It took a long time for Arohi's tears to subside. They were tears she'd been holding back for so many years. Trying to be strong. But after finding out what she found out today she couldn't be strong anymore, because now she knew, without a doubt in her mind that things would never get better and that she would never have her family back. As her breathing went back to normal she pulled away from Arjun. "I'm sorry." she said softly tucking her hair behind her ears. "I must look a sight." she said as Arjun handed her a tissue. "You look fine." he said softly. "Are you okay?" he asked. "Yeah, I'm fine." she replied not meeting his gaze. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. "No." she said shaking her head vehemently. "Sometimes it helps." he said with a smile. Arohi gave him a small smile back. "Not this time." she answered feeling her eyes fill with tears again. Seeing her tears he quickly said "Hey, whatever it is." "It'll work itself out." "It always does." Arohi nodded her head giving him a small I'm okay smile. "Thanks." she said. "I'm going to go up to my room." she said turning around. Arjun didn't think Arohi being alone was such a good idea right now, "We're all going for ice cream." he lied. "I came out to tell you that and everyone is adamant that you come too." he said. "No, Arjun, seriously not tonight." she replied. "Yes tonight." "If you don't come you might miss out on some jucy gossip about me." "Like when I was 11 and drove my dad's car into our garage." "Those are gems of information that my family will probably be spilling tonight." "Do you really want to miss out on that." Arohi tried to smile but it wavered. "Not today Arjun." she said softly. Arjun watched her run to the door and back inside.
"Everyone want to go for ice cream?" Arjun asked, walking into the great room. "He got a chorus of YESES! "I'll treat every one to ice cream if you help me with Arohi." "Arohi's a little upset with me right now so I need your help to get her to forgive me." Everyone quickly agreed to help.
Arohi laid on her bed, tears streaming down her face as she thought about what her mom had just told her. "Arohi beta, I tried my best." her mother had said her voice hoarse with tears. "You're papa is adamant, he won't budge." "But ma it's been so long." Arohi pleaded. "I know, but he won't even discuss it." "He said," choking up her mom said quietly "He's says you're dead to him and he never wants me to repeat your name in his presence again." The sobs started right then for Arohi. "I'm his daughter." Arohi whispered. "I know, I know." her mom said crying. Both mother and daughter not being able to hold back the tears as they sobbed together. "I won't be there for Suman's wedding." "My little sister's wedding." Arohi repeated again and again. "Ma, he's never going to forgive me is he?" Arohi had finally said. Her mom's sobs were all the answer she needed. "Ma, I'm okay." Arohi said fighting back her tears. "Honestly, I'm so busy with work right now." " I couldn't get away anyways." "Just, just tell Suman I love her and that she's going to make a beautiful bride." Not being able to hold back the tears any longer. She quickly hung up. And that's when the sobs had racked through her. She didn't remember at which point Arjun had arrived all she knew was that he had comforted her, not asking questions that she wouldn't be able to answer.
Banging at her door brought Arohi out of her thoughts. Wiping her tears she opened the door. The whole Singhania clan stood outside. "We're going for ice cream!" they all screamed. Arohi stared back at them in shock. She was bombarded with "pleases" and "pretty pleases," and "you have to's" and "we're not going with out you." She had a feeling she knew who had put everyone up to this. Making eye contact with Arjun she saw his eyes filled with mischief. "FINE!" she shouted laughing at his crazy family. A cheer went up around her.
Arjun watched Arohi laughing with his family as she licked her ice cream. A smile on her face but he could still see the sadness in her eyes. He had never seen anyone cry like that before. The way her sobs had racked her small frame had been heart wrenching. He felt in explicable anger rise up inside of him thinking that someone could have caused her this kind of pain. The conversation he had overheard a few days ago popped into his head. It sounded like it had been her mom she was talking to and she'd been crying that day too. Could her family have been the cause of her breakdown today? He didn't know, but he was going to find out, he thought to himself as he walked outside of the ice cream parlor and made a phone call to Sunny.
Okay here's Part 5. Please let me know what you think of this latest installment. Thanks for reading and all your lovely comments. I will update SWTE in the next few days. Take care.
