"You
may kiss the bride.'
Damini watched with a smile as Varun took
Roshni's hand and kiss her. Seeing her own little sister's smiling face, she
realised that her decision was right to give permission for wedding in
Christian style -a dream that Roshni had from her childhood..
Lucky
Roshni, thought Damini as she saw Varun's hand close firmly around her
sister's, and she couldn't help wondering a little wistfully if it would ever
be her turn. When was she going to find someone who belonged with her the way
Varun belonged with Roshni? But her dream is to wed in proper Indian style and
top of all a wedding with full of love & soul..
Well..now
she did have more important things to worry about, Damini reminded herself.
Like finding a job again as she had to give up her last job because of Roshni's
wedding planning. She was the elder one to take responsibilities..Thankfully
she had enough finance for her little sister's wedding,,
Falling
in love would be wonderful, but it wouldn't pay off her credit card bills,
would it? Damini's mind flickered towards her dress she had chose but sandal???
That forced by Roshni somehow it was cute n matched with her dress but definitely
not her style, She shouldn't have put them,
she
thought, glancing down at them a little guiltily as they were very costly but
stylish & were perfect with the green knee length dress but pleasant ?, It
wasn't every day your little sister got married so she had to look best and
like her sister want her to be ...at least today..
Damini
looked around the hall after brushing her thoughts... It looked as if the
entire Manali had turned out to see Roshni marry Varun Kapoor. How could their
marriage fail to be a success when so many people were there to wish them well?
All the faces were familiar to Damini, all were smiling.
Except
one...He was standing on his own, quite without smile, as if he was surveying
the scene with an air of detached cynicism that made him stand out from the
crowd far more than his height or his dark, harsh features.
The
photographer was busily arranging family groups and Damini was called just then
to stand next to her sister. Smiling obediently for the camera, she craned her
neck slightly to keep the stranger in view over the photographer's shoulder,
and her interest deepened when she saw the way the other guests eyed him askance
and were careful to give him a wide berth. Clearly she wasn't the only one who
sensed something different about him, something dangerous, yet strangely
compelling. Released by the photographer, Damini manoeuvred her way to the edge
of the group where she could greet guests waiting to congratulate Varun and
Roshni and watch the man at the same time. He had acquired a glass of the
champagne that was circulating, and judging by the curl of his lip he didn't
think much of it.
Damini
thought who was he? His hair was dark with handsome, yet strong features and a
forbidding expression. He might be dressed like all the other men in the room,
but there was an unmistakably quality about him. It was something to do with
the hardness of his face, with the coiled power that was evident in the way he
held himself, with the cool, watchful silent deep brown eyes. Her mother must
know ,who he was, Damini reasoned. She knew everyone in Manali but not him..He
is definitely and outsider but He didn't look like the kind of man who would
drive thousand km from outside Manali to gatecrash an ordinary outback wedding,
so presumably he had been invited. She turned to ask, but her mother was
talking to the celebrant, and when she glanced back to the stranger she found
herself looking straight into his eyes. They were piercingly pale in his dark
face, & so cold that Damini's heart jerked and the breath dried in her
throat.
She
had the oddest feeling that the floor was roaming in earthquake as only that
unnervingly light gaze was holding her and giving a thunder to her whole body
including heart... It could only have been for a moment, but to Damini it felt
as if she hung there forever, her gaze locked with his. And then he smiled, a
swift, mocking smile that for some reason sent the colour surging into her
cheeks. Damini wrenched her eyes away and pointedly turned her back, furious to
find that her heart was beating very fast but in rhythm...Once she thought to
ask him who was he..but no she was too proud to ask that directly to a stranger
what if he found his effect on her heart..what no..no.. no she jumped awkwardly
and she decided, she would ignore him. Only somehow she couldn't..and failed
again n again..
Damini
threw herself into chatting with people all around, offering them drinks and
comforting them, hugging old friends, laughing.. but no matter how many tunes
she tried to turn her back, the stranger always seemed to be there, lurking
irritatingly at the edge of her vision.
Perversely,
the moment she couldn't see him anymore, she missed him. On her way back from
the table now where she had been sitting alone in the centre of the hall,
Damini paused and sipped her champagne, surveying the crowd with a slight frown
between her brows wondering where had he gone suddenly?
'Looking
for me?' a voice said in her ear, and Damini thought her heart stopped suddenly
or may be beat too fast to control.., the champagne splash out of her glass as
she turn to the voice...
Sure
enough, it was the stranger, looking even more handsome at close view. Close
enough..Damini could see that his eyes were deep grey, but so light they seemed
glacial against the darkness of his hair and lashes, and she had the
uncomfortable feeling that they could see right through her.
'Why
should I be looking for you?' she asked composing herself consciously, with
what she thought was creditable coolness considering that her heart seemed to
have taken up residence in her throat, where it was jumping and fluttering and
generally making it ridiculously hard for her to breathe.
'I'm
the only person here you haven't talked,' he said calmly. He had an unusual
accent but his voice sent a mysteries wave in her body. "You wouldn't want
to miss anyone out as a host of this wonderful occasion, would you?'
Damini
swallowed her heart firmly. 'I only talk people I know,' she said, 'and I don't
know you.'
'We
could introduce ourselves,' he pointed out 'although I already know exactly who
you are.'
Damini,
opening her mouth to reply to his suggestion, was thrown. 'You do?' she asked
uncertainly.
'I've
been asking around about you. You're Damini Gujral, host of the occasion, elder
sister of the bride and all round a nice girl.'
For
some reason this description annoyed Damini. "That's not quite how I'd
describe myself,' she said with something of a snap.
'Oh?
How would you describe yourself?'
'As
a professional woman,' said Damini loftily and not very accurately. 'I'm in
PR.'
'Oh
is that so..,.' He nodded down at her feet "that explains the shoes.' She felt
frustrated by his irritating way to watch her sandals. She controlled herself
and asked what do you mean by "is that so.." He said nothing by smile, that
made her more uncomfortable..In spite of herself, Damini warmed to him. He was
the only person who had noticed her shoes but in a special way?? She thought in
her mind..
Following
his gaze downwards, she couldn't help smiling. There was just something about
her sandals, Damini felt. You couldn't put on a pair like this and not feel
good.
'Aren't
they wonderful?' she said, forgetting for a moment that she didn't like him and
he made her conscious, uncomfortable but warm inside..
His
eyes travelled slowly up from her feet to her face. Damini was tall &
generous with her perfect figure that was perfectly proportioned to her height
and her personality. Deep down, Damini knew that this was true, but it didn't
stop her grumbling. She was normal but confidently & beautiful and
she
knew this but why having strange feeling under that stranger's eye, she wondered
again n again..
For
Roshni's wedding she had found a fabulous dress that emphasized her warm curves
and glowing skin which was perfect for the occasion and stylishly bold
personality with nominal makeup as she likes but that sandals naaahh...not her
type...she always picked up something stylish yet comfortable..but this one was
cute in its own manner but not conform table..she suddenly felt her foot
ache..but not mentioned that to any1..
'Wonderful,'
Prithvi agreed. His face was quite straight with mischievous smile, &
something in his voice set a blush stealing into Damini's cheeks, and she
looked quickly away and she thought was he teasing her?... It was a relief when
his gaze dropped back to her shoes. 'But not very practical and definitely not
your style,' he added.
They
certainly weren't She had nearly twisted her ankle several times on the floor.
To her chagrin, Damini realised that she had been holding her breath and let it
out "There are more important things in life than practicality and why do
u think this is not my style,' she said firmly, and a disconcerting gleam of
amusement lit the cool grey eyes.
'You
must be the only person in this occasion to think so!' he added with smile. She
jerked back what do you mean..he said nothing but raised eyebrow.
"I
mean about your comment on practicality not on stylish..I guess everyone think
this is your style..She did not know what he meant so she turned back..
That
was probably true too, Damini reflected, glancing around at the people she had
grown up with. They were all wonderful, and she loved them deeply, but they
didn't understand about shoes in which she was uncomfortable.
'You
have to be practical if you are not... she stopped suddenly realising her tone
n the word she was about to say..in love ??,' She turned again refusing to look
at him, gathering herself she start working in her mind why and where that
thought come from and why in front of him and too suddenly.. her gaze coming
back to meet his almost defiantly. 'I mean if you have good heart than you cant
be practical in front of people you love..' she added nervously...aahaa the
word again..She noticed her heartbeat was getting faster & faster..wish he
is not able to hear that sound..
'Is
that so.'..he said again with same attitude . She felt like he was teasing her
again...In her mind she was repeating his sentences..what did he mean ??...
Damini
didn't quite know what to make of that. There had been an odd undercurrent to
his voice that she couldn't interpret. 'You seem to know all about me,' she
pointed out with a challenging look, 'but I really still don't know who you
are.'
I'm
Prithvi Saxena,' he told her, and he smiled proudly at the expression on her
face. 'Yes, that Prithvi Saxena,' he answered her unspoken question. 'Didn't
anyone tell you that the tiger of the city was back?'
'No,'
admitted Damini, too surprised to think what she was saying.
She
couldn't help staring. Prithvi Saxena! No one had seen him since he had walked
off his family property nearly 15 years ago, but of course they all knew about
him. Breaking off all contact with his father, Prithvi had turned his back and
gone on make his fortune. Not just an ordinary little fortune, not just
millions, but serious money.
Damini
had never been absolutely sure what Prithvi Saxena did'something to do with
communications, she thought'but she knew that his company, Saxena Group, was a
global giant having part in almost each and every industry, and that his name
was a byword for ruth-lessness around the world. It wasn't bad going for a boy
from Manali, but nobody wanted to claim him as a local hero & Tiger
defiantly not..was he???. However Prithvi had made his fortune, it hadn't been
by being nice.
It
seemed that anyone who ever had to do business with him regretted it, and the
press didn't like him any better. Refusing to be interviewed or photographed,
Prithvi Saxena was apparently content for people to think of him as heartless
and amoral, and the richer and more reclusive he became, the more the myths
about him increase rapidly..
Nor
did the city he had grown up in have anything good to say for him. Damini had
been a little girl around 11 yrs when he'd left his father to struggle on his
own, and anyway had never met him, but gossip travelled fast around the city
and she knew all about his unsavoury reputation. Nobody had been sorry to see
him go.
But
now it seemed that he was back'and it wasn't hard to guess why.
'Aren't
you a little late?' she said. Prithvi's dark brows tensional lifted. 'What do
you mean?'
'Your
father's cremation was a week ago,' said Damini pointedly.
'So?'
'So
couldn't you have made the effort to get here in time for that?'
His
face hardened. 'I think that would have been a little hypocritical, don't you?
My father and I hadn't spoken for 15
years. What would have been the point of me weeping crocodile tears over on his
dead body? Besides,' he went on, glancing around him, 'I doubt if I would have
been very welcome. That's been made very obvious today.'
'Are
you surprised?' She asked
automatically..
'Not
in the slightest.' There was a cynical twist to Prithvi's lips. 'Nothing's
changed round here. I never expected to be greeted as the good son.'
'Perhaps
if you'd come back to see your father when he was alive, you would have been,'
said Damini nicely.
She
must have drunk more champagne than she'd thought. She wasn't usually like
this. Normally she had the sunniest of natures and wanted everyone to like her,
but there was something about Prithvi Saxena that got under her skin and left
her feeling ruffled and somehow aggravated.
'He
wanted to see you,' she told Prithvi, who lifted a disbelieving eyebrow.
'Did
he?'
Damini
lost some of her assurance. 'Well...that's what I heard. I heard that he'd
begged you to come home so that he could see you before he died.'
Prithvi
laughed, but there was no humour in it but a hurt with deep emotions. 'I'd like
to have seen my father begging for anything!'
It
didn't ring that true with what Damini remembered of Prithvi's either, now that
he mentioned it his father had been a proud man.
'You
mean it's not true?'.
'Asking
me to post a letter would have been giving in as far as my father was
concerned,' said Prithvi flatly.
Damini
hesitated. 'If he was dying, he might have looked at things differently,' she
suggested, but Prithvi only smiled ironically.
'You
didn't know my father very well, did you?'
She
looked at him in some puzzlement. 'What are you doing here, then?'
'I've
come to sort out my father's affairs,' he said. 'And to see Manali specially
my..pause. ...Saxena Mansion...again.'
'But
I thought'' Damini stopped, uncomfortably aware that she was repeating gossip.
'You
thought what? That my father had disinherited me?'
'Well...yes,'
she admitted awkwardly.
Balraj
had made no secret of the fact that he had been bitterly hurt by his son's
rejection, and when Prithvi
hadn't
come back when he was dying everyone had naturally assumed that he would do as
he had long threatened
and
cut Prithvi out of his will.
'No,
he didn't do that,' said Prithvi, but his mouth was setting a grim line and
Damini wondered what he was thinking about. It wasn't anything nice, that was for sure.
What
kind of man would refuse to visit his dying father? That had been cruel. She
eyed him speculatively from under her lashes. No one had been the least bit
surprised at his non-appearance, but it seemed to Damini that his face didn't
really live up to his reputation. It was guarded, yes, shuttered and stubborn,
but it wasn't cruel. He had the dark, difficult look of a wild horse that had
refused to be broken, she thought. His mouth was hard, but maybe it hadn't always
been that way...
Maybe
it would look quite different if he were happy. Damini's blue eyes rested on
eyes than lips, trying to imagine him smiling'not a masking mocking smile, but
a real smile that will lighten his eyes in a deep way. What would make him
smile like that? A money?? No he has lots of..father..he hated him..or a Woman
?? No he is not interested in woman in a serious way too somehow she knew
this..so Maybe love? Damini found herself imagining what it would be like to
see his face soften and his original smile, and something warmed dangerously
inside her.
Jerking
her gaze away, she took a sip of champagne. This was Prithvi Saxena, remember?
Rumour was that he had had his heart surgically removed a long time ago. His
idea of happiness was probably a nice day spent asset-stripping a company,
followed by a relaxing hour of currency speculation.
A
spoon was being banged against a glass for attention, and her Mother was
standing in side stage of the hall for a speech. Damini's eyes softened as she
watched her. Her sweet mummaa, so calm, quiet and understandable. She would be
lost without her Mumma. She couldn't imagine not speaking to her for even a
single day and 15 ears...God like death...or worse ...
Varun
was standing near her mumma, Varun, who was very funny and made everyone laugh.
He finished by toasting Damini to appreciate as a gud sister to Roshni, a
daughter for her mother and newly sister-in-law to him and they all clapped and
cheered, turning to lift their glasses to where she stood with Prithvi at the
table.
'To
Damini!' they cheered and smiled, but she was uneasily aware that Prithvi was
not included in their smiles.
Laughing,
she smiled whole heartedly as a acknowledgment to Varun, but she was glad when
everyone turned back to the bride and groom once more.
She
slid a glance from under her lashes at Prithvi. In his place she would have
been humiliated by the obvious way he had been ignored, but Prithvi's
expression gave absolutely nothing away. Damini was sure that he had noticed,
though. Those watchful eyes would miss nothing.
'Damini
Di!' Roshni was calling her over the crowd, and Damini looked quickly away from
Prithvi to see her sister waving her bouquet 'Catch!' she shouted.
The
flowers came sailing through the air towards her, ribbons fluttering.
Instinctively, Damini pushed forcibly her glass into Prithvi's hand without
looking at him and jumped, catching the bouquet between both hands, and the
room cheered as she flourished them triumphantly.
'Your
turn next!' momma called, and she laughed.
'I
wish!' with a blink of her eyes...
Her
face was still alight with laughter as she turned back to Prithvi. He was
watching her with an expression so strange that her smile slowly faded.
'Thanks,' she said, looking at the glass he still held, and he gave it back to
her and change his view as if he had forgotten that he had it
There was a pause. Damini was
very conscious of Prithvi's eyes boring into her face again, and she put her
glass down so that she could fiddle with the flowers. For some reason she
couldn't look at him.
'I
suppose you think this kind of thing is all very silly,' she said, a defensive
edge to her voice.
'Why
do you say that?' Prithvi said with surprised voice
'You
don't believe in marriage." rite?? Damini asked instantly
'How
do you know that?'
Damini
thought of all the beautiful girls who had been after Prithvi at least that's
what appeared in the gossip columns, complaining about his coldness, his
selfishness, his callous refusal to commit to a relationship. It had always
been a wonder to Damini that they could all sound so abused by their failure to
turn a heartless apart from the world
into a party-going romantic. It wasn't as if they couldn't have known exactly
what to expect from a heartless cold..person like Prithvi..
'I've
read about you in the papers,' she admitted.
'Oh,
the papers. Prithvi didn't even bother to conceal his sarcasm. 'It must be
true, then!'
'Isn't
it?'
He
shrugged. 'Let's say that I have trouble understanding what all the fuss is
about.' His depreciate glance swept the hall. 'Weddings are all the same,' he
told her arrogantly. 'Everyone looks the same; everyone says the same thing.
The same tired old rituals every time. The dress, the photographs, the groom,
the bride and he directly look into her eyes. She changed her gaze
uncomfortably..'
He
laughed at the flowers that Damini held in her hand, and she pulled them
protectively closer to her. 'I love all the wedding traditions,' she said with
a boldly challenged look. 'If I ever got married, I'd love to feel them all but
not in this way..paused..I mean traditional Indian way.. u know that lehenga or
saree, phera n all..with smile in her own thought!'
'But
what's the point?' Prithvi asked, and Damini could practically see his lip
curling at the idea of her in a bridal red lehenga or may be saree.
'You
can simply signed a register or agreem..(paused).. and get what you want, I
mean can marry ,' he went on, 'but it won't change the fact that when it comes
down to it marriage is a business transaction like any other, and the moment
one party thinks it's not getting its fair share or profit of the deal the
whole thing falls apart. Before you know where you are, all the people who
witnessed the wedding present would get about the divorce!' , 'Isn't it?'
'You're
just a cynic,' Damini accused him with a hurt look but meantime struggling in
her mind why his word hurting her so much..she should not bother about his
words..why should so..he is just a stranger...but yet it hurts..
'A
realist,' he corrected her with a rude smile..
'Marriage
isn't a business transaction. It's about love, commitment, sharing, being soul
mates...'she said with her deep feeling n emotions..
aahaaa...Prithvi mocked "'You're just a romantic,'..
'Why
do people always laugh when they say that?' demanded Damini hotly, forgetting
that she had accused him in exactly the same tone of voice. "There's
nothing wrong with believing in love!'
Prithvi
shook his head. 'It never fails to amaze me how otherwise intelligent people
persist in the overly romantic belief that a wedding is the beginning of
happy-ever-after! I think you have only read about me not bothered to read or
you ever come across the statistics about divorce in those papers you read?'
Damini
stared at him to figure out if he was teasing her, flirting or serious..?
'Of
course I have,' she said with dignity. "That's why you should wait until
you're absolutely sure that you're marrying the right person. And
"wait" does seem to be the operative word,' she added, only half
joking. I'm 26, my little angel..pause..I mean Roshni's married now..& I'm
still waiting for..then smile..! I should never have agreed to be Roshni's
dream wedding in christen style n to be her bridesmaid.' She looked smiling
down at the flowers.
'You
know what ppl say' if little sister is married n elder not than elder one might
never a bride or not find a good soulmate...'
'Don't
be hopeless ,' said Prithvi, irony and something else that she couldn't
identify in his voice. 'You caught the bouquet & you know what is the
importance or meaning of this christen style wedding..rite..??"
'I
don't think it counts if it's thrown straight at you.' Damini sighed,and then
blushed slightly as she caught Prithvi's eye. He obviously had her down as a
desperate girl eager to wed... She really must make an effort to sound more
positive.
'Anyway,'
she hurried on, 'I've decided that I'm not getting married until I know it's
going to be perfect, and in the meantime I'm concentrating on my career.'
'Ah,
yes.' He smiled arrogantly. "The professional woman. Did you say that you
were in PR?'
'Yes.
I'm a freelance consultant,' she said grandly, hoping that Prithvi wouldn't
guess that her efforts to establish herself had so far amounted to precisely
nothing.
"There
can't be much scope for public relations around here,' he commented.
Damini
shook her head so that the hair brushed around her shoulder. 'No, I don't think
anyone here even knows what PR stands for! I live in Mumbai,' she explained.
'I've only come home for Roshni's wedding, and I'm going back on Monday.'
'I
see.' For some reason Prithvi was studying her with a new kind of interest.
'Are you busy at the moment?'
'I've
got several projects in the pipeline,' she said with straight face because of
her own frustration because she knew that on Monday she will be working on her
project that is search for job, interview and calculations of bills and she was
felt guilty that she was lying him..Well no need to tell Prithvi Saxena that,
though.
'I
don't suppose you know of anyone who might be interested in a...special
assignment?' he asked casually.
Damini
stared at him. 'You've got a job?'
'I
guess you could call it that'
There
was a distinctly dry note to his voice, but Damini was too excited to notice.
Prithvi Saxena might not be the most popular boss in the world, but there was
no doubt that Saxena Group was a hugely prestigious to work with. If she could
put Saxena group in her CV, clients would be queuing up to employ her as a
consultant.
'What
kind of a job?' she asked, trying desperately not to sound too eager.
Prithvi
hesitated slightly. 'It's highly confidential,' he told her. 'I don't want to
give too much away until I'm sure I've got the right person.'
Confidential?
That sounded promising. Damini bite her lips with hesitation. 'If you can
consider...I might be interested.'
The
cool grey eyes studied her, and she forced herself to meet his gaze calmly.
'We're talking about an important position,' he said eventually. 'I need
somebody with the right instincts.'
Damini
gazed at his unclear expression and replied: 'I'm completely professional!'
'Professional
is easy.' Prithvi waved a dismissive hand. I'm looking for someone who isn't
afraid to stand out from the crowd. Someone with ambition. Someone who's
prepared to do anything to get the job done.'
'I
'have all these qualities,' she assured him.
'Are
you serious and sure? I asked around about you earlier, and all anybody would
tell was that you were a nice girl. Now, there's nothing wrong with nice girls,
but they don't last long in a competitive commercial situation. I think you're
too nice for me,' he told her bluntly.
'Not
always.' Damini felt lack of confidence suddenly. It looked as if the fantastic
opportunity that had arisen so unexpectedly was already fading from her grasp.
Working for Saxena Group would be the end of all her problems, she thought
grimly. She couldn't let it go.
'It's
my sister's wedding,' she said crisply. 'Of course I'm being nice today, but
I'm quite different when I'm at work.'
Prithvi
looked unconvinced. 'I haven't got time to deal with tears and tantrums and
wounded feelings,' he warned her. I've only got time for results. Are you
telling me that you're tough enough to work with me?'
'I
know I am,' said Damini with a show of confidence that effectively disguised
her inner qualms. She wasn't going to back down now. She needed that job. 'What
do I have to do to convince you?'
Prithvi
didn't answer immediately. He considered the matter, looking around the wedding
hall before his gaze came back to settle his view on Damini's face. 'I'll do
anything,' she said rashly.
Are
u sure..he asked with his raised eyebrow. Damini looked at him and replied
(with more confidence and light on her face )..yes..
'OK,'
said Prithvi. 'Kiss me.'
Edited by ...Tich... - 11 years ago
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