Chapter 21 |
"She certainly did not hate him. No; hatred had vanished long ago, and she had almost as long been ashamed of ever feeling a dislike against him, that could be so called. The respect created by the conviction of his valuable qualities, though at first unwillingly admitted, had for some time ceased to be repugnant to her feelings; and it was now heightened into somewhat of a friendlier nature, by the testimony so highly in his favour, and bringing forward his disposition in so amiable a light, which yesterday had produced. But above all, above respect and esteem, there was a motive within her of good will which could not be overlooked. It was gratitude.--Gratitude not merely for having once loved her, but for loving her still well enough, to forgive all the petulance and acrimony of her manner in rejecting him, and all the unjust accusations accompanying her rejection. He who, she had been persuaded, would avoid her as his greatest enemy, seemed, on this accidental meeting, most eager to preserve the acquaintance, and without any indelicate display of regard, or any peculiarity of manner, where their two selves only were concerned, was soliciting the good opinion of her friends, and bent on making her known to his sister. Such a change in a man of so much pride, excited not only astonishment but gratitude--for to love, ardent love, it must be attributed; and as such its impression on her was of a sort to be encouraged, as by no means unpleasing, though it could not exactly be defined."
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Jeevika woke the next morning with a yawn and a long, lazy stretch of her limbs. She felt relaxed, rested. With a start, the memories of the past weeks hit her, the last being Viren's sudden appearance and his unexpected gentility. She could hardly believe he was the same person. His change of demeanour was confounding, she'd never seen him behave this way - so charming and sweet. The way he had treated his housekeeper and her grandmother had revealed another side to him. And he didn't seem to be holding anything against she, Jeevika, either - another extremely mature aspect of him she hadn't believed was possible.
Thinking back, she realized his maturity was probably due to his father having died, the responsibility of caring for the family being set on his shoulders, taking care of his younger brother...for the first time, she fully realized how much Virat meant to him. Viren cared for Virat exactly as much as she cared for Manvi.
He didn't appear to hold a grudge against her...but she certainly felt terrible. He hadn't deserved such treatment from her, and she couldn't recall ever treating anyone like that in her life. She had often thought before and still wondered now...how she could let him bother her to the extent that she forgot herself, her values, her upbringing, all in an instant? Even when Manny had asked her out - he had been perhaps as officious as Viren - she had still treated him with the courtesy he deserved, being her friend. True, she hadn't known Viren as well, she had a highly biased impression of him, and he had said certain things that had been impossible to overlook...but, it had been unforgivable of her to speak to him so rudely. And his quiet acceptance of the situation now only made her even more guilt-ridden.
And it was possible that it was also due to how much he loved her. That he loved her enough to let go of any grievances and still treat her with the common courtesy he would give any friend.
And while she knew she didn't love him, she still felt a great deal of appreciation and thanks, as well as the wish to get to know him better, to know him for the man he really was.
"Ma, seriously, it'll be awkward."
"Nonsense, beta, don't worry, just be a good boy and ask them if they need any help. I was speaking to Pinky earlier and she told me how much work there's still to be done. Can't you do this much for your mother?"
Viren sighed. When his mother pulled the guilt card on him, she knew very well he'd never refuse her. Vanshika was probably the most amazingly sweet and gentle woman he'd ever known and he loved her dearly. She was friends with the Chaudhary family and so she had suggested to rent out his grandfather's property for the marriage venue and Viren had merely shrugged in response, telling her she could do whatever she wanted with it. At the time, he hadn't made the connection between Jeevika's surname with the one of the family's. But, now his mother had managed to convince him to go ask Jeevika's aunt if there was anything he could do to help.
Part of him wanted to see Jeevika again, yet he worried she wouldn't appreciate him being around. He hadn't forgotten her blunt refusal of him, though maybe this would provide a chance for him to demonstrate he could be a "gentleman".
He was very well aware what her impression of him was and he sought to perhaps improve it. Even if she didn't love him, he at least wanted to be friends with her, he didn't want her still thinking he was nothing but arrogant and rude. He knew he'd done wrong by asking her out without even considering her own feelings in the matter - the whole while he'd been so focused on shutting out his own emotions and then when he'd finally come to terms with them and made a decision, he hadn't spared a second thought for whether she felt the same way in return. He was so used to girls throwing themselves at him, he had been humiliated when Jeevika had turned him down. His pride had taken a beating and so when she had spewed hurtful words and accusations at him, he had only retaliated with some of his own. It made him wince to realize part of him had expected her to be grateful for his attention - the fact that he had chosen her. And Jeevika, being the perceptive woman she was, had not missed that. She had every right to be angry. What had he said exactly? Ah, yes... "I want you to go out with me." Not "Will you go out with me? Do you want to go out with me?"
So, if the Chaudhary family was indeed embroiled in a hectic schedule, he would endeavour to do whatever he could to help - not because they needed and would appreciate help from him, but simply to provide any service he could that was required.
"Oh, I don't want to trouble you," Pinky said anxiously, "You don't worry about anything, beta, we'll be able to handle it."
"Are you sure, Chachi?" Viren asked respectfully, "I mean, I'm at home with nothing to do, so it's really no trouble for me at all. I'd be happy to help if there's any work you could give me."
Pinky shook her head, putting a handle to his shoulder, "Don't worry, we're fine here, but that's really sweet of you to offer -"
"Chachi, there're no rickshaws coming by and I called but it's still not here yet and Madan Chachu took the car, so-" Jeevika stopped abruptly at the sight of him and stared. She was looking quite fresh and pretty in a simple salwar suit. Indian wear suited her, he thought. He offered her a tentative smile, "If you need to go out somewhere, I can drive you?"
She shook her head slowly, still looking at him as though she couldn't believe he was there, "It's fine, I don't want to bother you."
"It's honestly no bother at all, I was just telling Chachi that I'm free with no plans whatsoever, so if you guys need anything I'm here."
She hesitated and for a moment he thought she had been about to refuse, but then after a searching glance over his face, she nodded, "That would be great, thank you so much."
He smiled fully then and pulled out his car keys from his pocket, "Alright, where are we going?"
"Well, the lehenga I'd gotten made for the wedding needed to be altered, so I'm just going to make sure it fits okay and pick it up and then check on the catering place we've ordered from. Is that okay with you? I mean, you probably don't want to be stuck with shopping..."
"I don't mind at all," he shook his head, opening the passenger door of the car for her. She smiled hesitantly at him before sliding in, "Thank you."
"No problem," he got in and turned the key, backing out of the lot and onto the road as Jeevika directed him. Once they were on the main road, there was a strong silence, which he didn't know how to break. He knew part of Jeevika's opinion of him had been founded on his grim sort of demeanour - he was quiet and maybe she had perceived his shyness as arrogance and dislike - but, he simply didn't know what to say at times and he was definitely at a loss for words in the moment.
It was Jeevika who finally spoke up. She fidgeted with her bag as she spoke and he knew she was feeling nervous, "It's really nice of you to help out like this, you really didn't need to."
He decided to be honest with her, "Actually, my mum told me to come and ask if you guys needed anything, but I wasn't lying when I said I had nothing else to do."
"But, you could've said no to her. You could've stayed home. But instead you decided to help..." her voice trailed off and he realized what was being left unsaid. He could've chosen to ignore her, move on, let go. But, he couldn't and that was the simple truth of it. He couldn't move on just as much as he couldn't help falling in love with her.
"It's nothing, really," he shrugged, unsure what to say, then, "Take a left here?"
"Yes, a left here. And umm...I'm really sorry about what I said to you, about how you supposedly treated Maya, when-"
"Jeevika, seriously, don't worry about it. I don't blame you. A lot of people have been deceived by Maya in the past and in the present, including me. And it wasn't like you had the best of impressions from me, either. I can be a prick at times, Virat's told me that often enough. And I said some rude things to you, myself," he chanced a glance at her and what he saw there made him relax. She didn't look at him like he repulsed her...in fact, she looked almost relieved, slightly more comfortable. "Do you think...it would be possible...for us to just start over? As friends?" he asked gently.
She looked surprised, but pleased, "I'd like that."
He smiled back in return, as they reached the place; he parked the car in the front. "Should I stay in the car or come in with you?"
"Whatever you'd like," she replied, "You might be more comfy in your air-conditioned car..."
"I can deal," he opened his door, getting out and walking alongside her to the doors of the shop. He looked around the room as she spoke with the woman behind the counter, an array of silk and chiffon material surrounded them on shelves that took up the entire expanse of the walls.
Jeevika turned back to him, "I'll just try it on to see how it fits."
He nodded, "Okay," and pulled out his phone. A few minutes passed before Jeevika emerged and he looked up from his phone for a brief glance...and ended up staring.
She was wearing the lehenga and if she had any doubts over it not fitting perfectly...he was of the mind that it fit her too well. The blouse was royal blue and ended above her stomach, leaving a flat expanse of smooth, flawless skin, while scooping low at the back. The skirt was of the same shade, but with sparkling gold bead work that caught the light and shimmered beautifully as she moved, checking her appearance by a full-length mirror. The dupatta was sheer and he knew would be a flimsy excuse for covering. He'd only ever seen her in modest and comfortable outfits - he knew very well how much she loved her sweats - that hung loosely over her figure. The exception had been that little black dress she wore at a party, but he could've sworn that still covered more of her than this sultry creation did.
She caught his gaze in the mirror and blushed, turning around, "I think this'll be okay."
He cleared his throat and nodded, "I'll just go start the car."
Jeevika fumbled clumsily with the lehenga. She had not missed Viren's expression as he regarded her in that lehenga, but it surprised her how flustered she was made by it. Beyond that, however, she was also astonished by how easily he had seemed to forgive her and in return had apologized with such quiet humility. While she had felt awful for her treatment of him, he too seemed to regret his words and actions, and again, she was taken aback by his maturity.
She headed back out of the shop, her lehenga carefully packaged in a bag and opened the doors to find Viren standing by the side, speaking animatedly in Hindi with an elderly man. She looked on curiously and caught the gist of the conversation. Apparently his granddaughter's marriage had just gotten over and...the man was thanking him?
Viren caught sight of her and ushered her over, introducing her to the old man.
The laugh lines arounds his eyes deepened as he looked at her and then back to Viren, "She's a very lucky girl."
"Oh, we're not -" Viren began, glancing at Jeevika anxiously as though worried she'd be offended by the insinuation.
"I may be eighty-five years old, but I have eyes. And I have lived many years with a great deal of experience to know when a boy and a girl are in love," the man chuckled cheerfully, turning to Jeevika, "Virenji's a very humble young man, you know. I owe him more than my life for what he and his grandfather have done for my family."
"It's nothing, really," Viren insisted, "But Jeevika's busy, she needs to-"
The man paid no heed to his protests, patting his shoulder fondly and continuing, "His grandfather owns the land my family has been farming on for years. We pay a monthly lease, you know. But this year, my granddaughter was getting married and we didn't have enough money remaining to pay back Vadhera saab. We explained the situation to him and instead of kicking us out or demanding the money back with interest in a month's time, he asked Virenji to make the decision. And you know what this generous young man did? He told me I would pay the allotted money only when we were able and he would not press us with demands."
Viren looked embarrassed by the praise, but the old man happily rambled on, aware Jeevika was eager to hear more. She looked at Viren with newfound respect. It was clear why his grandfather had left the property and most of his money to him when he passed away. Not only was Viren mature, but he was kind and generous as well. She'd heard praise lavishly bestowed on him by not one, but two people now. And these were not individuals of the higher-class with much money and affected airs. These were people who would be considered his "social inferiors" - they worked for him and yet, unlike many people she knew who would take advantage of, or be completely indifferent to their plights, he helped them. And even now, when he was being commended for his efforts, he looked uncomfortable, as though preferring to be out of the limelight. He wasn't proud or pretentious...he was shy and reserved.
She had been so wrong about him.
As Viren drove them back to her aunt's house, she told him, "You'll have to come for the wedding now, you know. No wriggling out of it."
He could tell she was teasing him and smiled, "I didn't do anything, just drove you around."
"That in itself was a lot more help than you needed to do. In fact, you didn't need to help at all," she said seriously, "But you did. And that means a lot to me. Thank you."
"No problem," he responded with a smile, "Maa'll be happy to hear that I've done something useful instead of being stuck lying down in bed all day with my laptop." He parked the car outside the house.
She grabbed her bag and paused before opening the door, "Won't you come in for a bit?"
"No, that's fine, it's getting late and my mother will want me to have dinner with her," he explained.
"Are you sure? I mean, you can have dinner with us, Chachi and Beeji will be super happy."
"Not today, sorry," he replied regretfully and she looked crestfallen.
"Alright, but then tomorrow you've got to bring your mother over for dinner, okay?"
"Are you sure?" he was taken aback by the request, "I mean, aren't you guys gonna be busy? The wedding's two days after..."
"Two more guests at the table won't be any extra effort," she smiled, "We'll be happy to have you, if you'd like to come."
He smiled back, "Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks for inviting us both."
She headed out of the car, waving goodbye and he felt a sort of peace settle over him. Even if she didn't love him, he enjoyed simply being in her company and the thought that perhaps she appreciated his presence as well, brought a smile to his face that he had no doubt would provoke a great deal of inquiries from his observant mother when he returned home.
A/N: Changing it up a bit from the original book, I thought it'd be nice to have some more interactions between Virika post-proposal/fight. Prior to that, we've seen a lot of Viren's observations of Jeevika in a good light, so it's time for Jeevika to take note of Viren's finer points, I thought ;)
Just wanted to address a certain issue which came up. Yes, Jeevika was rude to Viren when he asked her out (or rather told her), but you also have to keep in mind that she had no idea that he hadn't been in the wrong regarding the Maya issue. From her perspective, he had ruined Maya's life and then that was further compounded by his influence of Virat towards Manvi. She loves Manvi more than anything else in the world and to see her little sister heartbroken is obviously not going to put Viren in any favourable light. She's let her prejudice concerning Viren cloud her good judgement - which is what this story is all about, haha.
Coming to Viren, he's a good guy, there's no denying that, and he has good intentions. But in any age, when you meet a person who looks like they've got everything in the world - money, status, good-looks...you might consider arrogance as a part of the whole package. Because Virat was so charming and friendly, Jeevika got along with him, just as she did Maya. Viren, being quiet and aloof, she assumed was due to his pride. Clearly, Jeevika was wrong, yet as I've mentioned in this chapter, you can't say Viren was completely innocent either - he reacted with a lot of anger to Jeevika's refusal and much of it wasn't just because his feelings were hurt, his pride was hurt as well. He hadn't even considered the fact that she might not feel the same way towards him.
Both characters are flawed and have made mistakes :) But, I mean, they're only human, right? And they both regret what they've done, but are willing to look past everything to start afresh without misunderstandings and miscommunication now because they recognize that neither were completely wrong nor right. The difference is that Viren is in love with Jeevika, whereas she's still in the process of getting to really know him.
Anyway, I hope I shed more light on the situation and the characters :) If you still disagree with how they are behaving, that is completely your opinion and I totally respect that.
Do leave your thoughts and views, I love reading what you think <3
Viren caught sight of her and ushered her over, introducing her to the old man.
The laugh lines arounds his eyes deepened as he looked at her and then back to Viren, "She's a very lucky girl."
"Oh, we're not -" Viren began, glancing at Jeevika anxiously as though worried she'd be offended by the insinuation. "It's nothing, really," Viren insisted, "But Jeevika's busy, she needs to-" "As Viren drove them back to her aunt's house, she told him, "You'll have to come for the wedding now, you know. No wriggling out of it."
He could tell she was teasing him and smiled, "I didn't do anything, just drove you around."
She grabbed her bag and paused before opening the door, "Won't you come in for a bit?"
"No, that's fine, it's getting late and my mother will want me to have dinner with her," he explained.
"Are you sure? I mean, you can have dinner with us, Chachi and Beeji will be super happy."
"Not today, sorry," he replied regretfully and she looked crestfallen.
"Alright, but then tomorrow you've got to bring your mother over for dinner, okay?"
"Are you sure?" he was taken aback by the request, "I mean, aren't you guys gonna be busy? The wedding's two days after..."
"Two more guests at the table won't be any extra effort," she smiled, "We'll be happy to have you, if you'd like to come."
He smiled back, "Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks for inviting us both." "
Now Serah I won't spare if u don't update it within two days.😡😡😡😡😡😡😡😡
And i m very serious about it.i know u will get busy from the next month so try to makeup Virika's misunstanding very very soon.😭😭😭😭😭😭
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