Multi Author Fan Fiction - Anokhi chp 2 pg4 20/04 - Page 2

Sorry, one more thing - what is the language preference? The prologue is in Hindi + English. Can I continue that?

Originally posted by: gurl-enchanted

Sorry, one more thing - what is the language preference? The prologue is in Hindi + English. Can I continue that?

I don't think there is any rule like that. If I knew Punjabi, I would've used few lines in that too to keep it realistic. So, Hindi /english combination is pretty good.

Originally posted by: gurl-enchanted

Sorry, one more thing - what is the language preference? The prologue is in Hindi + English. Can I continue that?

mid you are adding any other language other than English please provide translation for easy reading :)

This is a great start. Looking forward to read this story. 

Multi author FF is a very nice concept💖
I really enjoyed Anokhi’s character build up in the prologue.

Looking forward to the next update😁

Chapter One

Shaurya Sabherwal entered the library, grumbling under his breath. The guard had locked it early tonight, leading him on a chase around the campus to get the keys. The sky looked ready to pour at any moment, and he wanted to find a good book and wrap up for the day.

Switching on the lights, he divested of his jacket, heading towards the fiction section. As he rounded the corner, shock made him come to a sudden halt. A girl was sleeping against the rack, her head resting on a stool. Books were scattered around her, encircling her like a nerd’s boundary.

“What the hell?” Shaurya uttered, too flummoxed for words. Moving closer, he recognized Anokhi Bhalla, her long hair tied in a simple ponytail. Her mouth was lolling open, a look of pure exhaustion on her pale face. Under the fluorescent lights, the dark circles under her eyes looked even more prominent.

He knelt beside her in concern, extending a hand towards her shoulder and then pausing. What if she needed this sleep? He remembered the conversation he had overheard today. The girl looked nearly spent, the long working hours taking a toll on her body. As he debated the best course of action, sooty eyelashes fluttered open slowly. Her warm brown eyes met his, sleep cradled in their depths. For a moment, she looked blissful, a beguiling smile on petal soft lips.

And then she shrieked bloody murder.

The shrill sound pierced his sensitive ears. “Anokhi, for God’s sake, SHUT UP!“ He scrambled away from her, one hand on his much abused ear.

“Oh my...my goodness!” she jerked to her feet, placing a shaking hand on her chest. “Shaurya Sir, you nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here?!” Her voice was high pitched, eyes wide in fright.

Indignation coursed through him. Here he was, trying to decide the best way to help her and there she was, looking like he was an axe murderer. “Interesting question, Miss Bhalla,” he remarked, sarcasm lacing his voice. “But I believe I should be asking you this. What the hell were you doing in the library at this time of the night? Do you think this is your second home; that you can just find a cozy corner to doze off with no care in the world?”

Anokhi grabbed her purse, looking lost and confused. “I am sorry, Sir…” She bent again to rearrange the books on the floor. “…I didn’t realize when I slept off. I was studying and…” She trailed off at the expression on Shaurya’s face.

“Miss Bhalla,” he crossed his arms, leaning casually against the bookcase. “Do you know there are rules in a campus? And that you continue to flout them with shocking ease? Or do these facts completely escape your notice?”

“Sir, I-“

He held up a hand. “I am not asking for apologies. But answer me this. How do you intend to score in an institute like mine if you keep losing track and getting locked in libraries? You have a scholarship coming in, Miss Bhalla! If you can’t handle this pace, why don’t you quit your side businesses and keep your focus where it belongs?”

An enigmatic smile quirked the corners of her lips. She appraised him coolly, adjusting her bag over her shoulder. “If I quit my side business, as you call it, then how will I pay for my books, my food, the very roof over my head? My scholarship money only covers my fees.” Stepping closer, she folded her arms in blatant imitation of his posture. “Everybody is not as privileged, Shaurya Sir. Or has that escaped your notice?”

He scoffed lightly, untangling his arms. “You mean to say that in this whole wide world, and your close knit circle of Kapurthala, there is no one to support you financially? How did your parents even let you come all the way here with zilch?”

This time she chuckled, looking at him like he was a jester. “Let me? Let me?! Sir, if it was left to my family, I would be married off to the first buffoon who accepted me. I would have had to leave my studies, stay at home and play the dutiful wife and daughter in law!”

“Aren’t you a little too flighty in your head, Miss Bhalla? What’s so bad about all that?”

She gaped at him. “It is not bad. For the woman who wants all this in her life. I had other dreams, Sir. I deserved a choice, a chance to achieve what I wanted out of my life.”

“You know, Anokhi,” Shaurya straightened, a hard line to his mouth. “I don’t understand ungrateful women like you. Their parents give them life, raise them, take care of them, spend money so that they can grow up and become capable functional human beings. Then those same women go and break the hearts of those who love them. First their parents, then their husband…They break their homes without a care, leave young children alone without a mother...without one backward glance... just for their blasted ambitions…”

He took in several deep breaths, a crippling pain rising to the surface. Shaurya felt untethered and naked, like his whole soul was laid bare with those few words. Anokhi’s gentle eyes were watching him with something akin to pity. It pissed him off to the core. He didn’t need her bloody sympathy!

Pushing his glasses firmly up the bridge of his nose, he gritted out. “Anyway…Now that you have wasted my valuable time, I will allow you to waste it further by dropping you home. Get your things.”

She grabbed his arm as he made to leave. “I hope you will not find me too bold, Sir,” she whispered softly, gazing beseechingly into his eyes. They were speaking to him in a language of their own, bringing his breathing to an even rhythm. Her touch seemed to steady something feral and unhinged within him. 

“You are a good man, Shaurya Sir, capable of much kindness and generosity. I can say this with experience. You seem to despise me, and yet you have cared for me. Often against your will. You have stood up for my sister when she needed protection from my abusive jiju. This, when my own parents never said a word in protest. You wanted me out of this college and yet it was you, who offered me my first job at the college cafeteria. Well, I messed that up, but at least you tried. How many care this way in today's day and age?”

She removed her hand, leaving him feeling strangely bereft. “Please don’t let your past dictate your present. You are stronger than that. Don’t let your demons consume the goodness in you.”

“Is your degree supposed to be in Economics or Psychology, Miss Bhalla?” There was a teasing note to his voice that brought an answering twinkle in her expressive eyes.

“Maybe I am just a budding expert in Mr. Shaurya Sabherwal.” She winked, leaving him stunned at the answering squeeze in his heart.

I was right, Shaurya mused, as he picked up his jacket and followed her out the door. There is something special about Miss Anokhi Bhalla.

* * *

Thank you, Champa ❤️

Originally posted by: Champa2012

Awesome work. 

I love it...upfront Shaurya has made known his ideas ...but Anokhi still sees the goodness in him...their convo was so them😊💖...lovely write-up...thnx🌹

Thank you so much ❤️ I am happy you liked this one. Shaurya and Anokhi do have that sweetness to them. They are unique in their own way 😊

Originally posted by: GHKPM

I love it...upfront Shaurya has made known his ideas ...but Anokhi still sees the goodness in him...their convo was so them😊💖...lovely write-up...thnx🌹

I really liked the first chapter. I really liked the library conversation. Really liked the sassy Anokhi telling him things as they are. Shaurya walking away with that thought was endearing.