"I am sorry", yes these were the only three words in his Insta story, he had also put the screenshot of the same story in his Twitter account with the only hope that the person he apologized to sees it. There were absolutely no other means of communication left, and he knew that this time he was wrong, he wronged to the person who had genuinely cared for him and he as usual never thought about it....
But seems that every one else has seen that message. He couldn't believe that there was actually a prime time news debate on his status.
The panel included his PA Vivek and Dada Babu's close associate Vidur uncle, for some reason he never could see Mr. Vidur Bharadwaj as the legal advisor of his company, he was more of a personal Dada Babu's connection than an employee of this company. Anyway the discussion made him forget everything for a moment
"Dekhiye main keh raha hoon, Mahajan family me kisi tarah ki koi problem nhi hai", said Vidur, "aur ye maafi Digvijay ji ne kisi family waale ya kisi business associate se nhi maangi hai..."
Before he could even end his sentence, someone whom he recognized as a senior PR officer of Aroras say, "agar koi personal maafi hoti to personal level par maang leta na, ye aise public forum par kyu. Arre ye sab bataane ki baat hai, sach to ye hai ki Vidur ji aur Mahajans saare jaante hain ki inki company me internal succession war chal rahi hai, iski wajah se saare ek doorse ka kaam kharab kar rahe hain, companies achha perform kar nhi rahi hai to ye ab ye maafi maangne ka natak..."
Digvijay couldn't hear more and switched off the TV,
"Yaar itni media peeche rehti hai tere?? Tune apne aur Simone ke rishte ko chhupaaya kaise hai ab tak", DJ remembered what he had once asked. "Ab mere saath rehne lage ho na tum bhi seekh jaaoge, Mahajans banna bhi ek art hai", DJ boasted with his usual arrogance. "Nhi seekhna hai dost", he said, "ye to personal life hi nhi bachegi, kya pata kal ko tum Ruhi ke saath dinner pe chale jaoge to koi news waale debate rakh denge ki ye dinner personal tha ya Mr. Shroff ko apne paale me wapas lene ke liye koi plan" And both of them laughed like anything, DJ himself doesn't remember when he had last had this genuine laughter.
"I had told him about mine and Simone's relation", DJ thought to himself, "a relation, I had sworn to myself of hiding. No one except him, not even my mother, my biggest confidant knows that I still meet Simone. I had told him about the doubts of Mr. Shroff has about me, I confided nearly everything to him, and yet I couldn't understand the important place he was slowly taking in my life! Why I always laughed in his absence on how much of a fool was he to believe that I could befriend a threadbare (Fateechar) like him, was I really smirking at him or was I trying to convince myself that it was always a plan and he was a mere pawn in it...."
The phone ring broke DJ's chain of thoughts, half hoping that it was his call, DJ checked, as expected it wasnt him, it was Simone...
"Kahan hai tu", Simone said even before waiting for a hello, "Kal ek message drop kar diya ki tabiyat theek nhi hai, aaj nhi milenge aur subah se social media me laga hai, stalk kar rahi hoon tujhe, subah se green dikh raha hai"
"Haan tabiyat theek nhi thi to office nhi gaya", he replied, "Ab ghar pe bore ho raha tha to Social media posts check karne laga"
"Dekh mujhse jhooth mat boliyo", he voice was a bit strained now, "maine dekha hai tune ye sorry waala post daala hai, kahin ye Ruhi ke liye to nhi hai na? Us din usne hum dono ko saath me dekh liya tha aur roti hui wapas chali gayi, tab to tu bada shant tha, ab kahin us din k liye to sorry feel nhi kar raha hai? Dekh main jaanti hoon ki she is being shattered in all of this, aur mujhe uske liye bura bhi lagta hai, lekin tere mann me uske liye kisi bhi tarah ki feelings aaye ye main sehen nhi kar paati hoon, bhale hi wo feeling sympathy ki to kya nafrat ki hi ho, ab tu chahe iske liye mujhe selfish bol ya..."
"Selfish to tu hai hi..", DJ nearly shouted before she could have completed her statement, "ye message jiske liye hai na, wo agar ye padhkar mujhe call karta to meri takleef jaanna chahta, meri tabiyat ka samajhna chahta, teri tarah sirf apne baare me sochkar mujhse ladne nhi aa jaata. And if it comforts you, ye message Ruhi ke liye ya uske dad ke liye nhi tha, aur na hi Dada Babu ya meri family me kisi ke liye tha." He hung up the phone after this, without even waiting for an answer.
He suddenly felt that he was sitting in front of him.. And he had thought such imaginations only happen in TV shows and movies..
"Agar wo selfish hai, to duniya ka koi bhi insaan selfless nhi ho sakta. Us ladki ne tujhse pyaar kiya, sachhe dil se chaaha, main tere pyaar ko bhi doubt nhi karta lekin khud soch kitni baar tune isse apne pyaar ke badle kurbaani maangi, isko ek second woman ban kar rehne ko kaha, iske dost ne jab isse 75th anniversary ki footage maangi tab tune isko mana kar diya, humesha ye tere liye khadi rahi, bina kisi expectations ke, ye selfishness hai? Arre tu to isko iske dost se baat karte hue dekh kar bardasht nhi kar paata, aur expect karta hai ki isko tujhe apni patni k saath rehte dekh bhi insecurity na ho?"
"Maanta hoon tumhaari baat", DJ replied, "ab tum na hokar bhi meri soch ko influence karne lage ho, ab ye bhi bata do ki tumhe kaise yakeen dilaoun ki main sach me apni galti samajh gaya hoon"
"Ye to tumhe khud sochna hoga", he said before vanishing, "lekin usse pehle Simone ke saath jo galti ki hai usko to theek kar do"
DJ smiled and messaged Simone, "Ek din me do baar sorry bolne ki addat nhi hai na, warna tujhe bhi sorry bol deta, kisi aur wajah se mann bhara hua tha, wo tujh par nikal gaya" Simone quickly replied with a smiley and statement, "Koi nhi tere is gusse ki ab tak adat ho chuki hai, waise I hope jiske liye bhi tera message tha wo tujhe jaldi reply kare"
"I hope the same",DJ replied to himself before recalling the instances...
It was his mother who had first noticed the insecurities in Kartik and decided to play into it. He himself wanted to destroy Yuvika, and what better way to take away her love and that too in a way which makes Yuvika think she is the culprit.
And he got a perfect way to start it on Yuvika and Kartik engagement day.
There were multiple media houses present in there and family was answering their questions, when Jogi one of the reporters asked for his family background. On being told that he was of a humble background and unemployed, he and other media persons started mocking him that he is now getting everything on a golden platter without working trifle, so now he can lie down for life and enjoy his wife's and in laws money. Everyone was taken a back at this acquisition, and while they were still contemplating, DJ played his card..
"This person is nothing of this sort", he shouted stunning the media, "He has huge potential, had got a highly paying job at Canada which he rejected since he wanted to work for this country. He denied the high positions of Mahajans thinking that it might be a gift to their son in law and not a capable employee, but now that you all question, I would like to say, you all know that Yuvika and I don't share very cordial relation, we have been loggerheads for days, so its for sure that I won't hire her fiance just for the sake of it. Right here and now I offer him the position of VP of our IT vertical which currently is under my extended portfolio.
He paused for a moment before turning to Kartik, "Do you accept this? And I don't say this out of nowhere. I actually got the interview transcript and Live project details which had landed you that offer from the Canadian company. They are our partners for AMEA region."
DJ could see Bhumi, Yuvika all nodding in a no but Kartik accepted this offer, much to Yuvika's dismay. For the first time that night after the engagement ceremony he had heard both of them fight, much to his amusement. This continued as the time progressed, every time Yuvika's vertical performed better than the IT vertical, Kartik's male ego came to play and he had started trying to defeat Yuvika in any way possible. You are right, he wasn't flawless, but who is then.
Also the help Yuvika got from Vidur uncle's son Neil (who worked for Aroras hospitality unit, made Kartik insecure and jealous, due to which sometimes he made statements which affected Yuvika. Even if Kartik didn't feel bad, DJ was always there to ensure he should. Slowly and steadily KarVika were drifting apart and DJ had keen eyes on Yuvika, she often explained Kartik that DJ was a bad influence, but if anything that only further infuriated Kartik, who took it as an attack on his decisions, when he never questioned hers. Many times, Yuvika genuinely blamed herself for their strained relations. Gargi and DJ enjoyed to the core, but they didn't know that this arrangement was bringing in another side effect.
Due to their being in same vertical, Kartik and DJ often had to work together for late hours, and the office tours too, when they slowly started enjoying each other's company. Unlike his other subordinates, Kartik never feared him or his anger, often compelled him come out of his self-made shell.
He remembers how the day when KarVika officially broke their engagement, DJ was sad, no it wasn't against his plan, he actually wanted them to break up after their engagement so as hurt Yuvika the most, but when it actually happened, he just couldn't see Kartik breaking down. He spent hours with Kartik that day, even asking Kartik's mother to sleep. Partially to cheer Kartik, and partially to express himself, DJ told him about Simone and his sham marriage with Ruhi. A secret he had hid from everyone.
Slowly their relation changed from a supervisor subordinate to more of friends who shared many things with each other, just that DJ didnt want to accept it, He often told to himself that Kartik is a mere pawn and that this exhibit of friendship is a just a sham. But whom was he fooling? Slowly DJ himself started ensuring that Yuvika and Kartik become direct competitors because Kartik wanted to avoid this, even if it meant some loss to his unit for negation of the entire plan for which Kartik was selected as a pawn,
Gargi had got super annoyed at it and that day came to his office asking DJ to ensure that for the leadership summit, Kartik is sent from their vertical, since Yuvika is representing her vertical. DJ knew that Kartik wouldn't like it and so didn't want. Listening to his baseless excuses, Gargi got angry and shouted "Tum bhool gaye ho kya DJ ki Kartik ka humein istemal sirf aur sirf Yuvika ko parehsan karne k liye karna hai", to which he replied, "Haan mom mujhe yaad hai aur main aisa hi karoonga...", however he couldn't complete his statement as Kartik had entered his cabin. His expressions were clear that he had heard everything.
"Sorry Mrs. Mahajan", Kartik said, "Aap agar Kartik ko istemaal karne ki cheez samajhti hain, to ab uski expiry nikal gayi hai, ab aap isko use nhi kar paayengi. Resignation letter aapko mil jaayega."
He left after this line without even having a look at DJ. It wouldn't have been so disheartening had he shouted at DJ or accused him for breaking his trust, but he left like DJ didn't even exist and this was something DJ couldn't tolerate... The person with whom he shared his darkest secrets doesn't even think him worthy of being questioned or given a chance to explain...
He tried to call Kartik and even tried to send him messages but his calls weren't answered and messages weren't delivered, so finally he took last resort to ask for forgiveness through social media, so what if it would become a matter of national debate, at least if will ensure that Kartik will get his apology..
"I am no one to forgive you sir", this was a message from Kartik, "if you really need my services, I can rejoin your team"
DJ read this message twice, never (even when they weren't in friendly terms) had Kartik been so formal...
Also he didn't need his team member back, he had many of them, he needed his only friend back......
DJ didn't know if he should be happy that Kartik replied or sad that probably the friendly relation that they had was lost for ever......
Please suggest what shall he do....đ¤ˇââď¸
