He Loves Me Not - Part 29

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Chapter 29

4 Months Later – London 

“Time is sometimes a healer and at times the most painful phase in a person’s life. I am glad it evolved you to be someone you didn’t expect to be. In just 4 months you have transformed yourself, dumping your past feelings and remorse. So, how do you feel about that Khushi?”  Payal asks.

Khushi drops the pen back on Payal’s desk. Payal is her friend cum health counselor who saw Khushi’s despair and decided to help her strengthen her heart again, to divert her mind from the thoughts of the man she loved incurably and make her embrace a future without the grief of being heartbroken. The initial days of Khushi in London had been like a fish without water. She had everything around her which could move her on in life but she didn’t know how to try? Where to start from? Arnav’s memories haunted her day and night. There was always a hope that he was sorting the things out in his family and coming back for her. But that hope seriously started affecting her mental health. Whenever there was a doorbell, she thought it was him. She kept searching her emails and social media accounts to see if he has left any message to her there. But to no luck. He had told her he wouldn’t let her forget him then why was he not contacting her? Or was that all a lie? The Raizadas must have brainwashed him again and out of guilt, he would have agreed to go ahead with their decisions. It might be easy for him to shift his feelings according to his parents wishes. But for her, he was still an addiction. Taking him out of her mind and heart permanently needed serious help. Payal, offered her that.



“Khushi, I asked you something” Payal repeats.
“Yes, I heard. I feel different now, Payal. Much wiser by my heart. I have learnt to draw a line between reality and my desires. It is not necessary that we always get what we want” she mumbles.

Payal smiles.
“You don’t seem confident in saying that to me. Suppose” Payal gets up from her chair. “Suppose someday he comes back; you meet him out of blue. How do you think you will react? Wont all those budding desires to have him in your life evoke again?”

It’s hard to say that.

“I don’t want such a scenario to happen in my life, Payal. He said he would come for me, he didn’t. I have killed that hope now and have no intentions to give them a re-birth. Arnav Singh Raizada was my past, my foolish longing. I have nothing to do with him now”

Payal nods.

“Do you still Stalk for his news in social media or through your father?”
“I don’t. Never with my father. Dad probably thinks I have moved on. I used to stalk him on news but that was three months back. I don’t want to know his whereabouts or whats happening in his personal life anymore. I don’t wish to know anything about him Payal”

That was another good sign of recovery though Payal can apprehend it must have been hard for Khushi to control her fingers from browsing about the man she once loved.

“Good.  Are you going to inform your father about this therapy you had?”
“No, he wouldn’t be happy to know I had to undergo all of it in his absence. You know how fathers are”
“Yea, I know. Don’t worry, this therapy is going to be our secret”
“Thanks” she gets up to leave. “I am getting late for work”
“Just in case you happen to need me again on this, let me know. I am just a phone call away” Payal assures.
“Thanks Payal. Bye”

****************

Shashi and Buaji land in Heathrow airport, both of them very excited about this trip. They are going to see Khushi after 4 long months. It’s going to be their family re-union.

“Shashi babua, are you sure Khushi is going to receive us here?”
“Yes Jeeji. I have given her the flight details”
“Dad” Khushi waves her hand. She is amidst the crowd at the arrivals who have come to receive their family and friends. The smile on Khushi’s face lights up Shashi’s heart again. She looks normal now but her eyes say something else. Is that lack of sleep? “Hey dad… buaji..” Khushi hugs them both. “I missed you both so much”
“We missed you too” Shashi replies.
“You have lost more weight; don’t you eat well here?” Buaji asks.
“Rightly said Buaji” Akash Sharma comes ahead to greet the two. Shashi and Buaji are surprised to see Akash. “Welcome to London” he adds.
“Akash, what are you doing here?”
“Dad, my car broke down yesterday. Have given it for servicing. So Akash said he would come along”
“That’s great”

Shashi likes Akash’s concern. Khushi had told him she and Akash have been good friends now. He is a gem of a person and very sweet human being as well.

“Give me your bags” Akash drags the trolleys and leads them to the parking.

*****************

Dropping them to Khushi’s cozy little apartment, Akash heads back to his home, promising the Guptas that he would be meeting them this weekend for dinner. And he is also going to accompany the three for sightseeing. Khushi shows the house to them, orders some dinner after which they head back to their rooms to rest. The Jet lag has seriously killed their energy.

The next morning, when Khushi comes out of her room, she finds her father looking for something.

“Dad, what are you searching for?”
“The TV remote. You know I like to watch the news the first thing in morning”

She nods and passes him the remote which is usually below the little table at the corner.
“Coffee?”
“Hmm. Don’t make for your Buaji. She is still asleep”
“Okay”

Khushi makes them coffee and they start talking. Shashi asks her about her new Job.
“I am undergoing the knowledge transfer right now and soon I will start the work. Good people, very sophisticated culture and the pay scale is enough to sustain my bills here. I don’t think I will quit this job any time soon. Plus, they needed me to sign a six months lockdown period which I did”
“I see” Shashi sighs. “You are happy here?”
“Of course, dad. What else do I want?”
“Good that Akash and you are still friends. I thought Mathurs must have fed Sharma’s ears against us”
Khushi stiffens. She wasn’t prepared to talk anything related to Mathurs or Raizadas. But she cannot show that to her father.
“They had. But Akash is a sweet boy. He is not someone who would judge people by other’s eyes”
“Hmm..” he exhales. “Does he … does he know about you and Arnav?”

Another wave of nervousness hits her body but she recollects what Payal had told her. If she wants to be normal again, ignoring her past should not be an option. She has to face it calmly and wisely.
“Yes, he knows”

Shashi sighs in disappointment. But Khushi doesn’t understand why he is so lost and gloomy? It’s been a week since her father finished his tenure in AR Office. Maybe he is missing work and his colleagues there. It is not easy for anyone to forget the glorious period of career that too of so many years. And the way he had to resign; she still feels guilty about it. Had she not messed up in Raizadas lives again, today her father would still be serving them and would be happy.

“Dad” Khushi shook her father to bring his attention back on her. “You don’t seem very happy quitting your job I know”
“It’s not the job I am thinking about, Khushi”
“Then?”
“I don’t think you might have kept any tab on that family. But a lot has changed. Nothing is as before there. Not at AR, neither in Shantivan”

Khushi swallows the lump of fear formed in her throat. Why is her father saying that? She doesn’t know anything what happened back there. There were times when she desperately wished to stalk Arnav’s social profile to get an insight of what he is presently doing but she knew the more she gets engrossed in him, her resolve to stay away will never succeed.

“Something is going on between Ayush and Arnav. I don’t think they are in speaking terms” Shashi adds.

It comes as another shock for her. Arnav is not speaking to his father? Why? What went wrong between them?

“And I have even heard that Arnav is going to move out of Shantivan”

So much happened at her back and she didn’t even get an idea? How would she know? It was her decision to be away.

“Dad, I think there is some misunderstanding. Arnav will never take such a harsh step. He dotes on his adoptive parents. He can do anything for them”
“I know” Shashi agrees. “Serving the last few days in the company, I have seen the bitterness in Arnav’s eyes for Ayush. I don’t know why? The meetings which Ayush attended, Arnav chose to ignore. I initially thought it is because Arnav broke his engagement with Sheetal Mathur and his parents must have opposed. But it is not such a light matter. This seems to be huge. Arnav Singh Raizada has transformed into someone else. Publicly he is hardly available. Even at parties where Ayush and Revati Raizada are present, he is usually missing. For a boy who was so much attached to them, it has to be a strong reason why he is behaving that way”

This is all too much for Khushi to absorb. She wonders what might have brought this change in him? Why now? What is fighting for? And what is he fighting against?

“Sorry to have fed you with all of this mess. You should not bother about them anymore, Khushi. You have a new life now. Concentrate on it”

That’s not going to be easy for her to follow, not when she has heard so much of problems going on in Arnav’s life. She pretends to take it all casually and then heads back to her room to shower and leave for work.

Even at office, her fingers fiddle to dial Aman Mathur at least and check what the matter is. He should know everything related to his best friend. But is it right on her part to do this? What about her resolve of keeping Arnav and his thoughts away from her broken heart? But he is in a problem. Shouldn’t she help him? But, if he needed her help, he would have asked her. If he treated her a part of himself, he would have cared to tell her what went wrong between him and Ayush Singh Raizada. Forget sharing that pain, he didn’t even try to make a contact with her. And here, she is ready to forget it, forgive him and get into the core of his troubles again? No!! That doesn’t seem right. She keeps the phone away and tries to concentrate back on work.

“Guys.. guys… may I have your attention please” her boss Kathrine claps to get the staff’s eyes and ears on her. When there is enough silence in the room, she speaks up. “You must have heard about the Client visit tomorrow. So, everyone please be prepared with all the answers. The Client might want to know in detail about our software. Let’s make sure they walk out impressed”

Khushi nods with others.
“I will pick a few of you for presenting the Software details to the Client during their floor walk. And the new candidates also can take full participation in this. Just enroll your names if you want to contribute in some way and join your seniors in the presentations”

Khushi is glad of such a big opportunity coming her way. She decides to enroll her name. She is already familiar with the code of work here and she would love to present her knowledge before the Client.

To be Continued.



NEXT PART 


Note: Short update but can't help. Will post the next part of this tomorrow. 



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