Sanjay chuckled slowly and noticed Aryan move slowly towards Chandni and the sudden transformation in his face. Aryan's eyes became playful, filled with joy, and his whole body relaxed as if Chandni was the sole source of his happiness. Chandni too looked at him with a mixture of shyness and joy.
Sanjay looked at both of them curiously. He knew his daughter, she wouldn't lie to him. She never knew Aryan before the bus journey, so how come.....
Noticing her father's scrutinizing gaze, Chandni quickly recovered and moved away from Aryan.
"How do you know about Munni?" Both Aryan and Sanjay asked each other simultaneously.
Chandni thought she had to cook up some story so as not to get her father involved in her drama.
"I wo
The last few chapters took a lot out of me, considering I had to maintain a fine balance between the intrigue and the romance aspect of the story. Hope you like it. As always please let me know what you thought of it. Also I mistakenly labelled the next chapter as 81 even though it is 80. I realised it much later. So please dont panic or worry.
"I am not allowed to put in my personal observations in the project report Sir. This is purely for my studies." He hoped he had dodged the question and Sanjay wouldn't press him further. But Sanjay wasn't the type to give up so easily. "Hmm forget about the report Aryan. I can easily see that you are a clever young man. What did you observe here, actually? Be candid." Is this some kind of trap that Sanjay is laying for him, Aryan wondered? But now that he was asked about it he decided he would speak frankly and face the consequences rather than lie to him. Both Chandni and Aryan looked apprehensively at Sanjay, who was sitting in his chair, relaxed, still waiting for his answer. Slowly and methodically, Aryan explained everything that he observed on the floor which e
For everyone in Allahabad, especially the Malhothra family, the Bharadwaj family had died ten years ago, and he very much suspected that they wouldn't like it if they knew that he, Dev Bharadwaj, was still alive! Perhaps even his little Chandni! He knew Chandni had nothing to do with what happened ten years ago but he could never exclude her or separate her identity with her Parents!! He wondered how she would feel if she knew his true identity!! But that situation would never arise of course because he would make sure that it wouldn't. Once he reached that decision, he wiped his tears and went about his tasks meticulously. ***** Chandni showered and took extra care in getting ready. She wore her favourite Kurti with jeans and let her hair out in soft
When he arrived back at home in Mumbai, Aryan was glad to know that his Nani was still in Varanasi and was arriving in a few days. He needed this solitude to deal with the turmoil in his heart. He busied himself in the menial tasks of cleaning up the apartment and stocking up groceries in preparation for his Nani's arrival. He spent long hours at his local gym, returning home exhausted...he did anything and everything which he thought would help keep his mind off Chandni, but they were all in vain. More than her face, her innocent remarks and sweet gestures left such an imprint on his heart that it was impossible to shake them off. How he wished things were simple between them, now he wished he never knew thatMunniwas Chandni!
Chandni forcefully gulped down some milk and left the table, wondering what she must do now to set her mother's mood right again. As always, her warring parents were too busy bickering with each other and were least bothered with what she wanted, how she felt about anything! Nargis approached Sanjay with a worried face. "Sahib, Chandnibitiyahasn't eaten anything properly for the past three days. You do know, right? I have asked her several times, but she refuses to tell me anything. I can hear her sobbing in the nights and even having nightmares. Has something happened at the factory or maybe at Banaras? Do you know anything?" She turned to her husband Rashid who just joined them at the table. Sanjay stayed silent f
And so, it was decided to go to Allahabad but Aryan still refused to immerse his parents' ashes and Nani didn't pressurise him any further. She just asked him to complete all the rituals as per tradition and give himself a few more days' time as she wanted to visit her ancestral village along with her relatives. The moment they arrived in Allahabad, all of Nani's relatives received them warmly and they settled in one of the relative's house temporarily. Aryan hardly knew anyone but tried to be as courteous as possible. But neither his mind nor heart was among them. All he wanted to do was disappear from there and see Chandni, but he controlled himself with a lot of difficulty. All of his mother's side relatives were more than sympathetic towards him and made sure he and Nani were well looked after. Over the next few days, as they completed various rituals, hi
As Aryan walked out of the hospital, Chandni's pining and desperate eyes, full of love that he had so heartlessly rejected, continued to haunt him. He ducked behind a pillar the moment he noticed Sanjay at the Hospital Entrance. He was in no mood to talk to him or answer his questions. Sanjay might even think he had some hand in his daughter's current state!! He walked aimlessly through the streets of Allahabad. The busy traffic, the crowds and hustle bustle all seemed to be just white noise in the background. The city he thought he belonged to, which was once so dear to him suddenly seemed an alien city. Will he be ever happy? He wondered! He lost his parents, his brother and now his love, someone he met so suddenly and fell in love so violently, as if he was meant to be... all along. And now fate made him meet her again, but he walked away from this second chance too. But the pain and longing he felt fo
"But Daddy, he is leaving for Mumbai soon!! He is just waiting for his Nani to come back from her village." Chandni couldn't hide the desperation in her voice. Sanjay smiled softly at her. "Then promise me one thing. Promise me that you will do everything to get your health back on track and get discharged from the hospital. Then you can go and meet him once, this time with my permission. But you too must give me your word that no matter what he says, you won't lose heart and ruin your health again. In matters like this, we need to understand other people's views and preferences more than our own. OK? Try to talk to him and ask him to come and meet me if you can. But don't expect any miracle Chandni!! If he says he is not interested, you can't force him. Don't think that I approve of him as such, but I don't want to see you broken like this. If you think that
In the evening, he thanked Mukesh Bhai and Gurmeet once again, not only for saving his life but also for being such warm hosts. Just as he was about to leave, Mukesh bhai gave him a box full of Rice Pudding and asked him to take it home to share with loved ones. "No, Mukesh Bhai. I don't like sweet dishes at all and I don't have anyone to share it with." He briskly walked away from him, wiping his tears stealthily, as he felt saying those words aloud somehow made it final that Chandni was no longer part of his life. He found an Auto( 3 wheeler Taxi) and gave directions to go back to the Outhouse. Even though it was barely Six pm, due to the wintery weather, darkness has already begun to engulf the town. He watched aimlessly at the flickering street lights and passing by vehicles for some time before leaning back against the seat of the auto, closed his eyes and let the tears roll. His he