Part 3:
The living room looked well decorated with huge candles blowing in corners of the room and above the fireplace, spreading refreshing fragrances across the room. "Mahira jani please keep the chicken for baking", her mom instructed as she fixed the cushions for the second time as Isha had messed them up to accord her comfort. "Isha kuch to sharam karo, Mahira is doing the entire work what are u doing since morning!". Their mom was ofcourse frustrated with Isha's careless behavior. "aray mom! Someone in the house should be different, so I chose to do the honors", she winked at her while sitting on the sofa again and grabbing a pack of chips. "if everyone will be disciplined then this wouldn't be a family but a military school don't you think?"She smiled at her own dialogue while her mom shook her head mumbling "is ka kuch nahi hoga! Pata nahi CA kaise bani !" to this isha immediately replied "by being a bookworm!" and gave a smile that reached her eyes with a mix of naughtiness.
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"Mom do I really have to go with you guys?" Vivan said casually showing a lack of interest in family gatherings as he always found them boring, and his reserved nature rebelled. "ya mom leave him here with his law books!" Krystal said smoothing the creases of her golden anarkali dress with minimal make-up and matching jewelry. Vivan was never a socialite and preferred to study his cases rather then hanging out or "chilling" with friends. He always thought of these boring parties useless and chose to save his voice for court only.
"I don't want to hear anything you are coming with us that's it. Come on! get up and be ready in 10 minutes!" Ofcourse his mother's orders cannot be denied, or the Governor General as their father used to refer to her. Krystal was jumping in happiness and she loved seeing such frustrated expressions on Vivan's face. She widely smiled at Vivan and left the room winking "ya bhai get ready".
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"Hellooo bhaiii" Isha opened the door and jumped on the most comfortable sofa in Karan's room. She loved annoying him by addressing him as bhai as she knew he hated it and made him sound old! But ofcourse Isha being Isha never stopped. Karan who busy getting ready for the past one and a half hour turned out looking gorgeously handsome, especially with the crunched up eye brows due to Isha's antics. Isha giggled looking at him and was enjoying his expressions. "one more time u call me bhai and all your secrets are out to mom and dad" while fixing his hair for the nth time he laughed mocking her. Isha stood up and went towards Karan. "I never tell u any of my secrets u can't blackmail me like that!" while standing in front of Karan not breaking the wall of confidence she folded her hands against her chest.
Karan knew everything, ofcourse through Mahira! He just laughed at Isha making her plain stupid by thinking of herself as the smartest. Isha got conscious and knew something was wrong. She pretended not to be nervous in front of Karan. "umm whatever.. .just come down guests must be here". She left while still murmuring to herself
you are so gone Ms.Mahira Singhania
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knock knock
knock knock
"Ill get it!" he ran to open the door, one last time checking himself in the mirror placed in the hallway, being the beauty conscious freak he was.
Finally reaching the door Karan opened it welcoming the guests with his million dollar smile.
Saying the formal Hi's and Namste's he let the entire clan enter their welcoming home. He was about to close the door when his eyes caught something shimmering.
Her back was facing him and she was struggling with the fabric that covered her body so gracefully, that was stuck in the car.
Without hesitating for a moment he moved forward and spoke
"ek minute, kia kar rahi ho, phat jayega" he sounded concerned about her dress that seemed expensive.
"to kaise nikaloon?" she asked innocently, knowing full well the door was locked and Vivan had the keys.
"emm pin hai?" he said searching for a hair pin in her long silky locks.
After she handed him the hair pin he unlocked the door and released her duppatta.
"Thanks" she said showing her gratitude with a smile that mirrored his.
After being done with the formal talk he invited her inside and she couldn't help but feel awed at his gesture and concern for her favorite duppatta.
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Everyone greeted each other and the guests felt extremely honored to be treated with so much respect and warmth. Isha moved towards Krsytal and moved her hand forward with a huge smile "Hey.. Isha". Krystal smiled back and shook hand "Krystal". "Come sit". Both girls started with their formal talk and in no time started discussing their current crushes as they had both reached the comfort level, clearly making the ooh's and aah's
On the other side, Karan and Vivan were talking about their respective jobs while the parents recalled their memories.
Even though Karan had a child's like innocence and Vivan was way mature than his age, they got along well. Karan instantly felt like if he had an elder brother it would be like Vivan.
Despite being with the younger fellow, Vivan was already enjoying with Karan. Most guys of his age, he found them obnoxious and immature, although he found Karan to have the same innocence that he found in Krystal and could see that same determination in his eyes that he felt at his age.
Suddenly Vivan coughed as his throat irritated him. "Vivan beta are you ok? Main pani le ker aati hoon", as she was about to go but Vivan stopped her, "no no aunty please I will go grab it myself" being a gentleman he didn't like his elders serving him. Mrs Singhania smiled at his gesture and nodded in agreement.
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Despite the fact that some of the complicated foods were prepared in this kitchen, it was clean and shone, clearly showing the effort of the ladies of the house.
Mahira was adding the final touches to the desert when she felt one of the contents to be lesser than needed.
She felt someone's presence and keeping her full concentration on the desert she spoke.
"uh oh…mom..i think I messed up the desert…cheeni kum hai" while she tasted it again making sure if there was more sugar needed.
Her crunched up eye brows and a worried expression made her look like a five year old, adorable would be just something that described her situation right now.
Seeing the beauty of infront of him and her child like innocence he involuntarily smiled and forgot what he came for.
Without turning around she instantly added more sugar and mixed for two minutes before tasting it again.
"Damnn! Its too sweet now" now came the frustrated expression and Vivan began to enjoy more and more with each passing second.
"uff ab kia karoon main!" she said patting her head in frustration and worry expressed all over her face.
"acha aap try karein shayad apko theek lage" reacting on impulse she took a spoonful of the sweet and shoved it into his mouth. When she realized who it was it was too late. Like they say it takes 0.19 seconds for human reaction to take place. Added by his handsome features and deep brown eyes her human reaction took a few more seconds before she could comprehend the occurrences of the last few minutes.
She bit her lip in embarrassment and was equally impressed by this handsome lawyer in front of her.
"umm I m sorry I thought it was my mom.. I was just… " she fumbled with her words and was just using her hands to explain her situation but made herself look like a fool, a cute one. "its ok, I m sorry I just entered in the kitchen… wanted to get some water" Vivan tried not to make the situation awkward and drank water while just looking around the kitchen.
After a few seconds of silence she spoke "umm I m mahira" she smiled and found his gentleman behavior so appealing "Hi Vivan.. really sorry again I shouldn't have…"
"no no its ok.. I should have looked who it was before starting my rambling!" Mahira just laughed at herself.
Even though Vivan tried not to make eye contact with her, he just couldn't help but look into those eyes who had the same depth that he felt within himself and instantly he felt a bridge of connection forming.
"aapka ghar bohat acha hai" he said looking around the interiors, and truth be told he was impressed by the fine details and the structure.
"thank you" she blushed as if he had given her the compliment and not her house.
Vivan being the man of few words, that is outside the court, he left with a smile not wanting to start an unnecessary conversation and left after placing the empty glass on the counter.
While Mahira just smiled at this well mannered adult totally forgetting about the desert she was fussing over minutes ago.
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Everyone was now in the hall. Mahira entered with some appetizers and greeted the guests. As she moved towards the seating area where Karan and Vivan were sitting she avoided eye contact with Vivan and just smiled.
"Isha chalo dinner table per serve ker lete hain" their mom grabbed Isha to the kitchen despite knowing she had no interest whatsoever . Looking at Isha's expressions of helplessness, Mahira and Krystal shared a mutual laugh at the victim being dragged.
__________
"Hellooo everyone!" Rohan entered the house like a wind leaving everyone surprised in the house, especially the guests. Looking at everyone's expressions of confusion, surprise and getting a look of 'seriously dude' from Karan Rohan knew he just made a joke out of himself. "oh.. hi…. Everyone."
"umm.. that's my friend Rohan. He is just like that.. ghar mein ghusne ki aadat hai!" everyone laughed at Rohan's silliness and continued with their conversations.
Karan walked towards Rohan and took him to a corner. "Seriously dude! Kabhi to knock kerke enter hua ker!"
"sorry man! I didn't know yeh log itna jaldi tapak paregay"
"oyee shh! Chal ill introduce you to Vivan".
Vivan and Rohan were introduced to each other and Vivan liked priceless friendship they had shared, remembering his older times. "where is aunty? Haven't seen her in so long?" Rohan asked while searching for Karan's mom as they both shared a mother-son relationship. Rohan was always treated like their own son in Karan's house, and sometimes it would seem like Rohan is their actual son and not Karan.
Karan pointed towards the kitchen, and continued chatting with Vivan.
Rohan smiled and waved a 'hi' to mahira on his way to the kitchen. Since Mahira and Karan were together in high school, Rohan always had an interaction with her, and the two would often gang up on poor Karan.
"Hello beautiful"! Rohan entered the kitchen. the compliment which was meant for Aunty but accidently got recieved by Isha. Isha, who was sitting on the counter and pretending to decorate the already decorated salad plate, jumped off the counter
whoa Hot!
and murmured to herself, "never looked that hot" she just felt an instant attraction towards him but also felt annoyed at his boldness. Like she wasn't bold.
Isha couldn't understand why he looked so dashing today, she had seen him before too but he never looked this good before. maybe it was the blazer and that crisp shirt.
Even though Rohan was Karan's best friend, he and Isha never had much interaction due to their different circles and unlike her older siblings she had studied in a different school. Isha only used to see him on facebook with Karan's pictures and such when she tried to stalk Karan, in the name of revenge.
Isha, not trying to show that she found him hot, pretended to ignore him and continued with her work.
"chal ab chor mujhe" Rohan broke the hug due to Aunty's fake anger at him. "hamesha last minute per aata hai aur poochta hai koi kaam hai aunty… dramebaz!". Rohan moved his hand through his hair and bit his lips at aunty's anger. "chal ab go to the basement and bring the drinks". To this Rohan immediately turned to Isha, "haan isha chalo basement se drinks le ker aao". Being the lazy bum he was , so conveniently made it seem like the order was directed at her and not him.
"Excuse me?!" Isha exclaimed at Rohan so-called frankness. "Excused"
with that he took a cucumber and messed up the oh so delicate arrangement and left to obey the order aunty had given him, leaving a flabbergasted Isha behind
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The dinner went well, the Vermas enjoyed the food and both families exchanged compliments on the cooking skills of the ladies, while the ladies remained modest.
Soon it came the turn of the desert and Mahira sent a silent prayer heavenward hoping it would turn out just right and more than others she was concerned how a certain someone would like her desert.
Vivan watched her fidget silently and shook his head at her seriousness for such a trivial matter.
He gladly took the desert and shoved a spoonful in his mouth. it tasted good, more than good. he smiled looking at the bowl and she closed her eyes in relief.
He mouthed a "perfect" without looking at her and she mentally performed a cartwheel at her achievement.
Last night's events left her dreaming into the fantasies which were far different than the reality.
Even though it was nothing big it had a slightly bigger impact. Occurrences of yesterday's evening flashed before her eyes as she drank her morning coffee while stared at the set of color schemes laid on her desk.
Normally the dark shades are used to represent despair, gloom and sadness but she smiled regardless. For it was not the color but a certain someone.
He had the features and the personality that one could not forget, at least not her. Intentionally or unintentionally she had absorbed the depth of those dark brown orbs he owned.
Dark brown, just like her favorite dark chocolate, just better.
Mahira smiled again at the memory and her silliness that he got to witness. Normally she'd be cursing herself for acting so stupid but today she was just smiling, for some reason it didn't seem that bad.
_____________
He disconnected a call with a dull "bye" and stared out the window in despair, feeling engulfed with the dullness that his house became haunted by, years ago.
Sure Rohan was a man who accepted life for whatever it had offered and tried to be the strongest in pretty much every situation. But he had his moments too. Moments where he felt lonely for living alone in this house, which was only a monument of bricks and cement, something that could not be considered a home.
Even though Karan mostly spend his time with Rohan and preferred to hang out at his place rather than his own house as he always wanted privacy something which he thought he never got at his home, Rohan still felt alone as he did not have a family like his.
True he had considered his friend's family as his own and they loved him more than his own family would, but at the end of the day he could never forget that he was abandoned by his own family that was supposed to support him in the times of pains and happiness. What if Karan wasn't there? What would have happened to him?
He didn't even want to think of that possibility, one of the fewest things that sent him on the path of darkness and gave him a shiver in the spine.
He would have never known what it's like to have a father who advised his son at every stage of life, a mother who would always wait for him to return late at nights, a loving sister who would pretend to hate but secretly wish for the best. He would have never known if it wasn't for Karan and his family.
A sad smile crept his lips as he thanked his lucky stars for having him met with the world's best friend who came in a package deal with the world's best family.
_______________
She tightly tied the laces of her dark brown leather combat boots and opened the top two buttons of her thin khaki jacket and ran her hands through her long silky locks to get her face cleared of the frizzy feeling her hair spread.
The winds gushed by her face and she closed her eyes in relief and moved in the stable to bring her horse out of his home, to feel the fresh air.
He moved his tail and bent his head a little as she caressed his hair and his face giving him the much needed affection that she hadn't been able to in the past few weeks due to her busy schedule.
She climbed her horse and made herself comfortable on his back and held the halter tight.
As she rode around the farm, the fast running of her horse and the winds blowing against her face moving her hair in every direction, the big dark green trees that were found at a distance gave her a sense of calm and purity.
Horse riding was one of her favorite activities and something she looked forward to all week long.
Just when she thought she was the only other being besides her horse she saw a khaki wrangler and instantly knew who it was. And then she remembered where she had seen it and who could it possibly belong to.
She rode her horse towards the jeep and saw a guy in his mid twenties clicking away capturing the beautiful field.
She smiled as the sense of familiarity ran through her and she took her best possible guess and said "hey" with a little hesitation in her voice as she had only seen his back.
He replied with a slight smile of amusement at the encounter as he turned around still holding his big black camera.
"tum yahan?" she asked surprised, still sitting on her horse as the horse was now standing still with frequently swaying his tail.
"em…aik photo assignment tha to isi liye…" he said as he showed her the camera in a casual manner.
"mujhe nahi pata tha ke tum horse riding bhi karti ho" he said clearly impressed by this hobby of hers.
Moments ago he was just admiring the miracle of nature and now her presence only intensified the beauty.
He was mesmerized as she sat still on the horse staring right back at him with a genuine smile, as the wind caressed her hair and the white tail of the horse.
" bohat purana shauk hai, aur ab aadat" she said casually.
"tumhe nahi pasand?"
"pasand hai bohat pasand hai" Karan said looking straight at her keeping the warm smile on his face.
"lekin who bas-"
croooshhkkk
His heart started to beat faster and his smile had vanished.
Krystal got confused at the sudden change of the behavior and looked at him and then in the direction of the road from where a white car had just ran screeching.
She looked at him for an explanation, but before she could ask he ran throwing his camera on the passenger seat and accelerated the car far away from the farm while her words were left unsaid.
She stared at the grass in utter confusion and continued riding with a dull expression.
_____________
"I think you need to calm down and think this through"
"you out of all people are telling me to calm down? You?"
Mahira took a deep breath and tried to convince her friend again.
"its not completely his fault you know"
"it is, it is his fault! And I will make sure that that man goes to jail!"
Rolling her eyes at the nuisance her friend was muttering Mahira disconnected the call with her final statement.
"I have to go work on the assignment I'll talk to tomorrow until then think rationally and don't make any decisions emotionally, later"
Her friend drove her crazy at times but she was also the one who supported her in the most needed situations. Now it was her turn to be there when she needed her.
Thinking about her friend's tragedy she began to ponder on how life can be so unpredictable.
The same love birds who in college were the most popular couple and always remained together for five long years before finally getting married, were now on the verge of separation or even divorce perhaps.
Who knew that the same two people who claimed to love each other unconditionally were only bonded by a few conditions?
Would she have to deal with a similar situation in the future? What would happen if she fell in love and ended up like her?
A bunch of what if's rushed in her mind along with the thought of a certain someone as she tried to clear her mind and resumed working.
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Buddy either me (-Grace-) or Zainab (zainab.A) for PMs
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