Thank you all!! π€
Here is the next update with a precap this time! π
"Sometimes all it takes is a simple apology
Arjun..."
"You are right" Arjun said
Riya
didn't push him; she smiled and went back to her position. After a few minutes
of silence she spoke,
"Last night was..."
Arjun
waited and then prompted her, "was?"
She
smiled into his chest, "it was...nice!"
Arjun
laughed. "Nice?"
"Ya, I really enjoyed it"
"Ya,...Me too" he said putting his
cheek on top of her head.
"So, tell me more about Anu" Riya said
after another small pause.
Arjun
started telling her more in detail about his sister and Riya soon realised he
was very protective of her and adores her a lot. They ordered food from a
nearby restaurant and continued to talk well into the night. When they finally
realised it was quite late they bid good bye and retired for the night.
Next day
morning Arjun reached the ETF office quite early, with only one thing on his agenda
for the day β apologize to Sameer. He informed Riya he'll not be able to pick
her up today. When he reached office Sameer Rathore was as expected already
there and looking at some file in the conference room. Arjun went in and took
his usual seat. Rathore looked up surprised; usually he was the only one in the
office so early in the morning.
"Arjun! You are early today? Kya hua? sab
thik hai na?"
Arjun
shrugged and said everything is alright.
Rathore
nodded and went back to his file. Arjun took a deep breath and was about to say
something when Rathore's personal phone rang.
"Hello"
Rathore
glanced at Arjun before continuing with his call, "Yes, I reached alright"
"I remember Tanu" Rathore smiled
"Okay. I'll see you in the evening. Bye"
He cut
the call and went back to his file but looked up taken aback when Arjun said, "Tanvi bhabhi ka phone tha?"
Rathore
stared at him not knowing what to think. "Ya"
was all he could say.
Arjun
nodded, he wasn't looking at Rathore. After a small pause he said, "Remember in college we made a pact
that...whoever we'd marry...they'll have to be friends just like us, so that
there wouldn't be any..." Arjun looked up at Rathore and trailed off.
"So there wouldn't be any differences between
any of us..."
"Par differences toh aagaye Sameer...and not
because of them. Only if we knew then how things were going to turn out..."
They
stared at each other for a few seconds before Arjun looked away guiltily
"I haven't even met Tanvi yet"
"And whose fault is that? I sent you a
wedding invitation right? Aunty, Uncle, Anu everyone came Arjun...except you!"
Rathore's voice was now a little angry
"I know. It is completely my fault"
Rathore
was by now completely taken aback and lost. Where was this coming from after so
many years? Rathore wondered. He stared at Arjun as he sat there looking at his
fingers, with some expression on his face...which Rathore realised was guilt.
Was this the day Arjun Suryakant Rawte was actually going to apologise to him?
Rathore raised an eyebrow and looked on amused at his best friend's struggle.
True his
friend's words had hurt him but, Rathore also knew that when it had happened
Arjun wasn't...well he wasn't himself. Though he was hurt and angry at the
beginning, Rathore later on cooled off and tried to contact him again, only to
find out he'd left. What hurt more than Arjun's words were him slowly
distancing himself away from Rathore. But, he could do nothing.
He has
also been keeping a check on the changes in Arjun ever since Sikander was
arrested. He was moving on with Riya and Rathore was very happy to see that. He
smiled knowing Riya had a hand in this to some extent.
Arjun
looked up at Rathore. The latter immediately worked on his expression changing
it to one of, he hoped, anger. Riya's words were ringing in Arjun's ears, "sometimes all it takes is a simple apology
Arjun..."
"I am sorry Sameer" he said suddenly
getting off the chair. "...for
everything. All that I've said and everything that I have done...I..." He
stopped when he saw Rathore smiling.
"I am serious" Arjun said baffled at
Rathore's reaction.
"I know you are" He said still smiling,
got off the chair and walked to Arjun.
"Who are we kidding Arjun? I knew you
regretted saying whatever you said the minute you said it. I was angry and hurt
at that time but it was a long time ago...I don't need an apology, I need my
friend back!"
This
really long overdue apology wasn't going the way Arjun imagined it. He could
finally see the Sameer he once was and knew...
"Sameer, I am really sorry!" Every word
was dripping with genuine guilt and honesty. Rathore looked at him, nodded with
appreciation for the apology and hugged his best friend after a very, very long
time.
They
broke apart and Rathore asked, "Toh,
Tanvi say milne kab aa raha hai?"
Arjun
smiled and shrugged, "Whenever you say..."
"Good! Whenever you come, bring Riya with
you..."
Arjun
nodded. They talked for a little longer and then being the sincere ETF officers
they are went back to work.
Riya,
Shree and Chotu arrived some time later. They sat as usual around the
conference table and did paper work as they did not have any case yet.
"Sameer, you need to clear these documents
before sending them to the head office" Arjun said and passed the documents
to Rathore.
"Oh ya, I have been looking for these and
Arjun pass me those files please"
Riya,
Shree and Chotu looked up at their two senior officers, surprised at the sudden
change in their tone and the casual use of first names. Riya immediately
understood what that meant but, Shree and Chotu still looked at Arjun and
Rathore alternately with their mouths opens, not quite sure of what they
missed.
Riya gave
a stifled laugh seeing Shree and Chotu's expression and went back to work.
Things were finally falling into the right places and Riya was glad for it.
Riya and
Arjun were preparing coffee for the rest of the team...well...Arjun was making
coffee and Riya was...just there.
"So, did you prepare a very long apology
speech?" Riya asked
Arjun
looked confused, "apology speech? No
why?"
"No, it's just...you came almost two hours
before we came so..."
Arjun
laughed. "No, in fact he didn't let me say
anything"
"Really?"
Arjun
nodded
"Shows how strong your friendship is...even
now after so long"
There was
a small pause before Arjun said, "Thank
you Riya!"
"Thank you for
what?"
"For...everything"
Riya stared at Arjun, "Well in that case...you are most welcome!!"
Both laughed and joined their team.
Precap:
Riya was
preparing breakfast when Arjun walked out of the room β dazed. He looked at
Riya who gave him a sweet smile and wished him good morning.
"Did I...how long did I sleep for?" he
asked with a tinge of surprise in his voice.
"That depends on when you slept" Riya
said
Arjun ran
his fingers over his sleepy face.
"I hope you slept well...I...didn't disturb
you...did I? I tend to talk in my sleep sometimes"
Arjun
remembered her blurred murmurs from last night and smiled.
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