Concealed beauty - FF - Ch.4, p.8 - Page 6

Originally posted by: dunceHat

Love the Image you created!👍🏼

and its real-fun to read your version of SSEL! Count me in as your reader😊

Originally posted by: sandiab

Freaking brillaint I just loved it why did it have to end it was so beautiful and really aman and suhani are just really beautiful together. He is showing her a diff way to be its. Its so hard to say which guy I want with her u have made yuvraj so beautiful that u dnt want to see him hurt bt at the same time suhani's surprise at Aman and his ways and his thinking is truly beautiful it makes u root for them to be more than just friends

And update soon this is 1 of my fav ffs along with Ada's 1 

Originally posted by: rbb1

Nice update I like how Aman gave Suhani the idea of opening her own restaurant, now I wonder what Yuvraj will do to get Duhani back, cannot wait to read your next update

Originally posted by: RoshiniManeet

Great story...WOuld love it to bits if the real serial too had someone like Aman on Suhani's side to become a good friend...Brilliant work dear👏

04

"Suhani, what a surprise to see you here!"

Inwardly, Suhani cringed. She didn't even have to turn around to know whom that voice belonged to and neither did she want to face that person. She hadn't been doing much, only sitting on this bench and watching Aman as he snapped photos. Right now, he was standing around a sandbox and observing the children, two boys and a girl, playing in there while their mothers threw excited looks his way.

She had been enjoying this view- it was fascinating how Aman's whole face glowed with life as soon as he was behind his camera. It was relaxing to watch him work - and she was reluctant to turn away, especially since she knew that this would be the end of her piece.

"Ragani, Menka," she greeted the women who had stopped right next to her, swallowing the Bhabi'. Manners also told her to ask about their well-being but courtesy was very far from her mind right now. She didn't even bother to stand up.

"My, my," Ragini said, shaking her head. "Someone seems to be angry with us."

"Well, after the mess we created for Suhani Jiji, why wouldn't she?" Menka chuckled. "Or did you forget how ruthless you are, Jiji?"

Ragini hissed a quiet "Shut up!" in Menka's direction who pouted childishly, before turning her attention back to Suhani, an overtly sweet smile on her lips. "How are you, Suhani?"

"Fine," she replied in a clipped tone.

"Well, we are fine, too," Ragini continued, still smiling sweetly. "And Soumya's amazing, as well! Busy with preparations for her engagement to Yuvraj, you know."

Busy with preparations for her engagement to Yuvraj. Intentionally, Suhani dug her fingers into her thighs, barely noticing the pain. It was nothing in comparison to the flames that were licking maliciously at her heart. Nothing in comparison the cold had that had wrapped itself around her throat and was squeezing painfully.

She couldn't breathe.

God, why did this even surprise her? Yuvraj had always loved Soumya, hadn't he? Of course, he was now going to take advantage of his divorce with Suhani to move in with the woman he desired. That was, after all, what she, too, had been expecting him to do- though, she had been expecting him to do so sooner. Why wait so long?

"Tse, tse, tse." Suddenly, Ragini was sitting right next to her. She put her forefinger beneath Suhani's chin and raised it, looking into her face and shaking her head in pity. "I know it hurts but shouldn't you be happy? You love Yuvraj and therefore, you should be happy that he's finally going to be happy."

"That he's finally going to live a married life," Menka added, giggling. "He's not scared of touching Soumya!"

Touching. An image appeared before Suhani- Soumya and Yuvraj embracing each other tightly, their hands moving up and down each other's body. She felt sick to her stomach.

"Excuse me, is everything all right over here?"

Surprised, Suhani looked away from Ragini and found a concerned Aman standing in front of her bench, camera in his hands. Immediately, Ragini stood up and Menka joined her, grinning with excitement. What the...?

"You are Aman Maheshwari, aren't you?" Ragini said. "An amazing artist and photographer. What were you doing here, if you don't mind me asking?"

Aman glanced toward Suhani, uncertainty glistening in his eyes. "Nothing, ma'am. Just taking some shots."

"Oh, you can call me Ragini and-"

"I'm Menka!" Menka jumped in and pushed Ragini aside a little. "Can you take photos of us? We're just coming from the parlor!" Pointing at her own face, she added, "You wouldn't want to miss this beauty, would you?"

Aman frowned and looked past her toward Suhani, a silent question present in his features. Suhani shrugged, not knowing what to do or say- Ragini caught that little exchange and smiled apologetically at Aman. "Don't worry, you won't have to take photos of her. We were talking about beauty not her."

Suhani was beyond feeling indignant upon such blatant insults. She knew that she was no beauty, people had been telling her this since childhood, always comparing her to either her sister or Soumya; she didn't care, anymore. Though, judging from the shadow that was slowly starting to cloud Aman's face, he did care.

A charming smile unfolded on his lips- Suhani felt her heart skip a beat with surprise. It was such a contrast to the anger that was emanating from him. "Well, you know, I'm more into natural beauty. Which means not only the shell." He eyed Ragini and Menka both meaningfully. "But the pearls hidden inside, too. So, I'm really sorry, but you two definitely don't match my definition of beauty - unlike Suhani who is the epitome of it."

Instinctively, the corners of Suhani's mouth twitched upward. Once upon a time, Soumya used to defend her when someone decided to make a snide remark about her looks, but Soumya defended her differently. She shut the people up by insulting them in return. But never had she or anyone else said that they found Suhani beautiful.

Maybe Aman was just saying that without meaning it but... Suhani couldn't help but relish the pleasant warmth tingling in her chest.

Ragini and Menka exchanged disbelieving looks. "Excuse me-!"

"Already done," Aman cut off Ragini, stepped aside and made a sweeping hand gesture. "Now, if you wouldn't mind? You are disturbing Suhani and me."

For a moment, they looked as if they were going to protest but apparently decided against it. Though, when they were leaving, Suhani called out to them, "Ragini!" She waited until Ragini turned half around, still glaring angrily. "Do tell Yuvraj congratulations on my behalf." To add to that, she smiled brightly and inwardly, rejoiced at the pure indignation displayed in her features.

The moment they were out of earshot, Aman sat down next to Suhani. He didn't say a word for a long while, silently reached into his jeans' pocket and took out a turquoise handkerchief which he held out for her. Confused, Suhani took it but didn't understand what it was for.

Aman motioned with his forefinger to his left cheek and Suhani copied the movement and wiped the handkerchief over her own cheek. It was wet. Damn. Hastily, she turned her face away, feeling it getting warm. Damn. Why did she have to cry, for God's sake? What was there to cry for? A man that had been never hers? A relationship that been nothing but an illusion? Pathetic! How long would she keep crying because of him?

"It's alright, you know?"

"What is?" she whispered back hoarsely.

"Crying when you're in pain."

Suhani huffed. "It's useless."

"It makes us feel lighter. Better."

Does it? "But crying after the past is pathetic."

"Not when you haven't let go, yet."

Suhani couldn't help but smile and when she positioned herself so that she could stare at Aman, she raised both her eyebrows. "How do you always know what to say?"

Aman shrugged, eyes glinting mischievously. "I'm a natural?"

"You don't even know what's going on."

"But I can see that you're hurting," he replied. "Whether you choose to tell me or not doesn't matter."

For a moment, Suhani was silent. Thinking. Crying was a way to express oneself. It did make her feel somewhat lighter. But talking to someone else... would be another thing, completely. "If you'll listen, I'll tell you."

Aman chuckled quietly. "I'll always listen, you should know."

###

"What is going on here?"

Yuvraj couldn't keep the horror from creeping into his voice- not that he had seriously been trying. But could that be held against him?

Last night, Yuvraj had arrived back home very late and had been too tired to inform anyone about his arrival apart from his mother who had been waiting for him. Even after he had made up his mind, he still had kept away from the Birla mansion for a while in order to sort out his thoughts and decide what he wanted to do next. Not that he had come to a satisfying solution but he couldn't have hidden forever, could he?

When back home, he had decided to talk to everyone the next day though... apparently, the news about his arrival had already spread through the house. Or maybe it was a simple coincidence... no, neither Dadi nor Soumya looked surprised to see him - they seemed as if they had been expecting him.

They were sitting in the main hall and were bent over the table, inspecting all the jewelry that was scattered over the table. He had no idea what all of this was but he had seen Soumya holding up a ring to his grandmother, smiling triumphantly and saying, "Perfect for my engagement!"

Maybe he had heard wrong...

"Yuvraj, come here!" he grandma waved him over. "We have been waiting for you!"

"Why?" he asked warily as he slowly walked up to them. "What's all this about?"

Dadi raised her left eyebrow and shook her head, smiling amusedly. "Preparations for your engagement. What else?"

What the hell?! "Engagement? What engagement?"

The smile slipped from his grandmother's lips and she frowned, clearly confused. "Yours and Somya's engagement. She informed me that you finally proposed."

Incredulous, Yuvraj stared at Soumya - who didn't even have the decency to look ashamed, no, she was smiling sweetly at him. As if nothing was amiss here, as if she hadn't done anything wrong. As if they were alright. What was wrong with this woman?

"Frankly speaking, I'm glad you took the initiative," his grandmother continued while she examined a heavy, golden necklace. "I always knew you weren't happy in your marriage with that girl." She grimaced slightly. "And Soumya is a lovely girl. Beautiful and perfect for you. And most importantly, you love her- a very good choice, darling. We already arranged everything, the party will be on Sunday-"

"Dadi, wait!" Yuvraj interrupted her. "I don't- I never-"

"I-I think this is going a little too fast," Soumya hastily intervened and jumped to her feet. "He's probably still tired from his trip."

Dadi nodded in understanding and put down the necklace. "You can go rest, Yuvraj. We'll handle everything here."

"No!" he protested vehemently. "There's nothing to handle! I-"

"Come, I'll even prepare your favorite juice," Soumya cut him off once again, walked toward him and grabbed his arm, pulling slightly at it. "You do look tired."

I don't believe this. Angrily, he shrugged off her hand and focused on his grandmother. "I didn't propose to Soumya. I wouldn't even dream of it!"

Now, he had the full attention of his grandmother who frowned at him and glanced between him and Soumya. "But Rags and Menka told me the same: that you proposed. Why the sudden change of mind? I thought you love Soumya?"

"My divorce hasn't even been finalized," he reminded her, though deep inside of himself, he felt an uncomfortable feeling rising. He knew that his Dadi never liked Suhani much but... she was awfully inconsiderate of their relationship- which wasn't completely over, yet. Maybe... maybe she had always known what Soumya was up to? Supported her, even? "And I don't love Soumya," he added sternly.

Clear shock spread over his grandmother's features and she stood up slowly, her face paling. "What are you saying? What happened to you in these few days that you were away?"

"Da-Dadi," Soumya spoke up hesitantly. "I think he's... he's still feeling bad for Suhani. I-I will talk to him, if you don't mind."

For a moment, it seemed as if his Dadi was going to protest, though she obviously thought better of it, nodded and left them both alone. Yuvraj was anything but amused as he glared at Soumya. "What the hell are you doing? I never proposed, why would I do that?"

Soumya crossed her arms over her chest, her sweet demeanor changing into something cold and stubborn. "I don't care. You're being stupid- if I have to force you to your happiness, I will do that."

"Oh, and my happiness is with you?" he asked, his tone mocking. "You betrayed your childhood friend, God knows you could easily betray me and my family as well."

"Why do you keep bringing this up?!" she hissed furiously. "Stop pitying Suhani, already!"

"There's nothing to pity, anyway."

Yuvraj closed his mouth, which he had opened to retort something not-so-nice, and turned around to find Ragini and Menka entering the house, the former looking put off. Great. Just what he needed. He should leave, there was no need to engage in meaningless talks with these three, but he couldn't help asking, "Excuse me?"

Ragini rolled her eyes. "Looks like Suhani has already moved on."

Yuvraj's heart stopped beating for a split seconds- only to resume it in a faster, more painful tact. A lump rose in his throat, making it difficult for breathe freely. "What... what do you mean?"

Ragini stared at him strangely, but it was Menka who answered, chuckling all the while. "Arey, we met her in the park, earlier! And there was this artist, Aman, remember? You went to his exhibition."

"I got a beautiful image from him," Soumya confirmed.

"Exactly! So, we asked him if he could take photos from us and Rags Jiji was her usual evil self and insulted Suhani badly."

"Menka!" said Jiji growled warningly, though Menka ignored her.

"So, Aman sir got all angry and protective and when we left, he sat down with Suhani- they were sitting really close!"

Lips parted a little, Yuvraj simply stared at Menka, determining whether she was actually telling the truth or not. But there was nothing on her face apart from honesty and excitement- as if she had shared a huge secret with them all. Which she probably had. Yet...

Aman? That artist? The one whose picture Suhani had liked but Yuvraj had already bought said picture for Soumya? How was that even possible?

Even if Suhani was angry with him right now and was determined to get separated, Yuvraj couldn't believe that her feelings for him changed so quickly. No, this was not possible. Menka and Ragini were joking with him - or they misunderstood something.

He turned away from them, his chest constricted painfully, and walked away, trying very hard to ignore how Soumya was interrogating the other women about Suhani and Aman. How disbelieving yet, hopeful she sounded. All the thoughts about this fake engagement Soumya had started and about clearing this with his grandmother left his mind, his focus completely on Suhani.

I have to see her.