Posted:
Originally posted by: meenu_taarey
Congo on new thread
Coming to the chapterIts was superbbbBeautifully describePlz update soonN pm meTake care
Chal koi gal nahi. Lekin kal pakka? Roj update milne ki aadat ho chuki hai toh ab withdrawal symptoms ho rahe hain. 😛 😆
Originally posted by: nividances
You already got your Rabir dose today with Kelly's update.😛I'm writing but too many ideas running through my head so it's taking longer than it usually does. But I'll post asap pakka promise.😊
Nivi! It already Saturday here! You late! Hurry Nivi! Please please please!
Sorry to have kept you all waiting. It was a busy week so I didn't have time to write the chapter until yesterday. Hope you like it though.
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Chapter 57:
Sneha stepped out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. Walking towards her own bedroom, she took a detour to check on her younger daughter. Opening the door to Gunjan's bedroom, she was surprised to see her daughter sitting up in bed with a laptop.
"Gunjan beta?"
Looking up from her laptop screen, Gunjan gave a small smile to her mother, who walked into the room and sat at the foot of the bed.
"Beta? Why are you still up?"
Shrugging, Gunjan minimized the window on her screen and placed the laptop on her bedside table. "Couldn't sleep."
Sneha nodded understandingly as she rubbed her daughter's feet. "You did way too much running around today Gunjan. You shouldn't be on your feet so much. Throw me one of those pillows. The swelling will go down faster once you elevate your legs."
Gunjan looked on with an appreciative smile as her mother adjusted the pillow to a comfortable position under her legs and continued to massage her feet softly.
"Did they have a fight?" she asked faintly.
Sneha nodded without looking up. "You heard them then?"
"Just jiju's voice; he sounded pretty angry. Is everything okay mom?"
Sneha looked towards her daughter's concerned face. "Don't worry about it beta. It will all be fine. Anyways, it's pretty late now so try to get some rest."
Gunjan nodded as Sneha exited the room with a tired sigh. Reopening the browser on her laptop once her mother had left, she looked thoughtfully at the screen for a brief moment before shutting down the machine and turning off the lights.
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"Mrs. Gupta called to confirm that she'll be at the reception with her husband and two children. I have a few more people who said they might be coming as well. I know that's adding more guests to an already tight space, but maybe you can work something out with the resort Pallavi. Would it be possible to have the reception extend from the ballroom into the adjoining covered patio? That should double the area we have to wo..."
"Sneha mausi?"
Sneha stopped mid-sentence and looked away from the wedding planner, who was furiously taking notes regarding the last minute changes, towards her niece standing at the entrance of the living room.
"Haan Rachna?"
"I'm going out for a bit. Is that okay?"
Sneha smiled. "Of course beta. There's no need to ask. In fact, why don't you take my car? There's a few things that I need to send over to Prakash ji, so can you take them with you?"
Sneha began to stand up from her seat, but sat back down when Rachna shook her head. "I'm not going there."
"You're going to go talk to Kabir, aren't you?"
"Last night wasn't enough for them?" Pihu called out, having overheard Sneha's question, as she took off her shoes and placed her keys on the table in the foyer.
Standing next to Rachna, Pihu nudged her sister teasingly and laughed. "Don't you think you two love birds should save some fun for after the wedding though?"
Rachna looked away, while Sneha sighed. "Pallavi, can you please just give me two minutes? I'll be back."
The wedding planner nodded with confusion, as Sneha walked out of the living room, leading Pihu and Rachna with her. "Pihu, you go into the kitchen and get some juice for yourself. Give a glass to Gunjan as well; she should be upstairs in her room."
Pihu chuckled and teased. "Rachna, tell Kabir that he owes me for last night's planning! Hint, I've been craving Ben and Jerry's strawberry cheesecake ice cream since last week."
"Pihu." Sneha called out sternly, eliciting another giggle from her older niece.
"Okay okay, I'm going." Pihu walked to the kitchen with an amused smile.
Once Pihu was out of earshot, Sneha let out another sigh and looked at Rachna, sadly noticing the dark circles and puffiness around her niece's eyes. Before Sneha could say anything however, Rachna spoke.
"Sneha mausi, he's not there. He wouldn't have gone home after last night. Anyways, I'll be back in a bit. I've already called a taxi so I don't need your car."
Rachna slipped on her shoes and quietly exited the house, leaving Sneha worried and confused.
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He watched the ocean inattentively, taking another long gulp from the bottle, throwing it hard when he found it to be empty. The glass shattered as it hit the gray tetrapods in front of him, but the pieces were quickly swept away by the powerful tide. He heard the shuffling of her sandals as she took a seat and let her feet hang over the edge of the concrete path. He noticed that she kept almost a foot of space between them as she sat down beside him. They both looked out at the endless miles of dark blue water stretching out in front of them; the only sound was that of the foamy waves hitting the concrete structures that lined the Mumbai shoreline.
He sensed her movements out of the corner of his eye as she inched closer to him, stopping when she was close enough to rest her head onto his shoulder comfortably. He could smell the familiar faint coconut scent wafting up from her slightly damp hair, mixed with the salty sea breeze. She placed her left hand carelessly on his thigh; the morning rays of the sun catching the diamond on her finger and making it sparkle brightly. Her other arm lay loosely across her chest, her hand holding on to his right bicep, her fingers tapping out an arrhythmic pattern.
He stiffened under her hold, removing her left hand off of his leg, pushing her right hand off of his arm, and shrugging her head off of his shoulder. She let him have his way, allowing him to maneuver her limbs off of his body. He shifted a few inches to the left, recreating the twelve inch gap between them. She slid closer to him again, adjusting herself into the same position as before, her head on his shoulder, her left hand on his thigh, her right hand resting on his bicep, her fingers drumming randomly.
"Stop it." He said the words coldly, this time jerking himself away from her as he stood up. He turned away from the ocean, heading towards the street; she grabbed his hand quickly to stop him from leaving. They remained unmoving, becoming a curious sight for the few cars and pedestrians that shuffled along Marine Drive that Wednesday morning. He attempted to twist his hand out of her hold, but she only laced her fingers through his, entwining their hands unbreakably.
"There's a Skype call with Mr. Arora in less than an hour. Do you want to take it yourself or let Shivani handle it?" Her voice was quiet, but firm. He pulled out his cell phone with surprise and saw the reminder flashing on the screen, along with a few missed calls from his manager, Shivani. She continued to maintain her tight hold on his left hand and rested her head against his leg, while he dialed Shivani's number with his free right hand.
"Shivani, handle the Skype meeting yourself. The revised designs should be in the last email I sent you. Just type up the meeting notes and email them to me by tonight."
He hung up the call and slid the phone back into his pocket with a sigh, rubbing his forehead tiredly.
"Let go." He tugged against her hold again, surprised when she freed his hand without a protest.
He took a step forward, when she grabbed his hand again.
"I didn't let go so you could leave. Sit." She spoke with the same quiet voice as before, her words laced with an authoritative undertone.
"Please, not now." He pleaded, his voice softening.
She loosened her grip and stood up from her spot. Letting go of his hand completely, she stepped in front of him and held out her palm. He resignedly pulled out her keys from his pocket and placed them into her hand.
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"One caramel macchiato and one caffe Americano."
"That will be 350 Rs ma'am."
Handing the bills to the cashier, she placed the change back in her wallet and grabbed the drinks from the counter. Walking over to the corner-most table in the empty cafe, she took her seat. She sipped her milky caramel drink while he stared wordlessly at the steaming black coffee that she had placed in front of him.
"Drink it. Your headache will go away."
He looked at her curiously, while she ignored his gaze and stirred in a teaspoon of sugar to make the bitter black drink more palatable for his taste. "I know you hate it, but it always works."
She went back her own drink, keeping her eyes lowered, while he reluctantly took a few sips of the bitter coffee.
"How did you know I would be there?" He questioned quietly.
"The same way that you know how I say I'm not ticklish but I really am. Or how I laugh the hardest at my own jokes. Or how I never sleep without a teddy bear. "
He looked startled, as he dug through his pockets for a piece of paper. She held it out to him, the paper that he was looking for, still not meeting his eyes. He took it from her silently and placed it on the table, noticing its crinkled state.
"And the Skype call?" He questioned again.
"I pay attention more than you think I do."
His expression softened as he recalled the vicious words he had used last night. "I di..."
"I know you meant it." She cut him off, negating the very statement he was about to make.
"I'm..."
"Don't be." She interrupted him again, finally looking up into his eyes this time, preventing him from voicing the apology that he had been about to utter.
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❤️ Nivi
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