Riya walked down the street, as she looked at the ground, there was the coal black, newly built road, she stepped on it nearly climbing her each step as her body was exhausted by all day of work and her legs were screaming at her to stop but all she did was walk, walk and walk, hoping to find solace in some place! ANY DAMN PLACE WOULD DO!!! Her heart screamed searching a place to find peace in it. But peace! It was far from her heart now. She looked at the moon; it was not the full moon night as she usually noticed the moon to be but infact it was a night with less than a quarter of the moon. Great! Now the moon too turns his back on me! She thought and looked accusingly at the poor moon and soon it slid away in the clouds and Riya sighed.
Arjun, on the other hand, looked here and there while driving his SUV like a maniac. He kept glancing at the roadsides to find her but no signs! He ran his right hand in his hairs while keeping the left one firm on the steering wheel. Then he changed his hands and put the right one on the wheel and pulled and pushed the gear mercilessly by the left one. He was frustrated at this girl! She was a cop for god's sake! She should know its not safe for a girl to walk on the road at this hour and that too when the roads are too much silent. He saw here and there just to have a glance of her but right now nothing seems to be in his luck. He then look outside the window and saw the sky darkening and the clouds making their way above and he was sure it was going to rain cats and dogs! So he needed to find her soon, before some trouble finds her. But usually it's the other way around; SHE finds the troubles, every time.
Riya folded her hands and continued walking down the lane when she heard some noises from the near by building. She got suspicious as a girl was screaming and she couldn't help but walk towards it. When she went near it she saw a girl being forced by three of the goons, they were asking her for her jewelries and she was crying out for help.
Seeing the poor girl in a mess Riya took out her gun and stepped forward, "Stop or I will shoot!" said Riya holding the gun firmly in front of them.
The goons at first got scared but then shrugged her off thinking her to be any normal girl with no guts to shoot, "I am warning you again! Leave the girl!" said Riya with a tone having finality but still not sure about the fact that she will be able to shoot or not coz it was few days back only when Arjun unknowingly forced her to shoot.
"What will you do, stubborn head!" the goon teased her and the last two words were too unbearable to her.
Seeing her warnings turn to nothings, she held the gun down towards one of the goon's legs and shoot!
The goon who called her stubborn head was now lying on the ground wincing and crying in pain. Riya came in front of him while the other two went a little back, fearing her. She looked down at him and he too tried to move away but she looked at him in the eyes and said, "never ever call me stubborn! Understand!" Saying so she saw the girl and stretched her hand towards her, the girl held it and Riya saw the other two goons move near the girl to hold her again.
"Don't! Don't even think about it!" Riya looked directly in the eyes of the goons and they were scared. She held the girl's hand and took her away towards her home.
---
Arjun, who was looking here and there for Riya, didn't even know why was she so angry in the first place! At first Shree, Riya and Chotu were having fun and chatting around and then he came there and exchanged few words with them too and then suddenly she was so angry that she left in a huff. And then again she burst out at him in anger few minutes back! She never did that! Then what happened suddenly?? He was lost in his thoughts when he found a girl crying out for help. He at first was shocked and then a bit scared that it might be Riya calling out. He quickly got out to look when he already found her in a jiffy, and going towards the building, in an alarmed mode with her gun.
Then he saw all the happenings that took place there, how the ever so scared Riya shot the man just for calling her stubborn! What was with this word? Riya was not so touchy about being called out in different names. Shree and Chotu often teased her by different names then why was 'stubborn' such a touchy topic!
Just then he remembered why Riya was so damn angry, that she walked away from the ETF headquarters.
~Flashback~
Shree and Chotu were playing something on Shree's new tablet where Chotu was loosing every game in his turn. Seeing this Riya entered and gave Chotu a knowing smile and challenged Shree on his behalf. Then Shree played the game and made a high score where as Riya lost with many points.
"I won! I won!" cheered Shree for himself.
"No way! I was so close! I am sure I can beat you in the next game!" said Riya and they played a couple of games more but Riya lost every time.
"Ree, baby, I am sooo tired of winning now! Let me get a sleep till you practice your moves for the next game. Okay!" Shree teased her and yawned dramatically and pretended to sleep on the chair. Riya played the game a couple of times and was ready to beat him now.
"Shree, I am ready lets play!" challenged Riya.
"Okay!" Shree got up lazily yawning and again made a high score to which Riya lost again.
"Its not fair Shree, you are an IT freak and you played this game millions of times so just wait a sec! I will surely beat you!" said Riya not able to digest herself loosing. She was hell bent on defeating him now.
"Come on, Ree. Stop whining like a child!" said Shree and Arjun entered.
"Whining and stubborn like a child? Yes she is!" said Arjun who was in a good mood this morning as today they had no cases. So they were free. But just as he entered inside and made that comment, Riya got up and left the room.
-(This was the first time he called her stubborn)-
Just as Riya left Rathore came and announced a case. Chotu and Shree sulked as they expected the day to be free but Rathore glared at them and gave a 'get-to-work-now!' look and they scattered away leaving Arjun and Rathore in the room.
"What happened, Rawte? Don't you want to leave for the crime scene!?" asked Rathore in his ever so stern voice and Arjun glared back equally.
"You go ahead. I will catch you soon on the scene." Said Arjun and left without his permission.
Rathore shook his head in negative and moved on the crime scene with others.
Riya was working by collecting notes of the witness's statements and other people, when Arjun came in, in a foul mood. His body language always gave away the secret of him being in any type of mood. Riya and Shree passed each other a look and Chotu too noticed him being angry. So without any further useless words, everyone worked the whole day long on the case, which was so tiring for all of them.
After inspecting the crime scene and getting the statements, everyone returned back to the ETF headquarters. Shree and Chotu were working on the call tracer in the evening when Arjun asked Riya for her notes diary to read the statements of the witnesses. She handed over her diary to him and went away to get a cup of coffee. She returned with it when she saw that Arjun was not there and he probably left with her diary too. She shrugged it off and thought of taking it back afterwards and stayed in the conference room where they were discussing the case altogether.
Just then Rathore came in the room and Shree, Riya, Chotu came and sat on the chairs of the big ETF table. Rathore explained all the details and took into notice that Arjun was missing. He didn't pay any heed to him and continued discussing it with other members. In the middle of the discussion Rathore asked what the victim's family has to say about the murder when Riya searched her diary and remembered it to be with Arjun. She told Rathore that she has every statement written in her diary and she will get it from Arjun.
She left the conference room and went near Arjun's cabin. She knocked and received nothing as an answer. She peeked in and saw nobody in the room. Then she saw her diary to be placed in front of his chair. She went in and got a hold of it. As soon as she was about to leave, she saw a photo frame turned upside down on the table. Suddenly the curiosity took over her and she held the photo frame up and saw a photo of Arjun holding Roshni in his arms and smiling to the camera. Soon her eyes became moist seeing Arjun's smile and she kept the diary down and touched Arjun's smiling face from her fingers.
Just then, when she was about to leave the photo frame as it was, Arjun entered and saw her holding his photo frame and touching it. The anger boiled inside him and he was going to erupt like a volcano any moment! Riya saw him suddenly and became scared. She kept the frame in its place and looked down. Just then she saw him coming near her in full anger and moved back. He was coming forward and forward when she hit the wall behind and he pinned her on it by keeping his hands on the either sides of her.
"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" Asked Arjun and clenched his jaws glaring at her.
"S-sir wo- wo " Riya struggled to find the right words but as she saw the intensity of his eyes, she forgot everything.
"Maine tum se dur rehne ke liye kaha tha na, Riya!?" he said and hovered over her more, towering her.
Riya looked away and was so scared to even look at him.
"Meri taraf dekho Riya, aur jawab do!!" he said looking at her angrily.
"Sir-r mai wo- mai pho-photo nahi dekhna chahti thi. But-" she tried to say looking down but Arjun said in the middle.
"But kya Riya?! Wo photo frame apne aap tumhare haathon me pahuch gaya?!" asked Arjun sarcastically and Riya looked at him. "mai pehle bhi keh chukka hu, Riya! Dur raho mujhse! But you! You don't even listen to me! Such a stubborn girl you are!" saying so he moved away disgusted at her stubbornness.
Hearing the word for the second time and that too with no fault of hers, she became angry now.
"haan haan! I AM STUBBORN!! Happy?" she shouted for the first time on him and he looked at her confused on her sudden outburst. "I am stubborn and that's how it is! I am stubborn and I am going to be it!" she said as she was deeply hurt and tears rolled down her eyes now.
"Riya." Arjun called her name softly without even noticing it. And his hand went to touch her shoulder.
"NO!!" Riya pushed away his hands and said, "don't come near me!" she warned and walked away from him.
Riya went out crying and left the premises. Arjun stood there comprehending the scene in his mind again. At first he was in anger and she was scared and then suddenly she burst out at him. Her eyes held so much pain even though she was angry that he could not forget them. Her angry form was so not Riya-like. As if she was someone else he didn't even know.
Just then Shree came and peeked in his cabin, "SIR?"
Arjun saw Shree and gestured him to come in.
"Sir where is Riya? Rathore sir asked her for the statements and she came here to take her diary-" saying so he found the diary on the table, "oh here it is." He went towards it and held it in his hands; "I will go give this to Rathore sir."
Saying so he left and Arjun got what was wrong. Again! Again he was carried away by his anger without even thinking for once! Why does it affect him if Riya was holding that photo!! But then again the question remains why was she angry so suddenly?
Just then it became dark on the outside and it looked like it was about to rain heavily. Then Arjun thought of her going out in such a climate and ran behind her to stop her but she was nowhere to be seen. So he got in his car to find her.
~Flashback ends~
Now he knew why was she angry. He called her stubborn. But then why was she angry on that!?
Shree and Chotu teased her by calling her girly, fragile, too soft hearted to become a cop and even they called her silly at times so what was so wrong with STUBBORN!?!
But what he didn't know was that he was not the only one with a tragic past.
---
Precap: Arjun Suryakant Rawte, the fearless super-cop, feared one thing, just one thing! Silence, and moreover, he feared Riya's silence. Coz usually her silence brings a big storm with it. And the storm tends to break everything. Last time when she was silent, he lost his car and now again she was silent! God knows what he will loose now.
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MUSKAAN
