Part One
He
had been tapping his fingers on the folder that rested on his lap, since the
past ten minutes. Resting uncomfortably on the black leather cushion in his
shiny limousine with his gaze on some point in space, his mind was preoccupied
with random thoughts. He was not himself tonight. And this was evident to Aakash
Raizada, his elder brother, who sat opposite to him, attempting to read his
mind. After all these years of practice, it was a piece of cake for his younger
brother to mask his thoughts with his steeled expression even though there was
a thunderstorm on the inside. However, this was Aakash- the only person who
knew him through and through.
"Mr
Arnav Singh Raizada! I believe you must be uncomfortable tonight" Aakash said with
a sloppy-sly grin pasted on his face. Arnav turned to look at Aakash, with a You-Dont-Say'
look loaded with sarcasm, and waved his fists in the air like a child at the
candy store. "No Aakash. I'm super-excited about going to a birthday party to
sign this frigging deal that we've been trying to close since four months. And
you know what we're going to do after that. We are going to blindfold each
other and play Pin the Donkey's tail'." And after wiping off the sarcastic
look off his face, he continued, "No seriously Aakash! How on earth did you
even agree to Mr. nut-case' Gupta's idea of a business deal at a birthday
party? I just have two questions. One, was he
out of his frigging mind? And two, were you
out of your frigging mind? I mean how can you even..." And Arnav continued
rambling and swearing, to which Aakash dint even give half his ear. This was
how his baby brother always was. Calm and quiet on the outside, until someone
stepped on his nerve. And then he would snap and not stop until his mood was
lighter, or the other person shot himself dead.
Aakash
smiled at his thoughts. He was just five years old, when he first saw Arnav as
a newborn infant. Ever since then he had been protective of Arnav, although he
preferred not to express his protectiveness. And he knew Arnav too preferred to
keep his awe and respect for his elder brother under wraps. They were always
best friends. The happiness of one reflected off the other. Even though their
parents passed away when he was just twelve and Arnav was seven, Aakash brought
it on himself to look after his baby brother. He loved Arnav more than anyone
in the universe, and always thought of him before his own self. Whatever
position they were today, it was because of their love, unity and respect for
each other.
Arnav's
features were similar to that of their father; in fact, he was a splitting
image of Mr. Ajinkya Singh Raizada. The thirty year old Arnav was gifted with a
strong square jaw, a straight aristocratic nose, a masculine mouth and pale
green eyes that could drag a confession from a corpse. Both the brothers were similarly
built with broad shoulders and a frame of over six feet with an athlete's body,
except that Aakash was an inch shorter than Arnav, and inherited his mother's
brown eyes with flecks of gold in it. They were certainly popular among the
women, and had no trouble having their pick that would last no more than a few
days, or rather few nights'. Who could blame them? They were males in their
prime, who had extra charges of testosterone in them, that could bring any
woman swooning to their feet. However, both didn't have time for relationships
and commitments. And no women complained, for they were satisfied in bed. Very,
very satisfied! After all, no woman could resist the charm that these filthy
rich billionaire's possessed. Not to mention that they were excellent lovers and
paid attention to every single detail to the women, who moaned and screamed
their name in bed till wee hours of morning.
Arnav was still rumbling when they reached the
parking lot of the party. The ambience was beautiful, with lights glowing on
the front lawn of the beach house. The house looked full and noisy with people
giggling as they clinked their glasses in cheer. The driver opened the door of
the stretched vehicle and Arnav cringed his nose after looking around. The
house was noisy as hell and the place was full of chatter boxes with drinks and
cigars in their hands. Aakash nudged Arnav with his elbow, asking him to
replace his frown with a cordial smile. After all, the deal was worth the
money! Plastering a smile, both of them walked into the hall of celebration; Aakash
holding the file, and Arnav with a huge bouquet of exotic lilies in his hand.
"urrrgghhh"
Khushi groaned in frustration as she zipped up her evening gown. Wearing the
figure hugging thin-strapped emerald green ankle length velvet gown was not
half a herculean task, compared to what she was to go though down at the party.
Flipping her dark brown hair back onto one shoulder, she slipped a delicate
diamond chain that had tiny emerald stones wrapping the huge diamond. "The
emeralds; just like your eyes" her dad said when he gifted the neck piece to
her. She applied light gloss and wore her bracelet. One last glance at herself
in the mirror, Khushi cursed herself. She hated attending parties, and always
found a reason to skip them, until now. This party was organised for her, on
the occasion of her 23rd birthday. She loved to spend her special
day in peace and quiet, as she did all these years. But not this time.
"How
many times do you turn 23?" Her dad had asked her a week back, while planning
for the occasion. "But dad! I don't like the idea of so many people in the
house. It's my day. Can't I spend it in peaceful solitude?" And before she
could plead further, her dad raised his hand in the air, cutting her in
between, "Baccha, I've always done what you wanted. I'm just asking a small
favour. I've invited all my clients as well. Just think of it as a formal
party, where you have to come down and cut a cake, say, to celebrate our
happiness. Moreover, if your mom was there, she would have wanted the same"
That did it. Khushi had no more arguments. Presently, smiling to herself, she
looked at her Mom's picture on the wall, and prayed silently for her blessings
from above. After her emotional conversation with her Mom, she straightened
herself as she sprayed her expensive perfume, and walked out the door to meet
the crowd.
She
descended down the stairs and felt all eyes on her. The crowd was a mixed one;
some were her friends, some were her Dad's friends whom she knew, and other's
she didn't recognise at all. She greeted people with her captivating smile as
they wished her Happy Birthday Ms. Gupta', and returned a polite Thank You'
to everyone.
She
made her way through the crowd searching for her dad, who must have been lost
talking to one of his friends. After all, such were the occasions where one
could meet each other keeping aside their busy schedules, and share stories of
interests. She spotted her dad in the midst of the crowd, and started moving in
his direction, when a pair of pale green eyes met hers.
"Happy
Birthday Ms. Gupta" Khushi looked at the brown eyed man who wished her. "I'm Aakash
Singh Raizada - Your Dad's business acquaintance. And he is..." Aakash said
pointing to Arnav. Just then, a particular Mr. Malhotra patted on Aakash's back
and drew him aside to talk some business, leaving Arnav to introduce himself to
the lovely lady in front of him.
"Arnav
Singh Raizada. " He said as he extended the bouquet to her. "Many happy returns
of the day Ms. Gupta" She looked into those eyes, and it captivated her. She
felt lost in those deep eyes and his masculine features made her heartbeat
stop. This has to be the Greek God himself' she thought to herself, as she
extended her hand and said with a ravishing smile, Call me Khushi".
Arnav
mouth curved in a smile as he saw her admiring him. In fact, a woman ogling at
him was nothing new. But this woman admiring him was a serious boost for his
masculine ego. She was an elegant goddess of beauty, and an epitome of grace. For
unknown reasons, he repeated her name in a mere whisper, "Khushi", letting the
end of her name linger on his lips. Khushi felt her insides melt as she heard
her name on his lips. She felt like a teenage girl, with butterflies fluttering
around in her tummy.
Just
then, her Dad, Mr. Gupta, greeted Arnav with a firm handshake, tugged Khushi's
arm and drew her aside to introduce her to their distant family members. And Khushi
greeted them, occasionally flicking her glance to that
Pale-Green-Eyed-Godlike-Man, who returned the favour by keeping his gaze on her
whenever she looked at him. Aakash tapped Arnav. "So? Is your mood alright
now?" Arnav remained silent, his eyes fixed on someone. Aakash tried to follow
his gaze, but there were too many people. Looking back at Arnav, he almost
pleaded, "Please bear for a few minutes until this deal is signed, and then we
are out from here. I promise" Arnav, with his eyes glued on the bare shouldered
birthday girl and a sly grin at his lips, sipped the wine "I'm in no hurry to
leave. This night has just begun to be interesting"