Plans
Manya was getting ready, her mind oscillating between enthusiasm and panic. She finally had the answers to the question which had been bothering her from the day she had regained her memories. She was aware that it was not the entirety of her missing past, but it was still sufficient for her to hang on to for survival; as she no longer had to explain to people she cared about, that some part of hers felt lost.
*Now, she also knew the reason for her anger towards Arjun- she had fallen for him. When,where and how: these questions were yet to be answered, but the fact that she had fallen for him had been proven time after time, even before she had remembered her past.
Her panic response had just created chaos inside her mind in order to bury the actual feeling underneath, to show him that she was angry with him. But after last night, she knew that this can't go on any longer, the end of her act was almost at the corner. But now, an even bigger problem had arisen: the matter of her self-respect.
How was she supposed to say this out loud and confess everything to him- directly? Oh no, she definitely couldn't opt for that!
And what if he didn't see her that way; what if the only space he had for her in his life, was the place of a best friend, then what would she do? Could she risk everything once again? She remembered how awkward he had become when she had almost confessed her feelings that night. No, no she couldn't do this to herself once again, she didn't have the courage to face him now. And yet, now that her mind could finally see the things she wanted and the ones she didn't, with crystal clarity, she didn't have the strength left in herself to risk anything anymore!
So, it was settled then- it would be better to ignore him as much as possible. Due to Vendy's last-minute refusal, she genuinely didn't know where to find a model who would fit her concept perfectly, and that had given her a convenient excuse, in addition to the inconvenient timing of it all.
If she was to be the model for her own show, then she would definitely be getting less free time, minimising her chances of running into him further. This seemed like a great plan so far!*
She picked her phone from the bed after she was done, and realised that it had taken her longer to get ready than she had expected. Fiddling with her watch, she left her room in a hurry, totally forgetting that she had brought the drafts for that day's practice up to her room last night, and had left them on the bed. She sat in her car, with her mind still lost in Arjun's memories, while the other half of her own brain had the audacity to deny the probability of her thoughts!
She smiled to herself, marveling at the tug-of-war her brain and heart were engaged in; but she had to get to work anyhow, and for that she needed to drive!
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"Vendy, I hope you are ready, and the dialogues you were supposed to memorise by heart are also done! I don't want any drama, because I noticed that you were a little harsh on her, the last time. Please keep in mind that she is not just a simple girl, on whom you can target your arrows at whatever speed you want; she is going to be Mrs.Manya Ishaan Arena soon! So remember to keep your tone polite, otherwise I will not be the one to punish you, I believe you know this very well."
Ishaan passed his verdict on the poor performance that Vendy had shown the day before. She was listening with her eyes downcast, sitting on the couch and already a little timid; and the words were enough to make her even more scared. She wanted to say that she really hadn't spoken a word beyond the script she had gotten, apart from the one question she had asked from her. But she didn't have the guts to bring that up again, especially when she knew that this sentence alone was enough to make them angry. She just stood quietly from her place, nodding her head in affirmation that she had memorized everything for today's show.
Ishaan then walked towards the other person present in the room with his arms outstretched. He embraced him with a wide grin, saying, "I really do owe you a big one bro! Thanks for everything, buddy, see you soon!"
Leading the person out of the room, the duo also headed to ARMA's.
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Arjun was totally caught up in the back-to-back scenarios that had happened the day before. He had prided himself at how well he had learnt to manage his emotions and that he could handle any situation he was faced with, in this business world. But the past month had proved him wrong way too many times to keep track, and he was finally willing to admit that the threshold had been crossed last night; that he was unable to deal with everything that had happened, alone. He was missing Manya too much; they made the perfect team, with the right amount of energy and enthusiasm in both of them- she was a master at solving the puzzles, and he was a master at remembering the codes and clues. And yet, he was here; despite getting all the clues, he was unable to solve the riddle. What the hell was supposed to happen in his life now?
The first thing he had done after returning from the police station, was increasing the security for everybody related to them without their knowledge. Somehow the people Manya had met by accident the day she had sprained her ankle, were actually very loyal to her, and they themselves had insisted to be her guards. Now all he needed to do was to ask her to get a personal bodyguard. But how would he explain it without spilling everything? His life was a pure mess, he concluded while trying to figure out exactly how much he could tell her about Roy's threat without freaking her out, and in what manner he could approach the topic. This was a constant thought in his mind these days, but he had to deal with it anyway. Not because he didn't know when to jump ship, but because he knew that he could run away from everything, but not the girl all this was about.
Arjun laughed at himself, wondering what love had made him into, and what all changes were yet to come! He knew that he was willing to do anything just to bring a smile on her face. He had known in their childhood as well, that things were dangerous; and still, he was willing to run after her, into the vast forest. And apparently nothing had changed from then, apart from the girl herself! How could he even begin to make her understand how much he loved her? He wished for somebody to help him out, just this time; if not a wise human, then he should also have been blessed with a fairy Godmother to help figure things out! But he knew that he was not fortunate enough to get all his wishes granted; for now, he just needed to make sure that the necessary precautions were being taken about her security.
He also headed to ARMA's, his thoughts about everything chasing each other in a circle, forming a never ending loop.
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Somehow, destiny seemed to be fond of planning interactions between Ishaan and Arjun more than anyone else. Both of them encountered each other at the entrance. Arjun smiled after seeing Ishaan, saying "Sorry, man. I was caught up in something yesterday, I will send you the adoption papers, for sure. But I was urged to remind you, even though I think you are well aware of the adoption rules in India- you can't adopt a girl child, when you are a single male parent-"
"I know, I know…" Ishaan interrupted him, reaching out beside himself and pulling Vendy against his side with a tight-lipped smile. He introduced her to him, saying "Meet Vendy! She is my fiancée, and we are going to get married soon, well before the adoption. So you don't have to worry. Rather, I should say that we are just going to get married within a week after the launch of the Fall collection. Now let's go and have a look at the practice, which must have started by now. What do you say?"
"Sure! Let's go," Arjun said, after acknowledging Vendy with a nod and smiling to welcome her.
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Shambhav had been asked to buy flowers for that day's event, but the quantity had never been specified! The poor boy had bought all kinds of flowers available at the market for the event, and now the practice room was looking like a valley of flowers.
As soon as Manya entered the room, the strong influence of pollen made her sneeze really hard. She looked up from her phone in confusion, she knew that she was not allergic to pollen, then why was she sneezing? The thought went away as quickly as it had arrived, when she turned to take a proper glance at the room- which had been turned into a flower paradise, and Shambhav was standing in the middle of it, like a garden fairy.
Manya gulped and then bent over with laughter after seeing this view.
Shambhav started sulking a little, saying "Hey! Why are you laughing?! You must stop right now!" Manya continued to laugh despite his protests, asking "Where did you get the offer of 'Buy one and get ten flowers free', that you have brought the whole market here?!" She straightened up, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, which were partially due to laughing too hard and partially due to her sinus getting irritated by the various fragrances and pollen particles assaulting her nose.
Shambhav saw that his protests to make her stop were going in vain; and ran after her, saying, "Wait! You are the one who didn't tell me the exact amount, and now you are the one teasing me!"
Manya ran in the opposite direction, her head turned around to keep track of her chaser, when- BOOM! She collided with Arjun, the one person she had resolved to ignore. It was a really great start to the day!
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