Chapter 2

“Where are you guys?” Khushi was on the phone with Priya enquiring about their whereabouts so she could find them and give them a piece of her mind. “We’re in Delhi, Khushi.” Priya replied quickly. “I know you’re in Delhi but where exactly are you? Are you at the hotel that Meera booked are you organizing the fashion show?” Khushi asked angrily. “How did you know? We’re organizing the fashion show. We’re here at the hall.” Priya was curious. How could Khushi have possibly known they were in Delhi? “Don’t even think of leaving. I’ll be there in 15 minutes.” Khushi cut the call as she told the driver where she wanted to go. 15 minutes later the taxi stopped outside the banquet hall where they were hosting the fashion show. It was already 6 and the show was set to start at 7 according to the schedule that she had taken from Meera.

“Karan, we have a problem. Khushi found out that we came to Delhi and I think she is on her way. She might have left Lucknow after she called.” Priya was scared. She had never lied to Khushi before but this was for her own good. Karan was signaling to Priya to shut up but Priya was to pre occupied babbling on and on about what Khushi was going to do to her when she got there and didn’t realize she was standing right behind her. “Oh really, I can chop you up into pieces and feed you to Jai’s dogs if you want me too.” Priya froze. She recognized that voice. Only one person in the world sounded like that when they were angry. “Khushi?” Priya asked scared. “No, I’m your mother. Don’t you want to turn around and give me a hug. I’ve missed you.” Priya could hear the sarcasm in Khushi’s voice, that can’t be very good. Priya turned around slowly not wanting to look Khushi in the eye because she knew she was wrong. It should have been Khushi’s choice on whether or not she came to Delhi. “I’m sorry, I…” Khushi cut her off. “There’s no point apologizing now. It’s not going to change anything. Let’s just get this show organized, it starts in 45 minutes. I’ll deal with you later. That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook, Karan.” Khushi said as she glared at Karan. Khushi was busy with Priya and Karan doing the last bit of work that needed to be done before the show started. When they were finally done Karan had gone off to change into his suit while Priya stuck around with Khushi. She was scared because Khushi still didn’t know whose fashion show she had been organizing. The AR signs were covered because they had been told by the manager that the signs were to be unveiled right at the beginning of the show.

“Khushi, don’t you want to go back to the hotel and spend the night there. Karan and I can take care of everything else here. Besides you probably don’t even have clothes to wear for the show.” Khushi stared at Priya. “You know me better than that Priya. I brought my bags with me. I haven’t even been to the hotel and I have a sari in my bag. I knew I was coming for a fashion show surely I would have packed clothes. I’m going to change. When the manager and the owner get here make sure everything is as they wanted and if there are any problems then come and find me if you can’t sort it out.” With that Khushi turned around and walked to the change room backstage for the models.

The fashion show had started and everybody in the audience had seemed pleased. Khushi had been watching from backstage in case there were any problems that needed to be dealt with. She hadn’t seen the catwalk or which company had done the fashion show and decided that seeing as the show was almost over she would go out front to see what it was like from the audience point of view. It had been a minute that Khushi had walked to the audience when Arnav walked backstage. It was time for them to draw the curtains. Khushi was watching the last few models walk down the ramp and admired the clothing that they wore. This company wasn’t like the others that designed clothes normal people would never wear, but something seemed familiar about the clothes. Almost like she had seen them before. She tried look at the company logo that was placed on either side of the catwalk but it was too dark. The only light was the spotlight that was shining on the models. Khushi was about to give up playing the guessing game when she heard the announcement, “It’s time for our designer and his beautiful models to take to the ramp for the last time tonight.” Khushi turned around and froze when she saw the AR on either side of the stage that were lit up. She held her breath as she heard the MC speak again. “Let’s give Mr. Raizada of Arnav Raizada Industries a big round of …” Khushi didn’t hear the rest. She was just shocked at what she saw. There he was walking onto the stage down the ramp like he did at every fashion show. She turned around and ran backstage to look for Karan and Priya before he walked off the stage. She searched everywhere backstage and couldn’t find them anywhere. She needed to get out of there. She wouldn’t be able to face him again. Only god knew what he would do this time. Khushi had walked around the entire hall and still couldn’t find them. “Where could they have gone?” Khushi thought to herself. She decided to check backstage one last time, praying to her Devi Maiya as she went up the stairs.

Khushi looked everywhere backstage and still couldn’t find them. She was walking towards the backstage door when she thought she heard Priya’s voice behind her. She turned while she was still walking not realizing what she was doing until she walked into a hard chest. She had taken a step back and was about to fall over when she felt a strong grip on her. She knew that feeling. Her hair had fallen across her face and he couldn’t see who she was but she knew all too well who she had walked into. She moved her hair from her face and looked up at the face she hadn’t seen in 8 months but was longing to see. Nothing had changed. He still looked the same, drop dead gorgeous with those chocolate brown eyes that always made her melt. Arnav was surprised. He had never expected to see her ever again. He thought she would never come back into his life. Still he couldn’t forget those honey eyes that he had stared into so many times in the past. He would never forget those memories, they were the best he had but the most painful too. The moment he realized what he had been doing and who he had been holding he let go immediately almost pushing her over. Khushi managed to catch her balance and not fall over. She knew he would do something like this. All he ever did was torture her. Khushi braced herself for what was coming next.

“What the… What are you doing here?” Arnav asked through gritted teeth as he was walking towards her. Every time he took a step forward she took a step back. “I told you to get lost didn’t I. Why did you come back?” She could tell he was getting angrier by the second. “I… You… Fashion” Khushi mumbled. She was scared. She remembered what he had done to her the first they had met when she accidentally ruined his fashion show. She remembered how he stopped her from leaving, how he had pulled her hand and held against the wall. How he had broken the doorie on her blouse. “Have you come to ruin another fashion show?” Arnav questioned her as he cornered her into a wall. Her heartbeat started racing. She could hear the dhak dhak despite being scared of him. Was this possible? Could it be? After everything that had happened. “I didn’t know it was your fashion show” Khushi said with a shaky voice. Arnav grabbed her arms tightening his grip as he spoke. “Don’t lie to me Khushi Kumari Gupta. You know very well what I’m capable of and what I can do to you.” Khushi eyes were welling up with tears. From the pain he was causing her or from what he was saying she couldn’t tell but it hurt. “I’m not lying to you and let go of me. What right do you have to talk to me like this. You are MY client Mr. Raizada. Your company hired us to organize YOUR fashion show. I still have work left to do before the assignment is complete.” Khushi pushed him away and walked towards the door.

She was an arm’s length away from him when he grabbed her hand and swung her around holding her hand behind her back and pulling her towards him with a look of satisfaction on his face. Khushi struggled trying to loosen his grip to no avail. It was no use. He could feel her struggling and saw the look of frustration on her face. She had tried loosening his grip on her before and she had never managed to do it. He didn’t know what made her think she would be able to now. “Stop trying, Khushi. You know I won’t let go.” Arnav said with a smirk on his face. It was nothing new to him. He knew how to manipulate her. He had done it in the past. “Some things and some people just never change Arnav. You’re one of them. A person would think you’d know how to behave with a girl, especially when she is doing your work. But you just never seem to care.” She could see the look on his face change. She got exactly what she wanted. “I can’t say I’m surprised. You’ve always been like this and asking you to change is like asking the sun to stop shining.” Arnav tightened his grip on her. “You obviously changed. You’re a lot braver now than you were when you left.” Khushi ignored the throbbing in her arm from him squeezing too tight. “What can I say? Circumstances were such that I had to change with time to survive. But I’m used to it now.” She smirked at Arnav because he knew exactly what she was talking about. The look on his face was worth the pain she was taking but something deep inside kept telling her that what she was doing was wrong. She shouldn’t hate someone so much but she couldn’t forget what he had done either.

Chapter 1

“Hurry up! We’re getting late. We can’t afford to lose these clients Priya. It’s one of our biggest projects, if we don’t leave now then we’re never going to reach and they’re going to give the project to someone else,” Khushi was getting very impatient. She hated to be late for meetings because she knew it would mean losing a client and with her business she just couldn’t afford it. She had decided to start a business when she moved back to Lucknow to distract and herself and her friends, Priya and Karan were all too willing to help. Little did any of them know that their small business would expand into such a huge one after only 8 months. AK Event Management was now one of the most reputed businesses in event management despite being new. People thought that the reason behind this was just hard work but Khushi knew better. She knew the real reason her business flourished. It was because she put all her determination and time into managing the business. It was the only thing that kept her going. The only thing she had to live for other than the people she loved. The most important person in her life she knew she would never see again. She had made that decision when she left for Lucknow but his thoughts always haunted her. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn’t forget. He was one thing she would never be able to forget.

Two hours later they were back home discussing the final details for the show. This show was the biggest event they’ve had since they had started their business and was now making a name for themselves outside Lucknow with other companies recommending them. They had taken the decision to move around and plan events outside their hometown. They had been in Mumbai for two weeks planning the show and were leaving for home in a couple of days.

“Khushi, you finish up the last bit of the details please. I’m going to Jia’s house for dinner tonight, Jai phoned earlier.”

“No problem, I’ve already eaten so I’ll finish it up and start working on the other events  lined up for next week, “ she was willing to do anything that would distract her especially when she was alone because she knew that if she broke no one would be there to put her back together. Everybody knew something had gone wrong when she came back to Lucknow but nobody asked. The reason she came back was still unknown to everybody. She couldn’t even tell Priya despite her being Khushi’s childhood friend. She knew she would understand but just couldn’t muster the courage to tell anybody. It was only a year, the wounds were still fresh. It wasn’t enough time to heal. If she said anything now it would hurt too much. She was lost in her thoughts when her phone rang.

“Hello, is this AK Event Management, “said a voice on the phone.

“Yes, how can I help?”’

“We would like you to handle a fashion show that we are planning for the 29^th.”

“Okay. It’s no problem. I’m a little busy right now with a current event but I will give you another number. Leave your details with my partner and we will get back to you as soon as we can.”

“Okay, thank you very much.”

Karan was catching up on some TV when his phone rang.

“Hello, this is Karan speaking.”

“Yes, Mr. Karan, we had phoned the head of your company a while ago and she had given us your number. We are having an event on the 29^th and we would like your company to plan the event as we have heard you do an excellent job.”

“Sure, that won’t be a problem. Can I just have the type of event we’re planning, your business location and name.”

“Yes, we are organizing a fashion show in Delhi and our company is Arnav Raizada Fashion House.”

“Ummm……… okay. We will get back to you with the rest of the details.”

Karan was shocked by what he had just heard. Khushi didn’t tell anyone why she had come back but over the year she was there they all took a pretty good guess of what the reason was but nobody wanted to ask or say anything because they couldn’t risk hurting their friend. They had seen how happy she was and how she would have loved her life if nothing had went wrong. He knew Khushi didn’t want to confide in any of them but they had waited too long. After 6 months they had to find the reason. It was Karan’s luck that Sanjana was marrying his cousin. If it wasn’t for her they would all still be playing the guessing game. Sanjana was the youngest of the Raizada Khandaan but was still more knowledgeable and mature than others. She had understood everything that had happened and knew who was in the wrong. Being the youngest she didn’t have a say despite being loved unconditionally by her brother. She had told Karan and Priya what had happened and why Khushi had left. They never confronted Khushi about it or spoke about it. They respected her and her decisions enough not to interfere. Still… how could Arnav Raizada Fashion House find them of all event managers to handle their event when they had always stuck to one company in the past. He had to inform Priya right now. They couldn’t let Khushi find out about this again. They wouldn’t be able to watch their friend shatter and break in front of them. They wouldn’t be able to take it.

“What?! You have got to be joking, Karan. How could this happen? We’re going to have to cancel the event and tell them to look for another company,” Priya had always considered Khushi her sister and couldn’t put her in a situation like this. She had to think of a solution.

“We can’t cancel. Are you mad?! She’ll find out then and then we’re really screwed. I think the best option is for the two of us to go and handle the fashion show without Khushi. I’ll find some excuse to keep her here with Jia and Jai.”

“It’s not going to work Karan. You know she likes being there personally when every job is being done. That way she has a guarantee that nothing is going wrong. We’re going to have to tell Jia. She’s the only one who’ll be able to find a solution to the problem. “Jia, could you please come over. We need to tell you something. It’s about Khushi.” Priya had phoned her because this was something that couldn’t be delayed. They couldn’t let Khushi find out about it. Two hours later Jia was sitting in Karan’s living room trying to think of a way out of the problem. She knew that Khushi kept no contact with any of the Raizada’s except for Sanjana because she was the only one who believed her and had never doubted her.” I have an idea. I’ll call Sanju and ask her to come to Lucknow tomorrow. She’ll probably find out about the fashion show by then and she can keep Khushi occupied while you guys handle the show and if you need help then I’ll come with.” After some careful thought everybody had agreed. It was the best and probably the only option they had until Khushi told them herself.

“Sanju?! What are you doing here?”  Khushi was startled when she opened the door. She was expecting her PA, Meera, but got a surprise when saw her sister-in-law. It had been 6 months since she’d seen her and asked about him, but she was still curious as to why she had decided to come there. “I came to meet you Bhabi. It’s been a very long time.” Sanjana didn’t sound as excited as she should have been, but then again who could blame her. If Arnav had found out she was here he would have definitely lost his temper. The fact that she knew where Khushi was and wasn’t telling him was eating her up inside, but she couldn’t break the promise she made to Khushi. She was missing her Bhabi but that wasn’t the real reason she came to Lucknow. Jia was lucky she was on her way to Lucknow when she called. It was good that they told her about the arrangements for the fashion show, at least she could try to do something about it. “Where are you lost? Come in.” Khushi was worried. Something seemed off about Sanju. “Huh… oh yeah… Thanks Bhabi.”

As Sanjana walked into the apartment her phone rang. It was the call she had been waiting for. “Aman, did you manage to find a new company? What?! He said it’s too late to change the company because he already sent the payment. Is there anything we can do? Ok, thanks Aman. Don’t stress, I’ll figure something out.” Once Arnav had made up his mind no one could change it. Not even her. “Sanju… what’s wrong? Is everything okay?” She couldn’t let Khushi find out about the fashion show. She had to keep her here somehow. “Nothing’s wrong. Everything is fine. Bhabi, do you mind if I stay here for a couple of days?” Staying with her was the only way she could stop her from going to Delhi. “Ya, sure. I’ll go and get the guest room sorted out for you.” Sanjana smiled as Khushi walked away. By God’s grace everything would be fine. “Sanju, could come here for a minute please” Sanjana was walking towards the guest room when her phone rang. She took her phone out her pocket and froze when she saw the screen. ARNAV BHAIYA calling. “Hello” Sanju was nervous and anxious. Why did he phone her? “Where are you Sanjana? You need to be back in Delhi tonight. I want you there for the show.” Arnav’s voice boomed on the other end. “Uhhh… Bhaiya I’m in Lucknow. I had some work here with Sameer. I was only planning on coming back after a couple of days.” This could not be happening to her. Not now. “Well, make a plan and rearrange your meetings or something. I need you here. Sort out whatever you have to and leave.” Arnav’s voice was stern almost like he was giving her an order and cut the call. What game was fate playing with them? Now what? She just hoped that Karan, Priya and Jia could keep her here tomorrow. “Bhabi, Aman just called and said that there’s an emergency at home and I need to be there. I’m really sorry. I wanted to stay.” She could see the look of disappointment on Khushi’s face but couldn’t do anything. “It’s ok. I understand. Maybe some other time” Sanjana left that morning leaving Khushi alone. No one else had come home that day because everyone else figured if they didn’t tell her anything or see her she wouldn’t question where they were going and what they were doing.

The next morning Khushi had a meeting with a few clients so she called Meera to bring her some files. “Where is everybody else? I haven’t seen them since yesterday.” Meera looked at her confused. “There is a fashion show that we were planning in Delhi. Everybody else left yesterday. I thought you knew about it.” Khushi stood up shocked. There was a fashion show and no one told her about it. “Meera, cancel all my meeting s for today and tomorrow. I’m leaving for Delhi right now.”