Anita Raizada, removed the protective green clothing from her body and hung it in the cloak room, taking out her cell phone from her over coats pocket, which as soon as she had taken out, had suddenly buzzed to life, a small yet worried smile coming to her face, seeing it was her husbands call. Her hands freezy, body tensed with emotion she kept the phone on her ear, her voice just a low murmur.

"Ani I filed another leave application and the authorities accepted it right away! That's great news isn't it? My tickets have been scheduled for Thursday!" she heard the overwhelmed, excited voice of Arjun Raizada from the other end, her face lighting up into a small smile, yet she was frenzy chewing on her bottom lip, thinking of the appropriate way to break out the news to him.

"That's really good dear, I'll tell the children they will be quite excited" she said slowly, her voice barely audible, almost just a murmur, leaving Arjun Raizada, in suspicion on the other end of the phone.

"Why are you whispering Ani? Where are the children I don't hear their voices in the background, its Sunday, you at home right?" Mr.Raizada asked with a certain uncertainty in his voice waiting for his wife to answer, the shuffle on the other making him go all the more curious.

"I am at the hospital, there has been an emergency" she said quietly, her eyes blanking away towards the green cloaks hung next to hers, the effect of which was her voice that had continued to fade away.

"Hospital? But it's a Sunday! You don't take any emergencies today! That's your time with our children! (hearing her slight whimpering on the other hand) Ani, tell me what happened? Is their something wrong, what is this emergency you are talking about?" Mr.Raizada asked gravely, his voice unmoving, the emotion of happiness now completely wiped off from his face replaced with one of utter seriousness.

"Your best friend had a stroke." Anita Raizada said, keeping her voice inhumanly low, as if breaking out drastic news, which in fact it was, the buzz on the other side of the line, making it evident to her of her husbands very expected reaction.

"What! Apar'how could she' (his voice trailing away bitterly) no wait..which best friend are you talking about? I don't have any best friends" he retorted subtly, his head now covered with beads of sweat, mind churning back to produce the image of her, the image of the person of he so missed, hadn't it been for that day, probably they would still be best friends.

"Arjun please, stop playing me, stop playing yourself. You know it's her. She has been your only best friend, 25 years did not fade away the effect of that friendship, its still there Arjun nothing has changed" Anita Raizada replied in a serious, yet a closely offended voice, the labored breathe of her husband reaching her ears through the phone, making it clear of the way he would be acting right now.

"Everything has changed Anita, nothing is the same. She chose him over me, over our 19 year old friendship, she is the one who drove me away from her self, there was nothing that I can do about it"

"She's paying for it now Arjun. She's paying for every wrong decision that she made." Mrs.Raizada told him, her voice cracking a bit now, as tears flowed down her eyes, recollecting all those cherish memories of the perfect foursome that they were.

"What do you mean? Is she fine? Where is Aryan?" he asked her suddenly, the tension within him growing, all kinds of horrible thought invading his mind, yet he tried to calm his nerves hoping for the best.

"She had a major stroke, I just got over with her operation a few minutes ago." She replied him back slowly, the pain searing through her, hearing her husbands raspy breathe on the phone, his voice that she guessed hanging some where unknown in his voice box.

"And Aryan? Where is he?" he said with certain bitterness in his voice, the sour touch to it completely knocking Anita off guard, but then she knew she kind of expected this reaction, obviously because the 20 year old hate had only gone graver and stronger with time.

"He left her."

"What! I knew it! I knew that man was never to be trusted, I told her but she never listened! How could he do this to her! *pause* Do they have children?" he asked her quickly, his nerves going numb, only beginning to imagine the possible torture she would have had been going through made him slither with pain and hatred for the most despised person he ever knew off.

"Remember I told you about that girl Khushi? ( a slow hmm from the other end) She is Aryan and Aparna Gupta's daughter."

************************************************

"Un wanted? You and un wanted? For me, no company is better than yours, you understand?, don't act so sadistic punching bag, doesn't suit you at all." She remarked calmly, trying to gather her thought on what she had to say next to him, since he had completely refused to meet her eyes at all now.

Pulling his hand she made him sit on a wooden bench nearby, and herself took her seat next to him, keeping her hand on his shoulder, and turning him around so that he would face her.

"Vivek why are you doing this to me? Will you leave me like everybody else did? Please talk to me at least" she told him with a shaky voice, small tears waiting to escape from her eyes but she fought them back, blinking her eyes twice so that they wouldn't fall down. Vivek looked at her for a split second, and then down on his thighs, the look of disappointment surfacing back on his face.

"No of course not, I won't leave. *pause* Not until you want me to. Do you?" he asked her in a skeptical kind of voice, and she immediately shook her head side ways furiously the tears in her eyes on the brim of breaking through all the barriers.

"Are you crazy! Why would I want you to leave! *pause* I am sorry for not telling you about it earlier, I wanted too, everything, but that day on the project day you were so happy, I couldn't risk spoiling your happiness, I didn't want you to fret for me, so.."

"So you hid it from me? (Calming down) Its alright, you don't need to be sorry, I just don't think this is a good time for the two of us to talk. Can we do this later?" he asked her in a shrewd manner, not making any eye contact with her, his sight going all the way to where Arnav was standing with his siblings, he had caught Arnav looking in their direction quite a number of while now, for which would have been a perfect opportunity to tease her under normal conditions, right now he felt all the humor inside him slipping right through his hands.

"No we cannot do this later! I want to talk right now! And don't you dare resist again, don't you dare!" she said harshly, holding his hand tight so that he would not move, him wriggling it out of her grip, much to her surprise her grip was more steely than he had ever even experienced from her.

"I think, you need to sort your stuff out with Arnav first before you talk to me, seriously you should do it." He told her seriously, wincing in pain only a second later as she had pinched him quite hard on his elbow, making him look at her annoyingly.

"Shut up! Just Shut up! Stop thinking alright, and let me do the talking, now I will talk you will only listen!" she told him violently, taking him aback by shock for a little while, until only later she looked away from him busily, and then back straightening up her thoughts back to face his puzzled, confused expression.

"You know what Vivek? After a long time, I seriously mean long time, I have found a good friend. A true friend. And you are the one, not Raizada, not Di, not Bhai, not Jiji, not anyone else, its you. I fully trust you with everything, I knew you wouldn't like it if Raizada told you everything but I couldn't do anything else, (her voice breaking) I couldn't hide anything from you any more, the guilt of it was eating me up, I just wanted to let you know, everything, everything that I am, all of where I come from, of who I am, I want no veils between us, nothing" she stopped abruptly, taking in long bundles of air to give supply to her lungs which were working over time now. Vivek only looked at her misty eyed, but then a while later cleared up his expression and turned her face to have him face her, wiping off her tears with his thumb.

"I didn't ask for an explanation did I? I know you trust me, you owe me nothing Chun, nothing. I know you would tell me sometime, but it just hurt to know from someone who I barely even know. *pause* No, its good now, I understand what you were going through, its all cool now, okay, its all cool. *pause* Now we have a mission on hand don't we? Your father, so don't you wanna gear up for it? I'll get something to eat from the canteen, okay?" he told her smiling a sunny smile at her, the tears that she had been since long holding back, now falling down her cheeks, making them go a deep red, and she threw her arms around him yet again, hugging him tightly.

"You are a life saver Vivek, you are certainly one!" she said crying away furiously, and he slowly pulled her apart and smiled at her broadly, twitching his nose crazily, his eyes showing that humorous glint that comes in it whenever he was about to crack a joke.

"Now, you are acting like one of those crazed ladies my mother sees drama's about. Heell, you aren't searching for a career their are you?" he told her cheekily, getting a tight punch from her, and winking at her joyfully he walked away towards the canteen, leaving her alone to wipe off her tears, her making her way towards the club of siblings. But as she was walking towards them, she felt a firm tight hand gripping her shoulder, shooting pain down her entire arm, and in a giffy she had taken a sharp turn backwards and turned around staggering backwards at the sight of the person who she despised to see.

In front of her, her father stood tall, his face looking devoid of any emotion, eyeing her straight making her quiver with his gigantic sight. She hadn't been prepared to face him so soon, she had only cleared one mess in her life, and here was another the biggest one standing right in front of her. Her jaw tightened, and blood rushed into her mind, making her go mad, because hadn't it been her father, and an elder to him, she was sure she would have punched him square in his face.

"Khushi, where is your mother? Where is her docter? How is she, what really happened?" he asked her all together, rapid firing questions at her all in one go, having her just clenching her fists more tightly than ever, looking at him with a steely gaze.

"Why do you care? Haven't you done enough to land her in the condition she is right now? What do you want to do now, kill her alive?" Khushi snapped back at him, venom pouring out of every word that he spoke, seeing that flicker of emotion on his well toned face, that lightening up of blazing anger shaking her a bit, but she was not to be moved.

"What way is this to talk your father? Hasn't you mother taught you any manners?" he fired back at her ruthlessly, but she hadn't even flinched and continued to look him right in the eye.

"She taught me all the good manners, thanks to you, I get the bad lot too running in my veins" she scorned at him, her stare penetrating into him coldly, making him fell a bit taken aback.

"What nonsense are you putting up here? Try to act a bit mature sometimes." He told her in a rusty kind of voice, having her blood shot eyes arched upwards at him, and then constricting back quickly in a discreetly odd fashion.

"I would probably like to say the same thing to you Mr.Aryan Gupta. The docter must be coming out to take your signatures, you can give them and go, we don't need you." She told him sharply, causing him to hold her tight by the shoulders his fingers digging into her skin.

"You donntt..tell me what I have to do, you get that? You are my daughter, learn to respect your father" he said chewing on his words, they coming into ragged heavy whispers, his gaze boring into Khushi's furious eyes, the look in them getting more and more fierce with every passing second.

"I respect people who deserve it." She lashed back at him, though their were tears stinging her eyes, and her bones from where he was holding felt like they were being crunched from the force he was applying, she didn't give a danm about anything, but to prove him the very point that sooner or later he had to get across, she did not need him, she never would.

Before he could reply back to his disrespectful daughter, a soft but yet very familiar voice from behind, caused him to loosen his grip on her, letting her stumble, she drying off her cheeks of any tears that threatened to come down. She looked at Anita Raizada walking towards the two of them, and looked back at the trio of siblings who was by now gone, apparently having had gone to the canteen. Aryan Gupta's back was facing Mrs.Raizada, and as he turned around to face her, the breathe out of him was knocked out, his eyes suddenly threw away all expression out of him, his reflexes tightened as memories flooded his brain, seeing the women who had earlier been walking steadily towards them stopping right into her tracks looking at him with a horrifying expression.

Anita Raizada looked at Aryan Gupta in deep disgust, pure hatred running through her veins for him, after what Khushi had told her about her dad in the car to her on their ride to the hospital. The pain stricken wary face of Aparna Gupta was still playing in front of her eyes, memories were rewinding in her brain, that foursome, that friendship, those times, and now the military man that stood in front of him, who was once part of fond memories had now become part of a bitter past.

Khushi noticed the friction between the two elders, the terrified look that Anita Raizada was portraying, the surprised one that her father was showing, she felt shaky, she kept looking at one then the other, feeling absolutely baffled. Taking quick steps towards Anita she stood in front of them, like wall in between them, and diverted her attention towards herself asking her frantically about her mother.

"Huh? Huh? (coming back to her senses) Your mother is alright, we will be keeping her under surveillance for two days, I think and then she can go home." Anita Raizada, told Khushi uneasily, who had relief washing all over her face, but a part of her was still consumed up in undeniable confusion.

"Can I meet her?" Khushi asked hopefully and Anita putting up a small yet uncomfortable smile nodded, pointing towards the ward where Aparna had been transported into, Khushi squeezing her hand affectionately and then racing towards that room, slamming the door behind to see her mother unconscious lying like an angel on the white bed sheets.

***************************************

Outside Anita Raizada, had taken a sharp turn backwards, and was quickly making her way out of the corridor, away from the prying eyes of Aryan Gupta, when she felt his steely grip on her wrist, turning her around to face, hope flashing in his eyes for a renewed relationship.

"Anita? What are you doing here? I never knew you were here in Stanford! Are you Aparna's doctor, is she fine? And you how are you, it's been such a long time that we met, I miss you" Aryan Gupta told her vividly, and in one quick move she had freed her hand from his grip looking at him dangerously.

"Stop being so artificial Aryan for heavens sake! I can understand why your daughter hates you so much! You are still the same aren't you, never gonna change right? Always playing with everyone, we were all pawns for you back then, isn't the equation still the same?" she lashed at him angrily, her eyes blazing with fury, looking at a startled him, his expression flinching from what was just happiness, to surprise, and now to disagreement.

"Anita? How can you say this? To me? We are best friends" he told her in a soft voice, making her all the more furious.

"I stand corrected, we WERE best friends, now you are nothing, but a moron who insulted my friendship, and betrayed my husband's best friend!" she told him curtly, her fists clenched on both her sides, seeing that flash of fake emotion in his eyes.

"I can explain Anita I can, you just have to listen."

"I don't need any explanations from you. I can see everything, its all clear, your truth is out in the open I need no justifications now Aryan. You were never a good brother, never a good friend, never a good husband, never a good father, and you know why? Because you never were, and never will be a good human being!" she stormed out on him in a controlled voice, her entire body shaking with fury as she left him dumbfounded collecting his thoughts, disappearing inside her cabin and locking it from inside, the 6 foot 3 inch man staggering behind with the effect of the truth that she had thrown on his face.

From a far end, one leg inside Aparna's ward and one outside in the corridor, Khushi stood stunned, the living daylights knocked out of her, listening to the last of the conversation she had heard between Anita and Aryan. She felt her words ring her ears, the sound of it was so unfamiliar so unusual it gave her the creeps to even think, how the Raizada's and the Gupta's were connected. Best friends? Since when? How? Where did they meet? There were so many questions going on in her mind to which she did even have a single answer too. Lost in her world she walked towards her stupefied father, who looked at her for a brief second, the anger returning back in his eyes.

"Your mother is in the hospital, where are you going to stay?" he asked her in a ragged tone, leaving her in a confused state, making her now quiver at the thought of the kind of man he was. Maybe she didn't know him fully, he was she didn't know, she was scared of her own father.

Arnav had just finished grabbing a snack from the canteen and had hurried out back seeing Vivek in their, the thought of Khushi alone outside making him feel uneasy, only because he knew that her dad was on his way to the hospital. The moment he had come near enough to her, he had spotted a heavily built, 6 foot 3 inch tall bulky men in his late 40's looking at her strangely with anger filled eyes, his own anger only at the sight of it loosing ultimate control. What he had heard him say last to her, made him go rushing to her for help, the help that she deserved, he knew what was coming next, if he didn't step in the battle field, their were high chances that she was going to get killed soon.

He slipped his arm around her and held her shivering body firm by the shoulders, as she looked slightly puzzled into them and then back at the towering man in front of them who was looking at him in as much surprise as Khushi herself was looking in.

"She is coming at my place" he said in a metallic tone, his gaze not flinching even a bit as he locked eyes with her father, and looked straight into them coldly, his blood rising her words playing furiously in his mind.

"I was ten..when Maa told me about his second marriage. I didn't belive it at first..I couldn't understand how times had changed so quickly..and then..he came later..to tell me I was still his daughter..and he loved..but he woudnt spend time with me..he insisted on getting custody of me..but Ma refused..and the court bound him to financially assist me and Ma..but from them..that day..I lost me Pa..he's dead for me..he's dead..then why does he return..what does he wanna show..that he loves me?,.I don't..I never cant..hes nothing but someone who ditched on my mother..someone who pulled my life and tangled it within..itss roots..I can..never forgive him..", she said hugging him tightly, as more tears wettened his hoody, making the moisture of them touch him skin, sending down sprawling sensation down his perfectly shaped body. He was motionlessly hugging her, not knowing how to console her since it was not wrong to admit, but she had simply rendered him speechless. He couldn't find words to pay his condolences, to her, she had been through too much, whatever he said would be nothing but words to her now. After all he didn't know how it felt to be without a dead, and pain in the heart of being brought up by a single parent, and backed up by a person who you hate.

"And who are you?" Aryan Gupta questioned him back quizzically, searching his eyes like he did when he was defending his country, looking into the eyes of the opponent with such ferocity that it would make him shiver with the effect. But the man was slowly losing his himself to Arnav's unnverving calm and his not flinching gaze on him.

"Her friend" he replied back instantly, he didn't need to think once, he could sort out the complications in their relationships later right now the most easiest name would do.

"Just a friend?" Aryan Gupta asked him slyly, a small smirk spreading on his face, as Khushi examined his face in horror, and then looked at Arnav who was backing down a bit not at all prepared for this question.

"Yeah, Just a friend." Vivek entered the scene from behind, standing right next to Khushi on the opposite end from where Arnav was standing, looking with icy eyes at Aryan Gupta.

"Haven't you befriended a bit too many boy friends this year Khushi?" Mr.Gupta asked her in a raspy tone, his eyes moving like hawk from Arnav to Vivek and then hanging low at Khushi who was obviously too stunned to answer, but had quickly gained her composure and had slipped one arm around Vivek the other around Arnav waist, looking at her father with new found confidence.

"I don't see why you should have any problem with that at all" she told him in a sick tone, Arnav and Vivek both looking at her questioningly for a while, but then their eyes had diverted back to staring at Aryan Gupta who was now moving back with the combined effort of the three teenagers.

"Because you are my daughter" he managed to say finally, his cold eyes penetrating in the souls of the three teens but none had moved, they were a force right now, an unbreakable force.

"I would give anything to have that right taken from you."

**************************************************

Regarding The Chapter

Deciphering Silence- Okay, honestly this was one difficult chapter to write, so many mysteries, so many thing to tell, I was pretty confused on what to name it and how to execute it. This chapter has been named this because first of all, Decipher means 'Decoding', that too in connection to silence, everybody without too many words said has put something new in front of someone or the other. The silent eye conversations of Arnav-Khushi, and the rappard of Vivek-Khushi, Vivek-Arnav's less conversation more talk scene, where Arnav without words understand Vivek's situation, Aakash's anger on Arnav irresponsibility, Anita-Arjun, recollecting their past, Aryan-Khushi, Aryan-Anita, the raspy, ferocious movements of them. It was all about reading in between the lines, this chapter was one where you have to get into the shoes of the characters to know what they might be exactly thinking, this was serious play of emotions, and you wont be able to enjoy this chapter is you don't read it carefully.

*****************************************************

Events In The Chapter

This chapter just gave another new dimension to this whole story, along with Teenage Love, you are subjected to the adult complication as well. Too many mysteries, too many things to understand, too many emotions to play with, this was all about understanding, about how well one person knows the other. I know this one lacked the TL trade mark, the hilarity, but there was absolutely no space to put that in, thing are way too serious right now, that I could even crack a joke here and there at all.

**********************************************

Precap

" Arent you going to take your black diary?" Vivek asked her causally, looking at the interior of her room as she stuffed her things in a small bag, but halted right when he said these words, her expressions going dim, and then suddenly freezing him the thought of him knowing about her diary making her shiver with guilt yet again.

"How do you know about it?" she questioned him back, standing straight in front of the back that was on her bed, him turning around just a little bit so their eyes met each other, their was an uncanny uneasiness in his eyes, their was that lack of faith flashing in them.

"Not everything that you have hid has been hidden from me" he commented stoutly, looking at her for a brief second and then, turned away looking back again at the mish mash or blue and black in her room, sending her into collecting back the flashbacks of that day.

Hearing Vivek's step approaching her, she hurriedly closed the diary half way in between her account of endless words, and immediately propped it into her bad just in time, as he took his seat next to her, offering her the glass of water, that she had asked him to get, to briefly get him out of her way, finding some time with her diary. Alone.

**************************************************

P.S: So how was the update, okay I update a lot sooner this time, more than I do usually, so please don't whine about it now. Also it might take a long time for the next update to come since my schools are starting from next week, and with school on handling two FF's at the same time will be preety difficult work for me.😳


I am very sorry for any editing mistakes, typing errors, and or any other grammatical flaws, I haven't edited the update, lekh liya wahin bohat bari baatt hain.😆


Do leave back your likes and comments behind, I loove them all, motivates me to write quicker updates.😳 Long commentt plleeeaassee.😳




Love,




Batool😳

nav_bat2012-08-03 14:31:52