FF: Love Ne Milla Di Jodi ~ P.8 completed - Page 2

Gr8 concept it feels soo good to back on this forum and reading someting thank u do continue btw like button nt workin :)

Hi Anjali! Nice work... The overall concept is nice and I see you experimented with Damini's character. Bit hard to believe her to be into ideas of marriage and love. 😆 As usual he just has to be the one to rile her up completely and affect her... So PriDa. 😆

'Kiss you?' Damini flushed in embarrassment as she heard her voice rise to a squeak, and she cleared her throat quickly. '

'Why should I do that?' That was better. Deeper, steadier, just a touch of amusement to show that she recognised that he was joking, much more like the sophisticated PR consultant she was supposed to be.

'You said that you would do anything for the post,' Prithvi pointed out.

Without quite knowing why, Damini's assurance began to trickle away, and she eyed him uneasily. 'Well, I know I did, but...'

'Are you trying to tell me that you're not prepared to do anything?'

'You're not serious!'

'Don't I look serious?'

He did. Absolutely serious.

Damini swallowed. 'Do you interview all your prospective employees like this?'

'Only those with the potential to fulfil a very special role.' Prithvi's face was still perfectly straight, but Damini seized on the glimmer of amusement she could see in the grey eyes.

'You are joking!'

'No, I'm not,' he said. 'You asked what you could do to convince me that it was worth giving you a chance, and I've told you. You can kiss me.'

'But how can you possibly tell anything about my PR skills from a kiss?' Damini objected, trying to ignore the way her heart was racketing around her chest at the mere thought of kissing him.

'I'm not interested in your skills,' said Prithvi. 'I want to know whether you're the kind of person who's prepared to stand out from the crowd—and I don't just mean by wearing ridiculous shoes. Look around you, Damini,' he went on, nodding his head in the direction of the other guests. 'See how many people are watching us while trying not to make it obvious. They don't like the fact that you're talking to me.'

It was true. Damini, following his glance, noticed how friends that she had known for years averted their eyes while others were eyeing her covertly. It was an uncomfortable feeling, and she turned back to Prithvi, an uncharacteristic frown in her blue eyes. '

OK, so he wasn't the most charming man in the world, and his reputation certainly didn't bear close scrutiny, but he wasn't that bad. Damini wouldn't go so far as to say that she liked him. He was cold and callous, and he had made little attempt to conceal his contempt for her family and friends, but there was something intriguing about him, something that excited, irritated, confused, disturbed her all at the same time.

'I'm not welcome here,' Prithvi was saying, not sounding at all bothered by the fact. 'No one has been prepared to come right out and say it, but it's obvious. I don't belong here, and if I'd given them the slightest excuse there would have been plenty of people more than happy to throw me out. It's been bad enough for them to see you standing here with me all this time. How do you think they'd react if you kissed me?'

Damini tried to picture the scene, but although she could imagine kissing Prithvi with surprised clarity, somehow she couldn't get past that to visualise the reactions of anyone watching.

'You'd be breaking ranks big time,' Prithvi answered for her. 'You'd be saying you didn't care what anyone thought, that you'd do whatever it took to get what you want.' He looked into Damini's face, a faint smile on his lips as doubt wrestled with determination to prove herself in the blue eyes. 'And that's the kind of person I'm looking for,' he said.

'And if I don't want to break ranks?'

Prithvi shrugged carelessly. 'You walk away. I leave. I find someone else.'

He might at least sound as if he cared one way or another, thought Damini with something suspiciously close to irritation. She looked away from him, edgily running a finger around the base of her glass.

She had her proud and dignity. She had raised voice endlessly about the old-fashioned attitudes of people all around. Damini worked in London alone, to proved herself strong and different that was not acceptable by people all around of couse but She knew that the teasing was affectionate, and she liked the fact that they thought of her as unconventional so she didnt care about them...

You'd be saying you didn't care what anyone thought. Prithvi had issued a challenge, and she longed to take it up, but deep down Damini knew that she did care. These people were her family and friends. She might not choose to live in the small town, but that didn't mean she wanted to shock or offend them unnecessarily. When it came down to it, Damini just wanted everyone to like her.

There would be a heated controversy if she kissed Prithvi Saxena, and in spite of her positive confidence Damini felt a fear inside her heart at the thought 'I can hardly fling myself into your arms in the middle of my sister's wedding,' she said confusingly, unaware that her thoughts were written clearly in her expressive face. 'It would cause a scene. While it might prove your point, I'm not prepared to do anything to spoil her day. It wouldn't be fair.'

Prithvi looked faintly bored by her expressions and words. 'Ms, Romantic..Wake up, I wasn't thinking of a passionate ki..,' he said with a different look that was unreadable to her. 'I know you're much too nice a girl to go in for anything like that!' I know i know...

'Oh.' Said.Damini who wasn't sure she liked the way he'd said word 'nice'. It wasn't that she wanted to kiss him—God help !—but she didn't want to be the kind of girl who didn't dare either. She stood feeling foolish, unable to decide whether she was relieved or offended at Prithvi's lack of interest in being kissed by her.

'What were you thinking of?' she asked him uncertainly. ' :

'a small kiss on the cheek,' said Prithvi, lifting his brows in a way that made Damini feel ridiculous for having thought that he could possibly mean anything else. 'A quick kiss to say thanks or goodbye, that's all. You have arrange a christen style wedding & as far I know its nt a big deal in this occassion'

'Oh,' said Damini again (She bit her lip & saw her momma, greeting friends on the other side. They wouldn't like her kissing Prithvi at all, and nor would anyone else. Perhaps no one would notice. It would be dark by then and the party would be well away. Everyone would be too busy enjoying themselves to wonder what she was doing with Prithvi Saxena, and anyway, it would only take a second. And it would be worth it. A very special role, wasn't that what Prithvi had called it? Quite apart from what it would do for her CV, ah important job with a company like Saxena wd be very profitable, Damini calculated_).

It was all very well not wanting to upset anybody, but the hard fact was that she needed the money to pay bills of Roshni's wedding, her momma's future and than her own..

Damini finished the champagne in her glass in one shot and thought of her financial status. Face it, her only other choice was to get a small job of some kind to tide her over. It wasn't that she hadn't done it before, but it certainly wasn't what she had planned to be doing at this age, and it was up to her to find a way out of her financial problems.

She could settle for a small job that too after so much of hard work or she could kiss Prithvi Saxena.

Prithvi had been watching the her emotions flitting across her face, but now he looked with irratation at his watch and look into her eyes : 'I might as well go,' he said. . ;

'What, now?' Damini regarded him with dismay. She had thought that she would have the rest of the evening to build up courage.

'No point in hanging around,' said Prithvi. 'I've done what I came to do. I thought it would be interesting to see if things had changed round here, but obviously they haven't'.The grey eyes gleamed with mockery as he looked at Damini. 'Shall I see myself out, or are you coming?'

How hard could it be? It was ridiculous to make such a fuss about a tiny kiss on cheek. All she had to do was walk across the hall with him, say goodbye and press her cheek to his.

Piece of cake.

Damini put down her glass. I'll come with you,' she said.

Something flickered in Prithvi's eyes, and was gone. 'Good,' was all he said.

Turning, he headed across the middle of the hall to the wide wooden doors that stood open to the night. He walked with the long, deliberate stride of a man used to walking alone, appearing not to notice the almost tangible hostility of the crowd,Struggling to keep up with him in her high heel shoes, Damini was very conscious of the eyes following

her. So much for not being noticed. Prithvi had paused at the doors and was waiting for her to catch up. Damini told herself that her sudden breathlessness was due to hurrying on unsteady heels, and nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that any moment now she was going to kiss him.

Outside, it was already dark. Two more steps would have taken them into the shadows, but he had stopped deliberately in the doorway so that they were framed against the darkness in the brightness of the light that shone directly above their heads. It was like being on stage.

I'll say goodbye,' said Prithvi, and held out his hand. His face was quite straight, but the startlingly light eyes glinted with a mocking challenge. He thought that she would lose her nerve, but Damini bring her chin up. This was her chance to prove herself.

She took his outstretched hand. 'Goodbye,' she said, surprised at how steady her voice sounded. The press of his palm was cool and firm, and as his fingers closed around hers she felt something uncurl alarmingly inside her, but she made herself look directly into his eyes, her own very blue and sparkling with boldness.

'It was nice to meet you,' she went on deliberately,and she brought her other hand up to rest against his shoulder. She felt his body strenght and thought that time had slowed down while her senses simultaneously speeded up. Damini was a tall girl, but Prithvi was taller still, and when he made no effort to bend his head she had to lift herself onto her toes to bring her face close to his, balancing herself by spreading her hand against his chest. She pressed her cheek against Prithvi's cool skin, feeling its roughness, breathing in his clean, masculine smell, grazing it with her lips, shivering at the sensation. Everything seemed to be happening hazily, as if in slow motion. Damini had forgotten their audience, but she hadn't forgotten what she was doing, and when she felt Prithvi's fingers begin to loosen their grip she tightened her hold for balancing herself and her lips touched his..Prithvi tensed questioningly as her hand slid up from his chest to his shoulder, and she turned her head. For a fleeting moment blue eyes looked into grey, and then Damini smiled, lowering her lashes, Both were not sure if she was influnced by champange or not.

Confused by the feeling, she would have pulled away if Prithvi hadn't chosen that exact moment to put his free arm around her waist and lift her hard against him. Damini found herself once helpless but secure.

His kissed her for a long, sensational electricity hit her heart that made her consicous. It was enough to break the kiss. Prithvi's arm fell, his hand released hers, and Damini was left, dizzy and confused, somehow managing to stand. The blue eyes were dazed, and she blinked furiously to clear her head.

What had happened? One second she had been coolly determined to impress him by kissing him on cheeks, and the next...oh, the next she kissed him ..a bit passionatly...there had been that moment of sensation, thrilling and terrifying at the same time. Damini couldn't have even said how long it lasted.

Shaken, she focused at last on her hand. It was clutching Prithvi's shoulder,crumpling his shirt between her fingers, and Damini snatch her hand away, although she could have done with the patience...

She had kissed him because she needed a job, not a shoulder to lean on. Remember?

'Will—?' She stopped, horrified by the huskiness of her voice. 'Will you consider me now?'

'I certainly will,' said Prithvi although his mind was also not in place becoz of the sensantional moment and smiled.

He had smiled at her before, but this smile was different and may be at best & unexpected, and Damini's heart did a flipflop that left her

even more breathless than she had been before. It was as if she had blinked to find someone completely different standing before her.

'Wh—wh—when...?' she said hesitatly, trying to ask him about the interview.

Prithvi seemed to understand and he pulled out a business card from his pocket and offered it to Damini, who took it with nerveless fingers. 'Give me a call,' he said, and turned to walk out, leaving Damini to stare after him, his card clutched unread in her hand.

1 week later..Damini looked at her watch may be 10thtime, and wondered if it was too late to change her shoes.

She had been pleased with her reflection when she left her room. After a long though on what she should wear, Damini had settled at knee length plain whine red dress which made her look stylish and professional, without

making it seem as if she had tried too hard to impress Prithvi. Maybe it was a bit shorter than she would normally wear to an interview,

but then most interviews didn't involve being flown to london and collected from the airport 'by Aston Martin One-77, or being put up in "The Midland Grand Hote" so luxurious her eyes had popped when she saw the room. It had taken Damini ages to pluck up the courage to ring Prithvi on the Monday after Roshni's wedding. She'd sat by the phone, tapping his card against her teeth, wishing she could put that kiss from her mind and feeling ridiculously, pathetically nervous at the idea of seeing him again. Even the thought of his voice at the other end of the phone had been enough to set the nerves up and down.

What had been the point of going through all that to get his number if she wasn't even going to call him? Damini had asked herself hesitatly.Chances were that Prithvi would simply put her in touch with the personnel

department and she would never have anything else to do with him.

She had to pay work for her financial conditionss somehow, didn't she?

And after all that, when she'd finally dialled the number, she'd got not Prithvi but his highly efficient assistant, who had told her that she would make arrangements for Damini to fly to London. Mr Saxena, she'd said, would see her for dinner the following Friday at eight o'clock. It seemed a funny time for an interview, but Damini had been too intimidated by the PA's manner to question her further.

Her spirits had risen on the flight over to Sydney. A first-class ticket, Aston Martin One-77 service from the airport, a luxurious suite in a top-class hotel... Prithvi must have been serious about it being an important job. Damini congratulated herself on having had the courage to kiss him. It had been awkward afterwards, to say the least, but clearly it had been worth it.

To celebrate, Damini had taken herself shopping as soon as she'd arrived in London, and had found a pair of shoes so perfect for her dress that she hadn't been able to resist buying them to wear. Now, sitting beside an elaborate fountain in the lobby as she waited for Prithvi to arrive, Damini wondered if they had been such a good idea.

They were beautiful, but perhaps they were, a bit much like a date? She realised suddenly..

Everybody else in the hotel was dressed so formally and Damini had seen one or two glances at her with a raised eyebrows. The gesture reminded her sharply of Prithvi.

He would be here any minute. Damini looked at her watch again, trying to ignore her nervesness. Really, she was being ridiculous! Damini sat upright.

This was an interview, not a date. She would be fine. All she had to do was be cool and professional, and let Prithvi know that as far as she was concerned the kiss had been no more than a mildly unusual interviewing technique. She did not meant to kiss him passionatly that was an accident too...

'Cool...professional...' she muttered to herself, only to find her eyes drawn back to her shoes. No, they weren't the right image! She would have to go and change. If she hurried, she could get up to her room and back before he arrived.

Damini turned towards the lifts, but she had only taken two steps before the lift doors opened and Prithvi stand out into thelobby.

The air freezed as per Damini at the.sight of him, and she stopped dead, conscious of a sense of recognition so sharp that it was almost a shock. It wasn't that she hadn't expected to recognise Prithvi, it was just that she hadn't been prepared for him to seem quite so, familiar. It was as if she had always known that handsome face, the deep eyes.

Pausing in the middle of the lobby, Prithvi look around until he found Damini. Damini's felt like her heart was beating in her throat as he came towards her. 'Hi!' She smiled nervously, wincing inwardly as she heard her own voice. Cool and professional? Yeah, sure Clearing her throat, Damini held out her hand. "Thank you for considering me for the post.'

There was an odd look in Prithvi's eyes as he inspected her subjecting her to an intense but strangely impersonal scrutiny. His gaze travelled from her face to toe. One corner of his lipe curved for little smile, and he lifted his eyes to Damini's. 'It's a pleasure,' he said. He took her hand, and the moment his fingers closed around hers Damini felt her composure shattered. His clasp was warm and firm, and the touch of his palm sent little tingles down her arm. All he had to do was shake her hand and she would be breaking as a glass in that sensation she felt if they'd kissed all

over again. It wasn't fair, be professiona she reminded herself..

'You're very formal,' said Prithvi, and his eyes shinned. 'We kissed last time we met,' he reminded her.

As if she would have forgotten. As if she couldn't still feel his touch beneath her fingers, his lips on hers, the deep, dangerous twist of excitement. As if she hadn't relived every second of that kiss and how it had felt as his arm came round her like an iron bar and lifted her

effortlessly against him.

Damini bite her lips consiously. 'That was just because I wanted an interview and it was not a kiss, only goodbye gesture as you mentioned,' she said, raising her voice She wished he would let her hand go, but when she tried to pull it away Prithvi's grip tightened. 'It worked,' he said, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes as he drew her inexorably towards him, 'but this time let's say hi because we're pleased to see each other.'

It was just like the last time, only different was that this time it was Prithvi who made the first move, Prithvi whose lips brushed against her cheek.

To anyone watching it must have seemed the warmest welcome by kiss, but Damini's senses were drumming beneath her skin, she was suddenly overwhelmed by an uncconscious urge to hug him, she turned her head and let their lips meet, so that they can kiss just as they had kissed before.

For one dizzying moment she was sure that Prithvi was going to do just that, and she closed her eyes, but after a short hesitations Prithvi lifted his head and let her go-Damini's eyes snapped open and her cheeks burned with a mixture of disappointment and fury at her own foolishness in thinking it might have been anything else.

Had Prithvi guessed how close she had come to making a complete idiot of herself? Damini slid a glance at him from under her lashes, but his expression was impossible to read. He looked as frustrate as ever and closed his eyes.

'Come,' said Prithvi, taking her arm. 'We'll have a drink before we go.' He took her towards a table. A barman materialised in response to Prithvi's barely lifted finger. 'Champagne,' ordered Prithvi without even looking at him.'Certainly, sir.' 'Champagne?' Damini asked with shaking voice...'What are we celebrating?'

'The fact that you came.' he replied with smile.

Damini stared at him. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting him to say. Perhaps a billion-dollar deal closed, or a rival company crushed. Anything except what he had said. 'Did you think that I wouldn't?' she asked cautiously.

Prithvi seemed to consider the matter. 'I wasn't sure,' he said eventually.

'I wouldn't have kissed you if I hadn't really wanted you to consider me for the job,' Damini pointed out, and was then afraid that it might seem as if she was protesting just a little too much.

'True,But I did wonder if you might have changed your mind once I'd left. There must have been plenty of people there trying to persuade you that it would be a terrible mistake to have anything to do with me. Or are you going to tell me that nobody noticed the affectionate farewell you gave me?'

"They noticed all right,' said Damini with feeling, remembering the moment when she had turned from the doors to face the stares of groups. 'Mum wasn't very pleased.'

(That was understatement of the year. Her mother hadn't actually seen the kiss, but she had heard plenty about it and she had been appalled).

'It was bad enough him turning up at the wedding at all, without you kissing him! What on earth possessed you to make such an exhibition of yourself?'

'I felt sorry for him,' Damini had said slowly to her mom. She had been strangely reluctant to admit the truth about that kiss. If she'd told her mother that she had had to kiss Prithvi to get him to consider her for a job, it would only have added to his reputation, and that was bad enough as it was. Damini couldn't think of any good reason why Prithvi's

reputation should matter to her; she just knew that she didn't want to be responsible for ruined it any further.

'Sorry for Prithvi Saxena? You must be the first person ever to feel that. That was probably true, Damini had thought inside. It wasn't easy to pity a man like Prithvi. He was too tough, too competent, too indifferent to what people thought of him.

'He wasn't exactly made to feel welcome,' she'd tried to explain to her mother. 'I felt as if I ought to make an effort to talk to him. We did invite him, after all.'

"That was sameer's fault who is new to this place,' her mother had grumbled. 'Why did he come, anyway? He didn't talk to anyone except you.'

'Maybe that's because nobody except me bothered to talk to him' Damini had said with a shade of defiance, even as she'd wondered what on earth she was doing defending Prithvi Saxena.

'Nobody except you would have thought they had to fling themselves into his arms just to be polite!' her mother had retorted, clearly baffled by Damini's behaviour. 'It's absolutely typical of you, Damini! You always go too far!'

Damini had given up then. She did feel a little guilty about having caused a scene ,at Roshni's wedding, but it wasn't as if she had hurt anyone's feelings. And she certainly didn't feel guilty enough to give up her best chance yet of a real job.

Muttering vaguely about the possibility of a job in Sydney as she'd left, Damini had prudently kept Prithvi Saxena's name out of it. Her mother would have a fit when she heard, but Damini would deal with that when— if—she got the job. ,

'She doesn't approve of me?' Prithvi broke into her thoughts. It was more of a statement than a question.

Her mother's words rang in Damini's ears: 'That Prithvi Saxena is not good! He never was and he never will be! He broke his poor father's heart, Damini, and he'll break a lot more hearts before he's finished, you mark my words. Don't you have anything to do with him!'

'Well...not really,' she said cautiously.

'Good,' he said coolly. 'I have to confess when I met you at your sister's wedding I thought you would be too nice. I had you down as the kind of person who has to be liked, but if you're prepared to meet me against your family's will, that means you've got what it takes after all.' '

Damini couldn't imagine anyone else being pleased to hear that they were thoroughly disliked. 'It means I need a job,' she told him honestly.

'I know.' Prithvi leant forward and looked straight into her puzzled blue eyes. 'I've got a feeling that it also means you could be just the girl I'm looking for!'

THE look in his eyes was making Damini's heart pound, and she could feel herself blushing. Don't be an idiot, she told herself fiercely. He's talking about a job. He's not interested in you. 'Great,' she said with an unconvincing smile.

To her relief, the barman arrived just then with an ice bucket. He set it down on the table between Prithvi and Damini, and her eyes widened at the label on the bottle as he drew it from the ice and eased out the cork with a subtle, extremely expensive pop. If this was the champagne Prithvi was

used to drinking, it was no wonder he had turned up his nose at what had been served at Roshni's wedding and refused to take one!

Prithvi waited until the barman had poured two glasses and went out. Prithvi leant forward and picked up his glass, chinking it against Damini's.

'Here's to a successful partnership!' he said.

very interesting ff!!!!😛😛
NICE START!!!

very nice update Anajali
loved it!!
thanks Tich for posting it

gr8 part...cant wait to read more...ud soon

I m actually lovin the Plot.. Pls Update soon..

lovely update thanks for the link yaar really nice job!

Partnership? Did he say partnership? Damini stared at him. 'You mean I've got the job?'

'If you want it,' said Prithvi carefully.

Did she want it? Damini laughed. 'I want it,' she assured him 'Oh, this is fantastic! Thank you.'

She raised her glass at him for toast, her blue eyes sparkling with delight. 'I can't tell you what a relief it is,'she relaxed at last in her seat.

'I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever find another job!'Well, y r u not having ur drink..she asked him...

I don't drink..he replied with smile..

Damini's stared him with surprised look and sipped her drink..She managed to divert her mind about her new job profile.. and realised that she still had no idea at all of what the job entailed. 'Er...what exactly is this

special project you want me for?' she asked Prithvi.

He hesitated but he said at last. . 'It's complicated,'And very sensitive. I don't want to say any more until I'm sure that I can trust you.'

Damini asked carefully 'You mean, you might not want me after all?' she said, unable to keep the disappointment from her voice.

Surely he had said that the job was hers if she wanted it?

Prithvi looked at her, the corners of his mouth lifting in a slight smile.'Oh, no, I want you all right,' he said. 'But you might change your mind

when you know what's involved, and I don't want to explain that just yet Do you mind?'

Damini didn't think that she was in any position to mind.she politly replied 'Well, no, of course not,' you can explain me whenvr u feel comfortable..

whereas her mind was rolling "What on earth was he is going to ask her to do? A man like Prithvi didn't need to her, and anyway, judging by those whose

names had been linked with his in the gossip columns, she wasn't exactly his type.

'I am sorry if it seems unreasonable,' said Prithvi, misinterpreting her expression, 'but you'll understand later why I don't want to share the profile with

you right now..'

Damini pleaded. 'At least tell me if it's a PR job!'

'I think you could say that,' he conceded.

'Doesn't Saxena Group have a PR department already?'

Prithvi look into her confursed eyes 'This isn't to do with Saxena group,'It's related to me.'

'I see,' she said, although she didn't understand the meaning.

'Look,' he said , his one hand on his hair, may be a gesture of frustration, 'let's start again, shall we? We'll treat this as an ordinary interview,

and I'll explain everything later.'

'All right,' said Damini in some relief but she knw it was not an ordinary interview..in evening..opps almost night..dinner..with champagne..

Prithvi hesistatly said 'I thought if we had a dinner together, it would be a good way to find out more about you,' We can go back to the office and sit on either

side of a desk if you'd prefer.'

'No, no, this is fine!' said Damini hastily. She put her glass on the table, sat upright, smoothed her dress down over her knees and looked

confidently at Prithvi. 'Where do you want me to begin?With my last job?'

'No.' Prithvi waved her precious work experience aside. I'm more interested in your personal background.'

'But you know all that,' you mentioned in that day..she replied with confusion.

'Do I? I know you grew up in Manali but live in the Mumbai. I know that you're very sociable, and that you have a very...' He paused,

searching for the right word. 'much confidence,' he decided. 'But that's about it. There must be more to you want to share with me for start..'

'I like reading,' she said calmly, although she really preferred a good movie, shopping.

She could see from Prithvi's face that he was not impressed. 'Well, what else do you want to know?' she asked crossly.

'How about why a woman with your personality and apparent ability is so desperate for a job that she's prepared to take on an assignment without

even knowing what it is or what she'll have to do?' Prithvi suggested in a rude voice.

'It was my own fault,' Damini admitted after a long pause. She might as well tell him. 'It took me ages to decide what I wanted to do. I tried

all sorts of jobs, but eventually I ended up in PR, and it was perfect for me. I loved the parties and the organisation and the...the buzz.'

'I managed to get a job with one of the top agencies in mumbai, and for a while everything was fine. It was more than fine, actually. I had a

great job, a fantastic social life, a wonderful boyfriend. We got engaged, had a gud life.' She smiled a little sadly. 'I thought I had everything.'

'So what happened?' asked Prithvi, a faint sneer in his voice. 'Did your wonderful boyfriend turn out to be not so wonderful after all or he was not

romantice as per your expectations..?'

Damini shook her head. 'No, nothing like that.. We were not made for each other I guess.. we dated 1 year after graduation and then i left for Mumbai..

When I went back I did not feel comfortable with him as girl friend..so i mentioned him my feeling ..."she paused..

Inder is—wonderful, and now We are very good friends, comfortable together.

'It must be a bit hard for him, wasn't it?' Prithvi had been listening all right, but he obviously wasn't impressed. His grey eyes were alert and very cool.

Prithvi looked at her. She might sound sad. But still her laughter gave her expression a warmth and a humour that was much more appealing than beauty.

His gaze dropped to her hair that was flirting with her cheeks. Aware of his eyes, Damini lifted her hand and pushed the silky hair away from her face in an

unconsciously nervous gesture, but it wouldn't stay behind her ears and fell forward again on her cheek.

'I wouldn't say that,' he corrected himself said, and he smiled. a attractive smile that sent the colour surging into Damini's cheeks.

Avoiding his gaze, she took a sip of champagne and set her glass back on the table with a sharp click. 'Yes, well, anyway,' she said with a tiny cough to clear her throat.

'Once I'd sorted things out with Inder, I felt much better, but I knew I had to do the same with work. I'd been at the agency too long but not satisfied. I went in the next day and

handed in my resignation. I told them I needed a new challenge and that I was going to set up on my own business'

'And did you?'

'I tried, but it was hopeless. Starting a business is not a piece of cake and u know it better..right..She waited for his response and he smile back..she confinue.." I wasn't getting

anything gud as per my satisfaction. I was about to give up when I met you and you mentioned this job. It's my last chance to make it on my own and to stay in Mumbai.'

'hummm...Now I'realise why you were so keen to be considered,' said Prithvi.

Damini's colour deepened. He hadn't said anything, but she knew that he was thinking about the way she had kissed him at the wedding. But he asked to kiss him on cheeks not in..well by mistake

or under champage..., It wouldn't do any harm for him to realise that she had only kissed him like that because she had been desperate for job not interested in him..is she.??.

'It's been months now since I had a regular income,' she told him. 'I know I should be able to manage, but I'm not very good at economising,

She sighed.

'All you need is ambition if you have one you will be economical,' said Prithvi, 'and if you want it badly enough you can get there. You must have an ambition, don't you?'

Damini 'I'd like to do well at my job, of course, but I don't have any burning desire to succeed. As long as it's interesting and I've got enough to live on, I don't mind. My ambitions

aren't that focused. What I'd really like is marriage, a family of my own, the usual. I just want to be happy like my sisters.'

Prithvi didn't responsed well, but there was something very discomfort in his gesture...

'What about you?' she asked abruptly.

'Me?'

'What are your ambitions, or have you achieved them all?'

'No,' said Prithvi, looking at his watch carefully so that Damini couldn't read his expression. 'I've still got one.'

'What is it?' She asked with smile..

'To live at Manali.'

Damini froze with her glass halfway to her lips. 'Live at Manali?'she echoed in astonishment. 'Whatever for?'

'Just to be there,' said Prithvi simply.

She put her glass down without drinking and stared at him.

'You can't run a company the size of Saxena Group from a Manali..I mean there is no such facilities...like in Mumbai or London!'

'Yes, I can,' Prithvi intrupted her. 'I don't run Saxena group on a day-to-day basis anyway. I've got highly paid directors to do that for me. All I

need to do is to keep in contact, and I can do that from anywhere. We've got the technology now—e-mail, telephone, video links, fax.

'But why would you want to?' asked Damini, uncomprehending. "There's nothing there! Think of the places you could base yourself—New York,

Tokyo, London, Paris, ..' She threw her arms in the air as if she had tossed the world at his feet 'You're so rich, you can go anywhere, do

anything you want. I can't believe that you would give up all that and go and live in the Manali!'

'Your family do," Prithvi pointed out.

'Yes, but that's all they know. They're used to narrow roads, and not having the option of big facilated cars..They're not used to the buzz-of a

city the way you must be. I mean, Manali is beautiful,''but it's so quiet and nothing ever happens! There are no big restaurants, no

shops, no nightlife, no people, nothing.

'So if this job involved spending time in the Manali, you wouldn't want to do it?'

The question caught her off balance. She had forgotten the job for a while there in her amazement at Prithvi's announcement. She couldn't imagine

why he would need her PR skills if he was going back to Manali. He could have told her that a bit sooner, Damini reflected with a

tinge of resentment. Now she was going to have to backtrack fast!

'It's not that I don't like being there,' she assured him. 'I born and grew up up there but I was living in Mumbai for I guess 3 years,,.I love going

back home and seeing my family, too, but after a while I start to pine for the city. I mean No nightlife..no big cars..no crowd...She paused for a while..

"But, of course, it would be different working for you. I'd have a job of my own to do—and I don't imagine you'd be going to all this trouble if

you just wanted help you in horseriding training..Because i know you love to do that..?'

'No.' Prithvi smiled faintly. 'I don't want you to do that.'

'Well, then, I'm sure it won't be a problem,' said Damini. 'Frankly, I'm not in a position to pick and choose locations. If Manali is where

the job is, that's where I'll go.'

It was hard to know whether she had convinced him or not. Prithvi seemed preoccupied with his own thoughts. He was leaning forward, apparently absorbed in moving his

car key. His head was lowered, giving Damini a foreshortened view of his face. She could see his unreadable expressions..There was something guarded about the way

he held himself, she thought but she was failed to imagine him in Manali without his luxury car, dress, n other accessories...

'Are you really thinking about going to live at Manali?' she asked him, unable to conceal the disbelief in her voice.

'Yes.'

'But...why?'

'Because it's my home.' Prithvi looked up from the table, and as always Damini was kidnapped by the lightness of his eyes against those dark lashes. It

was like receiving a tiny electric shock every time.

'For the last few years I've been able to go anywhere in the world,' he went on, 'except the one place I wanted to be. It's where I was

born, where I grew up. The land there is part of me.'

His eyes dropped back to his keys,,' he said. 'I've been to all those cities you mentioned and I feel about them the way you feel..Luxurious. They're OK for a while,

but they're not where I want to be. They're all the same. I can stand in any Saxena office around the world and look out and all I see is concrete and cars. There's not enough

sky in a city. I sit in my office and I think about what it would be like to be back at Manali, riding through the narrow roads, waking up under the foggy sky...'

Nonplussed, she stared back at him. There had been a note in his voice when he talked about Manali that she had never heard before. Who would

have thought that Prithvi Saxena could feel like that? Prithvi, the top business icon..If asked, Damini would have said without hesitation that all

he cared about was making money, but now it seemed that she would have been wrong.

'Why have you waited until now?' she asked, puzzled. 'You could have bought a hundred properties.'

'I didn't want another property,' said Prithvi flatly. 'I only wanted Saxena Mansion.'

'But if you feel that strongly about it, why did you leave?'

His face closed. 'I had to go—and once I had my father wouldn't let me come home.' The grey eyes were bitter as he met Damini's shocked gaze.

'Yes, good Mr. Balraaj Saxena who was said to be so broken-hearted by my departure! People around Manali respected him, didn't they? They thought he was a fine, gentle man, firm but fair.' He mimicked the way people might have talked about his father. 'Not the easiest of men, perhaps, but you knew where you were with him. Isn't that right?'

Damini shifted uncomfortably in her seat. 'More or less.'

Prithvi nodded grimly. "They only ever saw one side of him. My father was an obsessive. He made my mother's life a misery, and when she left he took

out his feelings at what he thought of as her betrayal on me. I was only seven and he was determined to bring me up so that he could control me

the way he hadn't been able to control her. He refused to let her have any contact with me at all, and instead he dictated what I ate, what I

wore, what I did every minute of the day.'

Damini had been listening in disbelief, moved more by what he hadn't said than by what he had. That casual reference to his mother leaving, abandoning

a small boy to a crual father... Had any of those who had been so quick to pass judgement on Prithvi as a troublemaker ever stopped to

wonder what his childhood had been like, isolated and unhappy, with no one to comfot or console him??

Withoug realising that her hands automatically went on his hand to make him comfortable. She wished she could tell him how sorry she felt for the little boy

he had been, but she sensed that Prithvi was not the kind of man who would welcome sympathy, she realised him hands tighten under her fingers n suddenly she released his hand.

'How did you cope?' she asked quickly..

'I made him more frustrated with my act.' Prithvi's mouth twisted at the memory of growing up. I'd go out looking for trouble, and if I didn't find it, I would make it. Dad's response was to try and restrict me even further, and that only made me worse. It was inevitable that it would all end badly.'

'What happened?' asked Damini hesitantly.

Prithvi shrugged. 'We had few arguments.. and I told him I'd had enough and that I wanted to go away for a while. Dad refused to even consider

the idea. He told me he had "plans" for me.'

'What kind of plans?'

"The kind that would enable him to keep me and Manali right under his control. He wanted me to settle down, get married to a nice after turning 18 or 20, suitable

girl and have a kids for his so called wealth.'

Damini's mind boggled as she i tried to imagine the scene. 'What did you say?'

'I laughed in his face,' said Prithvi with grim satisfaction. 'I was only fifteen, for God's sake, and I told him that even if I'd been ten years older, having had him as an example of husband and father, there was no way I was ever getting married or having children!'

'He can't have liked that very much.'

Prithvi looked at her. "That's one way of putting it,' he agreed somewhat sardonically. 'I'd never seen him as angry as he was that day. For him, giving in or compromising

would have been surrendering his control, and he wasn't prepared to do that. He didn't think he would have to, either. He knew how I felt about Manali because that was my home land..

My mother;s place, I born there..my school,, friends everything for me was only Manali, and he played what he thought was his trump card. He told me that if I left I would never

be able to come back. I could go, but as far as he was concerned, I would no longer be his son, and if I ever set foot on Saxena Mansion again he would meet me with police...'

What did you say to someone whose father had said something like that?

Damini bit her lip and looked down at her hands. 'I'm sorry,' she muttered.

Prithvi lifted his shoulders in a tiny shrug, as if acknowledging the inadequacy of her response. 'In some ways my father's ultimatum was a

good thing. If things had been different I would have stayed at Manali all my life and never seen or done anything else. As it was, I chose freedom

and independence, but Saxena Mansion was the price I paid. I left the next day.'

What had it been like for him? Damini wondered. Fifteen wasn't that old to be disowned by a father and forced to make your own way in this cruel world

that too without loved. No wonder he had become a stone hearted man...

'And you never went back?'

Prithvi shook his head. 'Last week, when I came to your sister's wedding, was the fist time I'd been to Manali for almost twelve years.'

He glanced at Damini, and the sadness in his gey eyes gave her a picture of his lonely years. 'I feel as if I've spent all that time in exile,' he said. 'I'm not looking for sympathy. I've done

well in those years. I've built up a successful company and made all the money I need. My only ambition now is to go home now my home..Saxena Mansion...'

Damini couldn't imagine not being able to go home whenever she wanted.'She might argue with her mamma on few topics..or fights with roshini' she took it

for granted but now she understood the meaning of her own family..after seeing lonelyness in Prithvi's eyes..

'At least you know you're going to achieve your ambition,' she said with a cheerful smile, trying to lighten the mood. "That's more than I can say! Saxena Mansion is yours

now, and you can go back whenever you want.'

'Yes,' Prithvi agreed after a moment, but there was a hesitation in his expression that Damini didn't understand.

Wondering what had caused the newly tension in his eyes, she look around for something to say to break the lengthening silence. 'Aren't you

afraid of being lonely?' she asked at last without thiking twice.

'Lonely?' Prithvi sounded as if he didn't know what the word meant.

'Saxena Mansion is a big place,' she pointed out. 'One man could feel a bit lost in a million acres.' ,

'There are many servants there,' he pointed out, 'and there'll be the staff from Saxena group for work of course.

Damini tried and failed to picture Prithvi sitting alone in his mansion between few servants and his staff..she said with smile. 'Right,'

'And then,' said Prithvi with a pause and smile, leaning forward to look into her face, 'there'll be you.' '

Damini found her nervously wandering gaze trapped by his eyes. He held an expression that she couldn't understand. She could only stare

helplessly back at him and long for the strength to look away, make a light comment to break the atmosphere, while her heart beat hit her like thunder..

'I hope,' Prithvi added softly, and again smiled.

Damini managed to take a breath. 'Right,' she said weakly again.

In silence they had their dinner and left..

A Luxurious Car was waiting for them outside the hotel entrance. As Prithvi and Damini came out..Driver came out for opening the door. Feeling very

nervier, Damini got in... She had never been to anything like the restaurant... She was fumbling may be because of champagne..or may be she was

trying to figure out if this was a ordinary interview or not..because it seems more like a date...Date??

He wasn't interested in her. He just wanted to know how suitable she was for this mysterious job of his. The atmosphere might be

romantic, Damini reminded herself, but this was still an interview nothing else, and she had better not forget it.

'Are you all right?'He asked after adjusting his seat belt..

'Yes...yes...I'm fine.' just thinking what a beautiful night it is,' she said desperately in an attempt to explain her strange behaviour.

Prithvi looked up at the overcast sky.

'It's not raining,' she explained defiantly.

'True.' There was a thread of amusement in his voice. 'Shall we walk for a bit?'

Damini swallowed. 'OK.'

As he turned, Prithvi's eyes were caught by her fumbling walk. He frowned 'Can you walk now?

Perhaps we'd better go in the car after all.' ' he said with smile..

'No,' said Damini quickly. Too quickly. "I am perfectly fine. I'd like to walk.'She slapped herself in her mind..she should have said that she wanted to

go straight back to the hotel but that meant end of this beautifull eve with Prithvi. She should have wished Prithvi a cool goodnight and

shut herself in her room and remembered all the reasons why she didn't like him at first he is rude, proudy n whatevr... She should have

told him that she had only come to hear about the job..And what had she done instead? She had jumped at the chance of walking

alone with him in the dark night. what the hell she is doing and why???//

This is an interview. An interview. An interview, Damini chanted to herself as she fell into step beside Prithvi and he caught her in time.

There was a silence and he made her stand and turn without saying a word. Absorbed in his own thoughts, Prithvi kept his hands into his trouser pockets,

Damini was beginning to wonder whether he had forgotten that she was there when he stopped and looked .down at her.

'R u nt well to walk more?'

'walk?' said Damini blankly.

'You are not looking well enough for a walk now.'

She looked down at her feet 'No, I am fine.'Slowly she started walking..

In silence, They had been walking from last 10 minutes.as no need of words between them..confortable in each other's presence.

Suddenly she realised him standing in front of her with his head downward..staring at road ...She reminded herself she didn't

even like him very much. He was cold and hard and bitterly self-contained. She might have more sympathy for him since she had learnt

more of his story, but that didn't make him a warm, wonderful human being. Prithvi was never going to be kind, or considerate. He wasn't even fun or lovable..Lovable??

So why did he make her feel like this? Restless and nervous.

Prithvi slowly straight his head, and Damini's heart gave a flip flop and she found herself trapped by his eyes once again.

'You're very quiet,' he said. 'What are you thinking about?'

'Oh...nothing,' she said instead, her voice high and unsteady. I'm only quiet because I didn't want to interrupt you. I thought you were

thinking.'

'I was,' said Prithvi.

'What about?'

'About you.'

Damini looked into his eyes with confusion, without thinkin she took a step ahead until they stood an inch apart from each other,

still not touching but an invisible current that crackled between them.

Damini's heart was beating fast like a racing car. 'About whether you can trust me?' she asked with difficult smile to make out a joke of it,

'Among other things.' Prithvi looked down into her face. Her eyes were wide and dark, and he reached out to let a careless finger to move hair from her face..

'I think I could,' he said softly.

Damini stared dumbly back at him, her skin burning from that casual caress and her heart slamming against her ribs.

'Couldn't I?' said Prithvi.

She nodded like a fool.

'Good,' he said. His voice deepened. 'Do you want to know what else I was thinking about?'

'What?' she whispered, barely aware of what she was saying, conscious only of her increasing heart beat.

In response, Prithvi cupped her face gently between his palms. 'About this,' he said, smiling, and he bent his head very slowly towards hers.

Damini closed her eyes, and the next moment she felt a kiss on her lips and the world spun dazzlingly around her. Incapable of resisting, even

if she had wanted to, she leant into him in response...She was beyond being sensible, beyond thinking about anything except Prithvi was kissing her, a real kiss,

not by accident..or by mistake..She forgot everything around her but only Prithvi's kiss and his hands, sliding down her throat, gathering her closer

to him, deepening the kiss.

Damini was gasping and breathless when his lips left hers to drift seductively along her jaw.'Is...is this part of the interview?' she murmured, smiling shakily,

as she was dreaming this..may be ..?? May be she would feel him smile back against her skin and deny it, that he would kiss her again and convince her that he

wanted he because he like her or may be lovE??

But Prithvi didn't smile. He stood like a statue, his lips against her temple, and the sudden tightness of his body sent a hint of tension Damini's

spine.She pulled herself away so that she could look into his face. 'Is it?'

'In a way,' he admitted with frustration.

Damini's arms fell, and she backed away from him until she came up against the railing of the road as she could tolerate humiliation that crashed over her.

What had he been thinking as he kissed her? Had there been a part of his mind coolly calculating her response..for sake of job..???

Damini felt sick, angry, humiliated, insulted..felt like crying..She closed her eyes as if she would open her eyes and it will becama a dream...

How could she have forgotten what Prithvi was like,,rude, proudy, stone hearted..? Had she really thought that he would lose control of the situation that easily?

He was a man who always knew exactly what he was doing, and why.

'I think you'd better tell me exactly what it is you want me for,' she said in a angry voice.

'I need a wife.'

There was a long, long silence.

'A what?' said Damini at last, she thought she had enough champagne imagine words or understanding the words wrongly.

'You heard it right.'

She moistened her lips. 'You're asking me to marry you?' Her voice was husky with disbelief, and Prithvi smiled faintly but without much humour.

'I don't seem to be going about it very well, but I guess that's just what I am doing.'

Damini rub her face with her hands to clear her view. She felt utterly confussion, still not over come by his sudden kiss and his sudden confession of marrying her that had hit

her like a slap in the face, and now struggling to accept Prithvi's incredible announcement

'But you...you don't want to get married,' she said with disbelief. Hadn't he said that? Hadn't he stood at Roshni's wedding and laugher at the very idea of being married? Or

had that happened in some parallel universe where everything made sense and not the one she found herself in now?

'I do now,' said Prithvi. 'I have to get married before I'm thirty. That's only two months away.'

Damini's hands fell from her head, but her mind still spun crazily. 'You're...joking...' she managed, still stuttering incredulously.

Prithvi shook his head, and his mouth twisted into a bitter smile. 'I wish I was.'

He looked down at his hands, as if wondering what to do with them, kept them into pockets as he turned to face the sky.

'My father left me Saxena Mansion, but on one condition,' he said with frustration. 'I can have that, but only if I get married, and only if my wife is a resident of

Manali, born and grew up there.'

Damini stared at him. 'But surely that's not legal!' she protested.

'Do you think I haven't had my entire legal department combing the will for loopholes?' Prithvi almost snarled. 'It's legal all right. If I want

Mansion, I have to find myself a wife.'

'And that's the job? Marrying you?'

'Yes.'

A anger took over Damini and she felt collapsed, shaken, against the railing. It came out of nowhere, exploding like a bomb which Damini had never experienced

before. Puzzled with confussion and anger, she faced Prithvi with wide eyes.

'So tonight—the dineer, the luxurious drive, hotel and that kiss was all about?' Her voice shook, but this time with fury rather than

distress. 'You needed someone to marry, and you thought I'd do? Poor Damini, and still single whereas her both youger sister married..! She must be

desperate for marriage! Is that what you thought?'

'No,' said Prithvi, but she hardly heard him.

'I bet you thought it would be easy. All you had to do was show me all the luxury to impress. It wouldn't take much time to impress a small town girl

like me, would it? A small dinner, and a car, and I'd jump at the idea of marrying you!'

'It wasn't like that,' Prithvi began, his voice tightening, but Damini was too angry to listen.

'And that kiss just now?' she demanded furiously. 'What was that about? Extra insurance in case all that money does not work, you assure that would work..because you think..

I m so desperate for being married.. I'd fall into the arms of the first man who showed me a little attention?

'No!' Prithvi shouted back at her, and a couple who were passing looked curiously at them as they faced each other angrily. A muscle pounded in

his cheek, and he made a visible effort to control himself.

'No,' he said again, more quietly this time. "That wasn't what I was thinking when I kissed you.'

'What were you thinking, then?' Damini asked with lower voice so that no one near by can hear her..

'I wasn't thinking at all,' said Prithvi. "That was the trouble.'

They stared at each other in silence as both were thinking about that kiss. Damini looked away as she was about to cry. Prithvi's kiss might have been calculating,

but she had so nearly fallen for it.

'I don't believe this!' she muttered, slowly rubbing her tears from her cheeks.

Prithvi sighed and raked his fingers through his hair with frustration or impatience. 'Look, I'm sorry. I've gone about this all the wrong way. Will you just let me explain?'

'I don't think I want to hear it.'

'You said I could trust you.' He hesitated. 'Please, Damini?'

Prithvi Saxena begging. Now there was a turn-up for the books, thought Damini bitterly. 'Please' wasn't a word that he would use very often.

Her body was still shaking with reaction, and humiliating tears filled in her eyes. She didn't want to listen to Prithvi explaining why he had

made a fool out of her, but that wonderful, increasing anger had went away, as she made the mistake of looking at Prithvi. He was watching

her with a serious expression, and something in his eyes made her nod her head.

'All right,' she said dully.

Prithvi let out a breath. 'I don't know about you, but I could use a coffee,'he said. 'Let's go and sit down somewhere, please.'

He took her arm without waiting for her response and led back to a cafe they had passed earlier, she followed him like a fool again. She waited until he came

back and put a cup in her hand.

'Drink that,' he said. Sipping obediently, Damini choked as the hot coffee burned down her throat. Her eyes watered, but he patted her back like a kid..

'Better?'

'Yes.' She nodded, even managing a shaky smile.

Prithvi sat down next to her and sipping his own coffee in silence, obviously choosing his words carefully.

He started slowly like talking to himself almost.. 'After leaving Manali..I used to ring Dad, but he always hung up at

the sound of my voice, and after a while I admit that I gave up. I'd moved to Mumbai and after a long struggle, made this empire. and got busy...but a few years

ago I tried again.

'I knew that Dad was getting older and that he would need help running his business, though I was not interested in his business but in him..n of course my mansion..my mother's

last..belonging..so I wrote to him, suggesting that I came back and took on some of the responsibility. He didn't answer, but I got a letter back from his

lawyer, who said that my father had already made his position clear and was not prepared to discuss the matter further. In other words, I could

only go home if I agreed to get married when I was only 22 . And I wasn't prepared to do that'

Prithvi glanced at Damini. She was still looking shocked, but at least she was listening. 'I know it sounds stupid, but at that point I really did give

up. I told myself that I was just going to have to wait until he died before I could go home. Saxena Mansion was the only thing Dad, Maa and I had in common,

and I was sure that he wouldn't leave it to anyone other than his son.'

He laughed with sadness in his eyes. 'I should have known better! Dad had his plan, and he'd waited a long time to get his own way. He wanted me married, and

Saxena Mansion passed on to a new generation, so he inserted that clause into his will. I could have mansion, but only if I did what he had

wanted me to do all along.

'He was very specific,' he added bitterly. 'I had to get married before I was thirty, and I couldn't choose anyone I wanted. My mother was Mumbai girl or

you can say.. a city girl, and that marriage was a disaster. There was no way Dad was letting anyone like her..i mean a city girl back in that mention. That's why he insisted on me

marrying a girl belong to Manali only, the kind of woman he thought was suitable for me. The lawyers have to be satisfied that my wife

fulfils his conditions before Saxena Mention legally becomes mine.'

'I can't believe a father would do anything like that,' said Damini helplessly.

'I can,' said Prithvi. 'His will was Dad's last chance to get his own way.

He'd refused to let me back to Manali for those years, but that hadn't worked. He knew how much it meant to me,

and that it was the one thing that would get me to do what he wanted.'

He smiled... I'll bet Dad enjoyed putting that clause in the will,knowing I'd be counting on the fact that Saxena Mansion would be mine in the end.

He must have thought he'd hit on the perfect way to control me!' '

'What happens if you don't get married?' she asked him slowly..

'It goes to a distant relative—the son of one of Dad's cousins. Bitterness slipped back into Prithvi's voice. 'It wouldn't mean anything to him.'

'Well...couldn't you get married and then divorced?'

'I thought of that, but Dad had it all covered. He wasn't going to have the future of mansion threatened by any divorce. He wanted me settled, with

a sensible wife and a family, he way he'd planned it all along. So the will specifies that the day I get divorced, the property reverts to my cousin.'

'My father had planned everything very well to control me.."

Damini was beginning to understand his bitterness. 'So you have a straight choice? Marry, or lose Saxena mansion.'

Prithvi replied bitterly ..'That's it.When his lawyer told me about the condition in the will, I was so angry I couldn't think straight. I'd

spent my whole life trying to get away from my father's control, and now if I wanted my mom's last assest I'd have to give in. I'd sworn I would never let anyone

else run my life for me. I'd have to give up my independence, marry the kind of girl he'd wanted me to marry .. I decided I couldn't do

it It would be like letting him control the rest of my life once again. And then I went back to sort out his things.'

Prithvi looked into her eyes and said..'It was the first time I'd been to Manali in fifteen years. It was only when I went back that I

realised quite how much I'd missed it. It was...' He trailed off, looking down at his hands. 'I can't tell you what it was like,' he

admitted eventually. 'Nothing had changed. Part of me still wants to say to hell with my father, but...'

He looked into Damini's eyes, his own very clear and direct. 'I want to go back,'And to go back I have to have a wife.' '

Damini turned her gaze away and stared fixedly down at the cup she was turning between her hands on the table. 'So that's why you came to

Roshni's wedding, that too without invitation' she said dully.

'Yes,but not without invitation' he acknowledged. 'I'd only just made my decision and I was still

feeling bitter about it When Varun invited me, He worked for my company for 1 year, I thought I might as well go along. I'd have to get to know people eventually, and it seemed

as good an opportunity as any to start. But I soon realised it wasn't going to be that easy to find a wife. There were plenty of people there

who remembered me from my wild days, and they made it very clear they didn't want anything to do with me.'

Damini remembered him in the wedding, coolly observing the crowd so all that was for a wife..??.

'So what made you pick on me as a suitable wife?' she asked cautionally.

Prithvi slowly look at her as if picturing her as she had been that day. 'You were different.You were the only person there prepared to talk to me, for a start. And

you looked different,You had style. The more I found out about you, the better you seemed. You might be a city girl now, but you were born in Manali

and everyone agreed what a nice girl you were. My father's advocate couldn't possibly object to you.'

'Oh, Damini said sarcastically, realising for the first time how carefully he had been looking her over.

He smiled slightly :'When you caught that bouquet...' 'Well, I'm not a great believer in all those old rituals or stupid sayings , but I did begin to wonder if somebody was trying

to tell me something about you..! I knew that you were single and without a doubt attractive.'

Prithvi glanced at Damini's confused face. "I'm not pretending I fell madly in love with you, Damini. I've never wanted to get married, but I knew that I

had to find someone, and when I looked around that I realised that I'd as soon marry you as anyone else.'

Damini replied with bitterness.."Thanks for the compliments but I am not for sale or.. !'

But Prithvi went on ignoring her sarcastic repsonse. 'My next step was to find a way to see you again,' 'It was a stroke of luck when you told me

that you were in PR and setting up on your own. I know what the market is like at the moment so for me there was a good chance that you'd be

looking for work.'

Damini hit her hand on table with bit anger..'You mean there was a good chance of me falling for that line about a job,' That must have given you a laugh, letting me

think that I could salvage my career, when all the time—' she paused for a moment... 'And that kiss!'

she remembered furiously. "There was no need for me to make an exhibition of myself in front of all those people, was there?'

Prithvi replied with little with humour 'On the contrary. It told me a lot about you.' 'If you'd been the kind of girl who was

afraid by what other people thought, there would have been no point in getting to know you any better.'But you aren't that kind of girl, are you, Damini?' he said.

'I was desperate for a job,' said Damini defensively. 'I would never have said you ok otherwise.'

'And this evening?' he asked her while looking into her eyes.

She turned away n muttered slowly :'You should have told me,' 'I thought I was being interviewed all evening.'

'I couldn't tell you straight out,' said Prithvi. 'I knew that you'd never have agreed if I'd told you that I was looking for a wife and not a PR

consultant. I wanted you to know what that house meant to me. I wanted to try and make you understand why I had to get married, and I had to be sure

that you are the right girl. "That's why I said I had to trust you,' his eyes on Damini's face. "That's why I'm trusting you now.'

'You said you wanted to be married, Damini,' Prithvi reminded her when she only looked away.

she replied hashly :'Not like this Mr. Saxena..'

He smiled 'The end result is the same. This way we could both achieve our ambitions. I could have what I want and you could have marriage with financial support that's what you want.'

She pushed her chair to stand and reply "'You can't treat being a wife as if it's some kind of job! What were you proposing to do, offer me a salary?'

He grabbed her hand to make her sit once again, ignoring her harsh tone, replied seriously. 'You wouldn't need a salary, As my wife, you would be a very wealthy woman & You'd be able to do whatever you wanted.'. '

'Except divorce you,' she pointed out.

He shrugged. 'I wouldn't interfere with you. You could be as independent as you wanted as long as you were legally married to me. You wouldn't

even have to pretend my wife in front of other people..you could have you life as you want.. he said with a sideways glance at Damini's angry face.

'You could have a lover, I will buy yourself a house wherever you will ask me to and you can live exactly the way you want to live. All you'd have to do is spend enough

time with me at Manali to convince my father's Advocated that our marriage was genuine. That wouldn't be too hard, would it?'

"That's not what marriage is about, Mr. Saxena and I am really not shocked about your opinion about marriage but' protested Damini, dissapointed at the mere idea of such a cold-hearted arrangement 'It's not about money or

independence. It's about commitment. It's about sharing.' She looked down at her hands in her lap. 'It's about love.'and what did you say..I could have lover..haa..

She made a loud laugh without humour..you know what kind of relation that would called ...i don't care about your principals of life but I do have my principals and ideology of life

n i m really sorry but not interested in your proposal..In fact you ...you will b the last option for me still i would say no to you or would accept death..understood.

'Oh, love...' Prithvi mimicked her. 'I might have known you'd bring that up, how can I forget that, Ms. Romantic..!'

'It's important,' said Damini stubbornly.

'It's an illusion,' he replied quickly. 'I'm not going to insult your intelligence by pretending that I'm in love with you, Damini, but I think

we could still have a lot going for us. There are lots of things about you that I like. I like the way you look. I like the way you talk.' He

paused, and a naughty smile into his voice. 'I like the way you kiss.'

Damini steeled herself against the charm. She wasn't going to fall for that smile again! 'ohh really or You like the way marrying me would help you to

get million-acre property!' she replied..

'That too,' Prithvi agreed raising his hand as a act of surrender. 'I think it would be enough to make a marriage work..ok just reply one question don't you

like any quality of mine .

'Right at this moment, I can't think of any!, Actually you don't have any, Mr. Saxena...' she said harshly..

'You like staring at me..,kissing me,' he said unfairly, blinking his eyes with mischief. 'And don't try to deny it,' he added, as Damini opened her mouth.

She shut it again with something of a snap and eyed Prithvi with hostility. 'It's not true..and also not enough for a marrige,' she said after a moment.

Prithvi drew in a sharp breath of frustration. 'What exactly is it that you want?' he asked, struggling to contain his impatience.

What did she want? Damini laid her hands on the table and studied them. 'I dn't want to marry you..I want someone to love,' she said slowly. 'Not someone I'm fond of, or someone I desire, but someone I

need. Someone who'll always be there, to hold me and keep me safe and make me laugh when I'm down. Someone to be the other half of me.' She raised her eyes to meet Prithvi's steadily. 'I want someone who'll feel

exactly the same about me,' she told him.

There was a tiny silence, then Prithvi looked away almost irritably. 'That's just a romantic dream,' he said. 'Life isn't like that'

Damini thought of her both sister just starting her married life with Sameer & Varun . 'It can be.'

'How often?' demanded Prithvi. 'How long are you going to hold out for this mythical someone, Damini? Five years? Ten? You're—what? 26 or 27, ?'

'26,' she confirmed him with irritation.

'OK, time's still running out. You're living in a dream world, Damini. There's no such thing as a perfect relationship, and one day you're going to wake up and realise that you've wasted your life waiting for something that doesn't exist. I may not be your ideal man, but at least I'm real,' he said. & he went on, 'think about my proposal and think about what a difference it could make. No more worrying about your financial issues. I can offer you financial security,' said Prithvi, at his most persuasive, 'and I can give you emotional security too, if that's what you want.'