FF// Untold Stories; Chapter 26 updated; (Dec 29) - Page 7

Originally posted by: pakpearl

Just found the link,Doll..

Will read n comment tomorrow..

Fauzi, You are missing out on another story from Sabi. Check it out.

It was posted on Blog but we haven't read it. It is hilarious.

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/iss-pyaar-ko-kya-naam-doon/5118261/upd-21-2-ff-prescribed-insanity-chapter-14-pg-89

Cheers....

"Brekfast point- sendwich, egg, paratha, baveridges" that's typical...

Love this story of yours. Nothing cheesy but all natural.

Originally posted by: Savera84

Fauzi, You are missing out on another story from Sabi. Check it out.

It was posted on Blog but we haven't read it. It is hilarious.

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/iss-pyaar-ko-kya-naam-doon/5118261/upd-21-2-ff-prescribed-insanity-chapter-14-pg-89

Cheers....

Thanx Raji. I'll check it in the evening..

Originally posted by: WaterIce

Such a great story!

Can't wait for more!!

Thank you :) Welcome to the story!

Originally posted by: ark17

Hi

Beautifully written update. Loving all the characters but an indulgent big brother Arnav takes the cake.

Also loving Khushi's and Lavanya's bond...and being roommates lots of secrets shared.

Shyam is in for a rude shock sometime soon.

Waiting eagerly for the next update.

Thank you hon. Welcome to the story :)

Chapter VII: Rewind

February, 2017. New Delhi.

His coat hanging on his arm, Arnav finally stepped out of his cabin. The whole floor was empty by this hour. Usually people would stay till the boss left the office, but given that Arnav almost always had late nights at the office, he himself had given instructions that no one, unless specifically asked to, needed to stay back beyond 9 P.M. regardless of whether he was still in the building.

His gaze fell on Khushi, seated on her chair at her cubicle and gazing blankly at the false ceiling of the office.

He checked his wrist-watch for the time. 11 P.M.

Didn't this woman ever go home? Wasn't she married?

As he mulled over whether he should ask her the cause of staying back in office at the given hour, Khushi abruptly stood from her chair. She picked up keys from her table and walked out of the exit to the first floor, head facing downwards.

March, 2017. New Delhi.

'Bro you have no idea what you miss by having lunch holed up in this cabin of yours." Aakash said, as he stretched out on the couch in Arnav's cabin. "Khushi got homemade Paneer Rezala for us today. Her hands are magic bro. I have eaten lunch straight from the heavens today. Who thought paneer could be this tasty? The whole cafeteria is feasting on her dabba right now. Damn, I am so jealous of her husband."

"I am lactose intolerant Aakash."

"Well trust me, this was worth taking the risk of a reaction. Bro by the way tell me something.."

"What?"

"Why does Khushi look so stressed all the time these days? Have you noticed? Do you think it's work?"

Arnav shrugged his shoulders. "She's good at work."

"Of course she's good at work. You don't hire the batch topper of one of the best B-schools of the country and then have her not good at work. Maybe it's a personal issue then."

"Or maybe this is not the job she wanted."

"Yes, that could also be it."

"In which case, she shouldn't have joined." Arnav said as he closed the lid on his lunch box. "We don't coerce people into employment here for them to sulk around after all."

April, 2017. New Delhi.

Arnav stood leaning his back against his car in the parking lot, taking a last smoke before heading home. He avoided smoking in the car. It would leave a pungent odour behind and Anjali and Nani would get after his life.

He saw Khushi come out of the building at a distance. She seemed to be having small-talk with the night-shift guard who was eyeing her with a look of reverence and vehemently nodding his head. She then headed towards the main gate and stood there, eyeing her watch every now and then.

It had been twenty minutes since. Arnav was done with his smoke. He anyway needed to rush home today or Anjali would kill him for not making it to her birthday party on time. Khushi was still rooted at her spot near the gate, now clearly agitated. She kept trying to call someone who was clearly not answering.

Five minutes later, a car screeched to a halt at the main gate. The driver was not visible. Khushi opened the door towards the side of the passenger seat but didn't get inside immediately.

Agitated show of hands. Loud voices. Argument.

Khushi finally got into the car and slammed the door shut. The car sped (a little too fast) away from the main gate.

Arnav dropped his cigarette stub to the floor and crushed it for good measure till it was ashes.

October, 2017. New Delhi.

From: Khushi Kumari Gupta

To: Arnav Singh Raizada

CC: humanresourcesAR

Subject: Notice of leave

Hi Arnav,

This is to inform you that I will not be able to make myself present at office for the next week due to my on-going divorce proceedings. I need to address certain legal formalities. I will be back in office on Monday, i.e. October 27. Till then, I have briefed Vishal thoroughly on the matters lines up for the week. I will of course be available on call should anything urgent come up. Hope you understand.

Regards,

Khushi

From: Arnav Singh Raizada

To: Khushi Kumari Gupta

CC: humanresourcesAR

Subject: Re: Notice of leave

That's fine by me. Sorry about the divorce. Please ask Vishal to get in touch with me before you leave.

-Arnav

January, 2018. New Delhi.

He stepped out of his cabin, files to be dealt with over the weekend in one hand, coat in the other.

What was this woman doing?

Khushi was seated at her revolving chair, spinning it round and round all the while trying to balance a hardbound file on her head, tongue sticking out of her mouth in concentration.

She caught his eyes and her own widened in alarm. Hardbound fell from her head. Papers got strewn across the floor. She gave him a sheepish smile and hurriedly picked them up and placed them back on the desk.

Crazy girl.

March, 2018. New Delhi.

Khushi stood right outside Arnav's cabin, pen stuck between her teeth and having one last look at the papers she needed to take him through. Arnav was organized to the point of compulsive disorder and expected to briefed in a likewise manner. She held a mug of freshly brewed coffee in one hand. She loved coffee, couldn't operate without it. In fact she was pretty sure her caffeine intake was well beyond what was healthy for the human body. She didn't care. Satisfied that everything was in order, she was about to pull open the door.

Except at that very moment, the door was pushed open with force and Arnav emerged out of it with the speed of a hurricane.

He collided right into her. Papers were salvaged, but coffee mug tilted and spilled right onto his shirt.

The coffee was piping hot. He could feel his chest burn as the liquid seeped through the shirt onto his skin. Employees around stared with open mouths and looks of horror.

Khushi gasped, and tried to pull back. Her hair got stuck into a stray collar button. She tried to pull. Then tried to pull harder. Damn this woman had crazy hair.

"Wait!", he said finally, exasperation evident in his voice. He untangled the hair from the button. She colored and stepped back several steps.

He waited for the apology that never came. The woman had collided right into him and then burnt him for good measure. The least she could do was to apologize.

She waited for the apology that never came. The man had collided right into her out of nowhere like a hurricane. The least he could do was to apologize.

She felt bad about burning him though. Although it was his fault.

"Sorry about the coffee. That must've hurt. I'll call the cafeteria to send up some ice" she offered.

Unbelievable woman.

"Forget it. I'll manage." he replied and walked away, frowning at the stains of his shirt more than the burn on his chest.

Khushi shook her head behind his retreating back. Unbelievable man.

He was walking past the cubicles, wearing a fresh clean shirt, and could hear voices coming from his left.

"Khushi, I can't believe you burnt the boss yaar."

"Arre? How did I burn him? I mean I feel bad for him but he crashed right into me! Why can't the man walk out of the door like normal human beings? When he walks, he walks so softly that you wouldn't know he is standing two feet away from you, but will emerge out of doors like a fire has broken out somewhere. Typhoon kahin ka."

What the-!

June, 2018. New Delhi.

AR's annual party was in full swing. They were seated at a round table, a jazz performance playing out on the stage in front of them, and at the table, a discussion was going on surrounding the meaning of names.

"My parents were just lazy. I think they saw me and then did an eye roll and the first thing they saw in that process was the sky, so they were like "yeah whatever, let's call him Aakash." "

Khushi chuckled. "Aakash is a nice name though, Aakash."

"Easy for you to say," Aakash replied. "I really like the name Khushi. So much positive energy about it. I think if I ever have a daughter I'll name her Khushi. That way when I write my wife a Valentine's card I could say 'Aapse milkar Khushi hui' with a wink emoji next to it, if you know what I mean."

The entire table erupted in laughter.

"Lame Aakash, very lame." Khushi said, shaking her head disapprovingly, even as a smile played on her lips.

"What does your name mean bro? I never asked." Aakash turned towards Arnav.

"No idea", Arnav shrugged his shoulders. He genuinely had no idea and had never tried to find out.

"It means ocean." Khushi said. Arnav looked at her, surprised.

Khushi realized that she had casually, and very unthinkingly volunteered that information. Literally no one had asked her. Ugh. Why did she have to open her mouth all the time.

"Haha, my Hindi is strong. I come from a family that speaks in heavy words." She tried to explain casually.

"Ocean han? Interesting." Aakash mused. "See, literally everyone has a better name than Aakash. It's just so generic."

September, 2018. New Delhi.

Arnav mentally swore he would never hire anyone through contacts' requests again. What nonsense was this Ritesh guy rambling on about. Zero clarity in thought, absurd ideas, clumsy presentation and trying too hard to suck up to the boss to compensate for it. Like he couldn't see right through it. Because of course, that is how he had reached to where he was- by being dense. He didn't care whose son this Ritesh was, this had to be the guy's last month at AR.

Everybody around the table at the meeting had lost interest and zoned out and he couldn't really blame them for it. Unfortunately for him, being the boss, he didn't have the luxury of completely ignoring the presentation that was being addressed to him more than to anyone else, but he sure had muted the guy a while back.

He swept his gaze across the table and it came to rest on Khushi, whose own gaze seemed to be fixed in the direction of his hands, in an expression of awed wonderment.

He followed her gaze to where the pen was positioned between his fingers that he must have been subconsciously twirling for a while.

"-So Sir, I hope you liked it. I think you will really like how this idea plays out." Ritesh's voice interrupted him. The presentation was over.

He cleared his throat. "I'll get back to you Ritesh. Let's consider all ideas before taking the plunge. This is an important matter." He said, pulling his chair back and getting up. Everyone arose with him, grateful that the ordeal that was the past hour had finally ended.

People slowly petered out of the conference room.

Walking out, he turned his around and gave a last look at Khushi, who held a pen in her hand and a childlike pout on her face. With deep concentration she tried to spin it around between her fingers. The pen dropped to the floor and she frowned petulantly.

He looked away and walked out of the room, a small smirk playing at his lips.

January, 2019. New Delhi.

He was surprised when he walked out of his cabin at eleven to find Khushi still in office. Since the past few months she mostly left at reasonable hours. It took him a moment to figure out that she was, in fact, asleep. She had her arms crossed on the table and her head lay resting on it. The floor had completely emptied.

He walked up to her. Her phone lay buzzing on the table, caller ID 'Lavanya' flashing on it.

"Khushi!" he called out softly. Khushi didn't respond. She seemed to be in deep sleep.

Hesitantly, he placed his hand on her shoulder and shook it gently.

"Khushi?"

Khushi woke up with a start. Confused, she blinked twice with bloodshot eyes taking in her surroundings and then looked at his face. The lace on her sleeves had left a red imprint on her pale face.

"Your phone is ringing."

Khushi looked at her phone and gasped in dismay.

"Oh shit shit shit." She cried, quickly picking up her handbag from the desk. "Thank you. I- I don't know how I-" she mumbled quickly, walking away from him towards the exit.

"I'm so sorry Lavi. I know- I know you must be worried. I'm on my way home", were her last words he could hear before she disappeared out of the door."

June, 2019. New Delhi

"Why would you be at a job you clearly hate? How can someone be good at a job they clearly hate?" Arnav asked Aakash who had come to his cabin for a coffee.

"Who is this about?" Aakash asked.

"No one in particular", Arnav lied. "I just find it strange that you would choose to slog at something that does not even interest you. I mean sure, I'm called a workaholic, but then I'm passionate about this job."

Aakash kept silent for a while, then shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know man, just because you hate something doesn't mean you aren't or can't be good at it. Remember how you hated Mehra and his optional at the university, and yet somehow, you always aced that paper? And remember how you were worried that you would never be allowed a switch mid-semester, but when you had gone to the Head of the Department, he had casually said okay to your request of switching electives? Remember how relieved you were about getting an out from the paper that contributed the most to your GPA? I think it's something of that sort."

Arnav considered his words in silence. Well, maybe Aakash had a point.

Two Weeks Ago

Khushi took a deep intake of breath as she gathered her papers in her hand and made firm steps towards Arnav’s office. She was finally doing this. She was doing something for herself. Why hadn’t she thought it through? Maybe now was not the right time. But then there was never a good time to throw yourself from the top of a cliff was there. Oh good heavens, she didn’t even have a backup plan!

Khushi had no more time to obsess over her thoughts as she had already knocked upon the door and stepped inside.

Arnav seemed to be frowning in annoyance at something on his computer screen and was slightly startled when she called him out.

“Arnav?”

“Huh- yes?”

“Go through these before I send them out will you?”

“Okay. Thanks. Also Khushi, we have a meeting scheduled at 5 for the Nainital thing. Be there.”

“Yeah sure. Um…I need to talk to you about something though.”

“Yeah?”

Okay. This was it.

“After this trip, I wish to resign.”

Arnav raised his head from the files and stared at her for a long moment, as if wrapping his head around what she had said. His face had a strange quality of being like an impenetrable wall. If you wished to break through, you’d better be riding on bulldozers—and run the risk of having a broken bulldozer at the end of the ordeal. Khushi waited in anticipation of the logical outburst that would follow.

“Okay”, Arnav finally replied, as if she had said something very casual related to work.

Khushi waited for a moment before opening her mouth again, “um…so, that’s okay?”

“Yeah cool”, Arnav nodded, “You’re with us on the Nainital thing though right?”

“Yes”, Khushi replied, her temper rising with each passing moment.

“Great. I don’t know the logistics of this resignation thing though. You’ll have to speak to the HR.”

“Oh I will. Thanks”, Khushi replied before storming out of the office, literally slamming the door behind her.

Arnav frowned as he saw the door slamming behind her. Was it just him or did she sound upset? What for though? He had said ‘okay’, hadn’t he?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

There we go. Hopefully this sneak peak into the past provides you with some answers :) Eagerly waiting to know your thoughts on the chapter, and again, thank you so much for your likes and comments. They make my day!

Also, while we look back into the past lives of this couple, yesterday, in another part of Delhi, Sunday dinner has been had in the midst of aching teeth and you should expect an update on that soon ;)

By the way this update took three attempts at posting, only for me to realize at the end that an email host website had been mentioned somewhere in the update, so IF wasn't letting me post. Amazing times.

The rewind was totally needed. They worked together for more than two years and they know a thing or two about the other. Arnav is aware of her disinterest in the job, her divorce proceedings and her crush on his pen twirling skill. He has see her staring into walls and ceilings. May be that is the reason why, he accepted her resignation without uttering a question or offering a comment. He was also sure that she was planning to hit him with a hard bound file and he was pretty sure that she won't say sorry even after burning him with hot coffee. It looks like Khushi has a history of spilling hot coffee on Arnav.

The plan was to resign from the job after the trip. Any thing can happen in this trip right?

Arnav is lactose intolerant and Khushi makes delicious Paneer Razala. What a combination!

Last but not the least, waiting for Sunday dinner on the other side of Delhi.

Cheers.......

Taken

*Edited*

Thank you for Arnav's POV. The guy is sensitive, it's just that you need to push the right button.

So he does observe his surrounding especially when it comes to a certain Khushi madam. Typical Asr.

Though the resignation part, he was a jerk. But, I guess he had his reasons, he always thought Khushi wasn't happy here and so he just wanted to help when she finally approached him about the exit.

Now, let's see how things are after this trip.

Cheers

👍🏼what a nice & precise update.. we get to know the dynamics of arhi in 3 years that too from A s POV .. waiting for more

P.s was waiting for update wrong thread