Accepting Reality ✔️

Part 13 - Guptas

Khushi's heart was light as she and Arnav returned to India the day after the fashion show. The event had been a resounding success but as soon as they landed, her phone buzzed with notifications and her joy began to falter. The moment she unlocked her phone, she was bombarded with headlines and posts splashed across social media. The pictures of her and Arnav, taken in their intimate moments, had been leaked, and the internet was ablaze with reactions.

"Arnav Singh Raizada's New Flame? Khushi's Rise to Fame Under Scrutiny!" read one headline.

"ARD's Lead Designer and the CEO: Is This Relationship the Real Reason for Her Promotion?" another questioned.

As she scrolled through the posts, Khushi's stomach churned with anxiety. The comments ranged from shock and outrage to downright scathing attacks. Some accused her of using her relationship with Arnav to secure her position, assassinating her character, calling her a "cheap gold digger" or a "desperate whore", commenting on her background and questioning her integrity. Others lashed out at Arnav, suggesting he was exploiting his position to satisfy his personal desires, branding him as unprofessional and unethical. However, not all the buzz was negative. There were also some positive comments praising the couple, with fans admiring them as a "cute pair" and celebrating their apparent romance. But these positive comments did little to ease the crushing weight of the negative ones. Her mind raced as she thought about the consequences of the scandal. The public scrutiny, potential backlash from ARD, and the impact on her career weighed heavily on her. When she reached home, the situation only escalated. Reporters camped outside, bombarding them with questions and flashing cameras.

Arnav was seething with rage as he paced the length of his office, the glossy veneer of his desk now appeared cold and distant. Had Aman leaked the pictures they would have controlled the narrative but here things were going out of hand. The scandal had exploded beyond his control, and he was desperate to salvage the situation before it further tarnished his reputation and jeopardised ARD. His thoughts raced. The images of him and Khushi that had been leaked were not the kind he would have liked. Despite Aman's assurance that the photographers couldn't be mobilised at such short notice, it was clear that the damage was done. The question gnawed at him: who had taken those photos? Was it an opportunistic paparazzi who had seized a fleeting chance, or was it someone with a more sinister agenda, perhaps an enemy who had managed to exploit the situation to their advantage? If someone within his circle had orchestrated this, it would be a direct threat to everything he had built. The more Arnav considered it, the more frustration burned within him. The PR crisis was escalating rapidly, and the media frenzy was threatening to overshadow the success of the London fashion show. "We need to get ahead of this disaster. I want every possible resource put into controlling this scandal. We need to clarify the situation, refute the false accusations, and manage the narrative before it spirals any further," he had ordered Aman.

In the days following the scandal, Sahil and Preetika celebrated their apparent success. Their plan to defame Khushi had seemingly paid off; the media was abuzz with scandalous headlines, and Khushi's reputation was in tatters. But their satisfaction was shattered when they realised their failure, Khushi stayed completely calm, she carried on as if nothing had happened. Also, she wasn't removed from her position at ARD. She moved through the office with an air of calm confidence. They had expected her to be rattled, to show signs of distress, but instead, she appeared almost unscathed.

Sahil: "How can she be so unaffected by this? She should be panicking" he muttered to Preetika.

Preetika: "Maybe she's putting on a brave face. But she can't ignore the fact that her reputation is in ruins. The media is relentless."

Khushi: "People are just jealous of my success. Nowadays one can easily morph pictures and create stories out of spite, but that won't change the hard work and dedication that brought me here," they heard Khushi mentioning to someone.