"I can't believe you're dreaming about me." she said with a big smile. "Don't get all smug" "I was dreaming about where I could hide your dead body when I finally strangle you!" he said folding his arms across his chest and frowning at her. Arohi glared at him. "I took something strong for a migraine!" "It made me groggy." "Liar, Liar Pants on fire!" she chanted before she could stop herself. Looking at Arjun she gulped. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say she thought as he took a menacing step towards her.
"Arjun!" Arohi said as she quickly took a few steps back. "Stop right there." Amazingly Arjun stopped as he looked her up and down, giving her an assessing look. "Why are you here?" he asked "Why...Why am I here?" Arohi asked with her hands on her hips...suddenly furious as she remembered why she was there. "How dare you try to undermine me again?!" "How dare you take Riya from Rosa's home without telling me?!" Arjun stared at Arohi, his eyes turning cold. "Did you bother to ask Rosa why I took OUR daughter from her home?" Before Arohi could answer he angrily said. "Riya was playing on the sidewalk in front of Rosa's home!" "In front of the freakin ROAD!" "And the sad part is it wasn't even the first time I've seen her out close to the road!" "Now do you think I'm going to let her stay somewhere she's not even getting proper care and attention?" HELL NO!" "Rosa takes excellent care of Riya!" Arohi interrupted! "And if there was a problem you should have called me!" "You had no right just taking Riya!" "No right!" she said. "NO RIGHT?!" Arjun shouted furiously. "I am her father!" "If I feel my child is in any sort of danger I will intervene and do what I think is best!" "No you will not!" "I am her mother, I make the decisions!" Arohi started furiously. "And I am her father!" "It would do you good to remember that Arohi!" Maybe then you wouldn't make such asinine comments!" If looks could kill Arjun would be laying dead on the floor. "Rosa will continue to take care of Riya!" "And if I hear of you being rude to Rosa again, I swear Arjun you will not like what I will do." Arjun raised his eyebrows. His eyes stormy with barely suppressed anger. "Are you threatening me Arohi?" he asked in a deceptively calm voice. "No, you couldn't possibly be threatening me." he said with a humorless laugh before she could answer. "Because you and I both know I don't take well to threats." he said taking a step closer to her. "I, I don't care what you take well to or not!" she stammered. "I'm, I'm not scared of you!" she said stubbornly. "You should be very scared Arohi, very scared, because the way you've been pushing me you know if I get mad enough I'm going to push back, and I'm going to push back hard!" Arohi stared at him. A small shiver of fear running up her spine. Damned if I'm going to be afraid of Arjun Singhania! she told herself stubbornly.
"I'll talk to Rosa about making sure Riya doesn't wander out to the front by herself but you need to back off!" Arohi said. Arjun took a few steps towards her, forcing her to step back until she hit the wall behind her. "I think you know I never back off when it comes to either protecting someone I love, or getting what I want." he said skimming his knuckles against the side of her face. Arohi looked up into his eyes, hating that her heart rate was accelerating at a mere touch from him. Intense brown eyes stared back at her, "And since you don't fit in any of those categories I think it's best if you leave now." Arjun said stepping back suddenly. Arohi paused for a second and then quickly put more distance between them. "I have no desire to be in your company anymore then necessary." "I'll just be taking me daughter and leaving!" Arjun quickly stepped in her path. "She's sleeping." he said quietly. "Just let her spend the night." Arohi's eyes widened. "Spend the night!" "Over my dead body!" she said pushing past him. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "She's my daughter too!" he said gritting his teeth. "She's had her dinner and now she's fast asleep." "Just let her be." Arohi struggled until he let her arm go. "I know what you're doing and it's not going to work!" she said coldly. Arjun folded his arms across his chest and stared back at her with hard eyes waiting for her to continue. "I know you want Riya." "The way you keep pulling her in with the toys and the outings!" "And now sleepovers, soon it'll be weekends with you and then you'll want her with you all the time!" Arjun stared back at her like she'd lost it. Arohi knew she was starting to sound a tad crazy but she couldn't help it. The last 5 weeks had finally started to take it's toll. The constant fear of losing her daughter, of being replaced in her life. On top of that seeing Arjun after so long and him planting himself firmly back into her life. It was all getting too much. "Arohi, have you lost your mind?!" "She's asleep, that's why I suggested for her to spend the night." "And besides what if she does spend the night?" "I am her father after all...later on when I move back to Mumbai she'll be visiting me on a regular basis." Arohi felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach. "Visiting you in Mumbai?" "Not without me she won't!" Arohi said loudly. "Are you planning on staying in my home with her?" he asked shrewdly. "No, no,..." Arohi felt her temples start to pound. Her life was whirling out of control. Arjun moving back to Mumbai, and taking Riya with him. "She's my daughter too Arohi." he said quietly. "It's time you come to terms with that." Arohi felt her eyes fill with tears. She felt a large lump in her throat that was threatening to choke her. She would not cry she told herself. Instead she turned to anger. That was emotion that she could associate with Arjun.
"I hate you!" she said viciously. "I hate everything you did to us!" "We were so happy...and you destroyed it!" "I loved you so much." "Beyond imagination, my love for you was so deep." "But you ripped out that love along with my heart. "Making it that I could never feel that emotion again." "That I would never be able to trust any other man with my heart again." "As far as I'm concerned you did sleep with Natasha." Arjun opened his mouth to speak but she held up her hand to silence him. "You might not have physically have slept with her but you might as well have." "For the last 3 1/2 years every time I've thought of you and the good times we shared they have been over shadowed by the memory of you and Natasha together." You kissing her!" 'You touching her the way you used to touch me!" "I feel dirty, knowing that those same hands have touched me!" "I've spent the last 3 1/2 years thinking that the man that I loved more then my life slept with another woman." 'That is a part of me now." "I can't push past it!" "You did that to me!" "Why Arjun, why?" she asked the tears flowing down her face helplessly. "Why did you turn my love into so much hate for you?" Arjun stared back at her. "Arohi you weren't the only one hurt" he said roughly. "I lost my wife and my child." "All in one go." "One day I had everything, a dream life." "And the next I was left with nothing!" "You loved me, well I loved you just as much." "I trusted you, I envisioned a life with you." "A wonderful, happy life." "When I found out you were pregnant I was ecstatic." "Our love created a child." "Our precious child." "And when I thought you had killed that child...with it I felt like you killed our love." "The pain of that loss was unbearable." "I felt like I was no longer the same person." "And suddenly I didn't know you because the Arohi I knew and loved would never have done something like that." "It was almost like you weren't the woman I fell in love with." "And you weren't...because the woman I fell in love with wouldn't have kept my child away from me for 3 years!" he said bitterly.
"Well then I guess neither one of us knew eachother because the man I loved would have never hurt me the way you did." "If you had actually taken a knife and stabbed it in my heart I think it would have hurt less." Arohi said bitterly. Seeing Arjun's grim face she suddenly said "Why are we rehashing the past?!" "We obviously weren't meant to be." "We didn't love eachother enough, because if we did we would have fought harder to make things work." "We've both moved on." "You have Seema..."she began. "And you have Amar" Arjun added all be it a little bitterly. "I have my daughter and the boutique!" she said coldly. Arjun's eyebrows rose but he didn't offer any more comments "I'm going to take Riya now." She said starting to open his bedroom door. "I'm picking her up Sunday and bringing her over." "Seema wants to spend some time with her too..."Arjun said. Arohi's eyes narrowed as she faced the door. Oh Seema wants to suddenly spend time with Riya, ofcourse she did, now that her and Arjun were planning on getting married, probably having kids of their own. Why do you care she thought bitterly as she yanked open the door. She had just finished telling Arjun they were over and the next minute she was mad that he had moved on. Well she'd moved on too...kind of. Maybe it was time she really started to give Amar's proposal some serious consideration, she thought to herself as she made her way to Riya's room. Maybe she needed to really let go of the past and look to the future. Maybe she could grow to love Amar. But as Arjun moved past her and gently picked up Riya, softly kissing her forehead, Arohi felt that familiar ache. Ache for what could have been. And in that moment she knew that try as she might, she'd never be able to love anyone like she'd loved Arjun. She tried to tell herself it was because he was part of the reason she had Riya, that no matter what they would always be bond because of Riya. But truthfully she knew it was more then that. She didn't want to think about what that more was, right now, she thought as she followed Arjun to her car. Arjun slipped a sleeping Riya into the car seat, buckling her up tight and smiling down at his little girl. "See you later baby girl." he whispered as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. Straightening he turned towards Arohi. The softness that she had seen on his face when he was looking down at Riya...gone. "I'll see you Sunday at 3:00." he said turning away before she could say anything.
"Arohi, maybe you and Riya should come to London with us for my cousin's wedding." Amar said as he sat across from her. They were out for dinner at The Reef and Arohi was slowly pushing around her food. "Hmm, we don't even know your cousin's." Arohi said. "And besides it's wedding season." 'The shop has been busy." "Riya will be starting preschool soon." "I need to get things ready for that." "We can't go anywhere on holidays right now." she said in a distracted voice. Seeing Amar's worried nod Arohi reached over and placed her hand over his reassuringly. "We're going to be fine." she said with a smile. "It's only 10 days and they will fly." "You need to stop worrying about Riya and I." Amar smiled softly. "I can't help but worry about my girls." he said. "But it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have that Arjun to worry about." "I just have a feeling he's going to pull something!" Amar said with a frown. Arohi sighed. "He's not going to do anything." "He knows better then that!" she said trying to reassure herself as much as she was trying to reassure Amar. "I know but..." Amar began when they heard a soft "Hi." Amar and Arohi both looked up to see Seema standing in front of their table with Arjun standing next to her. His eyes moved from Arohi and Amar's joined hands up to Arohi's eyes. She saw them flash darkly before he looked away. "Seema," Amar said with a frown ignoring Arjun. "Hi Seema" Arohi said softly. "We're just about to get seated, I thought I'd come over and say hi first." she said giving Arohi a smile. "I know the whole situation is a little weird but I really hope things don't get strained between us." Seema said looking first at Amar and then Arohi. "Ofcourse not Seema." Arohi quickly piped in. "Yeah ofcourse not." "Infact I want you to know that when this loser breaks your heart we'll be there to support you." Amar interjected. Arohi's mouth fell open and Arjun had the gall to laugh. Outright laugh. Arohi glared first at him and then Amar. Looking at Seema she didn't really know what to say. "Alright then, I guess things will be strained between us" Seema said turning towards Arjun who still had a big smile on his face like he found the whole situation hilarious. Arohi wished she could slap the smile off his face. Arjun placed his hand on the small of Seema's back and led her away from Amar and Arohi's table. A furious Amar staring after them. "Seema has lost her freakin mind!" "I can't believe she's still with that loser after everything." Arohi sighed. "Amar, leave it alone." "It has nothing to do with us." Except it did she thought picking at her salad. Seeing Arjun with Seema had lately not been so easy. Last Sunday when he'd picked up Riya to spend time with him and Seema it had taken everything in Arohi not to make up an excuse as to why Riya couldn't go with him. And then to make it worse Arohi had spent the whole evening thinking of the three of them together as a...family. She hated that she was even thinking about that, but she just couldn't seem to help herself. Riya, Seema and Arjun laughing and talking. The three playing together. It was all too much to take. And then because Arjun had dropped Riya off and barely said two words to her before he rushed off, Arohi had imagined him rushing off back to Seema. They would probably spend the night together. She'd gone to bed having horrible dreams of Her, Riya and Arjun at the fair except her face would turn into Seema's. And suddenly it was Seema, Riya and Arjun, laughing and enjoying themselves. She's woken up in a cold sweat and hadn't gotten back to sleep for hours. "Arohi!" Amar called "Huh?" Arohi said bring her attention back to Amar. "I said would you like dessert?" he asked. "No, let's just go." "I'm suddenly very tired." she said glancing from the corner of her eye at Arjun and Seema laughing.
Arjun tried to pay attention to what Seema was saying but his eyes kept shifting back to Arohi. She looked so beautiful. Hell she always looked beautiful but when Seema insisted on stopping off at their table he'd seen the slight flush on her cheeks as she looked at him. And then when she was shooting daggers at him for laughing at her stupid friend he couldn't help but think about how he used to kiss away the furrow in her brows when she was upset or angry. She could do so much better then that Amar he thought to himself as he watched her laugh at something Amar said. "Like you?" said a voice in his head that he quickly pushed aside. He had no feelings for her what so ever he reminded himself. What did he care who she wasted her time with. Except, he kind of did. Last time he'd picked Riya up, Amar, Arohi and Riya were sitting in their garden having a play tea party. Walking towards them he could see both Arohi and Riya giggling at something Amar was doing or saying. He had felt anger grip him like a vise. That was his family. It should have been him sitting there enjoying the afternoon with his girls! As soon as the thought had entered his mind he'd been furious with himself. Arohi's eyes had met his as he had approached them and he for a few seconds saw the girl he used to know. The laughing mischievous eyes. The devil may care attitude. What had happened to that girl. Had he destroyed that girl he had thought to himself as she had quickly looked away from him. Riya ofcouse had come running into his arms. His Riya. He knew it was time to tell her he was her dad. They'd grown so close over the past 6 weeks that he knew she would understand it as much as any 3 year old could understand it. He wanted her to meet her grandparents, and bhuas and the rest of his family. He wanted the world to know that she was his daughter. Glancing at Arohi he prayed that she wouldn't take that away from him. She was having a hard time sharing Riya, he could tell. He knew she would have a hard time with his latest decision. Sighing he turned his attention back to Seema. Great another argument with Arohi...just what he needed.
One week later Arohi pulled her car into Rosa's driveway. As she stared at the little house, Arjun's words ran through her head. "Rosa is too careless with our daughter he had said." Arohi frowned and pushed those words out of her head. Rosa was an excellent caregiver. Riya loved her and loved spending time with her. Arjun was just throwing around his weight as usual. That's all there was to it. After speaking to Arjun, she had had a long conversation with Rosa and had emphasized how important it was that Rosa always have Riya in her sights. Rosa had assured her that she would be extra careful. Seeing the tears in her eyes Arohi had relented. Rosa was a good person and Riya would be fine. Turning to Riya who sat in the back seat Arohi said. "Sweetie pie you remember what Mama said right?" "You always stay where Rosa can see you and you never come close to the road by yourself." Riya nodded solemnly. "Never" she repeated shaking her head. Arohi smiled. "That's my girl." As she got her out of her car seat and kissed her goodbye she said "We'll go to the park tonight after I pick you up from Rosa's" Riya giggled happily and ran to Rosa who hugged her tight. Arohi looked at the two and thought to herself Arohi you're worrying about nothing! Stop listening to that horrible man!
The rest of the day passed quite quickly. It was wedding season so Arohi had quite a few appointments with brides to be. Most of them excited and wanting Arohi's input on their outfits. Arohi loved this part of her job. Sitting down and designing outfits with her clients. Watching the creations come to life on paper and then in real life when the bride wore the outfit on her wedding day. As she locked the door behind her last client she heard her phone ring. Rosa? she thought as she answered the phone. "Arohi, Arohi!" sobbed Rosa into the phone. Arohi felt chills run down her spine. "What happened?" she asked in an amazingly calm voice. "Riya, she was right here, I swear I stepped away for one minute and she was,..she was gone." Arohi's blood ran cold. "How can that be?" she asked starting to shake. "How can that be????" "She has to be around there." "Did you check the playground?" "Did you check the house?" "Maybe she's hiding?" Arohi asked hysterically. "No, I've..I've checked everywhere" Rosa sobbed. "I'm coming!" Arohi quickly said hanging up the phone. "Please god, please god let my baby be okay" Arohi repeated as she ran for her purse fumbling with her keys. Her hands were shaking so bad she could barely hold her purse and keys. "Please god I will do anything you want just please please bring my Riya back safe and sound to me." she sobbed as she ran for her car. Arjun, she needed to call Arjun was the first thought that entered her mind as she threw herself into her car. She sped through the streets, driving like a maniac, running red lights as she went. Her only thought was to get to her daughter. She needed to find her daughter. Her fingers fumbled on the keys of her cel phone, thankfully she had him on speed dial. "Hello" came his strong deep voice on the other end of the phone. Arohi's sob had Arjun on alert right away. "Arohi, Arohi what's wrong?" he asked trying to stay calm. "Arjun." she said softly choking on her tears. "Are you hurt?" Are you okay?" he asked roughly. "Riya." she sobbed into the phone. "Rosa can't find Riya." The color drained out of Arjun's face. "Where are you?" he asked already half way out of his office. "I'm, I'm headed to Rosa's now." "I should be there in 5...5 minutes." she said in a broken voice. "I'll meet you there." he said running to his car. "Arohi, Arohi listen to me." "Nothing is going to happen to our little girl." "We'll find her." Arohi nodded not being able to speak beyond her tears. She hung up and wiped at her face. Why hadn't she listened to Arjun she screamed to herself. Her pride and anger could have cost her her daughter. Don't think that way her mind screamed at her as she sobbed.
Pulling into Rosa's driveway she saw police cars already there. Stumbling out of her car she ran to Rosa. "Have they found her?" she asked in a panicked voice, looking around for her little girl. Rosa shook her head, tears falling down her face. "I'm so sorry Arohi." "I'm so sorry." Arohi was uncontrollable now as she ran to a police officer." "Have you found my daughter?!" "I need my daughter back right now!" she screamed. "Madam, we're looking for her." "As soon as your husband notified us we had men dispatched here." "As we just got here I've sent men out to talk to neighbors and look in the vicinity." "She's only been missing for about 40 minutes. "If someone took her he or she may still be around here." "Took her?" Arohi asked, feeling her head start to spin. "You think someone took her?" she asked in a daze. "We don't know." "We're just following all leads." "For all we know she wandered to the park and is playing there." the officer said looking at Arohi, who looked like she was about to have a breakdown. "If someone took her they could be anywhere in the City." she said as if she was talking to herself. "We would never find them." she heard herself say as she stumbled. Arjun caught her before she fell. "It's okay." he said holding her protectively in his strong arms. "Arjun," Arohi turned to him. "Arjun!' Someone took my baby!" "Where could my baby have gone?!" "Someone took her!" she sobbed and screamed. "Arohi, he said soothingly trying to calm her down. "No one took her." "She's close by." "We're going to find her" he said soothingly. "I want my baby!" she screamed fighting against him. "Arjun, you have to find our little girl!" "I want her right now!" she said struggling against him. "I need to go find her" she sobbed as he held her tighter. "Shh." "Arohi, I'm going to find Riya" "She is going to be perfectly fine." "Now I need you to stay calm." "Sit here" he said leading her to a bench." "I am going to talk to the officers and we're going to find her." Holding her sobbing face in his hands he looked into her eyes. "We're going to find her and she's going to be just fine." he said determinedly. Arohi nodded and watched as Arjun ran to the police officer. It was starting to get dark now. Soon the sun would set and it would be so much harder to look for her. Oh please god she prayed. Let us find her soon. Arjun was by her side in minutes. "The police are already looking and I'm going with them." "You stay here." "I'll call you when we find her" he said. "No!" she shook her head vehemently. "I'm coming with you." Arjun didn't argue. He grabbed her hand as they ran for his car. "It's been an hour." she said quietly. "She's been away from people that love her for an hour." "She's never been with a stranger before." "She's probably looking for me." Arohi said staring out the window her eyes filled with tears as she scanned the area. "Arohi!" "Stop thinking that way!" Arjun said his eyes scouring the road as he pulled into the park. Saying a silent prayer he prayed to god that he would give anything, do anything if he could just find his daughter, safe and sound. He knew she was fine, there was no other alternative. He refused to think anything negative. He had just found his daughter, there was no way he could lose her so quickly. God wouldn't be that cruel to him.
For the next 20 minutes they looked through the park. There was no sign of her. Stopping and talking to people Arohi shoved Riya's photo in everyone's face. "Have you seen her?' "Please look carefully." "She's only 3" she would say. As Arjun came to a stop outside of the park he looked around. The police had talked to neighbors, they'd searched the park high and low..where could she have gone?" he thought to himself as his eyes fell on his construction site. Could Riya have wandered there he thought as he ran across the street to the site. It was almost dark now, so pulling out his flashlight he entered the open gates and started yelling Riya's name. Running further in he yelled louder and louder...nothing! "DAMN!" he yelled looking around. "Where was his daughter?" he thought to himself. And then he heard something. Pausing he listened for it again. Running towards the sound which went to a little tool shed towards the middle of the property. "Riya!" he yelled. "RIYA!" and he heard "Ajun uncle" Arjun ran faster and stopped at the shed looking around to how he was going to open it. "Riya!" "Riya are you in there?" he yelled. "Ajun uncle he heard again, he could tell the voice wasn't coming from the inside he walked around the shed and his heart stopped as he saw his little girl, crouched on the ground sitting next to a little white kitten. Tears ran down his face as he grabbed her to him and hugged her tight. Kissing her as he laughed and cried at the same time. "Oh sweetheart you are a sight for sore eyes." he said hugging her close. Riya looked back at him curiously. She was a little dirty but other then that she looked fine. "I hungry." she said as he squeezed her to him. Arjun laughed. "I bet you are." "Come on let's get you out of here." he said already starting to walk towards the exit of the site. "Too tight!" Riya said as he hugged her close to him. "Sorry" he said emotionally thanking god over and over again.
Arohi sank to the ground, her head in her hands...her heart felt like it was barely beating. She felt like she was dieing..a painfully, slow death. Her daughter was somewhere alone, scared and helpless because of her! She had done this to her daughter. Tears ran down her face as she thought about her beautiful Riya and what she would give to hold her in her arms again. "Mama" Arohi's head snapped up as she quickly looked around. "Mama!" she heard again,. And there she saw Riya a little ways away in her dad's arms, calling for her. Arohi scrambled up and ran towards her. Sobbing as she grabbed her from Arjun's arms and kissed her over and over again. "My baby!' "My baby" she sobbed into Riya's soft hair. "Thank you god!' "Thank you." she repeated as she held Riya tight. Arjun pulled her and Riya into his arms and felt tears run down his own face. Riya looked solemnly between her mother and father thinking to herself. "What is wrong with them?"
Arohi cradled Riya in her arms as she sat in Arjun's car waiting for him. She just couldn't seem to let her go little girl. And for once Riya wasn't squirming out of her grasp. It was almost like she knew her mom needed to hold her. As Arohi glanced outside she saw Arjun talking to one of the police officers. If hadn't been for Arjun... Arohi felt tears spring to her eyes again...if it hadn't been for Arjun they might not have found Riya. According to what they could make out of Riya's little story it seemed that Riya had seen a little kitten which her three year old self decided to follow alone into the construction site. She had finally caught up with the kitten and played with it. The rest Arohi couldn't make out. But it didn't look like she'd been hurt in anyway. Arjun had a doctor called to Rosa's to look over his little girl just in case. He had prescribed her fit and well. Arjun had been her strength today. Like he'd been so many time in their marriage. If he hadn't been here today she would have had a severe breakdown. The thoughts that had been running through her mind were all negative. He had promised her he'd get Riya back and he had. And for that she would be eternally grateful to him. "You okay." he asked as he opened the door. "Riya dozed in Arohi's arms. "She sure was hungry." he said smiling as he remembered how she scarfed down her whole dinner. Running his hand across her forehead he looked at his sweet baby girl. "I'm fine" "Seriously I can drive." she said looking at him. "No, I'll drop you off." he said looking at her intently. "You've had a rough night, you shouldn't be driving." "You've had a rough night too." she said. Arjun didn't say anything just shutting the door he got into the front seat. Arohi moved a sleeping Riya into the car seat and then getting out of the car she moved to the passenger seat next to Arjun.
"Thank you." she whispered after awhile. Her voice heavy with tears. "I am forever indebted to you." Arjun looked at her. "Arohi, Riya is my daughter too." "I'm her father." "Don't behave like I'm some stranger that happened to find her." "I'm her father!" he repeated roughly. Arohi looked him and nodded. "I'm sorry" she said quietly. "I'm sorry for not listening to you before when you said that Rosa was being negligent." "And I'm sorry for not giving you your rightful place in Riya's life." "You are her father." she said forcefully. "And you were right, she needs at least one stable parent in her life and that sure isn't me." "I was too lost in proving you wrong about Rosa that I compromised Riya's welfare." Arjun opened his mouth to say something but Riya murmured "Mama" at that moment. Arohi quickly looked back. "I'm right here baby." "Mama loves you." "She's right here" Arohi repeated as Arjun pulled up into the driveway and drove to the far end to the guest house. Getting out he took Riya out of the car seat and walked into the guest house with Arohi hovering behind. Quietly walking to Riya's room he placed her into her bed. Riya barely made a sound as she turned on to her stomach, fast asleep. Arohi and Arjun stared down at her for a long time. Both saying silent prayers of thanks. Finally Arohi looked up. "Do you want some wine?" "I feel like I could use some alcohol." she said as they slipped out. "Do you have anything stronger?" he asked. "No, sorry." "Wine will do." he answered slipping his suit jacket off and siting down at the sofa watching as Arohi moved to a drawer to take out the cork screw. He could see that her hands were still shaking. Getting up he silently walked to her and turning her around her pulled her close to him. Arohi sobbed into his shirt. Letting in all out, not being able to stop herself. Arjun pressed a kiss into her hair as he murmured soflty that "It's all okay." "She's fine." Finally Arohi pulled away, her tears spent. "I'm sorry" she said looking up at him as she tried to wipe her face. "That's the phrase of the day today isn't it?" she said shaking her head. "I'm sorry." "Hey, stop being so hard on yourself" he said roughly. "You are an amazing mom!" "You have done such a great job with Riya all on your own." "And you had no reason to doubt Rosa." She's never given you a reason to doubt her before." Arjun said as he grabbed her shoulders making her look up at him. "But you had reason to doubt her and I didn't believe you." Arohi said shaking her head at him. "Well, if I had been in your place I probably wouldn't have believed it either!" "Stop beating yourself up about this." "Riya is this amazing little girl because of you." "You made her like this." "I can't even take an ounce of credit because I just came into her life." "You are the reason she has turned out the way she has." "I never want to hear you put yourself down as a mother again!" "That's my job" he said with a smile. A small smile lifted to Arohi's face. "You're a pretty great dad too." she admitted. "Really?" he asked as he grabbed the cork screw and started uncorking the white wine Arohi had pulled out of the fridge. "I'm trying." "She's just so easy to love." "She's smart and funny, and and I just want to be the best dad that I could possibly be." "I want her to love me like she loves you." he said. Arohi smiled. "I'm pretty sure she already does." "All day long it's Ajun Uncle this and Ajun Uncle that." Arjun quieted as he walked to the sofa with his wine glass. "I'm going to tell her I'm her dad." he said quietly. Arohi, glass in hand joined him on the sofa. "Okay." she finally said. "Okay?" "You're not going to say no, she's not ready?" he asked. Arohi shook her head and finally looked up into his eyes. "You're her dad." "She needs to know that" "And you deserve to be called her dad." Arjun looked at Arohi and then finally said "Thanks" As the two sipped their wine quietly Arohi broke the silence. "You think I'm a good mom?" she asked. Arjun looked at her with a teasing glint in his eyes. "Are you fetching for compliments?" he asked. "No, I just..." she said wandering off. "Arohi, you are a great mom." "I always knew you were going to be a great mom, there was never a doubt in my mind." "You've changed so much, but I still see the old Arohi in you sometimes." "Just the good qualities" he said when he saw that she was about to interrupt. "But now you've grown into this worldly, strong, independent, successful, working woman/warrior mom." "The confidence in you, the self assurance the way you hold yourself. " "It's all different...and I really like it." "I really do." he said earnestly. "I'm impressed by everything you accomplished, and that too by yourself."
Arohi looked up at him and saw that his eyes were crystal clear and true. No mocking laughter hidden in them. He was telling the truth. "Thanks" she finally said. And for some reason, even though it shouldn't matter what Arjun thought...it did and... since she was telling the truth atleast to herself today, it had always mattered what Arjun thought. It probably always will. Because he was the one person that knew her better then anyone else. She'd told him things she'd never trust another living soul with. And even when they had broken up she had known that he would never share those things with anyone. As they continued to sip their wine each thinking about something else they suddenly spoke at the same time. "Are you hungry?" Arohi asked her stomach growling. "I should get going." Arjun said. The two stared at each other for a moment. "Oh yeah, it's quite late, and Seema's probably waiting for you." she said quietly. "No, I didn't make plans with Seema tonight." he replied. "And I am kind of hungry." "I didn't even realize I didn't have dinner." Arohi smiled feeling giddy knowing that he wasn't seeing Seema tonight. "What do you want to eat?" she asked opening up her fridge. "Whatever... I'm easy" he said coming up to stand across from her. Arohi smiled as she set to work making a pasta. Her glance flickering every once in a while to Riya's bedroom door. Her lips sending a silent thank you up to god for protecting her little girl. As she cooked and talked, Arjun watched and listened. His gaze drifting over her. His mind saying what his lips couldn't. She was so beautiful, and he'd been wrong. Riya was lucky to have Arohi as a mother, because Arohi was a survivor and so was his daughter. She proved it today by staying calm away from her friends and family. And Arohi proved it every day by raising their daughter all by herself. "What?" Arohi asked looked up at him staring at her. "Nothing." he said shaking his head. As Arohi put a plate of delicious smelling pasta in front of him he asked worriedly. "I hope this is better then the halwa you fed me the morning after our wedding." Arohi looked at the disgusted look on his face and burst out laughing. "I remember your face that day" "And when your dad made you eat all of it" "You looked like you were about to be physically sick." she said with a laugh. "I think I was!" he answered staring up at her twinkling eyes. Reaching over his pushed a wisp of hair that had come of her ponytail away from her face. Arohi self consciously pushed it behind her ear. "I remember thinking I was going to kill you" he said staring at her as his knuckles skimmed the side of her face. Arohi felt herself wanting to lean into them. "But you didn't" she said softly. "Yeah, I didn't because when we were alone together I would be too busy fantasizing about making love to you." "Killing you would be over shadowed by kissing you and touching your silky soft skin. Arohi felt like she was in a trance as she listened to his words and felt his hand continue to caress her face. "I would wake up with you draped over me and want to pull you even closer." "I'd want to trace my lips against that sensitive spot along your neck." "I'd want to..." Arohi pressed her hand against his mouth. She didn't want to hear any more, he'd barely touched her and she was already on fire. Kissing the inside of her palm he slowly pulled her hand away. Reaching behind her head he pulled her hair from it's ponytail until it lay in soft layers down her back. Running his hand through her hair he let it fall through his fingers. "I've always loved your hair." he said pulling her closer, so close that she was pressed against him. Tilting her chin up he looked down at her. "Arohi, I want you so bad." "Let me make love to you." he said softly. Without waiting for an answer, his lips pressed against her, leaving Arohi unable to think about anything but his passionate kisses and about how good it felt to be held by him again.
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Sleeping With The Enemy
FanfictionI'm REPOSTING it here... I don't own this story... this is written by IF user @salmankh1(Raman di) Two individuals, whose fathers are Best friends or may be even brothers! And families so close yet they hate each other! so much so that they could ri...
