Malhotra Mansion

Aarav had been pacing up and down the hall. He glanced at the window and the weather was worsening. A storm could hit any minute and Khushi had not yet returned home. He was having unwanted thoughts about it and he was getting anxious.

Aarav heard the scooty stopping sound. He rushed towards the main door and saw Khushi with her safety and sound. Khushi gets off the scooty and Manvi parks it to the side. Aarav could finally breathe seeing his daughter. He walked and stood in front of her. He was about to keep his hand on her face but she passed by him leaving him disheartened.

Khushi turned and eyed Manvi "aap aayengi na padhane?" she asked

"aa jaungi" Manvi shook her head affirmatively. A smile appeared on Khushi's face and she went into the bungalow.

Aarav stared at her "mujhe kuch kehna tha tumse" he said

"jabtak aapko koi nayi teacher nahi mil jaati main aati rahungi use padhane.." Manvi clarified and turned to leave. Aarav held her wrist and she looked back at him.

"usey wapas laane ke liye Thank you.. agar use iss mausam mein kuch ho jaata toh main khudko maaf nahi kar paata.." he said with his eyes turning moist.

Manvi was surprised to hear him. He left her wrist and smiled a bit "tum uski achi dost bani ho.. uske liye bhi Thank you"

She noticed the pain in his eyes for being not able to be called as father from his own daughter's mouth. She had never seen this side of him. She smiled "ajeeb dastan hai yeh Aaravji.. itne saalo se aapki beti aapke kareeb nahi aa payi aur mujhse sirf kuch hi mahino mein itne close aa gayi ki apna ghar chodke mere saath rehna chahti thi! Use samjha diya hai aur don't worry aage se wo ghar se aise nahi jayegi"

Aarav never trusted any woman in his life but today his heart wanted to trust her words. The storm hit and her scooty fell off to the ground. She looked at it and sighed in disappointment.

"Main driver se kehta hun wo tumhe ghar chod dega.." he said

"nahi main chali jaungi" she denied as she doesn't want Dhruv to doubt her again and misbehave.

"tum itne toofan mein meri beti ko ghar tak laayi ho! Aarav Malhotra kabhi offer nahi karta hai! So just go.." Aarav said in a stern tone.

Manvi refuses and decides to take an auto from outside. Aarav made her sit inside the car forcefully and asked the driver to drop her home. Manvi gets annoyed with his behaviour. For a minute she thought he was soft but again he showed his arrogance. "jaisa baap waisi beti.. Ziddi '' she murmured.

The driver heads off towards her house. Aarav went inside the bungalow and looked around. Khushi had been sitting on the couch keeping her head on Sharda's lap.

"sab kitna pareshan they bacha.. aise dubara mat karna" Sharda said, caressing her head.

"nahi karungi Daadi.. bas Mr. Malhotra apni manmaani na kare! I will not have any other tuition teacher" she declared

"jitni ladai karni hai karo Khushi but iss tarah ghar se jaane ki zaroorat nahi hai" Aarav said

Khushi glanced at him and replied "Mr. Malhotra majburi hai meri jo iss ghar mein rehna padh raha hai mujhe aapke saath! Don't ever try to interfere in my life" she gets up and heads upstairs to her room.

Manvi glanced at the road and said "bhaiya aap yahi kone mein rok dijiye"

"are nahi teacherji.. aapko ghar tak chodne ko kaha hai Sir ne nahi chodunga toh meri job chali jayegi" he said

Manvi sighed deeply "aur aapne mujhe andar choda toh meri jaan chali jayegi! Please aap rokiye" she said

The driver stops the car at the side and Manvi gets off it. She thanked him and walked into the society. She reached her house and unlocked it with the key. She entered inside, closing the door from behind. She turned and in a second Dhruv blocked her way by placing his hands on the door caging her. "kaha se aa rahi ho? Raat ke 3 baje" he asked

"Dhruv.. bacho ke exams aane waale hai na toh kisi student ko meri zaroorat thi" she gave the excuse.

"itni raat ko? Aisa kaunsa student hai jise apni teacher ki zaroorat raat ko padti hai?" he shouted on top of his lungs at her.

"coaching mein se hai" she replied

"students? Pati ki koi fikar hai ki nahi? Kaha tha na maine koi tuitions nahi logi tum apne coaching centre ke bahar" Dhruv asked her.

Manvi tried to explain "nahi liye hai na maine kuch hafton se lekin yeh ek bachi ke tutions maine nahi chod sakti hun uski maa bhi nahi hai jo usey help kar sake"

"aakhir hai kaun yeh bachi jiske liye tumne bahar toofan tak ka saamna kar liya? Aur maa nahi hai toh uske baap.." he paused when she glanced at him.

"aage kuch mat kehna! Itni hi problem hai na toh chod do mujhe" she shouted.

"Chod dun? Taaki tum yahan wahan muh maar sako? Chalo chod deta hun but pehle ek bacha toh paida karke do.." Dhruv said sarcastically.

He hits her trigger point; tears slip down her eyes. He pulled her into the bedroom and closed the door from behind throwing her on the bed with a thud. He removes his shirt and leans on top of her. She turned her back away and tears slipped down her eyes with this unwanted physical closeness.

Malhotra Mansion

Khushi had been sleeping hugging her pillow. Aarav entered the room, the television was still on. He turned it off with the remote and sat down beside her. He covered her with the blanket properly and lowered the temperature of the air con. Those 5 hours were terrifying for him, he really wishes his daughter understands how much he loves her. He was about to place his hand on her head but stopped as he didn't want her to wake up and disturb her sleep. She is in front of his eyes and that is enough for him.

"Dad.." he paused and smiled painfully "Mr. Malhotra loves you.." he said in a low tone and walked out of the room.

He came to him and picked up the whiskey bottle. He drinks and sleeps afterwards. The alarm buzzed and he opened his eyes with it. He sat up straight and looked at the time it was 7 am. He freshens up and gets ready to leave for office. He wore his coat and stepped out of the room. His phone rings and he picked it up while descending the stairs.

"Bolo sharma.." he asked

"Sir wo Chopra waali deal final ho gayi hai aapke signature ki zaroorat hai kabki meeting rakhun?" the manager asked

Aarav sat down on the chair and places his phone on speaker "In an hour I will be in office so fix it" he said

"But Sir..."

"I don't want to hear if and but.. An hour means an hour otherwise deal cancel" he declared and ended the call.

Sharda served him extra but he denied "nahi mera ho gaya hai! Aur kal bahut late ho gaya tha.. Khushi ko school aaj rehne dena" he said

"Thik hai.." she agreed and Aarav walked out of the bungalow. He noticed the scooty and looked at the staff member.

"Get it fixed" he said

"Ji Sir" the staff agreed.

Aarav sat inside the car and headed off towards the office. Within 45 minutes he arrived and rolled his eyes around. The new intern laughed at something and the senior slapped her arm signaling her to be quiet.

Aarav walked towards them and she hid the magazine behind her back. He asked "tell me the joke so that I can also laugh"

"Sorry sir" she apologized.

Aarav snatched the magazine from her hand and saw the cover. "Mr. Malhotra's new affair with Samaira.." he read it.

He gave her a look "This is bloody my workplace, if you want to gossip about me please do it par mere office mein nahi samjhi! Get out..." he shouted at her

She was shocked at this "Sir.. I am sorry but this job"

"I don't care.. Fuck off" he pushed her towards the exit. Tears slipped down her eyes as he fired her for a small mistake.

"Sir meri baat toh suniye ek aur chance" she said

"Watchman just throw her out of my office! And HR next time hire someone who knows the rules of the office. Warna kal tum fire ho jaoge" Aarav warned him and headed towards his chamber.

He entered inside and a lady in her early 30s was waiting for him. Aarav looked at her and raised his eyebrow. She forwarded her hand "Tanya Arora.. Hotel Arcade deal?"

Aarav glanced at her from head to toe and admired her beauty. He shook his hand with her. She sat down and placed the contract papers on the table. Aarav sat down opposite her and opened the file. He began to read the terms and conditions.

"Seems okay! Let's sign it" he said, picking up the pen. She took the pen from his hand and passed him a smile.

"I was wondering if we could discuss.. You know what I mean" she said

"So you wanna try my strategies first?" Aarav asked.

"Of Course after all it is a long term partnership.." she said.

Aarav closed the file and smiled "I will see you tonight!" She thanked him and left from his chamber. Aarav picked up his phone and called Sharda to ask about Khushi but she didn't answer his phone call.

He gets worried as she never avoids his call. He called the landline and another servant picked up the call. "Hello.. Khushi school gayi hai?" he asked instantly.

"Nahi Sir baby ki tabiyat thik nahi hai" she replied.

Aarav was shocked hearing her "What? Toh mujhe phone kyun nahi kiya?" he nearly yelled at her.

"Sir wo Manvi madam aa gayi hai toh wo thik hai aap pareshan na ho" she replied

Aarav heard from behind "Shardaji.. Aap khushi paas hi baithiye main bana rahi hun uske liye.." he ends the call and takes a deep breath hearing her voice in background.