Arohi's POV

A year later...

"Well done, Arohi. You killed it this time." Armaan said through the mike. I gave him a genuine smile taking off my headphone and placing it over the mike. I came out of the booth just to get greeted by Armaan again who gave me a quick hug.

"Thank you so much." I smiled at him widely again. 

"Alright then, I'll give you call once this is done from my side. Then we can review the song together and see if it needs any improvisation or anything." Armaan said.

"Okay then. I'll see you soon." I said my goodbye as I came out of the studio. 

Life has been really better for me lately. I have my hands full of work that I hardly have any time left for anything. I'm content with what I'm doing today. I'm experimenting with different genres of music and even tried my hand at composing with help of Arjun, of course. The song got a thunderous response. I and Arjun even won several awards for it. I even held a few concerts in a few capital cities of India. So, I can safely say that I am in the best phase of my life. I have never felt so happy career-wise.

As on personal front, Jenny, Arjun, and Vivek are there with me. And I lately started to give most of the time to my parents which I feel I didn't give before. 

"Everything good?" Vivek asked taking me out of my thought process.

"Never felt better before," I said giving him a wide smile. Vivek smiled back at me.

"That's good!" He said ruffling my hair as I jerked his hand away adjusting my hair again. Vivek chuckled looking at me. To which I just rolled my eyes.

"So? Where are we going?"  I asked him once I was satisfied that all the strands of my hair are back to where they belong. Vivek gave a tough look as he gestured me to start walking.

"Home." 

"Really? I thought we were going to meet your fiancee today?" I said with a disappointed voice walking beside him.

Yes! Vivek was finally getting married. Its obviously a love marriage, he met this girl a couple of months ago and they started dating. Now her parents know about their relationship and things are going well. But this jerk told me about the whole thing just a few days ago. It's his luck that I didn't kill him then. As always he had his amazing excuses to save himself. He said he was waiting for the perfect time and things to fall into place before he tells me. I forgave him because I was just too happy to kill anyone. He had already handled enough shit for me and now I'm happy that he will be living his own life. Though he was being stubborn that I should get married first but I convinced him. Anyway, I'm well settled in my life. I'm living my life to the fullest without any worry or regret then why not? I'll get married to the right person at the right time. If it never comes then it's fine too. I have always been least bothered by that. At the moment, I and my career are my priorities in life. 

"Yeah let's meet her later," Vivek said opening the car door without looking at me.

"Ohkay. So you want to keep her just for yourself? That's not fair, yaar. I want to meet my bhabi too." I said dramatically sitting in the passenger's seat. Yup! My future sister in law is still a mystery to me, well thanks to this big brother of mine! He gave me a final glare before turning on the engine.

"Shut up. You are talking too much lately. Huh?" He said in an irritated voice while raising his eyebrows.

"Yes, what can I say? That's the new Arohi Keshav Shirke for you." I said shrugging my shoulders. Vivek let out a laugh to that. I smiled too. I changed my name back to my old one. No more Jaykar or Nanda. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't being ungrateful. I just realized joining Rahul's name to mine wasn't going to bring him back or that wasn't enough to show my love towards him. I've been questioned by media about this and I couldn't give them a better answer than that. I've loved him and I can never stop loving that man who only wanted the best for me. It took me time to realize a few things he wanted for me and now I'm finally correcting myself.

"I am really happy to see you like this, Arohi." He said.

"Me too, Vivek," I said in a low voice as I rolled down the window. "But you better make me meet Suhana soon. I don't want to meet her for the first time when we go to her place for the marriage proposal. I want to know her before that." I said turning to him with a serious face, folding my hands on my chest.

"Yes, madam. I'll make you meet her soon." He joined his hands bowing down at me playfully before taking off. I just laughed at his gesture as I looked out of the window feeling the wind on my face.

*************

Sleep seemed to be far away today. It's been a couple of hours already that I am twisting and turning into bed. Many thoughts already started clouding my mind. Thoughts about many things, that happened in the past, in the last few years. It's one of those days I guess when you involuntarily visit the memory lane. All the memories, sad, happy comes running back to you. 

I finally got up and sat on the bed, sighing a little. Sometimes even when you are at peace and at best place in your life still it can't drift you from thinking about that one special person. It's really been a year since he left. Giving me the best gift I could ask for. But was he happy too now? I don't know. I never once asked anyone about Rohan after he left. Not that I didn't want to know about him but it just didn't feel right. 

I don't want to keep on living, stuck in those questions. One answer would lead me to a few more questions and soon I'll find myself in an endless process of answers and questions. Then it would have been harder to move on. Sometimes it's better to not know things.

Rahul would have been replaced by Rohan and I would have been stuck there, again. But no, I refused to do that. I wanted to move on this time. I wanted to live for myself this time. I wanted to let go of things this time. I just wanted to go with the flow and leave everything on destiny this time. Anyway who will stay in my life and who won't is not in my hands. I have learned with time that I can't force people to be with me all the time. It's their life and so the decision is all theirs too. And I should respect that. 

I felt like I started living once Rohan left me. I've have been living for others till then, once it was Rahul, then Rohan. Rahul left me because he wanted me to live for myself and Rohan left me... Well, he didn't leave me. We weren't together in the first place, for him to leave me. Now when I think about it, it seemed like he was just running away, hiding behind his mask. I still don't know if he loved me or I held any place in his heart but I somewhere always knew what he said to me that day was just to push me away. I never gave it much thought because that will only get me to where I began and I don't want to be there. 

Raghav too didn't call me even once, Jenny didn't mention Rohan or Raghav later in any of the conversations we had nor did Arjun. I told Aai and Baba about whatever happened. I didn't want to keep any secrets from them now as they are the only people in my life who won't leave me ever. Surprising enough they were supportive too and didn't bring the marriage or Rohan or even Rahul after that. They were just happy with the new change in me. The change to look positively at life now. 

Other than that, Rohan released a couple of songs in the last one year and no need to tell that I loved them. Why I, but the entire nation did. He was already doing great in his career and these songs just added to his never-ending hit list and I was genuinely happy for him. 

But I don't know why for the last couple of months there were no traces of Rohan Nanda in any tabloids. I know I was thinking way too much and I should stop. He doesn't need to be in limelight every other day when there was no release around the corner but I don't know why it made me uneasy. Maybe because it was my only source of information about him.

I shook my head a little to throw those thoughts away as I took a look on the clock. It was 4 already in the morning. I should get sleep now if I don't want to look like a zombie the other day. With that thought, I thought of calling it off and prayed in my head for sleep to come and take me.

***********

I woke up with the loud ringing of my phone beside me. With a great effort, I tried to take it from the table and saw the caller ID, Arjun's name flashed on the screen. I involuntarily got up and in the process managed to break my neck. Just wow! 

Holding it I pressed the green button and took the mobile to my ear.

"Hey, what's up?" I said sounding as cheerful as I can. I heard Arjun chuckle from the other side.

"Well, thanks for asking at least now and yes I am great!" Arjun said and I can imagine him rolling his eyes. I smiled a little thinking about that. I haven't met him or Jenny for almost two weeks or more because of my work commitments and a music concert I had. I made sure to keep in touch through phone but seems like I wasn't that successful, after all.   

"Sorry yaar. Didn't get time lately for anything else than music." I said shrugging my shoulders. I know that was just a lame excuse but I just went for it anyway. After all, it was just Arjun and he was already familiar with that lameness.

"Okay madam, so if you have some time off today can you please grace me and my beautiful wife with your divine presence?" He asked dramatically and I couldn't help but let out a laugh at that. I heard Arjun chuckle too. 

"I guess I can today as it's Sunday!" I said with faking some attitude in my tone. 

"Thank you very much, ma'am. I won't take much of your time as it's already past 11 and you have to be here till lunch." Arjun said. 11 AM? 

"Wait, what? It's 11 already?" I asked looking at the wall clock. SHIT!

"Relax. It's Sunday!" Arjun said chuckling.

"Yes I know but I had to take Baba for his regular checkup today," I said with disappointment filled in my voice. How can I be so irresponsible? 

"Don't worry. Jenny took him to the doctor in the morning." Arjun said. Wait, what? How? I didn't even tell her anything about it. Of course, she knew about the appointments but...

"Jenny?" I asked being clueless.

"Yes, your phone was unreachable so he called Jenny asking if she knows anything about it so..." Arjun tried to explain. Okay! That explains everything. I had warned baba not to go alone as the doctor was a little far. And I knew him so well so I knew he won't take a taxi but instead go by local train or bus which I won't allow. So he must have called Jenny as she was the closest.

 Actually, Arjun, Jenny has become a part of my small family like how Vivek is. My parents have happily accepted Vivek as their own son and he has every right in our home as much as I have. Now, Arjun and Jenny was an addition to it. And I couldn't be more happy with this bond they are having with my parents. For all the things I thank Rohan, Arjun and Jenny are one of them. They have truly become my family and the bond has strengthened with time. Vivek also developed a friendship towards them and started to consider them family just like me. 

"Oh god!! I feel terrible." I said feeling exactly what I said. I can't even take care of my own parents.

"Relax! Take a deep breath. It's not that big deal." Arjun said in a calming tone.

"Yes, it is Arjun. I'm so irresponsible." I said in a complaining tone.

"That you are. Even I can't argue about it. I mean just look at the irresponsible behavior that you didn't even bother to contact any of us two by yourself. And yes let me warn you..." Arjun was saying something but I cut him in between as I knew what he will say after that.

"I know. Jenny must be angry." I completed the sentence with a victorious smile. 

"Oh angry is so not exact word for what she is right now." 

"That's fine. I still got you to protect me from her wrath." I said still smiling. I could imagine him rolling his eyes.

"Do you really think that?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't think that. I know that. You better protect me. I'm relying on you."

"Alright! At least come first." He said chuckling again.

"Yes, for that I need to cut this call and get ready."

"Ohkay! See you later. Bye." 

"Bye!" With that, I cut the call and got up to get ready. But first I have to call baba.

**************

By the time I got ready, it was already past 1. I need to hurry else Jenny will make sure I'll be her lunch. I hurriedly took my car keys, wallet and ran towards the main door and to my car. 

It took me another half hour to reach Jenny's place. I'm so dead today. I got out of the car and rang the doorbell. Arjun opened the door with a smile as he came and hugged me.

"You are dead meat today!" He whispered in my ear as he pulled back. I let out a deep sigh.

"Arjun, tell someone that I asked to come for lunch and not for dinner." I heard Jenny as I walked inside the living room. She was in the kitchen putting utensils in the sink. Arjun came behind me after closing the door and gave me a smirk.

"I'm so sorry, Jenny," I said walking towards her. Jenny looked at me and gave surprised expressions. 

"Oh hi, Arohi. It's been a long time. And what are you sorry for exactly?" She asked rubbing her hands on the clothe and raising her eyebrows. I gave her my sweet smile. She rolled her eyes.

"Come on Jenny. Don't be so rude." I said pouting.

"Oh, I'm being rude?" Jenny said dramatically as she continued. "Don't you think you were being too rude as you didn't even bother to talk to me for god knows how many days. Do I need to take initiative every fucking time Arohi?" She finished crossing her arms with irritation and anger visible on her face. OK, now I feel guilty. Really guilty, for I knew I should have taken more efforts but I didn't. Jenny has really been more than a best friend to me, she's like my elder sister. She has always been there, supporting me and knocking sense into me when I needed it. She has been that one person who always reached out to me when I shut myself away from others. She is the only person in my life who would be angry at me and scold me if I don't meet her or forget to call her at least once in a week, the only one who is curious about my boring life and take my every nonsense. I never had anyone like her in my life. She was a gem and I can't lose her. I've been such a bitch these past few days, I totally forgot about the only people I had in my life. I shouldn't let this career priority thing to affect my friendship and family. Fixing that thought in mind, I went and hugged her tightly from the side. 

"OK fine. I'm sorry." I said to which Jenny didn't bother to say anything so I went ahead. "I'm so sorry, Granny. I promise I won't do that ever again." I said genuinely, meaning every word I said and gave her quick kiss on the cheek. Jenny jerked me away as she let out a laugh. Phew!

"You better not or else I'll definitely kill you." She said as she hugged me again. I smiled widely in her embrace. 

"Wait wait. That was it? You didn't even shout at her?" Just when Arjun came with a complaining face. I and Jenny looked at each other and started laughing.

"So?" Jenny asked.

"So? Why so special treatment for her?" Arjun said again in a complaining voice with a pout.

"Because I'm more special!" I said still hugging Jenny tightly. 

"Why are you so jealous, Arjun? Just go and take the dishes. I have so much to talk to Arohi. I can't waste time fighting with her when I know I can't stay mad at her for long anyway." Jenny said giving me a wink.

"Whatever," Arjun said as he made his way to Kitchen.

"Okay, first I need to tell you something Arohi." Jenny started as we sat on the dining table.

"Okay." Just when Arjun came with plates and put them on the table.

"Four plates? Is there anyone else joining us?" I asked being confused. I clearly remember that Arjun didn't mention anything related to anyone else joining today. My heart skipped a beat as a certain person's face flashed before my mind. 

"Yes. Ahana is here so..." Jenny said clearing off my confusion. She gave me an apologetic look as I let out a sigh of relief as it's not him. Just when a girl around my age popped up from upstairs. She smiled brightly as she spotted me. She gave me positive vibes. I smiled involuntarily looking at her.

"Hello, Arohi. Finally, we met. I have heard so much about you from every other person. Besides my family is a huge fan of yours. My mom adores you so much." She said giving me a side hug and sliding on the chair in front of me. 

"Hi, Ahana. Thanks for the compliment and I have heard a lot about you too." I said smiling genuinely at her. So the verdict about her is that I already like her. Now when I think about it I don't even know why would I be insecure about this girl. That's why they say never judge a book by its cover. I seem to have done that a lot in the past, not anymore! I was just too crazy at that time.   

Ahana smiled back at me widely just when Arjun came with utensils.

"What are you doing Arjun?" Ahana asked looking at Arjun. He gave her a blank look.

"Oh, I'm serving ma'am. Don't worry, sit comfortably, all of you." He said sounding sarcastic.

"Thanks, Arjun. Just hurry up. I'm hungry." Jenny said as I and Ahana tried suppressing our laugh.

"Sure, ma'am." He said dramatically and disappeared into the kitchen as we let out a laugh.

"So, Arohi. This is Ahana. One of the six people who are closest to me." Jenny started again looking at me and then Ahana. Ahana smiled at me again. 

"Six?" I asked being confused. I remember five of us but sixth? Ahana's smile faded a little so as Jenny's. Both of their faces depicted sadness. 

"Yes, you, Arjun, me, Rohan, Raghav and..." Ahana started speaking but Arjun cut her off in between.

"And the kitchen." He said placing the last utensil on the table as he slid beside Ahana on the chair.  We let out a laugh. I could tell that they were hiding it from me but I didn't try to dig into it. They will tell me when I'm supposed to know. Besides, it seemed to be a sensitive topic for them so I just let it be and focused my mind on the good time I was having.

"Very funny," Jenny said making a face as she started serving us with her delicious looking food.

We ate lunch gossiping about all things. Arjun complained in between saying that we aren't paying attention to him but Jenny jerked him off. The poor boy ate his food in silence most of the time giving us confused looks as he wasn't aware of most of the topics.

 Ahana was too friendly and sweet that not even once I felt uncomfortable in her presence. In fact, we got along really well. 

"How much I missed eating your food, Jenny!" Ahana said putting her spoon down. I smiled looking at her.

"Serves you better. How many time did I invite you? Huh?" Jenny said raising her eyebrows. Ahana gave an innocent smile to her in return to which Jenny just rolled her eyes. I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"Sorry, baby," Ahana said holding her ears.

"Arohi too. And what I don't understand is that, why do I even need to invite you guys? Are you guests?" Jenny said giving an irritated look to Ahana and then at me.

"Sorry, granny ma. We won't do this again. Right, Ahana?" I said looking at Ahana. Ahana smiled at me.

"Absolutely," Ahana said and then nodded her head at Jenny.

"You both go and chat. I'll join you in some time." Jenny said getting up and taking dishes. I got up too.

"Wait. Let me help you." I said pulling the plate away from Jenny but she gripped it tight.

"No! Just go and accompany Ahana. I'll finish this off quickly." She said and I knew she wanted me to spend some time alone with Ahana and get to know her more. Well, this is exactly why she called me here today, I got that when I saw Ahana. 

"OK" I agreed as I really liked Ahana from the dining table conversation we had. We seem to match in a lot of our opinions and interests. I liked her wittiness and the friendly vibe she let out. I let go of the dish and went to wash my hands and mouth followed by Ahana.

***********

I and Ahana were sitting on the terrace balcony. Some time went in silence before she decided to break it off.

"So? I heard a lot about you from everyone but mostly from Rohan." She said looking at me with a smile.

"Rohan?" I asked looking at her being confused and surprised. 

"Yeah! Why so surprised?" She asked giving me a confused look. I diverted my gaze to the scenery outside.

"Umm... Nothing. I just didn't think that he would talk about me." I said with a plain face. Ahana let out a chuckle hearing my words. I looked at her again. "What happened?"

"Nothing. I think you misunderstood that jerk." She said shaking her head a bit. I still kept looking at her being confused. 

"What do you mean?" I asked feeling a bit annoyed. Ahana looked ahead of us.

"I don't know what happened between you two that Rohan went to London like that." She said being careful with the words she chose. "I mean all of sudden."

Her words brought back the memory of the kiss we shared that day, our first kiss and probably the last one too. It was clear that she knew about my feelings towards Rohan. What I didn't know was, why she thinks that something happened between us and that was the reason why he left? Does she know what happened between us? It obviously wasn't a secret anymore. Jenny, Arjun, and Vivek even Raghav know about it. It does no harm to me if she knows about it or not. There was no need for me to doubt her or not trust her.

I didn't say anything as I didn't want to talk about him. I heard Ahana let out a sigh as she continued. "Trust me I don't want to know that. It's between you two but he called me before leaving and he was sounding so... broken." 

I looked at her, surprised by her words. My silent questions were answered. She knew something happened because Rohan called her but he didn't tell her what exactly happened. But why did he sound broken? I found myself again being back at questioning and searching for answers. Why does anything related to him has to be a mystery to me?

Ahana gave me a faint smile. "Look Arohi, I know I am no one to talk between you two. I am just..."

"Don't say that Ahana. I don't think Rohan and I had anything. Besides, you aren't an outsider. You are one person closest to Rohan. Even closer than me." I said stating the fact giving her a faint smile. She smiled back at me.

"Not necessarily. Time doesn't define who is how much closer." She said with a smile. "About Rohan, yes I know him before he became 'The Rohan Nanda' and trust me he has always been a jerk." She said shrugging her shoulders. I couldn't help but smile at her.

"But you know. The care and love I have seen in his eyes when he talked about you, I haven't seen it in many years." She said as she reached for my hands. "He is broken Arohi. And only you can fix him. Just help him come out of his cage and cure him. He is punishing himself for a thing he is not even responsible for. He thinks whatever happened with Aryan is his fault when it's clearly not!"

"Aryan?" I asked being confused as I can't recall hearing this name before. Ahana's eyes held some sadness in them but she blinked it away as she turned to look ahead as she let go of my hands.

"My brother." She said letting out a sigh.

"Oh!" I didn't know what to say. Everything she said took me by surprise. She knew a lot more about Rohan than anyone else. I can tell that Rohan is closest to her than any of the others. I could say that from the way she talked to me. She was revealing a lot more with her selected words. She knew that as well but she was willing to let me know. 

"Anyway, it's been years since then." She said again and stayed silent for some time.

"Ahana? Are you OK?" I asked in a low voice not knowing exactly what to do.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry." She said looking at me with a smile again. "But the final call is your Arohi. I definitely can't force you for anything." I pressed a smile back at her not being sure how to reply to that. 

"Anyways enough of being senti. I hope you don't hold any grudges towards me now?" She said with a sudden change of mood. 

"Huh? Grudges? For what?" I said frowning a little at her. She laughed wholeheartedly.

"For being Rohan's imaginary girlfriend maybe?" Ahana said winking at me. I felt my cheeks heat up with the embarrassment. Jenny! I am going to kill that girl! She could have told about the kiss, that seemed less embarrassing than this.

"No but seriously. Rohan and me? Like Ewwww...." She said making a face at me still laughing. 

"Why?" I said suppressing my smile looking at her.

"Because he is more like my brother, you know. Not exactly but yeah, somewhat. After Aaryan, he is closest to me. With whom I can let my heart out, share my secrets. Like a best friend cum brother." She said smiling brightly, as she seemed to be remembering something from the past, some chords of memories which I think were lost somewhere.

"So you, Aryan and him?" I asked giving her my full attention being curious genuinely. 

"Yup. We were inseparable." She said with sparkling eyes and I looked at her with a smile, being more curious to know their story. Aryan seemed to be the sixth person but why didn't they mention him then, at the dining table? Why did it seem like they wanted to hide it from me? And here, she's talking to me about him.

"Where is Aryan now?" I asked and her smile faded a little but she recovered it immediately. I can tell she suits as Rohan's soul sister. Both are way too good at hiding their emotions.

"Aryan? He... he is good." She said quickly. 

"If Rohan and he were inseparable then why I haven't seen him around," I asked being confused. I don't remember seeing him or even mention of that name. Is everything not good between these two now? But why?

"Well, it's something that you need to ask Rohan," Ahana said jerking her shoulder.

"Hmm..." I said being in my thoughts. Ahana indirectly gave me a small peek into Rohan's past. It had something to do with Aryan and something going wrong between them. I could tell that whatever happened in Rohan's past have affected each one of his friend's life as well. I still didn't know what exactly happened in the past and these were just my guesses but I felt like I was getting a little closer to the truth.

There remained a lot more questions and only Rohan could answer them. I knew that Ahana, although wanted me to learn about his past wasn't going to reveal everything to me. She wanted me to know from Rohan and so do I. That's exactly why I never asked Jenny or Arjun about his past when I had many chances. But I wasn't sure if I should get into it anymore. My answers lie with him and I honestly don't think I'll meet him again. Well maybe, as I'm close to Arjun and Jenny but I think I can only be formal with him now.

I don't know why she told me to help him out. What did she mean? Rohan clearly wanted me out of his life and he didn't seem to reciprocate whatever I felt towards him then how can she expect me to go there after all this time and help him? It didn't make sense at all! But I knew there was some reason why she wanted me to help him. Is it possible that he did feel the same way towards me? Nah... The question is am I willing to go through the same shit again? No. I could do anything for Rohan and I'm not joking when I say this. I was like that before, I would do anything for the people I love. The only difference now is I started to value my self-respect and I wasn't sure about running behind him when I wasn't sure about his feelings.    

"By the way, you still haven't answered my question, madam." She said pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked at her blankly for a few seconds before registering her words.

"Huh?... Oh yeah of course. I mean no insecurities or whatsoever." I said smiling genuinely at her. 

"So I can hang out with you two best friends, right?" She asked innocently and I couldn't help but smile at her.

"Of course, Ahana. You are making me feel embarrassed." I said nudging her from the side. She laughed again.

"Awie, sorry." She said side hugging me tightly.

Soon after Jenny joined us and we just drowned into our never-ending conversations. It felt good to be here. I wonder what I was doing all the time. Yeah, I do remember. Maybe working my ass off for god knows what reason. But yeah I should make sure to visit this place and these people more often now. 

***************

Rohan Nanda missing in action for months now! All is not well with the world-famous rockstar?

The headline read and I can feel my heart racing rapidly and my breath going uneven. Even I knew I haven't heard anything related to him in some time when there is always something or other about him going on in the news. These people just always exaggerate things. There must not be anything, right? Of course.

Should I call Raghav? Nope! I should ask Jenny or Arjun! Yup, that would be better.

I didn't know whom did I call while being in my own thoughts until Arjun picked up the call.

"What's up Arohi?" Arjun said cheerily from the other side. Am I thinking way too much? He is sounding more than OK! Then why am I thinking too much?

"Umm... Well... Just..." I said not finding any other excuse as my head was already occupied by many thoughts. Not many just one. Rohan Nanda. I guess I am going to worry about this guy as long as I am gonna live. 

"What happened? Are you OK?" Arjun asked with concern in his voice. I let out a sigh. Wish I should have dialed Jenny's number.

"Yeah! Everything is fine. I thought I called Vivek... No sorry, Jenny. Never mind, I'll call her now... or later. I guess..." I closed my eyes hard. Yes! Even I have no idea what did I just say. Arjun didn't say anything for a short while and I almost got happy thinking the call got cut but nope! I heard him chuckle a little.

"Woh!!! What's going on? Do you even know what you are talking? Because I am clearly not getting a thing." He said and I can sense that he was smiling at my dumbest reply. I let out a sigh again.

"Yeah! I guess I have gone mad." I said shaking my head a bit. Arjun let out a laugh.

"So finally you are accepting it?"

"Yeah! What else will happen, I stayed with your best friend for months for god's sake!" I said rolling my eyes even though he can't see me.

"So, what do you want to know about him then?" I heard Arjun. That got me off guard. My breath quickened and I don't even know the reason. But then again it has always been like that with Rohan. I don't know how can he have such a strong impact on me?

"Him? I didn't call to ask about him though." I said sounding unsure. 

"Oh okay. My mistake but now as we are talking about him then let me tell you he is not so fine." Arjun started being straight forward like always. "I mean I don't know the exact thing but I just talked to Raghav yesterday and he was saying that his panic attacks have got frequent now and that jerk is not listening to Raghav or his doctor. So eventually it has started affecting him badly. He is taking it out on people around him."

Arjun stopped for a moment as I heard him let out a sigh. Few moments past by as I guess he was walking maybe trying to find someplace with no people around. I kept quiet as Arjun started again after some moments. "Alright, so where was I?"

"Umm...Letting out on people." I said.

"Oh yes, just last month he punched some guy from the studio. Oh not just punched but he fractured his nose so that guy what was his name has filed a suit against him. Not only that but a new top label was willing to sign him after his last release but he just wasted that opportunity too. He is drunk or on drugs most of the time so..." Arjun let out a deep breath. "Anyway let it be. The list is huge and I'm pretty sure I don't want to involve you in anything related to that guy." He said with a disappointed voice. He was disappointed in Rohan but so was I. How can he do that but more than that why didn't I hear or read about this anywhere? I mean whatever he does becomes the headline of the next day then how this didn't come in my reading.

"But Arjun, why didn't I hear about it anywhere?" I asked the questing bugging my mind.

"Raghav cleared up everything. Do you really think that Rohan hasn't done any shit in the past? He has done the worse but Raghav has always been cleaning the shit for him." Arjun said and I could feel the anger he was trying to suppress. It's really rare to see Arjun like this. I didn't say anything again. I just don't know what to say. Do I know Rohan at all? I am not sure though.

"But yeah don't worry, I am used to this so I will take care of him. I know how to deal with his stuff. He has been the worst. Trust me." Arjun said now sounding calm as he always is.

"Alright, if you say so," I said trying to sound not worried at all. I hope I succeeded in it though, "Are you visiting him anytime soon?"

"Yup thinking of going to London this weekend. Jenny has her shoot so I'll be going on my own. Ahana might come along but we are still not sure." He said.

"Okay. Just let me know if you need anything. I mean, of course, you won't need my help with anything. I mean it's Rohan, you have been friends for long. But still, you know just in case." I don't know why I am making efforts. It's going awfully weird to be true. I closed my eyes again cursing myself under breath. I heard Arjun laughing on the other side of the phone.

"What?" I snapped at him being irritated.

"Nothing. You know you don't have to try so hard to hide anything. It's pretty clear, Aro." He said still laughing a little.

"I'm just worried about him. That's all." I said in a plain low tone. 

"Don't be. Just focus on your work and yourself. Don't get involve with Rohan again." He said in a warning tone.

"Yeah! Bye. I'll call you later." I said.

"Yup! Bye." He cut the call with that. I stayed seated on my sofa for some time looking at the newspaper in my hand.

I have no idea what should I do. Rohan Nanda is making me crazy. I mean I don't want to see him but I do. I don't wanna talk about him but yes I do. I don't want to hear his voice but I want to do that too. That's the worst part. 

I still can't stop worrying about him. I haven't stopped loving him till now and I won't ever. What is the point of forcing myself to do something that I can't? Old Arohi would have done that but I am not her anymore. I've learned to accept things and move on. This is what it is! I'm in love with Rohan Nanda and I can't help it. It took me time and courage to not feel guilty about it. To move on from Rahul without taking him out of my heart. It was tough but I conquered it finally. But not having Rohan close to me actually made it easier, he was there in my life only through the news I read or heard about him or through my memories. No one mentioned him or talked about him with me maybe because they thought it might be hard for me. And I was thankful to them for that as that made changes in me happen faster. Now I'm sure I'm not going back to the old Arohi but hearing about all these things Arjun said made me worry about him more. 

I know I would try to help him in any way possible but what about the things he said to me that day? I know it was all an act but it is something I am assuming. I am still not sure about it. But then again, I remembered Ahana's words.

The care and love I have seen in his eyes when he talked about you, I haven't seen it in many years.

 He called me before leaving and he was sounding so... broken.

He is broken Arohi. And only you can fix him. Just help him come out of his cage. Help him to cure. He is punishing himself for many years for a thing he is not even responsible for. He thinks whatever happened with Aryan is his fault when it's clearly not!

The parts of the conversation flashed through my mind. Somehow things made sense now. I didn't know why she asked to me help him then, it seemed out of the blue. But now I know. She knew all the things happening with Rohan but why did she want me to be the one to help him? Arjun said she was accompanying him to London, she is closest to Rohan. Then why me? There can be only one reason. And I don't know why I got scared for a moment. 

Rohan loves me... Oh shit! 

I guess I am not guessing anything, anymore! Maybe he really was pushing me away. I knew it all along but I didn't do anything for him. I couldn't do anything for the man I love with all my heart. He was in pain and I couldn't see it when he always did. He has been there right beside me, holding me close when I was at the verge of collapsing. He helped me to overcome my fears and in return, I didn't do anything for him. He had hurt me but the truth was I've hurt him more. I could have made things right on that night but I didn't. I let him break and I let him believe that I didn't love him at all. I kissed him and made him believe that it was his fault, that he had sinned me. I broke him more that night. 

I finally was able to see the meaning behind each word spoken by Ahana. She said he sounded broken, I get it now, why he was broken. Why didn't I see it back then? When I went to confess my love, I was somewhat positive about his response but I guess I wasn't prepared for those cruel words he threw at me, all in an attempt to push me away. And he was successful too. I let him win. He was indeed good with his mask and hiding. I was too much occupied with accepting my feelings for him that I didn't give much thought about his feelings about me. Even after he left and I was clear about things, I didn't even bother to check on that. The truth was I never expected him to love me back and that's exactly why I never bothered to see that part of the story. 

I let out a deep sigh and realizations hit hard again. Even though he said that just as an act but he was right. I just take advantage of people but I don't do anything for them. I haven't in the past too. Rahul was dying before me but I just let him be. I couldn't save him. 

Fear took over me. I felt some deep pain in my chest. My heart started beating uneven. What if I lose Rohan too? What if he... No, I won't let that happen. I can't let him go like that. Even though he is pushing me away I have to at least try. I can't just sit and watch. Watch him die every day as I did with Rahul. I can't afford to lose Rohan now. I can't repeat the same mistake twice, then it won't be a mistake but it will be ignorance.

I am going to help Rohan to overcome his fears. I am going to help him in every way I can if he likes it or not. I wasn't ready to lose another person in my life. I just can't let it happen again. 

I dialed Arjun's number again. 

"Arohi..." He received it in the first ring itself.

"I am coming with you," I said without wasting any time. 

"Huh? To where?" Arjun asked with so much confusion. I chuckled at it.

"To London of course," I said in a duh tone rolling my eyes. Arjun didn't say anything for some time.

"London? Listen Arohi. Don't take Rohan too seriously. I mean we are there for him so don't force yourself to do anything." He said with a worried voice.

"I am not forcing myself, Arjun. For anything. In fact, if I don't do this now I will regret it for the rest of my life." I said being truthful this time.

"Still, think again..." Arjun was saying something when I cut him in between.

"I have wasted enough time thinking already," I said shaking my head a bit as I continued. "Now it's time to show Rohan Nanda that he is not the only one who can have everything his way. There are people out there who can be stubborn than him." I said with so much confidence feeling relaxed.

"Wow, what happened to you over a short span?" Arjun said letting out a chuckle.

"Nothing. I just don't want to repeat the same mistake. If anything happens to him, I won't be able to live, Arjun. So I am not doing this for him but for myself." I said letting out a sigh.

"If you say so but this won't be easy Arohi. You know he is an asshole and you know how he behaved with you a year back. This time it will be worse." Arjun said warning me but I was ready for everything coming my way now. I had already thought that far.

"I know. I am ready for it Arjun but I am not going to back off this time. He might be pushing me with all the force but I won't be running away now. The more he forces the more I will bounce back to him. But I won't go anywhere. Let me try testing his patience now. I want to see this too. Till when will he keep pushing me. Till when will he keep forcing himself." I said with a determined tone.

"I am seeing the newborn Arohi here," Arjun said with an impressive tone. I let out a laugh at that.

"She was born a year back only. But she just got strong enough now. Ready to fight with the devil hiding inside Rohan for the longest time."  

"We are together in this so don't feel alone." He said.

"I am not alone. I know that I won't be alone" I said with a faint smile.

"So just be ready. We will be leaving this Saturday." Arjun said.

"Yup!" I said and cut the call. I felt as if something was lifted from my shoulders. I was going to see him again after one complete year. That thought gave me so much happiness that I haven't experienced in a year.

I knew this wasn't the same like before. I knew Rohan won't be the same like before. This battle is going to be tough. Tougher than I am imagining but I have to fight it and I have to win it at any cost. Because if I lose, I know for a fact that I'm losing him to death and I can't let that happen. I know I won't be alone because no matter how much Rohan acts, I know he will be there right beside me. How can I feel alone when he will be with me the whole time. We will fight this together and we will come out of it together. 

I let out a deep sigh and thought of messaging Raghav about it but dropped the idea as I thought of surprising that guy. I so can't wait to see his ever so bright smile, to hear his lame jokes that always lit up my mood and just feel his presence that makes nothing feel heavy.

In short, I am ready to go back to London than ever before. I can't keep waiting forever for the destiny to do the magic because sometimes we have to write it on our own...

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

It is in your moments of decision,
that your destiny is shaped.

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

Alright, so that was it!

We know it is taking too long to update but we are sorry as we have been really busy lately but we are updating as we are getting time so be patient with us as we won't leave in middle ever! But we will surely try to make it fast from next time. 

Anyway so, Arohi ready to go to London and with this starts the countdown for this journey to end. We are so excited with all the remaining chapters. 

That being said tell us what do you think about this one and make sure to VOTE if you like.

We will be back soon with Rohan and Raghav joining us again. Till then, Bye.

Loads of love... ❤️