Om POV
The past 5 weeks had been hell. I had searched for Aarya everywhere. I owed that much to Bhabhi, who was looking after a child that was not even her own.
———————
Flashback
When I reached the reception after the stupid party, Geetha smiled at me.
“Hello Om Sir. Here is a letter for you. The girl left it for you.”
She passed me a letter and turned to serve a guest.
On the envelope was in a loopy handwriting. {To Mr. Long Hair}
I looked up to see Geetha trying to hide a grin.
Hmph…..this girl also. I quickly opened the envelope. Inside was a card.
When I read the message, I felt rage rush through my veins. How dare she just go away? And who was she to decide that she could not be my friend?
“Geetha, can you please tell me where she went?”
Geetha looked a bit disappointed. “Sorry Sir, I really don’t know.”
I gave her a weak smile. “Great I will have to find her myself.”
Flashback ends
———————
I pulled my coat closer and walked out of the plaza. I was about to walk into the darkness when I felt someone hold my shoulder.
“Arre Omkara. You here?”
I turned around to see Ria and her husband, Bill. Ria had been my college friend. We both had been the other’s support when our parents acted like asses. In her case, it was her mother.
I nodded. “Yeah. Shivaay sent me here for a conference and then……”
Ria laughed. “Shivaay also.” She shook her head.
Bill smiled. “Would you like to join us for dinner? We are going to Palace Royale. It has the best shrimp dishes in the world.”
I shook my head. “Not today Bill.”
Ria held my arm. “No Om. You have to come. At least have a drink. You can’t run away. Last time I let you go because you came for Brothers’ Weekend. This time you have to come. Right Bill?”
Bill nodded. “Whatever you say, my love.” He smirked as Ria slapped his shoulder.
Seeing her puppy face, I agreed. I mean who was I to search for Aarya if she wanted to run away?
I followed them to the hotel. It looked like a crystal palace.
“Beautiful, Na? I always come here when I need to sketch.” Ria beamed.
Bill squeezed her hand. “You mean when you need to get away from the Mansion duties.”
I looked at them bewildered. Ria gave me a small smile. “Bill is the Duke of Corona.”
I felt a strange sort of excitement. Corona was known for their exquisite landscapes. “Corona? Isn’t it where the sea turns pink at sunset.”
Ria smiled. “Yes. It is. If you are free you can come and stay with us.”
Bill nodded. “Yes, Om you should come.”
Yes. I almost jumped up and down. “Sure Ria. I will think about.”
When we walked into the restaurant, Ria groaned. “Great Bill. Uncle Robert is here with his paid mistresses and friends.”
Bill grimaced. “Om, can you and Ria take a seat? I will be right back.”
Bill headed towards a man who was surrounded by some men in suits with some scantily dressed women.
“Ass of a man.” Ria grumbled. I glanced at her. She looked up at me.
“Om, he is such a burden. I don’t know how many times, he has destroyed our meals and outings. But the worst is when he comes home. He brings all half-naked girls and I am the one who has to take a broom and beat them all out. And Aunt Anna, I have to make sure that she does not come to know.” She whined.
I squeezed her shoulder. “Ria, we are used to this. I know that you can handle it.”
Bill was trying to reason with his uncle. But Mr. Robert looked like nothing was going to make him leave.
“Om, I will…..” Ria was getting up.
I stopped her. “No Ria. I will go.”
I walked up to the commotion.
“Uncle, you have to understand. This is not the place for you.” I heard Bill trying to convince his uncle. He then turned to the girls.
“Please leave.” The girls left one by one.
The woman standing next to Bill got up and turned to me. My heart leaped to my throat.
Her eyes went wide. Her mouth was wide open. I had to take a second glance to recognise her.
“Aarya?”
She glanced away and started to walk away. I held her arm.
She tried to pull away. “Sir, please leave me.”
I tightened my grip. “How could you?” I hissed.
She looked down. “Sir, I think you have mistaken me for someone else.” She insisted.
Bill looked at me a bit confused. “Um Om…..I will leave Uncle Robert with my driver.
I gave a curt nod. “Bill, can you tell Ria that I will talk to her later. I have to deal with some problems.”
I heard Aarya hiss and mutter something under her breath. Something that went along the lines of some swearing.
Bill nodded as he guided his uncle away. I walked towards the exit and people everywhere were looking puzzled. For once, I was thankful that I was in London, if it were India, they would have recognised me as the Oberoi.
The wild cat clawed my hand as I dragged her out. “You better leave me, Sir.”
I hailed a taxi and pushed her in and quickly got in after her lest she should run out of the other end.
She tried to pull her hand out of mine. “You know, this is called abduction.” She snarled.
I smirked. This girl would make me pull my hair out.
When we reached the hotel, I tightened my grip on her arm again. As we walked into the lobby, Geetha was at the reception. Her eyes sparkled. “Om Sir, you got her back. Welcome back Aarya Madam.”
I saw Aarya scowl. “It is Annie.” She muttered.
When I walked into the penthouse, I felt the anger that I felt over the past 5 weeks return. I tossed her towards the sofa in the living room.
“What the hell!” She hissed. “Are you crazy?”
I sat on the opposite sofa with her stupid letter in my clutches. “Hmm…..finally Aarya is back.”
She glared at me. I scowled at her. “What were you thinking when you wrote this?” I snapped at her.
For the first time since I met her, I watched her fidget with her hands, the way I had seen Bhabhi do.
“That Omkara…….I……”
She looked everywhere but me. I strode to her and lifted her chin, so that she would be looking into my eyes. “You what?”
The moment I removed her hand, she looked back at the ground.
“I had to go.”
Seeing her like this annoyed me. “Look up when you talk.” I snapped. I saw her flinch.
She looked up and I watched as her eyes turned into steel. “I did it for my sister.” She snapped. “And I will do it again and you cannot do anything.”
It felt weirdly satisfying to see her like this. “Why?”
She stared back stonily. “They wanted me back. They said it was either that or them getting her.”
My eyes shot up to look at her. “You could have told me.”
She grimaced. “Yeah right and you would have fought them with your paintbrushes.”
Ouch! That was a blow for my ego.
“I would have spoken to Shivaay and what do you mean by paintbrushes?”
She smirked. “Yes and what would you have said. Oh Shivaay, you know your your wife’s twin’s boss is going to kidnap your wife. Be careful……..Oh you didn’t know she had a twin.”
“Bhaiya, will take care of her. You can stay with me.”
She looked grim. “You know Omkara, they can find all of us girls. They know our every minute.”
I walked to her and sat next to her. “Yet, I was able to take you away from them. We will disappear in the similar way. My friend, Ria lives in Corona. She has called me.”
Her eyes finally sparkled. The fire was back.
“Hmmm……Corona, Anika always wanted to go there. Cool…….By the way, Mr. Long Hair what do you think about leaving tomorrow?”
I rolled my eyes.
Great! She was back to that stupid name.
Author’s Note: I am so sorry guys that I am not updating. I would like to apologise very much. Here is a choti si chapter for all my fans as I understand how difficult it is to wait for an ff to be updated.
But my exams are not over, so this is just a small treat sadly. The next chapter will be updated only after April 26th which is when I have my last exam. I hope you can forgive me. I have been avoiding tellyupdates because I don’t want to see your misery. But today when I got 5 minutes, I just glanced and was overwhelmed by guilt. Hence, the chapter. Hope you can forgive me.
Hope you liked this chapter. By the way, this is just after the scene that Soumya gets to know about Aarya. You know the one where Aarya calls Anika demanding money.