Manmarziyan-The Lines of Fate (Chapter 8)

Hellow lovely people first of all thank you all so much for your love and encouragement, I personally thought I would be escorted out after one or two chapters but this is the 8th chapter. Thank u so so much, so here is the next one hope u will like it, pls do tell how this was. Once again thank you, I love u all and enjoy.
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Chapter 8 – Unknown Feelings

Khanna Mansion
Sam sitting near her bedroom window had her eyes glued at the driveway waiting to see Neil. She had finished her photoshoot earlier than expected but didn’t find him at home. She didn’t have to wait for long her face lightened up upon seeing his car approaching. She gave herself a quick glance in the mirror and rushed downstairs Neil was busy on the phone he just smiled at her and went straight to his bedroom. She a bit disappointed made coffee and brought it to Neil’s room and there he was still on the phone. She sat quitely on the couch waiting for him to finish his phonecall. She chocked on the hot coffee and almost burned herself when she heard the name ‘Anu’ and then ‘see u tonight’

Sam glared at him while he just shrugged picked a cup and gestured her with his eyes to speak. “Was u talking to Anushka?”

Neil smiled at her “yes… your friend Anu… there’s is party tonight… want to come?”

Sam stood up angry “she is not my friend… and where did u get her number from?… and how many times should I tell u that she is not nice… I forbid u to talk to her”

Neil chuckled in disbelief “u forbid me?… who are u, my mom?… and Anu is nice”

Sam’s anger riches it’s peak “she is not nice… she is fake…. and I hate seeing u with her… I hate it when u talk to her… It just burns me to even imagine u with her”

Neil coolly asked “and why is that?” And that was the million dollar question that Sam failed to answer. She opened her mouth to speak then closed it and stormed out of his bedroom and Neil couldn’t comprehend what had just happened.

Neil was in a dilemma as to go or not to go to the party, he needed an outing from all the recent drama and Anu had been nice with him but didn’t want to upset Sam more. But he had promised Anu to attend her party, even Arjun told him it was a good idea to go out and would have joined him but can’t due to his trip tomorrow. Neil got ready and went to Sam “Am off to the party… It’s not late yet if u want to come… I’ll wait while u get ready” Sam remained silent still miffed with him. Neil now a bit annoyed by her behaviour said “Sam…we are friends… but don’t u think it’s selfish of u… to be mad just because I have other friends”

Sam blinked a couple of times pushing back her tears “I am not mad coz u have other friends… I just.. I.. ”

Neil:”what is it then?… what’s wrong with u… u have been acting like a jealous woman… what’s your problem?” Sam turned her face away from him hiding her tears, Neil left giving up on the topic altogether
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Sitting on the driver seat of the grand cherokee humming to himself Arjun was checking on his co-passenger time to time who had her eyes on the window enjoying the scenic beauty along the road. He was so excited as if he was going for his honeymoon and not for location hunting. “are u excited for the awaiting adventure?” he asked and Radhika gave a small smile in response and switched on radio to avoid talking.

Music from the radio filled the silence in the car until the song played started to make her uncomfortable. It was Bahon Mein Chale Aao from the 1973 movie Anamika Arjun smiled dreamily at her, remembering their party hug she quickly changed the station and landed on Tujhe Apna Banane Ka from Hate Story 3 and Arjun’s smile widened at her. She moved uncomfortably on her seat due to the indicative lyrics and changed the station again hoping to be lucky this time around but instead she heard Kunal Ganjawala singing Bheege Honth Tere from the movie murder, Arjun raised an eyebrow at her as if accusing her of something and she turned the radio off in a panic. A minute of silence followed before they bursted into balls of laughter and Arjun just had to tease her “So… was u trying to tell me something through your choice of songs?”

Radhika rolled her eyes at him “if u want I can help u find a good psychiatrist… I think u are hallucinating a lot these days” She laughed at his annoyed face “and why didn’t u take security today?”

Arjun smiled playfully “are u worried for me or for yourself?… Look behind us” She saw through the side mirror a car following them and figured it was his bodyguard “and don’t u worry Radhika… I will always protect u” Radhika felt a warmth run through her body as the reality of his words sat in. She felt an unknown glee thinking of him as her protector, her knight in shining armor. Her trance was broken by the ring of her cellphone, it was a broker recommended to her by a co-worker.

Arjun felt uneasy hearing her talk about shifting to a new place, he knew her stay at the Khanna’s was temporary but still he couldn’t help but feel bad at the idea. “Already made plans of leaving us, huh?”

Radhika smiled faintly, unknowingly she also felt bad about leaving “we both know it was only temporary… Aditya sir hasn’t said anything yet but I have to be prepared, right?” She sounded as if she was trying to convince herself and not him. “Besides I can’t stay with u all forever”

“Why not?” asked Arjun looking at her hurt visible in his eyes, he stared at her for a second then shifted his gaze back on the road. Radhika stared at his side profile for a few minutes then went back to looking outside the window. But this time she was not enjoying the view she was in a myriad of emotions. She felt bad leaving but she felt terrible that he felt bad too. She felt a connection btn them but strangely couldn’t name it, she sat quietly not knowing what to say. Arjun knew why he felt bad, he was in love with her he also knew what to say but didn’t know how to and so they finished the rest of the journey in silence, an unwanted silence.

Taj Exotica – Goa
A couple of hours later Arjun and Radhika had reached their destination and checked in to the hotel. It was beautiful beach side resort. Radhika sprang on the gigantic hotel bed moving her hands up and down and rolling from one side to the other feeling the soft mattress. After a good ten minutes of running around the room and inspecting it thoroughly she picked her phone to call Sam and inform her about their safe arrival. Sensing her bad mood she asked “what’s wrong Sam any problem?”

Sam:”it’s Neil, he is not talking to me… he has been giving me the silent treatment since morning ” She then narrated the entire incident to Radhika from the café drama to their argument.

Radhika in a cheery voice “so what is exactly your problem… Neil not talking to u or your jealousy?”

Sam:”jealousy?… am not jealous… why would I be?… It’s not like I have feelings for him?”

Radhika:”are u telling me that or are u trying to convince yourself” Sam ended the call soon after stating that someone was calling her and Radhika laughed at her friend’s lie. Immediately after Sam’s call Neil called her, Radhika smiled at their timing.

Neil:”hey chashni what’s up?”

Radhika:”am good… and I had to ride for hours with Mr. Arrogant… but u don’t sound good… how was the party last night?”

Neil sighed “it was OK… but that girl Anu kept flirting with me the whole time… she was so clingy… she threw a fit when i told her nothing can happen btn us… Sam was right about her… and I scolded her for nothing… she is still mad at me… hasn’t said a word to me since morning”

Radhika laughed at the irony “tell me something Neil… u like her right… I may not know much about love… but I can see the way u look at her or behave around her… correct me if am wrong”

Neil smiled his chashni afterall found out what was in his heart “chashni am hopelessly in love with her… but she doesn’t feel the same way unfortunately… she is in love with another… I know getting close to her will just break my heart in the end… but I still can’t stay away from her”

Radhika was a bit confused Sam’s words and actions indicated that she also had feelings for Neil then why is he saying the opposite “have u tried telling her how u feel?”

Neil:”I don’t want to lose the friendship I have with her chashni”

Radhika wanted to help Neil and Sam come together but the only romance she knew was from Bollywood movies or romantic novels “I heard people give their lives for their loved ones and u have given up before even trying… Life is too short to be filled with regrets Neil… think about it”
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Arjun lying on his back in his hotel room had his arm covering his eyes doing nothing but feeling sorry for himself. His love story was showed the “the end” board before it even started. He suddenly got up with a jerk and smacked his palm on his forehead

His POV:”how can I think like this? She is just moving out not leaving the country. I have two days with her alone in Goa instead of making the most out of them am sitting here like this.”
A wide smile came across his face, he was determined to make this trip the most memorable for them and make her, his.

CBI Office – Mumbai
Aditya had decided to contact Dilip’s family, since he didn’t get any leads from Piyali he thought of trying from another side. After Dilip’s death he kept an eye on his family for a while on Samrat ‘s instistence but when he confirmed that they didn’t know anything and weren’t in any danger he stopped that mission. He was never at close range with his family but had seen pictures of his wife, father, brother and nephew, he also knew Dilip had a daughter who was studying in Delhi at the time. Now that these two cases were connected he had to track them down again but confronting them personally might result in raising a red flag and unnecessarily drag them in danger. He entered Karthik’s office talking on the phone “thank u for your help… I will be waiting for the fax”

Karthik welcomed him with a hug “whose fax are u waiting for?”

Aditya took a seat “I was talking to the college people… they will send me a fax of Dilip’s daughter picture… she’s not in Rishikesh as of now… and phone records shows Dilip’s last call was to his her… so maybe she knows something”

Karthik:”that’s a great start” he took a deep breath “I also have something… It’s just a theory but it’s worth it”

Aditya:”stop beating around the bush… what is it?”

Karthik:”I found out that Samrat wasn’t this rich before… two years ago… two months after Dilip’s death to be exact… he got tremendously rich… claiming that he got a huge inheritance from a relative he never knew he had… he bought that big mansion they live in… expanded his businesses and even invested in that Ad agency… doesn’t it seem suspicious to u”

Aditya:”what is suspicious about him getting an inheritance?”

Karthik:”look… Dilip meets Samrat and tells him about the gold… soon after Dilip is murdered… the gold mysteriously disappears… and then Samrat becomes a billionaire overnight… what do u think this means… Samrat not only knows where the gold is but also has it…and it’s possible he is the one who had Dilip killed”

Aditya stoop up from the chair running his hand through his hair this was all too much to digest “Dilip wouldn’t confide in Samrat sir if he didn’t trust him…he didn’t tell his family… not even his brother who was a cop … but told Samrat sir… there were friends for God’s sake”

Karthik:”we’ve both been in this work for long… we know when so much money is involved… man can do anything… people kill their family let alone a friend… and we are talking about billions here” Aditya was still not convinced, Karthik knew the news hurt him deep. He went near him and placed a hand on his shoulder “I know u hold a great sense of gratitude towards this man… but don’t let your emotions cloud your thinking… and I said this is just a theory… nothing is proven yet”

An officer interrupted them handling Aditya the fax that had just arrived for him. Aditya stared at the picture in display in utter disbelief this was the biggest shock yet, those eyes, that smile, that face “RADHIKA!!!???”

Precap: NeSam patch up, ArDhika in Goa and Aditya finds something