Manmarziyan : A Passion Project-chapter 17 and 18

Manmarziyan : A Passion Project
DoubleDhamaka!!!
Hope you enjoy it.
Happy reading  
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Chapter 17

Next morning, when radhika woke up…her head was heavy and she was feeling dizzy. She didn’t remember what exactly had happened last night …shr just remembered it in pieces and flashes. She wasn’t even sure if she was imagining things or if it had actually happened.
She looked around and her eyes fell on her side table. She found of lemon water with a cute little note beside it. She drank a sip of lemon water and picked up the note lying besides it. Her face automatically lit up seeing it. She felt blessed to have found a family away from her family. Honestly, she felt more comfortable with this family of hers…..she could be her real self…weird….annoying….just anything…..but they just knew how to handle her. They pampered her and loved her just as much.
The note said, “radhika Mishra….is this a time to wake up? Accha okay….okay…..you are excused today….i don’t want you running behind me the whole day, I am already handling you last night…as are Arjun, neil and teji….god, please never drink again….and now, you are wondering what you did and are biting your lower lip…right? That ….i wont tell….let it be a suspense for you…I will let this irritate you the entire day…and now, just your lazy bones off the bed….finish the lemon water, no matter how much you detest it and eat your breakfast. The food’s on table. Me and guys have already eaten.
Sam.”
And there were a couple of laughing faces besides.

She got up with her glass of lemon water moved to the balcony. It was a beautiful day…cheerful……happy…..slightly sunny….it was the sort of day which just encourages you to think about life. She smiled looking at herself siting on a balcony with what should have been a cup of coffee but unfortunately was a glass of lime water. She smiled realising that she was wearing sam’s tshirt…..she smiled in wonder.

She was amused at sam’s accuracy. She was surprised how closely sam came to know her in a short period of time. And it wasn’t just sam….similar was the case with Arjun, neil and teji. Infact, neil treated her just like ankush and she often wondered if neil is her long lost brother ? . This was always followed with an imagination of how life would have been in that case. This never failed to bring a smile on both radhika and neil’s face. Sam was her soul sister and now she had got so used to her…she wondered how would she survive in this big city without her. Arjun…Arjun….umm, different. She had gotten know what a best friend actually was. She realised how mistaken she was to consider saral her best friend. And teji….just saying his name brought a smile to her face. He was her first friend in the complex but lonely city. He would always remain special.
Her phone rang breaking her train of thoughts. She smiled seeing the name on the caller id, ‘teji’. Radhika picked up.
Radhika, “hey devil….was just thinking about you.”
Teji teased her, “accha? What about me..?”
Radhika, “about how you got me drunk last night.”
Radhika grinned. She knew teji would be making a face now.
Radhika, “accha okay…stop making that face and tell me what I did last night?”
Teji, “we aren’t on video chat…are we? How could you possible know??”
Radhika just smiled, “ I know you.”
Teji, “ohh ,I see…..and don’t even think that I’ll tell you about last night. Sam already came to me and told me that I may expect that question from you.”
Radhika, “please?”
Teji, “nope…never…*now teji scolded her* and radhika whats this….it is already 11 am….when are you planning to come to office….if Arjun doesn’t say anything……that doesn’t mean you can take advantage of it.”
Radhika mumbled something to herself, hung up and rushed to get ready.

Within an hour, she was in the office. She wished Neha(the receptionist) a good morning…..and went to neil cabin. She just entered without knocking and sat on the table in front of him.
Neil rolled his eyes at her. She ruffled his hair. Neil made an angry face and set his hair again. Radhika pulled his cheeks.
Radhika, “so….which deal are we gonna crack today?”
Before neil could reply, his intercom buzzed and he picked up.
Neha, “sir…is radhika mam in your cabin? I saw her going there.”
Neil, “yes she is. There talk to her.” Saying so, he gave the phone to radhika.
Radhika, “yeah Neha?”
Neha, “mam…a man wants to meet you…he has been waiting here for past half an hour…should I send him to your cabin?”
Radhika, “whats his name?”
Neha, “he is one mr. Saral Joshi.”
Radhika froze.
Neha, “mam, you there?”
Radhika getting her voice back, “no don’t. Until I call you back and ask you to.”

Radhika was feeling a surge of emotions at the same time….anger…amusement…helplessness….fear… it is difficult to explain what was going on inside her.
Neil shook her and asked her, “what happened?”
Radhika’s voice was shaky, “saral’s outside.”
Neil’s anger rose…he just wanted to thrash saral blue and black for everything wrong her had done with radhika….she still feared him. Neil was afraid of the kind of effect he had on her.
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Chapter 18

The reception area was in the center and all their cabin were around it. The reception area was visible from each of their cabins. Arjun had noticed a man waiting in the reception. His face wasn’t visible and Arjun didn’t care. But sam whose office was at a different angle , saw his face and was shocked seeing saral siting there. She quickly dialled Arjun on the intercom.
Arjun, “haan sam?”
Sam, “Arjun….”
She was shivering as if saral had harmed her.
Arjun understood the change in her voice and was quick to ask, “whats wrong?”
Sam, “saral’s in the reception.”
Arjun was irritated. Saral had dared to come in his territory to meet his best friend who didn’t reciprocate his feelings, on two consecutive days. Arjun felt challenged.
Arjun, “where is radhika?”
Sam, “ in neil’s cabin…I guess, Neha has already told her.”
Arjun, “that’s what I was afraid of.”
Arjun and sam walked out of their cabin towards neil’s.

Radhika was still siting on neil’s table. Neil was trying to talk to her but she wasn’t responding.
Arjun, “ neil…call teji and radhika you keep siting her and we’ll handle this jerk.”
Neil called teji and he came running.
Radhika took a deep breath and her expression changed….she was no longer scared…..she just didn’t care anymore…she was fed up. “no..arjun…not today….yesterday you handled him ..right?…see, what happened…nothing…he is here again today. I know you all are worried for me and I love you for that. But please understand that I cant keep running away from my past….i have to face saral, if not here then in rishikesh…and things may worsen based on the fact that I ignored him in mumbai…I am going to sideline him but I am gonna meet him now….i hope you understand.”
Nobody spoke anything. They understood what she meant. Their brains registered it and knew it was logical. But their hearts didn’t agree….they just couldn’t bear saral being in the same room as radhika…even if it was for only ten minutes.

Finally sam spoke breaking the silence, “fine chashni, we get it. But you wont meet him alone in your office…lets just all move to the conference room and we’ll call him there. He will speak to you in the presence of all of us. I just don’t trust him in the same as you.”
Radhika nodded and hugged sam whisphering ,” I love you.” In her ears. Sam smiled and hugged her back.
They moved to the conference room and asked Neha to send saral in.
Saral was all excited…hoping that he’ll finally get to see his radhu…all alone.

But to his sheer surprise…..and annoyance…he was called to the conference room which had four other people besides radhika. He scowled looking at teji and gave a triumphant smile to Arjun and neil….as if saying that he got what he wanted. He just gave a neutral expression to sam..he didn’t know her as she wasn’t present the previous day. But his anger rose on seeing radhika…he had thought that he will be excited seeing his love after all these days but instead her face reminded him of all the times she ignored him….his calls…his messages…..how she roamed with arneil in the mall….how the guys had insulted him….

Precap : Radhika-saral face off.
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So guys, this is it. Sorry, today’s chapters didn’t have any ardhika scene…but it was mainly rasam…raneil and radhika and teji….i hope I didn’t bore you today…it was a really long one…and the first chapter was especially boring. Today’s chapters weren’t much of convo and incidents..but were about the feelings of a girl staying far away from her family. Solely on the support of her friends. Please do let me know what do you think. 