Chapter 3

Why was Chandni in his car? But the distress Aryan felt was no match to the utter shock he observed on her face as she just sat there, unable to move.

But something about her close presence after the aftermath of their sudden and chaotic meeting made him snap!

"Chandu!! Why did you come back into my life? Haven't you and your family punished me enough? Haven't I bled enough for you, that you still feel this sadistic pleasure in seeing me suffer!!" Aryan

Chandni's eyes widened in shock to see Aryan in such a state. But soon everything became blurry as her eyes welled with unshed tears and she kept staring at his face, engulfed by his presence in such close proximity.

Their locked gaze finally got broken, just as they both heard someone knocking on the window of the car.

"Chandni Bitiya, this is not our car, our car is over there." Aryan heard a driver in his late fifties calling out to Chandni, his face partly visible from the car window.

Aryan saw Chandni get up unsteadily from her seat and almost run back towards an exactly similar looking car, parked further away from his own.

Chandni didn't know how she reached her car. Their most trusted and elderly driver, Rashid Khan held the door open for her, and she just collapsed in the back seat, trying her best to control her tears.

"Rashid Chacha*, let's go, quickly." She turned her face away from him and quickly wiped her tears.

"Of course Bitiya **." Rashid Chacha revved the car out of the parking lot and in no time, their car was on the way towards their new home in Malabar Hill. (** Bitiya means daughter, in an endearing way, * Chacha means Uncle))

As Rashid Khan had been their family driver since she was a toddler, he had always treated her almost like a daughter and had supported her all through the ups and downs in her life, perhaps even more than her own parents.

Chandni's heart was filled with such extreme emotions right now. The initial shock of meeting Aryan after so many years was quickly replaced by anger and hurt at the way he ridiculed her. But she was not the same shy and docile Chandni anymore, to be bullied by anyone and she hoped that Aryan had learnt that by now.

She could never hurt anyone by being nasty to them, even if she tried. She tried to intimidate him by barraging him with questions, but she had to reluctantly admit that he had in-depth knowledge of their products, judging by the way he answered each of her questions with so much detail that she was impressed with those products and their potential. By the end of the presentation, she completely forgot she was with Aryan and was asking questions genuinely, rather than to catch him off guard.

But it didn't take long to come out of that trance and make a run to what she thought was the safety of "her" car only to find Aryan inside, in tears.

And his words still haunted her. What did he mean when he asked whether she and her family hadn't punished him enough? When did she or her parents ever do that? Her life had been nothing but penance for the damage he did to her, and he had the audacity to blame her instead. What a joke!

Somewhere inside her, a small voice whispered, "but Aryan seemed genuinely in distress..." but she shut off that voice firmly, by reminding herself about all those days and years she spent, shedding tears.

Arrgh!! She literally groaned in frustration as her tears escaped her eyes again, no matter how much she tried to hold them back. But she quickly wiped them away, as she noticed Rashid Chacha's worried looks at her through the rear-view mirror.

"Bitiya, if you want to cry, don't hold them back because of me." He said sympathetically.

"No Chacha, there is no point shedding tears for someone who doesn't deserve it. No matter how hard I try, I still haven't learnt my lesson, and continue to get hurt by people who mean nothing to me." She smiled ruefully.

"That argument does not hold water in many cases, Bitiya. It is only those who are close to us, and mean a lot to us, who can hurt us. You may lie to the whole world, but it is never good to lie to your own heart. Was it Aryan Beta in that car just now?" He asked sombrely.

"Yes Chacha." Chandni admitted in a small voice.

“I don't understand how this happened. I am 100% sure Vikram Ji didn't know that Aryan was part of this company we have just bought. Otherwise, he would have never asked me to become the CEO of the company. It was just the shock of meeting him after all these years. Some wounds are too deep and raw and continue to hurt us, no matter what." Chandni's voice trembled.

Rashid Chacha sighed deeply and he took his time in responding to her, as he manoeuvred the car in Mumbai's ever busy traffic. “Your generation must learn that there is no shame in feeling hurt or tearful. It is better to be hurt than feel resentment, better to feel anguish than bitterness, and sometimes it is better to be even hated than being neglected."

"So true Chacha!!! Better to be hated than being neglected, which is why Aryan never bothered to get in touch with me all these years, after he disappeared from my life." Chandni said bitterly.

Rashid Chacha sighed as he parked the car on a side line and turned to face Chandni.

"I said this back then and I say it even now, don't make judgement without knowing the other person's story. The Aryan I knew would never betray anyone Bitiya, but I may be blinded by my own prejudice and affection towards him. Do you honestly believe that Aryan was a crook?" Rashid Chacha’s voice reflected the angst in his face..

Chandni's eyes sparkled with fury and hurt. "You still think that he is innocent? Why can’t you see the truth? Anyway, it doesn't matter what I think or you think Chacha. Actions speak louder than words, and if we go by what happened, I can feel nothing but hatred towards him. But what can I expect from you, you always sided with him more than me."

Rashid Chacha chuckled slowly, much to her annoyance.

"Arre Baba!! Chandni Bitiya ka gussa ab kaise kam hoga ? (How can we calm Chandni, now that she is so angry?) I know!! Let's go and eat your favourite Baraf ka Gola# " (# Coloured and Flavoured Crushed Ice on sticks, sold by small vendors near beaches and streets)

Rashid Khan started the car and drove fast to reach Chowpatty beach. He parked the car and forced Chandni to come along as they walked along the pavement filled with makeshift cafes and street vendors selling different snacks. They stopped near a street vendor selling Baraf ka Gola and ordered her favourite flavour.

"Chacha I am not a kid anymore to eat crushed ice and all." Chandni smiled petulantly, even though her mouth watered in the anticipation of eating her favourite treat.

The next few moments were spent happily, as they walked along the sunny beach consuming the chilled ice, observing the colourful crowds around.

As always, once they both finished eating the Baraf ka Gola, they checked their tongues to see whose tongue was the most colourful one!

Chandni's was hot pink while Rashid Chacha was a blazing yellow.

"Remember Bitiya how you and Dev always used to fight with each other and make me declare whose tongue was the brightest?" Rashid Chacha chuckled loudly as he reminisced about old times.

For a moment, Chandni completely forgot her trauma, and travelled into her past and talked with the same animation and excitement as an eight year old.

"Yes Chacha! He always bought the blue bubble gum flavoured one, and I used to call him the Blue Tongue Lizard. Hahahaha!! Remember how he used to stick his tongue out between his lips, whenever he was seriously thinking or doing his homework..." Chandni's face fell again, as she remembered her childhood friend.

Rashid Chacha looked sadly at her, regretting his slip of tongue about old times.

*****