5 days later...
Verona, Italy...
Vansh was sitting on the arm chair placed in the balcony of his hotel room, which was facing the amazing view of the city...
He had never been to Verona before, In fact, this place was never in his list when he wanted to be a travel blogger...
Yes he did travel other parts of the world, but not here... The Director's impromptu decision to shoot a scene here was not liked by him initially, but when they arrived, he was mesmerized...
The beautiful place captivated him, and he wanted to explore the entire city as soon as possible, the traveller inside him was alive again...
He was really excited to work here, the staff was resting due to tiring work in Switzerland, but Vansh was not, he was jumping to start with the work...
And why not this was the city of Love, his mother was a big fan of Romeo and Juliet, so was his brother ! And Vansh was in the very city where the beautiful saga was based on...
Can't wait to bring Maa, Paa, Ved and Annie here... He thought...
But then it struck him...
My siblings aren't by themselves anymore, they have partners, they no longer belong exclusively to me... A voice spoke inside him.. Which made him sad...
Why do we grow up ever ? Why can't we just stay kids and be with our parents and annoying siblings forever... He thought
Maybe it's time for you to find someone for yourself too... All your best people found partners, you are the only one left alone ! The voice in his mind spoke again
'Nonsense..! I don't need anyone...' He said irritated
Why not ? Everyone needs someone to share their feelings with.... The voice argued
'Not if they are content with themselves...!' Vansh replied
Are you content with yourself...? Doesn't the thought of being alone forever, scare you even a little ? Be honest... The voice asked..
Vansh had no answer to this... He sighed, he was confused between sacrificing his freedom or being ending up lonely, both were terrifying things, and he couldn't decide which was worse...
Soon Ved, Annie, Vicky will have children of their own, no one will have time for you... The voice spoke again
Sab moh maaya hai... Vansh said trying to dismiss the voice
'Your classic answer to everything...' The voice chuckled and Vansh got irritated...
'You better fall into Moh Maaya soon, before it's too late...' It said again
'Shut Up...' Vansh scolds the voice, closing his eyes and covering his ears, and the voice fades while laughing..
'But.. Sir... I.. Did not say anything yet...' he hears Khushi's voice and opens his eyes..
Damn it...
He looks at Khushi, who stood there bewildered, and was slowly moving back unconsciously
She wore a pink knee length dress, paired with black stockings, and a trench coat over it to prevent her from cold, her hair was open and surprisingly no specs on... Vansh kept on staring her, not really saying anything...
Wow... She looks... Uh.... Different today...
'Are you okay Sir....?' she asks breaking his reverie, and Vansh clears his throat
'Yeah.. Yeah... I am fine... And that wasn't for you, I.. Was thinking about something...' He clarified and She nods understanding
'So what's the schedule for today...?' He asks, looking away...
'Sir we have nothing to do... The location we need is pre occupied by some Italian TV show, they leave tomorrow so we start day after...' Khushi informed
'Okay...'
There was this comfortable silence between them, both of them staring at the beautiful view of the city
'Where's Vikrant.....?' he asks
'He went for sight seeing...' Khushi informs
'What...? Leaving me here...! How dare he...!' Vansh gets angry, and picks up his phone
'Sir... Charu Ma'am is here... He went with her...'
Damn ! Can't she leave him alone at all... It's only been 4 days we are here... And she can't wait...
Couples make me cringe...he thought
'Brand ambassadors of Fevicol...' he mutters..
'Sir...?'
'Nothing... Give me day after tomorrow's schedule...' he changes the topic and Khushi forwards him a writing pad...
He keeps his phone on the coffee table and reads the paper
'No no no no... We are not doing this...' He declares
'But sir the script demands it...' Khushi tried to reason
'Call the writer...! I want to ask What's wrong with her... This is so stupid, there won't be any proposal scene in public, in Verona ! He's a soldier, on a secret mission, why propose...!' he exclaimed angrily
'But sir...' Khushi began
'Do it...!' he orders her and she shivers with fear, which he did not notice...
Khushi quickly dials someone's number on her phone, the person wasn't picking up even after 2 attempts, which was making Vansh impatient and Khushi nervous
'Ooo Give me that...' He snatches her phone and redials the number and Khushi gets horrified at this..
She did not wanted him to see her wallpaper, which was his and her photo from the trip...
You are dead now Khushi...! She thinks as her heart was pacing rapidly
'Hello...? Heena...! Where do you keep your phone...' she hears Vansh scolding the writer
'Sir cannot see my wallpaper...! Damn what will he think....' Khushi mutters to herself, trying to find a way to snatch the phone from him, while he was busy scolding the writer
'You are an idiot Khushi ! Who told you to enter his room with your phone, and even if keeping phone with you was so urgent, couldn't you change the wallpaper ? You stupid stupid girl...' She scolds herself
I need to do something to distract Vansh sir...
She looks around to find something and sees Vansh's phone lying on the coffee table...
She thinks about the idea and sighs..
'Sir will surely kill me for this...' she mutters 'But death is better than humiliation...'
She takes Vansh's phone and walks in the balcony where he was busy in discussing the script...
Khushi keeps the phone on the iron railings, which he notices, and looks at her confused, she then takes a deep breath, muttering a quick sorry to him in her mind and pushes his phone down the balcony at which Vansh gasps...
'What the Hell Khushi !' he exclaims angrily and tosses the phone towards her, and runs outside the room
Khushi wastes no time and quickly changes the wallpaper, simultaneously hanging up the call...
She couldn't believe what she did, just a few moments ago, everyone in the office knew how much Vansh loves his phone !
Well phone and Food of course, but no one would dare to touch his phone and she threw it down from the 2nd floor...
'I am getting fired today....' She sighs
She did not know from where did she get courage to do such stunt, but she was determined not to ridiculed for liking her boss, who was way out of her league..
Most importantly, she couldn't afford to break her heart again...
Tears fill her eyes as she remembers the incident, it broke her to the core, it was more painful than her parents abandoning her...
Khushi was convinced that she was not made to be loved and respected, she has seen so much at the young age of 24, it was hard for her to give in to the powerful feeling of being attracted to somebody...
She wipes her tears and walks out of Vansh's room, ready to face his wrath for possibly breaking his phone purposely...
She walks slowly towards the elevator and presses the button, when she hears footsteps approaching her, before she could look up, someone caught her hands and angrily pulled her Vansh's room back...
'What is the possible explanation you have to do this...?' Vansh asks angrily not leaving her hands
Khushi looks up and sees him red with anger, flaring his nose and her heart dropped to her stomach...
You need to find another job Khushi...
'Sir... I... It...It dropped accidentally... I was... I was... trying to see something...' she lied
Vansh raised his brows
'What were you trying to see ? Can iPhones Fly....!' he seethes and she gulped
'Noo... No I sir... I was...' she stammered, her mouth went dry seeing his angered expression
'You know what ! It doesn't matter... The screen is broke see....' He shows her the phone and she winces seeing the glass shattered
'I am so sorry sir... I...' She began
'How will I call Maa ! I couldn't sleep without hearing her voice..! And how will I play minecraft...! I was building a castle in it....!' he whined and guilt was killing Khushi inside..
'I am so sorry Vansh Sir... I'll get a new phone for you...' she says
Yeah, and his new phone will cost me a month's salary...! Her mind said and she sighed
'Of Course you will...! And you will get me a new phone right now...! Within an hour !' He declared
'Now...? Here...! Sir I don't know where the shops are...' she said panicking
'Then give me your phone...' he snatches her phone and she looks at him scared
'My phone...! Sir... Please no...' she begs
'Hurts isn't it...? A soul for a soul, a phone for a phone...' Vansh says playing with her phone
'Sir... I...' she tried to say but her mouth went dry
'Go get me a new phone, or I'll Right Swipe all the men in your Tinder account...!' He threatens and her eyes widen
'I don't use Tinder...' she says
'Then I'll install and do it....' Vansh says in a challenging tone
'Sir, you can use my phone as long as you want, just give it to me for 2 minutes... I'll give it back to you I promise...' Khushi pleads
'Get me a phone and you can have it back...' He says, forwarding her his credit card
'But Sir...' She began
'I am going to deduct it from your salary... No generosity on breaking phones young lady...' he declares and she sighs
'I'll be back in a hour...' She says picking up her bag
'You better...' he says and closes the door on her face
Khushi was not affected by this... She was horrified with the fact that Vansh has her phone, which is full of his pictures...
You are so doomed Khushi...
Mumbai...
Central Park...
5:30 p.m.
Aayan, Ved, Ananya and Amayraa came on a short outing, since both the girls were bored as hell in the house...
Ananya badly the needed fresh air, as her mood swings, morning sickness made her cranky and irritated all the time and Amayraa being a kid couldn't be kept inside the house for long..
After convincing Arjun a lot, they were finally permitted to go out, with so many safety instructions, it took Ved and Aayan nearly an hour to convince him, that they don't need any bodyguard to accompany them, both of them can take care of Ananya and Amayraa...
Since Ananya was not experiencing pain or discomfort anymore, her parents let her go outside, and she felt that she was 13 again and not 26 !
They were at the park adjoining the building, Ved and Amayraa were near the swings, waiting for Amayraa's turn, while Ananya and Aayan were sitting at a park bench, watching them and other kids
'It feels so great to finally come outside...' Ananya stretches her arms and Aayan chuckles at this
'Yeah... And I think we need to start with your yoga classes soon, before you lose all your flexibility...' Aayan comments, reading something on his phone
Ananya glares at him, 'You are calling me fat...!'
He then realises what he said and what she interpreted
'No no... I didn't mean that...' he panics and keeps his phone inside the pocket
'Then...?' she raises her brows
'I was talking about the cramps you get every morning in your legs and sometimes in the arms, yoga would relieve that...' he clarified and Ananya nodded
'Yeah, that makes sense... I'll search for a yoga instructor here...' she says looking at Amayraa who sat on the swing with Ved's help
'Allow me, my lady....' Aayan bows dramatically and she laughs
'Hey...when are we moving back to Delhi...? I don't want to live here anymore...' she pouts
'I don't think you are allowed to travel my dear... So we have to be here, till our princess is born...' he caresses her flat belly
'How do you know that she's a she and not a he...? I want a prince too...' she puts her hand over his
'It's father's instincts okay...! And a princess would be better, I don't think you will be able to handle a mini version of me...' he teases
'Like you can handle a mini version of me...' Ananya shot back
'I am already dealing with one...' he points at Amayraa who was now laughing as Ved pushed her back and forth
'Aww... She's so precious...' Ananya looks at her lovingly
'Yeah she is... And now officially ours...' He says showing her the email, which was a confirmation from the adoption authority
'Oh My God....! That's such a great news...' Ananya exclaims happily and hugs him, which he reciprocates
'I am glad things are going back to normal...' she says caressing his hands
'Me too... Yeah everything started on a bad note... But I am glad it will end happily...' he smiled looking at Amayraa
They did not say anything for a while, just sat there watching the kids play and enjoying the greenery in the park, which is hardly found in the metropolitan cities
Ananya's head was on Aayan's shoulders and their fingers intertwined with one another
'Aayan... Your work has been affected again, I think you should leave for Bangalore to sort things out there...'
'And leave you alone here...? No way...!' he huffs
'I am not alone silly... Maa, Paa, Bhai, Papa, Amyraa everyone is with me... And you know, they will be there for me in your absence... AV Tech needs you...'
'See... AV tech will not survive... We don't have a workplace now, and the building we rented temporarily, it's lease ends next week... My presence won't make anything better there... We are just winding up the remaining projects and dispersing the staff to find a new job...' he explained and Ananya felt bad for this
'I am so sorry.. This is all my fault...'
'No no... Absolutely not Ananya... None of this is your fault....We anyway had to leave Bangalore, so this was bound to happen, anyway after our child is born, I'll start something in Delhi... Me, Alex and Sameer are already working on it...' he says and Ananya's face brightens up at this
'Really ? I am so proud of you... No downfall can stop you, you always rise from the ashes... My Phoenix...!' she pulls her cheeks and he laughs
'Wow, weird nickname... At least better than Devil and Useless though...' he shrugs his shoulders
'So what name do I get...?' she asks
He scratches his head...
'Umm... I don't know... Do I have to give you a new name...?'
'Of course you have to...'
'Okay... You always complain and yell about things so I'll call you My Crow...' he says and she hits him
'How mean... I am not a Crow...! You know what you are a Vulture, no even worse you are a...a... Duck...! Who always quack quacks...' she retorts
'No baby... I am a Phoenix.... Calling all the eligible female Phoenixes to apply as my partner... Because this Crow doesn't suit me...' he mocks pointing at her and she glares
'At least Crows exist for real, unlike you a mythological creature...' she huffs
'Awww... You just mocked your own nickname for me...' he teased further and Ananya had no answer to this..
'You know what...! Don't talk to me...' She says angrily and gets up
'Arre...I was joking baby...! Don't be mad...' he says catching her hands
'I don't want to talk to you...! Leave me alone...' she says getting out of his hold and walks away from him
'Ananya....! Ananya... I am sorry... Please come back....' she hears Aayan calling, but ignores at walks at the other end of the park...
She finds a secluded spot, away from Aayan and sits there,cursing Aayan under her breath...
'I am a crow...! How dare he...! I compliment him and he insults me... I won't talk to him at all...'
She looks around to find Aayan missing from the bench they were sitting on, and saw Ved approaching her with Amayraa in his arms
'You guys fought again...' he says putting Amy in the ground and she runs towards Ananya
'He started it...' she huffs
'Anniiieeeyyyy Wheeee....' Amy exclaims and Ananya kisses her cheeks making her sit on her lap
'You guys are hopeless...' he shakes his head in disappointment and Ananya pouts
'Where is he...?' she asks
'The other side of the park... To get an ice cream for you...' Ved informed and Ananya smiled
'I so wanted an ice cream...' she says happily and Ved chuckles
'Yeah he figured that out I guess...'
'Anniiieeyyy Paani....(Water)' Amayraa pouts
'We don't have Paani Baby... Wait I'll get it for you....' She gets up
'You wait here... I'll get it for her...' Ved says and Ananya nods and sits back
Ved walks towards the left entrance of the park to buy water for Amayraa, while Aayan was at the right entrance of the park, buying ice cream, there was a considerable distance between both the ends and both were quite away from where Ananya was sitting...
'Amy... Did you like the swing baby...?' Ananya asks
'Wheee....' Amayraa cheers raising her arms up in the air
'Great... We'll ask Aaya to buy swings for us, when we go home...'
'Yeeaahhh....' Amayraa claps in excitement
'Well.... It's my Amy's birthday next week...! What do you want baby...?' she asks
Before Amayraa could answer a cold voice interrupts them
'Maybe she wants to invite her uncle to the birthday party....' the man says and Ananya - Amayraa look up..
Ananya gasps seeing the person in front of her and pulls Amaryaa close to her...
'What are you doing here....?'
Verona, Italy...
One hour later...
There was a light knock on Vansh's door
'Come in... It's open...' he answers from inside
Khushi opens the door and walks inside, carrying a shopping bag
'Did you get my new phone...?' he raises his brows
She nods and takes out a box from the bag
'Here...' she forwards the phone to him
He takes out the phone and glares at Khushi...
'What nonsense Khushi...! This is an Android...! I use iPhone...! Get me an iPhone...' he tosses the phone back to her
'I... I know sir, I enquired in 8 shops all over the city, your model was unavailable... So I bought this...'
'I don't like this...' he whines
'There's a graphics card in this one, it's best for gaming...' she informs but he was stubborn as always
'I won't return your phone unless I get an iPhone...' Vansh declares and she sighs
'Fine ! Keep it... But I won't be able to get you a new iPhone unless we go back home... Give me my sim card and keep the phone with you...' she says with irritation in her voice, at which Vansh gets angry
'Why do you need a sim card ! No one calls you anyway...! You don't even have a mother who...' he began but stopped in between realising what he just blabbered
The expression on Khushi's face was unreadable, she tried really hard to control her tears at this moment...
'I... I am so sorry... I didn't mean...' Vansh began in a soft tone
'Right...' she says and walks out of the room, wiping her tears
Vansh was filled with guilt now, he didn't mean to say that, but said out of rage... He sits on his bed, with his hands on his hair...
Damn it... That is the most hurtful thing, anyone can say to her...
'Should I go and apologize right now...?... Umm maybe after sometime... What if she gets more upset seeing me...! I'll go after sometime....' he mutters and throws himself at his bed, covering his face, cursing himself..
After few minutes he knocks Khushi's door and her roommate and Vansh's AD, Anu opens the door
'Sir...? You need anything...?' she asks
'Where is Khushi....?'
'She went sight seeing...'
'What ? Now...?' he asks bewildered
'Yes Sir, she wanted to see Juliet's house before we start with the work tomorrow...' She informs
'Oh Okay... Anu, I am going to sleep, if anyone asks for me, I am sleeping okay... Please make sure no one disturbs me...' he says
'But Sir, it's just 4 in the evening...! Are you alright ?'
'My head hurts so...' he rubs his temples
'Got it Sir... You must rest ! I'll make sure no one disturbs you...' she says
'Thanks Kid...' he ruffles her hair and goes inside his room, and as soon as he hears Anu closing the door, he quietly gets out and locks the door with keys and sneaks out of the hotel
Juliet's house, Verona....
Vansh walks among the crowd, to find a familiar face, he looks around to see lots of women and only few men there...
He follows the people heading somewhere in a hope to find Khushi, but fails to find her among the sea of women
He sighs and then decides to just look at Juliet's balcony which was the main tourist attraction there...
Finding a secluded spot away from all the women, he sits on the stone and just stares, trying to imagine the romantic saga taking place over here, but fails, because Vansh lacked romantic bone in his body, just like his mother, before she fell for his father...
Ved will love this place..
He clicks a picture and sends it to Ved with a caption
'I found your previous birth place....' the message was delivered to Ved, but he did not see it...
After around 15-20 minutes he gives up, and decides to head back to hotel, but as he gets up he finds Khushi standing near a wall which had around 1000s of papers stuck over it
What the hell...!
He walks towards Khushi, who was staring blankly at the wall, and glances at the pages stuck over it, Khushi did notice Vansh, but did not say anything..
The papers had small notes or big messages, all addressed to Juliet, Vansh got surprised seeing that...
What is this...
'Heartbroken women from all over the world come here and tell their problems to Juliet, hoping a reply from her...' Khushi answers his unasked question
'Oh Wow... So do they get any reply..?'
'Yes they do...'
'That's impossible, Juliet is just a character, how can she..!' he chuckles
'It's the matter of faith... For some she's just a character, but for some she's an inspiration, or a friend...' Khushi replies in a serious tone
'What is she for you...?' he asks out of curiosity
'I believe in what I see...' she says not looking at him
'About whom did you complain to Juliet...?' he asks in a playful tone, but Khushi wasn't in a jolly mood, and he sensed that...
'I have no one to write about... That's how lucky I am...' She replies and slowly walks away from there leaving him speechless..
I have hurt her so much this time...
He sighs and looks at the wall for the last time, but something made him curious...
'She won't forgive me this easily...' he mutters and sits on the chair near the wall
Should I read some of these...? It'll be fun
He picks up a note which was written in English, because most of the notes had languages, which Vansh couldn't even read, forget about understanding
'Dear Juliet, My boyfriend keeps on going back to his ex, but says he loves me... I am confused please help me... Love, Viola...' he laughs reading this
'Dear Viola, your boyfriend is an asshole, he's probably sleeping with her, leave him immediately, and try dating Indian men for a change...' he gives his own reply and sticks the note back up to the wall
He glances again, but most of the letters were written in some unknown language, a known script grabs his attention, which was stuck in the corner...
He moves closer to see it properly and finds a pink paper, with a handwriting he thought he saw somewhere...
Should I read it...?
Of course... It's been pasted in open for people to read, the woman who wrote won't mind...
'Maybe I can give some reply to this woman...' he says to himself and reads the letter...
Dear Juliet,
I don't know why am I writing this...
Maybe because I am sad, and writing this out will make me feel better...
No this is not a love confession, it's just my life...
I am an orphan Juliet, whose parents abandoned her when she was 6, I was about to get married to a guy, who I thought could be the man of my dreams... But the wedding never happened as he ran away with my grandparent's fortune... I was 19 that time...
It took me 3 years to recover from the incident and I finally made peace with the fact that I am not fortunate like many who experience true love in their lives....
But then, Another man came along, he was not like the others as what I believed, I tried my best not to fall for him, but failed... And Today, I realised no one is perfect, and he is no different from others...
I am not here to crib about how heartbroken I am, but I do have few questions, can you answer them ?
'Why does God inflict more pain to those, who are already suffering ?'
'Should Unlucky people hope for a miracle...? Without the fear of being heartbroken again and again ?'
I guess not...
Love,
Happiness... (Ironically)
Vansh felt bad for the woman who wrote this, unlike other notes, whom he mocked, this one truly touched him, he wanted to hug the woman and tell her everything would be alright...
He turned around the letter, to find the address and gasped seeing a familiar place, with a familiar name...
Damn it !
What have I done...!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Extremely sorry for being super late...
Was stuck in middle of something...
Thank you for not exploding on me, you guys are the best ❤❤