"What happened? Why is your face flushed?" Aarti asked me while giving me coffee.
"What can I tell, yaar. You remember the work I went to college so early in the morning?" I said while taking coffee.
"Yes, what happened? Didn't that work get over?" She sat on the couch.
"No. Not done yet. But I'm trying." I took a sip of coffee.
"Don't worry too much. If you are trying, it will be done."
"Hmmm" I drank another sip. "You didn't have coffee?" I asked Aarti.
"No, I don't drink coffee."I came to know another new thing about Aarti.
Then Aarti received a call from someone.
Probably of Arihant.
She picked up the phone but did not say anything.
"Shivani, if you feel hungry, I have prepared the food and put it in the fridge. You should heat the food and eat it." She said standing up.
"Why, are you going somewhere?" I looked at her.
"Yes, some urgent work in the office has come suddenly, that's why I have to go." She put some papers in his bag.
"But, at 7:30 in the evening?" I asked suspiciously.
She smiled a little.
"Work does not come by looking at time." Saying this she left.
___________________________________________
Arjun's POV
I reached Arihant's office.
I know that what I am going to do is to misuse my resources.But this girl has left me no other option.
what I wanted?
Just a short meeting.
But Shivani refuses for that as well.
If you want to meet her, go and meet yourself. But why would you do this? Your ego will not allow you to do this.
I opened the door of Arihant's cabin without knocking. I saw Aarti standing with a file near Arihant and Arihant is sitting on a chair.
Arihant smiled upon seeing me. "Hey man. What are you doing here at this time?" He asked.
"I felt like meeting my friend." I said coming in.
"Good evening sir." Aarti said.
"Good evening Aarti. How are you?" I asked her.
"I'm fine, sir" she replied shaking her head.
"That's good. Who would ask me how I am?" Arihant said with a grin.
"I just asked." I said with a serious face.
"When? You asked Aarti about her well-being." Arihant said while holding the file arti.
"Hey. When Aarti said she is fine, it clearly means that you are great." I said with a slight smile.
Aarti felt a little wierd after listening to me. It was clear from her face that she now felt uncomfortable between the two of us in that room.
"Sir, I will fax these papers in our Mathura branch today." Aarti said taking a second file from Arihant.
"Well, just keep in mind that we should have a copy of these papers." Arihant said while closing the lid of the pen.
"OK sir"
"You can go home now." As soon as Arihant says this, Aarti left the office wishing me good night.
Arihant started staring at me.
"Please. Don't look at me like this now. Don't I know that your life is stuck in that girl? I was just telling the truth."
"There is no use arguing with you." Arihant said shaking his head.
"That's why you never argue with me."
"We will talk here and there later. Tell me the work for which you have come here." Arihant asked directly.
"I told you a little while ago that I wanted to meet my friend. I have come to meet you." I said while shrugging my shoulders.
"I know you very well. That's why I also know that this time you have come to see me because of some of your work. That's why don't be too much and tell me what work is."
"How well you know me. Truly, if you were a girl, I would have married you."
"Then I must say thank you to God to be born as a man or else I have to share my whole life with you." He said laughing lightly.
"Actually, I have a work for you. And I know that you will not refuse me." I told taking him in confidence.
"Brother, now you are putting pressure on me."
"The pressure is on you."
"First, tell me the work."
"I have a cousin. He has finished his school this year. He wants to go into medical but he is not getting perfect guidance. You know that everyone in our family does business. So there is no right guidance for him" I said turning things around.
"But then why have you come to me for this ? I am not a doctor."
"I know you are not a doctor. But if you can recommend a doctor, "
"If you want a recommendation, then you have only a lot of people." He said picking up a glass of water.
"Yes, but I lack reliable people. I don't trust anyone more than you. If you recommend someone, he will be the best."
He drank water and thought for a while.
"There is someone. He is a doctor. He is a neuro surgeon. He is my cousin." he said.
No
No Arihant.
You don't have to name of anyone other than Shivani.
"But the problem is that he is not here right now. I mean, he is not in the city right now." I was comforted to hear that.
"We can do one thing. He will come back to Delhi after a week. We will then introduce your cousin to him. Will it be okay?"
No.
I have come here only to seek the recommendation of Shivani.
"No man. 7 days is too much. After 3 days my cousin's counseling is going on. He has to select his stream as well. No one knows what happens. If there is a doctor who is currently available, name him. " I said hoping that this time he will definitely take Shivani's name.
He thought for a while more.
"By the way, there is a doctor."
"Who?" I immediately asked.
"Shivani." Yes, this is what I was waiting for.
"Who Shivani?the Shivani did you bring to the party last night?" I asked
"Yes, same Shivani." He confirmed
"is she a doctor?" I asked becoming oblivious.
"Yes. She is a doctor and that too topper. She is doing post graduation in Gynecology. If you want, we can fix your cousin's meeting with her." he said.
"All right. Then you tell her that whenever she is free tomorrow evening, I will send the car to pick her up."
"Okay." Arihant replied.
I stood up to leave.
"Okay. See you at the gym tomorrow morning."
"Sure" Arihant wished me good night and I left.
Reaching the cabin door, I turned and looked at Arihant.
"Arihant, I have a request."
"Say." Arihant asked, locking the drawer.
"Don't tell Shivani that the person she is going to meet is my cousin and I sent the car to pick her up."
"Why? What difference does it make if she gets to know?" Arihant asked the reason.
"Actually. You probably didn't notice, but even last night she was quite uncomfortable around me. It should not happen that you take my name and she refuses to come."
"It's okay. I won't tell her. But hope it doesn't bother her." There was a slight threat in Arihant's voice.
I laughed at his statement.
"Of course. She is such a special friend of yours, After all. how can I let her have any trouble!"
Arihant nodded his head.
___________________________________________
Shivani's POV
"Yes, I am standing under the building. But no carriage has come yet." I told Arihant over the phone.
"Wait 2 minutes. The car will just arrive." he said.
"You shouldn't have said yes to the car. I would have gone with a rickshaw myself." I said.
"Whose house you are going to, he insisted a lot. That's why I couldn't refuse."
I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, you never refuse anyone." I said.
Then a car stopped in front of me.
It was a very big car and very expensive too. I could not believe that the man sent such an expensive car for someone whom he did not even know.
"Shivani Madam?" The driver of the car asked through the window.
"Yes" I answered him.
"Arihant, the car arrived. Now I'm leaving." Having said this, I hung up.
Before I sat in the car, the driver immediately got out of the car and opened the back seat door for me.
"Thank you" I thanked him and got in.
___________________________________________
Arjun's POV
I was waiting for Shivani at my house.
I cannot believe that you are leaving all your work and waiting for that girl.
Then my driver called me. I picked up the phone.
"Sir, I have picked up Madam." he said.
"Stupid, she's sitting in the car and you're calling me?" I did not want her to know anything about me before coming here.
"No sir. She is not in the car right now. Actually, after getting away a little, she remembered that she had forgotten something on her flat. That is why we had to go back to her flat. Right now, she is in her flat and I am out waiting for her."
"Okay. Get her straight here and don't call me anymore." I ordered.
I was standing on the balcony of my house waiting for the car that Shivani is in.
I saw the car coming inside the gate.
The driver quickly opened the door of the bank seat and Shivani came out.
As she came out, there was a slight smile on my face.
Why this smile was there, I do not know.
I just know that after last night I want to meet Shivani only once.
just once.
Shivani's POV
The driver took me inside the bungalow. As soon as I went inside that bungalow, I felt as if I had come to another world. This house was too big. Marble floors were putting four moons on this house.
"Madam, now wait a while. I call Kapil Bhaiya." I nodded and sat on the couch.
When I lifted my head and looked up, looking at the chandelier hanging above, my eyes got torn. I could not even guess the price of this chandelier. Thinking all this, my eyes automatically turned down. After a while, coffee came for me but I did not take it.
"Shivani ma'am?" I heard a boy speaking. The boy was coming from the front. He must be sixteen to 17 years old.
Maybe this is the same guy I have been called to guide here.
"You are Shivani ma'am. Aren't you?" He confirmed coming closer.
I stood up to see him. "Yes. I am Shivani." I answered.
"Hello mam." He greeted me. "Hello, have I been called here for you?" I asked
"Yes ma'am. My name is Kapil." he said. "Please sit down." I sat down at his suggestion.
"What is this! You haven't had coffee yet. Don't you like coffee? Can I order something else for you?" He asked.
"No. Thank you but I don't want anything."
He nodded.
"Let me bring my books and documents." After saying this he went to his room to bring his things.
___________________________________________
"I hope you all understand." I smiled and asked Kapil.
"Yes ma'am, you have explained so well that it is not possible that I do not understand." He too smiled and responded.
After packing all his belongings, he started going to the room. While leaving, a thin book fell from his hand which he did not notice. But I saw it.
"Wait"
He turned back on hearing my voice.
I got up from my place and went towards her. I picked up the fallen book and extended it towards Kapil.
Then I got my eye on the logo made on that book.
Excel Target
I heard this name somewhere.
Then I remembered that this is the same coaching institute from whom I got a call.
"Do you read this coaching institute?" I asked giving the book to him.
"Yes ma'am. I study at this coaching institute. Do you know? This coaching institute is the best coaching in Mumbai." He said excitedly.
"Very good. But these people must have charged the best too?" I asked with a laugh.
"These people charge fees from others but do not take from me." He told me.
"what do you mean?" I asked with surprise.
"Actually, my brother, my aunt's son is a part of this coaching institute. The institute is attached to him, so I have no tension with fees."
I was surprised.
"Who is your brother?" I finally asked him.
"Arjun Yasran"
I heard a known voice from back.
___________________________________________
Arjun's POV
On hearing my name, she turned to look at me. I stood on the stairs some distance away. Seeing me coming, Kapil went quietly to his room. She was looking at me. Her face was very calm. She was wearing a gray kurti which was up to the knee. She was wearing sneakers. Hair was tied in ponytail. On seeing her, it did not seem like she was surprised to see me here but still she did not give any such response.
"What a pleasant surprise, miss shivani. I did not expect that we would meet again and that too soon." I said moving towards her.
She smiled lightly. "Neither did I expect. Anyway, the two of us are of little benefit." She smiled and said very bitter thing.
"I thought that I only see the benefit in things and circumstances. I didn't know that you are also involved in this club."
She looked down and smiled.
"Are you the owner of Excel Target?" She asked raising her head.
"No, I just fund that institute and make profit without any fuss." I told the truth.
"Do you find benefit in education too?"
This made me laugh.
"I am present everywhere where there is benefit." I answered.
"If this is the case then what do you benefit from me?" She asked with eyes in my eyes.
I do not understand the same thing.
"what do you mean?" I asked, showing myself unaware.
"This is the same coaching institute from where I got the call for the Felicitation. I had to come here today, the very next day, to a student of the same institute who is your brother. Are so many things really coincidental?" " She asked in suspision.
"Absolutely. It's all a coincidence." I said confidently. But she didn't stop staring at me. "Do you feel like this is all I have planned?" I asked her directly.
"I don't know if you have planned all this or not, but I only know that we don't accidentally bump into the same person every time." She said.
I did not respond to this.
"Well, my work is over here so I should go." She said picking up his bag.
"Now that you are here, can I ask you for a cup of coffee. I can see that you haven't drunk coffee yet." I asked her with hope.
"I don't think it's okay to drink coffee together."
"Why, so?"
"Actually, I want to see what you can do to convince me if I refuse you for coffee. Just like yesterday I refused to come to the coaching institute, you used your resources and got me to your house today. " I was stunned upon hearing this.
How did it happen? Did she already know that the house she is going to visit is my house?
"You don't need to put too much stress on your mind. Before I came here, I knew that I was coming to your house."
Arihant must have told her.
"Your driver was talking to someone shortly after sitting in your car. He mentioned you in a hurry." And I was unnecessarily suspecting Arihant.
Stupid driver.
"If you wanted me to guide your brother, you could also ask me directly." She said.
I looked down in embarrassment. I understood that I had been caught and could no longer show off.
"I thought you would never come here if you knew it was my house."
She thought for a while.
"You are right. If I had known that you had a house, I would never have come here but I have come here today anyway." She stressed on the words of the last.
"What is it that made you come here even if you don't want to?" I really wanted to know the reason.
She gave me no answer, put her hand in her bag like she is looking for something.
She took out the same necklace from the bag that I had given her last night.
Now what is she going to do with this necklace?
"When your driver mentioned you, I stopped the car and went back to my flat. From there I picked up this necklace to bring it here." She said looking at the necklace.
"But why did you bring it here?"
She smiled at my question.
"This necklace is very beautiful. To be fair, it is the first thing that my heart wanted to get it. And see my luck, even though I did not afford this necklace, I got it. But I Can't keep it. I just came here today to return this necklace to you. " She said it clearly.
How can she do this?
"I can't take this necklace back from you." I said sternly.
"Why?" She asked.
"Because I gifted you this necklace. And I don't take the gift back."
"You have rightly said. We should never take back our given gift. But there are some rules for taking or giving gifts."
"There is only one rule to give or take a gift. The gift is determined by the giver, not the gift price." I said.
"Then I would say, you don't know the rest of the rules yet." She looked at the necklace. "Last night I could not refuse you. Last night you were very happy because you had gained so much. In the same happiness, you gave me this necklace. You rightly said that we should not see the price of the gift. But this rule applies when both the giver and the giver are equal. I had not done anything for you in return to deserve such an expensive thing. "
"I wanted to say thank you. This necklace is Nothing except my thank you." Now I started getting a little angry.
"When someone gives us a gift in exchange for help that costs more than that help, that gift becomes another favor. Forgive me, but I don't want to be under anyone's favor." Saying this, she put the necklace on the same table.
"I hope that if we meet next time we won't talk about it." Having said this she left and I stood there watching her go.
I looked at that necklace.
I held that necklace in my hand.
I already told you, this girl does not deserve your attention.
***************************************
Hey guys.
How do you like this chapter?
What do you think Arjun will do, now?🧐
What do you think about shivani's theory of gifts?🤔
I am just feeling like this or really my English has improved?😅
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Kishu ❤️