Just Friends

CHAPTER 9

"Love is friendship that has caught on fire."

- Ann Landers

^^^

"Kiara!" Kajal knocked on her daughter's room door. Kiara glanced at the door with an annoyed expression as she was staring at the laptop screen. Rather than completing her article, she was busy binge-watching her favourite show.

"Yes, mom..."

"Aren't you going to the office?" Her mom sounded annoyed as she wasn't opening the door. "And what is this with locking your door up?"

Kiara rolled her eyes, pushing herself towards the door to unlock it. "I didn't want to be disturbed." Her mother was least interested in her justification but rather curious to spy on her room. Kiara narrowed her eyes at her mother. "Don't worry, I am not doing anything illegal." She mocked, and her mother glared at her.

"What is it with you? Why are you acting so rude? Your mood is never bright always blowing with fury."

"Mom! I am not in a mood just leave me alone." Kiara was getting exasperated with her mother's interrogation. She knew it was her concern regarding her daughter's changing behaviour, but Kiara needed space. She could handle herself as she had always done. She wasn't used to sharing pain, and trouble with her parents. She always thought they won't understand and she would usually manage it on her own.

"Fine, I came to inform Dhruv wanted to talk to you. He said you weren't receiving his calls." Kiara stood there blank for a minute before brushing her sadness away.

"Tell him I am busy," with those words Kiara shut the door. Kajal would have busted on her daughter for her ill-manner if she hadn't seen the inner pain, her daughter was hiding. She was aware that something was troubling Kiara and was well aware of her daughter's stubbornness, Kiara won't confess it.

Kajal walked into her bedroom with a gloomy spirit. Leading Rajeev to acknowledge the seriousness as she entered the room. "What's the matter?" He inquired looking away from his bunch of files.

"Nothing... Kiara seems upset."

"Yeah, she is taking too much pressure. But she has always been like that, during childhood she was so stressed about her studies." Rajeev shook his head, laughing at the memory.

"The stress involved is something else..." Kajal muttered sitting on her side of the bed. "And I doubt it's related to Dhruv..." Rajeev stared at Kajal with disbelief for which she offered him a small smile.

"But they are planning his wedding..." Rajeev was finding it difficult to believe. His daughter, his lucky charm, his princess had fallen for someone who could never be hers.

"That's troubling her, she is avoiding her friend's call."

"I need to talk to her, I need to..." Rajeev was on the verge to walk into Kiara's room.

"She needs space, Rajeev. Allow her with it. She will be back. She is much stronger than we consider her." Kajal wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes.

Children always considered that their parents won't understand but none could understand them better than their parents. They understood their pain without the child expressing it. Such is a bond shared between a parent and child. Kiara might never have the courage to voice it out to her parent but Kajal had glimpsed it in her orbs and even understood her discomfort in sharing it with them. But in the deepest corner of Kajal's heart, she wanted to be beside Kiara and make her understand there was nothing wrong with the way she was feeling. She knew, Kiara was burdening herself with guilt and she wanted to brush it off from her.