Wania was perplexed at the affectionate encounter of Arsalan Abbas and her mother but she wasn't the only one. Fakhir Abbas also seemed to have taken a back, and not just with the unknown relationship between his nephew and the lady of Ghani House but at the fact that Alya Ghani was a strikingly beautiful woman with big brown, warm eyes. Her subtle elegance, evident in the way she carried herself, instantly captured his attention. Fakhir Abbas, for some odd reason, can't seem to take his eyes off her.
"Oh Well! this is unexpected. How do you guys know each other?" Before anyone can come out of their respective shock, Muhammad Shahnawaz Ghani spoke.
"Arsalan volunteers at our orphanages. We have met many times there. Such a gentle soul he is..." Alya praised Arsalan, slightly patted his cheek and he visibly blushed.
Cute. Wania thought but didn't say a thing.
"Oh! I didn't know about this buddy...why?" Fakhir inquired, finally coming out of his stupor.
"Why should you..?" Arsalan answered with a shrug.
With this Wania crossed the room and came where rest of her people were standing and with her best PR person voice started,
"Hello everyone! I'm Wania Ghani. Please come in and have a seat, dinner is about to be served and you don't wanna miss the Ghani house specials." To this everyone smiled politely except Arsalan who was back to being grumpy.
"Welcome to the Ghani Mansion!" Wania said and with a exaggerated gesture, directed them towards the table but her eyes were directly on Arsalan whose eyes flickered towards her and for a second she thought there was recognition in his eyes but then he lowered his gaze nodded and moved on.
Everyone settled on the table. There were the Ghani's and the Abbas's and then a few members of some of the recognizable families of their social circle and Jami Freedi, more affectionately known as Freedi, who was the family lawyer slash cooperate advocate of the Ghani's and whose presence irked Wania right then, even though she usually liked him.
Why is he here? why is the lawyer here with his tell-tale brief case. Something is fishy, Wania thought as she turned to her mother and whispered in her ears,
"Mama, Why is Freedi Uncle here, with a brief case?"
"Trust me I was thinking the same." Alya replied with equal skepticism. Wania eyed her mother with some caution and said,
"And....you've been making friends and not telling me?" Alya looked at Wania confused at her remark.
"What..?" Alya said defensively
"The Grumpy guy?" Wania spoke with mock accusation.
"Oh! Arsalan? Pyara Bachha hai buhat." (Oh Arsalan? Such a lovely kid he is.) Alya said lovingly and Wania shrugged.
"Oh Please he hadn't smiled once since he came and spoke a total of three and a half words. But, the Uncle is interesting..." Wania whispered with a sly smile.
Alya shushed Wania as the dinner was served.
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The air was filled with the tantalizing aromas of culinary masterpieces, the atmosphere was of sophistication and refinement. In this setting, an introverted Arsalan found himself at a dinner, feeling out of place amidst the lively crowd. His expressive eyes scanned the room, taking in the array of guests engaged in captivating exchanges, their confidence and extroversion contrasting with his own reserved demeanor.
Arsalan had been mildly amused by the presence of the young hostess—a vibrant and feisty Wania Ghani who effortlessly commanded attention with her magnetic charm. She moved through the room with an air of confidence, greeting guests with a dazzling smile and engaging in witty banter. Her infectious energy seemed to fill the space, drawing everyone into her orbit. He had a distant memory of a 15 year-old girl with plaits and braces who he had passingly noticed in school and had seen in some of the social dinners he attended with his parents. That girl didn't hold a candle to this fireball ball of a woman in front of him but the smile is the same, Arsalan pondered.
Between bites of lavish cuisine, deals were discussed, proposals were presented, and hands were shaken. The guests adeptly navigated the dual roles of friends and business associates, gracefully transitioning from casual banter to serious matters of commerce. But, Arsalan had interest in none of that, he wanted to get out of here, but something told him that this evening isn't going to end without a stagger.
Arsalan saw as the dinner ended and the table was cleared and M.S Ghani stood up at the head of the table, his expressions soft and at ease but his eyes shown with determination. As he clapped his hands animatedly Arsalan thought, It's show time!
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Everyone's attention was on Muhammad Shahnawaz Ghani as he looked around at the anticipating faces of the people on his dinner table. With a big smile he gestured towards Fakhir Abbas to come to him, which made the people around the table shocked but not as much as Arsalan as he eyed his Uncle in absolute flabbergast.
M.S Ghani and Fakhir now stand side-by-side at the head of the table and everyone looked on, an uneasy feeling was settling in Wania's stomach as she waited for the scene to unfold.
"Thank you all for coming, It gives immense pleasure to host all of you beautiful people." M.S Ghani started,
"As you know I am getting old and I have been operating as the head of Ghani's Business Empire for a long time.....Don't get me wrong, I have had a glorious run, no regrets!" he took a calculated pause then carried on, "But, I am tired and I believe, I have earned my right to retirement."
Wania kept listening to her Nana but a knot had formed in her stomach and had a sinking feeling in her heart.
"So, for the better future of my family and business." M.S Ghani stopped and looked at Fakhir then smiled and continued, "For the better future of Our families and business, I hereby, announce a merger between Ghani Group of Industries and Abbas Enterprise"
Muhammed Shahnawaz Ghani declared with a grand hand-gesture and met with hearty applause from the members of the table, Except three.
Arsalan, Wania and Alya looked at him aghast.
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Please Give feedback!
How do you like Wania's and Arsalan's contrasting personalities?
YOU ARE READING
Fruit of Passion
RomanceIt's a completely new fictional story. A fresh Romance! It's unrelated to Tere Bin. The pictures of the actors used is for reference only or how I imagine my characters to look like Wania Ghani is a young and dynamic PR head of her Nana's company...
