Destiny's Play!!

Chapter - 34

Karan had just returned when he had seen Avni and Uday on the swing. Curious he had stood there. He had missed her. Why? He had no idea. Not that he knew her except for the meetings they had had. And that too hadn't been many. But it seemed she had made a constant presence in his thoughts. Her face had kept coming up at the most inopportune moments. Her smile that he had seen for the first time last Sunday. Her beguiling eyes. Her soft demeanor. He just couldn't get a grip on his thoughts. What was it about her that was so fascinating? If he was to try and decode her, then there was nothing really compelling about her. She was not a head turner in beauty. She didn't seem the sort of person who could hold her own amongst people. And definitely not someone who you could go to for intelligent conversations. She was none of those things. And yet he found himself drawn to her. There was this inescapable sadness about her that he found intriguing. He was itching to unravel that part of her. Maybe that was one reason why he kept thinking about her. Because she was so unlike any girl her age. She was so different from his own sister and her words kept echoing in his head when she had asked him the simple question he hadn't known how to answer 'does couple of years make that much of a difference'. At a deeper level it was her innocence her wide eyed wonder at the smallest things and her quiet gentle nature that beckoned him. She was soft to his harsh, mellow to his rude, not to mention short to his tall personality. Despite the opposing qualities which ran in numbers he wasn't sure if this was all to her. He knew there was more.

This past one week hadn't been easy for him. With rising competition his work demanded he took a conscious decision of finding a place for himself in the city and yet he had resolutely decided not to give in just yet. He had wanted to return. To his home. To the peace. To her.

And there she was. He watched her laugh as Uday left and he couldn't control the frown that marred his brows now. What had Uday said to her that had made her laugh? She rarely ever smiled. And he could never forget that one time she had smiled just last Sunday. She had been beautiful. And the image was seared in his mind. He hadn't been able to shake the image off. It had been so pure, so innocent. He could sense she had grown more familiar with Uday during the past week. The ease with which they had sat there on the swing, the way they had shook hands. What was going on? As far as he knew Uday was so not into girls who had Avni's disposition. All his girlfriends had been feisty. And then he had transferred his attentions on Riddhima and had stayed that way for the past so many months. Was he reading too much? Maybe. Uday did have a personality where girls felt more comfortable with him. His easy charm and lazy smile were meant to get girls sigh and giggle. He had always been that way. But Karan knew his brother, behind all that veneer of a flirt and charmer lay a man who wanted to be a self-made person. He was as serious as they came when it came to doing business. Though his choice of it had always raised questions but he was good at it. And he enjoyed doing it. He was built for adventure. And where Karan was all serious his brother was all carefree. Or so he came across. Karan loved Uday just as much as he loved Manya. There were times when he would return home with a broken nose or scratches from school after bullying and the onus of keeping him safe had always fallen on Karan. He had never backed down from a fight till he learnt that some fights were just bogus. There was no need to get involved in every single one of them. That there were times when things could be handled differently too. Just what he was trying to teach Manya the other day. She was like him in so many ways. And she sure could hold her own when it came to that. If he had known that seventeen years ago maybe things would have been so different for him now. Not that he regretted doing anything he had done in his thirty something life. If there were second chances he was sure he wouldn't do anything differently. He would do it all over again. It had made him the man he was now.

Maybe Uday had befriended the silent Avni. After all everyone needed friends. And Uday had always been a great friend to those who called him one. So why was he feeling unhappy about it? What had he been expecting? She stayed at the main house obviously she would interact with the family more so if things were a little more open between her and others it shouldn't have any effect on him. So why was he feeling like this? He had been restless when he had been away and now that he had returned he was nowhere feeling normal. And he never did well with confused state of things. He turned away from his spot and went towards the house. He had already called up the main house informing Sukhdev he was here and the dogs should be brought back. He went upstairs and changed into casual clothes. Then unpacked. He needed a cup of strong coffee. And he came downstairs. Just then his doorbell rang. He could hear the dogs yapping outside. He went and opened it. Surprise was a mild word at how he felt when he saw what awaited him on the other side of the door.

Avni stood outside holding the leashes and at her feet Don and Kiser sat their tails thumping in enthusiasm at seeing him. Before he could respond both dogs jumped him licking and whining greeting him after almost a week of absence. And she just stood there smiling. What had been happening while he had been away?

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