Part 1
It was an ordinary day. The warm wind heavy with the scent of blooming jasmine hinted at the approaching summer. Umeed was up and about for her day. It was excruciating, the parting with her bed but she had a long list of impending work that needed her undivided attention. She had a few crores in her bank account now which stood in need of her attention. However, the ringing of her phone shifted her focus towards something else altogether. It was Asadullah, alias sasta ghalib. Even after repeated life threats the man was hell bent on pursuing her.
Umeed being Umeed, she still liked to believe that Farjaad had something to do it with the entire ordeal; even though both AK and him had denied the accusation.
"Ye zaroor us ghariyal ki saazish hai!" she angrily exclaimed.
"Uffo Umeed! ab toh sab clear hai na unka in sab main koi haath nahi. Ab toh choro iss baat ko." Haya reasoned.
"Tum bholi ho Haya, Tumhe nahi pata ye Changez Khan mujhe pareshan karne ke liye kuch bhi kar sakta hai. Aaj toh isse nahi chorungi main."
"Baat suno, ye tumhari sui Farjaad pe kyun atak gayi hai? tumhe pasand toh nahi aa gaya hai Farjaad? Dekh rahi hoon kuch dino se; itni importance kyun di ja rahi hai janab ko?" Haya teased her.
It was a simple yes or no question, but it was also a question to which she really did not have an answer at present. Did she like him? The one who had a robotic software installed rather than humane feelings and emotion. The one who held the rare capacity of making grown men shudder with fear just with a mere look. The one who was rude, irritable, insufferable, arrogant and she hated him. She was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. And to top that he was engaged. To Reena. She had cried a river upon learning the said fact and had skillfully covered it with the excuse that Pasha Saab was marrying her off when Haya had enquired about her misery.
In all the twenty years of her existence on this earth, she had only ever crushed on one man and that was Rahul Raichand, a fictional character. She had proudly declared to all her friends that there was no man in the vicinity who could make her heart flutter and dance to the magical tunes. She was proved wrong.
Umeed Pasha the flag bearer of 'men are stupid' agenda had a crush on the charming (on some occasions), hot (like his temper) and handsome (very) CEO who happened to be her best friend's brother. While she was aware of the mechanisms of a crush, she hadn't expected that she would become one of its victim. The idea seemed farfetched and stupid, but it was the truth after all.
Having a crush is wild. They can be amazing and agonizing at the same time and bizarre because why did she stay up all night replaying the same 20 second moment that occurred between the both of them on the staircase at his office. Or the moment when he came all the way to Pasha House to give her a new watch. Why did the butterflies make a permanent residence in her stomach whenever he was around? There was no point of these feelings anyways. He was already engaged. That had pissed her off beyond imagination because he never disclosed the all-important information that he was already engaged.
What now? What was she supposed to do with all these feelings?
"Pagaal ho gayi ho! bilkul bhi naahi." Umeed vehemently denied the obvious.
"Main ja rahi hoon."
"Kaha?"
"Aaj hisaab barabar ho ke rahega."
What scores was she going to settle there were unclear. Was her wrath just because of AK's persuasion or was it because of him.
"Ugghh, kya hoga iss ladki ka! Main keh rahi hoon mat jao. Jab jaati ho tumhari hi hai bezzaiti hoti hai."
