"Tell me what's going on?" Aina asked excitedly, patting the spot next to her on the bed. She continued to apply makeup as Khushi sat down.
"What?" Khushi shrugged.
Aina gave her a threatening look, "Listen up. Don't even think about hiding anything from me, your only friend at AR. So, if there's anything going on between you and ASR, you better spill it to me first. It's my right to know, Miss Jalebi."
Khushi giggled softly, shaking her head as she clarified with a smile, "There truly is nothing romantic between him and me," then she began to play with her ring as she admitted in a hushed tone, "But yeah.. my feelings have changed for him."
"Changed as in?" Aina dramatically tossed her eye shadow palette behind her onto the bed, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she leaned in closer to Khushi curiously.
Khushi looked away feeling shy to openly talk about her feelings, "Yaar don't ask me such questions Aina.. you already know it."
Aina gave her a playful look as she stressed, "Ohh-kay," she raised her brows, "I think I'm getting it.. but does ASR have any idea about your changed feelings for him?"
Khushi pouted and shook her head. "He has no clue how I feel about him. Not even my brother knows. You and Buaji are the only ones who know about this."
"And what are you waiting for?"
"I don't think it's the right time to be thinking about my own feelings right now. Bhaiya is still trying to get his life back on track after everything that went down with Anjali and Aman. And about Arnav ji, well.. I don't know what he feels about me. So, I don't think it's fair for me to focus on what I want right now. I think I should just wait until things settle down and then we'll see what happens," Khushi explained.
Aina nodded understandingly as she was still recovering from the shock, "But.. Wow! I can't believe that you would ever think of ASR that way.. I mean you used to hate him a lot when you recently joined AR and he wouldn't even look at you properly. Your relationship with him suddenly changed to a point that he came to drop you at my house for my birthday party. This turn of events was truly unexpected!"
"It wasn't sudden, you know," Khushi's eyes widened as she shifted her tone to a defensive one, "It took me months of hard work to make that mummy speak a few words to me," she stated in a slightly reproachful manner.
Aina chuckled, "Alright.. not sudden but definitely unexpected! Ask yourself.. did you ever think your life would change completely after joining AR company?"
"Nah, I never thought my life would take 360 degree turn after stepping into AR. I thought I was living in my perfect little world with my brother, Aman, and Anjali. When Arnav ji came to Mumbai, his first meeting with Aman wasn't something pleasant to remember, and Anjali was always upset because her parents kept comparing her to her younger brother and made fun of her for choosing photography as her career. And to make things worse for her, he asked her to choose between our friendship and my job. My favorite people were always upset and troubled because of him. So I used to think of him as a Rakshas who was destroying the peace of my little world and causing distress to my loved ones. Little did I know the truth behind the faces of those I thought were loyal to me. You know, I was really scared to step out of my comfort zone and face the real world. But when I saw my brother struggling financially, I knew I had to do something to help him. Sometimes I think maybe it was destiny that led me to join AR, so that I could finally burst the bubble I was living in. I know people think my life went downhill after that, because I lost Aman and Anjali, but honestly, I see it as a blessing in disguise. And it is solely because of Arnav ji's presence in my life," her eyes lit up when she talked about him, "At first, he was all cold and demanding, making it clear that I wasn't good enough to be his PA. But it was actually his behavior that made me take this job seriously. Before, I just wanted to earn money to help my brother with my wedding expenses. But Arnav ji's demands for a disciplined and professional behaviour from me pushed me to develop an interest in having a career outside of my home life. He was the guiding light in my life, and his presence in my life helped me in ways that he may not even be aware of. So yeah, unlike what everyone else thinks, joining AR was one of the best decisions of my life. I can say that AR is like a second home to me where you and Arnav ji are like family to me."
