FADING DARKNESS

CHAPTER 4:TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT

Piya's heart was jumping madly in her ribs as she approached the door to Abhay's cabin.When she reached it,she took a deep breath and lifted her hand to knock at the door.The door flung open before she could knock,and taken by surprise she almost stumbled.But the person who had opened the door had instinctively shot out his hand to steady her,and Piya raised her startled brown eyes to meet the ice-blues of Abhay Raichand.He was standing closer than expected,staring at her with an unfathomable expression.Piya didn't know why,but her mind seemed suddenly unable to piece together any coherent sentence,and her ears seemed to be on fire.She tried to gulp in some air but the scent of his cologne was absolutely not helping her organize her thoughts.Finally,she had just managed to open her mouth to somehow utter a Thank-You when he let go of her with a jerk,and she stumbled again,this time clutching the door to steady herself."Come in"he spoke,his voice brusque and rude.Piya clutched her bag tightly and managed to make it into his cabin,deciding that there was no way she would thank this khadoos.By this time,Abhay had seated himself on his chair and his eyes were following her as she walked in.he didn't even tell me to sit,Piya thought,fuming.Putting up a small smile on her face,she started to speak."G-good morning"Abhay gave no reaction."I'm h-here from the Dehradoon Chronicles for an interview.You aked sp-specifically for me to c-come."she finished,faltering a little on the last part.Eyes never leaving her face,Abhay got up and walked towards her.He leaned towards her as he reached her,his face inches away from hers."And what will you give in return."Piya gulped as she felt his breath wash over her face."Ex-excuse me?"she asked,a little dazed.Abhay straightened up and smirked."What will u give in return?"he repeated,starting to walk in slow circles around her as he spoke."It's not everyday that Abhay Raichand personally calls up newspapers for interviews."Infact,he paused before her,meeting her eyes again."I hardly give interviews.Imagine what a leap it will be for ur newspaper to have my interview.So naturally"he smirked at her again,and Piya felt her cheeks flush."I am not doing it for free."There was a pause in which Piya looked at him confused."W-what do you want?"Ah,you took the bait pretty quickly,Abhay thought,as he looked down at her,before speaking his next words."Let me take u to dinner tonight."Piya's mouth fell open as she heard his words."W-what?"she stammered,her mind now blank with shock."U heard me"said Abhay,completely unaffected by her reaction."U go out with me tonight,and I give u an interview tomorrow morning.It's that simple.Take it or leave it."He watched as Piya tried to form a sentence."B-but how-I m-mean,I c-can't-with u.""Why?"Abhay cut her short."What's wrong with me?"Piya's anger was starting to rise now,helping her mind function better.How dare this man call her in the name of an interview and then ask her out on a date!She opened her mouth to snap out an angry retort,when she remembered that she was representing the newspaper she worked for.She took a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking."I am supposed to take an interview,Sir"she emphasized on the last word."I am not here to make an appointment for dates."she said,fighting to keep her voice even."Oh"said Abhay,faking a disappointed look."Pity on you.What will hppen when you return and tell your boss that I refused the interview?They'll think it's your fault.Tsk,tsk"he said,shaking his head a little,his eyebrows a little raised."Pity.Wonder how they will react when they see my interview in Business Times instead."Piya stared up at him,her heart hammering as the realization of what he said sunk in.Abhay had personally called up their newspaper saying he wanted an interview.If now he refused,everyone would obviously think it was her fault.It would be the end of not only her career,but Dehradoon Chronicles would also miss a huge opportunity to grab the spotlight.I am not going to let him win,Piya thought,looking right into his eyes.She had to do this.Not only for herself,but for her newspaper.This arrogant khadoos man would not succeed in trapping her."I will go out with you"she spoke up,in a determined voice.Abhay smiled.Step two of my plan accomplished."Be ready at eight." *********We should leave the past behind,people say.Move on.Live the present.But the main concern should be,does the past ever leave us?Isn't it in a way responsible for what we are today?It seemed that today,the past was intent on haunting Arjun today,in the form of his two most horrible memories.After the discovery of her picture,Arjun had come downstairs and switched on the TV to distract himself with the idiot box.He flicked through channels mindlessly, occasionally pausing at a particular channel.As he changed to a local news channel,a piece of ongoing news which the news reporter was saying-"The name of the kidnapped child is Anup,aged eight,with a-"Arjun's hand automatically froze on the remote,as his ears no longer heard the rest of the news.Memories of a dingy room came back to him,dark with no windows,and another picture flashed before him:an eight year-old boy,begging for his captor to release him,a woman calling in a sickening sweet voice."Arjun"Arjun tore his mind away from those memories,as he shut the TV and through the remote on the sofa.He stood up,his fists clenched,hisa breathing heavy.At that moment,he was no longer Arjun Dobriyal,one of the most eligible bachelors of Dehradoon,but he was Arjun,the man haunted by nightmares.Though his kidnapping had not been secret,yet the tortures he had faced there certainly had been.He had told nobody,not even his family,about the abuse he had suffered at the hands of his kidnapper,a woman,the abuse that had forever changed his character.He felt his tears prickle his eyelids.Faced with those memories,he was the vulnurable Arjun which no one knew existed."If it hadn't happened"he thought."I would never have killed you,Alisha .Believe me,we would have been so happy together." **************Abhay leaned back on his chair,his eyes on his door through which Piya had just left."Piya Dobriyal."he murmured her name softly."U think this was a trap?"His signature smirk appeared on his face."U don't know,Piya.U don't know.The real showdown begins after our famous date."