Hello!! No you are not dreaming, I really am back with an update (after an eternity, I know). I'm very sorry for taking so long writing this chapter, but it was just a struggle getting back the flow with which I prefer writing this story. Regardless, I hope you all haven't given up on me! I'm finally back on track with this story, and hopefully you are still interested in giving this story another chance!
Enjoy <3
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It had been over a month since I started working at the central branch of the Shekhawat Corporation. Randhir and I met often during work, but not much outside apart from the occasional get-together at Parth's or Vidushi's.
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"Mr. Solanki, I need a day-off on Wednesday to sort out some personal matters. Do you think that would be possible?"
"I don't know Ms. Agarwal. We have a pretty hectic schedule ahead of us. And anyway, weren't you supposed to give your merger presentation on Wednesday?"
I bit my tongue as I realized I had almost forgotten about it; "In that case, what if I have that ready by Wednesday morning? Then I could leave right after?"
"You can run it through Randhir I guess. Make sure it's alright with him to advance the presentation. But apart from that, I'm fine with it."
"Thank you Sir," I smiled as I headed to Randhir's office. If I pull an all-nighter tonight and tomorrow, I could probably practice and perfect the presentation in time for Wednesday morning...
Having this internship had proven to be much more difficult than I had imagined it to be given how fulfilling my work obligations left me with that much less time to spend with Riaan. The worst thing was that more than half of my time out of work was spent working with Saurabh for Riaan's custody case which I couldn't afford to lose. He is one of the only reasons I have not given up on life yet, how could I even think about losing him?
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"Sanyukta?" a loud voice startled me out of my thoughts. "Is everything okay?" he said as he ushered me into his office and shut the door behind us. "Yea, my bad. I was just a little pre-occupied in my thoughts. Sorry!"
"You sure?" he asked, a concerning look evident in his eyes.
I smiled and nodded, "I was actually wondering if we could shift the presentation meeting from Wednesday evening to the morning instead? I actually have an urgent matter I need to handle. I ran it through Mr. Solanki and he says he's okay with it as long as you are as well."
"Are you sure you don't want me to grant you a leave?" he offered. I smiled but refused politely, "I can't ask you to do that Mr. Shekhawat!"
"It's Randhir for you, come on," he looked a little dejected as he spoke.
I grabbed his hand, making sure the door behind us was closed of course, and spoke, "Randhir, I don't want you to treat me differently or in a privileged manner than the other interns. That wouldn't be fair to the others!"
"But..." he started, however I quickly interjected.
"Listen, I know you mean well, but I don't want others to think..." but he cut me off before I could continue.
"Sanyu, I don't care what these people think! I probably don't even know half of their names!"
"What if they say that I'm just using you to make my way through?" I exasperated. I'd had enough of hearing these taunts by now to be honest. I don't think I had it in me to tolerate any more.
He took my hands in his; "We know the truth though. So what does it matter what others think or say then?" And even if they think it, they weren't the people who helped me become who I am today! YOU did Farzi!"
My eyes teared up; "Regardless of what happened and why it did, the truth is that had you not always encouraged me to pursue my dream, I wouldn't be the CEO of this company!"
"I left you," I sobbed.
"It made me work even harder so I'd forget about the pain..." he spoke softly, making me feel even more guilty.
"It doesn't make what I did right though," I said quietly, more to myself than him but I was certain he had heard it as well.
"Well we can't change that, can we?" he looked away.
"Let me do this on my own Randhir. I know you're just trying to help, but you've already done so much for me."
"Fine," he sighed, "you can give your presentation Wednesday morning and then take a leave for the evening. But if you need anything..."
He trailed off and I just smiled, knowing very well what he'd say. And so I replied, "I will!" before heading back to my desk.
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I went out to dinner with Vidushi after the final meeting of the day, and while initially all we talked about was her upcoming wedding, I ended up bringing her up to the conversation.
"I don't get it Vidu. I'm just trying to help her!"
She put her hand on her cheek while staring intently at me.
"What?" I threw at her a pointed glance.
"You miss taking care of her, don't you?"
I was at a loss of words to be honest, "What do you mean?"
"Just that ever since she's come back, you've felt all sorts of things towards her or for her, or whatever. But the strongest of all them is you wanting to help her out because you can't see her in trouble. Am I right or am I right?" she smirked at the realization that she was, yet again, right this time.
"What do I do though? I can't see her struggle everyday like this. I know it's tearing her apart that there is a chance, even if the slightest one, that Sameer will get child custody of Riaan!"
"I mean she's a single mom with no permanent source of income. It is a tough battle, but Randhir, there isn't much you can do because what Sameer is doing is out of spite!"
"Do you think I should try talking to him?"
She choked on the water she was drinking, "No way Randhir. That is not what I'm saying!" But it was too late. I had already begun considering that option.
"Don't make things worse Randhir, seriously. It's a bad idea!"
To which I just said, "Let's see!"
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I returned home that way, debating whether talking to Sameer would make a difference. I recalled everytime Sanyu had spoken about him. Not only was he abusive, but he hadn't been such a great father for Riaan either. Despite knowing he was Sameer's blood, I couldn't help but feel a strange sort of paternal affection for the little guy. He went completely after his mother, and that made me love him even more!
Love? I smiled. I went onto Facebook just to see their pictures that she had posted from his last birthday, and I knew it was love. His smile was something I felt like protecting, along with hers as well.
I checked the time, 9:30pm it read. I went on my phone and checked if Sanyukta was online, and because she was, I sent a quick message. "Take home sundaes for the three of us? Need to talk!"
"Sure, but is everything okay Randhir?"
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Espresso Love (SanDhir)
Фанфик| About This Story | Reconciliation between two people is never as easy as it seems; especially when it is after years of hurdles as Sanyukta has faced. This is a story of two intertwined characters as they come to face each other after years of se...
