The Grey Hues ✔

I Hate to Love You

Days passed, and though Aditya tried to distance himself from Zoya , he couldn't. He didn't want to admit it but whenever he was around Zoya , he used to feel happy and her innocence had made a place in his heart. He felt responsible for her and protective too. Many a nights , he used to wait till her shoot used to finish. She used to ask him 'Aap ghar kyun nhi chale jate? Itni raat tak aap kyun jaagte hai humare liye?'
And his reply used to be 'Tumhe itni raat ko akela aane doon? Kuch ho gya toh?'

Days passed to months and Aditya and Zoya grew closer. From midnight chats to having dinner together , they loved each other's company. Zoya was obviously very happy with this new found feeling of hers but Adi couldn't sleep at night. His dilemmas kept him awake and he used to toss and turn the whole night.

One day Zoya told Aditi about her feeling for Aditya.
Aditi said 'Tujhe toh pyaar ho gya hai pagli.'
Zoya said 'Kya yehi pyaar hai?'

Aditi said 'Yes idiot. Oh my god , I can't believe it. Zoya Siddiquie, The Zoya Siddiquie is in love finally. I am so happy for you.'
Zoya blushed and said 'Hum bhi bohot Khush hai. Toh kya lagta hai tumhe, hum apne pyaar ka izhaar kar de Aditya se?'

Aditi said 'Of course , what are you waiting for? I used to think he wasn't a good guy but as I see him now , he seems to be the perfect gentleman. Still, my research isn't over yet. In fact , my last source is yet to bring news about him. And if he says that Aditya is all clean , which I think he will, go for it.'

Zoya said 'Theek hai phir , hum aaj raat ko hi unhe bol denge. Vaise bhi ek aur mahina hi reh gya hai unke yahan kaam karne ke liye. Uske baad che mahine ho jayenge.'

While Zoya was prepping her words that she would say to Aditya to profess her love, Aditya was on the phone with the man who wanted the clip. Aditya said 'Mujhe ek aur mahina de do please'
The man said 'Yeh keh keh kar, tumne paanch mahine bita diye Aditya Hooda. Zoya ki film ki shooting khatam hone wali hai, I need that clip before her release to make my channel work. Kahin aisa toh nhi ki tum kuch jante ho aur mujhe batana nhi chahte? Because let me tell you , if I don't get anything from you by tonight , forget about getting a job with The New Yorker.'

Aditya hung up and looked at Arjun's photo and thought about his lost career. He then thought of Zoya and his moments . Arjun's voice came to him 'Bhai, aap pe poora bharosa hai, aap apna diya hua vada nhi todenge.', he saw his dead face and the suicide note in his mind and then heard Zoya's voice which was filled with regret for her deeds. Aditya thought 'Nhi, I can't go back on my words now. I came here with a purpose. Do din ki dosti ke liye I cant betray my brother.'

But instead of hate that used to erupt in him when he used to think of his past and his revenge from Zoya , he was sad at what he was doing but he didn't back out. He took the pen drive and parcelled it to the man. Within two hours the man called him and said 'Excellent work Aditya Hooda. Consider your job confirmed. Within a week you will be at an amazing place with the job of your dreams.'

Aditya didn't say anything but hung up feeling hollow.At around late evening he got a message from Zoya , 'Meet me at the Blue Bay garden cafe, at midnight.'
Aditya thought 'Aisa kya ho gya ?'

Nevertheless he dressed up and went there at midnight. The garden was decorated with lights and the fragrance of sandalwood that he loved, lingered in the garden. There was a small table for two . Zoya emerged from behind the shadows looking serene and beautiful in a white evening gown with minimal make up. Her glow was enchanting. Aditya found himself mesmerised in her beauty and thinking 'I wish she was mine.'
He shook himself from those thoughts and said 'Wow Zoya, yeh sab?'
Zoya said 'Aaj ek special din hai?'
Aditya said 'Tumhara Birthday toh nhi hai na?'
Zoya said 'Nhi, aaj hum ek ordinary day ko special banayenge. Baithiye na. Pehle hum ke kahani sunayenge. Sunenge?'

Aditya said 'Of course. I love stories.'

Zoya said 'Toh suniye. Ek ladki thi, usko pyaar ya dosti pe bharosa nhi tha. Uske liye toh yeh sab kahaniyon mein hoti thi. Phir ek aadmi aaya uski duniya mein aur uski duniya badal di. Us aadmi ne uski jaan apni jaan pe khel kar bachaya. Us ladki ne use apna dost bana liya. Din dhalte gye aur unki dosti gehri hoti gyi. Phir ladki ko ehsaas hua ki , voh us aadmi ke saath dosti nhi Pyaar Karti hai. Usne soch liya ki voh apna pyaar ka izhaar karegi usse. Lekin usi din use pata chala ki , voh aadmi toh uske saath khel khel rha tha.
Usne toh khud hi ek jaal bichaya tha aur voh ladki us jaal mein phasti gyi. Us aadmi ne uski jaan kabhi bachai hi nhi thi, usne toh sirf naatak kara tha. Ek baar ladki ne apni poori zindagi ki kahani us aadmi ke samne rakhi thi. Aur us aadmi ne us kahani ko apne badle ke liye bech diya.'

Zoya's voice had turned hard and cold and Aditya's eyes were filled with tears. Zoya continued saying 'Yeh kahani jaani pehchaani lagti hai na Aditya Hooda?'

Aditya said 'Zoya , main.. voh.'
Zoya shouted 'Jhooth. Aapke mooh se nikla har shabd jhooth tha, hai aur humesha hoga. Jhooti mohabbat bhi shayad aapke fitrat mein hogi.'
Aditya said 'Meri baat toh sun lo..'

Zoya said 'Kya sune Hum? Yehi ki aap humse nafrat karte the, har din har pal jo aap humare saath ek dost ki tarah bitate the , voh sab aapka naatak tha. Ek baat bataye aapko Aditya , aap humse nafrat kar hi sakte kyunki nafrat ke liye pyaar chaiye hota hai. Aur bepannah Pyaar humne aapse kiya hai. Nafrat voh nhi hai jo aap humse karte the, nafrat voh hai jo hum aapse karte hai.'

Aditya said 'Main nhi chahta tha..'
Zoya said 'Hum bhi nhi chahte the ki aapse Pyaar ho. Thank you Aditya Hooda humara bharosa na todne ke liye ki pyaar aur dosti sirf kahaniyon mein hi hote hai.'

She turned to leave but stopped in her tracks and said 'Hum toh aapse aapke bhai ka sach bolna bhool hi gye the.'

Aditya looked at her and said 'Kya?'

Zoya said 'Haan. Aapke bhai Arjun Singhania ne humari wajah se suicide nhi kiya tha. Arjun Singhania , was a gambler. Unhone apna sara paisa gava diya tha. He was in great debt. And to top all of that , he wasn't performing well on the field. There were talks that he will be thrown out of the team. And I wasn't the only one he was going out with. He was going out with his captains sister too, but nobody knew. And when that video of ours released , his captain vowed to throw him off the team and make sure that he never gets to play. And then the ones from whom he had taken money from were on his head . He was never a strong character and couldn't give in to this pressure. So he chose the easy way out. And co incidentally the video released just before he planned to kill himself. So he happily put it on me so that you would never think lowly of him.
Aditya Hooda, hum maante hai humne galti ki thi lekin humne kisi ki jaan nhi li thi. Dost the hum aapke Aditya, ek baar pooch lete humse aapko sab bata dete. Itna bada dhoka dene ki zaroorat bhi nhi padti.Aur agar humara yakeen nhi hai toh apni behen se pooch li jiyega.'

She took one last look at him and left the place leaving Aditya shattered. He couldn't gather his thoughts because so much had happened that night. Aditya could just fathom in all this , that he had just lost someone very precious and he couldn't probably ever get it back.

So my readers, did you like this chapter? Please do tell me your reviews and comments. Do vote. Lots of love to you ❤️❤️❤️