Intertwined Fates -- An IPKKND FanFic

Payal And Akash

Akash Singh Raizada's first impression of Payal Pansare was that she was very pretty. When she arrived to interview with them at Di's recommendation, he had not been able to say a single word. He'd been too busy trying to control the mad beating of his heart.

And it had gotten worse as he got to know her better. At first, she was just a pretty girl with the soft voice. But then as he saw her work and interact with other people, he'd observed a quiet grace that was embedded in her very being. He could no longer think of her as just pretty when her beauty blossomed before his eyes every time he saw her.

He had no idea, though, of the price that Payal had paid for this grace and dignity. Things like these came after trials and tribulations. Payal had seen her fair share of these: when she grew up without a mother, when her in-laws demanded a car for jahez at the last minute and the wedding was broken off, when her father had succumbed to a heart attack three days later.

Some days, when she let herself think about it, she wanted to scream. She wanted to glare at the skies and demand to know why the universe had dealt her such a heavy hand. She wanted to stop the world from moving on so she could sit and grieve for what could have been.

But she did no such thing. Instead, she pushed herself through school, made a home for herself in her Buaji's house and turned her passion for fashion into a designing career. And it was this simultaneous acceptance and resistance to her lot in life that gave Payal the hidden strength that Akash found so attractive.

The fire burned just as brightly on the other side. While Payal was sensitive, she was not overly passionate. She knew how to keep her emotions in check and while she liked most people, she only had strong emotional attachments to Buaji and Khushi. What she felt for Akash was something completely out of the norm for her.

Payal had found men attractive before. She'd had crushes. She'd even thought that she'd been in love with her ex-fiance. But never, at first sight, had someone affected her so thoroughly and strongly. He wasn't even the most attractive member of their company and yet every morning when she arrived to work, his was the face that her eyes sought out. He wasn't charming either--he stuttered and mumbled and blushed awkwardly and still, she found herself memorizing the conversations that they had, replaying and analyzing them as she lay in bed at night.

She was ashamed of how she felt. How could she feel like this for someone she barely knew? And that too, someone so out of her league?

Her shame kept her quiet and she didn't even tell Khushi about how she felt--until that Diwali party. Khushi had been complaining about the party ever since she'd accepted the invitation but Payal had secretly been grateful. She desperately needed to do something that didn't involve working in the office (where Akash was always there) and staying at home (where she couldn't stop thinking about Akash). This seemed like a perfect opportunity to distract herself, if only for a night.

Fate had other plans, however. They'd been "introduced" to the Raizadas by Khushi's wannabe boss soon after they got to the party. She'd managed to hold herself together for the first few minutes in front of Khushi and Akash's family. But then Akash had asked her if she wanted a drink, and she knew she shouldn't but she couldn't resist and she went off with him.

It was the first time they were having a conversation outside of work, observed Payal nervously as she took a sip of her soda. "You look beautiful, Payal Ji," said Akash, triggering both their blushes.

She lowered her eyes shyly. "Thank you, Sir. You look nice, too."

"You don't have to call me sir right now. We're not in the office."

She shouldn't but as always, when it came to this man, any resistance she had crumbled. "Okay, Akash Ji," she said, a thrill shooting through her as she said his name for the first time.