Time And Love-PreRish ff

Chapter 6

"It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not."

― Andre Gide,

Time knows how to test your patience and your love for someone, yet true love only grows with time. It does not matter that the person you love has been with you all the time or not. The past two weeks had seemed longer to her than the last eight years. Prerna did not know that love would eventually overcome her anger when it came to Rishabh Bajaj. She was still angry with him but the reasons were different today. The man had gone radio silent on her after sending that letter full of emotion, love, and threat. The letter confessed his love and threw the gauntlet for the challenge as well. The man was a living, breathing contradiction. His Royal Highness Rishabh Samay Bajaj needed to work on his communication skills. She was worried for his safety, in love, the worry was a two-way street. He could have made a call to simply ask if she was okay or tell her that he was safe and protected. He would call his mother, her parents, even Samar Kaka for updates but won't talk to her. Prerna called herself a fool for expecting that level of maturity from him.

"Are you sure that you do not want anything fancier?" Ruhi asked Prerna again, eyeing her yellow Banarasi Sari doubtfully. "Everyone wears designers to Arya's event, be it domestic or international."

"Kalyani Ma gave it to me, it's beautiful," Prerna replied, "I do not want anything fancy. This is enough for me. No one there is coming to see me." Clothes were the last thing on her mind. Prerna had been a nervous wreck ever since they had landed in Mumbai. She will definitely come face to face the man who made her both love and hate him at the same time.

"Do not worry Prerna, Bhai will come around." Ruhi tried to reassure her friend, "You matter a lot to him. He will not be able to stay away much longer."

Prerna smiled at her friend as she got up to get ready for Arya's premiere. He stayed away for eight years and never looked back once, Prerna thought. She had the same anklets in her that Rishabh had gifted her eight years ago, as a celebration of his success.

Prerna's mind went to their last day together eight years ago. He had made his first million and her mother had hosted a big family dinner in celebration. Rishabh was her mother's soul child. It used to drive her crazy that her mother and Rishabh did not even need words to communicate with each other. They just knew what the other person was feeling. Rishabh has brought everyone gifts. Hers was a pair of anklets. Everyone was happy. The Bajaj's were going to move into the house Rishabh had built for them in Bangalore. Rishabh had spent the entire evening trying to convince her father to move with them.

She had managed to steal him from the family for a while and confessed her feelings for him. She had poured her heart out to him confident that he had feelings for her as well. He just needed a push and a reassurance. But the words he said next had been ringing in her ears every day for the past eight years, "I had just made my first million Prerna. The first of many more to come. Our worlds are different now and paths separate. You do not belong in my world. You are too naive and your world too small. I can pick and choose any girl I want so I will pick someone who is more compatible. I want someone who is sophisticated and sharp not some plain jane. You and I can not be us."

He finished what he had to say, walked out of the room, and her life. The calm with which he had broken her heart still amazed her.

Arya scanned the crowd and saw that the place was filled with every major and important face of the Hindi film industry. Arya Bajaj was now a name that everyone wanted to be associated with but that was not the case six years ago. He had the money thanks to his brother but no one wanted to read his script, act in it, or direct it. All they saw was a rich nineteen-year-old whose older brother had given him some money to keep him occupied and out of his way. They did not know two things, first- Arya Bajaj was here to stay and the second- Rishbahi Bajaj does not make an unprofitable deal even if it is his brother asking for money. They would not work for him so he created competition for all of them. Arya went to every film school, university, theatre, and local theatre in the country and curated talent from people in front of the camera to behind, singers, composers, songwriters, writers to technical staff. Everyone was new with zero experience, just ambition, and hard work. The movie made it big because the audience wanted to see a good story on screen and they rooted for the underdogs offscreen. Royal Misfit Studios was now a pioneer in promoting new talent and everyone wanted a piece of Arya Bajaj but even today whenever his older brother attends any of his premieres he turns into a nervous wreck.