Hey guys Bela is back again………..Thanks a lot for your response to the previous part. So I won’t blabber much, let’s ‘get down to business’ as Sanskaar says ??
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I stared at the newspaper. The picture was taken by someone outside the cafe. Paparazzi….probably. I read the rest of the article quickly:
Last evening, the famous business tycoon Sanskaar Maheshwari was spotted hanging out with a mystery girl in a posh cafe. On investigating, it was found out that it was Ragini Gadodia, daughter of famous industrialist Shekhar Gadodia and the heiress to the Gadodia empire. So is romance brewing in between these two?
Says a source, “Ragini and Sanskaar are often found to be hanging out together in college. He even visits her home frequently. So it isn’t much of a shock, if they are really dating.”
It is to be noted that Sanskaar Maheshwari is completing his MBA from the same college where his rumoured pretty ladylove studies. If the rumours are true, we congratulate this cute pair for their happiness and hope that they spend a great future together.
I was frowning while reading the article. Who the HELL was this source? Probably some despo in college. Or a servant of the house. Anyways, seems like our plan is already on……………..
“Ragini ma’am, a parcel has come for you. Here it is.” Santu, a member of our staff said. He handed me a beautiful rose bouquet and a gift box. I checked the bouquet and found a small card. Before I could read it, Maa snatched it from me and went to Dad, giggling uncontrollably.
“Dekhiye Ji……..it reads,
‘To the fairest of them all,
O, my love’s like a red red rose
That’s newly sprung in June:
O my love’s like a melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
Dear Ragini, life is brief but love is long. Thank you for being beside me in this long and beautiful journey.
Yours forever,
Sanskaar.’
“Oh my God! So romantic! See, he has compared you to red roses and has even sent a bouquet. And you sing and play music, he compares you to a melody. This is so cute! Aww……….” Maa sighed happily while Dad smiled looking at her. I was blushing furiously. Why did he send this cheesy poem and these roses? Huh. Overdramatic!
I opened the gift box and found a heart shaped pendant with an R?S in it. Maa almost fainted when she saw it and made me wear it forcefully. I took up the roses, card and the gift box and went to my room. I locked the door and looked at the things helplessly.
My phone beeped. It was a message from Sanskaar:
S: Hey! Got the gifts?
I: Are you crazy? Who writes such cheesy lines? And this pendant……
S: I had no choice. The journos have been following me lately to take an interview about the new deal I cracked. One of them saw us at the cafe and printed the story. I had to act quickly. Didn’t occur to me that you could say no till I had sent the gifts. So is it a Yes?
I: Do I have a choice??
S: You always have a choice Don.?
I: Stop calling me Don! I am your gf now!?
S: YES!!!!!!!! Mission on!?. Now listen. About the makeover. Come to my house. Done?
I: Yeah?
And so, I officially became Sanskaar’s girlfriend……………….*shudders*
I went to his house and entered through the backdoor. This was the first time I was seeing his house. It was beautiful. A great blend of modern and ornate. The furniture was in well shape, the decor was classy and the rooms were airy. It was a nice place to be in.
“Don………I mean, Ragini?” Sanskaar came up from behind. I looked at him. When will this guy stop looking hot? This time, it was a snug close fitted full sleeves grey T-shirt, with dark blue denims. The outline of his abs was visible. I tried not to gawk at them.
“So, you gonna make me over? I always knew you were a primp……..” I smirked at him. He smirked back.
“I showed your photo to various stylists but they closed their businesses when I told them that they had to do your makeover! Said that they are experts, not God!” He shot back. “That was a good one!” I told him with a smile. He smiled back.
“Miss Donna, the hired stylist for you would start working after a fortnight. Her daughter is ill.” He said. I nodded.
“Till then, Miss Gadodia, I will be your stylist!” He said chirpily. I smiled.
“Now we won’t give you a drastic makeover. It would look suspicious. Subtle changes would work better. I consulted Donna and she agrees. Her advice is to do away with the top knot.” He said. I touched my knot fondly. Oh dear……………
An hour later, we reached college together. Everyone was staring at us, some in disdain while some threw knowing smiles at us. Sanskaar smiled beautifully while I smiled too.
Day 1, I was wearing a pink crop top with blue denim shorts. And my usual white sneakers. The hoops were still there. The only difference was the lack of wristbands and my hairstyle. My hair was in a French braid today.
“You sure I don’t look funny?” I whispered to him. Sanskaar smirked. “You always look funny. Today, a little bit less.” He said. I punched him lightly and he side hugged me and we both smiled. Onlookers emitted an “Aww………….”. “It is working!” Sanskaar whispered in my ear. I nodded to him.
We entered the canteen and everybody went silent. Sanskaar held my hand and whispered to me. “Ready? Remember what all I have told you. All the best!” I took a deep breath and nodded. Then, we walked to the table where the Elitista sat, with the additional partners.
“So………you guys are really an item? I thought that it was just a false report!” Arjun said, looking between us. I smiled while Sanskaar said, “They caught us on our first date.”
Bulbul, Sam and Radhika smiled widely. I looked around. Kabir had a smile on his face while Karan was looking at me in confusion. Arjun was still looking between us. Purab was smirking and was making a heart with his hands while Neil was sulking. Laksh was looking at me in disbelief. I noticed that Swara was missing.
“Umm……Rags? You are looking different today……….” Karan said in confusion. I smiled at him. “No top knot. A French braid instead.” I said. He smiled in realisation.
“Abbey kaise dost hain hum? We haven’t even congratulated her! Congrats Ragini! A good catch!” Sam said and winked at me. I blushed while Sanskaar squeezed my hand. This was noticed by everyone and they all grinned, save Laksh. We took our seats.
“Umm……..didn’t you hate him?” Laksh asked me. I looked at Sanskaar then looked at Laksh and said, “I DID. Then I realised that I like him. He asked me out, I said yes.”
“Hate to love. How cool!” Radhika said and looked at Arjun who smiled. They had had a similar story where Radhika initially hated Arjun and vice versa. But as they say, there is a thin line between love and hate and their hatred transformed into love when Arjun helped her in treating her sick grandmother. They have been together for two years now.
“You are looking good today Rags. And you both look good together. So Neil, give me my winning prize!” Kabir said. I looked at him in confusion.
Purab explained. “They had a bet on whether the s*xual tension between you two would break or not. Kabir said that you two would get together while Neil was adamant that you both will never be together. And Kabira has won. Clear.”
I stared at them in shock. They were having bets on whether Sanskaar and I would get together? Neil gave me a look. “Don’t start a lecture, I have already lost my bike for a week because of you! I wish Laksh had participated too. But that bas**** just watched from the sidelines and laughed whenever Kabir said that you two were going to end up together.”
Sanskaar gave me a look. I nodded. Of course, Laksh feels that only a blind fool, or someone really desperate would approach me. And, I thought with a smirk, Sanskaar was neither. At least he wasn’t desperate for me.
We talked for a while and soon Swara joined us. On being told about Sanskaar and I, her jaw dropped to the floor. I hid a smirk and looked at Sanskaar. He smirked at me. Throughout our chat, I could feel Laksh looking at me. I was getting a bit uncomfortable. Sanskaar noticed and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I smiled up at him.
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“So, how was the day?” Sanskaar asked me as he gobbled up the laddoos Maa had sent.
We were in his house, discussing my makeovers and our plans. I was sitting on the loveseat while he was sprawled on the couch.
“It was good. Other than Laksh’s irritation with me. I felt bad. He didn’t talk to me the entire day.” I replied.
“He is probably jealous………..it is good for you. You speak normally with him.” He advised. He put another laddoo in his mouth. “Hmm……this is delicious!”
“Maa and Dad are very happy that you and I are ‘dating’. I feel sorry for them.” I said.
“Can’t do anything about it. They like Laksh too……..so it doesn’t matter who you stay with.” He replied. “Now tell me, Don, do you know how to cook? I know how to bake but cooking is not my arena.”
“Nah. Not Indian food. I can only make pasta, pizza, burgers, sandwiches and such stuff. The only thing I know about Indian cooking is how to make dough.” I replied.
“Of course! You are such a gundi, that you would love to beat that dough until you have satisfied yourself. And how does it matter if you can’t cook………….pakati to achha hi ho!” He said sneakily. I glared and threw a cushion at him which he caught. He started laughing hard.
I looked at him. He looked so much younger and better when he laughed. Usually, Sanskaar looks suave, s*xy, handsome and hot. But when he smiled or laughed, he looked young, happy, boyish.
He wiped his tears. “So, what do you think? What changes in your look tomorrow?” He asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe a change of hairstyle again and a slight difference in the clothes?” I said. Sanskaar nodded. “Yep. Colour. You need to wear different colours. And you need to accessories your look differently. Not too differently. Just a bit of a change here and there.” He nodded.
He came to drop me home. “Keep the window of your room open. I will come and select tomorrow’s outfit!” He said as he came inside to drop me and thank Maa for the laddoos. I looked at him as if he was crazy. He winked.
After bearing with my parents’ over enthusiasm, he took his leave. I came with him till the gate. He took a U-turn and went below the window to my room. Then, he started climbing on the pipe as I watched in fascination from below.
He gestured to me to open the window. I rushed back upstairs and let him in. He came inside and smiled goofily.
“You are crazy, do you know that?” I asked him. He shook his head. “Nice room…..” He said as he looked around.
I showed him my walk-in closet. It was stacked with clothes and accessories. Most of them were filled with crop tops, T-shirts, shorts, jackets, slacks, shirts, pants etc. However, a section or two contained those clothes which I was forced sometimes to wear at parties. His eyes fell on the anarkali which I had worn when we first met. He smiled looking at it.
After almost half an hour of searching and matching, he finalized on a bottle green tank top, sky blue shirt and a pair of ripped denim shorts. When I tried it on, I realised that it looked quite fashionable. The shirt was worn over the tank top and was open. “The top knot would look brilliant with it.” I said to him. He shook his head vigorously. “Even if it does, forget it!” He said.
Placing me in front of the vanity, he started googling for some chic hairstyles. Finally, he decided that a high ponytail would look classic. Paired with my large hoops, a silver watch, and a brown leather sling bag and my brown leather boots, I looked very well. Sanskaar sat back in satisfaction as he looked me over. “You aren’t half bad looking!” He said. I thanked him sarcastically for this and he laughed. He went out and I changed into my night pajamas.
We talked for a while and then he left. As I laid my head on the pillow, I realised that I was having fun, being his girlfriend. I smiled and slowly drifted off to sleep.
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It has been two weeks and Laksh is still avoiding me. It is getting on my nerves. I decided to do something about it. During a free period, I pulled him into an empty classroom and closed the door. I stood in front of him with my hands on my hips and glared at him. He looked everywhere but at me.
“Lucky? What is going on? Why are you avoiding me?” I asked him. He didn’t answer. I shook him hard and shouted, “LUCKY! I AM speaking to you, you duffer! Answer me.”
“What? You are talking to me? Really? Am I even your friend now?”
I stepped back. What does he mean? Why is he talking like that?
“Rags……I thought I was your best friend. And yet, I had to get to know from a f***ing newspaper that you are in a relationship! What happened Rags? Why did you not tell me?”
‘Because I didn’t get to know about it myself until the article came out!’ I thought to myself. I looked down in guilt.
“Ragini………we are chaddi buddies! We swam together naked when you had a flat chest and I had a small winkie……………….but leave that now. How does it matter? We have clearly drifted apart so much that you didn’t even find it necessary to tell me. Honestly speaking, I don’t like him. I mean, when he could get any girl here, why would he choose YOU?” He said.
Something inside me snapped. “And why, tell me,can he NOT choose me? What is wrong with me? Am I not a woman? Hell, it is his choice if he wants to be with a woman, a man,a chick or a tomboy! Who are YOU to interfere?” I asked him angrily.
“See! He has come between us now! You are shouting at me because of him. He has ruined our friendship. And when he leaves you…………”
“Why would I leave her?” A cold voice came from behind me. I swung around and saw Sanskaar standing in the doorway, with his hands in his pockets. He strode confidently towards us and stood between Laksh and I. “Why would I leave Ragini?” He asked again. Laksh glared at him. Sanskaar glared back.
I was worried. So I came in between them. “Laksh, I would talk to you later. Sanskaar, let us leave. You said you would take me somewhere today. Let’s go.” I said to Sanskaar. He looked down at me. I detected something in his eyes which confused me. He stepped back and held my hand. Together, we walked away.
I didn’t look back at Laksh even once.
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“This is where you wanted to bring me today?” I asked Sanskaar who was enjoying the expression on my face. He smirked and nodded.
We were in a mall, buying clothes. New clothes and accessories for my wardrobe. I looked in disgust at the various stacks of dresses, suits, saris, jumpsuits, frilly and laced tops etc. I felt ready to puke.
“You are also a Marwari, aren’t you? Shall we buy you a sari and a borla from here? You know, for future!” Sanskaar remarked. I looked at him angrily. He smirked again.
“Mr. Maheshwari?” A buxom middle aged lady asked. Sanskaar turned to her. “Oh! Miss Donna? Pleasure to meet you. This, is my girlfriend Ragini.” He indicated to me. I shook hands with her. She gasped.
“Oh my God! She is so pretty! So beautiful, see the eyes, the skin…..so smooth and such a fine texture. I would love to style you.” She said. I smiled at her.
We looked for clothes for me. Sanskaar, Jerk King, brought me all XXL and XL clothes while Donna brought me XS clothes. I sighed at them and fetched S clothes for myself.
After determining my size and my figure,Donna set to work. She collected a huge pile of clothes in ten minutes and showed them to us. I had to admit, they were rather good.
There was a baby pink jumpsuit, a cream coloured fitted dress, a magenta sleeveless kurta with white palazzos, a light blue breezy tube top, a white fitted crop top with a white short skirt which flared out, a royal blue plunging top with orange shorts, a satin strapless fitted crop top with a high waisted satin skirt which clung to the skin, a floral breezy dress, white crisp shirt, fitted jeans, black and navy blue blazers and what not!
Sanskaar looked at the clothes. “Hmm……….not bad! But Donna, you were supposed to bring clothes which actually FIT her!” He said. I threw him a dark look. “They will fit me!” I said. “They won’t.” He countered. We bickered for a minute and then, I tried all the dresses to show him that they did. Sanskaar admitted defeat. I grinned smugly.
“Oh dear…………….I just found another dress! See?” Donna came back. I checked the dress.
It was a white full sleeved lace dress. The dress was white but the sleeves were lace, as was the neck. It had a zip behind and it came an inch above my knees. It was beautiful.
As I tried it on, I heard Sanskaar saying, “Ragini……when you are done with the dress, give it back to me!” I replied, “Why? You also wanna try it?” A loud Ewwwwwwww was heard and I laughed gaily.
Sanskaar paid for all the dresses despite my protests. When finally he couldn’t take more, he said, “Save your money for the makeover. The facial, manicure, pedicure and the hair. THAT is where most of the work would be done and you would have to empty your pockets!” he said. I hit him on his head and he scowled at me.
Sanskaar, the jerk king, has seen me in many awkward positions. One of them was when he came unannounced and saw Maa giving me a ‘Jadibooti Oil Ki Champi’. He had laughed his head off when he saw me sitting cross legged on the floor, with Maa rubbing that smelly oil on my head. So when he said that I would be getting a hair treatment, I had laughed it off. Because my hair was brilliant, Thank you very much!
Donna selected many accessories for me and a few shades of lipsticks to go with the new dresses. I already have an elaborate make up vanity at home which comes into use in all those parties. Seems like I would have to use them now too! Sigh!
Next, Sanskaar dragged me to a Beauty Shop to get me the actual make over. While that witch waxed my arms, legs and plucked my eyebrows, Sanskaar enjoyed a hair cleansing. Next, we both had facials. My hair was being washed alongside. After that, both of us had pedicures and manicures too. Sanskaar’s eyebrows were already plucked so he saved on it. My hair was styled and given a trimming to avoild split ends. The lady present complimented me on my already flawless skin and beautiful hair and I smirked to Sanskaar who looked at the woman as if she was nuts.
We had dinner outside too. Maa and Dad were out on a trip. We talked over dinner about random things, Sanskaar made fun of my body shape while I made fun of his hairy arms and legs. He made fun of my nose and I made fun of his eyebrows. This went on throughout the dinner and we laughed and ate together. He dropped me home and helped me in shifting the shopping bags to my room. We plopped down on the bed in fatigue.
“I had a really good time today IC!” I said to him. He was lying beside me on my bed with his eyes closed and his arms above his head. He popped one eye open. “Good to know that SOMEONE had fun! Because I am traumatised for life, seeing you in that horrible green facial mask!” He said in his usual poker faced manner. I hit him on his chest lightly and smiled while he started chuckling.
“Would Laksh be okay?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. He is jealous. But he is too stupid to realise why. But tomorrow, when you go out like that, I am sure our plan would really start working. Did you see, Swara smiled at me today!”
I frowned. I didn’t like that girl. What was he so happy about? A smile? She smiles at everyone. Huh.
“Yes. She smiled at you just like I smile at you. The ‘God give him a brain’ smile!” I said. He laughed hard.
“Happy two weeks anniversary Ragini!” Sanskaar whispered. I smiled at him. “Happy two weeks anniversary to you too, Sanskaar.” I said.
“Goodnight Miss Gadodia.”
“Goodnight Mr. Maheshwari.”
And we drifted off to sleep, like that, together on the same bed, dreaming of a beautiful future.
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There. Done. Sorry for not being able to reply to all the comments quickly. But time is less. I have to manage studies, this SS and another FF on Raglak. Hope you guys get it.
Thanks for the support. Keep reading, keep smiling and keep commenting?