It takes only one second,

For everything to change.

What we believed in, what we lived for

Suddenly none of it makes sense.

Things go right, things go wrong

Every nook of the clock has something new to offer.

A second is all it takes,

For everything to change forever.

When two striking worlds collide,

Making a raging thunderstorm come to fore,

One's beliefs are utterly wiped off

Leaving nothing the same like before.

So today it begins,

The first jolt of changing reality..

Will it damage all that's left?

Or will it restore their sanity?

..

.

New Delhi

"Mmm..."

She moaned seductively as his lips did wonders, kissing her jaw line, followed by her neck, nibbling at her earlobes, and everything else that quite vividly defined the phrase: making out.

This man, the crude and calculative businessman, and an equally calculative boyfriend, surely knew how to get his way, and 99% of the time he got it effortlessly, for women were always smitten by his good looks, his charming and charismatic smile, the wealth that spoke volumes and of course, his family name,Raizada.

And so, today when his present girlfriend, Miss. Sheetal Kapoor, a popular swimsuit model for AR fashions was all game for showing him some attitude since he forgot to attend her birthday party last night, she was totally in for a disappointment since he didn't even care to apologize.

Sure, it made her upset, but could she really let it show when her stylist had clearly warned her to not ruin her look of the day, which was very important for a latest brand shoot? Of course not.

But when he had entered his cabin with the same old yet never old impeccably desirable aura, she was once again trapped in a space making her forget about feigning all that anger and attitude, letting only her wantons do the talking.

But what surprised her to infinity and beyond was when he approached her, and kissed her passionately, catching her totally off guard, since this was the first time he had initiated physical intimacy that too in his office all by himself.

When they both parted in desperate need of air, and she still struggled with her hitched breaths, she could see his signature smirk etched on his face.

Quirking her brows, she averred between her trembled breaths, "You seem to be in a very good mood? What's so pleasing for Arnav Singh Raizada?"

He instantly raised one of his eyebrows, looking at her, as if thinking something deeply, before he replied, "You will know soon. But you know right, they will know first."

Sheetal sighed at that statement of his, wrapping her hands around his neck, and said with a sarcastic tone blended with her voice, "I really don't understand you ASR."

Arnav: Good.

Sheetal: I am serious, ASR. I mean, here I am, your, what? Maybe 49th girlfriend ofconvenience, readily in favor of your belief of no strings attached in this so called relationship of ours, partly because even I don't believe in commitment at this point of my career, but wholly because you don't believe in relationships, love, whatever, AT ALL! Yet, you always want to share everything, every good news, with them first, with your PARENTS! I don't understand this paradox. On one hand, you worship your parents, their relationship, and here you don't believe in love at all. How does it make sense?

Arnav sighed as Sheetal uttered her rants without a pause. When she was finished, he gave her time to breathe and when he saw her settle, he simply stated,

"That's why they say models shouldn't run their brains too much, Sheetal Kapoor."

She was shocked.

She knew what this relationship was and more than that she had willingly signed up for it, of course for the insignificant amount of publicity and exposure it would give her to always be up and about in the eyes of paparazzi spotting her with the business tycoon of AR empire, Arnav Singh Raizada.

But after spending six months with him as his so-called girlfriend, she still wondered what was this man. To him, his parents were his everything, yet he didn't believe in relationships at all. And so she had thought to speak her mind any given day if she had a chance. Today was one such day, and hence, she spilled what she wanted to.

She was still trying to recover from her surprised stance, when she heard him speak,

"And to answer your question in short, my parents' love is eternal. Agreed, I find commitment, relations, love, and all this to be gibberish, but my parent's love, their marriage is the only thing that still makes those so-called words bearable. And who knows, maybe later in life, I may even think of giving this whole-deal of a thing called marriage a try!"

.

Sheetal was beyond happy at his words. This was the first time he had spoken so much, shared something truly with her. And his last sentence truly made her elated for some unknown reasons.

Did ASR just say that at some point in life he may think of giving marriage a shot? Wow! He's indeed in a great mood!' She thought.

"Anyway, you better hurry up for the shoot Sheetal. James and his team is already ready in the studio downstairs."

He said, back in his no-play-all-work stern mode and to that Sheetal only nodded and left his cabin hurriedly. She didn't want to face the wrath of ASR, for she knew how serious he was when it came to work stuff.

.

Arnav looked at his cabin and felt abundance of pride flood in his veins.

In the 25 years of his life, he had achieved beyond ordinary. Of course, his father, Ajay Singh Raizada, the chairperson of the AR Empire had a big role to play in everything, but no one could deny that it was Arnav, who had made AR soar in the clouds of success, consistently proving himself to be the topmost influential businessman in the world.

And now, he had all the more reasons to rejoice.

He smiled at that recollection, because this was going to be a perfect and his most-awaited golden feather on the cap. And he couldn't share it with anyone else before he did so with his parents.

And since, his father, Ajay was already in the office, he would tell him first. His mother Maya, would have to be the second one to know this time.

He chuckled at that thought knowing very well that his mom was going to give some dramatic reaction when she would know that she was not the first person to know of his son's achievement this time, unlike all other times. But he totally knew how to convince her.

So without further ado, Arnav rushed out of his cabin, his steps hurriedly heading towards his father's cabin on the other side of the corridor.

He simply couldn't contain this excitement anymore. Sure he was the cruel, manipulative, no-nonsense businessman, but at heart, he was still a parents' son, he had this boundless joy flooding inside him just at the mere thought of how much happy his parents were going to be.

His eagerness surpassed all boundaries as he caught hold of the cabin door's handle and without a second thought, pushed it wide open, only to get the most scandalously devastating shock of his life, as he saw his father Ajay Singh Raizada, in an extremely compromising position with one of his female co-workers, Shazia.

And the sight rendered him speechless, as he stood stupefied at the connotations of what this could mean.

..

.

Pennsylvania

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!"

If the word joy imprinted in the dictionary could have an illustration of it etched too with the definition, then it would have definitely considered approaching this girl, who was shrieking with glee on top of her voice, jumping like a little rabbit in her giant room.

Well, Gupta Mansion was witnessing another day of its beloved daughter Khushi Gupta's endless craziness.

She held the piece of paper tight in her hands as she continued hopping like a bunny, looking like a crazy and funny cartoon character right out of a TV screen and all Nancy, the ever loving and loyal housemaid of Gupta Mansion could do was laugh at the 21 year old's funny antics.

"Now Khushi baby, will you tell me why are you THIS happy that you are jumping like there's no tomorrow?"

Nancy asked politely, while Khushi only smiled wide, flashing the other side of the paper in her hand.

"GOD NANCY! My dream of being a fashion designer is coming TRUE! I just finished my graduation and guess WHAT? The world-renowned fashion house that's opening its branch in Texas, where I had applied for my first job-I got SELECTED!! CAN YOU BEAT THAT? Woo-Hoo!!!"

She shouted like a teenager, hugging all her soft toys on the bed, especially her dolls, her favorite toys since childhood.

Nancy was happily surprised, seeing the most pampered princess of the mansion love this achievement of hers and all she could do was hug her close, caressing her long wavy brown tresses.

"My little Khushi baby. Why are you growing so fast? Aww, my child. I am sooo happy for you."

Nancy said, as her eyes turned moist.

She had served the house for over 20 years now and seen every aspect of it. Khushi was the closest to her, and everyone could spot it in the blink of a moment that she possessed a heart of gold and in Khushi's dictionary, there existed nothing called sadness. There was joy and only joy.

And that's what her name denoted too.

"Aww, Nancy. Don't worry. When I shift to Texas, I will still call you more than I call mom and dad, pakka promise."

She pinched her neck, validating her promise and Nancy only chuckled at that sight.

Displaying her wide grin one last time to Nancy, Khushi rushed out of her room, her laughter echoing in the huge mansion as she ran into her parents room.

Before they could even show their surprise at seeing such an overly-excited Khushi, she blurted at one go,

"Mom Dad! OMG! OMG! OMG! I am SELECTED! I am shifting to Texas next month! Woo-hooo!!!"

Sarvesh and Shagun Gupta were shocked out of their wits.

They totally knew what their daughter was referring to at the moment, but they were too shocked to react. Few days back when she had told them about her applying for some jobs in the country, they had taken it trivially.

Both of them being two of the top cardiac surgeons in the country, they didn't even get the point of why their daughter wanted to apply for job and shift elsewhere, when their sources could easily have her onboard somewhere in Pennsylvania itself.

But now that she was so excited, so happy, they really didn't want to break her heart. But Sarvesh being the ever protective father still tried, "Princess, you sure you want to do this? I mean you are only 21. You can still explore a lot you know. We know you love fashion, but see, you can study more. Why go to Texas and do a job? I mean, it can happen later."

Khushi only grinned at her father's words, knowing very well, he was trying to cajole her, but she was oh-so-ready and oh-so-excited for this new adventure.

"I know, I know daddy! But trust me, I really want to take this up! I want to give it a try. I have studied sooo much already, now it's time for me to see my designs practically worn by people. Wow! It would be so much coool na?"

Sarvesh chuckled at his innocent daughter's theatrical remarks while Shagun went forward and hugged her close.

"My baby. If this is what makes you happy, go for it. No one's stopping you. We are always going to be there for you."

Khushi cuddled more into her mother's embrace, her excitement only soaring high with each passing minute, and it got another icing on the cake, when her elder sister Kia too joined the mother-daughter duo in a group hug.

"Awww, my baby sister! Congratulations!"

She pulled Khushi's cheeks and the room was once again filled with loud laughter.

.

.

New Delhi

When beliefs falter, the pain hurts you like a thousand knives pricked all over your body. But what worsens the case more is when you realize the ones you believed in, kept you in the dark for so long.

"So you knew ALL of this?"

Arnav gritted through his teeth, as the vein in his temple throbbed dangerously, showing the incessant flow of raw anger rushing through his body.

He waited for the other person to answer but when she didn't utter anything and only nodded in affirmation, he couldn't hold it any longer.

Clenching his fingers into dangerously tight fists, he punched the tall antique vase, making it shatter on the marble floor, crushing into thousands of tiny pieces.

"ARNAV!"

Maya exclaimed in shock seeing her son in that inexplicably dangerous state, but he stopped her in her track, pointing his palm at her.

"Don't you dare step ahead, Mrs. Raizada!"

Maya was beyond shocked hearing her own son address her so cruelly, not even for a second caring that it was his mother he was speaking to.

"Ar.. Arnav, beta, please. We were going to tell you."

She tried to reason, but gulped seeing her son's red bloodshot eyes.

"WHEN? When were you going to tell me, HUH? And WHAT were you going to tell me? That your husband, my father, was screwing some other woman while here I was, thinking that my parents have the most perfect marriage in the world, when all that it is, and was all this way was only a FARCE?"

He shouted.

Maya tried to gather herself, but failed miserably. She knew that when her son would know the truth, this would be his reaction. What she didn't know was the fact that its magnitude would be this grave.

With trembling hands, she tried to reach him, but stopped midway when she saw him turn his face away.

But she still had to say what she wanted to. And so with a guilt-ridden tone, she spoke,

"Arnav I know we have wronged you, we have kept you in the dark. But you were not yet ready for this son. You were so dedicated, so occupied with your work, with AR, that Ajay felt breaking the news of our marriage hitting rock bottom would only hinder your success and he didn't want that."

Arnav flinched at the impact of those words, but didn't show any reaction to his mother. He wanted her to go on and fess up, and so he waited for her to continue.

"Ajay and I.. It's.. it's been years Arnav. I know it hurts you to realize that your parents were only pretend playing all this while and your father has been involved with someone else since the past two years, but Arnav, this is life. It hurt me initially too, but then I made peace with it. This is what happens in our high-society lives, son. But it doesn't mean me or your dad love you any lesser."

Arnav couldn't believe the words that escaped his mother's mouth.

Was she even the same person who she was, or pretended to be till yesterday?

Not able to take it anymore, he roughly turned towards her, and spat,

"Doesn't it matter to you, damn it? That your husband is a bloody cheater?! What kind of a woman are you?!"

Little did he know that his mother's next words were only going to astound him further.

"Yes, it did matter to me Arnav! I am a woman after all, not a doormat! But he didn't cheat on me, at least not literally, because he had come clean about his affair long ago and didn't want to keep me in the dark. But, but.. it was me, who still wanted to stick around and had no qualms in living dual lives, because to me the name and reputation of the Raizadas matter more than anything Arnav. You won't understand this. You are just a young man, with raw passion, energy and the zeal to do so much. So anything I say now, about adjustments, compromises, you won't understand any of it."

"BULLSHIT!"

That's how he retorted.

Everything that he had even a little faith in, love, marriage, relations, trust, all of it dwindled and collapsed like shacks in the remains of a ghost town. His parents' pretense, their lies, their treachery, everything pierced his heart mercilessly, and all that remained of him was an empty soul, with no feelings at all.

When he had spotted Shazia in his dad's arms back in the office, he had shown his deep dark vehement side, something that even he wasn't particularly aware of till today.

All he wanted at that time was rush to his mother, spill out her husband's treacherous acts to her, but what he got in return was an even bigger shock when he came to know that his mother already knew everything, all this while.

"You know what's the worst part, Mrs. Raizada?"

He said in his ice-cold voice, making Maya look at him nervously. She was still reeling in shock after the disclosure that took place minutes ago and what hurt her the most was her son not regarding her as "Mom" anymore.

She waited for him to say what he wanted to and he sure as hell didn't disappoint her.

"The worst part is that all this while, you kept telling me how I should come out of my scandalous one-time tabloid relationships and give love and relationship a chance for at least once, when in reality, your so-called love was getting laid with another woman and you totally didn't even mind all this shit. Heights of hypocrisy, Mrs. Raizada."

Maya was stunned at this remark and averred with disdain,

"No Arnav. Just because our marriage failed, we had love lost, doesn't mean you too should live a life without any feelings. Life is bigger than that Arnav and one day yo-"

"STOP IT!"

He commanded.

Maya knew there was no point in vexing her son further. He was far too distressed with all the revelations. And hence, she decided to end the matter here itself.

"Fine. I will stop it. But Arnav, trust me when I say this. We were going to tell you. We couldn't keep you in the dark. You were busy with your Texas project and we thought it would be better if we told you about it after you were free from the stress of AR's Texas venture."

"Oh then, you would be happy to know Mrs. Raizada. That the Texas deal is done, we are setting up our new fashion house there. And guess what? This was the exact happy news that I was going to give your cheater of a husband today afternoon, when I discovered him making out with his mistress!"

Maya gasped at Arnav's cruel and insulting remarks, but before she could say anything else, he added,

"But you would be happier to know something."

She watched him inquisitively as he took out his cell phone from his pocket and quickly dialed a number.

"Yes Aman. Get the private jet ready. I am flying to Texas tomorrow. I want you to keep my penthouse ready there. I am shifting my base. I am moving to Houston,  Texas."

And all she felt was a lone tear escape her eye.

Her son wasn't the same anymore.

..

.

Pennsylvania

"Done."

"Done."

"And this one also, done."

Khushi enthusiastically ticked off points from her checklist as she packed her bags, one after another, and Nancy watched her interestingly, chuckling time to time at her pouts and self-talks.

"Khushi baby, you still have 20 days to go to Texas. The new office hasn't even opened yet. Why are you packing from now?"

She asked with a wide smile, while Khushi only grinned and said, "Oho, Nancy! I have SO much to pack. That's why I started early. And I also need to buy gifts for Alisha. Please don't forget to remind me."

"Of course I will remind you. I think part of the reason Mr. and Mrs. Gupta still agreed for you to go to Texas is because your childhood friend Alisha stays there and you will stay in her apartment."

Nancy stated as a matter of a fact.

Khushi thoughtfully nodded at that inference of Nancy's and once again devoted her attention to her bags, the satisfactory smile not leaving her visage at all.

But 10 seconds later, her smile did falter a bit as she saw her older brother Kunal give her a look from the door side, before disappearing into his own room.

Khushi sighed at that, while Nancy only caressed her hair softly. "I don't understand Nancy. What's his problem? He can never be happy with anything, can he? How can someone be so GLOOMY all the time? It's too much pressure!"

Nancy once again smiled at her innocence and said, "It's okay Khushi baby. Everyone has their own way of life. Kabir sir has always kept to himself, so it's okay. It doesn't mean that he loves you any less."

"Hmm."

Khushi pouted and her smile returned in a flash of a second, as she pushed some more stuff into her already bludgeoning bag.

"Oh my god!"

Nancy exclaimed with wide eyes, immediately catching Khushi's attention, as she quickly asked, "What happened Nancy? What's wrong?"

"Khushi baby? Why are you packing these soft toys and these dolls in your luggage?"

The old lady asked with surprise.

Khushi only sighed in relief, and kissed her fluffy toy, before saying, "Oh come on Nancy! Don't call them toys. See Mr. Snuggles here is sooo cute. You hurt his feelings. Of course, I will take him with me, and these two other dolls too. They are sooo precious. Awww."

She awed like a baby and Nancy only shook her head, laughing.

"Okay Miss. Khushi. Now if you are done, come down for lunch, okay? Your trip still has 20 days to go."

Nancy stated.

"Eee! 20 days to go! I CAN'T WAIT! TEXAS---PRINCESS OF JOY, KHUSHI GUPTA IS COMING! BETTER BE READY FOR ME!"

Khushi stood tall on her bed, spreading her arms wide as she spoke those words, eagerly waiting for the new phase of her life to start.

Little did she know that this time, it was her turn to have her beliefs erased, faith wiped off.

**