Posted on June 28th, 2017 | Edited on December 5th, 2018

| . . . C H A P T E R - 2.26.1 : G H O S T - F R O M - P A S T . . . |

That evening, I was running late to meet with the group before we headed over to the photographer's studio. I asked at the reception where everyone was since I didn't see anyone around, worrying they had left without me.

The lady in her late forties replied, "They were here but the group just left. I believe it was only five minutes ago. If you cross the street, you should be able to find them."

Thanking her, I took off. I didn't know the address of the place they were heading to, or the name of the studio. I just wished that if I walked fast enough, I would see someone from the group.

Crossing the street when the signal turned green for walkers, I speed-walked. It was harder to spot them given as there were a lot of people on the street. Not to forget, it was Sunday and people wouldn't leave the opportunity to go out with their families. I walked around a group of family, where the lady was trying to silence her baby, who didn't look older than a year.

I ignored, reminding myself that I was here to look for them, not admire little baby-strangers on the street. People would take me to be a creep. I continued walking and a couple of minutes later, I spotted Payal going through a set of doors, which I understood was a studio. I signed and ran up to them, glad I wasn't wearing heels of any sort, but winter-boots.

She looked surprised seeing me when I entered in, "Hey, what are you doing here? ASR said you were jet-lagged."

Catching on to the lie, I replied, "Yeah, well, here I am. It doesn't sound fair that I stay in while you guys work." Spotting Arnav at the front, I continued, "I'm gonna go let them know I'm here."

After getting a nod from her, I walked up and hooked my arm around Arnav's, shocking him. First, he wasn't aware of who dared to hold his arm. Then, upon seeing it was me, he did a double take since one, he didn't expect me to do that, and two, I was here when Lavanya must have told him I was resting.

I chuckled, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Haven't I?" He replied, taking a second to register my presence. That earned him a slap on his arm. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Yeah, I tried. But it didn't work." I muttered. He picked up the unsaid words. When I looked up at him, there was a strange smile on his face. "What?"

He gave a sly smile and shook his head. "You probably shouldn't hold my hand."

I only shrugged, "I don't care what anyone has to say." Again, he seemed surprised at my casual attitude, and I couldn't blame him for it. "Anyway, what'd I miss?"

He filled me in while we watched the look-test of every model. Anjali soon joined, sitting in the empty chair. We started talking clothes and designs, looking at the magazine in Anjali's hand. Arnav did what he knew: tuned us out and busied himself with work on tablet instead.

Felix, the photographer, came up. He assumed, "You must be the designer. Felix Cinna." He introduced himself, offering his hand. I smiled and shook his hand.

"Khushi." When he proceeded to kiss my hand, I pulled it out of his grasp. There was no way in hell I was going to allow that, even if he was just showing some chivalry. "You have a nice studio here." I said instead.

"I do, if I say so myself," He grinned, obviously proud what he had done to the place.

Arnav nodded at him, "Felix."

"ASR." Felix turned to acknowledge him. "Good, you're here. We can get started then."

Arnav gave a stiff nod. I noticed tension between the two. For now, not wanting to be in the middle of anything, I pulled myself out of the situation, "Um, excuse me." I walked away to where Payal was, talking to Aman in one corner of the studio. "What's up, you two?"

Payal said, "Nothing, just looking at some of the pics from Felix's last shoot." Aman turned the portfolio in my direction so I could see as well.

It was definitely some good material. No wonder Arnav chose to come all the way to Rome and shoot in actual locations instead of using backgrounds and wallpapers in just another studio in Mumbai. Aakash commented, "I know. Impressive, isn't it?"

"Definitely." I answered. There was something about the way that Felix manipulated with the lights and angles that resulted in each snaps being a masterpiece. Seeing his work, his earlier attempt to flirt with me was long forgotten.

Payal nodded behind me, "I'm thinking that is our last model."

I followed her gaze to see a female giving Arnav a hug. The bright grin on his face reminded me of how he used to be in college. In front of others, he wasn't the most open at displaying affection or giving hugs. I wondered who the model was that brought this out of him. Arnav's eyes found mine, and then parting from the hug, he said something to the girl. Right away, she turned.

I stood stunned. "No way." I whispered.

"You know her?" Aman asked when she started to walk in my direction.

I could not believe she was in front of me. I hadn't thought I would be meeting her again any time soon. Standing right in front of me, she looked different in the clothes she was wearing, but her smile was still just as warm, her strawberry blonde hair and her light sand colored eyes, the same color as her hair. "Khushi." She said my name with affection and opened her arms.

I glanced at Arnav, confused, but accepted the hug. "Jennifer."

She whispered, tightening her grasp around my shoulder, "I missed you."

It felt amazing to see her in front of me again. Parting, I expressed. "I missed you too! What... what are you doing here?"

"Long story. Fill you in later." She said and then looked to my side where Payal and Aman were. "Hi, I'm Jennifer."

The two of them introduced themselves to her, and then Payal repeated Aman's question, "How do you two know each other?"

Jennifer casually answered, "Oh, we know each other since college."

"You're seriously one of the models?" I questioned, still finding that hard to believe. It must have been one heck of a journey for her. From the shelter to being a model.

"Yup! Ofcourse, I owe it all to Arnav, but at first, even I couldn't believe it. When he said you guys were coming here for the shoot, I couldn't wait!" The way she was being careful to not give too much information, I assumed Arnav must have talked to her. "Hey, how about we catch up over dinner tonight?"

I nodded, "I'd love that." We definitely had a lot to talk about.

Felix clapped his hands, getting all of our attention, "Alright, listen up people. All my girls, if you could come up to the front and get your schedules. Depending on what month you have, I also have the dresses to the left. Sign the sheet on the table when Sheetal gives you your dress for the shoot. I have divided each day in three shoots so it's not all a rush and we can have this done in four days and give ASR and his team plenty of time to choose a pic and work on the layout. I expect everything to run on schedule, so don't mess up. Now, let's work some magic, people."

I sent Payal and Aman a quick look as we all got in line to get to work. I, however, took a detour towards Arnav. "So, Jennifer?"

He answered, looking up from the tablet, "Figured I'd let that one be a surprise for you." I grinned at his answer. It was definitely a pleasant surprise. "I take it she invited you to dinner tonight as well?"

I nodded, "Seems like it."

"See you tonight, then." He said, getting up and leaving early - probably so he could go find Aarav that way Lavanya could return to the studio and complete her side of the work. It was amazing how the two worked to look after Aarav, and despite being around all the time, I barely saw the two communicate. I had no idea how they managed it so effectively.

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| . . . C H A P T E R - 2.26.2 : M O T H E R - A N D - C H I L D . . . |

I looked around the hotel restaurant and finding Arnav and Jennifer, I walked towards their table. When I was a few steps away, I heard Jennifer clear her throat. Arnav rolled his eyes, but got up nevertheless to pull a chair out for me. "Happy?" He snapped at Jennifer, who grinned at him.

"Very." She answered as I took a seat. While he pushed it in for me, his hand grazed my back. Through the thin top, the heat easily radiated to me. He didn't seem to realize, as he casually walked back to his seat. She looked between the two of us, and then exhaled happily. "Ah. It's been so long. I swear I've missed you both so much!" Then she scolded me, "And you, I'm a little mad at you. I get that you weren't friends with Arnav, but while you were still in Australia, you could have still visited, you know?"

"I know, I have no excuse. I'm sorry." I apologized. I shouldn't have avoided the shelter simply because I didn't want anything to do with Arnav.

She smiled, accepting it. "Forgiven."

"Now, start talking." I ordered her, curious to know how she is in Rome right now.

"Well, I think about a year after you last visited, Arnav told me about a charity show Anjali di was putting together. I wanted to do something for the cause so I offered to be one of the models. There were a few photographers there who were impressed, Felix being one of them. After the show, he talked to me, asked me if I would like to work with him. Ofcourse, modeling was never one of the options for me, you know? I'd just never thought about it. But, then I thought, why not? I wasn't doing anything at the shelter. Arnav wasn't too happy letting me come all the way to Rome by myself, but I eventually managed to convince him and here I am!"

Arnav scoffed, "I'm still not happy. I don't trust Felix."

Jennifer took his hand in hers, "Hey, I told you to not be so protective. Felix is a harmless flirt, and if anything, he may as well see me as a sister."

I assumed there was an age difference between the two for sure.

Arnav remained on his stance, "Still."

Jennifer shook her head, dropping the idea of convincing him otherwise. "Anyway, your turn Khushi. How did you end up at AR?"

I laughed, "Oh, you'd have to thank Kripa for that. She went behind my back to apply there for me. I have no idea Arnav owned it."

He corrected, "Di owns it."

I gave him a look, "Does it make a difference?" He shrugged his shoulders, knowing it didn't. Either way, it was owned by the family.

Jennifer laughed at the frown he passed along, "Hey, you know, you should come with us to the shelter during Christmas. Since Arnav is in India and I am here, we don't get to visit often. But we make it a point to go during the Holidays. I know for a fact Martha and Annie would love to see you again."

"That actually sounds like a good idea." I said, learning that Arnav went as well. If he was coming along, there was no reason I couldn't go. I looked at him, and he answered in a positive.

"If you want to, sure."

Jennifer grinned, 'Great! Let's keep it a surprise though. And, someone call the waiter before I starve to death."

We all looked around for the nearest employee, but everyone was busy. It was a busy night at the restaurant. After a few minutes, one did come by and we placed our orders before continuing on with random conversations about what we've been doing over the years.

Once again, I was reminded about how easy it was to fall into a conversation with Jennifer. She could make anyone feel comfortable around her. She told me of the various causes she modeled for, and there was a sense of pride that started to fill my heart. I knew that despite Arnav worrying about her, he had to be proud as well. Jennifer had come a long way, and she was using what had happened to her in a positive way to bring about awareness and modeling, but for the right causes.

Even though it was only 10, we called it a night. Both Arnav and I were tired from the long flight and jet lagged. Jennifer left after Arnav called for a cab to take her to her apartment since she lived here. Walking inside the hotel again, we made our way to the elevator.

"You've done an amazing thing with the shelter, you know?" I expressed, leaning against the wall as we waited for it come from the 14th floor it was on currently.

He inhaled deeply before answering, "Yeah, as much as I worry, I know they can't stay there forever. The whole point of it was so they could go out in the world and make the best of their life when they were ready."

I reached for his hand. He glanced down at the contact before looking at me again, "I've never said this, but I am so proud of you and I admire you, Arnav. Not everyone can do what you do."

His smile was sad for some reason, "When we see the things we have... how could I not?"

The elevator dinged, and I pushed myself off the wall. We walked in, but so did two other families who just came out of the restaurant. It caused the elevator to be packed. We were pushed to the back of the box. I was standing across from Arnav in front of him, but I was having to step back as another lady stepped inside. Arnav reached for my hand and pulled me to stand right in front of him. He probably thought it was a safer bet to have me closer to him instead of the unknown male in front of me.

I focused on my breathing as his free hand rubbed circles on my shoulder as if to keep my focus on that instead of the crowd. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. The single lady stepped out, but everyone else was still waiting for their floor. The door closer again, going to the next stop - fifth floor.

One of the kids from one of the familiar tugged at Arnav's pants. I turned to the kid when I heard him ask, "Is she your girlfriend?"

His mother took his hand and pulled him towards her, "Shh, Nate. How many times should I remind you to not bother strangers?"

I noticed the similarity between the mother and the child. Before a thought would pass my head, the elevator came to a stop again, causing me to sway back and crash against his chest. He didn't seem to mind as he held me there, and I even felt safe in his arm. The family got out and the doors closed again.

A few seconds later, his hand on my shoulder gently moved me ahead so we weren't touching completely. "Sorry, just..." He trailed off, confusing me. Two floors later, it was our stop. The other family moved to the sides, letting us pass. As soon as we were out and the doors closed behind us, he left my hand. "Sorry if that was weird for you."

"No," I answered. It wasn't until a few seconds into our walk to my room that I caught on why he had subtly moved me towards the end. Standing flushed against him had affected him. A chill passed me at the thought. He had moved me so I wouldn't feel his arousal.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

Lavanya noticed me walking into the room dazed. She questioned, "Everything okay?"

"Hmm?" I asked turning in her direction and then nodded, "Yeah, sure." I had no idea what thoughts to fathom.

"Okay, I am going to take the liberty to speak my mind and call bullshit on that." She spoke bluntly, sitting on the bed and crossing her legs, patting the space next to her.

"Where's Aarav?" I asked, noticing he wasn't in the room. If he had been, she would have never used such creative language.

"With di." She answered. "I was out having dinner with the rest of the team so he stayed with her. I just got back too."

"Cool. I'm going to go change." I shot towards the bathroom before she tried to get me to tell her what was wrong. Only, once I was in the washroom, I found myself thinking back to the elevator. The kid and the mother. There was such a startling physical similarity. Aarav. He behaved like Arnav a lot, but he did not look like him at all. Neither did he look like Lavanya.

What had Lavanya meant earlier by saying Arnav must be worried about Aarav, and that's why he was avoiding me?

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