Kriti stood looking outside her window with her cigarette in her hand. She have gotten into such a bad habit of chain smoking. Arjun never allowed her to have more than two or three in a day and now here I am holding my tenth cigarette. Arjun is not a chain smoker unlike her. He is a health freak along with a fitness freak. He used sex as a weapon to keep her from this cigarettes. Speaking of sex, Arjun is so so so good in bed but sometimes he gets too rough to handle. If She had to rate Arjun on basis of looks, personality, success and sex quotient then she would give him five stars.

"Kri, throw that cigarette away right now." Her mom snapped at her. She had just paid a visit to her this morning to check up on me.

"Mom please don't be a pain." Kriti said in a bored tone.

"Kri, stop it baby you are going to throw away your life if you continue with this kind of behaviour. You are always running late to your shoots and you are infamous for being the spoilt party animal. Please baby girl stop all this before it's too late." She chided her daughter.

Kriti threw her cigarette in the trashcan and walked to her mother who was having a breakdown. She was sobbing incessantly. Kriti was  her only daughter and her only family because she got divorced when kriti was barely nine year old. Her ex husband married again and he had his own children. She didn't marry because she had to look after her little girl who she feared might feel neglected perhaps she married and mothered other children.

"Babygirl forget him please. He is not going to come back. He is marrying her and starting a new life. You should give Ayaan a chance. He is a nice guy." Her mom urged her.

"Mom but I still love Arjun and...."

"And does Arjun love you?! Is he calling off his marriage for you?!" She had hit the right chord.

"You know mom it's all my fault. I shouldn't have rejected his proposal but you know after yours and dad's ugly divorce, I just get cold feet about marriage." Kriti said in a sad tone.

"You did not say no to him for your career, did you?!"

"No mamma I swear I love him more than my career and he is not that kind of a man who would have put a stop to my career."

"It's too late to discuss all this now kri. Your best bet is to just move on and give Ayan Successna a chance."

"You think if I take Ayan as my date then Arjun will get jealous?!" Kriti asked in a eager tone.

Her mom shook her head in disbelief,"That only time will tell. My advice to you is forget him and move on but I have never forced my decisions on you."

"Sometimes I wish I would have gone off the pills when I was with Arjun. At least a child would have forced him to stay with me."

"Baby Is it going to do any good to you by talking about what you could have done?!" Her mom asked her to put some sense in her daughter

"No but.."

"Kri please I can't see you like this. You have become so reckless and careless about your career, image and most importantly your own self respect."

"I know mom but it's just too hard." Kriti broke down in hoarse sobs.

Arjun was watching showbiz on my TV and the shit people talk about him makes me so mad. They are counting the number of girls he dated Seriously such a waste of time. He didn't understand how is it anyone's business. His first girlfriend was in college in his second year and she broke up with him after he disclosed to her that he was going to kiss a girl on-screen. Later he had flings that lasted for two weeks or three, some even a month if lucky. Well he never met a woman he wished to get married to until kriti and now Radhika. Though both were poles apart but something about them made them  stand out in all other girls of his life. Radhika was a sweet girl who won him over by her altruistic nature and Kriti stunned him with her strong personality. He knew he still had a soft corner for kriti but with time that shall too pass away.

Kriti and him were like a house on fire when they first became friends and later lovers. She would challenge him and go toe to toe with him that kept life interesting. He wondered  if she slept with anyone after their big break up?! Shouldn't bother him, he knew but it is was too fresh right now to talk so nonchalantly about her. A flying bird dropped him a message that Kriti went on a date with Ayan. Ayan owned a production house which is a hit and he has done very well in life.

Few years back someone like Radhika wouldn't have even been in his league. He liked strong and confident woman but he was a man at the end of the day. Having a wife that doesn't listen to him and disrespects him wasn't what he wanted to put up with till they headed for a divorce after their marriage hit the rocks. Somehow he knew that Radhika wouldn't let the situation go that far between them ever because he absolutely loved the fact that Radhika worshipped the ground he walked on. Kriti loved him but not like Radhika loved him by choosing him above everyone and everything else. Radhika and kriti are so different from each other. Both are beautiful women but one is strong yet so vulnerable and other is with a fragile esteem yet so idyllic. He was  starting to think that Kriti turned down his proposal because she is dead scared of marriages. He cannot blame her though. She had gone through a lot. She is a broke and he was anything but a healer. He had his own issues. His insecurities, his need to control  and his overprotective nature about the ones he loved didn't go well with kriti as she was a women who had seen a lot in life and she didn't take shit from anyone. She was called a royal bitch by her competitors but no one knew her back story like he did. They were perfect together but now he was starting to think that you meet different people at different stages of life but not all stay with you like you wish them to, Kriti was one of them.

On the other hand he could have been her best friend but he couldn't have waited for her lifelong to sort out her shit. Radhika was perfect for him. There won't be any fuck ups in his life if he had her beside him.

He had come to the apartment that he shared with kriti. Don't take him for a jilted lover visiting his estranged lover's memories. He was here to see if his things were carried out of this house smoothly. He had a lot of antic pieces all around his properties because he loved collecting paintings and ancestral items. Very few people knew that Arjun was an ace at painting too.

He was sitting in the living room with his  drink in his hand and he heard footsteps behind his back. He turned and he was surprised to find kriti sans all her make up. She had blotchy eyes and pale looking face that had painted pain all over.

"What a not so pleasant surprise, kriti. "

"I was here to take something that belonged to me." She lifted the charm bracelet that he had gifted her to his gaze.

"Are you fine?!" He couldn't stop himself from asking her.

"Why do you care?! Don't fake it Arjun." She glared at him.

"Don't make it sound like I left you alone."

"Arjun Mehra despite knowing what my childhood and adolescence must have been like with a nine year old me juggling between her parents, you didn't cut me some slack rather you chose to walk out."

"Kriti, what did you expect?! WhyQ should I wait when I know that you are not ready no willing to come out of it. You are stuck in you past with your own free will. I have a life of my own and a family who wants to see me happy and settled down in life. We won't be young forever and I want a family life which you don't want and you can't offer me." He said in a quiet tone.

"Please Arjun..." She begged with tears in her eyes.

"Please what Kriti?!" He asked feigning ignorance.

"Don't leave me. I need you." She inched closer to him as she held his hands in his.

"Kriti, I am engaged now. It's over for good. Did you find your charm bracelet?!" He asked her as he diverted his gaze from her.

"Yes but I want to return it back." She said.

"No keep it with you. It's a gift and I don't accept gifts back." He stared firmly.

"It is a painful reminder of you not being in my life anymore."

"Then destroy it." He said in a icy cold tones. His eyes were stony and his glare was like a spear pierced through her already broken heart.

He walked past her to the bar and made his drink. Too early to drink, isn't it?! I chose to stay mum not knowing what to say further.

"Kriti, you shouldn't be here. If anyone gets the air then tomorrow's headline will be 'Arjun can't help but feel sparks for kriti kharbanda once again' I will lose Radhika's trust which is the most important thing to me right now so just walk out." He said coldly.

Her eyes flamed with rage as I heard him mention that bitch's name as she addressed her in her mind. She has come between her and him. Had she not been there, he would have no option but to come back to her. Let's see Arjun, how long do you resist me. She thought as she smiled inwardly.

She walked to him swaying her hips. She grabbed his tumblet and filled it in with another peg just the way he likes it. She yanked him closer by his collar," Arjun Mehra you are one of the best actors but you can't fool me." She wrapped her fingers around his neck and her long nails bragged in his skin. He turned his face away but she held his chin and made him look in the eye. She wanted him to see how deeply, ardently and desperately she loved him. She was convinced no one can love him like she did. Her lips drew closer to his as she inhaled the familiar yet oh so consuming scent of his. Its been quite some time, she thought to herself.

He titled his neck such that he could whisper in her ear," Kriti, you think I cannot resist you and I will fall for all this?!"

She traced her hand over the exposed part of his chest that peeked from the few buttons that were left unbuttoned but he stopped her ministrations as  clutched her hand tightly in a vice grip. He stared at her with firey eyes," Kriti, you know something my mom always says one thing that whatever happens in life that happens for a greater good. I never understood why she would say this but today I did understand the worth of her words. I wasn't doubtful about Radhika but you coming here just made me realise that thanks heavens we are not the ones who are engaged. If my fiance would be throwing herself on another man who is already committed then, what good name do you give that kind of girl?!" He smirked at her as he continued," You know my mom taught me to respect every girl but the society shams such girls by the name of a whore. Are you one?!" He asked her as he released her hand with a jerk.

She pushed him away shocked by his crude words. Her tears streamed down her cheeks and her lips quivered," How could you, Arjun?!"

"How could I?! How could you act like a desperate girl?! Have some dignity and accept that I am committed to someone. Be warned that if you fuck with my life and my marriage then I will destroy your career beyond repair." He ushered a warning.

She walked away with her head hung low but her insides were burning practically.

Radhika had come to Arjun's house as his mother had taken her to select jewellery from their jeweller. Her gaze would time and again move in circles searching for him.

"Beta the one your searching for hasn't reached home yet. He had some work but he said he will be back by evening."  She said in a teasing tone.

"No maa actually I was looking for papa." Radhika lied sheepishly.

"Really?! You are such a bad liar."

"Maa, I am home will be down in 10 mins." Arjun trodded on the staircase in a lightening speed as he dashed inside his room as soon as he entered the house. He did not even stop to talk to his mom or Radhika as he did not notice her.

Radhika felt hurt by his sudden rejection. What had she done to earn this cold attitude?!

"He must be angry with someone else. You can go to his room if you want darling." His mom coaxed her.

She climbed the stairs to his room with heavy steps. She knocked on the door of his room and he opened," Rajesh, where is my blue jacket." He asked without looking at her. He had all the buttons of his shirt open giving away that he was going to take a shower.

"Arjun.." She started to say something but her zoomed on his partially dressed state and she felt at loss of words.

"Radhika." He turned to her and his eyes glittered after a long time since morning. He gave her a smug grin as realized the effect of his close proximity filled colour in her cheeks.

He took her in by her hand and closed the door behind them," Baby sorry I didn't know that you are here." He pulled her to him and hugged her to his chest. Something about this hug warmed her heart. He was acting as if he had been away for a long time and he was seeing her after years. She wrapped her arms around him as she rest her head against his chest. His heartbeats felt like a sweet song in her ears.

He lifted her chin with his forefinger and held the nape of her neck. Just when he was about to kiss her, her voice broke his trance," Arjun what are all these marks on your neck?" She had seen the backside of his neck in the mirror behind them.
 
To be continued

That's it for today. Do vote and comment your views.