Niharika's POV

My day at the office was fine except for the interview I had with the one and only, the arrogant monster, Dr. Arpit Khandelwal. No doubts, he is still the same, confident and no-nonsense type. Despite, I had anger rising up inside me as all the painful memories crept in my mind but I could not help but admire the success he had attained. He had grown up from a young, nerdy boy into a tall, handsome man and he was truly looking delectable.

He was visibly irritated by mine 'seem to have' phrase, which I had commented indirectly wanting to see if he could hide his emotions or not. I wanted him to annoy him and irritate him, of course though I was aware of his perseverance. He has turned really handsome and was looking marvelous in his blue business suit. His amber-green eyes were deep enough for me to dive into them. I avoided looking in his eyes for the whole discussion. Her chiseled jawbone were attractive enough and I had developed a sudden urge to lick her wobbling Adam’s apple while he talked. My mind was behaving like a pervert, but I cared less. The long forgotten feelings were coming up in my mind and I could not help but enjoy the moment.

Later, I went to the construction site of my new factory and monitored the things there. I had to talk with the engineer and architect there. The progress of the factory-site was going well and it was a big relief for me.

I had a fashion event that evening. Dressed in an elegant purple evening gown, I attended the event. My cosmetic products were advertised there. It was a blissful evening to combat the morning interview until my business rival, Mr. Vikram Walia arrived at the party. His eyes were on me. I could see jealousy and hatred in his eyes. I could never stand his unethical ways of dealings and transactions.

Coming back home, I went to my study but couldn't concentrate on my work. I remembered the morning.

I was indeed, amazed at the confidence of Dr. Arpit Khandelwal. I was angry at his idiotic attitude. I despised the fact that he was trying to get on a friendly note as if we were old college mates reconnecting with each other after a long time. I hated the fact he had forgotten or he was pretending to forget the things which had happened between us and especially the humiliation I had to suffer because of him. I needed to tell him that he was my employee.

“How he had the audacity to bring up my mother in the conversation?” I wondered instantly getting enraged on him. I just wanted to bang his head on the wall till he bled.

“Why the fuck had I told him in the first place?” I thought and instantly regretted my actions. Despite he was my friend at a point of time, I was a fool to tell him everything about my parents and my background and today, that piece of shit was using that personal information against me. He was truly a scoundrel.

I remembered the past when we got our results declared for the first year. I had secured the highest while he was at the second position. I was busy with a client in the meeting when he had come to my place. He had waited for long till the evening and had informed me the results with utter happiness. We had shared a hug that day for the first time. It was so blissful in his arms. I wished we could stay together forever but unfortunately, life was never good for me and my feelings.

It was then he had asked, "Niharika, why do you work so much? Why can't it take a back seat at least till you graduate?"

Innocently I had told him, "You know, Arpit, I had always wanted to study Evolutionary Biology at the University of Oxford. I had cleared the entrance exam for the same. I was all set to go when my parents left me. All my relatives became wolves after my company and my home. It was then Mr. Bose helped me manage everything. Now, it's only my mother's dream in my life."

I had seen a spark in his eyes. He had always motivated me. I used to see my dream of studying abroad in his eyes when he was planning to apply for higher studies in the UK. I wanted to be with him and enjoy the bliss of his fulfilled dreams while he would complete his studies but unfortunately, he had to ruin everything or perhaps, I was over thinking at that point of time and he considered me as a friend. I was an emotional fool.

But then all my hopes were shattered like glass breaks into pieces due to a shitty altercation. Thinking about the altercation, anger engulfed and I came out of the trance of Arpit.

Why do I have to think so much? Though I cannot help but think because my life is not full of rainbows and unicorns. I am just given thorns and ashes in my life by the almighty so I am left with no option except to think and take the most optimum decisions about the smallest of all things. The chapter of Arpit was meant to be closed years ago and I took deep breaths to convince myself that closed chapters were not meant to be opened ever again.

Calming myself I pretended to sleep wanting sleep to embrace me while my brain was clouded with a variety of thoughts. The sudden meeting with Arpit had urged to long for a company in my life and I hated the loneliness seeping through. I cried myself to sleep missing my parents. Life alone all these years had been really terrible for me.