Chapter 23 Not Again!

Arjun's PoV

I am now driving to Preethi's home. It is Avni's birthday today. Though Preethi didn't want to celebrate it big, Praveen and I made all the arrangements and called for all Preethi's friends and Avni's friends. She is not supposed to hide. It is him who has to hide from society. I made my lawyer talk to her and we filed a divorce and sent him the papers on our behalf. He tried to talk to Preeth but she declined all his requests. The case is up and running in the court, we expect it to get it done in another 2months. We proved that he cheated on his wife.

"Preethi, I picked up the cake. Where is the princess? Is she ready?" I asked her, getting in the home.

"She is ready. Avni and Anvi are playing. Sharanya is getting all the food out in trays to serve. Praveen just came with food. All set." she said.

"Good, Now get ready to receive the guests. Where is aunty and uncle?"

"They are in the backyard with the kids."

I went outside to see the kids. The backyard was decorated with balloons and color strings. There was a banner that went between two big trees that said 'Happy 6th Birthday Avni'. It is a beautiful evening. Avni is in 1st grade and she has got neighbor friends coming too. This birthday party is too important for Preethi to break that inhibition and face the crowd. She is going to go to the office tomorrow and I want her to stay strong. Yes, Mahesh uncle managed to make an availability and I forwarded her the interview venue. She gladly attended the interview and was selected. Uncle said that he would have selected her even if I didn't recommend her. I know she is smart enough to bag a job for herself unlike some arrogant girls out there!

Ugh! She again? Why can't I just forget her and move on!? I have invited Harish to this party. He has promised me to bring his son. That way Avni would develop a brotherly bond with him. Yeah, very calculative, I know, but the more they meet, the more they are going to get along. The guests have started coming and I put the cake out on the table. Avni wanted bubbles for her party so we made a goodie bag with bubbles and some party favors and some chocolates. The kids started to come and the place became more colorful.

"Hello, Harish. Come on in. Hi Little guy, sorry I have a bad memory. What is your name?" I asked the little boy.

"Nitvik!" he said and ran into the crowd of kids.

"He likes bubbles too!" Harish said as we walked in.

"Hi, Harish. Come in. Here, have some juice." Preethi walked over to us.

"Hi, Preethi. You look beautiful in this Saree. Nice party by the way." he said to her.

"um... Thanks. Is that all, Ajju? Shall we cut the cake?" she asked me.

"Yup, we shall."

"Would you mind coming there to help me with something?" She asked me, eyeing me to come alone. She is smart alright.

"Just a minute, Harish. Will be back."

"No problem. take your time. I will look after the kids." he said.

Preethi dragged me towards the cake table and whisper yelled at me, "What the hell do you think you are doing? Who invited Harish?" she asked me.

"I did. What? He is not your friend? I have invited some of your friends and you were not angry at me then. But why are you angry now?"

"Oh, stop it, Ajju. I know what you are trying to do. This is stupid. You are stupid. What would he think of me? I have just separated from my husband. Why are you doing this, Ajju?"

"Come on, Preeth. He thinks you are beautiful. He complimented you and this is how you react? He won't think anything bad about you, if that is what you are worried about." I told her.

"Pch, Ajju, you are not listening. I won't marry again, trusting that love will blossom after marriage. I made that mistake once in my life. Love is a magical feeling, Ajju. It is not something that will happen over time. It is a spark that will ignite something in you when you see that special someone. It didn't happen with Harish for me." she said.

"You talk like a lunatic. Stop watching movies. Sorry if I hurt you, you got that spark when you met Nilesh, didn't you?"

"Ajju, That is different. I liked him at first sight but he didn't reciprocate it. He made me feel loved every next second until I realized that all were fake. I don't want to blame it on Love. It was my stupidity that I got deceived. I still think it is a pure magical feeling."

"Listen to yourself. Magic only happens in books and movies. Now, stop trusting that so-called spark. It will only hurt you. Give him a chance. I am not telling you to flirt with him. I am asking you to talk to him and get to know him. We will talk about this later." I called up everyone for the cake cutting to escape from further talks.

The party went on smoothly and we served dinner for everyone. Sharanya and aunty took care of the rest as Harish and Preeth were busy talking. See, I know what I am doing. It's almost 8.30pm and everyone has started to leave.

"Alright, Arjun, we will take leave now. Will see you soon." Harish came to me with Nitvik.

"Will see you soon for sure. Bye, Nitvik." I bid bye to the little champ.

"Bye, uncle." Nitvik said.

"I need to talk to you, Arjun. When will you be free?" he asked me.

"Anytime tomorrow, Harish." I sent him off. What does he want to talk to me about?

"Dei Ajju, come here." Preethi called me.

"All set? Ok Preeth, I have to go too. Bye, good night." I tried to leave.

"Mariyathaya ulla va (come in before I force you)" she said. I went behind her like a school kid.

"How did you know that Mahesh Shipping had a vacancy?"

"Mahesh uncle is my dad's friend."

"So he called you and informed you about the vacancy?" She asked me with a raised eyebrow that clearly tells me that she is not buying it.

"He was talking to dad and I thought it would be helpful to you. What now?" I tried hard to stick to my story.

"Do you by any chance know that Harish is also working in the very same dispatch unit that I am going to work at?"

"Oh, really? That's a surprise." I said but I am sure she knew.

"Nadikatha da! (Don't act!) What do you think I am? I need time, Ajju."

"It's already 6months, Preeth. Don't tell me you are not over him yet. It is your life and you can very well move on whenever you like. You don't have to worry about this damn society, if that is what is pestering your mind. People have talked so much about me when Anika disappeared but they got over it now. People will move on to the next matter soon."

"Huh! I told Harish about what you are trying to establish between us. I told him that he doesn't have to worry about it. And who is Anika by the way?" She asked me.

"Anika? How do you know her?" I asked her, out of shock.

"You said Anika instead of Anamika. Who is she?"

"Pch, that was a mistake. She is no one." I tried to stop talking about her. How the hell did I tell her name? She's been continuously pestering my mind.

"If you say so!" she told me, jerking her shoulders. I know she doesn't trust me.

"See you later, bye!" I tried to run out when Praveen came in.

"Who is Anika? And Preeth, when did you meet Harish?" He came in with questions.

"Anika is Arjun's new someone." Preeth said with wide smiles.

"Oh, shut up ,Preeth. But Praveen, Harish is going to be Preeth's special someone." I told him.

"Whoa, wait what?" he was taken by surprise.

"Shut up, Ajju. He is trying to hook me with Harish, Praveen. It is so embarrassing. Tell him to stop this nonsense. Anyways, I told Harish that he doesn't have to worry as I don't have any such ideas." Preeth told him.

"You can very well consider him, Preeth and you know that. Now, who is Anika?" he turned to me.

"I told you. She is no one. In Fact she is a little girl. So stop talking rubbish."

"Oh little? Like Anvi and Avni?" he asked me.

"Pch, I have some work to do, bye." I tried to leave but my phone rang. Thank god, I could finally escape them.

"I have to take this!" I told them and attended the call.

"Hello, Arjun here."

"Hello Arjun, this is Anandhi, Anika's mom." What?! Hell with her.

"Oh, yes, tell me aunty."

"Is this the right time to talk to you?"

"um... yes aunty. Tell me."

"Looks like Anu's references didn't work. She is badly in need of a job. If you can help her get one, it will be very beneficial for us." she said.

"Ofcourse, aunty. Send her resume to my WhatsApp, I will look into it and will let you know." I told her and hung up.

"So you are a job consultant now, huh?" Preeth asked me sarcastically.

"No, it is one of my relatives. They are in their hard times and Anika needs a job." I told them and hit my head hard mentally for letting her name slip through again.

"Oh, she is a little girl who is waiting for a job?" Praveen asked me. I know they are trying to mock me.

"Come on, Praveen. You know me better. She is a UG pass out. She must be what? 21years old? She is too young!" I tried to rule her out.

"Hahahahaha!" they are both laughing. Did I crack up a joke? I stared at them.

"Don't get angry, Ajju. So it is her age that is stopping you from persuading her? If so, let me tell you, you are not a 60 year old, you are just 29 and you are the most eligible bachelor. Some eight years gap between couples is not unusual in our country." Praveen said.

"I am not trying to persuade her, idiots. She is an arrogant, rude and annoying girl I have ever seen." Why did I not tell this first? It now looks to me the exact same way Praveen interpreted. If she was big enough, would I be persuading her? Nope! She is not anywhere near my expectations. She lacks respect which I can't take in for a whole life. Wait what? Whole life? I am seriously thinking about it? I am sure my brain is cooked inside my head.

"Ok, this is the first time you have ever talked about a girl. She has made her impression on you. Maybe not the good one, but something is better than nothing." Preethi said.

"You are both out of your minds. I am out." I ran out. They can't do this to me.

I don't want to serve my heart to a girl again for her to kick it like it is nothing. I did that once and I am not going to do it again. Besides, I have no ideas on her. Ofcourse, she is beautiful like a peacock but that is not sufficient for a happy life. As a matter of fact, Anamika was also a beautiful girl.