I woke up early and got ready for office. When I came down Nirmala, our maid was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast. I went inside and wished her good morning. She gave me a sweet smile and asked me to sit, so that she can serve me the breakfast. She is a sweet women in her early 40s. She has two daughters. One is in her 2nd year of graduation and second one is in 12th grade. She said both are very good at studies. Giving them the best education she can is her only aim in life. She never stops praising them when she starts talking about them. If my mother was alive will she be like Nirmala? I wonder.

I went and sit at the breakfast table. She served me upma and tea. Raghu has arrived by the time I finished breakfast. I asked Nirmala to prepare dinner and keep inside the refrigerator. Then I said goodbye to her went down to the parking lot. We started a little early because of the heavy traffic in the city, so that I won't be late for my first day.

We reached office by 9.00 am. I took the elevator to the 60th floor. I knocked the door to Siddharth's office. I entered after getting permission. He was sitting on the leather chair and checking some files seriously. A small girl was standing next to him looking at the files. I guess good look genes run in the family. I huffed. The girl next to him gave me warm smile. She looks too small for a working woman. He lifted his head when I reached the table.

"Hey, good morning Niharika." He greeted me with a smile. Unlike his arrogant brother, he seems more humble. "So, ready to join?" he asked. "Yes." I replied.

"Good then, Priya will take you to the finance department." He said gesturing towards the small girl. "Please take her to Mr. Singh's office." He told her and turned to me. "He will tell you about your job description and all other details." He said. I nodded.

"Please come with me." The girl came forward and told me with a smile. I smiled and followed her out. "Hi. I'm Priyadarshini. I'm Mr. Siddharth Aryan's PA." She said extending her hand for a hand shake. I smiled and took her hand. "Niharika. Niharika Varma. I'm new to the place and I hope we will work out well." I said. She grinned. "Yeah. Apart from getting annoyed with my mean boss occasionally this is a nice place to work." She said while getting in to the elevator. "Why did you say that? He doesn't look like one." I asked.

"Yeah. Looks are always deceivable." She said sarcastically. I laughed at her comment. "You said you are new to the city right. Even I also came only 6 months ago. If you want to go around and explore the city, I'm all in." She said. "That's sounds like a nice plan. So shall we go by this weekend?" I asked. "Sure. Give me your phone."She said. I gave a questionable look to her. She sighed and took my phone from my hand and showed it in front of me to unlock it. She typed something and then her phone started to ring. She cut the call. "Ok. So this is my number. I have saved it in your phone. Call me when you are free." She said. I smiled at her and nodded. I like her. She is really easy to get along with.

We reached the finance department and took me to Mr. Singh's office. After introducing me to him she said her goodbye. Mr. Singh gave me an overall view about my work and took me to my designated work. He asked one of the employees to show me how the software works and the day went busy.

I reached home by 7 in the evening. I went to my room. I came down after taking bath and walked into the kitchen. I opened the fridge and took out the food Nirmala prepared and heat it in the oven and ate by sitting at the kitchen table. After cleaning the dishes I walked into the living area and switched on the television. I went through some random channels for some time. I got bored soon and switched off the TV and leaned back to the sofa. What will be Vedant doing now? Did he have dinner? Yeah, he might have eaten from any restaurants. I thought while staring the ceiling. When will he return? I'm already missing him. Does he miss me? No. He will not miss me. I'm just a deal right. That's why he doesn't even want to acknowledge me as his wife in front of everyone. I sighed and got up from the sofa.

I came to my room and lied in my bed. I have to take him out of my mind. I took my phone and put on the head set and started to play my favourite play list. Slowly sleep took over me.

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One week has passed since I joined the Aryan's office. It was nice and fun to learn something new. I was quick to learn and now I know pretty much how the things work here. We were in a meeting with Siddharth and some of the other officials about the funds of purchasing steel for our construction works. Mr. Singh informed Siddharth that the purchase agreement with the Singhania's has to be renewed this month and gave the documents to him for signing. He was about to sign it when I talked.

"Can I suggest something?" I asked nervously. This was something struck in my mind while studying the previous purchases. Everyone looked at me. Siddharth nodded at me to speak.

"We are purchasing the steel from the Singhania's for the past five years. And when I checked they have doubled their rate in the last two years while there are many other companies are providing steel with the rate lower than their rate. So why don't we provide an invitation for tender to purchase steel?" I asked. Mr. Singh gave me hard stare. I gulped and looked down.

Siddharth frowned and looked at the document again and checked his laptop for something. "Mr. Sing, why didn't you check this before? We were purchasing from them for double the rate and you didn't seem to notice?" He asked to Mr. Singh with a serious tone.

"Sir. It's because they are Singhania's and they provide high quality steels. And moreover both of your families are close. So I thought..." He couldn't complete it. Siddharth's sound echoed in the halls. "Being a family friend doesn't mean they can sell us products with a price higher than the market rate. Cancel this agreement and issue an invitation for tender for steel purchase as she said. You are working for Aryan's Mr. Singh not for Singhania's. You should be considering the well being of this company." He said in a determined tone. His usual humbleness was nowhere to see. Mr. Singh stopped arguing and went silent. He gave a nod and took back the file from Siddharth. These brothers knew when and where to take out their aura of power.

The meeting was over and everyone started to go out. Mr. Singh gave me a death glare before going out. I lowered my head and walked out of the meeting room. "That was a nice suggestion." I heard Siddharth telling from behind me. I turned around. "Thank you Sir." I said with a small smile. "I knew Ved's selection won't be bad." He said with a grin. "Wha... What?!!" I asked confused. Did he come know about our relationship? God, what will Ved tell now? I was getting tensed.

"I mean, now I understood why he recommended you. You have talent. I didn't think you will learn this quick. Impressive." His grin was still on. I sighed in relief. "Thank you." I said. He scoffed and we walked out together. We talked a little about some random things and went our ways.

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It's been 10 days now since Vedant left. It was not that bad in the morning since I will be in the office, but it felt so lonely in the evening when I reach the penthouse. Me and Priya went out in the weekend and explored the city a little. She is a really nice girl and a good company. We are getting along well. Kavya calls me every day and we talk a lot. But still there was this vacant feeling in me. I was missing him. He didn't try to call me after that day. May be he don't care. But the hard feeling in my heart was not going away.

Next day in office was tiring. Mr. Singh was really annoyed with me that he was not giving me a break. He has dumped a ton of files in my desk to complete this week. I haven't seen Priya for the full day since she is busy in making arrangements for the Golden Jubilee celebration going to take place next week. She was at the convention centre over seeing the arrangements. I completed more than half of the files but there was pending files still. I will come early tomorrow and complete it. I thought and switched off the desktop and stretched my neck. I got up from the cabin and walked out of the office.

Raghu was waiting for me in the parking lot. He is a silent man. He opens his mouth only if it is necessary. We reached the penthouse and I went to my room to freshen up. I came down and heated the food prepared by Nirmala and ate it. I finished washing the dishes and was about to go to my room when the door bell rang.

I frowned and moved towards the door bell camera. I gasped. It was Vedant. Sadness and embarrassment started to consume me. How should I face him? You have to do it Harika. Be strong, you have been through hell. I took a breath and steadied myself. I slowly walked towards the door. I puffed while holding on the door knob. I put on a serious face and opened the door.

I saw the dark black eyes looking at me. He looked tired. He was holding his coat over his shoulder and the tie was loosely hanging around his neck. His hair was tousled and there were dark circles under his eyes. But still he looked handsome. Stop it Harika, get a grip of yourself. He was staring at me. I looked away and moved away from the door for him to enter.

He slowly walked inside and I followed. He put the coat on the sofa and turned around to look at me. It seems like he is struggling to say something. Is he going to apologize for the almost kiss we had? Or is he going to defend himself for leaving without informing me? Whatever it is I don't want to hear anything. It hurts that he regrets it. I can't stay strong if he says sorry now. I don't want him to see my vulnerable side always.

"I. I want to..." He opened his mouth to speak. "The leftover food is in the fridge. If you want you can microwave it and eat. I'm feeling tired and I'm going to sleep." I said without looking at him and took the stairs to my room without waiting for his response.

I entered my room and closed the door and locked it. I leaned back to the door and left the breath I was holding. A tear rolled down my cheeks. This is so difficult. How am I going to survive?

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Next day I went to office before he came down. In the office there were no meetings that I should attend so it was easy to avoid him. I went home before him, had my dinner and went to my room. I took a book and tried to read it but I was not able to concentrate. I was looking at the clock every now and then and checking for any sounds coming from down stairs.

It was almost 10.00 pm when I heard the door bell. I gasped. Why is he ringing the bell every time? He knows the code and he can come in by himself right. Is he teasing me? I frowned. I'm not going to open the door. I sat in the bed stubbornly. I heard the bell again and again. Is he for serious? I sighed and got up from the bed. I opened my room to go out but then I heard the front door opening and closing. Oh, so he knows how to open it. Then why was that drama? I locked my room with irritation. I went and lied in the bed cursing him in my mind. Slowly I drifted into sleep.

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It's been one week and I was successful in avoiding Vedant in the house as well as in the office. Today is Saturday and I was getting ready for the Golden Jubilee celebration of Aryan's. I was not so keen to go for it since I was afraid that I will meet him there. But Priya was so adamant that she dragged me for shopping. We went to the mall. She took me to a designer boutique. And we started looking for a dress for the evening. Everything looked so beautiful that we were confused to select from them.

That's when I saw that dress. Instantly I fell in love with it. I smiled and walked towards it. It was long crepe gown in a dark maroon colour. It was a closed neck, sleeveless dress. There were small white beads stitched around the neck and waist. And it was backless. It looked elegant and beautiful.

"Wow that is one beautiful gown. You should try it." I heard Priya saying from behind me. I turned to look at her. She looked excited the sales girl came and gave me the dress to try. I went inside the trial room. I looked in the mirror. I smiled at my image. I bit my lip. I opened the door to show the dress to Priya.

She was standing there wearing a one shoulder aqua blue long chiffon dress. There was a little stone work on the left shoulder of the dress. She looked so beautiful in that dress. She smiled and looked at me for an opinion. "You look fantastic." I told gripping her shoulder. She grinned at me. "And you too. I loved it." She said. "Are you sure? Isn't it a little too much?" I asked. "Didn't you look at yourself in the mirror? You are going to make everyone in the party ogling." She said and winked at me. I scoffed. Then she dragged me towards a saloon in the mall to get our makeup done.

After getting ready for the party we got an Uber to the convention centre. We walked inside the convention centre. It was decorated beautifully in a black and golden theme. I was admiring the decorations when Siddharth came towards us. He was wearing a bottle green suit. "Wow. You look gorgeous." He told me with a smile. "Thank you." I said blushing. "Hmmm. You don't look bad yourself." He said looking at Priya with a serious but teasing face. She narrowed her eyes and looked away annoyingly. "At least you picked a dress that matches the occasion." He said again. She sighed and excused herself and walked towards the food counter. He scoffed at her. He looked at me and he gave me awkward grin. I folded my hands and gave him a questioning look. "I. I will see you later." He said and walked away to the direction of food court. I scoffed. He is so obvious. I could see through him.

I looked around in search of a familiar face. But he was nowhere to see. Didn't he come to the venue? Is he late? I searched for him in every corner of the hall but couldn't find him. "Looking for someone?" I gasped and turned around. I lost my balance and was about to fall but someone grabbed waist and steadied me. I looked at the person who was holding me. The dark black eyes I was searching for a while was now looking straight at me. He was wearing an off white suit with a black shirt. His usual smirk was playing on his lips. I gulped. I pushed him back a little and got out of his hold. I straightened my dress and looked to see if anyone noticed us.

"Were you looking for me?" He asked in a teasing tone. I looked at him in surprise. How did he know? But soon I recovered and hide my surprise. I licked my dry lips. "No. No. I. I was not looking for you. I was searching my friend." I said shaking my head in disapproval. "Oh. Really?!!" He asked coming close to me. I took a step back. My breath was getting heavy. My body was getting hot. Why is he doing it? He is the one who doesn't want to acknowledge this relationship in public and what is he doing now. I put my hand on his chest and pushed him back. "What are you doing Mr. Aryan? Stay away from me if you don't want people to spread rumours about us, that won't make you happy." I said annoyed.

"See, Niharika. I..." He couldn't finish because his secretary came and informed him that it is time to give the welcome speech. He sighed and looked at me. "We will talk about this later." Saying this he walked towards the stage. The stage was decorated in golden and black balloons. He went up to the stage with a confident walk. He buttoned his suit before taking the microphone in his hands. The powerful and dominating aura was present around him. He faced the crowd and started the speech.

"Dear Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends. Good evening. This ceremony over which I am honoured to preside launches the process of celebrating our Golden Jubilee. Fifty years is a major milestone for an institution, as it is for an individual. Our celebration is not so much a festivity, but a solemn occasion to pause and look back at this fifty year journey. A moment to look ahead at the mountains we must still climb. So today we pay homage to the founding fathers. And in the coming weeks and months we will reflect on how faithful we have been to their vision and ideals. And last but not least. An employee's hard work is the fuel to the great company culture. Thanks for adding the extra miles to ours. You and your work always stood by the expectations and have a meaningful contribution to the success of the company. We value your presence and are proud of you. A good employee inspires his or her boss. Thanks for being my inspiration. Kudos to your dedication! Enjoy the party." He concluded and crowd clapped in appreciation.

The party began shortly. I looked for Priya but she was nowhere to see. Sighing I took a glass of cool drinks from passing waiter. I went and sat at a table sipping the drink. "Excuse me." I heard a manly voice and looked up. A man in grey suit was standing there and smiling at me. "May I sit here?" He asked pointing the vacant seat near me. He was looking handsome. "Sure!" I said. He is tall and well built but Vedant is taller than him. I thought. He smiled and sat on the chair. "Hi. I'm Ritwik Singhania." He extended his hand and said. I shook his hand. He looked at me from top to bottom, which was kind of creepy. I gulped and turned and away. "Now I understand why the Aryan's were listening to you." He said. I frowned and turned towards him. "Excuse me?!!" I gave him a questioning look.

"I was wondering why the Aryan's cancelled the contract with our company by hearing a mere employee. But seeing how Vedant looking at you now and then before the party begins, I guess you might be treating him really well and special. Isn't it?" He mocked at me with an evil smirk. My cheeks burned with anger. I fisted my finger to stop myself from slapping him in front of everyone. I didn't want to create a scene and spoil the party. I got up from the chair and turned to leave. Suddenly he grabbed my wrist. "Can you can tell me how you are managing both brothers? You know I can pay you even more." He said.

That's it!! I raised my hand to give him a slap but he was on the ground before I could do it. I gasped. Vedant was standing in front of me like an aggressive bull. His hands were turned into fists. The man on the floor had a bleeding lip. Vedant bend down and lifted him by collar. "Touch her again; you won't have that hand for yourself. Now get out from my premises." He said and pushed him back. He was in so much rage. His breath was getting heavy.