Aditya nodded as he smiled politely at Hitesh who wore a navy blue denim shirt with a mandarin collar and pair of white pants. He was quite handsome and his physique was a lot better than Aditya's. Hitesh took the initiative to shake hands and Aditya obliged while his eyes twinkled a little.
Anupama continued, "We were planning to go to the 'Bangalore Food Fete' which is been held at a nearby cricket grounds but Hitesh's car broke down so we are waiting for the service personnel as well as another car to pick us up. My home is near this place, so it is not a big problem."
Though Anupama did not have any idea of been with Aditya, it was true that Aditya was the closest person to her heart. So even if she thought of Hitesh as perfect, the feeling she had with Aditya could not be replicated. Anupama turned towards Hitesh as she introduced Aditya to him as a friend from her previous school.
Aditya nodded as he looked at the Benz E class car but did not offer to repair as he was more interested in keeping Anupama here rather than repairing the car and sending her away. He inserted his hands in his pocket to type a message in his 1000 bugs (14 USD) basic mobile, which he sent to Taarini while he conversed with Anupama and Hitesh.
Now that Aditya had to stall for some time, he offered to check the car to see if he could spot any problems. A small smile appeared on Aditya's face before vanishing. He could easily tell that the car's spark plug had been tampered with but he just looked here and there before confessing that he could not find any fault. Aditya observed Hitesh, who was a little tense, relax when he could not find the fault. This explained a lot of things to him.
It had to be said that Faizal, who had been silent all along, was the most shocked when he heard Aditya say that he couldn't find the cause of the repair. He immediately guessed that his elder brother was plotting something. As if confirming his suspicions, the gate of the adjacent large dwelling opened automatically as a Hummer drove out of it.
The Hummer was a metallic black in colour and it's sheer size induced awe when people saw it. Even Anupama, who did not share Aditya's passion for cars, paused for a while when she saw its giant body. To their surprise, the Hummer stopped near them as a tall beautiful, mature woman got down from the driver's seat.
Taarini looked stunning today as she wore teal and green printed Kurta with a round neck and flared hem along with a pair of red leggings. She left her jet black hair loose and styled it into long layers in contrast to her usual ponytail. It was as if stars were shimmering in her eyes which made them look like an art masterpiece. A rare feminine charm emanated from her because of the women's ethnic wear. But all her feminine aura was shadowed by the dominating aura of the vehicle which she drove. This combination impressed Aditya while Anupama was shocked both at the woman's beauty and charm.
Taarini looked at the four of them with a cold gaze but when she spotted Aditya, her cold expression softened a little as she walked towards them.
The first thing that impressed Anupama about this woman was her cold demeanour. It was as if she was a queen who looked down on all beings and that nothing was worth her complete attention. Her facial expression, her body posture, her gait, everything supplemented this feeling. It made one feel flattered if such a person actually paid attention to you. Anupama's eyes sparkled as she wanted to become as strong as this woman. She was truly inspired by the impression Taarini made on her heart. She felt Taarini looked a little familiar but could not remember accurately.
Aditya also smiled at Taarini as he introduced, "Taarini, this was my classmate from my previous school Anupama and this is her friend Hitesh."
Aditya then turned towards Anupama as he said, "Anupama, this is Taarini, a new friend that I made. You did not have the chance to meet her in 'Neela Palace' but she was also invited."
Anupama smiled as she shook hands with Taarini while Taarini maintained the same indifferent gaze. Anupama did not care about this. Taarini did not even bother to shake hands with Hitesh who could only take his hand back awkwardly. She looked at Aditya as she said, "weren't we planning to go to the food festival, what delayed you?"
Anupama's eyes lit up when she heard these words, "Adi, why didn't you tell me that you were also planning on going to the food festival. Taarini, if you don't mind we could go together."
Taarini glanced at Aditya once before nodding as she said, "Let us go in my car, then. Faizal, you are no longer needed here." Faizal nodded as he took the car keys from Aditya and drove away.
Taarini looked at Aditya as she said, "As we are all going to the same venue, why don't we go in my vehicle." she looked at Aditya as she said, "you drive the car."
Everyone agreed to her proposition and got on the vehicle as Aditya drove towards the venue. He looked at Anupama who was chatting happily with Hitesh as he thought, 'Anupama, I will try my level best to help you make the right decision this time.'
Actually, Aditya couldn't care less if Anupama fell in love with other man but his knowledge of the Anupama's future stopped him from ignoring her. The past month, he had been sleeping normally instead of in Tya's world which caused the dreamworld to continue moving forward again.
The other 'Aditya' in the dream world had finally become a professional Formula racer in 2023 when he was 23 years old. After completing his first race in the German Grand Prix, the first one he thought of speaking was Anupama when he remembered how he was rejected by her based on her notion that he would not be able to achieve his goal.
He wanted to tell her that she was wrong. So, when he contacted Bhadra who had become a real estate businessman like his father and wanted a contact number of Anupama, Bhadra gave him a piece of grave news.
Anupama had married a man called 'Hitesh' and had truly loved him deeply. But the reality was that Hitesh wanted to use her mother's background to get into politics and her father's property. He was not the least bit interested in Anupama. Though he looked like an ideal husband to the outside world, she was completely ignored by him after a year of marriage as he started to maintain many mistresses. This had caused her already fragile mind to collapse as her whole expectations of a beautiful life were smashed to smithereens.
Later, Anupama had become a drug addict which further deteriorated her mental health. So, when Aditya had called Bhadra, Anupama was currently forcibly kept in a psychiatric hospital in the US for treatment but things were not optimistic for her. This had shaken Aditya to his core when he heard this news and had immediately gone to meet her.
Aditya did not expect to see a delirious Anupama with dishevelled hair as she cried for drugs. Her once beautiful face was full of nail scars, her eyes were bloodshot as she wreathed on the bed to which she was bound. His heart felt like it was pierced by nails when he saw his first crush, whom he had looked up to like a goddess, become like this.
When Anupama saw him, she froze after which she cried, "Adi, I made a mistake, I made a mistake, I made a mistake..." she just repeated those words but refused to respond to Aditya's words. This could be said as the first big shock that Aditya had ever suffered in his otherwise smooth life.
The cries of Anupama in the dreamworld still rang in Aditya's heart as he looked at Hitesh's reflection in the rear view with a cold gaze. Now that he knew what was gonna happen, there was no way he was going to ignore it.