Willing Apologies

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Mahira Khan as Ridhima

Karan Singh Grover as Karan Singhania

Ileana D'cruz as Ishika Singhania

Varun Dhawan as Varun (Karan's best friend)

Dylan O'Brien as Ayaan (Karan's other best friend)

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 A shrill scream wakes Karan from his slumber. His head is buried in the pillow as he lies on his stomach.

When the screaming does not subside, he turns on his back, groaning.

Ridhima leaning over him with a pillow and , she hits him with it, the pitch of her scream going higher with every hit.

When he has had enough, he flips her on her back and hovers over her , pinning her hands on the bed, beside her head.

"Will you shut up?" He says to her , not bothering to yell, her voice has given him enough of a headache.

Hangovers suck.

she had stopped screaming the moment she was pinned down. Staring at him with big doe eyes.

"Oh god.....sleeping with a stranger would have been better" She says -probably to herself- making Karan frown.

"What?"

She wants to sleep with a stranger...?

"Look, whatever happened, it means nothing to me, just like it means nothing you, obviously. I don't even remember anything, we can pretend it never happen-"

"What the fuck are you talking about!?" Karan interrupts her rant.

"I am talking about ....... You know....." Ridhima goes red in the face confusing him even more, he frowns and almost snaps at her to be clear when he becomes conscious of his naked stomach touching hers. The heat of her body very close to him, almost torturous.

He freezes for a moment , a smirk slips on his lips as he realises what she is getting at ,a mischievous part of him wants to hear what she is assuming they did last night, maybe even add fuel to her misunderstanding.

"No, please elaborate." He says coyly.

Her frustration is his salvation.

"We are both shirtless .......duh!"

He has not looked at her properly yet.

"And your point is?"

"Stop enjoying it so much, I know that you know what I mean!" She says exasperated.

Karan looks down between both of them, and is fairly disappointed that she has her undergarments on. But still a certain part of him is pretty excited, the undergarments leaves enough to the imagination.

"Stop with the perverting" Ridhima squirms under him, which causes a certain anatomical part of his to get more excited.

" Sex! I am talking about sleeping together. The horizontal tango! Coitus! Do you get it now! I don't remember even if we did it. So just forget about it. Okay?"

Karan musters up a heartbroken expression and gives her the puppy-dog-eyed look.

"How can you forget that? It was the best experience of my life and here you are, trying to deny it. "

She looks at him silently for one whole minute.
One whole minute of torturously holding back his grin.

"It must not have been that good for me though ........for it was my first time and I am not even sore. Not even a teenie tiny bit "

Karan's smirk slips off his lips and he gets up off her and from the bed altogether, because if he had stayed longer he would have proved her what a good time is.

"Fine! Nothing happened. We just shared the same bed. Nothing else. "

He looks back at the smirking Ridhima.

Preferring to ignore her, he locks himself in the bathroom.

•••••••••••••••

"Take the balance sheets and cross check them with the ones kept in Henry's office"

"Do you want to proof read the letters before I mail them?"

"Yes, bring them to me on your way back here. Also bring me a cup of coffee "

"Sure. Will that be all sir?"

"Uh.....also get me the list of events I am supposed attend this week, that'll be all, thanks."

Once Karan's Secretary, David has left, he picks up the ringing telephone on the desk, it was a call from the reception of his office, confirming about an appointment.

He has been neck deep in work since the morning. After Ridhima has left his room, he had gotten ready for work and went to the kitchen to find it empty, trashed from last night's party, but still empty, he had expected ridhima to be up and preparing breakfast like usual. He was actually looking forward to drinking coffee. The hangover was really killing him.

But after waiting for fifteen minutes he realised that she will not be coming, so he left.

The telephone kept on his table rings again, he picks it up.

"Singhania" he says into the receiver.

" Sir, it is me David, just a heads up, that you have a conference call to attend in about thirty minutes "

"Yeah, with the share holders and the software company's CEO. I am aware."

"Yeah, they will call you, just wanted to remind you to keep your cellphone on , because it says your phone is switched off, when I tried calling on it right now"

"Really? I must have forgotten to charge it. Thanks. "

"No problem, sir."

He cuts the call and fishes out his cell phone from his coat pocket to see it switched off.

He opens his desk drawer on the side to take out the charger when his eyes fall on Ridhima's cell phone. The one he took from her on their wedding night.

He picks it up , intending to return it to her.

She must miss her family too. I have no right to keep her away from them.

It has been more than a month since they got married and she has never asked him for her phone or showed any desire to talk to her family.

As he is about to slip the phone in his pocket, thoughts of sidhant come to his mind.

She has his number. What if they try to stay in touch.? As her husband I have every right to forbid her from talking to him.

"Knowing that woman, she will purposefully try to meet him if I ask her to not meet him " Karan murmurs to himself in his empty office.

Deciding to just put the shitface's number on her phone's reject list himself , he keeps her phone to charge.

Karan gets some more work done while her cellphone gets charged.

After getting done with his work, two hours later, he decides to take small break.

Karan picks up Ridhima's cellphone, praying to God that she doesn't gave a passcode. He pushes the lock button , and is surprised to find his picture as the Lock screen wallpaper.

He slides his thumb across the screen to unlock it , his prayers must have been heard because there is no password.

Another picture of his pops on the home screen behind the application icons. But this is a different one and it is edited with Ridhima's picture to make it look as if Ridhima is kissing Karan's cheek while he looks at the camera.

It is obviously fake because he doesn't remember posing with her for any picture.

Curious to see if she has more such pictures in her camera roll, he goes to gallery, forgetting all about blocking Siddharth's number from her phone.

And much to his astonishment there are more of his pictures, some edited with her, some single shots. He goes through them, one by one , smiling at her silly obsessed behaviour. Although, he has a hunch it is not Ridhima who has edited all these pictures.

Must have been her sister.

As he slides on to the next picture, instead of a picture, a video comes, he sees his dad standing there and Ridhima is there too.

The haldi ceremony's video , thinks karan.

He touches play, and the video starts.

Karan frowns realising that it is not the haldi ceremony's video.

" Ridhima! Go back to your room"  Karan hears Ridhima's father scold her, through the phone. Ridhima ignores him and look straight at Karan's father.

" oh you will" Karan's father speaks.

" you can't force me"

" you think so?"

Ridhima remains quiet. karan's fist clenches as he sees through the phone screen, a man, his father's PA to be specific, come behind her.  He cant see much, as the video is taken from an awkward angle, and the man's body is covering ridhima's from the view, but he can see the but  of a gun in that man's hand. 

" Singhania sir please , she is my daughter please leave her" Ridhima's father pleads.

" some daughter you have here, Mahesh" His father sneers.

" I accept the proposal. Ridhima will marry Karan. Please sir , tell your man to take the gun away" Ridhima's father joins his hands in front of his father. karan frowns, his suspicion being confirmed. Ridhima was held at gunpoint.

He sees as she tries to move towards her father. Enraged. But his father's PA holds her back.

" what no! I will call the police. This is a free country you can not force me." she cries.

Karan is surprised when his father smirks at her. It was devilish, arrogant, and something he had not imgined his father was able to muster. 

" you really think Police would try to go against me, the case would be closed before you can say FIR" says his father, arrogantly.

" maybe police will not help but media would , how do you think your various businesses will proceed if the public finds out you are forcing a girl to marry your son."  Although he shouldn't be proud of Ridhima's bravery and quick thinking, because she is technically threatening him, he still felt a surge of pride for her.   

His father's smirk vanishes as a glare replaces it.

" Gupta , I think your daughter knows nothing about your brother and your deeds, does she knows that you murdered my first wife?" Karan's hands go cold as he hears his father say this."

"Dad knew!" Karan speaks out loud. His father's words resonate in his ears on the day of his wedding, when he showed him the video, which proved that Ridhima's father killed Karan's mother. 

"This girl, Ridhima you are about marry, is the daughter of your mother's murderer."

"wha-" Its is like all the air leaves Karan's lungs all at once at his father's revelation.

"I am sorry son,if I had known I would have never put forth this proposal, I just found this out now." 

"If he would have know" says Karan, bitterly to his empty office room. He leans back in his chair, admiring the plain white ceiling of his office, and running a hand through his hair.  

"You fucking knew about it all along. fucking knew. Lied to me. Lied!' Karan stars off queitly but ends up yelling in frustration at the wall opposite to his table.

After gulping down some water, he plays the video on Ridhima's phone.

" as if I would believe-"  Ridhima's voice trails off , maybe because of the look on her father's face. It was utter helplessness and guilt. Or it was fear. Karan wouldn't know.

" dad? Dad! Dad tell me he is lying? You are not a murderer!" But her dad does not look at her, instead he  keeps staring at the floor.

" oops! That means she has not idea about the shipping of girls you have been doing for the past eleven years? Or what about the truth about her mother, who you raped and she became pregnant with your child and when the lovely Ridhima was born you killed her?" Karan has never been a violent person.....okay he has been a violent person, but he was never a disrespectful person and yet here he was, wishing he could punch his dad in the face, as he revealed that to Ridhima.

" Dad , tell him to shove all these lies he is telling me, up his fucking ass" Ridhima's empty voice fills the static silence of the room. finally fed up with all the silence from her father she  moves her elbow and hit the minion who is holding her in the gut ,when his grip loosens she freed herself and moved towards her father and shook him.

"could have done that earlier" comments Karan.

"Tell me he is lying! Say something!" I scream at him and then he looks at me and through my blurry vision I can see it all.

It broke Karan's heart when he saw her hand fall limply from her father's shoulders to her side. I was like she lost all hope. 

" so what Singhania? You think that it will stop me from not revealing it to the media?"

Karan's father smirks at her. It irritates Karan to no end.

" it may not stop you but if your father's deeds are revealed to the world do you think they will spare your sister and you, daughters of a man who has ruined lives of so many girls, to just run freely on the roads. You will be either killed , raped or both the second you step out of your house. Maybe they will even break your house down just to take their revenge."

" I will not marry your son. Never" 

ouch! thought Karan.

" you will" it was not Karan's father this time who said this, it was Ridhima's.

Karan was not surprised at Ridhima's father's flip of personality.he have seen many like him, who can do a three-sixty turn in behaviour in a matter minutes if they don't get what they want.

"No dad I will not. You may have a business of selling girls but I am not one of your victims"

"Ridhima I can't have you ruining my good reputation. I don't want a stupid girl like you to destroy what I have built by working so hard"

" stupid? Me? Dad you did not work hard. You cheated. He are a murderer, rapist and a smuggler! You don't have a reputation, at-least not anymore."

"This marriage is going to happen and if you want to stay alive keep your mouth shut"

"Dad I will not-" Ridhima stops speaking as a new voice interrupts. It was a man.

" Namaste. I....uh..... Did I come at the wrong time?"

The screen moves vigorously, and then the video ends. Karan puts the phone on his table and stands up, pacing back and forth, in his office.

Karan pushes a button on the telephone. "sir?" His secretary's voice speaks through the telephone. 

"What is my schedule for the rest of the day?" Karan asks.

"Not much sir, you have  one meeting at nineteen hours. and then yu just have to get the paperwork done." 

"What meeting? "

"it is with your friends sir, for the new project you three are doing together."

Karan sighs, relieved that he van easily reschedule it with them. 

"cancel it. mail the paperwork to me , i will get it done from home."

  •••••••••••••••  

 Karan opens the door to his apartment, entering the living room, surprised to see it messy. Ever since he and Ridhima have started living together he has not seen this place so messy, in fact it was always spotless. 

Maybe the maids are on the leave. He thinks.

Ignoring it, he goes straight straight to Ridhima's bedroom expecting to find her there, and he was correct. 

There she was lying on the bed with a book -Guessing from the cover it was some romance novel-in hand. 

She looks up as he enters the room. 

"You are early today"she states.

"y..yeah...hangover is not good for health....uh...what happened to the house, i mean did the maids not come...or what?" he knows he need to apologise, but being a billionaire would do that to you, the 'can't apologise'attitude, it comes with the package.

She looks at him for a moment, "you don't have any maids" she tells him.

I must have forgotten to call for a house maid. How can I be so stupid. 

"Who cleans the house then?" Karan asks, realising moments later, what a dumb question that was.

Ridhima gives him a deadpanned look and points to herself, smiling icily at him. 

"oh... sorry I forgot to call at the lobby to arrange a maid. It completely slipped my mind." Karan Apologises.

"It is alright." Says Ridhima, her gaze lingers at his face for a while  " Are you okay?" 

"yeah, why would you ask that?"Karan pushes his hands in his pant pockets, so that he would not run his fingers through his hair. 

"It's just that you look a little...dishevelled. Is something troubling you?"she asks him concerned. 

her concerned voice pushes him to say the next words. He walks closer to her and sits beside her on the bed, looking at her, he says 

"I am sorry, Ridhima."

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Thank you for reading. 

Readers please keep an open mind about my casting for the characters. Mikal Zulfiqar no longer gave me the feels for Ayaan.

Also Dylan O'Brien is really perfect, based on his role in the Maze Runner. Not the goofy role he plays in Teen Wolf. 

Picture below is of how I imagine, Ayaan .

And i really need some surname suggestions for Ayaan and VARUN . please!!!!

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net