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Devdas was an archetypal, fictional lover in separation. He too had many hardships to face in his love life. His story wasn't much different from the story of Dev, as he too had separation written in his fate from his beloved!

On the same day of the orientation program, Dev-the Devdas was busy mourning over the incident that had unlocked today of his unimaginable tragic love story.

He was again at Rohan's house, telling him about the events that had taken place today. It's well said that the one person with no love-experience is the best to give suggestions to the lovers. Rohan was such kind of friend to Dev.

"Dev, I think you should just let her be on her own for a few days, I mean just to get her settled over here, man, let her come to know about your real personality through others that how intelligent, smart you are, maybe she gets a turnon of intelligent guys," Rohan piqued solemnly, giving a very practical idea to his friend.

"You sure it'd work?" Dev asked him with his heavy heart.

"Of course, it'll! Sometimes when girls get a sudden truckload of attention, they start getting all proud and that's where the ego and attitude problem pitches into the picture. I think she has also got that particular 'attitude problem'," Rohan like an experienced love guru commented out, thinking something deeply.

"But Arvika is not like this! She was always aloof of me, Rohan," Dev didn't like a bit of whatever his friend said against his girl! For god's sake, she hadn't an attitude problem for sure, Dev was confirmed about that!

"Okay, then what's so wrong in giving this idea a try? Tell me?" Rohan queried, eyeing his friend who was in deep thoughts.

"Okay, I will ignore her, fine?" Dev frustrated out in a little harsh tone and stood up from the leather couch. He needed to get back to his professor's house as he remembered the important message his professor had emailed to him early in the evening.

"Hey, what happened?" Rohan panicked when he saw his friend's sudden departure towards the exit of his house!

"I am not angry at you man, I just got a work, see you soon," bidding his goodbye in a jiffy, Dev ignited his Toyota and roared it towards his professor's house with whom he had done many projects as well as researches in the past!

But what news he got after meeting his professor, he wasn't a bit happy about that! He regretted the meeting with Rohan!

His friend's words had come true, he was now officially going to be away from Arvika for at least a week as his third-year project was selected under the SkillIndia program and he had to represent his college at a national level along with his two more team members who were none other than Rohan, his friend, and his professor! Should he rejoice or fret over it, he couldn't decide! He tried to call his friend Rohan but his phone was unfortunately dead, battery problem, he cursed under his breath.

"Nature has really conspired against my love story, why," he mumbled to himself, driving towards his house as early morning he would have to leave for Guwahati with his professor, along with his working model of an 'Automatic car' and of course his best friend, Rohan, the mechanical engineer!

****

Gazing through the balcony, Arvika could feel how refreshing and serene the environment had suddenly turned to, with chilled wind flowing so tranquil like it had all the time today to brush away all her gloominess with its effect. The nearby trees were swaying too at the music-like chirping of the birds who were returning to their nests!

"Arvika," Kavya called out for her best friend but she didn't respond. She had to drag her feet from her room to the balcony, putting her phone away from her.

"Didn't you hear my voice from the ro...hey why are you crying? Arvika?" Kavya panicked seeing her brave and strong friend crying like a baby, standing against the wall. Her eyes were bloodshot red, nose running with water-like content, and her face a complete wreck, which was so unlike Arvika! Kavya had never seen her friend cry like this, like a completely broken soul!

From the day they had returned after attending their orientation program, Kavya had observed her friend was too quiet like she was suffering severely from within. Because of their busy schedule at their college, Kavya couldn't pay much attention to her agonizing friend who was dying in her grief, hiding herself from her eyes.

"Why are you crying boo? Tell me? See, even I'm crying because of you," Kavya immediately hugged her tormented friend, trying to soothe her but Arvika started crying more bitterly.

"Kavya, I hurt him so badly, so so badly," with a hiccuping voice and a bleeding heart she finally let out her words, closing her eyes in immense dismay and grief.

"Whom did you hurt?" Kavya knew whom she was talking about but still, she wanted to confirm.

"D.E.V," she again spelt out in her crying voice, not taking his name.

"What happened? I had seen you running away from him and he was looking crestfallen after you had left? Tell me, Arvika. What had happened that day?" Kavya wiped off her friend's cheeks not liking even a bit of those touchy tears on her beautiful friend's face.

"He had apologized to me but instead of forgiving him, I pushed him away, saying I don't know him, other than the fact that he's our president," Arvika put her head down in shame and sheer guilt. Whatever Dev did in the past was wrong but how she had treated him that day was worst, seriously the worst! Kavya gasped at whatever she heard from her friend, she didn't know that her friend hated Dev to this extent to hurt his sentiments with such bitter and heart-wrenching words!

"Why didn't you share it with me? Why did you hide this fact from me, Arvika?" Kavya exasperated out in shock and reverie, her eyes filled with unshed tears as well.

"I thought you'd scold me, that's why I couldn't share it with you," Arvika spoke out the truth, holding her head in her hands, not having the guts to face her friend who was looking at her with her accusing eyes.

"Arvika you know how sadistic and grave you might have sounded to him? Forget that he had kissed you for a while, was it a way to talk to someone? Downright unrecognizing the person whom you had met after like five years? If I do something like this to you after five years, how would you feel, Arvika? Tell me?" Kavya shook her friend, holding her from her arms while all Arvika could do was cry in guilt and pain. She had hurt an innocent, he had apologized so softly but she? What did she do? Just ignoring his past-self existence, how sickening and melancholic it sounded.

From the past three days, she wasn't able to sleep, she couldn't rest, she couldn't concentrate on anything, pondering over and over about the venom that she had spat against him that day. Was it how the real Arvika was? This bitter, rude, and egoistic?

"Arvika, how can you say all this on his face? Why? Why don't you just let go of the past? Why Arvika? Couldn't you see how disheartened he was after you had again run away like a coward? If he really would've been bad he'd have never apologized to you," Kavya again used her motherly scolding tone on Arvika whose state was too pitiful and miserable to look at. Her whole body was shivering, and eyes busy in pouring the tears, the regretful tears of hurting someone so harshly.

"I know I have become the person I shouldn't be Kavya but that has a reason for it. I just can't stand him, he reminds me of my old life, my old humiliations, it makes me feel like...I cannot even explain," Arvika mumbled to herself, wiping her perpetual flow of tears but it was in vain. The dam of her piled up emotions had finally broken, no one could stop her, the flood of her tears now!

"You know Arvika if he'd have bad intentions or grudges against you, he'd have punished you too as you too had pulled stunts against him, first that Shinchan song and then raising your voice against his decision, just the way he punished those two guys who had dared to make his video using that dog filter," Kavya stared at her friend, sighing at her heavily. That immediately made Arvika look at her friend in shock and realization. She couldn't forget the scene that had beheld that day in front of at least five thousand people!

How embarrassed those boys were after their sudden call on the stage and that too by none other than Dev, the very smart and intelligent president of their institute.

"Over to you," giving the mike to one of the boys, Dev had flashed his lopsided grin to him, daring them to defy him.

Both the boys had huge public fear and facing at least five thousand people was too much for them! Their legs were trembling and the state of their hands was not too different. They understood how smartly they had been manipulatively punished by Dev, their president, without even harming them but harming their self-respect so mercilessly that too in front of all the students as well as professors, and of course, their respected director.

"Hey...we are very hap..py to attend this orientation program, I'd like to thank all our seniors who performed so well," their voice was trembling like a dry leaf, all their confidence shunned to zero and the feeling of guilt and repentance arising within them. They realized how wrong they were to play against the lion of this kingdom! Now they had understood along with other students of ECE, first-year how nasty the repercussions could be of taking the panga with THE BOSS! (messing with the boss)

"Thank you so much for your vote of thanks, guys, hope you enjoyed delivering it to the audience, now I'd really want you all to stand up for the national anthem, guys please," Dev took the mic in his hands after giving the boys a menacing glare, that was feverous enough to make them wet in their own pants! In the end, they had mouthed a sorry to him with their crying face and finally gotten down the stage! Dev had forgiven them but he still couldn't forget him, never!

Gesturing with his hands, Dev ordered his background team to open the roof of the auditorium, exposing the audience to face the vast blue sky! The whole first year was in awe when they realized that their college was too advanced, it had the convertible auditorium for god's sake! A thing to be proud of, in real sense for any engineering student!

Under the open sky, everyone sang the national anthem, standing upright like some brave soldiers, having goosebumps all on their body, like every other Indian after hearing the strong yet impelling lines of the most astounding creation for any proud Indian, the national anthem, the Jana Gana Mana which was, is and will always be the soul of a true Indian.

"Arvika, where are you lost?" hearing her friend's voice, Arvika came back to reality, facing her friend who had a big frown on her face.

"I think you should apologize for this behavior of yours, really," Kavya choked out solemnly, standing at a distance from Arvika.

"But Kavya?" Arvika had no further words to express! She was at a loss of words!.

"I know he did a big mistake for humiliating you like that, five years ago but what you did that day was also not acceptable Arvika, so apologize to him, that's an order," folding her hands across her chest, Kavya stood in front of Arvika with anger surfacing her demeanor.

"He's not even coming to college these days, I hadn't even seen him," Arvika articulated in a sad tone, blaming herself for his sudden absence from the college.

"I just wish that it's not because of you, call and apologize," Kavya discerned strictly.

"Now?" Arvika asked her friend in a baby tone as Kavya suddenly had turned into her famous 'mother avatar'!

"Yes, call him, and ask for an apology," Kavya was firm at her decision, she knew she needed to guide her misguided friend who had become so aloof and rude in the past few days.

"But how can I? I still haven't forgiven him for his past deeds and I can never make myself to forgive him for what he did, Kavya. I can keep aside the past, the humiliation but I cannot forgive him, sorry," Arvika was in a maze-like turmoil, which was too complicated and substantial for her to get out of it!

A week hadn't even passed of joining this college and this much drama, wow, her story needs to be written, it'd gain millions!

"At least apologize for that day's behavior boo, he's not a bad guy of what I could decipher from meeting him thrice," Kavya voiced out and went inside their room, giving the privacy which Arvika might need to talk with Dev, the one-sided lover.

"Should I call or just message him?" Arvika pondered and finally came to a conclusion of calling him but his phone was switched off!

"I'd ask for an apology tomorrow, maybe he's no battery," she told to herself, feeling a little light after all the venting up of emotions.

"Don't become too rude to others that you lose your true self, Baby!"

There was a pink colored chart paper on Arvika's bed having the above note on it, written in beautiful calligraphy by none other than her best friend, Kavya.

"You don't know why I am like this, Kavya, you don't know," with a sad smile, she took the chart paper in her hands and after looking at it for few seconds, she folded it and kept inside her cupboard, another beautiful memory of their friendship.

****

"I am not interested in coming with you," Arvika huffed, folding her hands against her chest while glaring at her traitorous friend who was sitting on the passenger seat of Dev's Toyota, beside him and the daredevil was busy in giving cheeky grins to her through the front mirror which Arvika was returning with her glares and snorts! Traitor!

"And I won't hear a 'no' from you," Dev winked back at her, frustrating her even more with his oh-so-perfect lopsided grin and how to forget his sassy smirk!

She could still remember how manipulatively he had persuaded her and of course, her best friend to come along with him, he'd be a cunning businessman, his skills were enough proofs to justify that!

~**•°•**~

Important note:

Silent readers, voters, commenters and everyone reading this, my training is gonna start from tomorrow onwards and that too for three hours/day for one whole month and I cannot compromise with it and I won't dare to, also after one month my exams are gonna start most probably so I won't be updating as frequently as earlier. But that's not a big deal, I can cope up with that!

The thing which is stinging me is the feedback I get from you all. See, let's talk practically. We all know its not a paid platform, so I get no profit out of writing this story other than my inner peace of course. Only your votes, comments, and follow-ups are my source of income if you intend to know what I mean!

And don't worry if you don't want to vote, after all, you all are busy people who have the time to read 15-minutes or so long chapters but don't have the time to vote on it, I completely understand. Only I have so much of time and energy left, writing for continuous five hours or even longer than that at a stretch.

Day-by-day I don't know why a great number of my followers are unfollowing me like a secret mission is running behind in the background against me and it seriously feels so disheartening and hurtful!

Silence!