Chapter 105: Chapter 105: Khushi
After a long lunch, Alex dropped Riya at the Paladium Mall in South Mumbai.
She had a shopping spree planned on with some of her college girlfriends.
Dropping her off the he then returned to his security booth at Tech Park to resume his daily work.
Just as the day was going like a normal boring day, his phone buzzed at around half past six in the evening.
He picked up the phone to see who is calling him at this rush hour, only to found out that it was Riya.
She is calling him through her WhatsApp number, her profile picture is of her in a cosplaying costume of a anime character that he didn’t seem to recognise.
He answered with a smile on his face unknowingly he is smiling more and more these days. "Are you done shopping already?"
"Yes, I am done already but.." Riya replied sweetly but with a hesitation in her voice. "Actually one of my friend wanted me to go with her to a bar tonight to check out the nightlife.
But then I thought about it carefully it’s not safe to travel at night and as you know... I already have someone special with me now, so I turned down her invitation."
Alex’s lips curved slightly at her indirect way of confession, he couldn’t help but tease her a little.
With a surprise in his tone he asked feigning ignorance, "Oh, someone special? Ah! Then who might that be Riya."
Riya blushed slightly on the other side but still she said, "Don’t tease me Brother Alex, you know who I am talking to...humph! If you teased me again I am not going to talk to you again."
Alex didn’t teased her anymore, "Okay, okay I understand but you don’t have to inform me these little things, I am not some old fashioned man, who have any prejudice against females for going to a bar.
You should have understood my nature till now, right?"
In fact, Alex is already feeling happy in his mind.
Riya really was different from other girls of her age.
Despite being raised in a wealthy family, she has elegance and she is disciplined in her conduct, and carried herself with a kind of self-restraint many others lacked.
For most girls of today’s age, going to a bar now and then wasn’t a big deal.
But once you had a boyfriend, that kind of environment easily crossed boundaries.
And Riya properly understood that.
She didn’t just refuse her friend but she made sure to tell him about it directly which inadvertently warmed his heart and boasted his male ego.
By the single act like this she showed awareness and showed respect for him.
He couldn’t help but compare the situation with others.
If it had been some other girl in her place, they would have insisted on "freedom," loudly declaring that they should have the right to go wherever they pleased whether they have boyfriend or not.
Alex couldn’t help but want to declare to the world.
See that?
This is like what a girl should be like.
He want to ask today’s girls in person:
What kind of freedom are you even chasing?
Riya’s clarity about her priorities are clean and straightforward
It made Alex’s opinion of her rise yet again.
If Alex life was a game there would be bubbles popping like:
Favorability +1... +1... +1... +1.
—-
Meanwhile on the other end of the phone, Riya is not alone.
Next to her stood a tall girl with fashionable clothes and with striking looks and a confident air around her.
She was Riya best friend, Khushi from her school times to present.
Khushi has gone to take her car from the parking lot when Riya dialed to Alex to inform about the bar.
Upon her return the moment she noticed her on the phone with someone and when after listening for a while knowing that he is talking to her boyfriend, her brows quickly arched in surprise.
"No way Riya. We are just going to a bar, and you had to call your boyfriend for it?
What type of magic he has done on you, you are free to go wherever you want, Riya.
You don’t need a man’s permission to step into a bar. Isn’t that way too restrictive?"
Riya’s expression tightened. "Khushi, I am different from you now.
I have a boyfriend, and you are still single. You can’t compare the two of us."
"Yes, yes, I get it. You’re already taken." Khushi rolled her eyes, clearly unconvinced by her logic.
But soon, she slipped her arm through Riya’s arm and laughed playfully.
"Come on. Having a boyfriend does not mean you can not go out.
He’s your boyfriend only, not your husband.
Come on, Just come with me tonight what harm could it do anyway?"
"No. If you want to go, then go by yourself anyway I am not going."
Riya turned to leave, but Khushi clung to her arm pitifully.
"Riyaaa, don’t be like this.
Will you really let me go to the bar alone?
With my figure and my face? What if someone with ulterior motives tries to drug me?
You’re my best friend—you can’t just possibly abandon me."
Riya just gave her a blank look, hands on her hips fully knowing her act.
"Khushi, don’t play games.
You know perfectly well how dangerous bars can be, and yet you still insist on going. If something happens, don’t come crying to me.
You’re just chasing a thrill."
Khushi smirked, unbothered. "Relax. I go to bars and clubs all the time.
If some guys try to hit on me, I won’t even bother looking at them.
I just want to explore myself I want to sing, to dance, and to tease a few idiots for fun.
Nothing more. I won’t let anyone cross the line than that."
Riya was left speechless.
She knew her well. Coming from a wealthy family like her, her monthly allowance was even higher than Riya’s.
It was over a million dollars. She lived her life for excitement, she loved nightlife a lot, and had a rebellious streak in her bone.
But for all her wildness, her standards were sky-high not less than her. No man had ever truly caught her eye.
As the saying went, birds of a feather flock together.
If Khushi were genuinely frivolous or careless with her private life, Riya would never have stayed close friends with her.
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