Adiya OS || Home Truths || Bepannah OS | Aditya | Zoya | Harshad Chopda | Jennifer Winget

Zoya had observed the exchange between Aditya and his mother keenly...she had seen the mordant tone that was marred with sarcasm every time Aditya talked with his mother...she had also seen the helpless plea in his mother's eyes when he behaved in that rude acerbic manner with her...
Aditya was a puzzle she was taking forever to solve...he saved her from perilous situations a number of times and at times it felt like there was a softness inside him, the one he was trying hard to conceal under the facade of a non yielding taskmaster but at other times he was his usual incorrigible self...
She decided to talk to him...

It was a little over 6 months that they had started working together for ZOSH. His capricious behaviour perplexed her. Sometimes he was this roadblock that thwarted all her plans every step of the way and at times, he was the person who helped her with her work without her even asking for his help.

One good thing that had come out of the whole scenario of her working in ZOSH and with Aditya was that Zoya had become a confident person. And she owed Aditya for transforming her from a timid person to a calm, collected optimistic person albeit unwittingly. She no longer stuttered when posed with a difficult situation, kept her poise in a crisis and her optimistic attitude had helped ZOSH win a few important clients too. It was time she put that newfound quality to use, hopefully to bring about a positive change in a relationship.
She went inside his cabin without knocking or asking his permission...he wasn't sitting at his desk... She turned around saw him seated on the sofa intently looking at one of the powerpoint presentations of an upcoming event, the files of the same event  strewn on the table in front...
" Mr hooda,I..."
"Get out" she looked at him startled, an indignant frown on her face...this man... he had no manners to talk to a woman... she huffed...he did not look up but continued..."knock, and only after I ask you to come in, step foot in my office!"
If this was anyone else she would have complied...but this was Mr Unpredictable Hooda...he might just ask her not to come in at all! She felt a little unsettled. nooo...she had to talk to him, Atleast try to drill some sense into that thick head of his...
"No" She said while standing close to one of the chairs near his office desk...A single word and it was enough to pin his attention on her fully...he looked up; disbelief and amusement sparkling in his eyes...
"What did you say?" He asked a silent threat underlining his tone.
"I need to talk to you...its important" she said her confidence suffering a little jolt. 
He stood up and came forward ,his eyes on her unwavering, she stood her ground, shaking in the inside but not letting him take the upper hand...
He came closer and his breath almost fanned her cheeks...
He was such an overbearing person!!!...he had no sense of personal space...she finally moved back a few steps and hit the wall...he came forward and cornered her.
"Don't you dare disobey my orders...you do remember I am the owner of this company now right?"
She got the opening she wanted...
Backed against the wall and nowhere to escape his clutches, she summoned all her mental strength and looked him in the eye...
"Yes I absolutely remember it, but what makes you think you own this world..." 
He frowned... " What was she on about"
"You think you can say whatever you want to anybody, even your own mother"...
he raised his brows and in mock surprise gave her a smile..." Oh so Mrs Zoya Arora...is in the mood to be preachy today hmm??

"Not preachy Mr Hooda, just want to put across some home truths..."

"Oh and what are they, please elaborate." his voice laced in derision gnawed at her. He really  suffered from an inveterate sense of superiority...she sighed... 
"I know about your father and his..." She hesitated... how in the name of God was she going to utter those words..."his ways" she finished...
Aditya clenched his jaws a nerve, ticking there in a staccato pulse..

" But it does not mean that you talk to your mother in that manner"
"You are going to give me life lessons Zoya??" he derided...
"Yeah why not? it's always good to point out flaws and yes I will when it is needed " she stuck her chin up...
"Where was all this zing when your husband was having an affair with my wife...you remained as clueless as a docile lamb." 
" If it is true and there's still a big IF MR Hooda, she made her stance clear again, "were you aware of it??? You don't look like a docile lamb to me or to anyone else from any angle and yet you were as clueless as I was" 
That shut him up for the moment...
She let out a long sigh
"Look Aditya, the mere thought of Pooja having an affair drove you completely insane...you destroyed everything that came in your way...you burned things, you vandalised this entire office, only because you could not bear to deal with her supposed "infidelity, it nauseated you to even think about the possibility of  another man in her life"

When he remained silent she continued...
"Do you even realise how it must have felt for your mother staying day in and day out in a relationship that was a farce...it takes strength to endure that for so long and yet keep quiet about it"
" You, your dad l...I think all of you mistake her resilience for her weakness. She is not weak Aditya, infact she is the strongest of you all"
"Have you ever given it a thought that you might have been one of the reasons she could not get out of that godforsaken relationship...thinking about your future, your brother's life...she could not afford to create a scene and play with the semblance of peace that was in your house no matter how absurd and how far from the truth it was!!!"
Aditya kept quiet and resolutely stared at the ground...
"Its good to have the relationship that you share with your mother in law but do not neglect your mother's feelings like you do...you would realise it when you won't have her looking out for you one day, waiting for you at night to serve you dinner when you arrive home late"
He looked at her...
Nobody had ever even remotely tried to talk to him about this, his entire life...nobody had presented another perspective, they had just made peace with the fact that this was how he was and this was how he would remain all his life.
"Do give it a thought, that's all I had come to say" he moved away and she took that opportunity to slide away and opened the door to his cabin. "There's a meeting with a client in half an hour. Please be there on time. That client is important...and with that she went out leaving behind a confused and for the first time an introspecting Aditya...

 "She is stronger than all of you" the words reverberated in his mind for a long time after she had left his cabin...

Writer: Amortentia15