#urban #novel #viral
The downpour of rain and her tears had merged into one for Tuli. Standing in the middle of the highway, she felt utterly helpless today. The very man she had considered the guiding star of her life had driven her out today, branding her a thief and a traitor.
"You failed to recognize me, Ariyan Bhaiya? Even after ten years, you only saw my body, but you didn't see my soul?" Tuli muttered to herself. She knew that the mastermind behind this conspiracy was her father, Mr. Arman. Making his own daughter a sacrificial lamb, he wanted to destroy Ariyan.
On the other hand, Ariyan was pacing restlessly inside his cabin. Due to the deletion of the server data, the company was about to face a loss of tens of millions of taka. But piercing Ariyan deeper than the financial loss was Tuli's 'betrayal'. He was repeatedly watching the CCTV footage. It looked exactly like Tuli—the same walking posture, the same blue saree. Yet, in some corner of his mind, an odd suspicion lingered.
Right then, Tuli's bag left on the table caught Ariyan's eye. In her haste to leave, Tuli had forgotten her bag. Ariyan opened the bag—his intention was to see if any confidential files from the office were inside. But instead of files, an old, worn-out diary emerged from the bag.
Ariyan opened the diary. Written on the first page was—"My ten years of waiting for Ariyan Bhaiya."
Ariyan began flipping through the pages. Every single page had clippings of news regarding Ariyan's success pasted on it. When Tuli was abroad, how she felt for Ariyan each day was written there. On the last page, it was written—"Today, I am joining. I know Ariyan Bhaiya will hate me, but I know that beneath that stone-like heart, there is still love for me. By undoing all of my father's wrongs, I want to make Ariyan Bhaiya smile just like before."
Ariyan's hands began to tremble. Why would a girl who had collected every little and big piece of news about him for three years, who was ready to leave her own family to have him, delete the company's data?
Suddenly, a tiny detail in the CCTV footage caught Ariyan's eye. The girl in the footage had a bracelet on her right hand, but Tuli had not been wearing any bracelet all day today. Ariyan realized that he had made a colossal mistake.
Ariyan immediately headed out with his car right into the rain. He searched the entire city for Tuli. Finally, he saw her, huddled on a bench near that Bokul tree, getting drenched in the rain.
Ariyan stopped the car and rushed over. As he stood in front of Tuli, she lifted her head and looked up. Her eyes had grown red and swollen from crying.
"Why have you come again? Is there any insult left to deliver?" Tuli's voice was faint.
Ariyan said nothing. He took off his expensive coat and wrapped it around Tuli. Then, in a low voice, he said, "I read the diary. I was wrong, Tuli. Can you forgive me?"
Tuli clung tightly to Ariyan. Burying her head against Ariyan's chest, she sobbed violently. Ariyan, too, could not hold himself back today. He remained standing right there in the rain, holding Tuli close.
But they did not know that from inside a car with tinted black glass parked across the street, someone was watching their reunion. Speaking to Mr. Arman on the phone in his hand, he said, "The job wasn't successful, Sir. Ariyan has found the girl. Now we must execute a harsher plan."
Is this momentary peace between Ariyan and Tuli just the calm before the storm? Will Mr. Arman's next move separate them forever?