Chapter 9:Lust or Whatever!
Arnav Singh Raizada had always been a patient man when it came to bossing his emotions. There had come numerous times when girls had thrown themselves all over him, wanting him at the edge of his restraint, in plain words, seduce him. But in all those situations, he had come out victorious, led by the ASR in him. Not a single girl had ever been successful or let's say fortunate enough to have his attention the way Khushi had these days.
Yes, you read it right. Ever since this morning when Khushi Kumari Gupta had opened the door of her room for him and graced him with such a beautiful sight of herself, Arnav had found his restraint slipping away.
That ogling session in the doorway was followed by the appreciative looks Khushi had been throwing at him during the conference.
Arnav hadn't missed a single expression that had crossed her face during the conference. Even though his voice and mind were dedicated to the oration, his sixth sense was transfixed upon the girl sitting next to him. Arnav Singh Raizada was indeed a multitasking guy.
It was just him who knew how grueling it was to control the urge of holding her against a wall and kissing those beautiful eyes which blinked continuously, her long eyelashes which caressed her cheeks every time they fell down, her lips, oh, those delectable lips which smiled the most attractive smile ever.
It was a torture to watch her yet pretend that none of it existed.
So, Arnav went on pretending, trying to concentrate his attention solely to the ongoing meeting.
It was like he was the north end of a magnet and she was the south end of another; thus attracting him towards her.
All the rational thoughts had fled out of his mind by the time the conference was done with and it was once again an arduous job for him to keep his mind straight and make sense of what Mr. Saxena was telling him.
As already mentioned, being an efficient multitasking guy Arnav had managed that quite well.
He had been invited to the dinner party which was to be held in the hotel and was asked to bring Khushi along.
Khushi.
Yes, Mr. Saxena was talking about Khushi.
His PA.
Now that seemed to put some sense into his racing mind.
She was his goddamn PA. How could he let such sinful thoughts arise in his mind about her?
This was not right. He was her boss and he had promised her Buaji to look after her.
"This is not right, Arnav Singh Raizada. Stop thinking like a 'high-on-hormones teenager!" With that continuous mantra going on his mind, he walked out of the conference hall.
"Don't talk to her and go straight to your room. That would solve the problem" He kept telling himself.
You can't let her know that you're getting crazy about her. She might slap you for your pervert thinking.
The mantra was playing over and over in his head when he heard her say.
"Sir"
Hell! How can such a simple word sound so tempting?
He wondered how would his own name sound from her lips.
"Yes, Khushi?" He turned to her to reply, taking in a deep breath and fighting his urge to grab her waist and hold her soft body against his.
And then came her stuttering reply, which was the undoing of his threadbare patience.
Those stuttering lips of hers, that embarrassed look in her eyes and that down-casted gaze, it was all too much for him to overlook.
He had literally cornered her into a room and forced her to say his name. Such had been his desperation. But in his endeavor to hear her say his name, he had earned few more moments of closeness with her.
But all had gone downhill with the appearance of her tears. That was the last thing he wanted to see.
So when he slowly revived his senses, he heard his mind proclaim.
"You are a jerk, Arnav Singh Raizada and not just some random jerk but a top class one"
Indeed he was a jerk and now there was so much to be fixed.
~~***~~
Running out of that room, Khushi stopped nowhere until she reached her room. She unlocked the door and getting inside, locked it. Tears were still rolling down her eyes.
With faltered steps, she walked to the bed and sat lifelessly on its edge.
The events were still playing in her mind and she wanted to rip them out of her memory.
It was wrong. Everything which took place in his room was wrong.
This was going to ruin him, she knew and yet she was letting it happen.
But could she have stopped him? It had felt so right. Being close to him, being touched by him was so right yet so wrong.
Those passionate touches were too hard to be obstructed or resisted.
But apart from the passion, there had been something else too in his eyes.
Something she couldn't decipher or maybe she can, but didn't want to.
"Don't do this to him, Khushi. To yourself. Maintain your distance" Her mind strictly instructed and she had no choice but to follow.
~~***~~
Payal Gupta had locked herself in her room and was crying badly, though in suppressed sobs. She couldn't risk her family to hear her sobs.
Even Khushi wasn't here with whom she could talk out her sorrows and feel better. With each passing day, her life was getting more and more complex.
No matter how much she tried to keep calm and wait for the things to get easier, her patience will give up every time. There were nights when she would slip into depression modes and would lie in stupor, her mind in vacuum.
Today was one such day. The feeling of being an unwanted commodity was hitting her hard and she was finding it difficult to overcome that feeling.
If only Khushi would have been here, she would have helped her. Irrespective of being a younger sister, Khushi had always been a support structure in Payal's life.
If Payal was a good-at-heart and easy-going person, Khushi was determined and aplomb.
Both the sisters had been always there for each other, helping each other in every possible way.
But such was the irony of life that now Payal was nothing but an emotionally broken soul, whom Khushi was trying to fix.
And what had made her so vulnerable?
What had caused qualms in her life?
The answer was one name.
Akash Singh Raizada.
~~***~~
"Hey, I am sorry Khushi, I shouldn't have...you know...teased...er..F*ck" Arnav said, banging his fist against the wall.
This wasn't what he really wanted to say, so he tried again with fresh words.
"Khushi, what I want to say is that what happened in the room isn't my mistake. I mean it was yet it wasn't. You were looking so beautiful, and the way your eyelashes..no no..I mean the way your lips...hell no no no..I mean the way your.. F*ck again!"
This was getting disastrous second by second.
How can a simple apology be this hard?
Yeah! Simple apology it has to be. Forget the preface just say what you exactly want to. He chided himself and went on.
"Look, Khushi, I am very sorry about everything that happened in my room. Please forget it and let's be friends"
"Forget? You really want to forget it, Arnav Singh Raizada?" His reflection in the mirror asked him.
No!
He wanted to apologize but he would never want to forget what took place. It was too beautiful to forget.
For the first time in his life, Arnav Singh Raizada's heartbeats had raced up because of a girl and he wanted to keep that memory with him, memory of her flushed cheeks and the memory of her skin under his rough fingers.
Hell, Arnav Singh Raizada. You really are behaving like a horny teenager.
When you should be thinking about apologizing, you're thinking of her skin.
This is the limit of lust!
Lust?
LUST?
Is it lust? He wondered.
What else it could be? Could it be...Love?
How do people differentiate between love and lust?
Is there some standard method?
He'll have to Google it.
"Is there some standard method to declare a person mentally unsound? Google it too" The reflection from the mirror said in a mocking tone.
"Lust or whatever! What you right now need to focus upon is an apology. Go and apologize to her" The voice told him and he nodded in agreement.
He'll have to say sorry to his own PA.
Seems like the good days had begun. (Pun intended)
~~***~~
Arnav stepped out of the washroom and decided to directly head for Khushi's room. There was no point in wasting time.
But seemed like the day hadn't been enough eventful for there stood Khushi, in his room.
At the first look, Arnav thought he was imagining her there, but the red swollen eyes of hers indicated that she was right here.
"Khushi? You're here?" He asked, clearing his throat and trying to smile.
"I am sorry, Sir..I mean, Arnav Sir. I shouldn't have barged inside like this but I knocked twice. Since no one answered, I thought I would just get in and make myself comfortable. I hope you didn't mind. I am sorry if you did" She talked in her natural tone, as if nothing ever happened.
Was there any possibility that he had been dreaming everything? Everything which started this morning and ended in his room? All of it could be a dream?
"Arnav Sir?" She said, breaking his chain of thoughts.
"No No, I don't mind, Khushi. Please sit" He said and walked towards the couch placed in the center of the room.
"Thank You" She replied with a smile and took a seat.
"Khushi, I am very.." He started but he noticed a flicker of pain in her eyes and stopped.
"There is nothing to be sorry about, Arnav Sir. I think you just got carried away and that is okay. I know such things are trivial in high societies you live in, and believe me, I...I am okay. I just don't want to discuss it anymore. Can we please leave it behind and do not talk about it, ever?" She asked, rather requested but Arnav was way too astounded to acknowledge it.
"Khushi that wasn't..." He wanted to explain but she cut in.
"I know that wasn't a deliberate attempt. I understand, Arnav Sir. That's okay, really okay. Can happen to anyone, anywhere! So as I already said, let's leave it behind and do not talk about it" She said, with an artificial smile adorning her face while Arnav was too offended to care.
Did she just say it was a trivial thing for him?
Hadn't she felt the magnetic pull between them? Had none of it been registered by her? Above all, did she miss the passion which was smoldering in his eyes? A passion to be near her?
She thinks it is an everyday thing for him to pull girls in his room and force them to pronounce his name?
Even though he was confused with his own feelings, he knew well this was something unique, which he could feel only for her.
And this was what she was thinking of it!
"Yoh think that was the heat of a moment?"
"I just don't want to discuss it anymore. Can we please leave it behind and not talk about it, ever?" She requested again.
If this is what she wants, he was no one to raise issues over it.
The apology can go to hell, for all he cared now.
"Sure, Khushi. I am sure I just got carried away! Can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. Not a big deal. We won't talk about it, ever" He replied with a recessive hinge of sarcasm in his voice.
"Thank You" He heard her say and smiled back.
"So is this all which brought you here?" He asked, sounding all nonchalant.
"No, I also wanted to ask, when are we leaving? You had said we'll leave the same evening the conference gets over" She reminded him.
"Oh. But now we have got to attend the dinner too. Since it's an official one, we can't miss it. So let's do this, we would attend the dinner and then we can leave after that. You can pack your things this evening" He said and she seemed quite okay with it.
"Okay Sir. Thank You. I'd take your leave now" She said and got up to leave and he nodded.
"We'll have to reach the dining hall by 8 p.m. Make sure you be there on time. I'll be going straightway to the hall. You can join me there sooner or later" He said, and Khushi nodded. Then she got up, said bye and left.
Arnav settled down back into the couch, feeling poignant. This day was going to be extra-long.
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DancingBell @DancingBell
+ 2
3 years ago
Cute update ... Loved it....