Chapter 29

Finally, I made it to the next chapter. I know I am a little late with the update, so I tried to make a long one. Enjoy.

Let me know your thoughts on the story. 

Chapter - 29

As he watched her retreating figure a blissful grin made way on to his lips. His heart and mind finally in perfect harmony with each other he knew exactly what he had to do. “Tomorrow! Tomorrow I am going to tell her how I feel” he said in a determined tone.

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Running into her room Khushi collapsed on her bed, her heart beating like a drum, and her cheeks still on fire showing no sign of cooling down. Her palm gently reaching out she touched her cheeks and blushed profoundly recollecting the last couple of minutes. “Hey, Devi Maiya! What is happening to me? I should be angry at him, right? So why am I not?” she questioned, unable to put a name to what she was feeling. Frowning she later added “But why did he do that? Why did he ki..” she trailed off and taking a short pause continued “Forget about it Khushi. Maybe it is his way of thanking you as he mentioned. Maybe for him, it is not as big a deal as you are making it to be.”  She was engrossed in her thoughts replaying everything over and over trying to find answers when the sound of her ringtone echoed throughout the silent room startling her. As she quickly reached out to get it, her eyes fell on the caller ID and she froze. 

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Arnav woke up a little late the next morning. In his defense he hardly had any luck falling asleep the previous night because his thoughts were running haywire. It was almost dawn when the tiredness took over and he finally slipped into a deep slumber. As he got ready his mind wandered off, reminiscing the last night’s happenings for the umpteenth time and a smile crawled onto his lips. He still couldn’t believe that he, ‘The Arnav Singh Raizada’ did that. He used to take pride in saying that he is always in control of any situation. But last night was different. For the first time in many years, he lost his control and to his surprise, he was very happy he did. “What did you do to me, Khushi?” he mumbled looking at himself in the mirror adjusting the tie. His heart thumping impatiently to see her, meet her and talk to her he said “I have made up my mind. Today I will tell her how I feel.” Even though not completely sure he had an intuition that she has feelings for him too.

Subconsciously his eyes landing on his watch he said with a broad smile “Oh! She must be at the breakfast table with everyone. What expression will she be dawning today? Can’t wait to see it?” and rushed out with anticipation. But as he walked to the dining area the smile on his face vanished, unable to find her. His eyes roaming around anxiously he sat at the table cursing his luck “Where are you, Khushi? Could it be that she is upset at me for yesterday?” 

It was almost towards the end of breakfast when Naniji asked “Did Khushi reach safely? It would have been nice if she could stay till the wedding.” 

Payal immediately replied “Yes, she did. I also wanted her to stay. She looked stressed when she said something urgent came up and I couldn’t say anything. Maybe I should have tried to stop her. But she promised to come back by the next function.”

Lost in her love for Khushi, Garima spoke “It has not been long since we reunited with her but from what little I observed I can definitely say that it is futile to reason with her. Even the last time she visited just for a day and when I asked her to stay longer she seemed panicky. It’s like she wished to stay but she can’t change her mind from leaving. It was strange. I even asked her about it but like always she said everything is fine. For some reason, she doesn’t talk much about her life. At first, we felt it was weird as the Khushi we knew was very chirpy, transparent, and outspoken. Then I thought maybe the loss of her parents changed her. I can’t imagine what she must have gone through. It is a blessing that her distant uncle came at the right time and took care of her.  I feel sad seeing her like this. Her parents were everything to her. They cherished her. Her father used to call her princess.” She completed letting out a deep sigh in distress.

Instantly chipping in Payal said “Amma, don’t worry. We are here for her now. Also, she said she will attend all the functions so it’s not like she won’t come back.”

“Sorry, I got a bit emotional. It’s just that I feel guilty for not being there for her.” Garima said grimly.

“Aunty, don’t worry. Khushi is a sweet girl. I am sure God has something great planned for her.” Anjali said smiling assuringly.

“I want to believe that too. After everything she went through, she deserves a life partner who will shower her with love and understands her pain. I keep telling Sashi that we should speak to her uncle and share the responsibility of finding a suitable groom for her. But Shashi is worried he might get offended.” Garima responded with a tight-lipped smile.

“Amma, say her prince.”, Payal said giggling.

“Prince?” Deeksha questioned amused.

“Yes. Young Khushi was crazily in love with prince and princess stories that she used to pester everyone asking when will her prince come or what if she can’t find him? At times she got pretty upset about it that one day Gupta Uncle had to assure her that her prince will definitely come and promised he will search the whole world if he had to for him. After that day Khushi went around telling everyone about it for many days. It was quite hilarious.” Payal laughed remembering that little Khushi.

Arnav who was hooked to his chair was intently listening to the conversation trying to process everything. As everyone joined in laughing along with Payal at her last comment, his mind was working on overdrive “She left? When? Where? How did I not know? Why did she not tell me?” His conceptions escalating from bad to worse he thought, clenching his teeth “How could she just leave like that? How dare she doesn't even feel like informing me? What does she think of herself?”

Totally engrossed in his thoughts Arnav rashly raised from his chair grabbing everyone’s attention. As everyone’s gazes shifted to him Anjali asked with concern “Chote, are you ok?”

Recovering quickly he replied, “I am fine, Di. I just remembered some urgent work. Let me know what time you guys plan on moving to the guest house. I will arrange everything.”

Garima spoke disappointed, “You all are leaving? Why? It is so much fun with all of us here.”

Manorama gently replied, “No, Garima Ji. You will soon have many guests to take care of. We don’t want to impose. Also….”

His Maami’s voice dwindled as he walked away from them not giving a damn about anything happening around him. He felt mixed emotions gushing through him all at once but the most prominent of all was his anger. Briskly opening the door, he stepped into his room when his eyes fell on a folded paper lying almost hidden under the bed. Curious, picking it up he gently unfolded it and like on cue his facial muscles relaxed. His lips curling into a sweet smile he read the letter in his hand.

Arnav Ji,

I had to leave unexpectedly so couldn’t say bye in person. Sorry. You know, I ended up in Tirumala by chance. I was really not ready to go but Lavaanya tricked me. At first, I was angry at myself for getting fooled by her but not anymore. Because I got to meet you there. I am happy I got to know you. You are really special. 

I came to know about your father from Payal Jiji. I am sorry you had to go through all that pain. It must have been hard for you to stay strong and take care of your family. You are a very strong person. But strong people can laugh too. I think you have achieved what you wanted, your family's honor and respect. Now it is time for you to be happy. You and your family deserve to be happy. Anjali Di and Aunty love you so much and they can be truly happy only when you are happy. Sorry if I offended you in any way. That was not my intention. I wanted to say this to you in person but never got a chance. 

Try not to overwork and stay healthy. One day the world will see you for the good man you really are like I do. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is what you feel and your happiness.  Also, you look really nice when you smile.

Khushi.

At the end of the letter, he noticed that she wrote something which she later scratched away making it very hard to read. The minute he completed reading the letter all his earlier fury disappeared. It was then he realized that more than the thought of her not informing him, he was disturbed by the fact that he had no idea when he would be able to see her again. “Payal said Khushi will be here for all the functions. So…”  he quickly checked the calendar on his phone and mentally noted “4 more days till the next event. 4 more days until she returns.”

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The next 4 days passed with great difficulty for Arnav. Now that he finally came to terms with his feelings and embraced them, it got a lot hard for him to stay away from her let alone not being able to see her. He kept mentally beating himself an innumerable number of times for never asking her cell number all those times when he had the opportunity. One time failing to restrain his emotions he even dared to ask Payal for her number but stopped at the last second as his Di walked by. The person he was sure he didn’t want to know about his feelings was his Di. If she found out he was positive it would be broadcasted to the whole world before he could tell the one person who should actually know first. So like a mantra, he kept reminding himself to be sensible and patient. That it is only 4 days. That he is the mighty ASR who can handle anything. 

Even though every second kept reminding him of her, he did his best to distract himself from her thoughts but never completely succeeded. Every now and then Garima and Payal’s last conversations about her would replay in his mind and he couldn’t help but get entangled in the web of questions “Why does she not share her feelings with even Garima Aunty or Payal? Evidently, they adore her and she loves them. Then why? Why does she not speak about herself to anyone? Is it like Sudhaji said that she doesn’t want to speak about her parents?”. And now he finally understood why she called him ‘Prince’ that night. That particular memory always made him chuckle. “She was her Daddy’s Princess and wanted a Prince. Unbelievable!” he murmured amused.

Frustrated at the time which was moving at a snail pace as the last resort he tried immersing himself in work which did help him to some extent. He worked, worked, and worked so much more than he ever did that Anjali started getting really worried for him. “Chote, is something bothering you? You don’t seem to be yourself these past few days. Is there any problem in the office?” she occasionally kept bombarding him with questions but he had no answer to give her.

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Finally, finally, it was ‘The M Day’ (Mehendi day). Arnav Singh Raizada who signed many big deals, who won the best businessman award was never this excited about anything as much as he was today about meeting her. He who used to hate socializing and run away this kind of function is now desperately waiting to attend one. “Damn it! I don’t recognize myself anymore.”, he said absentmindedly as her thoughts took over his consciousness. Walking into the hall he realized he was the only one ready to go when no one was even out of their rooms. Frustrated he muttered, “Why are they taking so long?” and shouted “Di! How long will you all take to get ready? We will get late like this.” 

Walking out of the room Anjali remarked, a little annoyed “Chote, what is wrong with you? Why are you in a hurry? And also, Since when are you interested in such events? Earlier I had to fight with you to take you to such occasions and today you are very eager to go?”

“Oh! Come on Di. First off it's our family function. Second, now that we moved to the guest house I felt Payal and her family will be taking care of all arrangements and may appreciate some help if we go early.” he replied improvising as he spoke while appreciating his presence of mind “You are getting good at making excuses, Arnav. Nice!” Well, he couldn’t tell her his reason now, could he? 

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The moment he entered Payal’s house his eyes had only one mission. To find her. But they were failing miserably. “Where are you?” he thought, irritated.

A few moments later, he heard his Maami question Payal “Beta, you don’t look happy? Is something wrong?”

Garima pitched in immediately saying “It’s nothing. Khushi called last night and said she won’t be able to make it today. So Payal is a bit upset.”

“Of course I am upset. She promised that she will be here. Am I not important to her?” Payal said, sulking.

“Then you should have scolded her and ordered her to come.”, Anjali said, trying to console her.

“I wanted to but she kept on apologizing and even sounded low spirited that I couldn’t say anything. I could sense that she was feeling bad about it. In the end, I failed to even probe her about the reason.” she said completely disheartened.

The conversation continued but Arnav was no longer interested in eavesdropping. Engulfed in thoughts his frustration and disappointment kept mounting by each passing second that in no time it transformed into anger. Growling to himself he started to walk away from the crowd “She is not coming. Did you hear that? She. Is. Not. Coming. How could she do this? Did I gauge her wrong? Does she not feel anything for.... Whatever. I don’t care anymore. Why should I when clearly she doesn’t? Anyway, I will forget about her in no time.” Briskly taking out his phone he dialed Aman. The poor guy had no idea what was coming at him.

As he was busy torturing Aman with his orders Payal’s words suddenly echoed in his mind. Cutting the call abruptly, leaving a confused hapless Aman on the other side as to what just happened Arnav drifted into his thoughts questioning “Why did Payal say Khushi sounded low? Did something happen to her? Is she ok? Why did she not give a reason for not coming?” And taking a short pause he involuntarily whispered “Where are you Khushi? …. Are you ok?”

Akash who was passing by ended up hearing Arnav partially and promptly replied with a smile “Yes Bhai! I am ok. Thanks to you, I am able to attend Mehendi. Well, Jijaji helped too. ”

Coming out of his reverie he said “Akash, I need to leave. Don’t tell anyone or they will ask questions”

“But Bhai! Why? I mean an hour back you were rushing everyone to come here and now you want to leave? Did something happen? Is it work? You can tell me. We are family” the concern and helplessness in his voice disturbed Arnav.

“No, I can’t do this. This is his day to enjoy. If I leave he will end up thinking about me. I can’t do that to him.” he reasoned and coming to a decision spoke with a tight smile “Forget it. I will stay. Nothing is more important than you right now. Don’t worry.” making Akash ease up. 

Finding an isolated corner Arnav sat down cursing his luck with no particular interest in anything and for the next hour or so he kept himself occupied browsing through his phone making failed attempts to distract his thoughts. “Arnav!” he heard Anjali call him. Reluctantly getting up he started walking towards her when his heart suddenly gained pace and he abruptly stopped on his track. Confused by the uncanny feeling he turned around not sure what he was looking for and at that exact moment, she walked in. The one person who held so much power over him, his actions, moods, and thoughts. His lips promptly curled into a beaming smile, he kept staring at her as if she waved an invisible magic wand and bewitched him.

On the clock a second later Payal squealed with joy “KHUSHIiii!” seeing Khushi walk towards her.

Khushi readily ran towards her, gave her a tight hug, and holding her ears said “Sorry Jiji. I know I upset you. I should have....”

Cutting her mid-sentence Payal said with a smile “Don’t worry about it. I am very happy now that you made it.”

While Khushi went around greeting and hugging everyone his gaze followed her totally smitten, taking in every inch of her. She was wearing a cream lehenga with a big floral print paired with a green blouse covered in delicate golden embroidery. With her golden-colored dupatta hanging onto one side he could clearly see her curved slender waist whenever she moved in a specific angle making his heart skip a beat every single time. His eyes finally moving away from her waist he noticed that she had her hair tied into a ponytail and a frown appeared on his face in disapproval. “If only she let her hair loose to flow with the wind she would look ethereal like a beautiful fairy in a garden.” he thought

Since the second she entered Khushi could feel his presence and his gaze. Even though she didn’t see him eye to eye, her mind and body somehow knew where he was. She could feel his chocolate orbs religiously following her around burning her whole body. It’s not like she is avoiding him purposely. She is doing it subconsciously because the memory of their last encounter was still fresh in her mind.  

As she was about to sit next to Payal, she heard “Khushi! Can you get me some water?” to which she nodded, and failing to find any helpers around, she walked towards the kitchen. 

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Khushi was busily filling a glass with water when a sudden ‘Hi!’ right next to her ear startled her. Reflexively she turned around with a jerk, losing her balance in the process. And the very next second the glass in her hand slipped away splattering water everywhere. Realizing the fall was imminent she shut her eyes tight in panic and instinctively flew her hands around trying to grab onto anything. Finally managing to grab onto something, she stopped her fall in the nick of time and slowly opened her eyes relieved. But that feeling vanished the very next moment noticing what she was actually holding. There she was suspended in mid-air, holding or rather pulling his suit firmly for support inadvertently pulling him closer to her. Completely freaking out she batted her eyelashes furiously, unable to think and bit her lower lip embarrassed.

Even though her sudden action surprised him. The way she pulled him felt very similar to what she did earlier on the night before she left, and the whole scene flashed before him making it difficult for him to hold back. Luckily he regained his composure pretty fast this time around  before getting carried away like that night and thought “This girl will be the death of me.” As he observed her antics a pinch of mischief made its way to his mind and trailing his right palm around her waist he gently brushed it against her skin moving from one side all the way to the other. Gasping for air, eyes ready to pop out in astonishment, she stared at him in shock as her cheeks turned beet red and her waist burned under his touch. His hand successfully circled, he held on to her waist tightly and pulled her close to him in a swift moment. Breathing erratically she closed her eyes tight, unable to bear the sensation or the proximity. Gathering courage, with great difficulty she stammered “Wha.. What … are..yyyou doing?”   

“Punishing you!” he said assertively.

Her eyes shot open at his response and met his intense brown orbs for a second before hastily moving away from them and whispered in disbelief  “Punishing me? For what?”

“You made the mistake of making me lose my composure twice. So I decided to give you a sense of the same. You should know, actions have consequences.” he said with a smirk

“What!? What do you mean?” she almost demanded failing to understand.

His hand which was still lingering on her waist made its way back following the same path as before while taking its sweet time caressing through her skin, making her lose all her strength and wobble. Unable to take it any longer, in an attempt to escape his hand which was behind her she leaned forward towards him without thinking, reducing the gap between them further. Her head now placed very close to his heart, she could vaguely hear it beating rapidly under her hands and even feel his breath brushing through her neck. With only her palms that were still holding his suit separating them from a proper hug, she froze realizing that she made the situation worse for herself. Her chest profoundly heaved while her common sense abandoned her and other senses took over completely. She stood there as 4 of her 5 senses were gradually consumed by him. Her whole being was filled with his intoxicating scent, her body burning under his touch, her eyes lost deep in his and her heart listening to his heartbeat song. 

Arnav who was taking pride a few minutes back for the way he composed himself earlier had lost the battle as his game of punishing her backfired on him very badly. He desperately wanted to hug her tightly and that urge was only getting stronger by the second. As their body temperatures raised they both stood there silently, frozen in time, basking in each other's presence unaware that their hearts were beating together rhythmically at a fast pace in tune with each other finally merging into one and beating in unison. 

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***One day Before the Mehendi***

Akash and Arjun, Anjali’s husband, peep into Arnav’s room. Finding him busy on his phone they silently sneak into the room and settle onto the sofa. Looking up after a few minutes Arnav finally sees them and Akash impatiently gestures to him to cut the call. Arnav instinctively knew these two were up to something. His family is always good at catching him off guard. Cutting the call he warily asked, “What are you two doing here?”

Akash: Not wasting a second “Bhai, you love me right?”

Arnav: Knowing fully well where this was going “What kind of a question is that? Anyway, what do you want?”

Akash: “I want you to spend your tomorrow with me. You can’t say No. We three are going on a bachelor’s day out. We will go shopping.”

Arnav: “What crap? First of all, how did you forget about your own event tomorrow? Second, Jijaji is not a bachelor so there can be no bachelor’s day out with the three of us. And lastly, you need to get yourself checked Akash. Which man opts to go shopping for a day out.”

Akash: “Yes Crap. I know there is a function tomorrow but I am not allowed to attend it. How can you mock me Bhai? Do you know how I feel as a Groom? You are so insensitive.” 

Arnav: “What the!? You are not making any sense. Geez, why are you and Di always so overdramatic?”

Arjun immediately filled in Arnav on how Anjali earlier informed Akash that he can’t attend tomorrow’s ceremony as men are not allowed to attend the Mehendi. 

Arnav: Shocked shouted “What!?”

Akash: Dwelling in his own sorrow, “I know, right. It is so unfair. How can they do this?” 

Arnav: Still confused “Why? I.. I mean why can’t you attend?”

Akash: Pouting “I don’t know. Some custom of sorts. Di said it is a girls-only function and we are not allowed.”

Arnav: Contemplating for a second mumbled to himself “No, this can’t be. I have to go tomorrow. She will be there and I can’t miss her for anything. No one will stop me if I go but I can’t go alone. It will look weird and also everyone will be suspicious.” And quickly thinking on his toes  asked, “Do you want to go?”

Akash: At once replied “Of course, Bhai. I want to be with Payal. It is our wedding, how can they have a celebration without me. It is not done.”

Arjun: Trying to be the sensible one “But Akash, you know we can’t win against the ladies. Especially your Di. Just let it go. It is just Mehendi. ”

Akash: Disheartened “Whose side are you on, Jijaji?” 

Arnav: With a smug instigated Akash “Don’t worry, Akash. We will all go. If my brother wants it, I will make sure he has it. And Jijaji, if I remember correctly you were with Di for all functions, right? Even the ‘Just Mehendi’. Don’t you think you and Di are being unfair to Akash? 

Akash: Totally taking Anrav’s bait stared at Arjun accusingly.

Suddenly dragged under the spotlight Arjun didn’t know how to react.

Arnav: Taking Arjun’s silence as an opportunity “Akash, you need not worry. Jijaji will convince Di for you. He can’t let injustice happen under his watch. After all, he is a famous criminal lawyer in Delhi. Right, Jijaji?”

Akash instantly looked at Arjun with puppy dog eyes filled with anticipation. 

Arjun: Unable to take it anymore “Ok, fine. I will try to convince Anjali.”

Both Arnav and Akash give him a death stare.

Arjun: “I will convince Anjali. Happy now!?”

Akash: Smiling broadly thanked Arjun and hugged Arnav. “You are great! Bhai.”

Arnav: Accomplishing what he intended, a subtle smirk made its way onto his lips. “No one can stop me from going there. Or stop me from meeting her. I can’t believe I am doing all this to attend a ceremony.  So that I can see you, meet you. Khushi, What have you done to me?”

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