Beauty And Her Prince #ReadersChoiceAwards Ongoing G

Chapter 31

Published On Tuesday,Nov 10, 2020 09:25 AM GMT-07:00

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Chapter - 31

Arnav stepped into his room totally exhausted and frustrated. Disappointment clearly visible on his face he yelled “Damn it!” as he threw his phone on the bed. The Mehendi function was over but the task he set out to do this morning, which he waited for the past few days was still incomplete. “I shouldn’t have let her leave when Payal called her.” he hissed exasperated, reminiscing what happened.

*Flashback*

Arnav followed Khushi into the hall a few seconds later. His eyes immediately drawn to her, he caught sight of Payal handing her a phone while saying something. Blocking his line of sight, Anjali abruptly came in front of him and asked, “Chote, what happened to your suit? Are you ok? Wait, is that Mehendi? How did it get…”

Not paying heed to her words he absentmindedly answered, “It’s nothing Di. Everything is fine.” as his wandering eyes successfully spotted her again.

“What nothing? Tell me what happened? How did Mehendi get on your suit? Do you want me to arrange another suit for you?” she said completing her never-ending questionnaire.

Sounding a bit irritated he replied, “It’s really nothing, Di. I bumped into someone by accident. It’s a dark color suit anyway. Don’t worry. I am fine.” while busy observing Khushi, who was now on the phone with someone in the other corner of the room. Anjali said something but with his mind elsewhere it went through deaf ears. It was then that he noticed Khushi’s expression’s change. He frowned seeing her agitated. “Di! Not now. I have some work. Will talk later.” he said in a rush, interrupting her and walked away leaving her confused.

Walking briskly in Khushi’s direction he made sure not to lose sight of her. He could clearly guess that she was arguing with the person on the other side of the call. And right before his eyes her face fell, consumed by the sadness which the very next moment turned to pain. “Why does she look so sad?” he wondered, feeling a sharp twinge in his heart.

He was just a few feet away when he heard her requesting “You can’t do this. Give me just 2 more days. Hello! Hello!?” and the hand holding the cell to her ear dropped down in disappointment. Taking longer strides he closed in on her and asked concerned “Is everything ok?”

Completely caught off guard she turned towards him hastily and looked at him muddled. “I... I was passing by and noticed that you looked agitated. So, wanted to check if all is well? Did something happen?” he said, trying his best to sound casual.

Vigorously fluttering her eyes to fight back the water pooling in her eyes from spilling out, she looked away from him with no intention of getting caught. In a very cold voice, she said “I am fine. Nothing happened. You enjoy the party. There is no need for you to worry about me.”

Something about her actions, voice, and the way she said it irked him. Losing his composure momentarily he snapped, “Let me make this clear before you assume things. Why would I be worried for you? I was not worried. I just asked out of courtesy. I am …” he stopped midway, finally noticing the water hiding under her eyelids.

His words pierced through her heart. Even though by now she knew him and his anger well enough she couldn’t help but get affected by his words. Unable to control her tears she quickly turned away, now her back facing him, and said dejectedly “Great. Glad to know you are not worried. I shouldn’t have presumed things. I am a nobody. So, there is no reason for you to be.”

Cursing himself, he tried to reason “Khushi! I didn’t mean it like that. I wanted to…”

Cutting him short, she spoke in a detached tone “Sorry but I want to stay alone for some time. Now if you would excuse me.” and walked away swiftly.

*Flashback end*

After that incident, it became hard to approach her. She became very distant. It’s like she was present there with everyone but was not actually present. Remembering her demeanor he pondered once again “What might have happened for her to act like that? Who might have upset her that badly? Who was she talking to on the phone?” Disappointed at his choice of words he kept repeating to himself “You made her cry, you idiot.”

Crashing into the sofa he exhaled deeply. Something catching his attention from the corner of his eye he frowned. Shifting his attention towards it, he opened his palm trying to understand what he saw and stared at the red blotch the size of a small coin visible in a corner. Not giving it a second thought he rubbed it off but nothing happened. Then it suddenly dawned on him - ‘Her Mehendi’. He involuntarily smiled remembering their Mehendi fiasco and thought “The Mehendi from my suit must have transferred to my hand at some point.” As he kept looking at it he was reminded of their sweet and not-so-sweet encounters. And he couldn’t help but wish that they didn’t move to the guest house. He wished he was at Payal’s place where she was right this moment to find out what had upset her. Now sitting here, all he could do was speculate on what happened and hope for tomorrow to come sooner so that he could meet her again.

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Khushi tossed and turned in her bed for the umpteenth time unable to fall asleep. Sighing in defeat she picked her phone and checked the time. “Finally!” she almost shouted sitting up on her bed and continued talking to herself “5:00 a.m I think it is a good time to wake up. It will look natural, right? I don’t want Jiji to suspect anything. I don’t want them to worry. But what if no one is awake yet. Shall I wait a little longer before going out?”

Khushi hardly caught a wink last night. That phone call yesterday snatched both her peace and sleep. “Khushi, I want you to come back tomorrow” he ordered over the phone, not paying attention to anything she said. But she wanted to stay. She wanted to attend her Jiji’s wedding. “Just 2 more days.” she tried to plead only to be rebuffed before she could even complete. “Hey, Devi Maiya! Help me. I want to stay until the wedding tomorrow. But he will get angry if I do. And Payal Jiji? She will be upset if I leave. What do I do? Show me the way.” she prayed earnestly trying to find a solution as she got out of bed.

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Anjali woke up a little earlier than usual as she knew today was going to be a busy day. The day marked not one but two pre-wedding ceremonies. Yes, the families felt it would be more exciting to celebrate Haldi and Sangeet simultaneously which indeed was a great idea but it also meant double the work. Walking into the hall she saw her mother and Mami already present there. Wishing them good morning she walked towards the boy’s rooms to wake them up.

As Arnav’s room drew closer she noticed light emitting from under the door. Confused, she silently opened the door and poked her head in for a peek. To her utter surprise, the room was in a total mess. His files, papers, and other stuff were spread throughout the entire room. Taking a step inside she looked around to find the person responsible for this chaos. Sitting in a corner completely immersed in his laptop was Arnav typing away something with deep concentration. She never saw her brother like this. He is someone who is always very particular about everything. He is a very organized person be it at home or work. But today looking at his room she wondered if this was the same Arnav. “Something is definitely wrong with him. He has been acting very strange these last few days. I need to find out what’s happening. I am sure it must be about some deal.” she thought, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Arnav!” she called gently

For a second he wondered who was disturbing him at this time as he moved his eyes away from the screen. Seeing his sister standing there he asked worried “Di, What are you doing here this late? I am fine. Go back to bed.”

Puzzled by his words she answered “Chote, what are you saying? Why would I go back to bed? It’s morning.”

“What? It’s already morning. Great! I will go and freshen up” he said enthusiastically.

Unable to understand she stared at her brother for a moment before it finally hit her. “You didn’t sleep last night, did you? Chote! What happened? You don’t seem yourself lately. Is there a problem? You can tell me.” she asked anxiously.

“Di, seriously everything is fine. It's just, I couldn’t sleep last night so I started working and got carried away” he said trying to ease her mind.

“You couldn’t sleep and worked the whole night? Why? Are you unwell?..” she started blabbering in panic.

Cutting her midway he said “Di… Di! I really am ok. Nothing to worry. Maybe because of the new place.” he lied. The actual truth was he couldn’t get the visual of Khushi’s disappointed face out of his head and ended up losing his sleep thinking about her. He kept tossing around till 3 a.m and finally got off bed deciding it was better he worked to keep his mind sane. Standing up he reassured his Di that he was fine and added while walking towards the restroom, “I will freshen up and meet you at breakfast. We need to reach the venue by noon so you also get ready.”

Watching his retreating figure Anjali wondered, “Is he really ok? Something about him is different but I am not able to put my finger on it. I am sure he is hiding something. He never shares anything. I have to keep an eye on him.” And headed towards the bridegroom’s room.

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As guests started coming Khushi made her own set of friends - children. She adored kids and almost always it was mutual. They loved her. It was hard for her to handle herself at such functions. It’s not that she didn’t like having fun. It was just that she very rarely or maybe never attended such kinds of celebrations for a long time that now she gets overwhelmed. Lucky for her that both families decided to have fewer guests for Roka and Mehendi. But today and tomorrow are going to be different. “Ahh! Tomorrow? What should I do? Stay or leave?” she pondered lost in her thoughts when someone patted her. Breaking out of her dilemma she looked at the little boy standing next to her. Bending down she asked “Hello! What do you want?”

Done helping the little one, she started walking to Payal when she felt her heart race out of the blue. Unaware as to why it was happening she looked around, confused by this feeling. And almost instantly she spotted the reason for her heart malfunction - him. The instance her eyes met his, their last encounter replayed in her mind unannounced and she immediately turned away. Khushi herself was not sure why she was acting this way. For some reason when he said “Why would I be worried?” yesterday she felt very troubled. Engulfed in her own problems she didn’t find time till now to think about why she felt that way. Unable to hold herself back she tilted her head a little to take a peek at him and immediately regretted her actions. Now she felt even worse.

The moment she stole a glance at him she noticed a young lady speaking to him and then to her shock, hugged him. She quickly looked away and kept walking. Her emotions running high, her previous feeling of distress is now replaced with anger. She couldn’t help but sneak a peek at him again only to find him talking to someone with her standing right next to him, her hands wrapped around his biceps. Annoyance taking over, she felt cheated and she had no idea why. Her actions and feelings made no sense to her. Failing to understand herself she sat close to Payal and brushed those confusing thoughts under the rug as the Haldi ceremony began.

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Throughout the Haldi ceremony, Khushi was right next to Payal and all he could do was try to meet her gaze but in vain. Every time their eyes met, she would turn away and whenever he turned away, he could feel her eyes on him. The only reason he could come up with for her actions was his behavior yesterday. “Is it all because of that Or is she angry about something else?” he kept wondering. Even though it was a little disheartening, he couldn’t help but feel amused by her antics.

Finally, Haldi was complete and as Payal left with Garima, Khushi was left alone. Taking the opportunity he started walking towards her when he noticed her stare at her phone and walk away briskly. The expression on her face was the same as yesterday, panic. Without further ado, he started to follow her but was stopped midway by one of the guests. Exchanging pleasantries he got away as fast as he could but by then she was nowhere to be seen.

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After searching for her in the venue hall for nearly 20 minutes he walked outside where the arrangements for Sangeeth were going on. Looking around he exhaled deeply, dejected, and turned to leave when he heard kids shout “Didi, Please one more story. Pretty please.” He promptly marched in the direction of the voice as his lips whispered “Khushi!”. He somehow knew it could only be her who would leave everything and sit here with the kids.

Moving closer he stopped, watching her from a distance. Her face no longer held that expression; it was now full of life and joy. Rooted in the place he lost track of time as he gawked at her. Suddenly he heard one of the girls yell while pointing her finger, “Didi, Krishna is trying to climb the tent again” and his gaze shifted in that direction. There, almost to the other end, he saw a young boy trying to climb onto one of the support pillars of the tent. The problem being the tent which was not yet entirely set up making it easy to collapse as the boy hung on to it.

Before Arnav could comprehend what was happening or take action, he saw the tent tilting to a side ready to collapse. He then heard Khushi shout “Krishna, stop. Don’t pull it.” grabbing his attention. She was no longer sitting. She was now running towards the boy. He then saw her stretch her hand out reaching him in the nick of time and push him away successfully. But in the whole process, she ended up losing balance and fell to the ground. As if on queue, one of the pillars came crashing down with a thud. Panic-stricken, Arnav whispered “Khushi!” as he ran to her.

Closing in he noticed her lying on the ground with the pillar resting on top of her feet. By then, all the commotion made the event management people rush to the scene and quickly lift the pillar. Concern etched on his face he bent down next to her and asked “Are you ok?” as he gently helped her up. Standing on her feet she silently nodded in affirmation. Then, all hell broke loose. His face turning red in anger, Arnav glared at the event planner, and raising his voice questioned “What the hell are you people doing? Is this how your company handles events? Why was this tent not properly secured? ”

“S... Sorry, Sir. The structure was not done. We were still in the process of setting it up.” one of them tried to explain in a hurry.

ASR completely taking over he roared “Shut up! Don’t you dare give excuses. Did you get hurt? No. She did. What if something happened to her? If it was not complete then how come no one or some notice was here next to it. How can you guys just leave it unattended? Is this your professionalism? Is this how your company handles things? Give me your boss's number. I will make sure you lose your job right now. I will ….”

Placing her hand on his, she grabbed his attention and gently said “Arnavji, I am really fine. Please leave it.”

Looking at her in disbelief, he sternly said “You want me to let it go? No. I can’t. Do you understand what could have happened? You could have been badly hurt. They have to pay for their irresponsibility.”

“Please. Let us not create a scene. The whole function will be disturbed. I really am fine.” she pleaded.

Trying to calm himself down for her, he tried to reason “But they..”

Pulling his hand towards her a little she stepped closer and murmured “Please understand. Kids are already afraid and you are scaring them more. Luckily no one got hurt. Let it go.”

She then turned to the planner who looked pale and said “Be thankful nothing major happened. Make sure you pay attention and are more careful from now on. You can get back to work.” Recovering from the shock, the workers apologized and thanked her quite a few times before actually leaving.

Arnav was surprised as to how she managed to sound both gentle and serious at the same time. “You amaze me, Khushi!” he thought, consumed by her.

Her attention shifting to the petrified boy, she bent down on her knees and he immediately came running to her. Tears flowing down his cheeks he hugged her tight and sobbed. Gradually breaking the hug, Khushi wiped his tears and she affectionately said “Don’t worry. I am fine. See... nothing happened to me. Your Didi is very strong. But you should be careful. Can you promise me you will?” Krishna nodded sincerely and finally smiled at her. Smiling back warmly she said, “Also, just because your name is Krishna it doesn’t mean you need to be naughty like him. Got it.” That remark made the kids laugh, lighting up the mood. “Now all of you go and play. But no running around. And don’t forget to be careful” she lovingly ordered and they obliged.

She stayed put in her position waiting for everyone to leave. Finally, when the coast was clear she slowly tried to stand up but the pain caught her off guard and a barely audible yelp escaped her lips. Arnav who was admiring her completely smitten, instantly asked concerned “Khushi, What happened?” while his hand automatically reached out for her.

Pushing his hand away she said curtly without looking at him, “Thank you for being courteous. I won’t mistake it for worry like yesterday. I can manage. You too can leave now.”

Taking a deep breath he softly spoke “Khushi! About what I said yesterday, I didn’t mean it like that.”

Interrupting him, she spoke matter of factly “You need not explain to me. It’s not required. You should go before she comes looking for you.”

“Khushi, what are you talking about? Who is looking for me?” he asked bemused by both her actions and words.

“Your girlfriend” she stated in a flash.

“What the? My who now?” he shot back with a frown, clearly getting agitated.

“Who else? The girl who you were with earlier” she replied, looking at him sternly.

Shooting his eyebrows high, he said exasperated “Unbelievable! Khushi, she is not my girlfriend.”

“I don’t believe you. I saw how you two were walking around hand in hand.” she taunted while turning to leave. Her actions made no sense to her but for some unknown reason, she didn’t want to stop.

Grabbing her hand in a flash, he ordered as he spun her around “Khushi! Don’t you dare leave when I am talking to you”

Coming face to face with him she squealed, “What!? What did you say? How could you talk ….”

Khushi continued speaking but something else captured his attention. Not listening to a word she said he raised his palm and placed it on her forehead. Khushi instantly stiffened under his touch while he questioned, troubled, “Khushi, you have fever!?”

Pushing his hand away for the second time she said bitterly “No, I don’t. I am fine. You don’t need to act worried.”

“Enough, Khushi! You need to get checked right now” he said uneasily, and grabbing her hand, started walking briskly. He must have taken only a few steps when he heard her shriek in pain, her hand instinctively reaching to her feet. “Khushi! What happened? Are you in pain? Did you get hurt earlier?” he asked anxiously, as his eyes looked intently at her and her feet. With no response from her, his impatience growing by the second he bent down and before she could grasp the situation, he gently moved aside her ankle-length lemon yellow Anarkali.

Almost immediately Khushi pulled her feet back, questioning “What are you doing?”

But it was already too late. He caught the glimpse of red on her light color legging. In fact, it was so prominent that it was hard to miss. The reason behind the stain sinking in, he shot a deadly stare at her making her freeze on the spot. Reaching out one more time, he lifted her dress a little to confirm his doubt. He could now clearly see her pants covered in blood oozing from the long cut a little above her ankle.

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