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Chapter - 33
Smiling back he forwarded his right hand which she gently held on to and muttered “Thank you! Thank you for everything.” with great sincerity as they slowly made their way to the car.
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Ever since he started driving he could feel Khushi stealing a glance at him every other minute. Succeeding in catching her off guard, meeting her gaze he asked, “Why do you keep looking at me?”
“Me? No! I am not” she rebuked, looking the other side.
Giving her a disapproving look he plainly said, “I can feel you staring at me Khushi! And I even saw you do it. Don’t deny it now.”
Becoming defensive she argued accusingly, “Ok. I was. So what? You keep staring at me all the time. Did I ever say anything?”
Raising an eyebrow he shot back, “What the? Me? I keep staring at you?” with eyes glued on the road.
“Aww… Yes, you do. And for your information, I too can feel it when you stare at me. I just never say anything but I know.”, she taunted fighting back.
Unfazed, he calmly asked, “So, why didn’t you?”
Taken aback by his attitude, she asked surprised, “Umm… What?”
“I asked, why did you not say anything if you didn’t want me to stare at you?”
She looked at him flabbergasted and murmured “I… I don’t know.”
“What do you mean? If I made you feel uncomfortable and you disliked me looking at you then you should have said so.”, he probed further curious to see her reaction.
“But I never said I disliked it nor did I say you make me uncomfortable. Stop making assumptions. I only meant exactly what I said. And.. and I really don’t know why I never said anything to you.”, she spoke matter of factly with her face looking as confused as her mind.
Shaking his head he chuckled inward at her naivety thinking, “She sometimes has no clue what comes off her mouth, does she?” Then spoke out loud, “Well, you chose not to ask me but I am asking you. Why were you looking at me?”
“Ahh! that question again. Fine! I was feeling grateful. OK. Now you know. Happy?” she said, slightly frustrated.
“Grateful? For what? What did I do?” he asked, interested.
“Hey, Devi Maiyya! How do I explain? For everything you did today.” she said, stating the obvious.
“But, didn’t you already thank me for that earlier?”, he questioned wanting to understand.
A gentle smile curled up on her lips as she spoke as if in a trance. “That was just a thank you but the word doesn’t do justice to what I am feeling today.”
A bit confused he said, “What you are feeling? Khushi I told you, I did nothing. No need to make it a big deal.”
“No. You don’t get it. For someone like me, it is not nothing. Having someone take care of you, think for you, to just be there for you is a big deal and a privilege. It made me feel very warm and fuzzy inside.” Her face grew distant and her eyes sparkled as she spoke.
Hearing her last remark he stole a quick glance at her and noticed the satisfaction in her eyes. She looked at peace but something felt amiss. Unable to put a finger on this feeling of his, he questioned, “What do you mean by ‘someone like me’? You talk like you have no one. I mean, I know about your parents but the uncle you keep mentioning or other family members must be there to take care of you, right?” At last! There. He asked it.
An unexpected silence filled the car. Arnav wanted to look at her, study her but he was driving and the traffic was not letting him take his eyes off the road. As he was starting to get worried, out of nowhere she shouted, “Please stop the car?”
“Here? Why? Khushi! Did you get offended by my question? But there was nothing to get offe..” he spoke hastily, trying to grasp the situation.
“NOoo... No. That’s not it. Golgappe.” she almost shouted again, her index finger pointing at the footpath.
“What the!? Seriously Khushi! Now? We will be late for Sangeeth.”, he voiced in a state of confusion.
“Come on. It won’t take more than a few minutes. I promise I won’t hold you responsible if we get delayed.”, she requested in an appealing tone with a sweet pout.
“But Khushi! Street food is not healthy. And you are still sick.” he protested.
“Hey, Devi Maiyya! When did 'The Mighty ASR' become a nutritionist? Nothing will happen. And sick people need to eat too. Please!”, she pleaded.
Rolling his eyes he mumbled “Unbelievable!” under his breath as he pulled over.
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Standing next to her, Arnav stared at Khushi wide-eyed in amazement as she gobbled one puri after another with ease. Suddenly he heard her speak gibberish with her mouth full, “Arree uuu sore you dun’t watt honey?”
“What?” he asked frowning, totally lost.
Swallowing hard, she repeated herself. “Are you sure you don’t want any? It’s pretty tasty.”
“No way. I am not eating that, Khushi.”, he said lifting his eyebrows and making a repulsive face.
Pressing her lips hard she exhaled deeply and holding a puri in her hand moved it closer to his mouth. Understanding what she was about to do he instinctively moved back, shaking his head objecting. “What are you doing? No, Khushi! Definitely not.”
“Just one. My treat.”, she begged.
“Nope. Not happening. And, your treat? In case you forgot, you don’t have any money on you. I am paying, remember?”, he said being sarcastic.
Her expression turning to that of disbelief she shot back sounding hurt.“Mr. Raizada I never imagined you are such a stingy person. Are you keeping tabs on the expenses? Great, keep it. I will return all your money once we reach home. And here I thought you were ... Well, I get it. Money is important after all.”
Surprised by the turn of events he tried to ease the situation “I didn’t mean it like that. I was just…. It was not my intention to hurt you. I shouldn’t have ..”
Cutting him off she asked sternly, “Really? You didn’t mean to hurt me?”
“Of course not.”, he responded immediately.
“Ok then, I have decided. I will forgive you even though you did not apologize as I know you are bad at it. But on one condition, you should eat a puri. Only one.”, she completed with a slick smile.
Staring at her in incredulity, he thought, “Did she just play 'me'?” With no option left, giving in, he emphasized, “Ok. But just one.”
As he reached out to pick one from the plate she pulled it away asserting, “You don’t know how to eat it, do you? You will definitely spill it all over your suit. I am not going to ruin another suit of yours. Let me. Now open your mouth wide… Aaahhhhh..” And just like that for the second time, she offered to feed him Golgappa. Her actions unnerved him. Totally lost in the moment, he did exactly as he was told like an obedient boy.
Successfully pushing a whole puri into his mouth in one go, she wiped the drops of paani that were dripping off his lips, and shifted her attention to his face, curious. “How is i..” and stopped midway noticing him staring at her intently, oblivious to the whole world like only she existed and no one else. The realization finally hitting her, she automatically became self-conscious and moved her gaze away, fluttering her eyes, replaying what she just did while her cheeks put on bright red. All at once, she could feel her heartbeat picking pace, pounding rapidly ready to pop out and butterflies flutter in her stomach as her body burned under his gaze. Failing to control or understand her reactions and feelings she mumbled to herself, “Hey, Devi Maiyya! Not again. What is happening to me? Am I really sick or something? And why does it happen only around him?”
Breaking both their reveries, the stall person asked, “Madam, Do you want more?”
Looking at him, she shook her head in refusal and silently completed her Golgappe.
As they walked back to the car, Arnav asked with a smile, “You really love them, don’t you? You ate like there was no tomorrow. Since when did you like Golgappa? ”
“Umm… I guess two years. Lavanya made me eat it the first time. And I do eat like there is no tomorrow because I never know when I will get a chance again.”
“Just 2 years? Seriously? You never ate them before that?” he asked, skeptical.
“Well, I remember Babuji always getting me a lot of chocolates but I don’t remember eating Golgappa’s when I was young. So yes, just 2 years.”, she replied pretty confidently.
A bit confused he asked, “And what do you mean by you don’t know when you will get a chance again? It should not be that hard. I mean all you need to do is step out of the house and you will find such stalls everywhere these days.”
“Well, not for me. Finding the stall is easy. It is the getting out of the house part which is hard. I …” She stopped abruptly, her face taken over by shock and disbelief. Pressing her lips hard, she closed her eyes tight for a second as if regretting what she just said or was about to say.
Observing the sudden change in her demeanor he wondered why she stopped speaking midway. Waiting a few seconds he asked, his voice casual, “You were saying something?”
Looking ahead with a straight face she simply uttered, “Nothing. It was nothing.”
All the while he kept studying her, trying to figure out what she was holding back. Right when they were about to get in the car, she excused herself saying “One minute” and walked away, leaving a clueless Arnav staring at her limping figure.
His gaze following her, he saw her walk to an old lady who was a few meters away from where he was standing. He then observed Khushi say something to her with her signature smile. And then holding the lady’s hand she gently helped her cross the road. And once on the other side, they talked for a few seconds before Khushi turned back to face the road, ready to cross again. Her eyes attracted to him, she realized he was staring at her and waved her hand at him energetically with a big, lively smile.
Smiling back he noted that the discomfort which was clearly visible on her face a few minutes back has now totally vanished. “What am I missing? Why is it so hard to understand her? Sometimes I can read her like a book and sometimes she is a mystery that is hard to solve. One second she appears to be sad and in pain and the very next, she dons the brightest and most beautiful smile on her face.” he contemplated, craving to understand her better. It was frustrating and baffling for the great Arnav Singh Raizada who always had tabs on everything happening around him, who took pride in saying he is always in control of any situation, to not be able to figure out this petite girl who is not just gullible and innocent but also kind and strong. The girl who always amazes and challenges him. A girl too good for this world. And the only girl who makes him weak in the knees. “What have you done to me, Khushi? Who are you? What are you hiding? Why do I always feel like there is more to you than you let people see?”
-------------------------------------------
Getting into the car Arnav asked, “Do you know that lady?”
“No. I saw her having a hard time crossing the road, so I just helped.”, she replied earnestly.
“Unbelievable! Helping is good only to an extent, Khushi. Also, why do you keep forgetting that you are hurt and need rest? I think you are being reckless about yourself.” he complained, a little upset.
“You are wrong. Helping is always good. I believe I was not helping her but myself. You see, assisting her made me very happy and enabled me to forget everything else. On top of it, the lady even blessed me at the end. So, it was totally worth it.”, she explained, feeling content.
“Unbelievable! Don’t you think you need to think about and take care of yourself first?” he questioned cynically.
“Why? I have you to do that for me.” she blurted out at the drop of a hat. Instantly she bit her lip grasping at the slip of tongue and making saucers of her eyes, she pressed her right palm against her mouth while awkwardly turning away, smacking herself mentally.
Now it was too late for her to take anything back. He heard her loud and clear. Giving her a quick glance, he noticed her crazy expressions and a subtle chuckle made way onto his lips.
She immediately spoke, stuttering with her words, “I… I spoke without thinking. I am sorry. Bu..But I didn’t mean it in the wrong way. I just...”
Saving her from her misery, he spoke candidly, “I wouldn’t mind doing that.”
Taken by surprise, she turned to him in a flash and her eyes locked with his for a few seconds before he broke away to look back at the road. As Khushi stayed rooted, totally flummoxed, still staring at him, Arnav’s brain was on overdrive, engulfed in his own thoughts.
“Tell her. Tell her how you feel. NOW.” His impatient self shouted to him.
“No. Not now. Not here. Not like this. This is not the right time.” His sane mind was urging him.
“If not now, then when? You already ruined a perfect opportunity yesterday at Mehendi. Earlier at the hospital, I can understand as she was sick. But don’t lose this chance.” The growing impatience persuaded him. And just when he made up his mind, deciding to speak about it he heard her clear her throat breaking the dead silence that occupied the car.
Her face glued on the road, she spoke in an effort to change the topic. “You never told me. Did you like the Golgappa? Did you ever eat it before or is this your first? What is your favorite food?”
Arnav straight away understood what she was attempting to do. By now he knew her well enough to say she was a master in diverting topics and at distracting people from the subject. He observed time and again how she does this whenever she didn’t want to respond to a question or when stuck in a tricky situation like right now. Shaking his head, he said with a smirk, “I don’t want to tell you.”
“What? Why? Not fair! I answered when you asked me.”, clearly disappointed.
“That was your wish. You chose to answer. But I don’t want to.” He teased her.
“Fine! Then don’t.”, she snapped pouting and spun to her window with her hands folded.
Chuckling silently, he said, “OK. Let us make a deal. I will answer you and in return, you need to come with me when I call you. I mean, give me your time when asked. Deal?”
“Just my time? That’s easy. Deal.”, she agreed with a smile without much thought.
“I liked it. It was not wh.. ” Her phone rang bringing him to a quick stop.
Looking at the screen, she stared at it uncomfortably.
“Are you not going to pick that up?” he asked, confused.
“No. I mean, I will call back later.”, she said hastily.
“Oh! By the way, I forgot to mention. In the hospital when you were sleeping there was a call for you and I picked up. It sounded like a man. I told him you are unavailable to take the call right now and he cut the line without saying anything. Maybe it was a marketing call.”
Concentrating on his driving, Arnav failed to notice Khushi’s face lose all its color and turn pale. Concern, fear, and restlessness dripping from her face she asked, finding her lost voice, “What else did you say?”
“Nothing. That’s it.”, he responded casually.
“Did you say who you are?”, she murmured, grim.
“No. Like I said. He asked for you and I said you are busy. He then just kept the phone down. Was that ..”
Cutting his sentence short she asked, raising her voice, “Why did you pick my call? Did no one tell you about personal space? What were you thinking?”
Shocked and irked by her sudden behavior, he retorted, “What do you mean by that? Your phone kept ringing, so I picked it up as the caller’s name was not displayed. And I specifically didn’t say anything about you getting hurt or being sick because you wanted to keep it a secret. I don’t get it. So, what if I answered? What’s the big deal?”
“Big deal?” she shot back, glaring at him. “First of all, you had no right to answer my phone. Second, you act as if you did me a favor by picking it up. And to top that, you have the audacity to ask, so what. Mr. Raizada, you don’t know me. So, don’t act like you do. And also, please stay away from me.” she spoke losing her sanity, totally giving into her helplessness and fear.
Arnav tried to say something when she firmly stated, “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
And in turn, he replied brashly, “Fine! Neither do I.”
Luckily the drive didn’t last more than a few minutes after that. Once he parked the car, Khushi flung the door open and walked out slightly limping without even looking once back at him, leaving a totally furious Arnav Singh Raizada behind. And all he could do was watch her retreating figure thinking, “What is her problem? It is hard to understand her actions at times. I answered the call because I was worried the sound would wake her up. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I don’t get what the big deal is. It was just a phone call, Damn it!”
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Shilpi @shils28
+ 2
3 years ago
Excellent!! Thanks for updating! ❤️❤️❤️❤️.