Chapter 6

Arnav followed his wife carrying a bunch of shopping bags. His wife excitedly continued her shopping at the bada bazaar of Udaipur. 

    Yesterday after checking into the Oberoi-Udaivilas hotel, he immediately left for the factory which was located in the outskirts. He returned back late after the meeting and found his wife waiting for him. That sight warmed his sight.

 They ordered room service to bring the food. Even late night his business calls continued. Due to continuous calls and he couldn't even talk to her properly. Her slight annoyance when his phone rang continuously didn't go unnoticed by him. 

 So he decided to spent full day with his wife after switching off his phone, which was a first. He never bothered to impress any woman. They came to him easily. She was not fond of branded and expensive things. Other than functions, she never wore dresses gifted by him. He wondered how can he please her? 

    His previous relationships taught him that only money and lifestyle can please a woman. But his theory was not working with his wife. Khushi is a genuine person. So he decided to be real with her. He never let a woman see the real Arnav behind his tough exterior. But with Khushi it came automatically. His mask always slipped away every time he was with her. 

    In the past one week he learned few things about his wife. She is a sweet and simple girl. Her favorite color is pink. Her hobby is solving Jig-saw puzzles. His room already have 3 solved jig saw puzzles in just one week. Her sister Payal gifted her those. When she was unwrapping the gifts of Moohdikhayi, that was the only gift which made her smile genuinely after Mrs. Kapoor's stunt.

He thought maybe sightseeing and shopping from local market will be a good idea.  They left the hotel in the morning and visited Jagdish temple first from there they went to city Palace. He has been here few times with two three clients. But exploring these with Khushi is a whole new experience as he never roamed around the local markets for shopping. 

Her glittering expressive eyes filled with childlike excitement as she continued shopping for their family. She bought shawl and jewelries for Di, Payal , her mother, buaji and Mami but she didn't purchase anything for herself. She even purchased few things for Hari Prakash and Mohan also.

"Naniji will like this na Arnavji?"

Khushi turned towards him holding a silver pooja thali set in her hand. He nodded at her and she happily asked the vendor to pack it.

After bada bazaar they went to Chetak Circle also for shopping. They returned back to hotel by 7 pm. They quickly freshened up and went to Chandni restaurant for the dinner. He know she will be tired. But he insisted for a dinner outside as tomorrow morning they are returning to Delhi. After that he will be busy with his upcoming fashion show meetings and other works.

He held her chair as she took a seat and then sat quietly looking around the romantic setting.

"So what did you like about Udaipur?" Arnav asked her after placing the order.

"I liked everything.  The marble palaces, beautifully laid out gardens and the lakes. Udaipur is almost like a mirage. This is the first time I am going outside Delhi. " 

He smiled at her genuine answer. One thing he liked about her was she enjoyed the place and scenery rather than clicking pictures in every minute. 

"What is your dream destination?"

The waiter came with the appetizers interrupting their conversation.

When the waiter left he looked at her with an arched eyebrow indicating he is still waiting for her answer.

"Paris" She replied chewing the saufiana paneer tikka.

"And why?" He asked her putting few more tikka on her plate.

"Because it is called as the city of love. I have seen in many movies. Artists Often Depict Paris as the World’s Most Romantic City. So I am curious.. I want to see how the city of love looks like.."

"Hmm.. So you believe in love ?" 

She suddenly stopped chewing the food and looked at him. Their eyes locked for a second and he looked away. 

"Yes.. Love is the deepest interpersonal affection of a person. That is the only thing sometimes a person need but very difficult to find. "

"Do you think we will fall in love some day?" 

This time he didn't look away. He waited for her to reply without breaking their eye contact.

"I don't know. Maybe or maybe not. But it is not important as you don't believe in love. "

The later part was a statement. He sipped some water from the glass as she resumed her eating.

"Yes I don't believe in love and soulmate. Because I never experienced it. Its not like my point of view cannot be changed. " He paused for a second and said. "We will have this conversation some other time."

Both of them didn't say anything after that. After 5 minutes of awkward silence he called the waiter and asked to bring the main course.

"AR is conducting a fashion show after 6 months in Paris. We can travel together and you can explore the city of love. "

He said with a smile.

She smiled back but immediately her expression changed.

"But Arnavji, after 6 months my next semester exams will start. I may not be able to come with you."

Before he could reply waiter came and served them the main course.

"Then we will go there once your exams are over."

They returned to the hotel after 30 minutes. When they were heading towards the lift, the hotel manager came to them.

"Sir Mr. Akash Singh Raizada asked you to call him immediately after reaching your suite. He was trying to reach your number since morning. "

"Oh Ok.. I will call him."

He wondered why did Akash try to reach him as he already informed yesterday that he won't be available on phone today. Was something wrong with Nani? He opened the door to his suite in hurry followed by Khushi. Both of them took out their phones and panicked seeing more than 100 missed calls from their family since morning.

"At least one of us should have taken the phone. "

Khushi murmured as Arnav dialed Akash's number.  He saw his face losing color after listening whatever Akash was saying from the other side.

"Switch on the TV Khushi." He commanded. She switched on the Tv and both of them stood rooted on their spots as the news channels celebrated the affair of Anjali and Shivaay. 

"Ask Aman to send the chopper now, I will be home in 2 hours. I hope the home security is taken care of. No .. I will talk to Di later. You be with her. "

He hang up the call and looked at the TV screen as the anchor's voice echoed in the room. 

"We tried to reach Arnav Singh Raizada, Anjali Raizada and Shivaay Rathore but they were unavailable to comment. When we reached Mr. Pratap Jha, he told 'now when the truth is out in open what more I should say? '"

He picked up the TV remote and threw it in anger making Khushi gulp in fear. The remote spiraled across the room and hit TV screen. It was the first time she was witnessing his anger. He picked up his phone again and barked multiple orders at his manager and PR team.

After about 20 minutes he looked at her and immediately his face softened. 

"Khushi go and get ready. We are leaving." She nodded at him and went to pack their bags.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------

Khushi didn't know what she can do to help her family to come out of this. In a way she was responsible for this trouble. She was shocked to find out Shyam was Anjali's first husband. It was Anjali who stopped her marriage with him. 

She walked towards Anjali's room to talk to her but stopped when Arnav's angry voice reached her.

"What was the need to mess with him again Di?"

"He was adamant to get married to Khushi Chote. I had to stop him."

"Then you should have informed her family about the Jhas, What was the need to blackmail them again? Why didn't you inform me about all these before ? "

"Chote that marriage was cancelled because of that and you got married to Khushi. "

"Oh come on Di. Khushi or any other girl, it was the same for me. Why did you put yourself in trouble again ? You didn't have to do this to save a student. I don't understand why you didn't go and talked to parents? Now see the mess created because of that. And why the hell are you being so calm?"

Khushi left from there teary eyed without making any noise. In the past few days she felt this will be a new chapter of her life. But no it is the same old chapter. Only the people changed. Her life is the same with tears, drama and heartache. She didn't want to hear more. 

The siblings continued their conversation.

"Because I don't regret what I did. But yes I feel bad for Mr. Rathore as he is dragged into this mess for helping me. "

"I am going to talk to Shivaay. Maybe we can issue a joint statement. "

She inched closer to his brother and cupped his cheek with her right hand.

"Chote tell me one thing honestly. Khushi or any other girl was it same for you ?"

He looked at his sisters penetrating gaze.

"No di.. It was not same. But that is not important now. We need to act on the damage control. The online portals and youtube channels have removed the videos and article, but that is not enough. We need to do a press conference but before that I have to meet Shivaay."

"Hmmm But please clarify your point with Khushi as she heard only our partial conversation."

He shut his eyes tightly in despair. Damn ! 

......................................................

Shivaay leaned back on the chair under the scrutinizing eyes of his family. He remained unaffected by the tension filled atmosphere of his home. He didn't do anything wrong, he just helped a girl who was in trouble.

His mother's face reflected tension while his father's and grandfather's expressions he couldn't read.

"Tell me how you are going to handle it?" His grandfather asked after a while breaking the silence.

"Our PR team is working on it dadu, the video and photos have been removed from everywhere, we will do a press conference as well in 2 days. "

"That's it?"  His grandfather asked with an unbelievable expression on his face.

"What else you want me to do? " He asked in confusion.

"About Anjali" His father said 

"What about Anjali?" 

"Her image is tainted , what you are going to do about that?" His grandfather asked again.

"Mine also got tainted dadu. " 

"But being a girl it is more difficult for her. I had a word with her Nani today morning. Her family is very much affected."

"We are also affected dadu, but I cannot do anything about it. It is just a matter of time, people will forget this once new gossip comes."

"How can you be casual about it Shivu? It is matter of a girl's future and yours too." His mother said him with a hint of disappointment. 

His grandmother walked into the living room slowly holding a tray of refreshments and a glass of grape juice for him.

"Why are you doing all these Dadi? Where is our staff?" He took his glass from her and made her sit beside him.

"I am not that old. I can do these kind of small work. And my Shivu is home after so many days." His grandmother caressed his cheek lovingly.

"Ma you can pamper him later. We are here to discuss some serious issue" His father said.

"Papa what more we can do on this? As a CEO I have done everything to solve this issue. And if you are talking about the board, you don't have to worry. I will handle them. "

He tried to make his father understand.

"Shivu you are talking as a CEO, but we have to see this issue on a personal level. We all know what kind of people those Jhas are. I don't want a girl's future to be destroyed because of my son "

His mother's words made him annoyed.

"Ma, How am I responsible for this? I was trying to help her. "

"We know that son, but we live in a society and people will talk." His mother calmly said 

"What you want me to do?" He looked at his family for an answer.

"Marry her" Her father told him after a long silence.

Love,

ST

My Blog : https://silvertopaz.blogspot.com/

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