A New Beginning

Background: Khushi offers to take Bua ji's hand-embroidered sarees to Nandavan but mistakenly enters Shantivan. What if she met Arnav there? 

Arnav felt something different in the air. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what but lately he'd been feeling a lot like this in her presence. He was unable to understand what it was about that girl that he couldn't get out of his head. Ever since she had fallen in his arms in that fashion show, he felt like... again something that he couldn't quite explain. And Arnav Singh Raizada didn't like that one bit. He woke up from dreams of her beautiful hazel eyes looking at him with questions that remained unanswered between them, he could see her trembling lips that tempted him to reach out and touch her. He had never felt that kind of attraction towards anyone and that too for a girl he didn't even know properly. It unnerved him. He heard someone shout Nani ji in his room and dreaded before even going inside.

Khushi looked around the huge room that Ramu Kaka had pointed towards. She could fit her Bua ji's entire house inside this room only. It was so simple, elegant. It just lacked a little colour. She looked at the black and white photographs and wondered how would bright coloured pictures look here. It would make the room a little more welcoming. If this was her room... she stopped her train of thoughts right there. How could she live in such a big room? She called out for Nani ji and thought if she was in the wrong room. She was about to pick up the clothes she had brought when the door opened and she turned around.

'TUM?'

'AAP?'

They both spoke at the same time. Arnav couldn't believe that the girl that his mind was obsessing over for the last few days was here standing in his room. Deep down, he couldn't help but admit that her bright blue shalwar kameez brought colour in his otherwise grey and white room. It did feel right. He roamed his eyes on her lithe form and felt the same desire burning in him. 

On the other hand, Khushi couldn't believe that the man who had stolen her peace was standing in front of her. She hadn't been able to get him out of her mind. He spoke awful things to her, about her and all she could think was how sad his eyes looked. And the way he looked at her like she looked at jalebis. It unsettled her. 

'Don't say that I've come after you! I've heard that enough. My bua ji gave me these sarees to sell to Nandavan and I had to come here. There is no ulterior motive here.'  Khushi spoke hurriedly before he could form his own twisted conclusions. All of a sudden, she felt this surge of confidence in her. Even his raised eyebrows and patronizing gaze couldn't deter her. She held her head high and looked him straight into his eyes. She already knew what his next words would be so she narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at him. 'And don't bring money into this! I'll get a job and return all of your money. Khushi Kumari Gupta koi udhar nahin rakhti.' 

Arnav was...amused. This tiny girl was standing in his house, in his room, and talking to him like she owned the place. The fact that she didn't even know that this was Shantivan told him how naive she was. He didn't bother to correct her. The residents of Nandavan could go buy some other sarees for all he cared. 

'Chotte, who is she?'  Anjali limped her way to her brother's room and was surprised to see a beautiful and traditional girl with her Chotte. Khushi looked shocked at Arnav's pet name and pursed her lips to stop herself from laughing. She couldn't believe that someone had the guts to call the Arnav Singh Raizada, Chotte. Arnav glared at her and she showed him her full teeth undeterred. 

'Hum Khushi Kumari Gupta. You asked for some hand-embroidered Lucknowi Chikankari saree samples.'  Khushi introduced herself confidently. 

'AR contacted some designers from Lucknow, Di. I thought you and Nani would like to see it.'  Arnav immediately butted in and replied. He had seen that Di was about to refuse but he didn't want that. Why the hell he had lied for this girl was beyond him. Nani and Di liked such stuff and they would be happy to buy some authentic Lucknowi sarees, he assured himself. AR had its own designing team, they could buy something much more elaborate. 

'Rani Sahiba...'  Shyam entered his brother-in-law's room looking for his wife. He was so happy that Khushi ji had called and he had a chance to meet her. What he didn't know was that his entire plan was going to go down the drain this instant. 

'Arrey Shyam ji aap? What are you doing here?'  Khushi exclaimed. What were the odds? Everyone she knew seemed to be entering this room. By this rate, she wouldn't be surprised if Happy ji came in and told her that he worked here as well. 

'He's my husband, Khushi ji. I am Anjali, Chotte, I mean Arnav's sister.'  Anjali spoke keeping a hand on her husband's arm. 

'Oh you didn't tell me that you were married.'  Khushi mumbled. She felt a little odd that she had met Shyam two times and had even talked to him on call and he hadn't even once mentioned something about being married. She looked towards Arnav who looked alarmed and suspicious. Their eyes met and she blinked, not knowing why she did that. 

'I didn't get a chance, Khushi ji what with saving you and all.'  Shyam joked. Inside, he was burning. He was so close to getting this beauty. He would get her the job, she would be thankful and they would keep meeting and fall in love. Why did God have to ruin his plans like this? He could at least be the hero in his in-law's eyes again telling them about saving a girl in Lucknow.  

'Saving her? What happened?'  Anjali questioned worriedly. 

'Some goons were harassing her. Something to do with a video...'  Shyam bragged. 

That caught Arnav's attention and he looked at Khushi horrified. When she averted her gaze, he understood what video his jija ji was talking about. The consequences of what he had done started weighing on him. He had thought to teach this girl a lesson who had defied his words about destiny and God but he had never wanted someone to harrass her. He stood ashamed. 

'Leave it. Let me show you the samples.'  Khushi interrupted Shyam's story not wanting to remember that horrible day and noticing Arnav's discomfort. She let Anjali ji guide her to the living room downstairs where she met the loving Nani ji with whom she bonded over the culture of Lucknow. Nani ji and Anjali ji admired the handiwork on the sarees, taking out the ones they liked the most. The people in this house were so warm. What was wrong with the Laad Governor then?

As if Arnav had heard his name, he marched down the stairs after composing himself. He looked at the sarees displayed in front of him. They were quite good. An idea popped into his head and he did something that he'd never in his dreams do as a businessman. 

'100 sarees of each design. Our team will contact you. We'll need more as the demand increases. Give me your number.'  Arnav ordered. AR was just setting up in Lucknow and maybe the target market there would be interested in some original hand-made textiles. There was absolutely no other reason he was doing this.  

Khushi looked on amazed, happy and shocked at the same time. They were at least 8 sarees here, 100 of each meant an order of 800 sarees. And he said that he'll order more. Was it a dream? She still felt compelled to ask. 'Are you really going to buy that much?'

'Do you have some hearing problem?'  Arnav asked. It was difficult to keep a straight face when this girl had such an expressive face herself. He could see each and every emotion that she felt and it gave his restless heart some ounce of peace that he would be able to at least compensate for some of the damage that he had done.   

'Laad governor.'  Khushi mumbled.

'Excuse me!? What did you call me?'  Arnav grunted. What the! Did she just call him... some Laad Governor? Who did she think she was? 

A man burned in jealousy whereas two Raizada ladies looked at each other and winked. They were amused to see their Chotte reacting like this to a girl. There were sparks and they'd be damned if they didn't encourage both of them to explore it further. 

*****

Khushi entered her house munching chanas happily. It was such a good day. If the order went through, all of Bua ji's financial problems would vanish. She had already thanked her Devi Maiya in the temple nearby. She opened the door to see her Bua ji huffing loudly while pressing her head and her Jiji convincing her to stay calm. 

'Sanka Devi! Where did you go? I just received a call from Nandavan and they told me that no one showed up.'   Bua ji asked her as soon she stepped inside the house. 

Khushi couldn't understand what that meant. She explained in detail what had happened and when she told them about the order that she had gotten from AR, Bua ji all but jumped upon her hugging her and literally squeezing the life out of her. What she couldn't understand was why no one at the other big house told her that it wasn't Nandavan. Even that Laad Governor didn't bother to correct her. She shook her head and switched on the TV to watch her favourite Kamlesh Khabri and what she saw shook her world entirely. 

'AR issues public apology to Khushi Kumari Gupta, a freelance designer collaborating with AR. It is a pity that she was pushed onto the stage due to a misunderstanding but she held her own and we admire her courage to handle the situation better. Any defamation to her and her family was not our intent and we sincerely apologize to Ms Gupta and her entire family.'

The words kept on ringing in her head later when she lied down on her bed. Amma had called and told her that how everyone from their neighbours to relatives called and offered their support. Babu ji was proud of her as always. Bua ji kept on chanting Haye Re Nandkishore and couldn't believe that Khushi had managed to get such a huge order and clear their ruined reputation in one day. Jiji admired the way things were handled and also commented on how people were praising her courage now. She felt overwhelmed. When she had woken up today, she had never in her dreams thought this day would go on like this. That Laad Governor... no, Arnav ji not only got her a job but also cleared her name, publicly apologizing to her. Why would he do that? His regretful eyes flashed in her mind and she tossed around on the bed. 

'See you in the office tomorrow at 10 am sharp, Ms Gupta.'  She read the message again and again. It really was happening. She sent him a quick message and then one more, and smiled finally. He wasn't that bad, was her last thought before dozing off into a sleep where she dreamt about her prince charming that had an uncanny resemblance to a certain someone.

Arnav looked at the moon. His phone beeped with an okay and he felt at peace finally. He was setting things right. Another message from the same number spiked his curiosity. Thank you, it said. He smiled. He knew what she was thanking him for. He wanted to tell her that she didn't deserve such treatment in the first place, that it was his demons that made him react like a monster, that his heart knew all along that she was innocent. Maybe one day he will, he thought before falling into a deep slumber with dreams of happy hazel eyes this time. 

They both didn't know what lay ahead in their journey but it was certainly a new beginning.