Chapter 43

Farah

@farah53

This part is dedicated to-

Shree10, for always being there..always..like always!

-Farwa_Ibrahim-, for being like' the sweetest!

Anamika100, for making me rethink myself & the story the hardest!

Clarissajohn, for those sweet love songs! 

& Asr2kkg, greenMoss, chotteskhushi19, vandana.sagar, Arshi.K., _Disha_, acklesmaniac, Nexux_13, emistry, ASRandKKGSRFan, LyssaPie, deeswarna, pixiegirl & a lot more that I'll be getting to in some next update...

& guys, don't believe just anything I say & panic' I said I'll try to wrap up the story, but it's not entirely in my hands at which number I'll be stopping. I have had a precise outline & ending in my mind, from the very beginning. But then the story took on its own life & I won't finish it prematurely... I am not someone who calls her creation her baby & then kills the baby off when she gets too bored with it...

Actually I am a die-hard Barun phangirl, so in affect, don't believe anything I say about my plans with the story!! & if you guys are still worried, there's always Sami! She's a force to be reckoned with & I don't wanna piss her off! So, please, don't PM me, PM her... The future of SAY rests more on her shoulders than mine!

Part 40

Part 41

It seemed to Khushi like she had been transported back to that day in the farmhouse when Arnav had kissed her maiden lips for the very first time, because she felt exactly the same now, as she had when Arnav's deceptively silky lips had brushed over her soft ones that first time. As she felt Arnav's hands lightly fondling her breasts in his hands, her first & immediate reaction was to violently pull back. Because for Khushi, like most girls her age & with similar background, since the time she had been 9 or 10 & had been trusted to have her baths alone, no one beside herself & that meant, no one, had even seen her breasts, let alone touch them, except the occasional accidental glimpses to her mother or sister. & now the overwhelming feeling of the touch of large, rough hands of a man as enigmatic as Arnav on a hitherto private part of her anatomy was enough to send Khushi into a panic overdrive. Almost.

But before Khushi could wrench herself away from his arms & try to put some distance between their heated bodies, she felt Arnav nibbling teasingly on her lower lip. & then he deepened the contact by properly taking her lips into his, & Khushi let out a blissful sigh as she felt her whole body relaxing gradually under his touch. Devi Maiyya help her, but she was getting addicted to his sinfully silken lips. Khushi rapidly lifted her hands up to his neck & his hair, desperate to touch him, & pressed her lips more firmly to his. She was perceptibly aware of Arnav's hands increasing their pressure, & with shocked surprise, she registered a jolt of pleasure shooting through her. A throaty moan escaped from her before Khushi could stop it, & as if on cue, she felt Arnav's right thumb repeatedly stroking her now visible peak over her anarkali's bodice. Khushi fingers pulled hard on Arnav's hair in reply, & he pulled his lips apart from hers despite her attempts at holding on, & bent his head to trail a series of moist, hot kisses down the column of her smooth neck.

As Khushi finally found her mouth free to talk, she was just about to voice her complaint about feeling very funny in very unusual parts of her body, when she heard her phone, kept on the table behind her, ring shrilly. Arnav lips stilled on her collar bone, as to Khushi's sheer embarrassment a loud disappointed groan left her own mouth, before she could swallow it, & as the phone continued ringing, Arnav pressed his face to the crook of her neck & said in a frustrated tone, "Leave it, Khushi! Can't I have just 5 minutes with you in peace?"

But he felt Khushi already craning her neck sideways to peek into the phone to see who the caller was, & in an attempt to drag her attention back to him again, Arnav grazed his teeth across the bare skin of her shoulder. He felt Khushi shiver temptingly, & her hands clutched at his shoulders for support as if her knees would give away, & she quickly tried to reason with him, "We don't have 5 minutes now, Arnavji! It's Jiji, & she must want me with her while accepting her Shagun's from Mamiji... & everyone would guess looking at my face what I've been doing!" she finished with a frantic note of panic in her voice.

Arnav finally lifted his head up & looked at her through half-lidded eyes & scanned her face for a prolonged second, & then he raised his eyebrows in a mocking manner & scoffed, "Your face?! You blush like clockwork every 5 minutes as it is!" & then he abruptly plastered Khushi's lower body to his own with his arms snaking around her waist in a vice-like grip, & as Khushi's eyes rounded like huge saucers, he pressed his hardness against her softness & said in a matter-of-fact voice, "Everyone would know looking at that, what I've been doing." Khushi's lips fell apart at his brazen proclamation, & then looking at his serious face, she perceived the true predicament of his situation. Levity quickly replaced her astonishment, as before Khushi could stop herself, uncontrollable spurts of giggles left her lips.

Arnav's eyes instantly narrowed in warning as he clearly didn't appreciate her finding humor in his cornered situation. Khushi caught her lower lip between her lips to stop the laughter from falling out of them, & then finding the situation favorable to her advantage, she rediscovered her guts that had left her in the face of Arnav's daring lips & hands. Smiling naughtily, she gyrated her hips against his hardness, & Arnav immediately clutched her left arm in a painfully tight grip & gave a hard squeeze to her right breast, making Khushi yelp out in surprise.  Then he whispered in her ear, "Don't do things you don't yet know everything about, Red!"

Annoyed at the sudden assault, Khushi brushed his hand away from her breast & throwing a mean glare at him, she again grinded her hips on his now rock hard fullness. Instantly, Arnav's fingers cut on her arm as he pulled her close into his body & growled into her ears, "If you continue doing that, I'm gonna loose it!" & as he saw her eyes mirror her ignorance & confusion at his words, he leaned into her ear & whispered in precise words exactly what he had meant. As she finally understood what he had meant, Khushi's eyes rounded as her lips formed an 'o' shaped gaping hole. Seeing her expression, Arnav smirked as he drawled, "Yes, it can be very messy. But it is the real deal, Red!" As understanding at last dawned completely, Khushi quickly embraced his waist & held him closer to her gently. Then she whispered in his ear, "Its ok. You take your time... but it can also be very messy, figuratively & literally, if anyone comes in & sees us like this... Let me go down first &... you can come down whenever you're ready?"

Arnav pulled back from her embrace & looked deep into her eyes for a few moments & then he bent his head down for another brief, fervent smooch. Then letting go of her lips, he pressed his lips to her forehead, & as he slowly loosened his hold on her, Khushi eased out of the circle of his arms & ran out of her room with her face flaming in a bright shade of crimson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arnav wandered around Khushi's bedroom as he waited for his physical attribute to come down to its normal state. Being in Khushi's room actually helped his cause, as he saw the hand-made rag-dolls on her bed-stand, that he could vaguely recall her carrying around with her while begging Rohan to play with her. & there were numerous post-its surrounding the collage on the wall over her study table, with her neat & beautiful scribbling on them about everything from study pointers to assignments deadlines to reminders to herself to pick up Buaji's asthma pump & such. It was like being in Khushi Kumari Gupta's small world. & suddenly Arnav found himself, he hadn't run away from the big mouths of society 10 years ago, so that he could have witnessed the pesky little baby Gupta growing up into this royal pain-in-the-ass Princess Gupta. & this realization perplexed him. In a strictly non-physical way, he already knew her more than he had ever known any woman who was not his family, & he wanted more! Much, much more.

The nagging implications of that last thought was enough to put a dampener on Arnav's amorous instincts, but on top of that, Aman decided to help him further by calling him at that moment to remind him about an important luncheon meeting that Arnav had already rescheduled once & had totally forgotten about after he had seen Khushi today. Arnav made his way out of Khushi's room & down the stairs in quick, purposeful strides, while telling Aman on the Bluetooth to prepare the document for the meeting. Back in the main hall, he saw the Shagun ceremony had finally concluded, & his impatient eyes immediately sought out the person he wanted to see before departing. She was putting away Payal's elaborate array of Shagun neatly in the thaals. Arnav walked up behind her in decisive steps, & then with a finger on his Bluetooth implying that he was talking on the phone, & his eyes looking straight ahead, he said for her ears only, "Aman called. I have to go. Now."

Khushi raised her head with a jerk & swiftly stole a glance at him over her shoulder. There he stood looking ahead, in his three-piece suit, with his Bluetooth in place. He looked so ASR-ish in that moment, that Khushi couldn't believe her luck. ASR that she had seen gradually forming through the pages of those glossy magazines, the Arnav that she had loved due to his magnanimous treatment & his mythical description by people closest to her... He was standing at an arms length from her, & he chose to notify her, her, out of all the people before he had to leave. Khushi knew she was being crazy again, but she couldn't help it that Arnav in his strict ASR avatar made her feel like an inadequate teenager in front of her favorite celebrity Movie star. & she just wanted to hug him to last her till she saw him again, & whisper a proper good bye in his ear to reassure herself.

& Arnav saw all that. All of those emotions chasing each other on her creamy features. & maybe he could read all that with so much clarity was due to the fact that he felt exactly the same. After the moments they had just spent in her room, it was unacceptable that he would just have to go away like this. Arnav pulled his lower lip in between his teeth to stifle an irritated groan & then asked in a low strained voice, "When are you going to Shantivan?" Khushi was about to turn towards him, when she saw more than one pair of eye from the seating area were trained in their direction. & she didn't panic as she knew, it was neither her nor the fact that she & Arnav were standing so close together, it was just him. He was like that, wherever he went, wherever he stood, he wordlessly demanded instant, exclusive attention. Khushi cleared her throat noisily & turned to him, & said casually, "Arnavji, you're going? Oh, please let Bhabi know we'll come with her Shagun around 4'o clock, if you talk to her before you go to your office."

Arnav looked at her woodenly for a few long moments, almost giving her the impression that he hadn't got her tactics, then he nodded curtly, & said through barely moving his lips, "I won't be able to be there. Meeting. When do I get to see you next?" Khushi looked at him helplessly, & said with her hands folded up to her chest in a parting Namaste, "I don't know... The engagements?" Arnav's nostrils flared immediately as he heard her reply, & he grounded out, "That's 3days away!" As Khushi looked at him with helpless eyes, she felt the longing coming off in palpable waves from him. Arnav took a hasty step towards her to hold her hand, so that he could reassure her, but he halted as he saw Garima coming towards them to see him off probably, & the inability to just hold her whenever he wanted to clawed at him with such fierceness, that it knocked his own breath away. He gulped & said quickly before Garima could reach them, "Don't be upset. I'll find a way!" Then he courteously nodded in answer to Garima's parting blessings for him who had reached them by then.

Unable to prolong his leaving any longer, Arnav turned towards the door, but just as he stepped outside the door, he heard her calling him hesitantly back, from inside the door, "Arnavji! You will call me?" Arnav saw the genuine uncertainty in her eyes, & he sensed a quick anger building inside him as he said fiercely, "Of course!" as his eyes conveyed the rest of the message, 'Why do you even need to ask me that?!' Then he turned swiftly & walked up to his car. He turned the car in, handling the gear with much more force than was needed, & drove away, but his eyes stayed on the rear view mirror & as long as Nikunja was in his view, he could see her standing there by the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Khushi couldn't help but feel incredibly emotional as she saw Garima presenting the thaals of Shaguns to Anjali & wiping at her eyes frequently. If Rohan was Garima's only son, he was Payal & Khushi's only brother. & as men came, he was the best of the lot. So each member of the Gupta family felt incredibly apprehensive about Rohan's wedding, while they prayed fervently for Rohan to get every happiness in the world that he deserved. & they were also worried about the fact that Anjali's Shagun may not match upto all they had brought in for Payal earlier. But as Khushi saw Anjali gracefully accepting the array of various lehangas & sarees in elegant shades of Red, Beige, Maroon & mostly Pink, she knew they had done well. They had kept Anjali's subtle preference in mind, they had not included any sort of anarkali or other suit sets which might remind Anjali of her foot, & Anjali actually looked happy with the Shagun. Khushi considered that an achievement, considering Anjali was the daughter of people who owned the A.R. Corp. & Khushi had never seen Anjali wear a saree that didn't look exclusively designed for her use only.

& Khushi was just thinking about the huge expenses of the weddings in context again, when she felt someone come & tap her on her shoulder, & as she looked up in surprise, she saw that it was the bride herself with some jewelry boxes in her hand. Anjali asked her with smiling, "Khushi, help me carry some of these upto my room?" She didn't have to repeat as Khushi was promptly on her feet & in addition to some boxes kept over the table she also took the boxes Anjali was carrying, despite Anjali's protests. As they started climbing the stairs, Anjali asked her worriedly, "Actually I wanted to ask you, have you tried on your clothes for the weddings?... Khushi, you won't believe what I felt like doing to Su after seeing your outfits! She cut all the blouses in half it seems... & she changed the Sangeet wala lehenga to Red from Blue... & even the Haldi wala dupatta too! & the Shaadi wala outfit? I don't even recognize that! I am so sorry, Khushi-" Khushi cut her in with a surprised squeal, "No, Bhabi, I still haven't got a chance to try them on... Why would Su do all this?!" Anjali just shrugged outrageously to show her ignorance, & then she abruptly turned to Khushi & clutched her forearm, "Oh, leave all that! Rohan called me an hour ago! Did he tell you guys?! They found a suitable buyer for Nikunja! An NRI couple in Canada! Isn't it amazing how fast- Khushi!" Anjali screamed as Khushi suddenly stumbled on the stairs, & while trying to save the boxes from damage hurt her own elbow on the railings, drawing blood from the gash.

But as Anjali extended her hand to help her up, Khushi just looked up at her with a face that was pale as a ghosts, & whispered stiltedly, "It's... really... done? Our home...?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

& I also added Payal's Shagun picture to the last update, check it if you're interested.

Precap:

Rohan had also mentioned how Arnav had helped him a lot in acquiring a lot of lucrative offers in such a short time. Arnav had disposed the use of his high-end realtor, the one he had hired while looking for the house for Rohan & Anjali, to Rohan, & the offer of the couple from Canada had come through this realtor only. & all the transactions would be overseen by A.R. Corps.' Property lawyer too, so that there could be no shoddy business in it. & Khushi couldn't help but feel a little betrayed by Arnav when she heard all that. He had held her in his arms & looked at her as if she meant something to him, & he had not bothered to tell her about such an integral thing about her own home! Even considering his loyalty towards Rohan, this felt like a sneaky behavior to Khushi.

As Khushi finally picked up her phone to see who it was who was calling her repeatedly, tirelessly, she saw 'Laad Governor' flashing on her screen. & Khushi couldn't keep the wave of resentment washing all over her & she almost pressed the 'reject' button, before she stopped herself, & taking a deep calming breath, she received the call. But before Khushi could even utter the customary 'hello', she heard his furious barks from the other side, "Where were you?! Do you know how many times I called you?! What's wrong with you?" & then as Khushi continued her tight-lipped silence, his demeanor changed to concern, "Khushi? Is everything alright?... Talk to me, damn it!" Khushi bit on her lower lip in order to stop the accusations from falling out & then feeling really exhausted with keeping everything inside herself, she just burst out, "Can't you do what you preach for a change?! Couldn't you have told me how you were aiding in selling my home off in express speed while you were making out with me in my room just this morning? Why couldn't you talk to me, damn it?!... But I guess, that would have been just too much distraction for you, seeing as you weren't interested in the person I was beyond my breasts!"

Press 'like' if you do like & your reviews are always welcome!