Chapter 11
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[MEMBERSONLY]
Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your wonderful comments. Did you guys observe Khushi's blouse in the precap today? I hope that makes it easy for you guys to see what I was trying to describe in Chapter 9
Everything is fair in love and war. Read on to find out.
Desert Rose ' Chapter 10
IT was
another flawless morning, getting warmer by the minute and Khushi stood in the
kitchen wiping the sweat off her forehead with her dupatta. Today she was
making Lucknowi food for Anjali. She had mentioned that nani, who was from
Lucknow, was away at Jaipur and that she had been missing her cooking. So
Khushi had made Mathura ke aloo, poori, matar pulao, Lucknowi koftas and badam
kheer. She had wanted to make jalebis but stopped herself when images of what
had happened in this very same kitchen flashed before her eyes. She realized she would never be able to make
jalebis again without thinking about him.
Three more gruelling days had passed since
then and although there was no sight or sound of him since, her emotions were
still ragged, her senses in turmoil.
She had told herself a hundred times that this
was a crazy unwanted feeling. This was a result of not having interacted much with
men, having grown up with a sister and not having relatives to speak of. Even
at the boutique, all her clients were women and most of the tailors were middle
aged to old men whom she affectionately addressed as bhaiyya or uncleji.
This had to be infatuation ---- yes,
that was what it was or it ever could be --- meant nothing. Absolutely and totally nothing.
Life in Delhi had not been easy, but
she'd coped --- had managed to resolved all issues calmly. Yet now'.
I don't know what's happening to me,
she thought desperately. I'm not in control anymore, and I hate it. I miss my
peace of mind. I want it back.
But there would be no inner
tranquillity here, in this desert town. Living in the guest house was a
constant torment, with its reminders of the shadowed past Arnav had shared
there with his beautiful young fiance ' and those even more potent recent
memories, from which there was no escape.
The thought of his kiss still burned her
lips, the memory of his hands moving over her body sending shivers through it,
giving her goose bumps even now. When she had felt his heart beating under her
fingers, she almost felt that her own heart trying to match its rhythm. His
presence seemed to linger in the room, evoking a strange trembling awareness
she had no power to suppress.
After that night, presumably he was
staying aloof, awaiting her message to say she was ready to deal, Khushi
thought bitterly.
But, even when he was absent, she was
always aware of him, just the same. Sometimes, as shadows in the green house,
looking almost close enough to touch, and as she dried her hair on the balcony
amidst the colourful bougainvillea, she had the odd impression that unseen eyes
were watching her, although she knew that was absurd.
The need to go ' to get away before it
was too late -' had begun to obsess her. Part of her mind was saying that the idea
of coming here to Rajasthan was hopeless, anyway. That Arnav did hold all the
aces, and their best course would be to agree to some kind of financial
settlement. But she knew any suggestion to Payal that they should cut their
losses and return to Delhi would be indignantly resisted.
Payal, immersed in her emotional
maelstrom, had no idea of the confusion that was ripping her sister apart. Nor
did Khushi want her to know.
'Khushiji,'
Anjali appeared beside her, looking elegant in a magenta net saree. She had
taken Payal under her wing, supervising her diet, and taking her out for
regular walks. 'I think Payal is feeling
a little down today because of the morning sickness. She is resting.'
'I think she gets a little anxious with
each passing day.' Khushi said a little stiffly.
Anjali's brows creased with concern and
she came up to Khushi. 'I can understand
what Payal must be going through. Manav has promised he will bring Payal and
Akash together as soon as the coast is clear.'
She put a hand on Khushi's shoulder.
'But Chotte is rarely away from the Haveli these days, and when he is absent it
is only for a short time ' and he leaves HP to watch Akash.' She frowned. 'We
must find a way to draw him away from the Haveli and keeping him away for
several hours.'
Khushi asked haltingly, 'Will he not be
going to ---Delhi sometime?' To meet his
girlfriend she added mentally.
'You mean on business?' Anjali gave a
casual shrug. 'I have no idea, and he is too concerned with Akash right now. In
fact --' she leaned forward, ''he has told Manav that he may soon take Akash to
the States to see specialists there, and if he does'' she shrugged again '' I
think that will be the end of Payal's hopes.'
'There is no doubt about that.' Khushi
said quietly. 'Does she know about this?'
'No. I thought it was best not to
mention this to her. But don't worry Khushiji, we will find a way.' Anjali said
briskly, 'Now, tell me what we can do to cheer her up.'
An hour later, when Arnav rang the bell
to the guest house he was surprized that no one opened the door. He was sure
his sister was in there as he saw her car parked outside. What was going on? He
realized he would have to get into the house like the other night. His mouth
stretched into a thin line as he thought about that night.
He climbed in through the open window
and stood in the living room to find it empty. He heard music playing in the
bedroom and pushed the door open. The sight he beheld was something he had
never expected --- His sister and Payal stood swaying to the music, clapping
their hands and laughing up at ---- Khushi. She stood on the bed, gyrating to
the latest Bollywood item number Chikni
Chameli!
She danced with abandon, her face
flushed with excitement. She had taken off her glasses and her hair had come
undone from all the dancing. Though this was a raunchy number, he had to admit
she moved with a certain grace that belied the very concept.
Arnav stood quietly inside the room
watching the three of them lost in their own world. Just as the song was about
to end, Khushi lost her balance and was about to fall off the bed. As she began
to flail backward, she closed her eyes expecting to hit the hard floor. Except
that, she did not. She opened one eye to find herself safely ensconced in Arnav
Singh Raizada's strong arms. Khushi's eyes went wide as her mouth opened in an
O. The same expression was mirrored by the other two ladies in the room.
Arnav put Khushi down unceremoniously before
turning his attention to Anjali, 'If you can spare some time from the all the
revelry, will you please tell me why there is no food in the house Di?'
'But' Chotte'.. you weren't supposed to
be back for lunch!' exclaimed Anjali.
'Well'.. my meeting got cancelled and I
decided to come back home,' he returned, 'what's going on?'
'Khushiji invited me to lunch and since
you were not going to be there I gave the HP and Lakshmi the day off.' She
answered sheepishly.
'What about Akash?' he asked her looking
at her in disbelief.
'Don't worry Chotte'..Manav is taking
care of him,' she said coming up to Arnav, 'er'.you could have lunch here,' she
added.
Hey Devi Maiyya! Anjaliji was inviting
the Laad Governor to eat her simple Lucknowi food? Khushi thought apprehensively.
'No thanks.' The smell of food wafting
from the kitchen had made him ravenously hungry, but he'd rather starve, Arnav
decided.
'Chotte, you know we don't have any
restaurants nearby and moreover we have enough to spare don't we Khushiji?'
'Yes' of course.'
'I ___'
'She has made poori and Mathura Aloo
--- your favourite.' Anjali knew her brother too well.
He looked at his watch and conceded. 'I
have a call in half an hour''.maybe I will just grab a bite.'
The bite turned into a finger licking
sumptuous meal. He was forced to admit that this was the best meal he had in
ages. F@#$! How the hell he had
managed to survive on HP's cooking all this time?
'Khushi, would you please sit down and
eat?' Arnav said as Khushi tried to serve him another poori. 'I hate it when
people hover over me.'
'Khushiji, please do join us,' said
Anjali, 'we have no formalities here,' she added much to the consternation of
Arnav.
Dammit! Did Di have to be
obvious about what she was trying to do here? This was going to cause a lot of
problems ---like he didn't have enough already, he thought looking at Khushi. He
picked up the bowl of kheer.
'Arnavji, you can't have that kheer, it
has sugar in it!' Khushi blurted out, as she grabbed his arm to stop him.
Arnav stiffened as he saw Anjali staring
at them in amusement. The ring of his mobile phone hadn't sounded more
wonderful to him than this moment and he quickly excused himself to take the
call in privacy.
Khushi Kumari Gupta! You are just plain
crazy, Khushi admonished herself for her blunder. Anjali had just taken Payal
to the room and she had begun to clean up the dining table and kitchen. This
was her latest obsession to maintain the cleanliness of this ultra-modern house
and it was soon going to tire her out. For all his airs, Laad Governor seemed to
have enjoyed this simple Lucknowi meal. She had actually seen him licking his
fingers a little in the end. So this businessman with the fancy American accent
was a desi boy at heart, after all. Her phone rang and she picked it up
absentmindedly. 'Hello?'
'It's Mrs Malhotra here.' The gruff
voice of her boss broke into her reverie.
'Mrs Malhotra!' exclaimed Khushi, 'How
are you?'
'Let's do away with formalities and get
straight to the point, shall we?' Mrs Malhotra seemed to be angry. Had her
business taken a hit because of her absence? But before she could say anything,
she continued, 'All I want to know is if you will be coming back to work?'
'Of course, Mrs Malhotra.' Khushi said
emphatically, 'you know I am only on ten days leave.'
'Well ''' She paused, 'you seem to be
moving in high circles these days. With such influential people backing you, I
wondered if you would be interested in coming back to work for me.'
'What are you talking about Mrs
Malhotra?' asked Khushi completely baffled, 'what influential people?'
'Arnav Singh Raizada. He called me few
days ago and had me remove all your pictures from the online catalogue. He
threatened me with a lawsuit if I didn't comply. When the owner of a top
fashion house takes so much interest in my employee, that he personally calls
me about this, what am I supposed to think Khushi?'
'I am sorry Mrs Malhotra.' Khushi swallowed,
shocked at what she had just heard.
'So you do plan to come back to work?' She
asked again.
'Yes,' she answered in a low voice, 'but
I'.I might just need a few more days leave.'
'Of course, take your time. I don't
need another law suit on my hands for not giving you enough leave.' Then the
phone went dead.
How dare he? thought Khushi her anger
rising up several notches. Wasn't it enough that he was playing with Payal and
Akash's lives that he had to butt into hers as well? She went up the stairs, her
entire body seething and barged into her bedroom. He was walking about the
bedroom, talking into his bluetooth device. She went up to him, blocking his
way, plucked the device off his ears and threw it on the bed.
'What the F@#$!' he swore loudly.
'How dare you interfere in my personal
life?' she raged at him.
'That was a frigging important call!'
he hissed, 'I will have to call Ria ---'
'I don't care!' she shouted at him,
'your girlfriend can wait until you finish answering all my questions.'
'This had better be good, or you are
going to be in real trouble Khushi Kumari Gupta!' he thundered.
'You told Mrs Malhotra to take my
pictures off the web site.' Khushi stated.
'So?' he asked her surprized at her
outburst.
'That was none of your business!' she
exclaimed.
'It seemed like you were unaware that
she had put them online.' He said. 'Am I right?'
'Yes, but that's beside the point.'
Khushi said looking at him her eyes flashing, 'You had no right! I don't need
your help. I can take care of myself. As I have done --- for the last seven years!'
'Alright, fine!' said Arnav, his own
temper rising a notch, 'I will call the old dragon and tell her to put them all
back again. I didn't know you wanted them there.'
'No!' she snapped back, 'Don't!
'What do you want me do?' he asked her arms akimbo.
'Nothing! You have done enough already.
I am probably going to be sacked anyway.'
'So what?' he asked her, 'you will
definitely get another job. I have seen the pictures. You are really good.'
Good? He thought her
designs were good?
'In fact I think I acted in haste
there,' he told her. 'You should continue whatever you are doing. I run a
fashion house and I understand beauty when I see it.'
He seemed to be going overboard in his
praise for the blouse, she thought. He surely had better designers at AR. She
couldn't understand this Laad Governor at all.
'But what I don't understand is,' he
said looking at the simple green suit, 'why you hide such beauty under those
appalling clothes.'
Oh God! He was talking about her. Did he think she was a model? Well,
who cares thought Khushi her anger getting the better of her. What difference
would it make what he thought of her?
He had a problem with her clothes, did
he? Although her meagre salary at the
boutique afforded her to lead a decent life, it did not allow her the luxury to
buy fancy clothes.
But then, of course, his tastes
inclined toward a rather more flamboyant style of female dressing, she
acknowledged, recalling Ria Chopra's jazzy ensemble. That was not her style at all, though it was impossible to suppress
the stab of irritation when she thought of Arnav looking at her.
'I dress to please myself, Mr Raizada!' she snapped. 'I don't think
my appearance should be any of your concern.'
Her tartness was a mistake. She knew
that as she saw his eye brows rise up in response to her sharp tone.
He shook his head as he walked toward
her and a sudden wicked grin made his teeth flash against his lips. 'You are
right,' he murmured, so softly that instinctively Khushi tensed, suspecting
strongly that he wasn't going to leave it at that, 'but it doesn't stop me
wondering why you are bent upon dressing like a school teacher.'
Without warning he reached a hand and
touched her hair, tugging the hair-stick free, from the neat chignon, and
letting it unfurl down her back, his eyes glinting with a disturbing fire.
Khushi froze, stunned by the total unexpectedness of the gesture.
'Shiny, straight, black hair.' Arnav's
voice was a disturbingly husky whisper, one that made Khushi's nerves twist in
instinctive response. 'What a terrible crime to have hair this beautiful and
then drag it back in that unflattering style.'
With his other hand he took off her
glasses in one swift movement.
'Give them back to me!' she exclaimed
furiously, trying to snatch it back from him.
Holding it high over his head, Arnav
grabbed her waist with his other hand, stopping her from reaching his hand.
As Khushi struggled to reach for the
glasses, she looked up to see molten chocolate eyes looking at her intently, a
look she had now come to understand quite well. Her heart began its erratic
dhak-dhak as she became aware that she was flush against his body, her breasts
crushed to his chest, one of her hands clutching his shoulder. A raw heat
suffused her body from her head, settling down in the pit of her stomach. When
his eyes moved downward to look at her lips, she closed her eyes, her lips parting
unconsciously.
'Chotte?' Anjali voice broke into the tension
filled silence. 'I thought you had left.'
Khushi wrenched herself free from his
grasp as Arnav turned to look at his sister, behaving as though it was quite
normal to be found with a girl in his arms.
'I came up here to take a call. Khushi
came in looking for her glasses,' he explained calmly. 'I found them for her
and was just giving them back to her.'
'Is that right?' asked Anjali, her
eyebrows raised, her tone flippant.
'Absolutely.' Arnav's tone brooked no more arguments 'I have
another meeting soon and I am going back home.' Arnav told her as he walked out of the room. 'What
about you?'
'Yes chotte, I will go back with you.' Anjali
followed him, waving Khushi a quick goodbye, unable to supress the mischievous
smile that broke into her lips.
Later that night, Arnav stood in his
greenhouse, tending to the plants. This was his haven --- a place he came to sort
out his thoughts. He looked out of the window to see if Khushi's bedroom lights
were on. Was that her silhouette or was it just the shadows cast by the
creepers growing on the terrace?
He hadn't been able to stop thinking
about the other night. When he had taken her hand to put it on his chest, he
had felt a searing heat in spite of his clothes, and his heartbeat had thudded
heavily, his pulse thrumming through his body. He had begun to feel some
primitive emotion he couldn't name.
All this had begun from the encounter
in the green house. That day, he had only wanted to prove something to her, but
the moment his lips had touched hers, he could have sworn that stars had
exploded, lighting the heaven with glorious colours. And this had never, ever happened to him before.
His thoughts then went back to the phone
call he had received some time back. It was from the PI he had hired to find
out about Payal's background. The PI had given her a clean chit.
He
had himself realized the same when he had watched her jumping with joy while
watching Khushi's antics on the bed. Her innocence just shone through. He had
not even seen his Di laughing so much in ages. He also knew that she had been
sneaking out to visit them every day and had embraced them into her life. It
was so simple for her, wasn't it? Why not? She was happily married to the man
of her dreams. Whereas he had ended up with ''.
Lavanya'.
He had worked very hard to bury those
old memories, until Khushi had brought her up a few days ago. Khushi had
described her as "someone lovely with so much going for her". Only he knew the
truth. He remembered what she had said the other night --
You can't protect him from experiencing or prevent him from
making his own mistakes'.
Was
he was letting what happened with him come in the way of Akash's happiness? Was
it was time to let go of the past?
The next morning, Shyam Manohar Jha walked
into Jha Associates office in Connaught place, New Delhi. 'Hey Shyam, when did
you get back from Bali? How was your trip?' asked Amar Vyas, Shyam's associate at the firm.
'Just got in this morning Amar,' Shyam said,
'It was fantastic. You should go there sometime.'
'As if I could afford it with two kids
man,' returned Amar regretfully, 'You should have taken the day off, you know,
jet-lag and all.'
'I have a lot of pending work I want to
wind up before I leave,' he said, 'I am planning to go to Rajasthan for a few
days. I miss Anjali a lot.'
'That's wonderful, say hello to
bhabiji,' he said folding the newspaper he had been reading.
'Anything interesting in the paper
today?' Shyam asked him, switching his lap top on.
'The usual, scams, murders and oh we
also have a suicide --- a young woman.
She jumped off her apartment building. Here, take a look at this.'
A 25-year old woman committed suicide by jumping off the
fourth floor of an apartment building on Monday night. The deceased was identified
as Anita Sharma, a bpo worker who had been living in the apartment for the past
few months.
Police recovered a suicide note from the apartment in which
the deceased has not implicated anybody behind her stern step. According to the
police, the woman's last call received to the cell phone was from an unknown
number. Though the police are continuing to investigate and are waiting for the
post-mortem report in order to rule out any foul play.
'Oh God!' said Shyam his eyes going
wide with surprize, 'I don't understand how people can waste God given life
like this.' He closed his eyes for a few brief seconds. 'One should learn to be
happy with whatever life throws your way.'
'You are so right, Shyam.' Amar Vyas concurred
with a nod.
Khushi came downstairs to the kitchen
to make her morning cup of tea. As the water began to boil, she was lost in her
thoughts. Things were getting out of hand with each passing day. Mrs Malhotra's
phone call had put her in a quandary. She had asked her for a few more days
leave. But what was going to happen in a few more days? Anjali had told her
yesterday that Arnav was planning to take Akash to America for further medical
treatment. They couldn't afford to follow them there. Khushi was startled out
of her thoughts when she heard the knock on the door.
'Khushiji!' said Anjali as Khushi
opened the door. She looked very excited. 'I just got a brilliant idea last
night ----about how to get Chotte away from the Haveli. You will have to do
it.'
'Me?' Khushi's eyes went wide with
surprize. 'What are you talking about?'
Anjali went on, 'You tell Chotte that
you want to meet with him, to make a deal, but away from here, because you want
to keep it a secret from Payal. You can ask him to show you around Bikaner and
keep him with you the entire day,' she added, her smile widening. 'I think '..that should not be a problem, am I
right?'
'No.' Bright spots of colour burned in
Khushi's face. 'I am sorry, but I can't --- I won't. That will not be
possible,' she said, her heart thumping against her ribcage. 'Anyway, he
wouldn't believe me. I have made it more than clear that I won't negotiate.'
'But a woman can change her mind, can't
she?' Anjali asked. 'I am sure Chotte understands that.'
Khushi bit her lower lip, 'I'm sure he
does. But I don't play such games.'
Anjali took her hand and appealed to
her. 'Then there is nothing we can do Khushiji. Akash will go to America, and Payal
will be devastated.'
Khushi groaned inwardly knowing Anjali
was absolutely right. 'I will never get away with it,' she said desperately.
'Unless you try, how will you know?'
Anjali coerced. 'Besides, everything is fair in love and war and Chotte is the
one who has declared this war. He has always said that an easy deal is not
worth making. He expects you to fight. You have tried standing up to him quite
bravely so far. Don't give up now, when there is a chance ' however small ---of
victory.'
Khushi was silent for several seconds
before she capitulated, 'All right ' I will try, but I am not sure about this.'
'I think now is your chance because I see
Chotte turning into the driveway.'
'Oh God!' The breath seemed to choke in her
throat. She turned on Anjali. 'What is he doing here? Did you know he was
coming?'
'No, I swear it. He didn't say anything
at breakfast. But looks like he is going somewhere and you shouldn't miss this
chance,' Anjali said urgently. 'Make him take you with him, wherever he is
going ' then keep him with you until sun set. Give us some time.'
She rose gracefully to her feet. 'As
soon as you leave with him, I will take Payal to the clinic to bring Manav so
that he can supervise their meeting, and then we will all come back to the
Haveli.' She put her palm against Khushi's cheek. 'Good luck to all of us,' she
whispered.
Khushi looked at Arnav who was now parking
the Jeep. She looked at the blue sky.
It would be a very long time until sun
set. She realized numbly. And she would need more than luck to come through
unscathed.
Hey Devi Maiyya, what have I just agreed to? She thought in despair.
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