Chapter 7

[MEMBERSONLY]

Thank you for the amazing response to the previous part. I'm truly overwhelmed...😳

~ CHAPTER 7 ~

NK rushed through the corridors of the Lifeline Hospital' to find a distressed Khushi outside the OT in blood stained clothes. As she saw him and hurried to him, NK wrapped his arms around her.

"NK, Woh Arnavji...Arnavji..." she hiccupped trying to talk through her tears. Her face was blotchy from continuous weeping and her dress was still blood stained. But NK didn't think Khushi cared how she looked right now.

"Relax Khushi" NK made her sit on the chair, got her a glass of water from the counter and made her drink it "Now, calm yourself down and tell me what happened" he asked her in a low voice.

Khushi blinked her tears and began to speak brokenly "Arnavji was hit by a car on the main road. Someone called the ambulance and I came here with him. They took him in for emergency surgery because of internal injuries and...and...I haven't heard anything since!" she said with anguish "NK...Why aren't they coming out? Why isn't anybody telling how Arnavji is? It's been hours! " she covered her face with her hand and began sobbing again in torment.

NK was taken aback by the myriad unspoken emotions he could hear in Khushi's voice. Emotions which suggested feelings far deeper than that were deemed appropriate for an employer-employee relationship. But before he could even digest that confounding fact, the Surgeon came out. NK and Khushi quickly hurried to him.

"Hello Doctor. I'm NK Malhotra. Arnav is my boss and friend. How is he, Doctor?" NK asked as Khushi held her breath and prayed.

"He must have some guardian angel looking after him up there Mr. Malhotra. For a minute there it was touch and Go. But we were finally able to stop the internal bleeding and pull him back. Other than that he just has a few broken ribs which has already been seen to"

Khushi sagged with relief.

"Can we go meet him?" she asked anxiously.

"Not now. We are shifting him to post-op ICU now. With the trauma of the accident, he also has to recover from the dangerously low levels blood glucose too. He seems to have neglected his heath for days prior to his accident. That probably made his reflexes sluggish and contributed to the accident. When his condition improves tomorrow we will shift him to private wards"

"But he will recover right, Doctor?" it was NK who asked this time.

"Don't worry. His prognosis looks good. We have complete faith that Mr. Raizada will come out of this fit and fighting. We have already informed Mrs. Devyani Malik, who is listed as the emergency contact in his health card"

Khushi hesitated slightly before asking "But his wife... Doesn't she have to be informed?"

Doctor looked confused "Wife? I was of the understanding that Mrs. Malik is his grandmother"

NK gently squeezed Khushi's hand "Thank you doctor. We are grateful for everything you have done"

NK left with the doctor to complete the hospital formalities and Khushi moved towards the post-op ICU. From the tiny glass window she could see Arnav lying on a hospital bed attached to numerous tubes. Khushi extended her trembling hand and touched the glass wishing that somehow she could touch him.

{BG}

Piya...

Piya...

Beloved

Mora Piya

Mora Piya

Mora Piya

Piya Mora

My Beloved

Mora piya maanat nahin

Mora Piya

Mora Piya

My beloved does not agree

Mora piya mo se bolat naahin

Mora piya mo se bolat naahin

My beloved does not speak to me

"Please come back Arnavji" Khushi whispered in despair "I lied...I lied when I said I don't care whether you live or die. I lied when I said I don't care about you" she choked back a sob "And I lied when I said I don't love you...Please come back to me Arnavji...I'm sorry..."

NK came back to see Khushi staring at the ICU dejected and kept his hand on her shoulder in comfort. She turned to NK with all the desolation she felt in her soul visible in her eyes "I lied to him NK... I lied to him and now he is lying there. Please tell him wake up NK...Tell him to wake up and talk to me...I can't live without him... I can't..." She began to sob quietly as NK hugged her comfortingly and let her cry it out. He would ask her what was happening between her and Arnav at some later date, he decided. He could see how fragile she was right now. All he could pray was that both his friends would come out of this stronger.

"Khushi...You need to go home now" Khushi began shaking her head negatively even as he spoke "No..No..Listen to me Khushi...Listen to me. There will be a million people coming here to visit ASR, the press would be here too. You have to see you cannot stay here"

"But...NK..."

"I know Khushi. I know that you want to be with him. But you can't. I'll be here Khushi. I will not let anything happen to him..." He said softly.

Khushi turned towards the ICU with tearful eyes once again and turned back to NK "Promise me you'll tell how he is please, everything...Promise me"

"I promise..." Khushi nodded and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. After one last look at Arnav through the glass, Khushi took a deep breath and walked out of the hospital. NK looked at the way Khushi had departed somberly.

Sometimes life was too complicated.

-----xxx-----

Arnav came awake a day later disoriented with his surroundings. Where was he? he wondered as he struggled to keep his eyes open. The stark walls, the smell, reminded him of the days he had spent with his mother while she had been ill. Every bone in his body hurt. He winced as he tried to move. Hospital, that's where he was, he realized slowly as the reason he was here also came back to him.

Suddenly there were a couple of medical professionals hurrying around his bed taking his vitals and he saw his Nani standing with NK at the corner. But where was Khushi? His eyes searched but found her nowhere. May be she decided it was good that he would be out of her way once and for all. He hid the pain at that thought and closed his eyes.

"Nani...When did you get back from Haridwar?" he asked Nani as the doctor and nurse left the room.

"Do you think I could stay there after you land yourself in hospital, Bitwa?" she raised her eyebrows teasingly.

Arnav smiled "NK...What's happening at the office?"

"He is lying injured in a hospital bed and still thinks about his office..." Nani grumbled.

NK grinned "Everything is fine Arnav. Akash, Aman are handling everything in your absence. A couple of meetings had to be postponed indefinitely but the clients understood"

"Aman and Aakash? What about you?"

"I decided I needed to be here by your side. It wasn't good manners to let Nani handle everything you know..." he winked playfully at Nani "Also I know that she likes my charming company. Hain na Nani?"

Nani blushed prettily making both Arnav and NK chuckle "Chal badmaash..." she admoninshed NK affectionately.

"Thank you NK" Arnav was grateful that someone was here to support his Nani. And he always knew that NK was a good man and a loyal friend.

"No worries Arnav. You just concentrate on getting well..." NK hadn't missed the way Arnav's eyes had looked around as if searching for someone as he had regained consciousness. But he didn't ask about Khushi and NK didn't volunteer. But as promised to Khushi, he kept her abreast of Arnav's treatments and prognosis. She seemed to be waiting for his calls each time he called.

Arnav was discharged from the hospital a week later and advised to take it slowly. His Nani and NK arranged him to take 3 weeks off from the office until his injuries healed. Arnav agreed quite reluctantly to the R & R.

-----xxx-----

Khushi missed Arnav. She missed him so much. She came to the office daily in the hope that he would be there today. But even weeks after the accident, he hadn't been in. She heard from NK that Arnavji was working from home until he recovered completely. When Khushi had visited him the hospital with La, Arnavji had treated her just like another employee. But rather than feeling relieved, all Khushi had felt was a deep sense of loss. There had been no more avowals of love, no informal familiarity and no more friendly banter even when they had been left alone for a few minutes when La had gone out of the room to take a call. Arnav had studiously avoided speaking to her more than a few polite words.

And Khushi had missed it all.

Four weeks after the accident, Arnav resumed his normal routine in the office. And within days Khushi realized Arnavji was really avoiding her and it wasn't just her imagination. Now that she worked for Aman, she worked in the same floor as Arnav and in a week they had at least 2-3 meetings together. But all the occasions that they had been together, Arnav didn't speak to her a single word above the required courtesy. Khushi wished she could get a few minutes alone with him so that she could apologize for her atrocious behavior. But Arnav Singh Raizada seemed to be a man on mission to avoid her. Even if their eyes met and locked accidentally, it was him who looked away first. It was him who went out of the way to ignore her.

{BG}

You are my world

I'm nothing without you

Just look at me please,

Say something...

Dwaar jiya ke

Doors of the heart...

Why don't you speak to me?

You are all I need.

Ooo dwaar jiye ke kholat naahin

He does not open the door of his heart

Mora piya mo se bolat naahin

Mora piya mo se bolat naahin

My beloved does not speak to me

{Mora Piya - Rajneeti}

Khushi knew she probably deserved it after all the hurtful things she had thrown at him. She had been horribly cruel to him. She had been on a righteous brigade and crushed his heart under her cruel words. But after watching him on the death's door, her priorities had shifted invariably. She didn't care if it was a sin to love him but she couldn't dispute the fact that she did love him. More than herself. More than life itself.

Only problem was that he seemed to have shunned her completely.

-----xxx-----

NK found Khushi crying her heart out after a board meeting where ASR had ignored her once again and took her home. He could see her wilting in front of his eyes from weeks. He was determined to finally get the whole tale from her. Khushi told him everything including how she had brutally crushed his emotions on the day of the accident.

"Khushi. Have you thought about the consequences?" NK asked tentatively when Khushi finished her story "I know you both are good people. I also know Arnav's marriage is nothing but a compromise from one of our drunken days. But society is very harsh Khushi. It won't hesitate to tear you both into shreds"

"I realize that NK. But I also realized when I saw him struggle between life and death in the hospital that day that I can't live without him. Without him, I may have the respect of the society, but will it be a life worth living without love? I don't know the story behind his long-distance marriage but I do know that if Arnavji didn't think it was dead and buried, he would never have been in this place"

"Khushi, I don't know what hold Sheetal has over Arnav but I do know that he tried to divorce her once, but then he rescinded the papers suddenly. No one knows the reason why he cancelled the proceedings. But he never tried again as far as I know. So, if he is forever unable to divorce her, what then Khushi?" NK asked softly "Are you ready to sacrifice your chance at finding someone free to give you all that you have dreamed all your life? Your wish for a family?"

"I have already found my soulmate NK. It just happens that he is already married. I will be happy just being with him if he ever gives me a chance" Khushi let out a hollow laugh "But you don't have to worry. It looks like Arnavji doesn't care for me anymore. He hasn't spoken two words to me after the accident. But who could blame him after the way I treated him?" she said tiredly.

"It wasn't your fault Khushi" NK encircled her shoulder as they sat side by side on the sofa and let her lighten the sorrow in her heart with tears and murmured comforting words to her as she finally dozed off.

-----xxx-----

It was the Gonsalves deal that did it.

Arnav had been really trying hard to not trouble Khushi much with either his presence or words. However hard it was, he was trying to bury his love deep in his heart so that it didn't hurt Khushi. It wasn't easy. Every time he saw her, he longed to soak in her beautiful face and her musical voice. But he dared not for the fear that he may lose control over his emotions. But he had realized what a predicament he had put her in by confessing his love. She had her whole life ahead of her. A whole beautiful life. It had been too selfish of him to put her in a position where she had to defend herself for not returning his love. A forbidden love which she would have to be absolutely demented to even consider it.

But the pending formalities of the Gonsalves broke the ceasefire between them. Gonsalves had arrived in Delhi to complete the deal and was staying in a guesthouse on the outskirts of Delhi . He was going back within days as it was close to new year. Since Khushi had handled the Gonsalves deal, it was decided that she would accompany ASR for the closure of the negotiation. Arnav couldn't object to the board decision without raising suspicion, so he agreed quietly even though he had serious misgivings.

On the day of the deal-signing, Khushi and Arnav left early morning from ARI headquarters in his SUV. Arnav was driving for the first time since his accident. The 2 hour journey to the guesthouse was spent in uncomfortable silence where Khushi tried to maintain some semblance of conversation going about the deal and Arnav answered in monosyllables. Khushi was ready to pull her hair out by the time they reached the guest house.

Gonsalves welcomed them warmly and enquired about Arnav's health. After exchanging pleasantries they moved to the conference room which the guesthouse offered for their clients and successfully closed the deal. Arnav became the proud owner of the ocean-front property he had coveted by the time for lunch. On Gonsalves's insistence, Arnav and Khushi lunched with the genial Goanese and by the time they decided to leave the dark clouds were gathering in the sky indicating an oncoming storm.

"Looks like the weather is going to turn bad pretty soon. Are you sure you wouldn't want to stay and leave after the storm is over?" Mr. Gonsalves asked ASR worried.

Arnav declined the offer politely as the weather wasn't that bad yet, and as soon as Khushi had strapped her seat belt, they were off. But half an hour into the quiet journey the weather worsened. The roads were almost invisible due to the torrents of rain. And Arnav could see Khushi huddle more into her seat each time it thundered. Also the area they were travelling in was near a local hill station. So Arnav didn't want to risk any landslides either. He checked the GPS and made a quick decision.

"Erm..Khushi...I have a farm house not 10 minutes from here. If you are okay with it, we can take refuge from the storm there" It was the longest sentence he had spoken to her after the accident.

Khushi assented with relief. She just wanted to get out of the thunderstorm and the torrential downpour. After negotiating the almost invisible roads for a few miles, Arnav turned to a cross road and reached the gates of his farmhouse. A watchman opened the gates and Arnav parked the car in the garage. But even as they crossed the short distance between the car and front door both Arnav and Khushi were drenched thoroughly.

Khushi noticed that the farmhouse was built in cottage style, with plenty of front yard for a beautiful garden and lawn as she entered. The house itself was two-storied and was made of stones and bricks giving it a low country feel. The living room was cozy and well furnished. Arnav handed her a towel as they came inside and showed her into a room to dry herself.

Khushi came out fifteen minutes later and saw that Arnav had the fireplace in the living room going and was staring outside the window at the relentless rage of the storm. It was around 5 in the evening but it looked like night had fallen already. The rain didn't give signs of letting down soon either. Arnav stiffened for a moment as he heard Khushi coming in but didn't turn around. He hoped she would get the hint and leave the room, but it was not to be. The next minute he heard her calling him softly in that tilting voice of her's.

"Arnavji...?"

~ END OF CHAPTER # 7 ~

[NOCOPY]