Chapter 4

A lot of you were concerned about Raj touching Khushi.. he wasn't trying to hurt or assault her in anyway.. he was getting married to her.. he was just trying to woo her.. trying to kiss her hand, moving closer to touch her shoulder etc.. it's just Khushi felt violated because she felt that only Arnav could touch her that way. I'm sorry I just wanted her to realize that, that's why I made Raj touch her hand and move closer to her. Arree.. Arnav broke her dori the first time they met ' Raj is definitely nicer towards women.

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Part 3: Untold emotions

There was a slight breeze as Arnav walked up the stairs. He knew the feeling; he knew she was here. He turned around and walked quickly to the door. He pulled opened the door, just as Khushi was about to ring the doorbell. She looked at him, surprised. He closed the door behind him and stood against the door. Khushi looked at him angrily, "Move aside, and let me pass". She started moving towards the door, but he grabbed her arms and pushed her against the wall opposite to them. He looked into her eyes and said, "Khushi, I won't let you pass until you listen to what I have to say." She looked away. "Listen to me, Khushi", he was angry and his voice was louder. "Khushi, how many times should I tell you to look at me when I'm talking to you." He grabbed her arms and pulled her towards him. She looked into his eyes, struggling to free herself from his grip. "Khushi, you can't marry Raj." Khushi freed herself from his grip and shouted, "What do you mean? Why does it matter to you who I marry?" He grabbed her arms and again. "Yes, it matters to me. It matters to me because", he stopped and looked down, confused. He freed her arms and looked away, "because you are my employee". He looked at her and said; "One of my employees committed suicide because of what Raj did to her. He made her pregnant and refused to marry her. Raj has hurt a lot of women, Khushi." Khushi's eyes widened and she asked sarcastically, "Oh, since when did you start caring about others?" He moved closer to her, his face furious. "Khushi, stop it. I just told you what Raj did.. " She put her palm out and said, "Stop!" She looked at him furious. "First, you are getting married to Lavanyaji, so my job here is done. I will no longer be your employee from today onwards. So you don't need to worry about me, Mr. Raizada. Second, how dare you accuse Raj of such despicable behavior? He would never hurt anyone." She tried to walk past him towards the door, but he grabbed her arms again and pushed her against the wall. "Khushi", he said, his eyes tearing up. "Don't do this, Khushi. I know you are mad at me. Don't do this to yourself." He took her face in his hands and said, "What if something were to happen to you? What if.. ?" She pushed his hands away and screamed, "So what? What if something were to happen to me? Why would it matter to you?" Then she stopped, looked into his eyes and said slowly, "and anyways not everything in my life is about you". Arnav looked at her, shocked and took a step back, remembering how he had said the same thing to her earlier. She continued angrily, "I don't ever want to talk to you, or see your face again. I am getting married to Raj, whether you accept it or not, Mr Raizada". Saying that, she walked past him and opened the door. He stood, stunned, unsure of what to do. He looked over his shoulder at her; she was still standing at the door. When Khushi looked over her shoulder at Arnav, he was walking away angrily down the stairs.

Nani, Anjali and Lavanya were very happy; they hugged Khushi and fed her sweets, congratulating her on her marriage. "Chamkili, so when is your engagement?" Lavanya asked as they sat down in the living room. "Sunday morning, I hope you will be able to attend." Lavanya raised her eyebrows and said quickly, "Oh no, Chamkili. My engagement is also on the same day, now how will we be able to attend." Nani and Anjali were upset too. Then Nani had a smile on her face, "Khushi bitiya, why don't we have both the engagements at the same venue. You are practically family now. I'm sure Madhumatiji, Garimaji and Shashiji will understand. I will talk to the Singhanias, I am sure they won't mind either." Khushi and Anjali said no at the same time and then looked at each other. Lavanya and Nani looked at each other, confused at Khushi and Anjali's reaction. Lavanya took Khushi's hand and said, "Please, agree Chamkili. That way we both can attend each other's engagement. Won't that be fun?" "That's a good idea, Lavanya." Khushi looked up to see Arnav walking towards them. "We should have both the engagements at the same place. If that makes you happy, Lavanya", he walked up to Lavanya and touched her shoulder, "then that's what we will do". He smiled at Lavanya and then looked at Khushi; she looked away angrily. Lavanya smiled at Arnav and then turned to Khushi, "Please Chamkili, please agree. I hope we can go shopping together and plan our weddings together. It will be so much fun, Chamkili. I am so excited." Khushi nodded with a half-hearted smile. Arnav looked at Khushi and then walked away. He reached the bottom of the stairs, turned around looked at her. She looked at him, their eyes met for a moment; they looked at each other, expecting the other to say something. But then Arnav turned around and walked away. Khushi looked down, trying to control her tears.

Khushi looked up a little while later, feeling a hand on her shoulder. Anjali smiled at her and then took her chin in her hand. "Khushiji, are you alright?" Anjali asked. Khushi nodded and looked around. Nani and Lavanya were walking towards the kitchen, deep in conversation. "Are you sure, Khushiji? Ever since you came in today, I have been noticing you. You seem upset. Is everything alright?" Khushi smiled and stood up and followed Nani and Lavanya into the kitchen. Anjali stood up and said, "Oh no, Khushiji. I forgot, can you go get the puja thali from the poolside. I had left it there when I had gone to wake Chotte up." Khushi turned around, looking scared. "Don't worry about Chotte. He must be busy with work. You won't find him there." Anjali continued, with a smile, seeing Khushi's expression. Khushi nodded and walked quickly towards the poolside. Anjali said a silent prayer, "I hope those two resolve their issues now, please, Devi Maiyya." She walked towards the kitchen.

Khushi looked for the puja thali by the poolside, but she couldn't find it. Then she thought she saw it on the table and hurried towards it, but slipped and started falling into the pool. Suddenly, an arm grabbed her and pulled her away from the pool. She crashed into Arnav's chest, her heart beating fast. For a few moments, she forgot her anger, forgot that she was supposed to hate him. She stood hugging him, tears rolling down her cheeks. She had been feeling lonely ever since last night and now it felt right, being in his arms. Tears of happiness rolled down her cheeks. Arnav hugged her back, smiling. It felt right to him too; he forgot about her wedding and that he was supposed to change her mind about her wedding. He put his cheek on her head and closed his eyes, enjoying the embrace. Then he softly caressed her hair and kissed her hair. Suddenly she opened her eyes, realizing what she was doing. She pulled away, looked at him with raised eyebrows. She stood by him for a minute confused, about what to do and say, looked at him again and then turned around and ran back into the room. "Khushi", he called after her, but she was gone. There were tears in his eyes too. Why does it feel right when I am with her, when I hug her? Why can't I see her tears? Why did I kiss her hair? He closed his eyes and he remembered the night of Diwali. Why can't I control my emotions around her? Khushi ran and ran, down the stairs and out the front door, past Anjali, who called her name, but Khushi was gone. Anjali looked up towards Arnav's bedroom. "Chotte, what have you done?" Her eyes teared up, unsure of how she could help Arnav and Khushi understand their feelings towards each other. Everything was clear to her now. She remembered how Arnav was upset after he had saved Khushi from the guest house. Arnav who had always claimed that he would not care about anybody, had started caring about Khushi since then. She remembered how Arnav would join them for pujas and to help with tasks he would have never done earlier, just because Khushi would ask him to. Arnav needed Khushi in his life; her presence in his life had changed him, changed him into the Chotte that Anjali had once known.

The following week went away quickly. When Khushi was home, she could feel Arnav's presence. One day, she had been talking to Buaji in the living room, when she felt he was near her. She had looked around and seen a white car pass by the house. Her heart was beating fast; she knew it was Arnav! It was indeed Arnav; he wanted to see her, he missed her badly. He would go to her house just to catch a glimpse of her. Arnav couldn't stop thinking about Khushi and stop worrying about her! He didn't want her to marry Raj. He wanted to save her from the monster that he knew Raj was. How do I convince her? Stop it Arnav. Let her marry who ever she wants to. Why does it matter to you? He stood up and paced the room. Why do you care about her? No, I don't care about her. I hate her. I don't care what happens to her, if he hurts her or if she dies. No! Khushi! He said her name loudly. His eyes teared up. No, I can't lose her. He sat down and leaned against the recliner, wondering why he felt like he had to save her.

Khushi on the other hand wanted to see Arnav too; she missed him as well. The more she tried to forget him, the more she wanted to see him. She tried to hate him, but she couldn't. She saw his face everywhere; she could feel his presence everywhere. Everything she did reminded her of him; she thought about him when she ate, when she slept, when she was cooking and when she was talking to others. She hated to admit it, but she wanted to see him everyday. She would go to Shantivan everyday, in the pretense of seeing Lavanya, but hoping that she could get a glimpse of him. Earlier that day when she reached Shantivan, she was sitting in the living room with Anjali waiting for Lavanya to come downstairs. The three of them were going shopping. Anjali was talking to her, but Khushi kept looking around. Her eyes were searching for Arnav. Then she turned to talk to Anjali, but there was a breeze and she felt his presence. She looked at the stairs and saw Arnav coming down the stairs, on phone with Aman. Their eyes met for a moment; Arnav stopped talking on the phone and looked straight at Khushi and Khushi looked at him, her heart beating fast. She was happy, but she didn't want to show it, so she looked away. Arnav saw her look away and he turned around and walked up the stairs, screaming at Aman on the phone.

Anjali noticed this and she shook her head; this has to stop, she thought, I have to do something about this. Anjali had noticed that Arnav was behaving strange too. His anger had come back, all of a sudden since Diwali. She had a feeling it had something to do with Khushi. I wonder what happened during Diwali, that these two decided they wanted to get married to others. I just hope they realize that they love each other and that they are perfect for each other, Anjali thought. I just hope they realize it fast, before they hurt Lavanya and Raj. Anjali turned to look at Khushi, who was looking uncomfortable. She put her hand on Khushi's shoulder. "Khushiji, are you sure you are fine?" Khushi nodded. "I have been noticing for the past few days. You have become quieter and you always look sad and depressed." She touched her face and asked, "Are you not happy about the marriage? Did your family force you to get married?" Khushi shook her head. "Khushiji, all I can say is follow your heart. If you are not happy, don't get married". Khushi hugged her; she really liked Anjali. She was like the sister Khushi never had. Anjali hugged Khushi back and softly whispered. "Marriage is not a decision that you should take in haste. Make sure you want to get married. I have been telling Chotte the same thing. I don't know what has happened between you two. You are like a sister to me, Khushiji and I don't want to see you get hurt". Khushi couldn't control her tears, but a few minutes later, she pulled away as Lavanya walked in. As she wiped her tears, she thought about what Anjali had said' "Marriage is not a decision that you should take in haste. Make sure you want to get married. I have been telling Chotte the same thing. I don't know what has happened between you two. You are like a sister to me, Khushiji and I don't want to see you get hurt". She gave Lavanya a half-hearted smile and tried not to look at Anjali, as they walked to the front door to go shopping.

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Anyways, I'm wondering whether you guys like the story or not? There is going to be two or three more posts. I know you feel bad that Raj is not exactly a nice guy. The reason I did that is because it's because he knows Raj is bad that Arnav realizes that he cares about Khushi. Anyways, do let me know what you would like to see in the stories. I am keeping track of your suggestions and I will try my best to add them to my stories!!

Please, please like and/or comment. I love reading comments and hearing your feedback! It is your feedback that makes me want to update!

Part 4: Yes, this is love!