Chapter 8

"Where are you, Khushi?" He muttered to himself as he threw open the door to his bedroom and ran to the side table to pick up his car keys. Suddenly there was a breeze; he stopped; she was here. He looked at the poolside and there she was; his Khushi sitting on the recliner by the poolside. He slowly walked towards the French doors; he could hear her sobs. She was talking to herself; Arnav smiled; his crazy Khushi! As he walked towards her, he could hear what she was saying. "No, Khushi, don't believe what you saw. He loves you. He loves you. Arnavji loves you. Don't believe what you saw. Talk to him. Ask him whether he cares about you. I know he does. I know he loves me." He stopped and let out a sigh of relief. So she didn't think I was in love with Lavanya! Then there was a breeze; Khushi froze and raised her eyebrows. She turned around and saw Arnav. She stood up, ran to him, put her arms around his neck and crashed into his chest, making him stagger back slightly. He smiled as she held him tightly. He put his arms around her and pressed her body against his. He caressed her hair and finally pulled away from her. He took her face in his hands. "Khushi, I'm sorry.. I'm sorry for.." She shook her head and put her finger on his lips. She looked at his lips and then at his eyes and then back to his lips again. She moved her face closer and slowly pressed her lips against his. He felt a chill down his spine and he parted her lips with his tongue, drove his tongue deeper and let his tongue explore the depths of her mouth. She put her arms around his neck, kissed him back, her tongue playing with his. She was happy; this felt right. She felt his love and his passion; he had finally claimed her as his love. He was thrilled; he had wanted her, he knew he needed her in his life. Now he knew she was his, she was not going to leave him; she loved him. When their lips parted, they looked into each other's eyes. They had so much to say to each other, but suddenly there was no need for words. Their eyes said it all; their eyes revealed the love they had for each other; the desire, the longing to be together; the happiness of being in each other's arms and the passion for each other, knowing their bodies were pressed together.

Arnav looked into Khushi's tear-filled eyes; he had the sudden urge to confess his feelings, to tell her how much he loved her; he wanted to hear himself say it. "I love you, Khushi", he blurted out. The world was quiet, except for the howling of the winds; an indicator of the impending storm. Khushi froze; she pulled away from the hug and looked at him, with raised eyebrows and wide eyes. She had wanted to hear it for so long, but now when he finally said it, she felt that her whole world came crashing down on her. She felt faint; she felt like she wanted to jump with joy; she felt like she wanted to scream at the top of her voice; but she didn't. A tear rolled down her cheek. Arnav continued, "I could not stop thinking about you ever since I first saw you Khushi. You found your way into my heart and captured my mind when you fell into my arms that night. When you were almost run over by the car in the rain, for the first time, Arnav Singh Raizada doubted his decisions. After I found you at the guesthouse, for the first time in his life, Arnav Singh Raizada started caring about someone. You made me smile; you made me laugh. You found the Arnav in me; the Arnav that I tried so hard to hide under the dark mask of ASR. Khushi, it scared me when I started feeling for you. When I lost my mother, I had decided I would not feel again, that I would not get attached to anyone again, because it hurts a lot when someone you love leaves you. I was scared that I would be hurt again, so I tried to push you away, Khushi. But you, my crazy Khushi," he tucked her hair behind her ear and touched her face. She closed her eyes and smiled, enjoying his touch. "You always found a way back into my life, into my heart". He pulled her into his arms. "I am sorry that I insulted you. I am like that Khushi. It made me furious that I couldn't stop thinking about you, that I had started caring about you, that I couldn't control my emotions around you and I didn't want to admit it. I insulted you, then I would see your tears and I would regret it, Khushi. I really regretted it, Khushi. Your tears, I couldn't bear to see you in pain. You have no idea how much it killed me to see you in pain." He closed his eyes and a tear rolled down his cheek. Khushi pulled away and put a finger on his lips. "Ssshh' Arnavji", she softly said his name and he opened his eyes to look into her twinkling brown eyes. "Say it, Arnavji. Tell me you love me, tell me again". He smiled and he kissed her on her forehead. "I love you, Khushi". He kissed her eyes and said, "I love you". He kissed her cheeks and said, "I love you, sweetheart". He kissed her nose, smiled and said, "I love you, Khushi". Before he could bend to kiss her on her lips, she beat him to it and she brushed her lips against his. When their lips parted, she smiled and took his hand and put it on her heart. "Can you feel it, Arnavji? Can you feel my heart beat fast? It does that when I am around you. You make me feel alive Arnavji. When you weren't around, I could never stop thinking about you. I can't live without you. I need you, Arnavji, I need you in my life; I need you with me forever!". She took his face in her hands and brought his face closer to hers. Rain poured down on the two lovers as their lips touched. Khushi put her arms around his neck. Arnav put his arms around her waist, pressed her body against him, bent his body backwards and lifted her off her feet. When he finally put her down, their arms were wrapped around each other and they touched their foreheads against each other, smiling, happy that finally they confessed their feelings for each other!

Arnav carried her into their bedroom; the room smelled of roses. It was filled with lit candles and decorated with rose petals. The bed was covered with more rose petals and there were flower garlands hanging from the ceiling. Khushi looked at the decorations in awe; Anjali wanted their wedding night to be perfect. Arnav moved the flower garlands and placed his blushing bride on the bed. After they had confessed that morning, the Raizada family had gone to the Gupta family and asked for Khushi's hand in marriage. The Gupta family was shocked initially, but they had seen Arnav's love for Khushi, so they were happy and thrilled about the proposal. The wedding happened a few days later; Anjali planned the whole event. It was a grand and traditional wedding with sangeet, mehndi and haldi traditions. Khushi had not stopped smiling since that day and Arnav was happy knowing that he was the reason behind the smile. It was the perfect wedding, better than what Khushi had ever dreamt about. Arnav thought that Khushi looked like a princess in her dark red lehenga and fine jewelry; like a beautiful angel. Khushi looked at Arnav; he looked like a prince, dressed in a white sherwani with dark red border; he was her prince, her prince charming, the best husband in the world! He touched her face and she blushed.

Khushi's eyes widened suddenly and she looked at him. "Did you talk to Mr. Roy?" Khushi was referring to Arnav's lawyer. Arnav smiled and said, "Yes, Khushi. Everything is settled. Money can buy you anything." Khushi had remembered Arnav's lawyer after seeing the bruise on his arm. After leaving Khushi's house that day, Arnav had gone straight to Raj's hospital and confronted Raj. He had slapped and punched the living daylights out of Raj. Raj's lawyer had filed a case against Arnav, but Arnav had negotiated with Raj and agreed to invest in his hospital, so Raj had finally dropped the charges against Arnav.

"Oh really?" Khushi asked, a naughty smile on her face. She put her hand on his heart and brought her face closer to his and softly kissed him on his lips. "Can money buy you this?" She was referring to his heartbeat, which had quickened when she kissed him. She brushed her lips against his cheeks and slowly up his ear and nibbled on his ears, "and this and.. ". His heart was racing now. She pulled away and giggled. Arnav smiled and took Khushi's face in his hand and brought it closer to his face. "So where were we last time, on the night of Diwali?" She blushed and smiled. He pressed his lips against hers and parted her lips with his tongue. She put her hands on his face as she hungrily kissed him back. He removed the veil from her head, pulled her hair and bent her head backwards. He placed kisses along her neck and shoulders and she squirmed with pleasure. He put his hands on her shoulders and helped her lie down on the bed. As he bent down to kiss her, Khushi put her finger on his lips, "Arnavji?" "Hmm'", he whispered, leaning against his elbow. "Tell me you love me!" she softly asked, her lips trembling, her heart beating fast, her breath quickening, her body shivering, knowing what was going to happen next. Arnav smiled and bent down to kiss her.

Epilogue: Diwali, a year later