Chapter 20

Khushi woke up early the next day. There was a lot of work to do and she didn't have much time to waste. She had to meet the caterers and sample their food and then approve of the decorations which were going to be finalized. And in between all of that she had to find time to go shopping with Satvik. Life was going to be busy. Normally Khushi loved this frenzy of activity but today she didn't feel like her usual self. She felt hollow and empty. She hadn't felt like this in a long time.

"Khushi? Are you awake?"

Khushi got out of bed and opened the door to her room. She found herself looking into the assuring face of her cousin.

"Good you're awake. I just wanted to confirm our shopping date for today. Be ready by three. I'll come and pick you up after I finish some work at office."

"Sure Bhaiya."

...

The menu had been decided. There would be a five course meal and Khushi had tasted every item personally to check whether it would be good enough for the occasion. She had always wanted to be a chef and had paid attention to very fine details when it came to tasting and anything related to food.

She came back to Shantivan and walked into the living room to find Arnav sitting there drinking coffee. He looked up as soon as she entered and Khushi felt her breath hitch as she recalled last night's events. His eyes lingered on her face for a moment and in that moment she saw a multitude of emotions race across their molten brown depths. She waited with baited breath but the apology she had been hoping, almost praying for, never came. She realized that she would never get one and she walked up to her room, feeling even more dejected than before.

Arnav's eyes followed her as she climbed the stairs. His heart lurched in pain as he saw the hurt flash across her face. Her usually bubbly and cheerful self seemed to be overcast by a dark shadow and he was the cause of it. He hadn't meant to say any of the things he had. It had all just come out in a fit of rage. He wanted to fix this mess terribly but he had never apologized to anyone before in his life and he was not planning to start now.

...

"Khushi, that's the fifth lehenga you've tried on. There must be something you like?"

Khushi shook her head and fingered the satin fabric of the lehenga in her hand. It was a very pretty one, a periwinkle blue with dabs of royal blue and gold. Quite grand indeed but not one she would like to wear.

"Ma'am, why don't you take the white set which you tried on first? It was looking beautiful on you."

Khushi smiled at the assistant and shook her head. It had indeed been a very beautiful outfit. It was a white and silver lehenga and an itsy bitsy choli and a magnificent white dupatta. Khushi had fallen in love with it the minute she had seen it but it was much too revealing for her and she personally didn't feel like wearing something like that at present. She gazed at the outfit once more before picking up a much less gorgeous, pink set and handing it over to the assistant.

"I'll take this one."

"Are you sure Khushi? I mean is this really what you want?"

"We don't always get what we want, do we Bhaiya?"

Satvik looked at Khushi questioningly.

"I mean, you needn't worry Bhaiya. This is the outfit I want. Thank you."

...

Anjali was looking for Arnav everywhere. She wanted him to wear a sherwani for the evening's function. It was a smart silver sherwani on top of a sleeveless navy blue kurta. He would look just like a Prince in it. She walked into his room and found that the door to the poolside was open and he was standing there gazing into nothingness.

"Chote?"

He didn't look at her and still had the lost look in his eyes. She went yup to him and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. This seemed to pull him out of his thoughts and he turned around to face her.

"Di? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yes Chote I'm fine. But what about you? Are you alright?"

"Yeah Di. Why do you ask?"

"Because you were gazing into the poolside again. You only ever do that when you're guilty."

"Guilty? For what? I haven't done anything wrong."

"Are you sure? I thought you had fought with Khushi and you were feeling bad about it."

Arnav's defenses immediately went up.

"What? Me feeling bad? You've got to be kidding me! I never fight with people alright. And least of all with that girl."

And with that he stomped out of the room leaving behind a bewildered Anjali.

"But Chote-? Uff! He didn't even let me complete what I had to say! Silly impatient child!"

Arnav was fuming. Why did Di have to bring up that topic? He was trying to forget about it but she just had to remind him! It had taken him a long time to remove Khushi's ashen face from his mind's eye and now it was back full throttle. He wasn't going to apologize to her so there was no point pondering over it or her any longer.

...

Khushi opened the package and gasped in horror. They had given her the wrong dress! Instead of the staid light green set, the shop had packed the gorgeous white lehenga choli. She gazed at the clock. There wasn't enough time for her to go back to the shop and return it. She decided to go in search of Satvik and tell him about the mix up. Just then there came a knock on the door.

"Khushi, please get ready quickly. The guests have started arriving."

"Ok Payal. Just give me a few minutes."

She would wear the outfit for now and later speak to Satvik. Now she needn't to help with all the guests.

...

Khushi walked down the stairs and was greeted by grandeur and magnificence. The entire all was decorated brilliantly and she couldn't help but smile as she saw everyone's admiring looks. Her eyes travelled to the people of the night - Manohar Uncle and Manorama Aunty. He was dressed in a smart white sherwani and his pleasant personality matched his outfit completely. She on the other hand was a wearing a bright red benarasi and was bedecked with gold jewellery from top to toe. Khushi smiled to herself as she saw Manorama Aunty proudly introducing Payal to all her friends and society members. Payal greeted everyone softly and all eyes went over her royal blue sari approvingly.

She saw Anjali sitting on the sofa and chatting eagerly with a few of her friends. The baby bump was quite prominent now so she had decided to wear an anarkali instead. It was a very pretty design in pink and gold and she was glowing with good health. Satvik was standing near the drinks table, chatting with some of his business associates but every once in a while his eyes would flit to his wife and he would smile fondly. Really they were indeed a perfect couple.

Akash was busy running around and making sure that everything was in order. He was wearing a golden sherwani and looked quite dashing indeed. He flashed Khushi a quick smile and gave her a thumbs up. Khushi nodded her head and felt glad that someone had appreciated her outfit.

"Khushi! You're looking lovely!"

She looked towards her right to find Karan smiling at her. She smiled back at him and thanked him for the compliment. She couldn't get herself to talk to him properly because she kept remembering the previous night's conversation with Arnav and the nagging feeling that her meeting with Karan had somehow sparked it.

All the mingling got too much for a her after a while and she excused herself and walked up to the terrace to get some fresh air. A cool breeze welcomed her as she opened the door and she slowly walked towards the high railing. It was a cloudy night and you couldn't see the sky properly. Her eyes clouded with tears as she recalled a night just like this many years ago.

"Khushi? Why are you crying beta?"

"Amma! Arnav told me to get out of his room because I touched his favorite car!"

"What? That doesn't sound like something he would do. Are you sure that's the only reason? Did you spoil it by mistake?"

"No Amma! I was just touching it and he ran in and snatched it away from me. Then he just screamed at me and told me to leave his room and never come back! He said he'll never play with me again!"

"Did you know that you weren't supposed to touch his car?"

"No! He's let me touch it before. But he suddenly got so angry today."

"Maybe he was upset because of some other reason."

"But Amma he said he'll never play with me again!"

With that she burst into fresh tears and Malini took her six year old daughter into her arms. She patted her head soothingly and waited for her tears to slow down. Once they had, she gave her a reassuring smile and wiped away the tear tracks.

"Don't worry beta. Everything will be fine tomorrow."

The tears rolled down her eyes as she recalled her mother's words. She wrapped her hands around herself and sobbed into the darkness. She had been very hurt that day but then she had had her mother to comfort and soothe her. Now she was all alone. There was no one to tell her that everything would be alright. Because maybe it wouldn't.

"Amma, Babuji, why did you leave me all alone and go?"

...

Arnav struggled to put on his tie and threw it on the bed in frustration. Nothing was going correctly today. The damn party downstairs required his presence but he just didn't fell like going there. He knew that Khushi would be somewhere amongst the guests and he just didn't want to face her. He opened the top two buttons of his black shirt and went up to the terrace to calm his mind. He opened the door and was greeted by the most beautiful sight in the world.

There was a girl standing near the edge, her silky black hair flying gently in the wind. He could see her tiny, milky white waist because of the exposing choli and her perfect figure was outlined by the appropriately styled lehenga and dupatta. He didn't have to think twice. It was Khushi.

"Amma, Babuji, why did you leave me all alone and go?"

He was shocked out of his wits to hear the broken voice utter those words. On listening closer he could make out the quiet sobs which were now echoing eerily into the night sky. He took a step towards her and she turned around with a jerk. There were tear tracks running along both her cheeks and his heart clenched as he saw the pale, disheartened look in her eyes. As she realized who it was behind her, fresh tears fell from her eyes and she closed them slowly, trying to not let her pain show so transparently.

Arnav felt a stab into his heart every time a tear fell from her hazel eyes. She was shaking slightly right now and she clutched the sides of her lehenga in an attempt to control her emotions. He couldn't take it anymore. The look of pure torture on her face as she first saw him on the terrace made his heart plummet into the depths on darkness. What had he done to her? She had helped him so greatly, made him come out of the shadows of his past, showed him how to embrace life and what had he done? He had gone and broken her. Into a million tiny pieces.

She slowly turned around once she had stopped crying and leaned against the railing, waiting for him to leave.

"I'm sorry."

Khushi's shoulders stiffened visibly. But she didn't turn around. Arnav knew that he was going to have to try harder.

"Khushi, please. I'm really sorry for what I said last night. I didn't mean it. I-I was just angry to see you with Karan. I know you were just talking to him but - Then you came and asked me about our future and that really scared me. I've always shirked from commitment. Please look at me Khushi. I'm really very sorry."

She turned around and Arnav was disappointed to see the same ashen look on her face. Her eyes still looked hollow and her brightness was missing.

"It's ok Arnav."

"No it's not! I behaved abominably last night. I want you to forgive me Khushi. Please!"

"But I thought Arnav Singh Raizada never apologized to anyone. What's the catch here?"

The words pierced through his heart but he wasn't planning on giving up so soon.

'I know I said that but after what I did last night, I had to apologize. I've been feeling terrible since then."

"Don't make me laugh Arnav. You've never felt bad about anything in your entire life. In fact, you've never felt anything in your life. So don't come to me with all your rubbish excuses."

"Khushi you have to listen to me!"

"No I won't! And you can't make me!"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and gripped her tightly. He glared into her eyes and she stared back defiantly.

"No! You have to forgive me!!"

"Why? Why is it so important for you that I forgive you?! Go and live your life like always, why don't you!?"

"Because I love you!"

The rain had started pouring heavily and Khushi looked into Arnav's eyes in disbelief. Her mouth had opened wide and a slow blush was creeping up her cheeks. Arnav spotted the slight change in her expression and repressed a smirk. He pulled her closer and his warm breath fell on her face.

Khushi could feel the familiar tingling sensation along her spine and she struggled slightly in his arms.

"W-what?"

"Didn't you hear me the first time? I said I love you."

"Really?"

He nodded his head and leaned his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again they were full of raw emotions. Gone were the contemptuous shades and arrogant hues. Here lay Arnav, his soul bared to hers.

Khushi flung her arms around his neck and sobbed quietly. Arnav could feel her trembling form against him as she clung onto him. He hugged her back and held onto her tightly, afraid that he would lose her otherwise. She finally looked up into his eyes and he was relieved to see the spark back in them. She gave him a shaky smile and stared at him fondly.

"I love you too."

Those few words were enough to make him the happiest person on the face of the earth. She loved him back! That's all that he ever needed to know. To hell with everything else. All he cared about was her. He slowly cupped her face and leaned in to claim her lips in a magical kiss. Khushi smiled into the kiss and clutched at his hair while Arnav's hands slowly moved down to her bare waist. His warm fingers on her cold skin caused goose bumps to erupt as they created havoc on her senses.

The clouds had shifted and the rain had also come to a halt. The twinkling stars in the night sky were witness to the perfect beginning of an imperfect love story.

...

Oh and the last scene is dedicated to DM1810 a.k.a Devanshi. She wanted a rain sequence so here it is!!!! Hope you liked it!🤗

Hope I did justice to the story? I know many of you'll wanted a redemption thingy but I don't think it went well with my story so...

Please do leave your comments and let me know what you'll think.

Good news:

I will be starting a new story soon. Probably a college based one, so yay!!!