Chapter 9
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[MEMBERSONLY]
5)Khamoshi hai zubaan meri...(Part Two)
Please scroll up for Part One.
The next afternoon, Khushi entered her room and sat down on the couch, her hand rising to her braid of hair. She pulled it open and let the thick mass rest over her shoulder as she leaned back and closed her eyes.
She had just spent an hour by the hotel poolside, and she felt rejuvenated. Spending the entire morning alone in a hotel-room had sent her spirits plummeting,and she had made a sudden decision to eat in the restaurant downstairs and then sit by the pool.
Arnav and Payal had left early this morning for a tour of the San Francisco General Hospital, and she had also been told that Arnav had decided to visit his headquarters for a short while.
That thought reminded her of that woman...what was her name again?
Sheetal.
She had seemed nice enough, but there was something about the way she had touched him that...
She opened her eyes, determined to wrest her thoughts away from that path.
Her gaze fell on the phone, and she remembered the calls she had made to her mother and Lavanya this morning. She had explained that she had been injured, but she had downplayed the severity to alleviate their worries. La had been furious at the reason for her caving trip, but she had reined in her anger for the moment, her concern coming to the fore.
As if on cue, the phone rang suddenly.
She wondered if it was La.
But why would she be awake at this ungodly hour?
"Hello?"
"Khushi."
She straightened as his voice made her heart-rate go haywire.
"Yes, I..."
"We're taking a break for lunch here."
"Oh. I...see."
She didn't, not really.
Why was he calling her in the middle of the work-day?
"Did you...need anything?"
"No. I just wondered where you were."
"Me? I was just...downstairs by the pool."
"For two hours?"
"I'd gone down for lunch as well. But...how do you know that I wasn't here?"
"I had called your room earlier. Next time, let me know before you go anywhere."
"What?"
But she was listening to the dial-tone, and she stared at the phone as she realized that he had cut the call.
His behavior bewildered her, to say the least.
She didn't understand him, and at the moment, she did not understand herself as well.
How else could she explain the secret thrill that went through her at that possessive tone of his last question?
________
Later that night, Khushi closed the door behind Payal and turned towards her bed.
The injury no longer hurt as much, and she was able to move a little better than before. Payal had kept her company ever since she got back from the hospital tour, and Khushi was glad for the break in her solitude.
She walked over to her suitcase and lifted a white cotton nightgown, and slipped into it after removing her salwar-kameez.
As she walked towards the bed, there was a knock on her door, and she turned back towards it.
It was probably Payal, had she forgotten something?
All thoughts were wiped clean from her mind when she finally opened the door and saw just who was standing there.
"Khushi."
She stared up at him, and wondered what he was doing here at this hour.
"I...how was the tour today?"
"Useless. Because I've seen the hospital before. In fact, a friend of mine was admitted there for a couple of days when he tore a muscle while climbing half-dome in Yosemite."
"What?"
"Never mind. The point is that the entire tour is a waste, and I knew it before we came here."
"I..."
The words stuck in her throat as his eyes dropped suddenly, and she realized that she was standing here in her nightdress. It was a modest, high-necked gown, but there was something in the way he was looking at her that made her feel like she was standing there in nothing at all.
She stepped behind the door until all he could see was her face and long braid.
The silence stretched until it became uncomfortable, and he finally cleared his throat.
"I just came to tell you that I've given Payal the day off tomorrow so that she can do some more sight-seeing. If you are up to it, I want you to come with me tomorrow."
She raised wide eyes to his, and nodded.
He stared at her for a long moment, then turned away.
"Good night, Khushi."
She closed the door behind her and pressed a shaking hand against her chest, trying to slow her racing heart.
While wondering just why it was racing...
________
That particular organ constantly gave her trouble over the course of the next day as she went with him on the tour.
She felt his eyes on her constantly, and tried to hide her trembling reaction. Her skin felt like it was on fire, and she had to remind herself to concentrate on what was being said so that she could contribute to the discussion.
And then there were the touches.
Constant, fleeting, yet not-so-innocent touches when she least expected it, always under the guise of politeness and courtesy.
The touch of his fingers as he passed her a plate at lunch.
The graze of his shoulder as he stepped into the elevator beside her.
The slightest touch on her hair, when she stumbled into him on her way out.
Everything combined to make her restless, and she began to furtively watch if they were drawing the attention of the others.
He might have forgotten it, but she definitely remembered that they had an image to uphold here.
Neither had she forgotten that they had a history behind them, a fact that acted like a splash of cold water on her senses.
By the time they returned to their hotel after an early dinner with the hospital's director, she was a quivering mass of uncertainty, and myriad questions were running through her mind.
As they reached her door, she fumbled through her bag for the key-card while trying to hold on to her crutches at the same time.
"Allow me."
He took her purse from her nerveless fingers, and removed her key-card from it's depths.
She stepped back to give him access to the door, but he surprised her by taking a sudden step forward.
She felt the door against her back, and looked up at him with wide, fearful eyes.
His own eyes dropped to her lips, and she felt her entire body tense in anticipation.
She held on to the last bit of sanity she possessed, and a refusal worked it's way up to her lips.
But before she could say a word, he leaned forward and placed one hand behind her head, caging her in against the door.
He was looking into her eyes now, and she felt his heated gaze burn through her, just like it had done through the course of the day.
The silence between them shimmered with promise, and yet, she heard a warning in it's depths as well.
He lowered his gaze to her lips again, and she strengthened her resolve.
She raised her hands to his chest with the intention of pushing him away, but he surprised her by stepping away himself.
Puzzled she looked up at him, only to discover that he was staring down the corridor.
And in the next instant , she knew why.
"Khushi, you've got to...Oh, you're here too, Sir?"
Khushi knew she was blushing, and hoped that Payal wouldn't pick up on it.
Nothing had happened anyway.
"Is something wrong, Payal?"
Arnav appeared calm, unruffled by everything that had just happened.
And so Khushi decided to do the same as she turned to Payal.
"Sir, there's something on the news that you need to see..."
_______
Moments later, they were sitting in front of Khushi's laptop as Payal clicked on a link.
Arnav stared at Khushi, who gave the impression that nothing had just happened outside that door.
Although if he was honest, he still didn't quite know what was happening here.
All he knew was that something fundamental had changed between them in that Cavern.
He knew it when he hadn't been able to see her in pain.
He knew it when he gave up his only source of sugar for her, even though he knew that he might need it after all the exertion.
He knew it when thoughts of her had invaded his work to the extent that he had made several excuses to step out and call her hotel room.
He knew it when all he could think about was her...
He knew it when the first thing that came to his mind when he thought of her wasn't hatred.
He knew all this, but he didn't know why.
Khushi's voice broke into his thoughts, and he realized that Payal was still searching the internet for something.
"Payal, what is that you want us to see? You could just tell us..."
"Just a minute, Khushi...here, I've got it."
Arnav shifted his eyes to the screen and stilled, unable to believe his eyes.
He stood up immediately, then faced a pale, shocked Khushi.
"We need to get on the first flight to Delhi."
She looked up at him, then slowly nodded before speaking.
"This is a disaster."
He couldn't argue with her there.
_______
Twenty-eight hours later, they walked out of the international arrivals terminal at Delhi International airport.
They had spent a large part of the flight in discussing strategies to deal with the fallout if this news was true.
Before leaving for the airport, Khushi had cancelled the last two days of their tour with an apology to the hospital boards.
Arnav didn't know what to think,and what to believe anymore.
A part of him was still in shock, while the other part admired Khushi for the competent way she had handled everything since then.
He glanced over at her now, but she was already on the phone to one of the news channels, seeking further corroboration of the news.
He suppressed a sigh as he saw her leaning on her crutches for support.
But the very next instant, all thought was wiped from his mind as they turned a corner and walked right into a crowd of assembled journalists.
His security guards swung into action, creating a space between the media and him.
Questions flew thick and fast as flashbulbs went off in their faces, and he didn't know how he was supposed to deal with this.
"Sir , have you cut short your US visit by two days because of what has happened?"
"Is the news true?"
"What are you going to do about this?
As he opened his mouth to speak, he heard a firm voice address the crowd.
"If you could all listen to me, please."
Everyone turned to Khushi, and he wondered if he should be angry or grateful at her interruption.
"I'm Khushi Kumari Gupta, Principal Secretary in the department of Health and Family Welfare. The honorable minister will answer all your questions, but not at the moment. A press conference will be organised tomorrow, and we will release the time and place in the morning."
The journalists bombarded her with more questions, but his security team took the cue and escorted them through the crowd quickly.
Moments later, they were in the official car and were speeding away with sirens blazing.
He looked at Khushi, only to find that she was staring at him angrily.
He sighed, knowing that he should have expected this.
Her angry words cut through the silence, and he winced.
"You should have stuck to spelunking and climbing rocks!"
******************
A/N:
In many of your comments, you have expressed curiosity regarding the ages of Arnav and Khushi. At the present time, Arnav is thirty-one and Khushi is twenty-nine.
Also, some of you have requested Hindi translations of the titles. Writing a literal translation didn't work out very well, so here are the titles, renamed. (But with almost the same meaning as the original)
1) The hatred in your eyes...
2)Two paths that never meet.
3)Fire and Ice
4)The guiding light
[Credit for the last three goes to Semanti. What would I do without you?]
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