Chapter 14

Chapter 10

"I like the pretty receptionist, Arnav, not Khushi. And I am quite certain she doesn't harbor any such feelings for me either so you can really relax a bit."

Arnav wouldn't have given Akash Malik any attention had it not had the word Khushi' in it but it did and so Arnav Singh Raizada paid due attention to Akash Malik and it would be safe to say that it was possibly the best news he wouldn't admit he got in a long long time.

And also the most awkward, which he would of course admit without any qualms and which would also explain his reaction to it which was...

A stunned silence.

Before the ummm's' and the uhhh's' started.

From both ends.

And so when Khushi came back after having recomposed herself, she found two very silent men sitting in their chairs, seemingly lost in their thoughts but jumping a foot in the air when she came in the much abused door, looking much like two boys reprimanded by a teacher and asked to sit with finger on their lips with just the finger part missing.

And though she had expected things to be awkward yet heated up in the room following yet another incident incited by Arnav, all she found was awkwardness yet but instead of rage it was laden with an odd silence and an air of embarrassment and Khushi looked at Arnav suspiciously for a moment trying to assess what all he may have said to Akash in her absence while at the same time cringing at the mere thought and conjuring up the excuses that she would have to give her father if the project was not up to the mark.

But she found nothing in his expressions, guarded as they were, which would give her any hint to what may have taken place in the room in her absence and a quick appraisal of Akash's face gave her the same conclusion and sighing and mentally grumbling about how much of an ass Arnav was, she took the seat she had vacated earlier and started the meeting, her back turned to Arnav thereby missing out on the hurt that crossed his eyes along with the self directed anger at her stance and the deliberate movement to face away from him.

Or the look of apprehension he shot towards Akash, suddenly afraid of what he might divulge to Khushi, not that there was anything to divulge.

It wasn't as if I am jealous of him and he-jealous of him having a place in her li-jealous of him, thought Arnav to himself as he turned his pen between his index finger and his thumb, his tongue peeping out in concentration. He was not jealous of Khushi having any person in her life that was not him, nope not at all. Why would he be?! Khushi had dated men-boys. She had.

Varun, Raj, Mohit... and he had not been jealous of them! AT ALL!

In fact he had all but set her up with Varun...a great guy he had been, perfect for his pagal-sanki Khushi or so he had thought...never realizing that it was not Varun his pagal-sanki Khushi was looking for...

Arnav sighed to himself, willing his mind to steer clear of those thoughts which seemed to be unsettling him a lot more than they had been over the last few years. Yes, it had been a constant thorn by his side since it had happened but he had learnt to live with it for a long time but all of a sudden it had started pricking him again and he could not for the life of him figure out the reason because it certainly had NOTHING to do with him being jealous of Akash because he just was not jealous of that blubbering fool! NOPE! He had never been jealous of any man in Khushi's life and he wasn't about to start now and not with Akash certainly.

He had not felt jealous of Varun.

And similarly he had never felt jealous of Raj in second year of college (the black eye he had got was purely the result of a an accident...he had just been practicing his martial arts right outside their classroom and he certainly couldn't be blamed if Raj decide to walk right into his fist, could he?!).

And he in no circumstances at all could be blamed if he had tried to dunk Mohit's head into the basket instead of the ball because come on anyone could get confused in the heat of the moment...and it had been a particularly intense practice session.

So no way had he been jealous then or was he jealous now.

Nope. Na-ah. NA. Nahin. No way. Nan-

"Khushi, I actually wanted to invite you two to my Parents 30^th wedding anniversary...its on this Sunday and you two have to come! I insist!"

"But Akash...I wont even know anyone...it would be so awkward!"

"Come on, Khushi! I will be there and even Arnav will be there!"

"Wohi toh problem hai- I mean I will see-"

"No see-wee! You are coming! I have already declared you as my date! Ab you cant say no!"

F**k everything.

He was going to kill Akash Malik.

With his bare hands.

Why?

Because he was insanely jealous.

And Arnav Singh Raizada finally admitted to himself what he had denied since the day he had punched Raj Mehra square in the face for daring to kiss Khushi in the middle of the football field and holding her hand every single day when Khushi would not even acknowledge his existence.

Since the day he had grabbed Mohit and hauled him up till his head had hit with a loud crack against the metal rod of the basket stand because he had dared to scream at Khushi in the canteen for whatever reason and made her almost cry when she didn't even spare him a glance as he came to her assistance.

And now he was going to kill Akash Malik for asking out Khushi when he had just declared he had feelings for Payal! THAT ASS! RASCAL! SCOUNDR-

Wait.

What?

Hadnt Akash just declared he had feelings for Payal so what the hell was he playing at?!

And straightening up on his chair, he willed himself to focus all his energies and attention on the laughing man in front of him, forcing him almost to look away from Khushi and into his puzzled (and still murderous) eyes, and just a moment later realization set in and Arnav felt himself relax, a tiny smirk lighting up his face as he understood exactly what Akash was trying to do, what exactly he was attempting to get at and Arnav, despite his earlier urge to hold Akash's head in a bucket filled with water, now felt a similar urge to stride up to the main, haul him from the chair and give him an appreciative thump on the back...before of course turning and walking away as the awkwardness would set in and so would the fear that his secret would be divulged to Khushi if she were to witness this pendulum-esque behaviour from him...

So instead he kept silent, barely holding in the smile that threatened to break out on his face at odd moments or worse the look of complete adoration that threatened to take up his entire being whenever he looked at Khushi, with past feelings newly acknowledged and future feelings he was no longer willing to shove under a carpet and then bulldoze all over it, and when the meeting came to end he exhaled a sigh of relief, his mood not getting affected even when as a result of the said sigh Khushi gave him a dirty look before leaving the room.

Akash was hot on her heels when Arnav finally broke his silence, just before he sidestepped him and made his way out leaving Akash behind to mull over his words, a spring in his steps as he stepped out.

"The pretty receptionist's name is Payal by the way, Payal Subramaniam."

Next chapter - Page 100

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