Chapter 27

"What you felt for me Khushi then is what I feel for you now and what I have been feeling for you since who knows when...if you could look past everything that I did and said, all the times I did not realize that what I felt for you had long crossed the boundary of a lost friendship...if you can let go of all of that and let me be by your side as your best friend and as your companion, I would be honoured. But even if you say No' tonight, know that I will not be going anywhere. I will remain your best friend and keep trying to become your companion if you will have me. I love you, Khushi. I love you - as a best friend and as someone much more than that."

"I love you, Khushi."

"As a best friend and as someone much more than that."

"If you can letgo of all of that and let me be by your side."

"As your companion."

"I love you."

"What you felt for me Khushi then, I feel for you now."

"I love you, Khushi."

"As a best friend and as someone much more than that."

"I will keep trying to become your companion."

"If you will have me."

"I love you."

"I love you, Khushi."

"Khushi!"

"I love you."

"What?!"

And that was what jolted Khushi Gupta out of the stupor she had found herself in since the time she had spent with Arnav in his office and which was currently eating into her attention while she was supposed to be eating dinner with her family.

She shut her eyes tight for a second, willing herself to pull it together, before looking across the table at her mother, her mouth already speaking out an excuse.

"Woh kuch nahin...just really tired. What were you saying?"

But Garima did not reply as she continued to stare hard at daughter and Khushi could see her mother's eyes lined in the rims with suspicion making her turn to her left and address her concerned father instead, sure that he was less likely to counter question her any claim.

"Dad, you make me work too hard! See now I am sleeping at the dinner table!"

She tried making light of the situation, the hair at the back of her neck standing up as she felt her mother's eyes still on her.

But before her father could put to words his apology at making her work this hard, her mother had cut in with words which made Khushi cough right into the tumbler of water she was trying to hide half of her face with.

"Haan...Shashi you make her work too hard. Tabhi toh aaj kal Khushi khuli aankhon se sapne dekhne lagi hai..."

Khushi placed the glass of water back carefully on the table even as her father thumped her lightly on her back, muttering about how he must reduce her workload unaware of the exchange of looks between the mother and the daughter ,where one read "Out with your secret, kiddo!" and the other pleaded silence.

*****

Garima made sure that Shashi was fast asleep before she did what she had been doing for years - slipping out the novel from his hands and his spectacles from his nose where they had slid to the very end of the bridge of his nose as he softly snored before pecking him gently on the forehead and switching off the lamp on his side.

She then did something which was not a regular part of her schedule, she tip-toed across the wooden floor of their room taking care to not disturb the peace and risk having her husband wake from his slumber, taking a deep breath of relief as she closed the door behind her before a naughty smile lit up her face as she made her way to her daughter's room, certain that there was no sleeping for the oh so tired' Khushi Gupta - not when she had spied in her eyes what lit up her own - love.

And not just love - plain and simple.

One that she had been seeing in Khushi's eyes for a while now but had been unable to reach out to her daughter when all of her attempts at ever having a talk remotely relating to the topic had been shut out by her irate daughter with vehement shouts and screams.

She had let it be then, knowing that her daughter was hurting yet feeling it was for the best if she be left to deal with it as her any attempt only seemed to bring Khushi more pain as she saw something shrivel up in her honey eyes every time the topic was broached.

But tonight, tonight she had seen something different.

Something which had made that shriveled hope raise its head up again and her heart had thudded with gratefulness and apprehension in equal part.

Something that was not what she was a stranger to herself luckily.

Something that was not just love - plain and simple.

But reciprocated love.

And that, that was a different story altogether!

One which she was going to get out of her daughter - no matter what.

And that was the determination which Khushi Gupta found shining in her mother's own honey eyes as she opened the door to her insistent knocking at 1.30 AM in the night - or was it morning?

*****

When Shashi Gupta woke up that morning, he was in for not only a rude but a rather alarming surprise.

His wife of 27 years was not next to his side, sleeping without a care in the world nor was she breathing down his neck, hollering at him to get up while he slept without a care in the world!

In fact she was not in the room at all!

And that abnomaly made Shashi Gupta jump right out of the bed and make a beeline to the closed door of their bedroom, yanking it open, urgent steps leading him to his daughter's room as he remembered the only times such strange mornings greeted him.

Only when Khushi was sick and had needed her mother during the night had Shashi ever woken up without Garima near him while she had been in the city and that thought made his father's heart thud loudly and fearfully as he knocked twice on the door with clammy hands before gently pushing it open, ready to call the doctor at the drop of a hat but it was instead his mouth which dropped open as he witnessed the sight inside his daughter's bedroom.

Where he had been fretting over fears of Khushi not being well and Garima being by her side, what he instead found was Khushi and Garima laughing their hearts out as they both lied on Khushi's queen size bed, Garima propped up on one elbow looking down at their daughter with utmost love while Khushi looked...looked like she had never looked before.

The words of concern that had been bubbling inside him uncomfortably since he had woken up seemed to dissolve into nothing as he continued to gaze at the two most important women of his life laugh in gay abandon, as if the most heavy of burdens had been relieved of their shoulders.

And though he had always known that Khushi was closer to her mother and shared all her secrets with her, he wished for the first time that his daughter would let him partake in whatever had made her so happy, a feeling which made him clear his throat and draw attention to himself as the two women turned towards the doorway, their faces sobering up but the trace of their smiles still present as they took him in.

"Kya baatein ho rahi hain Maa-beti ke beech?"

Shashi walked in, settling down in the space which the two women vacated for him on the bed as Garima straightened up and smiled softly at him before her eyes shifted to Khushi making his do too only to see colour flush into Khushi's cheeks as she looked everywhere but at him as she hurried out of bed, almost falling down on her face but he caught her arm at the nick of the moment and straightened her up.

"Kya hua? Koi toh batao!" he insisted, knowing that he had already lost the battle but before his heart could even clench at the thought, he found his hand enveloped by his wife's as she told him with her eyes to not push it, at the same time assuring him that all was fine.

"Achcha theek hai matt batao! But tell me one thing - did you two sleep at all last night?" he said with resignation, eyeing his daughter as she all but swayed on her feet on her way to her cupboard, his question making her stop and turn back to face him, lip caught between teeth and he was reminded of a younger Khushi on days when she would be caught by him with sleepy eyes, having spent the whole night watching movies or television or just reading.

And he could not help but let a laugh tinker out as he shook his head and did what he used to do back then - gave her the permission to take an off before leaving to get ready for office, in his hurry missing out the teasing glance Garima threw Khushi's way at his suggestion or how his daughter's face fell at the prospect of staying in for the day.

*****

Arnav Singh Raizada was excited.

Well that and very late.

But he had a good reason for being late.

The reason, you ask?

His excitement of course!

And the reason for his excitement was what had him smiling goofily up at the traffic policeman who was berating him for having held up traffic when a light had turned green but he had refused to move...just like how he was refusing to move now.

"What you felt for me Khushi then is what I feel for you now and what I have been feeling for you since who knows when...if you could look past everything that I did and said, all the times I did not realize that what I felt for you had long crossed the boundary of a lost friendship...if you can let go of all of that and let me be by your side as your best friend and as your companion, I would be honoured. But even if you say No' tonight, know that I will not be going anywhere. I will remain your best friend and keep trying to become your companion if you will have me. I love you, Khushi. I love you - as a best friend and as someone much more than that."

He had stood there, his weight shifting on his toes, as he waited with bated breath for Khushi to react to his declaration but she stood as mute as she had been 5 minutes back when he had finished what he had to say with a giant exhale of breath.

He wondered if he should make a sound to shake her out of the statuesque position she had molded herself into or maybe he should shake her only and he was still wondering when he felt a hard shove against his chest, one which made him almost tumble and he would have had the same hand not stretched out and caught his tie by the fist and pulled him back to his feet only to be pushed back again before being rained down on with puny fists before...

Before she had flung herself at him, her arms coming around him as her tears wet the fabric stretched across his shoulders making a bewildered him almost jump on his own foot for making her cry as he frantically tried to pull her away from himself and wipe away the offending drops of water trickling down her flushed cheek but she held on tight to him, rendering all his efforts useless.

But even then when he had continued to fidget, she had silenced him with a sharp rebuke,

"Stay still, Raizada! Cant even hug properly! Stupid man!"

And his lips had broken out in a smile as he realized that her tears were not the result of him hurting her...but maybe the result of him correcting that hurt and he let his own arms wrap around her snug, pulling her closer as he whispered a sorry for not hugging properly in her ears.

They stood like that for a long time before she started fidgeting and he loosened the embrace, letting her step out of the warmth of his arms, instantly missing it as she did.

He let her walk away from him, giving her time to compose herself even though his first instinct had been to pull her right back to him but the look on her face stopped him short.

She looked confused, happy but still confused.

And a little flushed and embarrassed.

And that was what he was going to address first.

"Why are you blushing so, Khu? Pyaar karta hoon main tumse, haq hai tumhara mujh pe!"

And it succeeded as the blush on her face was replaced by shock and she gave him the characteristic Khushi Gupta Haw' expression before realizing what he had been up to and turning away once again, a smile now gracing her lips - a soft blushing smile and Arnav felt as if his heart was soaring in the clouds as a realization sunk in.

The realization that if the tears in her eyes had been his doing, he was the reason for this beautiful smile too and he felt the corners of his own lips lift up even further and sheepishly he ruffled his hair with one hand, stepping forward towards her, hovering behind her uncertainly before lifting up a tentative hand and placing it on her shoulder without knowing the purpose with which he did the action. All he knew was that he needed to touch her, he needed to feel her, know that she was there, that this moment was real.

And maybe she did too as he felt her hand cover his own before she turned and let their joint hands fall gently to their side as she regarded him with eyes - guarded but where love shone right through all the guards and she said two words, two words which made him swallow down all of his own insecurities and instead reply with two words of his own.

Her words were,

"I am scared."

His,

"I am sorry."

And then they had a conversation, a mature conversation which if overheard by anyone who had known them to be the way they had been for the past 8 years would result in that person fainting, getting up, recollecting what he had heard and who he had heard it between before promptly fainting again.

In fact had he not been present in the room himself, he would have had difficulty believing that it was the two of them having the conversation that they had himself!

"I don't know, Arnav...what if you-I mean what if we...what if we don't work out again?"

"Again?"

She had remained silent at his question and a sigh had left him as he asked her to look at him before continuing,

"We were never together before this moment, Khushi, so the question of whether we would work out again' or not does not arise. You had feelings for me, yes, and I was a dickhead who didn't recognize your feelings but I am never going to lie and tell you I had the same feelings I have for you today back then - we were friends, yes, but I didn't like you the way you liked me. We should have remained friends and its my fault our friendship broke but today we are standing on a completely different road - we like each other, Khushi, or at least I hope you like me back too...and things from this point forward, if there is a way forward, will be the first time we will endevour on it and we will be there for each other, Khu. We will make it work or at least we will try damn hard to! And if we still fail, then we fail but at least we wont regret not taking the chance when it presented itself...if there is a chance that is..."

She had continued to look at him for a few seconds before speaking in a soft but clear voice,

"You say that you did not have feelings for me back then and its fine I respect that, I really do but what if your feelings change again, Arnav? What if you decide that you don't love me one fine morning and are in love with someone else? What happens then? You liked Lavanya in school, there were other girls in college and after and now its me...what if there is someone else in the future?"

"Thanks for asking me this question, Khushi, because I would have never touched this subject myself. You are right when you say that I have had relationships in the past and I liked them all but I liked them, Khushi, while I love you. I love you. But yes, there is still a chance that either one of us may go through a change of feelings in the future but what can I say about a time we haven't seen or experienced yet? All I can do is assure you of my feelings of today and of yesterday - I loved you then as a friend and then as someone I couldn't understand my feelings for and today. I love you now as a man loves a woman with all the certainty in the world of the time I couldn't decide what I felt for you...you know that Mohit's head was not ducked accidentally into the basket instead of the ball, right?" he winked at her making her laugh but the seriousness of the situation remained as they both regarded each other in a way that they had never before.

"Anything else?" he asked after a while.

She shook her head, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back as she massaged her shoulders before speaking up again,

"I am still confused..."

"Give it one chance."

He spoke at the same time making her open her eyes only to be locked in a passionate gaze with his as he seemed to stare right at her soul, stirring it to agree to his proposition and she found herself nodding and then smiling, hers matched by his.

"Arrey Sahab! Hasna band karo, chaalaan bharo aur niklo yahan se! Kya khaali-phokut dimaag ki dahi bana rahe ho subah subah!"

Arnav continued to smile before the annoyed officer poked his shoulder and gestured him to start moving only to be stunned as the mad man in the expensive Polo drove off but not before handing him the a crisp 1000 rupee note on top of the fine!

*****

Shashi could not put his finger on what was new but something did seem new in the air as Arnav all but hopped inside his room, so agile on his steps that he jumped up on them every time the door of his cabin would open where he was holding a meeting with Arnav, wanting to discuss how far along the Malik project had come and when Arnav jumped up and turned expectantly towards the door for the fifth time only to morosely sit down as Ramu Kaka walked in with coffee for the both of them that he lost his cool.

"Whats the matter with Arnav?! Tum mendhak ki tarah koodte kyon phir rahe ho?"

And to his amazement, the prankster he had always known instead of replying with a witty one of his own, coloured profusely before the Uhhhs' and the Ahhhs' started making Shashi cringe, his earlier disappointment at Khushi not sharing with him whatever had made her so happy coming to fore as he grumbled,

"Yahan tum ajeeb tarah behave kar rahe ho aur wahan Khushi...raat bhar soyee nahin and subah pata nahin kya ho gaya. Mujhe toh aaj kal ke bachche samajh-"

"Khushi?! Khushi soyyee nahin?! Kyon kya hua?! Tabeeyat kharaab hai kya uski?! Aap ne mujhe pehle kyon nahin bataya! Shashi uncle, aap bhi na! I have been looking for her everywhere and now you tell me! Main ghar jaa raha hoon usse milne!"

And before Shashi could even process what was happening, Arnav had walked out of the door and he could hear him hurrying down the corridor and as he looked down at his table, he saw all of the project files scattered across making it perfectly clear that the reason Arnav had left in a hurry was not the project at all.

Not by a long shot.

And suddenly everything made sense.

Next Chapter - Page 101

____________________

Dedicated to the show responsible for this all -

Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon?

Happy Birthday, IPK! You changed my life and how! From being absolutely normal to being this crazy person but I love you for it! Muah to the whole team, cast and crew for giving us such a LEGEN-wait for it-DARY show! <3

Hope you guys liked this SUPER LONG chapter! I listened to a lot of romantic tracks while writing it but this one captures the essence, so do listen to it :D -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw1JOS9bBEM

PS - The update has a line which should ring a lil familiar to you all? Who all caught it? ;) :D

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