Chapter 76

Khushi was frying up some Jalebis while hogging on the ones already dipped in sugar syrup, when her phone buzzed again. She immediately looked at the device as if it had offended her, & after a mental debate between the two conflicting voices in her head, she slowly picked the set up in her hands. It was another unknown number, but this time Khushi recognized the area code: Lucknow. She was going to throw the set back over the counter, when she remembered Anjali. It could be her too. If there was any emergency & she couldn't reach Rohan, Khushi knew Anjali would call her, as others would just ask her too many questions. Khushi hastily reached for the phone & received the call, & instantly froze up as she heard the quiet question, instead of a customary 'Hello', "Why were you crying back then?"

Khushi gasped & then immediately covered the mouthpiece with her hand so that he wouldn't hear. Of course he would know she had been crying the whole time she had spoken to him earlier. He could detect her distress just by looking at her, & Khushi hadn't even tried very hard to cover up the tears in her voice while she had gone off on him like that. But before she could think of a believable justification, she heard his angry voice come through, "Kissine kuchhh kaha tumse? Rohan?.. Or someone else? Khushi, I swear if someone has said something to you, I'll-" & just like that it was there. That rage that made him forget everything & made him hurt people like an unfeeling beast.

But before Khushi could cut the call & just alienate her damning self from him, someone whispered in her head, 'Gussa bardasht karna.. Aur pyaar sood saamet lautana..' & Khushi felt torn as she clutched the phone with both her hands & bit down hard on her lips to keep the whimpers from escaping. She would & could bear the brunt of his anger, but could he himself? What would've happened if Aman hadn't stopped him that night when he had beaten Karan? & what if he had done more damage to Rohan than just a bit of a cut on the lips? Khushi knew Arnav would never intentionally want to hurt Rohan that way. But in that possessed-by-rage state he had hurt Rohan.. Because he didn't have any control over himself. & Khushi didn't want him to hurt others, or their families, or, most importantly, himself, while he was trying to keep her out of all harm's way.

As the tears started rolling down her cheeks, Khushi heard him say in an agitated voice, "You're crying again, aren't you?.. Khushi, please stop crying! OK, fine.. I admit it! It was all my fault! I.. But Rohan just kept talking about how I needed to stay away from you & I.. I know, that's what any rational brother would've wanted.. I wouldn't let Rohan anywhere near Di if he was anything like me.. But when he kept insisting I stayed away from you, & implied he would find someone else for you, I just-" This time Khushi finished for him in a trembling voice, "Just lost it?"

Khushi just couldn't hear him apologize like that anymore. It was so unlike Arnav Singh Raizada. She just wanted to forget all this, put this all behind them & get back to way they used to be. But she also knew, if she was Arnav's weakness, then she had to be strong for both of them. She couldn't change the fact that, Arnav hit a raw nerve everytime someone spoke ill about her. & she also couldn't change Arnav who behaved like a bull in a china shop everytime he was angry. & the last thing she had ever wanted was to change him.. Even a bit. So she slowly pulled the phone away from her ear & then pressing the 'end call' button, she impulsively put the phone under a bunch of spinach resting in a basket & then ran up to her room before her Amma or Babuji caught her with tears in her eyes & created a whole commotion about it.

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Arnav hadn't ordered the chopper to be flown in just because Khushi had cut his call. He had ordered it, because he had known Khushi had been crying the first time he had called her. & he had needed to know why & so he had to be back at Delhi instantly. That's why he had called her back the second time, despite his instincts telling him he shouldn't, cause he had to know if she was better. & she hadn't sounded better. & the curious thing was, either of the times, she hadn't even sounded angry at him, not really. She had just sounded.. sad.. & tired. & Arnav just knew he had to be there. He looked out at the courtyard again for any sign of the chopper. Finding none, he picked his phone up again to check the chopper's status. As he dialed Aman's number, Arnav fleetingly wondered why he didn't make Aman take piloting lessons. Arnav was positive, if Aman was the pilot, the chopper would've been here by now.

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Khushi had called La up & asked her to meet for a late lunch, because she had just needed to forget everything & feel like the old Khushi again. The old Khushi who actually resembled her name, who didn't cry as much & most importantly, who had no idea of what the word 'heartbreak' meant. But clearly it was a day for all-round failure for Khushi. La couldn't stop talking about her dream man Arnav Singh Raizada. & in the end Khushi just couldn't take it. She had felt guilty keeping her relationship a secret from her best friend as it is, & now to just sit there listening to her describe how much she liked a man that Khushi knew would never reciprocate her feelings.. It seemed cruel somehow to still keep La in the dark about it all & meet her continue to believe that there was a hope for her & Arnav.

Khushi took a big sip of the cold coffee sitting in front of her, & looked around at the cafe that La was just telling her on the road was the hottest new place to hang out in & then said nodding, "It's nice.. but I still don't see why we had to make that so long journey to get here! Our regular cafe wasn't this fancy, but it's not that special too, La!" La just made a face at her & sipped her coffee. Khushi smiled at her & then she said tentatively, gathering all of her bravery, "La, listen, there's something I have to tell you." She noticed that Lavanya didn't seem to pay much notice, instead choosing to check something on her phone, but she continued nonetheless, "Arnavji & I-" & to her supreme astonishment, Khushi discovered that she didn't know how to come out. Rohan had caught them out by accident, & so she didn't have a clue of how to break the news of her broken affair to anyone.

But before she could figure out what to say, she heard La say coldly, "What? That you & ASR had been seeing each other behind our backs all this time? Did you honestly think you were gonna outsmart one & all?!" & before Khushi could say anything, La went off like a shrew, "You knew, K! You knew how I felt about him since the moment I saw him there on the campus! & you still went for him?! So much for friendship..! You always do this.. You've always wanted whatever I've got, haven't you?" & this time Khushi just couldn't take it. Of all the days in her life, she didn't need this drama today, so she stood up with a jerk, & said with a voice shaking with anger, "You know, for once in my life, I needed you to be my friend La.. not just the other way round. For once, I needed you to not be judgmental, & just a supportive friend!.. & what were I thinking when I went after Arnavji?! Well, I didn't, La! I ran from it.. we both did! For so long we ran from it, until it felt so tiring to deny it any longer-" But then she abruptly stopped & said with a finality, "But no! I'd tell you all this, if you had wanted to listen like a friend. But I know you don't, so-" But this time La was too quick for her, "So, good luck finding a ride home, & I hope you remember just how far home is!" & with that, she got up, & left the cafe in her haughty strut.

Khushi stood there gaping at La's back for a few seconds. Did La really desert her there just like that? In this cafe in a mall out almost towards Gurgaon, from where home was almost more than an hour's distance, that too if you had your own transport & didn't consider traffic?! Then when she found herself standing on the same spot even a few minutes later, & no one came back for her, Khushi shrugged & told herself to get a grip on herself. She signaled the waiter, & paid the bills. Then she slowly came out of the cafe & casually looked around. She hadn't been expecting anything in particular, but still when she saw no one familiar, it dimmed her heart a little.

Her family had always made it clear to her how important it was for Payal & her to be safe. Rohan or Babuji had always been there to take them to schools or colleges. & then there were friends of Payal & La for Khushi. & Khushi had taken the occasional auto to & from home, but even that had been limited to her campus. She remembered painfully how Rohan had dropped her at the mall even that day when Payal & Anjali had caught Arnav & herself. That day seemed so distant. Khushi cleared her throat noisily & shrugged her shoulders. She'd just have to manage by herself. She knew neither Rohan nor her Babuji would like it if they heard she had travelled this far by herself, especially not in the current Delhi situations, but she really didn't feel like calling anyone out here, so far from home or Rohan's workplace just to pick her up. & it's not like she had someone else to call.

Khushi started walking impulsively, & coming out of the mall, she stood at the sidewalk in front of the mall, waiting for a taxi to come along. She wasn't aware of the beautiful, tempting picture she presented, in her flowy, watercolor dress, & her creamy skin shining under the mid-day sun.

& she hadn't even noticed the SUV that had been parked some 6 feet away from her, nor the person in the driver's seat, who had been looking at her intently for as long as she had come out. Khushi had just spotted a taxi stop & letting it's passengers down in front of the water-fountain on her left, when the SUV zoomed in from her right & stopped right in front of her. At first, she was so alarmed by it, that she took several steps back & was about to turn & run into the mall again, when the driver let the passenger seat's window down, & seeing the familiar, Khushi relaxed a little, & then smiled in return of the smile she received from the driver. She felt so relieved finally to see a familiar face out here, right when she was beginning to think she had been stranded. Khushi didn't even think twice before she accepted the offer of a lift home, & got into the passenger seat without even knowing what peril she was letting herself into.

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Arnav stopped his Audi at the gate of Nikunja, & looked over at the big, ancient house. It was funny, how after listening to Khushi go on about her Nikunja, about how much she loved this house & how special it was.. It had slowly made this house a favorite for him too. Then he again looked at the house. He knew Khushi was in, but curiously enough he didn't feel it. That feeling, which was so alien & yet so familiar when it came to Khushi & him. A feeling close to premonition, yet somehow more magical than that. Knowing that, she was there, without even seeing her or hearing her voice. Sometimes it had just been a gust of wind, or sometimes just a waft of her Vanilla scent, & sometimes it had just been the calmness that had suddenly engulfed him.. But something had always told him that Khushi was here. But today that feeling was missing. & the lack of all that, & just a black, eerie silence that hit him in waves coming off of Nikunja filled Arnav with a foreboding that chilled his bones.

Arnav turned towards Anjali restlessly & was just about to tell her that, something didn't feel right, when Anjali mistook his restlessness as his eagerness to see Khushi, & tried to reason with her, "Chhote, I really don't think you should come in right now. Let me go first, & talk to Rohan & Khushi.. & I'll call you as soon as I can, ok?" Arnav looked at her serene features for a moment, & then he had to concede, it was really foolish of him to think something was wrong solely based on his feelings. Since when was he supposed to be an expert on feelings? He shrugged & got out to get Anjali's bags out. He silently carried the bags to the front porch, & allowed Anjali to hug him quite thoroughly, & then he got away from the house in long, fast strides. & something still didn't feel right.

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Arnav had just skidded the car to a stop in front of the large garage of Shantivan & hadn't even stopped the car engine, when his phone rang. He promptly picked it up seeing it was Anjali, & for a moment he couldn't understand a word of what his sister was saying, but when he did, Arnav felt short of breath, "Chhote? Khushi.. Khushi had gone out with Lavanya.. That's more than 6hours ago! & she still hasn't come back.. but Lavanya was back almost 4hours ago! & she said, she had to go somewhere else, but Khushi said she'd come home straight.. But she hadn't! & she hadn't called or met with any of her other friends! Rohan checked with all of them! & her phone is switched off.. & Amma says she never does that.. & everyone is very tensed here, Chhote. Do you know any place where she could be? Rohan already asked me once about you.. but I said, we both came back together, so you couldn't possibly know-"

Arnav pocketted his phone & swerved his car sharply, ignoring the harsh screeches of the tires, & zoomed past the huge gates in high speeds which Badri still hadn't gotten to closing yet. He had known it. His whole guts had screamed at him. & now Arnav just knew it, wherever she was, Khushi wasn't fine.