Chapter 81
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Finding Khushi
Part 19
Section 7
Khushi sobbed into his neck, clutching his shoulders for dear life. Days of pain and anguish made her wail despite her resolution not to cry and to be reasonable.
"Khushi... please don't cry...", Arnav rubbed her back. "Please... please... Khushi..."
Arnav pulled her closer into his hold. Khushi tightened her arms around him too, matching him in her desperation to hold on. Their hearts beat against each other, the sorrow of the past few days adding to their desperation.
"She said... she said... you will leave me... and go away... with another woman...", Khushi struggled to draw breath through the sobs racking her frail body.
"What the...!", he whispered, shock taking the sound from the exclamation. "I will never leave you, Khushi. Never. How can I leave you?", he asked, a frown on his forehead.
"She said that... that... you like fashionable girls... with many boy friends...", Khushi sobbed.
"What?", Arnav asked, confused. "Who?"
"Lisaji." Her chest heaved, struggling to draw breath into her lungs.
"Lisa?", Arnav was more confused than before."Khushi...", he asked.
"She said at the party that... that s..she was your g..girl friend b..before La..Lavanyaji...", Khushi hiccuped.
"So?", Arnav asked, confused.
"Pamji... and S... simji too said...", Khushi stammered.
"Pam & Sim are in this too?", Arnav asked her softly. "Then we need to discuss this at length. Khushi, sit down."
Arnav helped her on to bed. He sat by her, close to her, and took out his kerchief. He wiped her face clean, pocketed the slip of cloth, and cupped her face.
"Khushi, do you love me?", he asked.
Khushi looked at him with startled eyes.
What was the use of hiding her heart when she was bleeding for him and dying inside every moment for him?
"Hum aapse bohoth pyaar karte he.", she whispered, her lashes falling over her beautiful eyes in shyness. She had never said this to any man.
"I love you, Khushi. I never thought I would ever say it to any woman. I never thought that such a feeling existed. I thought it was just sentimental nonsense... the crap that poets write about... just rubbish... But it is not. It is real. I happens. And I am glad it happened to me. And I am glad it is you I am in love with."
Khushi looked into his earnest eyes.
"I have no life without you, Khushi. I can't imagine not seeing you, talking to you, seeing you smile, watching you as you spread love and happiness where ever you go... I .. I can't imagine being alone anymore, Khushi. Without you Khushi, I... I would rather die." His husky voice faltered as he opened his heart to her.
Khushi threw her arms around him, holding him close to her, feeling like his mother and his wife, wanting to keep him safe from all pain and sorrow.
Arnav settled her back against the headboard.
"Khushi, we need to get to the bottom of this. Tell me everything that happened, right from the start. Don't leave a word out.", he instructed.
Khushi nodded.
"Anjaliji, Jiji, & I went to the bathroom at the party.", she started.
Arnav nodded. She had been fine till then. Happy, blooming... What had that witch Lisa told her?
"Jiji went away to answer Jiju's phone call. Anjaliji went to make sure that her sari was OK. I was about to sit down when Lisaji called me..."
Arnav's eyes traced the distress on her face. He caught hold of her hand, and rubbed her palm gently with his fingers to comfort her. She curled her fingers around his.
"She said that it was smart of me to make good in Delhi after coming here from Lucknow without a stitch on my back... Arnavji, how can I travel to Delhi from Lucknow without clothes?", Khushi asked him, confused.
Arnav swallowed.
"She said that I was making money on my back... How can people make money on their back? Did she mean I was working very hard, doing back-breaking work?", Khushi asked, frowning at him.
"No, Khushi. But don't worry about her words. She doesn't know you. Then what did she say?", Arnav had to work to keep his voice calm. If he could wring Lisa's neck, he would do it gladly.
"Then.. then she said I should make the most of my time with you because it wouldn't last.", Khushi said, her voice low.
"And why did she feel our marriage wouldn't last?", Arnav asked conversationally.
"She... she said that she... that she... had been your girlfriend first. Then.. then you met Lavanyaji and threw Lisaji away."
Arnav grit his teeth, furious at Lisa and pained at the hurt on Khushi's face. "That when you met me, you sent Lavanyaji away."
Arnav swallowed hard. What a mix of truths, half-truths, and lies! "That when you meet another woman, you will throw me out..."
"That won't happen, Khushi. If Lisa is waiting for that to happen, she will be wasting her life. Our marriage will last till the day we die.", Arnav said. Knowing Lisa, she wouldn't have stopped with this. "What else did she say, Khushi?"
Khushi looked away, trying to pull her hand away from his hold. He retained his hold, lifted her hand to his lips, and kissed it.
"Tell me, Khushi. Please. We need to find a way out, Khushi.", he reassured her, holding her hand to his heart.
"She said that you... you t..took her to P..Paris and bought her the f... fur coat..."
"Andl..?", Arnav asked.
"That... that...", Khushi could not get the words out.
"Khushi...", he prompted her.
"That you... that you... were a good... a good kisser..."
Arnav looked at the anguish in Khushi's eyes and felt a part of him die.
"and... and... and an inventive lover...", Khushi's voice was lower than a whisper, but Arnav heard every sound and every word she spoke and didn't speak and felt the pain, the hurt that she must have felt when Lisa had gloated.
"And she said that I wouldn't be able to hold you because you like fashionable and experienced girls...", Khushi concluded.
Khushi looked at the design on her orange bed sheet, and Arnav looked at her lowered, drawn face. Days of crying and lack of sleep had left the skin around her eyes bruised and dark. He swallowed his ire at Lisa with great difficulty.
"When did Pam & Sim get to you?", Arnav asked. "At the party?"
"No.", Khushi shook her head. "I went to the temple to listen to a pravachan. After listening to it, I wanted to talk to you. Tell you everything that Lisaji had said, ask you if it was true or if Lisaji was lying to hurt me, ask you if our marriage had a chance...", she sighed. Arnav swallowed hard. She continued, "It is better to find out and fix everything before marriage. Once we get married, it is for life. For seven lives. And then if you leave me... I.. I...", Khushi could not even describe the devastation that would cause in her life.
Arnav swallowed with great dificulty.
"Amanji said you were in a meeting. He offered to get you, but I said I would wait. I was sitting there... and then Pamji and Simji came..."
"Was Aman there then?", Arnav asked.
"No. Amanji had gone away.", Khushi leaned back against the headboard. She was so tired. So fed up. So sick and exhausted of this whole mess...
"What did they tell you?"
Khushi took a long, deep breath. "Thye apologised for spoiling Lisaji's coat.", she said.
Arnav raised his eyebrows in ironic appreciation. "That was smart!", he said softly. Apparently Pam & Sim had benefited from the training sessions his firm organised regularly for the employees.
"They said they had been too scared of Lisaji's temper to confess the truth.", Khushi sighed.
Arnav nodded. "Then...?"
"Then... then... they said...", Khushi yawned in tiredness.
"They said...?", he asked softly.
"They said that you... that you let her get away with her anger...", Khushi managed to say.
"Acha?", Arnav asked with a frown. "What evidence did they provide to you? They must have said something...?"
Khushi swallowed.
"They said that Lisaji had come to your office one day, angry with you... because you were late... You were supposed to pick her up... to... to spend the weekend at your f..farmhouse..."
Arnav pressed her fingers.
"You left your meeting and came out to pacify her...", Khushi said, avoiding his eyes.
"And... what else did I do?", Arnav asked.
Khushi was sagging against the headboard. Saying all these hurtful, evil things... reliving the terrible scenes... This was taking a lot out of her, and she wished she could lie down, shut her eyes, and never wake up.
Anyway, there wasn't much more to say. It was better that she finished it, Khushi thought.
"You sent Lisaji a big bouquet of red roses. She was very happy to get it. She came to your office with it, threw out the people you were talking to, and hugged and kissed you. Pamji came to your room by mistake, and Lisaji screamed at her.", she repeated like a parrot, leaning back with shut eyes.
"Anything more?", Arnav asked through a clenched jaw.
Khushi was too fatigued to speak. She just shook her head in the negative.
"Khushi...", Arnav caressed her cheek. She opened her eyes. "Lisa, Pam, and Sim are in this together. To break us."
Khushi stared at him.
"Do you trust me, Khushi?", he asked.
Khushi nodded.
"Will you listen to me, Khushi? Let me tell you the whole truth?", he asked.
Khushi nodded.
"I dated Lisa briefly. We were boy friend and girl friend for a very short period before her tantrums and her nastiness irritated the hell out of me."
Khushi swallowed.
"Our relationship, if you can call it that, ended a year or more before I even saw Lavanya. Khushi, I work almost all hours of the day. Do you really think I could build up such a large firm with global offices if I spent all my time chasing women?"
Khushi looked at him.
Arnav continued. "Did I pay for Lisa's coat? Yes, I did. But did I buy it for her? No, I didn't. Did I take her to Paris? I paid for her trip. But did I go with her? No. See, Khushi. This is the way lies and the truth are woven together till it looks believable."
Khushi stared at him with wide eyes.
"There was a show in Paris. Our firm performed very well. It was very successful. I sanctioned the release of a range of expensive gifts to the male and female models who had modelled our clothes. Aman picked a few attractive options and placed them before the models. Some picked the fur coats, some took the holiday packages, some went for the car.. It was their choice. Lisa took the coat."
Khushi nodded slowly, getting what he was trying to tell her.
"I did not take Lisa to Paris. My firm paid for their journey and accommodation, but I did not take her there personally. In fact I did not even attend the event as Nani developed chest pain around that time and the doctors found out an abnormality in her ECG. I was with her in the hospital and at home when the event was being held in Paris."
Khushi nodded.
"I work in a field that is littered with attractive men and women. If I want to spend my life with such girls, would I propose to you, Khushi? I never believed in love and marriage. I never dreamed that I would want to get married some day. Never. Not in my wildest dreams. After the terrible things that happened in my childhood, I was determined not to get married, Khushi. When I met you and felt this pull towards you, I fought it as hard as I could, Khushi. With everything I had. Even to the point of dragging Lavanya to my house to stay there with my family. I did even that to protect myself against you. But it did not work.
My love for you only grew, Khushi. It did not die. It only grew, Khushi."
Khushi swallowed hard, and looked at his hand holding her fingers tight.
"Khushi, we used to spend our childhood holidays in Delhi. Mamaji, Mami, Nani, Nana, Akash, Papa, Mama, Di, & I. We used to come to the farmhouse here... Each room, each corridor.. each plant that my Mama planted... even the wind that touched her... I can feel my Mama there, Khushi... Do you think I will take Lisa... or anyone there?"
Khushi shook her head. Both of them had moist eyes.
"You know how important my business is to me, Khushi. I don't let anyone disturb me or distract me when I am working. The day Lisa disturbed my meeting because I was late picking her up for some party was the day I ended our relationship. She raised such hell in the office that Aman had to inform me and I had to leave the conference hall to deal with her."
Khushi looked at him.
"I did not want to see her face again. So I arranged an overseas assignment for her. And asked Aman to send the papers to her. As a mark of courtesy, Aman sent her a bouquet along with the documents. The florists mixed up the orders, and delivered a big bouquet of red roses to Lisa. She came to the office to thank me. She threw the managers out, but I motioned Aman to stay. She kissed my cheek and thanked me for the assignment and for the flowers. It was then that Aman realised that the orders had been mixed up. When she realised that the flowers had not been meant for her, Lisa flew into a temper.Pam happened to knock on the door that very moment. Lisa shouted at Pam."
"Oh!", Khushi exclaimed.
"Do you believe me, Khushi?", Arnav asked, his anxious eyes looking into hers.
She nodded.
He heaved a sigh of relief. He cupped her face in his palms, and said softly, "Khushi, you don't have to worry about my girlfriends. They were in my past. Not in my present or my future. And they meant nothing, Khushi."
She looked into his honest eyes for a while in silence.
Then she asked softly, her voice a thin thread, "If they meant nothing, Arnavji, then why was Lisaji so angry with me and Lavanyaji so upset when you sent her away?"
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