Chapter 99
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[MEMBERSONLY]
[NOCOPY]
[NOCOPY]
(Thanx a million, Naughtymallu!)
FINDING KHUSHI
Part 23
Section 4
Arnav walked into the godown, Anamika's magazine held in his hand. Munshiji's chair was empty. Good!, he thought as he made his way into the recesses of the hall.
Khushi was having her lunch, with the radio giving her company.
Ghulne de zara saanson mein...
Ghulne de zara pyaar ko...
Ghulne de zara pyaar ko...
Har taraf har jagah, Faili chaandini toh
Main hi kyun tarsoon, Chaand ko...
As he watched, she broke off a piece of puri, scooped up some aloo sabzi, and popped it into her mouth.
"Khushi!", he called softly.
She looked up with startled eyes. The food went down the wrong passage, and she started choking.
"Khushi..." Arnav strode up to her, and leaving the mag on the table, began thumping Khushi's back and patting her head.
Khushi coughed & hiccuped, and finally sat back gasping.
"You want to kill me before you marry me?", she asked, panting.
Arnav cupped her face and dropped a kiss on her nose.
"Never. Not even if you kill me daily all our lives, making me worry about you!", he whispered, moving his lips to her cheek.
Mere khuda kabhi yun hi
Koi khushi chhoti si
Kismat mein apni bhi toh ho...
Koi khushi chhoti si
Kismat mein apni bhi toh ho...
"Making you worry about me?", Khushi asked, pushing him away, all injured dignity. "When have I ever made you worry about me, Arnavji?"
"Don't get me started, Khushi...", Arnav warned.
"Start kiijiye, Arnavji. I will match you worry for worry.", she claimed, standing up, her hands on her hips.
"The night at the guest house!", Arnav said, leftover anxiety still in his voice. "I sent you there to work, and you went missing! And that too in a building that was in danger of collapsing!"
"Who sent me to the dilapidated building? You did. So you are responsible for the worry, not me. Arnavji, did I go on my ghutne and ask you, please, please, ASRji, please send me to that guest house of yours that is going to fall on somebody's head any moment?", Khushi wiggled her eyebrows, expecting a reply.
Arnav frowned, "And when I reached you, you had to faint?"
Khsuhi smirked without humour. "Kaise faint na karein, Arnavji? You made me stand in the rain at night, then sent me work to keep me awake all night, then ghoored at me and made me leave my breakfast, then you sent me to the guest house... There was no bawarchi there to make food for me. If I don't get my food on time, how can I stand upright and fight with you?"
Tere Mere pyaar ki, Aisi ho ye dastan
Aankhon se baatein ho, Bas yeh lab rahein
Lab rahein yeh zubaan...
Aankhon se baatein ho, Bas yeh lab rahein
Lab rahein yeh zubaan...
Tere mere pyaar ki, Ankahi ansuni
Ruhaani ruhaani, Yeh kahaani...
"Khushi...", Arnav began
Khushi did not let him speak. Talking of food reminded her of her lunch.
"Arnavji, did you have lunch?" She picked up her lunch box.
"No... but..."
Khushi pushed him into her seat, and jumped on to sit on the table. When Arnav opened his mouth to protest, she pushed a piece of puri with aloo into his mouth.
Haan lehron ki bechaini mein
Tera izhaar hai...
Tera izhaar hai...
Chandini mein pighla pighla
Tera hi toh pyaar hai...
Arnav Singh Raizada hated to admit defeat. But with Khushi Kumari Gupta, he knew when he was routed. He chewed the tasty morsel obediently, watching the imp in her white and pink suit sitting on the table and swinging her legs as she ate & fed him.
As they finished their meal, Khushi complained, "Why did you come to see me instead of having your lunch? What if your shakkar had gone down and you had fainted as you did in the kitchen the other day? Aap ko pata bhi he, how scared I was? The great Arnav Singh Raizada swaying and falling down in front of me! I almost had a heart attack!" Her worried eyes bored into his.
He smiled.
"Don't smile! You scare me. Always.", she declared.
"You are scaring me by shouting at me or you are scaring me by fainting or you are scaring me by...", her eyes went to his lips, and she swallowed hard.
Apni subah se keh de
Jhootho ek baar re,
Jhootho ek baar re,
Main toh Bhool jaaoongi
Kya galat hai kya sahi...
Kya galat hai kya sahi...
"I am scaring you by...", Arnav asked, his lips turning up in a naughty smile.
"Nothing.", Khushi was quick to say. She tried to jump off the table, but Arnav caught hold of her hand.
"Arnavji, kya kar rahe he aap? Chodiye hamein. Let me wash my hand.", Khushi tried to free herself.
"I wil clean it for you.", Arnav offered his services.
Koi deewana Sa hoke
Dil bhula...
Sab bhula re...
Sab bhula re...
Dil bhula...
Sab bhula re...
Sab bhula re...
Khushi frowned at him. Arnav brought her hand to his mouth, and after dropping a kiss on her palm, began to lick daintily at her fingers.
Khushi stared at him for a moment, and burst out laughing, her laughter tinged with discomfiture.
"Arnavji, chodiye hamein. It tickles...", she gasped.
He sucked on a finger, running the tip of his warm tongue along the length of the digit. Khushi gasped loudly, and pulled her finger out of his mouth, breathing heavily.
Moving his eyes over her heaving bosom and rosy cheeks, Arnav asked softly, "Does it only tickle?"
Khushi blushed, feeling butterflies flutter their wings in her tummy.
She jumped off the table.
"Careful, Khushi.", Arnav warned.
Khushi ran away to wash her hand, feeling her limbs tremble at this unexpected attack on her senses.
She returned to the room on slow feet, reluctant to face him.
Arnav smiled at her as though he had done nothing to her.
"Come here, Khushi. Anamika has sent us the magazine with the photos in it.", he invited.
Khushi's face lit up. She moved towards him, eager to see the photos.
Arnav caught her by the waist, and lifted her on to the table. His fingers trailed over her waist and hip as they left her reluctantly. Khushi shivered, and dragging her legs close together, pulled her suit down to cover her knees.
Arnav sat in the chair, and pulled out the mag from its cover. He placed it on her lap, and helped her open it to the first photo.
Arnav's eyes melted as he looked at the picture.
Ganesh must be a genius, a miracle worker. How had he captured Khushi's beauty and innocence so well? How had he seen her heart so well?
"I told you, Arnavji! White suits you very well!", Khushi exclaimed.
"Hhmm...", Arnav said. "You look beautiful, Khushi."
Khushi said, frowning slightly, "That is because the girl in the picture doesn't look like me, Arnavji. She is beautiful because of Anamikaji's clothes and Ganeshji's camera, the make-up and the high heels, the jewellery, the hair style..."
"I was not talking about the clothes, Khushi. She is beautiful because of her smile, her open eyes, the love I can see in them, her kind heart... All these are yours, Khushi...", he said softly.
Khushi looked into Arnav's serious and earnest eyes, and finally nodded.
"Why did Anamika design clothes for you, Khushi?", Arnav asked softly.
Khushi had never thought about that. She frowned. "Because she knows you?"
Arnav laughed. "She hates my guts, Khushi. But she loves you."
Khushi stared at him with wide eyes. "She hates you? How can anyone hate you? I mean, maybe Anamikaji does not know you very well, Arnavji... Aap bilkul chinta mat kiijiye. I will tell her how good you are, how kind..."
Arnav smiled at her. "How will you tell her?"
Khushi frowned. "She has given me her phoone number, Arnavji. And she also said that if I want to see her, I should just go to her office and give the receptionist my name..."
Arnav laughed. "Khushi... Khushi... do you know who she is?"
"Not your girl friend. I asked her when I met her."
Arnav's eyes almost popped out of his face. "You... you asked... Anamika... if she was my girl friend...?"
"Haan.", Khushi explained. "How can I know something if I don't ask?" Her logic was simple.
"And... and what did she say?", Arnav asked, incredulity still colouring his words.
"She laughed.", Khushi said simply.
Arnav chuckled. "Khushi, she is the best designer in India."
"Tho?", asked Khushi.
"She designs for queens and Bollywood actresses and actors...", Arnav said.
"Acha? She designs for Salman Khanji too?", Khushi's face lit up.
Arnav smiled and sighed. "If he is lucky."
Khushi frowned at him.
"She turns away more clients than she accepts. Nobody has her personal phone number, Khushi, except you. And maybe Ganesh Vidhyarti and a few colleagues."
Khushi's eyes widened.
"Her receptionist is a tartar. She guards Anamika with her life.", Arnav clarified.
"You mean Koelji? But she is so nice. She gave me tea, samosa, and channa...", Khushi said, unable to comprehend Arnav's statement.
"Celebs approach your Koelji for an appointment, and she refuses them with a calm face. And Anamika has asked you to go up to this Koelji and tell her that you want to meet Anamika?", Arnav asked Khushi, smiling at her innocence.
Khushi stared at him, her lips parted in an 'O' in shock.
"She has a chain of retail outlets across the world through which she sells her brand of clothing. Her team of designers is the best. She spends most of the year in Delhi, working from the studio we went to. There, she displays her personal designs and works for a handful of clients. Anamika, to put it simply, is the best."
Khushi looked at him in silence.
"I have been hounding her for the past 6 years, trying to get her to design a line for us. Using ethnic designs & natural materials. But...", Arnav smiled.
"Is that why she doesn't like you?", Khushi asked.
Arnav nodded, smiling. "The flowers that AR Designs sent her were all returned. The gifts that Aman picked were all delivered back. All our attempts to get her appointment met with failure. In all these years, I must have seen her about 3 times. Yes, 3 times. The third time was at the party when you met her. She rarely attends public or private functions. That was why I was shocked to see her there."
Khushi was too overwhelmed by the truth to speak.
Arnav turned the page, smiling, and felt his breath catch. Khushi looked at him, startled, and then peeked at the picture.
She was in the white lehenga, coming down the stairs, and Arnavji was waiting for her at the foot.
She gasped, "Arnavji, see how Ganeshji changed the studio to look like a haveli!"
Arnav nodded.
"Arnavji, I am going to cut these pictures and fix them on my wall. That way, I can look at them and see you whenever I want.", Khushi declared.
Arnav smiled at her.
"You don't have to do that, Khushi. Just call me whenever you want to see me. I will appear before you.", he offered.
Khushi blushed.
Arnav turned the page reverently.
The picnic outdoors, with him lying in her lap. The silver blouse and cream sari. Khushi looked like a dessert, ideal to be gobbled up on a hot day... He smiled.
"Anamikaji is a jaadugarni.", Khushi said in heart-felt appreciation. "I never knew that green would suit you so well, Arnavji. Why don't you wear kurtas and sherwanis to office instead of the Laad Governor suits? They suit you so well. Then no client will say 'no' to you!", Khushi teased.
"You should write a book on how to run a business, Khushi.", he teased in return. "It will be a best seller."
They laughed.
"Look at Scooby!", Khushi pointed out. "He is so chweet!", she touched the puppy's face in the picture.
"I thought he would fall into the basket.", Arnav smiled.
He turned the page slowly, his eyes lingering on Khushi cradling him on her lap.
The photo seemed to be set in the well-appointed ballroom of some upscale resort or palace. Big white pillars held up an elaborately worked ceiling. Vases and vases of pastel flowers lent colour to the hall.
In the centre were Arnav & Khushi. Arnav dressed in a black sherwani, looked extremely dapper.
Khushi was in a pink, silver, gold, & sea green lehenga.
They were dancing, lost to the world.
Khushi was caught close to Arnav, his arms tight around her bare waist. Their bodies were pressed together from chest downwards, and her feet were off the ground. Arnav was twirling her around, and her skirt was flowing around her.
Her arms were coiled around his neck, and her head was tilted backwards on her slender, swan-like neck. They were lost in each other, their eyes seeing nothing but each other. Love, desire, passion, hunger... they seemed to set fire to the paper...
Khushi gulped, and stole a glance at Arnavji. He was looking at her with burning, molten, chocolate eyes.
Khushi quickly averted her eyes, and hurried to turn the page.
"There must be one more.", she whispered.
Arnav & Khushi looked at the fifth picture, and forgot to breathe.
It was the last photo. Ganeshji had used the suhaag raat theme.
The bedroom was dark. The antique bed was decorated with a net of fragrant flowers, Sweet-smelling candles vied with the flowers to perfume the air.
Through the chains of rajnigandha and rose petals, Khushi could be seen sitting on the bed, waiting for her bridegroom. She was in a red and green lehenga, the rich dupatta covering part of her head. Her sindoor-filled maang was visible. Her bindi, her nath, her heavy earrings, mangalsutra, her necklace with rubies and emeralds, her armlets, her bangles, her dark mehendi...
The hem of her lehenga lay on her feet, showing off the deep colour of her mehendi and her silver payal. Her knees were raised in typical bride-on-suhaag raat pose, and her nervous fingers clutched each other on her knees.
Arnav stood a little away, as though he had just entered the room and was walking towards her. Light focused more on his face and fell on his white sherwani in a diffused manner.
Arnav looked as though he had just glimpsed his dearest desire. As though he couldn't believe his eyes. As though he were scared to approach her for fear that she would vanish in a puff of smoke. As though he wanted to clasp her to him so tight that nothing could take her away from him. As though...
Khushi's eyes were lowered, as though she could feel her Arnavji's eyes on her. Her lips had a red tinge that owed nothing to makeup, and her cheeks were rosy with bashfulness and anticipation. The diamonds in her mangalsutra glinted in the dim light...
Khushi shut the magazine hastily, and held it close to her heart, trying to control her rapid breathing.
"You... you should go now, Arnavji... Your office... I must go too... My sweets...", she gulped.
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