Chapter 71
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[NOCOPY]
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Part 19
Arnav fingered the colourful salwar kameez hanging in his wardrobe. Khushi... He brought a dupatta to his face and breathed in her jasmine fragrance. His throat constricted, his lashes fell over wet eyes.
"Arnav Bhaiyya!" came the meek call from the door.
Arnav turned around.
"Di sent juice. Aap please pi lijiyegaa." HP quickly left the tray on the laptop table and left the room.
Arnav sighed, and turned to shut the sliding door of his wardrobe. Something bright caught his eye. Something hidden under Khushi's clothes. He pulled it out.
It was a yellow notebook. The notebook in which he had seen Khushi pen down God-only-knew-what.
He flipped the cover to see the covering page.
'Arnav Singh Raizada Ko Satane Ke Sau Tareeke'
Arnav smiled.
He opened the next page.
She had listed the many ways in which she could irk him. Steal his bathroom from him, occupy his cupboard, change his room to suit her, tease him by addressing him as 'Swami'...
Arnav burst out laughing. Khushi was nothing but enterprising. Having found herself in a miserable spot in RM, she had tried to make the best of it!
On the next page, she had listed the amounts she owed him.
My debt:
1 lakh: for breaking the AR Designs contract: Paid by teaching Lavanyaji how to be a sanskari bahu.
25,000: for riding Bediji's scooter in to Arnavji's car.
30,000: Babuji's bill at the hospital.
300: for buying Holi colours.
I owe Arnavji Rs.55,300.
Arnav leaned his head against the wardrobe door, his eyes shut.
"Arnavji..."
He turned to look towards the door.
Payal stood there.
"Are you alright?"
Arnav nodded.
"Khushi... she will be worried if you become sick."
"I will be fine." Arnav said.
"She... she calls me daily... to ask after you..." Payal confessed.
Arnav smiled.
Khushi soon got used to the work schedule, and found that she had a couple of hours to rest after she had prepared lunch.
She called Arnavji.
Arnav was in his office, attending a meeting of his managers. Akash was with him. In the middle of a heated discussion, ASR's phone rang. The finance manager almost swallowed his dentures. ASR was fanatical about keeping all phones switched off during all meetings. All looked at each other.
Arnav looked at the display. Khushi! He jumped up from his seat, muttering "Excuse me." He left the room on rapid feet, not seeing Akash's smile or the astonishment of his employees.
"Khushi? Are you free now?" he asked hopefully.
"Ji. I have 2 hours free. I am about to go down to make garlands for the evening pooja. So I thought I will call you now. Arnavji, where are you?"
"Office."
"Did you have lunch?"
Arnav frowned. Did he? He couldn't remember. "Yes, I think I did."
"What did you have?" Khushi persisted.
"Err... roti, I think. Rice. Something with karela. Some sabzi. It was brown in colour..." Arnav tried hard to recollect.
"Arnavji, please take care of your health. I am not there to nag you. So please, please take care of yourself. Or I will phone Di and..." Khushi threatened.
"No, no. Don't set her after me. I will eat well. By the time you come back, I will be healthy."
There was a pause.
Then he said, "Khushi, I saw your notebook."
Khushi's eyes went wide and her mouth was a perfect 'O'.
Arnav smiled. "100 ways to irk Arnav Singh Raizada?"
Khushi blushed.
"They were very successful, I must admit." Arnav laughed. "Calling me 'Swami'... ha.. ha.. your Aaj Mausam He Suhaana... Now I am going to write a book."
Akash came out to call Arnav, saw him laughing, and left him alone. He knew that Bhai must be talking to Khushiji.
Arnav whispered, "100 Ways to Love Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada!"
Khushi blushed a fiery red.
"Khushi, I love you. I love your naughtiness. I love your smile. It starts in your heart, shines in your eyes, and then comes to your lips..." Arnav murmured, his husky voice and his sincerity adding potency to the words.
Khushi swallowed.
"Khushi, I miss you so much. So much. It is like I have been cut in to two." he confessed.
"It is so difficult to draw breath, Arnavji. I miss you too." The words fell from her lips. Tears filled her eyes.
"Khushi..." he whispered.
"I am going down to make garlands, Arnavji. Hum phoone rakte he!"
Girija Devi pulled a chair close to Khushi, and watched her passing the needle through orange & yellow marigold flowers, making long, colourful chains with the flowers.
"You are very quick at this, Khushi." she remarked.
"Ji." Khushi smiled slightly. "Di conducts poojas regularly. So I am used to making malas."
Girija Devi smiled. "Di is your husband's sister?"
"Ji."
"I saw your family and your husband's family when they came to meet you 2 weeks back." Girija said.
"Ji."
"They seem to love you a lot."
"Ji." Khushi smiled.
"But you are here, far away from them, even though you don't need the money." Girija paused.
Khushi paled.
"If the problem is not with your in-laws, then it must be with your husband. Is he cruel to you? Is that why you are hiding away in Varanasi while he is in Delhi?" Girija Devi was sympathetic, her voice low so that no one else could hear her.
"Cruel? Arnavji? No, of course not." Khushi defended her husband. "He is the kindest man alive. It is just that because he looks khadoos and stern, people misunderstand him. Woh kya he, he doesn't speak much. So people think he is very arrogant."
"Really?" Girija Devi injected scepticism in to her voice.
"Really. Girija Deviji, if he weren't kind, would he pay Babuji's hospital bills? Would he fight goons to protect me? Would he give himself up to the kidnappers so that I could be safe? Would he rescue me from the guest house? Would he join me on the stage for Jiji's sangeet and lose his bet so that I could win?"
"He did all that for you?" the lady asked.
"Ji. And more. I have never met a more decent or loving man in my entire life. Other than my Babuji."
"Acha? So apparently he loves you." the lady murmured.
"Ji." Khushi was firm on that point.
"But you don't love him." the lady declared.
"Ji?" Khushi frowned.
"Otherwise why would you leave such a good man, who loves you so much, and come all the way to Varanasi to escape him?" Girija Devi asked.
Khushi stared at her, open-mouthed. Then she admitted in a low voice, "I love him. More than my life."
"Acha?" Girija Devi leaned back casually. "That is good to know. But if you don't use this love, of what use is it?"
Khushi stared at her.
"There are no certainties about life. The only certainty is death. And death will take all of us. It will take your Nani and my Tiwari Chacha, it will take me and you, it will take your husband and your sister. If you spend your time making jalebi in Varanasi, you are wasting time you could spend with your husband in this world. And you won't get this time back." Girija Devi confessed.
Khushi felt her eyes fill.
"My husband had a problem with his heart. When we got married, the doctors said that he would have only about 5 years to live."
Khushi stared at her, slack-jawed.
"We lived every moment to the fullest. Every single moment. So I have no regrets. It has been 25 years since he passed away, but the memories of those 5 years are enough to bring a smile to my face. Even now." she smiled.
Khushi dried her face.
Girija Devi stood up to leave. "You have one more week before your probation ends. Think about your future and decide whether you are going to stay here or not."
Khushi looked at her, her face pale.
Girija Devi smiled. "Deciding to stay is not difficult. But living with your decision will be difficult." She walked away, leaving Khushi to think.
Part 18: 91273186 Part 20: 91410519
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