Chapter 5

Arnav left for Delhi early in the morning, long before Khushi woke up from her exhausted sleep.

"Would you like to return with me?" he asked Nani, Mami and Anjali.

"No, not when Khussi bitiyaa needs us," Nani replied. "Our family has taken too much away from her, Chotey."

Arnav nodded. "I will return in a week. Khushi will decide what our future is going to hold," he said.

"Who can blame her if she doejj not want to see ujj again?", Mami asked. "Bahut emosional attyachar hui gawa, Hello Hi Bye Bye."

Anjali sighed. "Chotey, how can we make it up to her? All of us are guilty of hurting her."

"I don't know, Di," he said before lifting his bag to leave. "I don't know."

Khushi woke up to see Buaji sitting by her bed.

"Titliyaa, are you alright? Is your head hurting, Nandkisore?" she asked, her forehead creased in worry.

"No, Buaji," Khushi tried to smile. She threw her arms around Buaji and hugged her tight. "I am perfectly fine. I will be going to Satwik Mistaan Bhandaar in a few minutes."

"Titliyaa, take rest," Buaji suggested.

"Buaji, that's all I have been doing for days. If I rest anymore, my bed will complain of misuse. Let me get up and get back to normal life," she said smiling.

"You are alright, aren't you, Nandkisore?" Buaji asked again.

"My memory has returned fully, Buaji. Now you don't have to worry. I will be alright," she asserted.

"Arnav Bitwaa has returned to Delhi for a week," Buaji said.

"Yes, he told me," she replied.

"He has a lot of parem for you, Titliyaa. He was sitting by you while you were sleeping, worrying about you, Nandkisore," Buaji recommended.

"Parem does not solve problems, Buaji. It only creates problems," she smiled, her eyes bruised, before leaving the bed.

Buaji sighed.

Khushi rolled ladoos with both hands, quickly filling a huge plate with a mountain of ladoos. The halwa was done. Munna had made the jalebi. She looked at the pile of jalebi with distaste. She had made them whenever she had been upset. No more. Making jalebi would not solve her problems anymore.

She looked at the golden yellow mixture in the huge pan waiting for her to turn them in to ladoo. She pulled an empty plate close to her and began shaping the mixture in to ladoo.

Arnavji had returned to Delhi. This time she could choose whether to send him away or share her life with him. The image of her waiting at the mandap rushed to her mind.

The pink & green wedding dress, the jewellery, the fire in the havan kund,

the tears,

the violent hatred of Dadi,

the never-ending wait for Arnavji...

His cowardice on Diwali night, his callous words at her doorstep,

the incident at the boutique when he had hurt and humiliated her by offering her a dress as a tip for services rendered,

the moment when he had shred her heart in to pieces by gifting Lavanyaji the necklace she had admired...

Khushi shut her eyes in pain.

"Jab tum mere paas hoti ho, tab tumhare dil ki dhadkanon ke saath saath mere dil ki dhadkanein bhi tez ho jaati he. Hamari dhadkanein ek ho jaati he. Jo tum mehsoos karti ho, woh mein mehsoos karta hoon..."

"Khushi meri patni he..."

"Khushi, I love you..."

A small smile bloomed on her face. He had protected her against his Dadi, had almost died when he found her lifeless body after they had escaped the kidnappers,

had built her a new sky of stars just for her...

Tears filled her eyes.

"Didi, you don't have to add salt to the ladoo," Krishna tried to make light of her tears.

"Didi, are you so moved seeing the beauty of the jalebi I made? You don't have to cry. Just praise me," Munna tried to cheer her up.

Khushi smiled at the boys.

Arnav called at night.

"Khushi, how are you?" he asked.

"Fine," she answered, her tone mellow.

"I finalised the purchase of a new house for Sunehri. Apparently she is good at tailoring. So I have made arrangements for her to start a tailoring unit at her new house. She can supply her products to apparel stores in the city," he explained.

Khushi said nothing.

"How did your day go?" he asked. "Did you take rest?"

"Rest? No, I went to my shop. I had work waiting for me," she said calmly.

Arnav opened his mouth to protest and then thought better of it. What right did he have to order her about or dictate her movements when he had failed her at the moment she had needed him the most?

"It is better to be occupied," Khushi explained casually. "And orders have to be met. I can't leave all the work to the boys."

"Yes," Arnav had to agree. "Did you have dinner?" he asked.

"Yes," she said but did not ask about him.

"NK, Akash, & Mama asked me to convey their regards to you," he said.

"That is kind of them," she said, yawning.

"I will let you sleep now. Good night, Khushi," he said.

"Shubh raatri," she wished.

"Khussi bitiyaa, I am sorry," Nani said.

Khushi looked at her, her face expressionless.

"First it was Shyam and the misunderstanding. Then Anjali and her miscarriage. And finally the marriage that was cancelled. I thought our cruelty against you had ended there. I didn't know," Nani said as she wiped her tears away.

"It was not your fault, Naniji," Khushi said.

"But Chotey," Anjali said.

"It was not entirely his fault too. I should have informed him about Shyam's duplicity earlier. He would have refused to believe me, would have blamed me for the mess, but it would have made him think. I wish"I wish I had confided in him. It would have helped him deal with Shyam in an effective manner, long before he could do serious damage. The kidnapping would never have happened had I not played in to Shyam's hands," Khushi said thoughtfully.

"What is the use of crying over the past?" Garima asked.

Buaji nodded. "What are you going to do in the future, Nandkisore?"

"I don't know, Buaji. I... I am very scared," she confessed.