Chapter 27

He looked down, slightly embarrassed, then, though he kept his head bent, he lifted his dark coffee gaze childishly and looked at her straight in the eyes. Khushi just stared back, her mouth hanging open in awe.

Arnav sighed and took her hands in his.

"I know you deserve more than that, Khushi. Much more than being my girlfriend. But I want to be true to you, I need time. I don't want us to rush things up and then land in a horrible mess. I hope you'll understand..."

He tightened his hold on her hands and sat down on the nearest sofa, pulling her with him. Khushi saw the sadness in his eyes and that made her frown a little.

"I don't believe in marriage, Khushi, but since I met you... I thought things could be different. For me marriage was always just a waste of time because I had seen one falling apart ever since I was born," he paused, the pain obvious in his eyes. "My parents had met once, just once, and they had fallen in love, or that's what they had thought at that time. A month later, they had already gotten married and within two months, I was already on my way in their lives. But even before I was born, things changed. They started hating each other. They stayed together just for my sake. My dad loved me a lot, and I think he still had something for my mother back then, even if she really hated him."

Subconsciously, she found her hands clench his as his eyes filled with tears.

"My mom didn't care. Neither about dad, and nor me. She always preferred her parties and all... When I was nine, she left us, without a word. Dad told me she had taken a holiday and she would return. I used to believe him, until a year later, I learnt she had actually sent him the divorce papers... I loved her so much, Khushi... Even if I was a burden on her, even if she never really was a mother to me... She told dad she had found someone. Dad gave her the divorce and I'm sure he was relieved to be free from this relationship. But I still loved her...

Sometime later, I learnt she had moved to New York. She had not bothered the least to meet me. Yet, I loved her. And you know what? She had moved out on the day I was turning nine... She didn't wish me... She had completely forgotten about it... Would you think I'm mad if I told you I still love her?"

Khushi bit on her lower lip, her own eyes tearing up. She shook her head in negation.

"She's your mother," she whispered to him. "It's not madness."

He raised his head slightly to be able to see her better. "You think so?"

She nodded with a sad smile. "She did come back for you, didn't she?"

Arnav's eyes darkened. "No, she never even called. I never met her again since she left home."

"But..." Khushi's frown deepened. "Hadn't I met her at the restaurant the other day? And she was at the wedding too, right?"

He stared at her for some time, studying her to understand what she was saying, then his expression cleared, and he smiled brightly at her through his tears. "Oh! Pavitra Ma's not my mom. I mean, she's my mother but... Ah... Okay, when my real mom left, some five to six years later, my dad got married again. Then, she raised me like her own son... She was more of a mother to me..."

Khushi smiled at him. "She did seem very nice."

"I'll take you to meet her again if you want. She really likes you, you know?"

"Really? I'd love to meet her."

"Is that a yes, Miss Gupta?"

She held back a smile. "I don't quite understand..."

Arnav narrowed his eyes and slipped an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer to him while the other hand remained clasped in hers. "To my question."

"What question?" she asked, playfully pretending to have forgotten.

He just glared at her in mock anger before he started tickling the breath out of her...

***

She woke up to a comfortably pleasant warmth in unfamiliar surroundings. She could not open her eyes yet but she did feel a heaviness on her stomach. Struggling to open her eyes, she tried to push the weight off only to be pulled against the rock hard source of heat. Khushi stopped breathing.

Her eyes snapped open at a low grunt of disapproval. His eyes had opened at the same time, so that she drowned instantly in their dark depths. He half-smiled sleepily at her.

"Hi," he huskily drew her closer, watching her blush a pleasant shade of red. His favourite colour. Man, she was so beautiful he could literally feel himself fall for her all over again each second. "Slept well?"

Khushi nodded shyly. Arnav sighed and released her to sit up. "I'll go shower and start getting breakfast ready. Dadi must already be up."

She got up too and, as naturally as if it were something she had done her whole life, she started making his bed, hitching up the sweatpants he had lent her, as they slipped down, being a couple of sizes too large for her. She smiled to herself stupidly.

The previous night he had tickled her halfway to death before they had remembered his grandmother's presence in the penthouse. Instead of dropping her home, as his Dadi had said, Arnav had proposed her to stay back there for the night before he was too tired to drive all the way to Fulham and then back here, or that's what he had made her believe.

So, he had lent her a sweatpant and a pale grey T-shirt which she changed in to sleep. He had walked to her, his gaze smoldering on her. He had hugged her tight and moments later, she found herself encircled in his arms, both laying on his bed, while he caressed her hair, lulling her to sleep. They had slept till late, she realised as she saw the time in the bedside clock. It was already nine thirty.

Suddenly, she froze. Nine thirty.

Khushi made a grab for her mobile phone and panic numbed her brain. It was Monday, nine thirty. She checked the date. Shit!

Crap! Crap! Crap!

Her meeting with the bank manager!

She had completely forgotten about it!

Colour drained from her face. The meeting had been scheduled for nine that day, and she was sure she would never get another chance from that man. She bit hard on her index finger. She was such an idiot. He Devi Maiyya! What to do now? Right then, Arnav opened the door and pocked his head inside the room.

"Khushi? The bathroom's free, you can use it. I'm making pancakes for breakfast. That's okay with you?"

For a moment, she completely forgot about her worries. Pancakes? Like hell! The guy cooked? Seriously? He knew how to make pancakes? He was such a... 'macho-seeming' businessman, for God's sake!

He grinned at her baffled expression. "They're safe, don't worry. One of the few things I've learnt to make so that I don't starve."

She stared at her mobile phone for long after he had left. What should she do? Finally, she sighed and dialled the bank. If luck was with her that day, she might just get spared this once.