Chapter 45

"Asshole!"

Shyaam quirked an eyebrow curiously as he observed the enraged lady, who was pacing in the middle of a suite like a more-than-furious lion in a cage. Her hands were balled into tight fists due to which her knuckles had turned whiter than white, while her body was taut, almost trembling with unrepressed wrath towards a particular constantly-angry young man. He was having a hard time hiding his amusement. He desperately tried to frown at his newspaper as Khushi stomped her foot again.

"Jackass!" she hissed. "How dare he?"

"Just calm down, Khushi."

That was a huge mistake, Shyaam realised as she turned her infuriated eyes onto him vehemently. He cringed into the sofa, hoping that Anjali would return soon or that the fury would miraculously subside. By any means possible, that is; he didn't mind if that meant Khushi had to faint. She usually didn't get angry, but when she did, it went past all the limits of control and incidentally, whenever Khushi would be this angry, it would remind him of Kali Ma.

God, why had he even spoken and made his presence known? His destruction was certain now that he had crossed her warpath. No one could survive this temper. Anjali was the only one who knew what to do to escape it with minimum damage but now that he was on his own, he could expect to get out of it with at least a few broken limbs...

"Don't you dare take his side!" she thundered, her gleaming eyes wide.

He jumped to his feet and, gulping, glanced at the door to his room. There was enough distance between them for him to reach it unscathed... He hesitantly raised his hands in surrender. "Okay... I'm sorry..."

Her jaws clenched tighter while the fury in her eyes escalated wildly and he knew that he was done for it. As quick as his legs would take him, Shyaam bolted into his room to lock himself in. Maybe he should call Anjali since she ran the anger management department better and right after the brilliant idea had struck him, he realised with a dang that his mobile was out there on the table, with the blood thirsty vampire burning the room down with her rage...

***

"I am so sorry!" the person spoke hurriedly, her hands folded apologetically in front of her mouth as Ulka panted, recovering from the jolt. "I was coming to see you, then I saw Arnav coming, so I hid behind the bushes. I'm so sorry I scared you!"

"It's okay," Ulka wheezed before giggling and rubbing her baby bump softly. "How are things going on your side?"

"Great! Arnav seems pretty... upset?" Ulka pouted mock-offendedly before she finally let the laughter flow out of her.

***

"What the f-?" he growled. "How dare she?"

"Arnow Bhaiyya?"

His eyes rolled upwards as he gritted his teeth together. Any moment now, he would either have a ruptured nerve or vein or he would have killed someone. "What is your bloody problem now you, retarded pea-brain?" he roared at Om Prakash, who unflinchingly beamed back at him with some kind of adoration he neither understood, nor wanted.

"Arnow Bhaiyya, aayi bhaf jaft tayling you dhaat you aar craffing da flabharj." (Arnav Bhaiyya, I was just telling you that you are crushing the flowers.)

"What?" Arnav grimaced as he tried to understand a word of what Om Prakash had just told him. Just a second later, he changed his mind and closed his eyes, throwing away the crushed remains of lilies on the ground. "I didn't understand what you just said, and you know what? I don't give a damn! I have had enough. Pata nahin kahaan phasa diya Ulka ne. I'll go mad!"

He stormed away from there, whipping his mobile out. He had had enough and he would not stay here for another minute. What would he stay for? To watch the girl he loved get married to that lousy leech of a lawyer? He scoffed. And he had not been just watching, he had been helping in it dammit! How had he let Ulka and Khushi make such a fool out of him? But that's it! Not any more. He was calling to arrange a car that would take him to Jaipur right away and he would take the first flight to...

F**k! Where would he go now? His job in New York was done, they didn't need him there anymore since they were managing well. He had sold his flat in London just before coming here. Damn! He'd go someplace somewhere but he would definitely not been staying there!

***

The room was suffocating her. Her own anger was suffocating her. She felt like her head would explode. She knew she shouldn't be so angry but it was all that duffer's fault. How dare he? He only had to pray he didn't cross her path because right away, she felt like whipping him against a wall until he died! He was a first class bloody idiot! If only she could-

"Ouch!"she yelped rubbing her head energectically.

"What the-?" Her eyes went up immediately to clash with his blazing glare. And the desire to throttle him hard filled her again...

***

"Oh dear!"

Ulka glanced at the person beside her. "I think that omitting the truth had not been a good idea. They look like they want to kill each other."

"Let them take all their frustration out. Khushi has been pretty knotted up for the past few year and I can guess that Arnav has been through the same. So once they get all the heat out, we'll be able to forge the iron and make this wedding happen."

Ulka smiled. Yes. That was definitely wise. But still... Maybe she ought to have an ambulance waiting outside the hotel? Just in case?

***

"You?" he exploded.

She meanly narrowed her eyes and stepped forward daringly. "Yes, it's me," she hissed. "Can't you ever watch where you are going? Where are your eyes? On your butt, maybe?"

"Oh, yeah?" he sneered, equally taking a step forward to close the distance between them . "And yours? Did you leave them on the moon or what?"

"None of your damn business!"

"Then, the location of my f**king eyes shouldn't be your bloody business either! And maybe you should start looking where you put your feet Miss Khushi Kumari Gupta, because the ground on which you walk does not belong to you."

"How could I have forgotten? It all belongs to Mr Arnav Singh Raizada, right?"

"Right! And you are not Arnav Singh Raizada, remember that."

"As if I wanted to be?"

"As if you could be?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have the brains to be Arnav Singh Raizada."

Khushi gasped, her mouth forming a perfect round O. "How dare you?"

"Oh, I dare very much," he crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged with as much nonchalance as he could. "I just showed you how I dare and how much. It sees how empty-headed you are, Khushi. Had you had the least bit of intelligent cell you wouldn't be marrying that idiotic Shyam!"

***

"What the hell?"

Ulka repressed her giggles and glanced sideways at her partner in crime. "Calm down. You said they had to let the steam out! Don't do anything stupid."

***

Khushi laughed humourlessly. "Bloody asshole!" she almost yelled. "Had you had the least intelligent electron in your body you wouldn't be saying or even thinking all this crap!"

"What the f**k do you mean? Oh, I don't even give a shit about what you mean, dammit! You are the most complex and troublesome girl in the universe and I'm glad that I am not the one who's marrying you! Good luck to you, and good luck to that fool who's committing suicide! I don't want to see you again, I don't even want to hear from you again. I'm leaving and I hope you spend a great life killing your husbands! Good bye!"

***

"Shit! That must have hurt... Just when she swats you playfully, your skin can keep burning for hours. And that slap was given with full force and her blind fury. I think you were right about the ambulance... What are you-?"

Ulka shook her head as tears ran down her cheeks. She was trembling with silent laughter. She took a deep breath of air and straightened herself, wiping her cheeks. "Bhai's face when she slapped him," she explained. "Oh! It's going to start again!"

"We should have brought popcorns, you think?"

***

He stared at her his eyes round with a mixture of shock and anger. His mouth opened again but he closed it on thing her tear glazed eyes. If he had thought that taking her out her anger with that slap was enough, he had to be dreaming. Because no sooner had he recovered, she was already shoving him backwards with harsh pushes on the chest.

"What goes on in that f**king brain of yours, you idiot? How could you even...? I hate you! I wish you would die, I wish I could kill you myself! You think that you are always right and that you have all the rights in the world, right? Jerk! Go to hell! But before you go, let to me well, and cram the piece of information I am going to give you well in your skull and live with it! I AM NOT GETTING MARRIED TO ANY-F**KING-ONE!"

His jaw dropped open in shock. "But... But... You told me were getting married to Shyam!"

"I never f**king told you that, asshole, that was your assumption!"

And just like that, his anger returned with a blow. His hands closed around her wrists to stop her from beating him. "What the hell? And you let me believe that? What's wrong with you, dammit? Are you crazy?"

She growled as she struggled to free herself. He ended up letting go of her and Khushi stepped back, breathing heavily. "I told you what you wanted to hear," she said harshly, even as a tear rolled down her cheek. "You didn't care for what happened to me during the past twelve months, why the hell do you care now?"

***

"So? What's the score?" came a whisper from behind them as they watched Khushi stomp away while Arnav stood there, stumped.

Ulka sighed. "They both lost. Were we right to do it this way, Anjali?"

Anjali squeeze her hand and smiled. "Yes, we had to let them take it all out so that things would be easier to work out. If they had kept their frustrations it would have been disastrous. But it's such a pity that you missed out on the fun, Shyam!" she frowned at the man who had just arrived.

He grinned and draped his arm around her shoulder. "Not at all sweetie. I saw and heard everything, even when Arnav called me idiotic. But I don't mind. For Khushi, anything. She has done a lot for us, now it's payback time."

The three of them smiled at each other and they quietly waited until Arnav had gone. Then Anjali clapped her hands excitedly. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, the proper planning, begins!"