Chapter 29

Khushi was helping Lavanya with her juice while she was throwing a royal tantrum which she has been doing since last one month. Lavanya is now 2 months pregnant and it has been a month since Khushi's show and since Arnav and Khushi's relationship was made official.

Khushi: La... Drink this juice!

Bani: Khushi bitiya.. your friend is so stubborn!

La: MA? This juice is sugarless!

Khushi: Yes, because your sugar level is a bit out of order since you got pregnant so you need to drink this as said by doctor. Either you drink it yourself or me and Mami will toos it down your throat. What do you prefer?

La: AKAAASSSHHH!

Khushi: You cannot drink Akash!

La: Shut up.

At that time akash comes in with his pale scared face as yet again he has to face his tantrum queen!

La: Akash, get me sugar in this juice. See Khushi and maa are not allowing me.

Bani and Khushi give him a glare, but Akash looks beyond their shoulders to see Arnav giving him thumbs up. Following his big brother akash takes the juice and his wife to the garden and sweet talks her into drinking the juice. Khushi turns to see her Arnav ji standing there with a mischief smile and glares at him. He winks back making Khushi open her eyes and mouth wide and look down to hide her red shy face.

There the light from single diamond in gold band reflects light in her face. Next day to the show, Arnav took Khushi to the place where they met and proposed Khushi with the diamond ring which was simple yet elegant just like her. Khushi now easily accepted it.

Since Khushi came to know the reason for Arnav not remembering her, Khushi also tried forgetting that one incident that introduced her to Arnav. Because remembering it only made her long for his recognition as his princess. But Arnav has now developed a fondness of calling her Princess that made it easy for Khushi to forget those 8 years.

Arnav: Hey Princess!

Arnav called seeing the light of the stone reflecting on her face with a happy glint in his eyes. Khushi looked up at him with the same glint in her eyes.

Khushi: What did you say to Akash?

Arnav: Just a simple tactic to calm his lady love.

Khushi: When did Harvard return Laad Governor Raizada started giving love tips? As far as I remember, he was zero in romance.

Arnav: It means that my princess does not remember anything. Well, let me make her remember. What about the garden 2 days before?

2 days back it was a weekend get together at Walia mansion that had all family members together for the whole day. That night as the ladies were putting dinner together and Lavanya was taking rest as per Bani's orders, Arnav managed to sneak Khushi out of kitchen to the gazebo in the garden.

Khushi: Arnavji? What are you doing? Amma and Mami are making dinner and I have to help them.

Arnav: Mami and Aunty can manage without you.

Khushi: Why do you call my Amma as aunty? Why not Maa or something?

Arnav: Okaaayyy! What will I get out of it?

Khushi: Unbelievable! You are making business out of this too?

Arnav: Yes as a good businessman I don't leave an opportunity that is knocking down my way. So my condition is that, You call me by my name.

Khushi: Nahi!

Arnav: Achhaa?

saying he pinned her to the nearby pillar. He was already so close for her to get free from him. Now he locked her completely between him and the pillar. His face bent to hers and he turned, his breath fanning her baby hair near her ears.

Arnav: My name?

Khushi(breathing hard): A.. Ar.. Arnav.. jii..

Arnav smirked and let his ministration continue. His nose caressed her ear lobe and made his way down to crook of her neck. His breath left hot trails along. He caught her fast beating pulse in a hot peck.

Khushi: Ar..naavv..

Khushi whimpered. Arnav gave a winning smirk and Khushi gave him a glare she could manage with her hooded eyes. Any protest she wanted to voice died in her throat as Arnav's lips came over hers. 8 years ago it was just a peck but this was completely different. Every ounce of this kiss was screaming desire. The desire Arnav has tried to control all these days, he poured into this kiss and awoke the desires Khushi never felt.

They broke their first kiss only when they heard Bani calling them for dinner. When they returned to the dining table one of them had red smirking face and other had red embarrassed + Angry face.

Arnav: Princess remembering something?

Khushi: Arnavji? You are so bad. Lavanya and Ashwin are still making fun of me for that!

Arnav: Lavanya is already pregnant and you can make Ashwin cry to your heart's content when he gets engaged. But call me Arnav. I like it when you do it.

Khushi: We already agreed that I will when we are alone.

Arnav: You are a good negotiator. You know that! Ok for now, I am going to office. Join me?

Khushi: No! Today Pandit ji is coming to finalize our engagement and other ritual dates. So Mami and amma have ordered me to stay.

Arnav: Grr.. Why cant we marry directly?

Khushi: I am not explaining all these to you! Now go, today you have meeting with Malhotra's on some legal works about the take over of their other fashion house. So Bye for now!

Khushi turned to go inside only to be stopped and pulled into Arnav's arms. Before she could say anything, he stole a peck and smirked at her cute face that was turning crimson.

Arnav: This is how you say bye to your fiance. Never complain that I am zero in romance.

He smiled and walked out happily wolf whistling making Khushi more embarrassed. Bani tapped Khushi's shoulder smiling.

Bani: Looks like Chote has left for office after all. I wonder! This boy was the one who never stayed at house beyond 7:30 am and now he is not ready to leave home unless it is to your house before 10!

Khushi: Mami?

Bani: ok Bitiya I am not saying anything. But I have a work for you. Go to Chote's room and clear all the old things. That boy has them spread in his wardrobe just like that. If I ask him to do, he says NO TIME MAMI!

Khushi: No tension Mami.

Saying Khushi ran to Arnav's room humming her favorite song all time. She was in his room cleaning all his stuffs when her gaze fell on one particular box named Heritage. Curiosity caught the cat, that is Curiosity got best of Khushi as she opened the box only to see many photos that were covered in dust as if they were not opened for years.

Khushi took one of those bundles of photos and started seeing them sitting inside the wardrobe!

Meenu: This girl and wardrobe with food go hand in hand!

The pictures were of many Palaces, big, small, north Indian, South Indian.. And the list went on. Khushi understood that this was Arnav's hobby that he developed between his graduation and Harvard higher studies.

Khushi went through them photo after photo, album after album, scrap after scrap. That's when she came down to open scrap which had the name LUCKNOWI. The scrapbook was arranged with Palaces in Alphabetic order starting from Anathapur Anand Bhavan(Happy house), to Zaveri nagar's Zohra Rajvilas(Jewel Castle).

Khushi went through the pics and with a heavily drumming heart she reached Gandharvpur Swarna Haveli(Golden Castle). She turned the page only for her heart to miss a beat and then speed up like a Bullet train. There were a few pictures of Hajipur HawaMahal which is now officially in Meerut.

But what actually caught her breath was something else completely. The scrap had many.. Many pictures of herself in that ridiculous green Lehenga. Her smiling, her eating golas, her buying bangles in Hajipur Chudi bazar, her chasing her brother. The mischievous twinkle in her hazel brown eyes with a tingle of green was well caught in the camera lens against the sunlight.

She never knew that Arnav was clicking away her pictures. Only that evening she had met Arnav when she ran over him. So he had been following her all the time but still it was she who remembered him while he forgot her. The old disappointment started showing its head though she knew that Arnav loves her. She closed the scrapbook and arranged everything and left the room. Rest of the day went uneventful for her as the Pandit fixed tomorrow morning muhurat for their engagement and she accepted without knowing what date it was tomorrow which had Ashwin in suspicion.

But there was something in those pictures that Khushi missed to notice. She noticed her eyes, her activities and her dress but forgot to notice her physique. 8 years back, Khushi was a bubbly, cute bundle not the beautiful young woman with curvy eye lashes and long legs and curvy body that she is now. And she also forgot that tomorrow was that day, the day 8 years back she met Arnav in Hawa Mahal, the day every year she visits the place without fail.