Chapter 41

A bright sun greeted Khushi's drowsy eyes in the morning. Small dust freckles floated around in the air, playing hide and seek as they wafted in and out of the small, thin strip of sunlight pouring through the gap in the curtains.

Khushi groaned and turned away from the window, pulling the blanket over her head.

She had spent the better part of her night tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. She couldn't help but wonder whether all this was truly happening or whether this was just a fancy dream"one that would shatter the moment she woke up.

Perhaps that was the reason she couldn't sleep. Perhaps she was too excited to sleep.

Just as she was lingering at the edge of slumber again, her phone buzzed rudely bringing her back into full consciousness.

Cussing under her breath, she reached over and grabbed the phone from her bedside table. She yawned loudly, in a way far from lady-like, as she checked the message.

"Aunty's about to explode. Better get down here ASAP."

It was from NK. Khushi stared at the text blankly for a few seconds, unsure of what to tell him in reply so she typed the only coherent response she could think of.

"OK."

Once she had dragged herself from the bed and into the bathroom for her morning routines, she quickly groomed and readied herself for the day ahead while listening to some upbeat music to reflect her soaring spirits.

When she arrived at the dining table, she smiled in greeting at NK--who in turn looked at her sympathetically.

The very next second she understood his expression.

"Hai re nandkishor, sankadevi!" Buaji scrambled into the small alcove on the side of the kitchen's entrance, looking annoyed. "You broke your engagement?! Have you left your brains behind in Australia or have you lost your mind completely?"

NK swallowed a mouthful, preparing himself to jump into the brewing argument. Garima, however, beat him to it.

"Please Jiji...Let it go." Garima avoided eye contact with her sister-in-law. "It's the best for all four of them."

"What do they know, Garima?" Madhumati put a palm against her forehead in exasperation. "They're kids. Do they really understand all of this? Don't you think it's up to us to stop them from making these kinds of mistakes?

"They're not kids anymore jiji...behind all the madness and silly antics, I know that they know right from wrong." Garima squared her shoulders a little, as if reminding herself that she needed to hold her ground...for her daughter's sake.

"Garima, do you know what people will say?" Madhumati said acidly.

"It's not more important than Khushi's happiness, jiji." Garima spoke quietly yet her tone made it clear that she wouldn't budge from her decision of supporting Khushi.

"Nandkishore...are you even listening to yourself?" Buaji scowled. "Stop trying to encourage her foolishness!"

"Buaji, it would be a mistake if she married me. Trust me." NK intervened with his charming smile. "Imagine if we actually got married, you'd be feeding me like this all my life and then I'd become an overweight fat elephant of a man. Next to your freakishly skinny niece, I'd look like a monster."

Madhumati pressed her lips together in an unsuccessful attempt to stifle a smile. In this short time that NK had stayed with them, Madhumati had grown very fond of him. It was difficult not to, considering his charming nature and smooth manners. Perhaps that's why she was irked that Khushi had broken this engagement.

NK reached out and grabbed a hold of Madhumati's hand, looking up at her with a puppy-face-expression. "Khushi is an amazing woman...she's my best friend. I love her and she loves me but we are just friends. The life you want her to have...she'll only get that with Arnav...I want the same thing you want. Her happiness," NK sighed gently. "She won't get that with me when my heart is set on someone else and hers on someone else entirely. We promise there will be no more stupidity after this."

Madhumati glanced between a petulant NK and a sheepish Khushi before clicking her tongue in a sign of defeat. She pulled her hand out of NK's grip and wandered back into the kitchen, murmuring about kids of this generation.

Khushi blew out a breath of relief and looked at NK thankfully. "You are a life saver."

"I saved you from Buaji but I have strict instructions from aunty to not interfere in the lecture she has ready for you." NK grinned widely, leaning back in his chair, stuffing his mouth with a morsel of Aloo parantha.

"What is my lovely Amma mad about?" Khushi walked around the table and embraced her mother from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder.

Garima nudged her off in visible annoyance and began filling a plate with food for Khushi. "Is this any time to wake up? Jiji has been badgering me about the broken engagement all morning. Payal tried to wake you up too...the poor girl finally got tired and left for work. Anjali has called for you twice and Arnav's been calling every twenty minutes."

"Amma!" Khushi interrupted her mother's rant. "Thank you...for understanding...for supporting. It means more to me than I can ever put in words."

"Don't expect the same again, Khushi..." Garima sighed. "I know that you're young and some things can be confusing...you'll make mistakes and you'll learn from them but I don't think I'll be able to put up with any more stupidity."

"You're not upset about what Buaji said, are you?" Khushi questioned.

Garima turned to face her daughter. "It's not about that. Your happiness will always precede what the society has to say. It's just that...I saw what became of you in those first few months in Australia...I never want to see you like that again..."

Khushi embraced her mother once again, trying to apologize through the gesture for the pain she had to endure as she was forced to watch her daughter drown herself in darkness. "Never again, Amma. I promise."

Garima squeezed Khushi tightly in her arms for a second before letting her go. "Now if you're done with your buttering session, I still have to pack!"

"Pack?" Khushi let go of her and plopped down on the nearest seat.

Garima gave her an incredulous look. "You forgot, didn't you?"

Khushi looked at NK for help but he only shrugged in return. Either he didn't know what Garima was talking about or he was enjoying the lecture too much to say anything. Khushi looked back at her mother questioningly.

"Jiji and I are heading to Haridwar, remember?" Garima watched as realization dawned upon Khushi. She gently slapped Khushi's shoulder. "Hey Devi maiyya...day by day you're growing younger, Khushi. Sometimes I wonder how you manage to treat patients in the hospital."

NK, who had been a silent spectator for the past few minutes tried to suppress a laugh and ended up snorting, making the moment a tad more comical. Garima's shoulder shook with silent laughter while Khushi glowered at them in an unsuccessful attempt to make them stop.

When they only laughed harder at her expression, she decided that she needed to learn the art of glowering from the master of the gesture"Arnav Singh Raizada.

_____

"Please!!" Anjali pleaded once more, putting on her best puppy face and batting her eyelids for added measure.

"How am I supposed to run this business if you keep taking away the key staff members?!" Arvind exclaimed, looking at his daughter over the edge of his spectacles.

"But it's the only time we'll have together before Khushi leaves!" Anjali pressed again.

"Did Arnav put you up to this?" Arvind's eyebrows raised in amusement.

"No..." Anjali sulked. As if he could ever come up with an idea as awesome as this! "He's won't exactly be thrilled about it because he won't get to monopolize her...but he'll agree. I know it!"

"Anjali, they all just took nearly three weeks from the time your wedding prep started to your actual wedding...now you're taking them all away for another week..."

"Consider it my wedding gift!" She interrupted and gave him a sweet smile.

"Don't smile at me like that. I already gave you that Audi you asked for."

Anjali took a slow breath and decided to play the rook. "I know dad. If it's not possible, its fine...I just...well, Payal and I just thought that it would be nice for all eight of us to get away together...you know...rebuild that friendship now that all those issues are cleared...kind of relive our moments from happier times...getting Lavanya and NK merged into our group. It's the least we can do for our friends after...after what Payal and I did. We thought it could be a gesture of apology. It'll be a good thing for all of us...would've been kind of like therapy after some tough times."

She smiled sadly and began picking up her purse with deliberate, slow movements, waiting the milliseconds.

"Fine." Arvind surrendered. "As long as Arnav, Akash, and Payal take their laptops with them to keep an eye on their messages. Even then, not a day over a week. Is that clear?"

The sad smile turned into a brilliant grin as she stood and half-jogged, half-hopped her way around the table to her father. She gathered him in a big hug, relaying her gratitude to him with obvious excitement.

"You are the best father in the world!" She kissed his cheek and gave him a dazzling smile"identical to her mother's.

"And you," Arvind pinched the tip of her nose in an affectionate gesture, "are the best blackmailer in the world." He eyed her for a second before he added, "just like your mother."

After sharing another loving hug, the father-daughter duo parted. While Arvind headed off to his next meeting, Anjali left the office and headed for Rohan's office in high spirits, sending a mass text to everyone else.

____

"What the F-!" Arnav disconnected the call once again in frustration.

All morning he had tried to get a hold of Khushi. His work schedule was ridiculously packed now that they had all returned after the short-leave. As he walked to another conference room for his next meeting, he dialed her number once again only to be disappointed. He didn't bother leaving a voicemail and decided to check his messages instead.

Apart from the one she had sent this morning, there was nothing.

And so he had been calling. When he had a minute. But she wouldn't answer. He decided to text her again.

Throughout his meeting, he checked his phone impatiently numerous times, hoping to see a response from her. Every time he found himself disappointed, his anxiety levels rose in synchronization with his annoyance levels.

He hoped that her mother wasn't giving her a hard time. He had spoken this Payal briefly this morning and learned that Buaji wasn't particularly too pleased with the recent changes in events. It had taken everything in his power to not rush down to her house to make sure he was by her side when and if anyone confronted Khushi. He cursed the moment when he had agreed to her stupid condition of letting her deal with it by herself.

He should have just gone in yesterday when he dropped her home and spoken to Buaji. Annoyed at himself more than at Khushi, he checked his phone once more as the project manager gave concluding remarks for the meeting.

He bolted straight towards his cabin to find some privacy as soon as the meeting came to an end. He weaved his way through the numerous cubicles seamlessly and threw the office door open, earning a shriek.

Startled at the unexpected sound, he glanced to his right and found Khushi standing stiffly, with her hand over her heart. In the one slow second that he registered her presence, she looked back at him with a scowl.

Putting her hands on her hips, she spoke in a mock-stern tone. "Oh, about time you showed up!"

She had barely finished her sentence when she felt herself get hauled into an iron-clad grip of his arms, his rock-hard torso embraced snugly against hers. Smiling to herself, she wrapped her slender arms around him and inhaled his unique scent deeply. She let out the breath in a slow deliberate movement, in a soft sigh of contentedness.

"I missed you..." the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.

That set off the flare. "Then, why the f**k didn't you answer my calls? I texted you too! I've been losing my freaking mind here because I thought you were in trouble at home and you couldn't even send me a text to let me know you were okay!"

Instead of being taken aback by his impatient rant, Khushi found herself smiling admiringly at him. The worry etched in his features, the annoyance at the fact that she hadn't responded to his attempts to get in touch with her were clear signs that he had missed her just as must as she him.

She reached up and cupped his face to make him stop rambling. When he finally paused and looked at her, his expression softened at her sheepish expression.

"I'm sorry I didn't respond but my phone died while Anjali was chatting my ear off." She twitched her lips gently. "I made NK drop me off here so I could surprise you...and I'm not going to lie...I was expecting a more enthusiastic reaction. Getting yelled at was defi--"

Her sentence ended abruptly as he covered her mouth with his, sweeping her off her feet. Literally. Khushi half gasped, half giggled as the warm tingling sensation began at her heart and radiated out through her body all the way to her fingertips. As she deepened the tender kiss, she vaguely realized that they were dipping. The soft screech of the couch solidified her realization.

She perched herself in his lap, all set to begin the intimate battle of their lips when all too soon, he pulled away. She frowned and opened her eyes to look at him when he cupped her face with one hand, his thumb running in soft circles on her cheek.

"Did Buaji say anything to you?"

Khushi watched him for a couple of moments, debating whether to lie or to tell the truth. If she lied, he would call her bluff and get upset. If she told the truth...he would get upset then too.

She sighed lightly and moved her hands up to his shoulders, boring her eyes into his. "Yes she did...but NK and Amma supported me...when I left the house this morning, she was fine."

A fine line appeared between his brows as he frowned gently, clearly displeased with her answer. "I should've been there..."

"Not this again." Khushi groaned.

"I should have been there, Khushi." Arnav repeated. "We're in this together. You shouldn't have had to face that alone--"

"I wasn't alone." Khushi interrupted. "It wasn't too bad to begin with...besides, NK and Amma supported me...they managed to diffuse Buaji's temper..."

"That doesn't negate the fact that I wasn't there." Arnav's frown deepened.

"The next time I'm about to be yelled at, I'll stop them, give you a call and wait until you get there before I let them resume yelling. Does that sound good?" Khushi teased, twisting her lips to suppress a chuckle.

He wasn't pleased with her response but in the wake of this stolen moment, he decided to let it go. They would have enough time to talk these things over, to argue about many things but for now, he just wanted to take advantage of every moment he could get with her.

All momentary annoyances and irritations were forgotten when they kissed again. All that remained was him, her, and their feelings. The playful battle of their lips continued until their lungs ached in protest.

A knock on the door interrupted their heated exchange and Khushi made to crawl out of his lap when Arnav tightened his grip around her waist, holding her in place.

"It's just Akash." He explained to her with amusement glimmering in his eyes.

"How do you know?" she frowned, bemused.

"it's the way he knocks..." Arnav stated as if it were obvious before calling out loud to the person standing outside his door. "Come in!"

Akash walked in and froze two steps into the office at the sight in front of him. He recovered fairly quickly save the ridiculously wide grin on his face.

"I seemed to have interrupted something...err...important."

"Shut up Akash..." Arnav rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

"I don't want anything...Di does. She has given you three minutes before she barges in here and drags you out. She seems as excited as she did on her engagement day." Akash frowned at the memory of Anjali who could barely stand still as she reminded him that he was to have dinner with her and the others in no less than 5 minutes. Just exactly what was going on in her mind?

"Anjali and her theatrics..." Khushi chuckled. "Let's go see what she's got for us now."

As Khushi began standing up, Akash cleared his throat-the grin intact-and smirked evilly. "Did you two want the three minutes to finish your task?"

Arnav smirked in response and watched in amusement while Khushi turned scarlet. Akash guffawed at her reaction and left the room with a significant click of the door. Arnav gave her five seconds to recover but seeing that she was still red-faced, he couldn't help but sigh.

Reaching up with one hand, he caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles. "You're blushing...I don't think I've seen you like this before..."

Khushi's lips curved up in a genuine smile. "Well...you haven't kissed me like that before."

Arnav smiled in agreement before giving her a quick kiss. Cradling her in his arms, he stood up and then set her on her feet, taking her hand in his possessively as soon as she had regained her balance.

Khushi smiled and waved at Swati, who watched them with a big grin, as they passed by her desk on their way to the elevators. As they walked, Khushi filled him in on the conversation from this morning. The conversation ended, as if on rehearsed timing, precisely as they met Akash and Payal in the lobby.

After quick greetings, the two couples made their way across to the street to the restaurant where Anjali had demanded their presence. Arnav was a tad surprised to find NK and Lavanya already sitting there with Anjali, chatting away, while Rohan texted furiously.

A number of hugs and greetings were exchanged as the two groups of four merged to make a spectacular gathering of eight friends. They all carried on normal conversations about general topics as they placed their orders.

As soon as the menus were cleared from the table, Arnav cut to the chase.

"What is it that you require from us now?"

"A week from your busy schedules." Anjali smiled widely and clapped her hands together in excitement, uncaring of the unimpressed faces in front of her.

"For what?" Akash raised an eyebrow. "I know for a fact that all your wedding rituals are done."

"I know smartass." Anjali rolled her eyes. "I've planned a trip to Goa...with the eight of us."

_____