Chapter 1

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Mad(ly) in Love

Arnav Singh Raizada was perplexed. And as usual only one person could be blamed for that. One person who had taken it up as her personal mission to drive him up the wall every single day of their lives.

Khushi Singh Raizada.

His wife.

But to be honest, she did drive him away from the wall too with one smile that she would throw his way, child like excitement shining bright in her honey toned eyes at having tricked him once again. He would gladly forget all his irritation and all his annoyance and stride up to her to take her more often than not protesting, blushing form into his arms and thank whoever was responsible for this miracle to be in his life.

But tonight, there seemed to be a slight hitch in those well rehearsed scenes. Mostly because his wife refused to let him come near her, let alone hold her!

And so Arnav Singh Raizada, designer extraordinaire, business mogul, professional terror stood meekly in one corner of his room as his wife berated him for a reason he knew not, for a reason she would not even mention.

But being as practical as he was, he tried once again to make Khushi to at least give him a fair playing field by telling him the crime he was being punished for,

"Par Khushi, maine kiya kya hai?!"
("But Khushi, what have I done?!")

She, who had been taking out her anger on the poor pillows of their double bed by thumping them unnecessarily and with excessive force as if imagining his face in the satin white covers, turned to face him with eyes full of indignation which slowly turned to disbelief which slowly turned to plain pure anger.

"Aapko zara si bhi bhanak nahin hai na ki hum gussa kyon hain?!"
("You don't have any clue as to why I am angry, do you?!")

She spit out, each word punctuated with a threat that if he were to agree with her she would indeed replace his head with the pillows which seemed to be choking under her grip at the moment and Arnav could only gulp down the No' on the tip of his tongue.

He was brave, yes, but he was also not stupid.

And this was not an occasion to be brave, it was an occasion to be smart.

And that quality he had instilled in him in truckloads and so he grunted out a non committal grunt, his agile feet on the guard to run for cover if his mad wife figured out the truth behind his smart' act.

She stood there silent, in thought, and the pillow slowly (and thankfully) loosened from her grip fell with a soft thud on the carpeted ground and for a moment Arnav thought that his satiny white pillow looked a little blue but he quickly shook away the thought, reprimanding himself for being too influenced by Khushi's madness before deciding to observe his wife, the situation was still volatile as it was.

He saw and groaned inwardly at the absolutely adorable picture his wife presented to him at the moment. The pink tip of her tongue had darted out to wet her plump lips as she concentrated hard on whatever she was thinking about his lack of admission in affirmative or in negative before her lip was caught by one single tooth as she bit down on it lightly. Her hands had by now found each other as she wrung them in confusion and her eyes played a dance only they were aware of and Arnav could feel his lips widening in an indulgent smile, his form relaxed. He allowed himself to lean back against his favourite chaise and crossed his arms against his chest, allowing his eyes to rove over his wife.

She was perfect.

There was no other single adjective that could be used to describe her.

Perfect.

From every strand of hair on her dream filled head to every single tip of her toe nails - perfection.

The way she stood - mostly she was in his arms though having slipped on absolutely any surface; the way she talked - mostly once she started there was no stopping her; the way she cooked - mostly jalebis but as long as she was happy cooking, he was happy eating; the way she ate - mostly more than one would imagine seeing her, the way she slept - mostly on him but that's how they both liked it; the way she got angry at him - mostly without a reason but as long as she allowed him to make it up to her in ways more than plain talking, he was good with it; the way she teased him - mostly he loved it but only when she involved that fool NK did he have an issue; the way she loved him - always.

Well he was one happy and content man, Arnav thought to himself, now absentmindedly tugging at his tie, his cuff buttons already out of their little holes and his shirt rolled back to his forearms when he was hit by a pillow.

Yes the same white satin pillow that he had been worrying about the health of a few minutes back.

It had bounced off his face and now lay forlorn on the ground once again and Arnav snapped back to attention.

"What The! Khushi! Have you gone mad?!"

"Pagal! Haan hum toh pagal hi lagenge ab! Laad Governor kahin ke! Ab shaadi ko do saal jo ho chuke hain! Ab hum toh pagal hi lagenge!" ("Mad! Of course now I would seem mad to him! Now that we have been married for two years, of course I will seem mad!") she fumed, muttering more to herself than actually talking to him and Arnav could not help but smile at his wife's crazy antics, the pillow long forgotten as he took a couple of long strides and stood directly in front of his wife, who was still talking under her breath. He distinctly heard words like "shaitaan" and "Laad Governor" more than a few times before he let one long finger hook itself underneath the soft skin of her chin and tilt her face up, his eyes boring into hers so seriously that she abruptly stopped speaking and instead resorted to staring at him like a deer caught in headlights.

He let one hand raise up to her cheek and tuck that stubborn strand of hair behind her ear, her skin trembling under his touch, before he let that same hand curve around her neck and tugged her closer to himself, her loud gasp downing out the loudness of their heartbeats for just a moment, her eyes widening even more and then dilating in passion as she saw his gaze flicker down to her quivering lips, her lashes fluttering shut as his face moved closer to her, his warm coffee-mint breath washing down on her lips...

"Tum mujhe pagal humaari pehli mulaqaat se lagti ho...koi nayyee baat nahin hai yeh mere liye, Mrs. Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada."
("I have been thinking that you are mad since the first time we met, Mrs. Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada.")

Her eyes darted open and he could not help himself from letting out a loud chuckle for it to turn into a loud "What the hell!" as his petite wife pushed him away from her with all her might and he all but fell right next to the pillow, catching himself just in time.

"Aap-Aap-Aap!" she was breathless and he knew only half of that could be attributed to anger and he smirked almost instantaneously, wishing a moment later that he hadn't as the other pillow too caught him square on the face, wiping away his smirk as instantly as it had appeared and he rearranged his face to look appropriately upset but even that did not deter his wife as she rushed past him to pick up the pillow, all the time grumbling about how Devi Maiyya had blessed her with a shaitaan' husband!

"Khushi, listen to me..." he tried as she roughly edged past him to rearrange the bed once again but her one glare was enough for him to shut up and go about changing his clothes quietly and obediently like a good student who knew when the teacher's reprimanding was not to be contested.

He had only just come out of the bathroom and was on his way to his not so favorite chaise at the moment when his wife's clipped tone reached him and he stopped midway, confusion marring his features.

"Wahan kahan jaa rahein hain?! Yahan aayiye!"
("Where are you going! Come back here!")

What was his wife up to now? Arnav thought, his forehead creasing in doubt as he tried to figure out the enigma he had married but that was apparently not to be as she repeated her command and Arnav found himself walking towards the bed, cautious and careful as if (rather actually) afraid that this was just a ploy by Khushi so that she could chuck those damn pillows at him again and this time from a closer range. He must have looked disdainfully at the fluffy things because his wife responded to his silent query.

"Takiyaa nahin maarenge hum aapko."
("Don't worry. I won't throw a pillow at you.")

Ah. Good. So that was one fear gone...but wait! Was there anything else that she could aim at him - except his own wife, Arnav feared anything that she may hurl at him and therefore remained on the lookout but only for a second because the moment he was within touching range, Khushi's hand had darted out and pulled an unsuspecting him into bed with her - literally knocking off his breath!

But his wife seemed to not have noticed the after effects of her action and he found himself being arranged to his usual sleeping position in the bed with help of some pulling and pushing by his so strong you wouldn't guess' wife and before he knew it, she had placed her head on his chest and her right arm was clutching at his right shoulder tightly.

And after some huffing and puffing as she made herself comfortably sprawled on top of him, absolute silence greeted Mr. Raizada, punctuated only by the sound of breathing, well at least one of them breathing while the other held the air in as if afraid that any sudden movement could be harmful to his health - yes, that included breathing because when you were with one as volatile and just plain strange as Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada, you tended to go a little overboard.

"Ummm...Khushi?" he spoke after a while of tense (for him) silence.

"Ji?" came her terse tone from somewhere near his neck and as she shifted slightly to better accommodate her head in the crook between his neck and shoulder, he was hit by a fresh wave of her sweet basil smelling hair and his eyes closed on their own accord, a deep peace engulfing him and forgetting everything he let his hand, which till now had been stiff by his side, drape around his wife's back intent on pulling her closer - finally at peace.

However that was not to be as she violently jerked away his hand and raised her head to beseech him with a "Don't even try" look glowing in her eyes while his blinked in absolute bewilderment at the sudden change in mood and again as if she had read his mind, she spoke in a clipped tone,

"Aap humein haath nahin lagaayenge! Samjhe aap?"
("You cannot touch me! Is that clear?")

He sputtered at her grand declaration and warning but that was evidently a wrong reaction to have as his wife's dainty hand slapped a not so dainty slap on his shoulder and even as he was wincing and trying to rub the sore spot, she had again made herself comfortable on him while his arms were punished to remain by his side - not touching her'.

"Khushi...tum...how am I not touching you right now?" he asked her, confusion now giving way to irritation at his wife's lack of forgiveness for a crime he could not figure out in the first place!

"Chup rahiye aap! Aap humein nahin haath laga sakte par hum aapko haath laga sakte hain! Aur waise bhi aap jaante hain na ki humein aapke bina neend nahin aati! Isliye ab kal subah ladenge, theek hai? So jaayiye ab!"
("Shoo! You cannot touch me but I can! Anyway as you know that I cannot sleep without you! Hence we will resume this fight tomorrow morning, okay? Now go to sleep!")

This rather interesting explanation was successful in one thing at least - Arnav's rising irritation went down like boiling tea does when the gas is turned down and instead it was replaced by a tender yet excited feeling which threatened to overtake all his senses, something which only the man woman in his arms could make him feel and forgetting all fears and misgivings about her unpredictable behaviour and not heeding to any of her warnings, he wrapped his arms around his loudly protesting wife and proceeded to smother her with kisses absolutely anywhere he could place his lips on with her trying to fight him off every moment.

"Tum jaanti ho na Khushi kit um ek dum pagal ho?" he murmured between loving kisses across her face and hair, even as he turned them around so that she now rested below him while he loomed over her, his hands caging hers in a light but not an easily breakable grip over their heads although she had given up fighting now and lay silently beneath him, but with Khushi you could never be quite sure.

He flashed her a boyish grin before swooping down to capture her lips in a gentle but passionate kiss, freeing her hands midway and mentally heaving a sigh of relief as instead of pushing him off, she used her arms for better things by looping them around his neck and pulling him closer to herself, sighing softly into his mouth and protesting when he broke apart.

She looked up at him with hooded eyes while he looked down at her with adoring ones as he regarded her with something akin to reverence making Khushi blush and cover his eyes with hers only to have him gently bring down her hand to his lips and place a soft kiss into the heart of her palm, reveling in the gasp that it elicited from her before making her place his hand on the curve of his cheek and nuzzling into it.

"I love you, Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada." he declared into the softness of her hand all the while punctuating the question with gentle pecks and the addressed woman could only just caress his cheeks at his heart felt admission, a beautiful smile now on her lips and in her eyes before being replaced by disappointment as she asked him in a forlorn tone,

"Agar itna hi pyaar karte hain toh humaari shaadi ki saalgiraah par humse door kyon jaa rahein hain?"
("If you love me as you say then why are you planning to be away from me on our wedding anniversary?")

And Arnav's ministrations stopped as he allowed himself to look into his wife's eyes which were now just a step away from filling up with a pool of tears and that, that was unacceptable making him reply hurriedly,

"Who told you that?"

His tone must have come out sharper than intended because he felt, rather than saw, Khushi put herself on the guard as she replied to him that she had overheard Akash talking to Aman on the phone and discussing Arnav's upcoming Europe trip for the entirety of the next month, making him first place a soft surrendering kiss on her forehead before letting his lips trail down her nose to the indent between the nose and finally when he was hovering over her lips, did he speak.

"Yaad hai maine tumhe kaha tha ki tumhe romantic moments bigaadne ki kitaab likhni chahiye? You must get to work, Khushi...you are a natural at it!"
("Remember when I told you that you must write a book on how to ruin romantic moments? You must get to work, Khushi...you are a natural at it!")

And before she could complete out the loud gasp that he was sure would leave that delectable mouth of hers at this teasing of his, he let his lips place upon hers and engage her in a toe curling kiss - one which left them both breathless when they broke apart.

He placed his forehead against hers as he whispered softly into the night,

"Uss trip par tum mere saath jaa rahi ho...we will spend our wedding anniversary in Venice. I have been planning this trip for months now, Khushi...par tum na...kabhi surprise matt dene dena mujhe!"

He chuckled as his wife for once was stunned into silence but soon the chuckles were replaced by him almost choking under his wife's tight hold as she threw herself at him, tackling him to lie on his back once again as she clutched at his shoulders and like an excited child making him laugh out loud as he tried to contain his exuberant wife in his arms.

"Ab khush?" he asked her knowing it was an unnecessary question considering how his wife was almost bouncing in excitement and she replied with a loud "Ji!" making them both grin widely as she finally settled into his arms for the night, her head resting in the crook between his neck and his shoulder before she secured his arm around her waist, placing a kiss on his cheek - silently apologizing for her behaviour earlier in the night but he only just shook his head as he tickled the back of her ear making her shake within his arms in silent laughter and him to smile widely as the night's moon dawned its silvery light on the two who were made for each other - in love and in madness.

In This Series (see page 6 for more information. Also visit Likhavat, link below) -

H for Hamesha - An OS (8.07.2014)

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*Not proof read
3025 words (with translations)

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