Chapter 5
Chapter 5: Noticing Khushi Kumari Gupta
******Flashback continued******
He shot up from his chair & stood dumbstruck.
"Miss Gupta!" He exclaimed.
She lay on the floor unconscious. He rushed next to her & sank down to his knees. His hands fluttering over her face, not certain if he could touch her. Everyone had left & there was no female staff that he could get help from.
He finally said softly, "Miss Gupta? Kh-Khushi..?" and patted her cheek. His eyes widened in horror & his hand slipped on to her forehead. Could anyone have such high fever? He was definitely scared now.
He picked her up in his arms carefully & placed her on the sofa. Then he walked up to his desk & took a box of medication & a glass of water & came back to her. He knelt down next to her not sure what to do next.
'Wow, she is beautiful' he thought as he sat back on his heels, looking at her face. Her closed eyelids with the long lashes that threw a perfect shadow on her cheekbones. Her milky skin, her luscious lips, had he missed all this before.. really?
Wait, what was he thinking? She was his PA & he was ASR. He couldn't be thinking that way for her. No, he was just feeling guilty for being responsible for her current state.. that's it.. right!!!
Just then he saw a crease forming between her shapely brows. 'Oh, how adorable..! SHUT UP!'
"Umm.. Amma.." she mumbled as her hand flew to her forehead.
"Khushi?" he said softly.
Her eyes flew wide open in an instant & she looked at him & her surroundings. 'How had she got on the sofa? Wasn't she standing near the desk and then..' She couldn't remember.
She tried to sit up but was too weak for it. He realized what she was trying to do & put an arm around her shoulder & helped her get up.
She looked at him shocked but let him help.
"You fainted.." He said after a while. "Have you eaten anything?"
"No"
"Why?"
She was starting to get angry again. "Because I'm not allowed to take breaks unless I complete my work." She said stiffly not meeting his eyes.
Normally such a retort would've gotten him angry. But right now for some reason the guilt was too strong.
"Just stay where you are." He ordered & walked out of the cabin.
Khushi just sat there, her head was still spinning a little & she wasn't sure if she was strong enough to stand yet.
He returned after a few minutes with a plate of sandwiches & a can of juice & placed it in front of her.
"Eat." He ordered again.
She obeyed, first grudgingly & then gave in completely as hunger ruled her. She hadn't eaten the whole day. She just realized, it must be a record. Constant snacking was the first rule of her life. She cleared the plate in no time & thirstily emptied the juice & felt some strength return to her limbs.
ASR handed her a tablet & the glass of water then & she looked at him puzzled.
"You have fever." He said.
She pressed her lips, 'Happy Realizations!' she thought sarcastically.
As she gulped down the tablet, he said, "Get your things, I'll drop you home."
"No" She said as he started moving away.
"Excuse me?" He turned around quickly.
"I've got work to complete." She said stubbornly.
"You'll do as you are told." He glared at her.
"That's what I'm doing."
"What the.."
"I've been told I can't leave today unless I compensate for the lost hours for this morning." She glared back at him.
'Whoa.. She's something.. huh?" He thought & cursed himself again.
"I'm now telling you to get your stuff, just do it." He said through clenched teeth.
She got up & walked to her cabin without looking at him. He was waiting for her outside his cabin. Together they walked up to his car. He kept glancing at her from the corner of his eye, in case she showed any signs of weakness. But she looked straight ahead.
He opened the passenger door for her, she got in & started pulling on her seat belt. As he got around & into his seat, she was still struggling with it.
"Uhh" she groaned as she tugged at it. She was so weak, she couldn't perform such a simple task. He cursed himself internally again for putting her through all this.
He quickly leaned towards her & pulled the seatbelt across her in one swift movement. He heard her gasp & tried to read the expression on her face but she was looking away from him, out the window.
There was an uncomfortable silence throughout the drive except for Khushi giving directions.
He stopped the car outside her house. She was about to leave when she heard him say, "You are on leave from today until you get well, no need to rush."
She turned around to check that he had really spoken. He was looking straight ahead, but his expression was something different. It wasn't the look of concentration he had while working or even the angry look that he had while looking at her. He had a calm expression and something else.. probably regret.. but she wasn't sure. She realized that he genuinely meant what he said and all her anger melted away.
"Thank you sir." She said softly.
He turned to look at her.
"For everything." She smiled at him.
She was thanking him? He had been so rude to her & she was thanking him for what? Taking care of her? Dropping her home? She wouldn't need all of that if he hadn't forced her to report to work in the first place.
He looked into her eyes full of innocence & for the first time in his life he wanted to apologize. But the one thing Arnav Singh Raizada hadn't learnt was to say sorry.
So he just said "Take care of yourself" & let her go.
As he drove away from her though, he started getting back to his usual self. What was he thinking.. He couldn't be worried for a mere PA. Alright, so she fainted, big deal. He shook his head as if to shrug off her thoughts, but two innocent brown eyes kept staring back at him..
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