Chapter 24

Khushi was a practical person.

 

She learned very early on in her childhood that thinking with your heart was never the best way to go. After all, when did the heart ever understand things like thirst and hunger? It only knew about likes and dislikes, whims and fancies. It was selfish in that way - thinking about itself and no one else.

 

Perhaps that was why Khushi never let her heart into her relationships, particularly the one with her boyfriend. She knew he was nice, she knew he cared of her - so really, what was the problem in investing in him? It was sure to yield profits, unlike her poor mother, who was doomed from the start.

 

"... and then he looks at me, as if I'm crazy or something and then the next minute he is laughing his head off!"

 

Khushi was quiet. The reason she was lost in thoughts on what was otherwise a busy Thursday evening in AR Designs was a call from Akash, who had so many stories to share from his painting workshop that she couldn't quite keep up.

 

"Khushi? Are you listening?"

 

"Yeah... yeah, I'm here."

 

An awkward silence spread between the two. They were never the quiet couple, both always having something or the other to say. But today, it was different; very different.

 

"So, how is your internship going?" he finally said.

 

"It's good."

 

Khushi knew she should offer more, especially after Akash had broken the ice; but she couldn't. She couldn't tell him all the changes that happened since he left, not because she feared his reaction, but because she knew he wouldn't understand.

 

"Am I missing something?" Akash asked.

 

Khushi was surprised. She had almost forgotten how well he knew her, though she wasn't sure if she liked that anymore. "No," she told him quietly. "I'm just... tired."

 

"A lot of late nights?"

 

"Yeah... a lot of late nights."

 

Akash paused. "Is Bhai okay? Do you both get along now?"

 

"Yeah, kind of," she said, the lie stabbing her with guilt. "Listen, I have to go now - I have a meeting. I will talk to you later, okay?"

 

She hung up even before he finished replying.

 

The truth was she and Arnav got along well. So well that she quite couldn't remember how they were before - all of it looked like one big hazy bubble of the past that was better left alone. Khushi knew a big part of that was due to her mother, who somehow taught her to let go, something she couldn't do all these years.

 

However, she also knew a bigger part of it was Arnav himself. Somewhere and somehow, he made his place in her life. Whether it was holding up the mirror or consoling her when all seemed lost - he was there for her. And last week, he had come even closer.

 

Khushi closed her eyes, remembering how tenderly he caressed her face, as if she was an unblemished doll, as if he was a tending to a rose in his precious garden. It was purely magical. And that was the only reason she didn't tell Akash. What she shared with Arnav was so personal that she couldn't tell anyone, not even her best friend.

 

Heaving a sigh, Khushi picked up the file she was working on and made her way out of her cabin. She was nearing the stairs to the second floor, when she heard a voice float across to her:

 

"Still here? I thought someone would have whisked you away by now."

 

Khushi turned around to see Jai, a trusted Manager of AR Designs and her good friend, grinning back at her.

 

"Very funny Jai," she chided. "You know I work late on Thursdays-"

 

"-so that you can take Fridays off, I know. But it isn't every Thursday that you look like this."

 

Khushi rolled her eyes. Dressed in a pearl coloured pencil skirt that ended just above her knees and a baby pink shirt to match, she knew she looked different today - the murmurs she got everywhere she went were proof of it. What she didn't expect were the compliments; they sounded awkward for some odd reason.

 

"But more than that, it's getting pretty late," Jai said. "You should be heading home."

 

"Yeah, I am. I just need to talk to Arnav about this file first."

 

"Mr. Raizada is here? But I thought he was in Pune today, finalizing the land for the new factory?"

 

"Yeah, he did spend the day in Pune. He just got back a few minutes ago."

 

Jai smirked. "Well, you are up to speed, aren't you? A little tip - try to spare him from that killer look. I don't think AR Designs can function without a boss."

 

He fled before Khushi got a chance to chuck something his way. Shaking her head, she walked up to Arnav's cabin and gingerly knocked.

 

"Come in."

 

She pushed open the glass doors to see Arnav immersed in a file, a box of take-out food lying open on his gigantic desk. And just like that, her tiredness vanished, replaced by a vibrant smile.

 

Upon walking inside, Arnav silently stretched his hand out, asking for the file she brought for his inspection, all the while keeping his eyes trained on the paper in front.

 

Khushi grinned, but didn't move. "How do you know I wanted you to check a file?"

 

"Why is the sky blue? Why does the sun shine? Don't ask me silly questions birthday girl."

 

"You sure are cranky today. What's up?"

 

He looked up at that, ready with a retort, when he caught sight of her face and was momentarily dumbstruck. No doubt, he was noticing the sudden changes in her appearance.

 

Slightly conscious of herself, Khushi broke the silence. "What? Why are you staring at me?"

 

Arnav cleared his throat. "You look... exceptional today. Any significant reason behind the makeover?"

 

"It's not a makeover. I just wanted to wear something nice today."

 

He smirked, coming back to his usual, playful self. "So first you wait for me to return from Pune and then, you follow my suggestion and look like this... If I didn't know better, I would say you were trying to impress me."

 

Khushi glared at him in mock outrage. "What suggestion?"

 

"Please don't tell me you don't remember?" he said. "After all, you were the one who hired me as your shrink."

 

Realization dawned to Khushi, who instinctively touched her hair, feeling it cascade beautifully down to her waist. She had forgotten all about what he once told her, on a night similar to this one:

 

 

She had dismissed his words at that time, quite like she dismissed the numerous "girly" clothes Lavanya gifted, thinking they weren't meant for her. How wrong she was! Not only was Lavanya's taste in fashion beautiful, but also perfect, just like Arnav's honest suggestion.

 

"And the amnesia vanishes," Arnav stated, dramatically. "So tell me birthday girl, how does it feel to come into the world of the living?"

 

"It feels good... But I have to admit, it isn't as glamorous as I expected it to be."

 

"Personally, I feel it got all the glamour it needed with you walking into it."

 

An involuntarily smile spread across her face. "Thank you for that, but aren't you being a bit too nice today?"

 

"Well, don't you look a bit too nice today?"

 

"Funny... but you are still going to have to check these figures. Complimenting me won't get you out of such a boring task."

 

He grinned in answer and took the file she handed him. "And here I was, thinking we could have a romantic candlelight dinner instead."

 

"Well that was never going to work anyway, seeing as you had your dinner already," she said, pointing to the box of food lying in front of him. "What is that? Thai?"

 

"Mm-hmm," he replied, skimming through the file. "I picked it up on the way from the airport."

 

"I'm sorry, but you have a very poor taste in take-out. Why would you get stir-fry vegetables? And that too with broccoli?!"

 

Arnav looked at her. "What's wrong with broccoli?"

 

"Other than the fact that it tastes absolutely disgusting, nothing!"

 

"What are you? A six-year-old child who refuses to eat her veggies?"

 

"Oh please!" she retorted, flipping her long hair back for added effect. "I'm a grown-up."

 

Arnav closed the file. "A what?"

 

Khushi unnecessarily smoothened out her shirt. "A grown-up! You know the kind that are mature and responsible?"

 

He stood up. "Oh really? May I ask how you fall under this category?"

 

Khushi knew he was joking, the glint in his eyes said that loud and clear. And yet, she felt nervous, seeing how subtly he began to inch towards her. Knowing it wasn't a good idea to let him come close, she said cheekily, "Why not? You said yourself that I'm the best intern this company has ever seen."

 

"That makes you smart-"

 

"No, that makes me an adult. A child can't handle the stress you give."

 

Arnav raised his eyebrows. He now stood just a few steps from her. "I give you stress?" he asked suggestively.

 

She bit her lip. In truth, Khushi enjoyed the pressure he sometimes placed on her to meet certain deadlines. It successfully drove the other troubles of her life out of her mind. However, she didn't want to tell him that, not when she was going weak in the knees seeing the half-smile on his handsome face.

 

"I'm waiting," he said after a minute. "Do I stress you out?"

 

"No," she admitted, feeling her heart race beyond her control. It happened so many times nowadays that Khushi awaited it every time he was close.

 

Arnav crossed his arms across his chest in triumph. "So, you were saying...?"

 

Khushi struggled to keep it together. With her hands tingling as if electrocuted by some invisible jolt, and her stomach seizing up with butterflies, the only thing she managed to stammer out was:

 

"I-I... I was s-saying..."

 

She broke off, feeling something very subtle change in his stature. Daringly, she stared into his muddy brown eyes, a risk she carefully avoided so far, trying to assess the strange gleam in them. As the air suddenly began to thicken with a pulse of its own, Khushi unthinkingly leaned in and crushed her lips against his.

 

As if on an instinct, Arnav's hands flew up around her petite waist, pulling her into his embrace. His mouth feverishly came down upon her, his lips capturing hers with an unexplainable might. Khushi felt her hands climb through his perfectly gelled hair, as his tongue began to smoothly tug open her lower lip.

 

She felt as if she was soaring high through the sky, her heart swelling up with an unknown exhilaration. She gave into his advances, never wanting to resist in the first place, letting their mouths dance in fervour of their own. However, just as she began to find her footing in the new sensations rampaging through her, she felt him suddenly pull back.

 

Khushi's eyes snapped open, feeling as if she was completely bare. She vaguely noticed that she was seated on the mahogany desk, her legs wrapped around a stunned Arnav, who appeared as if he ran a hundred miles. It didn't come as a surprise that she couldn't remember getting on the table; a much bigger problem was at hand.

 

As she stared into the shell-shocked eyes before her, Khushi unexpectedly realized what she had been openly neglecting. While Akash had always been a balance between good and bad, a fail-proof investment, Arnav was a complete mystery that pulled her in so many ways. With him, it was never about costs and profits, benefits and liabilities. It was about her instinct, her whims and fancies, her feelings. Ironically, however, all of that brought nothing but loss.  

 

On the other hand, Arnav seemed to suddenly collect himself, comprehending the gravity of what just transpired between them. He silently unravelled himself from her, not letting his eyes waver even for once from the floor. Reddening with shame, Khushi jumped off the desk and sprinted as fast as she could, out of his cabin.

 

Despite all that life had taught her, she couldn't help but make one impractical decision.