Chapter 23
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[MEMBERSONLY]
A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.
-Mignon McLaughlin
As soon as he opened the door, his gaze fell on the girl who was sleeping on the bed. From the position in which she was sleeping and expression on her face told him that she is not in deep slumber. She must have fallen asleep while waiting for him, he concluded as he very well knew that yesterday she didn't even sleep for a minute. Tip-toeing inside the room even without making small noise, he managed to grab his night dress and went into bathroom to change.
Kushi jolted up from bed when she heard a loud thud. Her gaze went to the room door which was locked and looked undisturbed. Turning to the bathroom, she noticed Arnav standing there with an expression of 'caught-while-stealing'.
He stood frozen cursing himself under his breath for carelessly closing the door and making her wake. Staring at her simply, he tried to figure out her mood. He still couldn't get over of what she said to him before getting down from the car that afternoon. What if, if she is still mad at him? That was the one of the reason why he didn't wake her up.
Sighing in relief that it was only her husband, she arched her head back and then looping her hand around her neck, she massaged it wondering in what position she had slept that it hurts her so much now. Blame Arnav for it! She had been used to sleep in his embrace and it has become difficult for her to sleep without him. Today she dozed off as she was very tired. "When did you come? Why didn't you wake me up?"
"You were sleeping, so i thought it's better not to disturb you." he replied in causal tone, settling the towel on recliner and then fetching the unopened envelopes from the table, his eyes began to move on them. "How is Lavanya?" he heard her ask in sleepy tone. Without shifting his concentration from the envelope, he answered "she is fine. Just now I dropped her at her apartment."
"Why didn't you bring her here..." Arnav raised his head to find out why his wife has stopped talking suddenly and then smiled as he noticed she was yawning. "i mean we could have taken care of her, know?" her voice sounded extremely sleepy. Dropping the envelope down on the table, he responded "she refused to come here. Don't stress yourself, she will be fine." He went to French door to close the curtains when she enquired him "did you eat something?"
'Anger! This girl doesn't even know the meaning of that word.' He thought and smiling to himself he nodded to her. He was about to grasp the water jug but stopped it hearing her voice. "Good. And now i am all yours!" he turned to her in shock. She was sitting with her legs folded under her, looking at him expectantly like eager student looking at teacher.
Her eyes started to close on its own accord but she opened it with a jerk and kept it wide open. That's when Arnav understood she is waiting for him to talk about their past like she said in afternoon. He smirked remembering her choice of words. "i knew that." He replied with a smirk making kushi's eyes to go wide open.
"What, you know?" she asked him clueless. "i know that you are mine." He replied to her with straight face making her jaws drop down. "No, no i didn't mean it. What i meant is my ears are yours... i mean i am hearing..Listening... no, i mean,... oh god, Arnav? What i have to say to tell that i am listening?" she pouted sleepily making arnav's heart to jump in joy.
For the first time in last two days, he felt so relaxed and light. Actually he really won't mind going through all those sh** whole day, if that day ends like this with her. He quickly bended down and kissed her pouted cheek making her to freeze. He noticed her reaction and moved little back to see her shocked face.
Quietly pulling her into his arms, he laid himself on bed. When she started to argue, he requested her saying "please kushi, let's sleep for some time. Our past can wait little more." They both fell into deep and much-needed slumber, both of them not sure of how their past is going to affect their present or future.
****************
Kushi tossed and turned on the bed in her sleep. Her eyes shot open when she didn't find Arnav next to her. Her eyes checked the digital clock which showed that it was 2.a.m. speculating where he must have gone, she got up the bed when she noticed a lone figure near the pool. Leaning on the French window, she observed Arnav who was sitting near the pool, his legs dipped in cold water.
He was in deep thoughts when a sudden smile adorned his face. Raising her eyebrow in amazement, Kushi wondered that what could be the reason for his sudden and content smile. Not giving much thought to it, she arched her head on the French window and simply stared at him. She was not sure whether she was admiring him or just looking at him but she felt solace seeing him like this.
"So, as i guessed five minutes before you are going to stand there whole night simply starting at me and waiting for me to turn, without calling me?" her husband's husky voice broke her trance and she straightened herself.
He got up from the floor and turned to her with questioning look. "Did you sleep well?" he asked her walking towards her. She noticed that he looked extremely relaxed and his face had new glint. Wondering what could be the reason for it, she nodded absentmindedly. "What are you doing here at this time?" she enquired him.
"Nothing. Just like that." He said shrugging off his shoulders. "And why were you smiling few minutes back?" she asked in curiosity to which he answered with a smile. "When i woke up i thought you will also wake up within five minutes and will start to search for me. And you exactly did that." He grinned at her while she simply stared back at him without any expression.
Though she felt happy that she was the reason for his smile, she made sure that she didn't express her happiness. She is not angry on him. Like always, his mistakes easily got slipped out of her mind. But she acted like she is angry on him. Well, if not her real anger, at least she could give him this punishment. She talked in uninterested tone. "If you have too many unanswered questions in your mind, then it will never let you sleep peacefully, Arnav."
Understanding her point, he replied "well, if that is the case, let us talk about it and get over it." The calmness in his tone and his relaxed form, made Kushi tensed for unknown reason. Yes, everything is unknown to her and that is the problem. She had very few idea about what their past. Strange but true, It's their past but still less idea about it.
"Let's go in." he said turning his heals towards their room. "Shall we talk here?" she asked in earnest tone thinking that cold breeze, pool water and her favourite birds will help to calm her agitated mind. 'No' was the instant reply from her husband. He added "it's too cold here. You might fall sick."
She held his wrist before pleading "please, please, please only for few minutes." He glared at her for few moments before asking her "you very well know how to make me agree, don't you? You and your plea's." He shook head in disbelief that he is actually agreeing to everything she asks and walked to the place where he was sitting few minutes back.
Kushi smiled to herself and moved next to him. "Wait!" he said when she was about to sit. He quickly bended down and rolled her pyjama pant upto her knees just like his and then extended his arm for her support. She sat next to him dipping her legs in cold water. "so..." she turned to face him after initial moments of silence and he nodded and begin to talk.
"After di got married to jiju, we moved to Mumbai. Prateik uncle, lavanya's father and jiju's father were close friends. Prateik uncle was a criminal lawyer who always took the side of truth. Though they were just middle class people, uncle used his most of earnings to help needy."
"jiju's papa only paid lavanya's college fees as prateik uncle couldn't afford it. Though jiju told me about lavanya, i have never seen her until i met her accidently in my class. I liked her immediately for some unknown reasons. But when i met prateik uncle, everything got changed. He became my god father, guiding me in each and everything. Soon Lavanya and i became good friends."
"i liked everything about her. She was practical and very sensible girl. There were rumours in college stating that we were seeing each other and for some strange reasons i liked it. I liked it when people thought us as couple and so did she. We never talked about it. Whenever someone asks about it to her, she never denied nor accepted. We both knew there something more and i slowly started to love her."
"We almost had same liking for everything except for prateik uncle. She was not in good terms with him. She thought in process of trying to be extremely good, uncle is wasting his talent. She had her own reasons for it. When she was 14, her mother died. The hospital didn't give them her mother's body for two days as they didn't pay the bill. She always asks that why should they help others when they themselves is not leading a good life. Though i always too prateik's uncle side, we never fought much on that."
"As things were going good, i decided to propose her on the college farewell day. But three months before that my jiju and his father died and we were thrown out of the house and took shelter at lavanya's house. She was very nice to me and di that time which made me love her even more. As i already planned, i proposed her on the farewell day. But she rejected my proposal."
He said flatly as a matter of fact shocking Kushi. "She rejected you. But why?" kushi voice was lower than a whisper unable to believe it. She thought Lavanya as always loved Arnav. "Because she had your brother. Why are you so shocked? Didn't i tell you that she was in love with arjun, back then?" Kushi cursed her dead slow brain for not connecting to the fact that Arnav loved lavanya for ten years but lavanya was in love with arjun six years back.
Arnav said "she told me that she liked both of us, arjun and me, as a friend. But she was scared to choose me because she thought that her life will become like her mother's. My financial state was totally bad then. So she chose your brother." Kushi's temper started to rise. All her soft corners for Lavanya got evaporated just in a second.
She started to speak in disgust "how someone can chose their love considering person's wealth? It's so low! And you, Arnav! Are you seriously out of your freaking mind? You did so much for a girl who rejected you just because you didn't have money! You are so stupid!" she couldn't believe that Arnav almost destroyed one family for the girl who didn't even love him.
"You didn't get it Kushi. I told you that I loved her. I. LOVED. HER." He said turning his face towards his angry wife. "It really didn't matter to me whether she loved me or not! I have never expected love from her or from anyone else. I just loved her and i did what i felt right at that time."
Kushi simply stared at Arnav with equal amount of amazement and anger. "Didn't you feel bad?" she asked in doubtful tone. "What do you think?" he asked her wriggling his brow's up. "Do you really think that it didn't hurt me?" his voice was filled with disbelief. "i was totally devastated." He said shifting his gaze to pool water, his eyes slowly becoming disoriented from present.
He continued "I really couldn't take it as I was so sure that she loved me too. Those three months, she took care of di like her sister and I couldn't have asked for better friend that time. She helped me to come out of jiju's and aarti's death. I was so hurt. So...so .. hurt." He gulped his saliva to wet the throat which had gone totally dry.
"Not only hurt but i was angry too; Angry on her; on money; on society. I felt like i was ditched. I didn't want to see her face again and so the very next day i brought di to here, Delhi. I was so upset that i even neglected pratiek uncle. I was very much determined to make money which every people considered as more important thing than Love. Five months later, when i came to know pratiek uncle was killed, i really couldn't stop myself going to Mumbai. i did his all... last... rituals."
Kushi noticed him closing his eyes in pain. It didn't take minutes for kushi to guess that his eyes were already filled with tears. He carried on his narration in shaky voice. "Even though i was so determined not to meet lavanya, i eventually did that. And condition i saw her..." he stopped looking at nothing in particular as tears descended down his cheeks. "She was not able to recognise me or anything. All she did was just to stare. It was kind of coma stage."
"All my anger evaporated into thin air. I know she needed my help and i really couldn't deny myself from helping her, How can i? After all she was the girl i loved. True that after everything i couldn't really love her in the way, i loved her before. But somewhere deep inside me, i still loved her." he said completely lost in past.
'Could she fall more for this man?' Kushi questioned herself watching her husband with proud admiration. Why he always is hell bent on making her fall for him more and more? Forget what he did to her family later. But currently she couldn't stop herself from falling for him for his generosity.
She loved the way, he loved Lavanya!
"But i still think what you did was a way too much? It's her mistake. She chose arjun? Don't you think she deserved it?" Kushi adamantly argued in process of ignoring the feelings rising inside her. "Kushi, can i ask you something? Why didn't you leave me when di asked you to leave?" he asked her making her eyes go wide. "What?"
"Why didn't you leave me that day, Kushi? Don't you think that i deserved it?" Kushi was speechless hearing his question. She didn't leave him because she was not able to see him in pain. He answered "you cannot explain it in words, can you? Some things are like that only. We cannot question. I understood you after that. So did Lavanya. She is not the one who i met in college. She has come a very long way from it. In no way, i am perfect. Won't it be a sin, if i expect others to be perfect?"
But Kushi still remained unconvinced. "But I couldn't believe that she chose someone like my brother when you were there?" Arnav smiled surprising her. "Well it happens! Not only in fiction but even in real life you girls have this tendency to select wrong men for you when good men are around you! Just like you chose me!" Arnav exclaimed pointing her making her jaw to drop down.
When Kushi tried to argue, he silenced her "don't say anything kushi. i had no good intension on my mind when i first met you." Kushi withdrew back but not before saying "don't compare yourself with arjun and myself with Lavanya. There is lot of difference between choosing a man for love and for money." She bitterly said.
"It's easy for you to say that money is not matter, Kushi. Because you were never needed it. When Lavanya said that money is important, first i was angry but i understood her words once i came to Delhi; once i came to know the meaning of the words 'hunger and starving'; once i understood that you cannot live without money. It's an ugly truth but still it's a truth."
Silence engulfed the place before Arnav broke it. "But there is something good in every bad thing. I got you." He pointed out and then said "imagine, what would have happened if Lavanya said yes to me that day. I would have married her after getting a decent job. Life would have been more peaceful. But..." he stopped getting lost somewhere.
"i don't know how peaceful it would have been." He repeated still lost and then suddenly turning to her, he said "actually i dont want to know how my life would have been without you!" having said it very fast, he rolled his eyes to pool water again lost in deep thought. Kushi watched him in complete shock. Did he just told her that she was a good thing happened in his life?
Kushi heart started to beat with high speed as his words got sunk in her. She felt like she couldn't breathe anymore. Was it due happiness or shock? Her mind was screaming 'you stupid, kushi. He is the one responsible for all your sufferings including your parent's death and you forget everything and become happy over a single sentence of him? remember, He is your enemy!'
But still her heart refused to listen. It made her to fall for him. Yes, she fell madly in love with her enemy, once again, against her own will.
After few minutes of silence, she said "still i think Lavanya deserved it!" Arnav turned to her shaking his head. "In no way kushi. Whatever be lavanya's mistake, i dont think she deserves to undergo so much things. She was gang ra**d. She not only lost her father but also her child." Kushi's eyes went wide open.
Arnav added. "yes, she was pregnant. Pratiek uncle met your father to tell that but..." no words fell on kushi's ear. The world around her went numb with his words. Lavanya lost her child. It reminded her of lavanya's words about being mother in hospital. Unknown grief settled inside her and she touched her belly in fear. She closed her eyelids as a warm arm enveloped her.
"Don't worry Kushi. Nothing will happen to our child. I will never let it happen till my last breath." She rested her head on his chest leaning to him controlling her tears. "let's go. I think we had too much for bed time story."
***************
"Try to sleep, kushi." Arnav groaned as Kushi twirled uncomfortably. He knew that it will be hard for her to digest so many things. But he didn't want her to spoil her health because of it. "Arnav can i ask you one question?" He heard her ask and he said no. "please." She lifted her head from his chest.
Arnav sighed closing his eyes. "Okay, only one. Shoot."
"do you know to make jelabi?" he opened his eyes in confusion to meet is wife's eager eye's. "no... do you know to make them?" he asked in bewilderment knowing very well that kushi dont even know basics of cooking. "Of course, i don't know!" she replied.
"Then?"
"i want to eat them now!"
"What the?"
ps: next few chapters are going to be light-hearted one...hope you will like it
strictly no updates till 300 + likes and many comments...
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