Hello everyone,
Thank you for your comments. As I was re-reading the chapter (59) I realized a very big part of the story was missing. You're right. Khushi had a knee jerk reaction, especially when Arnav has been so supportive. But what prompted her to do that? There were tidbits that got lost in the edits. I've reworked the chapter and posted it here. It is fairly long (probably the longest I have written - around 2500 words) I've highlighted the edited portion in red (not working) so please read all in read and the italics, in case you just want to read the edit. This bit is extremely important otherwise the rest of the story doesn't do justice to Khushi's character. Apologies. Eagerly looking forward to your comments.
59
Khushi’s thoughts were punctuated by the constant beeping of the monitor that was connected to her father’s heart. The sound meant her father was alive. Rubbing her hands against the paper cup that held her tea, her thoughts once again went back to the last two weeks.
Arnav Singh Raizada was a force of nature, she admitted with a chuckle. Half an hour after informing him about her Babuji’s health, she had her tickets to fly back to India. Her father had been admitted to the Indus Heart and Medical Centre in Gomti Nagar, she’d told him. Within the next hour, he had arranged for her father to be air-lifted from Lucknow to New Delhi and had the best surgeons attend to him.
Her father was now stable and she was thankful in no small measure for all the help that Arnav had given her in the last two weeks. He called every day to ask after her health and that of her father and constantly told her to not worry about the money but ensure that Shashi Gupta received the best treatment. He had personally spoken to doctors inquiring after the line of treatment and asked them to keep him in the loop regarding all future recommendations for the patient. Khushi was grateful. She didn’t know if she had in her to face all of it by herself.
The family had temporarily moved to New Delhi and were now living with Madhumati.
A sudden increase in the beeping frequency from the monitor jerked Khushi out of her thoughts. She rushed to call the nurse who promptly injected Shashi Gupta with a dose of Metoprolol Tartrate. The beeping frequency reduced before stabilizing. Khushi breathed. *****
Standing under scalding hot water in her shower, Khushi willed her fatigue to go away. But more than physically, Khushi was emotionally exhausted. She was tired, tired of handling things on her own, of being strong. Glimpses of Payal and Garima hugging her and crying, Shashi surrounded by myriads of tubes and wires, Madhumati sitting in the waiting area with her prayer beads in hand didn’t leave her mind. She had walked up to Madhumati and the aunt had hugged Khushi and cried. “Save Shashi”, she had told her niece, “He’s the only one I have left.”
Her aunt's words had rekindled memories from a different accident, when Khushi had been told her parents were no more. The girl had spent the next two days sitting in the corner of a local police station, eating and drinking whatever was given and keeping to herself, until Shashi had come to get her. Khushi had hugged him and cried for the first time since her parents had died.
“Shhhh”, Shashi had comforted her. “We’re all there for you. You’ll never be alone.”
She still remembered the love and affection Garima had showered on her when Shashi brought her to Lucknow.
“Badi Ma,” she had called her and Garima had gently cradled the girl in her lap and corrected her, “Ma. From today, I’m your mother.”
She had been welcomed and loved unconditionally. She didn’t think she could deal with it all over again.
“Why Devi Maiyya”, she wailed in the shower, her tears mixing with the water, flowing down altogether. “Why me?” There was no answer. Tired, she slumped against the bathroom wall, turning the water off and making her way into her bedroom. A short nap and she would then make her way to AR.
Arnav was due to come back next week. Once he was back she would figure out how to break the news to her family. Her phone beeped. Keep well, the message read. I love you, she heard. Shaking her head, she put her phone away. She missed him. As always he was a man of few words, but now she had learnt to read his silence. She fought a losing battle with her fatigue and fell into deep slumber. She dreamt of unicorns and rainbows in a land far away.
*****
Lata Bansal had called off Aman and Khushi’s engagement. She had been extremely apologetic and equally vague. Given the situation with Shashi’s health, the Guptas didn’t have the luxury to wallow in self-pity or call Lata Bansal names. What they did notice was that Khushi wasn’t distraught about it. But nobody asked Khushi any questions. They had bigger things to take care of.
*****
Life completes a full circle. The words kept ringing in Khushi’s ears as she made her way home to her penthouse at Rising Stars. AR Designs was to design the entire trousseau for the upcoming wedding ceremony between Bollywood actress Akanksha Mehta and her American pop star fiance Caleb Fisher. Khushi had requested a personal meeting with the two to better understand their likes and preferences. Since the couple was in New Delhi for just the day, and the AR conference room was unavailable at that moment, Khushi had decided to have her meeting in the office space assigned to AR’s Business Developer. The meeting had gone extremely well. Both Akanksha and Caleb had been extremely nice, giving her little insights into their relationship. It was all so beautiful. Her dossier was filled with notes that could translate into beautiful personalized designer garments.
She had sat in the office longer, after the couple had left, working on the initial sketches. A glance at her wristwatch indicated it was time to leave. She hurriedly gathered her things and was about to make her way out of the office when she overheard watercooler gossip between two of her colleagues. “Life always completes a full circle,” the first one said. “Mehta started her career from that very same room as ASR’s Business Developer and today she is back there, picking her wedding dress.”
The other one laughed. “She was a social climber then, and she is one now, but her looks are still to die for. She had the ability to turn heads then, and she still has it now.”
The first one added: “Seriously, when it comes to women, no one can beat ASR’s standards. Some of the most gorgeous women have walked in and out of that room.”
The other one laughed some more. “The office has not been used for a while. I wonder when its next occupant is going to turn up.”
Khushi stopped at the door, taking it all in. She glanced at her faint reflection visible on the thick glass. Plain cotton kurta, jeans, hands adorned with colorful glass bangles, hair a tangled mess held together in a delicate bun with the help of a color pencil. And she looked at Akanksha Mehta, ASR’s ex-business developer. How long would it be before ASR realized Khushi didn’t belong in his world? And what then?
*****
Arnav was excited to get back from Milan. He had taken a detour to Amsterdam to buy Khushi a diamond engagement ring. The last two weeks were torturous. He chuckled at that thought. He never imagined he could miss someone so much. He couldn’t wait for her to say yes. He had instructed Jade to book a dinner for two somewhere in the outskirts of the city, for the day he landed. He would propose to Khushi on a farm, with the sun setting in the background. He wanted it to magical, a moment she would cherish for the rest of her life. Two weeks of engagement and then marriage. They would get married in a simple court ceremony. He neither had the time nor the appetite to sit through a traditional Indian wedding.
His dreams and aspirations, however, were shortlived. He had arrived at AR, eager to get through the day. Throughout the important board meeting, he had constantly glanced at his wristwatch, willing it to be 5, so he could leave. Arnav had never been this excited to leave work before. While the directors discussed the next steps to enlarge AR’s international market share, Arnav was busy rehearsing his proposal. He dipped his hand into his pocket to feel the ring he had personally picked out - a 2 carat round cut solitaire diamond set in platinum. He couldn’t wait to find Khushi and tell her about their plans for the evening. Their. The thought stopped him. He had begun considering her as a part of him. He smiled. She would be, very soon. He would make sure of that.
When he returned to his cabin after the board meeting, he found a white envelope on his otherwise impeccably clean desk. There was no indication who it was from. His name was neatly typed on it. He was just about to open it when his secretary Jade sauntered in with a pen and notepad in hand.
“Sir,” she paused, “Khushi left this for you.” She pointed to the envelope. Arnav was excited. She had written him a love letter. Without waiting for more information, she eagerly tore the envelope to read what the letter said. The happiness he had felt since that morning was replaced instantly by another emotion. Anger. Pure, unadulterated anger. Khushi had handed in her resignation, effective immediately. She had requested a waiver of her notice period. In case that wasn’t possible, she had requested she be allowed to work from home during that time. “She came by yesterday to clear out her desk.” Oblivious to his turmoil, Jade continued: “Vishal has requested an urgent meeting to discuss Khushi’s replacement. I’ve given him the 4.30 slot.”
“And sir, I’ve emailed you details for the dinner reservation for tonight.”
Arnav looked at Jade and looked away. “Thank you”, he said with a raspy voice. He didn’t trust himself with much more at that point. She smiled and made her way out. ASR then took his paperweight and flung it at his glass door.
For the rest of the day, being around ASR was like sitting on a keg of dynamite. No one knew what ticked him off. If the work was excellent, he simply nodded. If it wasn’t, then God would have to be their savior. By 4 pm executives had requested their meetings to be rescheduled. Anyone who could avoid ASR did. The ones who couldn’t prayed hard. ASR was back. Nobody expected anything different.
He asked Jade to cancel his dinner reservations and worked himself until the wee hours of the morning.
When Arnav reached home at 3.30 am, he found Khushi sleeping outside his apartment door. Ignoring her, he opened the door and went inside. The creak woke Khushi up.
“Arnav”, she called, rubbing her eyes, making her way into his apartment.
No response.
“Arnav, I’ve been waiting to talk to you.”
Still no response.
“Arnav, what’s wrong? Why are you ignoring me?”
“Leave”, he said, his voice menacingly low.
“Arnav?” she questioned, alarm bells ringing in her head.
“I said leave,” he spat. “Leave before I do something I regret.”
Khushi recognized the emotion. She had seen it in Milan. She crossed over to him and held his hand. “Tell me,” she urged him. In his response, he took her resignation letter and flung it on her face.
“You didn’t think it was necessary to discuss things with me before you handed this in?”
When she didn’t say anything, he continued. “Of course, why would you discuss anything with me. What do I mean to you? Thank you, Ms. Gupta, for shattering my illusions, for letting me know in no uncertain terms that I mean nothing to you.” He was shouting and shaking with fury, and Khushi calmed him the only way she knew. She tiptoed and pressed her lips against his. He pushed her away and she brought him back. He pushed her away again, and she brought his head back, teasing his lips, deepening the kiss, demanding that he respond. Fury gave way to passion and he claimed her, yet again. This time, there was a sense of raw urgency. The two poured their hurt and frustration out into one another and finally spent, brought their foreheads to touch.
“Sit”, she told him, bringing him a glass of water. “If you didn’t mean something, I wouldn’t be here waiting for you to get back.”
He gratefully took that glass of water. “Babuji got discharged yesterday,” she began haltingly. “The doctors didn’t see any reason to keep him in the hospital any longer." She paused. "The attack has left the right side of his body completely paralyzed. He is now dependent on Ma for the smallest of tasks.”
She waited for the information to sink in and then continued.
“Arnav, there is no one to take care of the shop. Payal’s wedding is less than a month away and the preparations haven’t even started. There is nobody else to do all this. I have to go back.” She had tears in her eyes. Her mind was made up. But she couldn’t leave without talking to him, without explaining the reasons she had convinced herself of.
"17 years ago, on a fateful night, I lost my Amma and Baba in a car crash. A speeding truck broke a red signal and crashed into our cab. Amma, Baba and the driver all died on the spot, I was spared. When Shashi Gupta found me, I was curled up near the wall at a local police station. He took me in, gave me a home and family. Today that family needs me."
Arnav heard nothing. The mere mention of a speeding truck accident 17 years ago brought back memories Arnav had fought hard to suppress. He looked at Khushi with fear in his eyes and asked, "Where did the accident take place?"
Unknown to the emotions playing havoc within him, Khushi honestly replied, "Juhu Chowpatty Road, Mumbai."
Arnav closed his eyes, his nightmares coming to haunt him, the entire scene where the truck ran over his parents playing vividly in front of his eyes.
"When was this?" When Khushi looked at him quizzically he opened his eyes and clarified, "What date?"
"21 October 1998"
Arnav’s head titled towards the ceiling, a lone tear escaping his eyes.
"What's wrong", asked Khushi worriedly.
He looked at her with defeated eyes and said: "Khushi, it was that very same night, Di and I lost our parents. Both of them got ran over by a truck, on Juhu Chowpatty Road, in Mumbai."
The two of them stared at each other for a very long time. Then Arnav hugged Khushi and cried for the first time since he lost his parents.
The promo was a perfect prompt for me to write something in my ishtyle! ...
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