Chapter 7

“We are in Ferozepur?” Khushi was shocked beyond her wits. But – but I thought–“

“You thought the driver was taking you to Faridkot!” Arnav snapped, “You seem to listen to kidnappers better than you listen to me!” --”

Arnav continued. “If I hadn’t seen you getting onto that frigging van -- you might have been having dinner in Pakistan tonight.”

Was Ferozepur close to the border? She knew that the bus had taken a longer route, but she hadn’t thought they would end up in a different place altogether. The magnanimity of the danger she could have been in, began to hit her.

 “That’s not funny!” She exclaimed in dismay.

“Do you see me laughing?” He said scathingly.“I specifically told you to wait for me!  What were you thinking Khushi!”

She wasn’t really thinking right, Khushi admitted to herself. Her mind had been preoccupied with the conversation she had with Mrs Sehgal. She could hardly tell him about that now, could she?

“The sardarji who was driving the van looked exactly like my father’s friend back in Canada –“ Khushibegan, “---and there were other people in the van. I didn’t see any harm.” Khushi said knowing how lame it sounded.

“That’s the lamest thing I have ever heard!” Arnav’s face was contorted in exasperation, “Why the hell didn’t you tell anyone where you were going?”

“I have always taken care of myself!” Khushi defended herself. “Back in Delhi –“

“But this is not Delhi!” Arnav’s voice rose up a notch. “In fact – you should know better because you are from Delhi!” Arnav pointed out.

Khushi’s eyes welled up. “Why?” Khushi’svoice quivered. Khushi knew talking about this situation was useless but she said it anyway. “Why is that women should know better? Why is the onus always on the woman? Are men incapable of behaving in a responsible manner?”

“Khushi –“

“A woman has no freedom to go anywhere on her own -- but men can do what they like without giving anyone any explanation of any sort.”

Arnav realized that the last sentence was directed toward him. Her tone had turned accusatory.

He advanced a few steps making her retreat a few steps. “If you want to say something -- say it – don’t confuse me.”

“Oh you are the one confusing me!” Khushi lashed out in anger. “You – you have been trying to-- confuse me from the very first day we met –

“When I thought things had just begun to clear up --- you left and when I decided to keep to myself you --- you come looking for me and –“ Khushi stopped knowing she was talking in circles.

Arnav closed the distance between them in quick strides and looked at her, his eyes simmering with anger as he caught her upper arms in a crushing grip.

“Do you think it was easy for me to leave you that night?” He lashed out angrily. Arnav had caught on to her rift without any confusion.

“I left because you were drunk! ---I wanted you to be in your senses when I kissed you.”

Her heart began to beat erratically.

“And you seem to be forgetting one tiny detail about your boyfriend – the one you told me about the very first day we met.”

She had indeed forgotten about that. “That didn’t stop you –“ She reminded him, “the other night.”

“No it didn’t.” He agreed quietly looking down at her lips.

His eyes had turned from dark to molten brown in a matter of seconds -- a look that that had become achingly familiar.The air was thick between them. Khushi found it difficult to breathe.

Suddenly her phone rang.

“Don’t answer the phone.” He rasped.

“It could be my parents.”

As Arnav moved away raking his hand through his hair, Khushi dug into the pocket of her trackpantsand answered the phone without looking.

“Hello?” Khushi said into the phone. “Sam! -- I am alright – I came to Jalandhar to see my grandfather.” She looked up at Arnav to see that his face was turning dark with anger.

“I am sorry I didn’t call you,” Khushi apologized. “I was tied up.”

“No – no it’s not because of what you did –“

She paused, running a hand through her hair, “look Sam it’s not a good time ---

That was it! Arnav walked up to her and snatched the phone from her hand and held it to his ear. The idiot was apologizing to her for trying to kiss her. He wanted her to give him another chance.

“Arnavji – give me back my phone!” Khushi tried to get her phone back.

“Sam,” He spoke into the phone, “Khushi is trying to tell you that her grandfather has fixed her marriage to someone else and it is not appropriate for you to call her. Good bye!” He cut the connection.

“Why did you have to say that to him?” She demanded in shock.

He hurled her phone across the room where it crashed against the wall.

“Arnav!” Khushi pushed against his chest in anger.

Arnav caught her hands and pinned them against the wall behind her, and his lips came crashing down on sending an electric jolt right through to her core.The kiss was rough and angry but Khushi found herself responding without any qualms. It felt as though her blood was boiling and would burst in her head. They broke apart gasping for air never leaving each other’s eyes even for a moment.

As Khushi licked her dry lips, Arnav bent his head and captured her lower lip, sucking on it with a bruising intensity.Khushi felt the fire spread through her entire body and as his tongue began to lave at her lip, she opened her mouth.

Arnav released her hands to wrap one hand around her slim waist to pull her into him, while the other hand slid into her thick tresses. He held her head steady as his tongue explored the warm recesses of her mouth. Khushi began her own exploration, moving her hand up his muscular biceps. When Arnav slipped his knee between her legs making her aware of his desire, Khushi dug her nails into his arm and Arnav stiffened, wincing with pain.

“Oh my God!” Khushi whispered, “did I hurt you?”

“It’s not you,” he breathed, “I have a cut on my arm. I almost caught the man who had kidnapped you. But he cut me with his knife and ran away.”

“He had a knife?!” Khushi was appalled.

“Well it’s common to carry a dagger or a kirpan in these parts,” Arnav explained, “he used it in self-defense. He was desperate not to be caught.”

The blood stain had been camouflaged by the dark red kurta Arnav was wearing. “Take off your kurta.” She said firmly, “let me see the wound.”

“It’s alright Khushi,” Arnav said, “it’s just a scratch.”

“Take it off!”Khushi commanded.

“Okay!” He grunted as he peeled the kurta over his head.

Khushi was relieved to see that the wound was superficial. But it needed to be cleaned and dressed.

She tried to not think how magnificent he looked in the dim light, his muscles rippling with strength and virility.  “I will be back in a minute.”

As she went into the kitchen and filled a bowl with cool water, she realized her body was hot. Her wrists and lips felt sore. She felt her entire body was strung up, charged with some sort of inexplicable energy. 

Arnav had been aggressive --  completely different from the previous time when he had been extremely gentle. Strangely, she felt no fear or anxiety.On the contrary an odd excitement had filled her being. What was happening to her?

When she returned with all the necessary items, Arnav was seated on the sofa trying to examine his wound.

Khushi knelt down on the floor in front of Arnav. She swallowed when she saw the heavily built up biceps and pectorals up close. “Whose house is this?” A conversation would help her concentrate on her work, she thought.

“This is my friend’s farmhouse,” Arnav informed her, “Since we travel around these areas, we decided that we will keep the keys handy so we can use the place to crash for the night while in town.”

How very convenient in case someone wanted to bring their girlfriend away from the prying eyes of family. “I see --” Khushi gently cleaned the wound with fresh water. 

“I haven’t ever brought a girl here before,” Arnav said.

“What?” Khushi looked up in surprise.

“I know what you must be thinking ---but I really was exhausted.”

Khushi nodded feeling guilty inside.

 “What was so important in Moga that you didn’t tell anyone?” He asked suddenly.

Khushi wasn’t ready to share her secret with anyone yet. “I – I went to enquire about – a childhood friend of mine -- who used to live in Moga.”

“I see –“ Arnav looked at her, “did you find her?”

“No.”

“What’s her name?” Arnav enquired, “It’s possible I know the family.”

“How would you know?”

 “We know a lot of families in Moga.” He said, “Tell me.”

Khushi racked her brains for an answer. “Titli.”

“What?” Arnav laughed, “no wonder you couldn’t find her. You have got to have more information than that. What’s her real name?”

Arnav winced as the antiseptic solution burned on contact. “F@#$!” he swore loudly.

“You deserve it for snatching my phone and breaking it.” Khushi said in an attempt to distract him, “And you shouldn’t have spoken to Sam like that!”

“I will get you a new phone --”Arnav slapped away her hand roughly. “He was apologizing for kissing you --- he was asking you to give him another chance --”

“He didn’t kiss me!” Khushi exclaimed, “I didn’t let him.” Khushi said trying to dress his wound again.

Once again Arnav slapped her hand away. “If you really want to talk to him so badly go ahead and use my phone.” His eyes simmered with anger.

Khushi’s eyes welled up with tears, but she was determined to get back to her work at hand. She wrapped a rag around his arm.

 “I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble for you.” She said and tried to get up.

He caught her chin in his hand. “Do you have any idea how I felt when I came home and no one knew where you had gone?” His caramel eyes bore into her hazel ones.

“You don’t know what I was going through when I saw you getting onto that van” he rasped, “what if something had happened to you?”

Khushi heart began to thud against her heart. “What if something had happened?” She whispered.

“Shhh –“ He touched a finger to her lips. “Don’t ever say that again Khushi,” he rasped, “I will not let anything happen to you – ever.”

Khushi felt that her heart had stopped.

Holding his bearded cheeks in her hands, she touched her lips to his.“I am sorry.”

As Arnav went still, Khushi touched her lips to his again in an open mouthed kiss.

When Arnav pulled her up so she could sit on his lap, her hands crept around his neck her fingers sliding into the crisp hair at the back of his head.All his apprehension that he might have been a little rough earlier vanished when she came alive in his arms, wildly responsive, her mouth hungry and hot, her body pulsing against him.

Trembling with need, he lowered her down on the sofa so she was under him. Arnav’s hands slipped into her hair holding her head in place as he took over. As he devoured her mouth Khushi felt the heat spread through her blood stream.

His lips made a wet traildown her throat to her collar bone. As he took the delicate skin of her nape between his lips and sucked on it, Khushi arched her neck to give him full access, thrusting her breasts at him. Arnav’s hands skimmed the side of her waist and cupped the mounds of her breasts in his palms, kneading the soft flesh right through the shirt.

His lips made an excruciatingly slow trail back to her lips and he slid his tongue into and out of her mouth, even as he mimicked the action with his undulating hips, thrusting his arousal into her softness. Khushi felt a bewildering sensation building in her core, bordering almost on pain.

His fingers slipped into her shirt, peeling the lacy material of her bra to take the erect nipples and rolled them between his thumb and forefinger and when he pinched the tight buds, Khushi let out a moan and bucked up digging her nails into his back as shesplintered into a million pieces.

A little later, leaving her in a dazed stupor, Arnav went into the bathroom to splash his face and with cold water. As the cold water trickled down his bare chest, he held on to the sink for several moments, cooling down, waiting for his heartbeat to slow down. He hadn’t planned to go so far with Khushi but recently, he had come to realize that plans didn’t work where Khushi was concerned.The way Khushi had come undone in his arms was something of a novel experience for him as he hadn’t even touched her in the real sense.

He also admitted to himself that it was also novel experience for him to feel this affected by any woman ever. He wasn’t even sure if he would have stopped when he did, had it not been for his phone that had vibrated at least ten times in the past five minutes.

He picked up his phone to see several missed calls from his sister and grandmother. It was definitely an emergency. He stepped out of the house and called his sister.

Two and a half hours later, Arnav and Khushi reached The City Hospital in Jalandhar to see Anjali and Manav seated in the waiting room.

Anjali walked up to Khushi and hugged her. “Don’t worry Khushi, your grandfather is being examined by doctors and they should out any minute.’

“What – what happened?” Khushi asked in a broken voice. “He seemed fine when I left him this afternoon.” Guilt gnawed her insides.

Anjali explained to them that Satyaprakash Patial had developed severe pain in the abdomen for which the nurse had treated him with some painkillers. But when the pain continued late into the evening she had informed Naniji that it was something serious and would be best if he was admitted to the hospital. The hospital at Faridkot had advised her to take him to Jalandhar for further tests. Devayani had immediately brought him in an ambulance.

“Your phone seemed to be unreachable Khushi.” Anjali said.

“Why didn’t anyone inform me when I came home?” Arnav demanded raking a hand through his hair.

“The nurse told us that his pain increased only after you left Arnav,” Manav said, “She tried calling you but your phone was busy. So she informed Naniji who had just returned from the temple.”

“Where is Nani?” Arnav enquired, worried for his aged grandmother.

“She is at home,” Anjali said, “I took her home while Manav took care of the admission.”

Unable to control her tears, Khushi walked away toward the far end of the room close to the windows.

“Got to her Di.” Arnav implored to his sister. He had fair idea what Khushi was thinking right now.

“Come on let’s go get some coffee.” Manav led Arnav toward the cafeteria.

“I think I need something stronger.” Arnav muttered raking a hand through his hair.

Over cups of steaming coffee, Arnav told Manav everything that had happened that evening.

“I figured something had happened,” Manav told him, “It’s hard not to notice that your kurta is torn. You better get a tetanus shot and get the wound properly dressed Arnav.”

“I will.” He took a sip of his coffee.

“Did you file a complaint?” Manav enquired.

“Not yet,” Arnav said evasively, “We will have to go to the police station in Moga. Khushi will have to come with me to give a description of the kidnapper.”

“I hope they get the man who did this.”

“They had better.” Arnav said grimly.

As Arnav’s phone rang, the two friends hurried downstairs.

The next day, Arnav stood by the windows in the hospital room watching Khushi as she sat by her grandfather’s bed, holding his frail hand in hers. Khushi had been avoiding him since the night at the farm house and he had let her be, knowing she was worried about her grandfather.

The previous day, the doctors had told them that the pain in the abdomen was caused by a problem in the pancreas and had suggested a biopsy to rule out cancer.

The biopsy results had come back a while ago and the doctors had regretfully told them that Satyprakash Patial had a cancerous tumour.

The doctors had suggested that there were chances of a cure through a surgical procedure. However Mr Patial had a low platelet count because of which they would have to wait a couple of weeks before the surgery could be performed.

“Arnav beta?” Satyaprakash Patial called out in a low voice.

Arnav was at his side in an instant. “Yes?” He said.

“I would like to see you both married,” He said slowly.

“Yes.” Arnav didn’t even hesitate for a second.

Later that night, Khushi sat in the balcony of Anjali’s house looking out into the night sky. The balcony had lovely potted plants of the indoor variety that included geraniums in different shades of pink. The balcony was furnished with an outdoor sofa and a coffee table and the light from the outdoor street lamp gavethe balcony just enough visibility.

She didn’t know what to make of everything that was going in her life. It was not very long ago when she had discovered that she had a grandfather and now out of the blue it seemed like he would be taken away from her. She had hardly spent any time with him – to get to know him better.

She thought of the day back in Delhi when she had fretted and fumed over this grandfather who was planning to make a life changing decision without her consent. But now everything had changed.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Arnav’s said from behind her.

Khushi turned to look at him in surprise. “No,” she shook her head.

He sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. “Me neither.”

They sat in silence for long moments and then Khushi walked to the railing and leaned on it. “You don’t have to do this, you know?” Khushi finally said.

“What?” She looked like a little girl in her knee length Capri and spaghetti top.

“You know exactly what I mean,” Khushi said, “You don’t have to marry me. If you are doing this because it’s a dying man’s wish – -- I will convince Nanaji somehow.”

“I see.”

“You will have to talk to Naniji I suppose.”

Arnav stood up and walked up to her.  “You are giving me a lot of reasons why I shouldn’t marry you,” he said looking into her eyes. “May be it is you who doesn’t want to marry me!

“Tell me now if you are really into this boyfriend of yours –“

“How can you say that?” she said, the hurt in her eyes evident. “What kind of a girl do you think I am?”

Arnav held her shoulders.“Khushi I didn’t mean that ---”

Khushi shrugged of his hands in anger. “You think that I have been brought up in Canada so I must be used to all this, right?”

“Hey!” Arnav grabbed her and brought her closer to him.“You were the one who told me he was your boyfriend!!”

“Forget it -- you are not interested in this marriage anyway – how do I know you don’t have a girlfriend tucked away somewhere?”

“Did I ever tell you I am not interested in this marriage?”

Khushi realized they hadn’t ever talked about marriage and he had never said anything like that to her.

As he leaned to take her lips, she opened her mouth naturally, shuddering with pleasure. S he rose to her toes and wrapped her hands around his neck. Ensconced in his arms Khushi had no doubts that this is where she belonged.

His caramel orbs bored into hers. “Khushi Gupta – “ He said huskily. “I haven’t able to think about anything or anyone else since the day I met you. Will you please put me out of my misery and marry me?”

As her wayward heart thudded crazily, she found herself acquiescing. “Yes.”