Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Arnav had parked his car in the foyer where several vehicles were already lined, the entrance of the garage barely accessible. Apparently, a lot of people had shown up for the party.

Arnav made a distasteful face, having not even the slightest inclination to join the hoopla. But, Khushi must be there. He recalled her text that said she wished to see him at the party. He will have to let her down, he decided.

So, after parking his car, he took the backdoor to enter the Mahal and was heading towards the stairs where he could lock himself in his room and fall asleep. Having woken up in the wee hours of the morning and no proper lunch was already making him feel tired.

He was passing the gallery that led up to the stairs when he noticed Khushi coming down the gallery. Running was more like it! She wasn’t even looking up.

Just seeing her, eliminated all thoughts from his mind. All he felt like doing was to jog up to her and hug her. He increased his pace and thought she would notice him too.

But, her speed did not slow down, and before he knew she had crashed right into his frame, losing her balance. But he was ready and held her securely by the waist.

The proximity alone made his heart skip a beat. She was wearing a sari, her waist bare. His hand against her skin was sizzling. So, he focused all the attention on her face.

“Khus” He stopped when he noticed her face. She was crying. A tear was quickly making it's way down her cheek and by instinct alone, his finger wiped it away.

What happened? What could she be crying about?

“What happened, Khushi? Are you okay” He asked with increasing worry but was surprised when she threw herself on him, hugging him tightly.

Air whooshed from his side and his heart began pounding. Could it be possible that his father told her about everything?

Just thinking of his father, brought back all the pain he was holding at bay. On its own accord, his hands circled her and he allowed himself to calm.

This was blissful. He can stand here holding her for eons. But, there were more pressing matters at hand.

After a few seconds had passed and Khushi had regained herself, her sobs subsiding, he pulled away from her.

“Come with me” he said and both of them made their way up to his room.

Once they were inside, Arnav made her sit down asked if she wanted a glass of water.

Khushi shook her head.

“What happened, Khushi?” He asked her, sitting down on the sofa.

She gently lifted her eyes and looked at him.

“Where were you? You didn’t even respond to my texts” Khushi’s voice was accusing.

Arnav looked away for a while.

“I spent the day at the construction site. In the evening, I drove around the city” He replied.

“Why? Was it because I avoided you yesterday?” She asked him. Ever since Akash had asked her to stay out of the matter, she had felt immensely guilty for even getting in the first place. What would he think of her when he finds out?

And Akash’s sudden changed behaviour? She had no idea how Arnav would react to that as well. She herself didn’t know how to react to it.

She didn’t have to worry about it for long as Arnav inched closer to her and placed a warm hand against her cheek. She leaned into his touch.

“I am not upset with you” He said, softly.

“Then what is it? You look…disheveled” She looked him up and down.

She watched his face turn dull again and he removed his hand from her face.

“You tell me. What upset you? Why were you crying?” He asked her, looking at her face.

Khushi shook her head.

“It was nothing new. Just Akash doing things that I barely expect him to do” She said, in a tired voice.

Arnav nodded his head.

“Now you tell me” She asked him.

Should he? What can he say? He still felt so disoriented with everything.

“Let’s go out for lunch tomorrow. We can talk at length then” He replied, looking up at her beautiful and concerned face.

He waited as she took a few seconds before nodding.

“Alright” She said and got up.

Arnav stood up too.

Both of them looked at each other while remaining quiet.

Khushi could see something was weighing heavy on him and Arnav could see she was holding something from him.

“I missed you” He finally said. It had been two days since they had a chance of talking properly to each other.

Khushi swallowed and looked at the ground. She recalled all the confusing thoughts that had been rampant in her head just yesterday.

“I missed you too” she said.

“Come here” Arnav reached for her and pulled her into another hug.

Both of them stood together for a minute before Khushi heard a noise.

By instinct, she immediately stepped away from Arnav.

“Bhai..Khushi! Thank god, you’re here! I was looking everywhere for you” It was Akash who entered through the door looking out of breath.

“Me?” Arnav said.

“No, Khushi. I mean yes..! I was looking for both of you. Where the hell were you, Bhai? I called you so many times but you didn’t receive my phone! Do you have any idea how worried I was?” Akash launched himself at Arnav.

“Why were you worried?” It was Khushi who spoke up.

Akash looked at her and then at Arnav.

“Can you please give me a minute with him, Khushi? And Shashi Uncle is looking for you. I’ll be outside in a moment. Wait for me, okay? We need to talk” Akash said and Khushi left silently.

Then, Akash turned to Arnav and hugged him.

“Are you alright, Bhai? Where were you? I was so worried about you” Akash asked, still hugging Arnav.

Arnav hugged his brother and then pulled away.

“I am fine, Akash”

“I am glad, Bhai. You look tired. I’ll ask someone to send dinner. Please rest. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good Night” Akash said and once Arnav nodded, he walked out of the room.

~~**~~

Shashi Gupta and Khushi walked up to Birendra Singh Malik and thanked him for organizing the party.

“It was my pleasure, Shashi ji. I hope we will be meeting again soon” Birendra Malik said to Shashi Gupta. Khushi simply looked between the two men.

Was she missing something?

“Surely, Malik Saheb!” Her father responded with a polite smile.

Khushi was about to open her mouth when she noticed Akash coming up towards them.

He was looking at her and she could see he looked determined to talk.

“I think we should leave now, Babuji. You need to have your medicines, right?” Khushi said to Shashi who nodded.

“I will ask the driver to drop you two home!” Birendra Singh Malik said and noticed as Akash reached up to them.

“Call the driver, Akash. Shashi ji needs to go home” Malik addressed Akash who shook his head.

“There is no need for a driver, Baba. I will drop uncle myself” Akash said.

“You don’t have to come. We can go with the driver” Khushi intervened, earning glances from both her father and Birendra Singh Malik.

“It’s no problem, Khushi. Uncle, please come” Akash replied and started moving.

Shashi Gupta followed Akash while Khushi stared at the receding back of Akash.

Then she looked at Malik uncle who was smiling down at her.

“Go ahead! Talk to him” He said affectionately but Khushi only felt angrier.

“Why?” She exclaimed, unable to control her questions anymore.

“We’ll talk later. Go now” Birendra Singh Malik placed a gentle hand on her head and moved away.

Khushi stood motionless for a minute before she followed in the direction her father and Akash had gone.

~~**~~

By the time she reached the parking, Akash and her father were settled inside the car. She realized she will have to sit in the backseat.

Sighing, she got into the car.

Everyone in the car was silent and Khushi waited for the ride to be over even before it began.

As they sat in silence, Khushi noticed Akash was frequently looking at her through the front mirror.

She unlocked her phone and began texting Arnav.

“I cannot wait for lunch tomorrow. There is something that I need to tell you” She wrote and sent.

“You can tell me right now if you want to” Arnav’s reply came back after a minute.

“Not now” She texted.

“Alright! Take care, Khushi. Good night” She received the text a moment later.

Smiling to herself, she texted back ‘good night’. When she looked up, she found Akash watching her through the mirror.

“Drive carefully, Akash” She said, making him look away.

Her father was also eerily quiet and Khushi wondered if it was because he saw her dancing with Akash so up close.

She wondered what he thought of the dance. If her father remembers the same conversation she once had with Malik Uncle, she knew this wouldn’t be a surprise to him. She couldn’t wait to get home and talk to him.

How did her life become so complicated overnight?

Damn her big mouth!

The car pulled on the roadside and Akash got down too.

“I’ll walk you home, uncle” He said.

Shashi Gupta shook his head.

“It’s alright, son! It’s late and you must get home. Khushi and I will be fine” Shashi Gupta said.

“I can’t leave you here on the road, uncle. Baba will scold me if he hears about it. Please let me walk you home” Akash said and once Shashi Gupta nodded, the three of them began walking towards the house.

Akash walked next to Khushi but she still maintained her quiet.

Once they were before the house, Shashi Gupta unlocked the door.

“Good night, son” Shashi Gupta said and walked inside.

Khushi followed his suite but Akash’s voice made her halt.

“Wait, Khushi”

She turned back towards her friend and looked at him with hands crossed across the chest.

“I know you must be surprised but it was quite a shock to me too when Baba told me you loved me. So, instead of being like this, why don’t you talk to me? Akash said in a slow voice.

“There is nothing to talk about, Akash!” Khushi answered in a slow voice too.

“Like hell, there isn’t” Akash’s voice rose a bit and Khushi looked around immediately.

“Good night, Akash. I don’t want to fight with you over this. We can talk. But later!” She replied.

“When?” Akash asked.

“I don’t know. I need time. I will call you tomorrow” Khushi answered after a minute.

“Why call? You’re coming to the Mahal tomorrow, right? I’ll come to pick you up” Akash said.

“No. Don’t pick me up. I’ll come” Khushi said.

“Alright!” Akash said.

Khushi nodded and turned to leave when she felt Akash catch her hand.

“I am not sure about any of this, Khushi. I just want to talk and figure out everything. You know? The only thing I am sure of right now is that you’re my best friend and if there is a possibility for us to be more…maybe, I can consider that” Akash said.

Khushi looked at Akash and his hand holding hers.

“Good night, Akash” Khushi replied and Akash let her hand go.

~~**~~

Arnav finished his dinner and lay down on his bed.

The entire day was a blur before his eyes.

He recalled his Nani’s phone call that he had gotten the first thing in the morning.

She had called to ask him what was going on and when he was coming back to Delhi.

Arnav hadn’t responded to any of her queries and simply told her that he will call back when he wants to talk and she should not call him until then.

Arnav surprised that it even worked.

There had been no call after that.

Which is good, Arnav told himself.

He was upset with his Nani. She had hidden so much from him. He could understand why she didn’t tell him anything when he first moved to Delhi. He was too young. But she could have told him after all these years.

Even when he had told her he was coming to Delhi, she hadn’t told him.

What had she expected? That he will never learn the truth?

Arnav felt cheated, anguished, and unsettled.

Maybe talking to Khushi will help him figure out his thoughts. He had decided that he will share the recent developments with her over lunch.

He had guessed from her behaviour that she didn’t know. Neither his father nor Akash had told her.

Thinking of Akash, Arnav felt immensely despondent.

He could guess that Akash would want to talk to him about all this. Which was exactly what he didn’t want!

Judging from Akash’s behaviour during their last conversation on the matter, Arnav was sure the conversation wouldn’t be pretty.

He was in no mood to hear any more justifications of what Birendra Singh Malik had done and he hoped Akash would not bring it up.

Only the next day will tell, Arnav thought before finally drifting to sleep.

~~**~~

The next morning Khushi woke up later than usual, having been unable to sleep till late.

When she reached the kitchen she found her father already there, preparing tea and making parathas.

“Yum! Aloo parathas! Is today something special, Babuji?” She asked, watching the tea boil.

“You tell me” Her father responded, putting butter on the parathas.

“Me? How would I know? You’re the one making the parathas” Khushi said, turning off the burner under the tea and grabbing two small-sized steel glasses from the shelf in which she began pouring the tea.

Her father placed the parathas on a plate and carried them to the dining table. Khushi followed with both the glasses of tea and joined her father.

“I am making parathas because your days in this house are numbered now. So, I thought why not treat you with your favorite things” Shashi Gupta said, making Khushi turn her head towards her father.

“What are you saying, Babuji?” Khushi asked.

“I am saying what I should have last night. But, I didn’t want to hurry. I wanted to think it through the night. But, now that I have, I think this is the best thing for you” Shashi Gupta continued, making color leach from Khushi’s face.

Was her father saying what she thought he was saying?

“Last night Malik Saheb expressed his wish to get you and Akash engaged”

Khushi choked on her tea.

“What?” She coughed and sputtered.

Shashi Gupta chuckled at her reaction while Khushi could feel her gut twisting.

“Yes. I was momentarily surprised too but then it is not surprising at all. You have always liked Akash. At least, I know that. . And Akash knows you, understands you. He has proven to be a very supportive friend. Who else can be better suited for you?” Shashi Gupta said with a smile.

Khushi shook her head but words refused to leave her mouth.

This was all her doing.

“Remember the time you told me you like Akash? How long has it been? Three-four years?”

“Five” Khushi finally swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke.

The memory of those times still brought her nothing but despair. Back when she was devoutly and one-sidedly in love with her best friend. The boy who had no idea what he meant to her.

It had taken her long, way too long to get over that phase. To realize that some things are best left the way they are.

Khushi wanted to laugh at this latest development. But, she could not. There was too much at stake here.

“I am happy for you, Khushi. I will talk to Malik Saheb in a day or two about fixing a date”

That had Khushi snap out of her thoughts.

“No, Babuji. You will do no such thing” She said.

Shashi Gupta looked at his daughter with a puzzled face.

“But why?” He asked her.

“Because I am asking you not to. Things are not so simple anymore, Babuji. I liked Akash. Yes. But, it was before I realized he is not..he is not..I don’t know how to put it but..he is not the right person for me. As a friend, he has been the best friend. But to live my whole life with him? Married to him? I can’t imagine that now, Babuji” Khushi said, shaking her head.

Shashi Gupta heard Khushi’s words and became thoughtful.

“There are a lot of things that I want to ask you now, Khushi but I think the most important one is that..did you ever talk to Akash about this? Have you two ever discussed settling down?”

“No. He has never thought about me in that way. I am just his best friend” Khushi replied.

“But you..”

“None of this matters anymore, Babuji. I don’t want to talk about it. The only thing I want to say is that it is not happening. Akash is my friend and I respect him a lot. But, I don’t love him. I will not marry him” Khushi had stood up and her voice was loud.

It was then she noticed that her father was not looking at her.

He was looking at the door.

Khushi immediately turned towards the door and found Akash standing there.

It was evident that he had heard her outburst.

Not caring about it, she walked into her room, leaving the two men in the room.

Once inside her room, she sat down on her bed and counted to ten to relax her.

But, it wasn’t of much use as Akash walked in within two minutes.

Seeing him, Khushi stood up.

“I thought I had said I will call you” She replied.

Akash looked awkward for a second.

“I know. But, Baba has an evening check-up scheduled for the evening. So, he asked me if you could come in the morning. He means to talk to you. I told him I would come and pick you up” Akash replied.

“Get out” She said, getting up.

“What?” Akash asked, startled.

“Get out! I will change. Because there is a hell lot that I too need to talk to Malik Uncle. Everything else can wait” Khushi said, opening her cupboard and pulling out a salwar-suit.

When she looked back, Akash had stepped out.

~~***~~

Khushi told her father that she was going to talk to Malik Uncle and until then he should not talk to him about anything.

Shashi Gupta nodded solemnly before Khushi left with Akash in his car.

As both of them drove towards the Mahal, Akash turned to Khushi.

“I wanted to say sorry about my behaviour last night, Khushi”

“Good. Say it” Khushi replied without looking at his direction.

“I just said it” Akash answered.

“No, you didn’t. You said you wanted to” she said.

“Fine. I am sorry. I was so rattled by what Baba had told me in the morning and I was very stressed out about Bhai…half the time in the party, I didn’t even know what I was doing” Akash replied and despite her anger, Khushi looked at Akash.

“Why were you stressed about Arnav?” She asked.

The silence that followed had Khushi narrowing her eyes.

“Is there something that I am missing, Akash?” she asked again.

“Baba and Bhai talked. Bhai was very upset. Even Baba was so drained. Both of them…”

“When did this happen?” Khushi cut in.

“Day before yesterday” Akash answered.

“And you didn’t tell me? What the hell, Akash! No wonder Arnav looked so worn out yesterday. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. Neither you nor Malik Uncle! Not even Arnav!” Khushi was shaking her head.

“I wasn’t sure if Bhai was going to tell you. But I didn’t tell you because I thought it would be best if Baba told you himself” Akash answered.

“And why wouldn’t Arnav tell me?” Khushi asked, unable to avoid feeling stung by that.

“I don’t mean that Bhai doesn’t trust you. It’s just that..all the revelation was too much for him. He hasn’t talked to anyone about it. Last night, I tried to talk to him but he told me he will talk later. But, even in the morning, he got up early and left for the construction site. He is avoiding staying at home” Akash said.

It reminded Khushi that she is supposed to have lunch with Arnav. And he had proposed the idea.

She definitely cannot miss it. There was so much happening. She needed to talk to Arnav. Before..She turned towards Akash all of a sudden.

“Does Arnav know?” She asked urgently.

“Know what?” Akash asked.

“This thing, Akash! This stunt that you and Malik Uncle pulled with me last night? Does Arnav know about it?” Khushi asked.

“It’s not a STUNT, Khushi! How can you even say something like this? I don’t know what has gotten in you lately? We are best friends. We know each other. We understand each other. And while I may not have said this earlier, but the two of us can be a good couple. Do you have any idea how happy this would make Baba? With all this.. cancer, Bhai’s hatred..recounting his old life to Bhai…this has taken too much toll on him, Khushi. Together, you and I can make Baba happy. You liked me then. You can like me again. We can make this work for Baba’s sake” Akash had hit the brakes and was talking now.

He didn’t notice Khushi’s reddening face. Both with anger and humiliation!

“So you want to marry me now because this will make Malik Uncle happy? Are you hearing yourself, Akash? And no, I can’t like you now because I am beginning to see how less you care about people other than your father and yourself” Khushi said.

She watched the hurt shine on Akash’s face.

“That’s the meanest thing you have ever said to me” He said silently.

Khushi instantly felt guilty.

“I didn’t mean it, Akash. But, please let us not talk about this now. And you didn’t answer my question. Does Arnav know about this?” She asked.

Akash remained silent for a minute.

“No” He said before he started driving again.

Khushi nodded.

“How does that matter?” Akash asked after a second.

“I don’t know. But it does” Khushi replied.

Akash looked at her with questioning eyes.

“Too many things going on, Akash! Let’s deal with them one by one. First, I will talk to Malik Uncle. Then, I will talk to Arnav. And then we need to talk” Khushi said.

“Fine. I can wait until then” Akash answered as they pulled into the driveway of the Mahal.

“Thank you” Khushi replied as she got down the car.

“You go ahead. I have someplace to be. I will meet you later” Akash said, as he got down too.

Khushi nodded and started walking towards the Mahal.

Akash stayed back and pulled out his cell phone.

“Hello Bhai. Can I visit you on the site?” He asked over the phone.

“Alright! I will be there in fifteen minutes!” He said and got back into the car, speeding off.

_____________________

your reaction

102

nice

2

awesome!

1

loved

0

lol

0

omg

0

cry