Chapter 20
“You seem in a better mood than last night” Shashi Gupta observed his daughter as she placed the breakfast on the table.
“Mmm hmm” Khushi affirmed, smiling and serving the hot parathas to her father.
“Does it have anything to do with you finally making a decision?” Shashi Gupta probed as he started eating.
He had been meaning to ask Khushi about her decision since yesterday but seeing her off mood, had kept his questions away.
Khushi nodded her head as she filled her glass with juice.
“Yes, Babuji. I finally know what I want” Khushi answered.
Because last night, she had spent long time thinking about everything Arnav had said and done.
“I love you”
His parting words had refused to leave her mind. Every time the words played in her head, she felt a rush of adrenaline through her body.
After everything that he had said and done, those three words had impacted her the most.
He loves her.
Khushi was still wrapping her head around the fact. And, she still needed to figure out the depth of what she felt for him and how to convey it to him.
“I love you, too” She hadn’t said it to him, only to herself. Should she have told him?
Khushi didn’t know if she was ready to say it. She had purposely held back from admitting the words to him because she did not want to hurry. She didn’t see a need to hurry. This time, she was not going to say anything until she absolutely has to. She had already made the mistake of misunderstanding her heart once. She will not do that to Arnav. So, while she knew what she felt this time was so different and so much stronger, she had decided to refrain from naming her feelings.
She was going to call it a nameless love- it didn’t need a name. What she felt was strong enough to show her the way.
“Want to share what’s going on?” Shashi Gupta asked her when she did not speak for a minute.
Khushi nodded her head slowly.
“Akash is only a friend to me, Babuji. So, as I had told you earlier, I cannot marry him” Khushi spoke.
“Are you completely sure about this, Khushi?” Shashi Gupta asked her.
“Yes, Babuji. And you don’t have to worry. I will talk to Akash about this. I will clarify everything with him and Malik Uncle too” Khushi said.
Shashi Gupta listened to her and remained quiet for a few minutes.
“You know that I support you in all your decisions, Khushi. And if you don’t want to marry Akash, I will never force you for it. It is your life and I want you to be able to decide how to live it and who to live it with. But, if you wish to refuse this offer, make sure you refuse it gently. Because, it is very difficult to mend relations once broken!” Shashi Gupta explained.
“I will keep that in mind, Babuji” Khushi answered.
“I am sure you will” Shashi Gupta said and began eating again.
Khushi ate in silence too, conflicted whether she should tell him about Arnav. Or would it be too early?
Too early, she decided.
~~**~~
Doctor Kumar sat with Birendra Singh Malik in his room, explaining him the details. Akash too stood nearby, listening with rapt attention.
“All arrangements have been made. We will shift you to the hospital tomorrow morning. Thereafter, they will observe you for twenty-four hours before starting the surgery. Once the surgery is done, we will know whether to go for intensive chemotherapy or more surgeries” Doctor Kumar said.
“Fine” Malik responded while Akash nodded.
“No! It’s not fine. Until you go in surgery, you have to remain in your best shape. That means no more physical and mental exertion. Just stay in this room, eat your meals, have your medicines and sleep. It’s just 48 more hours. Do not make this any more challenging than it already is” Doctor Kumar’s voice was stern.
Malik only rolled his eyes while Akash said that he will take care of that.
Once Doctor Kumar was assured by Akash, he stood up.
“I am heading to the hospital then. I’ll see you in the evening. Akash will be staying with you” He said.
“Alright” Malik said and Doctor Kumar walked out of the room.
Once he was gone, Malik looked at Akash.
“What is going on in your mind, Baba?” Akash said, noticing the deep lines on his forehead.
“Have you talked to Khushi yet?” Malik asked.
“No, not yet! But you don’t have to worry about it. I will talk to her as soon as I can. Right now, we need to be thinking about your health” Akash replied.
“My health is what it is. There is not much in my hands about it. But, Khushi? I want her to be a part of our family. There is no one better I would like to look after this house once I am not here. But, it seems as if something has changed. I talked to her and she..seemed reluctant. I want you to talk to her, Akash. You need to find out what is bothering her and then you need to take care of that. I do not want her to feel that I do not care about her wishes. Because, I do! She is nothing less than a daughter to me. I want her to happily accept this union”
Akash listened to his father and nodded vigorously.
“I know, Baba. And like I said, I will take care of this. You do not have to worry about anything. Khushi and I..we will figure this out” Akash replied.
Birendra Singh Malik relaxed hearing that and that relaxed Akash.
But, only few minutes had passed when Birendra Singh Malik began again.
“I also need to talk to Arnav. I have not spoken to him since that day. He has been so elusive. How is he doing? Have you spoken to him?”
Akash nodded.
“He is okay, Baba. Not great, but doing okay. And I told him about Khushi. He didn’t say much about it. He was in hurry to go somewhere. He said he will talk about it later. I think he was a little surprised, you know? Like I was when you told me? But, that’s normal. In fact, a few weeks back, Bhai had even asked me whether or not there was something between Khushi and me. I had said no. And then out of nowhere, I sprang the news upon him. No wonder he was a little perplexed” Akash said.
“He asked you himself? About Khushi and you?”
“Yes, Baba. Weeks ago” Akash responded.
“I see. Did he say why he was asking? Does it have something to do with his friendship with Khushi? You mentioned they had become friends” Birendra Singh Malik seemed thoughtful.
“He was just curious. Did not say more! But, I don’t think that’s anything for you to stress about, Baba. Doctor Uncle said you should rest. Whatever it is, I am going to sort out everything” Akash said.
Birendra Singh Malik smiled hearing it.
“I know, son! I know that you will” He replied before telling him he felt drowsy.
“Must be the medicines, Baba. You try to sleep. In the meanwhile, I’ll go and talk to Mr. Sahu. He had asked me to call” Akash said and stepped out of the room.
He had barely made it out to the drawing room when he found himself face to face with Arnav.
“Bhai” Akash said, holding up his hands.
“Where are you hurried to?” Akash continued.
Arnav shook his head.
“I was just coming to you” He said.
“Oh! I have a quick call to make. Or is it urgent?” Akash asked, pointing to the phone in his hand.
“It is urgent” Arnav said.
“Alright!” Akash said, curious and putting away the phone.
Both the brothers walked towards the sofa and Arnav signaled Akash to sit down.
“What is it, Bhai?” Akash asked again once he was sitting. Arnav took a seat opposite to him.
“It is about Khushi” Arnav said, clearing his throat.
Akash nodded.
“Yes, I figured. We didn’t really finish talking yesterday. I was hoping you could help me decide how to woo her. You know? I am not the best at these things” Akash said, chuckling himself.
Arnav closed his eyes for a second.
“Would you please listen to me, Akash? I just need your full attention” Arnav said.
“Okay, Bhai” Akash became quiet, noticing Arnav seemed at edge.
“You remember this?”
Akash watched as Arnav took out a photograph from his coat’s pocket. He handed it to Akash.
Akash smiled seeing the picture.
“Of course, Bhai! This is the picture from my birthday party. Right after I had cut the cake and you had gifted me your watch. This was our first picture together. But, I didn’t know you had a copy too. This was in the album, right? The one I showed you a few years back?” Akash asked.
During one of his trips to Delhi, Akash had taken the album to Delhi to show Arnav the pictures of the first birthday he had celebrated with him.
The picture was grainy and old, at least the original one that was in the album. He had brought back the album with him. This photograph looked better, sharper.
“Yes. It is our first picture together. I had taken out the picture from the album and got another copy made for myself” Arnav said, looking at Akash with a heavy expression.
“Oh? You didn’t tell me that you did that. But, it’s a good thing that you did. This picture looks clearer. I can even read the half-cut cake” Akash said, still studying the picture with a broad smile.
“What more can you see?” Arnav asked.
“Umm..Oh! There. It’s Khushi with Garima aunty in the background. Although, their face is not so clear! I can make out her red frock” Akash said excitedly.
“You got it. That’s the reason” Arnav nodded.
Akash looked up at Arnav.
“What do you mean, Bhai? Reason for what” Akash asked, confused.
“The reason why I ordered another copy of the picture. Not because it is our first picture together. But, because it has Khushi in it. The one picture where she and I are in the same frame. You see, that day was equally important for me. Because of Khushi” Arnav said, each word more clear than the before.
It only added to Akash’s confusion.
“I am not getting you, Bhai. What are you saying? What do you mean by because of Khushi? I don’t think you even had a proper conversation with her at that time” Akash said, chuckling.
Arnav didn’t laugh or smile.
“If not for her, I don’t think we would even be brothers, Akash! She is the reason why I came to talk to you after I had mistreated you that morning. She is the reason why I apologized to you. Why I gifted you that watch and invited you to visit me later. She is the reason for it all” Arnav said.
Akash looked at Arnav with an incredulous expression, his mouth open.
Akash shook his head, closing his mouth a second after Arnav finished.
“I don’t think I understand, Bhai. What are you talking about? How? When?”
Arnav breathed in and narrated the incident to Akash. About how after he had insulted him, Khushi had berated him hard, making him introspect his words and behaviour.
“She’s always had an impact on me, Akash. Since the very first time I talked to her! But after that day, I never really had the opportunity to realize just how deep this impact was! I had to leave with Nani. But, I never could shake off the impact she had on me. I wanted to feel it again. I wanted to talk to her again, meet her. But, that was not possible. So, I held on to whatever I could get. Phone calls! That’s all I had of her. And I could see how close you were to her. As years passed by, I began to tell myself that this is all I will have. It was pathetic, really. I was sure there was something between you and her. Because you talked about her all the time. And I never had the courage to ask you directly. Because, I was afraid of what your answer might be. Besides, it was very apparent to me that I was nowhere in Khushi’s life. So, I let everything move in its own way. But, when you showed me this picture, I couldn’t help myself. I clicked a picture of it right away. Later, I also got a copy made for myself. I thought this is the most I will have. But, you kept bringing me more photos and no matter how much I tried to keep her out of my thoughts, she was always around. She was always a part of my life” Arnav said, his smile sad.
Akash was still, silenced, listening to Arnav.
“The first date I had in college was a girl who looked so much like Khushi. You saw her photo, remember? And it was you who first drew my attention to the fact that she looked like Khushi. That was alarming for me” Arnav said, a small laugh escaping his lips.
“After that, I made sure I dated women who were nowhere like Khushi! It is funny. The more I tried to drive her out of my life, the more she was in my subconscious. It took me a long time to realize that. And when she lost her mother, I just..I realized I was too deep in this. I realized that I loved her and couldn’t bear to see her in pain. I wanted to be here. But, I couldn’t”.
Arnav stopped and looked at Akash who seemed staggered.
“I know I should have said something earlier. But, on what basis? I knew all these were just my feelings and most of the times, I hated myself for it. Besides, I didn’t want to jeopardize your friendship with Khushi. Especially, when I had doubts of my own that there was something more than friendship between you two” Arnav said, placing his hand on Akash’s shoulder.
“So, why are you telling this me now? Because I told you that Khushi loves me?” Akash looked at Arnav.
Arnav shook his head.
“No, Akash!”
“Then why? Why now, Bhai?” Akash stood up.
“Because, now I know that there is nothing between Khushi and you. I know that Khushi does not love you” Arnav said, standing up too, his voice soft.
Akash shook his head, running a hand through his hair.
“I can’t believe this, Bhai”
“Akash” Arnav walked up to Akash and tried to put a hand on his shoulder again.
But, Akash stepped back. He looked at Arnav with confused, assessing eyes.
“Wait a minute” Akash said.
Arnav stood and watched Akash’s face shift emotions.
“Are you saying all this because I told you that Baba wants to get Khushi married to me? Are you saying all this because you want to ruin his last wish? I know that you hate him, Bhai. But this? This is low even for you!” Akash said, vigorously shaking his head.
Arnav watched Akash with a shocked face.
“What? No, Akash! This has nothing to do with..your Baba. This is not about him. Didn’t you hear everything I just said? I have loved Khushi since I first saw her. I just didn’t know what to do about it. But, now I have another chance. I know what is in my heart. And most important of all, I know what is in Khushi’s heart. She likes me too. And that’s the reason why I am standing here telling you all this. Because, I know that Khushi feels the same way about me as I feel about her” Arnav said.
“What makes you think that?” Akash stared at Arnav with another unbelievable expression.
“She told me she does not love you, Akash” Arnav said, trying to be as gentle as possible. But, it still did not stop it from crumbling Akash’s face.
“What? That’s not true, Bhai. She loves me. She is just confused at the moment and maybe a little angry because I have been so clueless all these years” Akash said.
“She said it herself to Baba. That she loves me” Akash continued.
Arnav watched despair play on Akash’s face. He hadn’t expected Akash to take the news so hard. How was this becoming so complicated?
Arnav realized there was only one way of making Akash understand. So, he looked at him and said,
“She loves me”
Akash stared at Arnav once again.
“Did she say that?” Akash asked.
“Yes” Arnav replied.
“Did she say the exact words? That she loves you? Because I don’t believe she would do that, Bhai. Khushi is not so fickle. She can’t be loving me one day and you another! Do you know how wrong this sounds? Why are you saying all this, Bhai?” Akash said, his face losing his calm.
Arnav watched in silence. Yes, Khushi hadn’t exactly said the words to him. But, that does not mean…
“Where are you going, Akash?” Arnav noticed Akash walking away.
“I am going to talk to Khushi, Bhai. All of this needs to be cleared. She is my best friend. And while I may not have realized her feelings earlier, I will not lose her. She will tell you herself what’s in her heart, Bhai. I am sure this is a big confusion. You know?
Arnav watched in absolute astonishment as Akash rushed out of the hall.
He stood staring the door, unable to believe how everything went out of hand. He had expected Akash to listen, to understand.
This..was an absolute mess, one that left him feeling drained from inside.
He needed to inform Khushi that Akash was coming her way. But, he found himself unable to move.
Akash’s words were still playing in his head.
Are you saying all this because I told you that Baba wants to get Khushi married to me? Are you saying all this because you want to ruin his last wish? I know that you hate him, Bhai. But this? This is low even for you!
Were these really the words of his brother?
Arnav exhaled noisily and turned to go to his room, but was struck speechless when he noticed Birendra Singh Malik standing in the hall.
He realized that Akash and he were in fact talking quite loud, mostly Akash.
“You love Khushi?” Birendra Singh Malik’s voice was gravelly, and Arnav noticed he stood with the help of his stick, slightly leaning against it.
His body looked even more fragile than he had seen it the last time- when he had told him about the truth.
Arnav suddenly felt too much weight upon his shoulders. So many expected turns! Will there ever be an end?
“I do” He breathed and sat down on the couch, shoulders slumped.
What was Akash going to do now? Will he fight him on this?
Arnav didn’t realize that that Birendra Singh Malik had walked up to him until he felt the hand on his shoulder.
He looked up, experiencing a blend of emotions, the strongest of which was anger and anguish.
“I am sorry, son” Birendra Singh Malik said.
Arnav did not ask the man what he was sorry for.
He simply got up and shrugged the hand off his shoulder.
“I don’t care!”
He replied with as much bitterness he could manage and walked away from his father.
_________________
The promo was a perfect prompt for me to write something in my ishtyle! ...
Amidst the tumultuous storm of a high-stakes trial, Anushka Raisinghani, a ...
Comments (54)
Newest
Oldest
View all
Jai Shri Ram @SoniRita
+ 32
1 years ago
Oh god what a mess between Akash n Arnav regarding Khushi
anjs @anjs
+ 6
4 years ago
waiting for Khushi to take a good class of Akash and anchor Arnav back to her.............
kayarose @kayarose
4 years ago
Hey Kiran where are you? It's more than 3 weeks since you have last updated. Common update the next part.
HRfan26 @HRfan26
4 years ago
Where are you Kiran..?????? It's been so long..
sonali @Sonalikarhi
4 years ago
Wow...read in one go..very well written..nice storyline...arnav has suffer so much..arnav is right in his part...will aakash turning negative? Loved khushi & arnav's lovestory..continue soon
arshiworld13 @arshiworld13
4 years ago
Belated happy diwali to all..Please update soonish...missing the story too much 🐶🐶
HRfan26 @HRfan26
4 years ago
It's been half a month... Plzzzzzzzzzzzzz update
uroos @uroos
4 years ago
Waiting for Next update Plz update soon
Noor1234 @Noor1234
4 years ago
Happy diwali dear. ...have a happy and safe diwali...
kayarose @kayarose
4 years ago
Where are you? When will you update next part?