Chapter 21
He felt as if his entire body was on fire. Pain raked every cell of his body, his throat was parched & his head was pounding. In pain he shouted the one word which brought comfort to him, one name which meant a whole lot to him.
KUSHI
Kushi woke up with a start. She felt uneasy. For a minute she thought Arnav was sleeping next to her & had called out her name but then she saw the bed empty save her. She sighed. Silly day dreams. The day Arnav slept beside her would be nothing short of a miracle, the day he accepted her as his wife, as his love. She shook her head.
Stop dreaming for heaven sake Kushi. Dreams never come true. At least yours never ever come true.
She felt a lump in her throat. No she would not cry. She had already cried enough. She seriously should stop mopping & moaning around. Be a strong woman Kushi. Fight for your love.
She showered & went to the kitchen. Soon she became busy preparing breakfast. Well he loves scrambled eggs on toast so lemme prepare that today. He dint eat anything yesterday & it's a wonder he dint crash. When she still thought of him driving all the way home in that condition she got butterflies fluttering in her stomach. Hey Devi Maiyya please take care of him. He seems to be hell bent on self destruction. What's more he would still be angry with me because i slapped him & yelled at him. Let him yell at me to his heart's glory but hope he doesn't throw a tantrum again. She looked at the clock & was puzzled. It was already very late & why has he not yet come down.
She felt uneasy again but was reluctant to go to his room lest he starts snapping at her again. After 30 minutes had passed she couldn't stand it anymore & went to his room.
The moment she entered the room, she knew something was wrong. The room was dark & Arnav was still in bed. She switched on the light & came near his bed. He was sleeping. She went near & touched him to shake him awake. The moment she touched him she gasped as if stung. His body was burning hot.
Hey Devi Maiyya god knows for how long he has been lying here with fever. He was lying extremely still & she was struck by another panic bout. She started shaking him frantically.
"Arnav Arnav please get up. Please look at me."
He felt the presence of an angel. She was touching him, holding him & somehow she seemed to be crying. He dint want her to cry. Never again. He wanted to take all her pain & give her only happiness & laughter. He wanted to wipe away her tears & hold her, reassure her that he was always there for her. Kushi his Kushi, his love, his life, his dreams, his soul, his breath, his identity.
He opened his eyes & saw her sitting near him, holding him & crying.
"Kushi" he murmured.
He just leaned on her, flung his arms around her waist & rested his face on her breast. He felt the warmth & comfort of his mother's love.
He buried his face on her breasts & murmured "Kushi I am sorry I am really sorry".
Kushi was lost for words. She understood his action was not of lust but of pure love. He was almost searching his long lost mother's love here in her. She wanted to just break down but this was not the time to get emotional.
She gently disentangled herself, made him lie on the bed. The only name that came to her mind was Dhruv & she started dialling.
"He is down with some viral infection. He is exhausted due to his erratic sugar levels & lack of sleep. Did he forget his medications?"
She nodded mutely.
He looked at her forlorn face & decided that she needed some moral boost. He was honestly shocked at her condition. She looked miserable as if all the burdens of this world were on her weary shoulders. He realized that she was on the verge of a break down.
"Kushi pull yourself together. It's just fever. He will be ok by tomorrow."
She still looked glum so he placed a reassuring hand on her head & said "Kushi please believe me He will be just fine. Stop worrying. Take care of yourself or else you will be the next in line needing my medication"
"Thanks Dhruv." She gave him a weak smile.
Dhruv was not sure what to do. He knew there was some serious problem between Kushi & Arnav. Though both Anjali & Kushi had been tight-lipped he could gauge the friction in their relationship. The tension between them was palpable. He felt bad because he liked both of them. Kushi after all had been his best childhood friend in Lucknow & despite his gruff demeanour he still liked Arnav because he somehow knew that he hid a kind heart behind that arrogance & grumpiness. He had had a soft corner for Arnav from the time he met him though he never accepted this to Anjali always arguing with her about her brother's unbending nature.
Today he felt sad that these two people were not able to work out their differences since they apparently love each other madly.
Dhruv sighed. It was not right for him to meddle in their personal affairs. So he patted her reassuringly & left.
Her face kept floating before him. Every time he reached out to touch her, she vanished as if it was just a mirage.
"Kushi don't leave me"
"Arnav get up"
He opened his eyes & saw her sitting next to him, a soup bowl in her hand.
"Arnav you need to eat something only then i can give you tablets for your fever"
He nodded silently, took a sip & scowled. One look at her face & he started eating silently.
Kushi had to bite down her smile. God he was really just a grown up kid. He resembled a truant kid who was sick & was scared of his mom & hence silently eating lest him mom shouts at him. She felt a warm feeling of affection for him surge inside her.
He had finished & she wiped the corner of his lips with her fingers. He stiffened & she knew what he was thinking. Arnav back to his naughty thoughts. She smiled inwardly. Here we go.
She tried to get up & Arnav held her hand though not tightly.
"Kushi I am really sorry about yesterday. I was mad at you for not calling me & that's why..." his voice trailed away.
"Sorry" he murmured
She was stunned. Was this real or was she dreaming. She placed her finger in her ears & started shaking them.
"No need for all that drama. You don't have to mock me, behaving as if i have never apologized to you. In fact i have told you sorry many times before."
She looked at his glum face & burst out laughing.
"Kushi I.."
"SShhh Its ok".
He had still not let go off her hand.
"So does this mean i can touch you"
Now she was confused. What the hell was he ranting about.
"Yesterday you told me to take my hands off you, not to touch you"
She rolled her eyes.
"I saw that!"
"Since when have you taken my words seriously & followed it"
She then bent towards him & said "Enough of this. Just take rest. Get some sleep."
She was about to plant a kiss on his lips when he covered her mouth with his hand.
"No"
Ok so now its his turn to take revenge & adopt this no touching policy. She sighed.
"I am down with viral infection so i don't want you to catch anything". Having said this he pointed to his cheek & smiled.
She turned & closed her eyes. Hey Devi Maiyya every time i am angry with him, he does something so tender & loving that it melts my resolve & defeats my anger.
She turned towards him, kissed his eyes, forehead & finally his lips.
"Kushi"
"I don't care. Now you sleep & no phone calls from office".
She closed the door softly & then leaned against it. God just like how i can feel & understand his love, please make him forgive my betrayal & understand my love. Please Devi Maiyya help me win back his trust because i won his love long back. Its only his trust that i lost due to that creep. Please help me. It was a frantic plea because she had lost him once but she couldn't survive losing him again. She would die rather than live without him.
Edited by Angels11 - 13 years ago
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