OS: Kisses the Aftermath (Last part page16) - Page 3

Part 3

Khushee couldn't help glancing towards Aranav, who sat with a stern expression on his face, with jaw line set and eyes fixed on the road ahead. "Return of Mogambo!" thought Khsuhee to herself, "this laard governor will take a long time to change. The past few days were unsettling with his outrageously flirty mood but this is unbearable." She opened her mouth to say something but thought better and kept mum but Khushee being Khushee couldn't stop herself, "Did Anjaliji send you to pick me?" she asked only to receive a glare, "oh achaaa nani must have…. Haina?" she continued daringly when she jolted as the car stopped with a screech. She looked around to realize that they were at the RM. Within seconds Arnav was by her side with the door open waiting for her to descend while she fought with seat belt trying to unbuckle it and failing. With a suppressed growl Asr leaned forwards to release the catch and unknowingly made her heart stop beating.

Arnav heard her catch her breath as he moved forward to unbuckle the seat belt. He could smell her perfume or was it her shampoo that smelled of lavender. He turned his head slightly to look into her wide doe-like eyes and was almost tempted to try the experiment of the night before. "Want to finish the bet?"he baited Khushee reminding her of the bet. "You've kissed me twice but not for the bet. Khushi Kumari Gupta do you ever think before talking?" he asked with his to-die-for smirk. "No answer now eh? The cat got your tongue or….?" It was khushee's attempt to move away from him that suddenly brought him back to reality and he quickly moved away cursing under his breath and the car door closed with a loud thud behind Khushee startling her.

"Khushee Kumari Gupta, no need to give the news flash to everyone that you came with me!" warned Arnav, "No…. no questions," he continued when Khushee opened her mouth to say something. "Your kiss," hissed Arnav, "has turned Nani and Di's antennas on and you can be assured if they try to rub it in you will be in deep trouble! Make sure they get off my back!" came the royal command from the man who of course walked away with his head held high with all the pride and glory of a King with Khushee staring at him with her fists clenched.

"So you want them off your back, you will get that Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada, you don't know what Khushee Kumari Gupta is made up of!" said Khushee chewing on each and every word. "Aaarrrgghhh! Uff he is so arrogant, laard governor kahi kai!" She stomped towards the door but didn't forget to rearrange her expressions lest people automatically conclude that it was ASR who was responsible for her piqued state. "Namaste nani ji, namste mamiji, namste anjali ji" Khushee greeted everyone with a smile and turned towards the one and only to say, "Namaste Arnav ji, kaisay hain aap? We meet after so manyyy umm hours, haina?" only his glare made her realize that many hours ago only she had pulled that typical sanka-devi stunt, "hayeee devi maiyyaaan aap nai bhi na, you've made me such a big mouth! Kuch bhi nikal aata hai iss sai!" she chastised herself mentally and quickly turned towards the first person who came in sight. "Oh Nanhe ji! Namaste," she sighed with relief at his sight and also remembered mission get-nani-and-di-off-Asr's-back. She batted her eyelids at NK and held his arm to lead him to the side and started talking to him animatedly all the while making sure they were in full view of the two ladies.

"Anjali bitiya were we wrong about Khushee?" Arnav heard Nani behind him. "I don't know Nani I simply fail to understand what's gone wrong with the world these days, mami ji is acting like a 10 year old, Chotay is beyond me, aur yeh, yeh tu is never at home! And now Khushee ji is sending mixed signals!" said an exasperated Anjali and ASR almost chuckled out loud at her annoyance. "Not bad Khushee not bad my girl! You've got some spunk" he thought. He looked towards the corner where NK stood with his spunky girl, he didn't really like what he saw but he moved away very carefully and retreated back to his room. People disturbed him, he always felt out of place in parties but he not only had to attend these circuses but also plan them. He stood by the pool looking up at the sky, trying to find his stars, his parents. Sometimes the pain was too much because at time like these he wanted nothing more but put her head in his mother's lap and empty out his heart to her, tell her about his worries like he did during school and college years. She could always rub off the creases on his forehead, show him a silver line in a dark sky and get him up on his feet again. And today he needed her more than anyone else; he didn't know who to talk to about what was going on in his heart and mind. "Oh, Khushi……….."

With Havan over everyone sat in a circle chatting with each other. Khushi teased Payal and Akaash to her heart's content. However, the lights had dimmed for her eversince she saw Arnav walk out of the living room to go to his room. Her eyes had followed him up the stairs and across the corridor and her heart seemed to have left her and went after him. She has immediately left NK's side and sat with jiji. And now everything around her failed to cheer her up. "Dinner is served," informed Anjali and invited everyone to have dinner. "Go call chotay." She told Akaash who immediately showed reluctance to leave Payal and Khushi as usual volunteered before thinking about what she was volunteering for. Like a student sent to the Principal's office she set out for his room and knocked at his door only to find the room empty. She stepped in to check the poolside and saw him standing staring at the stars. Just like in the car, he again had an intensely sad aura around him. Clearing her throat she attempted successfully to get his attention.

He was aware of her even before she cleared her throat and without even turning he asked gruffly, "yes what do you want now?" "Anjali ji is calling you down for dinner," came a quiet reply and he affirmed with a mere nod. He could sense her presence even then and was forced to turn his head and inquire what was wrong. "aa,…aap theek hain?" came the classic dhakka-start question. "why wouldn't I be? Why do you ask that and do you even care?" came the stern string of questions from Arnav. "Your eyes. They give you away Arnavji, they have a lot of pain in them." Khushi said reading his soul. Arnav suddenly turned around and walked towards her while she retreated back into a corner, "Stop it, stop it right now! You have no right whatsoever to pry into my world Khushi Kumai Gupta, stop thinking you know everything and get the hell out of here before I lose control!" he growled under his breath. Breathing deeply he tried to regain his control as she almost stumbled out of his room. "No Khushi no. I wish I could love you but I won't, I can't go through the hell again, not again……."

This wasn't the first time she had to hear this but this time instead of indignation she felt a pang of hurt, not for herself but for him. Someone she had hated from the beginning but now couldn't muster up enough dislike to stay away from him. Something made her want to ease out all the pain in his eyes, rub off the creases on his forehead. "Can she ever go back to hating him?" she asked herself, "No," came the instant reply. "I wish I could hate you but I can't and I don't know why. Not yet at least" she walked away.

Originally posted by: moon_mine

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