Part 14
The hushed whispers from outside and the clanking of the steel utensils against one another as Buaji stacked them away, filtered through to Khushi's room as Arnav sat there immobile, staring at the place where Khushi had been sitting not even a few moments ago. He sighed loudly, closing his eyes, as the weariness and tiredness weighed him down, unsure of what to do, but wanting to do something, anything to help her, to somehow take away her pain so she would stop hurting as much.
Arnav slowly got up, stretching out his long legs, his shirt crumpled and wet around the shoulders from where Khushi had been resting her head, crying, Arnav lifted a hand, swiping his finger across the tear-stained shirt, bringing it up to see the wetness on his finger, his heart clenching painfully in his chest as the realization that the girl's life had been forever altered in a matter of a night. To lose a parent, to lose a loved one, Arnav understood that very well.
He closed his eyes again, wishing the pain would leave her somehow, and felt his shoulder slouch as he realized that no matter what he did, she would still mourn and hurt over her father's death, and all he could do was be strong for her and be there for her when she needed for him to be.
********
The door creaked open, the dullness of the apartment striking him as he stepped in, his body crying from fatigue and his sore muscles aching as he continued to walk through to his bedroom.
He carefully placed the briefcase on the table, aligning it perfectly well to the edge of the table, and continued to walk ahead, not bothering to switch on the light.
He went to his cupboard, opened the drawers and took out his normal black nightshirt, before halting, and his eyes closing painfully, the tears stinging the back of his eyes, the wailing sounds filling his ears, the gasping, the ache in the pit of his belly to run to her, pick her in his arms and take her away. Somewhere safe, somewhere afar where he could drink away her pain, not let anything cause even the slightest of pain, and keep her with him at all times.
His hands bunched up the shirt, before he loosened his hold, carefully pressed out all the wrinkles with the pads of his thumb, gently stroking over the fabric, his eyes still closed and still lost in the thoughts of her.
Opening his eyes, he gave out a deep sigh, his throat clenching with unshed tears as he mourned for her loss. Carefully placing the shirt back in its shelf, he took out the white kurta, and went towards the bathroom to have a shower. He could still feel the flesh of babuji as he had forced him under the water, he could still feel the sting where the nails had tried scratching and causing pain, he could still feel the revulsion and anger that had taken over him in that moment.
As he stepped into the shower, his hands running through his hair, plastering it back, and closing his eyes, leaning his head back to face the stream of water, a slow smile spread his face. He imagined her with him, in the bathroom, running her fingers over where Babuji had scratched and tried to harm him. He imagined her kissing away the pain, he imagined her smiling up at him with her eyes twinkling the way they always did, the way her lips first curled upwards, before stretching out and a radiance that emanated from her being, something that made him feel alive be being in her mere presence. He imagined her body flush up against his, wriggling in his hold, the wetness rubbing against his own, soft gasps and moans filling the bathroom, as she would close her eyes, the black hair falling over her broad hips, as he would pull her closer. He imagined her kissing away the droplets on his skin, as her own nails dug into his shoulders, anchoring him close to her. He groaned out loud as he imagined her own hands running down her body, over his chest, feeling the hardness…before they travelled lower…. fingers brushing against the trail of hair...as they travelled lower…lower…
********
Arnav picked up the cushion on which Khushi had been sitting next to the window, and carefully placed it back on her bed, aligning it so it matched the others on her bed, before straightening up and stepping out of the bedroom, ready to leave from there.
********
Shyam shuddered as the pleasure racked through his body, leaning against the tiled walls, breathing hard, the water turned cold, Goosebumps erupting over his body as another shiver raced down his spine. Cleaning up and closing the shower, Shyam stepped out and picked out the perfectly folded towel next to the sink, wiping away the droplets of water, a small smile resting on his face as he continued to imagine her with him, as he imagined a life with her, and imagined a world where she'd never be apart from him.
********
The three women sat on the couch, Garima staring at the floor, the life completely drained out of her as her eyes refused to lift up to acknowledge the familiar stranger – the same one she had warned them about, the same one she had warned her husband about, and the same one her husband had gone to speak to the others about.
"Garima! Garima!" The shout came from inside the room, and Garima quickly turned off the gas, hurring into the room, her sari pallu tucked into her waist as she stared at her husband a little breathlessly, a spatula in her hand, and the atta on her face from the hurried cooking she had done in the morning to make sure she had some food to serve her husband.
"What now?" She asked, as she looked at him wide-eyed, her mind reeling with all the work that was still pending as she saw her husband struggle with the buttons of his kurta. Tutting, she placed the spoon on the bed, and hurried towards him to help him with the kurta, already thinking about the laundry she needed to finish before noon, so it would be done in time for the sun to dry them off, before picking them up and ironing them to place them back in the cupboard. Not to mention the cooking! She needed to think of what to cook for tonight's dinner. Which reminded her that she needed to bring groceries! So much work!
She bit her lip as she pulled on the button a bit harder, getting frustrated, as it wouldn't go in. Shashi's hands wrapped around Garima's wrists and halted her movements.
"What's the rush?"
"You're getting late. I have so much work to do! And this button refuses to cooperate!" She complained, her voice getting wobbly as the stress started getting to her. Shashi wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, as Garima relented and rested her forehead against his chest, her own arms wrapping around his form.
He hugged her tightly to himself, breathing in deeply, and Garima felt the tension ebbing away as a serene calmness took over her, the stress leaving and her mind clearing itself from the confusion and haphazardness she felt since morning. Giving out a sigh she nodded to indicate that she was okay, before he gently pulled away. He smiled down at her, his eyes wrinkling around the corner, and she had often teased him that as they would get older, he would look like the old uncle, while she would remain to be young.
He bent down and brushed his lips against her forehead, as Garima closed her eyes and leaned into his embrace,
"I don't know what I'd do without you" She muttered softly,
"You wouldn't have to worry about that" He chuckled, "As long as you continue to serve me burnt food, I can guarantee that I'll never leave you"
Garima smacked him on the arm, a slow blush coming on her cheeks at his teasing, leaning into hug him once more, knowing that it would be another seven hours before she would see her husband, and knowing that every minute away from felt unbearable.
Garima slumped against the couch, her face completely devoid of emotion, her body drained of energy, and her eyes dry and clear now knowing that she was alone, and her husband was never coming back.
********
"Garima" Madhumati said quietly, her own eyes tearing up as she looked at her sister-in-law looking down at the floor, her no recognition in her eyes as she continued to delve into her old memories. Seeing the stranger man who had proclaimed to be Akaash's colleague step out of Khushi's bedroom, Madhumati stopped and stared at him.
Her eyes travelled to her niece, who was heating up some food in the kitchen, her red nose and red eyes evidentiary of the fact that she had finally succumbed to her feelings and let them out. She closed her eyes as a small tension left her shoulders and looked back at the stranger to see him continuously glancing at Khushi, who steadily avoided his gaze, his eyes softened and thoughtful.
********
The phone rang shrilly, and broke all the family members form their thoughts. Arnav realized that he had overstayed his welcome, as Khushi was rudely brought back from how she had broken up in Arnav's arms, Madhumati was brought out of her helplessness at the situation, and Garima was briefy interrupted from the memories that had continued to plague her mind.
As Khushi had moved towards the phone, wiping her hands on her suit to clean them, she steadily avoided Arnav's gaze as he looked at her, and picked up the ringing phone, holding the receiver close to her ear, her voice soft and low.
"Hello?"
Silence as all that was heard from the other end of the phone, and Khushi frowned holding it closer, thinking that the person may be speaking softly.
"Hello?" She asked again, and waited for them to respond but she only heard silence.
"Is anybody-"
"I am sorry for our loss" A slow, solemn voice spoke from the other end, the hoarseness startling Khushi as her eyes widened briefly in surprise, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion, before she spoke again,
"I…who is this?"
She was met with silence once again, and she looked at the receiver curiously, unsure of what to make of the conversation. She held it close to her ear again, and spoke,
"I am sorry, who are you?"
Silence was all that she was met with, however Khushi was sure that the person was on the line as she heard the breathing deepen and quicken as the time passed by. Feeling her skin prickle with Goosebumps as a shiver of fear passed down her spine, Khushi immediately placed the receiver back on the phone and stared at it for a few minutes, unable to comprehend or make sense of the strange phone call, but her instinct told her something had been wrong about it. She wrapped her arms around her waist, just as Arnav spoke up behind her, causing her to jump slightly in surprise,
"Are you okay?"
Khushi turned to respond, however a knock on the door interrupted her. She glanced at the time and saw it was approaching 10 at night. Frowning at the late night visitor, she went towards the door, acutely aware as Arnav took a step towards the door with her, aware that a visitor this late at night was uncommon.
She opened the door, and her face drained of all its colour as she recognized the same men from the afternoon staring at her. The man, whom she recognized to be the leader out of the three, stared at her, his eyes slowly travelling from her face, to her chest, lingering there, before moving further down, then making their slow trail back up. Khushi looked away in disgust, anger taking over as she started to shut the door in their face, when the man suddenly blocked it with his hand.
"Tsk tsk" He muttered, a smile on his face, showing his yellowing, tobacco-stained teeth, and Khushi looked away in disgust, "Don't make the same mistake your mother tried to in the morning. Consequences won't be pretty, jaaneman"
"Is there a problem here?"
Khushi felt her heart skip a beat as she felt the heat of Arnav's body on her back as he came to stand behind her, his arm holding the door with Khushi, a hand coming to rest on her waist, as he pushed her to the side, and stepped in front, gently shielding her from their view.
The man looked up at him, the smile faltering before moving to Khushi who was hidden by Arnav's view, before he grinned, a small laugh escaping his lips, the skin wrinkling around his eyes and Khushi stepped closer to Arnav, her hand resting on his back, lightly fisting the material in her hand as her heart accelerated in her chest.
"No, officer" He sneered, "We came to give bhabiji this"
She felt Arnav's body stiffen in tension as the words escaped the man's voice, and he thrust the material in Arnav's arms, before turning on his heel and walking away, the men already seated in the jeep, starting the vehicle. As the men sat in, laughing loudly, and creating a ruckus, the jeep soared away from the neighborhood, and Khushi closed her eyes in defeat as she looked at the red cloth peeking from the bag, knowing that the Jha's had sent for more stuff to make her officially their bride.
Arnav's gingerly opened the bag and looked into it, his face losing its colour, before looking back at her, confusion written in his face, before it slowly dissolved away, his features twisting up into one of anger, his eyes hardening, his lips thinning and dipping around the edges as his jaw tightened and he glared down at the red cloth in his hand and the diamond ring.
"Khushi, what the hell is going on?"
Would absolutely love to know your thoughts on this part! Thank you so much for reading! :)
Edited by Krani - 12 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
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