Arnav Singh Raizada paced about his room in frustration. Never in his life had he felt so confused. It was like the world was playing a cruel trick on him yet again. He knew that the girl he had met at Mr. Singhania's party had been Ms. Menon. Yet she had been referred as Khushi Kumari Gupta by her family members. And that confused him even more. For he knew that Madhumati Sharma was definitely telling the truth. She was from a middle class family and she epitomized everything traditional and well rooted. Lies and deception were not her cup of tea. He had seen Payal as well. He knew that there was nothing wrong about her because he had done a background check on her and her family after Akash had confessed to him about how he felt about her. And Khushi was definitely Payal's younger sister. So was that who she actually was? Khushi Kumari Gupta and not Ms. Menon?
He ran his hand through his hair and sighed heavily. What was he supposed to do now? Should he treat her like a suspicious person whom he could not trust? Or should he give her a chance and behave like how he would behave around Payal's family?
He got up from the recliner having made an important decision.
Tomorrow.
He would deal with that girl tomorrow.
...
"Jiji! How could you do this? How could you not tell me that you liked Arnav Singh Raizada's cousin?"
"Khushi, I don't understand what the big deal is. Why does it matter if Akash is his cousin?"
"Of course it matters! I would never have let you say yes to his proposal if I had known about this!"
"What? Why?!"
"Because Arnav Singh Raizada is a selfish, arrogant, rude, obnoxious, self absorbed, high nosed, jerk! And I don't want my sister to marry into his family!"
"That's enough Khushi! I don't want to hear you speaking like this about anyone ever again. And exactly how well do you know Arnav Bhaiya that you're calling him such terrible names?"
Khushi sulked and looked down at her hands. She was not used to her sister scolding her like this but she couldn't very well tell her about each and every encounter she had had with that man. She would be mortified!
Payal saw Khushi's face fall and sighed. She cupped her cheek and lightly stroked her hair. Khushi turned to look at her, the look of betrayal still present in her eyes.
"Look Khushi, I don't know what your reason behind hating him is, but I can tell you that it's definitely some kind of misunderstanding. I've met Arnav Bhaiya a few times before and he's a very well mannered and decent person. Forget about me, Akash is completely in awe of his cousin. He's like a mentor and a role model for him and after the stories I've heard of him, I'm not surprised. Khushi, he had a tough childhood, that's why he's a little reserved. But he has a heart of gold and he loves his family the most. He's a very successful businessman as well and that means that he's worked very hard along with having plenty of brains. Khushi, all I'm saying is, don't judge a person so easily. There is much more than meets the eye and what the eye sees might not always be correct."
Khushi gazed at her sister while pondering over what she had just been told. She felt a twinge of companionship with him because of his love for his family. That was something they had in common and that's what helped Khushi make up her mind to give him a second chance. She agreed that he hadn't been presented with the greatest image of her and he wasn't completely wrong in reacting to her like he had. But that didn't take away from the fact that he had behaved abominably with her. No, they had both made mistakes and they both deserved a second chance. But for now, she decided to go to sleep as Payal had already started snoring lightly.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow she would deal with him.
...
Anjali Raizada was a very busy woman. Her cousin was getting married in a week's time and her interior designing work was going along brilliantly. She was slowly but surely moving up the ranks and the proof was that she had just received a call from a new client - one who was not from the high society of Delhi. This was a contract for a consultancy firm and it was the first time she would be undertaking such a venture. She felt proud of her achievement and couldn't wait to tell her family about it.
She spied Akash walking down the stairs and pounced on him eagerly.
"Akash! Guess what?"
Akash smiled at his cousin's enthusiastic face and nodded in question.
"I've got a contract for a consultancy firm!"
"Wow Di! That's great news! I'm so happy for you!"
He reached over and hugged her, genuinely happy for her achievement.
"I know! It's so exciting and to top it off, Payal and her family are coming over today to pick some clothes and jewellery for the wedding functions."
Akash's heart skipped a beat as the thought of seeing Payal took over him. Even though he had seen her yesterday only, he longed to see her today. He mentally thanked whoever had come up with so many ceremonies for a wedding which gave him ample opportunities to see his to-be bride.
"Chote, where are you going? You can't go to office today. There's far too much work to do over here."
Arnav frowned at his sister but gave in like he usually did. He couldn't remember the last time he had said no to her about something and smiled inwardly as she high fived Akash in celebration of her power over him.
The doorbell rang and Hari Prakash went over to open it. Arnav walked up to his room, not really interested in who had come.
...
Khushi walked into the majestic house and gaped as she looked around. The Raizadas were definitely very rich. She gulped as the enormity of the place and situation struck her. Her sister was marrying into a very different family from their own and she hoped that she would be able to fit in.
"How are you Buaji? All well I hope? And what about you Payal? Excited about choosing your wedding outfits?"
Payal nodded shyly as Madhumati spoke to Anjali warmly. They chatted briefly about trivial issues before Anjali caught sight of Khushi looking around with wide, awe-struck eyes.
"It is a rather large place, isn't it? Why don't you explore the place a bit Khushi? You might find it quite exciting."
Khushi nodded and smiled brightly. Now this was something she could definitely do. She got up and started her journey around the magnificent house. Each and every bit of it was beautifully decorated. The house was so tastefully done up that Khushi felt like she was in a fairy tale. She had only dreamt of such grandeur before and seeing it in front of her eyes completely fascinated her.
She had finished the ground floor and the first. All that was left was the second floor. She peered down the corridor and her eyes rested on a particularly fascinating door. She wondered what lay behind it and slowly opened it.
She gasped softly as her eyes took in what was inside.
It was a large room, presumably someone's bedroom, but it had a strange, magnetic appeal about it. Tons and tons of books lay on a row of shelves on one wall. Grayish green wallpaper adorned the entire room while exquisite furniture took up most of its space. A large plasma TV hung from another wall while a simple yet stylish sliding cabinet occupied the wall opposite. A magnificent bed lay backed up against the final wall and Khushi's hands itched to run over the soft mattress and pillows which were on it. But the most amazing part of the place was the French windows leading out to a beautiful poolside.
It sort of resembled a green house and Khushi took in the natural fragrance which wafted through the air. She was about to explore the poolside area a bit more when she heard a door open and someone entered the room.
She quickly went back in to find herself standing face to face with Arnav Singh Raizada.
She gulped in fear as she sought for some excuse to cover up her intrusion into one of the rooms in his house.
"I... err... I got lost..."
Arnav looked at the girl standing in the middle of his room. She was so different from what she was currently surrounded by. Everything around her spoke of precision and monotony. While she simply oozed color and unpredictability. He was about to snap at her when his decision from last night came back to him.
He nodded stiffly before turning away from her.
"That's alright but make sure that the next time you get lost, it's not in my room."
Khushi nodded her head quickly and dashed out of the room. She was amazed that he hadn't bitten her head off. In fact, it was quite surprising that he had actually, almost, sort of, behaved normally with her.
Now that she had decided to give him a second chance and her misunderstanding regarding him was slowly clearing, she had realized just how handsome he really was.
Her breathing got heavier as a pair of molten brown eyes flashed through her mind. She clutched onto her heart wondering why it was beating so fast.
...
Chapter Nine
Members Lounge
41