Arnav checked the time on his watch once before heading towards the luggage belt. He knew he would have to try very hard before his Di would even speak to him. He had brought tons of gifts and presents to make up for what he had done. An emergency in the London office had required him to travel there for a few days and in those few days he had missed the mehendi and sangeet ceremonies of his sister and cousin. Akash wasn't a grudge bearing type and he knew he would just have to go and speak to him and he would be completely fine. Not that he really expected Akash to be mad at him. He would probably be too busy staring at Payal to notice that his cousin was absent.
Now his Di would be a completely different matter. She always wanted her Chote near her whenever there was something important happening in her life. And what could be more important than the ceremonies leading up to her wedding.
Arnav checked whether he had all the bags before pushing the trolley towards the car which had come to fetch him.
...
He had made it just in time for the haldi ceremony and the house was in complete disarray. There were people everywhere and the only thing that could be seen more than people was haldi. Arnav grimaced as the smell came towards him and looked around for any familiar face. The first one he saw was of his Mami.
"Arnav bitwa! You are back! And you have got gifts! That is even better!"
"Manorama, let the poor boy get inside the house properly before you accost him like that."
Arnav smiled gratefully at his Mama and gave his bags to Hari Prakash to take to his room.
"Mamaji where are Di and Akash?"
"On the terrace, getting the haldi all over them."
Arnav nodded and decided that he would meet his Di later, when she was not surrounded by millions of people. Millions of people who would try to put haldi on him.
...
At around four in the evening, Arnav walked into the living room to see his Di sitting and chatting with Nani and Mami.
"How was the haldi Di?"
Anjali looked up to see her little brother and was about to smile brightly but checked herself just in time. She turned away from him and spoke to the wall.
"Fine."
"Di please don't be mad. You know I had to go to London. It was a very important meeting."
"Whatever Chote. It's very clear where your priorities lie. Your work is more important to you than your Di."
"Di don't say that. You know how much I care about you. Please don't be mad."
He sat down next to her and took her hands in his. Anjali saw the pleading look in his eyes and immediately her heart softened. She really couldn't stay mad at him for a long time.
"I'm really sorry Di. Please forgive me. You are the most important person in my life. Don't you ever forget that."
Anjali felt her eyes well up with tears and Arnav mistook them for tears of sadness. He felt horrible for being the reason behind her tears. He couldn't understand what to do and closed his eyes and said the first thing that came into his mind.
"Toffee se meethi hai, churan se khatti hai. Khatti meethi hai teri kahani. Anjali Di hai sabse sayani."
Anjali's eyes grew wide and she stared at her brother as millions of memories flitted through her mind. It had been years since she had heard him say that particular rhyme. It brought back so many wonderful memories and she completed her bit as tears slid down her cheek.
"Papad ka tukda hai, jab dekho ukhda hai, deta hai apne Di ko aasoon mote mote. Woh hai gusse wala, humara Chote."
Arnav watched as his sister's face broke into a radiant smile. He smiled as well and only looked away when he heard sniffling noises from around him. His Nani and Mami were crying as well. After so many years, their Chote had returned. He was back to his old self and they would be forever grateful to God for bringing him back to them.
His Nani got up and put her hand on his head, blessing him with all her heart. Mami got up and landed to big kisses on either of his cheeks and he smiled uncertainly as his Di burst into giggles.
"Chote, you've finally got a woman's lipstick mark on your cheek. But sadly it's just Mami's."
The three of them laughed heartily as Arnav glared at them. He looked around for something to wipe the lipstick off him and found a white cloth on the centre table next to some of the materials used in the rituals.
He used it to wipe both his cheeks and then glanced at Anjali to find out whether the marks had gone. But he found that Anjali was staring at him open mouthed, Nani and Mami mirroring her expression.
"What? What's wrong? It's not gone yet?"
He wiped his cheek again, a little harder this time and looked up only to see his Di trying very hard to suppress her laughter. He raised an eyebrow and wondered why she was acting like this.
"Mami, can I borrow your mirror."
Mami took out her purse and thrust her handy make up mirror into Anjali's hands, who opened it and put it in front of Arnav, beckoning him to look at the reflection.
Arnav was horrified to see dull, yellow streaks across both his cheeks. He had unknowingly put haldi on himself and he groaned in frustration as he realized just how ridiculous he was looking.
"Damn it! Who left this cloth here anyway?"
He picked up the offending article to examine it closely and his eyes almost dropped out of his head when he realized what it was.
On the bottom, right hand corner was stitched in fine, black thread; three letters that made Arnav's heart skip a beat.
KKG
He gulped a couple of times as the subtle fragrance from the handkerchief pervaded his senses. He quickly stuffed it into his pocket and marched up to his room, muttering explanations.
"Umm... this-this is mine. I-uh I left it here by mistake."
Nani looked at Anjali, highly confused by Chote's behavior. Anjali in turn smiled knowingly before leaning over and whispering into her ear.
"Nani, that's the handkerchief Khushi used to wipe the haldi from her cheek before leaving with Payal's share."
...
Today was the big day. It was finally time for the double wedding. Arnav exhaled deeply as he prepared himself to face the hoard of people downstairs. It had been a mutual decision to hold the wedding at Shantivan and he realized what a task it must have been for everyone during the few days that he had been away.
About an hour after he had arrived downstairs, he heard someone scream that the baraat had arrived. He smiled as he wondered exactly which baraat they were referring to. One was sitting comfortably at the wedding hall and the other was coming to their front gate with a lot of pomp and cheer.
He watched as giggling girls and excited boys headed towards the door to welcome the guests and his heart filled with a sense of pride that his family was responsible for putting a smile on so many people's faces.
"Arnav bhaiya, Akash bhaiya is calling you to his room."
Arnav nodded at Hari Prakash before walking upstairs.
...
Akash had been getting last minute jitters and it had taking a long and stern speech from Arnav to finally calm him down. Almost immediately Akash was called for the exchange of garlands. Arnav nodded reassuringly and they both walked down together.
Arnav saw two beautiful women standing at the mandap. One was his Di and the other was his soon-to-be Bhabhi, Payal. Anjali was looking beautiful in her bright red lehenga choli, her hair was pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head. She was wearing their mother's jewellery and Arnav felt his heart sink as he remembered her. She would have been so happy to see this day.
Payal was dressed in a maroonish red lehenga choli, her hair similarly done up. Her jewellery was much less extravagant but beautiful none the less. She was looking at Akash shyly while he just stared at her. Arnav nudged him in the ribs and only then did he realize that he had been staring at her so obviously.
Satvik was standing a little behind Payal, adorning a smart white sherwani. He looked every bit the handsome, dependable young man Anjali had fallen in love with.
Arnav looked around but couldn't spot anyone else from the Gupta family.
Satvik and Anjali exchanged garlands first as everyone cheered along. Arnav lifted Anjali off the ground so that Satvik couldn't reach her while Satvik was lifted up by one of his friends, a man Arnav did not recognize. After a few friendly tugs and pushes, they both managed to exchange garlands.
It was now Payal and Akash's turn. Akash was anyway a lot taller than Payal but Arnav picked him up none the less. He was enjoying the humorous exchanges between all the family members when his eyes landed on her.
Khushi had just pushed past the crowd and was busily cheering for Payal. She was wearing a deep purple lehenga with a full sleeve silver choli which was just short enough to give him a tantalizing glimpse of her flat stomach. Her hair was done up in a complicated braid and tiny silver beads lined the top of her head like a crown. Arnav's throat constricted as he realized just how beautiful she was looking. In his absentmindedness, his grip around Akash loosened a bit.
Khushi's attention was diverted from the garland exchange when she saw Akash fall down to the ground. Her mouth opened wide and she turned to glare at the person who had dropped her friend and soon-to-be Jeejaji. Her eyes locked with the molten brown ones of the offender and the time seemed to stop right then and there.
He was wearing a very sober three piece suit but the man was just too handsome to not turn heads in whatever he wore. She gazed at him while a faint blush started to creep up on her cheeks. He was staring at her with such intense eyes that she felt like she would be scorched by the heat.
"Arnav! How could you drop me like that?"
Arnav turned around to face his accusing cousin. He apologized, feeling really guilty but his mind was actually elsewhere. He looked around again but couldn't find her anywhere.
...
The two couples were situated at the mandap, the priest performing the needful rituals. Arnav's eyes wandered around the room till they fell on the girl who didn't seem to ever leave his thoughts.
He walked over to her side and she stiffened a little but didn't move away.
"Hey."
Khushi wondered if she had heard correctly. She turned her head ever so slightly to make sure that she hadn't imagined the greeting. He was indeed standing right next to her, maybe a tad bit closer than he should and looking at her expectantly. But she was still mad at him for missing half the functions and moved her head a bit a too deliberately, making sure that he got the message.
Arnav watched as Khushi looked away from him and wondered why she had done that.
He spent the entire evening trying to talk to her but she would somehow or the other to avoid him and walk away. It was getting quite annoying now and Arnav was beginning to lose his cool. He spotted Khushi standing near the plastic chairs, talking animatedly with the man who had lifted Satvik up. For some reason he felt angry on seeing her being so friendly with a man whom she didn't even know.
He strode up to them purposefully and stood right in front of her so that she couldn't ignore him. Khushi turned towards him and glared before smiling at the other man and beginning the introductions.
"This is Arnav Singh Raizada. He is a businessman. He loves his work so much that he didn't attend the majority of the functions prior to both his sister and cousin's weddings."
Arnav's eyes narrowed as the young man next to Khushi looked at him slightly amused. He put his hand forward and Arnav shook it, rather too tightly because the former winced slightly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm NK. I'm Sa-"
"He's a dear friend of mine and I haven't met him in years. So if you wouldn't mind Arnav, I'd like to continue catching up with him. Excuse us."
Arnav watched as Khushi led NK away. Rage boiled within him and he stomped off towards the counter to get a drink of water.
...
It was almost time for the bidai and Arnav couldn't find Hari Prakash anywhere. He was going towards the kitchen when he heard voices coming from the room next door. Curious, he went closer and strained his ears, trying to catch bits of the conversation. His jaw clenched as he realized that one of the voices belonged to Khushi and she was speaking to some man.
"So Khushi what's in the bag?"
"Just some stuff for Payal's bidai. You know I'm going to miss her so much."
"I understand. It's ok Khushi. Please don't cry. Here take this tissue."
"Thank you NK bhaiya. I'll try not to cry too much when I say bye to her forever."
Arnav felt his heart get ten times lighter as he caught a few parts of the conversation. He felt bad that Khushi was so upset but his heart was leaping with joy because of two words.
NK bhaiya.
...
Lots of tears were shed during the bidai and Arnav felt his eyes moisten as Anjali clung onto him and cried. They were both remembering their parents and the thought of parting made them even more tearful.
Khushi had tried very hard to keep a brave face but had relented when she saw Payal crying helplessly in Shashi's arms. She hugged her cousin, knowing that this was always going to be a difficult moment. They had spent their entire lives together and parting was a terrible feeling
Arnav watched as Anjali got into the white car with Satvik, flowers and decorations showing that it belonged to a pair of newlyweds. The rest of the Guptas followed in a larger black car and Arnav's heart sank a bit more as he saw her crying her eyes out and waving to Payal.
...
It was two o' clock in the morning but Khushi hadn't been able to sleep a wink. She was so used to having Payal next to her that every time she looked at the bed, her eyes would well up. She sighed and hugged the pillow closer to herself when a strange noise caught her ear.
It was a weird rattling noise and Khushi heart froze as she wondered where it was coming from. Her eyes scanned the room but it was difficult to understand anything in the dark. She was about to get up and switch on the light when she saw a shadow at the window. Fear seized her as she made out the silhouette of a man, tall and well built climbing into her room through the window.
She was about to scream when the man clamped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened considerably and she struggled as the man held onto her tightly. She suddenly opened her mouth and bit his hand, ushering a loud and very familiar reaction.
"What the-?!"
Khushi spun around and looked disbelievingly at the person in front of her. Hair falling on his forehead all messed up, dressed in tracks and a yellow t-shirt, stood Arnav, rubbing the place where she had bitten him.
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Arnav!"
She rushed to him and began rubbing his palm with her fingers. Then a thought struck her.
"What exactly are you doing here at this time of night?"
I-err, that it... Actually, I needed to give you something."
Khushi eyes scrunched together as she stared at him. Had he completely lost it? He had come all the way here, at this time at night, because he wanted to give her something?
Arnav watched as Khushi face changed into an incredulous expression. He couldn't very well tell her that he had been missing her and had desperately wanted to see her once before he went to sleep. The fact that she had been wide awake was another matter altogether. He hadn't considered the possibility when he had snuck out of Shantivan. He had thought that she would be fast asleep and he would just catch a glimpse of her and then return quickly. He was now feeling highly embarrassed that he had been caught and that too by her.
"Well I'll be going then."
"What? Already? But I thought you said you had something to give me?"
She turned around and felt something brush against her right cheek. Heat flowed through her body as she felt something prickle her cheek. It was followed by a completely different sensation and Khushi's heart almost stopped beating for a minute.
"I already gave it to you."
With that he hopped out of the window, leaving behind a flustered Khushi. A blush gradually tinted her cheeks and her heart began beating wildly. Her hand went up to her cheek to touch the place where his lips had just been a few seconds ago. Her face flamed as she realized just what had happened.
Arnav had kissed her...
...
So in exchange for this chapter, I'd like loads and loads of comments please! I worked really hard on it and I expect some appreciation. 😊
Chapter Eleven
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