Burning in your Love (Parts 4, 5, 6, & 7) - Page 13

Part 6 Sagai 3: Rajkumari gets her Rajkumar

The rings went back to their boxes, to be taken out during the sagai. And the boxes went into Arnav's locker, to share room with his collection of Khushi's things... the pearls, mannat ki chaabi, stained hanky, a broken piece of red chudi etc

In the evening, Arnav bundled Khushi in his car to shop for clothes. All day, he had been helping HP and the others put up lights, hang garlands of flowers, rearrange furniture...He had tried to steal a few moments alone with Khushi, but had failed dismally. His family had seemed determined to tease him further by keeping Khushi away from him and interrupting them if she so much as happened to be in the same room as him. The only way in which he could see her or touch her fingers or hand had been by asking her for water, tea, coffee, or juice.

He had drunk so many glasses and cups of liquids that day that he would never be dehydrated in his entire life. Di had snickered that Chotey would spout water if someone poked him with a pencil, and Bubbly had been chasing him all afternoon, pencil in hand, to test the theory. Family! Couldn't live with them. Couldn't live without them.

He was relieved to be out of the house, which was overrun with event managers, decorators, caterers, and workers at the moment. He badly wanted some time alone with Khushi. So the excuse to shop had seemed heaven-sent. He had rushed her into the car before she could say a word.

Khushi sat beside him as the car raced towards some bridal boutique that Anjaliji had recommended. She could get lehengas or saris or whatever she wanted along with matching jewellery and accessories there. She looked at him. His stern face showed no expression, his eyes remained fixed on the traffic. She was not used to shopping in expensive places. Delhi for her meant Buaji's house, Arnavji's office, his home, a few temples in and around her Buaji's house, sabzi mandi, haggling with channawalas and chudiwalas, Happyji and Bediji, buying ber where ever she found them, munching on them while walking along the roads, buying cloth for dresses and stitching them at home, playing with the kids in her neighbourhood...Bridal boutique...He Devi Maiyya!

The car screeched to a halt at a traffic light. Khushi felt his warm fingers clasp her hand resting in her lap. He was looking at her, his eyes warm and tender.

"Tum Theek Ho?"

"Haan...", she smiled. His hold tightened pleasurably. Khushi felt her heart flutter. It seemed more prone to fly in his direction at the slightest wind than her light, flimsy dupattas!

Arnav parked his car, and led Khushi out to the dress shop that Di had been raving about. He held her hand, his fingers locked in hers...This was probably the first time that he had taken her out willingly...Earlier, it had been all about transportation. Now it was all about pleasure. He smiled slightly. The sales assistant who opened the door for them, later spoke to her friends about her vision of a God who had come down to earth, who stole hearts with his smile...

The boutique believed in the benefits of a lavish use of beige and pastel green colours. Plush carpets, cushy armchairs, silk curtains, spacious rooms, well-dressed assistants...the whole place reeked of money and exclusivity. Khushi's heart quailed. This was a Delhi she did not know!

The assistant led her to a changing room as large as her Buaji's living room, and indicated a huge display of beautiful, out-of-this-world lehengas. Khushi's trembling hand pointed to a coral one.

A while later, she was dressed. The boutique had offered the requisite jewellery, footwear, and clutch. The assistant took one look at her, a vision of loveliness, and exclaimed, "You are beautiful!". Khushi smiled and thanked her politely.

Arnav paced the length and breadth of the waiting room. He shouldn't have brought her here. The day they had visited a similar boutique a few months back...Khushi had been dressed in an expensive lehenga...and he, as usual, had torn her to shreds...crazy with jealousy that she could belong to another man...If Khushi remembered?...How could she forget?...She would remember..and be hurt...again...because of him...

She looked at herself in the mirror...and was reminded of the time when Lavanyaji had forced her to try out a costly lehenga in another boutique. She had been standing all dressed up, when Arnavji had insulted her and broken her heart. He had asked her to keep the dress as a tip, because she wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise. Her hand rose to her chest, trying to still the pain there. It was no use crying over events and truths that could not be changed. She was poor. He was rich. He had a tongue that could cut steel. She had to live with it...

The assistant interrupted her painful thoughts. She was led out to the closed and private cabin where Arnavji was waiting for her. He was talking to Aman, his head turned away from her. So handsome, even from the back. His broad shoulders, his cropped hair that defied discipline, his manly stance... all so beloved to her... Why did her heart have to latch itself to a man who was difficult to know and almost impossible to reach? She sighed silently. She sat down, waiting for him to turn around. She bent to fiddle with her Amma's payal.

He turned around sensing her presence, and the phone fell to the carpet, unheeded. She sat there, a princess in a fairytale, lost in admiring her payal, a beautiful, shy smile on her face, unaware of the world around her...waiting for the eyes of her lover to fall on her...

Khushi looked up to see a speechless Arnavji, totally lost in her, and blushed. His eyes caught hers, trapped them, and spoke to her. Following his silent instructions, she slowly stood up, and gently twirled. The dress fanned out and her eyelids fell over her eyes, hiding their shyness. Arnav wished that he could stop time, keep this moment with him always. She looked at him. The besotted, smitten look on his face was answer enough to a question she had not asked...How do I look?

The assistant entered to ask Arnav if he would look at sherwanis. He hesitated. He did not want any new clothes. He was most comfortable in his formal wear and his wardrobe held enough black, brown, & blue to last a lifetime.

But before refusing, he happened to glance at Khushi. She looked eager to hear his answer, while earlier, she had been a little withdrawn...

"Khushi, will you help me with this?"

She jumped up in joy. She riffled through an intimidating number of sherwanis before she picked a cream one. "This!", she declared, triumphantly.

Arnav smiled and entered a changing room.

Khushi waited impatiently to see him in the sherwani. She stood motionless, her mouth open, when he returned to the room.

He looked like a prince. And Khushi being Khushi, she just blurted it out. "You look like a Rajkumar!"

Arnav smiled. "Not the shaitan?", he queried in his husky bedroom voice.

"They are both the same."

"And both belong to the Rajkumari...for good or bad...for seven lives...", he drawled.

"Only seven?", asked an intrepid Khushi.

Arnav burst out laughing. "Always brave when the sun is shining...Will you be equally brave when the sun sets and we are alone in our room?", the shaitan asked with a pronounced twinkle in his eyes.

Part 7 SAGAI 4: My Prickly Rose

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/fan-fictions/2936253/burning-in-your-love-parts-4-5-6-and-7