Arnav
I walked in the same direction she'd run off but I couldn't find her. I'd lost her again. The great Arnav Singh Raizada had lost her again.
In my dazed state, I drove to my house, probably breaking every traffic rule. As soon as I had my feet on the floor, I went straight to the bedroom. I pulled out the partially unpacked suitcase and pulled out the photo album.
I had to make sure that I'd actually seen her there at the Dargah and that it hadn't been a figment of my imagination which had gone wild ever since she'd left. I saw her everywhere! In the kitchen, making jalebis, on my bed'sleeping peacefully, in my office'staring at me while I did my work, in my nightmare'where she left.
I braced myself and opened it, knowing exactly which picture I'll see.
It was the first picture I'd ever seen. The first picture of Khushi Kumari Gupta I had ever seen. It was the very same picture that my cousin, Akash had provided me with. My thought immediately flashed back to that day: (flashback! 3rd person POV)
"Bhai...just take a look once! If you don't approve, I'll end this discussion right here." Akash pleaded Arnav for the nth time to look at the picture.
"Akash!! I don't want to get married!" Arnav groaned.
"But why bhai? And trust me...if I didn't think you two would make the perfect couple, I wouldn't even initiate this talk!"
"He's right." Payal, Arnav's sister-in-law and Akash's wife, walked in holding Arnav's cup of favourite sugarless black coffee.
"Bhabhi...you too?" Arnav said dejectedly taking the cup from her.
"Yeah. It's about time you got married. And I really like this girl. I've met her before." Payal explained to her beloved brother-in-law.
Payal and Arnav were as close as best friends got. She cared for him like a mother, loved him like a sister, and supported him like a friend.
"Okay...explain this to me...how is it that she's AR's employee and I, the owner of AR, have never seen her or met her?"
"I told you...she's in the new branch and besides...she works in a department you barely visit." Akash explained. "She's a friend to me bhai and I know that you two will hit it off well! I'm not even asking you to meet her, I'm just asking you to see her picture and we can go from there!"
"Akash is right." Arnav's Nani walked in with Arnav's Mama and Mami (maternal uncle and aunt) on her tail.
"Hello hi bye bye Arnav Bituwa. What izz the problems in looks at the pictures?" Mami pressured further.
"okay fine!" Arnav rolled his eyes. His entire family had been on his case for two days about this one particular girl. Annoyed, Arnav held out his hand to Akash and Akash put the picture in his hand.
Arnav scanned everyone's faces and each pair of eyes in the room was on him. "What the--. Do you all have to watch me look at the picture?" he glared
Nani and Manorama pouted, but left with mama-ji following them as usual.
"Unbelievable" Arnav said before finally looking at the picture. Originally, his plan was to quickly glance at the picture and give it back saying he wasn't interested. But he didn't. More like, he couldn't.
It was her smile. Just looking at her picture told him that she would be vibrant and bubbly. Just the way she smiled and held herself in the picture was enough to give Arnav Singh Raizada a hint of her personality. He had looked at numerous pictures of models and interpreted them; of course he had practice with this sort of stuff.
She was nowhere close to a model...in a good way... There was almost no make-up on her face, her straight and long hair was left open. There was a natural beauty to this girl that made her more attractive than any of his models who needed a heap of make up to look good.
Payal and Akash exchanged a look when Arnav looked at the picture for a while.
Payal cleared her throat. "Khushi. Her name is Khushi. See! Her name itself is happiness. She'll fill your life with joy and chase away the loneliness." Payal stroked his hair affectionately and gestured for Akash to follow her out of the room.
Just as Akash and Payal reached the doorway of ASR's room...
"Fine...book me an appointment with her. I'd like to have a meeting." he said in his usual businessman tone.
Payal whipped around in surprise, slightly exasperated at his tone. "Appointment? Meeting? We're talking about your marriage! Not some business deal!"
"Payal...don't complain..." Akash warned lightly. "It's a big deal in itself that bhai has agreed to meet her."
"I'm glad...I'm sure they'll hit it off...as long as Arnav keeps his businessman attitude out of it.." Payal said with a finger to her chin.
Arnav frowned. 'Will you two stop talking about me as if I'm not here? And no need to get too excited. I'm only agreeing to see her because all of you are so keen on it."
Arnav had put the best of his nonchalant-self out there but he knew that he wanted to meet her. And he also knew that his brother and sister-in-law saw through his charade.
A few days after this fiasco, Akash poked his head into Arnav's room and saw him working on the laptop.
"I hope you're coming for dinner..." Akash said.
Arnav looked up and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Don't I always?"
"True...just change into something else okay?"
"What? Why?"
"I'm sure you won't go and meet Khushi while wearing a hoodie and jeans."
Now Arnav was really confused so he just stared at his brother, waiting for him to give him an explanation. When Arnav didn't look like he got it, Akash went on.
"Your meeting's been booked. It's today for dinner. That's in an hour. Sorry for the short notice, sir." Akash said scared out of his wits -- more like imitating 99.99% of ASR's employees.
Arnav rolled his eyes, "whatever. I'll be there on time as usual."
When Arnav walked into the sitting room of Raizada Mansion, Akash was filling the rest of the family in on some information about Khushi. Payal, Nani, Mama, and Mami listened intently.
"She's very sweet, very polite. She can have a conversation on any topic except for one...her parents. All I know is that they passed away in an accident when she was eighteen."
Nani gasped. "Then who does she live with?"
"Alone." Akash explained. "She took care of herself since then. She completed her education and she works are AR. She's independent and strong. Just like Bhai. That's why I'm really pushing this on him...even Bhai's parents...bhai and Khushi would understand each other. And honestly speaking...marriage talk is just an excuse to get them to meet. Even if they become just friends...Bhai will have someone he can share his feelings and thoughts with. He's been bottling up everything so that we're not bothered by it. Bhai needs someone he can tell everything and Khushi will understand everything he has to say...that I'm sure of."
Arnav listened carefully from a distance and it was at the end of Akash's description of Khushi that he really entered the room and sat down with the others.
"Arnav..." Nani began.
"Don't worry Nani. I'll be nice." Arnav said knowing very well what she would say.
After a few minutes of chatting, the doorbell rang. Arnav's eyes darted to the door but he didn't move. After all the discussions about Khushi, Arnav was actually secretly looking forward to meeting her.
Akash went to get the door while an awkward silence quieted the room. Arnav could feel every pair of eyes on him.
"Okay everyone! Meet Ms. Khushi!" Akash announced.
"Ms. Khushi Kumari Gupta." She corrected him in a chirpy voice. A petite girl stepped around Akash, a bright smile on her face, joy reflecting off of her face, a vibrant energy rolling off of her body and filling the room. She folded her hands together in a respectful gesture and nodded gently in Nani's direction. "Namaste."
Nani smiled at her and greeted her as well. Khushi went ahead and touched Nani's feet. Clearly, the girl was well rooted with her culture.
Arnav watched, amused, as she greeted everyone with a smile. How could someone be so happy? Especially when they were all alone in this world. Arnav's perceptive eyes noticed that her smile got just a tiny bit smaller when she looked at him.
"Good evening sir." She greeted him.
Arnav was slightly taken aback at the greeting. She had greeted him differently, with a different tone...the tone his employees used when talking to him. Was she scared of him?! But what?? Hell, Arnav hadn't even seen this woman before!
"Sir? It's not his office. This is our house. You can call him Arnav...or ASR if you please." Payal stated.
"What's do you does to your workers Arnav Bituwa...they seems scared of yous!" Mami teased.
Arnav's anger level increased a little at the jab but the fact that Khushi was looking at him kept him quiet.
"I'm sorry Ms. Gupta...I don't recall seeing you in AR." Arnav said.
"Oh...I'm sure. I've seen you almost every time I come to the new office but you're always either on the phone or yelling at your staff...oh crap...um...sorry."
Akash burst out laughing and everyone just looked at him like he'd lost it.
"What the!" Arnav exclaimed.
"Hello-hi-bye-bye Akash Bituwa, what happens?" Mami asked her son.
"Nothing...this just reminded me of how I'd first met Khushi...she was so shocked by how terrified everyone is of the 'boss'. She didn't realize that I'm the boss's brother and so she was going on and on about how to tame this 'lad governor'."
Khushi's jaw fell open and she playfully slapped Akash's arm while everyone laughed and Arnav glared. Khushi avoided looking at Arnav.
"You weren't supposed to mention that!" Khushi complained to Akash, her cheeks going red out of embarrassment.
Arnav wondered if she knew what the Raizada family was up to. She sure as hell wasn't acting like someone who was meeting a prospective groom! Surprised by his own though, Arnav shook himself mentally and pushed the thought aside.
Throughout the dinner, Khushi and Arnav exchanged minimum words. Arnav was amazed at the fact that she was able to carry out conversations with each member of the family, including him! She made a few attempts to include Arnav in the conversation but failed.
Arnav knew he wasn't the easiest person to talk to because almost everything he said was definite and barely ever open to discussion. He also refrained from expressing opinions and feelings unless he felt absolutely necessary. It had become difficult for him to talk about his feelings once his parents had passed away and so he just kept everything bottled up.
But tonight, he could honestly say that he had honestly tried to keep in the conversation but because of the way he was wired, he was mostly quiet.
For the first time, all the family members saw Arnav trying to have a conversation. It was also the first time everyone saw and realized how close Akash and Khushi were as friends.
An hour or so after dinner Khushi asked to take their leave.
"My car's gone for service...I need to get home before public transit is done for the day. This isn't India...I can't hail myself a rickshaw!"
Everyone giggled. Akash put a hand on her shoulder. "No...I'll drop you..." Akash said, picking up his keys.
Payal looked at Arnav and then at her husband. "Absolutely not! You're not going anywhere. You have to take me to that place you promised!"
"What place?" Akash said confusedly.
"How would I know? You said it would be a surprise. Arnav will drop her. Is that okay Arnav?"
Realization dawned upon Akash and he decided not to say anything. Arnav looked at Payal with a ghost of smile playing on his lips. He resisted the urge to shake his head at her. He knew exactly what she was doing.
"Yeah. No problem. I'll drop her." Arnav said coolly.
"Uh...Its fine really...I'll manage." Khushi said cautiously.
"How will you go alone at this house?" Nani asked.
Khushi gave a sad smile. "I'm sure I can manage. I've been alone for five years now."
Nani felt bad for making that comment. No one could figure out what to say and an awkward silence took over the room.
"I'm sure you can manage but let me drop you. Consider it my chance to change my reputation of being a lad governor. Please?"
"Okay..." Khushi shrugged.
The goodbye greetings had a different tone than the 'hello' greetings. She touched feet of the three elders, gave a hug to Payal and a friendly side hug to Akash. Arnav couldn't help but briefly wonder how she would bid him goodbye.
He swept the thought out of his mind as she walked towards him. He gestured her to go first and he followed. He could almost hear the smiles and the thumbs-up sharing going on behind his back.
Once they reached the car, being the gentleman he secretly was, he opened the door for her.
Gaping at him, clearly surprised, Khushi climbed into the car muttering a 'thanks'.
Just as Arnav slipped into his seat behind the wheel, his phone rang.
The phone rang in the present too. The shrill ringtone snapped Arnav's mind back into the present. He closed the album and set it aside, knowing that he won't be able to look at it anymore. He took a calming breath and answered his phone.
"Hey Arnav." The person on the other side greeted him.
"Hi Lavanya. How are you?"
"Good. How are you doing, ASR?" She asked back in a joyful tone.
"Alright I guess."
"Sorry if I disturbed anything. I just called to remind you about your appointment with the manager of the orphanage."
"I remember. I'll be there on time."
"Have you decided if you're going to adopt a son or a daughter?"
"No. Nothing yet. Listen Lavanya. I'm sorry, but can we talk tomorrow? I'm a little out of it right now."
Lavanya hung up after bidding him a good night. She knew better than to bug ASR further if he didn't want to talk. Arnav looked wistfully at the album but then changed his mind. He grabbed his car keys and practically ran out of the house.
On the other hand, Khushi had been just as flustered to see him there, if not more. She'd been thinking about him ever since she returned from the Dargah. There were many memories that dwelled in her mind but for now, one particular memory floated around in her mind. The night when Arnav had come to drop her after she'd met the Raizada's for the first time.
She'd had a great time with the Raizada's, but having said that, she did wish that they hadn't asked Arnav to drop her. It wasn't that he was a bad guy...she already knew that he was the type of guy who seemed tough and angry to the outside world but she'd seen the obvious love he had for his family and the calm and gentle person he was outside of the office. She just didn't want it to get awkward between them. She was actually sort of thankful for the phone call that had interrupted as soon as he'd gotten behind the wheel.
She obviously had a hint that Akash was up to something. She had no idea when she'd walked into Raizada Mansion, but as the evening had gone on, it had occurred to her that they were constantly trying to push Arnav and her together. She was going to have to ask Akash what exactly he was trying to do.
"I'm sorry about that."
Khushi jumped slightly in her seat. She was so busy with her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that his call was over.
"Oh...uh...no worries..." she looked ahead. "Do you ever stop working?"
"Excuse me?"
Crap. Had she said that out loud? Well...since she'd already blurted it out...might as well ask him...
"Do you ever stop working?" Khushi repeated.
When his expression became dark and ASR-like, she knew she had asked a bad question.
"Working keeps my mind off of other things." He said flatly.
She decided to not comment further. He was mainly quiet after that. He made a couple of unsuccessful attempts to make small talk. Clearly, he didn't talk much.
Khushi actually felt sorry for him. She had never thought that she would feel sorry for the great Arnav Singh Raizada. Khushi snapped out of her thoughts when Arnav came to a stop in front of her apartment.
In reality, she wished that he would drop her all the way to her doorstep. He turned out to be one of those few people with whom you didn't need to talk constantly to have a good time. Silent periods weren't uncomfortable or awkward with him. That was rare for Khushi because she loved talking.
Besides, she got this weird feeling when it was time for her to step out. It was almost as if she didn't want to say bye and leave. She wouldn't admit it to herself till later, but she knew she wanted to spend just a little bit more time with Arnav. He was amusing.
She looked over at him wondering how she should bid him goodbye. She'd easily hugged all of his family members but he didn't strike her as a person you'd hug and cuddle.
He seemed to be thinking about something too, trying not to look at her. She put a hand on his arm gently to get his attention.
"I'm sorry if anything I said bothered you. Normally I just blabber on and don't realize what I'm saying." She said apologetically.
Her heart nearly stopped when he gave her a faint smile. "It's okay."
"Thank you for the ride."
"Anytime." He shrugged.
With a smile, she stepped out of the car and closed the door. She bent until she could see him through the window. "You're not like how your employees describe you."
By the time he had registered what she had said, she was already walking into her building.
Part 2 (The Proposal): Page 10
First of all, A BIG Thank you to everyone who responded to this FF in any way...clicking 'like' button, sending me messages, commenting on the thread itself! All this support is very encouraging and inspiring! Thanks a lot!
Now coming to the part...that was the first part of 'Beauty & the Beast'. It was more of an introducing chapter to familiarize all of you with the characters. I hope that wasnt too boring. I promise the next part will be better. (I've tried my hand at humour...). I hope you all enjoyed that! Please do leave your comments. They are very encouraging!
Love,
Katie <3
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
37