Differences Between Us :: Arshi FF [COMPLETED] - Page 17

NK stared at her helplessly and she felt a prick of guilt. She had hurt him.

"Dekhiye Nanheji, humaara voh kehne ka matlab nahin tha!" she continued to rectify the wrong she had done. "Aap humein bohot ache lagte hain, lekin ek dost ke jaise... Maaf kijiye, Nanheji, lekin hum aapse shaadi nahin karsakte..." (Look Nanheji, that's not what I meant! I really like you, but just as a friend... I'm sorry, Nanheji, but I cannot marry you...)

To her great surprise, he stood straight with a sigh of relief. "Really?"

Khushi frowned slightly. What the hell was wrong with this cousin of hers? One minute he was proposing, and the next he seemed happy she had declined him.

"Nanheji? Aap theek to hain na?" (...Are you alright?)

He chortled nervously, ruffling his hair. "Voh, Khushiji... don't take it wrong, okay? Actually, Garima Aunty ne mujhe forcefully aapko propose karvaaya. Main sach mein aisa karna nahin chaahta tha!" (... Garima Aunty forced me to propose to you. I really didn't want to do that!)

She rolled her eyes. She should have known by the maniac look she had seen in her mother's eyes earlier.

***

"Teri himmat kaise hui, moorkh ladki?" Garima shouted after her second daughter who was stalking angrily to her father's study. (How could you, stupid girl?)

"Amma!" Khushi swivelled on her feet rebelliously. "Humne Nanheji se na kaha kyunki hum unse shaadi karna nahin chaahate! Aapko unhein majboor karne ki kya zaroorat thi? Aur vaise bhi, Nanheji humaare bhai samaan hain! Hum unse shaadi kaise karsakte hain?" (Mom! I refused him because I don't want to marry him! Why did you have to force him? And anyways, Nanheji's my cousin! How can I marry him?)

"Moorkh! Moorkh ho tum! Ladka paise vaala hai, Australia mein rehta hai, dikhne mein bhi achha hai! Aur kya chaahiye tumhein, Maharani? Aur to aur, tere bauji ke deehant ke baad yeh sab kuchh Nitesh ka hi hone vaala hai. Agar tumne usse shaadi ki, to sab tera hi rahega!" (Fool! You are a fool! He's rich and handsome! What else do you want, Queen? And on top, he's your father's heir. If you married him, you'd get everything!)

Khushi rolled her eyes and went to her room itself closing herself in to flee from her mother's monstrous stupidity.

***

"Khushiji? Aapko return visit dena hi padega!" NK insisted after he had loaded his luggage in the taxi. (...You have to give me a return visit!)

A whole week after Rakhi's wedding, he was heading back to Melbourne where he lived. He had been pestering Khushi since a couple of days to come over too, for at least a week. Just as she opened her mouth to refuse him over again, he lifted a hand to stop her.

"Melbourne pohonchte hi, main aapko ticket bhej dounga, and I don't want to hear a 'no', okay? Aap mujhse vahaan hilne aana padega!" (I'll send you the ticket once I reach there [...]? You have to come move me there!)

Khushi ended up laughing. "Hilne nahin, Nanheji, milne!" (Not move you, Nanheji, meet you!)

NK chuckled too, shaking his head. "Khushiji, you're the only person who is patient enough to put up with my hopeless Hindi and correct me. All the others just laugh at me. Thank you, Khushiji."

"You're welcome!"

He extended his hand to her, his eyes full of hope. "You'll come meet me?" he asked again.

She glanced at Shashi who smiled at them, approving. Khushi giggled. "Theek hai! Jab aap kahein!"

***

As promised, NK sent the ticket for Khushi as soon as he reached Melbourne. Khushi would take a flight in three weeks' time. Payal had already returned from Jaipur till then; she was better, but still a bit heartbroken. It made it difficult for Khushi to go.

"Tum theek to ho, na, jiji?" she asked anxiously, one last time before she got inside the car their father had rented to drop her to the airport. (You'll be fine, right, jiji?)

Payal sighed without a word and shoved her little sister in the vehicle. She had assured Khushi over a billion times she was fine and she would be during her absence but the latter would adamantly not stop fussing.

Khushi fidgeted as Shashi drove away, feeling guilty for leaving her sister like this. As she passed Bindi's Dhaaba, she noticed someone waving at her with a large grin. Shyaam. She smiled and waved back. Even though she was going for a week only, she knew she would miss Kolkata and its people.

***

She had spotted NK at once and he had nearly jumped with excitement on seeing her. Khushi had had a quite difficult time as this was the first time she was taking the plane, and on top of that, she was all alone.

"So, Khushiji? Aapko mera ghoor kaisa laga?" (...How did you find my stare?)

"Ghoor nahin, Nanheji, ghar! Aur humein aapka ghar bohot hi achha laga." (It's not stare, it's house! And I like it a lot.)

He stuck the tip of his tongue out, pinching his ear in apology. "Okay, now you go rest. Raat ko humein baahar jaana hai." (... We are going out tonight.)

***

"Nanheji, aap humein kahaan leja rahe hain?" (Where are we going?)

"Don't worry, Khushiji. Mere ek friend ka birthday hai, hum ussi ki party mein jaa rahe hain." (... It's my friend's birthday, we're going in his party.)

"Lekin Nanheji, hum-" (But Nanheji, I-)

"Lekin kuchh nahin! Aaj koyi bahana nahin chalega, you're coming with me!" (No 'but's! You're coming with me and that's final!)

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the building into his car and zoomed off.

***

The party was unfortunately not very much her genre. NK wanted to take her back home but she could not be that selfish. So, she insisted he stayed with his friends sometime, she could wait for him in a corner till then.

Khushi sat in the far back of the room, pouting slightly. She felt disapproving looks on her all the time and she knew why. People were finding her weird because she was wearing a churidaar. But what could she do? She couldn't be comfortable in western clothes.

"Kissi ka intezaar hai?" a voice asked from behind her. (Waiting for someone?)

She turned, surprised to heard hindi in this unknown land. She found herself facing a handsome young man, about NK's age smirking at her.

"Ji?" (Sorry?)

"You're alone or waiting for someone?"

She frowned slightly. This man was a total stranger to her and yet he was acting as though they were best buddies since they were in diapers. Wait! Was he trying to flirt with her? She crossed her arms on her chest defensively.

"I'm here with a friend."

He raised his brows. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"I don't drink."

The man laughed loudly. "What's your name?"

"Hey! Aman! Happy birthday, man!" NK came along and hugged the man who had been flirting with Khushi, slapping his back noisily. "So you met Khushiji?"

Aman grinned at Khushi mischieviously. "To tum NK ki girlfriend ho?" (So you're NK's girlfriend?)

Khushi's mouth dropped open while NK waved his hands in denial. "No, no, no! Khushiji meri aaj raat ki tareek hai. You know, my date? Just for tonight, else we're just good friends!" (... Khushiji's my date...)

The two others looked at each other and burst laughing. NK's hindi was one hopeless case. Khushi wished Aman and they talked for another few minutes before Aman's phone rang.

"Hey, bro! Where are you? Ahan... ah! Okay, wait, I'll just come!" he glanced at Khushi and NK happily. "Give me a second, my cousin's here. I'll open the door for him."

They nodded. As Aman left, NK went to get her something to drink. She scanned the dance floor with bored eyes. There was nothing desi here and she really felt very tired, maybe she would ask NK if they could leave when he returned. It was Aman who came back first.

"Khushi, I want you to meet my cousin..." but she stopped hearing whatever he said after that. It was like she had gone deaf. Her eyes widened and her breaths stopped, though her heartbeat increased. She stared at the man who stood beside Aman, looking at her with reciprocal emotions flashing on his face.

A man she hated more than anything else. A man she never wanted to see but who always ran into her by the purest coincidence.

Arnav Singh Raizada.