FF:We Are Together#3-ON HOLD - Page 4

Khushi was sitting on the bed consumed up in her world of thoughts, when Arnav had entered inside the room, his entire form still badly shaken by the condition he had seen his sister, and now seeing the helpless state Khushi was in, it just made him twist Shyam's neck and put an end to the chapter of him forever.

She looked as he entered, seeming more wary, then he did in a long time, and putting not much of a chatter, he gave her, her medicines, changed the dressing on her hand, all in complete silence and disappeared in the washroom to change into his pajamas. Once he was out, Khushi kept staring at him waiting for him to share what was going on in his mind, but then she remembered her state, and the kind of barrier she herself had enabled him to build between them. He walked towards the bed, and lied on it seeing upwards towards the roof, and then craned his next sideways to see Khushi still seeing him not the least bit sleepy like he expected her to be.

Ar: Khushi, go to sleep. You need to rest.

Kh: And you? Since how many nights have you not slept? And if I am not mistaken this night is another one of them isn't it?

Arnav looked at her a bit flustered, trying to bring himself to look at her, but he had a made a promise to his sister about not revealing any of the latest developments to Khushi until she was in a healthy state to take the shock of it. He stared into her eyes deeply, and slowly even though he knew she thought he had built a wall around himself for her, she was just wrong this time, that wall, it would never be up again, because he had let it crumpled down just for her. Silently, he picked himself up and kept his head on her thigh much to her surprise, but she let it go quickly, and happily ruffled his hair, smoothing down his hair while he closed his eyes to let the essence of his wife's love capture him and put him into sleep.

Kh: (softly) Go to sleep. I am here, you don't have to worry about anything.

Arnav smiled a slow soft smile to himself, these words were enough to put his mind to rest. These word were enough to let him know that his strongest pillar was still by his side, however fragile she seemed physically, mentally she was the strongest person he had come across. There was no comparison for her and his sister at all. Khushi could feel her own sleep washed away somewhere she didn't know existed, looking at his calm features, when in sleeps, those worry lines that were marring his forehead and spoiling his handsome perfectly chiseled face. She couldn't help but stare at his close eyes, and how peaceful he looked when sleeping, letting her own mind wander into the wilderness of the questions she thought she could run away from.

She had told him to give some time, she knew in her mind she had a lot of sorting out to do still, she knew that the current circumstances required just that from her, and there was no denying that she too was tired of clawing her way out of everything. She wanted it to end soon, even though deep in her mind she realized how it was only the beginning. Her eyes wandered outside at the moon lit sky, the stars twinkling and she smiled at them, tears falling down her eyes when she remembered of how there were so many people who had turned into stars. That night on the moor, with him on his childhood playground like Aakash Jeeja ji had told her, she had seen that same spark in his eyes when he looked up at the sky to imagine his mother seeing down at him. Somewhere, deep within him he searched for people in the stars too, somewhere everybody searched the stars for way to look, some took it literally, while some knew they had to take it as just an inspiration and nothing else.

The sunlight broke inside their room, as she had seen all of it, nature at its best, the stars fading away and the sunlight replacing it, that orange haze in the sky, and the yellow light that was now penetrating through the large windows in their room hitting her square in the eyes, making her squint. She was still moving her palm around the brown mush of his hair, when she saw him dizzily fluttering his eyes open, those molten bronze eyes of his taking their time to adjust to the sudden hit of sunlight in the room. He felt the soft skin of her thighs moving beneath him as he shifted his head, and still in a blur of events, he let his eyes wander up at her face shining up, greeting him a good morning with that charismatic smile of hers.

Removing his head from her thigh, he sat up rubbing his eyes furiously, and looked at her in a comic kind of way until he gained sense of how she had been awake all night and still looked fresh as if she had just had a bath.

Ar: (groggily) Khushi have you been awake all night?

Khushi remained silent. She knew he would go all feisty if she told him that she had stayed awake all night, so she kept quiet and kept smiling at him softly. Arnav kept his hand on her forehead and checked her temperature and then retreated it back to find it just normal. Done that, rested his hand on her cheek as she doubled it up with her own and looked contentedly in her eyes.

Ar: Khushi you shouldn't have done this. You should have woken me up.

Kh: Why would I do that? Your head on my lap is the best thing that has happened to me in quite a long time. I didn't want to spoil it.

He smiled at her a little, and then took out the dressing box, changing the dressing on her hand and then went off to the washroom to change his clothes while she waited all along for him to return back. Arnav came out of the washroom fresh, and rushed down to tell Hari Prakash to bring their breakfast up. He checked on Anjali before going back to his room, and just found out Shyam leaving the room and her still a sleep. Looking at her once, he went back to Khushi who was trying to get up, when he had just made it in time to stop her from collapsing.

Ar: (angrily) Khushi down try anything funny you understand? (seeing her getting scared he calmed down and made her sit) Look Khushi, your legs are still not fine, I don't want you getting anymore injured, please try to understand, I am sorry for being angry butt..

Kh: (pleading) Arnavv, please stop saying sorry to me all the time? Cant it be like before when you did such things that were worth a sorry but you never said it? I don't like it.

Ar: If it was still like before maybe you and me wouldn't be the way we are right now.

Khushi sobered up, and looked away tears trickling down her cheeks. Their was not much blame that they shared, because for whatever had changed they were both equally responsible for it. Arnav got up to give her, her medicines but she stopped him and made him sit yet again.

Kh: Are you not going to teach me how to walk? Or should I try my tricks again?

Arnav looked at her softly, and held her two hands in his, being extra careful with her burned flesh, and helped her off the bed. Closing her eyes tightly and mustering up all her courage, she walked taking one step another, a step one more. In between she fell but he held her onto it, together, their was slight improvement by the end of an hour, but still nothing was back to normal at all. He saw how un fresh and sticky she looked, and even her dress was getting all crummy, so he picked her up in his arms and took her to the washroom making her stand on her feet gently, and helped her with the basic necessities, however when it came to bathing and changing her clothes, he knew she would just feel a bit too awkward and was about to leave to go call Payal when she stopped her and caused her to turn back.

Kh: Where are you going?

Ar: To call Payal. She'll help you bath and change your clothes.

Kh: (timidly turning a bright red) You sure you don't want to do it?

Ar: (smirking but looking at her still surprised) You have no problem?

Kh: (blushing a beetroot red) I think we are lawfully wedded.

He could only smile at her timidness right then, since laughing would make both of them feel uncomfortable, and after having fetched some clothes from the wardrobe, he started to undress her which made her quiver all the more. The more of her flesh came into his sight, the more she started shivering, until their was a point where he had to stop, and look at her shying away, face extremely drained of any color.

Ar: (worriedly) Khushi are you alright?

Kh: Yeahh'yeahh..I am fine.

Arnav stared at her hard for a good two minutes, but then began to continue with his work, finally having all the clothes off her and picked her up yet again, fully naked keeping her in the bath tub, and handed her all the toiletries she would need, keeping the towel near her, and walked out of the washroom to give her her time to bath. Still rosy red, Khushi wiped herself away, that tingling sensation of his touch on her never going away, her own senses aroused to such extents she didn't know was exactly did she feel right at the moment. Their physical intimacy and the mental understanding that they had developed with each other, had only made her more determined that she would do whatever it take to set their equation back on track. She had enough, of that sorrow, enough of that bridge, she wanted him, every part of him, and she didn't care whatever it took her to do that, she was going to back him back, she was going to get her Arnav back.

After she was done bathing and had draped herself in the towel, she tried to get up from the bath tub, but with the unsteady crash that would have happened, she held on tight to the bathroom taps for support. Arnav hearing the clatter of toiletries inside the washroom, peeked in, and then rushed inside to see her in a disorientated state helping her out of it and in the their room leaving her on the bed, and secured the lock to the main door, shutting down all other windows or anything else which might let stuff being inside seen by people outside. What was like the most effingly difficult task ever, he helped her get into the clothes, mostly because most of the time was spent changing her position, so he could get the things in order. Khushi tried to be as quiet as she could, when he touched her skin, or when her burned wound felt itchy so that he wouldn't be troubled enough about that. By the time they were done, Khushi who was dry had now made Arnav completely wet, dripping in water.

The next two weeks had not been anymore eventful it was the same life going through, a complicatedand maze where everybody was deeply stuck in. Anjali's life had turned from bad to worse, with Shyam's torture on her only growing, and it had been taking all of Arnav's will power to control himself from doing anything drastic. Much of his time was spent with helping Khushi trying to walk, and even Anjali finding it as a very good source of distraction, though it reminded her of all Khushi had to bare for her, she spent time with Khushi keeping her good company for how as long as she could.

All the time Khushi's head had sorted things out, that she needed times for, something remained still tangled, like Anjali's weird behavior, and Arnav's way too reserved nature. She was happy that things between the siblings seemed alright thought her mind was aroused as to how everything was fine in what was a matter of days without anything of news happening in the house. Anjali and Arnav fighting was news, them patching up was also news, but it felt odd that she had no real information about any of it, which kinda made her feel more and more suspicious about what was happening. Aakash and Payal had had different intuitions regarding Anjali's self-consumed behavior, and even Mami and Nani seemed troubled about it, but by the end of two weeks when Khushi's hand looked a lot more better, in fact it was on a good way to recovering, and the lost sensation in her legs, much to Arnav's tireless efforts had also been restored, none had come to know still what was the problem with Anjali.

Shyam had been plotting over and over again, and had doubled up his guard regarding Anjali and rest of the people in the house, especially Payal and Khushi, who seemed to be a more better position to give away his truth than Anjali did. Continuous threats about destroying Arnav and Khushi, had kept Anjali shut, but there still a lot of figuring out for him to do about Payal and Khushi.

Next morning, after what was like two weeks of no office for Arnav, and a over burdened Aakash with loads of works, Khushi thought that since she was in a better position right now it was only safe of Arnav to go to the office now, since his business needed him more than she did now. Arnav woke up to find Khushi out of bed, only to find her standing by his wardrobe and picking out one of his Armani suits from their. Groggily, he walked towards her seeing her still unaware of his presence behind her deeply consumed in her work, and tapped her shoulder to which she turned around and deeply smiled at him.

Kh: Good that you are up. I was coming to wake you anyway.

Ar: (confused) What are you doing?

Kh: Taking out your clothes for office.

Ar: I am going to office today?

Kh: (puzzled) What do you mean? Ofcourse you are! You have been sticking for too long at home Arnav. Jeeja ji is overburdened with work, and besides now I am a lot more fitter, there's no use of you to stay around in the house.

Ar: No. I am not going. AR is doing fine, I keep checking on it. Besides walking on to legs is not called fit, it just means that you need to get better.

Kh: (holding his shoulders) Arnavv please. I can't see you neglecting your work like that. Please, I promise to take care of Di and stick with her the whole day if you go to the office.

Arnav shuddered hearing her words, and for a minute he had to ponder over the possibility of her knowing something, but it sounded absurd that she would. If she did, she was surely going to take about it with him, after all things were not as bad as they were between them, it was slowly becoming alright, thought the last straw for it was still needed. As much as he wanted to stay at home, he didn't want to make Khushi think that things were just as worst as they were before, and he did not care for whatever she thought. Thinking that Aakash needed the break from office, he nodded at her and changed into his clothes making it the first thing on his list to check on his sister and let Aakash know that he would stay home and keep a check on Shyam.

He was just fixing his tie in front of the dressing table, when Khushi walked in with the breakfast tray and made him eat it checking if he had all the things he needed. He smiled at her vigilance a little, feeling highly proud of having a wife as caring as loving as her, maybe she was the best he could get, however their was this empty feeling inside him that made him slither back in pain. Her time that she had asked for was killing him, he wanted her to talk and let him know that things were still good between them, that he still could repent, and nothing was just as worst as he intercepted it to be. Her asking him time, had given him some advantage though, it had enabled him to plan more carefully regarding Shyam's actions now, and had made it appoint to seal both his and Anjali's account, even put all courier packages under his own strict vigilance so that nothing would go a loof.

Khushi saw him lost deep in thought, and pondered over the possibility that he might just be thinking about the same thing that she was about to talk to him about. Knowing nothing better to do, as he was wiping away crumbs of food from his mouth and had gotten up, about to leave she called for him and he turned back looking at her skeptically.

Kh: Arnav I am ready to talk.

Arnav looked at her questioningly and then remembered what she was referring to, nodding in response and was about to walk out of the room, when she much to the hard work he had done over the weeks stood perfectly alright on her two feet, and stopped him with her un injured hand to turn him around looking deeply into his eyes her tears falling on his hand.

Kh: I am sorry for making you wait.

Ar: (putting his fingers on her lips) No, I am thankful you asked for your time.

Kh: (questioningly) Why?

Ar: You will know when its time.

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Precap

Kh: I wish Kriya Maa was alive today.

Arnav froze hearing her words, and his grip on her loosened a bit as he started recollecting memories of himself with his mother, the lovely times that were long gone and would never come back. His mind was in a giffy polluted with that blazing fire, his burning mother, no, he closed his eyes tight to block those treacherous images from his head but all they did was keep coming back over and over again.

Ar: (slowly) Why?

Kh: (looking up at the stars) Because I wanted to thank her.

Ar: (confused) For what?

Kh: For you. If it wasn't for her, I would never have gotten you.

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