Chapter 37 ' Night under the stars
Suitcases lay open on the bed, it was not going to get empty any sooner, and Arnav sighed at the weird ways of his wife. She was packing away their belongings taking care nothing was left behind; this was their last night in Greece they were leaving for London next morning. They were staying at a villa that offered every conceivable luxury and undisturbed privacy; the rental agency provided a maid for the villa for their two days stay and still Khushi wanted to do the packing. There was urgency in her actions and he smiled at her quandary, wanting to finish with the packing and spend time with him.
He sat with his laptop open, checking his emails and working; she had allowed him to carry his laptop on the condition that he would not spend more than one hour a day in front of it. In case he failed to comply with her set conditions she would unceremoniously terminate the ones she had agreed to. He called to confirm the tickets and hotel reservations in London, while she was busy running around the villa collecting their stuff and placing them neatly in the open cases.
Aman had kept him updated about work daily and he kept tabs on everything, fortunately nothing out of the ordinary had happened in his absence. He had requested Arjun to drop in to office to look into matters if required and he had failed to go there even once, nothing new in that; surprisingly Indira Bhabhi had gone there every day to check if there was anything amiss. When they had set out for the holiday, she had told him to take care of Khushi and not worry about the family or business, as she would be his right-hand woman in his absence and he had laughed at her offer. She stayed true to her word, it had helped Aman take a few decisions having her approve or sign documents as she too was a director of ASR Group.
The maid came in with a picnic hamper and in her heavily accented voice said "I have everything you had requested for madam and the place is arranged as per your instructions". She offered a book for Khushi to sign for the services and Khushi came up to him for money to tip her. He looked at her surprised, what had she planned? He quietly handed her a note not wanting to spoil the surprise she may have planned for them. The maid collected the tip and handed Khushi a receipt before excusing herself. "We leave at eleven in the morning tomorrow, please have our bill ready by nine; I would like to settle it before we set out for the airport and the taxi should be here at the scheduled time to drop us to the airport" he instructed the villa manager over the phone.
He looked at the hamper and then at his wife, waiting for her to explain its presence and divulge her plans. She did not pay heed to him and was finishing the last bit of her packing, leaving out the clothes they needed for the next day. Once done she glance at the clock in the room, "you have another ten minutes before your allotted hour ends Mr. Raizada, I want that laptop shut and put away before I come out of the bathroom" she ordered hands on her hips "aye, aye mam" he replied in amusement.
She came out wearing a long skirt and a peasant blouse looking fresh and lovely, he stood up to grab her for a kiss. She held her hand up stopping him "pick up the hamper Arnav we have to leave now". He looked at her and nodded agreeing to go along with her plan, curious to know what she had in mind. Linking her hand with his, she led him to the terrace of the villa; he took in the view and was blown away by the sheer beauty of the night. A thick quilt was spread on the floor with some cushions thrown on them. A few lanterns were placed erratically to illuminate the place enough for them to see each other. The breeze was chilly but not unbearably so, he watched her sit down on the quilt and fluffing the cushions; she lay down and beckoned him with her eyes to follow suit. He did so, placing the hamper near the quilt and lay down with an arm under his head and the other holding hers. They both lay like that watching the stars, the sky was inky blue-black sprinkled with bright shining stars. The tranquility of the night enveloping them; a witness to their love passionate and deep, reminding them of the depth of their feelings for each other.
She removed her hands from his hold and sat up, looking down at him she asked "Arnav, I want to know something and you have to tell me, it is important for me. Please" eyes beseeching, voice soft. He nodded and pulled her on to him, her face was pressed to his chest and his chin was resting on her head. She slipped her hand into his shirt, feeling his warm torso. He had a vague idea about what she wanted to ask but waited for her to start, adjusting her face on his chest to watch him when they spoke; she asked "why did you want to marry me Arnav? I knew back then you did not like me much, was it just attraction or something else."
He was not surprised with her question, his wife was predictable to a certain extent, and he was aware she was enthusiastic to know all the while and veiled her eagerness under the mask of indifference. Her head was moving in synchrony with his breathing. "You are going to listen to me, without interrupting, deal?" he asked, she nodded her head desperate for him to start. His hand was rubbing her back lightly when he started "I am not going too far back Khushi, just from the time I realized I felt something for you. You must have been sixteen or seventeen then, you were very attractive a lot flatter though" she slapped his tummy for that remark and he smiled. "It's very important for us guys Khushi''" he said noting her blush at the blatant reference to her breasts. "That is an interesting topic to discuss, we will do that for another day" earning a harder slap this time.
Pulling her closer he continued, "I came back after my graduation to find a very different you, the transformation was commendable. You were no longer the clingy little girl who stuck to my mother all day; I hated the attention Amma gave you when we were younger. Anyways, things didn't change much between us, you didn't care for me and that did not matter. I can't tell you the exact moment when I felt ahh''.I think I like her or she is so damn pretty. It took time and you helped a lot in getting me to like you" and smiled at her 'how so?' eyebrow lift. "By ignoring me Khushi, you have no idea the effect it had on me; when we were younger I took pleasure in troubling you, things were different when I came back, as you and I both were not kids anymore. The attraction I felt was strongly physical; I had women swooning around me and you didn't seem to care. That kept egging me to get you to like me, I did not succeed; you continued to stay distant and polite. I knew you were affected by me but not as much I was by you. You were different from the women I dated back then, it was your feisty attitude that appealed to me as much as your beauty. The only thought that always stayed in my mind those days was; I hope she is this aggressive in bed" stopping to see her reaction at his statement, sure enough her flushed and looked away.
Chuckling he continued, "you were off limits, I would not have a causal fling with you; Amma and Mamaji mean too much to me to risk anything. More importantly I would not do that to you, I may be a rogue as you call me these days but I am no cad Khushi. I would have not done anything had Mamaji not stated talking about the marriage proposals that were coming in for you. It started when you were in you final year of college and this did not go down well with me. I couldn't bear the thought of you being with anyone else. You would be mine and if I had to marry you to keep you by my side, I would." He stopped as she looked up with a jerky movement of her head and stared at him for a few seconds, "kiss me before you continue, I like the fact that you wanted me that bad back then" she demanded. He pulled her up for a brief kiss and then she went back to her previous position.
"I want you even more now, sweetheart, and a hell of a lot more. Where was I? Haan...I was unsure how my intentions would be received by Mamaji, knowing our history; I was sure he would refuse. To my delightful surprise he jumped at the idea, telling that was the best thing that could happen to him, me as his son in law." She looked at him throwing all the sarcasm she could muster on her face. "I know I'm that good darling, he wasted no time and it was agreed that we would marry as soon as possible, the rest you know. Does that answer your question?" he asked, tired of talking; he wanted to make love to her now. There was only that much of star gazing and talking he could do.
She did not answer and he asked her again "Is your question answered Khushi?" and she nodded and sitting up reached for the hamper. The maid had packed a light dinner as per her request and she was hungry, it would not be long before he would drag her down to bed. "Khushi'..what?" he asked, unable to read her. "I will accept your answer for the time being Arnav, you and I both know; there is more to you wanting to marry me than what you have just said" seeing his surprised expression she continued "it's not the funds that Bauji gives to the political party, the fact that or siblings are married too or the reason you just gave. I know it is something else and I will wait for you to come to me with it. I will respect the fact you don't want to tell me everything at the moment and can only hope one day you would. We cannot ignore the sounds our bodies our making, my tummy for food and yours for me".
He smiled at her and took the salad she offered; he had not expected her to be this perspicacious, half expecting her to buy the romantic explanation he gave her. Her reactions would be very different were she to know the real reason behind their marriage. Glad for her foresight to handle the situation tactfully, he had dinner quietly sipping the wine and admiring his now lost in her thoughts wife.
Standing up to move to the bedroom, he offered his hand to pull her up, she declined "you go down, I will come in a few minutes" he understood her need to be alone, she had requested him to be honest and he had not given that to her and was dealing with it in her own way. He picked up the hamper and went down to the room, he would wait for her. She watched him walk away with a dull feeling in her heart; she had been honest with her feelings and even professed her love. He was unable to do both, she had hoped for honesty and he did not give it to her today; whatever the reasons, she felt defeated. She had asked him to leave the past behind and look ahead, here she had asked him something which may have the devastating potential to upset their present and that could be the only reason for him to not share anything with her.
She went down to the room after a few minutes and found her husband in bed and from the doorjamb she could see he was not wearing a stitch under the duvet that coved him to his stomach. This was how it was going to be going forward; he would love her and show it in every possible way and best in bed. He may or may not be honest with her, the dynamics of their relationship had changed, and he would now do things that suited him. This too she saw as a punishment for her standoffish behavior in the past. Locking the door, she turned to him with a smile, it did not reach her eyes this he did not notice, focusing on her body as she slowly undressed.
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