*None of my work can be copied without explicit written permission from me. It's not polite to steal ideas.*
Precap: Payal and Khushi work together catering for wedding parties to get the remaining money. After Khushi returns her ring to Arnav, he decides not to go to Aman's birthday party. Shyam finds out that the sheet of paper for Khushi's house is missing in the documents. Due to dignitaries staying in Sheesh Mahal, Arnav decides for the Shradh pooja to be held in the Purani Haveli in Lucknow instead. Anjali convinces Arnav to go for the party as he had been brooding for the past few days which leads to a funny chance encounter with Khushi in the Men's restroom.
Let's proceed now 😊
Chapter 10 Back to square one
Scene 1
[Garden Club Resort]
Arnav walks out of the restroom in a much better mood. In fact, he is feeling happier than he was when he left the house. The chance encounter, however shocking, was so... Khushi-esque! Of all the people in the world, only she could get herself into situations like these. He slowly shakes his head indulgently as he walks back towards the party.
He knows he shouldn't be feeling too happy to have met her. After all it wasn't too long ago when she had so vehemently returned him the engagement ring. He had been equally shocked when he had gone into his sister's room the next morning to see Di putting away the jewellery and the wedding attire that was given to Khushi from their family on the day of the wedding. He felt his heart being gripped by an unseen hand as an ache surged through his body remembering that day. He had sighed in defeat.
Arnav couldn't imagine it would be so hard to stay away from her. He loved her and that wasn't changing even though she had made it pretty clear she didn't want to come back to him. When did life become so messed up? He wonders to himself. He reaches the party and continues to mingle with his staff.
Khushi was fuming and with good reason. She had never felt more infuriated with Arnav than today. His maddening airs of superiority as he pointed out she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was so humiliating! Unki himmat to dekho! Pehle humse rishte tod diye, aur phir humare itne kareeb aa gaye... despite her anger, her heartbeats start racing as she thinks back to the way he had her pinned against the wall, keeping his palm on her face to stop her from making a noise. She pauses and touches her lips tentatively, looking completely dazed. Then as if mentally shaking herself out of her reverie, she shook her head. Uss Laad Governer ke bare mein sochna bhi mat Khushi! Woh bas tujhe behelana chahta hai! And muttering to herself, she walks back towards the food stalls.
Suddenly she bumps into someone. "Aap dekh ke nahin chal sakte kya?" Khushi immediately lashes out, her anger with Arnav taking over her senses.
A surprised looking Aman turns around. Khushi immediately turns pale. "Ohh, Aman ji!" He smiles at her.
"Hello Khushiji," he offers her his hand. Khushi looks down at it for a moment before folding her hands in a polite Namaste.
"Aapko janamdin ke bahut bahut shubhkamnayein Aman ji! Maaf kijiyega hum aapse pehle nahin mil paye," Khushi wishes him although still looking around flustered. Aman too follows her glance around.
"Thank you Khushiji. Aap kisi ko dhoondh rahi hain kya?" he enquires politely. Khushi immediately turns her head to face him.
"Woh hum Shuklaji ko dhoondh rahe the. Khane ke intezaam dekhne hain," Khushi mumbles. Aman smiles at her.
"Aap meri guest hain Khushiji. Aap please enjoy kariye. Aur khane ki bilkul tension mat lijiye. Khana bahut hi achha hai. Sare guests ne tareef ki hai," he says appreciatively. Khushi beams a big smile at him.
"Dhanyawaad Aman ji. Arre humein aapko ek cheez deni thi. Ek minute yahin rukiye hum abhi aate hain," and before Aman can say another word, Khushi canters off towards the kitchen tent. She returns a minute later, slightly out of breath. She is carrying with her a small box wrapped up with a pretty bow on top. "Aapke liye janamdin ka tohfa," she says with a smile. Aman looks at her surprised.
"Arre iski kya zaroorat thi Khushiji?" Aman asks, although he looks very touched with her gesture.
"Zaroorat kaise nahin thi? Aapka janamdin hai aaj! Aur aapne bhi to humare janamdin par itna pyara tohfa bheja tha," Aman's look changes to confusion. Huh?
Khushi reads his expressions correctly. "Arre! Aap bhul gaye? Woh designer bag aap hi ne bhijwaya tha na?" Khushi says and Aman guffaws loudly. They both know it was a gift from Arnav but it didn't seem to be from him. Khushi also laughs.
Arnav freezes in his tracks. His glance falls on Khushi standing a few feet away, laughing gaily. He could see her talking to a man, who had his back to him. Arnav just went on staring at her. She looked so... carefree. This was the first time he had seen her laughing after a long time and he felt a strange feeling unfurling inside him. He didn't feel the maddening urge to pull her away from talking to the man. He just felt a tinge of sadness. Khushi had never laughed like that with him. Ever. She'd either been intimidated by him, or upset, or angry, but very rarely had his words made her happy. Maybe it is for the best? Arnav suddenly wonders.
Suddenly the man turns around and Arnav sees it is Aman she had been talking to. Aman sees Arnav and beckons him to join them. Arnav nods slightly and walks to them.
Khushi's laughter immediately ceases as she sees Arnav walk towards them. Bas inhi ki kami reh gayi thi, she thinks venomously and quickly diverts her attention to the table behind her rearranging the cutlery. Aman excuses himself to meet somebody leaving Arnav and Khushi standing alone, both of them consciously silent.
"Khushi?" Arnav breaks the silence first. Khushi turns around and looks at him with her eyebrow raised, as if challenging him to say another word. Arnav notices the fork in her hand, held up defensively and pointing towards him in an attacking position. His words get dissolved halfway. He closes his mouth and goes quiet. He can feel vibes of anger emanating from Khushi who's standing just a few feet from him.
"Kuch kehna tha aapko?" Khushi mutters as she glares at him. Arnav gulps.
"Haan, woh... khana kaafi achha hai," he says, his mind working rigourously trying to give him logical statements to speak. Khushi looks a little mellowed down.
"Dhanyawaad," she mutters. She suddenly looks around the foodstalls as if a realisation has hit her. "Waise aapko sabse achha kya laga?" she suddenly asks him. Arnav's eyes widen. He was bluffing about the food, not having tasted anything yet. Hell, he didn't even know what was on the menu.
"Sab kuch acha hai," he replies confidently. Khushi raises her eyebrows questioningly again. "Mera matlab..." Arnav falters again. Think damnit! What could she have prepared? "Jalebi!" he says the first thing that comes into his head. Khushi looks extremely surprised.
"Jalebi?" she repeats. Arnav nods his head eagerly in reply. "Aapne jalebi khai?" she continues, her tone becoming suspicious now. Arnav nods his head again, a little warily this time.
Khushi looks at him sweetly. "Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada, hum bade khed se aapko batana chahte hain ki," suddenly the look of annoyance is back on Khushi's face, "aap hamesha sahi nahin hote hain. Humne aaj jalebiyan banai hi nahin hai!" she finishes, her voice truimphant. Arnav looks taken aback. She ALWAYS makes jalebis. Damnit!
But before he can say another word to her she continues, "mithaiyan aap kha nahin sakte kyunki unme cheeni dali hui hai. Aur masaledaar khana to aapko waise bhi pasand nahin hai. Woh kya hai na, aaj yahan pusta nahin bana hai," she says tauntingly much to Arnav's annoyance. "To aaj iss poori party mein, aap bas yahi khaiye." She hands him a plate of salad from the table behind her. "Gajar, kakdi aur chane. Aapki sehat ke liye acha rahega."
Arnav gets irritated at being admonished publicly. He grabs her arm and pulls her closer. "Dekho Miss. Khushi Kumari Gupta- "
But before he can finish his sentence Khushi suddenly shoves a piece of carrot in his mouth. Arnav jumps in shock. He removes the carrot from his mouth immediately, his eyes flashing with irritation. What the! They stare at each other in anger.
Then Khushi speaks up, "Itna kuch to dikha aur suna chuke hain humein. Ab bhi koi kasar baaki hai kya?" she snaps at him. Arnav's eyes widen. Somehow, the question isn't as direct as it sounds. He can decipher a completely different meaning to her words.
Arnav pulls her roughly by the hand and walks her away from the hustle bustle of the party. A maddening irritation starts growing inside him. What the hell does she think of herself? Pehle khud hi mujhse saare relations tod diye. Fir bhi maine uski help ki. Payal ko relocate karwaya, use paison ki zaroorat thi to party organize karwai, yahan tak ki restroom mein bhi usko help ki. Aur mujhe ek baar thank you kehne ke bajaye woh mujh par hi gussa dikha rahi hai? He fumes. Khushi is struggling against his hold but he doesn't relent. Suddenly he stops and whirls her around him. She looks up at his angry eyes.
"Tumhari himmat kaise hui? Mere hi staff ke saamne mujhse iss tarah behave karne ki?" he hisses at her menacingly. "Tumhe kya laga, tum kuch bhi bakwaas karti rahogi, aur main chup chap tumhari baatein sunta rahunga? Tum samajhti kya ho apne aap ko, haan? Kuch logon ne tumhare khane ki tareef kya kar di, tum khud ko bahut badi chef samajhne lag gai?" he shouts at her not pausing to take a breath.
Khushi looks at him in disbelief. Was this the same man, who had smiled at her and laughed at her not very long ago in the restroom? Was this the same man, who had teasingly called her Sanaka Devi? No, this wasn't him. This was a monster, spewing hate and anger. But enough was enough! Khushi couldn't bear to be at the receiving end all the time. If he was angry, she was spewing lava.
"Haan hum jaante hain. Aapke liye kabhi koi bhi baat kaafi nahi hoti hai. Aapka gussa kaafi nahin hota hai. Doosron ko neecha dikhana kaafi nahin hota hai. Kisi ka bharosa todna kaafi nahin hota hai. KISI KA DIL DUKHANA KAAFI NAHIN HOTA HAI," Khushi also shouts back at him, tears of anger running down her cheeks. She angrily brushed them aside. "Arnav Singh Raizada ke liye kabhi kuch bhi kaafi nahin hota hai, hai na?"
They both stand glaring at each other. Arnav is breathing heavily, his eyes wide in rage. Khushi seethes in fury too; she feels angry at him but she isn't sure if it is only because of today's incident. She suddenly gets a flashback of her broken wedding, her struggles of the past fortnight without him, the final breakdown of their relationship, the returning of the rings. It's like all her anger and all her anguish is getting churned up at the same instant.
"Nafrat karte hain hum aapse," Khushi suddenly says, every last bit of her anger and anguish for him pouring out of her mouth. Arnav's jaw hardens and his whole body goes rigid. This was the last nail in the coffin.
"Tum mujhse nafrat karti ho? Mujhse nafrat karne wali tum ho kaun? Tum mujhe apni life mein nahin chahti ho? Tum? Main tumse kehta hun, ki meri life mein tumhari koi jagah nahin hai. Aur aaj ke baad se main bhi tumhari life mein kabhi nahin aaunga. I promise you Khushi Kumari Gupta!" Arnav shouts. He turns around and walks away towards the party.
He finds Aman and tells him he needs to leave. Aman tries to stop him asking him to at least have some dinner but that infuriates Arnav further. "Ab to kisi bhi haal mein mujhe yahan ka khana nahin khana hai." He snaps at an utterly bewildered Aman. "I'm leaving. I'll see you in office tomorrow." Without offering another word of explanation, Arnav leaves.
Khushi stands still for a moment where Arnav had left her in the darkness. She slowly wipes away her tears, her teeth grinding against each other. Achha kiya aapne Arnav ji jo aaj saari baatein saaf kar di. She thinks to herself and slowly goes back to kitchen tent. Ab aaj ke baad se, hum bhi aapke bare mein kabhi nahin sochenge! She decides resolutely.
She seeks out Shukla ji and tells him he will need to take care of the catering work for the remainder of the evening as she wasn't feeling too well. She apologised to Aman too for leaving so suddenly. She wished him best wishes for his birthday again and left.
Aman stood alone in wonder, trying to understand this sudden change in mood of his boss and Khushiji.
ENGLISH VERSION
Chapter 10 Back to square one
Scene 1
[Garden Club Resort]
Arnav walks out of the restroom in a much better mood. In fact, he is feeling happier than he was when he left the house. The chance encounter, however shocking, was so... Khushi-esque! Of all the people in the world, only she could get herself into situations like these. He slowly shakes his head indulgently as he walks back towards the party.
He knows he shouldn't be feeling too happy to have met her. After all it wasn't too long ago when she had so vehemently returned him the engagement ring. He had been equally shocked when he had gone into his sister's room the next morning to see Di putting away the jewellery and the wedding attire that was given to Khushi from their family on the day of the wedding. He felt his heart being gripped by an unseen hand as an ache surged through his body remembering that day. He had sighed in defeat.
Arnav couldn't imagine it would be so hard to stay away from her. He loved her and that wasn't changing even though she had made it pretty clear she didn't want to come back to him. When did life become so messed up? He wonders to himself. He reaches the party and continues to mingle with his staff.
Khushi was fuming and with good reason. She had never felt more infuriated with Arnav than today. His maddening airs of superiority as he pointed out she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was so humiliating! Just look at his daring! First he breaks off all relations with me, and then he dares to come so close... despite her anger, her heartbeats start racing as she thinks back to the way he had her pinned against the wall, keeping his palm on her face to stop her from making a noise. She pauses and touches her lips tentatively, looking completely dazed. Then as if mentally shaking herself out of her reverie, she shook her head. Don't you dare think about that Laad Governer Khushi, he's just trying to muddle you! And muttering to herself, she walks back towards the food stalls.
Suddenly she bumps into someone. "Can't you watch where you're going?" Khushi immediately lashes out, her anger with Arnav taking over her senses.
A surprised looking Aman turns around. Khushi immediately turns pale. "Ohh, Aman ji!" He smiles at her.
"Hello Khushiji," he offers her his hand. Khushi looks down at it for a moment before folding her hands in a polite Namaste.
"Wish you very happy returns of the day Aman ji! I'm sorry I couldn't meet you before," Khushi wishes him although still looking around flustered. Aman too follows her glance around.
"Thank you Khushiji. Are you looking for someone?" he enquires politely. Khushi immediately turns her head to face him.
"Yes, I'm looking for Shuklaji. Have to look into the catering arrangements," Khushi mumbles. Aman smiles at her.
"You are my guest Khushiji. So, please enjoy yourself. And please do not worry at all about the food, it is excellent. Even the guests have said so," he says appreciatively. Khushi beams a big smile at him.
"Thank you Aman ji. Oh I have something I need to give to you. Just wait here for one moment I'll be right back," and before Aman can say another word, Khushi canters off towards the kitchen tent. She returns a minute later, slightly out of breath. She is carrying with her a small box wrapped up with a pretty bow on top. "A birthday present for you," she says with a smile. Aman looks at her surprised.
"Oh! What was the need for this Khushiji?" Aman asks, although he looks very touched with her gesture.
"What do you mean there wasn't any need? It's your birthday today! And you too gave me such a lovely gift for my brithday," Aman's look changes to confusion. Huh?
Khushi reads his expressions correctly. "Arre! You forgot? You only sent me that designer bag right?" Khushi says and Aman guffaws loudly. They both know it was a gift from Arnav but it didn't seem to be from him. Khushi also laughs.
Arnav freezes in his tracks. His glance falls on Khushi standing a few feet away, laughing gaily. He could see her talking to a man, who had his back to him. Arnav just went on staring at her. She looked so... carefree. This was the first time he had seen her laughing after a long time and he felt a strange feeling unfurling inside him. He didn't feel the maddening urge to pull her away from talking to the man. He just felt a tinge of sadness. Khushi had never laughed like that with him. Ever. She'd either been intimidated by him, or upset, or angry, but very rarely had his words made her happy. Maybe it is for the best? Arnav suddenly wonders.
Suddenly the man turns around and Arnav sees it is Aman she had been talking to. Aman sees Arnav and beckons him to join them. Arnav nods slightly and walks to them.
Khushi's laughter immediately ceases as she sees Arnav walk towards them. Yeah, only his presence was needed now to complete the festivities, she thinks venomously and quickly diverts her attention to the table behind her rearranging the cutlery. Aman excuses himself to meet somebody leaving Arnav and Khushi standing alone, both of them consciously silent.
"Khushi?" Arnav breaks the silence first. Khushi turns around and looks at him with her eyebrow raised, as if challenging him to say another word. Arnav notices the fork in her hand, held up defensively and pointing towards him in an attacking position. His words get dissolved halfway. He closes his mouth and goes quiet. He can feel vibes of anger emanating from Khushi who's standing just a few feet from him.
"Do you need to say something?" Khushi mutters as she glares at him. Arnav gulps.
"Yeah, uhmm... the food is excellent," he says, his mind working rigourously trying to give him logical statements to speak. Khushi looks a little mellowed down.
"Thank you," she mutters. She suddenly looks around the foodstalls as if a realisation has hit her. "by the way, what did you like the most?" she suddenly asks him. Arnav's eyes widen. He was bluffing about the food, not having tasted anything yet. Hell, he didn't even know what was on the menu.
"Everything is great," he replies confidently. Khushi raises her eyebrows questioningly again. "I mean..." Arnav falters again. Think damnit! What could she have prepared? "Jalebi!" he says the first thing that comes into his head. Khushi looks extremely surprised.
"Jalebi?" she repeats. Arnav nods his head eagerly in reply. "You ate jalebi?" she continues, her tone becoming suspicious now. Arnav nods his head again, a little warily this time.
Khushi looks at him sweetly. "Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada, I'm very sad to inform you that," suddenly the look of annoyance is back on Khushi's face, "you are not correct every time. I've not prepared jalebis today!" she finishes, her voice truimphant. Arnav looks taken aback. She ALWAYS makes jalebis. Damnit!
But before he can say another word to her she continues, "You can't eat the sweet preparations because they have sugar in them. And you don't like spicy food as such. And you know what? I haven't prepared PUSTA today," she says tauntingly much to Arnav's annoyance. "So in tonight's soiree, you can have this" She hands him a plate of salad from the table behind her. "carrots, cucumber and chane. It's good for your health."
Arnav gets irritated at being admonished publicly. He grabs her arm and pulls her closer. "Look, Miss. Khushi Kumari Gupta- "
But before he can finish his sentence Khushi suddenly shoves a piece of carrot in his mouth. Arnav jumps in shock. He removes the carrot from his mouth immediately, his eyes flashing with irritation. What the! They stare at each other in anger.
Then Khushi speaks up, "Haven't you already shown me enough and said enough to me? Is there something still left?" she snaps at him. Arnav's eyes widen. Somehow, the question isn't as direct as it sounds. He can decipher a completely different meaning to her words.
Arnav pulls her roughly by the hand and walks her away from the hustle bustle of the party. A maddening irritation starts growing inside him. What the hell does she think of herself? First she broke all relations with me. I still helped her. I got Payal relocated, she needed money so had this party organized, even helped her out in the restroom. And rather than thanking me, she's shouting at me? He fumes. Khushi is struggling against his hold but he doesn't relent. Suddenly he stops and whirls her around him. She looks up at his angry eyes.
"How dare you behave with me so outrageously in front of my entire staff?" he hisses at her menacingly. "What did you think? You'll keep talking non sense and I'll shut up and keep listening to every word you say? What do you think of yourself? Some people praised your food and you started thinking of yourself as the next master chef?" he shouts at her not pausing to take a breath.
Khushi looks at him in disbelief. Was this the same man, who had smiled at her and laughed at her not very long ago in the restroom? Was this the same man, who had teasingly called her Sanaka Devi? No, this wasn't him. This was a monster, spewing hate and anger. But enough was enough! Khushi couldn't bear to be at the receiving end all the time. If he was angry, she was spewing lava.
"Yes I know! Nothing ever is enough for you. Your anger is not enough. Demeaning other people is not enough. Breaking someone's trust isn't enough. BREAKING SOMEONE'S HEART ISN'T ENOUGH," Khushi also shouts back at him, tears of anger running down her cheeks. She angrily brushed them aside. "Nothing is enough for Arnav Singh Raizada, correct?"
They both stand glaring at each other. Arnav is breathing heavily, his eyes wide in rage. Khushi seethes in fury too; she feels angry at him but she isn't sure if it is only because of today's incident. She suddenly gets a flashback of her broken wedding, her struggles of the past fortnight without him, the final breakdown of their relationship, the returning of the rings. It's like all her anger and all her anguish is getting churned up at the same instant.
"I hate you," Khushi suddenly says, every last bit of her anger and anguish for him pouring out of her mouth. Arnav's jaw hardens and his whole body goes rigid. This was the last nail in the coffin.
"You hate me? Who the hell are you to hate me? You don't want me in your life? You? I'm saying this to you, I don't want you in my life. And after tonight, I'll never come back into your life either. I promise you Khushi Kumari Gupta!" Arnav shouts. He turns around and walks away towards the party.
He finds Aman and tells him he needs to leave. Aman tries to stop him asking him to at least have some dinner but that infuriates Arnav further. "I'm not going to eat a single morsel in this party now." He snaps at an utterly bewildered Aman. "I'm leaving. I'll see you in office tomorrow." Without offering another word of explanation, Arnav leaves.
Khushi stands still for a moment where Arnav had left her in the darkness. She slowly wipes away her tears, her teeth grinding against each other. Good thing you did Arnavji, that you cleared up everything tonight itself. She thinks to herself and slowly goes back to kitchen tent. From now onwards, even I won't give you a second thought. She decides resolutely.
She seeks out Shukla ji and tells him he will need to take care of the catering work for the remainder of the evening as she wasn't feeling too well. She apologised to Aman too for leaving so suddenly. She wished him best wishes for his birthday again and left.
Aman stood alone in wonder, trying to understand this sudden change in mood of his boss and Khushiji.
Writer's note: Tan taraaa! Shock ka pitara! 😆 sorry for jolting you guys with a 440V shock! I seriously didn't know this scene would turn out to be like this when I started writing it. But I just got swept away 😊 Don't hate me! I'll make the reunion twice as sweet.. I promise!
feedback sweethearts!! Aane do!
Edited by smitzy - 12 years ago
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