FF:Something About You Thread#2 *COMPLETED* - Page 58

Khushi turned the small Chevrolet inside the gate of the ITC Maurya around 12.15pm, & instantly saw Akaash standing near the shaded entrance, waiting for them. Anjali had called Rohan up in the morning & asked if both of them could go & seek Devi Maiyya's blessing before they went for the brunch as today their Kundalis were gonna be given to Panditji for matching their virtues, & knowing her fixation about these things Rohan had agreed readily. As the hotel was really close to their home, Khushi had suggested that she could drive Payal & herself there, secretly wishing to have more time behind the wheels. Rohan had instantly understood the reason behind her eagerness, & smiling indulgently, he had handed over the car keys to Khushi, as it was a golden chance for Khushi to have some driving practice before she forgot how to due to lack of the activity as Garima was strongly against her Chhutki Bitiya driving on her own.

Although Garima had reluctantly given in to the combined pleas of her family members to let Khushi learn driving on a whim of her when she was about 19, she never really let Khushi drive alone or drive much at all, for that matter. & even when Khushi did drive in the rare occasions, before Khushi got behind the wheels she would thoroughly bless Khushi taking all 33thousands deities' names, & after Khushi got off she would always cast evil eyes off her. Rohan always teased his mother about loving Khushi more than everyone else, as Garima never fussed so much when Rohan left each day, driving away to work in the car.

At present, as Khushi neatly stopped the car in front of Akaash, there was a huge grin on her face as she had thoroughly enjoyed the small drive from their home without an over-anxious Garima in the back. She was also happy due to fact that Payal was talking to her normally again since last night. Although the Brownies she planned to make for Payal turned out as Jalebis due to her anxiety over the deed of Nikunja's ownership, she had quickly forgotten all that shortly after Rohan had returned from work & all three of them had cooked amicably for themselves, having a lot of fun along the way. She came back to present when a valet spread his hand before her for her keys. She gave him the keys & took the claim ticket in return from him, keeping it in her small clutch & followed Akaash & Payal to get on the lift that would take them up to Dum Pukht, where Akaash said his Dadi, Mom-Dad & Arnav's Dadi were waiting for them beforehand.

As Khushi stepped out of the lift behind a engrossed-in-themselves Payal & Akaash, she couldn't help but feel a bit dejected as she knew Arnav wasn't gonna be there. Rohan had told her in answer to a carefully articulated query of hers that, Arnav had already told him he couldn't make it due to some prior engagement when he had called Rohan to ask for his approval before he instructed Aman to make the reservations. Khushi let out a long sigh & stepped around a corner to go towards the secluded private alcove surrounded by French windows on three sides, where a place had been arranged for the Raizada's. & as soon as the table came into view, the first person she saw was Arnav, as he stood up, half bowing to Payal, but his unblinking gaze fixed on Khushi over Payal's head.

& Khushi actually stopped short without going forward as she felt her breath catch in her throat at Arnav's appearance. He had never looked more casual or more debonair to her before. In a tawny polo neck woolen fitting vest & beige loose casual chino pants with brown leather boots, he looked so hot, it seemed as if he had come straight out of a pre-heated oven, specially designed to rob women of their breath.

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If Arnav was guilty of robbing Khushi of her breath, then Khushi was no less the criminal, because she was the reason Arnav's breath had been knocked out of his lungs the moment she stepped out of the lift behind her sister & Akaash, looking carelessly gorgeous. The halter neck black dress with pink geometric patterns & the cute pink frills peeking from below the hem was simple, but the person wearing the dress made it look pretty & fun. & everytime Arnav looked at her he just had to take a moment to appreciate how spectacularly beautiful she really was. Her hair was as usual twisted to fall over one shoulder & the perfect creamy expanse of her shoulder & arms suddenly made Arnav realize just how much he had missed seeing the velvety, flawless skin of her arms which she had to hide under cardigans or full sleeves this past week.

Arnav pushed the chair beside himself a little away from the table & indicated for her to sit down with a slight jerk of his head, his eyes not straying from the still figure. As if the jerk of his head was all it was needed for Khushi to come out of her transfixed appraisal of the view in front of her, because she realized with a start where she was the minute she saw his head snap sideways briefly. She gulped a bit trying to hide her sudden shyness & embarrassment & proceeded towards the indicated chair. She was about to sit down, when Nani called her up, requesting her to seat closer to her. Khushi looked a bit hesitantly towards Arnav's head which was turned away in the other direction, but something about the stillness of the air around him told her, that, he had heard & he had not liked. Khushi looked hard at his head, willing him to turn around & tell her to sit down where she was, cos if he had, she'd oblige willingly, but he never turned. Consequently, Khushi went & took the empty seat closest to Naniji, which just happened to be the seat beside NK.

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Half an hour into the brunch, Arnav knew his suspicion was correct. The way Nani, Mami & his Dadi were grilling both Payal & Khushi about their whole family history way back to their Great great great great grand father's lineage was enough to prove him right. Rohan just sat opposite the table, answering one or two of the questions when his sisters fumbled, keeping a watchful eye over the whole play, but otherwise keeping quite. When Arnav heard Mami asking Khushi which of the stitch works from Lucknow Payal & she excelled in, Arnav almost thumped his hand over the table in his frustration. Clearly, she was interrogating Khushi this way on behalf of her sister, to see if Khushi was a suitable bride for that bloody cartoon NK. They weren't even trying to be subtle! They were questioning all the Gupta's around the table left, right & center.

Arnav's hands fisted on their own accord as he shot a determined glance towards the girl who also seemed only too happy to answer to all the questions. All his cunning Nani had to do was stuff her plate with Jhinga Dum Nisha, Kakori Kabab, Hara Kabab, Hyderabadi Kachhi Gosht ki Biryani, Salan, Shahi Nehari, Dora Kabab Rehmani, Habibiya Chops, Mande Rotis, Hara Kabab & some of the weird looking chutney he didn't even know the names of, & she gulped them down life a famished person & answered every question with an eagerness that just managed to set Arnav's nerve on the edge much much more with each passing second. She didn't even suspect them asking all these questions. The only question she did ask Nani was, 'Did they order the Gulab ki Kheer for dessert?' Crazy girl! Why didn't she shut up? Why didn't she refuse to answer all these personal questions? Did she want to get married to that oaf, that caricature of a normal person? As the last thought hit his mind, Arnav gritted his teeth, & precisely at that moment he saw Khushi getting up & excusing herself to go the ladies'.

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As Khushi walked towards the direction of the ladies' room that the waitress had shown her, she turned a corner & saw the Ladies' Room sign on a door far along the secluded passage. She quickened her steps in that direction, & suddenly out of nowhere, she felt herself being pulled aside by her forearm & then she collided with a warm, solid, welcoming frame as hard fingers grasped her arms harshly. As Khushi got her footing back, she steadied herself by clutching at the front of his vest as she looked up at Arnav's eyes. As soon as Khushi looked into those angry eyes a surprised gasp left her lips, leaving them parted in a perfect 'o', & she saw Arnav's eyes immediately falling on them. But as she started to speak with a shy & startled, "Arnavji, what are you-?", Arnav gave her a brief jerk & said furiously, "What the hell do you think you're doing? How could you after-? But why am I even surprised?"

Khushi looked at him with eyes huge with shock, the anger that seemed to come off him in strong waves hitting her almost physically. She let go of his vest bunched up in her hands, & tried to free herself from his hold by pushing against his chest. But as Arnav felt her pushing him away, something animal seemed to flare in his eyes & was gone before Khushi could read what it was, & he said in an angry snarl, his lips pulling back over his teeth, "Whatever you think you are doing, let me tell you one thing, I won't let this marriage happen!"

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Khushi's eyes widened as the meaning of his words sank in. There were two marriages about to happen. One, for which Arnav was in India in the first place & everyone was happy about that alliance. Another, which was just budding slowly, & the last time she had asked Arnav about it that night in the kitchen, he had answered with a curt, 'None of our business!' Khushi felt panic raising its head within her heart, as she asked Arnav in a horrified voice, "What do you mean you won't let it happen? What've you got against it?"

She saw Arnav's eyes instantly flash as if getting angrier because she dared to defend it & Khushi felt defiance rising in her too, as she heard him hiss, "I just won't! & seems like I was right, all that mingling in the parties was for this na? To trap a rich guy from a good family? Well, looks like the last party was a success in that context!" Khushi felt speechless with shock. What was he going on about? He thought that about her Jiji? & on the face he was so pleasant with Payal!

"You hypocrite!" Khushi chose to ignore the dangerous way his eyes flashed at the abusive word, & continued, "You! On the face you're so concerned about my family & it's well-being.. &.. & in your heart that's what you think?! You say Bhaiya is your best friend, & yet you have no qualms brandishing his sister as a mercenary opportunist! How dare you declare so casually, you won't let this marriage happen??!" Khushi asked incredulously. She felt hurt on so many levels that she couldn't even begin to express it. After the way he had been so caringly understanding over the whole Karan episode, the way he had been so honest about his reactions to her, the way he had been so teasing & tender just yesterday, it was more than a 360degree turn from him today! Was he bipolar or did he have split personalities?

Arnav's fingers dug into the soft flesh of her waist as he leaned dangerously close to her face, & hissed, his breath fanning her cheek as she tried to avert her face, "My aversion to this alliance has nothing to do with Rohan! But get one thing around that pretty little conniving & devious head of yours, THIS MARRAIGE WON'T TAKE PLACE!"

"WHY? You can't just grab me & tell me you won't let the marriage take place & expect me to coyly accept your decision. Besides the point that it's none of your freaking business whether this wedding takes place or not, I am also willing to look over the fact that you're behaving like a completely delusional, irrational pig, if you could just give me one valid reason behind why you wouldn't let this marriage take place!"

She saw Arnav look at her through narrowed eyes for several seconds. Then suddenly the look in his changed, as she felt his hold on her turned from punishing to caressing abruptly. His left arm snaked possessively around her waist, bringing her lower body in close contact to his. The heat she felt coming from his groin made Khushi let out a small anguished cry, but the cry got stilled in the middle of her throat as she felt his left palm slowly going up the side of her back, caressing everywhere it touched. She looked up at his eyes startled, just to find his eyes were on her face, looking calculative as if trying to gaze her reaction. & then she felt the violent jerk.