FF: Unspoken PART 26 PG 141 *new thread!!! - Page 74

SS: Unspoken part 23

In the seven days that the men were to be away for, Khushi's every thought of him ended with tears in her eyes. Despite no shouts, she felt like the house was screaming with his absence. Despite no insolence, she felt completely violated. In a house that should have otherwise been peaceful without his negativity, she felt like she was sitting in a funeral home where her days and nights were spent in despair.

"Khushi," Avni called for her and Khushi ran in from her room. There were bags under her eyes from all the restless nights and all the cries but Avni didn't mention anything. "Let's go do some shopping today," she said with a smile but Khushi's lips curled down in a disapproving frown. "He told me not to go without him," she said in a croaky voice and Avni's eyes furrowed in confusion.

"What happened to your voice?"

"I'm losing it," Khushi answered again in a rough and throaty tone.

Avni's eyebrows relaxed but she still shook her head in a sad way. "You did this to yourself - you've been crying too much haven't you?"

Khushi embarrassingly lowered her head to show she was guilty as charge. Avni took a step forward and put her arms around Khushi to show her motherly love. "I don't think it's possible for him to stay mad forever - not when he has such a loving wife."

Khushi was barely able to smile at her words because if she did, then that would mean she had an ounce of hope left, which at that point, she really didn't.

"I'll make you some medicine but I want you to sleep to allow your body to heal. Of course a big part of healing comes with how you take care of yourself so no more tears, beta."

Khushi nodded her head accordingly as she made her way back to her room. Two more days - she would see him and take a sigh of relief just to have him around. If only these two days could pass by quickly.

*

Arnav lay on his cot and stared up at the dark sky with the stars appearing in tens then hundreds. He wondered if he was becoming an insomniac with the lack of sleep and the sole cause was Khushi. He wasn't stupid - he knew she didn't do anything to receive his hate but there was still something that was holding him back, and for that he felt very guilty. She was his wife; a wife that he'd gotten married to out of love. Her words rang in his ears: do you even love me one little bit now?

He shook his head. 'Of course I love you, Khushi, but I'm a egoistic man - I know that myself.' He replayed all the times she tried to talk to him despite the way he acted with her. She was an undeniable queen of hearts. He got his queen but now he was acting like her enemy.

He sat up and looked around him - several other cots splayed around with his men and other strangers sleeping around under the clear night sky. He got up and started walking to nowhere in particular. Living in an area surrounded by water, the soft sound of trickling water made him automatically walk towards it. It was a tiny stream with the sound coming from the water glazing over the smooth rocks.

His eyes sparkled and his lips curled at the corners when she came before his eyes. She had her hands behind her back as she tiptoed towards him in a white salwar kameez. She threw her hands around his neck when she reached his side. "Are you still mad?" She asked.

He grimaced at the memory. "I don't know...I don't want to be," he said with an aching heart.

Her hands slid from his neck and instead wrapped around his back. "Please come back," she whispered. "I'm almost there," he answered and lightly touched her velvety skin with his fingertips. She let out a happy sigh and rested her head against his chest. "I'm waiting."

Arnav pulled out of his trance and sadly stared at the empty space in front of him. He suddenly wondered why he was fighting her off - pushing her away when it was obvious she was a main pillar in his life like his brother and mother.

He filled his lungs with abundant fresh air before letting it out completely. Perhaps some things in life really did have to be looked past. Thinking of so, he remembered Vijay. He spent over three years hating the man but surprisingly so; he was the guy he spent most of his trip talking to. He had forgotten what it was like to be his friend but as he reconsidered everything, he figured he wasn't so bad after all.

*

She waited on the steps on the day of their arrival. Not wanting to put off her chores, she made sure the house was clean and the food was made so when all of that was done by noon, she spent her every minute after that just waiting for him.

Adi would often go back and forth between the house and the porch steps. He came at one point and sat with his elbows over his knees. Khushi almost cooed - he sat just like his brother.

"Adi, how does my voice sound?" She asked as she put her arm around him and pulled him to her side. "Didi, nothing is wrong with your voice," he answered - confused with her question.

Khushi chuckled as she turned her attention back to the pathway. She waited a long time. She played hand games with Adi. Chatted with him. Held him against her chest as he took a short nap. She waited a long time until she saw some people walking towards the direction that Arnav would have come from. Indeed, he'd arrived.

She stood up and felt Adi sprint ahead of her. There he was. Her king. It took him awhile to reach home as he responded to everyone's greetings but he finally made it alone with just Adi in his arms. He stood in front of her and pursed his lips and nodded his head as she welcomed him home. "Did you have a relaxing trip?" She asked kindly and her small smile dropped as usual when he blankly stared at her. "I had a very tough trip," he answered because it was the truth.

He walked past her inside his house and she continued to stand there for another minute. She was happy she didn't have such high hopes else she would have been very disappointed. And yet still, she felt a pang of angst with the way he answered her.

"Mera beta!" Avni exclaimed as she pulled his head down to kiss him on the forehead. "Arnav, the food is all ready if the men want to come now."

"Change of plans this time - Vijay is hosting dinner," Arnav explained in a normal tone taking Avni aback with how relax he seemed about that. "You're going to his house?" She asked to make sure she was hearing properly.

"I don't understand you people - you all tell me to be calm around him and now that I am, it's like I'm committing a crime."

Avni looked to the side as he rambled away. "Are you done?" She asked and he grimaced at her. "It was just a question - enjoy your dinner there," she added a forced smile and he eyed her suspiciously before walking away with a smirk. He knew her too well to be fooled.

*

"Are you ready?" Vijay asked Sanjay quietly as they stood in the backroom of a store. He already had everything planned - Arnav would come inside and the rest would be history.

"You promise I won't get caught?" Sanjay asked hesitantly.

"As soon as you do the deed, run from the back door and just go straight for the forest. With the laird down, everyone's attention will be on him only. Now remember, you're not finishing him off completely. We'll do that once he hands over the place to me." Vijay sneered and quickly pulled out of his conniving thoughts. "Here," he said and pulled a gun out of his belt. "Good luck," he wished Sanjay before sneaking out of the place and quickly heading back home.

*

Arnav got dressed in a clean pair of salwar kameez for dinner that night. He personally hated eating at anyone's house other than Akash or his own house but since Vijay so graciously offered to host dinner; he couldn't deny him.

He caught Khushi's reflection in the mirror as she came in with folded clothes to organize them in the wardrobe. "What did you do while I was away?" He asked to start small talk.

"I...didn't do much. I sat home - that's what you wanted right?" She answered as she peaked her head from behind the wardrobe door. Arnav faced her and slowly nodded his head. "Yeah...I guess."

"Do you want me to wait up for you?"

His eyes met with hers and they both expressed signs of a painful love. He remembered she asked a question and he shook his head. "I might be out until late at night - you may grow tired."

"Okay," she replied quietly and didn't spend another minute in the room. Arnav released a heavy sigh and headed outside towards Vijay's house for the first time in years.

*

After a large feast made by Vijay's wife alone, the men all prepared to leave as the sun was well down and all the villagers were in their homes. Arnav waited back to thank Sonam for the dinner she made. He quietly walked towards the kitchen and found Vijay talking to his wife with a smile on his face. Arnav cleared his throat making the two look back.

"Vijay, I just wanted to thank you and especially your wife for taking her time to make such a grand meal for us. Thank you," Arnav said with his hand over his heart. Sonam smiled and nodded her head. "It was my pleasure - to have you in our house is really an honour."

"You're welcome here any time of the day," Vijay added as he patted Arnav on the back. Arnav chuckled and bobbed his head towards the entrance. "I'll just join the guys then."

"I'm coming too!" Vijay exclaimed and waved at Sonam before the two walked out. They all walked to the cars and started unpacking. Always having particular shops to unload the things, Vijay knew ahead of time which shop Arnav would go into and that's where Sanjay was waiting for him. Vijay pretended to busy himself with a box and made his way towards the shop he always filled up. And then it happened. A loud shot went off that created ripples of sound waves in the air. Any one who was outside turned their head in the direction of the sound while any other who was in the shop came running out.

Vijay dropped his box and ran inside the shop. He flicked on the lights and ran over to Arnav who was lying on the floor and clutching his left rib. "Arnav!" Vijay exclaimed. Arnav's eyes seemed dilated and his minimal head moving seemed very slow. "Help!" Vijay shrieked towards the door and everyone flooded inside. He grabbed hold of Arnav's upper torso while Uday grabbed his waist and Laxman his feet.

Vijay threw one glance towards the back door and saw it open by just a crack. So far so good.

*

Arnav felt his insides tighten. He heard his loud breathing and his thumping heart beats against his chest. The excruciating pain that was first apparent when the bullet hit him was now numbing to almost nothing. He could barely keep his eyes open as he saw the faces of his friends over his head but he needed to see her - Khushi. He needed to tell her how regretful he was before he took his last breath.

His eyes closed for a moment.

They opened at the shrieking cries of his mother and Khushi. They were crying out his name, asking everyone what happened. And then he saw her. He felt himself being put down on a hard surface and Khushi's face was the only one he could see. "Get someone! Get the doctor!" She was yelling orders over him and he tried to reach for her hand but she was frantically looking around him.

One of her arms started flailing over his head. "Get him out of here! Akash, get him out!" Arnav wondered who she was talking about when his brother's screams grew clear to his ears. "Abba!!" He yelled and cried even more as someone was evidently holding him back.

"Aditya!" Khushi tried to get the little one to look at her but he continued to fight against Akash. Akash finally picked him up altogether and left the room. She looked over Arnav's body and saw Avni's eyes rolling in her sockets. She was about to pass out.

"Ammi, sit down! Where's the doctor?!" She yelled.

His heart smiled when she finally looked down at him. How hard he tried to get her to look at him and she finally did. "Khu," he managed to mouth only a bit and she shook her head as she grabbed one of his hands and ran her other hand over his forehead and hair. "You're going to be okay, Arnav," she tried to say in a strong voice but her tears were betraying her. Her eyes lifted above his head again. "He's here?" She asked someone and looked back at Arnav. "You're going to be okay!" She leaned down and kissed his forehead.

Arnav didn't know if his emotions showed up on his face but to himself, he was smiling. She still loved him. But suddenly he felt his body failing. It was shutting down. Black dots appeared before his eyes and he was losing all and any strength to keep his eyes open. 'Khushi,' he yelled internally. He hadn't told her yet - he needed to tell her that he loved her! But his lids felt like bricks. Everything finally went black and his muscles in his arms fell limp. He no longer heard anything else. It was just him and his heart beats that became less frequent but so loud he felt like his heart was right by his ears. 'Khushi,' he cried and then he went silent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A HUGE apology on my part. I actually started university (first year) on Thursday, and then there was a birthday party. Friday was another day of school and this morning my parents left on their vacation so I sat with them last night to spend some time with them. I actually had one other scene in mind for this part but I'll let it end like this. 😉

Ok so you're probably wondering - why would Vijay just have him shot? Well you'll get the explanation in the stry but basically he just did that so he can now convince Arnav to choose a power of attorney in hopes that it'll be him. Anyhow. I could have written this part better but I just wanted to write it without anymore delay so sorry if it's...less than expected. haha. :/ Ok ok, I'll stop now. Thank you all for being patient with my late updates lately. I really appreciate your support. :D