Hello everyone. I know I'm supposed to update KDHITIM soon & m working on it. But this one concept was again & again clouding my mind & I could no longer resist writing it. A song triggered this OS and therefore I've shared that song link too at the end of the post. I hope u'll like my first attempt on writing an OS. Please leave ur feedback. Even criticism is most welcome.
The Rest... Is Just Life...
It had been five months since he had talked to her properly. His professional commitments were taking a toll on their beautiful relationship. He never had time to spend with her. May be all relations become monotonous at some point of time. But does it change the feelings of the people involved?? Well, may be.
Khushi was waiting for Arnav for past 3 hours. She had planned a lot for this day. It was his third birthday since they had been in a relationship. No matter how busy they were, they always tried to spend their birthdays & festivals together. Khushi had not yet revealed her relationship to her family. Only her sister Payal knew about it. Therefore it was never easy for Khushi to make excuses at home in order to spend some time with Arnav.
Arnav was three years senior to her in college. He was in his final year when he met Khushi for the first time. They had met through some common friends and had gradually become very good friends. They both had realized their feelings within some months of being friends but they had taken almost one & a half year to officially announce that they are together. Life had been perfect for some months & they were living a blissful life until Arnav started neglecting his personal life to be successful professionally.
Arnav always wanted to do his own business & had thus established a company in partnership with his classmate & best friend Akash when they were in their final year. When they were done with their degree, they used all their knowledge towards growth & stabilization of AR Designs. They had started at a small scale & after two years of hard work, they were successful in establishing AR as a promising & very fast growing design company.
Akash was always a very content man. He did not want too much of luxuries that he would forget his relations. He wanted everything in a balanced way. That is why, he was earning decent enough to support his family & at the same time, he would always manage to spare time for his family & Payal, the love of his life & Khushi's cousin.
Payal's parents had adopted Khushi after her parents passed away in an accident when she was just 8 years old. She was the daughter of Payal's maternal aunt, but Payal's family had always treated her as their own daughter.
Khushi too loved her new family a lot but somewhere at the back of her mind, she was more grateful to them for taking her in when she had lost her family. She could do anything to fulfill their wishes. She wanted to tell them about Arnav but Arnav was not yet ready to take her responsibility & she knew that once she will reveal about her relationship in front of her family, they would ask them to get married. She wanted to get married to Arnav but she knew that for now, his work is his priority. Therefore, she decided to stay quiet until Arnav is ready.
Khushi always understood & supported Arnav's professional commitments & thus never demanded anything. She was happy with the little time he gave her. She always consoled herself that this phase is temporary & soon Arnav will achieve the heights he wanted to achieve & then they would get married. She had painted a perfect picture of her happily ever after with Arnav.
Everything was going on well until Arnav got a new project one year ago. He told Khushi that this project would take AR to new heights. Khushi was very happy that finally Arnav was getting what he always wanted. She knew that they would get even lesser time for themselves as Arnav would be super busy but she was also happy that after this project, they would come in a position to reveal about them to her family.
Over the next 4 months, Arnav had almost no time for anything else except the new project. He just wanted to make the new range of AR a huge success. After the launch of the new range, AR suddenly became a hot favorite for the investors. Everyone in the industry wanted to work with AR. They got some new projects & Arnav got too busy in AR that he forgot that he had some responsibility towards the girl who had been waiting for him for so long.
Khushi would keep on waiting for days for his single call but he was too busy in cracking new deals. She would make plans with him for lunch on a weekend and would even make some excuse at her home to spend some time with him, but most of the time Arnav would not turn up, n if he did, he would leave immediately after lunch without even talking to her.
Khushi had accepted this behavior of Arnav to be due to his increasing work load but now she was becoming restless. Her family was looking for a suitable groom for her & she still could not tell them the truth as Arnav was not ready yet. It was becoming more & more difficult for her to avoid the topic of her wedding. Moreover, Payal's engagement to Akash had increased pressure on Khushi.
Khushi tried to talk to Arnav about it many times but generally Arnav would either change the topic or this discussion would lead to full blown arguments between them. She just wanted some security but Arnav was not ready to give her that for now. She was upset, disappointed but there was nobody who could understand her unvoiced turmoil. They had not got a chance to talk properly for the past 5 months due to Arnav's extremely busy schedule. He had no time to listen to, what he now called, her ramblings regarding wedding again & again.
Today was his birthday and Khushi had planned to spend some time with Arnav which they were unable to do for past many months. She had arranged everything & had asked him to meet her at the mall at 11 in the morning. It was a Sunday & she had made an excuse to her family that she was going to study on some assignment at her friend's place. It was past 2 o' clock when Arnav made an appearance.
Khushi was annoyed and as soon as she saw him, she could not control herself.
Khushi: What is this Arnav?? I have been waiting for u for past three hours.
Arnav (irritated): So?? That's not my problem. U wanted to meet me. I never asked u to wait.
Khushi (almost in tears): U know what Arnav, it really hurts. Anyways, Happy Birthday.
She kissed his cheek n left. She didn't cry in front of him. She didn't want him to feel guilty.
Some more months passed but there was no change in Arnav's attitude. He became even more distant. Khushi was losing all hope now. She doubted if he even wanted her.
One day they had a huge argument & Arnav in anger told her to get lost & leave him alone.
Khushi (crying): U know that I love u the most. Is that why u hurt me?? One day I'll really leave. No matter how much u cry or beg then, I won't come back.
That day she left him alone. She didn't want to be a burden on him. She knew he loved her. But she also knew that he loved his success the most. She had understood & accepted that he will never consider what she wanted. And the family pressure broke her this time. Finally after avoiding for so long, she gave into her family's wishes. She accepted the proposal that came this time. So what if she couldn't get what she wanted, at least her family would be happy.
She told Arnav about her decision. He begged her to think again & give him another chance. He asked for some time but this time, Khushi could not do that. It was no more about them alone. Now, it was about her family. She decided to leave her love behind & move on to a new life. May be that life would not be perfect, but it was her way of repaying her family for all the love & care they had showered on her all these years. Payal tried to talk to her & change her decision, but it was as if Khushi had already decided to give up the most precious relation. Payal had seen her puffy eyes everyday but the mechanical smile on Khushi's face hid her pain effectively in front of her family.
NK was a very nice guy & even if Khushi could not love him, they could spend their life together as best of friends. She was ready for that. She had told NK about Arnav and Nk had no issues with Khushi's past. He was agreeing for this wedding because this was what his family wanted and he could see that same were Khushi's reasons for accepting this wedding. But he was sure that they could make this work as friends.
Arnav had tried a lot to talk to Khushi all this time but without success. Just a day before the wedding, Payal arranged for one last meeting and that was the day when Arnav actually realized the gravity of the situation.
Arnav: U can't do this to us Khushi. U know that I love u. How can u marry someone else??
Khushi (with moist eyes): I never forgot that u love me Arnav. But u did. I gave u enough time to think about us, to take ur stand; but u never bothered to do that. This is what my family wants from me. N as much I want to, I can't deny them this happiness. They want to see me married & settled. Moreover, NK is a very nice guy. I agree there is no love, but at least there is friendship, some care, some respect. I'll live my life on these terms. It won't be easy to move on, but there is no denying that I will HAVE to move on. Just be happy in ur life Arnav. I wish u all the success. Goodbye. And always remember, I love u.
She kissed him the last time & then she left. She had finally walked out of his life; this time, with a determination that she'll never come back.
In a grand ceremony, Khushi & NK got married the next day. Arnav gathered his courage to see her for the last time. When they had just started thinking about their future, he had wanted to see her as his bride. She was looking beautiful, totally angelic in that red & green lehenga. There was sadness, tears but also a determination in his eyes. He saw the whole ceremony, keeping himself strong, lest he cried there itself. But the moment NK tied the mangalsutra & put sindoor in her parting, Arnav's tears betrayed him. He left the place, not able to see the girl he loved being marked by someone else. He had finally realized that he himself destroyed what could have been his; but the realization came abit too late.
One year later
A mall in Mumbai
Arnav was here to buy a gift for Nia, his niece. It was her birthday & she had demanded a new Barbie Set from her Mamu. Arnav could never say no to his Princess & so he was here to fulfill Nia's demand. He had changed a lot in the one year. Now he gave more attention to his family. It was not only about work anymore. The loss of love had brought him closer to his family. He still could not move on but he had accepted his present life. He knew that he could never get over Khushi & no matter what, his heart would always beat for her but he was happy that she had found someone who could give her her perfect happily ever after. His only regret was that he could be the one; but now it was too late to think about all this.
He was going towards the escalator to go up to the next floor when he saw her. He was looking beautiful as always. His heart skipped a beat again after so long. He wanted to go & take her in his embrace but he knew that he had lost the right long ago.
Khushi had felt his presence before she actually saw him. She was here with NK for some household shopping & was going towards the billing counter when she felt the familiar breeze indicating his presence. She saw him after almost one year. She had wanted to run towards him & melt in his arms but she knew that she could not do that.
Their eyes locked & then she smiled the same smile that was always reserved for him. The only difference was that this time, her eyes were moist when she smiled.
NK had gone to clear the bill and there was a long queue. She stepped aside to make a call, finally letting her heart rule over for some moments.
Arnav saw his phone ringing and was happy to see her name flashing on the screen. He picked the call after the third ring and was greeted by the most beautiful voice which was like honey to his ears.
Khushi: Hello!!
Arnav (finally coming out of his trance): Hello...
Khushi (smiling): Hii Arnav!!
Arnav wanted to say so many things, to talk to her about so many issues but he asked her the only question which he had wanted to know for past one year.
Arnav: R u happy??
Khushi: Yes. He takes really good care of me.
Arnav just smiled, finally relieved that she is happy.
Khushi (continued): But u know what Arnav, I still love u.
Arnav: I know.
Khushi saw NK paying the bill and she knew that it was time to leave.
Khushi (smiling in the phone): Bye Arnav.
They disconnected the call and Arnav left for the gift store while Khushi left with NK for her home.
They both had so much to talk about but sometimes, words can't be enough; sometimes it's better to leave certain things unspoken.
Love Happens Only Once... The rest, Is Just Life...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u99X4_G6Cc
It's a beautiful song. Please try.
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Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
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