Arnav & Khushi FF || Serendipity #1 || Link to Thread Two: Pg 1 - Page 82

~Serendipity~

"an accidental discovery"

Chapter Eighteen: Sedated

1029 words

Khushi smiled weakly as Payal passed her a cup of hot tea, while Anjali ran her oil coated fingers through her tangled locks.

"Tell us naa, Khushi. What did you two do? How did you like the city?"

"Spare us all the steamy details"

Anjali giggled childishly at Payal's teasing and shook her nanand lightly by the shoulders, encouraging her to answer. Khushi just lifelessly peered through the open doors of her sister's bedroom, unable to do or say anything but force infrequent, pathetic smiles at their queries. The family labeled her silence as shyness and her weakness as jet lag. As a solution, Anjali and Payal had dragged her into a little private, makeshift spa'... treating her with hair massages, pedicures and hot chai while prodding her for details that could only be shared with sisters.

"Bol naa Khushi!"

Again, Khushi Kumari Gupta meekly shook her head no and went back to determinedly staring at her newly glossed toenails, only to hear the most spiteful, loathing voice mocking her from the doorway.

"Batao naa, Khushi"

As Payal and Anjali's cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Khushi's drained completely of color from Arnav's harsh interjection... suddenly praying for the Earth to split in two and swallow her whole. She nearly toppled over when Payal mischievously elbowed her arm... a faint, insignificant part of her mind alarmed by how feeble she had become in just one day. Arnav took slow, but calculated steps towards where she was sitting on the bed, her breath hitching in her throat as he leaned into her slightly, forcing her to move backwards into Anjali.

"Tell them Khushi. Tell them how much... fun you had", he softly snarled.

Her eyes closed in fear almost instantly... fear of the revulsion that seemed permanently etched within his. The smell of his musk and the feel of his scrutiny were so overwhelming, that for a moment she was petrified she would simply melt away into oblivion. Khushi opened her eyelids only when she recognized the loud thuds of footsteps walking away and heard Anjali and Payal cooing and bantering like teenage school girls.

"Now I'm sure that I'll be a Bua in no time!"

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Days turned to weeks as Khushi faced unbearable torture at the hands of Arnav in his guarded four walls of Shantivan. Initially, her husband would take every moment to spite and abuse her, reminding her of her low class status, ingenuity and vileness. And then, in a week or two, he forgot they shared a roof, slowly settling back into his natural regime before bringing Khushi into his life.

She once again retired to the cold poolside for the night... losing weight and hair, abandoning the color of her clothes and the blush of her cheeks. Khushi Kumari Gupta had forgotten how to feel happy, and to an extent, the Raizada parivaar had forgotten about her existence... their attention divested completely in Anjali and her pregnancy. Khushi had built and enforced a steel wall around her shattered heart, making her impenetrable to Arnav's frequent abuses and even Shyam's constant advances. They reflected off her like sunshine hitting a mirror.

Impermeable.

She would spend days without eating, hours without moving, weeks without properly talking. She would stare at the stars with a completely cryptic expression when she settled in for the night... tears burning to break lose, heart pleading to cease beating, but ultimately attaining no response. Khushi was completely gone. The thought of his spit on her face. The thought on his lips on her skin. Nothing stirred her or angered her. Nothing mattered to her anymore. She just concentrated on breathing and surviving, which was now proving a labored task in itself.

Khushi Kumari Gupta was over. Arnav had won.

Arnav closed the door behind her, loosening his tie and pointing at the lounger for her to take a seat. She did so obediently, silently watching as he moved about his bedroom to rearrange office files and put away his coat.

"Khushi, the contract ends in 4 days. I need you to sign these divorce papers and finally give me the freedom I've been craving since you stepped into my house. Don't think you can get away by playing games; I'll ruin you."

Shock. Surprise. Hurt. Emotions she should have felt. Would have felt. Had felt just a couple months ago, when she had read the word Divorce' printed so cleanly next to his name and her own. But today, she was lifeless. Every word rebounded off her and floated uneasily in the air, weighing down on her shoulders uncomfortably, but not pulling at her heartstrings as they once had. Some would say she was weaker now, but words and actions could only hurt those who were truly living. And therefore, she was invincible.

Her body embraced its now natural instinct... to shield her from whatever emotions he threatened to evoke and weaken. His diatribe was tuned out, a mere buzzing noise replacing the cutting words and derisions. She returned to observing the ornate patterns on his tiled floor, memorizing the curves and the colors of the lavish designs. Distracted, Khushi blinked unexpectedly as he threw a small bundle of papers and a blue point pen on the table across her.

"Sign it Khushi. And stick to the story I told you. If you try to hurt my family, Payal's marriage will be over and so will any decent sanity you can hope for in the rest of your f*cking pathetic life."

She looked into his eyes. Those honey brown pools that once haunted her dreams brimming with unconcealed aversion.

And ever so sedately, without a tremble in a hand, or a blink of an eye, or the tug of a frown...Khushi Kumari Gupta signed a contract.

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CHAPTER NINETEEN: T R I U M P H

Originally posted by: zehr_akhan

Oh no 😭 this is too much I hate this arnav he is monster can u plz write arnav pov too so we can digest his cruelty too 😵