IPKKND-ARHI FF - Gypsy - TH II - Chapter 47 Pg 32 - Page 2

amazing ff and loved reading it. 👏

Congrats on the new thread. If any story deserved a second thread, it is this one. Anxiously awaiting an update.

BM...
Need to find this tread...

Hi chinky... Just came across this beautiful ff and read all the chapters at one go... Somewhere when I finished reading chapter 22, I was crying !!! N wanted to comment immediately but could not keep my iPad down before I finished reading the story up to date!!!!

Just found this story and its amazing i love it

Just read this story...

woaaa..fantastic story...beautifulll...loved it...continue soon dear...n pm me wen u update next...

Chapter 43

The Maharani Mamta Raizada adored gardening and flowers were her pet hobby, especially roses. Nothing gave her more satisfaction that spending time amongst her children, as she called flowers! Since the climate of Rajasthan was not particularly friendly towards all types of flowers, Devgarh Palace boasted a conservatory, established especially for her enjoyment. Her late husband had, for all his faults, had never stinted on luxuries for his family. He had put in the conservatory when Anjali and Arnav were teenagers and had gone away to boarding school. After his father, Arnav indulged his mother, to the extent where he obtained cuttings and seedlings of any new variety of flowers he came across for his mother to grow in the conservatory.

Today as he strode in the palace via the conservatory on his way back from a gallop on Sultan, he absent-mindedly plucked a huge white rose for Khushi. It was high-time he reasoned that he started building some type of relationship with his wife.

Meanwhile Khushi had just finished her bath. She took the huge towel that Charu laid out for her and dried herself slowly, feeling relaxed for the first time in many days. She padded in her dressing room where Charu had laid out a simple sari for her to wear. Placing the towel on a chair, Khushi spread salve on the remaining would on her thigh. Her back faced the door opening in her bedroom. Finished, she placed the small salve container back on the drawer and opening the glass container holding her body powder, she began applying it using the soft puff. She reached for some more powder when quite by accident she knocked the glass lid of the container down. It fell directly on her small foot and the sound of it falling combined with her pained yelp reached Arnav who was in the bedchamber, laying the white rose on her pillow.

He reacted quickly, reaching the connecting door in seconds to throw it open and barge in.

"Khushi! What happened?"

Khushi jumped around in surprise, facing Arnav, the pain in her foot forgotten in the appearance of her husband. She gave a low scream, looking around frantically for something to cover her body! The towel and sari both were some distance away. Quickly raising her arms to cover her chest, she ran for the sari, presenting her back to Arnav. The next instant she froze when she encountered her front view reflected in the full length mirrors, along with the reflection of her handsome husband. Devi Maiya was there no escape for her? She thought frantically. To grab the towel she would have to lower her hands and then all would be reflected! Why couldn't he leave??? She quickly spun to face him. Better to present her back than the front, she reasoned in her mind.

On the verge of leaving, Arnav checked his step. The reflection in the mirror. He stared at it. God! What was all that??? All red marks criss-crossing her back. He took a step towards her, his gaze riveted to the mirror. What in hell? Were they scars? But so many! How? He took another step.

Seeing him coming closer, Khushi's heart jumped in her mouth. Devi Maiya, why was he coming towards her? Fear, very real mixed with shame clawed at her nerves. She quickly stepped back. But he kept on coming and she hurriedly started backing away from him and without realising, closer to the mirror. The view of her back became clearer and clearer but she didn't realize that.

Arnav's gaze was completely on her back and he didn't notice her distress. She backed away until her back came up against the mirror and her breath hitched. Where to go now? She cringed when her husband came right up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. Her head lowered and she closed her eyes tightly, tears seeping from below the lids to run down her cheeks. What was he going to do to her?

Khushi pressed against the mirror, hiding her back from his view. Fixated on the red marks, Arnav placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her towards him. She resisted but her strength was nothing against his and she came to him with a jerk, stumbling in the process. Once again her back was visible and Arnav looked at it clearly. He frowned slightly and then the penny dropped; with a vengeance.

"Apparently the tribe members were angry with the girl and whipped her."

Maan Singh's words, uttered so long ago in his study, came back to him. Dear God, they were whip marks he could see on her back. The marks of her punishment! He couldn't move his eyes away from her back. He knew that till the day he died, he would never forget that view. A view flashed in his mind of that long ago night in the forest when he had seen her back in the glow of moonlight. How he had admired the smoothness and beauty! And now, today, he was faced with the handiwork of cruelty, of inconsideration, and more importantly the part he had played in it. For he had played a part; a very big one.

Hands gripped tight on her thin shoulders, Arnav continued to watch Khushi's scarred back in the mirror. Whip marks! To leave marks such as these, the whip must have broken the skin as it fell on her back. So many marks! What about the agony; the pain??????? The damage to her body had nearly cost her her life. Life! Unwittingly his hands tightened on her shoulders and Khushi winced with the pain. She struggled a bit to dislodge his hands but he resisted, tightening them more. A low cry of pain, of humiliation, of fear and of shame, broke through. The small sound reached Arnav's ears and he looked down at Khushi.

He saw her short curls, the top of her lowered head. And he became aware of her posture. She was hunched slightly and her arms were held tightly in front of her.

"Khushi?" Arnav softly called her. In answer, she hunched even more. He noted the stiffness of her bones, her body, of the coldness of her skin under his hands.

"Khushi?" He called again, his voice low and husky with a slight catch in it. A soft shudder passed through her frame and a low hiccup reached him. Arnav lowered his head to look in her face and saw the tears running down her cheeks.

"Khushi???" He left one shoulder and slid his hand gently down her chin to lift it. She resisted. He tried again and again she resisted. This time she shook her head, hunching into her frame even more. And it was then he recalled their surroundings, their state. His eyes flickered towards the mirror and this time, in addition to the marks, he noted the bareness. She was without clothes! And trying to hide herself away from his gaze! And he, like an idiot, was standing here, gripping her shoulders, completely forgetting her nudity.

A wave of intense shame engulfed him. God! What must she be thinking? And where was his brain for heaven's sake? She was standing without her clothes and instead of giving her privacy, he captured her against him, looking his fill at his handiwork while the poor child shivered. He instantly let her go, stepping away and looking around. He spied the huge towel on the chair and quickly went to get it.

When he let go, a scared Khushi couldn't move for the first few moments. By then he was back, towel in hand. Deftly shaking it out, Arnav wrapped it around her slim frame, bundling her in it. He guided her to the chair and pushed her in it. For a moment he debated what to do with her as she sat in the chair, huddled in the towel and shivering slightly. There was not much for him to do, Arnav realized, not at this moment. She was too uncomfortable around him and he couldn't increase that by offering to help her dress. Better to fetch someone, he decided.

He strode out of the dressing room and saw Charu in the bedchamber. Evidently she was waiting to assist Khushi with her dressing. Why the hell didn't she enter the dressing room earlier, he wondered? But of course she couldn't. No servant would interrupt a Maharaja while he was with his wife and Charu was too aware of protocol to enter at such times.

"Wo... the Maharani dropped the powder container lid on her foot. Have a look at it."

Arnav informed Charu and walked out towards his own dressing room. A worried Charu hurried in the dressing room. She had left to give the Maharani some privacy while she bathed and relaxed but when she came the Maharaja was in the dressing room with her. Charu knew her Maharani would probably need her help; she was not a fool, she knew things were not normal between the royal couple but she couldn't walk in while he was with her.

"Maharani Saheba?" Charu exclaimed as she saw her young mistress sitting in the chair, huddled in her towel. Her shoulders were shaking. Was she all right? She hurried towards Khushi, maternal instincts on alert...

Hi folks... Arnav and Khushi's POV's coming up in next update...Thnx.

Yay me first 😊 Awesome update Chinky, loved it!!!! Poor Khushi it is going to take her some time to heal physically and mentally. Totally feel bad for her, atleast now Arnav knows the extent of cruelty that was befallen on Khushi. I am hoping soon he will start to redeem himself even in Khushi's eyes and make her fall in love all over again. It was a short update, please Chinky make a Maha update next time 😃 Cannot wait for the next update with Arshi's POV!!!!!!!!