ArHi OSes: When I Knew | Ugly Chaise | PG 53 | NEW UPDATE (21/8) - Page 29

He had seen her around the office before.

Her loud, enthusiastic voice was hard to miss when she was chatting with Ramu, the man who brought them the mail every single morning. She would chatter on and on about Lucknow, about how the lunch in the cafeteria was of such bad quality, about how her Jiji' had come shopping with her and-

It never really ended.

She talked and talked, to the point where he often wondered how her mouth didn't get tired.

But that wasn't really what made her notice him.

She worked in one of the top fashion companies in India, and yet... she was standing there in a neon colored salwar kameez, her hair twisted into a braid with the little pom poms at the end. She ignored the looks thrown her way, laced with mocking disdain.

It was something he wished he could do, to ignore what others thought of him.

He noticed her because she was the only one that stood up to his domineering older brother, to stand there and tell him he was wrong without blinking.

She never cowered in fear, only jutting her chin out further and determinedly meeting his brother's cold, calculating gaze.

He had always admired Arnav, for being the person he never could be.

Arnav had power, the ability to make everyone in a room sit down and listen. He had worked hard, struggled, and gotten to the top. No one dared to go against him, and that was something Akash respected deeply.

So when Khushi decided to stand up to his brother, it almost shocked him that there was someone... who didn't tremble in fear.

Even he couldn't do that.

He hadn't really spoken to her, only glimpsed her from afar. He had seen her come in every day, he had heard her voice, her incessant chatter.

But somehow, he had developed a soft spot for her, this woman he had really never truly met.

So when he saw her standing in the parking lot, shivering from the pounding cold rain that had soaked her flimsy, cotton salwar, he had wanted nothing more than to reach out to her and shield her.

Her hair was plastered to her head, the vibrant red of the cloth turned into a deep scarlet that clung to her trembling figure. Her eyes were wide with worry, her entire body pulling into itself in a failed attempt to keep warm.

He had never been more angry at his older brother.

Akash had always respected Arnav, but this was too much.

For the first time, he was beginning to see the cracks in the platform he had kept Arnav on.

He still admired his ability to make anyone listen.

But he didn't admire the ego that had stemmed from that, the belief that he should never be challenged.

For the first time, Akash was disgusted by Arnav.

He stood under the umbrella, unable to tear his eyes away from the woman standing in front of him. He could feel the fondness changing, shifting until it became something akin to admiration.

This woman had the guts that he never had, the guts that he thought his brother embodied.

He was slowly coming to realize that his brother was someone who got his power from controlling others. His brother had worked hard to get where he was, but he had forgotten that process after achieving success. He was arrogant, and believed he should simply be given that respect, forgetting that it had to be earned.

Khushi got her power from standing up to people like his brother, from never deviating from her ideals.

Akash felt the shame overwhelm him for being the brother of the man who had made an innocent girl stand out in the freezing rain, unable to look their business partner in the eye.

He lingered behind, wanting... wishing that he could take her out of this situation. He could see the hope in her eyes that he would stand up for her, that he would tell Arnav Singh Raizada off.

But he couldn't.

He was too much of a coward to do what Khushi did, to stand up to him and face the consequences. He didn't have her self confidence, her determination to stop waht she thought was wrong.

He turned around, walking away just as the sound of a car accelerating loudly rang in the parking lot. He whipped around, watching in horror as it zoomed towards the shivering woman in red.

He should have broken into a run, tried to save her somehow. He should have yelled, warned the woman frozen to her spot.

But he couldn't, just as always.

To his surprise, a figure clad in black sprinted towards her, his arms swiftly wrapping around her waist, spinning her out of the pathway of the errant car.

Akash had never seen his brother run so fast. It was as if he was moving on autopilot, his attention only focused on getting to Khushi.

He watched as Arnav set her down, her hands still clutching his shoulders in fear as she buried her face into his soggy suit. He saw Arnav's hands tighten around ber, pressing her closer to himself, as if he was trying to reassure himself that she was okay.

One more second, and she would have been dead.

He could see the shock register on Arnav's face as he realized what he had done, his expression frozen as he tried to understand what had happened.

He saw Arnav's figure soften as his fingers loosened against Khushi's shoulder, his hold growing more gentle as he pulled her in, shielding her. His eyes gentled, and he swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath.

She became aware of his presence, the warmth from him spreading through her as the cold rain drenched them. She could feel his fingers pressing into her skin, the vague smell of him mixed with the earthiness of the wet mud. Her entire body stiffened as she slowly pulled back, lifting her nervous gaze to his.

Akash was held captive by the scene in front of him, his brother and Khushi staring at each other as the rain poured down around them.

In that moment, it was just the two of them.

The rebel, who dared to challenge him was stunned by a sudden moment of understanding, and the leader, desperately trying to hold onto the strands of control slipping from his fingers.

He felt as if he was intruding on a private moment, the two of them staring at each other with something... unnamable.

Arnav couldn't tear his gaze away from her, his eyes holding regret and apologies he would never be able to voice. And in her gaze, was something that almost mirrored a strange sense of understanding.

Their noses were almost touching, her lips trembling as she looked up at him.

This time, Akash suspected that she was no longer trembling out of fear.

Akash saw Arnav's gaze drop down to her lips, trailing slowly down her neck before it rested on his hands that were still clutching her shoulders. He saw the awareness creep back into Arnav's eyes, the realization of the lost power.

Roughly, he pushed her away, but his words no longer held the venom that they had earlier. Instead, it was low and husky, his eyes scanning her face almost... worriedly.

"Parking ko sambhalne ko bola tha. Khud jaa ke gadi ke aage khade hone ko nahi."

He saw Arnav turn away sharply, prepared to leave her there alone in the dark, wet night.

He held his breath, wondering whether his brother would really leave her there.

Arnav took one step, and then another, his steps faltering.

For just a minute, he turned around, his eyes lingering on the shivering, red figure that clutched her phone to her chest.

In that moment, Akash knew that this... wasn't over.

His brother, the domineering, undefeatable man had finally let the strings loosen his fingers. Just for a minute, he had let someone else hold on as well.

Akash knew he would fight tooth and nail to regain that control, that he would humiliate her and torture her in an attempt to make himself feel better, to soothe the bruised ego.

But Akash also knew that this woman would only stand there in her glittering salwars, jutting her chin out defiantly at everything.

And in the end, the strings would slip out of Arnav's hands.

*********

Note: It's been quite a while, hasn't it? But I wrote this, mainly for a friend who asked me to do this one months ago. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'll continue to write more of these whenever the inspiration strikes.

I'm currently in the middle of writing a multi-chaptered story, called Resistance. You can find it here:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/fan-fictions/4196728/1-arhi-ff-resistance-complete

Please PM me your email for update notifications, or follow me on Twitter @ipkchotidesi.

Love always,

Choti.