ArHi FF || Serendipity #2 || Link to Thread 3: Pg 1 - Page 59

He blinked. Blinked stupidly, may he add, trying to understand the implications behind her words.

What did he call herself? A wh*re? How dare she?! Is that what she thought of herself?

Shocked and livid, he bit back at her defensively; "with all due respect, Miss. I do not allow such language in my clinic. It's absolutely revolting to hear such rubbish from a woman"

Khushi's bowed head shot up in bewilderment. Why was he so surprised? Didn't this seemingly intelligent man recognize her for what she was? His black eyes were... angry at hearing the word. Tarang didn't look nearly as satisfied and content as Arnav would when the word would slip off his tongue. She squinted a bit harder. Was she truly reading his face correctly?

"It's disgraceful. If women degrade themselves with such bullshit, then how can we accept men to change their perspective?! What's wrong with a woman who has sex, Khushi? She is proud of her body and comfortable with the pleasure she attains with it. How can you call her a wh**e being a girl yourself? Why distinguish between two X chromosomes and one?"

"Tarang ji. You don't know abo---"

"Please don't try to justify yourself. You could be a street-working prostitute for all I care, but I would NEVER think it's okay to call you such a disgusting word. A woman is a woman, and she deserves the respect, no matter who she sleeps with or how frequently"

As Khushi watched him irritably pace the room, she felt a stirring in her heart. Never before had she seen hurt in the eyes of man... directed for her. She'd seen anger and jealousy and even deceptive love. But never hurt. She reminisced about the jealousy she had felt for Anjali just a few months ago, a woman whose brother's every whim and fancy was directed for her wellbeing.

And here was a stranger, offended by the allegations raised on the purity of her character. Offended, by the slurs used for her.

No Khushi. Stop.

She stopped herself from thinking further, fully aware that a sl*t's trust in a seemingly honest man only led to the burden of more pain. Yet there was something so unnervingly magnetic about this Tarang Kher, and the opportunity to earn money without having to sell her body sounded tempting.

Hesitantly, she interjected his angry stride around the room.

"Tarang Ji. If it's still all right with you, I'd like to hear the business proposition"

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She sipped the unfamiliar angrezi Earl Grey tea, cringing as the citrusy beverage burned her tongue. Adrak wali chai did not appear to be offered at the Starbucks Tarang Ji had brought her to, so Khushi had quietly pointed to the first drink on the tea menu, unaware that it would be prepared without loose leaves and milk. Yet when the barista served her drink, she didn't complain or reveal any obvious surprise, concerned that Tarang Ji would repeal his job offer when learning of her low class mentality.

"Khushi, if you don't like the tea, I can buy you something else. They do have chai here, you know"

Was she that obvious?! Her eyes widened in dread of his distaste, and she aggressively shook her head no.

"No, no Tarang Ji! It is delicious", raising the cup to her mouth and feigning a sip.

He lifted his eyebrow amusedly and pleasantly chuckled for the first time since their argument in the clinic.

"Khushi, I have an ailing grandmother at my home. Nani is suffering from severe depression, and it's only gotten worse since Nanu passed away so suddenly last year. As much as I wish I could be with her, my work is too demanding of my time. I would like you to simply give her company and watch over her needs. I'm ready to offer you a room in my guest house, food and whatever pay you desire"

Khushi Kumari Gupta was dumfounded and astounded by Tarang's generosity. In fact, it didn't make any sense. Why would a man like him be offering her such a secure and respectable job? Complete with a place to stay, meals to eat and money to thrive? She thought back to the months of torture in Arnav's company... how a seemingly harmless deal had the cost of her honor and almost her life. Was she misreading Tarang? Were his intentions secretly aligned with Arnav's?

"But... but why me?"

Tarang's gaze then shifted to his now cold black coffee, unable to look Khushi in those bright hazel eyes and answer her as truthfully as she deserved. How could he tell this woman that he was... attracted to her? Not just physically, but unjustifiably deeper than that. How could he confess that he felt this strange urge to help her? To soothe her pain? How could he persuade a stranger that he aimed to raise her confidence and esteem? To make her smile and laugh in glee? How could he confess?

"You seem like a nice woman, Khushi. And the sort of individual my grandmother would come to love. I just want the best for her"

And perhaps you as well, he whispered silently to himself.

When she remained painfully silent, twirling her spoon soundlessly in her dejected tea, he disappointedly spoke again, "Listen. You don't need to if you don't want to. I understand that you feel uncomf---""

"I'll do it, Tarang Ji." she whispered. "As long as I'm away from Delhi."

That was it? She'd do it? That was her only condition? His heart started pounding harder against his chest, the steady noise filling his ears.

"I live in the outskirts of Gurgaon", he said, struggling to keep the sheer excitement concealed. "My guest house is behind my fenced complex"

"Then I'm ready"

The response was instant and sure, though a sense of confidence and pride was absent. But he vowed to amend that.

With a broad smile stretching across his handsome face and a new sparkling glint in his midnight black eyes, he stood from his seat and gave Khushi a gentle hug from the side, holding her steady even as she violently tried to flinch away from his grasp. And then, as though no awkward moment had been shared, he asked Khushi to wait in her seat until he returned, walking to the barista behind the counter.

When Tarang rejoined her moments later, he was carrying a small china mug, the smooth steam rising from the surface and fanning the sharp contours of his face.

"Another coffee, Tarang Ji?"

He laughed and placed the cup in front of her.

"I can't drink that much black coffee, I'd shit my pants! And Khushi, don't ever feel you need to hide something from me. I can instantly place you to be an adrak wali chai kind of girl"

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