PART 12. REALIZATIONS!
"Daadiji?", Paayal spoke nervously as she knocked on the door of Naani's room. It was an hour after Khushi's departure to the party and Paayal wanted to ask certain questions to Naani about Khushi and Arnav.
Naani, who sat on the bed leaning against the headboard chatting with Anjali, looked up and smiled at her Bahu, "Haan! Paayal Bitiya!"
Paayal smiled nervously, "Woh humein aapse baat kar ni thi!"
Naani nodded, "Haan bolo bitiya! Aapan jo kehna hai kaho! Lekin aapan baahar kyun khadi hai? Bheetar aayiye!"
Paayal nodded and stepped in. She sat on the bed gingerly and looked at Naani and Anjali with trepidation, "Hum aapse agar koi sawaal pooche toh kya aap jawaab dengi?" Then her nervousness took over and she started rambling, "Hum aapke koi faisle pe sawaal nahi utha rahe, hum bas aapke faisle ke peeche ki wajah jaanna chaahte hain!" She mumbled the last few words.
Naani frowned, "Dariye mat Bitiya! Hum aapan ke baat ka bura naahi maanenge! Poocho! Jo humse poochna hai poocho!"
Paayal gave Naani a hesitant smile and spoke, "Daadiji! Aap humesha Jethji ko Khushi ke saath kyun bhejti hain? Pehle College chodne aur leke aane bheja tha aur aaj party ke liye bhi! Hum yeh nahi keh rahe ki humein ismein kuch galat lag raha hai! Lekin aap bhi jaanti hai ki in dono ko saath bhejna matlab ghar mein din bhar jhagda! Jab dono ek doosre se itne pareshaan hote hain toh un dono ko saath kyun rakhna?"
Naani let out a laugh at Paayal's nave question and shook her head, "Paayal bitiya! Aap woh nahi dekh rahi jo hum dekhat hain!" Paayal frowned and Naani explained, "Kya kabhi Khushi se pehle aapne kisi ko bhi Arnav Bitwa ke khilaaf aawaaz uthaathe hue dekha hai?"
Paayal shook her head. Everyone was scared of her Jethji. Even Aakash would not go against him. Arnav listened to Naani and Anjali only and that also out of respect.
Naani continued speaking, "Lekin Khushi unmein se naahi hai! Khushi ne humesha wahi kiya jo uu ko theek laga! Woh Chote ke aage kabhi nahi jhukengi! Aur hum yahi cheez Chote ko sikhaana chaahte hain!"
Paayal and Anjali frowned and Daadima explained, "Arnav bitwa ne bachpan se wahi kiya jo uu ko chaahiye! Apne parivar ko chodke kisi aur ke bhaavnaaon ke baare mein kadar hi naahi ki! Bas apni manmaani karte aavat hai! Khud ko duniya se upar samajhte hain! Lekin hum chaahte hai ki woh ee bhi seekhlein ki woh jo chaahte hain woh unhein humesha naahi milega! Zindagi uu ke hisaab se naahi chalti! Aur unhein yeh sabak sabse achchi tarah se Khushi bitiya hi sikha sakat hai!"
Paayal nodded as she understood Naani's logic. Naani spoke again, "Aur ek wajah hai humaare Chote ko Khushi Bitiya ke saath bhejne ka?"
Paayal looked on curiously and Naani explained, "Aapan toh jaanti hai ki Arnav kitne badtameez hai! Aur ladkiyon se kitni behudi se pesh aate hai! Kya pata Khushi bitiya ke saath rehkar ladkiyon se baat karne ki unmein thodi tameez aajaaye!"
Paayal and Anjali giggled and Naani winked at them.
The party had been going on for two hours and Khushi was enjoying herself. She was dancing amongst some girls of her class with whom she used to hang out with during the College time. They were seven of them and except Khushi all were drunk. Khushi was the only one out of all of them to not have a boyfriend and not to drink at all. But that does not mean her friends did not try to set her up with their boyfriends' friends but Khushi politely refused them as she wanted to finish her studies first. Plus, she knew her Babuji will be disappointed in her if the news of her having a boyfriend came out as she was sent here to study and not to make boyfriends.
So Khushi continued to dance with her friends to some latest music in the middle of the dance floor and when it came to drink time, Khushi drank mocktails and juices while her friends drank vodka and cocktails. Hence, Khushi was surprised when suddenly she felt dizzy. Yeh humein kya ho raha hai? Khushi wondered as she grasped her head tightly. Maybe it was because of dancing so much. Haan! Yahi hoga! Humein break lena chaahiye! She excused herself citing tiredness and went and sat in a corner watching everyone enjoy themselves.
After a while, Khushi again felt dizziness, and this time it was stronger. This freaked Khushi out. She could not understand what was happening to her. Why was she feeling so dizzy? She got up to stand but the dizziness took over and she had to sit down before she fell. Scared of what was happening, Khushi grabbed a glass of water from the passing waiter and drank it fully. The dizziness ebbed and Khushi wondered what was happening.
Suddenly, Khushi was reminded of a conversation she had with Anjali. Anjali had warned her to be careful as during such parties drugs were mixed in girls' drinks and then they were taken advantage of. Khushi's broke into sweat as she realized that there is a good chance someone had mixed something into her drinks. Her mind reminded her that several of her drinks were handed over to her by her classmates! Jaroor kisi ne kuch mila diya hoga! Hey Devi Maiyya! Ab hum kya karein? Agar yeh kisi ka humaare glass mein kuch milaane ka asar hai toh? Khushi gulped as she looked around in confusion, unsure what to do next. She was scared and tears welled up in her eyes. Nahi Khushi! You are not a cry baby! Devi Maiiya pe bharosa rakho! Rone se kuch nahi hoga! Rona band karo and think! Khushi's conscious spoke to her sounding suspiciously like Arnav.
Humein... Humein yahaan se nikalna hoga! Aur thodi der idhar rahi toh pata nahi kya ho sakta hai! Khushi nodded her head. Yes! She would get out of here and go home! But how will she go home? Agar raste mein kuch hogaya toh? Aisi haalat mein hum ghar kaise jaayenge? Kahin raste mein behosh hogaye toh! Hey Devi Maiyya! She felt dizzy again and she gripped the chair besides her tightly willing her dizziness to lessen, just enough that she could reach home.
Just as the dizzy spell went away, Khushi's eyes reached her friends dancing on the dance floor. She realized that they could help her. She got up and stumbled towards them as the drug was impeding her balance. She felt the world tilt its axis and she stopped walking as another thought hit her. Her friends were drunk. What help would they be to her? What to do now? That is when she remembered that she was supposed to call Arnav to pick her up. Haan! Arnavji se baat karti hoon! Woh turant humein yahaan se le jaayenge! Humein yahaan aur nahi rehna! She pulled her cell out of her purse and dialed Arnav's number.
After ringing for a while, Arnav picked up her call. Till now Khushi remained strong, but the moment Arnav said hello, Khushi broke down crying but Arnav could not hear her as the party's music did not allow him to hear Khushi's cry. Arnav continued to call Khushi's name but the party music made him unable to hear her. Khushi mumbled Arnav's name inbetween her crying when it struck her that the music was obstructing his hearing. Humein yahaan se baahar jaana hoga! Humein college se baahar nikalna hoga! She cut the phone and stumbled out of the College Premises her dizziness getting strong.
Once she was far enough from the College that she could not hear the music, Khushi stopped walking. Khushi knew that she did not have much time before she lost conscious. She pulled out her phone to dial Arnav's number but her fingers shaking due to the drugs fell from her hands right onto the ground. Khushi felt tears well up in her eyes but a voice sounding just like Arnav spoke to her again, "KHUSHI! Be strong! Tum itni jaldi haar nahi maan sakti!" Khushi nodded and wiped the tears away. She fell onto her knees and picked up the phone. With her shaking hand, she typed a four letter message and pressed send' hoping Arnav would come to her before the person who drugged her reached her.
Arnav was dressing up when his phone beeped indicating message. Even though Arnav had not been able to talk with Khushi on the phone, he knew that the only reason she would call him was to pick her up. So Arnav, who was watering his plants, dressed only in his old muddied T-Shirt and jeans, got up and started changing his shirt into fresh one so that he could go and pick Khushi up.
Arnav frowned while buttoning his shirt when he saw that the message was from Khushi. Yeh message kyun kar rahi hai? Call bhi toh kar sakti thi? Especially when she loves to bak bak so much? Arnav opened the message and as soon as his eyes read the message they widened in horror as Arnav felt a chill run down his spine. The message read, "HELP" That was enough to make Arnav run out of his house like a bat out of hell. The family was shocked when they saw Arnav run towards his Car. Yeh Arnav Bitwa ko kya hoi gava hai? Naani wondered as Aakash, Paayal and Anjali looked at each other curiously.
Khushi was sitting near the college gates with the mobile in her hand. With patience and concentration she slowly got onto her feet willing her eyes to stay open for few minutes. Bas kuch der Khushi! I am coming! She imagined Arnav whispering to her and Khushi nodded knowing that her panicked message would get Arnav here immediately. Arnav might fight with her a lot but she knew somewhere in his heart he considered her as his friend and for the sake of their friendship she was sure he would come.
Khushi slowly started walking towards the College gate when suddenly someone grasped her arm from back. She turned around quickly and had to close her eyes as she felt dizziness again due to the sudden turn. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, "Rahul!", she whispered as she saw the person holding her hand.
"Hi beautiful!", Rahul whispered as he grinned at her lecherously and in that one moment she realized that he was the one who must have drugged her. He was the first person to hit on her in the College and the only guy who seemed to ask her out again and again even after she rejected him numerous times. He never seemed to take no for an answer and continued to harass her by proposing her in various ways. Luckily for her, her College friends were always around her to protect her, so she did not have the need to take any action against him. He must have mixed drugs in her drink as a last attempt to hit on her before they all go on their own way. But she will not allow him to have the pleasure of winning her. She wrenched her hand out of his arms and glared at him.
"Yeh kya badtameezi hai?", Khushi glared at him as dizziness threatened to take hold of her but she refused to allow it.
Rahul gave her a smirk, "Yeh badtameezi nahi mera pyaar hai!" He raised his hand to touch her cheek but she took few steps back refusing to allow his filthy touch on her cheek.
"Bas! Bas karo apni bakwaas!", Khushi hissed as she stumbled a few steps as another bout of dizziness attacked her. She knew that she had only few minutes to save herself from the creep in front of her. Arnavji aap kahaa ho? Her mind wondered.
Khushi turned to walk away only to grabbed by the creep again. She turned around slowly not wanting to invite her dizziness and growled, "Chodo humein!"
Before Rahul could retort with some cheesy line, a hand grabbed Khushi's hand and yanked it out of Rahul's grip as Arnav came to stand beside Khushi, "When a girl tells you to leave her hand you are supposed to leave it!" Arnav glared at Rahul and Rahul promptly took a step back.
Khushi whispered softly, "Arnavji!" Arnav looked at her worriedly. Khushi looked at him pleadingly, "Humein yahaan se le chalo please! Humein ghar jaana hai!" Arnav nodded and glared at Rahul informing Rahul with his eyes to get lost before Arnav did some damage to his body. Rahul understood the signal and scrambled off from there.
"Chalo Khushi!", Arnav grabbed Khushi's hand and dragged her away from there.
When Arnav had arrived and had seen Rahul grabbing Khushi's hand all he felt was panic. Kahin Khushi ka koi boyfriend toh nahi? He did not know why but the thought of his Khushi in love with somebody else filled him with fear and horror. But before he could try to understand his heart's reaction Khushi wrenched her hand away and her body language suggested that she was annoyed and angry at the man. Arnav could not describe the relief he felt at the moment as he realized that Khushi would not behave so aggressively with her boyfriend. That means that the guy was harassing his Khushi! No wonder Khushi wrote HELP in her message! Arnav got down from his car as he saw red. He was filled with uncontrollable anger and all he wanted to do was smash the man's face for touching his Khushi.
But as Arnav neared them, a voice whispered through the anger filled haze in his mind, "Arnavji! Please! Aisa kuch mat kariye jisse hum aapse naaraaz ho jaayein! Aap jaante haina ki humein yeh maar peet pasand nahi! Please Arnavji!" Arnav realized that it was his conscious trying to stop him from doing something that he will regret later but what surprised Arnav more was that the voice sounded like Khushi. If Arnav would have been anywhere else he would have chuckled at the thought of Khushi turning into his conscious but right now Arnav focused on getting Khushi out of there immediately.
Arnav soon saved Khushi from the idiot, grabbed her and dragged her from there only to have her collapse behind him. "KHUSHI!", Arnav roared as he took in her unconscious body on the ground. If you ask him later, Arnav won't be able to explain the agony he felt at that exact moment when his eyes fell on Khushi lying on the ground. He won't be able to explain the gut wrenching pain he felt at seeing her so immobile; the heart paralyzing fear he felt at the thought of loosing his Khushi. And he won't be able to explain the relief he felt when he fell on his knees and grasped her hand only to sense a soft heart beat. She was alive! And he won't be able to explain the peace he felt when he grabbed her and hugged her tight. She was safe! She was fine!
Arnav lifted Khushi in his arms and took her to his car where he placed her in the passenger seat. He got into driver seat and drove as fast as he could to his home. At that moment, Arnav was filled with so much panic and fear that it did not strike him to take Khushi to hospital at all. All he knew was that he wanted Khushi in a safe place and right now the only safe place he knew, the only place where he felt the safest was his house, Shantivan.
Soon Arnav reached home and Aakash, Paayal, Naani and Anjali were greeted to the sight of Arnav coming into the house with Khushi in his arms, a panicked looked on his face and fear in his eyes. Naani was shocked to see her beloved Khushi bitiya like this while Paayal was horrified. What happened to her little sister? All four crowded around Arnav asking him questions but Arnav did not notice them as he placed Khushi on the sofa nearby. Luckily, Maami, Maama and Shyam were out of the house or they would have been worried like rest of them too. Naani ordered Aakash to call the family Doctor while Paayal sat on the sofa placing Khushi's head in her lap as she softly combed her hair asking her sister tearfully to come back to her. Naani looked at Arnav and ordered him to answer her questions but Arnav was so lost in the fear of loosing Khushi that he simply sat in a nearby couch and stared at Khushi with a lost look in his eyes. Naani gave up on getting any answers and she, Anjali and Aakash waited tensely for the Doctor to arrive.
As all three waited for Doctor to arrive, Anjali took a moment to look at her darling brother. The haunted expression on his face was something Anjali was sure she would not forget for coming years. Anjali knew that Arnav was fond of Khushi. He may not have acted like that but Anjali had seen him taking tea and snacks for Khushi many times when she burned midnight oil during her exam days and had even informed Naani about it. Anjali was sure that if they did not like to fight so much they could have been really good friends. But today Anjali wondered if there was more to this relationship. The look on Arnav's face as he stared at Khushi implied something more than fondness. Kahin Chote ko Khushiji se pyaar... Before Anjali could finish the thought, the Doctor arrived and all the thoughts of Arnav's feelings flew out of her head as she concentrated on Khushi.
After half hour, the Doctor was able to determine that Khushi was just unconscious and would wake up soon. They were to bring her to Hospital next day for blood check up to determine what was wrong with her. And if she does not wake up in few hours, they were to take her to Hospital immediately. The family agreed and soon the Doctor was on his way.
"Chote!", Anjali spoke nudging Arnav slowly. She was scared for him. He had yet to move from his place on the couch. The haunted look from his eyes had yet to vanish. Anjali sat beside him and cupped his face and slowly spoke, "Chote! Khushiji theek hai! Unhein kuch nahi hua hai! Woh theek hai!" It seemed that her words worked as Arnav slowly turned his head to look at her. "Woh theek hai?", Arnav whispered and Anjali was shocked to see the vulnerability in his eyes. At that moment she knew that her Chote was definitely having feelings for Khushi. It may not be deep yet and Arnav may not know it yet but she was sure that the feelings were there and Anjali vowed at that moment that she would do everything to encourage the feelings without letting Arnav into her plan and would get Khushi as her Bhabhi.
It took a while but Anjali convinced Arnav to get freshened up and take some rest and Arnav slowly walked away to his room.
As Arnav came out of his long shower and got dressed, his mind finally came out of the shock and started asserting itself by asking uncomfortable questions. It continued to probe him about his reactions when Khushi fell down, when he felt her pulse and when he brought her home. Why did he react so extremely? Why did he feel he could not live without Khushi? Why did his life seem so aimless without her? These questions continued to haunt Arnav as he got down the stairs of his house to the living room where he stopped as he noticed that Khushi had already woken up and was hugging her sister while crying as she explained what had happened with her. Paayal, Anjali and Naani were horrified at what had happened with Khushi while Aakash promised to put the perpetrator behind the jail soon.
Arnav continued to stand there and listen to Khushi cry in agony. He wondered why he could feel her pain in his heart too. He could not understand why he could not handle seeing Khushi in tears. Just then Khushi noticed him and getting up from her seat she ran towards him and hugged him tightly while mumbling thanks amongst her tears. Arnav was shocked at her hug and as he stood still with Khushi hugging him, his heart answered all his questions with one answer; love. He was in love with her. He was so shocked by the revelation that he was in love with her that he did not move even after Khushi moved out of his embrace and hugged Anjali who consoled her. Arnav continued to stand in shock as Paayal and Anjali took Khushi to her room to let her freshen up with Naani following them while Aakash talked to the cops on his phone.
Arnav came out of his stupor after a while and went into his room quietly to contemplate this new revelation. He only came out when dinner was announced and even then he sat and played with his food on the dining table as he wondered about when his heart fell for Khushi. He tried and tried but he could not pinpoint the exact point. All he knew was that the feeling gradually built up till it reached the level where Arnav could not live without Khushi and yet even after it built gradually Arnav still felt it snuck up on him without any warning.
After dinner, Arnav went to his room and lied on his bed as he wondered what he wanted to do with this revelation. Should he tell Khushi? Or should he inform his Di that her wish to see him in love was fulfilled? Or should he tell Aakash and ask his help in proposing to Khushi? Or should he woo Khushi as there was a good chance she may not love him back? As these and many more questions continued to haunt him, an inner voice sounding more like Khushi whispered, "Arnavji! Pehle iss ehsaas ko apnaayiye, mehsoos kijiye, jaaniye, aur phir aage ka sochiye! Aap pehli baar pyaar mein gire hain! Kuch waqt dijiye apne aapko taaki aap iss ehsaas ko enjoy kar sakein!" Arnav smiled softly and agreed with the voice. Yes! He will enjoy this feeling for a while! Aage ka aage dekhenge!
Next update: Khushi plans to go back to Lucknow! Ab kya hoga?
Simple: Arnav will start his planning and plotting again!
Buddy me if you want PMs!
Thanks, take care and have fun,
Kalpana
P.S. As usual, I read your reviews daily, but they will be liked or liked and replied slowly!
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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