Arhi FF: Humsafar. Chapter 18 up! - Page 4

Opening the main gate, Arnav tiptoed towards his room, careful not to disturb anyone. He was tired at the end of the day and decided to take a long shower before he ate something. But he realized a little late after taking a bath that it was quite late for someone to be awake and give him some food. He could heat it up but who would make rotis? He looked longingly at his grumbling stomach and was about to go in the kitchen to at least have a glass of milk when the aroma of fresh rotis being prepared hit his nostrils and he heard the jingling of the bangles and when he went towards the source of the voice, his heart picking up its pace at the possibility. And there she was standing and preparing food for him. She looked at him for a moment and then averted her gaze as usual. "Woh I thought you must be hungry." Saying that she started heating up the food meanwhile arranged the plates, a glass of water on the table to serve him. All this time, Arnav stood admiring her. She was concerned for him and he was rejoicing in this fact. Had she actually stayed up late just to serve him food? And the answer was standing right in front of him. In about less than fifteen minutes, she picked up the tray and motioned him to get aside and went to the dining room with Arnav following her.

Setting up the table, Khushi was about to go when Arnav gently held her wrist and motioned her with his eyes to sit down with him. She nodded and sat down across him on the table. A comfortable silence lingered with Arnav eating his dinner and Khushi playing with the table cloth. She was aware of him looking at her and couldn't help but steal a few glances of him as well. She had missed him today and had come to the conclusion that she had gotten used to his talks, his gaze and presence around her. She was about to get up when Arnav went to wash his hands but he soon came and started picking up the tray when he heard Khushi speaking: "Hum karlenge."

"It's okay, Khushi" He picked up the tray and also rolled up his sleeves opening the tap of the sink to wash the plates when Khushi quickly came to him. "Please. Aap chor dijiye. Hum karlenge."

"Relax Khushi. Main apne ghar main bhi toh karta hi hoon na. Why don't you stand here and watch me work for a change?"

"Laikin acha nahin lagta. Please." She tried to stop him but all in vain. Ignoring her, he continued to wash the dishes and asked her to wipe them dry if she was so keen on working. She was wiping the dishes when Arnav saw her and thought how domestic everything looked. Her staying up late and then this. He cleared his throat to get her attention and when he did have it, he spoke:

"You know whenever ammi is angry on abu, she punishes him by ordering him to wash the dishes. And you know what he does? Saves himself by going all puppy eyes on me and I have to do all the work."

Khushi looked at him in disbelief and they both burst out laughing together. "See it's done." He said motioning towards the dishwasher and drying his hands with a towel said: "Now can we please go for our everyday terrace session?"

Smiling at the man in front of her, she followed him to the terrace and stood on their usual spot. Feeling his intent gaze on her, Khushi hesitantly looked up at him and couldn't help but observe his tired eyes.

"How was your day?" She asked not knowing what to say and surprised at the courage she had gained from the first time they met when she made an utter fool of herself in front of him.

"Hectic but good. We just had to give it a final touch and the building is completed. They have their inauguration next week." He said and asked hopefully: "Will you come with me?"

"Yes. But I'll have to ask ammi first."

"I'll do that, don't worry. How was your day? Same old or did someone miss me too much that she put salt in badaam kheer?"

She gasped and immediately looked at him embarrassed, wondering how did he come to know when only her sister...that little brat, she's surely going to get a good beating tomorrow, Khushi thought and turned her face sideways wishing for some intrusion to escape Arnav's mischievous eyes.

Flashback

"Aapi." Aaliya came singing in the kitchen and found it unusually quiet rather than her sister humming to herself which she most of the times did while cooking alone. She looked towards the counter top where Khushi was standing, lost in her own thoughts and frowned. She was behaving strange, Aaliya thought and again looked at Khushi but the red hue on her cheeks curled her lips up in a playful smirk.

"Kya kismet hai Arnav bhai ki? Humari aapi toh rukhsati se pehle hi unki fan ho gayin."

"Aisa kuch nahin hai. Hum toh kheer bana rahe the." Khushi said trying to put all her attention on making the kheer. That's right, trying!

"Arnav bhai ko pasand hai is liye?"

"Haan." Khushi nodded absentmindedly and immediately realizing her folly, she shook her head in negative and proceeded towards putting sugar in the kheer.

"Pata hai, pata hai." She said in a teasing voice and then looking at the kheer rather apologetically, exclaimed: "Aapi I do know that he is totally smitten by you but not that much that he'll eat the kheer with salt."

"KYA!? Yeh kaise..." She gasped in horror and cursed herself looking at the label on the container. How stupid of her! She thought and hesitantly towards Aaliya who was singing a song similar to her situation: "Haan mujhe pyar hua, pyar hua, Allah miyan!"

Flashback ends

"Woh..." She tried finding some words to explain the disaster she had made in the kitchen when she heard him speaking again:

"You know I called my secretary Khushi three times, zoned out for two times and was smiling like a fool to myself four times. My staff thought that their boss had gone mad." He said chuckling and looked at her trying to control herself from giggling. "Sometimes I am surprised that how far we have come in such a short time. When is your rukhsati, again?"

"Still three weeks to go." She said making him sigh loudly showing his displeasure at the prospect of it being too far and she smiled biting her lip feeling shy and a little impatient too. His heart thudding at that gesture and he couldn't help but do what he did next.

He held her hand and tugging her towards him, hugged her ever so gently. She became stiff with the first contact but then relaxed under his touch. Her hands were hanging to her sides when she felt him lower his head near her ear and said in a low whisper:

"You can hug me too, you know? You have every right to." While her hands enclosed around his waist, she sighed peacefully and rested her head against his chest comfortably and blushed at the image they made. She certainly felt like the luckiest girl in the whole world to have such a loving husband like him.