Recap: Arnav's bride goes missing and he picks Khushi forcefully for marriage. Both agree for a mutual separation after six months. Khushi is in love with Samrat and discuss about the whole six month marriage thing with him. Arnav witnesses it and moves away before Khushi can notice him. Now read further...
Chapter 3:
Arnav kept driving his car mindlessly. The soft drizzzles were now turning into a heavy downpour, but he couldn't care less. Why would he care? Afterall, he himself was responsible for driving Khushi away from him. Seven years! It has been seven long years, but the memories are still as good as it had happened just yesterday. Some things remained the same. However some things have changed. Time does that to you. He has changed. Khushi has changed. Their relation..? He expelled a chest loosening breath as his hold tightened on the steering.
He had a lot of work up his sleeve. The top of that list was convincing Khushi to stay with him. What possibly could he have answered to her when she kept on prodding to him for the reason they got married? So he told her what he knew will effectively shut her up. He lied. And what a lie! He himself didnt know from where that thought came in his mind. He took a deep breathe as he recognized that the lie was not satisfactory to a rationale person like Khushi. But the truth looked more appalling. He cannot take a chance. Not when it comes to her!
And this was just the beginning. He knows she is gonna have a lot of questions for him. And he wants to be ready. Maybe slowly he would prepare her to face the truth.
He knew he needed to be home at this hour...for Khushi's muh-dikhai rasam. But he couldn't come to terms with what he had just witnessed an hour back. His wife sitting cozily with her boyfriend. Well, too bad for her. He will make her realize. He will keep on nudging her until she accepts herself as his wife. Wife...! Seven years back, who would have thought? He chuckled at this notion. His mind became a time capsule and shamelessly transported him back to the time when he used to be a shadow of his current self. When he was just a 22 year old college going lad; when he had reasons to smile, when he thought he deserved to be happy, when he had his Khushi by his side...
Seven years back...
Splash! Someone poured a bucketful of water on Arnav. He opened his eyes swearing under his breath. "What the! Khushi ki bachhi, am not gonna leave you today."
"No, first you get up and eat your breakfast. I just have 18 mins left for my class and I don't want to be late again." She spoke in a voice of authority, running around the bed, away from him.
"Acha, on whose permission you threw the water on me dammit".
"Ohho, am sorry, but did you forget that Anjali di had appointed me as your guardian angel" she kept her hands on her hip, " meaning I have to take care of your food and make sure that you don't forget you meds, attend your classes..."
She paused to look at Arnav making his way to the washroom, "I can go on if you want, but what do you care!"
"You are right. I don't care. Waise bhi, janglee billi ka chehra dekhkar uth raha hoon, to pura din kharab jane wala hai" (Now that I am getting up seeing a wild cat's face, my whole day is gonna go wrong)
"You dinosaur, I was actually kind enough to splash only half bucket water on you, but you clearly want more." She held the bucket, quickly mixing a colored powder in it and made a dash towards Arnav only to get hit by the leg of the bed.
She will stop in her place and let out of whimper, "Arnie, ouch".
Arnav, who had just successfully escaped, came out immediately from the bathroom, next to her, "Khushi, tum bhi na. Dekh ke nahi chal sakti?" (Khushi, you are too much. Cant you watch where you are going?)
He made a gesture to sit next to her.
Splash!!! And now the remaining water in the bucket was also on Arnav.
"Bura na mano holi hai".(Don't mind, its Holi) Saying this, Khushi ran out for her life, not before flashing all her teeth before him.
Flashback ends
And that was the last holi after which everything changed/Arnav turned into the ruthless ASR as the world knows him.
Precap:
Muh dikhai rasam going on and flashbacks.
Chapter 4
Will send the pm to those who have liked and commented. Not sure if others are interested Let me know if I missed someone? 😳
Edited by shaliniranjan - 10 years ago
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