The golden liquid in the crystal glass swirled as Arnav dropped a cube of ice into the scotch and turned the glass. Cracking his knuckles, he sat at the stool in the spacious living room and straightened his back, as his fingers rested on the keys of his Grand Piano. Playing a mysterious tune with his eyes closed, he smiled as her image flashed before his eyes. Her hazel-brown eyes, her waist long hair, her smile, her laughter, the way she stuffed pani-puri in her mouth, those lips. His smile widened. He knew how her lips felt, for he had kissed her, even if she did not want him. He wondered how her body felt. Was she as soft all over? How did her smooth skin feel against his rough palms? He opened his eyes as his mind wandered to other aspects of her anatomy. He regretted letting her go away from him that evening. He could have just held her against the wall and had his way with her. No one would ever know. But then something struck him hard. His conscience. His smile faltered. He wasn't the type of a man to have one-night stands, although it was safe to say that he knew the pleasures of the flesh. He wished to touch her again. Kiss her softly. He was madly in love with her. A love that was one of its kind. His fingers still played some mysterious tune while he continued to think about her. Something within him hurt, as he recalled the way she ran away from him. why did she reject him? He just wanted to love her, in his own way. But she was disgusted by him. And being the egoistic man that he was, he knew that she had just intensified his thirst for her touch. He couldn't wait to see her, to feel her again. All in a good time.
Khushi ran to her room and locked the door. Turning the shower on, she stood under it with her clothes on. She felt disgusted by the man who just forced himself on her. Tears streamed down her eyes and she felt nauseated when she recollected his touch. "Sleep with me... Sleep with me..." was the only voice ringing in her head. She hadn't heard of anyone being spoken to in such a manner. She did not even know his name, or from where he had come, or where he lived. All she knew was that he stalked her everywhere she went. And today, he touched her. She felt her whole body burning in anger. She wished to peel the skin off her body. Rubbing her arms and face, she tried to get rid of his touch that was still stinging her. She rubbed her lips vigorously with the back of her hand and let out a loud sob. "I hate you" she cried out through her clenched teeth. She was so angry, that she was shivering with hatred. Minutes passed and she still stood under the shower, her clothes clinging to her frame and water draining down her form. Sniffing and sobbing, she looked into the mirror and was taken by surprise to see her reflection. There stood a woman who looked defeated- her smudged kajal and smeared mascara round her red rimmed eyes made her almost unrecognisable to her own self. "No" she saw her reflection say to herself, "You cannot let him weaken you. He isn't worth it. Yes, he kissed you by force. So what? Are you going to think about it all your life and cry helplessly?" Wiping her tears away, she took a deep breath. "You're strong, Khushi. One stupid incident isn't going to break you" Turning her face upwards, she let the water fall on her face. That weird psychopath was definitely not going to break her.
"Where is Khushi?" Shashi asked Garima as she served him dinner. "She is in her room" she replied, "She came back with a teary face, and when I asked her what happened, she said today was their farewell function, and that, she is a bit emotional saying goodbye to her friends" Shashi nodded and ate the first morsel of aloo-poori. "Poor girl. She must be feeling terrible!" he said. Garima rolled her eyes, "I don't understand her! Whole year she complains about her classmates and spends an hour telling me how much she hates each one of them, and today she comes home crying saying that she is going to miss them! She herself is confused of she likes them or dislikes them" Shashi laughed and drank a sip of water. "By the way, Garima, before I forget, I had to tell you something important." Garima sat next to him to listen to what he had to say. "It's about Mr. Mehta. I spoke to him today and he said he is interested. He's a nice guy. Talk to Khushi when you get a chance" Garima nodded but then frowned. "But isn't she too young? I mean, she is just 23!" Shashi ate another poori. "I'm not saying that it must be immediate. They can get engaged and can wait for a year. Moreover, he is a gem! We won't find a better person for her" "If that is what you feel, Shashi, then I will talk to her as soon as possible. As far as I know, she will say No initially, but will eventually come around." Shashi smiled and held her hand. "Garima, if this works out, I will be the happiest to see her settled." Garima too smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Arnav Sir..." a male voice from behind his back interrupted his thoughts and he knew who it was. Usually, none of his men were allowed inside his penthouse. That was his alone-time. But Aman, his most trusted-man, was the only man who was allowed to disturb him even in the middle of the night, under the sea. Aman had earned that trust by taking a bullet for his master and saving his life. And even though he had healed quickly, the scar on his shoulder still remained as a reminder of his loyalty. "Yes, Aman" Arnav answered in a soft tone, without turning to look at the man standing behind him, still letting his fingers play the melody. "Sir, we've found more about Miss Khushi Kumari Gupta" Instantly, his fingers halted and he looked at Aman. "What is it, Aman?" Aman cleared his throat before speaking. For obvious reasons, he knew that his master wouldn't like the piece of information he was going to give. Arnav picked up the glass and took a sip of his scotch. "Sir, we've found out that Khushi Kumari Gupta's father - Shashi Gupta has been planning to get her married to a particular Arjun Mehta - a lecturer in the college where he works." Arnav paused the glass for a second and then continued to drink another sip. "Go on" he commanded. Aman meekly obeyed with a nod. "Sir, from what we have found out, this Arjun Mehta is a simple, hard-working guy. He has an aged mother and a deaf-and-dumb younger sister. Arjun Mehta is 29 years old and has been teaching in Sapphire college since five years. He teaches subjects related to commerce and specializes in Accounts..." "Aman" Arnav interrupted him, "I'm not interested in taking private tuitions from him. Give me what I want to hear" Aman nodded with a small smile. "Sorry Sir. Anyway, according to sources, Mr. Shashi Gupta has already spoken to Mr. Arjun Mehta about Miss Khushi Kumari Gupta, and Mr. Arjun has expressed interest in her. Mostly, he would wed her by next year" A pin-drop silence fell around them as Aman stopped speaking. Arnav's jaws clenched and Aman swallowed a lump in his throat as he saw his master's jaw muscles bulging in anger. And in seconds, a sharp noise cut through the eerie silence as Arnav threw the glass on the floor; the pieces of which fell everywhere in the hall. "Hari Prakash!" Aman called out to the domestic helper, who came out from the kitchen like a frightened rat. Aman smiled to himself as he saw the man clean up the broken pieces, one eye on the floor and another eye on their master. Everyone was scared of Arnav Singh Raizada, except Aman. Well, maybe he was a little less scared than the others. Hari Prakash cleaned up the mess, and ran back into the kitchen like a mouse towards its hole, and Aman only smiled in amusement.
"Khushi" Her mother knocked on the door of her room. "What are you doing inside since half an hour?" she screamed at the closed door. Khushi quickly changed into her home clothes and wrapped a towel round her hair. After a whole minute, she opened the door. "I was having a bath Ma" she said in a small whisper. "Bath? For half an hour? Are you planning to cause a drought to the entire city by wasting so much of water?" Pushing her aside, Garima entered the room and went straight to the study table. "What is this mess, Khushi? Can't you keep your books in order? And I've told you so many times not to lock the door. You cannot even hear me if I call you. What is the need to lock the room door? Even if I am being strangled to death in the kitchen you won't hear. Children nowadays! Not bothered about anything in the world. All they do is sit with their mobiles and keep running their fingers on it. And not to forget those wires hanging from the ears!" "Earphones, Ma" Khushi told her meekly. Sparing a glance in Khushi's direction, Garima continued to pile up the books in a neat manner. "Haan, the same thing! And, what sort of music do you all listen to? Rock, pop and all that rubbish! Sounds like the singer is possessed by the devil himself! Music during our time was classic! THAT was music! Nowadays it's only screaming! As if someone is strangling that person to death. And what is with the clothes nowadays? Torn at so many places? And they say women are being molested! Tell me, if women wear short skirts and t-shirts, it is as good as inviting the man to molest..." "Ma, please!" Khushi almost screamed, causing Garima to be stunned. "Not every girl who is molested is wearing short skirts! Even women wearing salwar-kameez also go through eve-teasing! And it is not the women's clothes that provoke the man to rape her. Tell me, why are girls of three years and five years being raped? What do those innocent children even know? Ma, stop being so narrow-minded and stop talking all such things!" "Khushi please, don't argue with me now. Those who rape those kids are sick-minded people. They are exceptions. But most of these girls' short clothes are the cause for this eve-teasing. And I am elder to you. Don't use that tone with me, young lady! I have seen the world and its ways. Don't try to teach me what is right and wrong." Pausing for a while, she continued, "This is what nowadays kids are! Just because they are grown up and have a college degree, they think they can talk anyhow to their parents. No wonder so many old-age homes are there. Children begin to treat their parents as a burden and dump them there. They forget their upbringing for so many years." "Ma, aap kahan ki baath kahan le jaa rahi ho? Stop blowing this out of proportion!" "Oh yes! That's the only thing that I need to hear now. Advise these children and they ask us to shut up! Okay, I won't say a word!" Banging the pen stand on the table, Garima stormed out of the room, only to scream on her way out, "And if you are hungry, dinner is ready. I won't force you to eat. Or else you may feel that I am not giving you -what is it that you kids call these days? Ah yes! Space! You may feel I am not giving you your space" Khushi sighed and shut the door. A lone tear made its way down her cheek. After a lecture of fifteen minutes from her mother, she was in no mood to eat. Her appetite died when her mother, unintentionally, reminded her about molestation, and brought back the memory of the evening's incident. "Ma, if only you listened to what I really wanted to say..." she whispered and lied down on the bed, hugging herself to sleep.
Aman stood motionless, waiting for his master to say something. Arnav sat, staring into a blank point in space for a few good minutes. Then, without a word, he turned around and placed his fingers back on the keys of the piano and resumed playing the tune. Aman looked on in confusion. He was in a fix whether to go away or to wait there. Not wanting to interrupt his master, he stood watching him play the same tune with perfection. He had heard this tune earlier, over and over again. And every single time he heard his master play it, he had goose bumps. The tune portrayed his master's personality to excellence - mysterious, astute, shrewd and above all, perfection. However, he also noticed a slight touch of sadness and loneliness in the music too. His master's personal life wasn't known to another soul, but he knew very well that he was lonely. It wasn't easy for the sixteen year old lad to face hardships and go on to become The Arnav Singh Raizada. No doubt that his father - Arvind Raizada was a millionaire, but Arnav never inherited anything from the man except for the surname. The death of the mother at such a young age and the entrance of a step-mother in his master's life was a known story to all. But no one knew what made him walk out of the house at the age of eighteen, and begin on his own. In his opinion, his master was right in being the proud and shrewd man that he was today. After all, he was the youngest CEO of the richest companies across and beyond the country. And he took pride in working for him.
All of Aman's thoughts were put to a halt when Arnav called out to him. "Let things go as it is, Aman. If Shashi Gupta wants to marry his daughter off to Arjun Mehta, then let everything go as he has planned." Aman stood surprised. Of all things, he never expected his master to be so cool about the news of the woman getting married; the same woman with whom he has been obsessed for over three months. "But Sir... I thought you were interested in..." Aman's words trailed off as Arnav tilted his head in his direction, and that cold demeanour meant that nothing was left to be spoken. "Sorry Sir." Arnav looked at the wall in front of him, "However, you will continue to update me on her, as you have been doing so far" Aman smiled a bit. "Yes sir" he said and stood, waiting for some -more orders. "That's all" Arnav said and was lost in his harmony. "I shall take your leave now, Sir. Your dinner shall be waiting for you in another hour. I shall send Seetha with your medicines" Arnav nodded, and Aman left a few seconds later.
Arnav turned around and looked at the door closing at Aman's back. He never treated him like another of his loyal men. To him, he was like a brother. A brother from another set of parents. "Such irony" he thought, "My own people aren't bothered about me. And here I have Aman worrying his ass off for me" He stopped playing the piano and walked up to the cabinet. Pouring three fingers of scotch, he picked the glass and walked to the French window. Looking at the dark sky, he masked his sadness with a small smile and resumed his thoughts. "Coming to think of it, I have no one whom I can call as my own. Arvind Raizada forgot about me after he married that gold digger- Ratna Raizada and went on to have a family with two children - Akaash Raizada and Anjali Raizada" A new wave of emotion washed over him and he began to breathe heavily as his past flashed before his eyes. His eyes darkened with hatred as he thought about Ratna Raizada. He held pure hatred and disgust for her. True that the past could never be changed and the scars of it ran too deep to be forgotten. Acceptance was the only way out, and he could not come to terms of compromising with those dark shadows of the past and moving on. It was like he was trapped and had nowhere else to go. He had sealed the only exit with his own hands and refused to unlock the doors of redemption. Gulping down the scotch in one shot, he placed the empty glass on the counter and walked towards his room. Lying down on his bed, he looked up at the ceiling to imagine her wonderful face smiling back at him. "Khushi..." he said her name very slowly, relishing each letter of her name upon his lips. "You're mine. And no one can keep you away from me. Not even you yourself..." Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes. He knew he had to wait for now. And his patience would bring him sweet fruit, his and only his Khushi Kumari Gupta.
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