My Imperfect Mr Perfect - Chapter 13"LET GO OF ME!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? LET GO OF ME!!!!! PLEASE!!!! CHODO!!! SOMEONE HELP!!! HELP!!!" Khushi screamed and shouted for help, but none came.
Arnav was watching all this, knowing that he HAD to step in soon; waiting for the officers was of no use.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of a car coming in their direction - at an extremely high speed. His eyes widened as he realised that the car was coming straight for Khushi while the goons stood at the side, out of the way.
He swore under his breath. He couldn't wait anymore.
He had to act.
FAST.
He probably had about 6 seconds before the car would crush Khushi.
Arnav ran towards Khushi, while swiftly taking out the gun from his back pocket and shooting at the front two tires of the approaching car and the driver.
The car slowed down but it still didn't stop due to the high speed it was coming at before.
Seeing a man come out of nowhere to spoil their plans, the goons started towards Arnav, but before that, a bunch of police officers came from either sides, restricting the goons just in time.
Only about 4 seconds now...
Arnav caught sight of a big boulder on the side of the road. He ran for it, and used all his strength in that one second to pick it up. With all the power he possessed, he then threw the boulder low down towards the car bonnet.
With that collision, the car stopped and Arnav ran towards an unconscious Khushi, who had fainted unable to take in the events that had taken place. His breath hitched at the state of her.
Khushi had grip marks all over her arms. She had red marks on her wrists where they had tied the dupatta really tightly. Arnav felt awful for not having been able to save her from all this pain.
Wanting to get Khushi out of the place as soon as possible, Arnav picked up Khushi and ran towards his jeep, knowing that the situation was under control as the officers had come just in time.
He laid her in the passenger seat and then sped away in the jeep, while untying her wrists and feet simultaneously.
Seeing Khushi's pale face, Arnav felt as though someone was strangling him. As he drove he kept on calling out to her, "Khushi! Khushi open your eyes! Khushi can you hear me?!" He shook her with one hand and drove with the other the whole time, hoping that she would wake up as he drove on frantically. He just couldn't bear to see her like this.
There was nothing more he wanted to do than stop the car and attend to Khushi - but he knew that could be more fatal for her. He HAD to get as far away from this area as possible - and quick. Criminals always had many links and you never know what they have planned for backup. For all Arnav knew, there could be someone following their movements right now.
Arnav drove extremely fast with precision towards Aman's house - the safest place for Khushi. For now.
He knew they couldn't stay there for any more than a day and he would need to find a safer place for her soon. But that could wait. First he needed to make sure that Khushi was alright. If anything happened to Khushi, he could never live with himself.
As soon as he reached the house, he lifted Khushi onto his shoulder and pressed the bell a few times, looking around cautiously to see if there was anyone watching them. And luckily there was no one around.
Sheetal opened the door to find Arnav carrying an unconscious Khushi - just like two days ago.
Without a word Arnav dashed up the stairs with Khushi and laid her down on the bed in the guestroom. He could explain to Sheetal later - Khushi was his priority at the moment.
He immediately took the water jug by the table and sprinkled water on Khushi's face with force, hoping that she would get up. He was continuously calling her name simultaneously, trying to get a response out of her. The first few times, she didn't show any signs of getting back her consciousness, and seeing this Arnav felt like someone was squeezing his heart tighter and tighter, making him feel like he was unable to breathe.
But after a few tries, Khushi's eyes twitched under her eyelids, giving Arnav a tiny speck of hope.
"Khushi?! Khushi talk to me! Khushi! Open your eyes Khushi! Khushi!" he called out desperately.
At first, Khushi didn't respond. But a few seconds later, "A... A... Ar... Arnav... ji..." called Khushi.
At that moment Arnav felt like a starved child who was given a bowl of food after months. "Khushi!" Arnav called out in relief, finally able to breathe. He couldn't help but engulf her into a hug as she laid there on the bed. "I'm here Khushi. I'm here. Everything's alright Khushi. Everything's alright," Arnav kept repeating. He didn't know whether he was assuring Khushi or himself.
These few minutes were hell for Arnav. He knew how fragile she was, and that she gets scared easily in these sorts of situations - especially since her parents' accident. He knew how shaken up she would have been after everything that had happened today. And he was the sole reason for it all. He hadn't taken care of her properly. He hadn't protected her from Dadi and even with the goons, he hadn't interfered earlier. The guilt was killing him. And when he saw Khushi unconscious, he felt all the worst. If he let anything happen to Khushi, he could never live with it. He lived with that guilt once in the case of his mother, but with Khushi... he would die if anything happened to her.
On seeing Khushi fit and fine, he felt as though his life was given back to him.
On the other hand, Khushi felt disorientated when she heard someone calling out her name - she felt very unsettled in the back of her mind. As she started to hear the voice with more clarity, her mind also started to remember the events of the day. As she remembered the goons, and that unknown man, she started to call for Arnavji. He was her only hope. She felt like her voice box was stuck, but she gradually managed to call out to him.
Then she felt those arms take her into their warmth and she knew she was home. She could recognise that touch anywhere. As soon as she felt his arms around her, she knew that no one could do anything to her now. She was safe.
She heard Arnav's assurances but even in her half-conscious state she could hear the fear in his voice. She couldn't understand what it was that he feared, but she definitely knew he needed her support.
Fighting the darkness that threatened to engulf her, she struggled to move her hands. She fought against the urge to just give into the darkness, and she slowly started to put her hands around Arnav blindly, reciprocating his hug.
Feeling the hands on his back, Arnav felt himself calming down. Her touch acted as a balm on his soul. He was home.
They both stayed in that same position for a long time, which giving Khushi enough time to fully gain back her consciousness. Today's events had shaken up both of them in their own ways. And they only found solace now, while they were in each other's arms.
None of them wanted to move.
Even Khushi who had gained her full consciousness by now didn't want this moment to end. She couldn't explain the feeling, but while being in his arms, she felt like she didn't need anything else. She felt like she could stay there cocooned his arms forever.
On the other hand, Arnav felt utmost peace for the first time in years. Being in Khushi arms made him forget everything that he had always made a point to remember. Hatred. Pain. Betrayal. These things had haunted him for years on years - there hadn't been a second in his life after that incident when these three things hadn't been in his thoughts. But now being with Khushi, all those thoughts flew out of his head. In that moment, he could barely remember anything about himself. He didn't remember he was Arnav Singh Raizada. He didn't remember that he was CEO of AR Designs. He didn't remember that he was the ACP. But he felt pure bliss. Nothing mattered except this feeling. Nothing mattered except THEM.
The sound of someone clearing their throat broke Arshi out of their trance. Arnav pulled out of the hug, but caught hold of Khushi's hand, unwilling to separate from her. And Khushi was more than happy to oblige.
"So how are you feeling now?" asked Sheetal, in an overly chirpy voice.
"Much." Khushi paused as her voice came out croaky. She started again, "Much better Di."
Sheetal smiled sweetly at that and moved forward to hand over a glass of water to Khushi.
"Careful Khushi!" exclaimed Arnav as he caught hold of Khushi's shoulders, when she tried to sit up on the bed. "Aaram se
(Slowly)" said Arnav, as he helped her to sit up, worry etched on his face.
"Arnavji hum teek hai.
(Arnavji I'm fine) You're worrying for no reason. I'd just fainted that's all. You're acting as though I've broken all my limbs or something," Khushi joked, smiling slightly, while taking the glass of water from Sheetal and then thanking her.
But Arnav did not find her joke funny at all. In fact it had the opposite effect.
"Do you think this is a JOKE Khushi?! Do you have ANY idea what I went through when I didn't find you in the house?! You don't know anything do you?! Do you know how I felt when I saw you getting abducted, while you were struggling against those men? No. You don't. You don't care about anybody but yourself!" shouted Arnav. By this time his voice was echoing off all the walls with its force.
Sheetal stood stunned at the scene in front of her. Yes she had seen Arnav angry many times - in fact it was rare to see him calm. But his anger had always been about work. But here, she could see him angered because of his concern towards someone. That too a girl. And that girl was not her. And even though she didn't want to admit it to herself... it HURT.
He was concerned for a girl who he hardly met two days ago, but what did he feel for her? Nothing.
Sheetal had known him for two years now and what hadn't she done to try and make his head turn towards him. Couldn't he see how much she cared for him? Couldn't he see how much she loved him? Couldn't he see how perfect they would be together?
The very first time Sheetal had a glimpse of Arnav, she fell for his looks. He was just so hot that she couldn't help but drool over him. But after meeting him a few times, she realised that he wasn't just good-looking but also a genuinely good person at heart. As a police officer, he always fought for justice - his ways may not always be just, but his intentions were always for the best. And to add to it, he always had that air of mystery around him. There was something very mysterious about him and Sheetal just loved that. It gave her an additional thrill.
Whenever he would come to their house, she would come running downstairs in the name of making tea for the guest. She would prepare extra food for him with her own hands and send it off with Aman to share with his friends' at work - because she knew that if there was anyone that close to her brother, it was Arnav.
But it was a completely different story that Arnav always politely refused the food and her hard work always went to waste. Arnav hardly even looked at her. To him, she was just his colleague's sister. Nothing more. And it hurt.
But Sheetal never gave up. And even though she craved his attention, she never felt bad for too long because she knew that he didn't look at any other girl anyway. She knew she had no competition because he never cared about all those girls who threw themselves at him.
However, that was until THIS girl came into his life. The day he brought Khushi into the house, Sheetal knew that something was just not right. The way he had cared for her, the way he had stayed with her until she awoke, the way he had panicked for her... all his actions made her question whether he had feelings for Khushi.
But she had brushed away those thoughts as just her imagination because she thought that Arnav would never feel that way for any girl. And if he did feel it for anybody, it had to be herself because he had known her for two whole years and she was the girl who he had been the closest to (well he wasn't that close to Sheetal but at least he always greeted her politely and spoke to her on rare occasions, unlike the way he treated all other women where he wouldn't even look at them). And Khushi had shown no signs of being attracted to Arnav that day, so Sheetal had decided to relax.
She had ignored all the signs two days ago but today... there was no way she could deny it. She had seen them embracing each other for God's sake! Normally Arnav wouldn't even let a girl come within 5 metres of him! But today, he himself was hugging a girl!
Sheetal couldn't help but burn in jealousy at the sight. She purposely cleared her throat to spoil their moment. She just couldn't bear to see them this close. When she saw them separate, she started to feel relieved. But her relief didn't last long as she saw that Arnav held Khushi's hand, not letting her go.
Sheetal was boiling with anger and envy, but she put on a fake smile on her face, not letting the other two in the room notice her inner turmoil.
She was standing there just about managing to hold in her anger when things took a 90 degrees turn within a few seconds and Arnav started shouting at Khushi.
Sheetal stood there frozen. She was very happy that Arnav was angry at Khushi, but at the same time she couldn't stop being jealous of the fact that it was his worry for Khushi that caused this vexation. She stood there with an inner battle raging inside her, when Arnav addressed her.
"Sorry Sheetal, but if you don't mind could you please give us a few minutes alone?" he asked in a soft, polite tone.
Sheetal felt another pang within her, but at the same time she silently celebrated the quick change of tone for her. The way his anger turned to softness as soon as he turned to speak to her, gave her hope that he had a soft-spot for her.
With that Sheetal nodded at Arnav smiling and left the room, satisfied that her place in Arnav's life was still there. And she still had time to secure that place in his heart forever. She was sure she could deal with this Khushi.
On the other hand, Arnav was burning with fury at Khushi's words. Her joke had set off his anger and he just exploded. He was going to blast her some more when he realised that Sheetal was also present in the room. He somehow didn't feel like Sheetal should be there when he spoke/shouted at Khushi. It just seemed too private for some reason. So he asked Sheetal to leave nicely, knowing that he shouldn't let out his anger on Sheetal who had helped them in their time of need.
After she closed the door behind her Arnav turned to a visibly shaken Khushi. Seeing her trembling slightly, he shut his eyes in regret.
He shouldn't have shouted at her like that - she had just come out of a traumatic incident and she just gained her consciousness back and he was already yelling at her.
"S-s-s-sorry Arnavji," came Khushi's voice, breaking his thoughts.
Hearing her apology, Arnav felt bad. Where was her fault in all this? The only thing she did wrong was walk out of the house - but she was provoked to do so. And this always how Khushi was. She was selfless by nature and people took advantage of that. How was she to know that she would get abducted when she left? No. She wouldn't have known. And he had just shouted at her for no fault of hers.
"No Khushi, I'm s-s-s-," Arnav struggled to say sorry. So he tried a different method.
He took her into his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck, taking her by surprise. "I didn't mean to shout like that Khushi. I was... I was-"
"Worried," Khushi finished off for him. A surprised Arnav pulled back to look at her face, still keeping his arms around her. "Hum samjthe hain.
(I understand)" Khushi said, smiling.
"Don't smile Khushi," Arnav said sternly. He wasn't going to shout at her, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't get across his thoughts to Khushi. And he knew he had to speak sternly to drill some sense into this crazy girl.
Sorry guys I have to stop here - the rest of this Arshi conversation will be coming up in the next chapter. So how did you like the chapter? Please please please do let me know by liking/commenting.
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Edited by amira039.303 - 10 years ago
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