Arnav came downstairs to the dining table to have his breakfast. Khushi looked at him from the corner of her eye as he took his seat. Ever since that awkward moment between them in the morning, she hadn't crossed his path. When he had gone for a jog, for which he was delayed because she had kept him up last night with her nightmares, she had gone to the kitchen and was determined to stay there until breakfast time. Arnav looked at her and smiled, while she smiled back quite hesitantly. How could he remain so cool after such awkwardness? Chucking those thoughts aside, she served her husband with poori's and a bowl of spicy mashed potatoes, without looking at him in the eye. Arnav knew why she was behaving weird, but decided to let it go. At least, one of them had to be relaxed and calm. Such moments keep happening. That didn't require behaving strangely. Frankly, Arnav was amused. He did not think that she would react this way. Well, at least he knew he had to keep distance. Well, not that he was interested in being close to her!
"Arnav..." Arvind's voice drew everyone's attention. "Anjali and Aman have asked us to come for dinner to their place tonight. Apparently, Anjali wants to meet Khushi. We all could have gone together, but Ratna and Payal have to go to the temple, and take Samrat and Kavya along. Some sort of vow. Akaash and I have some work held up at office. So, you and Khushi will have to go." Arnav looked at Khushi and at that moment, she looked at him too. He raised a brow, as if asking her if she wanted to go. She nodded her head with a small smile. From all the times she met Anjali, they had developed quite a friendly bond. Moreover, Khushi was very fond of Anjali's eight month daughter- Ananya. "Alright. We'll go" Arnav said. Ratna was thankful that at least this time, her son did not argue.
As the evening wore on, Arnav entered his room, only to find Khushi sitting cross-legged on the bed, burying her nose in a book. He cleared his throat to make her aware of his presence. She looked up at him, smiled and put her nose back in the book. Well, at least she stopped behaving awkward! "What is it that you're so occupied with?" Arnav asked, and she raised the book to him, as if telling him that she was reading. He rolled his eyes and sat on the bed, next to her, with a distance of at least three feet from her. "I can see that you're reading a book. What is it about?" He noticed her eyes shine as she looked up at him in an interest to tell him what it was about. "Oh, it's the current issue of the Indian journal of Finance. According to the recent study that they carried out this month, it is said that the degree of interconnectedness between the four prongs of the approach to dealing with the..." Arnav snored and hoped she got the message. She did, and huffed when she realized he was pulling her leg. "You're an ass" she muttered, going back to her article. He laughed when he saw her hiding her small smile behind the book. Suddenly, stopped himself and looked at her in question. "Aren't we going to Anjali and Aman's house?" She looked at him in confusion, "Last time I checked, we were. I mean, it's just 6.15 now. What do we do going so early? Unless you want to go early..." "No no... I don't want to go early." He replied in a hurry. Khushi raised her brow as she closed the book and kept it aside. "Okay, that did not come out right" Arnav sighed, and continued, "I mean, I love my sister, okay? But there are times when she can get on my nerves. She is adorably annoying. Ask Akaash if you don't trust me." Khushi smirked, "I think I will ask Anjali herself. Let's see what she thinks about what you think of her" Arnav narrowed his eyes as he saw her trying to hide her smile, realizing that she had taken the chance for leg pulling. He played along saying, "You will not do anything as such. Or else..." "Are you threatening me, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada?" "I believe, I am, Mrs. Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada" Khushi felt an unknown thrill in her as she heard her name- Mrs. Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada! "What do you intend to do?" she spoke softly, wondering why she choked and felt slightly nervous. Arnav, unaware of what Khushi was going through, said, "I shall lock you up in this room..." Khushi gulped and she felt her heartbeat rise. "... with Bruno!" he finished his sentence.
Khushi's jaw fell as she realized what he said and looked away from him, unable to say anything. Arnav fell back on the bed and roared with laughter. Khushi just got up from the bed, threw a pillow at him with he caught in one hand, and walked to the bathroom without a word, or a glance behind. Arnav continued laughing, oblivious to the thoughts going on in her mind. Khushi closed the bathroom door and leaned against it. She could still hear his goofy laughter. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she looked at herself. Why was she stressing herself? Why was she so tense around him? Not once did he make her uncomfortable. He was just teasing her and she too enjoyed it, until he spoke something about locking her up in the room. Well, that was a joke too. He wouldn't really do that! And what else did her ears expect to listen? Why did she feel some disappointment in the pit of her stomach when he finished his sentence? Was she hoping he'd say something else? Khushi ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes. "Get your little head straight, Khushi! Stop over-thinking and complicating things. He is being friendly, and you don't need to be so uptight, worrying over every single thing he says" Taking a deep breath, she smiled at her reflection, and went to the room. Arnav wasn't seen anywhere. "Thank goodness" she muttered and picked up her book so that she could read it. Only when she glanced at the clock, she noticed that it was 6.30 already. She decided to get ready, since they had informed Anjali and Aman that they would reach by 7.30, which meant that they had to leave the Raizada Mansion by seven o'clock. Walking to her cupboard, she chose to wear a baby pink saree with silver work on it. It had been gifted to her by Garima when she had got married to Rishi. Her smile faded as she brushed her fingers on the saree. Don't cry, don't cry she told herself, but a tiny drop of tear fell off her eyes.
Khushi felt like she was being watched. She turned around to see Arnav in front of her. He stepped closer and wiped her cheek, without saying a word. "Arnav... I..." "Ssshhh... I understand" he said with a small smile, "Khushi, I may seem to laugh the whole day, but that doesn't mean I am insensitive or a dumbass. I know there are too many memories. And it's okay to remember them. After all, they are all about the people who were once an important part of our life." She noticed his smile fade too. Pausing for a minute, he took a deep breath and smiled at her, "But that doesn't mean we dwell on those memories, right?" She nodded her head as more tears fell off her cheek. He placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her. She leaned into him and placed her head against his chest. She had never realized that a human touch could be so comforting in times of emotional turmoil and stress. "I'm trying Arnav, I swear" she mumbled. Initially, he did feel odd when she hugged him, but he knew she was too vulnerable. He patted her head and hugged her, "It's okay, Khushi. Cry it out. It will make you feel lighter" he said, brushing her hair with his fingers. Ratna and Payal, who were standing by the door, looked at each other and smiled. They had come to inform them that they were leaving to the temple, but interrupting them right now seemed so wrong. Ratna had tears in her eyes as she saw her children. Payal signaled Ratna to leave. As they went away from the room, Payal sighed, "Finally, both are warming up to each other!" Ratna agreed, "I just hope that they are always there for each other." Payal only smiled. She just hoped that Arnav would see his Soulmate in Khushi, eventually.
Khushi realized that they had been standing like this for more than a minute, and gently pulled away. Even before she could say anything, he said, "Now please don't behave strange. I noticed you were awkward the whole day. Trust me, there's nothing to feel odd. We're not some college teens; we're matured enough" Khushi nodded and smiled at him. "See? I like you better like this, Khushi. I mean, not swollen-eyes and red-nose, but still, I like you when you're normal" Khushi laughed and shook her head as she wiped her tears and sniffed her nose. "I'm always normal, okay?" This time Arnav laughed, teasing her again. "Well, it's good if you believe that. Keep telling that to yourself, and who knows? One day you may actually become normal" She narrowed her eyes at him, trying to mock him with anger but failed and chuckled. "Thank you Arnav" "For what?" "For making me feel better" He shook his head, saying it was nothing, "Khushi, life is worth living only when you make someone smile. Isn't that the purpose of life? To be happy and to make others happy?" She looked at him and nodded in agreement. "Alright Khushi, now that you've soaked my shirt," he pointed to his wet shirt that was stained with her tears and a bit of her mascara, "I need to change. And I'd say you too need to get ready. We'll leave soon so that we can come back soon" She nodded and went to the bathroom to get dressed. Arnav quickly picked out his shirt and got ready. He knew that she would need the room to get dressed. It was common sense that the saree couldn't be draped in the bathroom. "Khushi, I'll be downstairs" he said in the direction of the door and she responded with a muffled "okay"
Fifteen minutes passed and Arnav was impatiently tapping his fingers on the wooden handle of the sofa in the living room. He hated waiting. He turned the TV on hoping to see something interesting. All he saw was the same old news channels, some stereotypical saas-bahu drama, and some weird cartoons which Samrat loved watching. "Seeta" he heard Khushi call out from the room, unaware of the fact that Seeta had gone with Ratna and Payal. "Now what?" Arnav muttered and went upstairs to see why Khushi was screaming her lungs out for Seeta.
Arnav barged in, and then barged out with double the speed. Little did he expect her to call Seeta to tie the million cords of her almost-backless blouse! Khushi froze when she saw Arnav coming in, and even before she could react, he went out. Standing out of the room, he spoke to her through the closed door. "I'm sorry, but I just wanted to know why you wanted Seeta. Anyway, Seeta is not at home. No one is" Khushi bit her bottom lip. It was too late to change the saree, and when she had picked it out, she did not consider that she needed help with the blouse. "I need someone to help me out with the strings of the blouse" she said. Arnav closed his eyes. "Well, you can ask Anjali to tie it up once we reach there" "What is wrong with you Arnav? You expect me to go to their house with my blouse open at the back? Talk some sense!" she screamed at him. She was right. "Well, then, change the damn saree. Wear something else!" "It's going to take another half an hour" she yelled again. Arnav muttered a few strings of curses. There was no way he was going into that room. And there was no way he was going to help her out with THAT!
Two minutes later, he found himself standing behind her. She had pulled her hair on to her shoulders and was backing him. How the hell did this happen? Both of them thought repeatedly. Arnav picked up the bottommost pair of cords and attempted to tie it tight enough, careful not to touch her skin. He started perspiring by the time he finished tying it. Five more strings to go! What was this? A blouse or the banyan tree at the temple? Who the hell keeps so many strings on a blouse? Khushi swallowed a lump in her throat as he proceeded to tie the second one. Arnav's hands trembled. What was it that was making him so nervous? It was after so many years that he was standing this close to a woman. He was a man in his prime. Of course, he was bound to get affected by a woman's bare back. Da... da... da... Arnav, focus, focus... not on her back, you idiot... On the strings of the blouse... Deciding not to think about anything else, he focused on the arduous task of meticulously tying those strings. Each time he touched the string, he felt her shiver slightly. And as he tied each string, she was pulled towards him an inch closer. He was almost inhaling the scent of her hair by the time he finished tying the topmost string.
He was done tying up the strings seconds back, but neither did he move nor did she. He looked up in the mirror to see her staring at him. They eyes were locked in a gaze, and moment that seemed to last for eternity came to a sudden screeching halt when Arnav's phone rang. He took a step back as he came out of the trance and Khushi just looked everywhere, except at him. "Anjali's call" he said in a soft voice without looking at her and went out of the room to attend the call. Khushi was left standing there for a minute, frozen and lost in her million thoughts.
Minutes later, both of them were in the car, driving towards Anjali's residence. Not one of them had said a word. Arnav looked straight ahead while driving, while Khushi looked outside the window. It was their first outing together, after marriage. She recalled the time when she had been sitting in this very same car, a few months back. He had bought yellow roses for her. Well, not technically, for her. Samrat had insisted on buying those roses, and he had taken it from Arnav and given it to her. She missed Samrat right now. The silence was getting uncomfortable. It was Samrat's talk that kept her occupied all the while. Arnav hardly talked when he drove. She realized how much she missed his non-stop chatter, his silly giggles, his naughtiness and his sweet antics. Arnav saw her smile to herself and was pretty sure whom she was thinking about. Such smile came on her face only when she was with Sam or was thinking about him. He smiled to himself. He was missing his boy too.
As they reached the house, Arnav got out first and held the door for her to get down. She noticed he glanced at her, but soon looked away. They walked into the building and waited near the elevator. As they entered and as Arnav pressed the button of the fifth floor, Khushi said to him in a soft voice, "We're not some college teens; we're matured enough. There's no need to feel awkward" Arnav smiled as he heard her and looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Meri billi mujhi se meow?" he said with a hint of teasing in his voice, and she grinned. At least, both of them grew big enough not to worry their head over such petty things.
Anjali almost choked Khushi when she hugged her, and Khushi had to literally squirm out of Anjali's hold. Arnav bent and whispered in Khushi's ears, "I told you, she can be adorably annoying" She turned to him and whispered, "'I see what you mean, and I hate to say it, but you were damn right" He shrugged his shoulder as if it was the most casual thing to do. "Oh my gosh, you two look so good with each other" Anjali announced and then, turning to Aman, she said, "Look at them being all lovey-dovey, whispering in each others ear's" Sid just nodded. He knew his wife too well; a complete drama-queen- that is what she was. He shook hands with Arnav and Khushi and welcomed them in. Just then, a girl slightly younger than Khushi came into the room and smiled at them. Aman said, "Arnav, Khushi. This is my sister, Ria. She's here on a vacation and is here for a week" Arnav and Khushi greeted her, and she greeted them back too. After several hi's and hello's and the exchange of formal cordialities, Aman and Arnav slid by the bar counter to have a few drinks, and Khushi was planted between Anjali and Ria, left to discuss, much to her annoyance, about jewellery, clothes and cosmetics.
"Daadi, why have we come here?" Samrat whispered in Ratna's ears. A few people turned their head around as they heard the boy. Ratna, who was carrying him in her arms, hushed him asking him not to talk aloud. "We've come here to offer thanksgiving because your Daddy and Mommy got married" she whispered. Payal, who was standing with Kavya, smiled at the two of them. "What's thanksgiving?" the little boy asked and a few more heads turned. Ratna looked apologetically and frowned, asking him to stop asking so many questions. She lowered her voice as much as possible and breathed into his ears, "When Daddy gives you something that you want, you say Thank You to him, right?" He nodded his head. "In the same way, when God gives us something we want, we have to thank Him" "Oh!" Samrat said as he understood the logic behind this visit to the temple and offering thanks. He cupped his hand round Ratna's ear and whispered, "How do I say thank you?" Ratna looked at him in surprise. "You have to say thank you to Him too?" "Yes Daadi, I got my Mommy after so many years. So I have to thank God for it, no?" Ratna grinned at her little boy and rubbed her nose against his cheeks. "My rolu polu shona laddu" she said, and did not care when a few heads turned at her affection for her grandson. He, of course, scrunched his nose at that.
After dinner, Anjali, Aman, Arnav, Khushi and Ria sat in the living room, eating ice cream. After a casual conversation, Ria asked Khushi, "So, how did you meet Arnav?" Khushi smiled and looked at him in amusement as she recalled when she first met him. "We met right outside my flat" she said and he grinned as he dug the spoon into the ice cream, saying "Yeah, and she thought I was a sales person. I had actually gone over to introduce myself as her new neighbour" All of them laughed. "Oh, so that's how you two fell in love. Just got smitten by the neighbor? But tell me, who was the one to be smitten first?" Khushi and Arnav looked at each other without saying a word. Khushi was about to say something, when Arnav spoke. "Actually no. We weren't smitten or something. She was my son's teacher at his school. You can say that my son was smitten by her. That's how we ended up getting married" Khushi gave him a warm smile as he said it. Anjali and Aman looked at them with a smile. "How cute is that?" Ria said, and the conversation took another turn when Aman brought up the topic of cricket.
While the men discussed about sports, and Ria excused herself to make a few phone calls to her friends, Khushi asked Anjali about Ananya. "She's fast asleep in the room. Come I'll take you to her" Anjali said, and Khushi's face brightened up. Coincidentally, when Khushi and Anjali walked into the nursery, Ananya had just woken up. "Awww, my little doll! Come to Mamma" Anjali said and carried her daughter in her arms. Ananya had finished her sleep and seemed happy to go into her Mommy's arms. "Look who's here to see you? Arnav Maama and Khushi Maami" Anjali said as she walked to the hall. Arnav stood up to carry Ananya in his arms, and the little girl happily went to him. The moment he kissed her chubby cheek, she began to wail. "I didn't do anything, I swear" he said, worried, as he tried pacifying the wailing baby. Khushi stepped forward and carried little Ananya in her arms and hushed her. It took a minute for the little girl to get adjusted in unfamiliar arms, but soon, she stared at Khushi and gave her a tiny smile. Aman was amazed and nudged Arnav with the elbow, "She's amazing! How did she get her to stop crying so soon? Even I cannot do that!" Arnav grinned, "She's the baby whisperer; something like a kid-magnet. All kids love her!"
Khushi continued to cuddle the baby and kiss her cheeks. Ananya smelt heavenly. Khushi always loved the way little babies smelled- baby powder and angelic innocence. And as Ananya was teething, she had a tendency to put anything in her mouth. She held Khushi's mangalsutra and put the pendant in her mouth. "Awww, she's so cute!" Khushi said, admiring the baby who was chewing on the pendant. Arnav stood next to her and touched the baby's chin, trying to get the pendant out of her mouth. Both of them froze for a second as his hand slightly brushed against her breast, but both of them ignored the little accident and focused on the baby. The baby giggled when Arnav played peek-a-boo with her. Anjali quietly clicked a picture of them on her phone and forwarded it to Ratna.
Ratna and Payal were on their way back from the temple, when her phone beeped. "aww, Payal, look at this" Ratna said and passed the phone to her. "How cute!" Payal said and showed it to the kids. Kavya grinned, but Samrat frowned as he saw the picture. How could his Mommy and Daddy pet someone else's baby? They were supposed to pamper him; only him. Without saying a word, he returned the phone back to his grandma. "Wait till Mommy and Daddy get back!" he thought to himself, and looked out of the window with a grumpy face.
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Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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