Arshi ff 'one of the many-TURNS' CH 14 on pg 5 - Page 3

beautiful story.waiting for the update.

CH 11

Since I was not a morning person, the 6am alarm rang with a louder noise, annoying my senses, especially after last night. I could hardly sleep all night, and Arnav's words kept ringing in my ears. For the first time I was beginning to feel that I was wrong in judging him the way I did. But the truth was that I was not actually judging ever. I just wanted to keep him at an arm's distance so that he would not be able to look into me while still being around me. Those were my survival instincts. But I knew I had wronged him. I underestimated his shrewdness, as well as his feelings for me. I should give him some credit for the fact that he wanted to stay associated with me, professionally or otherwise, even after knowing everything, and after knowing that I had been lying to him all this time.

It was in the wee hours of the morning that I had decided to talk to him, that is if he still wanted me to hear him. But almost immediately after he left me on the stairs last night, I had decided to finish what I came here for. After everything that I had gone through, I was not going to run any more from my responsibilities at least.

So I woke up early to tell him I was going to stay, and finish my job. Personal talks can wait. I believed him when he said he would speak to my mother about sending me back, but I was also sure that he would not have called her that late or this early in the morning. I had to get to him before he spoke to her. So I left him a simple text message that the meeting with Mr. Jha was still on and I was not backing out except if he FIRED' me.

I got ready and was downstairs for breakfast by 7. I put some coffee for brewing and bread in the toaster, and prepared vegetable scrambled eggs for myself and plain scrambled eggs for Arnav. I found oranges in the fridge and squeezed some fresh juice as well. It was around 8:15 that Arnav finally descended from his room. His mood was sombre but I knew otherwise. I let him be without saying anything and just offered him his breakfast. He took it without any complains and we ate in silence. Our meeting was scheduled for noon and it was a 2 and a half hours drive. So we had to leave after 9 to reach a little early than the appointment time in case if we got stuck somewhere.

It seemed Arnav was in agreement to have me conduct the interview. At least he was not openly objecting to it, but then I suspected that he was doing so to avoid speaking to me. There were a lot of angry and impatient vibes that were emitting from his body. It was best for me to not cross his way today, at least until he cooled down. I was praying hard that my meeting with Mr. Jha go well. That was the only reason that would let me stay here to find what Arnav wanted to talk to me yesterday. And I had driven him so away, that it was going to be a herculean effort to make him speak properly to me again, anytime soon.

"I will get my purse and be back in 5 minutes." Saying this, I dashed upstairs to freshen up and get my stuff. I did not hear Arnav refusing to anything I said which avoided any kind of an argument between us. I could seriously avoid all the personal mess for now, until my appointment wit Mr. Jha was over. I left my computer at home and just took my notebook and recorder, along with the print outs of my questions.

Arnav was waiting next to the elevator for me, and the journey alongside him in the elevator was thankfully short lived. I was fortunate that I did not have to spend more time with him in that enclosed space.

We reached the basement where a variety of luxury cars were parked. I was not a big fan of cars but I definitely appreciated the good ones. We decided to travel by a black Bentley SUV, not that he asked for my opinion. Either way I was okay with any of those very good looking cars.

"David, I will be driving by myself today. Thanks!" I heard Arnav talking to who seemed to be the driver of the car, but he was very smartly dressed in a black suit, so maybe he was also Arnav's bodyguard. Either way, I was surprised Arnav would drive since it was a long journey, but then he always loved driving. And it might also help him be distracted rather than thinking about the awkward silence that was to follow with just us two in the car.

He opened the passenger door for me, and closed it after I was comfortably seated in the car. I put on the seat belt and waited for him to be settled in the driver's seat. I noticed another black Mercedes following us from the moment Arnav began to drive. There were two men in it, one of whom I recognized was David.

Arnav was a pro at driving. He drove fast, but not recklessly. I was very anxious of high speeds but his driving did not give me a scare. He was very smooth with the mean machine and I was enjoying the silence in the car. The traffic was not much since we were already on the highway, and majority traffic was driving the opposite side.

An hour into the journey, and the silence was killing me. I was not a person who could stay quiet for very long. As much as I did not want to dig into our last night's conversation, the curiosity was making me very restless. I had given the fact that Arnav was aware about everything, a thought. It did freak me out a lot then, but since the last night, I realized that him knowing had freed me in a way that I was grateful for. I was probably over the shame and pain with all the therapy but I was not sure if I could ever discuss that with him. But now, he knew, and I was free from the guilt. Of course, the hurt was still there, but I know I had almost got rid of the guilt. And so when I had questioned myself how I would face him, the answer was right there, in the way Arnav had behaved with me. If we had not had that argument yesterday, there was no way for me to find that he knew about me, his look and behavior towards me had not changed. Neither had the physical pull. I remembered the incident that took place in his study, and how we would have given into our craving, if not for my mother's phone call. And since he was the same with me, I could believe that he did not feel it was my fault, even though it was my fault in more than one ways.

I turned to look at him. He looked less rigid than from when he had just started to drive. It was a good idea for me to talk to him now since neither of us had an option to run away, and had to listen to each other. Even though this was not the time, it could not wait for me.

"Arnav?"

He visibly stiffened at my voice, as if he had not expected it.

"Yea? Do you need anything? Want me to stop the car?"

"Umm, no. Can we talk," I decided to add a Please' to show how genuinely I felt the need to talk to him.

"I don't think it is a good idea, Khushi, at least not know."

I was glad that he had not completely disregarded the idea of us talking.

"Why? We still have sometime before we reach. And we could spend this time talking about things you wanted to."

Was that annoyance I saw on his countenance?

"You think this is a time pass conversation for me? I don't want to talk to you because you are bored of the silence and need a topic to kill the silence. It took a lot of self convincing for me to get ready to speak to you yesterday, and you refused to listen. So now I refuse to talk. I am not a battery operated puppet that you control my speech."

Ouch! that hurt. But he was right. If I needed to hear things, he had to be ready, and not forced by me. But that didn't mean he could act all nasty with me about that.

"Fine! Suit yourself. I agree that I did not act in the best possible way yesterday and so if you want to play tit-for-tat, then go ahead. Since I was wallowing in self pity yesterday, you get to do that today. But remember, we are even now. So the next time, WE TALK!"

He didn't say anything after that so I assumed he had agreed to me. That made me feel good since we were going to talk very soon.

The rest of the journey was silence again. And I shut my brain off from thinking about those days. Over a period a time, I had learned to avoid the triggers and keep my conscious mind off the unpleasant memories. Hell! who was I fooling? Unpleasant wasn't even a word close to describe the trauma.

But I decided that my own problems needed to wait. I was here for work, and I would do it at the best of my capability.

Soon there after, Arnav stopped the car and I noticed that we were waiting outside really high gates. I could not see anything beyond the gates, and the walls around were as high. A security guard walked towards Arnav's window and Arnav handed him a letter. He read it, and signaled another guard to open the gates for us. We entered the area that was marked restricted. I was apprehensive about the whole prison system but I was surprised that the building in front of us looked anything like a prison. There were two towers next to each other, five stories high, and then beyond those, were smaller 2-3 stories' apartments spread around. As if noticing my confusion, Arnav said,

"This is a rehabilitation center for juveniles. Shyam provides legal assistance for the under age convicts who cannot afford to hire a lawyer."

I knew Mr. Jha was a lawyer, but this is not what I had expected. No wonder the local NGOs wanted him out of here for good cause. However, instead of being too pleased with him, I decided to be neutral for now, at lease until I met him personally.

"Let's go in."

Arnav touched my arm saying this as if to catch my attention. I noticed the guards around were looking strangely at me. I was dressed appropriately for the place, or so I thought. I had gotten rid of my western attire, and dawned Indian chudidar wear today. Arnav had also noticed my clothes today, surprised yet relived at my choice. But I did not understand the looks from the people around, and I choose to ignore them.

We entered the office area, and met with two people, both in the their forties, or early fifties. The lady had kind, gentle eyes, where as the man had a grim look on his face. I smiled at them, and said Namaste. They were cordial enough and replied with a small smile. Arnav was handed over some paper work to be filled and then we both signed at the end. There were no questions asked as such, and the conversation was kept at the bare minimum. We were then directed to a room adjacent to the office. I read 'referral room' outside the door and walked in. Arnav stayed back and had a word with the man, and then walked in as well. The door closed behind him.

"You sure you don't want me here when you are talking to him? It's not like he will be dangerous to you since I have requested that he be handcuffed, and we will constantly monitor this room. But I still can't get the fear out of my head."

I could sense Arnav's trepidation, his eyes bore into mine, hoping I would relent. But I knew that if I wanted things to go in an official and decent way, I had to send him out.

"I will be okay. I have done this a lot of times. And I will be careful. If I feel something is off, I will let you know immediately."

He nodded, and turned to leave reluctantly. I felt bad for him, but I had to do this alone.

I sat on one side of the table, and took out my stuff from the small work case that I was carrying. I was told outside at the security that it was not allowed but then they checked it thoroughly and made an exception to my case. I waited for a few minutes, after which the door opened.

Following the uniformed security guard, I noticed another man walk in. I assumed him to be Mr. Jha. He was a man around 35 years of age, yet he looked older now. He had a few days old stubble. His clothes were clean and ironed, and his feet in simple flip flops. His hair was combed back, and over all he came as a neat person. However, there were stories of his grief on his face. There were deep, dark circles around him eyes, and his jaw was firmly, if not unfriendly, set. There was an emotion in his eyes that I could not decipher at this point of time. I could not wait to speak to him now. His hands were handcuffed as Arnav had told me.

The guard directly him to the chair, and left. I let him settle comfortably on his chair, before I began.

"Mr. Jha, foremost, this conversation is strictly confidential, so you do not have to worry about anything being used against you based on our conversations. I have been appointed by your brother-in-law, Arnav Singh Raizada. I am a criminal psychologist. My name is Khushi Gupta..."

As soon as I said my name, he looked up at me with a glint of recognition in his eyes, and said,

"No wonder you looked so familiar. Now I know why. Nice to finally meet you, Miss Gupta. I was hoping Arnav would bring you to meet me someday, though I did not expect under this setting."

I was shocked. Not only was I meeting this man for the first time today, I had not even heard of his name. How the hell did he know me, and about Arnav and me? This meeting was definitely turning out to be way more interesting than I had expected.

CH 12

I wasn't sure if I should probe him to get answers or continue the work I was here for. Maybe he was playing mind games with me. I was not going to let him convince me to anything. I will get my answers and then conclude whether he is telling the truth or not.

"I must accept that you have taken me by surprise Mr. Jha. But please tell me how we know each other, since I don't remember ever meeting you."

His face had changed since I told him my name. There was a slight curve on his lips, an almost smile.

"Khushi, if I may call you so, please call me Shyam. I don't like anyone calling me by my last name. And how I know you is not my story to tell. In fact it surprises me that you don't know me. May be we will have this conversation some other day, under some other circumstances."

He smiled at me. So there was something else that I needed to know from Arnav. Arnav was the only common link that I knew of between us, so he had to know how Mr. Jha knew me. I noticed his accent as well. It was a Southern Californian accent that was had to miss. A lot of my friends had that accent. So I was almost certain that Mr. Jha was either in constant company of someone having that kind of a heavy accent, or he had lived there for a long time. I noted it down in my notes for future reference.

"Fair enough Shyam. As I told you, I am here for Arnav. He believes that you have answers to his questions. I agree in professional capacity that what you say, will not be used or held against you. Neither will any other party be privy to our conversation today. But I will decide if there is something that Arnav needs to know. And I hope you will tell me the truth."

"The truth, Khushi, is the world's weirdest thing. What is true to you, might not be true to me. Don't you think so?"

Ah, cryptic language! My first impression was right then, he was indeed playing mind games. I liked such patients, they were smarter, but easier to read, because they tried extra hard to disguise. I smiled at his reply, deciding to take the conversation towards more basic and general stuff about him. Arnav had told me all that he knew, but now I had serious doubts that he had skipped some parts. I had to make sure I knew everything before I drew conclusions.

"So Shyam, I have a recorder with me. I would like to turn it on, of course with your permission, since writing it all down will take a lot of time."

He slightly nodded his head in approval.

"For starters, let us get to know you better. I noticed you have a heavy accent. Mind if you tell me where you got it from?"

"That's easy. Knowing where you are from, I am sure you know where I picked it from. I went to UCLA for under-grad, and then to Berkeley for Law school. I have lived in California for half my life, and then I came to India, and met Anjali and got married. We decided to settle down here."

Even though the recorder was on, I was making my notes. I noticed he had dreamy look on his face when he was talking about his marriage to Anjali.

"And what about your family?"

...

We were in the referral room for nearly 3 hours. I knew today was my best shot. Since Shyam had not expected me, I took him by surprise and his answers were not forged. The next time, he would prepare better and I was not sure if I would get truth then. Having said that, he came across as a very intelligent man, so I was sure a lot of his answers would have be fabricated even now. But I knew when he was lying. I was not an ace in my profession for nothing.

As I walked out, I saw Arnav getting up from the uncomfortable looking chair with a big question mark on his face. I knew he wanted answers. His biggest fear was whether I thought the same as him that Shyam was hiding something. While I wanted to put him out of his misery, there was no way I was going to discuss this until I was absolutely sure.

I walked to where he was, when the lady warden handed us another sheet of documents to read and sign. Since Arnav had already signed, I assumed I did not have to read again and signed it. We thanked them, and walked out towards his car. He started driving and there was complete silence in the car, until we reached the highway.

"So?"

He asked me very vaguely. And I turned to look at him and noticed his inquisitiveness up close. He was almost agitated to know what happened. And as much as I wanted to delay this talk, I decided to put him out of his misery.

"It went well. There are a lot of leads and possible theories for his behavior. I am not sure for now so I think it will be best for us to discuss this later. However, to make you feel better, I also think there is something more to all this than what he is saying. But again, I am not sure yet. And so I will continue to work on this till I find you some answers."

I saw a grateful smile adorn his face, and then continued.

"But in all this, I also need to know how he knows about me, us."

It was obvious from Arnav's changed reaction that he was not expecting this. His grip on the gear stick turned tighter, and blood throbbed at his temple.

"That ... What the hell did he tell you?"

"Nothing that should worry you. Just that he knew me, but that that discussion was for some other day. What was he talking about Arnav?"

"Khushi, not right now. We will talk later."

I was pissed at him. This later' business was not suiting me well.

"Why not now? I want to know. It seems there is a lot about us that I have no clue about. Was this what you attempted to talk to me about yesterday?"

"Khushi please. Not now."

"I want the answers now Arnav. It's killing me, and our incomplete talk from yesterday is scaring me. Please!"

"Fine! He helped me get out of USA a month before I was scheduled to be deported from there."

"What the ... When was this? And why were you going to be deported?"

"That was exactly two days after I asked you to come with me to India and you refused."

His face was straight, but I noticed a hint of frustration in his voice.

His answer made me more confused than I already was. So Arnav left not because he wanted to leave me, but because he was going to be deported; he did not want to leave me. As much as that satisfied me, I was scared to know why was he going to be deported. I know the law of deportation. And I prayed to all the Gods above, that my fear be proved baseless, that Arnav did not commit a crime that required his deportation. I looked at him, and saw his face closely trying to find any denial on it. But one look at him, and I knew my fears were true, he had done something, something really big, and I was not sure if I wanted to know what it was.

CH 13

Arnav's POV-

She had turned unusually silent. She refused to even look at me, when I was stealing suggestive glances in her direction. I was sure she was not avoiding me, she was just lost in her own thoughts. I decided to let her be. She indeed must have had a hard day, and what I told her did not make it any easier.

We reached home a little after 7 in the evening. I decided to call it a night and send dinner to her room so she could be for a while. our talks could wait for a day more. And now I was sure that she was not leaving until things were sorted.

"Khushi, KHUSHI?"

I called her a little louder the second time to catch her attention. She stopped in her tracks but did not turn to look at me.

"You should go and rest. I will have dinner sent to your room. We will talk tomorrow."

She stood still till I finished and then left for her room without saying anything.

This was not the reaction that I had expected from her. Having known her, I thought she would be livid, and frustrated at me. We were close to each other, not in the most conventional way. But we were close to each other than any one else. So she must have expected me to tell her everything. I had a legit reason to not disclose anything to her then. And if she would have started an argument now, I would have told her everything truthfully. But her silence did not allow me to do so. I thought for once to force her to listen to me, but that would not have helped in any way. In fact she might not have even understood what I was saying. That is the only reason that I decided that all the talking could wait, no matter how restless it made me. I kept staring at her till she reached upstairs and went out of my sight.

A little after 8, I had her dinner sent to her room, while I ate alone on the dining table. The maid returned with an empty plate and I was glad that she ate. I finished my dinner and returned to my room. Sleep was no where close so I decided to get some work done. There was no way that I could afford to let work suffer because of my own personal reasons. A lot was at stake already, I could not add the business to that list.

I continued working and found myself slightly distracted from the happening of the day. That came as a relief. However, distraction came back in full force, when Khushi walked into the study close to midnight.

"Arnav?"

I had already sensed her presence before she called me.

"Hi! I thought you must have long slept. You need something?"

"Yes."

She replied hesitantly. I frowned looking at her asking what it was that she needed at this hour of the night.

"I want to talk. I cannot sleep thinking there is so much that needs to be sorted between us. No time is the right time but now. Can we, please talk?"

I knew she was right. This whole issue was too disturbing for both of us. While I was aware of the truth, she was still partially in the dark. She had a right to know everything, and I was not going to refrain from telling her anything. She could ask me anything tonight, and I would tell her without hesitation. I was not sorry for what I did then, neither was I sorry now.

"First please sit down."

She ignored my request and went and stood near the window staring outside at nothing in particular. I let her stand there, if that was where she would be comfortable.

"What do you want to know Khushi?"

"Everything, from the beginning. All truth!"

This was not as easy as I thought it would be. I had to ignore her presence and talk as if I was alone and talking to myself.

"You remember how you were when we were friends? All carefree and distant, without any intention of growing close to anyone. And that is exactly how I was. So in a way, I had found my match in you. A lot of times I tried to approach you for a relationship with no bounds that would have worked for us. But considering that you had become such a good friend of mine, I did not want to jeopardize it for a relationship that would not have mattered to either of us. So I refrained from doing that. But slowly my feelings for you intensified. I grew very fond of you, and wanted to explore that. I was ready to make you understand that we still did not have to be bounded, but that things would work out on their own eventually. I wanted to show you that there were positivities in relationships as well. After a lot of self convincing, I decided to speak to you one of the weekends, but you did not show up. It turned into quite a few days that I had not seen you, so I got worried and finally showed at your doorstep. But I was in for a shock then when not you, but that bas***d opened the door."

I saw her visibly finch at the mention of that ... I did not even have more words left to call him names. But instead of comforting her then, I decided to continue.

"I was shattered and wanted to run away from there. I felt cheated because you never wanted that and when you were ready for a relationship, you choose someone else. I was blinded by my heartbreak and blamed you for being so ignorant about my feelings even after being my closest friend. And that's when I started maintaining my distance from you, until the day you stumbled upon my house in that horrific condition. You were silent about what had happened. But I could see it in your eyes that you had not forgotten anything and were constantly living those moments where your life had turned upside down. But you never said a word about it, until the next day when you mentioned assault. I knew there was more to it, but you were in no condition to answer my questions. I had seen the marks on your body, but you refused to acknowledge them in front of me. I decided to be of all the help that you needed. Questioning you could have waited. And then one fine morning, you started acting normal, the way you were before. But my eyes caught the whole act you were trying so hard to put up. I knew you very well for you to hide from me. But I played along with you so that you at least were content that you had me by your side at all times. The fact that you slept at my place made my doubts clearer. I used to keep a close watch on you after you slept because I had heard screams of anguish coming from the bedroom at night. I saw you twisting and turning in the bed trying to get out of something. I was almost sure you were imagining the ropes tied around your wrists and ankles, since I had seen the bruises before on you. I tried to come closer to you to calm you down. But my touch seemed to give you more pain. I used to stand afar and watch you pass out night after night because of those nightmares."

I stopped to have water. I offered some to Khushi but she refused. I still couldn't see her face. But she had stiffened to my words, but I was sure I had her attention.

"I tried to tell you that you needed help, but you just passed that off saying the nightmares would eventually stop. But they did not. Finally after days of the same thing happening, I went to the University psychologist. I was too worried for you by then. So I told her everything except your name. She did not give me an accurate reason because she needed to know more and she could not have me worried based solely on theories. She required you to be there, and since I knew that you would not agree to that, I forced her to tell me what she was thinking. All she told me was there was a chance that your's was a case of something more than an assault, but that she could not be sure without accurate proof."

I slowed down to let her digest my words. I knew she was re-living those painful memories again. And since I wanted it to be over today, I was not intending to stop. She still stood there, breathing heavily. I continued.

"By then we had come really close. We use to kiss and cuddle, and tried to go beyond that. You never realized but I used to feel you shudder as soon as I tried to get any closer to you than that. And so I decided that our making out would not have to do anything with sex. Sex could wait, but the pain and uncertainty in your eyes were too much for me to take. I had also noticed a change in you by then. You were trying even harder to get back that normalcy. I had my doubts that you were taking some help which pleased me because I knew you needed that. I let the things be as they were. As much as I wanted to know everything, I knew you needed time. And I respected your privacy, until curiosity got better of me. Remember, you had called me one day asking me to find your project file from the room since you had forgotten to take it? I found your reports while searching for it. As much as I wanted to put them away, I just could not. I was frustrated at being disable to help you. I wanted to know who was responsible for your state and what actually happened. I am so sorry Khushi that I opened that file that day, but I am not sorry for what followed there after."

I could see she was tired from that standing but she continued to refuse to sit. I went and stood near the window maintaining some distance from her. I wanted to comfort her, but I assumed she would not appreciate being touched right now.

"I called Joe and handed him your project file to give it to you. And then I began to read your reports. I read everything again and again, thinking it was just a figment of my mind and not the reality, but it did not change. Why, Khushi? Why didn't you share it with me? Did you not trust me? Did you think I would blame you? Never! I never blamed you then or now."

My eyes had turned moist, but she still had a straight look on her face. It was unbelievable that she still did not react. I stayed quiet for a few minutes, but before I could say anything, I heard her voice.

"Why would you not blame me Arnav, when I blame myself every single day? Can't you see, it was all my fault. I trusted the wrong guy. I took pride in my unconventional lifestyle and look where it took me. Why wouldn't you blame me Arnav? They used me, they repeated did, in ways you cannot imagine, all four of them, and I could do nothing. Why would you not blame me?"

Saying this, before I could get a hold of her, she fell hard on her knees on the floor, sobbing loudly, in that pain striking voice that cut through and killed me piece by piece with each tear that flowed from her eyes. I stood numb, unaware of what I could do to be able to breath again. My eyes brunt, my chest hurt, and my life got squeezed out of my body, while she kept sobbing uncontrollably.

CHAPTER 14

I don't know how long we just sat against the window, both lost in our own thoughts, and feelings. We did not utter a single word, and there was pin drop silence apart from the occasional sniffs of Khushi. Soon the darkness of the room was over come by the slight light of the dawn. It was poetic, almost as if a cue of the better days to come ahead.

I turned to see the time, and it was nearing 6 in the morning. We had been in the study for almost 6 hours now. I tried to stand up from my position and realized how cramped my legs were. I could not imagine what Khushi must be feeling right now. I was surprised she had not passed out of exhaustion from sitting in the same position and crying so much. I towered above her, hoping she would acknowledge me. But she seemed to be very lost, and lifeless right then. I shook her shoulders-

"Khushi.. Baby you need to get up."

She looked at my face with a blank expression. But after a few seconds, as realization dawned upon her, her eyes misted and her face paled further if it was possible. She looked at me with pleading eyes, as if asking for my help. I had never felt this helpless in my life.

She looked in pain and I knew she would need my help to even stand up. So removing my hand that I had initially offered her to take, I simply bent down and scooped her in my arms. She was so light. She kept looking at my face, and her hands had fisted on my shirt at my back. I took her to her room and made her sit on the bed. I intercom the housekeeper and asked her to get a glass of orange juice and a couple of aspirins. I let Khushi use the washroom to freshen up. She walked out after a few minutes, having washed her face and changed into her pajamas. There was a knock on the door and I took the tray from the keeper and asked her to leave us from then. Khushi was still in a daze. I gave her the glass and held the aspirins in my palm in front of her. She was mechanically doing everything without really understanding what was happening.

I kept the glass on the side table after she finished it.

"Baby, you should try to sleep for a while now. You need rest. I will be downstairs. Call me if you need anything at all."

She just kept looking at me while I was speaking. I helped her lie down and and covered her properly in the duvet. I lowered the temperature of the air conditioner and left for the door for her to rest.

I was about to open the door, when I heard a tiny whisper. I was not sure if it was Khushi but I turned to look at her just to make sure. She was looking at me with pleading eyes, as if asking for something. I was confused as to her request. But I still walked to her.

"Did you call me? Did you need anything?"

"Please don't go!"

That was all she said while tears where continuously flowing from her eyes. She was not sobbing uncontrollably but was still visibly shaken.

I had already left her once when she needed me because I did not have an alternative. And all the hells above would not make me do the same thing again. I rushed to the other side on her bed without saying anything, and laid down behind her, spooning her in my arms, and gently rocking her. She still was in tears, and that seriously worried me.

"Shush, shushh! Enough baby, please."

We were deeply entangled and I was praying that she feel my warmth, my concern for her, seeping in her, and bringing her back to life. It pained me to see her so broken. It took her a while to calm down, and then her breathing steadied while she had passed out in my arms. I did not move from my position least she wake up again. Soon exhaustion took over me, and eventually I fell asleep. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed, was her tear stained face, which I promised myself to turn into a happy one.

It was a dreamless sleep except for the occasional blurry vision of a sad face, until I felt some movement, and my hands tightened on their own accord. That earned me a whimper, and I opened my eyes, only to find a pair of hazel orbs staring right into my eyes. That's when all the sleep evaded me, and I realized our positions. But I was not ready to let go of Khushi. I loosened my grip on her, and forced her to turn around. We were so close to each other that our breathes were mingling. She looked uncomfortable with our proximity but I was not going to let her go, not now, not ever!

"You okay?"

She kept looking at me with those huge eyes, which were red and swollen with all the crying.

"I... Umm, yes, thank you!"

"Good! I am going to go to my room now. Why don't you freshen up, and I will meet you downstairs for brunch? At 11?"

She nodded her head. And I don't know what came over me, but at that moment, on an impulse, I reduced the gap between us, and kissed her forehead. I stayed there for longer than necessary, only so that she knows and understands my actions. Finally I let go of her, and got out of the bed. I reached the door and turned around. Seeing her look at me so intently, I smiled at her. She hesitantly returned my smile.

In that moment I knew, that everything was going to be okay with us. We would get over even this phase of our lives.

Finally, I walked out of the door and gave her the much needed space.

I just read its previous parts n also commented but than you left story incomplete n after such a long time you cameback n its really good bcoz its such a nice story n i never expected that khusi was raped n I think arnav must had killed those bas***ds or beaten them n that's the cause of his deportation