Intense FF: Mere Rang Mein Rangne Wale#2|Thread 3 Link Pg 1 - Page 7

Khushi couldn't bear the suspense any longer. She opened Whatsapp Messenger in her iPhone and texted to NK,

" What happened? Did you find anything? Or did you meet that girl?"

On the other hand, though it incapacitated Nk to lie to his best friend, he decided that he would do it for her betterment. After all, the person who couldn't give a second chance to the person he loved and who could forget the basics of humanitarianism with the pain blinding him, definitely didn't deserve his best friend, according to NK.

" I didn't meet the girl, Khushi. But I saw her photos on the wall, and a handmade painting probably by Arnav himself which proves that he is deeply in love with that girl."

One text of NK had shattered Khushi completely. Not that she didn't anticipate it or expected to hear a different answer, but it killed her from inside nevertheless. After all, some extremely innocent corner which was also possessive of her love wanted to hear that there was no girl in Arnav's life. Tears flowed from her eyes as the first monsoon shower which is always accompanied by intense feelings.

Composing herself, Khushi typed out,

" Is she a good girl? I mean, does she deserve Arnav?"

To say that NK was remorseful would certainly be an euphemism. The extent of their love for each other had left NK in a web of feelings which was confusing and killing him. There was his duty as a friend which said that he should not let any kind of danger even touch Khushi. But there was a gut feeling which hinted him to tell her the truth, even if it would give her a dark future. And NK had chosen his duty like always.

" Yes, Khushi. Think that she is an exact copy of you."

Muffled sobs escaped her mouth as she closed her mouth forcefully with her palm as she dropped the phone on the ground with desolation overpowering her senses. Every happy moment of hers with Arnav came in front of her, along with the way Arnav had joined his name with hers forever.

--FLASHBACK--

Khushi opened her eyes slowly, as she tried to support her head which was feeling extremely heavy with her hands. But surprisingly her hands didn't seem to move as if bound by some rope. With great difficulty, she managed to open her eyes to find herself in a dark room, where her hands were tied to the hand-supporters of the chair.

Fear made shivers run across her spine as goosebumps formed without a moment of delay.

" ARRE KOI HAI KYA YAHAN? HAME ANDHERE SE DARR LAGTA HAI! KOI LIGHT ON KARO PLEASE! HAM KAHAN HAI?" Khushi searched for answers after she shouted her lungs out but she received no answers except the sound of approaching footsteps. The lights suddenly turned on, making Khushi go momentarily blind as she was in the dark for long.

As she opened her eyes slowly, she found herself face-to-face with her best friend, Arnav Singh Raizada who had anger written all over his face and his orbs ablaze with fury.

" Arnav? Thank god, you are here. Please free me." Khushi begged with happiness of finding her best friend in the situation of danger, written over her face.

" Free you? I had not brought you here to free you, Ms Khushi Gupta." Arnav snickered while consternation filled Khushi's heart and mind. Her eyes got filled with hot, heavy tears unable to believe that her best friend had held her as a captive with ropes tied to her.

" What sort of a prank is this, Arnav? Free me NOW. This is not funny." Khushi prayed to her Devi Maiyya for it to just be a prank by Arnav, as a revenge of so many pranks she played on him. Indeed it was a revenge but not of the pranks she had played on him but for the way she had played with his feelings.

Arnav's expressions were no longer even half-amused to see her in a helpless state in front of him. It was just raw fury, which was burning him and was soon going to burn her too. Pain of rejection, pain of being insulted, pain of being used everything combined to take his anger to seventh heaven as he leaned down dangerously close to her as took out something from his pocket.

" Do you see this Ms. Gupta? This is called the Mangal-Sutra, just in case you didn't know and this is vermilion. What did you say? I am nothing more than your friend right? What will I be after I tie this chain to your neck and fill your partition? Still I will be nothing more than a friend?" Arnav's voice was sending fear across every cell of hers while perturbation struck her hard.

" Are you in even your senses? What the hell are you speaking, Arnav?" Khushi wanted it all to turn into a nightmare of hers or wanted Arnav to shout it out to her that she had been fooled by him. Tears flowed down her cheeks carelessly as her throat dried up due to fear.

"Let us prove to you that I am in my senses by doing what I wanted to, and you never wanted. You made fun of my love right?"

She felt the sacred chain of marriage being tied to her, as a reflex action she continued to struggle to free herself but it was of no avail.

" You rejected me right?"

Though it was an anticipated action, she broke from inside as the red color of vermilion filled her partition, marking her as his, forever.