Well here is the next part! Sorry with studies and work, it's just a tad hard to juggle writing in as well, but hopefully you enjoy this.
PLEASE READ THE NOTE AFTER THIS PART.
Part 59
"Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate, but through being the right mate"
- Barnett R Brinkner.
Khushi hurriedly threw the clothes in the suitcase, her vision blurred with unshed tears, as she tried to move around with utmost urgency, grabbing at whatever she could, and throwing it all in the suitcase.
Arnav watched this silently, his hand itching to neatly repack the whole suitcase but refrained from doing so.
He picked up the phone and called the concierge downstairs to book them a cab to take them to the airport.
He opened his own suitcase and neatly put away his own suits and shirts, packing away his toiletries in a plastic kit, and grabbing his shoes from the side of the sofa where he had neatly stored them.
He looked back towards the room, seeing as Khushi continued to frantically pack away everything, a worried expression on her face, her eyes wide and glistening with tears. He looked away as he felt his throat clench up.
Arnav was silent when the call ended, his eyes carefully watching her, unsure of how to tell her that it was possible her Babuji was very ill.
"Arnavji?" She asked finally, her eyebrows furrowing together in confusion as she continued to stare back at him, trying to understand from his expression, his face, any kind of clue as to what the conversation on the phone had been about.
"Is everything okay?" She finally asked, and placed the cloth she was holding back on the bed, as she cautiously took a small step away from the bed, and towards him. He wasn't sure if it was to comfort him, or her way of showing support, but Arnav remained quiet, not answering her question.
"Arnavji?" She asked again, fear seeping into her voice as she realized that something could be very wrong here, "baat kariye, please"
"Khushi" Arnav finally said after a pause, and took a step towards her. Her face did not soften, but the lines of worry deepened, and she stood rooted to her spot as she waited for him to continue, "Khushi" He repeated, his hand itching to run through his hair, but he willed for it to stay by his side, his eyes not wavering from Khushi's face as he regarded each expression.
She was like an open book, and using her reactions, Arnav was going to decide what was the best way of comforting her.
"It was Di on the line" Arnav elaborated, and Khushi remained silent, waiting for him to finish, "She is asking for us to come back"
"Why" She whispered out the question, almost afraid of what he was going to say. Arnav took another step forward, and his eyes itched to hold hers in his, but he resisted.
"Khushi, it's your Babuji" He said, and he saw as she paled, but did not say anything, waiting for him to elaborate.
"Di did not tell me what was the matter, but she is asking for us to come back"
Silence stretched across them as Khushi stood there not saying anything. He was waiting for her to absorb this information, and so he did not move towards her either.
"W-what does that mean" She finally asked, her voice shaking, "Why would they ask us to come back? Why hasn't Jiji called me? Why haven't Amma or Buaji contacted me? What could be the reason? Is it the flu? Does Babuji have the flu?" She asked, the questions being fired at him one after another, as her voice got more frantic, "I keep telling him to take all his medications, and that he needs to watch out for the cold. He is not young anymore, but he doesn't listen to me! What has the doctor said? Did Di tell you?"
When Arnav remained silent, she huffed out in frustration and grabbed his phone from him, "Forget it, Ill call Jiji myself" She muttered to herself angrily, "how dare they not contact me"
"Khushi..." Arnav tried speaking, but she turned her back to him as she pressed the phone to her ear, waiting for it to connect.
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They sat silently in the cab, Arnav looking at her every few seconds, while she stared outside, her hands tightly clasped on her lap, the whites of the knuckle standing out.
He sighed, and opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it. He looked back outside the window and wondered how bad the situation was back home
--------
Khushi leaned against the counter, her hands gripping the edge of it, as she listened to every word the lady behind the counter said.
"Mr. Raizada, all our flights are being grounded due to the weather conditions. There are only two that are departing in less than an hour that have been given an all clear. However as I told you, they are absolutely full"
"I need to get on that plane, Rachel" Arnav said, as he glanced down at the lady's name tag, "It is a family emergency, and we need to get back right away"
"I am extremely sorry to hear that, but there is absolutely nothing we can do. First Class is full, and I just checked, Business Class is full as well"
Arnav sighed in frustration, and looked down at his phone, wishing that there was a way he could have made some calls and gotten them on a flight.
"Are there any other airlines at all that are flying out of Melbourne? We can take a connecting flight from wherever the plane takes us," Arnav said, and the woman shook her head, but ran the request through her computer anyway to appease him that she had tried looking.
"Unfortunately sir, there aren't"
"Please!" Khushi spoke up, leaning forward, and clasping her hands together. Arnav almost wanted to tell her to stop doing that, but he refrained when he saw how distraught he was. His hand immediately rested on her back to calm her, but Khushi did not notice, as she requested the lady behind the counter,
"Please. My father is in the hospital, and I need to be there with him" She whispered, her voice shaking, and the Rachel looked at Khushi sympathetically
"I am begging you, please look for something"
"Khushi..." Arnav started to say, uncomfortable seeing Khushi begging the lady behind the counter, but Khushi did not register what he said, as she waited for the woman to check her computer and tell her.
"Well..." Rachel said, as she looked on, "Like I told your husband, ma'am, there are no seats available in either First or Business Class" Khushi looked down dejectedly, but the lady continued, "However, there are two seats in economy if you are willing to travel. The flight goes to Singapore, and I can book you a connecting flight from there. But it will all be economy"
Arnav stiffened at that.
He did not travel economy. There was a reputation that AR had to uphold, and as the CEO of it, he could not be seen traveling economy.
He knew that with the news floating around with his company sinking, and his financial struggles, the news of him traveling by economy would only add fuel to fire.
However as he glanced at Khushi to see what her reaction to it was, he noticed that she was looking down at the counter, completely avoiding his gaze. He frowned slightly as he tried catching her eye, but then realized that she was avoiding meeting his gaze for a reason - she knew that he would be able to read her emotions from her eyes and face, and she did not want that.
He looked back at Rachel, who was looking at them expectantly.
He had to make a decision, between upholding the image he had worked tirelessly to build, or to get back to Khushi's family.
As he looked down at her again, the answer was evident.
Arnav took out his wallet and placed his credit card on the counter,
"We'll take it"
Okay, so that was the part. Now I don't know what the response is going to be, but if you were disappointed with how Arnav "comforted" Khushi by remaining silent and not knowing what to do - you have to keep in mind that:
1) These guys have had an arranged marriage, and not just a typical one either. They are still getting to know one another. I don't know about you, but in this regards, I identify myself with Arnav a lot. I am not someone for whom comforting people comes very naturally. I get awkward when people even comfort me.
Arnav is someone who doesn't show his emotions easily, and finds it hard to comfort people. For someone he still doesn't know too well, it's hard to know what they will appreciate when it comes to comforting them. I tried to show that awkwardness in this part.
2) These guys are starting to develop and strengthen the trust between them. I hope you've noticed that Arnav is protective and cares about Khushi. He only does that with very few people.
3) Through the different hardships people face in their life, they learn more about themselves, and about those close to them. I hope I will be able to depict that well in this story. I am not going to spell out that Khushi trusts him, or he trusts Khushi...I hope to show it through their actions. Because that is how people do it in real life.
Anddd finally, if you want to know when I update/updates on my life/what I am doing/what I am not doing/anything at all. Stalk my Twitter. You do not need to have a twitter account to view my twitter handle - you can be a silent creeper.
Anddd an even more important note - I am not going to threaten you into leaving comments and likes (I never appreciated it as a reader myself), but just note that I do notice it when you leave feedback. And therefore, I also notice it when you don't.
Before you jump to conclusions, let me elaborate on what I mean.
Recently I have noticed that there has been a drop in likes/comments for the recent chapters. I don't know if it's because of my writing, or something in the story, or something else altogether.
Please be aware that I appreciate all kinds of feedback, and I hope you all feel comfortable enough to leave that feedback for me :)
I understand that just like us writers get busy, you readers get busy too - and sooo I am hoping that the dip has been due to that, and not because of anything else. But obviously if it is, please let me know :)
~K
Edited by Krani - 9 years ago
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
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