Chapter 8:Those Beautiful Eyes
"Don't you want to know anything else about me? I have been in a relationship for quite a while and you haven't asked me anything about it."
Arnav was trying to look into her eyes but she was bent on avoiding any kind of eye contact as she would feel embarrassed if he asked her about the details such as the level of intimacy between Ajay and her.
Not that she had done something that she was ashamed off or regretted, but she wanted to know if Arnav cared for such stuff. She didn't want misunderstanding to come in between them later in the marriage.
Arnav smirked at the creature called Khushi Gupta in front of him. He was actually impressed that she had the guts to come to him and talk about all this. He was quite surprised that she was taking so much effort to understand him and communicate with him.
He replied "Khushi your past is your past. I do not care what you did with Ajay. Even if you had been intimate with him I wouldn't be complaining. It's just part of life. Some people can't ignore their basic human urges. So why should I have a problem with it. All I want from you is that your past should not interfere with your present. And if by some means you do fall in love with someone else after we are married, all I can hope is that you'd trust me enough to come clean. I would rather release you to go live a happy life than have you living a life with the guilt of cheating on me."
Khushi immediately shook her head violently in a no as she believed thinking of some other man after her marriage would be a sin and she would choose death instead of committing the sin.
Arnav laughed at her antics. He didn't know if his answers were helping her or pushing her into a state of more confusion.
"Don't worry Khushi. I'm not blaming your character. I'm just being frank."
Khushi wished the ground would swallow her as she thought to herself "Frank? I know Arnav isn't good with words but seriously? This is too damn frank to be frank."
Arnav asked her if she had any other questions but she shook her head in a no. Maybe his conversation had scared her. Arnav had to ask and so he silently got up from his chair and sat beside Khushi. She was deep in thought but he turned her to face him and asked "Do you still want to go through with the wedding?"
Khushi may have been confused about his last answer but she wasn't confused about this. She immediately smiled and replied "I will marry you Arnav. I think we have made a good decision and together we will easily be able to face any obstacles we may face in our marriage. By your words I know that you will always try to be there for me and I shall try to be by your side. I was conflicted about our relationship being pushed through so many phases in all this haste, but your answers have cleared all my doubts. I'm not uncertain about our future anymore. I trust you Arnav."
Arnav almost smiled as he acknowledged what she had said. "I trust you too Khushi"
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Arnav had offered her to drop her home. Even though she had a driver waiting for her, she agreed to Arnav. She had no idea why she did this, but for the time being all she wanted was to spend a little more time with this man. They didn't talk too much on their way back. All they did was steal glances at each other and that was more than enough for them.
As he parked the car at the gates of Sheesh Mahal, he noticed that Khushi wasn't getting off. Arnav then used three words that magically made her heart flutter.
"Tum theek ho?" (Are you alright?)
As she nodded she felt her cheeks starting to flush all over again. Cursing her body for always betraying her when she was around Arnav, she nodded and replied "Hum theek hai. Thanks for everything."
Arnav's smirk widened as he replied "My pleasure Khushi."
Khushi ran inside her home after this as her brain had already started to go into the gutter and she didn't want to get into another embarrassing situation today. As she closed the door behind her to see Arnav's SUV leave the premises, she finally noticed that her heart was beating quite fast.
"Why the hell is my heart beating so damn fast? Maybe it's because I was running up the stairs. Damn you heart. Stop it." She tried and tried but it took quite a few minutes for her heart to beat normally again.
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The next few days literally flew by. The wedding celebrations were on in full swing. Khushi hadn't seen Arnav for quite a while and unknowingly she really missed his presence. The last time she had seen him was when Shashi had gotten discharged. That was two days ago.
Khushi never failed to notice her heart which was behaving real awkwardly these days. Every time Arnav's name was mentioned she could feel the pace of her heart increase dramatically. Adamant that it was some health issue she had secretly gone to a clinic to get herself checked up. But technically there wasn't anything wrong with her.
She then dismissed her increased heartbeats as part of the wedding jitters. It was really funny to see Khushi try so hard to justify that it wasn't Arnav that was causing this. All she knew was she wanted to see him.
The Mehendi artist had shown her a couple of designs and Khushi rejected them all. Suddenly these designs didn't appeal to her. She wanted it to be a bit more personal so she drew the design on paper and then asked if she could have this on her. The Mehendi artist smiled as she saw the initials that Khushi had drawn at the center. She proceeded to replicate the design on Khushi's hands.
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Anjali was so pissed at her Chottey. "Really. How stupid can somebody get. He is not romantic at all. I thought that Arnav would break all the rules and would want to go see Khushi but alas. He is being so ASR-ish. Well brother dear, even I'm a Raizada." She smiled at her thoughts as a devilish plan came to her mind. What could she do? It was a cupid's duty to keep launching arrows at her brother. All it would take would be one arrow for them to fall in love and Anjali was going to launch a million if she had to.
She walked into the cabin smiling. Her brother immediately closed his laptop to face her. This always happened. The first time this happened she thought that she had caught Arnav watching po*n. But no. Arnav would always close all of his work when Anjali came to see him to give her his undivided attention.
She shook her head bringing herself back to the present and said "Chottey you have to do something for me"
Arnav got up from his chair and walked towards her "Anything for you di. Just name it."
She smiled as she knew Arnav would always agree. "I want you to give Khushi something."
Arnav looked at her all confused when she placed a box in front of his eyes. Suddenly he felt his heart constrict and he closed his eyes to hide the tears that were threatening to break out. Anjali could see the pain Arnav always carried with him. He seldom shared his pain and always kept it locked up deep within. That is why she wanted a bubbly and cheerful woman to be Arnav's wife so that his wife could help him move on from the pain.
Arnav knew what was in the box. They had once belonged to his mother. He took the box from Anjali's hand and asked her,
"Is this necessary?"
Anjali cupped his face with one hand and replied "Mom always wanted her Bahu to have these Chottey. Even though she isn't with us anymore I know that she will be really pleased if Khushi received this."
Arnav turned around trying really hard to mask his emotions. "Why can't you give this to her di?"
Anjali tried so hard not to roll her eyes. "Sometimes Arnav can behave like such a stubborn kid. Here she is trying to give him a reason to meet Khushi and he is choosing to be ignorant instead."
Anjali responded "Because I want you to make Khushi feel special Chottey. She has taken so much effort the last few days. She even came to meet you at your office. I think it's high time you too take a step forward in your relationship to meet her. Step up Arnav. Before she starts to take a step back."
She left Arnav to his thoughts. His sister did have a point.
Arnav finally brought all his thoughts back to reality as he called Aman and postponed his appointments for the day. He took his coat and walked out of his office. Before he left, he called Akash to give him company. He wasn't scared or anything but he wanted to know if Shashi would be able to manage all the preparations.
Money wasn't the issue. However, Shashi needed to rest as much as possible and Arnav knew how much these things take a toll on one's body. As Akash came to sit beside his brother in the SUV, Arnav explained everything to him. Akash smiled and replied "You are right Bhai. I will gladly look into the preparations from their side. The least we can do is help reduce the stress that they are facing."
Arnav nodded thankful to his brother.
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Khushi's cousins and relatives were making her life hell right now. They were teasing Khushi so much that she had blushed all throughout her Mehendi session. Even Payal wouldn't stop putting guttery ideas into her head about the wedding night.
Khushi started to chase her sister throughout the house trying to catch her. While chasing her sister she turned a corner and crashed into someone. She felt like she was falling and brought her hands close to her body so that she doesn't ruin her Mehendi. However her fall was stopped as a pair of hands snaked themselves around her waist. Khushi didn't even have to open her eyes to know who saved her.
The increase in pace of her heartbeats had made her guess that it would be Arnav. As she opened her eyes and looked into his, she saw that Arnav was completely lost looking at her. She blushed and looked towards the ground.
Arnav made a note to himself as he looked at her face. "She has beautiful eyes."
---To be Cont---
Udne Ki Aasha
Jaane Anjaane Hum Mile
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
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