I got such awesome and amazing support for this story.! I really cannot thank you guys enough.! you all are so really nice 😃. Okay without gushing on further I'll just let you read. Let me kow my flaws and please ignore the silly mistakes😳 Happy Reading.!
They had survived through a series of misunderstandings, a long period of jealously on either side, one surprise engagement and they never managed to talk, like have a decent conversation like civilized beings. In spite of the feelings they never spoke nicely to each other. Their interactions always ended with either Khushi walking out while Arnav was still talking or an angry Arnav blasting Khushi out of her senses. These two seem to send each other to the edge everytime they were together yet they barely made it through a day without each other. It has been a couple of months since they encountered each other at the fashion show and yet nothing seems different between them. Outwardly that is. Inwardly it was a different story all together.
Arnav knew he was behaving out of his character and that she has noticed it. A gentleman would never closet down to someone's room in the dead of the night. Especially to a girl's room who was residing as a guest at his house. He had tried to think reasonably but it seemed like a Herculean task after reading the note. The note which he was holding in his right hand at that moment. Arnav lifted his hand and raised his eyebrows in answer to her perplexed question.
Khushi glanced at the folded piece of paper in his hands. Oh Lord! Those hands. She literally shivered each time she thought about the moments those came in contact with her skin. Diverting her attention from the hands to the caramel laced with chocolate brown eyes and she was again lost. Those eyes along with those hands were going to be death of her, she mused silently. Shaking her head clear of the thoughts Khushi asked wearily, "What is it?" She noted a twitch in his jaw and a softness in his usually hard eyes before he answered her with a counter question, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Arnav wanted to shake her. She could tell him when he was being an ass, argue with him over every minute detail, lecture him on his thinking, fight with him without any rhyme but could not tell him about this? He knew he couldn't let her come close to his heart, which he presently doubted belonged to him anymore. He had tried everything in the world to keep her at an arm's length, to the extent of hurting her intentionally. Arnav had seen the silent pleading to understand in her eyes at times but he had not realized the depth of it until this fateful night.
Irritation clawed at Khushi at this prolonged pause," Tell you what?" Fine he does't like me but waking me up in middle of a good sleep?! Monster! Khushi thought as she crossed her arms across her midriff and looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. He wasn't making any sense, maybe he was sleep talking, Khushi chuckled. Even then he kept on staring at her starting their regular duel of eyelocks. It was as if they conversed through sheer telepathy sometimes. When she would know what was he thinking or vice verse without any exchange of words. Maybe it was one of those moments because realization dawned on her suddenly and her eye widened in horror. No, it couldn't be. She left the note in the prayer room, at the feet of the deity. He never went there unless called by his sister. He couldn't know, that wasn't possible. Khushi froze for a moment and took a step closer to him before stumbling back.
Arnav decreased the gap by one step and asked her again, "Why?" letting his eyes fill up with emotions he usually kept under wraps. He did not know why he had gone down to the prayer room in his house that night. Maybe being with Khushi was really starting to affect his brain but the visit had shocked him. Arnav knew she understood what he was talking about when he saw her eyes widen and pupils dilate. She had frozen for a moment before taking several steps inside the room backwards and turning around so that she didn't face him. Arnav walked upto her and stopped when he was barely a step away from her. He placed his hands lightly on her shoulders and made her turn towards him slowly. Taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger, Arnav made her look up. There was sheen of unshed tears in those nave dark hazel eyes.
Khushi looked at him and whispered after a long moment, "You wouldn't have believed me." She sniffed but continued, gaining strength from the warmth of this hands and the concoction of shame hurt and understanding in his eyes. "The day I understood his intentions, I cried and decided to tell you. But realizing you will again call me names and want proof I backed out." Taking a moment to relieve her of painful burden she had been carrying around, Khushi wiped the lone drop of tear. "I knew I could not tell anyone so I wrote it in a piece of paper hoping he would be punished soon." Exhaling with a tad bit difficulty, Khushi hung her head and added, "I was ashamed of myself, I'm sorry."
Arnav's heart clenched such force that it hurt his entire body. He hugged with equal force when she began to cry in earnest after the confession. He felt her hands go around taking fistfuls of his tee-shirt on his back at same time when he felt her tears beginning to get absorbed by the material on his chest. He shut his eyes and brushed his left palm along the length of her untied hair to calm her. "No, please no, I'm sorry, so very sorry'I didn't know'" Arnav mumbled at her temple. He had never felt so helpless in life except for the time he and his sister were thrown out of their home in Lucknow. He couldn't think of anything other than holding her. Arnav had never apologized to anyone, least of all to her. He didn't even understand the magnitude of his feelings for her until now. Her tears, her distress ripped him apart. After what seemed a lifetime her trembling stopped along with her sobs. She removed her hands from his back slowly and put them by her side. Arnav too let her go, albeit with great reluctance.
Khushi did not know what made her cling to him and cry until she felt spent. She had hated him for so long; he had ruined her simple existence with that one decision of revenge. Yet somewhere he had crept around her heart and stamped it with his name. Permanentely. It was no longer her family who were here Achilles heel, all of this intimidating dark knight had replaced them unknowingly. She stood there for a moment, staring at the floor shyly. You were in his arms, no completely attached to him for who knows for how long, Khushi's mind screamed. She noticed the discarded note and bent down to pick it up. Tearing it into pieces until it can't be torn further she went to the waste basket to throw them. Her heart seemed a little lighter. She turned around and waited a beat before saying, "No one can ever know about this." Khushi felt a distinct change in the electricity between them, like the calm of the sea before a vicious storm.
Arnav noticed the rigidity replacing the softness in her stance as soon as she created the gap. He had already started to miss the feel of her plaint body tucked into his arms. She was so fragile; he could crush her with the intensity of his emotions. Once this man had scoffed at the idea of a woman becoming natural and important as breathing to a man yet this very idea now stared bluntly in his face and he could nothing but accept it. She had walked on the stage with unsure footing and stumbled on to becoming his life. When she turned towards him to say that "no one could know ever know about this"; he felt the familiar surge of anger replacing the other emotions pouring into in blood. Hardening his eyes he said, "I promise". Aloud. I'm going to make this right, he added silently to himself.
A few steps away from the door stood a saree clad figure unnoticed by either of them. With a secret smile on her face and twinkle in her eyes she said quietly to herself, "About time".
That's the end for now..not sure whether to continue or not because I'm pretty blank about the following ideas.
Thank you so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Please hit the like tab if you really did like it.!😃
