OS: Stay. Part two, page 15. - Page 9

There was a knock on the door.

'Come in,' Anjali mumbled as she got up from her bed and straightened up. It was Khushi. She stood at door looking weary and tired… almost sick. Her eyes were red and puffy and she had her gaze lowered, unable to meet Anjali's eyes. 'Khushi ji?' her ringing tone echoed in her ears and Khushi slowly met her gaze. Anjali seemed fine now but Khushi knew better than that.

She had witnessed the vulnerability of Anjali when her mangalsutra had been shattered accidentally. And Khushi knew that smiling like Anjali took up a lot of courage. But Khushi hadn't come here to analyze Anjali and her reactions. She was here to tell her goodbye, her letter clutched tightly in her hand.

'What's wrong, Khushi? Are you okay?' Anjali came forward and held her hand. But Khushi kept thinking of how to say what she wanted to say properly. Her vision was blurry due to the tears that had formed in them and she was scared… she was scared of something she didn't even know.

'Di, I came here to say goodbye,' Khushi merely whispered the words. Anjali stared at Khushi for a long moment, unable to comprehend what she had said.

'W-w-what?' she stuttered. 'Why? Where are you g-going?'

'You know the truth about our marriage, Di. You know how this was all just a contract and – well… six months are well and truly over.' Khushi didn't know how to contain the emotions that were surging through her that very moment, seeing Anjali in a state that she was partly responsible for. 'And I can't stay' Khushi cried, tears streaming down her face. 'I can't see you like this every day and know that it was partly my fau – '

'None of this is your fault!' Anjali angrily said. 'It's not your fault – stop blaming yourself Khushi'

'I have to leave…' Khushi took a deep breath. 'I can't stay. He doesn't want me here – '

'No, Khushi, you are wrong about that!' Anjali cut in. 'Arnav can't live without you… he loves you. I know he does, he just doesn't know it himself.'

'He hates me, Di' Khushi reached out for Anjali's hands and took them in hers. 'He blames me for all that's happened. And – I can't stay… not until he tells me to, which I know he won't.'

'But,' Anjali had begun to cry. 'What about Nani? What about everyone in this house? Did you tell them?'

Khushi didn't reply. She merely shook her head.

'They love you… I love you…' Anjali was holding onto Khushi's hands. 'What will they think when they come to know of all of this?'

'Tell them the truth, Di. Tell them everything. I can't afford any more lies or secrets.' Khushi looked away and wiped her tears. 'Can you promise me something?' Khushi asked, her desperate attempt to control her tears failing. 'Can you make sure Arnav reads this?' she held out the letter she clutched in her hand. It was in an envelope… 'Can you please make sure he reads all of this?' she asked again.

Anjali shook her head in defiance. 'No, why should I listen to you when you don't listen to me?'

'Please? My entire life depends on it…' she smiled sadly. Anjali couldn't say no to her, they both knew that. She then slowly nodded and took the letter in her hands.

'Thank you, so much' with that, Khushi embraced Anjali tightly in her arms. 'I love you… you're my Di too… and I don't know how I'd survive without you people…' Khushi sobbed.

'Then please don't go,' Anjali muttered as they both pulled away. And all Khushi did was smile sadly at Anjali's crying face. In only a few months' time, all of the Raizada's had become such a big part of her life that it was almost impossible to fathom her life without them.

Darn you, Khushi Kumari gupta! Why did your life depend on all the wrong people?

~

'She left this for you…' his sister's voice came from behind as he stared at the empty room, the hollowness slowly taking over his heart.

'I don't care what she left me. Chuck it inside a dustbin where it belongs,' he muttered, the pain now slowly turning into anger. If she had cared for him, she'd have stayed. But she didn't. She left. But what did he really expect from her? That she'd stay? Who would have she stayed for? She hated him! And she had every right to hate him. Slowly, as he analyzed all the bad that he had done to her, he realized that if she had stayed or even fallen in love with him… then, she'd have been the biggest idiot alive.

And Khushi, he thought, was the biggest idiot alive.

'Di, wait!' he suddenly said. Anjali slowly smiled as he turned around and impatiently snatched the letter out of her hands. 'You can go now,' he said, tearing the envelope open. Anjali smiled and bid her brother good night, leaving the room.

He sat on his bed and impatiently scanned through the letter, drinking every single word of it and committing it to his memory. At first, he couldn't make sense of all that he had read. It slipped out of his mind without leaving the slightest trace of meaning behind. He read her words again and again as a very different emotion surged through him. He hadn't felt the happiness that he did in a long time. 'This has to be a really nice dream or something…' he muttered under his breath. 'God help me if this is a dream…' He pinched himself so hard that blood oozed out of his skin. 'She loves me… that idiot… she actually loves me!' he said to himself, slowly standing up.

For a brief moment, Arnav felt that he would collapse. Was he expecting this? He didn't… not in the slightest. And what he felt that moment was absolutely indescribable. Tears slowly welled in his eyes as he read her letter over and over again. The part where she had said: "I wish you trusted me more than you trusted him. I wish you knew how much you hurt me and how undeserving I was of that pain. I wish you knew that." That part hit him hard.

He wished he could take it away. It killed him every day, just knowing how much hurt he had caused to her… and sometimes all that hurt wasn't even necessary. He just used harsh words as a guard for himself because he was a shameless coward. He was the biggest coward that could have existed. He did all those things he was afraid she would do; he inflicted her with pain.

And thinking about all that has happened in the past made the respect he had for Khushi in his heart reach to new heights. To love someone who was so incapable of being loved. To want someone who did nothing but cause hurt.

'Chottey, what are you thinking about?' Anjali's soft voice rang in his ears, invading his train of thoughts.

'I – I was' but his throat was constricting. There was a lump in his throat and he was unable to utter a single word. Anjali smiled sadly at him, coming forward and wiping a tear that was streaming down his face. 'You're already running late!' she smiled and pulled his brother into her arms. 'Go!'

Arnav smiled back at her and turned to look for the car keys…

'Damn, where are the car keys?!'

~

'Khushi, I'm worried. Is everything alright at home?' Her Ma ji assessed Khushi's luggage that basically had everything she owned. On top of the luggage, Khushi looked distressed and frustrated. She never looked that way… even when she was distressed she tried with all her might to hide it.

'I'm fine Ma,' she whispered. 'I'm just tired. I'll tell everything tomorrow. Don't worry. Where's bua ji?' Khushi asked.

'She's asleep. But Khushi, what happened? Why are you here at this time? It's late… did something bad happen. Did Arnav do anything…?'

'He didn't do anything' Khushi reassured her Ma. 'Things are complicated and I feel very tired. I will tell you everything tomorrow. I promise…'

'But –'

'Go to sleep, Ma. Everything's fine.'

Her ma kissed her forehead and whispered a 'good night' to her. She then left Khushi alone in the small sitting of their house. It was dark and Khushi did not bother to switch on the lights. She was too tired to sleep. She felt as if she could spend the entire night, sitting here, on the comfortable sofas. What was weird was the fact that she couldn't find her home in this house. She had lived here longer than she had lived in that Raizada mansion. But she couldn't find the solace she wanted. She knew that there was only one person in the entire planet that could give her that… and she knew he was very far away now. So far, that she couldn't ever reach him again.

'Akash?' Arnav had called his little brother when he had reached the front door of Khushi's house.

'You know bro, it's not really nice when you call up at this time of the night…' Akash replied.

'I know, I'm so sorry… but… can you tell me something?'

'Sure… judging by the tone of your voice, it's an emergency'

'How do climb through a window?' Arnav asked.

'What!'

~

Abandoning all hope of him actually coming to her to take her back, she sighed and walked towards her room. It was still dark and something stirred. She stopped in her tracks. Someone was here, Khushi thought, starting to panic. Someone was creeping towards her… and it was so dark, she couldn't even make out the silhouette.

'A murderer, a rapist, a serial killer…' rang inside her head and as she stood beside a table, she grabbed anything that came within her reach and waved it around like she was a demented freak. Luckily, the lamp that she had acquired hit the man right where it should have and he yelled.

'OW, YOU IDIOT!' It was not a murderer… or a rapist… or a serial killer. It was…

'ARNAV!' Khushi stood still, her heart pounding inside her chest. 'What is happening?' everything was confused and idiotic and very unrealistic.

'Stop yelling! YOU'LL WAKE EVERYONE!'

'YOU'RE YELLING TOO!' She yelled back.

'You couldn't have used something that would've hurt less!'

'Well I'm sorry I wasn't thinking about the welfare of my dear RAPIST! What did you expect?'

She turned around and hastily searched for the switchboard on the wall. She immediately turned on the lights and she saw him. He was real. He was very much real. And he was in her bedroom…

'You could have used the front door' Khushi's face was blank. She was in shock. 'You came…'

He was staring at her like she was the most adorable creature in the entire planet. She fumbled under his gaze, unable to make sense of anything that was happening. Her pulse was racing and she felt faint…

'Yes, did you think otherwise?' he asked, a small smile playing on his lips. Khushi now met his gaze and smiled. 'You're an idiot, you know that right?' he said, now actually smiling. That smile was so perfect, it made Khushi's heart go mad.

'I know… Why are you here?' she asked, a smirk now appearing on her lips. Oh, she wasn't going to be this easy.

'Because of – ' Arnav then tried to think of reasons without having to confess that he loved her. He didn't want to confess right now… it made him nervous to even think of telling her he loved her.

'Go on, tell me…' Khushi pulled his leg. 'I won't come if you give me a good reason to.'

'Oh come on, Khushi.' Arnav smirked, pulling her dangerously close. 'Am I not enough of a reason…' and he did what made Khushi nervous the most… he looked into her eyes with so much desire that Khushi had forgotten for a moment what she had asked him.

'No,' Khushi snapped out of the trance that he had pulled her into. 'It's not going to be that easy.'

Arnav sighed as his insides churned. He didn't know how to say it to her. He didn't know what to say to her. Nobody had made him this nervous before… 'Because I want you to come with me.' He smiled then, feeling better as Khushi reached out for his hands and took them in hers. 'I love you, Khushi Kumaari Gupta Singh Raizada' he laughed a little at the incredibly long name. 'I want you to come home because I know where it is now. I know it's with me…' he took his hands out of hers and cupped her face. Her eyes now had tears in them.

She looked so gorgeous, he could barely breathe. But he wanted to say more. He wanted her to know more about what he felt. 'You make me want to live, Khushi…' he smiled. 'You make me want to smile, to laugh. You annoy the hell out of me but I can't live without the annoyance either. I can't live without you. And I know you can't live without me either, which is a bit idiotic on your part' he laughed. Khushi playfully punched him in his chest and wrapped her arms around him tightly. 'I'm so sorry about everything…' he mumbled as he dug his head inside her hair. 'I wish I hadn't done all those things to you… I don't even deserve your forgiveness' his voice broke at the last word and Khushi was well and truly aware of the fact that he was crying.

'It's okay,' she held onto him more tightly. 'I know you didn't mean all those things. It doesn't matter anymore Arnav…' she slowly pulled away and cupped his face in her hands. She made him look into his eyes and whispered: 'What matters is the present. And that's you and me…'

He then slowly kissed her, and in the process, reminding himself again and again that this wasn't just a dream. It was reality. And reality was that Khushi was his and he was hers. It couldn't have been more perfect than that.

The End

* No more parts. :D Comments are appreciated!