ARHI SS: Revival (Chapter 9 posted 08/07!) - Page 25

Originally posted by: faffy

After such a long long gap I am reading a wonderfully written Arnav-Khushi story. I am so happy you haven't brought in bitterness and anger instead the maturity and sensitivity of the characters is overwhelming. Khushi's character has been beautifully etched and so true to the original!!

Originally posted by: Riddhimaa...

Awesome update dear

Originally posted by: radhika007

Lovely updates

Originally posted by: Arshi.Sugi.IPK

Awesome updates welcome back

Originally posted by: Nonie12345

Wonderful chapters Navika😊

Suhana's story was so heart breaking

The conversation between Arnav and suhana was fantastic⭐️

The scene between Arshi was nice❤️

I loved how Arnav was thinking about her

Originally posted by: Linsie

there is more sense of realty in the story

that it makes

very different when u read..

continue soon...

thanks for the pm...

Originally posted by: laura1218

Awesome stiey. Lived it. Read it for the first time. 👏

Chapter 8

Arnav lifted the strap of the dress over her shoulder, making sure to gently graze his fingers along her bare arm. He could feel the shiver that racked through her as he tucked the sleeve in place.

She was clearly holding her breath, feeling him trace the bodice of the fine material before he swiftly pulled up the zipper.

Cursing under his breath at the tremors jolting down his spine, he stepped back and helped her settle into the chair in front of the vanity table. He stood behind her, arms crossed against his chest, his gaze following her every action through the mirror. She was gorgeous.

Her dark tresses fell in soft waves down her back, perfectly framing her glowing face. The natural blush of her skin had been highlighted by the scarlet shade of the dress he had had delivered for her -- one that he was proud to admit had fit her impeccably, with the accurate measurements he had provided.

And he knew she had felt his gaze. He knew it in the exact moment when she had finished applying the cream on her hands and face. Hell, he had wanted her to notice it. But he didn't know what to expect as their eyes met in the mirror.

Something in the air shifted, and he could see the gold of desire filter into her eyes. She lifted the kohl pencil and began to highlight her eyes with it, her eyes never leaving his. Her movements were deliberately slow and he felt her eyes whisper secrets to him, alluring and enticing him to give into his temptation and accept defeat.

This wasn't a mystery he had to solve. It was surrender she wanted -- absolute and all-consuming. Surrender to place the final piece of the puzzle he'd solved long ago.

He sucked in a sharp breath as she began to apply her lipstick. He could feel the lust spiral though him, and hard. It washed over him, striking where he would be most affected, the molten liquid flowing through his veins. Khushi winked.

f**k. She knew the effect she was having on him, the minx.

Clenching his fist, he tore his eyes away from her with an unexplained urgency. He had to slow down. This was going faster than he had planned. Too fast.

Chiding himself, he fished out his phone from his pocket and began fiddling with it. He needed a distraction.

As the lines of his forehead pulled together into a casual frown and he pretended to have buried himself in work, he willed himself to calm down -- beginning to count sheep in his mind.

Get a grip, Raizada.

"Arnav, why are we all dressed up for New Year's eve? Couldn't we just have stayed in and watched television instead, if all you wanted to do was pretend to be on your phone?"

He looked up from his phone, watching her stare at him with hands curled on her waist -- in a way that was so characteristic of her -- and her eyebrows raised.

"Just trust me," he paused, drinking in her appearance.

In his favourite colour, and with the gentle glow of motherhood hallowing over her, she took his breath away. He swallowed thickly.

"Are you ready to go, then?"

She nodded at him as he took her hand in his, guiding her towards the living room. While his heart was hammering against his chest, he snubbed the urge to rub his hands together and tightened his hold around hers, in turn.

The weight of Khushi's questioning gaze settled on him as he led her up the stairs, but reeling himself in he chose to not to acknowledge it.

He couldn't have himself questioning his decision. Not now. Their last visit to the doctor had strengthened his resolve, all the more. For every struggle that they had faced, their relationship had suffered. It had crumbled to pieces, entangled in misunderstandings and differences. And now that he had her and their children -- a -- family -- he couldn't lose them. Not for the world.

As he climbed up the final step and stepped on to the hallway, Arnav knew that there was no going back. And there was no reason for him to do so. Taking a deep breath, he curved his hand around Khushi's waist.

He wasn't running, anymore. The demons had been left far behind him, and he had accepted his past for what it was. The memories may have left him with a bitter taste in his mouth, but he was drifting towards a future that held the sweetness of promise -- chance at happiness with the woman who had melted away the darkness from his world.

As they stood in front of the closed wooden door hands woven together -- Khushi sighed in exasperation, "Are we really this dressed up for dinner in our own home?

He liked the sound of it, he decided then. Our home.

The first time he had stepped into the welcoming coziness of what had been her charming, childhood home from the outside; he had felt the love that had been nurtured amidst its walls. The fresh fragrance of the jasmine that had been imprinted in his mind, had been wafting through the air.

In the pictures strung across the walls, the wistful tinge of pleasant memories resonating through the house and the heartfelt warmth of the space, he had known that he had returned to what his home used to be.

Preventing himself from letting out a chuckle at the way Khushi rolled her eyes at him, he brought their joined hands to his lips and pressed a light kiss to the back of her hand before he opened the door to the room and led her inside.

Years later, he would look back at the moment and smile to himself, it being perpetually embedded in his memory.

Her surprise glistened in her eyes as they had traced the room that seemed to have metamorphosed from childhood haven into her children's nursery. Unconsciously, she extracted her hand from Arnav's and hesitantly ambled towards the white, twin cribs in the center of the room.

The pastel mint-coloured walls began to gently wrap her in their parched embrace, and she could hear the distant echo of her mother singing her to sleep. She could see her younger self pouting at the book that lay in front -- legs dangling from the edge of the chair while she sat with squinting eyes at her study table which had now been replaced by the high, changing table.

Her hand stretched out to caress the gently swaying stars, hung above the cribs. Every night, she would sit under these stars, cuddled in her father's protective arms, enveloped in the familiar scent of lime and mint, while he whispered stories from magical lands into her ears.

She was always the princess who would fight with the knight first, and then by his side. She now realised that in the end, the princess and knight would always rescue each other.

The euphonious sound of their laughter reverberated through the room where as a little girl; she would seek the world of her innocent dreams till her mother's voice would call out to her in warning.

She felt Arnav come up behind her, and her eyes glimmered with emotion as she turned to face him.

"H-how?" she whispered, her voice heavy.

"I wanted our children to have a room in their first ever home. And what better than their mother's childhood room?"

He placed his palm against her cheek, softly smiling when he felt her lean into his touch, "Of course, I couldn't decide on a colour without your approval, so I let it be the way it was. We could always change it later?"

Vehemently shaking her head, she held on to his wrist, "It is perfect, Arnav."

He saw it, then. The freckled hints of green in appear in her eyes. Like they always did, each time he felt the tremendous force of her feelings. Her soul was slowly breathing life into him, making him reel with the sentiment over-powering his entire being.

It remained unspoken, and yet he could feel the weight of the silence burst through him. And all he could do in response was gather her into her arms, holding her close to his racing heart.

He didn't care that he had finally allowed the tears to escape. It didn't matter. Nothing else did. She was here with him now, sniffing into his chest and allowing him to hold his family close. This was all he had wanted. Her forgiveness.

Continuing to cherish the moment, he felt Khushi shift slightly in his hold. Her hand trailed up his waist and came to rest just above his heart, as her lips moved against the material of his suit-jacket, "Much as I like this, when do you plan on proposing to me?"

It took a few seconds for him to process what she had said, before he broke out of the pleasant haze that had surrounded him and half-opened his mouth in surprise.

"What?"

Her lips curled up in barely concealed amusement, immediately pursing them even as the playful twinkle refused to leave her eyes.

"Come on, you didn't leave much room for doubt with the date, and the expensive dress. And you stole my ring, for god's sake! she cried, an odd mix of exasperation and excitement lacing her words.

However she suddenly fell silent as if realising something and began to seemingly search his face for an answer. "But why now?"

The hint of an indulgent smirk appeared on his lips and shaking his head at her antics, he accepted the defeat of his surprise-planning skills.

Arnav bent down on his knee, and his hands reaching into the pocket of his pants for the small, velvet box. As his gaze united with hers, he began to whisper the words that would only ever be for her.

"Because when I saw that ring on your neck, I realised it wasn't where it belongs. It is supposed to be on your finger, secured around the vein that connects it to your heart, remember? Because Khushi, you are mine and I, yours. And while, I don't care whether we name our relationship I know that our little family deserves one, simply because it has been born out of the love we share. And because, I think we have been through too much and I am too old now, to only be called your boyfriend. Also because I wanted to be traditional this time and to do this the right way. Because this is the last time we do it Khushi, trust me.

"I'm not asking you to marry me right away or in the next two months or till whenever you want to. But I need to be your husband, I need you."

She could hear the smile in his words when he slipped the ring onto her finger. The plea in his eyes was beckoning to her in earnest. And she knew what it held. He didn't need to wait for her answer. He had known it already.

"Kiss me, Raizada."

Before the surprise could settle on him, her lips were already on his. And the world fell away. His hands reached for her in urgent need, their breaths mingled and his fingers tracing every intimate crevice of her form, lingering at her waist. Her touch was lighting a trail of fire through his veins, her palm curving on the side of his neck as they broke apart, breathing heavily and he placed a final, soft kiss to her lips.

With their foreheads resting gently together, they chuckled against each other. As he slowly lifted her palm he caressed the diamond on her ring, feeling the cool metal rub against his skin.

"Are we eating, then?"

He laughed, looking at her cast him an impish smile and she tapped at her belly, indicating that she was starving.

Later as they sat at a make-shift table that Arnav had set-up, in a corner of the nursery he watched her savor the meal he had ordered in from what was her favourite restaurant, albeit only for the time being.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" She asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I just can't believe you agreed."

Pausing, she placed her hand over his from across the table, "Arnav I've had as much time to think about this as much you have. Ever since you looked at me that way at the cafE, I've known this was coming. And believe it. I am ready for this because I want it."

She gestured for him to continue eating his meal, and picked up her own fork as she asked him nonchalantly, "I think we should tell the family. The doctor said I could be delivering anywhere between 34 to 36 weeks. There's barely a month left for that. And I think they'll want to know and be here when the babies are born."

"Khushi do you really think they would be ready, or accept our situation?"

"I know it wouldn't easy, but it is the right thing to do," she smiled. "I think it's time that everyone from the family knew."

His head shot up at the subtle insinuation she had made. And watching the glint on her eyes, he immediately knew what she had meant.

Smirking, he asked, "How long have you known?"

"A long time, Arnav. I think it'll be safe to assume that I'm privy to most of your secrets and--"

She was interrupted by the sharp chiming of the wall-clock that indicated that it was the beginning of a new day, and the New Year.

They beamed together; the exchanged memory of another such night flitting between them and Arnav leaned in, "I love you, dammit," he whispered.

She was glowing against the faint luminescence of the candle flickering before her. And by the blush that sought her skin his heart knew that she might not have returned the expression but going by her full smile and shimmering eyes, she felt the same way.

A/N - Hi, guys! I know you've all been waiting for a little bit of the ArShi romance and here it is.

I hope you liked the chapter, please send in your comments as we move into the new phase in their lives.❤️