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Thank you so much for all the likes and your comments. It really inspires to write to more. I may not be able to respond to each comment, but each of it is a delight to read. Thank you once again.
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Please note that the character's name has been changed from Shyam to Rohan, on request!
Part Seven
Khushi almost leapt out from the cab and rushed into her house to meet Rohan, only to bump into Ananya, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. With her guilty expression, it was evident that Ananya wanted to leave before Khushi reached home. She mumbled a hello, to which Khushi simply forced a smile. Not wanting to say anything more, Khushi walked into the living room to meet Rohan, and Ananya, having no other option, left from the Gupta House. The moment Khushi walked into the hall, she screamed like she saw Santa Claus placing her gift under the Christmas Tree. "Rohan" she ran towards him and hugged him. He almost spilt the wine on his shirt; thanks to the force she embraced him. Mr Gupta smiled and patted her back. "Baccha, he's just come from a long journey. Let him breathe" Khushi quickly broke the hug and gave him a playful slap on his cheek. "Oye, what was that for?" Rohan asked as he giggled. "That was for not keeping in touch with me on a regular basis. Do you even know how much I missed you, Motu?" Motu was Rohan's nickname. He was quit a chubby kid, when he was small. "What Motu, eh? I'm in great shape now. Lot of exercising and healthy food in London, you see!" He pinched her cheek, to which she replied "But nothing better than Hari Kaaka's Aloo Parantha's with extra butter" Rohan stuck his tongue out at her. "Look at him, Papa. He's mocking me" she pouted, to which Mr. Gupta and Rohan had a hearty laugh. "Okay now, both of you have a lot of time to talk. Let's have dinner now. You both can carry on your chit-chat later" Rohan and Khushi walked towards the dinner table when Mr. Gupta called them for dinner. It was an unspoken rule to have the family dinner together. And for Khushi and her Dad, Rohan was family too.
After dinner, Hari Kaaka helped Rohan with his luggage, and arranged the room to make him comfortable, as per Gupta Sahab's orders. After Hari Kaaka finished his work, he left. And Mr Gupta visited him to wish him goodnight. "Rohan Beta, comfortable?" Rohan smiled at him. His Badey Papa was the only one whom he could call his own, apart from Khushi. "Yes Badey Papa. Very comfortable. Thank you" Mr. Gupta frowned. "You call me Papa and then say Thank you?" he spoke very dramatically. Rohan grinned. He was more than grateful to the Khushi and her Dad. Mr. Gupta raised him as his own son, and Rohan took every opportunity to make him proud. He never lacked the love of a family. Khushi entered the room and saw the awe, love and respect in their eyes for each other. "Uff, you two are more emotional than women. Come here, you two" she ran to both and the three shared a group hug.
Arnav barged into his bedroom and threw the keys on the side table. He threw his shoes off, that landed in different directions of the room. He went to the bar counter and poured himself a drink. Gulping down the entire content in one shot, he poured himself another. He recollected the slap. He touched the cheek with his hand. Khushi Gupta, you've made a grave mistake. Now wait and watch. This slap is going to cost you a lot more than you can ever imagine. He kept drinking till he felt dizzy, and then he slept off on the couch.
"Accha Papa, now you go to sleep. Rohan and I have a lot to catch up. Goodnight Papa" Khushi hugged her Dad and almost pushed him out from the room. "Alright alright beta, I'm going, I'm going. Goodnight Rohan" "Goodnight Badey Papa" Rohan replied. She closed the door soon after her Papa left the room, and turned to look at Rohan glaring at her. "What Rohan? Your eyes may pop out" she hit him with her elbow and plopped herself on the bed. "Khushi, that was not the way to talk to Badey Papa. He came to talk to me, to find whether I'm comfortable, and you just pushed him out. Did you even think that he might have felt bad?" Khushi looked at him as though he spoke in Hebrew. "Now if you're done lecturing me, can we sit and talk?" Rohan rolled his eyes, which earned a giggle from her. Knowing that she wasn't the one to give up until he sat next to her and talked, he smiled and obliged. Khushi clapped her hands like a child. "So Rohan, tell me what's happening in life. And don't leave out a single detail okay?" And so they began to chat for hours together about his lifestyle in London, the place where he stayed, his colleagues and friends, some girls whom he found attractive and so on. "Okay Khushi, enough about me. What about you? Tell me about your friends, your work?" Until then, Khushi was all excited talking to him. But when he asked her about her friends and work, her face fell. The images of Ananya and Arnav filled her head again. She had just taken it out of her mind, and those memories were back to haunt her. Now Arnav was a playboy and she knew about it. But she still couldn't digest the fact that her best friend, Ananya, threw herself at him, and was doing such a disgusting thing in the barn. Weren't such things meant to be done after marriage? Had the concept of love-making become so cheap to do it with just anyone? Wasn't it supposed to be shared between two people who are bonded within the sanctity of marriage? Moreover, how could she be friends with a person like Ananya? How could she work under a person like Arnav Raizada?
Rohan snapped his fingers. "Earth calling Khushi, Earth calling Khushi" she was brought out of her train of thoughts. "What happened? Where were you lost? I asked you something." Khushi looked at him blankly. "Oh Khushi! I asked you about your work place" She lowered her eyes. Rohan knew something was wrong. He wanted to ask her further, but Khushi was not the person who would talk about her problems. If someone were to ask her what was bothering her, she would simply avoid the question. And proving him right, she said "Rohan, I'm sleepy now. Let's talk some other time. I've got to wake up early. I've got to attend office tomorrow." Rohan knew not to ask more. "Okay. Goodnight Tweety" Khushi grinned wide. She had earned that name when they were kids. The reason was her non-stop chatter. "You remember?" she asked him. "I can never forget anything related to you or Badey Papa" They shared a warm smile. "Goodnight Motu" she said as she winked an eye at him. He threw a pillow at her, that escaped her as she ducked it and both started laughing recollecting their pillow fights as kids. "Rohan, I need a favour from you" she asked after the laughter died down. "From which side did the sun rise this morning? Since when did you start requesting Khushi?" "Uff duffer, can you drop me to office tomorrow morning?" she asked him so that she would not have to go with Arnav in his car. "Sure, not a problem. I can see your place of work then" She smiled and nodded her head, after which she left the room and headed to her bedroom. "You're not telling me something Khushi. I know something is bothering you, it's eating you up. I can sense something is not okay because it shows in your eyes" Inhaling a deep breath, Rohan set the alarm for the next morning, and got into bed to sleep.
The next morning, Khushi was ready for office before time. Dressed up in a yellow shirt and gray formal pants, with her hair tied up in a ponytail, she came downstairs for breakfast. Her Dad and Rohan were already at the table. "Rohan, you went for a jog?" she asked looking at him in his tracksuit. "Yeah, I need some exercise to burn off the butter on the paranthas na" She went to him and ruffled his hair. She loved doing that. Taking a seat next to her Dad and opposite to Rohan, she poured a glass of juice for herself and buttered a toast. "What happened baccha? Toast? Not Aloo Parantha?" "Yes Papa, I felt like having toast today" Rohan watched her and guessed she didn't sleep well last night. The strain below her eyes were evident. "What time do I have to drop you Tweety?" he asked, to which she replied, "At 8.15? Is that alright?" Rohan looked at the clock. Five minutes to Eight. "Okay, I'll shower up, and then drop you" She smiled as she continued to sip on the juice and take a bite of the toast.
Ten minutes later, Rohan came down, looking all fresh. Dressed up in a white shirt and a washed out jeans, he looked crisply smart. Khushi whistled at him, and he played along as he twirled in front of her. Mr Gupta only smiled and nodded his head while thinking that there is no cure to such mad antics of his kids. "Okay Papa, I'll be leaving now. Bye" She kissed her Papa's cheek and waved him bye. Rohan too waved bye and both of them came to the parking space of the house. Rohan started the car and Khushi sat next to him. As the car left the gates, she saw Arnav's car waiting outside her house. Good that I asked Rohan to drop me. Or else that Devil was ready outside my house to spoil my day. Rohan kept chatting with Khushi, as the car halted at the signal. Khushi saw the vehicle behind their car in the mirror. Arnav's car? He's following us? This ought to be good. Her mischievous smile appeared on her face. After few more signals, they finally reached the Raizada's office. She got off the car, and Rohan too got out. Khushi noticed Arnav's car park at a spot where he could directly see them. The window rolled down, and she noticed Arnav staring at the two of them.
Rohan wished Khushi a nice day and was about to leave, but Khushi held his hand. She thought she saw Arnav flinch, but why would he do that. Considering it as her imagination, she brushed the thought aside. She hugged Rohan and bid him a bye. He smiled and patted her cheek, after which he drove away. Khushi smirked knowing that not only did Arnav see them, but was also irritated. Khushi entered the office building and waited for the elevator, only to have Arnav for company. The elevator reached the ground floor and both of them entered in silence. They had just reached the fifth floor, when Arnav pressed the stop button of the elevator, which came to a sudden halt. He looked at Khushi who now looked like a frightened mouse. "Ms. Khushi Gupta. You slapped me yesterday, right? Now see what I do" Khushi swallowed hard. "I.. I.. slapped you... because... you ... you spoke... b.. bad things about me and... and Rohan" she stammered and tried to move away from him.
"Oh just shut up Khushi Gupta! You insulted me yesterday. Now you will know what it is to be insulted" he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. She screamed loudly. "Scream all you can Khushi. The elevator is sound proof" Khushi stopped screaming. She was on the verge of tears. Then Arnav did the unimaginable. He held her close to him, and brushed his thumb on her lips, smearing her lipstick. He partially opened her ponytail, such that her hair was messed up. Then, he snatched her purse from her hand, and took her lipstick from the bag. Throwing her bag to the ground, he undid his tie and removed his coat. Opening a few buttons of his shirt, he rubbed the lipstick on his fingers, which he rubbed all over his shirt. He then rubbed the lipstick-smeared-fingers on his cheeks, neck and lips. Khushi realized what was happening. He was making it look like she kissed him. Arnav smirked as realization dawned on her. "This is how I turn tables, Ms. Khushi Gupta. Consider it as a reply to your slap, without touching you and getting my hands dirty, figuratively! Try sorting out this one" He pressed the start button and stopped the elevator as it reached the floor at which most of his employees worked.
"Oh God, Khushi!" he moaned sensuously aloud, breathing heavily and got out from the lift. All the employee's eyes shifted to a dishelved Arnav Raizada, who looked like he had been having some "fun" in the elevator. "Oops, wrong floor." He said, faking a shock. Khushi was in tears. The employees began to talk among themselves. Arnav now backed his employees, and looked at Khushi. A broad satisfied grin was pasted on his face. Changing his expression to a serious one, he spoke aloud "I expect my employees to work. Not Gossip. Whatever happens between me and anyone else behind closed doors is not anyone's concern" Khushi glared at him, through her tears. He gave her the exact words what she gave him the previous day, regarding Ananya. Arnav entered the elevator, and once the doors closed, he smiled at her. "You might have heard: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth? I believe in lipstick for a slap" he spoke, after placing the lipstick tube in her hand. Picking up her purse, he pulled out a few tissues and wiped off the lipstick stains. Adjusting his clothes, he stepped out when the elevator reached the floor of his office. Khushi picked up her things and moved out. She ran to the washroom. Washing her face, and adjusting her makeup in the wall sized mirror of the washroom, she tied her hair in a neat ponytail. Arnav Raizada, I will never forgive you. I hope you go to hell and rot there. Taking a deep breath, she prayed to her Devi Maiyya to give her strength and patience to work throughout the day. This was going to be one hell of a long day.
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