ArShi FF: A Compromised Marriage *AUTHOR'S NOTE PG 22* - Page 2

Chapter 18

As Akash parked his car in the Raizada garage, his conversation with his Di floated back. He had to go to her room. Oh yes. But for what? She never really asked him to come to her room like this before. Was it something really important? Well, he was going to get to know that soon. He could just hope everything was fine with everyone's health.

Akash knocked on Anjali's door once and then plopped his in the room to see if she was there. Well, she was. Lying on her bed eating grapes with the her favourite drama playing on her LCD. Seems like everyone was fine and probably everything too. Little did he know that he wouldn't be in some time.

"Err Di, you called me?" Akash asked as he walked in the room a little unsure of what was about to happen but still confident enough to take on an unexpected news.

"Oh yeah, take a seat Akash" Anjali sat up on the bed and turned off the TV. Was it that important? Wondered Akash.

Akash took a seat next to Anjali on the wide bed. Anjali turned around and the next minute presented him with an envelope.

"Stop, wait, wait" Anjali stopped Akash from opening the envelope. How can he do it without her speech, all the more fun. Anjali mentally evil laughed and then composed herself and started speaking.

"Look Akash, you do know what my eternal, all time mission is, right?" To which Akash shook his head saying a no making Anjali scowl. That's alright, no problem. I can do it, Anjali gave herself a pep talk looking at her clueless brother. This might be a tad bit harder than she thought. But then she wasn't Anjali Singh Raizada Manohar Jha for no reason. And that was an awfully long surname to disgrace.

"Anyway, I'm gonna start again. Look. Now that Khushiji has come to this house, what do you think is going to happen next?" Anjali looked at her thinking brother and mentally sighed. Maybe her plan to break this to him slowly was not gonna work. It was time to drop the bomb, as a bomb.

"Forget it, just take this" Anjali said shoving the envelope in Akash's hands.

"What is this?" Akash asked confused revealing some pictures of girls. Over dressed, duck-faced girls.

"Your prospective brides"

"What the?!?"

"Really..?"

"Unbelievable!!"

"Okay, stop trying to copy Chotay"

"Sorry"

"But urghh...REALLY Di...REALLY??" Akash asked with a tortured expression.

"What happened? I mean I know what happened but you're acting like we are planning to get you married to all three of these. Just one please" Anjali said, inwardly having the time of her life, okay just the week, there was much more to come.

"Not even ONE Di" Akash said exasperated looking at those cartoon look alikes.

"Haww...thats soo rude Akash. Do you not like my choice?" Anjali faked a hurt expression. "I had to go through so much trouble to get these pictures" One's this hideous, she mentally added.

"You had to go through trouble to get these pictures?" Akash asked confused but got distracted looking at his Di's hurt face. "Look Di I do wanna get married and all but like umm...I have...I have someone in mind" He replied looking down shyly.

Oh yeahhh!! Anjali mentally jumped up in the sky and high fived herself. Yeah it was in her mind, she could bloody go to outer space to high five herself if she wanted.

"Really, well who might that lucky girl be?" Anjali asked smirking "Or wait, maybe I know her already, is it...Payal?" Anjali asked with a bright grin. Brighter than the five 100 watts bulbs on then ceiling.

"Wait...Youuu!!" As the whole situation dawned on Akash, he realised that his Di was just playing around with him. "You planned all this. You knew it from the start!" Akash acted like a betrayed damsel to which Anjali just shrugged a I-am-the-boss-in-all-this shrug. And as the shock of what happened faded off of Akash, he took full notice of what his Di said, his cheeks coloured a bit and he nodded a little.

"Oh my god! My brother is blushing. Uff!!" Anjali said while pulling Aksh's cheeks to which he quickly retreated back.

"Look Di, please don't tell anyone this. I don't want to get anything done right now. I just wanna know her well and all. In fact, she doesn't even like me yet. I want to get her to like me before we do anything. So please give us some time." Akash said knowing his Di very well. Telling her about this would be steeping in the mandap the next day itself. He didn't want to rush.

"Oh don't worry, I won't" Anjali assured him as he turned to leave with a smile. But as he left, Anjali's brain started going through ideas of helping them because knowing her blushing brother, she knew she'd have to meddle quite a bit. Nothing serious, just a few darts here and there. It was her time to play cupid for not only one of her brother but both.

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Arnav got off his chair after finishing the last of his pasta. Dinner today was a very confusing affair for him. His Di had been shooting teasing smiles and wicked grins to his younger brother which he honestly found kinda creepy...probably because he wasn't aware of the reason. And his brother had just returned those looks with shy smiles. Like what the hell? But Arnav had moved on, his family was weird like that and he had gotten over that fact.

Anyway, Arnav collected his files from Hari Prakash which he had left in his car and walked away to his room.

As he walked in the room, he saw a golden brown cover sitting on top of his bed. His curiosity made him walk up to the bed and pick it up. It seemed like an album of a kind. His wedding album. With a strange curiosity he uncovered it to reveal a lavish looking golden brown album with a wedding picture of him and Khushi. It was the first time he had seen them two together, even touching a little and he couldn't deny that their heights matched perfectly and she had looked beautiful in that wedding dress. He hadn't seen her properly on the actual day of the marriage but today he knew that she looked like a bride, a Raizada bride. Well, atleast looked like it.

Quickly putting it down as he heard the door open, he went the wardrobe and got his night clothes out and went in the bathroom without even looking back.

When he stepped out he saw Khushi rummaging through the wardrobe trying to find her night clothes probably. He looked around but he didn't see the album where he had left it before. He wanted to see it, but he didn't want to ask for it. So instead, he just walked over to the bed to pick up his stuff. That made Khushi turn around.

"I thought you were gonna sleep on the bed" Khushi said before resuming to do her stuff. That made Arnav a little hesitant. Did she know? No. She was sleeping.

"And I thought I made it clear that I am not" Arnav stood his ground.

"Hmmm...yeah okay" Khushi gave him a side nod with pursed lips, not quite looking at him. "I just thought you'd find it more convenient to sleep on the bed from the start instead of staying awake till late and coming later" she turned around and walked in the bathroom leaving behind a stunned Arnav.

What more did she know? Arnav wondered in slight panic. It didn't look like she knew the other thing and it would be for the best if she never comes to know of it and so even though Arnav put his stuff back down on the bed, he stricktly decided to stay on his side of the bed. He was used to sleeping on his bed alone and so he slept in the middle mostly and this bed sharing was new to him especially with his wife, it sounded kinda strange to him. However, brushing off these thoughts Arnav lied down on the left side of the large bed and secretly rolled up a blanket and hid it underneath the sheets. Yeah, that should be a good boundary for them. Little did he know that any of these boundaries were not going to be of any help. What was destined would happen sooner or later.

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Veggie