My Imperfect Mr Perfect - Chapter 12 (Part II)Arnav hadn't been this relaxed with anyone in years. After his mother's death, Khushi was the first one to receive this much care from Arnav. And Khushi was the first one to bring out the deepest and truest of his feelings. Hence why he lost control around her so often and ended up saying and doing things he never intended to.
But that doesn't mean that she has changed Arnav completely. There were many things which were still alien to him - and one such thing was words. Yes, you heard that right. Words. He was never good with them, especially when he needed to express his inner feelings - but then that need hadn't really arisen after his mother died. Expressing his feelings wasn't necessary because there was no one close to him for him to express them. But as much as expressing his feelings was hard for him, consoling someone was even harder.
Now of course ACP Arnav Singh Raizada had had many cases where he had to save many people, but in all those times he'd just acted professionally, giving small, curt reassurances like don't worry' and it will be fine.' But this situation was different and he knew that he couldn't repeat those phrases and get away with it. However, he couldn't come up with long consolations either.
"Khushi don't cry," he pleaded, looking at her. But that didn't seem to work at all, because her tears were still spilling over relentlessly.
Arnav was racking his brain trying to think of something to say to Khushi which would stop her from crying, when he felt something soft fall across his chest. He realised a second later that Khushi had hugged him and was now sobbing on his chest.
Arnav did the only thing he could think of and naturally put his arms around her, welcoming her into his warmth, giving her his strength. He stroked her hair soothingly with one hand while resting the other on her back. He just held her while she cried out on his chest, soaking his shirt.
He waited for her crying to slow down but it just didn't happen. Arnav was still racking his brain when a line came out of his mouth automatically, surprising both him and her.
"Do you think Maa will be happy seeing you cry over her Khushi?"
With that Khushi's sobs decreased, eventually coming down to sniffs. Khushi shook her head against his chest in response to the question; the gesture making Arnav's heart beat faster in response. Even though the sensation felt foreign, it felt good to Arnav.
"Exactly. She would never want us to cry over her. If we are happy then she'll be happy too," Arnav said. He didn't know where all of this was coming from but he just went with the flow and did his best to extend this speech a tad more so that Khushi can stop worrying. "And I remember Ma once said that it was always bad to start the day crying and we should never -"
"Pathaa hai
(I know)," Khushi sniffed.
"Kya?
(What?)"
"That we shouldn't start the day crying. Maa told me too," Khushi said, remembering many other things that her Ratna Maa had taught her. Just then something clicked in her brain. She pulled away from Arnav suddenly, disappointing him at losing her warmth.
"Ek minute!
(One minute!) You... you..." Khushi couldn't get out the words as she was just too confused and shocked at the same time.
"I what?" Arnav prompted.
"You said Maa'" Khushi said, as though that explained everything.
"Haan tho?
(Yeah so?)" Arnav asked, not understanding where this was going.
"You... You... You're... You're Ratna Maa's... son?" Khushi asked, still not over her shock.
"Yeah so?" Arnav questioned, not quite getting the point of that statement. Of course he was his mum's son - if she's the mum, then he has to be the son right? What kind of question was that? And to add to it, hadn't he indirectly told her that he was her Ratna Maa's son yesterday night?
"YOU'RE RATNA MAA'S SON!!!!!" Khushi exclaimed at having this new revelation. "Hey Devi Maiya I can't believe this!!! You're her son!!!" Khushi started to bounce up and down on the bed in excitement.
"Yes I am Khushi. So what?"
"I'm so happy to have finally met you! When I was younger I always wanted to meet you! Ratna Maa would always talk about you! And she said that we could meet one day! I had so much to talk to you about, so much to share, but then..." Khushi's face dimmed as she recalled what happened when Ratna Maa had disappeared.
Arnav's lips tipped up to form a light but fond smile at her excitement, reminding him of his own excitement when he had been younger and he had been waiting eagerly for the day he would get to meet his mum's doll. "Haan Khushi. Mum would always talk about you a lot too. Whenever I used to get back from school everything used to be Khushi this, Khushi that,' and she said that I would get to meet you one day. I was also eager to meet you Khushi..." Khushi was smiling hearing him say all this, but that soon changed as Arnav continued, "But then everything changed. People around me changed, and so did I Khushi. I'm no longer that innocent Mamma's boy who you knew through mum." His face hardened with that.
Khushi didn't show it on her face, but inside she started to panic as she saw Arnav distancing himself again. She didn't like it when Arnav hid his emotions like that. Her most favourite feature on Arnav were his eyes. Their intensity always made her feel like he could see right into the depth of her heart, making her feel as though her soul were laid bare in front of him. Looking into his eyes always made her lose herself. His eyes were just so... beautiful. And she absolutely hated it when those eyes became expressionless and cold like they did now.
He may say that he was no longer that mamma's boy' who he used to be, but Khushi knew that the truth was far from that. If that little Arnav wasn't still hiding within this ASR, he would not have reacted the way he did when he ate her hand-made dinner last night. And he definitely wouldn't have broken down like that.
He might not realise, or maybe he just doesn't want to accept it, but he still is the same boy he was 12 years ago. He still loved his mum the same way he had then. Khushi didn't know what exactly had happened in his life that had changed him so much, but she knew it was bad. Really bad. And she knew he had changed in many ways. Yes, he was right when he said that he was no longer that innocent, playful, carefree boy Khushi had always heard about from Ratna Maa. But she also knew that he still was that boy who cared for others, who loved with all his heart, who gave up everything for his loved ones. Otherwise, he would never have chosen this career.
Khushi decided at that precise moment that she didn't like him becoming cold, and she wasn't going to let him. She couldn't let him do this to himself. Whatever had happened was in the past, and it must have been painful, but that didn't mean he should spoil his present and future for his past. Other people may have betrayed him or wronged him, but that was THEIR sins. Not his. THEY should be the ones paying for their deeds. Not him. THEY should be living in hell. Not him. So she wasn't going to let him be like this.
Before, Khushi never used to understand why she felt like some kind of instant attraction towards Arnav. But now she knew that her heart had recognised him even when her eyes had failed to do so.
She felt safe with him. She felt the same warmth that she felt from his mother when she was with her. Maybe that's why she didn't feel any fear towards him after that initial panic she first felt. She knew why she was so comfortable with him now. It was because her heart trusted him with her life and maybe more.
But that still didn't explain the sparks she felt each time their hands even brushed against each other accidentally. It didn't explain why her heart started to quicken in his proximity all of a sudden. And it definitely didn't explain her attraction towards him in THAT way (I'm sure you all know what we mean by THAT way.')
Never in the 21 years of her life had she ever felt like this towards any man. Khushi wasn't the type of girl who even thought of men in that way. Whenever she met any men, she just treated them like her brothers. Of course she did have her dreams of getting married to her Prince Charming and having a family, but she wasn't the type of girl who drooled over fit' men, or looked at every man, thinking is he the one?' Ok maybe Salman Khan was an exception to this, but other than him, she was never the one to be after men's attention. And hugging a man was completely out of her league.
But with Arnav, it all seemed to change. She had felt a pull towards him, which she had never felt towards any man - not even Salman Khan.
But she had all the time to figure all this out later right? At this moment, nothing mattered more than her mission: Mission Arnav Singh Raizada. And right now she was going to take the first step in the mission.
As she saw Arnav's eyes turn cold and distant, she went forward and put her arms around him again, this time fully conscious of what she was doing. And this fact surprised Arnav too, catching him off guard. "It doesn't matter to me that you may not be the same boy Ratna Maa used to talk about. Time and people may have changed you in many ways, but at the end of the day you are still Ratna Maa's son. And I know that the son of such a wonderful mother can never turn bad. Changed, yes. But bad? Never." Arnav was shocked stiff with Khushi's words, but Khushi carried on talking, her arms still around him, and her head laying comfortably on his chest, "Isliye I have a proposition for you.
(Therefore, I have a proposition for you)"
As Arnav scrunched up his eyebrows in puzzlement, Khushi lifted up her head from his chest, looking straight up into his eyes. She then took a step back and stretched out her hand and asked, "Will you be my friend?"
He looked at her as though he was looking at an alien from Mars. "Arey, ab aise kya dekrahain hain aap? Pata hai, yeh savaal poochne keliye humne baara saal intezaar ki hai. Ab or kitne din hume intezaar karavaayenge aap?!
(Now what are you looking at? Did you know, I've waited 12 years to ask you this question. Now how much longer are you going to make me wait?!)" Khushi asked, a pout forming on her lips.
Arnav was amused but he didn't show it. "Arrey! Ab kya dekhrahain hain aap? Haath uthaye, hamaara haath pakadye or hamaara dosti ko apnaalijye!
(Now what are you looking at? Lift up your hand, hold my hand and then accept my friendship!)" Khushi pushed.
"Are you asking me or commanding me?" Arnav asked, now with a subtle smirk formed on his lips.
"You have no choice. You HAVE to accept my friendship - after all it's a 12 year old relationship between us," said a determined Khushi, as she picked up his hand herself and made him shake hands with her. Arnav just stood there, letting her do what she wanted to do with a highly amused expression on his face.
As he watched, Khushi's face bloomed with happiness as she looked up at him, having kindled their friendship. Arnav felt content to see her face filled with the happiness in her name again. This was the Khushi he had admired from afar all these months. This was the girl who his mother had always talked about. It had only been two days since her life had turned around, but to Arnav it felt like it had been a millennium since he had last seen her full-hearted smile. Seeing her happy, Arnav felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his heart and he could finally breathe freely.
"See! Now we are friends!" Khushi exclaimed, overcome with happiness. "My wish has finally been fulfilled!!!"
Seeing Khushi this happy over this small friendship, Arnav himself felt a kind of joy sprouting in his heart - something he hadn't felt in these last 12 years. Little did Arnav know that the day he met Khushi, a seed of happiness was planted in his heart, and it was now starting to grow slowly. Arnav had no idea that this was just the beginning. He didn't know that there will come a day when his heart and life would be filled with so much love and happiness that there wouldn't be a even a tiny speck of space for sadness.
"OK, now I have to freshen up and prepare breakfast! You too come down when you're ready - I'll be waiting for you at the dining table," said Khushi hurriedly, the excitement still raw in her voice. Then she scurried into the bathroom, ready to start the day.
Soon Khushi went downstairs and started to cook breakfast, while singing a Salman Khan's song. She was just about to leave the kitchen to set the breakfast on the table happily. But her happiness didn't last long.
"TUM?!" came an outraged voice.
Khushi turned around to come face to face with Dadi. Khushi gulped in fear.
"WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO ENTER THIS KITCHEN?! GOLD-DIGGING MIDDLE-CLASS WRETCHES LIKE YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE STANDING IN THIS HOUSE, LET ALONE THIS KITCHEN!" Khushi had frozen with fear. She didn't know how to react, but that didn't mean that she wasn't getting hurt by Dadi's words.
"You are a disgusting woman. I don't know how you live with yourself trying to live on other people's money. Chee! I know girls like you can do anything for money - don't think I don't know what you're trying to do with my grandson. But I will NEVER let your wishes come true. No one can take him away from me - not even you."
"How dare you come into this kitchen? Letting you into the house itself was a huge thing and now you are trying to come into the kitchen? STAY WITHIN YOUR LIMITS! No need to pollute this place with your filthy presence. GET OUT!" Dadi shouted.
Khushi didn't move. She couldn't. She was just too shocked. She couldn't understand what she had done that made Dadi hate her so much.
"Didn't you hear what I said? I SAID GET OUT NOW!!!" screamed Dadi.
With that Khushi rushed out of the kitchen into the sitting room, tears rolling down her cheeks. She turned back and sighed in relief when she saw that Dadi hadn't followed her out.
Even though there were so many questions running in her head, she had one thing clear in her mind. She didn't want to break any relationships. And she knew that if Arnav comes to know about Dadi's outburst then there will definitely be another fight in the house. And she definitely didn't want that.
Leaving the house was probably the best option. Arnav hasn't come down hearing the shouting so he must be in the bathroom, which means that now was the best time to leave the house. She knew that if Arnav was here then he definitely wouldn't let her go.
And then her thoughts halted for a second. ARNAV. What about him? What about their newly made friendship? Khushi knew that last night's events and even this morning's events had changed their equation significantly. She'd found a new friend in him and she had been determined to bring his happiness back. What about all those plans? Could she just forget about them and leave Arnav. Wasn't it her duty as a friend to help him find his happiness? How could she just leave like that?
But on the other hand, she was going to leave FOR Arnav. She didn't want him to lose his Dadi only because of her. And as for leaving him, Devi Maiyya would definitely take care of the rest. Devi Maiyya made her meet Arnav after years of waiting and this must definitely mean something. And if their relationship had any significance at all then Devi Maiyya would definitely make them meet again some way or another. There must be a way of helping Arnav without causing so many problems in his family life. Yes. Devi Maiyya will lead her. Khushi was sure.
And with that she made her decision and walked out of the house, and out of Arnav's life - or so she thought.
Meanwhile, Arnav had just come out of the bathroom, feeling quite light - which was very unusual for him. After so many years, he was finally looking forward to something. He was looking forward to eating Khushi's hand-made food. He was looking forward to spending time with her. He was looking forward to seeing her beautiful face again - even though it had only been a few minutes since he last saw her.
But all of a sudden - or to be precise, the moment Khushi walked out of the house - Arnav got a horrible feeling take over him, as though warning him that something was terribly wrong. He rushed downstairs.
He went straight to the kitchen to see Dadi instructing Hari Prakash on making the breakfast. His gut feelings just became stronger seeing Dadi in the kitchen. Something was definitely wrong. Very wrong.
He ignored Dadi and looked around the house for Khushi. He searched the whole house and couldn't find her. He called out, "Khushi!"
There was no response. He tried calling her a few more times and again no one came. Then he saw Hari Prakash hurriedly coming towards him, looking behind every few seconds making sure that Dadi didn't see him coming up to Arnav. As soon as he got to Arnav, he explained in a very low voice what had happened in the kitchen a few minutes ago, still looking behind a few times cautiously.
Arnav listened with a calm face while he was burning with fury inside. He knew instantly what Khushi must have decided to do, being the selfless girl she was. He nodded towards Hari Prakash, indicating that he has got the information he needed and he could go back to the kitchen.
Arnav rushed into his room, grabbed his car keys and loaded gun and rushed out to his car. With every passing second, his worry for Khushi multiplied as his gut feeling just got worse and worse. He took off in his car, speeding wherever he could, looking out for Khushi frantically. "Please be safe Khushi. Please..." Arnav murmured desperately.
A few minutes later, he caught sight of a girl who looked a lot like Khushi walking aimlessly on the road, on the opposite side to the side he was driving on. As he drove a bit closer, he realised that it WAS Khushi. He needed to get ahead of her and then make a U-turn so that he could get to her. He drove ahead of her, keeping an eye on her sad face on the rear-view mirror, when all of a sudden a white van stopped right next to Khushi, blocking his view of her.
Arnav waited for a few seconds for Khushi to come out walking past the van. But she didn't. The van started driving again with high speed, only for him to find that Khushi was nowhere to be seen. There was no other way for her to have walked except for the way she was walking - unless she crossed the road, which he was sure she didn't do. This could only mean one thing...
Arnav took a quick U-turn to speed off in the direction that the van went. He was going way above the speed limit but he didn't care - he HAD to save Khushi. He drove frantically, needing to catch up with the van, and within a minute he was on its trail. He made sure that he was far enough for them not to notice him following them, but close enough for him to be able to faintly see what was going on inside the van.
He could see very faintly see two men on either side of Khushi, grasping her arms as she struggled to free herself. Arnav gripped onto the steering wheel tighter, controlling himself from speeding over to the van and freeing Khushi that very minute. If only he could do that - but he mustn't because he needed to use this opportunity to try and find out more about who sent these goons after Khushi.
He put on his Bluetooth swiftly and called Aman. "Listen carefully Aman. Khushi has been kidnapped by a few goons in a van and I'm following them right now. I want you to trace this call IMMEDIATELY and send me a group of officers to the location to catch the goons. NOW."
Arnav didn't cut the call so that Aman can keep track of where they were headed. Even as he was speaking to Aman, giving instructions, his eyes were focused on Khushi, his heart constricting in pain seeing her cry and struggle while he was sitting here unable to save her straight away.
"Don't worry Khushi. Just hold on a tiny bit longer. You will be with me soon. I promise." Arnav thought, looking at her back, as though willing his message to travel to her.
As if she heard him, she stopped struggling that second and started to look around. She looked everywhere except behind her, because she was restricted by the two men, but she somehow knew that Arnav was close. She could feel it.
Soon the van turned into a deserted area, slowing down, making Arnav slow down and park his car away from their sight. He got out of the car silently and went on foot towards them, making sure they didn't notice him.
Meanwhile Khushi got scared when the van stopped. The men dragged her out of the van as she struggled against them helplessly. Tears were continuously rolling down her cheeks.
As soon as she was out, one of the goons came with a phone and put it on speaker, standing near a stranded Khushi so that she could hear.
"Khushi Kumari Gupta. It's so nice to finally speak to you," said the man on the line. Khushi's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion as she had no idea who this man was. On the other hand, Arnav was recording all of this on a device while listening in too.
"It's sad that this is going to be the last day of your life," said the man sardonically, without a speck of sadness in his voice. "But at least you're going to your parents. Had I known of your existence beforehand, I would have sent you all up together but to your bad luck - or should I say good luck - you escaped. But don't worry darling, you will be reunited with your family in a few minutes. I just wanted to say a final goodbye before sending you off - far far away from this earth." The man started laughing out loud in victory, while Khushi was shivering in fear.
Her parents had been killed? It hadn't been an accident? But... why? Her parents were the kindest people ever who would never even wish to hurt anybody. So why did this person kill them? And why did they want to kill her?
Khushi's thoughts were interrupted when the goons took off her duppatta and tied up her hands behind her back with it. She screamed for help, kicking everyone, trying to escape, but there were too many of them and she just wasn't strong enough. They picked her up and lay her in the middle of the road, before they tied up her legs too.
"LET GO OF ME!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? LET GO OF ME!!!!! PLEASE!!!! CHODO!!! SOMEONE HELP!!! HELP!!!" Khushi screamed and shouted for help, but none came.
Arnav was watching all this, knowing that he HAD to step in soon; waiting for the officers was of no use.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of car coming in their direction - at an extremely high speed. His eyes widened as he realised that the car was coming straight for Khushi while the goons stood at the side, out of the way.
He swore under his breath. He couldn't wait anymore.
He had to act.
FAST.
Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this extra-long update - sorry for the cliffhanger-ish place I stopped at. This is where the REAL story begins and I hope you liked it.
If you feel that an update wasn't good or there was something missing in it, please please please do tell me because I can use that advice next time.
Please like or comment to let me know how it was. 😊
All rights reservedDo not take, use or copy my work without my permission Edited by amira039.303 - 10 years ago
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