Chapter 44: Abhi abhi to mile ho
"Katrina? I mean Khushi?" Khushi looked up in surprise as Aman called to her. She was walking towards the restroom, her head down and her mind lost in the aftermath of everything that had happened the previous night. Manorama's words, Arnav's words, her refusal, her lie and Arnav's coldness since then were all creating havoc in her head. And then, the way Arnav had just walked away from her a few minutes ago, leaving her in the lounge had sent chills through her body. She couldn't say anything to him, yet she could feel his pain in his hatred and that was killing her.
"Khushi, right? Where's Raizada?" Aman said, looking around and instinctively Khushi took a step back in fear. Her heartbeat increased rapidly as she realized she was standing all alone in front of none other than Aman Mathur. The memories of that hotel and the party from where Arnav had rescued her took over and Khushi immediately felt nauseous.
"Isn't he..."Aman stopped as he noticed the deep fright on Khushi's face and realized the problem.
"I guess I should say sorry to you, bhabhi."
"Bhabhi?"
"Oh I guess you guys didn't marry yet." Aman said, noticing the lack of sindoor and mangalsutra on Khushi. By now he understood Khushi was a traditional girl - even in London, she was dressed in a traditional Indian suit - so she wouldn't not weara mangalsutra if she were married.
"Well, the hurry that ASR was in that night, I was pretty damn sure he would take you to the wedding altar first thing next morning. Looks like he is still slow at making his move as he used to be in B-school. Emotional fool."
"He's not slow, neither is he a fool." Khushi immediately protested, bringing a small smile to Aman's face.
"You must be planning a big wedding...don't forget to invite me, ok?" he continued.
"Wedding...no...Arnav and I...uh..."Khushi struggled to put together words. Arnav wanted to marry her back then?
"Is there a problem Khushi?" Aman asked, holding Khushi lightly by the shoulder watching her lost in thoughts, but with his touch she visibly flinched and took a few steps back.
"I am sorry" Aman said, recognizing the fear in his eyes "I know what happened between us...how I treated you...I am sorry. I didn't know that you didn't want to be...umm...there. I had no intention of forcing you. It's true that I liked you when I saw your photo and asked for you for my pleasure...but that's just something I do. I am no saint, but then, everybody I am with knows the deal too. When Raizada came to me that day...and told me...at first I didn't want to let you go...not without having you."
"Why did you, then?" Khushi suddenly asked
"It's not like I let you go easy. I took ASR's London project from him...in fact that's why I am here so much. But it wasn't about that. I may be an asshole, Khushi, but even I know love when I see it."
"Love?"
"Yes, love, and not just any love. Love like that is rare, Khushi. That day the love I saw in his eyes for you...he was ready to give me anything...he would have given his life had I asked him. And I see the same in your eyes. Both of you are so lucky."
Khushi stared at Aman dumbstruck, but he continued.
"In fact this reminds me, I think I should apologize to Raizada for lying that day."
"Lying?" She asked monotonically, continuously surprised by this conversation. Arnav had refused to talk about how he convinced Aman that night, and Khushi's best guess was an exchange of money. But now that he said it, Khushi remembered suddenly that Aman had called her bhabhi even that night - a fact she hadn't noticed in her hysterical state of mind.
"I said that you and I spent the previous night together."
"What? But we never...how could you..."
"I was just riling him up, and I also wanted to see how much he wanted you, so I...I don't know what he told you, Khushi, but he and I were always at odds with each other at Harvard. I liked annoying him. But he didn't even flinch or think twice - he wanted to take you and marry you even after I told him that lie. That's how I knew."
"He loves me too much" Khushi muttered, more to herself than to Aman, as tears streamed through her eyes.
"Khushi, please don't cry. Women's tears always make me uncomfortable. Listen, if you want, I would say sorry to him right now. Where is he?"
"Lounge...actually he went to talk to the airlines..."
"Okay. My flight is already calling for final boarding. But here, give him my card and ask him to call me. I anyway need to talk to him about some business. I can't handle expanding into London and India all by myself."
"But..."
"Please stop crying, first. I am so sorry for what I did. But I want both of you to be happy together now. Come here bhabhi, I'll give you a hug. That's the only way I know to console anyone anyway." Aman said and gave Khushi a light hug, stepping forward. Khushi wanted to protest, but realized it was a simple friendly embrace and the momentary comfort was welcoming.
"Take it bhabhi. Otherwise I will think you did not forgive me. Ask ASR to call me." Aman said holding out his card as Khushi stepped back after the brief hug.
****
Blood froze in Khushi's veins as she saw Arnav fall on the ground. She had seen a car enter the airport road right at the end from where Arnav was walking in, and seeing guns in their hands, she had worried and screamed his name and ran. She was only six-eight feet away when he fell, but the sound of the gunshot had created an immediate panic and people around them were running in all directions. The man with the gun in his hand was right behind, but Khushi couldn't see his face, nor did she register his next move. All she could see was Arnav falling and disappearing within the maddening crowd of people, cars and luggage trolleys, seconds after the man with the gun had fired an open shot.
"Arnav" she screamed again, but the scream was caught in her throat. The paralysis lasted a second or two, after which she leapt straight towards Arnav who was lying on the ground, in the process colliding herself with a car door and hurting her head.
"Arnav, open your eyes. Arnav please..." she screamed in panic as she knelt next to him and held his head in her lap while jerking him to get up.
"I can't live without you Arnav. Nothing can happen to you. I love you more than my life. You cannot leave me alone. Please please don't leave me alone. Arnav I am sorry...please..."Khushi begged, hysterically, even as the frenzy around them increased, creating a near-stampede. All blows from the passing crowd hit Khushi as she had covered Arnav's body with hers, but she neither cared nor noticed anything as her heart sank and her tears dropped non-stop.
"Arnav..."she screamed again as she frantically looked on his body for a wound, and then suddenly Arnav opened her eyes and brought a breath of relief to Khushi.
"Arnav..." she called again, a slight smile on her face as his eyes met hers. "..the gunshot...you ok? Are you hurt? Arnav where is it..."
"I am ok, Khushi" Arnav said to comfort her as he tried to sit up. He felt the back of his head with his right hand and saw blood. He had either slipped or was shoved in the frenzy that followed with the gunshot and hit his head quit bad, but he wasn't in any other pain, which meant he was fine. His eyes roamed around in an effort to understand what was going on and he saw one of the bodyguards who had just reached them hovering over, protecting them.
"Sir, we need to move to get some cover. This seems to be a shootout." He told Arnav, and Arnav noticed the police jeep that had just arrived and had policemen standing with guns in their hands.
He nodded to move, but Khushi was hugging him tight and weeping so bitterly in his chest that she was his first priority.
"Khushi...bas...I am not hurt. The shot didn't hit me. I am ok. We need to get up though." he softly said to her, his earlier anger nowhere in the picture. Finally, Khushi looked up into Arnav's eyes.
Gently, Arnav wiped Khushi's bleeding forehead with her dupatta as he tugged her to get up.
"Payal?" she asked, panicking as soon as her brain registered the scenario and the fact that Arnav was ok. She looked back in the direction where she had left her minutes ago, but she couldn't see her any longer.
"We have Payal. The other bodyguard was taking her to the car parked on that side. Sir we need to move" The bodyguard chimed in while he continued to push Arnav and Khushi to move to a side. Arnav looked at him and nodded, grateful that his express instructions of saving Payal first, then Khushi and then him in any emergency were followed well. He squeezed Khushi's hand as they both slipped a few feet somehow and ducked behind a nearby cafe counter. It wasn't all safe, but at least it was out of the open area.
A second gunshot rang through right then, and that is when Arnav saw what was going on. Most people had run, laid flat on the ground or entered cars. Three or four people who looked like gangsters on the run had guns in their hand and were speeding in their two cars, with the police giving chase. One had jumped off his car and apparently fired the first shot in the air - at least that's how it seemed because Arnav couldn't spot anyone hurt on the ground. Now that the police were on the airport road too and there didn't seem to be a way straight ahead as this road was a dead end , another abandoned his car and jumped off too.
"Payal" Khushi panicked and looked at Arnav, then at the bodyguard. "Go save her, please. She's alone. What if she..."she choked.
Arnav saw Khushi's anxiety and realized her biggest fear. She couldn't live if something happened to Payal, that he already knew, so he subtly nodded to the bodyguard.
"But sir...you...and madam"
"We're ok. Go to Payal and make sure she is in the car...out of here if possible."
"But what if someone happens to ma'am?" He asked, confused, because his primary job was to protect Khushi.
"Arnav's with me. Nothing will happen to me and him. Please go." Khushi said without thinking.
"Go...but go safely. And call me or signal me when you're assured he is safe. Come back only if it is ok to come back. I don't want anyone to get caught up in this crossfire." Arnav instructed and the bodyguard crawled out, using his well-trained instincts to take a covered route to go over to the other end of the terminal where Payal should be.
"Khushi, are you ok?" He asked after a few seconds as Khushi's grip on Arnav kept tightening. He patted her back to calm her down and gradually, she looked at him.
"I...I got scared...you...what if someone happened to you..."she whispered as their eyes met.
"Shhh..."he wiped her tears and held her close.
Gently, he put his finger on Khushi's chin and looked her in the eye. This wasn't the right moment or setting but Arnav couldn't wait any longer. His belief in what his heart had always told him was back and his doubts disappeared but still he wanted to hear it to heal the pain of longing that he had borne for so long. He had heard it in her fear, and he had heard her words when he had slipped and she had held his head in her lap, but he wanted to hear it again and watch her saying it.
Several more gunshots were fired and screams heard, but despite all the life-threatening commotion around, the world seemed to have stopped existing for two souls who only recognized each other. Two pairs of eyes bore deep into each other, filled with nothing except immense love as time stood still. As the words left Arnav's mouth in but a small whisper, Khushi intertwined her fingers with Arnav's right hand that she had been holding.
"Khushi, do you really love me?"
No longer capable of lying, Khushi nodded her head but before she could say anything, a human body fell over the cafe counter behind which Khushi and Arnav were hiding. Immediately, they felt blood fall over them.
Snapping into reality as the gunfire neared, Arnav pulled them both to the other end of the counter. Still, they were exposed from the side facing the road, so he covered Khushi with his body and gestured to her to move further towards their right to hide behind a large hoarding. With his head ducked, he couldn't see the whole scene to know what exactly was happening but this seemed a safe bet as it would protect them from any unintentional bullets which apparently were flying around in the main terminal zone between the road and the main gate. Crawling on all fours with Arnav covering Khushi's body at all times, they sneaked behind the hoarding.
"Arnav Singh Raizada?"
****
"Who are you?" Arnav panicked as the man in front of him held his gun out and pointed it at both him and Khushi and said aloud his name. Instinctively he pulled Khushi closer as he realized the mistake they'd done slipping behind the hoarding, only to walk straight into danger as one of the gangsters was already hiding here from the police.
To his surprise, the man in front of him - the guy Arnav had seen jumping off the car later - gave out a small laugh.
"Whoever made this world, I love his sense of humor." He said as he pulled Khushi by the wrist.
"Leave her or else..." Arnav protested and pulled Khushi away, making him turn the gun to Arnav's forehead.
"No. Don't hurt him." Khushi screamed, stepping in front of Arnav. "Let us go, please. We will not come in your way. Don't hurt us." Khushi pleaded.
"Haye true love. Demands no less than your whole life. Today, it's time for both your lives to end. Ha, such poetic justice. It's because of you that I am in this mess with this police, and now you will only help me slip out of here safely. And then, I will peacefully kill both you and this chit of a girl. What's your name? Khushi right?" He said, moving the gun from Arnav to Khushi's temple.
"Who are you and how do you know us?" Arnav asked, anxious.
"You don't know me? You don't know Sultan dada and yet you went ahead and created all this mess for me. I should have known it was a mistake, letting this girl go when you came to buy her. Tony said you were really in love with her and desperate for her. This love you know...saala...always creates trouble. I also got caught in its game. I thought...true love...let them live. Plus I was feeling bad that my men beat you up brutally. You see, it was a mistake. You asked me for a loan to pay me only." Both Khushi and Arnav looked at him quizzically, so Sultan explained.
"Via Tony. You remember Tony, don't you darling?" He asked Khushi and she flinched. "You see your lover here wanted to buy you off us. Us as in Tony - he was the manager of that business, bloody traitor. First he asked me for money as a loan, then he suddenly refused because apparently he arranged the money from elsewhere. But you see nobody gets away with just ignoring Sultan dada like that. So I asked my men to tell him that you cannot insult Sultan dada and waste his time without a cost. But they got carried away and beat him a bit too much, and also stole his cash and brought me. When Tony called me later that night and I realized it is the same man, that's when I understood what happened. Honestly, I felt bad for him, broken, hurt and desperate as he was. And like everyone in this world who gives importance to love, I was amused by you two lovebirds and told Tony to let you go because we already had the money. Stupid mistake, Sultan. I should have kept the money, beat him or kill him and made more money off you. Then nothing would have happened. But no, I pitied you and let you go. Instead of shutting up and enjoying the freedom, you two went and gave police all evidence against Tony."
"How do you know?" Khushi asked, shocked.
"I have my sources. And that traitor Tony cut a deal with the police two days ago - me in exchange of his freedom. Since yesterday, police has raided 5 of my businesses and today they caught up to me. They want me, dead or alive, but I am not going to let that happen. You two are going to be my hostages and will escort me from here. Then I will punish you for what you've done. Now Walk." He screamed at Arnav, twisting his arm so hard it broke before gesturing him to move towards the exit nearer to the road.
"Come Khushi Gupta. Walk ahead. You are the reason for all this, you know. You will get your lover killed for yourself as well. Today, your story is over." Sultan roared, pulling a second gun to point at them both, as they all emerged from behind the hoarding.
Udne Ki Aasha
Anupamaa
29