ArShi Intense FF(Collab): Destiny That Unites|Part 12|16/8 - Page 35

Part 9 to 11 is nice.

Part 12

As she stepped into the rooftop, her face instantly brightened when she stepped onto the soft, velvety smoothness, the distinct reds that now lay crushed under her bare feet. She looked beautiful, dressed in a black dress that complimented her skin tone. The studded silver stilettos were dangling from one hand while her other hand was placed in a bigger, more rough hand. She felt secure with like that, with their hands entwined together and as she looked up, dark brown eyes sparkled back at her, she could clearly see the warmth and affection they had and her heart melted at the sight of the soft smile that now played on her lips. But no, she was angry with him, now more than ever. He hadn't kept any of his promises, and hence twitching her nose from side-to-side, frowning as best as she could, and flicking a stubborn tendril that blew over her eyes every now and then, she feigned anger and turned to the other side.

She had expected him to enclose her waist in his arms from behind, say a sorry', try kissing her, or do at least something cliched and romantic, but nothing of that sort happened. Instead, she heard him laugh. The nerve of him, how dare he laugh at her?'

Now, angrier than ever, she gave him a dirty look, her eyes raging with anger. Blinded by fury, her hands itched to throw whatever came before her eyes and wipe that idiotic grin off his face, and hence she picked up that champagne glass which was the first thing to come in her line of vision and was about to throw the contents of the crystal glass right on his face when his eyes widened and he shouted, "No, no, no! Not that, baby throw anything else you want, but not that. It has the ring."

She wanted to throttle him then and there. How dare he?' she paused, and then cried out.

"I think my nails will come in good use today. Get out of my way or I swear I will scratch your stupid face."

"Baby, I know I messed this up. I am so sorry."

"Sorry?" she shouted, "F*ck off, I want nothing to do with you."

"Baby, this wasn't supposed to happen this way. My stupid mouth, I just blurted it out. Give me one chance and I promise I'll make it up to you in five minutes."

"Five minutes? I have been waiting for this for the past five months. What the hell will you do in five f*cking minutes. The hell, you laughed, and I know you were smiling, so don't you dare say it was a mistake and don't you dare baby me."

"Five months? You've been waiting so long for the proposal, I...I thought you weren't ready but since you're in a stable job now, I thought you'd be ready. Hell, I would've done this last time itself had I known. Please forgive me, darling."

"Huh? Proposal? What proposal?"

"Baby, are you okay? I just blurted out that the champagne glass had the ring and that I screwed up the whole dream proposal I had planned. And now that I assume you weren't fighting me because of that, then why were you fighting?"

"Love, are you going to propose to me?" her voice softened.

"Well, I was about to, yes," assuming a poker face.

"No, don't say that, please. I love you. It's just that, I thought you...you were laughing and then I got angry that you hadn't visited me in so many months. It is just confusing. Baby, is the proposal still valid?" she mischievously batted her eyelashes at him.

"Hmm...let me see," he then pulled her flush against his chest, so that there was no space in between them and then, taking the glass of champagne from her, drank straight from it, then taking out the ring from his mouth and cleaning it, he started, "You are the most arrogant, abusive from what I have seen by the previous sentences and my past experiences with you, temperamental, beautiful, caring and smart woman I have ever met. You are the one who has always understood me and my deepest desires, you have been a constant support to someone who is closest to both our hearts and you are the one who has managed to sort out my problems and keep yourself sane too, which is a pretty tough job when my insanity is taken into account. So, would want to handle me, manage my life and rule over my heart for the rest of my years, and would you, Ms. Lavanya Kashyap like to be Mrs. Ehem Singhania?" as he kneeled down before her.

A tear drop spilled from Lavanya's eyes as she looked straight into Ehem's. He was looking at her expectantly when he heard her say, "But why the clichd fairytale setting, baby?"

Ehem looked at her in shock before shaking his head at her craziness and answering, "I heard you tell Khushi about the kind of proposal you have always dreamt of in college, like the ones they have in the movies. After that, I tried getting hints but you just wouldn't give anything away and Khushi stuck to the princess concept, so I figured I'll just go with it. Now, baby my knees are paining so if you could answer...!"

"YES! I'll marry you baby!"

Ehem took Lavanya in a bear hug before kissing her thoroughly. As they broke the kiss, Ehem cupped her face and asked, "You aren't upset that I screwed the movie-proposal up so royally, are you?"

"No, budhu. I wouldn't have kissed you had I been upset. And besides, that was just us being us."

...

It had most certainly been a long day for Khushi. She was sitting on her bed, with her head rested back and her eyes closed as she contemplated the happenings of the day.

A lot had happened in the duration of the last few hours, which had completely drained her. Throughout the day, her thoughts had gone back to the man who had changed her life, for better or worse, she didn't know. That day, she had seen the sheer love in his eyes, but it had been coupled with guilt, guilt for what he had done in the past that had affected them so deeply. The memories of that past never seemed to leave her, good and bad memories, memories of him; of them, which had been engraved permanently in her heart.

As she sat down thinking about the deal and its personal conditions, she realised something. She hadn't agreed to Arnav's personal conditions, or rather his plea, in the spur of the moment, but because she was tired. Khushi was tired of fighting herself, fighting the memory and being engulfed in pain that had seemingly vowed not to leave her. The past few months had a lot going inside her -- the confusion, the hurt and her trauma -- and when the capricious changes had finally begun to sink in, Arnav had again entered her life, and having known that man, she knew he was determined about something.

Khushi opened her eyes when she heard the sound of giggling coming from a distance. She could make out that it was Rhea, Rehaan and Reyhansh's. These three children were the sole reason that she hadn't slipped into complete melancholy and isolation. They were the light of her eyes and the positive energy that kept her going. Thankfully, she had never been disconnected from all of them because when they were born, Ehem had already become her best friend and they were supposed to be distant cousins and Ehsaas had always loved her and Payal just like she loved Ehem and Arav, actually even more than them.

Khushi's thoughts then suddenly shifted to the family's reaction upon hearing about the deal and her decision to give Arnav his last chance. Mostly, she knew everyone would be concerned about her but happy nevertheless, even Amma, Bauji and Buaji would be happy, but she was worried about four people's reactions - Ehem, Arav, Payal didi and Dadi.

While, Arav would downright refuse from accepting any of it -- he had always been protective about her sisters and their happiness -- Ehem and Payal didi would initially be against the idea but she knew that they would eventually understand her state of mind and come around it, although Ehem would be difficult to handle. Ever since the time Khushi had started dating Arnav to their marriage fiasco, Ehem had not been particularly fond of Arnav, and when Khushi had been forced to disclose the truth of her being Aahat, that uncertainty had turned to dislike, and Ehem wasn't a person known for his temper and bitterness towards others, rather he was the total opposite. Ehem was closest to her -- they were more like twins than cousins, and their birthdays being one day apart just added to their bond -- and therefore he was bound to be worried about her, so she decided to break the news first to him. Most of all, she was anxious about dadi's reaction, or rather lack of it. When Khushi had returned, dadi had been her support system, like always, but she had never spoken anything ill about the Raizadas, especially Arnav. Khushi had noticed that dadi had chosen to maintain an uncharacteristic silence about that topic and would only comfort her and concentrate on her. This had been something that had been bothering her, but she had decided to ignore it for the time being.

Now, she only had to wait for Ehem to return from London, along with Lavanya.

...

Lavanya Kashyap, she was Khushi's best friend. Lavanya, Ehem and Khushi had been inseparable throughout and after completing college, and Lavanya was the only person who knew about Aahat Singhania. In fact, she had known that almost immediately after Khushi had come to know the truth. Although, they had remained in touch when Khushi had returned to India after one year of working and expanding the Singhania Group, she felt guilty of not telling Lavanya about anything that had happened in the past few months. Summing it up, Lavanya knew nothing about who Arnav Singh Raizada was, according to Khushi, and she had forbidden Ehem from telling his girlfriend anything about it. Yes, during the course of college, Ehem and Lavanya had had a whirlwind romance, and had fallen head over heels for each other and now, three years later; Ehem had gone to London to propose to his ladylove.

Khushi being Khushi, had her own selfless reasons for not telling Lavanya about Arnav and everything that had caused her life to change its course. Lavanya was an orphan, like her, who worked extremely hard to make it big in the fashion industry as a fashion designer, and to look after her sister Ashvita, who was still in college. Although, money was not a problem for her as she had inherited her father's huge ancestral properties and she had a loving family as her legal guardians to call her own, she had wanted to stand on her own feet and learn to take up responsibilities. Khushi admired her best friend's determination and courage, but most of all her, her lively personality, which had been deeply affected when she had seen Khushi disturbed after she got to know the truth of her past. For weeks after that, Lavanya had only worried about her, not caring about her studies and her part time internship, which were her priorities and sense had finally been knocked into the duo when both had flunked a test after Khushi had come back from India. Khushi had been extremely guilty and Lavanya angry at herself for letting Khushi be doomed and not scolding her for sulking and instead accept everything that came her way and work towards her future.

Thus now, she was now waiting for Lavanya to become her bhabhi and return to India soon.

...

*FLASHBACK*

The fairy lights twinkled brightly, the scent of fresh flowers filled the air and the cool breeze blew pleasantly as the creme de la creme of Delhi made their appearance in their shiny, not to mention expensive cars, dressed in all their pompous designer finery. If the Raizada mansion would be a bride, she would be absolutely stunning and why not? Aakash Singh Raizada, the grandson of Devyani Singh Raizada and the brother of Arnav Singh Raizada was getting married. It was the typical Big Fat Indian Wedding', with elegant royal blue and off-white drapes, scented candles and the best orchids from Thailand being part of the decoration.

Amidst all this Arnav, looking impeccable in his black three piece suit, was wandering around with his Bluetooth strapped onto one ear, looking for Khushi. Both of them had taken care of the decorations, catering, and dresses, everything together, since it was the wedding of ASR's brother and he wouldn't settle for anything less than perfect and Khushi being Khushi, had to give it her own touch, with numerous colours and jalebis. The royal blue of course, was an example of their successful partnership, since Arnav initially wanted a gold and white theme while Khushi wanted a royal blue and green theme, two bright colours which blended together perfectly. After a lot of arguments, and finally adjusting to the dating life that was so new to him, Arnav had given in when his stunning girlfriend had pouted cutely, her lips looking delicious as ever. Eventually, they had settled on the theme which seemed the perfect option, now in full display, decorating the hall and the widespread garden outside.

Speaking of their relationship, the two had gotten very close to each other. They had sneaked around during the ceremonies to spend some time together, away from their intruding, crazy families, taking out sometime for their romance. Khushi, Arnav had learnt in the past days, was a hopeless romantic, and that she loved Salman Khan and jalebis. When she had danced to a medley of his songs on the Sangeet and had during the practices, went on and on about how dashing Salmanji and how she loved his style, making the mighty ASR burn with jealousy. He had even discovered on one of his visits to the Gupta house that she had a life-sized poster of the actor, and that too shirtless. His eyes had widened and then he had furiously walked out of her room, his jaw clenched and his knuckles white in barely-controlled anger. But, Arnav had also realised the impact that her innocent touches had on him, always making him crave for more and awakening his desires.

When Khushi had noticed his irritation, she had pulled him to a deserted corner and kissed him on the cheek saying, "I am sorry Arnavji, I didn't realise you'd be so jealous of Salmaji. But, I love you."

"What the...? Khushi, I am not jealous of Salman Khan, and I don't care about that shirtless poster of him in your room", he lied, not wanting to accept the reality.

"But I didn't say anything about the poster, Arnavji. But tell me, do you want your shirtless poster instead?" her eyes twinkled with mischief.

Arnav's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at his minx, he hadn't expected her to be so bold with her words but then he remembered the Khushi Kumari Gupta she became at work and smirked, "No, I would rather have you see me shirtless in person, as I would like to see you."

Khushi had then blushed to the roots of her hair and had pushed him away before running away to her Amma.

As time passed, Arnav had realised just how much Khushi had started to mean to him. In the past days, she had confessed her feelings for him at every possible chance she got while he had kissed her cheek lightly in return, making her flush. He had never in his wildest dreams imagined that a kiss on the cheek could affect him to such an extent and every little skin contact between them sent waves of desire across him body. Was...was this love?

He was busy thinking about Khushi, when the object of his affection came and stood behind him, tapping his shoulder lightly. The familiar scent reached him fast, and as he turned around, Arnav Singh Raizada stood there stumped. He had not been able to see Khushi since last night and had thus been craving for just one sight of her, becoming restless with each passing moment. But he had never imagined that she would meet him looking like that. Khushi smiled brightly at him, dressed in a black and fawn lehenga. Her short velvet choli was black in colour, while the skirt was layered one, with a fawn coloured net layer on top with white embroidery and two layers of black velvet ghera which matched the blouse. Her waist was bare and she had taken pleated her pink dupatta on one side. Her full lips had been coloured a light pink while her eyes were black and golden with the smokey eye make-up. A natural blush adorned her cheeks and her long, jet black hair were tied in a messy side bun. Her only accessories were her tinkling bangles and the kundan maang-tikka that rested on her forehead.

As Arnav met her gaze, he noticed that the smile from earlier had now given way to a blush and her hazel eyes had turned slightly darker as their mutual desire became palpable in the air. Khushi had dressed for him that day, taking just a little more extra time to perfect her make-up and to pin up her dupatta properly. Now, she could see the result as she saw the raw desire in Arnav's eyes, which he didn't care to hide. Conscious of their surroundings, she reluctantly decided to pull her gaze away from his dashing form and remind him that they had a wedding to take care of, together. Looking around, she motioned with her eyes about what she was thinking and pushed her hair behind her ear, highlighting the Bluetooth. They were in charge of the wedding. The irritation was visible in his eyes and she giggled slightly before Aman's loud voice echoed through the Bluetooth in both their ears about Payal's pre-wedding jitters. Panicking, Khushi swept her hair and turned around to leave, her back facing Arnav.

Just as Khushi was about to run up the stairs, she felt her hand in his grip as she was led down a deserted hallway and into what seemed like the...storeroom?

"Arnavji, what are you doing? We have to get out of here, didi needs me."

"For god's sake Khushi, Aman can manage. Where the hell is the back of that thing you are wearing?"

"Haan? Mr. Raizada, you are such a hypocrite! You see women in swimsuits all day long and now you are complaining about me wearing a backless choli?" she cried in anger.

"That...that's different, you are my girlfriend. I don't want shameless people staring at you."

"Humein pehle bhi aapse kahaa hai ki humein jo pehna hoga hum pahenenge. Vaise bhi, aapko kya faraq padta hai?" (I have already told you that I'll wear whatever I want to and as it is, why do you care?) she shoved him back with force.

"Mujhe faraq padta hai kyunki..." (I care because...)

"Kyunki?" (Because?) she shoved him back with even more force this time.

"Kyunki...kyunki..."(Because...because...)

"Rehne deejiye humaari hee galti hai ki humne aapse pyaar kiya. Aap humein kabhi nahi samjhenge. Humne yeh sab aapke liye karaa tha, kisi aur ke liye nahi. Aur...aur aap hai ki?" (Leave it, it is my fault that I fell in love with you. You will never understand me, will you? I did all this for you...not for some random person. And...and you?) Khushi turned around in anger and started walking away, but just as she was about to open the door, it slammed shut from the back and Arnav caged her between the door and him. She was about to protest but she was cut in by his voice.

"Mujhe faraq padta hai because I love you dammit!"

And before she could react he took her lips in a searing kiss. Khushi gasped at the sudden contact of his lips with hers, and he took in the opportunity to enter her mouth, his tongue thrusting in as his hands glided around her bare waist and pulled her closer. The two went up in flames as the passion consumed them. Khushi clutched his lapels tightly as she responded back with equal fervour. Arnav chewed on her lower lip and their tongues mated together, as a Khushi moaned his name. Arnav groaned loudly, loving the sound of his name from her lips and he pulled her flush against his chest, his hands clutching her hips. Finally, they parted when they were completely out of breath, gasping for oxygen.

Arnav brushed his thumb against her swollen lips, as he continued holding her close to him, murmuring I love you.' Khushi suddenly brought his hand down and as he glanced at her in confusion, she smiled and rose on her toes, snaking her arms wound his neck, "I love you too, dammit!" before her lips met his again, and again, until Aman called them again, urgently while Arnav swore and muttered about murders and firing someone. Khushi closed her arms around his as she thought about them. He was hers, her laad governer.'

They were about to walk out when she felt her hair fall down loose and looked up at Arnav, confused, to which he kissed her cheek gently and said, "You are mine, Khushi. I don't want anyone to see anything. I am not a hypocrite, though."

"We will see later, laad governor. Now come on, didi needs us."

*FLASHBACK ENDS*

TBC

Hope you like it!

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Note: Since, Yagya is busy with others FFs, only I will continue this FF from now onward, like I have been doing for the past chapters. The PMs will also be sent by me in most probability.

So, Buddy me for PMs of this story.

Precap: The reason behind Arnav-Khushi's marriage revealed.

P.S. - I will try and update ASAP!