ARSHI FF ~THE GREEK GOD~ Chap 62 - Page 32

good that arnav didn't bust khushi again. khushi's gonna leave her work midway and go home. doesn't give me a good feeling about this. i think something really big will happen soon which will really really upset khushi and make arnav repent..

Khusi's other colleagues n superior management are nice except arnav the jerk i think something is gona happen n their lives will take a drastic change but hopefully in a good way as I can't see khusi hurt anymore

~ CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE ~

"Guys!" Cabir barged into the filing room. "Time's up, let's go home! You too Khushi. I've got my car so I'll drop you guys on the way."

"That's so sweet of you Cabir," began Khushi, "but I can't leave now... I still have lots to do..."

Cabir just stared at Khushi curiously while Dhruv nodded his head in disbelief and asked, "Heard?"

"Okay, so what's your plan?" asked Cabir, "are you going to stay here all night?"

"If required..." was her answer.

"Wow, so dedicated?" Cabir asked sarcastically.

"No," she replied defensively, "not like that..."

"Then what? Are you scared?" asked Cabir, "and that too of Arnav Singh Raizada?"

"I'm not scared," she sighed, "I just don't want any more trouble."

"Nothing's going to happen," snapped Cabir, "I'm around. Okay? Just shut down everything."

"See listen Khushi," added Dhruv, "it's not safe for girls like you to leave so late. You know that don't you?"

"Haan yaar, but..."

"No buts!" Dhruv snapped and stashed the bundle away, "stop everything. I'll be here early in the morning. And I'm going to finish it. Okay?"

"But Arnav..." she started again.

"Arnav left long back," informed Cabir.

"I know..." she said, "but what if he finds out..."

"He won't," replied Dhruv confidently, "moreover he doesn't come in till eight in the morning. I'm going to be in here by 6.30. So it's going to be a piece of cake."

"I'll come in too," said Khushi, "let's do it together."

"That's not required Khushi," Dhruv began to object.

"I'm coming. It's final."

Just then, Mukti popped in. "What's final?"

"Long story Mukti," sighed Cabir and played with the strap of his leather bag strung over his shoulder, "we'll fill you in on the way. For now, let's make a move before the traffic gets worse."

Moments later, the four of them were on the streets on their way home. Cabir had the wheel whilst Dhruv joined him in the front and the ladies took up the back seat. The roads were pretty crowded with vehicles of all sorts.

"So Khushi, where do you stay?" asked Cabir with his eyes on the road.

"There's a ladies hostel not far from here," she replied, "on Hundred Feet Road."

"I think I've seen that one," answered Cabir.

"You stay in a hostel?" asked Mukti curiously.

"Yeah," Khushi replied in an uncomfortable tone. "With my roommate."

"I thought that you might be staying with your parents or relatives," said Mukti curiously. "You know, you looked like you were settled down or something."

"No," Khushi smiled slightly, "I've got my aunt and uncle staying in Delhi."

"And your parents?" asked Mukti.

Khushi seemed visibly uncomfortable at this question. But she replied anyway. "They passed away..."

There was a brief silence in the car after she uttered those words. "I'm sorry," said Mukti in a low voice.

"No, it's okay," she replied with a smile.

"How long has it been?" asked Mukti quietly.

"Around twelve years," she replied.

"Both of them? How?" Mukti was intrigued and at the same time, the boys were very quiet.

"In an accident," Khushi tried not to look affected by all this talk. Instead, she was feeling increasingly uneasy. "We were returning from our grandma's when it happened. Late night. My parents, my brother and I... I was the only one who survived."

Mukti placed a gentle hand on Khushi's. "I'm sorry darling," she said quietly, "I didn't..."

"Chill, no issue at all." Khushi looked more tired than sad. She had had a tough, fast-paced day. More than she could handle.

"Looks like your stop is here," said Cabir as he pulled over away from the traffic.

"Thank you so much guys," said Khushi cheerfully as she stepped out of the car, "thank you so much Cabir!"

Cabir nodded his head and gave her a thumbs-up.

"I'll be there in the morning!" she waved at Dhruv to which he gave a toothy grin.

Having done with a long and unbelievably terrible day one, Khushi wearily trudged into her hostel room. Jhanvi, her roommate seemed to have reached early today. "Ai wah!" she exclaimed as noticed Khushi walk in. She hastily finished frying up the last batch of samosas, "look who's here! Our heroine has come!"

But Khushi was lost and worn out. She dropped the bag right in the middle of the room and didn't even bother to remove her shoes as she quietly tucked into bed and sat with her knees drawn up to her chest.

"So tell me, how was your first day?" began Jhanvi excitedly, "why didn't you pick up my calls this afternoon? Huh? I tried calling you thrice then figured out that you might be busy."

Khushi's head felt hollow. She could hear bits and pieces of the words which Jhanvi spoke, but couldn't comprehend anything at all. Her eyes looked glassy and her cheeks saggy.

"So tell me... how was your day with..." Jhanvi cleared her throat, "... your Greek god?"

Greek God... those two words snapped her out of her trance, yet, she was too worn out to react. She just stared blankly at Jhanvi for what seemed like an eternity.

Jhanvi's smile quickly faded away as she noticed the sadness in her friend's eyes. "What happened?" she asked quietly, "is everything alright?"

Like a shocked and confused child, Khushi leaned forward and rested her heavy heart and head on her roommate's shoulders. She was tired and lost. In fact, she was too tired that she didn't even have the energy or resolve to break down crying and let it all out. It was just the end of the first day and yet she had seen and been through enough to break her to pieces.

Jhanvi's eyes darted back and forth in her head as she gently embraced her friend. Surely, something's not right.

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Note: Next update will be up shortly.

my god...she is an orphan

Really felt bad for Khushi...

~ CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR ~

Jhanvi gasped loudly as her jaw dropped wide open in disbelief and her eyes went as round as gooseberries.

Khushi, flustered, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and opened them again to find Jhanvi's jaw still exposed to the elements. "Jhanvi," she sighed wearily, "you'd better close it if you don't want flies to make their way in."

Jhanvi clamped a hand over her open mouth. "I don't believe this," she hissed in utter disbelief, "I don't believe this at all! You... kissed... him..."

"Jhanvi," Khushi was so worn out as she spoke, "I didn't kiss him. And after all what happened, I don't think I ever would. Not in a million years!"

"But I can't believe that he's such an asshole," Jhanvi was looking quite normal now, "maybe he's trying to take revenge."

"I guess he is," replied Khushi, "I wish I knew what he is up to. Unfortunately, I'm stuck with him for a month."

"Come on, that's ridiculous," snapped Jhanvi, "why on earth should you serve a month's notice when you have hardly worked in the department for a day? It doesn't make any sense."

Khushi seemed thoughtful at this little piece of information. Coming to think of it... why should I?

"I mean... see look... you worked in the reception area for a week and served just a week's notice," said Jhanvi wildly, "at least you had something to hand over. And here? Absolutely nothing! So why should you serve notice? You know what I think? I think he's just messing around with you."

Khushi was still quiet. Is he holding me back for nothing? Just to torture me? I smell something fishy here..

"Makes sense right?" asked Jhanvi.

"Yes," replied Khushi after a brief moment of silence, "but how do I get out of this? I mean... how do I even ask this monster anything at all? This morning... he almost ate me up just for asking about the cover up with Hashmi..."

"Check with your other managers then," said Jhanvi, "what're their names? Clara and Mukherjee?"

"They're hardly in the office," said Khushi in a bored tone, "they're always out. Which is one reason I feel that this guy is acting smart. I don't think Clara and Mukherjee are like this. That's what I've heard."

"Why don't you just go up to Mukherjee and report the issue?" asked Jhanvi angrily, "or at least to that Waudby or Barney! This fellow needs to be taught his place."

"Let's see what to do," replied Khushi thoughtfully, "his reign of terror definitely has to come to an end..."

That night... at Arnav's place...

Arnav slouched around in his deserted apartment in a T-shirt and a pair of tracks. He had his leg hung loosely over the arm of the couch as he flitted through the channels on TV. A cheesy saas-bahu serial made him stop momentarily and make a ewww expression before tuning into a music channel.

He rose to his feet and started to warm up, ready for his usual late evening workout. Though his ears were on the music, his mind was elsewhere. He wasn't in the mood to work out today, in fact he was stinging from the burns he got this morning. I'll meet the doctor if it gets worse, for the time being, I'll just adjust with this spray. It seems to be working anyhow.

That reminded him... Khushi. He had a strong urge for coffee until now, but her very memory simply wiped away that desire. Now whenever he thinks about... or even hears the word "coffee", he feels a sharp burning pain... down there.

The moment her thoughts came flooding to his mind, he was overwhelmed with a mixed bag of emotions. When it came to Khushi Gupta, he was confused. Always. There was something so pure and innocent about this girl which told him that his actions were wrong. Every time he picked on her, a voice at the back of his head kept telling him to stop... that it was wrong... but another part of him... the monstrous part... thoroughly enjoyed it, went out of control and took pleasure in suppressing her... controlling her... making her feel powerless... Making her less challenging... It felt good to exercise control over a helpless someone... it made him feel powerful and perfect. Flawless.

But every time she bumbled up and screwed up his flawless image, he felt threatened. He had built his image over the years in such a way that no one ever dared in their wildest dreams to mess around with him.

~ Flashback ~

Arnav Singh Raizada, aged 13, had just opened up his lunch box when the school's most feared bully, Hiren, turned up at his desk. Arnav meekly looked up and was stunned to notice that the other kids had cleared out of the place long back. It was just Hiren and his goonies.

"Hand over your lunch," the boy demanded.

Arnav began to slowly withdraw before he refused. "No."

"No?" Hiren dangerously closed in on Arnav. "No!!? You dare to say no to me?" Hiren scorned at him through clenched teeth and landed a tight slap right over Arnav's ear. "Huh!!? You dare to say no to me? You bitch!"

"Maya aunty prepared this for me," Arnav cowered whilst shielding his face from Hiren's blows, "I can't give this to you..."

By now, several kicks and punches landed all over Arnav as he helplessly crouched in the corner and took them all. "Here's your lunch."

SPLASH! Arnav was in intense agony as the boys splattered the red, spicy gravy all over his face and smeared it deep into his eyes.

This kept happening for several days. And no matter how Arnav avoided them, he always ended up getting caught. Not to mention badly hurt... Until one afternoon...

Arnav found a secret place to hang around when classes weren't on. Recess equated to nightmares for Arnav. Wherever he moved, the goons were on his tail, ready to make his life a living hell. Whether it be the classroom or the restroom... or even the cafeteria. No one dared to take action against Hiren either. After all, he was the son of one of the board members of the school. There was nothing that could be done.

It was pointless to complain at home either. No one cared much about him as it was. His parents were all for his younger brother Prem. For them, Prem and only Prem meant the world.

His heart skipped a beat as he heard the crunching of pebbles under shoes.

"So! There you are!" the familiar voice of Hiren barked, "I've been looking all over for you."

Arnav was absolutely terrified to see Hiren accompanied by five of his goonies.

"Did you actually think that you could hide from me?"

"Just leave me alone," muttered Arnav and backed into the wall.

"Now let's see, where do we start?" Hiren grabbed a fistful of Arnav's shirt and tried to drag him off the wall.

"I said leave me alone!!!" Arnav was terrified now. In fact, he was utterly terrified that he didn't even realize that he had floored Hiren with a vicious kick to his gut.

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So arnav got his own issues ...interesting

so arnav was also helpless and was manipulated, just like the way he is enjoying by manipulating the innocent soul khushi

Poor arnav and khushi... nice update