ARSHI FF ~THE GREEK GOD~ Chap 62 - Page 51

Arnav deserves every bit.. But will he still be stupid enough to again blame Khushi for his doom and try take revenge ? Looks like it's still his ego ruling all the actions . It's very clear from Mukerjee and Wauby talk that he was under radar for a longer time than since Khushi has joined the team. Will he have sense not to jump into conclusions and haste actions ? Did Khushi really complain against Arnav ? Please update as soon as possible .

~ CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE ~

Apologize. The very word sounded like a demon that gave a dull ache in his head. The room looked noticeably darker. Or was he at the brink of passing out? Arnav's fragile ego was bruised beyond recognition. On any other occasion, he would have just said "screw it" and walked away, but here... he was trapped. He had no choice. All these years, he had a monster to protect him, to come to his rescue. But now, even the said beast seemed to have been locked down in his dungeon.

"Come on Arnav," Mukherjee's booming voice seemed to be distant and yet it didn't fail to startle him out of his wavering consciousness. "You don't have a choice. Your second chance depends entirely on how you deal with the mess you've made."

Arnav's chest felt uncomfortably constricted. So much that his breathing had gone shallow. Apologizing to someone was something he could never get to do. His brittle ego always stood in the way. But now, he had to say that he was sorry. And that too to Khushi.

His eyes were drooping now and it flickered like an old tube light. In spite of putting up a fierce struggle, he simply could not get himself to look into Khushi's eyes.

Her attention though was on Arnav. She could clearly see his dilemma. The palms of his hands were wet and sweaty like a limp old rag and his long fingers trembled uncontrollably.

"We don't have all day Arnav," came Waudby's reminder.

With great effort, Arnav raised his batting eyes to meet Khushi's wide anxious ones. All this while, he had concentrated on working up the courage to apologize. It's not like he wanted to, but he had to. That was the only way he could save his sorry ass. And speaking about apologizing, he was almost there. The words were at the tip of his tongue. But no sooner had his gaze met Khushi's, a huge surge of anger washed over him. The words he had gathered up in his mouth rolled down his throat in an instant. He took a deep breath, screwed his eyes shut and looked away as his ego took over the reins.

Khushi had her eyes on him. From his flaring nostrils and clenched fists, she could make out how difficult this was for him. Surely, he never had to face this situation before.

"Fine then," sighed Mukherjee and began to make his way towards Waudby's table. "You leave me with no choice. I guess I will have to just lose you. For good."

"No wait!" Arnav's arm shot out to stop Mukherjee. The very realization of him having to beg for something to stop made him cower into his shell in utter humiliation. This was a part of him he never wanted to reveal to anyone. But...

His voice was hardly audible as he spoke again. "I... I just need more time."

Hearing this, Mukherjee stood rooted to the spot with his arms crossed. Watching. Waiting.

Arnav took a huge gulp and closed his eyes. "Sorry," he mumbled quickly.

"Arnav, I wanted you to apologize to Khushi," said Mukherjee in a stern voice. "Not to the floor. Not to the wall. Not just let it float in space. Now come on. I need you to look at her and say it out loud and clear."

It was a herculean task for Arnav to raise his eyes towards Khushi. The tears of embarrassment that had started to build in his eyes stung her deeply. She never wanted things to turn out this way. She had never asked for it. And yet, here she was, in the CEO's cabin, waiting for an apology from her bully of a boss who now looked like a little toddler in his little underpants.

Arnav was taking short, shallow breaths. That was all what his constricted airways let him.

"Say it Arnav," said Mukherjee firmly. "Say... Khushi. I am very sorry. I know I was wrong. Henceforth, I'll make sure that it doesn't happen ever again."

Arnav's heart thumped hard in his chest. The effort he had to put in to say those words were massive. A thin sheet of sweat glistened over his beet-red face as he clenched his sweaty hands into a tight fist. Slowly, he raised his flickering eyes to meet Khushi's

"Khushi..." His voice was barely audible. "I... I... I'm... sor..."

Though she knew that he deserved every bit of what he was going through now, she couldn't stand to see him in such a pathetic situation. "No need!" she announced and quickly looked away. "No need for all this, sir," she said to Mukherjee, "This is not at all required."

Arnav's flickering eyes were wide open at her statement. On one hand, he felt relieved but on the other, frustrated.

"Khushi," Mukherjee was very calm when he spoke to her, "I understand that this must be difficult for you. But this is very essential. And everyone will know about this. After we're done, I will float a mail across the company with a clear message that we have absolutely zero tolerance towards such kind of behaviour. So I would suggest you to kindly co-operate."

"But sir. I don't... want this. I hope that you'd understand and respect my decision."

Mukherjee and Waudby watched her quietly. After a brief moment of silence, Mukherjee finally spoke up. "Alright," he replied calmly. Saying this, he picked up the letter he had printed before and signed it before passing it over to Waudby. After it got signed and stamped, Mukherjee handed it over to Arnav.

Arnav's fingers felt weak as he held the letter in his hands. His vision had blurred to such an extent that he could hardly read what was written on it.

"Arnav Singh Raizada," said Mukherjee in his deep baritone voice, "You are hereby suspended from your duties as an HR officer for three working days. This is effective immediately."

Though it was relieving in one way, it was still disturbing. Khushi knew that Arnav could never live this down.

Arnav clenched his lips tightly as he folded up the letter with shaking hands. Without another word, he walked out of the cabin.

**********************

Moments later, Khushi was out on the deserted corridor, walking back to her department. From the looks of it, lunch hour was pretty close. But her mind was elsewhere. She wasn't hungry at all. Her mind was still clinging around in the CEO's office where the fateful incident had taken place.

She felt sorry for Arnav now. She never really wanted all of this to happen. But now she was worried. Will the monster hunt her down? She knew that she wasn't the one who complained. Did Mukti do it? After all, she was forcing her to walk up to Mukherjee and put an end to the Arnav Singh Raizada's reign. Could she have complained? If she did, then she shouldn't have. I'm going to ask her now.

Khushi picked up her pace. I have to catch up with Mukti before she disappears for some other work. But as she closed in on her department, the door to the stairwell suddenly SWUNG open and a strong arm shot out and grabbed her.

Khushi's attempts to SHRIEK and call for help turned futile as her assailant clamped her mouth shut and viciously dragged her away from the corridor and into the stairwell.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Note: Next update to be up in a while.

Don't tell me that after all that, he's just gonna threaten her again 😲

I like the idea of him being suspended as CEO but treated as one of the workers. Can imagine some great, awkward but cute moments between arnav and staff, as they work for a new temporary boss. 😆 or is he just suspended?

Please update soon!

Why is that so difficult to say sorry for when arnav can bully his subordinate. ...

I am up and waiting...tight lipped..anxious... and now definitely beyond guessing. 😕😲😡

Originally posted by: jyothirockz

I am up and waiting...tight lipped..anxious... and now definitely beyond guessing. 😕😲😡

Sorry. Took longer than promised. Next update scheduled for evening ;)

~ CHAPTER FORTY ~

Khushi felt absolutely powerless when her assailant lifted her off the ground like a feather and slammed her hard against the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of her and her vision instantly blurred. It took a little while to come into focus, but when it did, she found a pair of red, angry eyes glowering at her. It was Arnav Singh Raizada.

Adrenaline pumped through her veins and she had only one thing on mind. To run. Considering Arnav's impulsive behaviour plus the recent events, anything was possible in this setting. With all the strength she could muster, she slapped his hand off her face and backed into a corner. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Are you crazy!!?"

But he pinned her to the wall again. And this time, she was trapped in between his arms. "Shhh!" Arnav pressed his forefinger onto her lips. The warmth of his rough calloused finger felt like an acupressure pad against her lips. "Not a word. Do you hear me? Not a single word. Or I'll..."

BLAM!

Khushi shuddered in shock as he angrily pounded his fist into the wall, missing her head by a few inches. "...f*****g kill you..."

His face was distorted into a dangerous scowl as he grabbed her arms and shook her hard. "I've been working for five years," he raged on in a hoarse whisper, "Do you hear me? Five f*****g years. And no one. No one has ever dared to talk against me. But you did. You!!! And do you know what it costed me? My reputation. My career!"

"I didn't..." Khushi managed to mumble feebly.

"You made me look like a loser in front of my seniors!" he whispered through clenched teeth.

"It wasn't me... Just listen to what I have to say..." The octopus grip he had on her hands was doing a good job of hurting her, not to mention cutting off her blood supply.

But Arnav was senseless with rage. As usual, a voice in his head kept telling him to stop. That he was crossing the line. But the monster was in charge. And there was no stopping it, especially since it was restrained before.

"I could have been fired! Humiliated for life!" he spat at her through flared nostrils. "But you know what? Somehow I don't care anymore. You've ripped me apart anyways. In sometime, that mail will be out. And everyone will know. So what difference does it make?"

He had a terrifying gleam in his eyes that told her he was up to no good. She tried to pull herself free in vain as she whimpered, "Arnav, let go. It hurts..."

"Wherever I go, people will point their fingers at me. Laugh at me. He's the one. The guy who got suspended. The pathetic loser. So what difference does it make anyways?"

"I never wanted for any of this to happen," she sniffled.

"Really?" he questioned sarcastically.

"Arnav! Let go off me!" Khushi snapped firmly.

"Or else what?" he sneered and grappled her in such a way that would put an octopus to shame. "You'll complain? Well in that case, let me help you. Because when you do, you'd better have something good to say."

What he did next left her shocked to the bone. He let go off her hands, grabbed her face and planted a deep, aggressive French kiss. A kiss that had the potential to stay locked forever. The feeling of his warm, penetrating lips made her tingle all over but the emotions attached to it... anger, hatred and the need for power. "There you are," he growled as he finally withdrew, "go and complain. Tell them that I gave you a big sloppy kiss and blew your brains out. What's the max that could happen? A termination? So be it. Go! Go and complain."

Tears of extreme humiliation coupled with the helpless feeling of being dominated over began to build up in her eyes. The feeling wasn't good. It almost felt like a sexual assault. She heaved deeply as she struggled to contain herself. "You... I'll... I'll kill you!!!"

Burning with hatred, she swung her hand at his face to knock his jaw out of joint but he blocked her blow and twisted her arm painfully. The shriek of intense pain that escaped her lips temporarily soothed Arnav's writhing insides. "Seriously Khushi," he smirked at her, "were you really trying to hit me? Come on."

With this, she brought down her free arm to slap him but he blocked that too and twisted both her hands behind her. "Leave me!" she screeched through clenched teeth.

"What? You want to complain again? Go and do it!" He got really close to her now. "But when you do, tell them that I...also did this..."

Khushi screwed her eyes shut and looked away as the prickly feeling of his two day old stubbles brushed against her bare neck and shoulders. She could feel his warm breath tingling over her skin as he nuzzled into her. "Now how are you going to describe this to them?" he asked quietly. "Hmm?"

Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she continued to take short, shallow breaths. As if by magic, her rigid body began to relax at his touch. It wasn't something she asked for but she was surprised at what was happening.

"I'll tell you how..." he said quietly into her ear as he continued to nuzzle into her shoulder. "Tell them... that Arnav... came like this... from here..." his face glided from her ear lobe all the way down to her neck. "To there... And rested here... before..." He had now moved really close to her full, luscious red lips. So close that he was barely millimetres away from her. That he could see every ridge and groove on her quivering lips.

Arnav's features softened up as the close proximity of her face dug up memories of the Chinese lantern dream. Did it just come true now? He was so close to her just like in the dream. The yellow lights from the stairwell fell onto her face in a beautiful yellow hue. And the one thing that he had probably missed out in the dream hit him hard. The sweet fragrance which emanated from her. She smelt like the fresh morning dew on rich green blades of grass.

"Please..." Khushi sounded like she had just had a glass of spiked drink.

"Please what?" he asked grimly after a brief moment of silence.

But she never replied to his question. Her nostrils flared and her lips clenched in response as she visibly struggled to bite back the fear, humiliation and anger which was threatening to explode out of her.

Arnav felt like a suicider. The act of trying to kill oneself is perfectly fine until the soul actually begins to leave the body. That's what was happening here. Arnav allowed his impulse to get the better out of him. When he allowed the monster to be in charge, "kidnap" and force himself onto her, kiss her... it was all perfectly fine. Even getting fired for life. Perfectly fine until the actual problem starts.

Arnav lowered his flickering eyes and finally loosened his grip on Khushi as her shoulders began to heave with quiet but unmistakable sobs. He was now yielding the fruits of his actions. Fruits which he didn't really like! Arnav squinted at her as he noticed something odd about the way she looked and felt against his hands. One word. Rigid. Is she really crying or...? It seemed that she was sagging away onto the floor, coming out layer after layer.

His train of thoughts were chopped off in the middle when all of a sudden Khushi completely collapsed into his strong hold and dissolved into violent convulsions. Her face seemed to distort beyond recognition as her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and colourless drool with a hint of red began to foam out from the corner of her mouth.

"Hey... what?" Arnav was clueless. What was going on?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh my! Is Khushi epileptic? You did mention that she suffered a head injury during the accident which took her parents life. Oh poor poor Khushi! Landing up in so much problems for no fault of hers. As much as I want to punch Arnav for being such an ass, I can't hate the guy. When will he start acting on the remorse he feels!

Again trouble. So so very interesting I cant wait.😉

oh gosh what happened to her poor soul