Arshi FF: Jeene Laga Hoon (NOTE pg. 68) - Page 26

Nandkishore sat behind the large mahogany desk in the study. His brows furrowed as he read through his emails on his laptop. Ever since his and Arnav's spat, NK spent most of his time in the study working. He tried to avoid contact with his cousin as much as possible, knowing that there was still tension between them.

He didn't wish it was this way, but NK couldn't ignore how he felt. He and Arnav used to be close, and now times had changed. Thinking about this, his hand went up to his cheek. Sometimes he could still feel the tingling aftershock of Arnav's slap. NK had never expected him to do something like that. Yeah, before they would joke around and throw punches at each other like all guys do, but this was different. He had hit him with the intention of hurting him. Then, they broke out into a real fight, something that they had never done. NK dropped his hand from his face.

Nani had come to him a few days before and asked him if he would speak to Arnav, but NK had denied. He didn't want to have to bow down to his cousin because he was justifying his feelings. He didn't want to apologize to Arnav. He didn't believe he deserved one. If anyone deserved an apology, then it was him, not Arnav. No one would be able to change his decision on that.

NK was completely lost in thought that he failed to notice Arnav's entry. Arnav walked in and saw his younger cousin staring at the screen of his laptop blankly, lost in thought most likely. He shut the door and locked it behind him, making sure that they wouldn't be disturbed. Arnav rested his palm against the door and closed his eyes. After his talk with Khushi, he knew he was going to have to talk to NK. He deserved to know the reason for his behavior. Arnav knew he would not be able to approach this as ASR, but instead as Nanav, like Khushi had said. They had to sort things out, not just for their family, but for their brotherly bond. If they couldn't, then it was possible that Arnav could lose NK forever.

Arnav took a deep breath and opened his eyes. He turned around and saw NK staring at him with an incredulous look.

NK stood up from his seat and placed his hands on the desk, "What do you want, Arnav?"

"We need to talk," Arnav replied as he cautiously treaded forward.

"Is there anything else that needs to be said?"

"Yeah, there is. And neither of us are leaving this room until we sort this out."

"What's there to sort out?" NK crossed his arms against his chest.

"Are you kidding me? We are acting like complete strangers."

"We are strangers."

"What? No, we're not."

"Could've fooled me."

Arnav was now right in front of the desk, staring at NK at a loss for words. Meanwhile, NK glared at him, coldly.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm still Arnav and you're still NK."

"No, you're not," NK raised his voice. "You have changed."

Arnav flinched.

NK dropped his hands to his sides, "Forget it. There's no point in talking about this."

"No. You and I are going to talk about this. Don't you dare ignore this topic."

"Or what? The great ASR will resort to his threatening tactics."

Arnav took a deep breath to calm himself. Don't become ASR, Arnav. Don't

become ASR. Be Nanav. Don't lose focus.

"Exactly," NK said after a moment of silence. "I won't fall for those tricks like when I was younger. So I suggest we just drop this topic because you won't like what I have to say."

"Try me."

If NK was surprised, he hid it well. He stared at Arnav with an unreadable expression for a moment before making his way around from the desk. He now stood by Arnav, only a few feet apart. His fists clenched by his sides as he finally felt all the pent up anger towards his elder cousin unleash.

"You want to know?" NK said. "Fine. You have changed, Arnav. When you left, you forgot about all of us. You called five, maybe six times in the entire eight years since you were gone."

Arnav spoke up, "Who are you to say I hardly called? You never called me."

"I did! But I got so tired of you not answering and the phone going straight to voicemail! Di and Nani even tried, but they keep you on a pedestal and think you can do no wrong!"

"NK calm down. Look at Akash, he's not holding a grudge against me like you!"

"That's because he doesn't have any hope for you. He didn't even think you would show up for his wedding. And how could he? You didn't even show up for Lavanya's funeral!"

Arnav stared at NK, hurt. This wasn't something he expected to hear, especially not now. Akash had given up hope that he would return, and NK had all this anger against him. Had his departure affected all of them this much? Had he really changed so much in their eyes? What bothered Arnav more was that NK continuously brought up Lavanya's funeral? Why was he so upset with the fact that he didn't show up?

Arnav sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk and, in a calm voice, spoke, "I didn't forget about you guys, NK. You are all my motivation for becoming a successful businessman. But understand this, I was just starting out. I had a lot to prove and accomplish. I had to build a career from scratch."

NK's anger melted as he heard the hurt and vulnerability in Arnav's voice. He sat down in the other chair in front of the desk and continued to listen to what the man before him was saying.

"It was hard to leave you all, but I had to go because I wanted to fulfill my dream. I had to secure mine and my family's future. And look at us, we don't have to worry about a thing."

"We all helped out where we could," NK explained. "That doesn't justify you leaving and not calling."

"I know," Arnav sighed. "I'm sorry."

NK's eyes widened, "What?"

"I'm sorry. You're right. I have no justification for not calling as much as I should have. I was so focused on becoming successful that I put everything and everyone that mattered in the backseat. I blurred the lines between ASR and Arnav to a point where I just became ASR. But I don't want that. I want to be ASR at work, and Arnav to my family. I'm trying to go back to normal, but it's not easy after so long. But I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, NK."

NK looked at Arnav for a moment dazed, "Wow."

Arnav looked at him confused, "What?"

They stared at each other for a moment, when suddenly the most unexpected thing happened. NK burst out laughing. Arnav stared at him in shock. Here he was being serious and apologizing, and he was just laughing?!

NK composed himself, "Haha...wow. Just...wow. Arnav Singh Raizada apologized? And that too, to me? Wow, no one would ever believe me if I told them."

Arnav smirked, "Shut up, NK."

"Yeah yeah, you know you love me, Nanav."

Arnav's smirk turned into a full-blown smile as NK had finally called him Nanav. It was then he knew that he had been forgiven. All it had taken was for him to realize his mistake and that he had changed for the worse. The fact that he was willing to become Arnav for his family once again was enough for NK. Both men looked at each other warmly as they realized that their brotherly bond was salvageable. Even though it would take time to mend, they were both willing to work it out. Forgiveness was just the first step.

Arnav patted NK's shoulder, "Before we put all this behind us, I have to ask you something."

"What?"

"Why are you so upset that I didn't show up to La's funeral?"

NK's smile faded, "Look I didn't mean it. I just-."

"Just because I've changed doesn't mean I can't tell when you're lying. Come on, just tell me."

NK was silent.

Arnav studied NK's fallen face. Then it hit him, "You loved her, didn't you?"

NK gave a small smile as he looked down at his hands in his lap and nodded, "Yeah, I did. Crazy, right? We drove each other nuts with all our pranks and arguments, but somewhere in between all of that I fell for her, hard. I knew she felt the same too, but we never voiced our feelings. I wanted to tell her when she came back from New York, but..."

"The plane crash..."

"Yeah."

"So, where do I come into all of this?"

"Lavanya thought of you as her dear friend. If it wasn't for you, she and I never would have met. Because of that, she considered you one of her best friends. To see that you didn't show up, it made me realize that you didn't consider her as much of a friend to you as she did. It was like a slap in the face to her friendship. She thought so highly of you, and you..."

"You're wrong. I did care about Lavanya. I still do. I just...you know after my parent's deaths I don't handle death well. She was like family, but I didn't have the strength to deal with the loss. I couldn't show up no matter how much I knew she would've wanted me to be there. It just hurt. You understand, right?"

"I do now," NK looked at Arnav and smiled. "I'm sorry for misunderstanding you, Nanav."

"It's okay."

"So...you think that we should tell the family that our little Ramayana is over?"

"...Mahabharata, NK. Mahabharata."

Arnav and NK looked at each other before laughing once again.

~

That evening, NK and Arnav acted normally around each other once again. The rest of the members of the Raizada family were happy to see this. Finally, the remaining tension in the house had died down. Seeing the usual banter between the two boys, Nani couldn't help but smile. She knew who was responsible the ending of the battle between the two of them. She looked in its direction.

Khushi was sitting on the couch with Anjali, giving her her regular checkup to make sure she was okay. Anjali, endearingly, thanked her over and over again for everything she had done. Khushi had to stick a pakora in her mouth to get her to stop. Anjali laughed as she tried to chew the large piece of food in her mouth, before giving Khushi a light tap on the back of the head. She, in exchange, giggled before the two of them resumed their banter.

From time to time, Khushi glanced over at Arnav and NK as they sat across from her in the two chairs. They were playing chess with one another, and it seemed that NK was losing. Sensing her looking at him, Arnav looked up from the board while NK was pondering his next move. She gave him a small smile and questioned with her eyes if everything had been sorted out. In return, he gave her a simple nod before returning to his game. Khushi resumed her conversation with Anjali.

As Nani observed all of this silently, she couldn't help but smile. It seemed that Khushi was the only one amongst them who could now handle the Raizada siblings. She interacted with both Anjali and Arnav, making sure they were both okay before continuing with her usual banter with them. Aman, who was sitting with Nani, noticed the elderly woman staring at Khushi with a lost look in her eyes. He knew that Nani held a special place in her heart for Khushi after everything that had happened. Not just the elderly woman, but everyone else felt the same way too. Khushi did for this family what no one else would have done. She was the outsider amongst them, but treated them like her own family. He glanced from her to Nani before speaking.

"Nani," he said. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm just thinking that Khushi bitiya has done so much for us," Nani replied. " She brought us our old Anjali back and cleared the misunderstanding between Nandkishore and Chote. I wish there was something we could do for her in return."

"You know that's not possible. She's not into material things. Khushi just wants to belong somewhere, and I think she feels that she does here with us. She doesn't want or need anything more than that."

"Aacha? And when did you become such an expert on Khushi?"

"Anjali. She talks about her nonstop. The two of them act like sisters, telling each other everything. Honestly, I don't mind at all. What Khushi did for Anjali...I could never thank her enough."

"Have you even thanked her once?"

Aman stared at Nani in shock, realizing that he hadn't. Here he was, talking highly of everything Khushi had done, yet he hadn't even thanked her once. He knew that he would have to.

Later that night, after everyone had had dinner and began going about their own business, Aman found Khushi in the living room, putting items away in her bag. She was about to leave, and he knew that this was his chance to talk to her alone. He walked up to her. She looked up at him and smiled as he stopped in front of her.

"Are you leaving, Khushi?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "I want to reach home before it gets too late. I have to get some sleep. I have a 12-hour shift tomorrow at the hospital."

"Oh, then yes. You should definitely go home and get some rest."

"Thanks, I'll be back the day after tomorrow. If anyone needs anything just let me know. I'm only a phone call away."

Khushi giggled and Aman smiled. Even now, she was thinking about everyone else.

"Listen," Aman spoke seriously. "I wanted to say something. It's actually long overdue."

"What?" she asked curiously.

"I wanted to say thank you...for everything you have done. What you did for Anjali-."

Khushi shook her head, "Anjali is like family. Like you, I too would do anything for her happiness."

"You know Nani used to say that angels are sometimes in disguise right in front of us. I never understood what she meant until right now."

"I'm not an angel, Aman."

"The way you protect and care for this family so selflessly makes you nothing less than an angel."

"Thank you, Aman. That means a lot. Truly."

Aman nodded, "Well, you better head out. Call us once you reach home safely, or else I will never hear the end of it from Anju."

Khushi laughed and saluted him, "Yes, sir! Will do!"

Aman headed up the stairs. Once he was out of sight, Khushi turned around and headed out the door. However, she had only taken a few steps when she stopped seeing Arnav standing by the door. Her face tinted to a subtle shade of pink as she recalled what he had said to her in his room earlier that day. She looked down for a minute to compose her heart before looking back up at him with a smile.

Arnav had wanted to talk to Khushi to thank her for helping him sort out things with NK. However, he hadn't found an opportunity to talk to her alone. He had come back from checking his car for his briefcase to find Khushi alone in the living room, packing her things to go home. Just when he was about to go to her, he saw Aman walk up to her. Arnav stood in the doorway of Shantivan, listening to their conversation. He was surprised to see how much she cared for his family, especially Anjali. Aman had called her an angel for her selflessness, and he realized how true that was.

Now that she was in front of him, Arnav found himself at a loss for words. He wanted to thank her for everything, but thank you' just didn't feel like it was enough. There had to be something more that he could do for Khushi. After all, no one would have ever done was she has for this family. She slowly walked up to him, and Arnav watched her movements. She has a nice smile. She looks so graceful when she walks. What the! What am I thinking? Focus, Arnav. Khushi stopped in front of him, smiling.

"Do I have to pay a tax to you in order to leave this house?" she joked.

Arnav chuckled and shook his head.

"Then may I pass?"

Arnav stepped aside and Khushi walked passed him. However, she had just reached the doorway when she felt a tug on her arm. She stopped and turned to find Arnav holding her arm. He stared at her seriously, his chocolate brown eyes locking with her hazel orbs. Her smile faded as she became dazed and lost in his penetrating gaze. He left her arm and moved closer to her. They were now only a foot apart.

"Khushi," he said softly.

She stood still and watched him, waiting for him to continue.

"Why is it that strangers feel more like family than family actually does?"

Khushi put her hands on her hips, "Yeh lo! Dost toh pariah bana diya. And here I thought we were friends."

"You know what I mean," Arnav chuckled.

"I do."

They both laughed.

"I can't thank you enough for everything you have done for me and Di," Arnav said seriously.

"No need to say thank you."

"Whatever the case, I owe you."

"You owe me?" Khushi raised her eyebrow. "Think about your words carefully, Mr. Raizada. Soch lo."

"Soch liya. I owe you, Khushi."

"I'll hold you to it."

"Do it."

Khushi thought for a minute. Then, she gave him a mischievous smile, "Okay then. I will. The day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow? What do I-."

"We."

Arnav smirked, "What are we doing?"

"You will see."

**********

Wasn't that adorable? Finally NK and Arnav made up. What does Khushi have planned? Wait and find out! Let me know what you think by leaving your comments and feedback below!

Next update: Find out what Khushi asks of Arnav!

Thanks for reading!