Love - Its Complicated! 26th Mar: Chapter 10 (E) is up on Page 71! - Page 30

CHAPTER 8. THE NIGHT ENDS!

Geet grinned excitedly as she almost skipped to Khushi's room. After Khushi's husband and his family left, Geet had shown Khushi her room and asked her to freshen up. Then she went to her son's room to make sure that he had changed into his pyjamas for the night. And now she was heading to Khushi's room with her night suit so that Khushi could change into something comfortable for the night. As Geet walked to her sister-in-law's room, she almost giggled. She was so happy today. Since she met Maan, she felt there was something lacking in his life. At first she thought it was the presence of his parents. But only few days back she came to know, it was the presence of his sister and aunt that he missed. And today, her husband's dream of finding his sister was fulfilled and Geet could not refrain from being happy for her husband.

Geet entered her nanad's (Hey Babaji! I have a nanad!) room she smiled. Khushi was oiling her hair. Geet could not resist from remembering her childhood when her mother used to do the same. But then her mother had gone and got her engaged to a 50 year old man! Geet thought scornfully and then shook her head. No! Past is past! Don't remember it! Focus on your present and your future! Geet nodded.

"Main kardun? (Shall I do it?)", came a question from behind and Khushi almost jumped. Australia air seemed to dry her hair so when she found oil and shampoo in the guest room cupboard she decided to use the oil and oil her hair before hitting the bed. She turned around and smiled when she saw her Bhabhi. Hey Devi Maiyya! Humaari ek bhabhi bhi hai! ( I have got a Bhabhi now!)

"Main kardun?", Geet reiterated her question and Khushi shyly nodded. For the first time in her life, Khushi felt awkward amongst strangers. Normally, she would chatter her heart out but this was her real family and Khushi felt tongue tied. Geet came into the room and placed the clothes on the bed. Taking a seat beside the clothes she beckoned Khushi who eagerly went and sat on the floor in front of her Bhabhi and handed the oil bottle to her. As Geet started to oil her head, Khushi grinned. She felt like she was transported to her teenage years when Amma would drag her and oil her hair. Tears filled her eyes as Khushi remembered how her Amma and Buaji talked about her when she came to see them after her marriage. She blinked back her tears. No more thinking about her Amma and Buaji. She found her Bhaiyya and Bhabhi and she will focus on them. No more sad thoughts! Only happy thoughts! Sadly for Khushi, Geet chose a topic to talk about which was happy for her too and sad for her too.

"So! Tell me! Tumhaara aur Arnavji ka love marriage hai ya arranged? (So tell me! Was your and Arnav's marriage love or arranged?)", Geet asked, her voice teasing.

Khushi froze at the question. He had asked her to marry him to prove her innocence. What was that marriage considered? Arranged or Love?

When Khushi did not reply for a while, Geet huffed, "Achcha theek hai! Mat bataao! Yeh toh bataao ki tum dono mile kahaan? (Ok fine! Don't tell me! Atleast tell me where did you two meet?)"

"Fashion Show!", Khushi blurted out before she realised what she said.

Panic grasped her as Geet, oblivious to Khushi's panic, continued to tease her, "Oh ho! Fashion show! Waise tum wahaan kya kar rahi thi? Ab don't tell me ki tum Model ho! Bataao na! Tum wahaan kya kar rahi thi? (Oh ho! Fashion Show! By the way, what were you doing there? Now don't tell me you are a model! Tell me na! What were you doing there?)"

Khushi blinked as she remembered praying to Devi Maiyya hoping to show her the way. She smiled. She had spun around and had gone wherever her finger pointed to. She flinched as the fear and embarrassment of walking on the stage came to her mind. And then her eyes had met with the man who changed her life in a blink of a moment. Arnav Singh Raizada.

"Khushi! Tum kuch bolti kyun nahi? (Khushi! Why aren't you saying anything?)", Geet nudged Khushi, "Bolona! Tumhaari pehli mulaqat kaisi thi? ( Tell me na! How was your first meeting?)"

Khushi took in sharp breath as she remembered their first meet. She had fallen into his arms and he had glared at her. Hey Devi Maiyya! In yaadon ko humse dur rakhiye! (Hey Devi Maiyya! Please keep me away from these memories!) Even though Arnav and Khushi had come long ways from those days, the fear, humiliation and indignation she had felt during the first few months after meeting Arnav still remained in her head. It was only after the almost accident in the abandoned building where Arnav had come to rescue her and she tore into him for his behavior that something in their relationship changed. He still was harsh with her. But after that one incident, the tough shell of ASR started to crack and once in a while she saw the real Arnav behind it. And since then, there had been enough ups and downs in their lives that people could write a novel over it. But fact remained that there was a time when he loved to hurt her and she wanted nothing more than staying away from him.

"Khushi!", Geet whined and Khushi came out of her thoughts. She pasted a fake smile on her face and turned to her Bhabhi, "Bhabhi! Aap humaare baare mein itna pooch rahi hain, apne baare mein bhi toh kuch bataayiye! Jaise aap aur Bhaiyya kaise mile the? (Bhabhi! You are asking so much about me, let me know something about your self! Like how did you and Bhaiyya meet?)"

Geet frowned for a second. Why did the smile on Khushi's face feel fake? She mentally shook her head. Geet! You are too much! Stop imagining things!

"Maan aur main Hoshiarpur mein mile the! (Maan and I met in Hoshiarpur!)", Geet started to speak and Khushi turned back and allowed Geet to massage her head.

"Pata hai meri shaadi ek pachaas saal ke buddhe se ho rahi thi! ( My marriage was happening with a fifty year old man!)", Geet spoke and Khushi's eyes widened.

"Main iss rishte se khush nahi thi! Par karti kya? Jab parivar waale hi mujhe narak mein dhakel rahe the toh main kisse madat maangti? (I wasn't happy with the rishta! But what could I have done? When my own family was throwing me into hell, who was I supposed to ask help from?)", Geet spoke and Khushi froze. Her mind unwillingly went back to the time when Buaji had convinced her to get engaged to Shyam even though she was not ready for it.

"Main har waqt roti rehti, apne naseeb ko kosti rehti! Maine toh ummeed chod di thi ki woh shaadi rukegi kabhi! Phir ek din mujhe mauka mila! Shaadi ki subah sab mujhe akela chod gaye the! Kuch der toh main bas darwaaze ko dekhti rahi! Ki kya main itni lucky hun ki main wahaan se bachke bhaag sakti hun? Phir maine himmat ki, Babaji ka naam liya, apna bag uthaaya aur bhaag nikli! (I was crying every time, kept on badmouthing my fate! I had lost any hope that the wedding will stop! Then one day I got the chance! The morning of the wedding, they left me alone for a while! For few minutes, I simply stared at the door! Was I really so lucky that I could have run away from there? Then I gathered my strength, prayed to Babaji, picked up my bag and escaped!)", Geet explained.

As Geet spoke, Khushi's mind went back to the time when she came to know that Shyam was Anjali Di's husband and how she broke the engagement.

Geet continued to speak, her voice full of anguish as she got lost in those memories, "Lekin meri phooti kismat! Unhonein mujhe dekh liya! Mere peeche peeche aaye! Main bhaagti rahi, lekin mujhe pata tha main pakdi jaaungi! (But my bad luck! They saw me escaping! They kept on following me! I kept on running but I knew I will caught soon!)"

Khushi remembered the hug Shyam forcefully gave her the evening of her sister's wedding while he spoke about how he was not happy with Anjali.

"Lekin usi waqt main Maan ki gaadi ke saamne aagayi aur unhonein mujhe bacha liya! Aur phir hui happy ending! (But just then Maan's jeep came right in front of me and he saved me! And then we had our happy ending!)", Geet finished in a cheerful voice.

Khushi blinked as she remembered Arnav almost forcing her into marriage and then she asked him to marry her to prove her innocence. Khushi shook away those memories. Even though Khushi could see the parallels in their stories, there was one glaring difference. Geet Bhabhi had gotten her happy ending but Khushi had yet to get it. And she did not even know whether she will ever get it. Because Arnav and her relationship had no definition. Before her sister's wedding, Khushi had felt the hope of something new. There were new feelings, new emotions, shy glances, romantic dances but then he asked her to prove her innocence and everything shattered.

Suddenly, Khushi had the urge to cry. Not a normal crying, but breaking down and all out sobbing. She wanted to wail in anguish and scream in pain. But why? She did not know. She did not have the urge to cry like this when Arnav asked her to prove her innocence. She did not feel the urge when her family disowned her. She definitely did not feel the urge to have a break down when Anjali accused her of being gold digger. And lets not talk about her family's indifference at her plight. Then why she felt her heart clench like this? Khushi got her answer right away. Because for once, she had someone who cared about her. Don't take her wrong, her adopted family definitely showed some worry towards her but it was always her who was supposed to be strong and cheerful in her former family. Buaji panicked, Amma and Bauji remained helpless, Paayal looked to her for guidance and Khushi remained strong for their sake. They cried, she cheered them up. They saw the reality of the situation and she pulled all the pain inside her heart and showed optimism. She had to quit her studies so that there was enough money for her sister's marriage. But Khushi pushed all her broken ambitions aside and cheered for her sister's wedding. Buaji asked her to marry Shyam and Khushi hid her dreams of falling in love and then marrying the love of her life and agreed to the wedding. Khushi had made many sacrifices like these for her family and she remained strong.

Even after her marriage to Arnav, Khushi's strength was needed as next day she was thrown out of her house alongwith her husband. She remained strong till she came face to face with her former family's true faces. Then she had gone into shock but once she came out of the shock, she remained smiling and happy because Arnav and Naaniji needed her to be strong. But once she met her real family, her Bhaiyya, her Bhabhi and Vicky, she felt the pressure of being strong eased off from her. Of course, the pressure would be back, Khushi was sure of it. Pretty soon, they will expect her to stay strong and not break apart, Khushi was sure of that, but right now there was no pressure and that had gotten to Khushi. But Khushi pulled herself together, she cannot break apart just because this family had yet to demand from her to remain strong. Khushi plastered a fake smile on her face just as Maan and Vicky entered her room.

"What is going on here? Don't tell me my little sister and beloved wife are planning something against me?", Maan teased as he entered the room with Vicky bouncing ahead of him. Vicky came and sat in front of Khushi and Khushi pulled him into her lap as Geet started plaiting her hair.

"Haan Haan! Planning chaalu hai! Hum dono soch rahe the ki kaise hum dono aapke aur Arnavji ko manaaye humein shopping le jaane ke liye! Haina? ( Yes yes! We are planning something! We are thinking how to persuade you and Arnavji to take us shopping! Right?)", Geet giggled and Khushi smiled.

Maan shook his head as he sat beside his wife. Then he frowned as he looked at his sister. He tapped her shoulder and when Khushi turned to look at him, he smiled at her, "Tum khush hona? I mean Arnav ke saath tum khush hona? Yeh shaadi tumhaari marzi se hui na? (You are happy right? I mean with Arnav, you are happy right? Your wedding happened on your wishes right?)"

For a second Khushi froze and she was not able to say anything. For once, Khushi wanted to breakdown and tell her brother everything. But that was only for one second. Khushi right away pulled herself together and plastered another fake smile on her lips, "Haan Bhaiyya! Main khush hun (I am happy!)!"

"Phir theek hai! (Then its ok!)", Maan nodded, "Kya hai ki Geet ke saath jo hua uske baad jab maine tumhein shaadi shuda dekha toh ek pal ke liye dil mein sawaal aaya ki tumhaari shaadi kaise hui hogi! Tab ek darr baith gaya ki kahin koi jabardasti toh nahi hui! ( You see after what happened with Geet, when I saw you as already married for a second I wondered how must have you gotten married! Since then I have this fear that what if you were forced or something!)"

"Nahi! Bhaiyya! Aisi koi baat nahi! (No Bhaiyya! Its nothing like that!)", Khushi grinned and Maan nodded. But the moment Maan looked away, Khushi felt her mask crack. She married Arnav to prove her innocence. Was that marriage considered mutual or forced?

Geet frowned again. She was right! She was definitely not imagining things. Khushi was wearing a mask of happiness and was hiding something. Something is not right here! Khushi was not happy with her marriage and Geet will be damned if she let her nanad suffer like Maan's Bua did. She owed that much to Maan for saving her from her horrible fate. And she definitely owed Nandini and Khushi that much as Maan had come to India only because his Bua and sister were there. Yes! They saved her life indirectly and she had to repay that debt in some way.

Maan started to speak, "Achcha Khushi yeh toh bataao! Arnav se baat karte waqt pata chala ki India mein tumhaari ek family hai jisne tumhein adopt kiya! Toh phir tumhaare ghar pe kaun kaun hai? Kya haina, main soch raha hun, main unhein yahaan bula lun! After all, unhonein meri behen ko itne din laad aur pyaar se rakha! Toh kyun na bula lein aur unka vacation bhi ho jaayega aur humlog unse mil bhi lenge! Kya sochti ho? (Ok Khushi answer me! While talking to Arnav I came to know that you have a family in India who adopted you! So who all are there in your family? The reason I am asking is I am thinking to call them all here! After all, they took care of my little sister and showered their love on her! So why not call them here so that they can have a vacation and we can meet them too! What do you think?)"

Geet looked at Khushi in surprise. OK! That she did not expect. Maan wanted Khushi's family, the same family who disowned her for being adopted few days back, to come here. Hey Babaji! That's a recipe for disaster. Geet wondered how Maan will react once Khushi told him the truth. She looked at Maan in worry. Maan! Please don't get angry! Please!

But Khushi's reply was not at all what Geet expected, "Nahi! Woh Bauji bimaar haina aur Jiji ki bhi abhi shaadi hui hai toh koi abhi aa nahi paayega! (No! Bauji is ill and Jiji just got married, so they cannot come here now!)" To her credit, Khushi did not freeze now as much as she did when Maan asked about her being happy. She simply slapped a smile on her face and refused politely.

Geet was horrified to see Khushi calmly making excuses. Why? Why wasn't she letting Maan know the truth? Why? Unless... Geet blinked and suddenly saw Khushi in a different light. Unless, she did not want Maan to see her pain. Unless she was hiding her pain behind her cheerful mask. Just like she had hid it when Maan asked about her married life. Hey Babaji! To hide behind a cheerful mask so easily, she must have been doing it since her young age. Most probably she started doing it when she got adopted. Geet blinked as she remembered her own past where she was sent to hindi medium school albeit her brother got to go to the English medium. She was not allowed to study much and even was forced to marry an old man. Geet never protested, she kept her head down and wept when no one saw her. But till the day of her marriage, Geet never thought of defying her family and showed a cheerful front for everything she faced. Her Daarji had told her she was a burden repeatedly and that stuck in her brain. Khushi must have felt the same urge to take whatever was dished out to her with cheerful face because she felt as adopted person she was indebted to the family for taking her in. Hey Babaji! What should she do now? Should she let Maan know that not all is hunky-dory in Khushi's life? Or should she let it be as this was Khushi's decision? Even if Khushi not being happy in her marriage was just a suspicion, Geet had confirmation from Arnav's Naani that her adopted family had broken her heart brutally. That atleast Maan should know so that he could heal the wound in Khushi's heart. But how can she tell Khushi's story? She had no right to do that!

While Geet mused on the problem, Khushi tentatively asked her brother one question that irritated her for a while, "Bhaiyya! Humaari Amma ka kya hua? Humein yaad hai ki woh khoon se latpat thi jab humein gaadi mein se nikaala gaya! Lekin uske baad humein kuch yaad nahi! Kya hua humaari Amma ka? (Bhaiyya! What happened of my mother? I remember that she was covered with blood when I was being removed from the car! But I don't remember anything after that! What happened of my mother?)"

Geet and Maan looked at Khushi in shock and then Maan replied, "Main toh khud yahi sawaal tumse poochne waala tha! Ki Buaji kahaan hai? (I was about to ask you the same question! Where is my Buaji?)"

"Hum nahi pata! ( I don't know!)", Khushi replied in shock. Till now, she had thought Maan's reply would be that she died due to bleeding and they had done the last rites. Maan's reply shocked her.

"Ek minute!", Maan spoke up, "Tumhein achchi tarah se yaad hai Happy, ki Buaji tumhaare saath gaadi mein thi? Kyunki Police ne jab dhundha toh woh nahi mili! Are you sure? (Are you sure that Buaji was with you in the car? Because when Police searched they did not find her! Are you sure?)"

"Haan!", Khushi nodded as she looked at Maan in alarm, "Humein achchi tarah se yaad hai! Wahi ek toh yaad hai humaare paas unki! Lekin Police ko nahi mili, humaare saath nahi thi toh Amma gayi kahaan? (I remember very well! That is the only memory I have of her! But if Police did not find her and she was not with me, then where did my Amma go?)"

Maan pulled Khushi close and hugged her as both wondered what happened of Nandini Khurana!

It was almost midnight and Geet could not sleep. She tossed and turned wondering whether she should let Maan know how his sister was treated by her adopted family. Beside her, her husband was also awake. But Geet knew that the reason behind his wakefulness was not confusion and worry but excitement. His sister had been found and the excitement was making Maan unable to sleep. Geet turned around and placed her head on Maan's shoulder hoping that Maan's presence would calm her mind and allow her to sleep.

Few rooms away, Khushi tossed and turned too. One thought torture her. She had lied to her family! Yes! She barely knew them and people don't blurt out their problems to strangers but still the fact remained that she had lied to family. She looked up and prayed to Devi Maiyya to forgive her for lying from her sweet family. But the guilt remained and hence, Khushi could not sleep.

Few miles away, ASR also tossed and turned. Since they reached Australia, Arnav and Khushi shared the bed. They may not have been intimate but Arnav felt comforted by the fact that Khushi was just few inches nearby. But today without her presence, Arnav felt lonely in the big bed and for hundredth time wished he had not left his wife at her maayka. Next time she wants to stay at the maayka, I am going to stay with her. Just her presence is enough to sooth me but today not even that is there! Why can't the morning come soon so that I can go and get my wife back? Arnav moaned in annoyance and turned around again.

And hence, the night passed away with Arnav and Khushi tossing and turning all the while wondering what the next morning would bring.

And that's it for today folks!

See you next time!

Thank you, take care and have fun,

Kalpana