Chapter 3
Khushi Gupta was one to always look on the bright side of life and so when she arrived at Shantivan this morning she was rearing to go. She wanted to make sure that nanaji would be well looked after.
The first thing Khushi did whilst the nurse helped naniji with her morning routine is conquer breakfast. The first meal of the day was the most important and she very much believed that although it seemed like others didn't really care here. Khushi expected there to be fresh food on the go like there was when she was the daughter in law here but it wasn't so. Looking around the kitchen Khushi sees it pretty much dormant and asks Hp who passes by about the meals of the day.
"Sahab ka khana toh bahar se aata hai" (Sir has his food ordered in) replies HP which doesn't surprise Khushi. Arnav Singh Raizada had always been a very practical man it was convinent she understood that but it wasn't good for him. She would cook for naniji and alongside it him too.
Aaj se nahin ayeyga.. ( not anymore )she said as she tucked her saari into her waist and put her hair up in a bun. Woh wahi khayeyge joh ghar par banega (He'll eat what I cook.)
-"Ji khushi bhabhi.." Replied Hariprakash but Khushi requested him not to do that anymore.
"Hp hame khushi bhabhi na bulayey ..ham aur aap ke sahab ab...-- aap samaj te hai naa." ( please don't call me that from now on Hp me and your sir we are no longer ..you know what I mean don't you. )
Hp looked at Khushi with the most innocent eyes he wasn't to know and she didn't blame him for that. She also saw that Hp was worried as to his boss's reactions on the matter but she reassured him with a smile.
"Aap fikar mat kare Sahab kuch nahin kahenge ham hai na hariprakash ji"
(Don't worry you wont get in trouble )
Watching Hariprakash leave Khushi smiles for some things never change Hp was still as scared of Arnav as he had always been.
Recalling the past when you are physically standing amongst memories wasn't hard.
Flashback
She walked right up into their room regardless of how she looked, with her hair tided back, saari tucked into her waist a rolling pin to hand and chapti flower in her hair and dotted on her saari.
"Aap bitchare hp ko kyun hamesha daat te ho" She said in a very serious tone waving the rolling pin at him angrily whilst he sat in front of his laptop.
"Because he's a fool, he cant get anything right.." claimed Arnav whilst not taking his eyes of the laptop screen. It irritated Khushi that he was igoring her not only that he didn't care at all that had hurt the feelings of someone as loyal as Hp with his repeated cursing on anything HP ever did.
"you're a fool" she said and it got his attention.
"Excuse me..?" His eyes looked over his laptop at her expressively did she just say that?
"Tume pata hai tumne hame abhi kya bulayay?" He got the feeling that Khushi didn't know what she was saying herself and he was right.
"nahin.." she admitted but she didn't care she knew it was something insulting so he deserved to be called that back.
"Fool - matlab bevakoof" He explained which shocked Khushi for a moment and he spun things the way he was always good at doing in such cases.
Apne pati ki aise isaat ki jati hai.. ("That's how you speak to your husband is it")
Khushi being Khushi lots conviction when it came down to the husband thing but she still stared at him angrily in warning.
"Hamesha aise kuch keh kar hame chup karva deta hai aap..
magar agli baar hp ko kuch kaha na toh.." (You always say something like that to shut me up next time you trouble hp I'll !...)
She was quite animated Khushi but he was also a forced to reckon with and
"Toh" (You'll what..) he replied with unwavering eyes after which Khushi just stormed off cursing him under her breath.
End of flasback
She smiled for a moment with thought of that time and then got back to work.
It wasn't much later when Khushi was at stove and Naniji who was out in the garden in a wheel chair called out to her.
She wanted khushi to fetch something from Arnavs room but Khushi denied to do so in her own discreet way. She sent Hp instead.
When khushi was done in the kitchen she walked out into the garden to naniji to tell her it was time for lunch and that she had cooked her favourite dish but Nani wished to stay in the garden for a little longer and wanted her to as well.
She took hold of Khushis' hand to which Khushi perched herself on her knees in front of nani's wheelchair. She watched her open an ornate box before her and take out Khushi's old kangans. Nani wanted Khushi to have them but she couldn't, she wouldn't.
"Ab ham unki patni nahin rahe na inpein hamara koi hak,"
"I am no longer his wife naniji I cannot accept these Khushi spoke with a very straight and serious tone but nani could see beyond what Khushi was saying.
Magar Arnav ke naam ka sindhoor bhar sakti ho.. (Yet you can fill your maang with sindhoor for him.)
Nani could see that she may not have done each time had visited recently but it was obvious to a lady of her age and experience that khushi still applied sindhoor there was a faint redness to her hairline that could only be from that.
Khushi was unable to look at nani, that certainly shook her resilience but that was something personal to her she wished not to talk about.
Khushi was a very self esteemed individual just because she loved him didn't mean that she had to stick around as his wife when there was no love in their relationship for her and when he preferred another lady over her at that and she wanted that to be known.
"Hamara swabhimaan hame hamare pyaar jitna hein kimti hai hame nanji."
("Self respect is as important for me as my love naniji.")
For a moment as Naniji watched Khushi walk away she was proud of her, for being sincere yet strong but one of these days Khushi would let down her guard and her love for him would seep through that she was sure of.
When Arnav returned to Raizada house that evening post work, the food on the aroma of the food awaiting him was better than the norm In fact it was familiar.
As always he first visited his grandmother who again seemed a lot better a lot happier. He did ask about Khushi for a moment to which Nani informed him that she had left for home per her agreed hours.
...
When approaching the dinner table, ASR realised that this was not the food he had requested which is when Hp informed him that Khushi bhabhi as he mistakenly said again had cooked todays meal.
She did more than was required of he thought but sat down non the less. Whilst eating the taste of the food bought back a few memories he hushed aside.
Half way through his meal and Hp came along with a mobile phone to show him apparently Khushi's she had left it behind.
...
Next chapter:
Khushi who is home alone that evening doesn't expect to open the door to him at this time of the night.
...
Edited by jagrutid - 9 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Cricket
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272