Part 29
Breakfast was a rather unexpected affair, given how the morning had started off, it was therefore a surprise to both, this silence that stretched between them. The same silence gave them ample room for individual thoughts though; Arnav noticed how this was probably the first breakfast they had had together since their marriage, which could be described as a routine affair under normal circumstances. It could have been any regular day out of their lives, except it wasn't it, was it? There was simply too much to be said and explained, if only he were good with words. Swarmed with an array of thoughts from the mundane to the more pressing issues at hand; occasionally his eyes would wander from his plate to hers before getting inevitably drawn to her lips as she bit into the piece of toast, tentatively almost as if she was wary of his eyes on her. Well there was one way he could vanquish all her protests away, he mused - with absolute certainty but it didn't seem appropriate, there was simply too much to be said. So he'd look back up, noticing the faint color of her cheeks, almost as if they had warmed up to his appraisal, and then he'd find that questioning look in her eyes, as if she was trying to figure out what his thoughts were. At this his lips would curl into an imperceptible smile, if only she knew, which was followed by a sigh. The mind had a mind of its own. Right now it was a strange concoction of sorts.
This had played out far too many times throughout breakfast for Khushi to let go of, it was obvious to her that he was battling within, unsure how to act or perhaps what to say. Aware of all that had happened since yesterday and the need to explain, she was sure he was struggling as usual and was willing to give him the time he needed, she hadn't come this far for nothing.
Thinking she'd give hm the necessary space and time to work things out within his mind, she kept away to herself. Kushi was sitting on the ledge of the balcony door looking out to the vast ocean in front, with its soft waves crashing against the shores, there was a slight breeze in the air, and with the morning sun bathing its vastness in a dazzling brightness, the rich blue hue of the sky above only added to its splendor, it was simply breathtaking - she could get used to this, she knew. If things had gone to plan, may be she'd be sitting here under different circumstance, as the wife of the man who stood in brooding silence behind her, contemplating what to say no doubt. Instead here she was, ensconced in this uncomfortable silence instead. A million things she wanted to say but the words had escaped her reach. For the first time, Khushi was truly at a loss of words. May be the morning brought with it a certain clarity that she had refused to acknowledge in the darkness of the preceding day, that the ties that bound them had been severed, and she didn't know if it was possible to, whether, there was really any hope for them. But that wasn't true was it, she knew, she wouldn't be here otherwise and she knew, he wouldn't either. It gave her a strange sense of strength and taking in a loud sigh, she straightened her back, placed the cup of tea on the floor next to her, and stood, it was enough. Turning to face the man who looked at her with a renewed sense of inquiry, she intended to break this comfortable silence that they had uncomfortably fallen into since breakfast.
But when their eyes met, she noticed he took deliberate steps towards her, stopping only at an arm's reach away from her, he surprised her, with the most un-Arnav like words, "Thank you" his voice was soft as was the look in his eyes. For the first time in the last twenty-four hours she could see him at ease, gone was the terror that had seized him, or that humor he had indulged himself in earlier in the morning, "For...?" the words had barely escaped her lips when he took hold of her hands in his, and kissed the inside of her palms, immobilizing her with sheer poignancy of the moment, "Being here..." she could feel the sincerity of those words in the touch of his hands, or may be she was just imagining things she hadn't felt before, "I don't know what I've done to deserve you Khushi but you have to know..." he said, letting go of her hands, "You have to know...your being here, now and I hope..." at this he raised his left hand to brush away the stray curl of hair that had escaped the tightly held plait, his hands finally resting on the curve of her cheek, his touch so soft, so fleeting. He let the words linger, and to her utter dismay did not complete the sentence, letting those words hang in the air unsaid but very much understood. She could only stare and nod, such was the arresting seize of the moment, his proximity and the veracity of his words and countenance, it felt surreal. He smiled, "I don't know why it took me so long to realize this" he said, "May be it was my arrogance, or my blindness - but you have to know" he smiled, she noticed a never before seen vulnerability in the depths of his eyes, "I've been in love with you from that first moment you fell into my arms" she smiled noticing the faint glimmer of recollection in his eyes, "Rest of it was me being the absolute fool I was in doing everything I could have to deny that truth, except...what was the word you used on me once..." he was thinking now, and his eyes lit up with the joy of recollection, "Rakshas!" he said "I was one...wasn't i?" he looked at her indulgently, "you are some force you know Khushi Kumari Gupta..." Singh Raizada, he wanted to say, but he couldn't could he? And it killed him not to be able to, not to claim that this beautiful woman standing in front of him was his wife. It was like cold water in his face, the moment suddenly lost its charm when he realized he'd been withholding this important piece of truth from her still. But it would be her choice this time, he wasn't going to use it as a ruse to hold her back. That he was certain of. He turned his back to her to hide that guilt which no doubt reflected in his eyes.
She noticed him back away and not liking this loss of warmth, " Did something happen...?" she asked, "You are almost too quiet since you came out after..."
"Are you saying you prefer the flirty Arnav?" he asked turning around, his eyes keen on hers, "well..." she fidgeted, her fingers playing with there frayed edges of her dupatta, "It's..." she narrowed her eyes at him as if she was trying to decipher the cause of the change, "something has happened isn't it?"
He raised his arms in mock resignation, "Here I was hoping for a confession of some kind to assuage my..." he said, "and here you are questioning my motive..." he spoke in jest she knew, but also knew the irrefutable fact, something had changed between then and now, "Well..." she asked, her hands on her hips, "Are you going to tell me...or is it going to be like before..." she asked before saying, "more secrets?"
He sighed, and knew there was no room for secrets between them not anymore, but may be fate was in no mood to relent just yet, he had more than one fair share of secrets of contend with and put to rest, for now, it had to be done in order of priority, so he said, "Do you trust me Khushi?" he asked surprising her, and sensing her silence was all he was getting in return, he asked again, "If I ask you to fly to Lucknow with me today in the next available flight, will you?"
"Lucknow?" she asked almost puzzled, "If you think, this will distract me from the main issue, you are wrong..." she said, "No" he countered, "Trust me, but please come with me to Lucknow..." he said, "I promise, there will be no more secrets between us by tonight..." he deliberately left it incomplete. He was yet to figure out how to fix everything but he would try to and that in order of priority, the first of which was taking a first flight out to Lucknow, to meet Payal who he had just learnt courtesy a call from Aakash as he was changing clothes, had just been admitted to the hospital. If he was to fix everything, it had to begin from home, and he knew he was taking a huge risk taking her to Lucknow without disclosing everything but it was a risk he was willing to take, time for running away was over. He saw a myriad of emotions in her eyes, no doubt mirroring his, and then it happened, he could almost sense it. And he knew, that she had made up her mind, to go with him, it filled him with a strange joy at this discovery that he had known, even before she had said a word, "Fine..." she said, "I'll go to Lucknow..." but she was quick to add, "It doesn't mean, what happened yesterday can be avoided..."
"We'll talk about her too" his response was predictably terse, and although he hadn't mentioned the word grandmother but used a rather impersonal her instead, she was filled with a certain hope.
"If it matters" she said, "she was the one who had persuaded me to forgive you" she noticed the surprise in his face, "Did she..?" he asked "No" she shook her head, "she had no idea..." her eyes drifted somewhere behind him momentarily before coming back to rest on him, "as i did..." He nodded, there was curiosity but first thing first, they had to get to the airport, "Shall we go now?" he asked, "Now?" may be she shouldn't have been surprised at the efficiency of this man, this man she had fallen for.
As they walked out and got in the lift, she asked him, "and I'm guessing you bought the tickets before our little talk..."
He looked smug as he spoke, "thats a good start"
"wha..." she couldn't complete it though, "you know me too well" he smiled and before she knew, he lowered his face and kissed her. There was no resisting his charm anymore, those were her last coherent thoughts before she kissed him back.
Her response was no longer a matter of conjecture for him. And his heart swelled in the realization that he loved it.
~~~
I don't know what to say except, Thank you. I have not been a regular here on IF for over a year now or may be its nearly two years, I'm not sure. And if it wasn't for a friend who asked me to look into this thread, may be just may be I wouldn't be here. May be. I don't know for sure. But I never intended to leave this story incomplete that is a fact. However of late, I knew that may be I'd never be able to complete it given how so much time had passed since then and now. But coming back and reading all the comments has just left me speechless and shocked... That you should still be waiting for a due completion of this story even after all this time, is truly amazing. So Thank you for that patience. I will in my part attempt to complete the rest of it now, and trust me when I say, there isn't a lot of it left. I hope you enjoy the read, I have been out of touch for a long time, and writing has been the last thing in my mind but that said, this is also the longest I've written in a long time :)
So happy reading, please do share your thoughts. I know this will be a shorter last few parts but very much true to the original ending I had in mind when I started writing so in that regard, not much has changed.
Aria
Edited by -Aria- - 9 years ago
Udne Ki Aasha
Cricket
330