Arhi FF : Destiny Games T5 (New updates in T6) - Page 48

This is a wonderful story..

Started reading it yesterday n finished it in a go.. Waiting for the next update already..

Both having feelings for each other n are not ready to accept.. I feel Kapoors are behind all plottings.. Is Garima Rajaneesh Kappor's daughter n he revenging Ajay Raizada for her marriage with Sashi?

 Update soon

Love

Vandie

Hello,

Found this story last night and read it in on go reading till early morning 😀

Wonderful build of characters and plot.

Thanks for writing !!

Dearies, Bit held up with work, Expect an update by weekend. 

Thank you so much. Waiting eagerly!

Yay, weekend is here! Cheers 

Waiting

Please continue soon 

Hey! I was expecting an update over the weekend, is everything fine? 

Cheers 

Which weekend??  

Originally posted by: abavi

Dearies, Bit held up with work, Expect an update by weekend. 

From the author's desk: Hello dearies, Thanks for your patience. Here it is, the next update. Hope you will enjoy it. Happy reading. 

______________________________________________________________________

Chapter 14: New beginnings

Part 4: Deals and Dialogues!

“Good morning miss lazy bones!” Anjali’s voice rang across the first floor dining hall as Khushi emerged out of her room that morning.

The family was having their breakfast at the first floor dining hall. 

“You know what the time is? 8.30! It’s a perfect indication that you are badly in need of Dadi’s sanskari lesson” Anjali told her jovially. Payal and Akaash who were at the dining table with Anjali waved at her too. 

“Hi Khushi! What happened? Are you OK? You look very tired today” Akaash asked her.

Khushi nodded in affirmation

“I am fine. Just over slept”

“Over slept or slept late?” Payal asked her with a tongue in her cheek

“hear hear!” Anjali gigiled. Khushi sat down at the table upturning a plate for herself and filling it with pooris. 

Payal must have told Anjali that she saw Khushi at Arnav’s room last night. With that, all the happenings of the last night flashed by, every memory predominated by actions, reactions, expressions, smiles and banters of one person!

“Your cheeks are turning red Khushi, whom are you thinking about?” Payal asked her.

 “Arnav?” Akaash called out.

Khushi almost choked on her food. Was she that obvious? Or could Akaash read minds?

Khushi looked up to see that the gang had actually spotted him and was not asking if she was thinking of him. 

“Think of the devil” she murmured as he quickly caught her eye and raised an eyebrow as a way of greeting. 

“What are you doing in Dadi’s room?” Anjali asked drawing attention to where he was coming out from.

It was then she noticed that Arnav was indeed walking out of Dadi’s room. 

“I thought you were not speaking to her?” Payal asked Arnav as he joined them at the table. 

“I thought so too. What happened?” asked Anjali

“Nothing really, Chit chatting, asking after her health… just the usual”

“Did I go into coma and wake up days later?” Anjali asked in general 

“Seems like we all were in coma Anji” Payal quipped as she kept starring at Arnav who was pouring himself a cup of coffee

“When did you start speaking to her?” Anjali asked

Arnav merely shrugged 

“You cannot stay long without speaking to your family Kiddo… After all, all she wished was for me to get settled, it’s not wrong you know…” 

While the others looked at him open mouthed, he casually sat there sipping his coffee. 

“Did you get hit in your head or something? Suffered concussion?” Anjali asked staring at her brother. 

Arnav laughed 

“Just that I realized that there is no point in reacting to these things with anger”

“Ahaan?” Payal remarked with bemusement. 

“So you compromised from your stand?” Anjali asked in shock

“What do you mean by compromise? Getting married is not compromise… right Khushi?” he asked throwing a glance at her casually. 

Khushi glared at him and then nodded awkwardly as she noticed the others looking at her in a bemused fashion as if she had a role to play in this entire development. Or maybe she had played a role. This devil of a man can turn and twist situations to his advantage in a minute’s notice and he had an entire night to plan this.

“of course” she stammered. 

“Look, your friend seems to agree with me” he smirked at the others. 

“You agreed for the wedding?” Payal almost screamed at Arnav. 

“and you too brutus? You support him getting married to Sheetal?” Anjali asked Khushi

“Why would Khushi have a problem with me getting married?” Arnav asked them “right Khushi?”

She glared at him but did not say anything. 

“Arnav, let me get this straight.” Anjali said “Did you just go and tell Dadi that you are ending this fight with her and you are ready for the wedding?”

“Sort of… Told her that I need some time” 

“And”

“and what else? She was OK with that. That’s all”

“that’s all?”

“alright folks, see you all later, gotta rush now, getting late” he said placing his empty coffee mug down and getting up

“Wait, we are not finished yet”

“I have to go to office Kiddo”

“Bhai, I and Payal, we are leaving today, you remember that right?”

“Yeah Akaash, I will be back before you guys leave for the airport.” 

The entire gang sans Khushi was staring at him as he stopped by his office suite and picked up his things and made a move towards the stairs. 

Just before vanishing down the stairs, he paused briefly. 

“And Akaash, Just a heads up. Dadi wanted to meet you and Payal, may be after her morning prayers are done”

“What?” Akaash asked

“what for?” Payal was flabbergasted.

“I don’t know”

“wait but how do you know this?” Payal enquired him

“She told me”

“You spoke to her about this, didn’t you? You told her that they are leaving for their Honey moon” Anjali asked him

“I might have.” he replied honestly. 

“Dude, are you for real?” Payal asked standing up with a fork in one hand and butter knife in other. 

 “Payal, you look like a modern avatar of Goddess Durga with fork and knife” Arnav commented.

“If this meeting messes up my mood, I will really turn into one when you come back this evening” she warned him

“Bhai, can’t this wait until we return back?” Akaash pleaded. 

Arnav grinned at his brother and shrugged before he turned to leave. The others turned to look at each other.

Just when he was about to go down, as if by instinct, he turned back and threw a quick wink at Khushi who was looking at his departing figure with an amused expression before he disappeared down the stairs. 

Clutching her heart which had gone into a frenzy of dhak dhak, Khushi turned back to her food. 

“What’s gotten into him” she heard Anjali say “Sheetal… OMG, please give my brother some brains… how the hell did he decide to do this? I have no idea what triggered him into this suddenly”

“Akaash, I don’t want to meet your Dadi now, no offense, But I don’t want to spoil my mood before we leave for our Honey moon.”

“What will I say her Payal?”

“I don’t know, you conjure up some reason for my absence… I am not meeting her” Payal was instructing a hapless Akaash on the other side of the table. 

“What happened suddenly that he is rushing all this now this morning?” Anjali was still mumbling to herself. 

As Khushi got up after finishing her breakfast, Anjali held her hand

“Khushi, do you have any part in this game?”

“me? No!” 

“If you had” Payal told her “I am going to kill both of you together if Dadi manages to upset us with her remarks” Payal left the place. 

“Payal wait, why do you think it will be bad? Don’t you trust Arnav?” Akaash called out after her. He quickly turned to Khushi “Sorry Khushi, she didn’t mean anything, she is just anxious about the meeting, I think” and then he quickly turned and followed his wife.

Khushi collected her plate to drop it in the sink. 

“Wait” Anjali called out “What is the plan Khushi? Won’t you let me in on the secret?”

“What secret, I don’t know anything”

“Are you sure?”

Khushi shrugged. “Why do you think I know about this?”

“Because that ass of my brother winked at you when he thought nobody was looking at him”

Wondering if anything passes off in this house without this chit of a girl noticing it, Khushi cleared her throat. Khushi’s phone beeped at that moment indicating the arrival of a new message. She knew who it was from, but she knew better than checking it right there. 

“Trust me Anjali, I don’t know anything” she said before she picked up her phone and left the place. 

“Trust me Khushi, I know how to weasel out the details” Anjali muttered to herself before she went after Khushi.

***

“Do I look over dressed?” Payal asked them all for the fourth time since she arrived at the hall for the aarti, an hour after Arnav had dropped the bomb that dadi was planning to meet her and Akaash that day after the morning prayers. 

“Payal, Calm down, you are just wearing a salwar suit” Akaash patiently answered her for the fourth time as well. 

“I know, but it looks so dressed up?”

“No you are looking good” Akaash assured her. 

In spite of all the threats that Payal had been throwing at everyone for the past one hour, it was obvious that she had taken effort to dress up for the morning aarti, more effort than usual. 

The fact that nani and mami was not around was also something that bothered the couple. 

“Oh how blissfully ignored I felt all this while… I felt so good that she wasn’t speaking to me at all… Why now… I want to whack your brother on his head” Payal kept mumbling under her breadth to Akaash. 

Soon after, Dadi arrived and the aarti started. The aarti that day was uneventful and as soon as it ended, Dadi was giving out instructions to the house staff for a while and then turned to go back to her room. 

Akaash and Payal decided or rather, half hoped that Arnav had played a prank on them this morning. But it turned out that Arnav had given them a genuine indication only. Half way up the stairs dadi turned back and called out to Akaash. 

“Akaash, I want to speak to you. I heard that you and your wife are leaving to Mauritius tonight?”

“Yes Dadi”

 “How long are you going?”

“Two weeks Dadi. We will be back in two weeks”

“Don’t you want to inform me about it”

“Sorry Dadi, was about to come to your room”

 “Ok, come to my room” said dadi turning back to the stairs “And bring your wife along”

“Sure Dadi”

And then she was gone.

***

Anjali sat biting her nails in the first floor dining area while she and Khushi waited for Akaash and Payal to come out. It had been some 15 minutes since they both had gone in. 

Khushi bit her lips as she glanced at her phone. It had been more than an hour and Anjali had made sure to follow her like a puppy everywhere, asking her numerous questions. Result: she was still not able to read her message in privacy. 

“Anjali, I will be back”

“where are you going?”

“To the loo”

“Wait here with me until they come out, I want to go too… I am holding it”

Khushi huffed at the younger girl beside her hoping that the anxiety would keep her from peeping into her phone and she quickly decided to check the message. As she had guessed it was from him

She quickly opened it. 

 “you looked like dear caught in head lights! Anjali is going to be after you all day long today :D”

She rolled her eyes before typing her answer. 

“Moron to the power of infinity! I owe you this, you will get it back from me, double strong.”

She touched the send icon and looked up.

Anjali was staring at her

“What?” 

“Nothing. You were smiling into your phone for the past one minute”

“That’s... that’s nothing… just some joke to keep me insane”

Thankfully for Khushi, Anjali seemed to buy this explanation. 

Just at that moment, Akaash and Payal stepped out of Dadi’s room looking dazed, enough to distract Anjali away from the last conversation. 

“What happened?” Anjali asked them as she almost run to them

“I… Oh my… I can’t believe this…” Payal was silently hysterical. 

“Was it that bad?” 

“No kiddo, it was unbelievable in a good way. Dadi just gave her blessing” Akaash explained happily. 

“What?”

“You see, she finally accepted me as a Raizada Bahu. That was a solid 20 mins of sanskari lesson. I really pity you Anjali, I know she has been giving this to you for years”

“Are you serious” Anjali asked as she hugged them both “You guys scared me a lot” 

“I am so relieved” Khushi told them “Elders always come around. This is good news!”

“It must be Bhai’s doing” Akaash declared proudly. “He somehow convinced Dadi to do this before we left”

“I know! The way he scared us this morning, but trust him to give a surprise like this” Anjali quipped happily.

“All is well that ends well” Akaash agreed. 

“Hmm, we should thank that idiot, but not before I kick him first for an hour of anxiety that he gave me” Payal agreed heartily. 

“What is this?” Anjali asked Payal, noticing that she was holding a box in her hand

“Part of getting induced into the Raizada Parivaar” Payal said opening the box to reveal the most exquisite piece of Ruby set. “Family heirloom, I am marked as a Raizada now. Looks like she hopes to be forgiven finally after all these days of mistreatment towards us” 

“Payal.. usshhhh… she might hear us” Akaash warned her

“Wow! You got the Ruby set… It will look beautiful on you Payal” 

“It looks very beautiful!” Khushi too commented. 

“It was my mother’s once… I mean it was my Dadi’s before that and my great grandmas’ before it became hers… It gets handed down to the bahus of the family. We have been told that this has been in the family for 5 generations.” Akaash said. 

As they all gushed about the beauty of the jewelry and the miraculous change of mind and behavior of Dadi – coming as a pleasant surprise gift for the couple before they departed for their honeymoon, Khushi noticed the time and got up swearing loudly.

“Devimaiyaa! I need to leave now. Have some work at the editor’s office, I am already running late… Should have been there 10 mins before itself.”

“Ok come back soon” Payal called out.

“I will be back by afternoon” Khushi promised her. 

Only when she reached the gates of the Raizada mansion, did she realize that she had left her mobile back at the dining table. 

***

The phone at the table beeped and Anjali absent mindedly looked into the screen of the mobile. 

A whatsapp notification flashed on the screen of the locked mobile

1 message from ArnavJi.

Eyes bogging out, Anjali quickly recognized that it was Khushi’s mobile. Who else will store her brother’s name with a Ji behind it?

She picked it up and flashed it to Payal and Akaash

“What?” Payal asked bewildered. “This is Khushi’s mobile”

“Oh she forgot her mobile”

“Oh no! you both don’t get it… Read what it says”

“Notification message from… what… wait… Arnav? This is damn interesting” Payal said

“You bet! I wish I can unlock the mobile”

“No, you guys will do nothing of that sort” Akaash told them firmly. “It is between them. Whatever it is. It could be regarding the case that they are working on as well”

“You like dampening it all. Don’t you?” Payal asked him

“I don’t think it is regarding the case” Anjali said, as she tried different patterns

“Try K”

“nope”

“Try A”

“A?” 

“Arnav”

Anjali giggled. 

“No, it is not A either”

Akaash glared at both as Payal took the mobile from Anjali

“Let me try”

“Give it to me. This is indecent”

“Consider us indecent” Anjali said

“How will it feel if it was your mobile and others read my messages to you” Akaash told Payal trying to take the mobile from her hand. 

“What are you indicating Akaash? Arnav and Khushi are not in relationship. Or do you know more about it than us?” Anjali asked. 

“It opened, it’s a D for devimaiyya!” Payal gushed and Anjali stood up in excitement

“That’s enough Payal. Stop it” Akaash’s voice was very stern. 

The whatsapp notification now revealed a little more. 

“Oh really?  Are you talking about serving double strong chai? I am waiting to see you come up…”

Anjali read out the message aloud and looked up at Payal apprehensively. The rest of the message would be visible only it was opened. 

“This looks kind of personal…” Payal commented biting her lips.

“Should I open it?” Anjali asked.

“NO” Akaash said taking the mobile from Anjali and locking it again just as they heard the tinkling of anklets as Khushi hurried up the stairs. 

Akaash put the mobile back on the table as Khushi reached upstairs. 

“Hi Khushi, you are back so soon?” Payal asked

“No, forgot my mobile” Khushi said reaching out for it

Anjali picked it up and passed it to her. 

As Khushi left, the other two girls raised their eyebrows at each other. 

“Forget about what you read and don’t breathe a word about it to anyone else” Akaash told them both as he moved from there pulling Payal along. “And, don’t ever use the pattern to unlock her phone again”

Meanwhile, As Khushi reached the downstairs, she quickly checked her messages. There was one unread from Arnav. 

But before she went to the last received message, a stream of messages that they had exchanged last night after he asked her to leave swarmed before her on the screen. 

They had in fact been messaging all night. After he rudely sent her out, she had decided never to speak to him, but only to receive his message merely minutes later.

Today

Arnav: Hi 2.25am

Arnav: Have you reached your room Khushi? 2.28am

Arnav: Khushi, reply back. Don’t make me come down to check. 2.33am

Arnav: Khushi, I know you are awake. Reply me dammit! 2.36am

Arnav: You know it is rude to check messages but not reply back? 2.39am

Khushi: Look who is speaking about rudeness. 2.40am

Arnav: Ha, now she responds. 2.42am

Khushi: What do you want? 2.43am

Arnav: Just wanted to check if you reached safely. 2.45am

Khushi: My room is just a floor down. Where will I get lost on the way? 2.46am

Arnav: With you anything is possible 2.47am

Arnav: Khushi are you there? 2.50am

Khushi: I am not going to talk to you. 2.52am

Arnav: I am ok with messages too. 2.54am

Khushi: After the way you ended our meeting? You have a nerve to expect this. 2.56am

Arnav: I know I behaved like a brat. I am not burning my bridges right? 2.58am

Arnav: Khushi, are you awake? 3.00am

Arnav: Khushi, you slept? 3.01am

Khushi: What do you expect me to do at 3 in the morning? 3.01am 

Arnav: Reply to my messages? 3.02am

Khushi: I am waiting for the magical words. 3.02am

Arnav: what magical words? Abra ca dabra? 3:03am

Khushi: Very funny! Those three words that people say after they do a mistake? 3:04am

Arnav: I didn’t do any mistake! 3:05am

Khushi: Go to Hell. 3:06am

Arnav: You want me to ask you to go to hell? But I don’t wish you hell Khushi. 3:07am

Khushi: Get lost. Moron! 3:08am

Arnav: ROFL 3:08am

Khushi: Don’t you even try to speak to me ever again! 3:09am

Arnav: Ok, I am sorry! 3:11am

Arnav: I know I was rude. I didn’t intend to end this night that way. 3:12am

Arnav: Khushi, I said I am sorry.  3:13am

Arnav: you there? 3:14am

Khushi: Yes. 3:16am

Arnav: Am I forgiven? .3:17am

Khushi: No. 3:18am

Arnav: Geez! You are making this so difficult for me.3:19am

Khushi: Oh really? Then make it up! 3:21am

Arnav: How? 3:22am

Khushi: Complete 2 tasks by tomorrow. 3:23am

Arnav: What tasks? 3:24am

Khushi: Task 1- Start speaking to dadiji. 3:25am

Arnav: Are you out of your mind? 3:27am

Khushi: Task 2- Make Dadi accept Akaash and Payal before they go on their trip. 3:29am

Arnav: Are you trying to fail me purposely? 3:30am

Khushi: Why would I do that? 3:32am

Arnav: What do I get in return? 3:24am

Khushi: Forgiveness. 3:25am

Arnav: Not enough!  The stakes are high. I need something more. 3:30am

Khushi: What else do you want? 3:32am

Arnav: Play truth or dare with me 3:35am

Khushi: What?  3:36am

Arnav: I am not a monster like you, so I will give you enough time 3:38 am

Khushi: Time for what? 3:40am

Arnav: Truth or dare. Coming Wednesday, King’s courtyard, 7 in the evening. 3:48am

Khushi: Hello…wait, I didn’t agree to come out with you. Where is this coming from? 3:49am

Arnav: It’s a deal Khushi.  3:50am

Khushi: I am not coming. 3:52am

Arnav: Do you know truth or dare works both ways?  3:53am

Khushi: Don’t you lure me into this 3:54am

Arnav: I have booked a table for two.4:00am

Khushi: Dream on! I am not going to come. 4:04am

Arnav: Good night! 4:05am

Khushi: Its already 4 in the morning. 4:06am

Arnav: Get some sleep now! 4:07am

Khushi: Only if you let me! Stop messaging…NOW 4:09am

Arnav: Are you confessing that I am giving you sleepless nights? 4:12am

Khushi: Shut up! Don’t think so high of yourself 4:15am

Arnav: Sleep tight! 4:17am

Khushi: Stop flirting now! 4:18am

Arnav: Good morning Sleeping beauty! Are you waiting for your prince to come and kiss you awake? 8:00am

Khushi: Oh my God! I am late.. it's all your fault. 8:05am

Arnav: Learn to be grateful Khushi. I woke you up... Come fast. Breakfast is ready. 8:07am

Khushi: Did you even sleep? 8:08am

Arnav: you looked like dear caught in head lights! Anjali is going to be after you all day long today: D 8:49am

Khushi: Moron to the power of infinity! I owe you this, you will get it back from me, double strong. 9:55am

And then there was the more recent message sent by him a few minutes back. 

Arnav: “Oh really? Are you talking about serving double strong chai? I am waiting to see you come up with something... By the way hope you are keeping track of the tasks that I completed. See you on Wednesday.” 10:05am

She thought for a while before she typed her response. 

“I never agreed to any deal. I won’t come. Don’t wait for me”

But he did take effort to speak to Dadi and give a nice surprise to Akaash and Payal. Deciding to add an appreciation on that front, she appended to her message. 

“I never agreed to any deal. I won’t come. Don’t wait for me. However, you have paid in full for your mistake last night with these two tasks. You stand forgiven :-P ”

And pressed send, knowing well that she will get a quirky response minutes later. 

***

Later that afternoon, Payal having updated Mami and Nani about the happenings in the morning, Joined Anjali in the couch by the fish tank. 

“A penny for your thoughts” she said

Anjali was unusually silent. 

“What happened? Something is bothering you?”

“Payal, do you think Arnav would have compromised with Dadi to make her accept you and Akaash?”

“You think he would have after we discovered the message in Khushi’s mobile?”

“I don’t know. “

“Trust me, I know Arnav wouldn’t settle down with anyone whom he wouldn’t want to spend his life time with.”

“I hope so.” Anjali said “And I really hope he hadn’t gone and sacrificed himself to marry Sheetal”

“I don’t think he has. Not after I saw that message. Seriously, there wasn’t even any need Anjali. Don’t fret about it. Even if he has, he will know how to get out of it”

***

That evening, Arnav, Anjali and Khushi stood in the portico sending off Payal and Akaash for their trip. 

“Don’t you run off before I come” Payal told Khushi hugging her. 

“I am not planning to go to Vizag until you come back” replied Khushi. 

“I didn’t mean that. Don’t you both elope, wait for us to return the favor” Payal whispered jerking her thumb towards Arnav who was standing a little away in discussion with Akaash.

Khushi’s jaws dropped to the floor in a big O. Anjali simpered next to her. 

“Don’t worry, I will do the honors if need arises”

“What are you both getting at?” Khushi asked them incredulously. The girls usually hinted but this was the first time, they openly declared that they shipped her and Arnav. 

But Payal brushed it off with a laugh and walked off to the car waiting for her and off they were gone.

 To be continued. 

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Finally Done! Long long update... Bring on the comments please. until the next update, stay happy!

cheers! 

Vi.

Oh what an update! I love the banter between Arnav-Khushi, Anjali-Khushi, Anjali-Arnav...it is so lively and hilarious! 
Can't wait for the next dose of DG :)