FF:ARJUHI:Benaam Ek Rishta- CH6 Pg.51..05-11-11 - Page 23

I pulled the duvet over, covering my eyes as the rays of the sun disturbed my sleep. As i opened my eyes scanning the room, I quickly sat straight as realisation hit me. I realised i was not in bedroom, this room was all decorated and full of bright colours with flowers all around. I rubbed my eyes in case this is just some kind of nightmare. I noticed as my face fell, this is no dream as i would have hoped. I am not Arohi Ahluwaliya any more, I am Arohi Arjun Singhania now. God even my name feels strange and alien to me now, like it doesn't even belong to me. Suddenly my mind went numb...OMG if am here in someone else's room, that must mean he is there too, next to me...on the same bed!! I felt myself stiffen as i slowly moved my head around next to my bed, slowly moving the see-through curtain between us...just a tiny bit in case that man is still there or awake!! Even worse...the slight thought of it makes me shudder. Finally sighing in relief, allowing the air to come out as i saw the bed empty next to me. I didn't even realise i was holding my breath. It was 7 in the morning and i wondered where he could possibly be, getting off the bed slowly i tried listening to the sound, trying to figure out if he is in the shower or not. I made my way into the bathroom after making sure it was empty. I really wasn't in the mood of bumping into him in the morning, in fact i actually didn't even want to go downstairs and act like the perfect bahu!! Arggh bahu my foot..! if only my parents hadn't... oh forget it...what's happened has already been done and now i just have to live with it! Either happily or pretentiously...for my parents sake...i have to do this. Taking a big breathe i made my way into the bathroom.

** **

I was putting the sindoor in the middle parting of my hair when i heard the door open. It was him, it had to be him. I heard him walk in as he took slow yet very authoritative steps. I tried looking here and there, trying to distract myself from facing this awkward moment i slowly started tying the mangalsutra around my neck. Once upon a time this would have meant and held a lot of meanings to me but today...

** **

The sudden stop of his steps made me come out of the trance. i had to do something, i can't jus ignore everyone and everything now that I'm stuck with it. While turning around slowly i noticed he was wearing dark blue rough looking jeans with white Henleys t-shirt. His lean body was really stiff, as i looked up i couldn't help noticing how handsome he really was...those perfectly carved features and those...What the hell!! What am i thinking! Oh well...there is no harm in accepting the obvious...as my brain tried to justify it self. As my eyes met his, i suddenly could not look away as i felt myself looking at the intensity in those two black eyes of his like the darkest forest. Realisation suddenly hit me hard as i lowered gaze fidgeting with the end of my royal blue sari. I looked up again as i heard him speak, trying not gaze into his eyes. 'er...erm...woh aapki maa..autny-ji er woh sab chahte hain ke ham donu saath neeche aye...er woh neeche sab intezaar kar rahe hain'. Saying this, he walked back to the door and stopped...waiting for me. Uncertain of what to say I just followed him out.

** **

Going downstairs was even worse then our so called suhaag raat!! Sab ki nazar hamari orr thi jaise ham koi TV pe Shahrukh Khan ki film dekh rahe ho...Without even a single blink as if they would miss something really important if they did. This rely is not helping me, they are just making things even more difficult for me. Great! Just great!! I thought.

** **

At last, the catwalk finally finished as we reached the dinning room. Walking towards the dinning table, Arjun's mum got up as i bent down to seek her blessings 'jeeti raho bahu, kitni pyari lag rahi hai na...aur tum donu' looking as both Arohi and Arjun (Arjuhi) 'tum saath mein toh bilkul ram aur seta lag rahe ho...kissi ki nazar na lage tumhari Jodi ko' taking the kajal from her eyes and putting a black dot behind the Arjuhi's ears. Sarita was all smiles while looking at the newly wedded couple while she had her hand over her mouth wit her pallu in her hand. 'chalo aao tum donu aur nashta kar lo'. I quickly looked up 'nahi aunty' finally realising that she spoke a bit too fast and loudly...oh god can this get any worst!! ...trying to speak again...this time a little hesitantly...i heard myself say 'er woh pehle mein pooja kar loon phir...' before i could continue Aunty-ji said 'haan kyun nahi..yeh toh bohat achi baat hai...chalo Arjun tum bhi iss ke saath jao...issi bahane yeh bhi bappa ka ashirwaad le lega...mandir uss taraf hai...'as she direct me...'aur haan..' she stopped me 'am like your mum so abh no aunty...call me mum beta...just like my children do..'

** **

Closing my eyes, i joined my hands together in front of bappa. The only one who can help me now that i have no 'bappa tune hamesha mera saath diya hai...abh beech raste mujhe itne ajnabeeyun ke saath akela mat chor dena' i pleaded, desperately closing my eyes even more as if begging bappa to protect her. After the pooja finished I put the pooja ki thali in front of aunty..er i mean mum, Arjun and Arjun's youngest brother...Romit..yeh i think that's what he told me the first time they came to my house for my rishta. I like him, he seems really cheery and bubbly person. He would probably be the only person if any that I can actually befriend here.

** **

Romit has been observing Arjuhi since they both came downstairs. Noticing the little interaction between his Bro and Arohi Bhabhi, he was aware that they would defiantly need help and Romit being the sweetheart that he is will be their love guru he thought with a slight smirk. He noticed that whenever babhi looks up at bro she has a slight blush on her cheeks, barely noticeable and she then starts to play with the end of her sari gazing down. Hmm waise yeh bhabhi ke dimaag mein aur kya chal raha hai. Bro ka toh mujhe pata hai ke iss department mein woh toh bilkul zero hai, mujhe hi kuch karna parega aur woh bhi bohat jald.

** **

At the breakfast table mummy-ji and Romit literally forced me to sit next to Arjun as Romit up from his seat to make space for me. Hesitantly i sad down next to him, my gaze still lowered, not knowing what to do now. 'Arohi beta kuch khao na...aise hichkichate nahe hain..abh tum hamare parivaar ka ek bohateham (precious) kisa ho' 'haan bhabhi aap kya bro ke saath betne se itna sharmaa rahi na...' Romit chirped in '...kyun bro aapne aise kya kiya jo Arohi bhabhi itna gabra rahi hai' he chuckled. Omg yeh Romit kya kya bolta rehta hai...i felt myself blush...god i feel like going down six feet under where no one can seen me!! 'nahi..aisa...aisa kuch nahi...' I heard Arjun say 'Romit!' making me jump in my chair slightly. God can this man say it any louder. Seeing the annoyance on Arjun's face Sarita jumped in 'Romit abh bohat hogaya hamare te aur bahu ki taang kichna...abh chup chap breakfast karo...chalo' 'lekin mum mein toh sirf..' Romit tried to justify himself. 'Romit' Sarita stated one last time. Finding this situation embarrassing yet a bit amusing, i tried not to laugh at Romit's childish behaviour. Bless him, looks like even he got a bit scared at Arjun's sudden eruption lol...look how he's sitting quietly now sulking...serves him right though for teasing me like that. After this whole scene everyone ate quietly as i tried concentrating on my food.

** **

After finishing the breakfast, Arjun's loud voice broke the silence 'Mum woh mujhe torah sa kaam hai..mein woh...thodi der mein aagao ga'. 'Arjun tum kahin nahi ja rahe samje...yeh kya hai abh ek din bhi nahi hua tumhari shaadi ko aur tumhe kaam ki padi hai' Romit cut in 'haan bro abh kaam ek din ke liye bhi nahi chor sakte...itni pyari si bhabhi hai jab hamari aap ko kaam kaise yaad aasakta hai...bro mein kya kehta hai..aap donu na...kahin ghoom aao...torah moj masti karo abhi...mere paas na ek dum mast plan hai na bro'. Arjun getting impatient 'Romit tu todi der apni nautanki bandh karega...Mum mujhe jana hoga...i won't be long...yeh kaam aaj hi karna hai..waise bhi shaadi ke dinu mein aapne mujhe jaane nahi diya...itna late hua hoon aur upar se aap sab'. 'Arjun hamne bas keh diya na, tu kahin nahi jayega, abh bas is topic pe aur koi discussion nahi hogi' saying this Sarita went upstairs. Arjun just looked towards his mum confused as to what just has happened and how he is going to get through all this. He eventually went and sat down on the sofa with his files.

** **

Taking this opportunity, Romit jumped in 'kya bro bhabhi yahan hai aur aap unko chor ke files ke saath beth gaye ho jaise...waise na aap jitna dhayan anr pyar in files aur apne kaam se karte ho utna bhabhi ko *coughs* mera matlab ham sab ko karo toh zyada acha rahe ga na...' looking over at Arohi he called 'are bhabhi aap wahan kya akele khare ho yahan aao na, bro ke saath mein betho, kyun bro' he chuckles whist raising his eyebrows. Arohi has no choice but to sit next to Arjun but at the far end of the sofa. 'yeh kya bhabhi torah paas mein aake betho na, fikar nako karo bro waise lagta toh aise hai jaise abh kha jayega lekin mein hai na, sab sambhal le ga' Arjun looks up and glares at Romit. This only provokes Romit as he continues 'kya bro aap aise kya dhara rahe ho, bhabh aap bro ko kuch kahe na hamesha mujhe aise ghurte hai, mein kya kuch galat bola' pauses 'nahi na, toh phir, mein kya kehta hai bhabhi aap na abhi se bro ko kaabo karlo varna bro toh aise he rahe ga'. This statement only made Arjun and Arohi blush in embarrassment. Romit gets up and goes to Arohi 'what is this bhabhi, if you are going to sit so far away from bro, how will you be able to control him.' (LOL) he sits next to Arohi which only makes he budge over slightly, Arohi still very conscience about the proximity between her and Arjun. Romit moves a little more and so does Arohi, this goes on for a while till Arohi is literally squashed between two men (God help her LOL). By now Arjun was giving side glances to Arohi and Romit, acting as if he was the least bothered about this.

** **

Romit finally has another idea since this from this one, he is not getting reaction from either one of them except making Arohi go red a little. he gets up taking his phone out he tells Arjuhi to look up and say cheese. Arohi and Arjun both were relieved that Romit had got up and won't do anything now but Romit's new trick caught their attention and they looked up all of a sudden to see what Romit really meant. 'say cheese' Romit called again, at this Arjuhi looked at each other as soon as Romit captured this moment on his phone. 'Oh damn, if you two want to take a picture while looking at each other so badly, at least smile at little...come on now look at eachother and smile...i know that you both are dying to do that, that's why you both won't leave a single opportunity to do this. Hai na...toh chalo abh pyar se ek doosre ki taraf dekh jaise aaj subah bhabhi aap ko dekh rahi thi, kyun bhabhi' Romit giggled making Arjun glance at Arohi who went three shades of red! Arjun was so sick of this whole drama Romit was creating when he knows, he made it clear to Arohi that nothing can happend between them and they will only be husband and wife in front of everyone and even he has realised by now that Arohi doesn't like him...well not like that anyway...but was what Romit said...was she really looking at me like that? No Romit must have misunderstood her, he's always making things up anyway just to annoy me he thought. 'Romit!' he shouted, a little louder then necessary. Getting up he continued 'abh bas karega apni nautanki ya doon phir ek ghumake' he warned. His frustration was clearly visible now making whole atmosphere of the situation from humorous to very serious. 'Bro mein..' 'ek lafz bhi nahi abh Romit' Arjun shouted, Romit tried to say something but was cut off again by Arjun 'abh bas!!' raising his hand as if to say not a word. With this he left both Romit and Arjun in an uncomfortable situation. After some time Romit said clearing his throat 'Bhabhi you, erm you don't worry, bro can be a little obstinate but he really is a softy from inside. He will be fine in a bit. Mein abh aya'.

** **

After the whole Romit fiasco and after my wish to run away where no one can see my embarrassed face Arohi explored around the Singhania mansion, which didn't take long since she had a whole day to kill, it was such a drag she thought oh i guess I better get used to all this sigh. I tried to keep myself busy in the kitchen. Sarita tried to stop me so many times stating that am a 'nayi naweli dulhan' and should just rest. She is such a sweet lady, who loves both of his sons dearly especially Arjun. I am starting to feel really guilty for this whole act like happy couple that Arjun wants to me to play along with him. Not that i wasn't relieved about it all but now that i think about it...its not going to lead us any where but hurting everyone else...Mummy-ji, Romit and my parents. What would they think about me if they ever found out that all this is nothing but just a temporary act, this relationship is nothing but a foul game. Every time she refers to me as 'beti' the guilt only grows, making me feel appalled at my behaviour. What would she be thinking about me?

** **

As night fell, but still no sign of him, mum was getting more and more worried. Making me realise how irresponsible her son really is!! Romit later informed us that he was as work since he was apparently getting 'no peace at home'. Mum told him not to go work but the sneaky thing was looking for excuses to go and Romit gave him just that, not that I really care! After waiting for hours for him to come home for dinner, we all finally ate. I noticed that everyone was feeling low, the bright glow on mum's face that I saw in the morning was now gone. 'Aane toh do use, yeh ladka na..kabhi kissi ki nahi sunta. Roka bhi tha lekin nahi...usse toh wohi karna hai jo use acha lagta hai. Hamari toh fikar hi nahi'. 'nahi mum aisi baat nahi hai, bro aate hi hongein..lekin hum bhi use zyada stubborn hain...baat nahi kareinge usse' said Romit.

** **

It was past 10 when we finally heard the car stop outside Singhania mansion. Sarita and Romit went to see in case it was Arjun. After waiting for 5 more minutes i just couldn't sit here and wait for that man to come. What the hell was he doing and why haven't mum and Romit come back. Walking slowly towards the main entrance, I realised mum was arguing with Arjun but I noticed the anxiousness in her voice, she seemed to be crying as well. I abruptly came to a stop when I heard mum say 'kitna khoon beh gaya hai Arjun'. I could feel my heart suddenly beating fast, what could possibly have happend. 'Bro yeh...yeh sab kaise hua? Aur aap aise kaise ja sakte ho...jab ke mum ne aapko roka bhi...abh dekho kya kiya' Romit said. The worry was obvious on both their faces, i still couldn't see his face though. Moving forward i noticed that his face was pale and he had blood on his shirt. I don't know why but I just felt i felt a pinch of sorrow in my heart making it skip a beat. Its a really strange feeling which i had never experienced before. Putting all these weird thoughts at the back of my mind, i walked up to where everyone was. 'How did all this happen?' I heard myself ask meekly 'aur aap...aap theek ho na?' questioning Arjun. Sarita and Romit noticed this slight panic on Arohi's face, making Romit smirk a little. Even Arjun had noticed this. He finally spoke up 'kuch nahi hua..mein theek hoon mum' glancing at Arohi when he said this and then turning to everyone else as he explained how he had to urgently to sort something out at work and sign some contractual document for a new architect contract. He also went to see how everything is progressing with their current work site in the nearby town. He was explaining some of his ideas to the workers when he saw one of the worker struggling. Who was trying to fix the chandelier so that he can put finishing touches to this building. The work was nearly done. Going to up the worker, trying to hold the chandelier up for him and making sure it goes just the way Arjun had demanded. However, due to all the sweat in his hands the chandelier slipped from his hands and one of the glass on it cut into Arjun's hand. They tried to stop the blood by putting a piece of cloth they had found but the cut was too deep and it was bleeding profusely. They workers told him to go hospital but he was already getting late and knew mum would be worried sick.

** **

Sarita spoke whilst choking on her tears 'kyun Arjun, (pauses) 'aise kyun karta hai' wiping her tears with her pallu 'you've lost so much blood. How do you think I would be feeling seeing you hurt like this'. 'No mum, please don't say this' hugging Sarita with the other hand. 'Aage se mein dhayan rakhon ga, abh aap bas roye mat. Aur waise bhi raat kitni hogi hai, you should go and sleep now. Romit atleast you should be more responsible. Mum is not feeling well already and you havn't even told her to go to bed'. 'Bro mein...mein toh bohat kaha mum ko lekin woh toh mujhe hi dant gayi aapki wajah se' Romit sulked. Sarita came in between 'abh bas bohat hogaya, Arjun pehle tum kuch khalo aur bandage karlo phir ham sone ke liye jayeinge'. 'No...mum I eat, you go and sleep, you must be tired. Don't worry about me.'

** **

Sarita knowing that Arjun as usual won't listen agreed but before heading to bed she told Arohi 'Arohi beta Arjun ka khayal rakna aur dekhna ke he doesn't go sleep on empty stomach'. This caught Arohi's attention 'jee...erm mein...er i mean acha mum...aap fikar na kare' not sure what to really say. Now how can Romit leave this moka without butting in 'aree wah mum kya idea hai..issi bahane bro aur bhabhi donu...' before he could continue Arjun slapped lightly on his head 'ey' glaring at him. That made him shut up LOL. 'nahi bro main toh...' Arjun glared at him some more. 'acha acha theek hai mein jaata hoon, bhabhi sambal lena bro ko' he stated with a grin 'khisak le Romit warna bro toh meri hi class yahi peich le lega...' finally walking off leaving both Arjun and Arohi looking at the empty space. The awkwardness between them was obvious, after what seemed like forever they gradually turning towards each other. After a slight glance Arjun finally broke the silence between them...

** **

Dhadkane jab badhne lagein aur saansein bhi shor karne lagein
nazrein jab kisi ki nazaron mein rukne lagein
saare alam ki hulchul jab thamne lage
Aisi bhi hoti hain khamoshiyaan...

Dil mein jab bechaini badhne lage
bin kahe sab kuch samajh aane lage
saari duniya ka hosh jab khone lage
Aisi bhi hoti hain khamoshiyaan...

koi apna jab khud se door hone lage
kehne ko jab koi alfaaz bhi na rahein
kuch hone ki umeed bhi khone lage
Aisi bhi hoti hain khamoshiyaan...

kisi ke sawaal mein har jawaab nagawaar hone lage
band aankhon se bhi tasveer dihayi dene lage
nazrein jab ahista ahista se nam si hone lagein
Aisi bhi hoti hain khamoshiyaan...

koi kisi ke liye hai jeeta
par kisi ko iski khabar bhi nahin
ban ke hawa koi saansein hai deta
aur kisi ko iski kadar bhi nahin
koi sajde lakh karke kisi ke liye dua hai maangta
aur kisi par asar bhi nahin
Aisi bhi hoti hain khamoshiyaan...

chahkar bhi keh nahin payein
aur zara sa sabar bhi nahin
bas samajhne ko hi reh jaaye
aur kehne ko kuch bhi nahin
Aisi bhi hoti hain khamoshiyaan...