Ch 8 Updated Page 18! Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi--Arhi FF - Page 12

The next morning Arnav and Khushi awoke without so much as a peep. As Khushi saw Arnav head towards the bathroom with his towel, Khushi remembered last night's events as a slight blush crept on her cheeks. She heard the door knock and she got up to see who it could have been.

"Good morning bhabiji!" Anjali teased Khushi. Khushi replied, "Good morning Di." Arnav walked out of the bathroom dressed in a grey suit and started organizing his briefcase when Anjali continued to speak, "Hum yahaan aap ki madat karne aaye hain. Aap ke haaton mein abhi dard hai na, iss liye. Vaise, aapko iss night gown mein dekke pata chal gaya ke Chotey ne aap ke kapro utarne mein madat ki hain, lekin unfortunately humare bhai ko na sari sirf utarne aati hain, pehna nahi." Anjali began giggling and Arnav and Khushi looked down embarrassed. "Areh," began Anjali, "Sharmane ki koi baat nahi hai. Aap dono pati patni hain. Jao Khushi, shower le lijiye, phir hum aapko sari pehnane mein madat karte hain." Khushi nodded, still very embarrassed, and entered the bathroom. Anjali heard the shower turn on and she took a seat nect to Arnav on the bed.

"Chotey…thank you…" said Anjali. Arnav gave her a confused look and said, "Kyun? Kiss liye thank you?" Anjali smirked at her younger brother and retorted, "Khushi ki kayal rakne ke liye, usse sahara dene ke liye. Hum jaante hain ki yeh saab tumhare liye aasan nahi hain, per phir bhi tum koshish kar rahe ho iss liye thank you. Tum dekh na, ek din tum aur Khushi, ek dusre ke baigaar reh bhi nahi payenge. Khushi ek bauhat aacche aur pyaari ladki hain. Tum dono bauhat alag hain, per zara soocho, agar tum thoda koshish kar ke dekho toh tum dono ki zindagi khushiyom se bhar jayengi. Khushi ka dil bauhat baara hain, aur even though voh tumse nafrat karti thi, ab unke dil mein tum ne apna jaga banaya hain. Aur dehkna, ek din, unke dil mein sirf tumhare jaage hi nahi, tum unke dil pe raj karonge. Aur hum toh apne Chotey ko bauhat aache se jante hain. Toh humko yeh bhi pata chal gaya hain ke tumhara dil mein bhi Khushi apni jaage dheere dheere bana rahi hain…aur ek din, voh bhi tumhare dil pe raj karengi. Arnav gave Anjali a puzzled look. "Di please…phir se voh sari baatein…" Arnav replied. Anjali just smiled and waited until Khushi came out shower and called for Anjali. Anjali went into the bathroom and helped Khushi put on her chaniya, blouse, and the bottom part of her baby pink sari. Anjali was just about to pin Khushi's pallu when she heard Nani call her from downstairs. Anjali held the pallu down and walked Khushi outside of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Arnav was taken aback a bit by the fact that Khushi had not finished dressing yet. "Chotey, humko niche jaana hain. Tum zaara yeh pallu pin kardo na. Thanks. Ok, chalte hain," said Anjali said swiftly. Khushi drew towards the mirror and looked down trying to avoid any further embarrassment. When she looked up into the mirror, she saw Arnav standing directly behind her. He heard began to beat fast and her breaths were shorter. She knew that even his proximity had the most dramatic effects on her. As he bent down to pick up the safety pin from the dresser, Arnav caught a glimpse of Khushi and the two locked eyes. Arnav retreated to his former position and gently pinned the pallu of Khushi's sari to her blouse. She felt his breath on her neck and chills went up her spine. Arnav caught a glimpse of Khushi's expression and he too realized how his closeness was affecting her. His attention was then averted to the untied dori on the back of Khushi's blouse. In the process of collected to the ends of the string, Arnav unintentionally caressed Khushi's back. "Hai Devi Maiyya!" was all Khushi could muster in her thoughts. Arnav used his right hand to pulled Khushi's long tresses to rest on her right shoulder. As Arnav was about to tie the dori, he noticed something on the top right corner of Khushi's back. A dark brown bruise previously covered by her long tresses was now visible to a very shocked Arnav. He ran his fingers over the bruise and Khushi winced in pain as she remembered her encounter with Shyam from the previous day. "Khushi…yeh chot tumhe kaisi lagi?" Although she knew exactly what her husband was talking about, Khushi tried to act dumb and said, "Kya? Konsi chot?" Arnav read Khushi's lie and said, "Tumhe aachi tara se pata hain ke main kiss chot ki bare mein baat kar raha hoon. Itna bara choot…kaise?" Khushi continued in her attempt to hide the truth from Arnav. "Sach mein…humko pata nahi tah ke chot hain…" Arnav didn't really buy Khushi's excuse, but he let it go thinking to himself that she probably had a clumsy moment that she was too embarrassed to share with him. Little did he know that his own brother-in-law had inflicted such a wound on his wife. Arnav and Khushi walked downstairs where everyone was gathered for the morning aarti. As Khushi entered the mandir to join the rest, Arnav took his normal spot at the closest sitting area and picked up the newspaper like always. Had his Jijaji not requested him to participate in the aarti yesterday, he would have never shown. Khushi wore a disappointed look as she slipped off her sandals and walked into mandir. "Hai Devi Maiyya! Aap kuch na kuch kar ke Arnavji ko aarti mein laaye na," Khushi prayed silently. She stood next to Nani and Akash, trying to stay as far away from Shyam as possible. Nani looked at Khushi who responded with a small smile. Nani spoke, "Aacha hua ke aap ke haathon jal jaye…"

"Kya?!" Khushi asked shocked. "Haan," Nani continued, "Kum se kum iss bahane se Chotey aap se pyaar se pesh aa rahe hain. Anjali bitiyan ne bataya humko ke Chotey ne tumhari kitni madat ki hain…" Nani winked at Khushi, and this was not unnoticed by the rest of the family. Everyone but Shyam, who was fuming at the thought of Arnav helping Khushi dress and undress, was giggling and smirking. Khushi blushed hard and even Arnav was embarrassed as he was listening in on the conversation.

"Areh, lekin ek baat toh Chotey bhool gaye!" Nani exclaimed. "Chotey! Idar aao, humme kuch kam hain."

Arnav grudgingly made his way into the mandir. Nani stated, "Chotey, vaise tum ne Khushi ko aache se tayar kiya hain, lekin ek ahem cheez toh aap bhool gaye." Arnav and Khushi waited in silence for Nani's intervention. Nani took the small silver dhabbi of sindoor from the pooja taali and held it out in front of Arnav. Arnav understood and without arguing, he took a pinch of the red powder in between his index finger and thumb and hovered his hand about his wife's head. At the sight of this, Shyam's fists began to fold and his face communicated rage. While the other family members watched smiling at the beautiful couple, Arnav pressed his fingers against Khushi's forehead and smeared the sindoor on her, marking her as his own. His wife, and no one else's. Khushi opened her closed eyes and looked up at Arnav. Her eyes spoke to him. They communicated respect for him and his every sacrifice. She realized then just how much he had done for her. He, a man who didn't believe in the institution of marriage, married a woman who he claimed to hate, all for her and her family's happiness. Not only had he claimed responsibility of her, he had taken care of her and treated her well. "Hum jaante hain ke aap bauhat aache insaan hain. Aap ki patni hone ke naate hum vaada karte hain ke aap ke chehre pein haseen lagenye…chahe jitna bhi mehnat karna pare…chahe kitna hum ko sehna pare. Hum Shyaam ko bhi sehne ki liye tayar hain, takhair aap ko aur Di ko koyi pareshani na aaye. "Chotey, ab aap aa hi gaye hain toh aarti ki liye rukh jaiye," Nani told Arnav.