IPKKND FF:Tearing Ourselves Apart Parts 1-26 :) - Page 68

Shyam had watched them lost in eachother and he felt everything that he had worked for slowly slipping from his reach. Arnavs hands were wound around her waist and he could see how Khushi was breathing hard against his chest in the dim light, holding on tightly to his shoulders as he rest his head against her cheek.

Arnav was not going to steal her away from him. He had spent so long planning it all, gone through the trouble of juggling two lives for her sake. So that he would end up with her. He had not done all of that to now be staring at her dancing with some other man.

"Rani Sahiba, who knew Sale Saab was such a good dancer."

Anjali looked back from where she was to see her brother resting his head on Khushi, moving swiftly and slowly across the room. They looked perfect together.

"They look so sweet together" She smiled.
Shyam chose to ignore her comment, he was not in the mood to hear more about how Khushi fit perfectly into Arnav's arms. That much he could see for himself, and it did not please him.

"You should ask Sale Saab for a dance" he suggested.

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Arnav jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and he subsequently felt Khushi's weight lift off of his feet as she stepped down and away from him. He almost reached back out for her, disappointed at the lack of her touch but he turned at the insistence of the hand on his shoulder to find his sisters expectant face, holding out her other hand towards him, asking for a dance.

Before he could say anything she had pulled him towards herself.
"I am not begging you for a dance c'mon."

He looked back at Khushi, an apology evident in his eyes as he walked away from her and Shyam, being dragged along by his sister. He kept looking back at them as he saw Khushi start to edge away uncomfortable from the dancefloor.

"Dance with me?"

Khushi turned to see Shyam holding his hand out to her, exactly the person she had been trying to subtly avoid was now asking her to dance. She nervously looked around her to see that a few people were looking at them, so was Anjali, her eyes fixed in their general direction as Arnav faced away from them.

"You have lost your mind" Khushi muttered at him through sealed lips, hoping that nobody caught her remark.

"Khushiji, don't take everything so negatively, look.." he pointed up "your husband is dancing with my wife, I am your brother-in-law, just a friendly dance" he said, reaching his hand out to her again.

"No."

"Khushiji..."

"I said NO! And it doesn't matter how sweet you try and make your voice sound, I am not changing my mind, get away from me!"

Arnav heard her voice behind him and he turned to see Shyam holding his hand out to Khushi and her backing away. He let go of his sisters hands.

"What happened Chote?" she called before he could walk away.

He quickly looked behind him as he saw Shyam take a step towards her, he could feel the anger start to build up inside him, bringing back the throbbing in his head that he had only just been rid of after his dance with Khushi.

She placed her hand back around his "Give me a spin?" she asked as she picked up his hand and playfully twirled under it.

"Don't touch me, how many times do I have to say it before you understand me? Which part don't you get?" she harshly strained at him.

"Khushiji you are overeacting, it's just a dance, I told Rani Sahiba we were going to dance, what will you tell her?" he said, lying through his teeth.

She looked nervously at Anjali who was busy laughing and twirling under her brothers hand. What she wouldn't do to keep her happy for as long as possible. She shook her head, this was too far.

"No, I don't care what you said to her, I am NOT dancing with you, leave me alone, your act is getting old, I don't know what you want from me anymore."

His patience was wearing thin, who was she to refuse him so many times when he loved her, he was being nothing but nice, did she think she was above him? She was his and she didn't have the right to refuse that. He roughly grabbed her by the wrist, ignoring her protests as he dragged her along behind him and took the few steps onto the wooden clearing.

"Let go of me, I said let go of me! I swear to you I will scream out loud."

"It's just a dance Khushiji" he said, knowing that it was an empty threat as he turned around grabbing her second wrist, staring at her beauty enhanced by the flickering candlelight and reflection from the snow through the windows. She struggled against his hands.

A laughing Anjali twirled again under her brothers hand as he looked around to find the spot where his wife had previously stood empty.

"Ahhh!"

Arnav quickly turned back around at the sound of his sisters cry as she threw her hands up to her hair, watching as it tumbled out of the pin that was holding it up in its bun as she had hit it against his arm. She looked up at him.

"Chote, just give me a minute please, I need to fix my hair, I won't be too long" she said as she walked back towards the bathrooms, holding her hair up in her hands.

Khushi watched Anjali walk away as she continued to struggle against Shyams hands, why was this so important to him? It was just a dance, like he had so sweetly put just a few moments ago.

Arnav felt his rage bubble over as he finally spotted them in a corner of the clearing after having frantically scanned the dimly lit room, Shyam was holding Khushi by the hands and he could make out her angry expression against her fear. Covering the steps between them in a just over a few strides he leant back without thinking even for a second and landed a strong punch straight against Shyams jaw who fell back from the force of it, still clinging on to Khushi.

He had been waiting to do that for so long.

He didn't care what the consequences were, the feeling he had was worth it.

He watched as Khushi began to fall over along with Shyam who was holding on to her and he reached out, grabbing her before she toppled over and he straightened her up as she shook from the sight of him.

Arnav looked over her quickly, checking if she was okay and was shocked by the pair of hands that grabbed him from the side and shoved him away from her before feeling the striking pain as something slammed against his jaw.

Khushi gasped as she watched Shyam punch Arnav back as he was ripped away from her. What was going on, everything was happening so quickly. The next thing she knew she saw Arnav leap at Shyam and she only watched helplessly as they both landed straight on to a table, crashing it to the ground along with all the glassware that lay on its top that shattered to the ground in a mess.

She nervously looked back at up the door to the bathrooms and quickly prayed that it remain closed as Arnav and Shyam rolled around on the floor in a fit of fists and shoves, Anjali could be out any moment. They needed to stop this.

She looked apologetically at the restaurant staff who were shocked by all the commotion, bending down and tugging on Arnavs shoulder who was on top of his brother in law now, holding him by the neck.

"Arnav let's go, let's go" she pleaded.

"You son of a ... I told you, I bloody warned you" he shouted in his rage.

She tugged harder and he slowly let go off Shyam, standing up as his head rushed from the sudden flow of blood to it. His lower lip was bleeding and he had a few marks on his skin where Shyam had hit him.

Arnav looked over at Khushi as he stood up, grabbing her by the shoulders "Are you okay?"

She tutted in response, how could he ask that when he was the one who had just broken a few glasses, a table and got punched more than once?

She held on strongly to his shoulders in reply and half pushed him towards the door, avoiding Anjali before she managed to come back outside. She knew they didn't have to worry about what she would think, Shyam had become way too good at lying to not be able to hide this from her, he would make up some excuse, better than anything they would have been able to think of.

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Arnav took a huge breath in as the cold air hit him, cooling his anger and redirecting the pain away from his bruises as he stepped outside. The throbbing in his head was back so he started walking towards the large clearing of trees and snow across the road, persuading an erratic Khushi to almost jog to keep up with him.

"What was that?" she furiously shouted at him from a few paces behind so that he could hear her through the wind and snow.

He only continued walking, taking in the cold air and letting it rid him of his headache as she struggled to keep up with him through the snow.

"Hey!" she called out to him, heeding no response.

He finally stopped and she came to a standstill behind him, wondering what was going on.

"What was that? You can't just attack people like that."

"He isn't just anyone."

She stood still, surprised because he didn't sound as angry as she had expected him to be. He turned back around, a relieved and very small smile slowly playing across his face.

"You have no idea how long I waited to do that."

He watched her expression change from anger to annoyance, she looked stunning, the colours of her dress in a stark contrast to her skin and the snow around her.

Khushi ran up to him and hit him on his shoulder "You hit him because you wanted to? Arnav ji, you can't just go around doing things like that"

"You just hit me" he pointed out, looking her up and down.

Khushi rolled her eyes "You know it's not the same thing."

He only looked down at the snow, happy to be rid of his headache after such a long time.

She watched him think as he gazed as the snow under his shoes. Slowly, she raised her hand up to his face, lightly tracing his cut lip with her cold fingers. He froze as she continued to trace the edges of the light bruises that were starting to build up around his forehead and cheeks. He flinched when she brought her hand back down his bleeding lip.

She looked him in the eyes as he did the same, sighing as she let her hand drop.

"We should go back, get your cut cleaned up" she said, turning around and walking back towards the car without even checking if he was following her.

By the time they saw the road again Shyam and Anjali's car was gone, so they took their time settling in to their own.

"Are you okay to drive?" she asked, concerned as he only looked back at her annoyed.

"I am not aksing for you Mr Arnav Singh Raizada, I know you are some sort of superhuman, throwing people on to tables and throwing punches whenever you like, and car accidents may not affect you, but some normal people" she looked over at him "like me" she pointed out "don't like to put ourselves in life threatening situations for no reason."

He started the car with a tiny smile on his face, muttering to himself.

"You are so far from normal."

"Did you say something?"

Arnav only shook his head as he continued to drive through the snow.

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I was going to end the update here, but I thought I would be nice and post it all together and just update later than usual for the next bit x

After they had been driving for a while and were fast approaching the hotel, Khushi felt her curiosity get the best of her.

"Why did you hit him?"

Arnavs hand tightened their grip on the steering wheel as he only stared straight ahead in silence.

"I mean, he is still Anjali's husband, you can't lose control like that"

He slammed on the brakes as he parked the car, turning in his seat, anger evident in her eyes.

"Don't tell me what I can and cannot do" he shouted, shaking from anger as he remembered all that Shyam had done to her. Why did she have to question him like that? He didn't need to be reminded of all the harm his brother-in-law had caused and he didn't need a lecture on how to behave. He was not a child.

She froze from the shock of his unexpected anger and only watched as he stepped out of the car and closed the door behind him with a slam.

She, however, was not one to be outdone. This was not just any old Arnav anger, this was Arnav, her husband, angry over something he could not control. She knew him too well to be offended any more by his anger outbursts, it was a part of him, a part of him that she would have to come to love.

It was just like his mother had said in the sweet letter she had written to her future daughter-in-law. Deal with his anger and return all his love.

At the time she had not understood, it was because she had only seen the anger and never felt the love. She had felt so upset that she was taking away all the dreams his mother had seen for him, she had probably been watching down on them when he had married her out of requirement.

Today, it was different. She had seen both sides, and she was more than ready to accept it all. She wanted him, all of him, every part. The good, the bad, all the anger, all the pain, and all the trust, care and love that accompanied it.

She ran up to him, keeping up with his fast pace.

"You were right" she said, shocking him with her words.

"What are you talking about?"

"What you did was right, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have questioned it."

He looked over at her, wondering what she was getting at as they walked through the corridor to the door of their room. He let her step inside before following her through the door.

Khushi watched as he went to rest on their bed, closing his eyes and breathing heavily, if he didn't have his forehead creased from worry, she would have mistaken him for sleeping.

"Get up."

A shocked Arnav opened his eyes at her words, What the hell?

"Please?" she quickly added as she saw his face begin to show anger, she was holding a small first aid box she had spent the last few minutes searching for, having finally found it in the bathroom cabinet.

"I'm fine" he said, resting his head back down and closing his eyes as he felt the pain from all his bruises.

He was surprised when he felt her small hands hold him by the shoulders, slowing easing him up against the pillow. He knew as she started to settle herself in the small space on the bed next to him that there was no point in arguing with her so he watched as she started taking out the things she needed from the little box, tending to the cuts on his face and bottom lip.

He flinched when he felt the cut burn and she worriedly looked up at his eyes, he could tell she was still a bit angry from what he had done and he appreciated that she was keeping it to herself. Knowing Khushi, he understood that keeping quiet was a feat.

"You have got to be more careful."

"Spare me the lecture Khushi, I don't need it."

She sighed as she finished up, going to put the box back. Once she closed the door she sat on the floor, kneeling with her arms wrapped around her knees. Resting her head against the wall behind her she closed her eyes and started to think of him.

How far they had come from when they had first met, it seemed like so long ago, the night of her sisters engagement when she had fallen right into his arms. She had seen anger that night, and it was all she saw for a very long time. He was cruel and ruthless.

She couldn't pinpoint when it had all changed, she had hated him for so long but then all of sudden, she didn't anymore. It took her long to understand it, mistaking her feelings for all the dhak dhak and acidity. Those memories were wonderful, when she could feel herself falling slowly for him, everything he did was different, she wanted him around, and he always seemed to be there when she had needed him.

It had all changed when she had told him about Shyam, she didn't know where they would have ended up if she had never found out about him. He might have succeeded in his plan to destroy both her and Anjali's life.

Thinking back, she felt she could not even remember how her life had been without him. Every moment she remembered was somehow linked to him. One thing she did remember, was herself.

Khushi Kumari Gupta, or Chamkili as Lavanya had put it.

She missed that carefree girl, who always spoke her mind. Deep inside she knew she was still that Khushi, but she didn't like the feeling of having to live in fear of Shyam, she despised herself for it. She hated that she couldn't be like her old self anymore as much as she tried and it brought a smile to her face everytime she felt she was reminiscent of that girl.

She reassured herself that it was all going to be okay, she would be that Khushi again, she still had the heart, and the tongue, she added, laughing sadly to herself.

"Chamkili" she whispered, smiling to herself. She liked that name, she felt it suited her. She felt a hollowness inside her as she started to miss her old life. She wouldn't take it back, because she knew that would mean giving up Arnav, but she missed it.

She missed her sister and her parents, all the moments she had shared with them, all the conversations she had had with her Jiji under the covers at night, how they had poured their hearts out to eachother and laughed until their stomachs hurt. How they had woken up each morning to eachother, cared for eachother, loved eachother so much. She missed Lavanya, all the fun they had had, all the times they had spent, learning so much from eachother. It was all gone and she wanted it back.

She was not made for this life, a life full of lies and deceit. Where she didn't know what to do, whether she was even important. She wanted to rest in her Babuji's arms, have him pat her head and tell her it was all going to be allright.

She stood up, with a heavy heart and walked back in to the room, watching him breathe with his eyes closed and his hand resting on his chest. She knew he was worth it all.

Turning the light off she went to rest next to him on top of the bed covers, turning to her side and watching him as she struggled to take in enough air to breathe. Her chest felt so heavy and constricted. The only light in the room was the faint glow from the fairy lights bordering the large windows, she watched him as she slowly snuggled closer and closer to him, wanting to feel his presence next to her even when she closed eyes.

He saw her when her eyelashes fluttered, feeling them against the skin of his arm and he looked next to him to find her lying inches away from him, curled up. He smiled to himself, cringing at the pain in his lips when he did. He felt her shaking hand press against his arm, prompting him to slowly wrap his hand around hers and pull it over his chest, bringing her along with it so she was now lying across him.

She only kept her eyes closed, warming up at the touch of him on her, feeling her skin rush with blood as she blushed and clutching at his shirt, holding on tight like she had to know he was there, so she could feel how much her life was worth with him in it.

He rested his chin on the top of her head as he wrapped his arm around her back, holding her back with just as much strength.

"Are you allright?" he whispered in her hair, thinking she might still be shaken up from the fight earlier.

She nodded against him "I just feel tired of it all."

"Me too" he agreed.

The lay in silence for a while, both thinking that the other was sound asleep when Khushi's whispering voice broke the silence "Arnavji?" she asked nervously.

He pressed his hand against her back in response to show he was listening.

"What do we do?"

He thought for a minute, finally making up his mind, opening his eyes to the darkness.

"Tomorrow" he whispered back "We tell Di tomorrow"

She only held on tighter to him, in fear of what was to come, as she fell asleep in his arms.