FF: And it's payback time... Chapter 7 - Page 34 - Page 16

Khushi is flustered by the feelings Arnav stirs in her, and he is relentless in his pursuit of her since The Bet (Shart) they set before the Sangeet. They're discovering their feelings, still testing the waters...

Chapter 1: Khushi asks Arnav to stay away from her, in an effort to bring some sanity. Arnav is in no way pleased but knows she'll be back asking for more. He stays away as asked, getting her all worked up. And finds her by the poolside... practising her apology

Chapter 2: Arnav confronts Khushi and in her surprise, she nearly falls but Arnav comes to her rescue. He notices the "A" on her henna'd hand... and Khushi in her embarrassment runs up the stairs. Arnav stops her... and they kiss by the stairs. But the fear in Khushi's eyes bothers Arnav...

Chapter 3: Khushi breaks free and run away, leaving Arnav frustrated. She collides into Shyam, who doesn't miss the opportunity to taunt her, knowing she can't expose him. Khushi head butts him in self defence. She escapes to Arnav's room, and Arnav who is inside, confronts her about her running off, and on seeing the bruises on her arms, questions her about them. Unable to contain her fear, she lets go.

Chapter 4: Khushi's tears bring out Arnav's softer side... He tries to get her to tell him what happened but Khushi is understandably hesitant because this is about Shyam. Arnav senses it and in the course of the conversation, when Khushi is mumbling incoherently about how she tried to tell Anjali earlier, he deduces that his Jija ji, Shyam, is the culprit and was Khushi' fianc! He promises her that she's not alone.

Chapter 5: Arnav and Khushi reflect over the events... she thinks of the past, realises that life in a way has come a full circle. Her nemesis is now her protector. She's no longer battling alone. Arnav on the other hand is thinking more about the future course of action. When they're interrupted by Anjali, Arnav has a brainwave! He acts like something's up between Khushi and him, and Anjali who's anyway fond of Khushi, warms to the thought.

"Whaa... no! I can manage Arnav ji," Khushi squealed and nodded her head sideways vigorously! What was this Laad Governor up to?!

"Well the least I can do considering you're wearing an A on your hand... for me," he cut in smoothly and pointed to the henna'd alphabet.

Anjali couldn't suppress her excitement any longer, "You two... such dark horses! Here we are all set to get Aakash and Payal married and the both of you are up to... Is there something you want to tell me?!"

Arnav was again faster to react than Khushi... he pulled Khushi closer, and smiled at Anjali... "Di... we're hungry... you might want to get us some food first before starting an interrogation."

"Of course, silly me!" said Anjali, as she tapped her forehead. "But I will be back soon and then there's no hiding anything, okay? I want details!"

Khushi looked at Arnav's profile, as he looked at Anjali and nodded in agreement. What ace did he have up his sleeve? She wasn't sure... but she's going to trust him on this.

As she saw Anjali's retreating figure, Khushi pounced on Arnav... "What were you trying to do just now?"

Arnav, fearing that his Di might still be within earshot, gently pushed Khushi against the door, so it would look like he was getting cosy, before he cupped her chin and silenced her with his thumb on her soft lips. Sensing the tension in her body, and the surprise in her eyes, he moved closer till his lips were but an inch from her ear, "Khushi... Di might hear you... now before she gets here with the thali, I'll tell you what's up... but you're going to have to trust me on this. You will, won't you?"

Wide-eyed, Khushi tried to slow her breathing and pulse. She nodded meekly, unsure if she was allowed to speak yet. Arnav could feel the nod of her head, as her chin tapped his broad shoulder.

He moved back slightly, still holding her, and gazed into her big, brown eyes. Khushi looked back at him... she couldn't help staring at his brown, the honey-colored flecks in them contrasting with the near-black pupils.

Gosh! She looked so desirable! Arnav sucked in air, and slowly moved the pad of his thumb over her lips, causing them to part slightly.

She gulped...and all she could now think about was that kiss they'd shared earlier that day. Was he going to finish what he'd started before she ran off?

He stopped abruptly, "Khushi, much as I'd like to kiss you senseless right now, we have to talk before Di returns."

"So this will have to do for now," he added, before gently brushing her lips with his. "We're in this together, okay?"

She nodded again, too caught up in the moment, unable to speak. Moving away from the door, while he shut it, she walked towards the bed.

Arnav's mind was working overtime, at supersonic speed. He joined her, and spoke rapidly, "You said Jija ji came and apologized for whatever happened, and your family and you decided to give him another chance. And when you came over to tell Di, you realised it might break her, and didn't go through with it. Thanks for doing that ' you're right, she wouldn't have been able to deal with it."

She looked at him in surprise... what was this man out to do? Make her fall in love with him? Hei Devi Maiyya... sorry, thank you, promises to protect her, being so understanding... she was done for!

He went on, "We can't risk telling Di right away... but we will have to tell her eventually, and we'll figure out how. For now, we should get Jija ji to realise that you're not available to him... I doubt that will change much in his relationship with Di... after all, if he'd really repented, he might have come out clean and asked her for forgiveness."

"Arnav ji, I don't think he ever meant to do that... when I think back now, I realise that he deliberately mentioned that Di... I mean Anjali ji was really hyper, terribly demanding and the whole Raizada family was very condescending. He wanted my sympathy, and tried to give me the impression that his life was a living hell, and he was trapped in this marriage."

For a second, Arnav was pleased to hear Khushi refer to his sister as "Di" like he did, but what she said got his goat! He clenched his fist, gritting his teeth, and wished he could just walk over and thulp the living daylights out of that creep!

"The b*****d! He will pay big time!" Arnav growled. "Nothing can be further from the truth..." How dare he resort to such lies ' misuse their kindness and generosity, betray his Di... he couldn't wait to tell Di about it, and get her away from him!

Khushi reached out to comfort him, sensing his anger and the pain behind it. "I'm glad we spoke when we did... he was threatening to stop Jiji's wedding... I was tired of fighting all this by myself. But I know we can sort this out... and in a way that won't hurt Anjali ji too much."

He looked at her with new found respect. This girl had been through hell, but was so resilient. She had picked herself up after being betrayed so badly, and was more worried about his Di now. Her optimism that it would all turn out fine was even more admirable!

"Khushi... I don't want Shyam to know we've spoken for now. I want you to avoid him as much as you can... always ensure someone is around and you're never alone with him. The fewer the people who know about our plan, the better... don't bother your folks just now, they're caught up with the wedding. Aakash and Payal, we can talk to once they return from their honeymoon ' let them enjoy their shaadi. So it's just you, me and maybe NK."

Her surprise was evident.

"I know... you think I can't stand the guy... most times, he gets to me... but he's a nice chap at heart, and I know I can count on him," he offered in the form of an explanation.

She smiled back, and said, "Hmm... ok, I'm fine with that. I like Nanhe ji. He's very nice!"

"Whatever..." Arnav cut in, trying to hide his envy. "But he's just helping us, okay? He's going to keep a watch on Jija ji and make sure you're safe ONLY when I'm not around. But the deal is that for now, we're going fake an engagement, okay?"

"That will hopefully get him off your back for good, and in the meantime, I'm going to have Jiju investigated so I can speak to Di with evidence in hand about all the other things he might be up to!" Arnav added.

She looked at him in shock! "Fake an engagement? I can't do that... what does that even mean?"

"Well Khushi, you know it's very simple... we act like we're in love, and then get engaged. It won't be difficult ' we're like each other, and the attraction is powerful, to put it mildly." He smirked, thinking about their kiss... "I will convince everyone that we want a long courtship, and not set an early wedding date. We'll use that time to expose Shyam... and once he's out of Di's life for good, we can drop the pretence."

"Whaaat?!" Khushi felt like someone had just slapped her hard in the face. What was he trying to do?! He was so caring, passionate... she was falling in love with him, and here he was breaking her heart, asking her to fake an engagement... not realizing how difficult it would be for her!

"What Whaaat?" he queried, confused by her reaction.

"I can't see this through... I've been through one broken engagement already. You don't know how people talk ' how insensitive they can be!" she cried.

Unnerved by her tears, Arnav replied, "I... uh... didn't think of it that way. But Khushi, what do you want then? We can't get engaged and married for real... you know I'm not the marrying kind... we want different things out of life."

Wiping her tears, she stared at him, and spoke quietly, "Don't bother Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada, I'll manage just fine without your help!"

"Hang on, Khushi... I don't want to hurt you... just laying my cards out on the table, so there's no misunderstanding," he clarified, gruffly.

Just then Anjali knocked on the door. "Chhote, Khushi ji... your food's here. Sorry it took long, but I wanted Hari Prakash to make fresh puris for you both."

"Khushi, we don't have much time to ponder over this... unless you have a better plan, I'm going with this one," Arnav spoke impatiently, as he headed to open the door.

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And it's payback time - Index

Chapter 1:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/52377401

Chapter 2:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/52427812

Chapter 3:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/53558451

Chapter 4:

https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/53735360

Chapter 5:

https://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2753098&PID=53914579&#53914579

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Index ' My other work:

His to take? (Arhi Marriage FF)

https://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2793839&PID=53266234�

Tum theek ho na? (2-part SS)

https://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2758856&PID=52566862�

And then he shut the door (OS)

https://www.india-forums.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2749279&PID=52266803�