FF: Arnav and Khushi On their way to Happily ever after
Chapter 12
Khushi woke up, confused. Things were a little fuzzy in her head and she wasn't sure where she was. She just remembered feeling really devastated.
Yawning, she stretched and realized that there was something heavy resting on her shoulders. She looked down and blinked. Surely that wasn't an arm?
Moving her eyes, she saw that the arm was attached to a body and the body was resting right next to hers, his body slumped awkwardly. Arnavji'
Instinctively she yanked herself away from him, blushing at the intimacy of their embrace. Her heart beating fast, she tried to order her thoughts. This meant nothing; he probably fell asleep beside her because she was in his bed and he hadn't wanted to disturb her; he'd shown her this kind of courtesy before.
That didn't explain, though, why he wouldn't let go of her hand. She tried to extract her fingers from his grip but he only tightened his hand and held on. She tried again.
One by one, she slowly extracted her fingers and quietly backed away. Arnavji frowned in his sleep, and turned towards her. She sat utterly still, wondering if he was waking up; he only murmured something and shifted into a more comfortable position.
Sighing with relief, she got off the bed and went to refresh herself.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Arnav blearily blinked his eyes. They burned. A moment of disorientation later, he remembered where he was. His hand tightened around Khushi's' or where her hand should've been.
Panic set in. He got up, looking wildly around. Khushi where are you?
The sound of water trickling made him realize she hadn't gone anywhere further than the washroom. He slumped back with relief. Dammit, me ne sona nahi tha!
He wondered what he would do when the time came. Probably throw himself at her and carry her back'nah, too naederthal' well, he was naerderthal where Khushi was concerned, but that would probably scare her and destroy what little image he had left.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
He rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes. In seconds, he was asleep.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Khushi emerged quietly and glanced around. Arnavji was now sitting up but apparently fast asleep. She tip toed out of the room.
Her heart was heavy, her head full of thoughts and there was only one place she could imagine taking out all her tension: the kitchen.
So, even though it was quite early, she went to work on making loads and loads of jaleebis, taking care to make them sugar free. Time flew and by the time she'd finished the last set, her mind was clearer and full of optimism. Come what may, she was ready to face it.
Or well, most of it. She didn't think she'd survive the parting but it seemed more and more that the Bali-contingency plan would be required. Perhaps she could take Ammaji, Buaji and Babuji with her; that way, Jiji would have to visit ' and with her, the rest of the Raizada parivar. So, nothing much lost, really. And she could always spy on Arnavji and pretend she hadn't seen him if they came across.
She realized she'd eaten half a plate of the crispy jaleebis when she bit her own finger. Hm kia kren Devi Maiya? Hm inhe nahi chorna chahtay' aur Bali to hm bilkul nahi jana chahtay... un ke beghair'
She'd wanted to go to Bali, ever since Naniji had provided them with the tickets for honeymoon; of course, Arnavji had torn them. But she had lots of memories associated with them and'
She bit her own finger again, realizing with a start that she'd been pacing around the kitchen, finishing off more jaleebis. She forced herself to stop and take a deep, deep breath.
Just then, Hari Prekashji came inside. 'Khushi didi, Naniji ka phone tha' wo Anjali Didi or Payal Didi ko le kr wapis a rhe hain. Ap unke lia nashta bana den.'
'Ji Hari Prekashji.' She nodded. It was a good thing Naniji had ordered breakfast; at the rate she was going, she would've ended up eating the entire confection and gotten sick.
She got to work.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Anjali was tired, aching and utterly annoyed. And this time, she knew it wasn't hormones; it was the annoying questions Naniji, Buaji and Ammaji, who'd arrived early, kept asking. Questions regarding her husband and his absence.
She didn't want to talk about' no, she didn't want to even think about that stupid, lying, cheating, unfaithful bas***d! The scoundrel!!!
Truth was it hurt to think about him and what he'd done. And the fact that he was absent, well, it clearly showed her that their relationship, if there ever had been one, was finished.
But just because she'd accepted that didn't mean she was feeling upto the task of explaining the entire thing to Naniji and Payal's family. Besides, it wasn't only her story to tell; Chotay and Khushiji needed to get in their word.
Of the three of them, Khushiji had obviously suffered the most at his hands; she'd broken her family's trust, lost her standing, suffered the shame of having married without family's consent and most important of all, Chotay had married her for all the wrong reasons.
If anyone deserved to be heard more than her, it was Khushiji. Both families had forgiven her and accepted her but she was innocent and she shouldn't have been blamed in the first place.
So, instead of answering their queries, she pretended to fall asleep. Or not really pretend. They'd been kept up all night to check for concussions and the darkness soon turned deeper and a soft snore escaped her lips.
Nani turned to see Payal Bitya and Anjali Bitya sleeping on each other. She smiled; poor girls. She trusted Arnav Bitwa would've handled whoever was responsible for this.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Arnav was up and cursing himself for losing time he could've spent with Khushi in useless sleep when De and Payal arrived. In the commotion that followed, with Mamiji going into hysterics again and Buaji bursting into tears about Payal's condition, he didn't get a chance to spend any time with her.
They were seated before the table before they realized it and he saw that Khushi had outdone herself; there was so much food that the entire table was filled. Khushi insisted she had done it because she was so happy De and her Jiji were back home but he rather thought she was just plain tense. After all, it was the last day of their contract and'
'she will be leaving me forever! The thought hit him like a jackhammer and whatever appetite he had fled. Instead, he just looked over the table at Khushi, repeating the words over and over. If he said it often enough, perhaps he would believe them.
She wasn't eating either, he noted somewhat dimly; she was playing with dupatta and avoiding his eyes. He felt her eyes on him when he looked away but she hurriedly glanced away when he turned towards her.
This was getting stupid. He stood up, intending to whisk her away, whatever means he had to use. Everyone glanced at him and he realized, suddenly, that he'd been having breakfast with an entire group of people. Funny, it hadn't felt that way to him.
Mentally shaking his head, he forced himself to focus. 'I'm sorry, kia?'
De eyed him pleadingly. He wondered what his family had been talking about. Mamiji spoke up, 'Hello hi, bye bye, e chot to Anjali bitiya ke sr pe awat hai, tmre ser ko ka huat?'
He raised an eyebrow, looking at Aakash for guidance. 'Bhai, ye sb poch rahay thay ke is accident ke baray me ap ne kia kia ha'' he glanced apologetically at De, 'aur ye ke Jijaji kahan pe hain? Nani ne unka phone bhe try kia pr wo koi response nahi de rhay...'
Arnav looked first at De, then at Khushi; both had surprisingly similar expressions of apprehension. He sighed. It appeared he would have begin recounting the entire thing again for his family's benefit; they would add where appropriate.
He sat down again. 'Ap sb breakfast kr len, phir lounge me chal ke baat krte hain.'
They all gave him looks with varying degrees of skepticism. 'I said lounge me chal ke baat krte hain; sb bta dun ga, okay?'
Khushi gave him a panicked look at that but he ignored it. It was time he did the right thing.
Breakfast was finished quickly and both families gathered in the living room. Khushi and De sat side by side on the small sofa and he stood in front of them. As the final person sat down, he began.
'Ap sb ye janna chahtay hain ke ye accident kaisay hua? Aur ye ke Shyam kahan hai?' he looked around, giving them all the defiant, arrogant look he usually reserved for the office, specifically when he was up against a rival. His anger was finally finding a righteous outlet. 'Then listen''
He began by addressing Khushi's family, and with their and Khushi's aid, told the story of Shyam's deception and engagement with Khushi while still married to De. He then explained his own discovery of Shyam's activities and why he married Khushi in such a hurry. He explained everything, even the fact that he made a six month contract with Khushi and that it was over today and that Khushi wasn't pregnant.
There was a ringing silence and then a furious outburst where everyone posited their own theories and questions and wondered aloud if he was mistaken about Shyam (Nani) and if the Gupta's had planned this kind of thing to destroy the Raizadas (Mami) and if there was anything that needed to be done to deal with him (Aakash). He let the noise die down before he moved on to the final news and worst (for De) news.
'Hari Prekash, kal security consultants jo cd de kr gai hain, wo or mera laptop le ao.'
He waited, surprisingly calm. Perhaps it was because he'd purged himself yesterday or maybe because he was finally exacting vengeance. Didn't matter, the end was the same.
When HP arrived, he put on the camera feed and showed it to the rest. 'Police ne uska warrant niklwa lia tha, hopefully wo ab tk arrest ho chukka hoga.'
He glanced at De, expecting her to be devastated. He was mistaken though; like him, De too had overcome her emotions; now she just looked angry. It was such a rare look for her, he was surprised at the intensity of it. 'De''
'Hm theek hain Chotay!' she said shortly.
'Pr Anjali bitya'' Mami began. De took a deep breath and then smiled, though it was a bit strained, 'Hm ne kaha na, hm theek hain. Ap preshan nah on''
'Aray kaisan theek ho? Hmra to heart broke ho giya ha!' Mami sniffed. Nani looked grave and too hurt; he hadn't expected it but the sight shook him. He realized with a start that he didn't want any one of his family getting hurt.
'Sanka Devi'' Buaji's tearfilled voice had him turning; she was holding Khushi's face in her hands, tears flowing down her face. Ammaji stood beside her husband, her hand curved around his shoulder, her face a study in anguish. Babuji's face was fixed in that half-paralyzed grin as he patted his lap in some show of emotion.
He turned away. The moment was too emotional. This whole scenario was too emotional and he was barely holding it together as it was. Dammit, this is too much. It appeared that he wouldn't be getting any more time with Khushi; she was among people who loved and cared for her. Why would she want to be with him?
Depressed, he turned away and stalked back to his room.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
PLEASE DO NOT COPY UPDATES TO OTHER SITES, THIS UPDATE IS MEANT EXCLUSIVELY FOR INDIA FORUMS
Do not copy,steal or post anywhere else! The following story and all the chapters belong to Mariam.Ejaz. Anyone found stealing will serve consequences!
If you want to post my stories on Facebook then ask me for permission and credit me.Do not post anywhere else without asking me.
My index is on the link below
https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/iss-pyaar-ko-kya-naam-doon/3068044/mariam-ejaz-writing-index
Edited by Mariam.Ejaz - 13 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Cricket
29