CHAPTER 12. LET'S GO ON A DRIVE
Place - City Hospital, Chandigarh
Sonia sat on the bed swinging her legs. She was to be discharged today. She was wearing the same salwar kameez in which she had been admitted to the hospital but they seemed a bit cleaner, without any blood or dirt on it as Maan had gotten it washed the previous day. While her head was still bandaged due to operation, her rest of her body had healed fully except her legs. Her foot soles were nearly shredded and were bleeding when she was admitted. They were now healing slowly but Doctor had told her not to walk too much and not to put too much weight on them. As she waited for Maan to come she became restless and decided to go and search for him.
Maan walked into Sonia's room to collect her when he noticed that she was standing up on her feet holding the bed railing for support. But the moment she kept her left foot forward she lost her balance and was about to fall on the floor. She closed her eyes in fear but soon realized that she was not on the floor and someone was holding her by her waist. She opened her eyes and her eyes locked on the eyes of her rescuer, Maan. Both of them stared into each other's eyes unable to break the eye contact. Suddenly Maan's phone beeped and they came out of their trance. Maan steadied Sonia and made her stand on her feet but the moment his hands left her waist she again lost her balance.
Maan again caught Sonia and stopped her from falling but he soon realized that she was unable to stand on her feet as she had been lying on the bed for three days and had been immobile and her legs were also not healed fully. He took a deep breath and nodded his head as if confirming his decision. Sonia looked confused at his face when her legs were literally swept off the floor. Maan had picked her up. She wound her hands around his neck and stared at his face. He was looking straight ahead. He slowly walked towards the exit carrying her delicately as if she was the world's most precious cargo he was carrying. She blushed a little as this was the first time she saw him so up close.
Maan seated her on the passenger seat and buckled her up. He made sure that she was comfortable. Then he climbed into his jeep and off he drove towards Delhi.
Place - Khurana Constructions, Delhi
Khushi happily exited her office with Pinky with a smile on her face. Today Adi Sir had complimented her on her work and told her that she was ready for being Maan Singh Khurana's Secretary. She waved at Pinky who waved back and walked to the bus stand. Her home was around one hour away from her office. And the bus stand was twenty minutes away from Office. Khushi walked in the direction of the bus stand lost in her own world humming a tune under her breath. She did not notice a car following her until the car started honking at her. Khushi was annoyed. Why was the car waala honking? She was walking on the pathways. She was not walking in the middle of the road. The honking continued for ten more minutes and Khushi was literally fuming. She turned around to give the car waala a good verbal lashing when her words got stuck in her throat. It was him! The Rakshas! Maan Sir's client! The ASR! Pinky's Chota DD! Khushi's eyes widened to impossible limit when she noticed that the Rakshas was getting down from the car and walking towards her. He came to stand in front of her with a smirk on his face. Oh how she wished to smash that smirk of his face! Khushi thought fleetingly.
Arnav smirked as he saw her baffled expression. He had cancelled all his evening meetings and had arrived in front of KC. He had practically stalked her and kept on honking till she noticed him.
"Ghar jaa rahi ho?", Arnav questioned. "Aapse matlab?", Khushi questioned back with her hands on her hips and eyes on his face. Arnav raised an eyebrow. His Afreen, who at first meet seemed a lot timid, was practically spitting fire from her eyes today. He mentally gave her another nickname; Spitfire. She turned and was about to walk off when he called out, "Suno, tum chaaho toh main tumhein chod sakta hoon." She turned around with a jerk causing her braid to swing in the air and hit him on his face. Who wanted to knife and blade to protect themselves when there was a thick braid to do the deed? Arnav chuckled at his thoughts but brought his focus back to his Spitfire. Khushi came close to him and Arnav stared into her eyes. He soon got lost into her eyes."Nahi, hum chale jaayenge, Mr. ASR. Humein aapki koi madat nahi chaahiye.", she replied back. She glared at him for good measure and walked off. Arnav, who was still in trance, suddenly shook his head and noticed her walk away. He got into his car and drove beside her. She kept on walking and he kept on driving in sync with her. He rolled down the left window and spoke in a loud voice, "Arrey! Baat toh suno. Daro mat. Main tumhein khaa nahin jaaunga." He gave her a smirk. She glared at him and turned her face back to the road. "Humne kaha hum chale jaayenge." She started walking faster. He raised the speed of the car. He was amused by her. She must be the first girl who refused to sit in his car. The Delhi girls would have loved to sit in his car. But, alas, the girl he found refreshing than others refused to sit with him. Arnav still could not believe why he was pursuing her. If it had been anyone else he would have blasted that person for rejecting his offer or for ignoring him. But she seemed different. Her simplicity and naivity was amusing and refreshing, especially after meeting the models in his office. He smiled tenderly as he remembered how she had reacted when they met the first time.
They reached the bus stop. Arnav got down from his car and walked towards her. Khushi took a step back as she noticed him coming towards her. He came very close and whispered in her ear, "Itna kyun darti ho? Main tumhein kya khaa jaaunga?" "Darr! Hum kyun darein? Hum kisise nahi darte. Samjhe Aap.", Khushi replied back angrily. How dare He! What does he think of himself? Khushi fumed in anger. Arnav smirked. She looked cute in anger. He took another step towards her and she stepped back again. "Darti nahi ho toh piche kyun ja rahi ho?" Arnav enquired with his smirk still in place. Khushi fumbled, "Ji….Woh….Hum". She looked here and there. Suddenly her eyes widened a bit as she stared somewhere around his shoulder. He turned around confused. What was she staring at? The bus! She was staring at the bus. Her bus had arrived. Before Arnav could react she climbed into it and off went the bus. Arnav felt disappointed. He was enjoying their verbal spat. Oh, well. There is always tomorrow. Arnav thought with a smile.
Place - Somewhere in between Delhi and Chandigarh
Sonia woke up with a start. She realized that she had fallen asleep. She looked to her right to see Maan driving. She smiled at him. He was wearing a white half sleeved shirt and looked quite handsome in it. She stared at him for sometime but soon she realized that she was ogling at him and turned her face away. Her blush crept up her neck and up to her cheeks.
Maan drove the jeep as fast as he could. He wanted to reach Delhi as soon as possible. "Hum pehli baar kab mile the?", spoke a voice from his left. He glanced at her and realized that she was awake. "Tum uth gayi? Tumhein kuch chahiye? Paani, Juice, Kuch khaane ke liye, vagera vagera, anything?", he questioned her as he changed the gear. She shook her head in negative. "Nahin mein theek hoon. Par aap jawab deejiye na. Hum pehli baar kab mile the? Waise main aapki patni nahi toh mera poora naam kya hai? Mera koi pet name tha kya? Main Chandigarh ki rehne waali hoon ya aur kisi jagah ki? Kya main aapke ghar waalonn ko jaanti hoon? Kya woh mujhse mil chuke hain? Humne I love you kab kahaa? Aapne pehle kahaa ya maine pehle? Bataaiyiye na. Aap chup kyon hain? Kuch toh boliye."
Maan was in shock. How much could someone speak in one breath? He mentally gave her another name; Miss. Bak-bak. He rolled his eyes. "Tum chup raho toh main kuch boloon." He told her and she blushed feeling mortified. "Tu bhi jhalli hai, Sonia, unhein bolne ka mauka degi toh woh kuch bolenge na?" She scolded herself and slapped her forehead.
Maan suddenly felt like buying chocolates for his Dadima. Afterall if she had not concocted a whole story and made him by heart it, he would not have been able to answer Soni's questions. He smiled and thanked his Dadima mentally. He remembered the fake story and started replying, "Hum pehli baar Chandigarh mein mile the. Hum dono apne kaam ke silsile mein aaye the aur takra gaye kuch che mahine pehle. Tumhara poora naam Sonia Choudhary hain. Aur Pyar se tumhein sab Soni bulaate hain. Tum Chandigarh ke ek Orphanage mein pali badi ho. Tum mere gharwaalon se abhi tak nahi mili ho par mere Daadima se phone par baat kar chuki ho ek do baar. Bas ya aur kuch poochna hai?" He directed his question at her sarcastically. She opened her mouth to speak when he spoke, "Bas aur ek sawaal nahi. Tumhari tabiyat abhi tak theek nahi hai. Jyada stress karogi toh asar tumhare dimaag pe hoga. Behtar yahi hai ke ab tum kuch der chup baitho. Aur Mujhe Driving par dhyaan dene do." Sonia was miffed and pouted her lips and sadly looked down. Maan rolled his eyes at her dramatics. Aur ek drama queen! Pehle Daadi, Naintara aur Anjali kya kam thi jo ise bhi mere paas bhej diya. He questioned God while shaking his head. Maan beta, tu toh gaya. Ghar pe teen teen Drama queen, teri toh band baji.
Sonia wanted to question him more but kept mum. He seemed quite angry. She slowly drifted of to sleep. Maan looked at her after few minutes to see her sleeping. He smiled tenderly at her serene looking face and then turned his attention to driving.
Place - Buaji's House, Laxminagar, Delhi
Khushi paced her room from one end to another in worry. She already made jalebis to calm her anxiety but it did not work. Buaji had to practically throw her out of the kitchen to stop her from depleting anymore ration. She was worried. What did that rakshas want? Why was he following her? But as she thought about it her brain supplied her answers which went on becoming more and more outrageous. She was scared; scared of him and his motives. She went in front of her Devi Maiyya and sat down. "Kyun Devi Maiyya? Humare saath hi kyun? Humein kuch samajh nahi aa raha? Who ASR kya chaahte hain? Humein kuch toh bataaiye." She pleaded with her Devi Maiyya to help her. She stood up. "Nahi hum us Rakshas ko hum par asar kar nahi denge. Hum usse nahi darenge. Hum unka dat kar saamna karenge. Agar who ASR hain toh hum KKG hain, Khushi Kumari Gupta. Waise ASR ka matlab kya hoga?" She scratched her head. Then she realized that she was thinking about him and slapped her forehead. "Tum Pagal hogayi ho, Khushi. Ab so jaao warna tum pata nahi kya kya sochogi." She shook her head and went to sleep.
Place - Arnav's room, Shantivan, Delhi
Arnav tossed and turned but could not sleep. He got up and sat on the poolside recliner. He stared at the moon. But all he saw was his Afreen. She was haunting him. He kept on imagining her smile, her eyes, and her anger and did not know when he went to sleep.
Place - Khurana Mansion, Delhi
Daadima opened the door of the mansion to a beautiful sight for which she waited for many years. Her grandson, Maan, was actually carrying a girl in his arms. Her heart felt delighted to see Maan in company of a girl. Naintara and Dev were also shocked. Maan Veerji/Bro carrying a girl in his arms!
Maan stared at the family. Why were they looking like they were seeing an alien? Then he realized that it was because he was holding Sonia in his arms. He rolled his eyes. "Daadima, aap ghoorna bandh karenge. Dev, NT relax." The trio came out of shock and Maan tried to move in. "Rukiye Maan. Sonia pehli baar ghar aayi hai. Unki aarti toh lene dijiye." Daadima took the thaal of aarti from Naintara's hands and did the aarti. Maan rolled his eyes again. He did not understand the point of the whole drama.
Sonia looked at the lady who was to be her future daadi-saas. She looked sweet! Sonia thought. She gave Daadima one of her brilliant smile and that's it. Daadima lost her heart to the girl and promised herself she will try her best to make Sonia her bahu. She will give her best to make the charade of Maan and Sonia real. Dev guided Maan to the room readied for Sonia and Maan followed with Sonia in his arms.
"Daadima, kya aap bhi wahi soch rahi hai jo hum soch rahe hain?", enquired Naintara with a smirk on her face. She glanced at Daadi to notice a smiliar smirk on her face. Both ladies liked the girl from the first moment. "Lekin Maan Veerji ko woh pasand nahi aayi toh?", NT enquired worriedly. "Toh inki Office main woh nayi Secretary hai, Khushi. Unse inki fitting try karenge." Daadima winked at NT. "Pehle Maan aur Sonia ke beech apne matchmaking skills try karenge phir baad ka baad mein dekhenge.", Dadi spoke mischievously. Poor Maan! If he knew what his Daadima and Sister in law were planning for him, he would have gone on camping to Tibet! But unfortunately for him and fortunately for us, he does not know about NT and Daadi's plan.
Maan sat Sonia on the bed and asked her if she wanted anything. She shook her head but kept her eyes trained on the bed. She was feeling shy. When Daadima did the aarti she realized that the man who was holding her was her soon to be husband. And now due to that she found herself unable to look into his eyes due to shyness. Maan turned around to walk away when he felt her hold his hand. He turned and looked at her. She left his hand, slowly raised her eyes and looked into his eyes. "Thank you", she whispered and sweetly smiled at him. Maan went into trance the moment he saw her smile. She has a beautiful smile!, he thought distractedly. His phone rang bringing him out of his thoughts. He shook his head, looking here and there not knowing what to say but walked off leaving behind a shy and blushing girl.
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
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