Hate That I Love You #3 Lnk to Thd. 4 on Pg.1 - Page 60

NOTE:

First off, I'm so sorry for such a delayed update!! 😳

So some people did notice that I haven't mentioned what soap Khushi uses. So I turned it into a contest! 😛
Guess the soap that Khushi uses, and I shall post the next part! It is ready!!!

Clue: It's a popular brand. . .

Probably all over the world! That's all I can say! 😆

Part 21:

"Oh, my god!!" Khushi muttered, and covered her mouth with her palm, making Arnav look at her in concern. And when she looked at him, he asked her what the matter was with a jerk of his head questioningly. Khushi raised a finger, asking him to give her a minute, making Arnav shrug and start where he had left off. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, he took deep breaths, inhaling the oh-so-innocent smell of her, and his fingers stroked her slightly damp hair, loving the soft feel of it.

He heard her end the call, and before she said a word, he asked his question, "You didn't tell me what soap or showering gel you use. . . ." Khushi clucked her tongue impatiently, as she replied, "There's something of an emergency, Arnav! Aur aapko humari soap ki padi hai?!"

"Answer me this, and we'll take care of your emergency. I shall take care of whatever it is." Arnav persisted.

There was silence for a whole minute. "You will not laugh! Promise me!" Khushi mumbled with a pout, her eyes downcast.

There was no reply from him, and Khushi took it as his word, and mumbled the name of the soap she used, which she had been using from a really long time.

Arnav's eyebrows raised on its own, as his face gained his signature smirk, and that is exactly how Khushi found him when she looked up. She glared at him indignantly. "I like it!" Arnav murmured, making Khushi blush in embarrassment. Running the back of his hand across the flushed skin of her cheek, he asked about the emergency in hand, and Khushi started explaining Lavanya's breakup with her fiance, Steve, as she had caught him red-handed in a very compromising position with some "wh**e". Arnav tried not to look shocked, when he heard Khushi utter a word, which under normal circumstances, she herself would have put soap in her mouth, for saying it out loud!

And by the end of her explanation, Khushi's eyes had welled up, thinking of Lavanya's heartbreak, thus distressing Arnav even more. "Please, Khushi! No tears. . . We'll take care of this. Just. . . . Please don't cry!!" Arnav pulled her into his arms and murmured against her ear, soothing Khushi a little. Kissing her nose one last time before he left, he asked her to get ready.

o0o0o0o

Lavanya sat on the couch in a daze. Her eyes staring unblinkingly at the far corner of the wall. Arnav and Akash stood outside Payal's apartment, not really knowing what to do or say, while Khushi and Payal sat on each side of Lavanya, trying to get any kind of reaction out of her. After a while, Khushi rushed out of the apartment and into the waiting arms of Arnav, where she was sure she'd find the support she wanted at the moment. Her sadness seemed to drain Arnav, making him exhausted and helpless, a feeling which always was hated by him. And he could swear that, whoever this Steve was, could and would be killed by his bare hands, if he ever dared to make an appearance in front of him.

Akash had walked away to pick up an important call, and he returned to see Khushi pulling back from Arnav, who in turn tucked a fringe of Khushi's hair and shake his head, telling her something through his eyes. And to Akash's amazement, Khushi seemed to understand his Bhai's silent language fully well, as she nodded and smoothed out a wrinkle on Arnav's shirt. 'Lo! Mine and Payal's love story started with so much splendor, and came to a sudden halt. And these two have silently reached this level!!' Akash thought, as he made his way towards them.

Khushi put a respectable distance between herself and Arnav, when she saw Akash near them. Akash came to them, and tried to catch a glimpse of a still very miffed Payal. Luck seemed to be in his favor, as his ladylove walked out of the door, herself. "This is horrible. She's not even crying!" Payal muttered, hugging herself. "And she was so excited just yesterday, when she spoke to me regarding her honeymoon." Arnav muttered with a sigh.

Khushi looked at him in surprise, and Payal asked him the same question which had sprung in her mind. "Why would she speak to YOU regarding her honeymoon?!"

"She had wanted to spend her honeymoon in Mumbai, in my beach house." Arnav explained further. Lavanya craving for more city life for her honeymoon didn't seem surprising. Plus Khushi and Payal had known that Lavanya had arranged her honeymoon in Mumbai. But the fact that she had decided to spend it in Arnav's beach house was not known to them.

"And you rented it out for her?" Payal probed further.

Arnav frowned and replied as if he had been insulted, "I had agreed to let her use it. Not RENTED it out!"

"Right! I'm sorry.. Didn't mean to offend you." Payal said, waving the white flag of peace.

"You have a beach house?!" Khushi murmured with a teasing smile, as she leaned towards Arnav, who smiled minutely at her and was about to reply when Payal snapped at Khushi to concentrate on the problem in hands, making them both share a conspiratorial smile before turning their attention to the issue. "I think it'd do good to Lavanya if she went out of Delhi for a while. She could still go to your beach house, and me and Khushi could accompany her. . . . ." Payal explained further.

"I can't come! I have work to do!" Khushi all but squealed in defense, putting her hand in Arnav's, apprehensive that she would be pulled away from him any moment now. Payal made her bend and have a good look at the ghost of a Lavanya, who hadn't moved a millimeter from her prior position.

Khushi looked down, unhappy that she had to choose between Arnav and Lavanya. When Payal had suggested that they should take Lavanya to Mumbai, it hadn't been work that Khushi was worried about. It had been the separation from Arnav, that had gotten her all worked up. And now, when Payal put it this way, she realized that this was necessary for Lavanya, and she had to be a good friend and accompany her without complaining. But she knew that Arnav would never let her go away from him for so long. And it wasn't like she was too keen on going away from him, anyway!

Arnav understood Khushi's turmoil, and decided to free her from the confusion. He was about to tell her to go when Akash yelled in excitement, "Its an amazing idea, Payal!!"
Payal didn't even look up, as she muttered, her voice laced with irritation, "No opinions required!"

Arnav smirked at Khushi, and pulled her a little towards himself, thanking no one in particular, for their most-of-the-times-smooth relationship. Akash pouted, thinking that he was being punished for no fault of his, as Arnav agreed to make all the necessary arrangements.

Khushi smiled proudly, ignoring Payal and Akash, who were in their own silent fighting moods. "Are you sure?" Khushi asked when Payal and Akash left. Arnav sighed wistfully, as he pulled her into his arms. "Lavanya is my friend too, you know. And she needs this. Its a sad thing to see her like this. And you'll come back to me soon. . . . I'll just have to get used to it. . . ." Arnav explained.

Pulling back, Khushi looked him straight in his eyes as she said in a firm voice, "You don't have to get used to anything. I shall stay back." Arnav looked at Khushi for a whole minute, thinking of how easily she was ready to let her friend go. And all for him. He smiled as he said, "No Khushi. You should go."

o0o0o0o

As they stood waiting at the airport to board the flight, Akash kept sending fleeting glances in Payal's direction, begging to all the gods to make her at least look at him once.

Arnav and Khushi sat next to Lavanya, Khushi's one hand around Lavanya, while the other was held by Arnav, who had eyes only for the woman who seemed as necessary to him as any other basic necessities. He ran through the conversation he had had with his jiju the previous night.

---Flashback---

Arnav had caught Shyam and Anjali teasing each other silently, and he realized that true love really did attune two minds to work together. Him and Khushi understood each other quite well too. . . . So did that mean him and Khushi loved each other? He was sure Khushi loved him. But his feelings? Was it love that he felt for her. Or just a strong bout of lust. "I shall pretend that I didn't hear that." Shyam said, wiping his hands clean. Arnav realized that he must have voiced his doubts, a habit which he had picked from Khushi! Luckily, it was just him and his understanding jiju at the table. Anjali was long gone.

As Shyam rose to leave, Arnav made up his mind and asked Shyam what had been niggling his mind since almost the day he had known Khushi. "Jijaji?? You love my sister."
Shyam sat back as he smiled and replied, "Yes."

"How does that feel?"

"The best thing that ever happened to me. Especially since she loves me back!" came Shyam's prompt reply, somehow managing to warn Arnav that one-sided love could prove to be a disaster. But Arnav knew that, one-sided love was the last thing he needed to worry about.

"How can you be so sure?! How can't it be just lust?!" Arnav probed with a frown.

"I shall NOT think that you're asking whether it is simply lust that I feel for your sister instead of love." Shyam answered with unease. But before Arnav could say anything further, he continued, "Lust comes immediately when there's love. Come on, Saale Saahib, we both know that its pretty easy to differentiate between just lust and lust which accompanies love. . . ."
They both heard Anjali calling out for Shyam, making him smile smugly, and take leave.

---End of Flashback---

Arnav felt Khushi squeezing his hand and he came out of his reverie to look into the questioning eyes of Khushi. He shook his head once to indicate that it was nothing and looked at their interlaced fingers.

He knew that voicing his new found love to her was almost impossible. Making up his mind to at least try to tell his feelings to Khushi, he had just cleared his throat, when the final call for the plane that the ladies had to board, was announced.

Payal got to her feet, bringing the still blankly staring Lavanya to her feet. Khushi stood up too, not budging her grip on Arnav's hand even a little. And they walked thus, as far as the non-boarders were allowed. Khushi didn't meet Arnav's eyes, as she took her hand out of his.

Payal and Lavanya were walking further, Khushi following them slowly. Akash had already turned his back, knowing fully well that Payal wouldn't even spare him a glance that day, whilst Arnav watched Khushi go away from him, feeling an empty feeling take over his insides.

Just as Khushi was about to turn right, and move out of Arnav's vision, she turned to him and ran back, hurling herself into his ready-to-receive-her-arms. Arnav smiled as he felt her lips against the side of his neck, just below his ear, before he heard her say, "I love you, Arnav. . . ." And as quickly as she had done it, she ran back towards the queue of boarders and out of his line of vision, leaving a completely tongue-tied, shell-shocked Arnav behind, gawking at nothing in particular. . . . . . .

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