Hate That I Love You #3 Lnk to Thd. 4 on Pg.1 - Page 68

It had been four days since they had landed in Mumbai, and as both Lavanya and Payal refused to come outdoors, Khushi had no other option than to remain stuck to indoors too, which she usually did ONLY when she was sick.

Lavanya had oh-so-luckily extinguished her vocabulary of swear words. But each time she opened her mouth, it had been to share her disastrous love story, over, and over, and OVER again! Payal had been no less than Lavanya in any way. Always complaining that men were "born" with an infidel mind. And the worst part was they were trying to get Khushi to join the anti-men brigade that they had so proudly started. Khushi had tried to listen to both of them with an open mind. But repetition of the same old story again, and again would probably do it to any mortal. And right now Khushi was as mortal as she could be.

The only thing that had managed to keep her sane, during these four days, was the telephonic conversations she had with Arnav, once both the crybabies slept. Though he didn't complain about being away from her, Khushi knew that Arnav might be finding it a tad little frustrating to stay away from her. Anjali had just confirmed it by saying Arnav had been extra cranky since the day she left. So when they spoke, she cajoled and tried to get him relaxed, so that he could at least sleep peacefully. But today, when she wanted to talk to him the most, Arnav had been unavailable since the morning. She had even called Aman to know the whereabouts of his boss. But the poor thing couldn't talk for a minute straight owing to his buttload of work, but after a lot of stuttering, he had told Khushi that he didn't know where Arnav was.

Missing the man she loved so much, that there was this dull ache inside her chest, she spent the morning strolling barefoot in the warm sands of the beach and after lunch, took a nap, just because she had nothing else to do. After playing around the food, as an excuse of dinner, she decided to keep her mind busy and started to doodle in her sketchbook. But that didn't help either.

For the first time in her life, nothing held her interest. And that was saying something, since Khushi Kumari Gupta was the person in question. Khushi Kumari Gupta, the vibrant girl, who LOVED life as it came. Right from the trivial things like learning to sew and dance, to the momentous things like learning to cope with a life where she had to call someone else as Babuji and Amma.

Yes. She had learned to love that in a way too.

Presently she sauntered around the not so huge beach house, which belonged to the man she loved, wondering what each of the room held of its owner. And finally she settled in the central garden, which was the largest room in the whole building, knowing fully well that this was the place that would have its owner's undivided attention whenever he visited. She wondered why Arnav had bought this place. It was much, MUCH less ostentatious when compared to his usual taste. Maybe the glimpses of simplicity had struck a chord with him.

Opening a random page in the random book that she had picked on her way, she willed herself to be lost in the love story of an innocent girl who turned into a Geisha just so that she could be with this "Chairman" person that she loved, Khushi's own love story niggling her in the back of her mind. A particular paragraph caught her attention, and she read on.

"Men have a kind of. . . . well, an 'eel' on them. Women don't have it. But men do. Its located--- Here's the thing: this eel spends its entire life trying to find a home, and what do you think women have inside them? Caves, where the eel likes to live. You may not know this about eel, but they're quite territorial. When they find a cave they like, they wriggle around inside it for a while to be sure that. . . . well, to be sure its a nice cave, I suppose. And when they've made up their minds that its comfortable, they mark the cave as their territory. . . . by spitting. Here's the part that's going to seem very strange to you. Men actually LIKE doing this. In fact, they like it very much."

If earlier Khushi's mouth had fell open in incredulity, she doubled over with laughter when she reread it. This had been, by far, THE most funny description of sexual activity between a man and a woman. But after a second, she read further about eel trying out different caves, frowned and muttered to herself, "Well. . . I hope the eel I love, likes my cave. . . . ." And even before she finished that thought, her shoulders slumped, and she whimpered, "I miss my eel. . . . ." She thought of how brazen she had sounded when she associated the "eel" with Arnav's hard member, which she had touched not so long ago. She was about to give herself a lecture as to how such thoughts were sinful before marriage, when she felt herself being watched. And not just watched by anyone. She felt as if she was being watched by Arnav. 'But that's highly unlikely to happen. Arnav can't possibly be here!' She thought as she turned back to indeed find Arnav standing there.


Arnav watched her turn around and gasp in surprise and stand still. The realization of the fact that this woman in front of him, held his heart and soul, made him feel light and more alive than he had ever felt within the past few years. He smiled softly as he felt something expand in his chest and his feet automatically, and slowly carried him to her.


Khushi gasped and stood motionless, as Arnav took his own sweet time to come to her. She stood in a daze, not ready to believe the fact that he was actually there. He came to stand in front of her, tucking a fringe of her hair behind her ear, and embraced her.


Khushi's hands came to rest on his waist lightly, smiling when she realized he was really, actually here! But she felt the change in him. Even the way he held her was different. Possessive, yes. But he was more gentle. From as long as they had been together, he had always handled her as if she were his property, and as if he could use her as per his whims. And she had gotten used to it. But this gentle love that Arnav was displaying at the moment was equally loved by her too.


When Khushi pulled back, and stood on her toes to shower kisses on his face, he stood with a content smile, basking in her love. And when their lips met, both poured all the love they shared into it, increasing the passion with each stroke of their tongues together. Khushi held his shoulders and jumped, wrapping his legs around his hips, making Arnav take a step back at this sudden gesture of his crazy girl. Chuckling at Khushi's urgency which matched his own, he lowered himself into the nearest possible seat, hugging her as close to himself possible, trying to be as gentle with her as much as he could.


He held her face in between his hands as if a little more force from him would break her. They broke their kiss, pressing their lips to each other's twice more, before they looked into the other's eyes, smiling happily.

"I love you." Khushi said, gaining confidence from the fact that this wasn't the first time he was listening this from her. Arnav nodded and tucked her head at the crook of his neck, resting his head on top of hers and sighed.


Khushi reveled in his warmth for a while, before she felt something was off. Pulling back, she observed the tired face of Arnav. She traced her fingers under his eyes, and they automatically traveled to the dent on his brow, which probably was the result of the naughty kid that Arnav could have been. "You look tired. . . . Are you well enough?" Khushi asked, turning her eyes to his. Arnav's lips pressed together to straight line, which confirmed Khushi's doubts that something was off. The work pressure never tired him out, and she knew it.


Knowing he wouldn't answer her directly, Khushi asked, "How come you're here? And you didn't even tell me! When did you start from Delhi??" It was known even by Arnav that his love was trying to extract answers from him for the questions that she wasn't asking. He would have preferred these answers to be well buried from plain vision. But she had a right to know what she was getting herself into when she fell in love with him. 'Well, its too late to worry about the falling part. She certainly has taken care of that!' Arnav thought and kept silent as he stared at Khushi's neck blankly before he answered, "It was my parents' death anniversary today. . . . . ."


This revelation was followed by a pregnant pause, caused due to the revealer suddenly doubting whether he should have said it out or not, and the fact that the person to whom it was revealed to, simply did not know how to react or how she was EXPECTED to react. She had learned from Anjali that, "parents" was a sensitive topic for Arnav, and she knew that she had to tread carefully.


Arnav suddenly found himself being enveloped in a warm embrace, as Khushi hugged him, resting his head against her chest. And somehow, listening to Khushi's steady heartbeat, and feeling her softness against his cheek, Arnav relaxed.


No more questions were asked by Khushi, as redeeming Arnav from the imaginable sad place that he'd be in, obtained the first preference. Thinking of Vishnu Mallik and Gayatri Mallik, Arnav's parents, he was taken back to the unfortunate day when he had lost them both. So much, SO MUCH had changed in his life. Right from his name, to status. If a relationship, which had meant so much until then had been severed, so many new ones had bloomed.

"It was not like my dad was a bad person, Khushi. He loved me! And I had truly believed that he loved ma too. . . ." He pulled back, looking into her eyes as he explained in an agonized whisper, "It was Di's wedding, and I had just learned that 'I love you' could be told to any person you loved, and not just to a girl, as they showed on the television." An ironic smile came over his face at this point.

"So I told it to my ma first, earning a kiss from her. And then I went to my dad, wanting to tell him that too. But he. . . was gone, Khushi. He. . . . He left us all to be with another woman that he apparently loved! He had written a letter for me!!


"Not really knowing how to react, I sat in his study, his letter in my hand, and wondered what had gone wrong. I saw my uncle enter the same room. My uncle was the only relative we had back then, as we never knew about my maternal family. Nani had disowned her daughter as Ma had married my dad against Nani's wishes, you see?


"So my uncle, after snatching and reading the letter that my dad had left behind, turned into this maniac who wanted us out of our own home! This had been the moment he had waited for his whole life. To finally take over the Mallik property. Ma was shocked. . . . And when my uncle shoved the reality of the situation to her face, that he didn't need the filth, as he had called us that day, my Ma couldn't take it anymore. . . . She. . . . . She shot herself dead. . . I had just stepped out to tell all this to Di, and the sound of the gunshot" Arnav winced, remembering the whole scene which was etched onto his brain for life.


Khushi stroked Arnav's hair, his chest, his arms, consoling him in her own way, listening to his tragic past, which he had shared with her. "Di fell off the stairs, and her wedding was called off, and she was threatened by my uncle that he would kill us both too, when she pleaded that we would leave and never come back. Di somehow caught hold of Nani's number and explained to her what had happened. Nani immediately came and took us both to her place. Our surnames were changed, and Nani helped us in every possible way. . . .

"And Dad. . . . . He passed away in a car crash while he was traveling out of Lucknow with that woman. . . . We faced our share of difficulties after that, Khushi. . . . And what you see today. . . . ." He said, running his hand in the air, pointing out at himself, before he continued, "Is a byproduct of all those difficulties. . . ." Sighing once before he continued, he looked up into her eyes again to see that the pain in her eyes matched his own.

"Whenever I listen to those three words, all this flashes in my mind." Arnav explained making Khushi gasp, as she wondered whether she had unintentionally hurt him when she said she loved him. Twice. He smiled and cupped her cheek as he cleared her doubts, "You didn't remind me of that, Khushi. Do not worry. . . . What I want to say is that, I hated it when the people whom I loved the most were snatched away from me. Nobody would! So I started to learn to keep the emotions at bay. Though it doesn't mean that I don't feel them. I just don't EXPRESS them." Khushi cut in at that moment, making her point, "Except anger."

Arnav gave out a husky chuckle as he bent forward to kiss her nose, which had gone a little red when she had shed tears for him. "Except anger, yes. All these years, I used to work so hard, getting rid of all emotions out of my life. So. . . . . I don't think I'll ever be able to. . . . Display. . . my emotions quite well at any point of my life!"

Listening to his words, Khushi gaped at him in incredulity. 'One moment, he was sharing his past with him, and the next, he is giving explanation as to why he hasn't yet told me that he loves me?! For a fairly smart man, he can be a tad little silly!' Khushi thought as she felt an oversurge of love take her over. The love for this beautiful, foolish man. She understood how difficult it must have been for him to share all this with him, and also that just the fact that he shared it with her counted for a shout-out of an"I-Love-You" from the rooftop! To make him feel at ease, she decided to change the topic.

"So you, until the age of. . . what? Fifteen, thought that 'I love you' can be only told to a girl?!" Khushi asked, her face unnaturally grave, as she saw his eyes changing the expression in them, from discomfiture to annoyance. At that, Khushi burst into peals of laughter, making Arnav get up indignantly. He was about to put Khushi back on her feet, when she stopped laughing and held onto him tightly. Seeing this, Arnav again sat down, putting her in a more comfortable position on his lap. "I had homeschooling. I didn't know much about girls back then. . . ." Arnav explained, making Khushi raise her eyebrows and reply in a matter-of-fact voice, "Its not like you know too much about them, now."

"Are you implying the need that I should make myself more knowledgeable about other women??" Arnav turned the table, his smirk in place.

Khushi didn't take a moment before she answered, "I'm implying the need that you should make yourself more knowledgeable regarding me." She rubbed her nose to his once, and he was about to capture her lips with his, when she pulled back, got up slowly and walked back teasingly to the kitchen, making sure he followed her, the smug smirk on his face, a treat for her eyes. . . . . . . .

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NOTE: The book I talked about is, "Memoirs of a Geisha", a novel by American author Arthur Golden (?) Its a very good novel, if you're interested to read in love stories with lots of hardships! 😛

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