Chapter 4A
Anjali Jha was a very happy woman.
She had a wonderful family.
Her Nani who raised her through the ages when a girl needed her mother the most; her Mamaji and Mamiji who came through for her and her brother in their toughest time when their parents died; in fact Mamiji had gone to the extent of selling all her gold to help Arnav start up his fashion business which was a great investment as the company was doing so well and Arnav had made sure to replace the gold that his Mamiji sold for him with better and more expensive ones.
She also had another younger brother Akash who she loved just as much as her own brother, Akash was soon going to marry Payal Gupta who she had met on several occasions. Payal seemed to be a good girl, well brought up, but there was something about her family that made Anjali weary; however she kept her thoughts to herself as Akash loved Payal and Anjali didn't want to spoil that relationship.
Furthermore, there were the Prakash brothers - their lovely butlers; Arnav had made sure that each one of them knew that his family was important and that they took care of everyone whilst he was out of the house. Then there was her husband, Shyam, who was her life. He is the man who loved her despite all her flaws and last but not least; her Chotte, the person who always put her happiness before his.
She believed that she could not have been blessed with a more perfect family.
When her Chotte had announced to the family that he had a girlfriend, initially, she had been shocked. To say that she had not seen it coming would be the biggest understatement of the year.
Considering the late nights her brother pulled at the office and the amount of work he'd bring home as well had her under the assumption that Arnav was not seeing anybody because, quite frankly, he had no time.
But then, when she started considering it, she noted that Arnav had only recently started 'working' really late nights. Normally, he does work hard, there's no doubt about that, but then suddenly during the past couple of months it seemed like his work load increased dramatically but now it all made sense!
Her sneaky brother had had them all under the guise that he had busy with work when in fact he was secretly meeting up with his girlfriend. Which explained the mounds of work he brought home with him; the time he'd normally spend in his office was being spent with her!
Anjali could have face palmed herself, how could she have not seen this? How had she been oblivious to these changes? The way her brother's working pattern changed; how he had all of a sudden been far too busy, but at the same time how he'd seemed somewhat happier.
A grin formed on her face as she thought about her naive Chotte was finally learning about love.
"You know Rani Sahiba, you're scaring me," Anjali snapped her head up to look at her husband who was sitting beside her on the sofa in the living room. Her Nani and Mamiji looked across at the couple curiously.
"Why do you say that?" Anjali asked curiously.
"Well, the fact that you're reading my latest case report about a rape and you're grinning like a madwoman ..." Shyam trailed off, eyeballing his wife.
This set Anjali into peals of laughter that put a smile on the Raizada family's faces.
"Oh Shyamji, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about Chotte, I'm so excited to meet the girl who he's in love with!" Anjali replied giddily, bouncing like a small child in her seat.
This comment transformed the smiles into grins as each Raizada shared the excitement Anjali felt about their Chotte and his lady love; save Shyam, who was no longer looking at her but ahead.
"Well, it looks like you don't have to wait much longer," Shyam answered in a slightly shocked voice.
Anjali frowned as she looked at her husband who was gaping like a fish; she and the other members of her family followed his gaze and they found themselves mirroring his expression as they set sights on the Prakash brothers carrying in several bags of luggage followed by a very wet Arnav.
However, what shocked them the most was the petite brunette girl who walked in beside Arnav with one hand interlocked firmly with Arnav's whilst the other rested on his arm.
They painted the picture of a beautiful couple personified. The Raizada's and Jha's watched as Arnav whispered sweetly into Khushi's ear and whatever he told her was rewarded with a brilliant smile from the beautiful girl.
No one could mistake the both of them for anything other than a couple. The girl complimented Arnav greatly, her striking beauty matched his chiselled, defined features - they were just perfect.
Anjali, Nani and Mamiji chocked with happiness and Shyam looked on with a smile.
"Chotte?" She called out. Her brother immediately took his eyes off the stunner next to him and looked at his family - whom all looked elated.
**
Khushi took in a staggering breath as Arnav pulled up at his so called house. Khushi would not classify this place as a house. It was a palace!
'What am I doing? This is so out of my league.'
She thought, gnawing at her bottom lip with worry. 'Oh God, Khushi Kumari Gupta! What have you gotten yourself into?'
"KHUSHI!" Arnav's shout broke her out of her reverie; apparently he'd called her a couple of times now.
"Look, I'm sorry. I can't do this, please," Khushi pleaded; not wanting to go through with this.
"What the-?" Arnav exclaimed. "We made a deal Ms. Gupta, I promised to honour what I offered to you; and you agreed to be my pretend girlfriend. I'm keeping my word, you need to keep yours." Arnav glared.
Khushi returned his glare; she sat dejectedly in her seat for a moment before she looked at him with blazing eye full of determination.
"Let's get this over and done with."
As soon as Arnav opened his door three men ran out immediately, one bringing an umbrella for him; as if they had been waiting ready for his arrival.
Arnav took the umbrella that was offered to him; though there was not much point since he was already wet; but wanted to avoid further drenching and opened the door for Khushi.
"Bring the bags inside," he ordered his butlers as he led Khushi inside, sharing his umbrella with her.
"OK, this is it. Are you ready?" Arnav checked with her. Khushi frowned slightly before nodding reluctantly.
Warmth spread through her as she joined hands with him, it felt kind of nice, his grip was not too firm or soft. Just, perfect. As she looked at him, she realise that he had not felt any spark at all as he walked through the hallway confidently as if he owned the place -oh wait, he did.
They reached the end of the long hallway that led to a massive area, which she assumed was the living room. Out of the corner of her eye she could see several figures seated around the sofas.
As they entered, Arnav leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Wrap your hand around my arm."
"What?"
"Just do it," he whispered a bit harshly before his voice changed again, "Smile and sell it."
She wanted to give him a massive glare, but instead stuck to her end of the bargain. She placed her hand around his arm, she almost gasped as she felt the taut muscles of his biceps straining against the confined of his shirt.
Reining in her emotions, she looked up at him and gave him the brightest smile she could muster. She watched with a small smirk as he looked slightly thrown off guard by her smile before he quickly composed himself.
"Chotte?" He heard his sister call out with undisguised glee.
Holding back the need to roll his eyes, Arnav clasped Khushi's hand against his tighter in reassurance as he lead her to his family, by then, Mamaji and Akash had also joined the assembled group; not wanting to miss out on the introductions.
"Uh - Di," Arnav stuttered unsure about how to start the introductions; this was all a new experience for him. Looking at the happy faces of his family, Arnav felt a twinge of regret for lying to them. But it will all be over in a month he reassured himself.
They'll get over it and I'll just have to think of other ways to get out of the whole 'wife' drama.
"You were at the office were you?" Anjali teased, halting whatever her brother was about to say; this was confirmation to the assumptions she'd had earlier. Arnav had been lying to them about working late at the office, though now, Anjali could appreciate why, because her brother definitely had a good taste.
She watched as her brother's cheeks tinged red, something that does not happen often. The poor girl beside him just looked confused.
"Our Chotte has been telling us that he's been working late nights at the office, when in fact, he's been with you," Anjali explained and watched as the girl also blushed at the statement, whilst looked at Arnav with wide eyes - who, was staring at his sister with the same expression.
"What the - ... but Di, I - I," Arnav was flabbergasted. Where on earth did his sister come up with these ideas?
"Di, I-I," Anjali taunted, "On the bright side, you don't need to lie anymore Arnav because she's going to be with us for a month. Are your parents alright with that?" She asked the girl nervously, she hadn't thought about that fact when she had demanded her brother to bring this girl to their home.
Sadness clouded Khushi's eyes.
"My parents died a long time ago when I was little; I live by myself," she muttered, looking down at her feet. Anjali immediately regretted asking her that and with one look at her Chotte, who was staring at the brunette beside him sadly, she felt even worse.
"Uh-urm, Di and everyone, this is Khushi Kumari Gupta, my girlfriend." Arnav introduced, clearing his throat to get rid of the lump that had formed.
Immediately, Khushi's emotions changed and they were all met with a bright smile that lit up the room. It was an infectious smile that the family sub-consciously found themselves returning the smile.
"Namaste," she greeted the family politely; the sentiments were returned by the family who'd all taken an instant liking to the girl.
"Arnav Bitwa, why don't you take Khushi Bitiya to the guest bedroom? You are both soaked, you need to take a shower and change out of the wet clothes before you catch a cold," Nani suggested.
"Yes, Hari Prakash and Jai Prakash will bring up the luggage, you show Khushi Bitiya to her room Bitwa," Mamiji agreed.
With a muted nod, Arnav took Khushi's hand again and led her up the stairs to the guest bedroom that was conveniently opposite his.
As soon as they were out of hearing distance, Anjali turned to look at her Nani.
"Oh Nani! They look great together don't they?" She beamed.
"They do Bitiya; she seems like a well mannered girl as well." Nani replied happy with Chotte's choice.
"Not to mention educated. You could tell from the way she held herself, I wouldn't be surprised if she studied overseas," Shyam noted correctly; as a lawyer he was more perceptive to these things than others. "Although, that doesn't surprise me either since Saale Saheb wouldn't settle for anything less. He needs someone who can match his intellect."
The family nodded in agreement.
"Om Prakash, please set the table for dinner, Arnav Bitwa and Khushi Bitiya will be joining us soon," Mamiji ordered the butler.
"I'll just go fetch some clean towels for Khushiji, she might need them," Anjali added as she started her way up the stairs.
Chapter 4B: Link
Edited by -kitti- - 12 years ago
Cricket
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Hindi TV Shows
8