He took Khushi's face in his hands and brought her face closer. Her eyes were closed; her lips were trembling, waiting to be kissed. Just as his lips almost touched Khushi's, Raj turned and smiled. Arnav woke up screaming "Khushi". Then he realized that he was on his bed and that he had been dreaming. He switched on the light by the bed and closed his eyes. No, I can't let Khushi get married to Raj. She is mine and I don't want to lose her. He looked at the clock; it was 4am. He was getting engaged in a few hours. I cannot get engaged to Lavanya, not when Khushi and I'. Khushi and I what' why can't I stop thinking about her? Why do I feel the need to see her everyday? Why can't I let her get married to someone else? Why can't I see her suffer? His heart was beating fast. He put his hand on his heart, opened his eyes and softly whispered her name, "Khushi".
At that instant, in Buaji's house, there was a breeze and Khushi felt her heart beating fast. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about Arnav. I cannot get engaged to Raj, not when I.. my heart .. my heart belongs to Arnavji. But he is getting engaged to Lavanyaji tomorrow. What will I do, Devi Maiyya? She touched the statue of the goddess on her table. Ok, first I will try and talk to Raj tomorrow and tell him that I cannot get engaged to him. Then I will talk to Arnavji, I know he feels the same about me. I know he does, even though he will deny it. I will have to convince him, somehow.. I don't know how. Devi Maiyya, I need your help. What will I do? Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Shantivan was decorated with flowers and lights; two engagement ceremonies were to happen together in the house. Arnav walked down the stairs to the living room to see Anjali and Nani talking to a group of relatives. He looked around and he couldn't see anyone from the Gupta family and well, he couldn't see Khushi. He was about to turn around when he saw Lavanya, dressed in an orange lehenga, running towards him, excited. "ASR, do you think I look pretty?" As he was about to answer, he felt a breeze; Khushi was here, he knew. He looked over Lavanya's shoulder and saw Khushi, dressed in a dark red lehenga, looking more beautiful than ever. His heart skipped a beat. Just then she looked at him and their eyes met. His heart started beating faster, when he realized she was walking towards him. Just then, Lavanya touched his arm.
Khushi felt Arnav's presence, as she entered Shantivan. She turned her face towards the stairs and their eyes met. She knew; she saw his eyes filled with love; she knew that he wanted to talk to her. She started walking towards him, without realizing it, as though an invisible force was pulling her towards him. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Anjali.
"ASR, you didn't say anything. How do I look?" Lavanya's voice interrupted Arnav's thoughts. Arnav smiled and said, "Lavanya, I will be right back". He looked back at Khushi and saw that she was talking to Anjali. He saw Hari Prakash, carrying drinks, walked towards him and said, "Hari Prakash, tell Khushi to come meet me by the poolside". He then turned around, walked up the stairs towards the poolside.
Anjali hugged Khushi and smiled, "Khushiji, you look stunning!" When they pulled away from the hug, Khushi had tears in her eyes. She pulled Anjali aside and said softly, "Anjaliji, you were right. I do not want to get married, not to Raj". Anjali took her hands in hers and asked, "Khushiji, and why is that? Is it because of Chotte?" Khushi didn't say anything, but Anjali saw a tear rolling down Khushi's cheek hearing the question. She touched Khushi's face and said, "Khushiji, Chotte loves you too. I don't know how long it will take him to understand what he feels for you. But I think you should talk to him, ask him to confront his feelings for you." Khushi looked at Anjali, confused. "But Anjaliji, what if he doesn't.. " she didn't complete the sentence. Anjali smiled, "I know my Chotte. He has changed ever since you came into his life. Only love can do that to someone! I have seen how he looks at you, how he acts when you are around and also how he has gone back to his old self ever since you accepted Raj's proposal". She hugged Khushi and said, "Khushiji, I am so happy that you both love each other. I could not have asked for a better sister". Khushi hugged her back, "Anjaliji, I'm scared that Arnavji might not.. but I don't want to .. lose .. him.. I .. I", she stammered, sobbing.
Just then, Hari Prakash walked to them and said, "Khushiji, Arnav bhaiyya wants to talk to you at the poolside." Khushi looked at Anjali, who smiled and squeezed her hand, excited. "Khushiji, looks like Chotte has finally realized his love for you. Go ahead, talk to him. I will handle everything with the families; I will support both of you. I just want you both to be happy." Khushi smiled, her heart was beating fast and her hands were trembling. She thought she was going to faint with excitement. She turned around and saw Lavanya standing next to them, with a bright smile on her face. "Chamkili, you are here. Look at you, you look gorgeous; absolutely stunning!" She hugged Khushi and Khushi hugged her back, her eyes looking towards the poolside and her mind thinking about Arnav and what she would tell him. "Chamkili, you know how happy I am today. I have never been this happy in my life before. ASR loves me and I love him. We are getting engaged today and soon, I will be his and he will be mine, only mine!" Lavanya said, grabbing Khushi's shoulders, still smiling with tear-filled eyes. "and I owe all this to you, Chamkili. You brought us together and you are my best friend. Thank you so much, Chamkili! I don't know how I will ever repay you." She hugged Khushi again. Tears rolled down Khushi's cheek. Lavanya pulled away from the hug and then saw her friend walking past. She excused herself and ran off to talk to her friend.
Khushi turned to Anjali, who was still smiling. "Go Khushiji, Chotte is waiting." Khushi took Anjali's hand. "No Anjaliji, Lavanyaji is so happy. If I talk to Arnavji and if he breaks off the engagement, it will break her heart and I will never be able to forgive myself." Anjali was shocked, "But Khushiji, Arnav loves you. How will he be able to keep Lavanyaji happy?" Khushi squeezed Anjali's hand. "Didn't you hear her say? Arnavji loves her. Deep down, I'm sure he still has some feelings towards her. Once I'm out of the picture, I'm sure he will forget me and learn to love Lavanyaji again." Anjali shook her head, "I don't think Chotte ever loved Lavanya. You don't understand Khushiji. This is true love, what you both share. You cannot just walk away from it." Khushi smiled, "I think I can. Lavanyaji is a good person. I will never be able to forgive myself if she loses her faith in love because of me. I am sure she will take good care of Arnavji." Khushi wiped her tears and continued, "Anyways, I think I will go find Raj and tell him I don't want to get engaged. I don't know how my family will react, but I will somehow handle that. Maybe I will move to Lucknow, my uncle just started a sweet shop there and he did tell Babuji that he needed help with it." Anjali's face was clouded with anger, "Oh, so you are running away, are you now, Khushiji? Do you think that will help you forget your feelings for Chotte?" Khushi started to say something, but Anjali touched her face. "Khushiji, just talk to him before you make a decision in haste. Look, Chotte is here." Khushi turned around to see Arnav walk down the stairs.
Arnav was looking at the star-covered sky, smiling, remembering the wonderful moments he had shared with Khushi; the first time he met her at the Lucknow fashion show, how he had saved her from the car in the rain and from the guest house, how he had fed water to her at Teej, how Khushi had been jealous of Lavanya, the pranks she played on him, the multiple times she fell into his arms, how he had helped free her from the tangled lights and finally how they kissed on Diwali last week. He heard footsteps and he turned around to see Raj. Arnav was surprised. "So ASR, I heard you wanted to talk to Khushi." Raj stood in front of his, his hands folded. "Why don't you tell me what you want to tell her? I'm getting married to her soon. I'm sure she wouldn't want to keep any secrets from me." Arnav was confused and Raj continued, "ASR, talk to me. What did you want to tell her?" Arnav was furious, he said angrily, "That's between me and her. You stay away from her". Raj raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me. She is no longer your employee, so I don't see what you might want to discuss with her. Anyways, I don't think she wants to talk to you, else she would have been here by now, right?" Arnav walked to Raj and grabbed his sherwani. "Look, if you hurt her even a bit, then I will.. " Raj pushed off Arnav's hands. "You will.. what.. ASR?" Arnav continued, through clenched teeth. "I know what you did to Nisha.. and Priya.. and should I continue?" Raj raised his eyebrows and then laughed. "What are you talking about? Nisha, Priya.. ohh.. so you believed those rumors? Yes, ASR, I did sleep with them. But I did not get Nisha pregnant, nor did I dump Priya because she was poor. Those girls were after my money and they did not love me. Nisha was already married, but her husband was in jail, so she thought she could trick me into giving her money. Priya was already engaged to someone, but then her family went bankrupt. So she thought she will get married to me and get access to my wealth. So, I see, you wanted to warn Khushi about my past?" Raj's face filled with anger, but then softened. "ASR, you are really a nice guy, aren't you? You do care about others. Well, don't worry about Khushi. I love her and I will keep her happy. In fact, ever since I met her, I couldn't stop thinking about her and then how will I even think about another woman. No, I'm going to be a one-woman guy from now on". He walked to Arnav and put his hand on his shoulder. "And I know now that if I ever hurt her, you will hunt me down and kill me, right, ASR". Raj smiled, "Now, come on ASR, it is time for our engagements. Let us go back to our women. Lavanya will be waiting for you, and I know my lovely Khushi will be waiting for me too." He turned and walked away, leaving Arnav at the poolside. Arnav looked up at the stars; a star shined brightly. He closed his eyes and thought, "Mom, maybe I was wrong about Raj. Maybe he will take better care of Khushi than I ever will. I mean, have I ever given her any happiness? I have always made her cry, given her pain and nothing else. No, I will not tell Khushi how I feel. I will try to forget her, to keep my distance from her, for her sake.. and Lavanya? I should find her before the engagement and tell her that we need to end this. I don't think I can marry her, not after I thought of a life with Khushi." He opened his eyes and walked down quickly to the living room.
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Ok, guys. Let me know how you liked this update. Please leave your comments. I love reading what you have to say about my updates! It is your feedback that makes me want to update! Thanks!
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