Arshi FF:I love you,I trust you!(Discontinued!) - Page 23

"Arnavji", Khushi softly said his name, as he got up from the chair next to the bed. She had stayed quiet, tears in her eyes, as Arnav fed her dinner. He had stayed by her side, ever since she had opened her eyes the previous day. He had sat next to her on the chair, holding her hand, caressing her hair and kissing her forehead occasionally. They rarely spoke, even though they had a lot to say, lot to discuss, but somehow they both felt happy just being with each other, holding hands. They knew by looking into each other's eyes, how much they loved each other, how much they had missed each other! Arnav looked at Khushi, his eyes widened and quickly sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulder. "Khushi, what happened? Is everything alright, sweetheart?" Khushi took his hand in hers. "Arnavji, what did you tell everyone? Why has no one come to see me?" Arnav smiled, and kissed her cheek, "Don't worry about it, Khushi. I told you that I will manage everything." Khushi's eyes filled with tears. "Arnavji, you are not keeping anything from me, right?" Arnav felt a lump in his throat; he had wanted to tell her everything, but he knew it would break her heart to hear that the whole family was against her. She had already suffered so much, and he didn't want her to suffer more. He took her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Khushi. I will love you, no matter what happens, ok. I want you to know that. Do you trust me?" Khushi pressed her lips together and nodded. Arnav smiled and got up from the bed. Then he stopped, his eyebrows raised and he turned around; she had grabbed his hand. "Khushi?" he asked.

"Don't go, Arnavji. Can you.. " Khushi said softly, stammering. "Can you sleep on the bed, next to me?" Arnav smiled; his heart was beating wildly. He nodded and sat down on the bed. Khushi started moving her body, shifting closer to him and Arnav raised his eyebrows, "What are you doing, Khushi?" She looked into his eyes, "Arnavji, I know you want to sleep on the other side. So I was just.." Arnav stood up, his eyebrows raised. "Khushi, no, no, sweetheart. Don't move. Your body needs rest. I will sleep on this side. I don't care which side I sleep on, as long as you are next to me." He squeezed into the small bed next to her, put his arm around her and pulled her slim body close to him. He took her hand in his and placed it on his chest. She put her head on his chest and closed her eyes, with a smile on her face. Arnav caressed her hair, kissing her forehead occasionally and watched her sleep. "I love you, sweetheart", he whispered; he heard a faint snore in reply. He smiled and closed his eyes.

Khushi opened her eyes, to find Arnav drinking tea sitting next to her. "You are up, sweetheart. The doctor said you are better already. So we can leave, whenever you are ready." She slowly sat up with Arnav's help. He sat down next to her, took her hand from her side and placed a wrapped package on it. Khushi's eyes widened and she quickly tore the package open, to see what was inside. She took out a deep red saree and then looked at him. "I didn't know what else to buy for you", Arnav said, a bit sad, thinking Khushi didn't like it; a second later, he raised his eyebrows, because Khushi had hugged him tightly. He slowly helped her get off the bed and walked her to the bathroom. As the door closed, he said, "Khushi, I will be right here. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Arnavji, I can't wait to see everyone. I missed everyone so much.. Naniji, Di, Jiji, Akash Jiju, Mamiji, Mamaji, Laxmiji! It will be so good to be back home.." Arnav could hear Khushi saying from the other side of the door. He closed his eyes, thinking, "How will I tell her? She is so happy; it will break her heart!" He opened his eyes, when he heard her say, "It will be so good to be back home, and this time with you; with you always by my side, at home, in our room. Arnavji?" He smiled and he walked closer to the door, "Yes, Khushi?" "Can you come inside?" Arnav slowly opened the door and walked in to find Khushi still in the hospital gown, her eyes filled with tears. "Arnavji, I can't wear these clothes. My stomach.. hurts.. I.." She swallowed her words as tears rolled down her cheeks. Arnav ran to her, put his hands on her arms and then wiped her tears. "Sweetheart, don't worry. I will help you." She looked at him with raised eyebrows. Arnav saw her scared face and said softly, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I won't look, I promise." Khushi shook her head and started to say that she wasn't worried, but he put his finger on her lips. Her heart was beating wildly, as he helped her remove the gown. Arnav couldn't hear anything over the sound of his heart pounding in his chest. He tried not to look at her exposed milky white skin and not think about how soft her skin felt as he ran his fingers over it. Khushi closed her eyes, as she started breathing heavily, when he helped her put her blouse on and wrap her saree around her. She could feel his fingers all over her skin; it sent jolts of electricity down her spine and she tried hard not to squirm with pleasure. Finally Arnav tied the dori of her blouse and gulped, trying to control himself from kissing her bare back. "Ok, Khushi, let's go." He said, stepping away from her. Khushi opened her eyes, turned to look at him, crashed into his chest and put her arms around him. "Arnavji, I missed you so much. When you were away, when I was alone at home, I thought I would die. I couldn't sleep, my heart stopped beating, I couldn't breathe. I didn't want anything else, but to be with you; and today. I can't believe it; I can't believe that you are here with me. I don't need anything else, Arnavji, I just want you with me, always". Arnav's eyes filled with tears and he hugged her tightly. "I love you, Khushi. I will always be with you, sweetheart. I love you so much." Khushi pulled away from the hug, looked into his eyes and took his face in her hands. She stood on her toes, leaned closer to him and brushed her lips against his.

Arnav carried Khushi up the steps to the temple. "Arnavji, why are we here? I thought we were going home." He helped Khushi down on her feet, then brought his hands together in prayer and closed his eyes, facing the smiling goddess. Khushi looked at him, her mouth wide open. Arnav opened his eyes and looked at her, with raised eyebrows. "What?", he asked. Khushi stammered, "You.. you are praying.." Arnav smiled and said, touching her face, "I had to thank your Devi Maiyya for giving you back to me." Khushi's eyes teared up and their eyes met. They looked away, when the priest walked to them. "Son, you are here? Follow me." Khushi looked confused, but Arnav took her hand in his and followed the priest. They walked to the front of the temple, where a fire was burning in the kund. The priest came forward with a tray of flower garlands. "Arnavji.." Khushi started saying, looking at Arnav, as he picked up a flower garland and gave it to her. She looked confused as the priest started reciting some hymns. "Khushi, what are you waiting for? Put the garland on me." Khushi looked confused, but she put the garland on him. Arnav placed the garland around her neck, then took her hand and walked around the fire. Khushi looked at Arnav, her eyes filled with tears; Arnav had a smile on his face. When they stopped, Arnav untied the mangalsutra that was around her neck and turned to the priest and picked up a mangalsutra from the tray. The priest continued to recite hymns, the bells in the temple were ringing as Arnav tied the mangalsutra around her neck; Khushi closed her eyes, remembering how he had tied it last time. He had said, his face furious. "All these things matter a lot to you, right; this mangalsutra, this sindoor. Here is the mangalsutra, and here is the sindoor. Now you are my wife, but only in the eyes of the world, and that too for six months. After that I will free you. But until then you stay with me, in my house, as my wife. But this sindoor, this mangalsutra, everything is just a compromise. I will never accept you as my wife, nor will I let you take on the role." When she opened her eyes, Arnav was looking at her, his eyes filled with love and a smile on his face. He turned to the priest and took a pinch of sindoor in his hand and turned to her. "Khushi, I know this means a lot to you. If it matters to you, then it matters to me too. I love you, Khushi." He kissed her forehead, and then put the sindoor along the parting in her hair. "Now you are my wife, forever, in every sense. You are my world, sweetheart and I want to be with you forever, because I can't live without you. We are married now and we will be married forever!" Khushi bit her lip, remembering the last time he had put sindoor on her, his eyes red and furious. She couldn't control her tears anymore; she crashed into Arnav's chest, threw her arms around him and cried her heart out. Arnav smiled as he put his arms around, pressed his cheek against her hair and a tear escaped his eye.

Arnav pulled her away, wiped her tears and said, softly, "Khushi, I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will always love you and I will always be with you. Do you trust me?" She sniffled as she nodded. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her face and her eyes met his. "Sweetheart, I have something to tell you. I know it's going to hurt, but I promise you, everything will be alright soon. I will make sure of that, ok?" Khushi looked confused, but her eyes widened and tears rolled down as Arnav explained the conversation with his family and what NK had said. He put his hands on her arms, as she looked shocked. He waited patiently for the news to sink in. Finally she wiped her tears and looked at him. "I will not cry, Arnavji. This is not the time for tears. This is the time to fight, fight the enemy and to bring out the truth about Shyamji in front of everyone". She took Arnav's hands in his. "But we must be really careful. Every step must be real subtle, so that Shyamji won't suspect us and so that it won't hurt Di". Arnav's eyes teared up; even after he told her that Di hated her, Khushi still didn't want Di to be hurt. Khushi was saying, "Arnavji, please believe me. I had to act as though I cared about Shyamji, and act as though I hated you. I had no other option, Arnavji. I didn't know where you were and why he had abducted you. I was disgusted when he.. well, anyways, I found you and I was willing to do anything to get to you. Now that you are by my side, I am not worried any more. I feel safe with you, I know you have a plan and I want you to know I am with you." Arnav took both her hands in his and nodded. They hugged, as the bells in the temple rang.

Precap: "Khushi, I am sorry. I wanted to come see you, but I was ashamed to even face you and.. Arnavji.. I am sorry, please forgive me.. " Payal had tears rolling down her cheeks.

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Part 7: To err is human, to forgive divine