"What do you mean by you don't need the file anymore?" Aman yelled frantically over the phone.
"You were given ample time for it and you still failed to get it. Now we don't need it." The voice on the other end replied calmly.
"What about my family?"Aman gasped out, imagining all the dreadful things that could possibly happen to them.
"Don't worry Aman. They are safe for now. That is until you don't let a word about our deal to reach anyone's ears. For now, we have decided to let Arnav live for few more extra days. But don't try to act smart. Even if I get the slightest clue that Arnav knows about me, you know what will happen to your baby sister." The voice sneered, before disconnecting the cellphone.
Aman collapsed down on the couch, clutching his head. If only Arnav had a slight control over his anger, he could have somehow told him that he was being threatened and together, they would have hatched some plan to rescue his family. But, no. Arnav was Arnav, the short tempered guy who would go and hunt down everyone who was involved in threatening him. It could have been easier if only one man was behind this. But he feared it was a whole network. And there was no way Arnav could hunt them all, without getting his family killed in the process.
Arnav may have been the best sharp shooter in the whole of Delhi Mafia. But there was no way he could bring down all of them single-handedly. Nor could Aman and nor could Khalid Bhai. There were just too many enemies for them and they had infiltrated the very core of their gang.
And now, there was no way out of this, except to silently obey all their orders and see his friend getting sacrificed amidst all this.
o0o
The abrupt noise of the ringing phone, startled Khushi, who was busy watching the television in her living room. Glancing at the caller id, she saw Lavanya's name.
"Hey Lavanya," Khushi spoke, alerting Arnav who was lying around lazily on the couch beside her.
"Hey Khushi, I just wanted to let you know that you left behind a pair of your clothes in my house. So I thought of returning it to you. Can I come over to your house at around five?" she heard Lavanya on the other end.
"Yeah sure. I'll see you in an hour then." Khushi said looking at the clock on the wall that showed it was 4:00 pm already. Disconnecting the call, she turned to her side to discover Arnav curiously watching her.
"That was Lavanya, my best friend. Have I told you about her? Actually, she was the one whom I was staying with after Buaji's funeral. She is going to come here in an hour to return back some clothes that I had left behind at her house."
Arnav tried his level best to maintain a straight face while listening to Khushi. How could he tell her that he already knew everything about her friend?
"Arnav," Khushi asked nervously remembering that she hadn't told Lavanya anything about Arnav and her relationship till now. "There is a slight problem here." She said fidgeting with her dress. "I haven't told her anything about us." She blurted out.
"Huh?" Arnav asked completely shocked to discover this new piece of information. He had already concluded that Lavanya would have probably heard about him and Khushi, even though she hadn't seen him.
"Actually, the thing is I didn't want to tell her anything until I was absolutely sure about us. And recently, when I was about to tell her, she had a terrible break up with her boyfriend." She continued, while Arnav suddenly felt his throat constrict. "That's why I thought it would be insensitive from my side if I told her about us. So could you please go out somewhere before she arrives here?" she pleaded apologetically to him, hoping that he would understand her situation.
"Sure Khushi." He agreed instantly, thanking his luck that was definitely on his side today. Otherwise, he would have been in great trouble if Lavanya discovered him at Khushi's house. "And anyways, I have some work to do. I've been lying here all day. So, I'll complete that and return back. Is that fine?"
Khushi nodded smilingly, while he got up from the couch and headed to the bathroom.
From the time she had confessed aloud her feelings for him, she had noticed that a strange calm had ascended upon him. He remained unnaturally quiet and lost in his own world.
At the time she had laid open her heart for him, she was too excited and nervous to notice the change in him. But now after hours had passed and she had finally returned back to normalcy, she actually observed that he hadn't reacted back the way she had expected from him.He had just reciprocated by saying, 'I know.'
Khushi had expected that maybe he would say those three magical words back to her. But somehow, he hadn't. And to add to it, he was more aloof than usual after that moment between them.
So did it mean he didn't feel the same? Was she actually wrong to think that he loved her back as much as she did?
No, it wasn't possible. She had felt that love from him. And was love simply restricted to those three words? Arnav was a man of few words. She remembered how she had initially struggled a lot to make him open up to her.
Confusedly, she continued to stare at the bathroom door that he had just entered into, somewhere feeling a slight hue of disappointment creep in her heart.
o0o
Arnav stood before the huge mirror, bending forward, resting his one palm on the basin slab while the other rotated the water tap. He splashed the cold water that suddenly rushed out, onto his face, letting the temperature of his face to cool down.
What was he thinking? How could he be so irresponsible? How could he have forgotten that Lavanya could visit Khushi anytime she wanted to? Atleast, this time that girl had informed Khushi before her arrival.
He shuddered to think what would happen if Khushi came to know that he had used Lavanya, her best friend, as a pawn in his filthy game and stolen a file from Kashyap's study room, breaking in past the security. Would Khushi continue to behave with him in the same manner like she currently did?
That girl, who was sitting in the living room behind him, had confessed aloud her love for him. She hadn't hesitated a bit. Maybe she had already foreseen a bright happy future with him, filled with love and promises.
But he had simply replied with a 'I know'. He couldn't muster up the courage to say it out aloud what he truly felt for her. He felt a strange sense of fear in his heart. The only person who had ever loved him had been cruelly snatched away by fate. And now, deep inside, he feared to accept the love that was knocking at the doors of his heart.
No good thing ever had happened in his life. He had lost everything, so much so that he didn't have anything in his hands to claim as his own. He had suffered, been humiliated, nearly died, lost and left all alone in this cruel world. And now, after a long time, life was giving him a chance to claim someone as exclusively his. That girl out there was ready to surrender herself to him completely if he asked her to right now.
Arnav felt his throat choke guiltily, while a violent shiver ran down his spine, as his hands and feet became deathly cold and numb.
He had to tell her the entire truth. She didn't deserve to be hidden from his dark past and present. She needed to know everything about him. Otherwise, she would be completely shattered by his hidden truth and maybe, she would abandon him forever.
If in such a situation, he surrendered his heart completely to her and dared to venture out into the very territory he feared the most, he would never be able to mend the shattered pieces of his vulnerable heart if she left his life.
He simply wouldn't. He would never be able to withstand losing love once again and he was unmistakeably sure about that.
Stepping out of the bathroom, he noticed how Khushi was dismally lost in her own thoughts, probably thinking about Buaji once again. The pain was evident in her eyes, even though she tried her best to leave it behind. As he took a step towards her, he realised that Khushi had nearly had an emotional breakdown recently. In such an atmosphere, how could he tell her the truth about him?
He took another step forward. But suddenly, he felt his throat completely dry up and his mind turn absolutely blank. He didn't know how he could commence the topic.
No, he couldn't do this. Not now atleast. Maybe later at night. Yes, he would think about it and come up with the best possible way to tell her. Turning around, he retraced his steps and went towards the bedroom to get ready to go out.
o0o
After Arnav left the house, Khushi realised that she still had fifteen minutes to herself before Lavanya arrived. Not knowing what else to do, she remembered about the used clothes lying around in the house. From the time, she had returned back from Mumbai, she hadn't put her clothes for laundry. Deciding that she would be able to soak the clothes within fifteen minutes, she strode to her bedroom to retrieve them.
On her way back, she discovered Arnav's bag still lying on the floor.
"Oh No! Arnav forgot to take his bag home." She exclaimed to herself. Remembering that even his clothes would be due for laundry and thinking that he had planned to stay along with her for few more days, she decided to add them to her pile and bent down to open his bag. After taking out the clothes, she discovered the same black file that she had last seen at the hotel left behind.
Deciding that something important like this couldn't be placed in a surrounding like this, where it could easily be lost or damaged, she took the file along with her to place it on the dining table, so that she could hand it over to him when he returned back.
Twenty minutes later, when she was all done with the laundry, she heard the door bell ring. She opened the door to reveal Lavanya, smiling widely at her.
"Hey Khushi! How have you been? And how was your day all alone at home?" Lavanya asked hugging her friend.
"It was fine. Much better than I thought." Khushi replied, mentally alerting herself to not mention a word about Arnav. She did feel guilty to hide such important news from her. But she promised herself that she would reveal it to her best friend at the right time, when things had finally cooled off a bit.
"You know, you can still return back to my house if you want to." Lavanya assured her taking a seat on the couch.
"I know. But a home is where the heart is. And my heart dwells here." Khushi replied with a sad smile.
"Here are your clothes." Lavanya held out a packet in her hand.
"Thanks Lavanya." Khushi replied taking the packet. "Want something to drink? There's orange juice inside."
"Ok, fine." Lavanya replied as Khushi went to the kitchen to get her the juice and some snacks along with it.
"So Khushi, what have you planned to do ahead? Are you rejoining college?" Lavanya asked getting up and making her way towards the kitchen. But something made her stop at the dining table. Pulling out a chair she sat down on it.
"I don't know. Maybe I'll continue to work at the clinic. You know, at Dr. Akash's. That guy who had come to your house that day." Khushi replied back from the kitchen. "Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back."
"Oh!" Lavanya exclaimed, her attention suddenly diverted to the black file on the table. Curiosity taking over her, she opened the file to read it.
'Evidence of Money Laundering against Goenka Trading.'
"Hey, what is this file doing here?" Lavanya asked wondering why a file like this would be present in Khushi's house. She knew it was nothing related to the inmates of this house. "It looks like those files that my Dad has in his study room."
"Oh, that is nothing." Khushi came running out from the kitchen with a tray in her hand, and placing it down on the table, she quickly snatched the file away from Lavanya's hands. "It's that..." Khushi tried coming up with a name. "Yes, that is Sarla Aunty's husband's file. He must have left it over here last week when he visited the house." she lied, wondering how she could be so careless to leave it around like this. How was she supposed to tell her friend that it was Arnav's, who she happened to be seriously involved with and about whom she hadn't told a word to her?
"Ok." Lavanya said, losing interest in it instantly and focusing on the orange juice in front of her.
"So how was your day at college?" Khushi asked immediately, diverting the topic, knowing very well that now, Lavanya wouldn't stop with her college gossip for the next one hour.
o0o
Khushi stared at the fluorescent stars on her ceiling as she lay down on her bed. The night was dark and silent, except for the sounds of hers and Arnav's breathing. From the time Arnav had returned back home, he hadn't started a conversation on his own with her. He had only replied to the questions she posed to him. His demeanour was changed too. As if something had been nagging his mind.
The creases had made their reappearance back on his forehead, indicating that something was up. There wasn't the same liveliness that she had seen in him that morning before her confession, making her to believe that this was all an after effect of it, indicating that it had all been a mistake.
The night was cold and harsh, being the peak of winter. And temperatures dropped to sub zero at this part of the year. The duvet that was covering her body was not enough to shelter her from the cold. Instead, instinctively reaching out for the body warmth beside her, she snuggled closer to Arnav. Placing her arm across his chest, she suddenly felt him move, indicating that he was still awake.
Arnav had been silently staring at the darkness looming ahead of him. Only one thought was wandering his mind. To tell Khushi the entire truth about him. He had firmly decided about it while returning back home. But whenever he saw her face, so innocent and child like, he couldn't muster up the courage to utter a word and see her break apart.
And then, suddenly, he had felt her cold arm traverse across his chest, breaking him out of his reverie, and startling him.
"Arnav?" he heard her whisper in a barely audible voice, lest she disturb the silence of the night.
"Hmm..?" he murmured letting her know he was still awake.
"I'm feeling cold." She shivered, chattering her teeth. It was indeed one of the coldest nights of the year. Instantly, Arnav shifted around to his side, to pull her more close to him, wrapping up his arm and leg over her and shielding her with his body.
"Better now?" he asked suddenly being aware of just how close he was to her soft body. Her warm breath on his neck sent tingling sensations all over him.
"Yeah." She said enveloping her arm around his neck.
Involuntarily, her hand was finding its way through his hair, squeezing it in between her fingers. Slowly, they revolved in circles until they finally started to caress the back of his head.
"Arnav, You can share your problems with me, you know." She said letting her fingers travel down to the nape of his neck and then treading towards his jaw, where she finally stroked his stubble, tenderly. "If there is anything bothering you, just tell me."
She waited for him to say something. But he continued to remain silent.
Her body had now gotten accustomed to his warmth, finally feeling relief from the cold outside. "Does it have to do something with our morning conversation?" she finally asked it out aloud, pausing for a while before she continued. "Just because I love you, doesn't mean that I expect the same from you. Maybe you don't feel the same towards me." She added as the first signs of heart break ignited within her. "I never intended to make you feel guilty for this. I'm sorry. It is my fault. I just got carried away."
Arnav felt her hand retreating away from his neck, as she started shifting away from him. Honestly, he didn't know what to say. He couldn't verbalise his feelings. He wished it would be as easy as her, for him, to express his inner thoughts. But it simply wasn't. Not knowing what else to do, he did what he always did. He held on to her firmly, not letting her go away from him.
As Khushi struggled to move away from him, she felt his grip tighten across her waist. By now, she could feel tears brimming in her eyes that were threatening to spill down any moment. She tried to move away his hand. But it was futile.
Turning around to face him, she saw that he had already closed his eyes. And suddenly, Khushi Gupta was no longer sure of what her future held for her. She didn't know what would happen tomorrow. She didn't know what that man, who was sleeping besides her, sharing her bed and life wanted from her. His perturbing silence as well as his strong hold over her, not letting her get away from him, created a strange sense of foreboding within her. And she felt the first signs of an overwhelming storm lurking at the corner of her future, slowly paving its way into her life.
CHAPTER 34
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
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