Mirage #3 Check note on pg 149 for next thread! - Page 18

"What are you thinking about?" he heard the girl's voice interrupt his thoughts, bringing him back to the present.

"Nothing. You were not paid to use your mouth to talk. Find other useful things to do with it." He ordered her and she relented, pulling down the sheets that were covering both their bare bodies and began her work.

He immediately resumed whatever he had been thinking, going over all his options once again.

He needed Arnav at any cost. But Khushi was the one thing that was blocking his path. Ofcourse, he also had an option of permanently eliminating her. All it would need was one bullet and she would be gone forever. But he didn't like wasting lives of girls like hers. Not unless they were an active threat to him. And then, he knew Arnav would be too devastated to be useful to him anymore if she died.

To eliminate her out of the equation, he had to separate them. And that was only possible if somehow Khushi came to know the truth about Arnav. That was his trump card and he had to use it wisely. But the biggest problem was how was she going to get to know the truth?

Arnav must have clearly instructed Aman to not tell her anything. So there was no use in using Aman for this task. If he himself were to reveal the truth, his aim would be accomplished, but after that, Arnav would never agree to work for him. So what could he possibly do? Was there any way he could kill two birds with one arrow?

He closed his eyes, as he felt that very familiar sensation glide upwards from his lower body, pushing him to the edge. And then he found the release, and then suddenly, all the haze was cleared in his mind as the solution stared right at his face. Why had he not thought about that before?

Abbas got up from the bed, pushing aside the girl lying on top of him and made his way to the phone at the other end of the hotel room. He picked it up and dialled a number. Few seconds later, he spoke, "I need to know a private number."

"Whose?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Lavanya Kashyap." Abbas replied back, smirking at his ingenious plan.

o0o

Arnav glanced at his watch for the tenth time in the past five minutes. It was 7:00 pm now exactly. From where he was seated, he could see Khushi busy doing something in the kitchen. Most probably cleaning the kitchen, he smiled. In spite of reminding her so many times to leave the kitchen work to Om Prakash, Khushi had never obeyed him. She would never listen to him, would she?

He mentally ticked off all the things that he was supposed to do for the night. After making sure that everything was in order and that all the arrangements were done, he stood up, getting a little bit excited for the evening's plans.

He had planned a surprise for Khushi. Maybe it wasn't a big one, but he was sure she would like it. After seeing her gloomy for the past few days and especially after yesterday night, he wanted to bring back on her face, that very smile he had fallen in love with. And ofcourse, it had been days since they had gone out together, especially for a dinner date.

He stealthily crept up behind her when she was least expecting and glided his hands over her waist from behind, a sheepish smile lingering on his face. Khushi gasped out, a little startled to find his arms around her.

"Arnav, what are you doing?" She exclaimed loudly, feeling a bit ticklish on her abdomen, while he nuzzled her neck at the same time.

"Stop doing whatever you are doing and get ready. We are going out. I have a surprise planned for you." He said, pulling her more close to his chest.

Khushi closed her eyes and simply leaned back on his chest, enjoying every bit of warmth from him. She didn't know why but this was one position which she absolutely loved, leaning on him, completely carefree, both their bodies perfectly moulding with each other. "What surprise?" She asked, looking up to his face while resting her head on his shoulder.

"Uh huh." He shook his head. "I won't tell you right now. Otherwise, how would I be able to see that priceless surprised expression on your face?" He said, kissing the tip of her nose.

"Ok, now you are scaring me." She said, pulling apart from him, as she made her way into the bedroom. Arnav followed her, but stopped at the door, with a sheepish grin on his face, awaiting her reaction that was about to arrive any second from now. He had never done anything like this before. He had never planned any surprises for anyone. This was his very first time and right now, he felt equally excited and nervous anticipating her reaction to it.

As Khushi went towards the cupboard, her eyes suddenly fell on the bed. A beautiful red Anarkali suit with golden embroidery was neatly arranged on top of the bed. To say it was gorgeous would be an understatement, coz it was absolutely stunning. It was one of those dresses which Khushi always dreamt of owning but never could because she couldn't afford it.

"Hey Devi Maiyya!" she exclaimed, rushing towards the dress and lifted it up in her hands, intently observing the intricate designs on it with an awed expression on her face.

Arnav's smile simply intensified seeing her like this. This was what he had envisioned when he had purchased the dress this afternoon and he knew that his efforts were rewarded. "Do you like it?" he asked from the door, suddenly making her aware of his presence.

"Whose is this?" she asked completely shocked.

"This is part one of your surprise." He replied and slowly walked towards her.

"What? This is so expensive." Was all she could manage to say, not being able to acknowledge that this was indeed for her. "I cannot accept this."

"So, you don't like it?" he asked, sliding his hands into his pant pockets, flashing a puppy face at her.

"No, No. It's not like that. I love it. It is so beautiful, but I cannot take this." Khushi replied, feeling extremely confused seeing Arnav's pleading eyes.

"I want you to wear this. For me." He whispered huskily into her ears and there was no way she could refuse him. Seeing the hesitation in her eyes, he continued, moving closer to her. "Khushi, I want you to get used to all this. I want you to have everything that you have ever wished for. If I will be rewarded with this smile of yours, I'm ready to spend my entire fortune on you. You do so much for me. You take care of everything about me. Then am I not allowed to do this much for you?"

"Arnav, you are already doing lots for me. If you do more, I don't think I will be able to repay you for this." She replied, feeling happy as well as a bit guilty for it.

"You want to repay me? Then simply enjoy all that I'm doing for you. That would be more than enough for me. Now, quickly wear this. I can't wait to see you in this dress." He said and went to the cupboard to retrieve his own clothes for the night.

"When did you buy this? I'm sure it wasn't there yesterday coz I arranged the clothes in mine and your cupboard." He heard Khushi's voice behind him, while he changed his own clothes.

"Today afternoon. I lied when I said I had some work to do." He chuckled, imagining about all the efforts he had put to get her this dress. He had to carefully sneak out her other Anarkali suit for the size from her wardrobe without her notice and then, he had nearly gone to atleast ten shops to find the perfect dress for her. Uff, the things he had to do for her. But he didn't mind. It was definitely worth it.

"I wonder how many times you have lied to me. Poor me, I'm so naive that I actually believe every word of yours. I hope you are not one of those psychopaths who pretend to be all nice outside but are plotting some evil plan on the inside." Khushi chuckled, imagining all the crazy stuff she had seen in the movies.

But somewhere, this statement of hers, directly hit Arnav and he stiffened. He may not be a psychopath who was plotting to kill her, but he wasn't exactly how she perceived him to be. And that thought suddenly rang the alarm bells in his head, as fear gripped his body.

"Arnav, help me with this zip." He heard Khushi's voice and immediately snapped back to the reality. Turning around, he saw Khushi struggling with the zip of her Anarkali suit. He silently walked towards her and helped her out.

Gazing at the mirror ahead of them, he noticed how the dress was looking even more beautiful on her. It was as if, it was specifically designed for her. She looked elegant and sensuous at the same time. The low neck was giving him ample view of her tantalising cleavage, but not that much too make her look immodest too. The red colour of the fabric simply highlighted the glow on her face and to him, right now, she was the most beautiful girl in the world.

"So where are we going exactly?" Khushi asked turning around, finding him staring at her, lost in a trance. She couldn't help but blush when she realised what exactly he was staring at. Noticing his half buttoned black shirt, she started buttoning the rest of it, snapping him out of his trance. "Or have your plans been cancelled?" she teased him.

"I would have done that but then all my efforts of the afternoon will go in vain." He replied smirking back at her, and went to the shoe rack to wear his shoes. "And I won't tell you until you reach there. Think of it like the time we went to the amusement park."

Khushi felt her heart pound harder against the chest as excitement filled her body thinking about the amusement park. It had been one of the best days of her life. "Okay, then." She replied and continued with her dressing up.

Few minutes later, both of them were ready and seated in the car, and the car sped off into the night filled with promises and love for the duo, a night they would remember for the forthcoming days.

o0o

"Malik, they have left the house." the man spoke into his cellphone, standing in the shadows of the trees outside Arnav's house.

"Okay, now you will have to follow them and do your work. And see that Arnav doesn't notice your presence. I don't think he recognises you. He has never seen you before. But I don't want to raise any alarm." The voice on the other end replied to him.

"Okay, I'll see you soon." The man said and disconnected the call, swiftly walking towards his car that was parked on the opposite side of the road and entering it, his turned on the engine and sped off in the direction that Arnav's car had disappeared into.

o0o

The car stopped outside one of the high rise buildings in Delhi. The valet attendant came and took over the car while both Arnav and Khushi stepped into the building.

"Wait! Are we going to 'The Ritz Palm' restaurant?" Khushi asked with wide eyes as realisation dawned upon her. She had heard a lot about this place from Lavanya. Basically it was a place where only the elite of the Delhi dined at. Something, completely beyond the reach of a middle class girl like her. "Arnav, seriously?" she continued, as they entered the elevator.

"Yes." He chuckled, seeing her get all excited. He had never really been to places like these before. He had no one to accompany him. But he had always dreamt about this. It was all part of his dreams of becoming a big rich man. And now, when he was getting heftily paid for his work, he didn't mind spending it lavishly on Khushi. She had already become a part of his dreams too and he definitely wanted to share it with her.

Stepping out of the elevator, they were led to the restaurant. Upon entering it, Khushi couldn't help but stare, marvelled at the magnificent decor of the room she stood in. Everything was classy and elegant, defining elite in all sense. She observed that people were already seated at the tables, busy devouring on the delicious food served to them. At one corner of the room, was a small band of musicians, striking a slow rhythm in the background that went perfectly well with the whole ambience. Few couples had taken the centre stage and were slowing moving along to the soft music, lost in their own world.

Khushi and Arnav were soon led into the private section of the restaurant, where tables were arranged in a way to give more privacy to the diners, a little bit away from the centre stage.

As Khushi sat down at the table, she finally spoke overcome with shock. "Hey Devi Maiyya, I cannot believe that I'm here in such a place." She exclaimed out, but Arnav was all smiles for her today.

"So, you liked it?" he asked curiously.

"Ofcourse. Infact I loved it. Actually, I've never been on a dinner date. So, being my first time, I super excited. Oh my! So many things to try out in the menu. Ooh, I want this. Can I order this? What are you going to order?" Khushi went on blabbering, with the sudden excitement rush within her, not giving even a single chance for Arnav to speak.

"Why aren't you ordering anything?" she suddenly asked, becoming aware that he wasn't uttering anything.

"When the lioness roars, do you really think that anyone can dare to interrupt her?" He said rolling his eyes, smirking at her, while she reddened with embarrassment realising her mistake and apologised.

After they were done with ordering the food, Arnav finally resumed their conversation. "Hey, why don't we go outside over there till the food arrives?" he asked, pointing at the glass doors opposite them that led to the open air part of the restaurant.

"It's cold outside!" Khushi protested, remembering the temperature outside just before they had stepped in. "And it looks like no one is out there."

"Oh, come with me. The view outside is wonderful." He said getting up and took her hand and pulled her outside along with him. The night was indeed cold and Khushi found herself rubbing her bare arms for warmth, wrapping the shawl around her to shield herself. But soon, she found Arnav's arms wrap around her and she was led to the railings. From the fifteenth floor, the view before her eyes was simply breath taking. The city of Delhi looked like a starry night sky as small specks of light scattered the entire expanse of it. At this elevation, the noises of vehicles and people below them seemed to mute out, enveloping them in a peaceful silence, except for the low hum of music coming from inside the restaurant.

Khushi was so lost in the view in front of her that she was completely startled when he suddenly moved her hair from her back to her left shoulder, exposing the nape of her neck. And without any preamble, she felt the coldness of metal glide down her neck and settle firmly in the valley of her breasts. Bending down her neck to get a view of it, she was greeted by the sight of an oval shaped emerald pendant studded with tiny diamonds at the bottom and encased with platinum.

"Arnav, what... how... this...?" Khushi stammered unable to utter any meaningful sentence, stunned by the beauty of the object that adorned her. He turned her around so that she was no facing him.

"Sshh.. You ask too many questions." He whispered huskily, and cupping her face gently with both his hands, he brought it closer and simply silenced her with his sensuous seductive kiss, while she grabbed his shoulders completely overwhelmed with what was happening to her. With that same intensity, he trailed down his lips over her neck and further downwards, ending at where the pendant rested.

Khushi then felt the heat rapidly rise on her cheeks as he moved his head away and now stared at her with hooded eyes and a satisfying smirk on his face. And before she knew it, she found herself being pulled into his arms, as he wrapped one arm around her waist and the other held her hand and guided it over his shoulder and soon they were waltzing to the faint music in the background, under the stars.

"Oh God!" she exclaimed laughing as he twirled her around and caught hold of her once again. "What are you doing? The waiters will think we have lost it completely."

"Nah, I've told the waiters to reserve this area exclusively for us." He whispered, with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"Why? Why, all of this?" Khushi asked, looking into those dark eyes.

"Just like that." He said shrugging his shoulders. "Okay, I admit that this is the first time I'm doing all this to anyone. I hope I will be pardoned if I've not met your expectations."

"Arnav, this is simply perfect. I still cannot believe that you did so much for me." She said, resting her head on his shoulder while their bodies moved rhythmically in unison with each other. "Do you know, I've always imagined dancing under the stars like this? But I never really knew it would be so enchanting."

Arnav followed her gaze that was looking at the stars right now. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, when she was silent.

"I was thinking that my parents must be watching over us now and they would be very happy for us. I'm sure they would have loved you if they were alive. Do you think your mother would have liked me?" she asked, continuing to look at the stars.

"Yes." He replied, kissing her head. Deep down inside, he was absolutely sure that his mother herself had sent Khushi to him, even though he didn't deserve a wonderful girl like Khushi.

"I'm a really bad person. You don't deserve me." He suddenly whispered, feeling his heart grow heavy with the guilt that was slowly piling up in it. He knew that at the end of the day, he had in some way deceived her innocence and naivety.

"Why would you say that? No, you're not. I love you just the way you are. Maybe you get violent at times. Maybe you aren't vocal about your feelings at times. But still, even I'm not a perfect person. Even I have so many shortcomings within me. But I know one thing for sure. I would never find a better person than you to spend the rest of my life with. It doesn't matter who you were or what you did in your past."

"No, you don't understand what I'm trying to tell. I'm not what you assume me to be." Arnav choked, stilling himself, struggling to cohere what was going on his mind.

Khushi froze and pulled apart to look at his face, not understanding a word of what he was trying to say.

But before he could say anything, they were interrupted by a waiter who announced that their dinner was ready.

"Come let's go. I'm hungry." Khushi announced and pulled him inside. Seeing the delicious platter in front of her, she forgot about everything else and started to chomp on it. Arnav too followed not knowing what else to do.

"Oh my! This is so good." She managed to mutter stuffing the food into her mouth. "So what were you saying back there?" she asked, suddenly remembering about their unfinished conversation outside.

"No. Nothing." He replied pretending to smile. How was he ever going to tell her the truth? How could he ever see that smile wipe away from her face? How could he ever bear to see her hate him? He closed his eyes shuddering about it, but then felt her warm assuring hand creep up and hold his own under the table, while she smiled back at him.

o0o

"This was so much of fun, wasn't it?" Khushi asked dropping down on the couch, when they finally reached home after dinner. "Did you see that fake hairdo lady who was staring at everyone's plates as if they were eating worms?" she laughed, pulling Arnav beside her.

"Yeah, she was staring at us for sure." He replied, joining her laughter. He didn't know what happened, but all of a sudden, Khushi had taken control over their dinner, engaging him with her funny conversation and soon, he had forgotten all worries and joined her. And he knew this was the very reason why he was so much attracted her. She had the power to uplift any atmosphere and turn it into a happy one.

"And that man who was counting the tips a hundred and one times before placing it?" he added, letting out a chuckle.

"Oh yeah, that poor waiter was actually standing behind him and counting how much he would be tipped." She burst out, leaning on his shoulder.

"Thanks Arnav." She said, cuddling him tightly, while her other hand played with the emerald pendant across her neck, admiring the craftsmanship which designed this beautiful piece.

"No, that won't do. And the surprise doesn't end here." He smiled mischievously, before he lifted her in his arms and carried her to their bedroom, while she screamed out in protest, interspersed with her laughter. "Maybe you could show your gratefulness in the bed." He added, before he kicked the bedroom door behind him.

o0o

"Did you get the pictures?" he asked, leaning his head back on the chair while placing his legs over the table.

"Yes, Malik." The other man who stood in front of the seated man replied. "It was hard because the waiters were getting suspicious about me. And Arnav took that girl outside after few minutes. There wasn't enough lighting out there and hence, some photos are dark. But their faces are clear. There won't be any difficulty in identifying both of them."

"Hmm... okay, transfer those photos into this mobile. I'll do the rest. And then you may go." The seated man replied and the other man took the mobile and started transferring the data.

Abbas flashed an evil grin, thanking the stars for the luck that was on his side today. Fortunately, in the afternoon, when he had been to the jewellers to trade diamonds, he had seen Arnav enter the very shop he was dealing with. And from there, he had followed him curiously, only to overhear his conversation about the evening plans. And thus, he had got this instant idea to send behind one of his men to do this task.

Now all he needed was to show these photographs to Lavanya Kashyap and he knew, there would be nothing to stop Arnav and Khushi's relationship to shatter in an instant.

It was just a matter of one night. Tomorrow, Arnav would be exclusively his to use, without Khushi or anything else to distract him.

CHAPTER 42

ok, there seems to be slight confusion among the readers. Note this carefully. Coz this will be important in the coming chapters. I don't want you all suddenly wondering how? when? what? and exclaim what the! unanimously!😆

Abbas and Khalid are brothers. Khalid is 53 and Abbas is 49. Get this straight! I won't tell anything more than this. Otherwise, the fun in the coming chapters will be spoiled!😛