Fighting Fire with Fire Link T2 pg 147 - Page 33

Mornings sucked. At least...this morning did.

Arnav woke at the crack of dawn to find himself entangled in his sheets, shirt halfway off, covers strewn everywhere, hair awry. If his mother was still around, she would call him an adorable mess.

Arnav ran a weary hand up and down his cheek, groaning in the process. Today was going to be epically bad.

Tonight would be worse. He could just feel it.

Khushi was going to be living with him, in this house, in this room, probably even in this bed!

Why had he asked her to marry him? Why had she AGREED?

Just wait until the media got wind of this. What a nightmare that would be!

Arnav checked the clock. 6:34. Good. At least he had some more time to plan out what he was going to say to his family one last time.

He didn't have a plan coming into all of this, which was the opposite of what he had told her last night. If Khushi found out, she would kill him and make sure that no one could pin his murder on her. He was scared of what she was capable of.

Arnav had been thinking and rethinking all the ways to tell the family that him and Khushi were married. Each idea was worse than the other. His first thought had been to go to her house, pick her up, take her to a temple, put two garlands around their necks, and then dramatically arrive at Shantivan.

But then once he thought things through, he decided that this idea was to filmy for him, plus, he didn't need to bring the ire of her parents on Khushi or himself. Vivek Uncle was scary enough without trying to kill him.

After several more terrible ideas, one of which included declaring that Khushi was pregnant, he realized that in every scenario, he was making the two of them dishonor the family, Khushi more than him.

So he thought of the most inoffensive way of declaring that they were married before coming to the conclusion that there was no way of doing that.

Back to the drawing board it was...

The rest of the night had passed this way before he finally had an epiphany close to dawn. It was by far the most ridiculous idea he had ever had, but it made sure that her honor as well as his stayed intact.

On the other hand...he was bound to be humiliated by Akaash and Anjali after this...

Life just wasn't fair.

But all is fair in love and war...

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Khushi wasn't faring much better. After she had told her parents that Arnav had invited them to breakfast, they had immediately bombarded her with questions regarding the Raizadas. Of course, Khushi failed to mention the fact that she herself was now a Raizada. That was something her husband could deal with. She hadn't even looked at the file that Atman had sent her. Though, it would be good if her and Arnav looked at it together.

So here she was at nearly seven in the morning, lying in bed, thinking about how it would be her last night in this house. Even if the marriage was temporary, Khushi was sad to leave the house in which she had grown up in.

With a frown on her face and a heavy heart, she flung herself into an upright position and got off the bed. There was no use moping around. What ever had happened, it had happened for a reason.

Still...she was tempted to go out to the firing range and expunge her frustrations via target practice. It was a better than riddling Arnav with bullets.

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Back at Shantivan, Arnav was pacing up and down the corridor, annoying the living daylights out of everyone who slept on the second floor. Last night, he had stopped Shyam from sleeping next to his Di by making some bogus excuse on how Di was complaining about her leg and needed some space. Luckily, Shyam had bought it and went to go sleep in the guestroom.

Now logically speaking, he couldn't keep the two away from each other every night, but with Khushi around, it would be much easier to do so.

With a groan, Arnav went to the poolside where he placed a few calls to those he needed to talk to about later today.

If this had been any other day, Aman Mathur would have been terrified that his boss was calling him this early in the morning demanding he send the finest bridal wear collection that AR Design had to Shantivan immediately. But today Aman was glad that he had been woken up by his boss and cheerfully did as he was told

***

Going back into his room, Arnav rummaged around in the back of his closet to find the one thing he was looking for.

He picked up a velvet box and opened it. Involuntarily, his breath hitched.

Inside the box was a ring...his mother's ring. The last time he had seen this was when Anjali had forcibly given it to him after their mother had died. When they had moved to Shantivan from Sheesh Mahal permanently, Arnav had carefully placed this box in the back of his closet, knowing that he would never use the ring that his mother had wanted to give to her future daughter-in-law.

A lump rose in his throat. His mother would have been so proud to have a daughter like Khushi. But would she approve of the reasons as to why they married?

No.

The ring was beautiful, he couldn't deny that. But it was what the ring represented that disgusted him. His father had given it to his mother as a promise. A promise to cherish her for eternity, to never hurt her. A promise that his father had broken, a promise that Arnav never wanted to take.

There was another box in his closet with items that also belonged to his mother. His maa's kangans. He would give those to Khushi as well, but later. Arnav didn't think he could deal with literally reopening old memories...old wounds. This ring was doing enough damage by itself.

The box snapped shut, bringing Arnav out of his thoughts. Still, this ring with it's emeralds and diamonds and delicate design would look beautiful on Khushi's slender finger, a sign that she was his.

That thought put images of him and Khushi in his mind that sent him into a very frustrated mood.

Arnav stomped downstairs, frightening an overworked JP who hurriedly put unsweetened tea in front of Arnav. Arnav-bhaiyaa was in one of his moods today, and it was never good to anger ASR when he got this way...which was everyday.

Arnav made sure that none of the family could see the preparations that were going on in the backyard, or the packages that were delivered promptly to the house.

It was some time before the rest of the family trickled into the kitchen. All of them had showered and waiting for the Rathods.

Apparently, Nani had also decided to invite the Guptas as well. Arnav really couldn't see why. It would just make his job harder. He knew that the Guptas had this weird preconceived notion that he was some ridiculous playboy who only used women for his own benefit.

He hadn't even had a girlfriend for a long time! Arnav was weary of the Guptas...the Gupta women to be precise. Payal's dad was a nice man, but her mother and Aunt were constantly talking to Nani to try and set him up with one of their relatives.

Now they can't do that!

***

At the current moment, the Raizadas and Guptas were waiting for the Rathods in the living room. Mami was, as always, trying to badmouth the Guptas who took it in stride. Akaash, Shyam, and Mama were engaged in a conversation with Shashi-ji.

Arnav was trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible because Nani, Payal, Anjali, Payal's mom, and Payal's aunt were looking at him every so often while whispering under their breaths, no doubt planning his marriage or something.

Too bad he was already married...

***

Speaking of his wife, she was currently in the backseat with her mother who was humming some merry tune. Mr. Rathod was in the front seat next to the driver, a smile on his face. He just knew something wonderful was going to happen today.

Arnav saw a car pull into his driveway and nearly sighed in relief.

She was here.

Right on cue a couple minutes later, the doorbell rang and Nani went to go greet the Rathods with Arnav tagging behind.

Vivek Uncle stood in the door frame, as large and imposing as always. Aparna Aunty and Khushi flanked him, both sending warm smiles at Nani.

Khushi's father engulfed Nani in a bear hug. "Maa-ji! You haven't changed a bit." He looked her over once and whistled. "You've still got it Maa-ji. You look beautiful." Vivek glanced over at Aparna who was looking at the pair in amusement. "Don't tell Aparna that I've been looking at other women." He mock-whispered.

Aparna cleared her throat and put her hands on her hips. "Vivek...I can hear you!"

"That was the point meri jaan, that was the point." He went over to his wife and draped an arm around her, shook Arnav's hand, and escorted her to the living room to meet everyone.

Khushi and Nani laughed at the nok-jhok this married couple engaged in. Even after thirty years of marriage, they still behaved like newly weds.

Arnav couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy after watching his in-laws. His parents should have been like this as well. But his father...his father had screwed everything up by having an affair with his secretary and then dying a week after the truth came out, ruining his sister's wedding, and killing his mother in the process.

Maybe that was the reason he wanted Shyam destroyed so badly. Subconsciously, Arnav had associated Shyam with his father and Anjali with his mother. The situation was eerily reminiscent of his parents'. Arnav did not want Anjali to go the same way his mother had, and that's where Khushi came in. Anjali would need a support system after Shyam, and Khushi was going to be her rock.

It was at this moment that Arnav realized that only he and Khushi were left in the foyer. She was looking at him, and he was trying his best to take his eyes off of her.

Khushi truly was a vision today. He didn't remember the last time he had seen her in pure Indian clothes, let alone this ravishing yet simple crimson Anarkali suit that looked as though it was made for her judging by the way it clung to her curves. She could look perfect in anything. He thought this thought simply from a designer's perspective...nothing more.

Too bad he couldn't convince himself of that.

Red. His favorite color. Had she worn this suit for him?

Khushi swallowed nervously as she saw Arnav approach her slowly, like a lion stalking a helpless deer. He looked impeccable as always with his gray shirt and vest with black trousers. Still, she stood her ground even as Arnav invaded her bubble, trying not to be affected by him.

"Hi." His voice was so low, almost husky, yet so childish.

"Hello." She sounded nervous, much to his delight. Was he making her nervous? Had the unflappable woman flapped?

Arnav did not revel in this thought as time was of the essence. "Khushi, give me your left hand." He commanded imperiously.

The nervousness left her and was replaced by annoyance. "Why of course your highness, your wish is my command." Khushi scowled at him but still held out the desired hand.

He rolled his eyes at her, and pulled something out of his vest pocket. From what Khushi could see, it was a box...for a ring. Her breath caught in her throat. Arnav was really going to give her a ring.

Arnav opened the box to reveal the piece of jewelry.. Khushi's hand went over her mouth. She knew that ring. It was one she had admired ever since she was a small girl.

"That's...that's aunty's ring."

Arnav nodded, glad that she had recognized it. "Maa wanted me to give it to her daughter-in-law." His voice wavered slightly at the memory of his mother. "And since you're my wife..." He trailed off when she stuck her hand right under his face.

"I would be honored to have Aun...sorry, Maa's ring. Thank you Arnav." Khushi didn't particularly care that he could see her tears. This was a very emotional moment in every woman's life...fake or not.

Stowing away the emotions that were threatening to show on his face when she had referred to his mother as her own, he carefully slid the ring onto the correct finger, marveling how nicely the ring fit, as if it were meant to be worn by her.

Khushi stared at the ring on her finger, its light weight suddenly feeling like a ton of bricks. She stared at Arnav for a short time, his stoic attitude not fooling her.

They say that your eyes are the windows to the soul, and they aren't wrong. No matter how impassive his face was, his caramel eyes were expressing...longing. For what, she did not know.

The two of them stood like that for a moment, lost in their own thoughts before Khushi realized that everyone must be waiting for them. She gently squeezed his hand, effectively getting his attention. To her shock, he repeated her action and offered her a half-smile, urging her to go towards where everyone was waiting.

They walked into the living room standing at least five feet apart. Khushi kept her left hand wrapped in her dupatta so no one could see the beautiful ring that symbolized her union to Arnav.

She was hard pressed to keep a smile on her face as she saw Shyam sitting next to Anjali, his hand in hers. Don't worry jiju, your time will come. By the time we're finished with you, you will regret even HEARING the name 'Raizada.'

"Here they are!" Anjali quickly stood up while shooting an inquisitive glance at her brother who ignored it. "What took you two so long?" Although her tone was innocent, the both of them knew that Anjali was fishing for answers as to why they were together.

"I had to go to the bathroom Di, and Arnav was on his phone." Khushi lied easily. "We met in the middle."

"Yeah, sure." Akaash smirked. "That's what happened." He made no attempt to hide the sarcasm in his tone.

Arnav had the inane urge to shut him up with a nice punch, but controlled his impulses. Looking around, it seemed as thought the entire family was listening into their conversation, something that annoyed Arnav even more.

Khushi noticed three other people in the room who she had never seen before and assumed they must be Payal's family. She was glad that she had decided to wear Indian clothes today because the two women seemed as if they wouldn't tolerate anything else. Both were dressed in traditional Saris that had a homely charm to them. It was different then the always extravagant Mami and her own mother who preferred wearing a Salwar Kameezes but had purposefully worn a Sari today.

Nani saw her glancing at the Guptas and immediately introduced her to them. "Shashi-ji, Garima-ji, Madhumati-ji, yeh hai hamari Khushi bitiyaan. She was in England during Akaash and Payal's wedding."

Khushi smiled at the trio who returned her smile slightly warily. Payal had no doubt told them what she did for a living. She folded her hands together and said, "Namaste, Uncle, Aunty, Aunty." Just like a good little Indian girl.

Mama clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention. "Chalo, chalo. Now that we're all here, let's have some breakfast!"

All of them walked over to the fancy dining room that was only used during lavish parties. Khushi was wondering how Arnav was going to tell everyone that they were married while Arnav was hoping that the plan he had thought of this morning would work.

As luck would have it, husband and wife sat next to each other much to Akaash's amusement. Arnav's threatening glares just set the man off even more.

Little did Akaash Singh Raizada know that he would be teasing his bhai and bhabhi about this day for the rest of their lives.

"So Arnav, I heard about the Singhania deal. How did that go?" Vivek asked Arnav.

Arnav smiled wryly at his father-in-law much to the Guptas' disbelief. They hadn't seen him crack a smile even when his brother had gotten married!

"It didn't go at all."

"What? But Yash Singhania had much to contribute to AR Design!" Vivek sounded indignant.

"Yes but Papa, you must be forgetting that I arrested the man for his wife's murder on Friday." Khushi interjected.

She ignored the gasps from the Gupta family.

Vivek Rathod scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Ah, you're right. I did forget, and it was on T.V too. He was trying to run off to Australia before my pari caught him." He looked at his daughter with pride.

"She cost me a great deal. He would have been an excellent investor." Arnav mock scowled at her earning a wide grin which, for some odd reason, made his heart skip a beat.

"Arnav. Be quiet." Khushi deadpanned, switching emotions rapidly.

Much to the amazement of everyone present, Arnav did as he was told.

As they say, behind every great man, there is an even greater woman.

***

The rest of breakfast went by smoothly. Khushi however, was getting very anxious. When was Arnav going to announce their marriage...how was he going to do it? She shot a discrete glance at him, only to find that he was looking quite flushed.

A smile wormed its way onto her face. So he was nervous huh? Well this was interesting...

Damn right! Arnav Singh Raizada was extremely nervous. Put him in a room full of greedy corporate moguls and he was fine...but in front of his own family, the people who had known him for years (plus the Guptas)...he turned into a stuttering fool.

"Are you ready, Khushi?" He muttered so only she could hear.

"Are you?" She shot back. The smirk he gave her in return looked incredibly forced.

He knew that she knew that he wasn't as confident as he looked. This was probably why she didn't say anything when he downed his glass of juice and took a couple deep breaths to steady himself.

Just go for it. He thought, gathering his manly courage. If his brother could do this, then why couldn't he?

"Ahem." Arnav cleared his throat loudly which caused all conversation to stop.

"Chote?" Nani asked, confused. "Is there something you wanted to say?"

Play it cool Arnav, just play it cool. "Actually there is." He took this moment to glance around the table and gather his nerves which had momentarily failed him again.

 "I'm sure all of you are wondering why I asked you to come over this morning. You all must be surprised that I decided to take a day off from work. Well...it was actually an excuse to bring all of us together."

At everyone's perplexed glances, Arnav allowed himself a small chuckle. "Di, Nani, I...I know that for some time now, I've avoided the whole 'marriage' talk."

"That's an understatement." Akaash interjected cheerfully much to Arnav's ire.

"But...I think that I'm going to rectify that situation." He said quietly.

Anjali was trying very hard to contain her excitement. Had her brother just agreed to get married? Wait...but only Khushi could be her sister-in-law! So now she had to play matchmaker between the two, and get them married as soon as possible!

"Arnav bitwa...sach?" Nani asked. She was more than ready to have her eldest grandson married to a nice girl...like Khushi bitiyaan.

Speaking of the missus, she was currently looking at her husband with an awestruck look because the man sitting next to her could NOT be Arnav Singh Raizada. Khushi was not fully sure what he was doing, but it was the cheesiest thing that had ever come out of his mouth. It was so uncharacteristic of Arnav! She was positive that the family had expected him to hit some woman over the head and drag her to the marriage alter when he finally agreed to get married...just like a neanderthal.

Well...he had done something similar with her, but she had hit him over the head when he had 'proposed', if you can call giving a woman sweets and all but commanding her to marry you a proposal.

Ji nani. I've thought about what you all have been telling me for years. I think that it's time I...settle down." Khushi had to fight down a smile at his tone. It was like he was telling them that he was going to swallow the bitter tasting medicine because he knew he had to get better, but that didn't mean he was going to enjoy it.

Luckily, everyone except Khushi was oblivious to his mood. They were over the moon that Arnav was finally ready to get married.

"Arnav babua, our Payaliya has a cousin that you might want to meet. Her name is -" Payal's buaji was cut off by Arnav himself who forced a smile on his face.

"With all due respect Buaji, I don't believe in meeting my future wife through any arranged meetings. It's too much like the business world which I live in anyway. Akaash and Payal met on their own after all, I think I should too."

Buaji frowned, but let the matter go, much to Arnav's relief. Akaash had told him stories about how persistent Payal's aunt could be.

He turned to his sister and grandmother instead. "Nani, if...if Maa was still alive, what kind of a person would she want me to marry?" It was hard to keep his voice from breaking at the thought of his mother, but he was honestly curious. Saroj Singh Raizada had been a very opinionated woman, and would only want the best type of woman for her son.

Nani's eyes shown with tears. Her Chote had grown up...it was about time. "If my bitiyaan was still here, she would want a bahu who would understand you. She would want someone who could fit into our family flawlessly, someone who could control your temper. Someone who wasn't afraid to stand up to you. But most of all Chote, she would want someone who you chose. She trusted you to make the right decisions in life, and picking the right girl was one of them."

It was astounding to Arnav how he only thought of Khushi when Nani was describing what type of person his mother would have wanted for him. She understood him better than he did himself at times.

"Yes but...Di! If you were to have anyone as your sister-in-law, who would it be? And please be honest with me." Arnav knew who his sister would want as a bhabhi. The entire family wanted Khushi to be with him, he wasn't stupid or oblivious to their conversations after all. That just made it worse. After Shyam was gone, how could he break up with the only women who his family considered worthy for him?

Anjali's hands covered her mouth. Was Arnav implying what she thought he was implying. Judging by Khushi's blushing face, he was. It took all of her control not to squeal in delight and start jumping up and down while screaming "I knew it!"

Aparna Rathod on the other hand, had no such restraint. She was currently squeezing her husband's hand so hard, he thought she might have shattered some bones.

"Vivek! Do you understand what's going on?" She was breathless. This must be a dream! The boy who was like a son to her was actually going to become her son! Now she knew why Khushi had turned down all those marriage proposals. She already had a man!

Vivek couldn't exactly talk without wincing so he wisely kept his mouth shut as he genuinely had no idea why Arnav had suddenly turned into a romantic hero.

Anjali steadied her emotions and looked Arnav straight in the eye. "Are you sure you want me to answer that?" She didn't even have to look at Khushi to see that the younger woman's face was matching her dress. Devi Maiyaan! Khushi is finally going to be my sister! But knowing my brother, she probably already is my sister...

"I do." His voice was steady, but his heart was skipping beats every so often.

The entire table was enthralled in this drama. The Guptas were seeing a new side of Arnav, one that made him seem a little more human.

Akaash was applauding himself mentally for correctly deducing why his brother's behavior had been so erratic over the past few days, ever since Khushi had arrived. Khushi was the reason why! His mind was dancing a little jig at the thought of his best friend joining the family for real. This day was just going to get better and better. There was so much blackmail material here!

And Shyam...Shyam plastered an expression of surprise on his face. However, this conversation was intriguing. It seemed as though Sale-Sahib was ready to marry. He wondered how this would affect his inheritance once Anjali was gone...

The tears came to Anjali's eyes even though she had promised herself not to be overly emotional.

She slowly got up from her seat and limped over to Arnav and Khushi.

Both of them were taken aback by the sheer love in her eyes.

Anjali gently placed a palm on her brother's cheek, her soft gaze on the woman next to him.

"The only woman that I could ever see Chote with is my Khushi."

Waves upon waves of unbridled joy unexpectedly crashed down upon Khushi as she heard Anjali say those words. She had always been part of the Raizada Parivaar, but now it felt real, even if she knew it wasn't. Her eyes met Anjali's as an unspoken understanding ran through the both of them.

Arnav closed his eyes at his sister's honest admission. This wasn't helping to ease his guilt in lying to his family. Right now though, feeling guilty wasn't going to get rid of Shyam. According to him, actions spoke louder than emotions.

Which is why he was able to control his erratic thoughts and slowly stand up, aware that all eyes were on him and Khushi.

He looked down at his beautiful bride to see that her eyes were on him and only him. Without another thought, Arnav held his hand out for her to take.

Khushi slipped her hand into his larger one and stood with aristocratic grace. Unconsciously, she nestled herself closer to Arnav, not noticing the way he pulled her even closer. He was playing his part remarkably well. Now it was her turn.

Taking a steadying breath, she looked straight at Anjali while raising their entwined hands. Gasps were heard all around the table as they saw how sunlight reflected off the previously unnoticed ring on Khushi's finger.

By this point, Nani, Mami, and Aparna were practically sobbing. Even HP stopped to wipe a tear away. Now he knew why Arnav-bhaiyya and ordered him to put a new red sari along with a jewelery set in his room during breakfast.

Though her voice was no louder than a whisper, everyone still heard Khushi's next words.

"Di, I think you just received your wish."

Don't worry guys, Arnav's plan isn't over yet...he's about to make a romantic fool of himself in the next chapter...can anyone guess what his plan actually is?

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