Part 6
The Raizadas arrived at the wedding and were immediately greeted by the Guptas with a huge smile on their faces. They exchanged greetings and entered their house. They met a few common friends. Arnav was totally distracted; he was looking for the groom and wanted to hit him hard on the face. He could hear the sound of the baaraat in the distant and knew just then that the groom would soon arrive. But when he would leave, he wouldn't have the same facial features, Arnav promised to himself.
Arnav was looking for the right opportunity to go to Khushi's room. He had already acquired the directions to the bride's room and was waiting for an opportunity to barge inside her room. When the baaraat arrived, he saw everyone moving towards the doorway making his coast clear to reach his goal. He stood there for a second deciding between meeting Khushi first or breaking Ashutosh's jaw. His heart took him to Khushi, whom he hadn't seen over a month. He ran up the flight of steps, turned left and went to the last room in the corner. He braced himself and opened the door to find a vision which should belong solely to him.
If he had known that Khushi would look like this he would have agreed to marry her right after that party. He shook his head and told himself to focus on the issue at hand. But Khushi was the issue at hand and he definitely was focusing on her. He entered the room and latched the door and walked towards Khushi whose face had formed three beautiful, perfect and cute 'Os'.
"What are you doing here?"
"I have come to take you away and marry you" he stated simply
"Are you in your senses?"
"Yes. I am now definitely in my senses."
"Do you even know what will be the consequences of your actions?"
"Yes. You will become Mrs. Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada"
"Wrong. My family will be ashamed and rebuked in the society"
"I don't care" he shouted
"You don't care about my family?" Khushi asked with disbelief. Arnav closed his eyes and rectified what he had said "Of course I care about your family that is why I am giving their daughter what she wanted"
"I am getting what I wanted. I am marrying Ashutosh,"
"You want to marry. Not to him. But to me."
"The time has gone Arnav. I cannot marry you."
He walked to her and held her arms, "Till last month you wanted to marry me and now you are refusing? Don't you love me?"
She jerked his hands away from her arms and asked "Do you love me?"
"Of course I do dammit! Why the hell do you think I can't live without you? Why do you think I go to sleep every night only after hearing your voice? Why do you think I can leave everything for you? Why do you think I wouldn't like to be with you?"
"Because you refused to marry me!" Khushi pushed him away from her.
"Is marriage that important to you? More important than my feelings? More important than what we have between us?
"Yes it is. That is the least I could do for my Amma and Babuji who have brought me out of my orphaned life. Give them a life of dignity and not of shame"
"I am ready to marry you Khushi"
"When the baaraat is standing at the door? When the groom is waiting outside for marriage?"
Arnav bowed his head and said "I didn't want to come here for the very same reason. I know your family will have to face the society's taunt. I should have said yes to you the first time you had asked to marry me. But I didn't." He looked at her with remorse filled eyes.
"Why?"
"Because whatever that belongs to me, whomever I love and cherish is taken away from me. My Amma left me because I am bad. You are leaving me because I am bad. How can you be happy with a man like me? I am sure you would have regretted marrying me, like my mother regretted marrying my father and then you would leave me like my Maa…" his eyes had teared up, the tears threatening to fall any moment.
Khushi couldn't bear to see him like that. She had seen a strong Arnav, an arrogant Arnav, a ruthless Arnav, a caring Arnav, a tender Arnav, a flirtatious Arnav, a naughty Arnav, an angry Arnav, a loving Arnav, but never in her two year old relationship had she seen a crying, vulnerable Arnav. She couldn't take it anymore. She held his hands and made him sit on the bed. She stroked his face and said "You are the best man I have ever met and you are not your father" she said the last part firmly. "I will never leave you no matter what. Itni aasaani se mein picha nahi chodne wali aapka" She kissed both his cheeks to seal what she had just told.
"Really Khushi? You will never leave me?"
"Never"
Arnav kissed Khushi's hands and got up from the bed.
"Let us get married"
"Is this a proposal?"
"If you like to call it that, then yes"
"Ashutosh's proposal was way better than this. What will I tell our kids? Your father barged in to my room and said 'Let us get married'"
Just then someone knocked on the door. "Khushi open the door"
Khushi panicked "Hey Devi Maiyya! Go hide under the bed. No no get inside the cupboard. No wait hide behind the curtains" she pulled him along with her to various hiding places and finally pushed him behind the curtains.
"Khushi dupatta chahiye" came Pritika's voice from outside the door.
Khushi removed the dupatta from her head and opened the door. "Khushi how much time do you take to open the door? Come down fast, the baaraat has arrived. I will pin this dupatta to Payal's head and see you downstairs" Khushi nodded and shut the door.
Arnav came out from behind the curtain a confused look on his face. Khushi was giggling at his expressions.
"Khushi what is happening?"
"Shaadi"
"Kiski?"
"Jiji ki"
"She was supposed to get married a year later!"
"Apparently Jeejaji couldn't wait like you and pre-poned the wedding a month back"
"But isn't this the bride's room?"
"Yes it is Jiji's room. Actually the AC in her room stopped working at the last moment. So we exchanged our rooms" she answered.
"What if the AC in her room wouldn't have stopped working? I would have found Payal in this room"
"You would have still found me" she shrugged with a small smile on her face.
"Why the heck were you wearing the dupatta?"
"I was just trying!"
"That means you were lying to me?" he asked turning away from her. The images of his family members with the wedding card played in his mind. He then thought about Nani and Di's conversations. He turned back to her and asked "Di and Nani knew?"
Khushi nodded with a huge smile on her face, the smile that he really liked.
"Of course they knew. Do you think your sister would have allowed you to come and whisk me away from my wedding? She will never let my family be dishonoured. And wait! She would have pulled your ears for good measure if you wouldn't have agreed to marry me after knowing that I was getting married to someone else. She would have black mailed you to marry me. But of course we took the smarter option."
"They…you…you all played with me and my emotions?"
"Arnav don't get angry. Calm down" she went to him and placed a hand over his shoulder "Just look at the advantages Arnav" she said waggling her eyebrows. She looked so cute doing this that he forgot his anger for a minute.
"Whosoever had come up with this idea should be thoroughly punished." He said with a naughty glint in his eyes. Khushi removed her hand from his shoulders and stepped back. He walked towards her with a mischievous smirk on his face. He pushed her to the wall and placed both his hands on either side of her body. He leaned towards her to kiss her when she stopped him.
"I am still engaged to Ashutosh Arnav. You cannot kiss me."
Hearing Ashutosh's name from her mouth, brought his earlier rage back. He punched the wall and stepped away from her.
"Where is this Ashutosh? I will break his face" he headed towards the door when Khushi stopped him.
"No Arnav, you are not allowed to do that to him. I will not allow it"
"Why? He freaking touched you and kissed you! O wait! Khushi does Ashutosh even exists? Or are you playing with me again?"
"Of course he does. He is my Jiji's dewar. Do you want to break my sister's marriage?"
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