ArHi SS:The Life-Changing Pact #2 [Link Pg 145] - Page 59

Arnav woke up earlier than usual and two reasons could be attributed to that: firstly, it was Pari's birthday and he had loads of preparations to make, and secondly, the most important one, he hardly could sleep thinking of the goodnight kiss that Khushi had given him last night. Arnav was lost in thoughts of him and Khushi being together forever….thoughts that he wished more like anything to concretise. He just needed a verbal confirmation from Khushi that she loves him as much as he does, although he was dead sure that both shared the same feelings.

Arnav could feel the excitement building up within himself, just like a small boy would be feeling. He was tasting happiness once more, not that he had ever been sad but circumstances had gloomed his life. And now he could proudly confirm that the entry of Khushi into his life and especially the pact that he had signed with her were the best things that could ever have happened to him. Within seconds, he rushed to Khushi's room to wake her up and kick-start the birthday preparations. He opened her bedroom door which was unlocked, as if he owned the rights to step freely in her room, and he stood mesmerised.

Dressed in a burgundy kurta and skinny jeans, Khushi came out of the bathroom, busy towel drying her wet locks that she kept fidgeting from one side to another, causing the water droplets to splash on Arnav's face. Despite being prickled by them, not for a second did Arnav blink his eyes. It definitely was his morning treat, staring at her love in her most natural and beautiful form. The cool sensation of the water emanating from her locks yielded a soothing effect that neutralised the generated heat, until he was brought to reality by Khushi's voice.

"Arnav, you? Don't you know you should knock before entering any girl's room?" Khushi asked, startled to find Arnav in his room and slightly embarrassed to find him staring at her.

What if I wasn't properly dressed up, what if I was in my bathrobe, what if I was …

"Are you ANY girl?" Arnav asked with a smile that sent shivers down Khushi's spine, before adding "As if you knocked and asked for my permission when entering my room yesterday night!!"

Khushi felt her cheeks reddening, and the awkwardness of having been caught did not help either. How did he know, what did he know, how far did he know,…all these questions were reverberating in her mind.

"I…me…I didn't come to your room yesterday!" Khushi attempted to explain, nervousness causing her to fumble with words, "Why would I?" This sounding more like a rhetorical question.

"Why would you? You tell me!" Arnav let out, slowly moving towards Khushi who was stepping backwards until she realised her back faced the wall. There was no means of escaping from Arnav's questions, from his perfectly structured body that was obstructing her way and from his bewitching gaze.

"So I was dreaming that you were in my room, right?" Arnav asked, with a teasing glint in his tone and his eyes drowning in Khushi's looking for an answer that he deemed he had found. It wasn't a dream, and he was aware of Khushi's awkwardness, a cute and innocent awkwardness that he relished to observe.

"I…yesterday…me…I "Khushi started to say before being interrupted by Arnav's "Sshhh".

Only one foot away from each other, Arnav gently brought his finger to her lips in an attempt to prevent her from speaking, rather stammering further. Khushi's eyes moved to his finger that was pressing against her lips and she inadvertently pouted, creating a kissing sensation that triggered Arnav's smirk and raising eyebrows. Silence prevailed… or at least no words were being pronounced since it wasn't utter silence due to the music of Dhak Dhaks.

Arnav suddenly pulled her towards him, and she nearly crashed against his chest. He placed one hand on her waist and he brought the other to her back, resulting in Khushi breathing heavily with her heartbeats speeding like anything. Closing her eyes, Khushi felt Arnav's hand moving from the bottom of her back to the top and soon realised that he was zipping her Kurta which she had accidentally left unzipped.

"Thank you!" Khushi whispered.

Letting Khushi out of his grip, Arnav was about to reply when his eyes posed on the dressing table where his folder was lying. An immediate sparkle could be read in his eyes, and he was overwhelmed by a feeling of accomplishment.

"You read it?" Arnav asked, with glittering eyes and happiness clearly expressed in his voice.

"Hmm…no…not yet! Actually I had so much office work to do and then Pari's birthday!" Khushi said.

Disappointment was evident on Arnav's face, despite his efforts at looking unaffected. Khushi felt bad for bursting his bubble, and she knew that her words would directly or indirectly hurt Arnav but she wanted to keep it a surprise…a surprise she knew would exceed the joy which he would have felt at the moment. She was just waiting for the right time when she would give him the best gift of his life. Only some more time, she thought.

"Okay, shall we go downstairs now?" Arnav said.

After an hour of joint efforts, the living room was beaming with banners, streamers and balloons, all in shades of pink and purple as per Pari's favourite colours. Each member of the Gupta family was engrossed in some work or the other, ensuring all would look perfect.

Khushi was mid-way in the preparation of jalebis in the kitchen when Arnav came in and asked whether she needed help. Khushi politely turned down his offer, stating she could manage. Her hands were smeared with drops of the jalebi mixture, and she was trying to get rid of the small lock of hair that fell on her eye. Arnav immediately did the needful by tucking her hair behind the ear, and insisted on staying with her in the kitchen in case she would need something, to which Khushi nodded positively.

Soon intrigued by how Khushi was making such perfect jalebis, Arnav asked her to show him the gesture. Initially amused by Arnav's sudden interest in jalebis, Khushi let him take the lead in shaping the jalebis but seeing the disastrous, distorted shapes, she spontaneously held his hand and together they formed well-shaped jalebis. Throughout the teaching process, Arnav would glance at Khushi, and sometimes Khushi would, never realising both were looking at each other.

Once all preparations were finalised, the birthday gathering began, with Pari jumping with excitement and hugging each and every one. She clutched Khushi and Arnav, and brought them next to her while blowing out her candles and cutting the cake. It was the first birthday that she got to spend in such a joyous atmosphere and it largely had to do with her new best friend Arnie's presence. After first feeding her parents who were right behind her with a piece of birthday cake, she fed Khushi and then Arnav, with whom she couln't refrain from playing mischief.

Khushi pointed her finger towards Arnav's face, and noticing that he was oblivious that he had chocolate ganache next to his lips, she slowly approached him. Wiping it off, she could feel herself breathing short, shallow breaths, her chest rising and falling quickly. Even after the chocolate stains had been removed, her hand was still gently rubbing his face. Arnav looked at her with such loving and tender expressions that she didn't feel like moving her hand away. But the whole family was present, and she immediately retracted her hand.

The whole day after the birthday party had ended, Khushi had isolated herself in her room. She needed to think, think about the whole journey that had started from Delhi to Lucknow; her journey with Arnav. Flashbacks of all the moments spent with him ran through her mind and she finally let out all smiling "I love him! I love Arnav!". Bringing her hands to her cheeks, she swirled around her room out of happiness of finding love…true love.

Mustering courage to go and pour her heart out, she moved towards Arnav's room and opened his room, only to find Arnav standing with his luggage packed.

"I am going Khushi"

PRECAP

Khushi had been pacing in her room for the last ten minutes, glancing at her phone each second, eagerly waiting for the name "Arnav" to appear on the screen.

"He forgot me…he doesn't care for me!" Khushi murmured to herself, with tears threatening to flow.

She suddenly felt the phone vibrating and frantically pressed the answer button to hear his voice…