"Hai re Nandkishore!" Buaji's shrill voice echoed all around the house. Nandkishore ducked at the sound, his hands over his ears, pretending to be deafened by her shout. "Sanka Devi ayi gayi!"
"I know buaji" he told her "main ganja nahi hu. i can see her too"
Buaji face palmed herself in exasperation. "Babua, ganja nahi, andha. And i wasn't talking to you. I was talking to my Lord. God. Nandkishore"
Nk looked sheepish. "Sorry, buaji. Hey look!" he cried, looking towards the main door "She's here!" he said, as Payal and khushi entered the house. There was a mix of awe and wonder on Khushi's face, as she took in the magnifiscense of the sprawling mansion before her. She forgot all about her aching back, as she gazed open mouthed at the house and the people standing in it. She'd never seen such a beautiful house before. She almost jumped as she felt Payal hit her gently on the head.
"Khushi!" she hissed "Amma's talking to you"
"What? Oh, sorry" Khushi replied, trying to concentrate on the teary eyed mother standing in front of her.
"I'm so glad you're all right, Khushi" her mother said, hugging her tightly "you have no idea how worried i was. Thank god you're safe". Amma was followed by buaji, who took ages to express her worries while all Khushi could do was roll her eyes at her buaji and mockingly exaggerate all her gestures. Finally payal turned to introduce the others who had been standing there patiently all the while.
"Khushi, this is Akashji's Dadi" she said, bringing Nani forward. Khushi bent to tough her feet. "You can call her Nani" she added.
"We're all very happy that you're all right, Khushi bitiya" Nani said, blessing her. Khushi liked her immediately. She had a kind face her eyes lit up when she smiled. Khushi knew that nani's affection was genuine.
"This is Anjaliji, Akash's sister"
Anjali came forward and hugged Khushi. Khushi really liked this family. Everybody was so nice, warm and welcoming. Her jiji was really lucky to be married to Akashji, she thought. His family was so nice.
"This is my mother-in-law" Payal said, indicating towards mamiji. Khushi bent to touch her feet as well, and to everyone's surprise, mamiji actually blessed her.
"Hello hi, bye bye" mamiji said, in her trademark sing song voice "Welcomes homes, phati- i means- Khushi bitiya. Good to see you alives". Khushi smiled at her, confused whether to like her or not to. Her musings were cut short by a good-looking guy who grabbed her hand and shook it violently.
"Hello, Khushiji!" he said, almost jumping with excitement. "Nobody introduced me to you. I got tired of waiting for my chance. I'm Akash's brother, Nk! Short for Nandkishore. I-"
"Nandkishore?" Khushi laughed, cutting him off "you must be buaji's favorite!". Nk's expression changed from being happy to one of utter horror.
"Oh no! Not at all Khushiji! Me? Buaji's favorite? Never!" he cried, as if she'd said something terrible.
"Oh, Im sorry, Nk ji-"
"Nk ji? No no, khushiji. Call me Nanhe" he told her.
"But, you said that everyone called you Nk?"
"I did. But I've always wanted someone to call me nanhe. But no one ever does that. Will you please?" he asked her. There was no way Nk was letting her change the name she'd given him. Khushiji would always call him Nanheji. He was used to it.
Khushi laughed and nodded. She really liked him. He was friendly and immediately made her feel like a part of the family. "Nice to meet you, Nanhe ji" she said.
"My pleasure. Aap aye, bazaar ayi, khushiji" he chanted.
"What?!" khushi said, shocked at what she thought she'd heard. Payal suddenly cut in.
"Not bazaar, Nk ji! Bahaar!"
"Oh sorry!" Nk said, hitting himself on the forehead. "Yeah, that one".
"Khushi bitiya?" called Nani suddenly "where's your earring?" Khushi turned to find nani pointing at her ears. She checked both sides. Her left earring was missing.
"I must have dropped it somewhere" she thought woefully. It was one of her favourite pairs. "i'll go and look for it outside!" she said and hurried towards the exit.
"Nani!" came a loud voice from the door "Are Payal and Khushi ba-"
"OW!" cried khushi, as she slammed into something solid and fell backwards. She squeezed he eyes shut, bracing herself for the impact and the pain that would follow. But it never came. Instead, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her forward. Her hand shot up, frantically searching for something to hold on to. She caught what curiously felt like a shoulder. When she was sure she wasn't going to fall, she opened one eye and looked down. She found herself dangling in mid air, supported only by those arms. She recognized him even before she saw who he was. These were the same arms that had hugged her that day. He had called her his wife...
khushi looked up in shock and immediately, her eyes were met by warm chocolate ones, so deep that one could get lost simply by staring into their chocolaty depths. His eyes were mesmerizing and so was his face. He was extremely handsome, she admitted to herself shyly, as her gaze traveled over the dark stubble which made him look even more desirable and his lips, which seemed to have been carved to perfection. Her eyes met his again and she could almost see him smiling, as if enjoying the effect he was having on her. And for some reason, she wanted to touch him. But she WAS touching him, wasn't she, Khushi thought. She looked over to where her hand clutched his shoulder tightly, crumpling the material of his shirt in the process, while their bodies were pressed together. But somehow, that wasn't enough. She wanted to run her fingers over his stubble, his lips, his nose, into his perfectly gelled hair.
Khushi shook herself mentally, shocked that she had allowed herself to imagine all that and struggled to free herself from his hold. Understanding what she wanted, Arnav slowly steadied her, making sure that she could stand, before letting her go.
"S-sorry" she muttered, not looking at him.
"No problem" he replied, trying not to laugh as he saw Khushi concentrate hard on straightening up her dress.
Khushi looked around, embarassed to find everyone staring at them strangely. She didn't know what to do so she looked at Payal, silently begging her to ease out the situation. Payal cleared her throat.
"Khushi, this is Arnavji" she said. Khushi willed herself to relax and behave like a matured individual, as she turned to face him.
"Thank you for everything you did for me, Mr. Raizada" she told him with a smile "Jiji says I wouldn't have been alive if it wasn't for you".
"You don't need to thank me, Khushi. Its allright. And please call me Arnav" he replied. He walked forward and stopped right in front of her.
"Is this yours?" he asked her, extending out his hand. She looked down to find her missing earring resting on his open palm. She nodded as she took it. "I found it outside. Speaking of which", he now turned angrily towards Payal "why are you two here? I told you that I was coming to pick you up, didn't I? Why did you come here on your own? How did you get here?"
Payal cringed under his fierce glare. "Arnavji, i'm sorry. I told her to wait, but Khushi being, well, Khushi, insisted on taking an auto as she wanted to feel the city on her first day here. I tried to stop her but has she ever listened to anyone in her excitement? I had to take the auto else she would've ran off alone". Now it was Khushi's turn to face his wrath. She hadn't expected it and was shocked when he spoke to her.
"Khushi Kumari Gupta" he started "why don't you EVER listen to what people tell you? Tumhe itni chot lagi hai, how could you ever think of sitting in an auto? What the hell is wrong with you? You couldn't resist 'feeling' the city even for ONE day? Tumhe kuch ho jata toh? Dard aur badh jaata toh? When you had the option of travelling comfortably in a car, why in the world-"
"Excuse me" khushi cut him off, irritated at being chastised publicly, especially by this man "aap hote kaun hai humein ye sab bolne waale? I wanted to come in an auto, so i came in one. No one tells me what to do, okay? i always do what I want to do. I wanted to go home, but jiji brought me here and i have no idea why. Still, i liked your family. But now that I've met you, i don't think i like you. Who in the world starts screaming at someone, even before they say 'hello'? you don't even know me!" she finished.
"The hell I don't!" he said, glaring at her. A vein throbbed in his temple as he struggled to control his anger. Khushi had definitely hit a nerve. But Khushi glared back, determined not to be intimidated by him.
"Whoa whoa, nannav, Khushiji" interrupted Nk. he came to stand in between them. "Time out, okay? No more fighting. Come, Khushiji. Let me show you your room" he offered, hoping to extinguish the sparks that seemed to be flying between the two of them. But he'd just made it worse. khushi's gaze snapped towards him.
"My room?" she asked, bewildered "why would you show me my room?"
"I'm sorry, khushiji. i didn't mean it that way" Nk apologized, feeling horrible that he'd said something so offensive.
"No, no, Nanheji. Its not that" khushi covered hastily "All i meant was, why would you show me a room? I'm going home. i'm not staying here, obviously".
"You're not going home. Khushi" Arnav said.
"Really?" Khushi said, crossing her arms as she faced him. "And you're going to stop me?" she asked, challenging him with her eyes.
"I would, but today, your sister is going to stop you" he replied smugly.
"Khushi, listen to me" Payal said, taking both of Khushi's hands in hers "amma, buaji and bauji won't be able to take care of you. There are so many of us here. We'll all take good care of you. You can go back once you're healed. But for now, you'll have to stay here".
"I'm not staying with him!" Khushi said, and thrust her chin towards Arnav, making it clear that she wasn't going to stay if he continued to behave so rudely with her.
"Arey sanka Devi!" buaji cut in "don't behave so childishly. And we've all agreed to this arrangement. stay here till you recover and then you can come to us anytime, can't you? We'll keep coming to meet you, okay? You won't miss us".
"But buaji-"
"Khushiji!" Nk spoke up "if you're worried about getting bored, then don't worry! I'll keep you company!"
"Yes, khushi bitiya" Nani said, smiling at her "please stay. We would love to have you here". Khushi saw everyone looking at her expectantly, even Arnav. Finally, she sighed.
"Okay. I'll stay. But ONLY because you asked me to, jiji" she said. She understood the situation. And if staying here, meant that her family would be free of any kind of worries, then she would stay. But that also meant living with a person like Arnav Singh Raizada under the same roof. Even the thought of it made her want to stomp out of the house this very minute. Nevertheless, everybody seemed happy with her decision.
"Thank you, khushiji!" Anjali cried and hugged her tight.
Pain struck her like lightening. Khushi cried out as tears sprung to her eyes and her back caught fire. It was so sudden and so unexpected that she did not even have time to brace herself for it. The world swam and began to grow dark before her eyes. Nothing else existed except the pain that threatened to swallow her. Yet again, she felt herself falling, but this time she couldn't do anything about it. She blacked out even before she hit the ground.
i'd promised to make them meet 'officially' hadn't i??? and ArShi cannot meet without falling into each other's arms, can they??? 😛 i really hope you guys liked it!!! DON'T forget to leave your comments as its always a pleasure reading what you guys write... will be back soon with more drama and romance... so stay tuned!!! until next time then!!! 😊
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