Originally posted by: ipkkndfanforeva
Voh toh hai...hopwfully v do get some nice ones...nahi toh Smitzy will get depressed again!
PS - Fairy..i love ur siggy and avatar, especially ur avatar! Its gt the kid! :D
fairy_stardust : I am with you on this ...I also don't have all the fancy stuff like ipkkndforeva (😆) but trust me i have the same reaction smitzy ..*jumps in happiness and dances*and more ...🤣We all Lub your FF dammit !!!!🤗Sabko Rabba Ve !!!!
Welcome to Thread four!!
Scroll down for English Version
Precap: Khushi returns to Gupta House after spending the night at Purani Haveli. Arnav and Khushi share a cute RV before she leaves. it is planned that the Raizadas and Gupta sisters would go for shopping as the whole family is planning to return back to Delhi the next day. Khushi's matchmaking kind of backfires when Nandini, whom Khushi was trying to set up with NK, seems attracted to Arnav more than to NK, making Khushi really jealous. The last scene witnesses an intense RV with Arnav and Khushi in the car parking lot.
Ab aage.
Chapter 19 Home sweet home
Scene 1
The rest of the family walk casually to the car still lost in their talks and occasional laughing at NK's expense. Their hands are heavily laden with numerous bags, no wonder the ladies feeling thrilled with the spoils of their shopping expedition. Suddenly their attention is diverted seeing the co-driver's door open and a pale looking Khushi sitting on the edge of the seat, her head bowed. Payal immediately rushes to her side looking concerned.
"Khushi! Kya hua tumhe?" Payal asks Khushi. The Raizadas too mill up around her looking worriedly at her.
Khushi looks up at the gathering of people around her and hastily gets to her feet. She greets them with a smile, although she is panting as if she's run a mile uphill and her racing heartbeats are taking their sweet time in calming down. "Kuch bhi to nahin, Jeeji. Hum bilkul theek hain," Khushi replies reassuredly. NK looks at her scrutinisingly.
"Liar liar," he suddenly blurts. NK looks around at others' curious looks. "Khushiji ko chakkar aa rahe the. Tabhi to woh car mein paani peene aayi thi," he explains to everyone. Khushi's smile gets momentarily replaced by pursed lips as she glares at NK. As he notices her reaction, he realises he wasn't supposed to tell anyone this. He immediately takes the bags from everyone's hands and makes his way to the rear of the car to dump them in the trunk. Khushi again smiles at everyone.
"To Anjali ji. Aapki saari khareedari ho gai?" Khushi asks, in hopes to distract them. It works. Anjali looks at her excitedly.
"Haan Khushiji. Hum itne khush hain ki aap hamare saath aaj aayi. Warna to woh dukaandaar pakka humein loot leta," Anjali replies as she starts getting on the middle seat. Khushi helps her get in, consciously aware of Arnav standing on the opposite door looking at both of them, lest they needed any help. Khushi tentatively raises her eyes just once to meet his angry ones and immediately looks away. Once satisfied that Anjali, Mamiji and Payal were all seated comfortably, Khushi slams the door shut and starts making her way towards the back to sit with NK and Nandini again.
"Tum saamne baitho," the stern commandeering voice of Arnav stops her dead in her tracks. Her heartbeat starts racing again. She gulps as she sees Arnav standing beside the rear door. Ye abhi to aage khade the, itne jaldi peeche kaise aa gaye? She wonders idly.
"Hum peeche hi theek hain," Khushi mutters, not looking at him directly.
"Khushi, peeche baith ke directions chillane se achha hai ki tum saamne baitho," Arnav contradicts angrily. "At least baki log disturb nahin honge." Khushi's gaze hikes up and she indignantly gapes at him with her mouth wide open. Achha! To hum sab ko takleef de rahe hain, she thinks angrily. Without waiting for her reply, Arnav marches back to the front and gets behind the wheel. Kicking herself mentally at not being able to retort back at Arnav with any snappy comebacks, Khushi beckons Aakash to come and sit at the back, while she sullenly gets into the front seat. Arnav turns on the ignition and eases the SUV out of the parking lot.
Khushi tries very hard not to look at the grumpy person who is sitting next to her, but the waves of anger that are emanating from just inches away aren't helping her at all. She steals a glance at him from the corner of her eyes and sees the taught muscles of Arnav's forearms as he grips the steering wheel. It is not rocket science for her to figure out why he was so angry. Actually, she knew why he was angry. Kyunki humne unhe dhakka diya, Khushi tells herself. She looks to her left towards the door frame, her thoughts flying back to the surreal thing that had happened minutes before.
Khushi feels her breathing steadily hiking up as she remembers the way Arnav had cornered her and they way he had talked to her huskily. They way he had prodded her to push him away in that challenging way all the while reducing the distance between them, walking towards her in that slow tantalising manner. She again sneaks a glance at Arnav who was sitting rigidly beside her and remembers the surprise on his face when she had pushed him away and how he had relentlessly walked towards her again. Khushi suddenly feels an unfamiliar warmth creeping on to her face. She raises her fingers to touch her cheek and realises that she was blushing!
She leans her head back on the headrest and shuts her eyes, taking a deep breaths. Kuch nahin tha woh Khushi. Woh Laad Governer bas tujhe tang karne ki koshish kar raha hai. Tu behekna bilkul bhi mat, she steels to herself resolutely. Relieved to find her breathing returning to normal, she opens her eyes and stares at the road straight ahead, mentally promising herself that she won't look at Arnav til the time she got home.
*
Arnav only knew how he was managing to keep up his calm exterior as anger bubbled inside him. Everything was going brilliantly fine. He had her cornered, he had her captivated in his advances and then out of nowhere - she pushed me away! He thinks to himself incredulously. I mean how dare she do that? She wanted me too! I could see it in her eyes. She wanted me and she was scared that she did. Arnav thought frustratedly. Ever since the whole fiasco of the ring had cleared up, Khushi hadn't allowed him to come close to him, or even to be alone in the same room. She had been evading him purposefully and the prospect was now making Arnav crazy.
Even now, with her sitting so close to him, Arnav is in a near frenzied state. Actually, it was just a ruse to make her sit on the front seat. Since, Arnav's road sense was brilliant, he already knew the way back. Despite his anger with her, he wanted to feel her close to him. And sitting in a car, this was as close she was going to get.
His head feels heavy being saturated with her scent - a curious mix of fruitiness from her hair mingled with the faint traces of her jasmine perfume. His hands are itching to touch her skin again. And his eyes... his eyes are dying to look sideways to take a glimpse of the woman who was the sole reason of driving him insane but his ego steels him not to. And so, despite the cheerful talks happening in the back seats, a wary silence hangs between them, both thinking of what had happened by the door a few minutes ago and feeling physically conscious of the other person sitting merely inches away.
*
The car screeches to a halt outside the Gupta House half an hour later. Khushi sits still in the front seat for a moment longer, not participating in the conversation, waiting for Arnav to say something. But as he had determinedly promised himself, Arnav remains stoically quiet. Khushi frowns at him for a moment and then angrily gets out of the car, muttering "Laad Governer kahin ke!" under her breath. Arnav glares at her retreating back.
Everybody starts bidding their byes in the backseat while Anjali reminds Payal that they'll send a car to take them to the airport the next morning.
"Payal ji, aap sab log subah 7:30 baje tak tayyar rahiyega. Waise to flight 9:30 ki hai, par humein Bauji ko check in karane mein thoda time lagega. Aakash kal subah aap sabko pick up karne aa jayega." Anjali smiles at the Gupta sisters.
Just as Nandini starts making her way towards Khushi and Payal, NK blurts out, "It was nice meeting you, Nandini ji!" Nandini pauses, turns around and stares at him for a moment. Then she politely smiles back at him. "It was nice meeting you too, NK." She replies. NK is thrilled that she smiled at him and without saying another word to Khushi or Payal, he dazedly walks to the back of the car and gets in.
Nandini then makes her to the front of the SUV, and peeps her head in through the open window of the co-driver's seat. Khushi feels her heart jump to her throat at seeing this. "Bye Arnav," Nandini cooes smiling at him. Khushi's eyes narrow as Arnav smiles back at Nandini. "Bye Nandini. It was nice meeting you." He replies politely. Khushi seethes. Achha, to laad governer sab se baat kar sakte hain, par humse nahin! She thinks to herself irritatedly. She walks to Nandini and gently tugs at her elbow to get her away from the car. Khushi and Arnav's eyes meet for fraction of a second, Khushi glaring at him while Arnav is suddenly grinning unexplicably at her. Khushi furrowes her eyebrows in confusion. Ab inhe kya ho gaya? She wonders to herself. Arnav merely turns on the ignition again and drives away.
The three girls slowly make their way back into the house and Khushi realises for the first time that her sister is holding a few bags too. It seemed Aakash had splurged quite a bit for his beloved wife. Just then Garima walks out of the house to greet them.
"Ho gai tum sab ki khareedari?" she asks smiling at the three girls who nod back at her. "Chalo, mooh haath dho lo. Khana tayyar hai." She says and walks back towards the kitchen.
Khushi and Nandini settle down on Khushi's bed while Payal starts keeping her shopping packets inside her travelling bags. Nandini lounges lazily on the bed now that their shopping excursion was done and she had access to a bed again. She picks up a magazine that is lying on the bed and flips disinterestedly through it, sinking into a silence. Khushi studies Nandini warily, her mind going into overdrive as to how she could get the information out of her that she desired.
"To Nandini ji, aapko Jeeji ke sasural wale kaise lage?" Khushi asks, her voice sounding extra cheerful.
"Bahut ache the," Nandini replies nonchalantly still flipping through the magazine.
"Jeejaji kaise lage?" Khushi asks her again.
"Bahut ache," Nandini allows a small smile to appear on her face. "Kaafi shaant rehte hain, par Payal Di aur Jeejaji ki Jodi bahut cute hai." Khushi smiles back at her.
"Haan woh to hai," she concedes. "Manorama Mami?" Khushi prods again. Nandini frowns.
"Ajeeb thi woh. Aur woh English mein baat kyun kar rahi thi agar unko English aati nahin hai? Unke hello hi sun sun ke to mere kaan kharab ho gaye," Nandini says annoyedly. Khushi suppresses a giggle. Trust Nandini to be so blunt.
"Mamiji aisi hi hain. Anjali ji kaisi lagi?" Khushi asks. Nandini smiles fondly.
"Woh to bahut hi pyaari thi. Maanna padega, pregnant ho kar bhi, woh kitne maze se shops mein ghoom rahi thi. Unka kaun sa mahina chal raha hai abhi?" Nandini asks.
"8 vaan. Unki date shayad diwali ke baad ki hai." Khushi replies, doing the math in her head. She notices Nandini was absorbed in the magazine. She cocks her head to one side and asks, "Nanhe ji?" Nandini looks up from the magazine and narrows her eyes. Khushi immediately straightens her head and pretends to casually fiddle with the bedsheet.
"He was okay," Nandini replies looking back to the magazine. Khushi's mouth drops opens. All this planning, the carefully orchestrated meeting and all Nandini's impression was-
"Bas Okay?" Khushi exclaims. Nandini nods her head not looking up. Khushi looks disappointed. Filmon mein to pehli mulakaton mein aisa nahin hota. Hawa chalti hai, dupatta udta hai, hero heroine slow motion mein ek doosre ke taraf aate hain. Yahan to aisa kuch bhi nahin hua, Khushi thinks to herself sullenly.
"Waise tumne Arnav ke bare mein nahin poocha?" Nandini suddenly says and with only one mention of that name from her lips, Khushi is snapped out of her fimly world and back to reality. She looks at Nandini apprehensively. Did she really want to hear what Nandini felt about Arnav?
"Aapko Arnav ji kaise lage Nandini ji?" Khushi asks, this time actually fiddling with the bedsheet, trying to mentally block out all the images of her friend talking to Arnav and him laughing at her. Nandini keeps the magazine aside and leans over to Khushi.
"Bahut ache!" Nandini gushes breathlessly as Khushi had feared. "I mean kya personality hai! Wow! Aur woh baat karne ka andaaz. Woh smile!"As Nandini goes on raving about her meeting with Arnav and listing all the wonderful things she thought about him, irritation starts tugging at Khushi again. She wonders why had she asked Nandini that question and she really didn't want to hear any of it. Who would really?
"Khushi?" Nandini prods her after a few minutes. "Arnav ke bare mein baat sun kar tumhara mooh kyun utar gaya?" she rests her hands on Khushi when she asks her curiously.
"Utarega hi. Uss insaan ki wajah se aaj Khushi ki ye haalat jo hai!" Payal's angry voice suddenly joins the scene from behind Nandini. She seems to have just heard the question that Nandini had asked Khushi. Nandini looks curiously from Payal to Khushi, who is now looking even more forlorn, and back to Payal.
"Kya matlab?" Nandini asks Payal who looks angry now. Khushi glances at her sister imploringly.
"Chodo na Jeeji," she murmurs. Payal stomps in closer to the two girls.
"Jab uss insaan ki galti hai, to hum kyun chod dein? Maana ki ab usne iss parivar ke liye bahut kuch kiya hai. Par pehle to sari musibatein usne hi banai thi na?" Payal asks agitatedly. Nandini is now gaping at Payal, looking completely clueless about where the talk is headed. Khushi bows her head down sadly and doesn't reply. Payal picks up a salwar suit from the chair and walks to her closet to keep it inside. "Pehle baatein bigadne aur phir unko sudharne mein to Arnav Singh Riazada ko avval number milne chahiye! Bilkul sahi naam diya tha tumne usse Khushi. Laad Governer!" she mutters irrtatedly, although more to herself. Nandini holds Payal by her elbow and makes her sit on the bed between her and Khushi.
"Payal Di, aap kya keh rahi ho? Mujhe kuch samajh nahin aa raha hai," Nandini says confusedly.
"Arnav Singh Raizada hi woh insaan hai, jisne Khushi se apna rishta tod diya tha!" Payal announces and jumps up from the bed. "Usi ke saath Khushi ki shaadi hone wali thi, par apne gusse aur ghamand ki wajah se, usne sab kuch bigaad diya." Payal vents and angrily walks out of the room to clear her mind.
Nandini is now gaping at Khushi horrorstruck. She looks at Khushi inquisitively who nods sadly to confirm what Payal just said. Nandini jumps off the bed too. She starts pacing next to the bed muttering things to herself. Then she suddenly stops to stare at Khushi, opening her mouth to say something but changes her mind and resumes her pacing. Khushi looks at her worriedly.
"Nandini ji? Kya hua aapko?" she asks warily. Nandini suddenly stops, her eyes glinting with anger.
"Maine ek poori shaam uss insaan ke sath hans kar baat kar ke bitai. Uss insaan ke saath?" she seethes. It is now Khushi's turn to gape at her friend wondering what brought this sudden change in her demeanour. She nods in reply to Nandini. Nandini growls and holds her head in her hands.
"Tumne mujhe pehle kyun nahin bataya?!" Nandini yells at Khushi who jumps back at being shouted at. She opens her mouth to reply but Nandini starts off again, "Us ski itni HIMMAT! Meri dost se rishta toda! Meri Khushi se! Woh samajhta kya hai apne aap ko?" Nandini vents out aggravatedly. Khushi purses her lips, wondering what to say. A little while ago Nandini had been fawning over Arnav and now she was ranting about him.
"Par aapko to Arnav ji ache lage Nandini ji," Khushi finally murmurs. Nandini flashes an angry look at her.
"Kyunki mujhe pata nahin tha ki Arnav Singh Raizada woh insaan hai jisse tumhari shaadi hone wali thi! Ohh, I so hope ki mujhe ye baat pehle se pata hoti! Uski taangein tod deti main!" she hisses as resumes her pacing, muttering to herself.
Khushi stares at her friend in amazement. Friendship was such a strange thing really. It made your best friends side with you unconditionally. X person hurts you and your best friend would hate X from the bottom of their heart. Y person breaks your heart, and you should just pray that Y never meets your best friend, for your best friend is fully capable of doing bodily harm to Y at that point of that. And the exhibit was right in front of Khushi. She had been worried that Nandini liked Arnav. Actually she had been jealous, but we'll go with worried as Khushi will never admit she was jealous. But now that the truth was out, Nandini doesn't even seem to remember Arnav's charms or his smile or his sexy broody face. Khushi reaches out to the pacing Nandini and hugs her, feeling a sudden surge of affection for the best friend she had left behind. That action stops Nandini's muttering.
"Nandini, Khushi aa jao, khana lag gaya hai," Payal's voice leads them to break their hug. Nandini's anger finally seems to have cooled down a bit. As she grumpily walks out of Khushi's room, Khushi thanks her Devi Maiyya for giving her such an amazing friend, and adds a small prayer that Nandini and Arnav don't meet again.. for the long life and well being of Arnav's limbs at least that Nandini was earnestly threatening to break off.
ENGLISH VERSION
CHAPTER 19 Scene 1
The rest of the family walk casually to the car still lost in their talks and occasional laughing at NK's expense. Their hands are heavily laden with numerous bags, no wonder the ladies feeling thrilled with the spoils of their shopping expedition. Suddenly their attention is diverted seeing the co-driver's door open and a pale looking Khushi sitting on the edge of the seat, her head bowed. Payal immediately rushes to her side looking concerned.
"Khushi! What happened to you?" Payal asks Khushi. The Raizadas too mill up around her looking worriedly at her.
Khushi looks up at the gathering of people around her and hastily gets to her feet. She greets them with a smile, although she is panting as if she's run a mile uphill and her racing heartbeats are taking their sweet time in calming down. "Nothing Jeeji, I'm completely fine," Khushi replies reassuredly. NK looks at her scrutinisingly.
"Liar liar," he suddenly blurts. NK looks around at others' curious looks. "Khushiji's head was reeling. That is why she came to the car looking for the water bottle," he explains to everyone. Khushi's smile gets momentarily replaced by pursed lips as she glares at NK. As he notices her reaction, he realises he wasn't supposed to tell anyone this. He immediately takes the bags from everyone's hands and makes his way to the rear of the car to dump them in the trunk. Khushi again smiles at everyone.
"So Anjali ji. Done with your shopping?" Khushi asks, in hopes to distract them. It works. Anjali looks at her excitedly.
"Yes Khushiji. I'm so happy that you decided to join us. The salesmen would have robbed us blind otherwise," Anjali replies as she starts getting on the middle seat. Khushi helps her get in, consciously aware of Arnav standing on the opposite door looking at both of them, lest they needed any help. Khushi tentatively raises her eyes just once to meet his angry ones and immediately looks away. Once satisfied that Anjali, Mamiji and Payal were all seated comfortably, Khushi slams the door shut and starts making her way towards the back to sit with NK and Nandini again.
"You sit in the front," the stern commandeering voice of Arnav stops her dead in her tracks. Her heartbeat starts racing again. She gulps as she sees Arnav standing beside the rear door. Wasn't he standing up front a second earlier? How did her get here so fast? She wonders idly.
"I'm fine sitting at the back," Khushi mutters, not looking at him directly.
"Khushi, better than you shouting the directions from the last seat, you sit on the front seat," Arnav contradicts angrily. "At least other's won't get distrubed that way." Khushi's gaze hikes up and she indignantly gapes at him with her mouth wide open. Oh really? So I'm disturbing everyone now, she thinks angrily. Without waiting for her reply, Arnav marches back to the front and gets behind the wheel. Kicking herself mentally at not being able to retort back at Arnav with any snappy comebacks, Khushi beckons Aakash to come and sit at the back, while she sullenly gets into the front seat. Arnav turns on the ignition and eases the SUV out of the parking lot.
Khushi tries very hard not to look at the grumpy person who is sitting next to her, but the waves of anger that are emanating from just inches away aren't helping her at all. She steals a glance at him from the corner of her eyes and sees the taught muscles of Arnav's forearms as he grips the steering wheel. It is not rocket science for her to figure out why he was so angry. Actually, she knew why he was angry. Because I pushed him away, Khushi tells herself. She looks to her left towards the door frame, her thoughts flying back to the surreal thing that had happened minutes before.
Khushi feels her breathing steadily hiking up as she remembers the way Arnav had cornered her and they way he had talked to her huskily. They way he had prodded her to push him away in that challenging way all the while reducing the distance between them, walking towards her in that slow tantalising manner. She again sneaks a glance at Arnav who was sitting rigidly beside her and remembers the surprise on his face when she had pushed him away and how he had relentlessly walked towards her again. Khushi suddenly feels an unfamiliar warmth creeping on to her face. She raises her fingers to touch her cheek and realises that she was blushing!
She leans her head back on the headrest and shuts her eyes, taking a deep breaths. Kuch nahin tha woh Khushi. Woh Laad Governer bas tujhe tang karne ki koshish kar raha hai. Tu behekna bilkul bhi mat, she steels to herself resolutely. Relieved to find her breathing returning to normal, she opens her eyes and stares at the road straight ahead, mentally promising herself that she won't look at Arnav til the time she got home.
*
Arnav only knew how he was managing to keep up his calm exterior as anger bubbled inside him. Everything was going brilliantly fine. He had her cornered, he had her captivated in his advances and then out of nowhere -she pushed me away! He thinks to himself incredulously. I mean how dare she do that? She wanted me too! I could see it in her eyes. She wanted me and she was scared that she did. Arnav thought frustratedly. Ever since the whole fiasco of the ring had cleared up, Khushi hadn't allowed him to come close to him, or even to be alone in the same room. She had been evading him purposefully and the prospect was now making Arnav crazy.
Even now, with her sitting so close to him, Arnav is in a near frenzied state. Actually, it was just a ruse to make her sit on the front seat. Since, Arnav's road sense was brilliant, he already knew the way back. Despite his anger with her, he wanted to feel her close to him. And sitting in a car, this was as close she was going to get.
His head feels heavy being saturated with her scent - a curious mix of fruitiness from her hair mingled with the faint traces of her jasmine perfume. His hands are itching to touch her skin again. And his eyes... his eyes are dying to look sideways to take a glimpse of the woman who was the sole reason of driving him insane but his ego steels him not to. And so, despite the cheerful talks happening in the back seats, a wary silence hangs between them, both thinking of what had happened by the door a few minutes ago and feeling physically conscious of the other person sitting merely inches away.
*
The car screeches to a halt outside the Gupta House half an hour later. Khushi sits still in the front seat for a moment longer, not participating in the conversation, waiting for Arnav to say something. But as he had determinedly promised himself, Arnav remains stoically quiet. Khushi frowns at him for a moment and then angrily gets out of the car, muttering "Laad Governer!" under her breath. Arnav glares at her retreating back.
Everybody starts bidding their byes in the backseat while Anjali reminds Payal that they'll send a car to take them to the airport the next morning.
"Payal ji, please make sure all of you are ready by 07:30 in the morning. The flight is at 9:30 but it will take some time to get Bauji checked in. Aakash will come to pick you up in the morning." Anjali smiles at the Gupta sisters.
Just as Nandini starts making her way towards Khushi and Payal, NK blurts out, "It was nice meeting you, Nandini ji!" Nandini pauses, turns around and stares at him for a moment. Then she politely smiles back at him. "It was nice meeting you too, NK." She replies. NK is thrilled that she smiled at him and without saying another word to Khushi or Payal, he dazedly walks to the back of the car and gets in.
Nandini then makes her to the front of the SUV, and peeps her head in through the open window of the co-driver's seat. Khushi feels her heart jump to her throat at seeing this. "Bye Arnav," Nandini cooes smiling at him. Khushi's eyes narrow as Arnav smiles back at Nandini. "Bye Nandini. It was nice meeting you." He replies politely. Khushi seethes. Right, so Laad Governer can talk to everyone but me! She thinks to herself irritatedly. She walks to Nandini and gently tugs at her elbow to get her away from the car. Khushi and Arnav's eyes meet for fraction of a second, Khushi glaring at him while Arnav is suddenly grinning unexplicably at her. Khushi furrowes her eyebrows in confusion. Now what happened to him? She wonders to herself. Arnav merely turns on the ignition again and drives away.
The three girls slowly make their way back into the house and Khushi realises for the first time that her sister is holding a few bags too. It seemed Aakash had splurged quite a bit for his beloved wife. Just then Garima walks out of the house to greet them.
"So all done with the shopping?" she asks smiling at the three girls who nod back at her. "Go and freshen up. Dinner is ready" She says and walks back towards the kitchen.
Khushi and Nandini settle down on Khushi's bed while Payal starts keeping her shopping packets inside her travelling bags. Nandini lounges lazily on the bed now that their shopping excursion was done and she had access to a bed again. She picks up a magazine that is lying on the bed and flips disinterestedly through it, sinking into a silence. Khushi studies Nandini warily, her mind going into overdrive as to how she could get the information out of her that she desired.
"So Nandini ji, how did you like Jeeji's in-laws' family?" Khushi asks, her voice sounding extra cheerful.
"Very nice," Nandini replies nonchalantly still flipping through the magazine.
"How did you like Jeejaji?" Khushi asks her again.
"Really nice," Nandini allows a small smile to appear on her face. "He's quiet but Jeeji and he are a really cute couple together." Khushi smiles back at her.
"They they are," she concedes. "Manorama Mami?" Khushi prods again. Nandini frowns.
"She was just weird. And why does she talk in English if she doesn't know English? Hearing her constant hello hi made my ears bleed," Nandini says annoyedly. Khushi suppresses a giggle. Trust Nandini to be so blunt.
"Mamiji is like that only. What about Anjali ji?" Khushi asks. Nandini smiles fondly.
"She is so sweet. I have to admit, roaming around the shops even with in such a pregnant state. Which month is she progressing on?" Nandini asks.
"It's her 8th month. I think she's expecting around Diwali." Khushi replies, doing the math in her head. She notices Nandini was absorbed in the magazine. She cocks her head to one side and asks, "Nanhe ji?" Nandini looks up from the magazine and narrows her eyes. Khushi immediately straightens her head and pretends to casually fiddle with the bedsheet.
"He was okay," Nandini replies looking back to the magazine. Khushi's mouth drops opens. All this planning, the carefully orchestrated meeting and all Nandini's impression was-
"Only okay?" Khushi exclaims. Nandini nods her head not looking up. Khushi looks disappointed. First meetings don't go just okay in movies. In movies, the air blows gently, the dupatta flies in the gust of air, hero and heroine move towards each other in slow motion. Nothing of that sort happened here, Khushi thinks to herself sullenly.
"By the way you didn't ask about Arnav?" Nandini suddenly says and with only one mention of that name from her lips, Khushi is snapped out of her fimly world and back to reality. She looks at Nandini apprehensively. Did she really want to hear what Nandini felt about Arnav?
"Nandini ji, how did you like Arnavji?" Khushi asks, this time actually fiddling with the bedsheet, trying to mentally block out all the images of her friend talking to Arnav and him laughing at her. Nandini keeps the magazine aside and leans over to Khushi.
"Brilliant!" Nandini gushes breathlessly as Khushi had feared. "I mean what a personality! Wow! And his style of talking. His smile!"As Nandini goes on raving about her meeting with Arnav and listing all the wonderful things she thought about him, irritation starts tugging at Khushi again. She wonders why had she asked Nandini that question and she really didn't want to hear any of it. Who would really?
"Khushi?" Nandini prods her after a few minutes. "Why has your face dropped listening about Arnav?" she rests her hands on Khushi when she asks her curiously.
"It would obviously drop. It's because of that man that Khushi's is going through all this today!" Payal's angry voice suddenly joins the scene from behind Nandini. She seems to have just heard the question that Nandini had asked Khushi. Nandini looks curiously from Payal to Khushi, who is now looking even more forlorn, and back to Payal.
"Meaning?" Nandini asks Payal who looks angry now. Khushi glances at her sister imploringly.
"Leave it, Jeeji," she murmurs. Payal stomps in closer to the two girls.
"Yeah right, when it is his fault, why should I leave it? Admitted that now he has done a lot for our faimly. But he created all the mess in the beginning didn't he?" Payal asks agitatedly. Nandini is now gaping at Payal, looking completely clueless about where the talk is headed. Khushi bows her head down sadly and doesn't reply. Payal picks up a salwar suit from the chair and walks to her closet to keep it inside. "First make a mess and then straighten it up. Arnav Singh Raizada is ranked one in that aspect! You've given him an apt nick name Khushi. Laad Governer!" she mutters irrtatedly, although more to herself. Nandini holds Payal by her elbow and makes her sit on the bed between her and Khushi.
"Payal Di, what are you saying? I can't understand anything," Nandini says confusedly.
"Arnav Singh Raizada is the same man who broke his alliance with Khushi!" Payal announces and jumps up from the bed. "He's the one who Khushi was to marry, but because of his anger and ego, he ruined everything." Payal vents and angrily walks out of the room to clear her mind.
Nandini is now gaping at Khushi horrorstruck. She looks at Khushi inquisitively who nods sadly to confirm what Payal just said. Nandini jumps off the bed too. She starts pacing next to the bed muttering things to herself. Then she suddenly stops to stare at Khushi, opening her mouth to say something but changes her mind and resumes her pacing. Khushi looks at her worriedly.
"Nandini ji? What happened to you?" she asks warily. Nandini suddenly stops, her eyes glinting with anger.
"I spent an entire evening laughing and chattering with that person. With that person?" she seethes. It is now Khushi's turn to gape at her friend wondering what brought this sudden change in her demeanour. She nods in reply to Nandini. Nandini growls and holds her head in her hands.
"Why didn't you tell me before?!" Nandini yells at Khushi who jumps back at being shouted at. She opens her mouth to reply but Nandini starts off again, "HOW DARE HE? he broke his relation with my friend! With my Khushi! What does he think of himself?" Nandini vents out aggravatedly. Khushi purses her lips, wondering what to say. A little while ago Nandini had been fawning over Arnav and now she was ranting about him.
"But you said you like him, Nandini ji," Khushi finally murmurs. Nandini flashes an angry look at her.
"Because I had no clue that it was Arnav Singh Raizada who you were supposed to get married to! Ohh, I so hope I knew this well in advance! I'd have broken both his legs!" she hisses as resumes her pacing, muttering to herself.
Khushi stares at her friend in amazement. Friendship was such a strange thing really. It made your best friends side with you unconditionally. X person hurts you and your best friend would hate X from the bottom of their heart. Y person breaks your heart, and you should just pray that Y never meets your best friend, for your best friend is fully capable of doing bodily harm to Y at that point of that. And the exhibit was right in front of Khushi. She had been worried that Nandini liked Arnav. Actually she had been jealous, but we'll go with worried as Khushi will never admit she was jealous. But now that the truth was out, Nandini doesn't even seem to remember Arnav's charms or his smile or his sexy broody face. Khushi reaches out to the pacing Nandini and hugs her, feeling a sudden surge of affection for the best friend she had left behind. That action stops Nandini's muttering.
"Nandini, Khushi come, dinner is served," Payal's voice leads them to break their hug. Nandini's anger finally seems to have cooled down a bit. As she grumpily walks out of Khushi's room, Khushi thanks her Devi Maiyya for giving her such an amazing friend, and adds a small prayer that Nandini and Arnav don't meet again.. for the long life and well being of Arnav's limbs at least that Nandini was earnestly threatening to break off.
Writer's note: aha! 180 twist eh? You thought Nandini-Arnav ka chakkar chalega? Love triangle/square/rectangle banega? Nahhh, I love keeping it simple and moreover I don't like a kebab mein haddi in between Arshi, call me old-fashioned hehehee.. So now, Khushi has another weapon in her arsenal and guess what? Arnav doesn't know this yet! Muhahahaha we're going to have fun! 😆
Feedback please dears! Much appreciated! 😊
cheers!
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