Khushi gave a loud gasp as she started violently & was about to go back several steps, when she felt her tong bearing hand pulled back in an iron-grip. She looked down to see her hand clasped by his larger, but surprisingly gentle looking hand. & she brought her apprehensive eyes back to his livid face, wondering if he was so angry because she might have disturbed his sleep, but his next furiously uttered words proved her wrong. "So, you'd rather starve yourself & scour your own kitchen, like a damn thief in the middle of the night, just to freakin' avoid me?" & every word was said with a jerk behind it to convey the full force of his anger.
Khushi immediately closed her eyes tightly shut & prayed to Devi Maiyya that maybe it was all a nightmare of hers, but the next moment she was forced to flutter her eyes open as he shook her hand briefly. He again hissed furiously, "What are you? Some camel? You can't wish me away just by closing your eyes, Khushi!" & Khushi could just continue to look at him with a fearful expression on her face as she was firstly just too surprised to find him like this in the kitchen at this time, standing before her. & secondly, she was also quiet out of shame, because his accusation that she was avoiding him was painfully true.
But as soon as she felt Arnav twist her wrist to turn it behind her, effectively pulling her closer to his body, she felt the rage building within her, & as she looked up at his still hard eyes, she felt the tension of the past 6 days finally catching up with up with her & she snapped, "What?? What is your problem? This is my house, still! It's not sold away yet, no thanks to you. So I can roam through all over it, at whichever time I feel like it, & you don't have the right to say anything about it, samjhe aap? & why would I avoid you? I didn't even know you wanted to see me or talk to me." Self-preservation now made her lie blatantly. "I am here now. Tell me. What is it you wanted to say to me that's so important that you're now accusing me of avoiding you for it?" & with that she sent a silent prayer up to Devi Maiyya that would rob the Laad Governor of speech.
Arnav watched at her glaring eyes, her fuming expression & her flushed face for a few seconds. Then his free hand rose up to touch her pink cheeks, & his thumb brushed a few loose tendrils away from it, as he leaned closer & whispered in a calm voice, "I just wanted to know, tum theek ho?"
Khushi felt her whole gut clenching & twisting at his touch & the way his tone just oozed out so much concern for her that it was almost like he was caressing her. She closed her eyes tightly to shut it out. Shut it all out. His eyes that looked as if they had darkened the moment they saw her, his lips that looked as if they softened the moment he spoke to her, & his touch that seemed as if he was making love to her with his simple touch. Before she even opened her eyes, Khushi sharply slapped his hand that was still lightly brushing her ckeeh & pulled her other hand out of his grasp. Then she opened his eyes, while she steeped away to put some much needed didtance between them, & said in a tone that was too harsh than even the situation warranted, "I am fine. I am just peachy. But it's not the appropriate time, nor was your gesture the appropriate way to enquire about my well-being. I am your friend & soon-to-be brother-in-law's sister, & you're currently standing under his roof in the middle of the night, because he trusts you to let you stay overnight at his house with his sisters. Did you forget all that?" Her eyes falshed sparks at him. & before she even finished, she saw eyes harden into mere slits.
& as she saw his hand shot out to grab her upper arm, she almost jumped several feet away & Arnav fisted his outstreched hand, before he spit out through gritted teeth, "Since we are reminding each other things the other seems to have forgotten, let me remind you of a far more interesting fact. We kissed! I kissed you & you kissed me back! So anytime you can get free from avoiding me, starving yourself in the process, & then trying to sidetrack me by sending me into a guilt trip about being Rohan's sister, I'd like to talk about our kissing session." & as he finished, he crossed his arms across his chest in a determined manner, letting her know in no uncertain terms that before they were done discussing everything that he had on his agenda, no one was leaving this kitchen.
Khushi looked at his menacing form & she felt cornered. But as the rate of her breathing escaleted, she knew one thing for sure, there was no way she could discuss that kiss with Arnav, when she could still feel the touch of his lips against hers whenever she closed her eyes & thought about him. She stepped back farther & after wetting her dry lips with her tongue, not noticing how the movement caught Arnav's eyes, she managed in to get out in a croaked voice, "There's nothing to talk about. I was moping to you about it & so you did it, cos you obviously felt bad for me." Arnav felt frustrated at her words & the fact that she wasn't even looking at him in the eye. She had the most expressive eyes, & if she would only look at him he would have an inkling of what was going on in that gorgeous head of her. He took a step towards her & immediately halted at the way she backed out. He closed his eyes as he fought for some composure & said in a hushed voice straining with the effort he was making for control, "It has a name, Khushi. We kissed! & I didn't kiss you because I felt bad for you! I don't go around doing that kind of social service." He paused to see if she would look up, but when she didn't he continued in a softer voice, "Khushi, I kissed you, because I wanted to. Just because of that. & you have to stop deriving your own meaning out of whatever I do & say."
As Khushi heard him speaking to her calmly, as if trying to reason with an extremely difficult child, she knew they were delving into deeper waters with each passing time, & the panic rose in her like an all consuming lava as she realised,she wasn't ready for it now. Her brain was still jammed with what all had happened in the farmhouse. When they went to the farmhouse, her sister was engaged & her brother was not, & now the scenario was completely inverted. Not to mention, her home was on the verge of getting sold & she had her first experience of attempted rape on her. & on top of all that, she had her first kiss with someone who definitely sholudn't have been her first anything & that had been all she had really thought about since then. But she still wasn't ready to talk about it, definitely not with him. Khushi abruptly looked up at him & said hastily, "Jalebis! I have to make them. I am hungry!" & she immediately moved to the stove to see what she had gathered there earlier.
As Khushi inspected the ingredients she had already taken out, she felt Arnav move really fast towards her out of his annoyance at her vagueness, & she abruptly turned towards him, saying quickly, "There's no sugar in the tin. I'll bring some from the storage tin. You go to sleep. I'll be here for some while." & she instantly walked towards the small storage room just alongside the kitchen where Garima kept the monthly ration.
As she entered the storage, she moved to the shelves lining the wall & reached for the big tin of Sugar on the highest shelf, but before she could hold the tin, she felt fingers closing over her arms & she was roughly turned around to face a pair of angry, glittering eyes, "Never, ever, walk away when I am talking to you! I am not like others who are so mesmerized with your presence that I won't see your avoidance tactics! You have done it the whole day today & every other day since we came back from the farmhouse. Not anymore, Khushi Kumari Gupta! You'll talk to me & you'll talk to me now. I want to-" Arnav suddenly stiffened as he perked up his ears. & before long Khushi heard it too. Voices coming down from the hall outside the kitchen.
"Arnavji-" Khushi started, but Arnav stopped her by putting up his index finger over his lips & then grabbing her upper-arms, he moved them both to the wall beside the open doorway of the storage, & Khushi could hear the voices clearly in the silence of the night time from there. She let out a shocked gasp as she heard her sister's angry voice, "I don't want to talk to you about this. Ever again!" & then to her utter amazement she heard the persistenly determined voice of none other than Akaash Singh Raizada, "Just meet me outside. Tomorrow. We need to Payal!" & then Payal said in a louder voice, "NO! We can't. You can't keep doing this!" She sounded harrassed, almost bordering on hysteria. & Khushi was moved instantly by her protective instinct towards her sister & she was about to go to Payal, when she felt Arnav's hands tighten around her arms, & as she looked up at him, he shook his head, telling her not to interrupt what was going on.
Khushi heard Payal's distressed voice again, "The only reason I agreed to come down to meet you at this hour was because I thought we'd be caught by Anajali ji any moment by the way you were bahaving!! You did the same thing at the party in the farmhouse too! I am sure Karan must have seen something & if he wasn't such a leech himself, I'd be in trouble by now!" Khushi heard some shuffling & as she tried to understand what was happening outside, she suddenly felt Arnav's thumbs caressing her skin where they touched & she instantly looked up at him to find that he was least bothered by what was going on outside. He was scanning her face with a contemplative expression & slowly, but surely leaning towards her. Khushi hissed out fiercely, "Cut it out! Are you nuts? Can you not hear your brother harrassing my sister outside?!" To her consternation, Arnav just shrugged nonchalantly & whispered against her cheek, "None of our business. I am having a similar hard time as it is, so I sympathise with Akaash fully." & then he kissed Khushi's right earlobe in a swift movement.
Before Khushi could slap him away though, she heard stomping foot sounds & a vague furious tone saying, "Keep away. We have nothing to say to each other." Khushi immediately pushed Arnav away from herself & took a big gulps of much needed breath as she felt her head reeling & then as something suddenly dawned on her, she trained her furious eyes at Arnav's calm face, & shot out accusingly, "You knew!! YOU know what that is all about!"
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