Hey, all' I am here with part 24. & well, I won't say much now.. Just read on'
Part 24
Khushi ran inside pushing the door of the Ladies' Room with her body & upon reaching the huge marble basin counters, she clutched the edge of it & tried to calm her labored breathing by drawing strength from the cool, hard marble surface. She pursed her lips to stop the long shaky breaths & filled her lungs with short spurts of air as she felt as if she had just run a marathon, although the distance from where she had been with Arnav to the rest room couldn't have been more than 5steps. Slowly, Khushi looked up to the huge mirror lining the wall in front her & instantly gasped at her own appearance.
Anyone with half an eye-sight would be able to tell just by looking at her, that she had been kissed. There were absolutely no traces of lipstick left on her slightly swollen lips, but no one would assume she didn't have any on to begin with, because dull smudges of Bubblegum Pink shade lipstick were clearly visible around the contours of her lips. Her face was pale & she looked decidedly disturbed. Her hair, which was carefully twisted over her shoulder, now looked a messy knot. The only thing that was perfect about her exterior was her perfectly tied dress.
Khushi closed her eyes in frustration as a groan left her mouth. She hastily opened a tap & wetted her hands to try to wipe the smudges of lipstick from around her lips. But as soon as her lips felt the touch of her cool, wet fingers, she was transported back to the moment when his warm, firm lips had descended on them. As Khushi felt herself being totally engulfed by the helpless attraction she felt towards him, she snatched her fingers away, as the strong voice in her head spoke up again, "He's no better than that Karan, Khushi! What gave him the right to say all those things? & opening your straps? Even Karan didn't go that far."
& sure enough, it's opposing voice spoke up without any delay too. Only this time, the opposing voice, the Pro-Arnav one, wasn't in her brain. It was Khushi herself. Khushi realized with a start that the words were flowing out of her own lips, "Yes! Yes. He was a jerk, like Karan. He is a jerk, always. & he's bad news for me. & I need to tell him that!" Khushi looked up at her own eyes in the mirror as realization suddenly hit her. She had to tell him.
She had to tell him that he was a beast. She had to tell him that he would never in a million years deserve her, personality wise, not looks wise. But she had to also tell him that, she had decided to take mercy on him & rescue him from himself. Because' Because, he had to know when it was him hurting her, she got hurt the most. He had to know when he soothed her, she was comforted the most. He had to know, she wasn't thinking about marrying NK or anyone else, because he was always on her mind. & he had to know, & maybe then he would stop hurting her like this. He reacted so much, just because he thought she might be getting married to someone else. Now if he just knew how much he meant to her, maybe, just maybe everything would fall into place??
Khushi pressed her wet, cool fingers against her hot cheeks as a slow, painful smile spread across her face. That pushing, pulling, grabbing, snarling, screaming & inappropriate beast had been all she had thought about since the day he had casually picked her up from her campus & dropped her off home. As she opened her eyes to the warmth of the morning sun, her day started by thinking of him. As she closed her eyes to the darkness of the night, her day ended while still thinking of him. So her confession was not really going to be about him, Khushi shook her head as she squared her shoulders proudly. No, it was all about her.
She smiled as she fixed her hair a bit, Arnav Singh Raizada might as well know how lucky he had gotten that Khushi Kumari Gupta had given him the sole rights on her thoughts. Then her smile faded as she licked her dry lips seriously. Owning to the kind of person she was, she didn't believe in 'if only's. She didn't wanna wonder her whole life if she had waited too long to tell Arnavji how she felt. She didn't wanna lament over the thought for the rest of her life that, if she had just spoken her heart out, maybe the misunderstandings, confusions, & their strong personalities wouldn't have torn them apart for good.
Khushi took one last look at her now bare of make-up, but manageably composed face & picking up her clutch marched towards the door. As she twisted the door knob, she remembered what Bauji had taught them all, the best way to learn if you can trust someone, is to take a chance and trust them. & as long as Arnavji just kissed her when she was sad, talked to her when she was mad, hugged her tightly when she was happy, loved her as much as she loved him & never left her, ever, she could take on anything & everything.
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As Arnav reached the entrance of the main dining hall at the end of the hallway, he halted stiltedly & hovered there uncertainly. He knew he didn't need to wait for Khushi, in fact he should be back before she went in, as she mightn't want to go in together in front of the whole family. But somehow he just couldn't bring himself to go mingle with ten other people, be it family or friends, without seeing her just once, without seeing for himself that his unfair & undue actions hadn't taken too much of a toll on her.
His hand suddenly went up to run through his carefully styled hair to ruin the cracking hold of the gel as he let out a frustrated sigh. There was just something about her. He was never like this. He was never this irrational until she happened. & what was that?! Jealousy??!! He was never jealous! He didn't even know he was insecure enough to be jealous about something till today!! "f**k." Arnav swore softly & gave a brief kick on the archway panel. There was definitely something about her!
He suddenly felt a hand touching his elbow lightly, & he instantly turned on the spot, saying, "Khush-", but he stopped abruptly as he saw that the person clutching his elbow wasn't Khushi. But before he could say anything, the girl charged on, "Arnav! No, ASR definitely suits you better! It's more stylish, right? OMG! I mean, what are you doing here? Such a freak coincidence!" Arnav's brows furrowed as he couldn't see what was so freak in him coming to have brunch in a well-known restaurant near his home, & he said stiltedly, "You're' You're Khushi's friend?" & the moment he said that, he knew the girl didn't like that, by the scowl marring her perfectly groomed features.
Lavanya shook her head & said as if trying to educate a child, "I am Lavanya! I' Yeas, I am K's friend. But' I am the one who showed you around your own farmhouse & in the party'" & Arnav interrupted her rapid speech with a decisive, "So, yes, you're Khushi's friend. It was nice meeting you again here." & with a nod in Lavanya's direction, he started to turn away, his mind wheeling back to that very first day he had seen Khushi after so long on her campus. But as he was about to step inside the dining hall, he felt a pull on his arm & as he turned, Lavanya said, "Well, we must part in a memorable way, so that you didn't have so much difficulty remembering me the next time." With that she leaned over & pressed her lips on his.
Arnav immediately put his hands on her arm & was about to push her back, when he stopped. Why was he pushing her off so alarmingly? Girl's kissed him like this as a way of greeting all the time, so why did it feel so wrong now all of a sudden? Was it about' Khushi? They weren't even doing anything & he felt' exclusive?! No! That was a strict no-no in ASR's book! He had sworn long ago never to depend so much on one person. Because then, if you felt that person didn't reciprocate you feelings as strongly or as faithfully, then you might not want to continue living at all. It happened to his mother. It was not gonna happen to him!
Arnav stilled himself & compellingly moved his hands to rest on Lavanya's waist, & instantly wished he hadn't. Being the owner of a fashion empire, he knew she was wearing the finest quality hand-woven, 100% natural, cluny silk, & he hated it. Khushi's cool, cotton, soft dresses felt so soothing & erotic at the same time against his palms. & she herself felt so soft & warm & welcoming in his arms. Not like this girl, or any other girl he had ever been with. All with crazy fit & hard bodies with not an ounce of extra flesh on them.
& then when he felt the girl's lips starting to move over his lips, he had absolutely had it. & he didn't even care what his actions meant, as he pushed the girl away holding her arms in firm grips. As Lavanya looked up at him with confused & a bit hurt eyes, he tightened his lips & said in a firm voice, "Look, I am sorry. I am unavailab-" & he stopped short. What had he been about to say? That he was unavailable?! That was what men in committed relationships said! & he wasn't in one & was never gonna be in one. He let out an irritated breath, threw Lavanya a suffering glance, & bit out, "I am just not that into you." & abruptly turning, he went inside the dining room in long strides leaving a shocked & outraged Lavanya in his wake.
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Khushi couldn't even remember what all the complicated reasons were that she herself had given to Arnav that night in her home. & she shook her head with a little smile as she thought, none of those mattered anymore. Not for her. & as soon as she stepped onto that same hallway where they had been arguing not more than 10minutes ago, she froze.
There he stood. At the very end of the corridor. Just by the entrance to the foyer of the main dining hall, quite far from where Khushi was. & a girl in a short Leopard print dress had her whole body pressed against his. & her lips were doing the same to his lips. Arnav was making absolutely no efforts to get away as his hands were casually resting over the curve of the girl's hips near the backless hem of the girl's dress. & Khushi knew that dress all to well.
Didn't she wish she had the money to buy the dress when they were buying it? In fact, wasn't she the one who had spotted the dress first in the back aisle of that boutique? But she had only possessed good tastes, & not the credit balances needed to afford that dress. & it seemed like history was about to repeat itself, as Khushi saw her best friend Lavanya Kashyap once again getting something that Khushi had desired first, but unfortunately, just couldn't afford.
Without wasting another moment, Khushi pushed the door open with her back & entered the solace of the Ladies' Room, & then taking in a shaky breath, she ran towards the nearest cubicle. She hastily locked the door shut & then pulling the toilet seat & lid down, she sat down with a thump.
She just sat there & stared at the lock on the door for sometime, her brain refusing to register anything. Then she leaned forward & clutched her head with her hands. So this was how Arnav Singh Raizada explored?
He couldn't be blamed really. How well he had phrased his proposition. 'This is just too precious to let go without exploring it all the way through.' He talked about attraction & chemistry & even the prospect of him never getting into a serious relationship. But he had never, even by mistake, mentioned love. It was really her own fault then that she had gone on & fallen face forward. & even La's attraction towards him wasn't news to her either. La singularly discussed how handsome she found ASR whenever she got the chance. So, if she was now hogging face time with her non-resisting crush, it wasn't her fault too.
& right at that moment none of it mattered to Khushi. Who side-stepped whom, who grabbed whom, who led on whom- nothing mattered. What mattered was that her left arm felt numb, her heart was aching discernibly, & she didn't want to face anybody right now. If Arnav tried to talk to her, there was every possibility that she might tip the hot bowl of Dal over his head. If anyone else tried to talk to her, there was a small possibility that she might burst out crying at the top of her voice. No, Khushi straightened, shrugging her shoulders vigorously, she knew what she had to do. She had to leave the premises & she had to make sure that she never crossed paths with his hideousness Arnav Singh Raizada anytime soon.
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No precap! I am swarmed with office work. But an important note'
So, the glimpse of Lavanya & Arnav that Khushi got to see, you guys got the exact same precap in the last update. It was kind of a try out on my part, but don't you all think, Khushi's reaction should be exactly like the response I got from you guys? & the responses from you guys varied from Khushi smacking Arnav hard to marrying someone else to avoiding him like the plague to just cut herself off form the jerk! So please let me know, if you guys still want Khushi do take the same course of actions after this chapter as well!
& press 'like' if you do like!
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