|Arhi FF|~ Silhouette: Ch.4 UPD! Pg.29 - Page 19

suspense and suspense

That was fascinating!

*Bolded writing is in the past.

Chapter 4 | Tanhayee

Another round wouldn't kill him. He'd pushed his limits further many times before this, and he hadn't been affected. Alcohol was a joke for Arnav Singh Raizada, so he proceeded to pour the amber liquid in the glass before settling down onto the seat overlooking his lawn. White, frozen, it reflected the lights of the night on its pale surface.

It seemed the blizzard outside had settled, waiting for the real storm that waited inside to happen. Swirling the toxin in the crystal ware, Arnav leaned back into the comfort of cushions. He finally surrendered to the toll of the day and reflected on the events that had passed.

~|~

"What are you suggesting?" Arnav asked peering out into the fields, watching his loyal servants.

"What do you think?" Aman retorted, grabbing the pipe of the hookah near.

"I won't think until you spit it out." Arnav continued to face the fields, yet his tone dropped an octave.

"You will marry Khushi." Aman voiced finally.

"She won't agree."

"Make her," was the reply that left his best friend's mouth.

Arnav finally turned to face Aman Gupta. "Does she not consider you her brother?"

Aman rose from the chair slowly and walked to meet Arnav at the edge of the balcony. "When my mother brought an orphan home, Arnav, my father commanded me that I consider her my sister. I did, and let her do so out of pity, not out of love. And if it wasn't for my mother and father, I would've married the girl myself, but I get the feeling she would rather hang herself than bed me, and I can't lose a pawn like her."

Arnav chuckled before taking a swig of the cognac he held in his hand. "What makes you think she would bed me before hanging herself, Aman?"

"You're Arnav Singh Raizada. You're the f**king Malik. And you and I both know how to bring women to bed, willingly and not."

Arnav smirked before raising a brow. "And then?"

"Then you lent her to that bas***d Nand Kishore. You and I both know that the bas***d isn't in town and staying here for love. He wants game. One which he can win."

"Khushi, being your sister, is the easiest target." Arnav continued for Aman, seeing where this was leading. "If he gets to her first, he has control over you. If I get to her first then... Then what?"

"Then you use her for what she is. A beautiful woman. A pawn." Aman completed, no emotions on his blank face.

"You want me to rent her out to Nand Kishore?" Arnav asked, raising both eyebrows.

"Of course he won't know it. He'll think she's there willingly."

"You're sick." Arnav stated simply, finishing off the drink.

"I'm human." Aman winked.

"She's a girl, Aman... " Arnav turned suddenly more serious.

"I see..." Aman pondered. "Turn her into a woman, Arnav." With those words Aman strode to the stairs which led to the carriage that awaited him. He paused briefly at the top. "You'll come meet her today at 4." Aman turned to leave before stopping once again. "Get a ring."

Arnav watched as Aman climbed into the carriage and left, his words ringing in his brain. Turning to Hari Prakash to refill his glass, Arnav smirked yet again.

A wife. A pawn. An object of interest at the Sheesh Mahal. He could use a wife, after all. His time spent at the guest house with a different woman every night would decrease too. Arnav liked familiarity, and familiarity he would get.

~|~

Khushi wiped her fingers on the towel that had been provided, the jalebis remaining untouched. She knew she had to run, but where? She had no idea where he was and Aman was no longer there. The monster had made sure of it. A lone tear escaped her eye as she peered out the window onto the fresh snow. Aman was no longer there.

~|~

"Khushi?" His voice floated to her and she sprung from her seat, hiding the letter she was writing neatly under the pile of books on the desk.

"Ji, Bhaiya?" Khushi responded, as she made her way to her brother. Her beaming smiled dimmed as she met his eyes in the common room.

"We have to talk." Khushi nodded obediently and followed Aman to his study.

"Bhiaya, is everything alright?" For a second, Khushi wondered if Aman had come to know about him, but the chance for that was too slim.

"Everything is... not okay." Aman stated, his voice grave, and turned to face the ornately framed picture of Shashi and Garima Gupta that lay framed on the wall.

"You have to do something for me, dear." He continued. "Arnav Singh Raizada has demanded you wed him and I have no choice but to agree."

Khushi froze, her heartbeat the only thing in her that moved. Her mind rejected the words multiple times before finally processing what Aman had just said. She couldn't do it. She had promised him... "No..." She whispered after the silence thickened to a level of unbearable.

"I'm sorry, Khush."

"Bhaiya, please." Her voice broke and two teardrops fell to the carpeted floor.

"He's the Malik, Khushi. If you don't agree, he'll hurt you before he hurts me. I don't care about me, dear, but I can't tolerate anything to happen to you." Aman turned and placed a gentle kiss on Khushi's hair before striding out of the room.

Moments passed and Khushi's knees gave in as she collapsed to the ground. She didn't care if he hurt her, but he couldn't touch Aman. Would he be willing to help? Can he help? Khushi dropped her head defeatedly as she realized nobody could save her from the Malik. Hours later, her servant found her there. "Khushi-ji?" Malik is here. Aman-ji says you have to meet him now."

Khushi rose from her stationery position and followed the servant to the common room where Aman and now Arnav Singh Raizada waited.

"Here she is!" Aman exclaimed, smiling warmly at Arnav. "I have places to be so let's not waste time. You two will have plenty of time later to get to know each other."

"Of course we do." Arnav chimed in. "So let's get this ceremony over with."

Khushi looked up at Aman, her face blank but her eyes questioning. However, it was Arnav that spoke up for him. "We'll get engaged right away, Khushi. We don't want to waste any time."

Khushi's eyes pooled with tears, but she reigned them in. Aman approached her and placed a gold band into her hand. Paying no attention to it, Khushi looked up to question Aman with her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Khush." He whispered and then wrapped his arm around her shoulder, bringing her forward to Arnav Singh Raizada. "You first, Khushi." Aman announced, nudging her fisted hand and facing Arnav. Arnav smirked at Aman and brought up his hand toward Khushi.

Moving her limbs against her will, Khushi slipped the band onto his finger. Never once did she meet his eyes. Before she could step back however, a hand came forward to meet hers in his firm grasp. Softly, Arnav Singh Raizada slipped on a ring onto her finger, ever so slightly squeezing her hand before letting go. Khushi's hand dropped to her side as he let go, and she resisted bothering to take a look at the object that had officially given him a claim over her.

Aman had servants distribute sweets around town with the news and embraced Khushi in a hug before placing a hand on Arnav's shoulder and walking out. Khushi stood still in the room, refusing to acknowledge his presence. Arnav stood still as well observing the girl that was soon to be his wife. After a moment, Arnav took a slow calculated step forward, testing to see the reaction he would get. When the girl did not even flinch, he closed the distance between them in three slow steps.

Khushi hesitantly, yet determinedly, looked up to face him.

His eyes caught her off guard, for she hadn't expected a man like this to have such... such beautiful eyes. They were guarded, that much she could tell, and there was something frightening about the black that centered in the bronze, but the melted gold was mesmerizing and utterly gorgeous.

Her eyes had been the first feature he had noticed on her face when he had first met her three years ago, but she had grown since then, and along with the maturity her eyes had changed. The clarity of the hazel was piercing and now they bore into his own with an unequaled intensity.

Arnav raised his fingers to her cheeks slowly, letting his fingertips glide over her cheekbones as her eyes shuttered and she dropped her face. Tracing his fingers under her chin, he lifted up her face to his.

"Aman did not do you justice." His spoke slightly above a whisper and the husky resonance of his voice unsettled Khushi. "You're extraordinary." He spoke again and ghosted his thumb over her lips, drawing a shiver from Khushi.

"I hope you will be a good wife to me, Khushi." He whispered, leaning in. Khushi kept her eyes down as her breath quickened at his proximity. "Not that you have a choice." He smirked, and tears pricked her eyes at the underlying threat in his words.

Arnav brought his fingers to linger over her cheekbones once again before he spoke with a slow smirk. "And I will be a good husband to you, but remember... I have a choice."

***

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXVNiYxRv8U[/YOUTUBE]

*A/N: Yes, I've been neglecting the update on this one. However, I do hope you have a better sense of the direction of this story. Like I said, this is the total opposite of AA and Consequences. hope you can enjoy just as much though.

Also, finals are in my future, so I apologize in advance for the slow updates.

P.S: Yes, you hate Arnav and Aman, yea I know. Psh, who doesn't?😆

Res.

poor khushi
very interesting story cant wait to read more continue soon please and thank u for pm me

Very well written...Those two deserves a slap to come to their senses...Thx for the PM

am confused !but am sure about something :Aman is a perv*rt

okk...I absolutely love this story...its dark, intense, sinister, passionate and so on and so forth...Out of the four male characters that have been introduced so far i.e. Arnav, Aman, Akash and Nand Kishore, I find Akash to be the least dangerous one...Khushi does not know the entire story..hence she believes that Aman and NK are good souls...but I think that NK also had some ulterior motive behind courting Khushi.. I wonder as to why she is such an important pawn?

poor khushi
intrstng
thnx 4 pm