Upd!SS:Love in Delhi University#2:CHP19:Pg135 - Page 73

As the two sisters went back inside the house, Arnav stood at his spot, his mind reeling with the information he had just got. His fury had started to rise and his fingers clutched into a fist. How many girls did he torture, his mind raced. He turned back in one swift moment and banged his fist on the balcony railing. Payel's mock laughter ringed in his ears and his mind took him back to the time when he had heard his mother getting shot. By now, he was trembling with wrath. Whatever had to do, he'd do it quick, he decided.

"Chotte! Zara andar aiye!" (Chotte, please come in) he heard his Nani calling him out. Taking a deep breath in, he tried to recompose himself before he walked in to meet the world. Payal, who was serving Nani something and they exchanged a knowing look. Once everyone settled back, dates for the ceremonies started getting discussed. Khushi and Arnav sat in one couch opposite to the Pandit Ji who had come. Shashi sat in a chair beside them and the other ladies stood all around. "Chaar mahine baad ek bohot shubh mohrat hain" (There's good date four months from now) announced the Pandit Ji and everybody seemed pleased with it.

The rest of the afternoon passed in discussing the venues and other important details. Arnav and Khushi had insisted on arranging the wedding by their own financial credit. Arnav and Khushi had their hands tangled all throughout and whenever Arnav would eye her a little, Khushi's cheeks would flare up immediately and she would look away, much to Arnav's amusement. As the meet came to an end, Arnav and Khushi quietly escaped to her bedroom. They could hear the last minute talks between the elders and Arnav used this time to spend with his lady-love. All day long, they hadn't been able to escape.

As he closed the door behind him, Khushi leaned back on the bed post and smiled, looking down. She looked so pretty in that red and cream churidaar. Her hair was in a puff on her crown and few locks were let loose to trail her cheeks and forehead. As Arnav took his bold steps forward, he could see Khushi's smile widen at the floor. He finally stopped when he was just inches away from her and lifted her face with a crook of finger. She was smiling but wasn't meeting his eyes. "Khushi.." he called out huskily and watched as he slowly moved her eyes to meet his. They were twinkling with happiness "Finally.." he sighed. "Finally.." repeated Khushi through her big smile. Arnav leisurely leaned in and Khushi eyes fluttered close and after moments of breathless anticipation, his firm lips met her soft ones. Slowly, it changed from a simple kiss to a deep and ravished one. Arnav forced open Khushi's mouth and entered it with dominancy.

Khushi's knees weakened and she clutched Arnav's shoulder for support and Arnav gathered her in by her waist. Their tongues twined and danced around each other, making their souls soar high above. His fingers trailed down her long smooth neck and down to her shoulders and side of her breasts. Khushi felt sparks running down her spine. Every making-out session had the same effect on her, making it feel brand new every single time. Arnav's palms were just about to graze her mounds when they short sharp knocks on the door. It was usually Arnav's job to groan at such interruptions but this time when Khushi's sighed out of annoyance, it was Arnav's turn to get amused. Arnav was basking in his new found glory when they heard the sharp knocks again. "Sab jaa rahein hain. Jaldi karo" they heard Payal from the other side. (Everyone's getting up to leave. Hurry!)

The two exited the bedroom. Arnav wished everyone goodbye as he took the wheelchair from his future father-in-law's hand and walked towards his car. The Gupta's trailed behind. "I'll drop you off to university tomorrow, Khushi?" he asked, pretending to be casual as he set up his Nani on the seat. Khushi's eyes widened at the question. Arnav was indirectly asking for her father's permission to drop her every day. Khushi sharply turned towards her father and watched as he nodded his head in positive. "Good.. Be ready by ten" announced Arnav. As the Raizada's drove away, the Gupta's started trickling in back inside their house. Payel, who was the last one to enter, was by the wooden door when her cell phone buzzed. It was a text; from Arnav. "Come to office after Khushi leaves" it read.

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As Khushi and Arnav drove down the familiar path, Khushi's lips curved into a knowing smile. "Care to share the joke?" asked Arnav from the steering wheel. Khushi was looking pretty today with a purple and white salwaar kameez and her hair done up in a puff. The dupatta was taken on one shoulder; she had an air of elegance and sophistication around her. Arnav fell a little more in love, if that was even possible.

"What?" he asked again and Khushi just smiled a little more. "Do saal pehle bike se jaate the aur aaj gaadi mein. Kahani kitni badal chuki hain. Humari shaadi hone waali hain"(We were on a bike just two years back and now we have a car of our own. The story had progressed so much. We're about to get married) commented Khushi thoughtfully as they passed by the banks of Yamuna river. Arnav just smiled slightly at the thought. How true.. How times had changed..

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Arnav dropped Khushi and drove back to his office as soon as possible. He tried to wrap up all the meetings before Payel arrived. She had texted back saying that she'd come around late afternoon. He needed to brief Akash about it as well. The day passed in a scurry as every con-call and meeting got expedited as Arnav tried to clear off his evening. Akash complied without a word.

Akash was horrified at what Arnav had to tell him. The beast had taken a new low in everyone's perspective. Knowing Khushi's background, he had begun to Payel, a person who he had never met but had heard a lot about. As Arnav waited impatiently in his cabin, Akash sat across the glass table, waiting for the lady to come. Arnav was tapping his fingers when his intercom buzzed. "Yes? Ms. Gupta? Yes, please send her in" Akash heard Arnav say.

Akash was facing the other way when he heard the glass door clang as it opened. He slowly turned to catch a glimpse of the new entrant and in the process, his breath got hitched. The beauty before him was surreal. He had to blink a couple of times to make sure it was real. She was nothing extraordinary yet her simplicity was breathtaking. Her hair was side parted and tied in a pony from the back of her head. One stray lock had managed to finds its way out of the grip and fell carelessly on her cheek. His fingers moved automatically at his chair's handle as they itched to brush it away.

She had absolutely no make-up on except dark kohl which surrounded her large caramel eyes. Her pale yellow salwaar kameez hugged her body frame in the right places, emphasizing her perfect hour glass figure. She wasn't as tall as Khushi but was definitely no less when it came to beauty. She had a white bag around her which she held on to carefully. He watched as Arnav got out of his eat and greeted her and showed her seat. He didn't realize that they had turned towards him acknowledgement until Aranv called his name out loud. "Akash!" said Arnav loudly.

"Huh! Yeah.. Hello.. Namaste.. Hi.." greeted Akash, all at the same time, standing up immediately with an outstretched palm which turned into a Namaste and then into a wave as he tried match his last 'Hi'. Arnav looked curiously and Payel looked with crouched eyes. "Namaste" she greeted back courteously as she took off her bag and sat down in the chair beside Akash which Arnav had pulled out for her.

Arnav looked at Akash with confusion as he walked back to his seat. Arnav tried to begin with usual pleasantries but was cut short when Payal spoke up. "Kaam ki baat kare" (Let's talk business) she said, shortly. Arnav saw the wrath in her eyes and understood but Akash was flabbergasted at such a reaction. Payal immediately got to work and Arnav was more than happy to comply. She matched Arnav's working style and he was highly impressed. She was one who once set mind, didn't stop until she reached her destination.

The entire time passed with Arnav and Payel discussing strategies. Akash inputs were taken at times too but it seemed like it was Payel's time to shine. "He's been in a tiff with Mr. Mehra's younger brother for long. Some loan problem. It was like that two years back, I don't know if it has changed but you can have a look into it" informed Payal. Arnav looked at her incredulously. It seemed like the girl was planning this for long. Akash had a complete change of perception regarding the person. He knew that the lady before him had a huge influence on Khushi's life but never did he expect her to be so fiery. Now he understood how Khushi had turned out to be the way she was. Even though their mother had taught them how traditional girls were to be like, Payal had taught Khushi to fight the world outside. She was her Bauji's daughter. The pity which was evoked in Akash's heart when he had heard the story was washed away and was replaced with pride as he watched her talk with a plan in her mind.

"Mehra?" asked Arnav, confused. "I thought Malik and Mehra were friends" he commented as he racked his memory, trying to find reason for Payal's words. "Yeah.. Malik owes them a lot of money which he couldn't return and thus he tried very hard to befriend them. He was running out of revenue when I was there. Go through that part again" Arnav nodded as the words soaked in. It was going to be much easier than he thought. "Add Kashyap's name too" suggested Payal. "Yeah, I know that. Lavanya, his daughter, is a friend of ours. She has told us about the debt which Malik owes to her dad." Payal nodded and got back to work.

Finally, as Payal listed all the loopholes she could find, Arnav realized that it wasn't going to be as hard as he thought it would be. He was about to smile and say thank you when Payal's eyes narrowed. "There's more" spewed Payal. Arnav and Akash raised their eyebrows. Payal swiftly bent down and picked up her back. She rummaged through it and dug out a pile of papers from it. The already raised eyebrows went up further more.

"Complaints against Malik from the HR department" informed Payal to the two men before her. "I know the lady who works there. She's a friend of mine who was more than willing to help me out in this. That is what I was doing before I came here. I went to collect these papers and thus the delay" Payal explained before anyone could say anything more. She had used her knowledge of being Malik's PA to the utmost.

As Arnav and Akash went through the papers, their eyes went grim with disgust. Every paper held information about Malik's lecherous moves towards the ladies in the office. Arnav started shuffling through them when his eyes found a paper from Payal Gupta. Not wanting to embarrass her, he took out the paper and kept it in his drawer. Finally, when Payal was satisfied with the day's work, she announced her wish to go back home and Akash had quickly volunteered for the same.

She excused herself as she had to visit the restroom and Arnav used this opportunity to read Payal's case. "Bhai, main gaadi bahar laa raha hoon" (Bhai, I'm going to get the car) informed Akash as he took out his car keys. Arnav dismissed him without a glance and Akash walked out, happily anticipating the ride ahead. He was highly impressed but he had no idea what had led the lady to turn into such a fiery being that she was now. Little did he know that in future, things would work out between them and eventually he would come to know the truth which would do nothing more than elevate the respect that had grown in his heart over the last couple of hours for Payal.

When Payal re-entered the cabin to get her bag, she saw Arnav sitting with his head down on the table. Getting a little worried, she called him out gently. "Arnav Ji, ap theek hain?" (Arnav ji, are you ok?) Arnav slowly raised his head and Payal saw his eyes; pained and bloodshot. "I'm sorry for whatever he's done to you. I swear that I'm going to get back at him for that" promised Arnav, getting up from his chair. Payal looked down and nodded. "Khushi shouldn't know about this" announced Payal, looking up and meeting Arnav's eyes. Khushi was the last person both of them wanted to trouble. Understanding the reason, Arnav nodded. He bid goodbye curtly before Payal exited his cabin for the day.

Almost three month passed, Aranv was working very hard to find his way through his plans. He had earned more friends to his side than enemies in this work life which was a completely opposite story when it came to his father. 'Your enemy is my enemy and thus we are friends' philosophy worked the best in this circumstance and Arnav exploited it to his best. Malik, it seemed was in a lot bad books in the market.

Khushi knew that Payal and Arnav collaborated as Payal supplied information to him but she had absolutely no idea about the other side of the story. No one even wanted to tell her about it. She was pleased with the growth of friendship between her sister and fiance and she cherished. Arnav had won over the good wishes of a lot Malik's business partners ashe settled his father's debts and in return got back Malik's part of shares in the projects.

Khushi was studying for her last exam when all of this was taking place and Arnav used the time the best. He wanted to keep Khushi out of it as much as possible. Finally, he took his last step. He approached the police on grounds of filing cases of molestation against Malik. Payal had convinced her ex colleagues to provide their help as witnesses and victims and they had more than happily obliged and the best thing about it was that Malik had no clue about what was going to hit him.

One fine morning, Malik cheerfully entered his office. He greeted his new receptionist with his flirtatious gestures but was taken aback a little when the girl responded. She never did before and would always retreat at his approach and Malik would generally enjoy this game but today, it seemed like things had changed. Guessing it was just a matter of money; he walked on with a smile and decided to get her to bed as soon as possible. "Who wanted to lose out on such a fresh opportunity?" his mind leeched.

Malik took the elevator and pressed the button '14'. It was a day like any other but he had no idea what such a simple day could have in store for him. As the elevator pinged and doors opened, he walked out casually and neared his cabin. From a distance, he could see through the glass door. His chair was facing the opposite side; facing the city view outside. There was lot of movement as the furniture in the room was being reorganised. He saw a worker take away his favourite recliner.

Malik's heart raced and sweatdrops formed on his forehead. His pace quickened. "Oy! Kahan le ke jaa rahein ho?" (Oy! Where do you think you are taking that?) he asked the worker but got no reply. He almost ran up to his cabin and clanged open the glass. "Kya ho raha hain ye sab? Kiske instructions par kar rahein ho?"(What do you think you are doing? Who asked you do to do this?) he demanded in a booming voice but shrivelled at the reply which he got.

His chair, which till now was facing away, swivelled around. "Mere kehne pe kar rahe hain ye sab" (I asked them to) informed the person who was seated in Malik's chair, with his fingers playing around a spherical glass paperweight. Malik's smile broke into a smug evil smile. "Arnav. Singh. Raizada" It was nothing more than a statement.

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Chapter Nineteen: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/74210998

Ignore Typos.. Too lazy to proofread

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