This will be a two-shot. This starts after the Raizada family watch the video Anjali recorded during Holi.
This has been an extremely difficult one to write, because I had to re-watch the scenes during Holi. I never thought how much it would hurt to watch those scenes again, to be reminded of what became of the show that was once so amazing!
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"Chotte where did you two go today?" Anjali asked, with a smile on her face. Arnav's anxious eyes met Khushi's confused ones.
Their thoughts were interrupted as Nani answered, dreamily. "I am sure Chotte was admiring her hair, her eyes, her smile.." She paused and turned to Anjali. "Right, Anjali bitiya?"
"Yes, Naniji. After all Khushiji might be crazy, but is definitely cute." Anjali burst in laughter. Nani squealed and erupted into fits of laughter, making Manorama open her eyes wide in shock. Khushi blushed, unsure of what Anjali meant. Arnav stared at his sister in anger, before storming down the corridor to his room.
Arnav walked into his room and stopped at the French doors. He looked at the recliner.
"Our hearts .."
".. become one."
What the hell did you do? Did you confess your feelings? Have you forgotten what she did? Your heartbeats become one. He snorted. What crap! And Khushi, she is such an actress! I can't believe I fell for her innocent act, again. But how could she possibly fake all those emotions under the influence of alcohol? Maybe she has good control over her senses even when drunk. He snorted again. He took a deep breath. No, it couldn't be. All that happened today couldn't be a lie. Arnav closed his eyes.
"Why does it happen whenever you come close to me my heart beats faster?"
His eyes flew open. How could she fake those tears? His eyes filled with tears. How could she do this to me? How can she play with my heart this way?
Arnav felt a breeze; she was here. He looked over his shoulder to watch her walk into the room, rubbing her eye with her palm. She stopped as she saw him; their eyes met. She turned to the poolside and looked outside the French doors.
Arnav's breath caught in his throat. Does she remember what I said?
"Do you remember anything?" Arnav asked, his eyebrows narrowed, nervously.
Khushi shrugged her shoulders and looked at him. "No." She shook her head. She paused and added, "And you?"
Arnav shook his head.
Khushi rubbed her eye again. "Wonder what went into my eye." She said almost to herself. Arnav raised his eyebrows and took a step closer to her, raising his hand to grab hers. He froze, stared at her, turned towards the door and walked out the room.
Khushi watched him leave, continuing to rub her eyes. Suddenly she froze. She remembered Arnav blow into her eye and wipe off the powder, that had fallen into it, earlier that day in the gazebo. Her eyes opened wide.
What happened afterwards? She couldn't remember. The last thing she remembered was being tricked into drinking bhang. What else happened? She looked at the mirror and saw the faint red color on her cheeks. She picked up the towel from the recliner and wiped her face. Her eyes opened wide. She remembered Arnav putting the color on her. She touched her cheek and closed her eyes. A tear rolled down. Everything had been a lie. The morning of Jiji's wedding, I thought Arnavji was going to tell me he loved me. Instead, he .. he forced me to get married to him, because he hates me. What did I do to deserve this? Her eyes flew open and her lips trembled. No, I will not let him affect me. She walked to the bathroom.
Khushi shivered as the cold water fell on her skin. It felt good, she thought as she turned around under the shower. She closed her eyes, tilted her face up towards the showerhead and sighed as she felt the water droplets on her face. Then she remembered.
Flashback.
Arnav was kneeling on the ground next to the recliner. He held her face in his hand, his thumb caressing her cheek. Her hand, enclosed in his, was pressed against his chest on top of his heart.
"When you are near me, my heart beats quickly along with yours. Our heart beats become one."
Her eyes flew open.
"Ok, so you are all set here right?"
Arnav asked the man supervising the workers who were removing the decorations. He nodded. Arnav turned around to go back inside the house, but he stopped and looked over his shoulder at the gazebo.
Flashback.
She took his face in her hands.
"I want to ask you something, Arnavji."
She took his hand in hers and placed it on her chest, on top of her heart. She looked at him, her eyes filled with tears. "Why does my heart beat faster every time you come close? I tried to figure out why, but I couldn't. I wanted to forget, but I couldn't. Why does it happen?"
He gently took her face in his hands and she continued, "Tell me, why does it happen? Why do my heartbeats become faster than my breathing?
He wanted to answer, tell her how he felt .. but before he could, she collapsed onto his chest.
No, she wasn't lying. He realized his heart was beating wildly in his chest. He placed a hand on his heart. She wasn't lying. That night by the poolside, the night of Diwali. That couldn't have been a lie. No, I must have misunderstood what she said that night on the terrace. I should talk to her. Excited and somewhat relieved, he turned around. His eyes opened wide.
Shyam stood in front of him, his arms folded across his chest, a wicked grin on his face. "So you thought you could stop Khushiji from meeting me once you get married to her, huh?"
Arnav raised his eyebrows. He clenched his teeth, curled his fist and stepped closer to Shyam. "Don't you dare say her name .."
Shyam raised his eyebrows. "Umm.. Saale Saab actually cares about Khushiji." He chuckled as he added, "Unfortunately, you mean nothing to her."
Arnav grabbed Shyam's collar. Shyam grabbed his hand and stared at him. "Why else will she tell me about your marriage? She never wanted to get married to you! You forced her, by threatening to break up her sister's wedding."
Arnav's eyes opened wide. He released his hold on Shyam's collar and stepped back, shocked. If Khushi was innocent, why would she tell Shyam the truth about their marriage? He felt like his surroundings were spinning. He was wrong about her, again.
Shyam laughed. "Why are you so shocked?" He paused to laugh again. "You thought she would keep it a secret from me? Or did you actually think she liked you??" He laughed again. "Saale saab, you made it easier for us now. We both are under the same roof, thanks to you."
Arnav's eyes burned with fury as he turned to Shyam. "Really? I will .." Anjali's voice interrupted them and Arnav stepped back. Shyam smirked, turned around and walked towards Anjali, who was standing near the gazebo.
Arnav turned around and curled his fists, his eyes fuming with anger. Khushi Kumari Gupta!
He said his heart beats fast when I am near him. Khushi thought, wiping her hair with the towel. His heart beats fast ' Does this mean I was wrong about him? Does this mean that he did like me? But what changed? What happened that he suddenly went back to being the man I once hated? Why .. She felt a breeze and looked up towards the door.
Arnav was fuming as he stepped into his room. But then he forgot all about his rage. He saw his beautiful wife, adorned in a red salwar, wiping her hair with a towel. She looked up and their eyes met. Anger washed over him.
"I can't believe I have to keep seeing you in this room for the next six months." Arnav said with disgust as he walked towards the bed and sat down. Khushi felt tears well up in her eyes. He continued, "Unfortunately, I have to no other option but to tolerate you, your middle-class attitude and disgusting behavior. I can't believe I .."
"Stop it", Khushi screamed. She turned to him and a tear escaped her eye. Arnav felt a tug in his heart. "Stop it", this time it was more of a plea than a scream. More tears followed. She took a step towards him and asked, pressing her lips together. "Why do you always do this? Why do you behave nicely with me and then become horrid at the next instant?"
Arnav stood up, confused. She took another step closer. Her voice was almost a whisper, as she continued. "Why did you say that earlier? Why did you lie that your heart beats become fast around me?" His eyes opened wide. A tear rolled down her cheek. "How can you say that and then tell me that you have to tolerate my disgusting behavior? Why are you so cruel?" She closed her eyes and a few more tears escaped her eyes. She took a deep breath to control her tears and opened her eyes. "Tell me. Tell me the truth. What changed on the night of the wedding? That morning you helped me serve the food to our guests." Her face lit up, as she remembered those warm memories. "And then the saree, and the bindi by the mirror." She looked at him, her face contorted with pain and sorrow. "Then what happened? Why were you angry with me?"
Arnav looked away. She grabbed his arms, her eyes filling up with tears again. "Tell me the truth. What did I do to hurt you? What did I do that made you so angry that you forgot everything we shared and ' and forced me to marry you?"
Arnav pushed her hands away and stepped back. He turned around, hoping that she won't be able to see the pain in his eyes. He clenched his teeth and said, "Because that's what you deserve. You deserve nothing but pain, because you care about no one."
Khushi grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. "Me? I care about no one? If I hadn't cared about my sister, I would have never agreed to this fake marriage. If I hadn't cared about you, I would have told everyone about this sham. If I .."
"But you did tell, didn't you?" He scoffed.
Khushi raised her eyebrows. "About what? About the marriage?" She gasped. She shook her head. "No, no one knows. Please, please don't ruin Jiji's marriage." Her eyes welled up with tears again.
Arnav smirked. "Stop this act. Stop it right now. If you really cared about your sister, you would never have told anyone about this fake marriage and yet you did."
Khushi shook her head and ignored the tears that rolled down her face. "No, I didn't tell anyone. Trust me."
"Trust?" He snorted. "And you?" He paused, looked into her eyes and added. "And I guess you trust my brother-in-law, else why would you tell him about our marriage?"
Khushi gasped. "Shyamji? I didn't tell him .. I would never." She paused. Horrified, she added, "Oh no, did I .. when I was under the influence of bhang?"
"Tell me, Khushi." Arnav said, his eyes filled with hurt and pain. His voice trembled, as he added. "Why did you tell him? Why do you trust him?"
Khushi looked at Arnav, shocked. "Trust him? Of all people, trust him?" She snorted. "He would be the last person on this earth I would trust .. I."
"And why is that?"
"Because he.." She opened her eyes wide and froze.
Arnav stepped closer, confused. "Because he what, Khushi?"
Khushi turned to Arnav, her face furious. "Because all men are the same. They are all just like you. You can't trust any man. I thought I knew you, Mr. Raizada. I thought you were nice. But look at you, you are the same mean and arrogant person I thought you were."
Arnav grabbed her arms and pulled her close. He said through clenched teeth, "And you? How about you, Ms Khushi Kumari Gupta. You fake every emotion!" His voice trembled and his eyes filled with tears as he added, "Why would you act as though you loved me .. when you... It was all a lie, wasn't it?"
Her eyes opened wide and she retorted, furiously, "It was not a lie. I love you."
Arnav opened his eyes wide. He released her arms and stepped back.
Khushi gulped and took a deep breath. "At least I used to." She looked at him, her eyes furious. "But now I realized that you are still the same man who cares about no one but yourself. You forced me to marry you, for some selfish reason, I am sure, which you never bothered to tell me".
"I am selfish?" Arnav stepped closer, and asked through clenched teeth. "How about you?"
"Me?" Khushi opened her eyes wide. "I am not selfish. I always put others' welfare before .."
"Really?" Arnav's face was so close, he could feel Khushi's warm breath against his face. He ignored it and said through clenched teeth. "Then why would you try to wreck my sister's marriage?"
Khushi gasped. "Wreck Di's marriage? How? When?" She shook her head and stepped away from him. "I did everything I could to save it."
Arnav snorted. "Save it? By having an affair with her husband?"
Khushi's eyes opened wide. She staggered back, staring at Arnav. Arnav watched her, surprised. He had expected her to confess about the affair and mock him for becoming a fool and dancing to her tunes, literally. But instead, she was shocked.
Khushi was tongue-tied. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. A few seconds later, she finally found her voice.
"Affair?" Her voice was almost a whisper. "You think I was having an affair with Shyamji, when all this time '" A tear rolled down. She gulped and looked away. "All this time all I cared about was .." Arnav could have sworn that the last word she said was 'you'.
His wild heart beats was all he heard, as he watched Khushi collapse on the bed and bury her head in her hands.
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