||~Something About You~||#5 *COMPLETED* - Page 79

Khushi tried to wiggle herself out of the tight hold of Arnav's right arm & keeping his iPhone back in his pocket, Arnav chided her softly, "Relax. They're just wondering where we've disappeared to-" & before he could finish, Khushi pushed at his chest forcefully & said laboriously, "Obviously they are, & after the way they've caught us earlier, it won't take them long to figure us out! At least it won't take Jiji long! You don't know how my sister's brain works in these cases!" Arnav closed both of his arms securely around her & said obstinately, "I don't care about Payal! I care about our deal! I have the KPs, you deliver the Ks!!" & as Khushi blinked at him confusedly, not following him exactly, he sighed disappointedly & elaborated, "Kisses! I want my kisses!" Khushi's eyes widened indignantly & thinning her lips, she pushed against his chest again & wailed, "Kiss! You get one, against 5 KPs! Seriously, catch up with the rules already! & let me go! Arnavji, Jiji will be out looking for me any minute & you don't wanna deal with an overprotective Jiji, I am warning you!"

Arnav just looked at her with eyes narrowed to slits, & then he drawled in a low voice, "No one is getting out of this booth till we close the deal!" Khushi gasped at the finality in his voice, & then suddenly, out of the blue, to Arnav's horror, she went limp in his arms as her head lolled back slightly & opening her lips wide, she took quick gulps of air inside her mouth. Arnav's arms immediately tightened around her, as he cupped the side of her neck to support her head back up & he asked in a completely panicked voice, "Khushi! What's happening to you? Khushi?" Khushi tried to lick her dry lips & gulped noisily, before she mumbled brokenly, "Been in this enclosed.. thing for so long.. I get clasutro-" Before she could even finish, Arnav swore vehemently, "What the fu-" & in a moment, holding her tightly in the crook of his right arm, he opened the trial room door with his left hand, & swiveled her out of the closed space, while still keeping her pressed securely to his own body. As soon as they were out in the clearing, Khushi pushed a bit away from him with her hands to her head, & as she swayed a little on her feet, Arnav immediately clutched her arm & asked in a worried snarl, "Damn it! Are you OK?? Khushi!"

& just when Arnav thought, he was the one who was going to faint with the way his head was feeling light & empty from just seeing her like that, all wobbly & swaying, she raised her head, & the brilliance of the huge grin on her face almost dazzled Arnav to blindness. Taking advantage of his shocked countenance, Khushi hobbled several steps away from him, & said between gleeful laughs, "You are just like Jiji & Bhaiya, Arnavji!! So gullible!!! Falling for my dramas every single time!... Although you know, who doesn't? Amma! She is one tough cookie- Aah!" She jumped more than 2 feet away with a shrieked yelp, when she saw Arnav reaching for her with a seriously outrageous glare on his face, & then before he could break into his long strides, she turned on her spot & ran for her life as if she was competing on the 100 meter sprint of the Chanakyapuri Olympics.

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As soon as Khushi ran inside the Kaleere shop, Payal was about to launch with her rants of scolding, but Khushi was too quick for her as she swiftly took the stool beside Payal, & fished the set of yellow bangles she had bought for Payal out of her bag, & launched into speech excitedly, "See?? Aren't they gorgeous?? & they match you Haldi Lehenga completely! & this would be my parting gift to you! I will miss you SO much Jiji!" & finishing on a shriek, she lunged at Payal & hugged her tightly. It took a moment for Payal to get over the change of mood in the atmosphere so rapidly, but then she too relaxed & wrapped her arms around Khushi, & stroked the back of Khushi's head lovingly, & said quietly, "I will be just over at Shantivan, silly! Anytime you miss me, you can come visit me! & after the sale of Nik-" as her throat suddenly threatened to close up with unshed tears, she gulped painfully against it, & continued, "& as it is, we plan to find a Prince of a groom for you very soon! Your doli will be set off from Nikunja only, & then you'd be too busy to miss your poor Jiji or anything else!" Then she turned her face over her shoulder towards Anjali who was watching this exchange with a wide fond smile on her face, & Payal winked at her, "No pressure, Bhaabi, but you know right, whose head we'll be aiming for while shaking off the Kaleeras?"

Anjali's smile widened as her eyes twinkled naughtily, & cupping Payal's cheek, she danced her eyebrows at Khushi, "Let's see this sneaky one trying to evade two brides with their Ksleeras aimed for her head only!" & when Khushi raised her head up from Payal's bosom, Anjali noticed the gloomy expression & the shadow in her eyes, & she immediately kept a hand on Khushi's head & hurried on, "Khushi! What-? Khushi, are you upset over Nikunja?" & when Khushi just looked on at her wordlessly, Anjali cupped Khushi's face in both her hands, "I am so sorry I broke the news to you like that yesterday! Rohan still isn't speaking properly to me over that! You know, I was actually scolding him for not being present during any of the Shagun's yesterday. I mean, everyone was present for at least one of them! Even Chhote went to your house for the first one! & I was mighty upset, so to calm me down, he told me how he was too busy verifying the buyers for Nikunja & who they were, & before he could ask me to keep that to myself for a while, you guys came over with my Shagun, & Mami just won't let me finish the call.. & once I remembered that after the ceremony, I just couldn't keep it to myself!" Anjali pouted so prettily that Khushi half-smiled & pressed her hand which was cupping her own cheek. She smiled weakly at Anjali & said, "It's not that Bhaabi, I promise."

& Khushi's gloominess was seriously not due to Nikunja. As soon as Payal had mentioned a prospective 'Prince of a groom' for her, Khushi had known as surely as she knew her family loved her, that, she would never, ever, be able to accept anyone else, beside the person she loved, as her groom. & as the person she loved had very set views against marriage, so there went her dreams of marriage too. Down the drain. & being the quick thinker that she was, Khushi realized what that meant for her in the long run. She'd obviously have to break the news to Babuji, if & when they actually started groom-hunting for her. Would he be disappointed in her? Or would he try to understand the amount of love she must have felt for Arnav to make her go against everything she believed in? & no marriage obviously meant no kids to call her Ma, as she didn't want her kids to be called bas***ds! But she had so wanted some kids of her own some day! As Khushi felt the pangs of longing & despair twisting her guts, she pressed her face firmly into Payal's chest again, hiding her face & it's expressions from anyone who might be looking.

& just when she felt Payal's hand starting to gently stroke her head, she heard the snap of a clipped voice, & looked up startled to see Arnav scowling down at Anjali, "Di, don't tell me, just buying some accessories has got you all bawling like it's the end of the earth!" Khushi quickly turned her face to completely avert her it from his direction & quickly dabbed at her eyes to wipe away the moistness in them, & she heard Anjali telling him in an admonishing tone, "Chhote! Be sensitive!.. & why are you breathing fire like a dragon all of a sudden?" As Khushi started stuffing the bangles she got for Payal inside the package of Payal's Kaleere, she heard his pointed words, "I just don't like it when people make a detailed deal & then back out on it with the help of deceit!" Khushi swiveled in her seat as she looked up at him incredulously & then a gasp left her lips involuntarily as she saw that he was actually, palpably, & utterly incensed & his furious eyes were focused on her!

Khushi shook her head disbelievingly at Laad Governor's weird mood swings. He was seriously angry at her innocuous little prank! Well, let him be! She wasn't throwing temper tantrums about his irrational little hang-ups about marriage, was she? So she studiously avoided Arnav & his resentful anger coming off in waves in her direction & concentrated on talking with Payal for the whole way down to his car in the basement car-park. Even while getting in the car, she quickly went & sat behind the passenger seat so that she wasn't even in the view line of the rear-view mirror & if Arnav wanted to see her at all while driving, he'd have to turn his head more than 90 degrees to do so. Her tactics wasn't lost on Arnav & it only fuelled his anger further. & fuming silently, he wasn't even paying attention to the conversation, which was mainly going on between the brides, until he heard his sister address a question to Khushi.

"Khushi, what did you do about your dresses then? I am feeling so angry on Su.. You know, I chose the prettiest, most princess-like dresses for my youngest Nanand, & for some reason Su has turned them into some seductress' uniform! & not to mention, the wastage of precious materials.. If you want, send over the dresses to me & I'll hound Su again to modify them as much as she can.. But even then, what about the engagement outfit?! That would never be done in 2 days!" There was a distinct note of panic in Anjali's voice, so Khushi leaned forward towards her seat to reassure her. "Bhaabi, it's alright. Jiji & I thought we'd give our own tailor master the blouses to adjust them as much as he could. & for the engagement one, I don't know.. I was thinking of wearing something old for that as time is so less-" Khushi stopped in her speech as all of them were violently jerked forward when Arnav administered a hard break & brought the car to a halt all of a sudden. & before Anjali could scold him for such callous driving, he bit out in a clipped tone, "The showroom's here." Then without waiting for any of them to say anything, he swiftly got out of the car & went around the front to the passenger side to help Anjali out.

Khushi pursed her lips at the sheer rudeness of his behavior & got out of the car hurriedly & slammed the door shut behind her as hard as she could, making everyone, including Arnav, look up at her direction. She ignored the others, uncaring of everything in the throes of her own rage, & glared at him through narrowed eyes. But before they could actually burn each other with the fires in their eyes, Anjali pulled Arnav away towards the stairway leading to the main door of the showroom, & Payal hastily came & got hold of Khushi's elbow & whispered in her ear, "I know, that was really unnecessary harsh driving & someone could've actually gotten hurt. But just leave na Khushi? Humein kaun sa Arnavji ke saath poore din rehna hain? Just let's pick up the rings & then 'off to home' for both of us!" Saying this, she too pulled Khushi behind her towards the showroom.

Once inside the showroom, Khushi strictly followed Payal's advice & just ignored Arnav, while they both stood side by side behind their respective sisters, while Anjali & Payal sat on high stools in front of the display counter of Diamond rings while the attendance cross-checked the receipts given by Anjali. Khushi could feel his hot gage on her side-turned profile & she knew this time the heat came from rage, not passion. & when Payal suddenly extended her hand towards Khushi as if expecting something, she looked forward at Payal startled. When she understood finally what Payal was saying, Khushi gasped aloud, & remembered she had left her handbag back in the car due to her distracting anger & the receipts for the rings, which Payal was asking her to hand over right now were left in the bag too. She hastily apologized to Payal & started towards the main door saying, she'd be back with the receipts in no time. But before she could reach the door, she sensed someone close behind her & swiveled around to find herself almost colliding with Arnav.

As Arnav read the question in her eyes, he growled, "Do you plan on getting your bag by breaking the window of my car?" & then he passed her & got out of the showroom first to go unlock his car. Khushi stood on her spot for 10 seconds to calm herself down sufficiently & then she followed him out. When she reached the car, he was already holding the door open for her. She quickly went, grabbed her bag, & was about to rush back inside, when he stopped her by holding onto her elbow. Khushi stiffened to a halt, but she didn't immediately turn towards him, & then she heard him speak quietly. "Su didn't alter your outfits. I did. According to my.. inclinations. Don't change them again." & before he could finish properly, she turned angrily towards him & charged hotly, "You?! You! This is the only time I get dress up for both my brother's & my sister's wedding & you dare to mess with my clothes!! & then you dare further by instructing me to dress as per your wishes, when you've done nothing but been a giant thorn in my side for the last hour! You-" But Arnav cut in her outburst with his own hot accusation, "Tumne bhi toh shart poori nahi ki!"

& before Khushi could stop herself, she shoved him hard on his biceps, almost making him loose his balance as she half-yelled, "Because you were bending the rules to your benefit! & those were not the terms of the deal! You may manipulate things to your own benefit with you business associates, but not with me! You can't be this way with me!" In her supreme frustration to get her point across, Khushi fisted her fists by her sides & forcefully stomped her feet on the ground. & as she looked down at her own feet, she clearly comprehended why she was getting so annoyed by his bending the rules of their silly little deal. It was because he had already made her bend her own life-rules according to his ideology. She was in this weird thing they were calling a relationship & they were strictly sticking to his rules of 'no strings attached'. & then when she offered him a deal, no matter how silly or trivial it might be, he bent the rules simply to his own ends! & It can't always be Arnav' way or highway! It was like she had no control in this relationship they were in. & she needed some control. Otherwise she'd just fall deeper & deeper into this thing until it completely consumed her. Like he didn't want marriage, similarly she didn't want to be bossed around!

Then she suddenly looked up as she felt his touch over her fisted hand, & he slowly lifted her balled hand up in his own & then he gently coaxed her to open her fist & place her palm over his own. Then he asked in a hesitant drawl, "Did I overbalance you?... Khushi, I.. I have never been in a relationship where I had an equal partner-" & he was startled into a stop as Khushi snatched her hand away from his own, & said in a hiss, "The last thing that would calm me down right now is an account of your previous steamy relationships & how your girlfriends were fragile, delicate things who-" But she gulped her words down as she saw him stepping in as he stood directly next to her, their bodies almost touching, as he said in a rough whisper, "I don't wanna fight with you, Khushi! What I meant was, I.. This is as much new to me as it's for you! Cut me some slack! Give me some room for error! If you felt like I was being too.. bossy.. then I am sorry."

Khushi looked at him with her mouth opened wide, & after a moment's hesitation, she lunged at him & closed her arms around his waist & pressing her cheek against his heart, she whispered in a tired voice, "I don't wanna fight with you either! It's just that.. it's not this stupid deal. I was stressed about something else, & I.. just had to let some steam off!" & she finished, carefully restraining herself from telling him that she was actually stressed out about his stubborn view against commitments, though she had vowed to herself she didn't want any commitments from him. She felt Arnav's arms close about her body snugly as he let out a long held breath & said in a sigh, "Don't insult the deal. It wasn't stupid. We'll balance the KPs some other day!.. & now let's go & get done with this day-" Khushi stopped him by pressing herself more securely into his body & felt his arms around her tightening in response as she mumbled against his throat, "Arnavji? Just let me be for some time!"

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Part 46