The Trampled Butterfly #2 Check index for Th3 link - Page 76

"Don't you think Chotey is becoming a bit too close with that girl?" Manorma sprang up the topic, as she sat on the dining table along with her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Oh, she was seeing things. Things which apparently everyone else was oblivious to and she knew it was up to her to set right her 'Chotey's' future.

"Which girl?" Nani asked curiously at the new piece of information.

"Madumati's neice, Khushi." Manorma answered, her eyes now focussed on Naina, serving juice to both of them.

"Bhabhi, they were childhood friends. So they will naturally be close." Naina replied, coming to the defence of her son quickly.

"But you know, such closeness is not advisable. Doesn't her Buaji teach her manners as to how to behave with unrelated men? It was fine when they were kids. But now, they are adults and such kind of behaviour is unacceptable." Manorma eagerly clarified her stance.

"Bhabhi, I know Khushi. She's a nice girl and not like how you assume her to be." Naina replied, taking her seat on the table. From what she had partly figured out, the very girl who her Bhabhi was after, was in a way responsible for the little changes in her son's life and if her assumptions were indeed correct, she was more than glad to have those little influences of that girl on her son.

"You are too naive Naina. Tomorrow, don't come crying to me saying that your son has eloped with that girl right under your nose." Mami warned her. "Arrey, don't you remember Radha's story? That girl who used to work in our neighbour's house? One fine day, she turned up at the doorstep with a baby in her hand claiming that it was the owner's son's. And the next thing you know, she's the new owner of the house."

"You are thinking too much Bhabhi. I know my son very well. He will do nothing of that sorts and I know Khushi too. I trust her enough to vouch for her side. I have seen that very girl grow up in front of my eyes and I can assure you, she is not the one to create any controversy in this family." Naina spoke defiantly in defence of the two kids.

"But Manorma, Arnav already has a girlfriend right? What was her name?" Nani finally replied, listening to both sides of the story.

"Lavanya." Naina added. "I think her name is Lavanya. That's what Anjali told me. And she's going to attend the wedding too."

"Is she? Does she also work with Chotey in London?" Mami curiously asked at the new piece of information.

"Yes, she does." Naina replied.

"Then I'm telling you, go after that girl before it's too late. Don't let your son go astray and regret later. As soon as Anjali's wedding is done, you have to be serious about getting Chotey settled down too." Mami replied excitedly at the new idea while Nani nodded her head.

Naina Singh Raizada looked helplessly at her sister-in-law and mother, torn between the happiness of her son and her family, not knowing whose side to choose. She was never a mother who directed her children's lives whether it was Anjali or Arnav and now, she wasn't sure whether she was being guided in the right direction by her family.

o0o

"Khushi?" he barely whispered standing behind her, but she nearly jumped with fright and collided onto his chest. No one was around in the kitchen right now and he had utilised the perfect opportunity to meet her.

"Hi!" he flashed a really cheeky smile even for his standards while his arms automatically wound around her waist. Oh! She was definitely flustered and he loved seeing her like that.

"Hi'ii'" Khushi stuttered, trying to move away, her initial shock replaced with alarm. "You wanted something?"

"What are you cooking?" he smirked, bending over her shoulders to see what was inside the wok.

"Rasmalai." She replied and sensing her uncomfortable, he loosened his grip, enclosing her shoulders instead.

"For me?" he asked, reaching out to taste the sweet.

"No, for Ranvijay Saab's family. Badi Memsaab said it would be a great idea to send some sweets to the family. And no, you are not allowed to touch it." Khushi instantly smacked his knuckle earning a yelp from him.

But that little yelp was enough to transform her face to worry for him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She immediately apologised, holding his arm.

It didn't really hurt him actually, but he continued to pretend to be in pain just to earn her concern and affection for him.

"Kukku, do you practise martial arts or what? That hurt really bad." He lied, just to see her reaction. She stiffened when he called her using her old moniker and he himself was surprised, how the name had reflexively slipped out of his tongue.

Was that a smile forming on her lips? Did he just see her eyes twinkling at the mention of her name, the name which was only reserved for him?

"Will a bit of Rasmalai ease your pain?" Khushi pulled out a plate, while he eagerly nodded his head and scooping some of the sweet, she fed him as an apology and he was all smiles for her.

"Now the pain is much better." He murmured, with his mouth full of the delicious sweet. He didn't miss out how she would blow air over the spoon to cool down the hot sweet before she fed him.

He didn't miss out the warm tingly feeling inside him, whenever she did something for him.

"It will taste much better if it is chilled." She replied, feeding the third spoon to him.

"No, I prefer it this way." He replied in a dreamy voice, a strange sort of happiness bubbling within him, knowing that he had been the first one to taste her dish, even though it was prepared for someone else. And he loved the way he was prioritised.

Her clothes were messy, stained with flour, while some strands of her hair had managed to escape from the bun and stick to the sides of her face. Beads of sweat were dripping down her face and her lips were chapped with all the workload.

She looked the perfect picture of disaster right now to any person.

But to him, she looked perfect. She looked beautiful.

He didn't realise when he had started considering his best friend as beautiful.

But she was, atleast to him and that beauty did not stem out from her outer appearance. Rather her beauty was defined by the person she was on the inside.

Her honesty, her simplicity and the desire to find happiness even amongst the bleakest clouds made her stand apart from every other woman he had met.

"Is that your laundry bag?" Her voice suddenly broke his reverie as she moved towards the door to pick up a bag loaded with clothes.

"Yes, I needed your help." Arnav replied, finally remembering why he had come here in the first place. "I don't know where the laundry room is and how things work here."

"Oh! Ok, I'll show you." Khushi replied, and making sure the gas stove was off, she led him to the laundry room, situated on the other end of the house.

"Here we are. The switch is on the lower left and that's the washing machines and that's the dryer." She pointed out.

When Arnav walked towards the machines and began emptying the entire bag inside it, Khushi screamed out in horror, running towards him. "Have you never done laundry before? How could mix up all these clothes?"

"Actually no. My help does it for me in London." He confessed with a confused face.

"Haww' I'm not surprised. Come, I'll teach you. Never mix colours. The dark colours go separate, the white ones are another batch, the jeans go to the third one and remaining can be dumped together." She giggled, separating all his clothes. "You see, that's why you have three machines here for your convenience. I still can't believe you don't how to do laundry." Khushi simply couldn't stop laughing.

"Why should I learn when you are here?" He replied and found her immediately turn quiet at his remark much to his surprise.

"Chotey Saab, it is not wrong to get work done by your servants, but imagine one day if she is ill and doesn't turn up for work. And anyways, you cannot call me all the way to London and make me do your laundry. Isn't it nice to be self-sufficient rather than depending too much on others?" Khushi explained, without batting an eyelid.

To say Arnav was taken aback wouldn't be less. There was something different about the way she spoke, as if his words had hurt her.

"Hopefully, you'll get a smarter wife than you who knows how to take care of you." She added, turning on the washing machines and standing up.

What? Where had this conversation ended up at? Smarter wife? Hell, wife?

What do you do when someone splashes a bucket of freezing cold water on you?

You do nothing, because you can't do anything. You just stand there until the chill seeps into your body and you come back to your senses, your reality.

That was what exactly happened with Arnav Singh Raizada.

He watched her walk out of the room, without even turning back to spare a glance at him and he woke up to the harsh but undeniable reality in front of him.

Khushi still considered herself as his servant and nothing more. Maybe that was the truth, but why did that one truth hurt him so much? Why did he feel like something was breaking apart inside him whenever she walked away?

Maybe because he considered her as more.

More than a friend.

Maybe because she had grown so close to him that even the slightest distance between the two of them pricked him like thousand needles under his foot.

o0o

"He called this afternoon. He says he wants to meet you."

The steel tumbler in Khushi's hand came down crashing on the floor, deafening her ears at her Buaji's words.

"I said, I needed more time." Khushi replied, picking up the tumbler to keep it on the table and walked to her bed to lie down.

"But he is adamant to have the wedding soon." Buaji replied, letting out a sigh. "Khushi, don't make this hard on me. You and I both know how difficult it was to fix an alliance with him. You should be grateful that he is still willing to wait for your answer."

But Khushi didn't hear anything else. Her eyes were now focussed on the Raizada Manor towering above her and as she closed her eyes for slumber, she basked in the warmth of his hand, caressing her face, his touch still lingering over her and her heart began to flutter like a butterfly as warm molten brown eyes flashed in front of her eyes, lulling her to sleep.

All that she heard was her name 'Kukku', his thick husky voice floating in her ears, providing wings to the dreams she never realised she had harboured within her.

And for once, she buried the tears of reality deep inside her, letting her dreams take her afloat wherever she wanted to, because sometimes, dreams were the only sort of comfort for the harsh reality surrounding her.

o0o

What do you do when you realise that you have turned blind to the entire world except for that one person, when your eyes simply follow every step, every word, and every movement of hers?

How do you stop your gaze from wandering around like a predator ready to catch its prey?

Why does it become so difficult to breathe when that person grabbing all your attention disappears from your eye even for a second?

How do you get your brain to focus on anything else around you except for her?

How do you react when she catches you staring at her at every possible opportunity?

Can you ever stop her from visiting your dreams at night or your thoughts during the day?

Her laugh, her sneeze, her rapid chattering, her squeaky giggling. The way her hips swayed as she walked away from him. Or the way she stood on her toes when she reached out hang the curtains.

Her, chewing the tip of the pen when she was thinking deeply. Or the tapping of her fingers when she was nervous.

The low thumps of her feet as she walked past him. The slight fragrance of that one tiny jasmine that she pinned near her ear.

The dupatta tied in a particular knot on the side of her waist while she worked. Or the special way of twisting her hair up in a bun.

The smile which she flashed when she was extremely happy. The smile she only flashed when she was pretending to be happy. The smile she reserved only for Dadi. The smile she flashed when she was upto some mischief.

The way she scrunched up her nose in worry or the way her eyes crinkled when she was apprehensive.

Her, stepping into the house only using the right foot. Her way of neatly arranging the cutlery in a particular order on the dining table.

The tiny brown scar near her elbow. The birthmark on the right side of her neck.

The little space between her lower incisors, the little pimple exactly three centimetres below her left eye.

He noticed every bit of it.

Yes, Arnav Singh Raizada had infact never noticed someone so intently like he had observed Khushi. Nothing was amiss his eyes.

When had the girl, who he had shunned away from his thoughts for the past fifteen years, become exactly the centre of his entire thoughts?

His feet simply carried him away wherever she went.

And whenever she wasn't around him, he found himself standing on his balcony, watching her cottage, hoping that she would appear around somewhere.

He walked into his room and found his phone screen blinking and unlocking it, he found four missed calls, all from Lavanya.

He stared at Lavanya's number for full five minutes.

And after the end of it, he threw back his phone on the bed and got out of his room, walking towards where Khushi would probably be right now.

Next update will be on thursday as I won't be at home for the next four days. But in between I might post a little teaser.And I'm sure that it will definitely make your heart flutter with excitement and will make the wait worth it.😉