ArShi OS ' Bricks of Love
*NOTE ' MUST READ FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING*
But knowing whether a moment portrays Arnav's feelings or Khushi's depends on how big a fan of IPKKND you are and how many Rabba Ve's you can remember! See if you can guess which moments are being described and in who's P.O.V.!*
~~~~~
A swish of gold, the sharp turn of a heel. All ended in a beautiful girl's scream. She screamed loud and clear as her retreating figure began cascading towards me. I didn't know what was happening just as much as she did and before we both knew it, she was there. Nestling into my arms, her thickly twisted plait just brushing my cheek as her hands grabbed the lapels of my shirt, as if by instinct. The feel of her milky skin under my palms aroused sensualities I had no idea existed and the evident, bodacious curves of her delicate body awakened something deep inside me that night. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on... Those eyes. Those two glowing pinpricks of light shimmering in the disco lighting up above, gazing in wonder, shock, confusion back at me. A quivering lip was all it took, as I found myself lost in the plumpest puckered shade of pink I had ever laid eyes on.
~~~~~
I had never been more humiliated in my life. How dare he have the audacity to give misleading footage to the media. To think that khadoos revolves around a family of women. I would have thought he knew better. Why? Why me Devi Maiya? Does he not know or realise that I too could be someone's daughter, sister or friend? I too have my own life, yet I know he has officially deprived me of yet something else. How am I to face everyone? My parents, my family, my friends? How am I now to make a name for myself in a world where men look down upon women with discrimination and lust? The delicate glass of my character's window that took so long to build was shattered in seconds and he really has put me in my place. Yet I know it is a place I rightfully do not deserve. Surely I am not that much of a bad person?
What if something like this happened to his mother, his sister or any other female close to him? What would he have done then? Money may buy mansions, palaces and riches but it cannot, for one second, buy me back my self respect, my dignity and the already small shred of honour I held my head up with. That, that Laad Govenor!
~~~~~
Coming down for the usual, daily work inspection, there was nothing else I saw. Except her. Her long luscious locks billowing across her face as she nervously held tight onto the pallu of her sari. Her red sari. Who ever thought the simple motion of wrapping a piece of cloth around your body would come to be the prettiest outfit in the world? The short blouse at the top, showing off her petite waist, brought out a radiant glow to her innocent face as the skirt at the bottom flared at her hips, an epitomical sight for feminine beauty.
Then once again came the sight of those eyes, initially lowered shyly, as they came to rise in her discomfort, slowly meeting with mine. The reassurance, yet the discomfort, the relief yet the fear that was etched onto her face began to increase as she gripped her pallu even tighter upon acknowledging my presence, the delicate fabric slipping through her fingertips. A slight blush crept up her cheeks, lingering on her skin as she pinned her pallu firmly onto her blouse and averted her gaze, the blush ranging deeper and deeper shades of my one favourite colour. Red had never looked better.
~~~~~
The minute I saw him look back at me, I knew much more was going to happen than him just giving me my anklet back. The metallic shine to his elegant three piece suit brought out such a manly aura to his masculine physique and his clean shaven stubble highlighted the youth in his strikingly attractive face. His hair was perfectly gelled, cut and trimmed, framing his forehead as he took purposeful long strides towards me. I felt myself instinctively retreating backwards as I saw a raw passion growing in his dark eyes, our gazes soon becoming interlocked.
Suddenly, everything seemed to drown out and all I could see, all I could think about was me... and him. I backed up until there was no other place to retreat to. I clutched the sides of my sari until my hands could no longer bunch any more. I held my breath ever so long until I had no option but to breathe. He was too close for comfort. The woody smell of his cologne bewitched my senses as I closed my eyes, trying to come out of the sweet spell he had somehow put on me. But with what? His chiselled arms made their way up to rest at either side of me, trapping me in his indirect embrace. A muscled yet smooth palm travelled slowly towards my face, coming to brush the large portion of my fringe away from my eyes, tucking it swiftly behind my ears. The shimmering motion of the water from the poolside drew shadows on his body, dancing enigmatically against his face as his hand came to rest on my cheek.
His thumb caressed my skin ever so softly and I found myself involuntarily leaning into his touch. It felt wonderful. My skin burned with a passion for more, my heart rampaged against my chest as I brought my eyes up to look at him. He leaned in, tilting his face to the side as my breath began to hitch, despite the impulsive beats of my erratic heart making my breathing really frantic. Unknowingly I felt my lips slightly part, it was too hot to breathe as I watched him lean down even further, painfully slowly, ever so carefully.
His lips looked undeniably soft, glistening pink as I felt the tip of his perfectly shaped nose just brush the end of mine. He was dangerously close now, any minute and we would have...
His phone began to abruptly ring, breaking us both out of the drunkenness we had succumbed ourselves into. The darkness in his eyes began shrinking as he looked dumbfounded, shocked upon the compromising position we were in. He hands retreated slowly away from my skin as I avoided his gaze, the warmth writhing away from my skin already. I found myself beginning to anticipate what would have happened if the phone had not interrupted us. I mean I should be grateful for the diversion no? But how would it have felt to...
~~~~~
I didn't understand what I was supposed to feel. This girl hated me, just as much as I hated her. The audacity with which she spoke back to me boiled my blood and I knew, well I thought I knew exactly how to deal with girls like her. Of her mentality and class. Cheap. I had to give it to her though, her courage was phenomenal. Having the nerve to stand up to the great ASR. Something not even the fearless had in their blood to do. But goddamnit was she feisty. Her face was always there in the confinements of my mind. Her voice always lingered in the hollows of my ears. Her tears always pierced something in my chest. But what? What was it?
No. Nothing about her will affect me so. I will not allow it. I will not let her weaken my defences.
So why? Why does it hurt to see that ring on her finger? Why does it ache to breathe knowing she is bound to another man in an engagement forever, a man that's not me? Me? And her? What am I saying? So what if she got engaged, I am to be engaged too soon. Why can I not be happy knowing she has found happiness, but not with me? Why did it feel so right putting that ring back on her finger again, only to feel so broken when she snatched her hand away? Those words.. buzzing in my head... "you... ring... engagement..." I don't understand, I should be happy right?
~~~~~
Dancing with girls was nothing new to me. But dancing with her was another thing entirely. Never before had I felt so in sync with another girl as I felt with her. She was beautiful. It felt so idyllic just being there in that moment, twirling her around in my arms, guiding her with my movements, taking control of the artful ways in which we passionately glided in motion together.
She was a symphony in green, her hair fanning us both as we waltzed to the music, oblivious to the surroundings around us. Her beautiful body seemed to fit so well with mine, as I dipped her low, inhaling her rosy scent that clung to her neck, her hands gripping clusters of my hair. With one hand on her bare waist, and the other on the small of her back, I found myself drowning for the umpteen time once again in those eyes of hers. Those eyes that never failed to bring out the beast inside me, as it began to grow in a deep, rumbling desire, her hazel orbs blazing the same craze I felt towards her right back at me. This unnameable... feeling we had between us. This obsessive infatuation that I had when I saw her. Thought of her. Looked at her. When I was with her. Lingering in the air around us. One that I saw sure she too felt, just by the parasitic blush livid against her cheeks always darker under my eve rwatchful gaze. But what, what was it?!
And the proximity of it all just fuelled the beast even more, and I am yet to know how much it can take of this sweet, sweet torture.
~~~~~
Not knowing why that just happened had hurt so much more than the slap my Amma had given me for it. I was just as oblivious to why it happened as she was. What had I done to make him do so? Marry me in such a fashion that it disrupted the festivities of Jiji's wedding when I knew she had every right to be happy on her big day. After I ruined the last one. How dare he threaten to ruin my Jiji's wedding when it had absolutely nothing to do with her? His own brother's wedding! Why did he have to involve my sister and his brother into our equation? I cannot believe he would resort to such low, cheap acts just to get me to marry him.
I too had pictured my own wedding. I wanted it to be the most perfect moment I had ever shared in my entire life. He ruined it. Absolutely tarnished it. Yet another thing he deprived me of. What happened to all those moments we shared before? I thought... I thought...
No. I was a fool. What was I thinking, that he would actually... Forget it. But then why? Why did it always feel so mutual? So right?
It's like he operates on some sort of switch. One moment, he's the most heartless of the heartless yet the next he is the sweetest, most loving person I ever met. What did I do that made him so horrible towards me?
~~~~~
Was that it? Was that really the mentaility with which he thought about me? That I would actually be that much of a b***h to ruin Di's marital life? I love the girl like my own sister for Devi Miaya's sake! I can't decide which is worst, knowing that the one person who comes to dwell in my every thought, my beating heart regards me as such a low person in his mind or the fact that he didn't think to ask me once about all of this. This, horrible ugly misunderstanding and deceiving encounter with one man who I curse all my soul with.
Would I not have given him an explanation? Would I not have told him the truth? What happened to all those precious moments we shared? I really felt I saw the real him beneath all that anger, all that hate. A person who actually cares and is just as insecure and vulnerable as anybody else would be, having been through everything he had. But now, after moving a thousand squares forward, I seem to have lost two thousand squares back. He's become even more ruthless towards me than before.
My heart craves for him to know the truth. To show him that I am not wrong and that I am just as much as a victim of that sick twisted two timer as Di is. But what use is it to beg a person to heed you when he is too blind to even remember the difference between right and wrong? To try and think rationally and put facts together. For one multimillionaire businessman, he sure has a lot to learn. But I know I shall not fail and I will prove my innocence and that khadoos of a Raizada will have to believe me. He must! He must because... because...
~~~~
I have to admit, I thought this was it. I didn't think anything further than this moment, so finding her coming to my apparent rescue was out of the question. I realised now how much I love her. How I tried so hard every single day to top up the hatred and anger I felt when I saw them on the terrace, yet I knew it only powered my love for her even more. It only made me realise how much it hurt to hurt her constantly. It only proved how she had stolen my heart with her charming and innocent nature, yet I didn't want to admit it.
And now seeing her right in front of me, her tear streaked face, the worry and concern in her eyes, did nothing else except render both my mouth and my mind spellbound. I could not believe it. Knowing she was here led to a flustered heart indeed, but seeing the state which she was in, brought out an angry and apprehensive ASR.
I saw her furtively place a hand on the mesh grill in front of us, separating us from being together, the only boundary in our way, as my hand too found its way to wind with hers of its own accord. She was so close, yet so far and I could not bear the ever familiar taste of despair and helplessness settling into my chest, belittling me, mocking me once again that I could not do anything and I didn't like it. Not one bit.
But that did not matter now. What mattered was that we were together. Reunited once again. I still remember the confusion and frustration I used to feel when I saw her. Upon not knowing what to call whatever grew in the air between us. The concern for each other, yet the fire and thirst to prove ourselves. Now I finally know, how I am to go about naming that unnameable feeling.
That feeling was, is and always will be love.
~~~~~
Kicking over the bowl of rice once again branded me with the ultimate title of the oldest Raizada Bahu. I remember doing all this before, yet that was an act only for the approval of the family and for them to be witnesses to our official marriage ceremony. Now though, it was nothing but pure, unadultered love brimming between us, as I lifted my very lengthy, very heavy lengha slightly so as to not trip as I began to make my forward to the house that held my future.
I had not so much as made a baby step forward when Naniji's voice broke the silent symphony between us all. It was then that she reminded us both of the traditional manner in which a bride is to arrive to her new home, as I found myself boring into the wonderful face of the one man whom I was promised and bound to eternity for. Stepping closer, if that was even remotely possible, he gave a loving smile through the tenderness in his eyes, as I wound my hands around his neck, stroking the vast mane of his cropped hair fondly. He closed his eyes slightly, only to open them shortly as he placed a soft, quick peck on my cheek.
He bent down and I felt him place on hand at the side of my waist, whilst the other came to rest just under my leg as he lifted me effortlessly and strode proudly into the Shantivan, his head held high, his chest heaving proudly.
I don't know what I did to deserve such a man, yet I also know that what lay ahead for us was the unknown, but whatever came our way, we would both tackle it with two bodies, one mind, one soul but ultimately one heart.
Life had never been sweeter.
~~~~~
Arnav awoke with a start, jostling in his sleep as he rubbed his eyes, his vision trying to adjust to the darkness in the bedroom. Clutching on the soft threads of his shirt lay his wonderful wife, cuddled up next to him on the bed, pouting in her sweet slumber. Her long hair curtained the pillows, except for some stubborn strands that fringed her pretty face, swaying with her breathing. Her skin was tinged with a soft blue glow peeping from the sliver of moonlight through the double doors leading to the pool as Arnav found himself seeking solace through the beauty of his most prized possession.
Indeed, she was his and he was hers. Arnav could not help himself when his fingers magically reached up to touch her. He traced one finger ever so softly along the side of her cheek and stroked her lips tenderly before coming to outline the bold curve of her neck. God, was she beautiful.
Khushi felt a wonderful sensation tingling in her skin through her sleep as her eyes fluttered open to find her handsome husband staring at her hungrily. Upon seeing him, all slumber was lost as Khushi flashed a dazzling smile and looked at him lovingly. It was pretty late and the two were up drowning in the much appreciated, much wanted privacy of their own little world, just the way they liked it. No words, just the splendour of their expressive eyes knowing what rested in the heart of the other.
"Kya huwa Arnavji?" Khushi asked softly cupping his face, as Arnav ran his long fingers through her hair, relishing the feel of her locks.
"Nothing Khushi. I have you, how can anything be wrong?" He answered in a soft voice as Khushi pulled into him a promising hug.
"I love you Arnavji." Khushi smiled into Arnav's chest as she breathed deeply, his woody scent wafting through her nose making her close her eyes in the blissful feelings of being in her beloved husband's arms.
"I love you too Khushi." No matter how many times these two professed their love for each other, it was never enough and it was always understated. And then just like that, they fell into the most peaceful of slumbers any two lovers or people could have ever fallen into, waiting to wake up to spend yet another day showering each other in their love. Their endless, faithful and eternal love.
~~~~~
Hope you liked it guys! :))) xxx
.
Suggestions / Comments
10