FF: Unspoken PART 26 PG 141 *new thread!!! - Page 9

Oh dearie!!!!...i love this storyyy!!!!...e place u described was simply beautiful...waterfalls n nature...love it!!!...but love this arnav more...heheee...wonder wat's kushi's story...she doesnt sound convincing abt falling into e water...

Really hope u cont...its v v interesting...looking forward to your story...

😊its beautiful ...read in one go ...pls pm me wenever u update...thank u...

Poor Khushi being terriorized by Arnav,she's only just woken up.He ought to give some space to Khushi,not adding more misery to her life.Super update.👍🏼

SS: Unspoken part 4

Avni finally sat down across Khushi and gave her an apologetic smile on her son's behalf. "He's very sensitive about his father's death."

"I'm sorry. I meant no disrespect," Khushi said in a shaken state but Avni shook her head to brush it off. "There's nothing wrong in what you asked. Anyone would ask but no one asks here because they all know. Arnav's a complicated person but he has a heart of gold - I'm sure that's hard for you to believe right now, eh?" Avni asked with a chuckle and Khushi remained blank. Yes, she found it very hard to believe that.

"Eat up! Don't worry about anything - he won't be coming home so soon," she said while she ate away her own meal. Khushi put small bite size pieces in her mouth with her hands shaking. She didn't anticipate his return that soon anyways.

*

She was just starting to calm down and feel relaxed with Avni when she saw his large, 6'1 figure in the doorway. "Come with me."

"Arnav, stop this nonsense!" Avni started but he never wavered his stare from Khushi. "I said, come!" He yelled and Khushi mechanically got up and walked to him.

"What has gotten into you, Arnav?!" His mother yelled after his retreating back. Khushi didn't look back once. She had already learned a lot about Arnav, and that was to obey him the first time.

Like earlier in the day she kept her gaze down and followed behind him. She cringed when she heard him yell at others to look away. She felt so humiliated. She was walking behind him like a child but she could just imagine what would happen if she ever complained to his face.

Suddenly, he grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her forward so she could match his pace. She didn't know how long they walked for but her heart stopped - despite it beating so quickly - when he dragged her through the forest. He stopped to a place that seemed like a pathway with the river next to it and a rushing waterfall in clear view.

She tried to keep her eyes open while the mist was hitting them as the wind was sending over millions of little beads of water from the large cascade. She struggled to hear him over the incredible sound of the splashing water. She turned her head for a second to look at the fall but it was a second too long because in the next instant Arnav grabbed her chin and turned it to face him. "What are you doing here? You're hiding something," he said it as a statement.

"I'm not hiding anything. I fell in the water and it washed me all the way here. You see how the river is! It's always moving so quickly!" She kept blinking to avoid the mist from hitting her eyes.

"Where are you from?" He asked.

She was grateful she had time to figure out a name since their morning encounter. "From Bhadra! I told you, it's really far. I'm not an intruder. I didn't want this!" She didn't realize she was practically screaming.

"Good. You're leaving right now," he said and grabbed her wrist to take her back but her eyes widened and this time she wasn't just pulling her arm back, she was also pulling him. "Please don't! Please let me stay! Please!" She wailed and Arnav looked at her with curious eyes. She seemed desperate all right. She was screaming at the top of her lungs and tears rimmed her eyes.

He had stopped pulling on her but she didn't stop tugging at his arm. "Please don't send me back!"

"Tell me what's going on!" He shouted, annoyed with the confusing situation.

"I'll tell you everything! Just promise me you won't send me back. Please!"

He grabbed his arm out of her grasp and waited for her to start her story.

"I ran away from home," she started and he stared at her, shocked that she would dare do such a thing. "My father was forcing me to marry his friend's son! But that boy is a sick dog! I said no on the spot but my father didn't bother to take my answer into consideration! They were coming to marry me the next day so at night I ran away! I had to walk close to the water because those people watch the perimeter like guard dogs! I slipped in and the rest you know."

"How do I know you're not lying? You really can be just an intruder," he said taking a step towards her and came up surprised again when she didn't move back.

"I swear to God, that's the truth. I ran away from my family for that reason. Please, I beg you, don't send me back because they'll only continue with their plan," she spoke her words with purpose and earnestly. His face relaxed when she put her hands together and pleaded to him yet again.

"What if they come looking for you?" He asked in a normal tone for the first time speaking to her.

"They won't come here," she said confidently but on the inside she was just praying to God that they wouldn't, otherwise there would be a huge problem.

Arnav stared at her for some time then looked down at the ground, trying to contemplate the situation. He looked back up. "Come with me."

*

They sat on the rocks along one edge of the river which overlooked yet another forest right across from them. The waterfall was closer to them as they sat only a short distance away, and this time too, they were sitting in the opposite direction that the breeze was blowing the water particles. Khushi sat quietly, smoothing her kameez out and wondering what he brought her there for, while Arnav lifted his knees to his chest and rested his arms on them.

"Everyone here was born on this land except one. There's too much to explain in one sitting but I'm telling you that the people here don't react well to change."

"Why not?" She asked quietly, wishing that he wouldn't yell at her again and to her grace, he didn't.

"Past experiences," he said bluntly, not wanting to go into detail. "I'm breaking my own word by letting you stay here permanently," his eyes were busy following the flow of the water.

"Aren't you in charge of this entire place?"

He looked at her and almost let through a chuckle. "I damn well am in charge of everything! My father owned this land, so it's not a democracy here to elect the best representative but there's still a council of elders who make a collective vote."

"Oh..." she said but didn't actually understand much of what Arnav said, which he sensed from her very well. "They're there so I don't turn a tyrant on everyone. I guess it is a democracy in the sense that if majority of them decide that you can't stay, then I can't let you." He looked down and took in the fright on her face with amusement.

"How many elders are there?"

"Five," he said and she quickly closed her mouth when it dropped open. So her chances of staying were slim. "Who's the other exception?" She asked after a moment of silence and Arnav shook his head. "That's not for you to know but it's almost been three years later and she's not accepted like others. I'll make sure you stay. If they let her stay then a girl from Bhadra shouldn't be a problem."

Khushi's words stopped coming out of her mouth altogether. She looked at the waterfall whch seemed so dense and heavy, not like the other small ones she'd seem since the morning. The way it fell so heavily and crashed down to join the rest of the stream in front of them, she wondered how bad it would hurt if someone stood right under it. She was sure it would have felt like thousand of knives falling onto a person. She shook out of her morbid thought and went back to just looking around the setting they were in.

She didn't look at him but she appreciated how calm he'd become - a complete transformation from earlier in the day. Her story must have put him at ease, but she knew that more than anything, the reason why he was talking to her in a civilized manner in that moment was because she said she was from Bhadra. And she knew very well who the exception was. But now that her lie was underway she couldn't possibly tell him the truth - not after hearing the vehement tone he spoke in when he spoke about the other outsider.

She decided in that moment that some things were better left unspoken. She was Khushi from Bhadra and no one should find out otherwise.

She turned her head towards Arnav and he looked back at her immediately. "Thank you," she said. Sure she could have added a smile but she figured that was pushing things. For all the screaming that he'd thrown her way, she didn't think he deserved a smile quite yet but she did genuinely appreciate him for allowing her to stay.

Arnav bore his gaze into hers then a miracle occurred for Khushi. He smirked! It wasn't a full on smile but one side of his lips curling up was more than what Khushi expected so she definitely couldn't complain. "You can thank me when it's official."

"When's that?"

"When the councilmen come back. They've all left for a pilgrimage to Amritsar." Arnav stood up and looked down at Khushi who had to crank her neck all the way back to to look up at him. "Let's go."

She got up too and started following his directions on where to place each foot so as not to end up falling and killing herself on the spot. Climbing all the way up the rocks was a painful process for her but it was all Arnav's fault for pulling her out of the house without shoes on her feet.

The walk back to his house was not any better. She wished she hadn't had to go all the way into the forest again. She'd been there more than enough times in one day - aybe even her whole life. As soon as they stepped on the field of green grass, Khushi lowered her head and suddenly disappeared from Arnav's side.

He paused to see what happened to her then felt something crash into his back. He started to laugh before he can even turn to look at her. Khushi gaped at the former beast to see him laugh so loud. He covered his eyes with his hand before looking down at her 5'6 figure with a teasing smile. "What are you doing?"

"You told me to walk behind you," she said with her cheeks heating up. He orders her around and then he laughs at her? She internally scoffed at him.

"You're right, I did tell you that but you caught me off guard when you suddenly weren't next to me. You can walk beside me from now on." His eyes were just sparkling with amusement and friendliness.

Khushi frowned in embarrassment and waited for him to continue his walk for her to walk alongside him. Stepping into his house, his mother shook her head at him the moment she saw him.

"Where is she?" She asked in a harsh tone. Arnav's eyes fell to his side again and he rolled them before stepping aside to show the petite girl behind him, fiddling with the hem of her kameez.

Avni took Khushi's hand and pulled her towards herself before speaking very sternly with Arnav. "She's our guest - you're not allowed to treat her that way. How many times in our life do we even get guests?"

"She's not a guest anymore. She's staying here, so I guess I am allowed to treat her that way," Arnav said with a smile to his mother before backing out of the hallway and leaving the house. Avni look at Khushi with wide eyes and pure astonishment before breaking into a giggle.

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Hi all! Okay, before people ask and doubt things, Khushi is telling the truth about why she ran away. Her problem is only one thing and if you read carefully you'll know what it is. 😉

A HUGE thanks to ALL of you! I never would have thought that many people would like this so really, thank you very, very, VERY much for the response you've given so far. It means a lot and I really do mean it. You guys are the best! 😃

loved it.
do continue soon

Well,at least Arnav and Khushi are being civil with each other now.I hope Khushi gets to stay there for good.Nice update👍🏼

I loved it continue very soon

Superb one
arnav laughed
khushi is lieing that she came from badhra and who is outsider
loved it
update soon
thanks for pm

cheeni:)