ArHi FF : *Falling In Love II* [#5] LinkToTH6:PG1 - Page 76

Originally posted by: cheesemad

LOL you cannot be like me, you are way better than me🤗

Waiting for 7th:)

Originally posted by: -BlueEyes-

Awww 😆 Par seriously, you write the updates before hand? like 3-4 updates before? 😲

Originally posted by: -BlueEyes-

Arrey, I usually write 2-3 updates before posting it but then I become lazy and start posting the updates before writing more. LOL.

I have a fixed plan,. I just have to write it down. 😆

Originally posted by: cheesemad

Yup, I am done with 6 chapters LOL

Originally posted by: Barun_Gf

uurrggh😡😡

mjhe upd8 chaiya😡😡

waisa finally i m a sizler😆

Originally posted by: -BlueEyes-

What The... 😲

How am I better than you? LOL 😆

Originally posted by: Surya.Ravi

please update soon..

Chapter 32 : The Unfair World

I shouldn't have come. I know I shouldn't but I just couldn't stop myself. Arnav is married. I wish I had known. He didn't even bother to tell me! What we had obviously didn't mean the same to him. He had forgotten me. He wasn't even happy to see me here. But how can I just leave him like this, in this state? If he's happy with Khushi, I have to be happy, I have to make sure they are happy together. My life is over anyway. I know it is. The reason I left Arnav all those years back is over. The bank made the cuts, they let me go! I have no job and a big house. I don't have anyone who I can call family. I have two empty hands. Anjali thought as she lay in bed playing with her hair. The room was dimly lit and the windows were all shut. She was ready to fall asleep but this was probably on of the many sleepless nights since she was fired.

It was just 10 p.m. Anjali usually came from work at this time. She loved her work. She worshipped it. She had pushed away everyone else in life. She had no one. And now with the job gone she had nothing in life. She thought maybe Arnav was still waiting but he had moved on too. She didn't expect him to wait, she had just hoped. He was the only one who may' have been there. The only one who would have understood, maybe? She was very unsure about her future but she knew that there was very little hope of finding someone new. She would have to go back to that big house - that big empty house. She shut her eyes as isolation dawned in on her. It was suffocating.

Arnav Singh Raizada had no intention of going home tonight. He was still at office. Khushi had been informed that Arnav wanted to work late and she had to cancel his physiotherapy. She was very upset but atleast he wasn't sitting at home and drinking! So she let the matter pass. Arnav sat in office drowning in his work. He was satisfying himself, just like a boy who hasn't eaten chocolate in years does when he sees an endless supply of chocolate! He was happy - he was content. Khushi never understood his immense love for his work but she knew him well enough to know that he needed it now; any distraction at this point was good.

Khushi had made dinner today, after so long. She had done something she loved too - enjoyed an evening cooking Arnav's favourite dishes. But her husband didn't show up on time. She wouldn't say she was used to it but she wasn't upset. After a long time she sat on the couch - with her feet up - and watched TV. It was heaven. Who could ask for more? Things were returning to equilibrium.

"Arnav," Khushi called him up at 10:30 p.m.

"Khushi! Hi." He said still doing some paperwork.

"Arnav, come home now, please." She said.

"hmm" he said.

"You'll be home in how long?" she asked.

"hmm" he repeated.

"Arnav! I am talking to you!" she said agitated.

"hmm" he chanted.

"OUCH!!" she screamed.

"Khushi! Khushi! Are you okay?" he said shooting up with worry.

"Now I'm okay," she said laughing.

"Oh god! I was on the verge of running home, I'm already standing!" he said. That's when he realized what he was saying. He looked down. He had just stood up - no pain - no angst - no trembling - he was standing strong.

"Arnav, you are standing?" she asked.

"Yes..." he said, the feeling sinking in. He sat down again. "I was so busy with my work that I completely forgot that I can't --"Shh." She said on the phone. "You can. There is nothing you can't do."

"Well, when you come to think of it, there is!" he said looking at his file again.

"What?" she asked.

"I can't work in peace after 10:00 p.m." he complained. Khushi frowned on the other side of the phone.

"You can! But you won't, because you love your wife and she is waiting at home. She also made your favourite dishes herself today!" Khushi said happily.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes!"

"I'll be there in half an hour," he said.

"WHAT?"

"20 minutes?"

"NO!"

"15 minutes!" he said with an air of finality.

"Ofcourse, that's exactly how long you'll take to reach home from office if you leave now!" she said.

Arnav chuckled. Khushi laughed.

"I have a smart wife." He said.

"Oh yes! I know." She said.

Mr. Sinha had to wait until Arnav left so he could switch off the lights and shut the office. He also helped Arnav into the car. The driver was angry because he had to wait too but ofcourse said nothing in front of ASR.

Anjali couldn't sleep at night. She regretted her whole life - everything - all the decisions she had made. She had pushed her father away. She had pushed Arnav away. She had loved her job more than anyone else and now the job was gone and so were everyone else. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she looked back into her past. She was living a life of regret and that just wouldn't let her move on. She had to do something. She had to start looking for a job, she had to get a life.

*

The night, Arnav lay in bed tired. "It feels so good." He said. Khushi smiled, "It does." She agreed.

After so long the couple lay in bed together - just talking.

"How was your day?" Arnav asked.

"Good, yours?"

"Peaceful. You have no idea how much I missed office..." he said.

Khushi shut her eyes. Her head was on Arnav's arm and his hand around her. It had been a long time since both of them were at peace. They were just content. Khushi knew she had to get Arnav out of his misery once and for all and this time she couldn't fail.

Arnav and Khushi slept peacefully in their beds while Anjali was tormented by loneliness and isolation.

*

The next day, again, Arnav was at office by 9. He sat there and drowned in his work again. Khushi sat at home with Anjali. They had just finished having breakfast when Anjali asked, "Arnav goes to office so early everyday?"

"Yes, he's always been in love with his work!" Khushi smiled.

"Don't you feel neglected?"

Khushi was surprised with her question. She didn't understand why Anjali wanted to know but she answered anyway, "Not really, I know if he has to choose between work and me, it will be me. But yes, sometimes it gets irritating but at this point I am so happy he has his work to distract him..."

"How do you manage with his work hours? How do you understand his lack of time for you?"

"I just know that when Arnav had nothing, his work kept him going and he needs it now, that's all." Khushi said honestly. "And plus, we have a mutual understanding, Arnav and I, we understand each other completely so we've never had many misunderstandings."

"That's great!" Anjali said. She wished that someone like that had been in her life then maybe she would have someone by her side now, then maybe she wouldn't be all alone today.

"Anjali, can I ask you something?" Khushi asked.

"Yes, ofcourse!"

"How did you and Arnav -- you know-- break up?" Khushi asked. She had been wondering whether she should ask this question or not but at the end she did.

Anjali looked down and then looked back at Khushi. "If you don't want to then--"No, ofcourse I'll tell you." She said.

"After college I had dreams, aspirations and Arnav wanted to start his own business. We thought we could pull off long distance but it didn't happen. Arnav wouldn't leave India and I didn't want to go back..."

"Why?"

"My parents were there and I knew that if I went back they'd start looking for a boy. I knew they would support me for my work but at the end I would have to get married early. So I chose not to go back. That was my first mistake. I chose my career over my parents..." she said. Khushi was genuinely upset. She never had parents and here, Anjali didn't respect hers.

"Why didn't Arnav come with you?" Khushi asked.

"He said he couldn't leave his Mami. He said he wanted to open a business in Mumbai and be there for them... We chose different paths and somewhere inside both of us knew that our relationship wouldn't last..."

Khushi didn't understand Anjali's point of view. She was kind of irritated with her reasons and her decisions. All her life, Khushi just wanted to be with her parents, she had always missed them and she could probably do anything to just see them but Anjali... She chose her career over her parents! She chose to stay away! That wasn't fair. God was so unfair. She yearned for her parents and God kept them away and here, Anjali had parents but she kept them away. Life was unfair.

"I know you must be thinking that I'm so selfish, that I'm a bad person but at that time I wanted to becomes someone, I wanted to do something. I didn't just want to get married and stay at home! Only when my mum and dad passed away I realized how wrong I was and how much they meant!" she said.

"Why are you really here?" Khushi asked. "You wanted to become something and you have. You wanted to work and you are. What are you here for?"

"I--I actually-- I got fired. I have no job and no family. I am alone." Anjali accepted. A tear escaped her eyes. She never thought that she would be saying it out loud. She had to accept it, if not now, sometime in the future and since she was trying to move on she might as well say it out loud!

"What?" Khushi gasped. "Did you come here thinking you and -- I mean -- you could get back -- I don't know how to put this--"Yes. I did." Anjali admitted. "I did. I didn't know he'd be married, I had no idea that he had moved on so far."

Khushi didn't know what to say. She was speechless. She didn't even understand what Anjali wanted now. All she knew was that she had just got her Arnav back and she wasn't ready to lose him again, not to a woman who didn't value him and only came back because she got fired.

"Did you'll ever officially break up?" Khushi asked.

"We really didn't need an official one. When we hadn't spoken for months, both of us knew that it was over. I remember that Arnav had called me a few times but I had been really busy. Finally, one day, he texted me that he couldn't do it anymore and he was going to move on."

Khushi just listened intently. She wanted to understand Anjali but whatever Anjali was saying she just couldn't comprehend how someone could feel that way about their career. Was it bigger than love, bigger than all relationships? How could she live like this? And now after her job is gone she came back for her love? Now? How could she live with herself?

Anjali didn't say anything either. She had said everything she had to. She looked at Khushi's shocked expressions and she understood that Khushi didn't understand. She hadn't expected her to.

"Excuse me," Anjali said getting up.

Khushi sat there thinking about it for a long time. She genuinely tried to understand, she did but something didn't fit in. She needed more time to understand Anjali. Khushi decided to push her thoughts out. She had a bath, got dressed and sat down to think about some bigger issues. With Arnav back at work, she needed to get back to cooking and with Arnav back at work, she knew he would start being careless with his physiotherapy so she had to think of something!

It didn't take her long to figure out what to do. There was only one way. If he wouldn't come home on time then maybe the therapist could go to his office but Khushi knew that it would NOT make Arnav very happy!

_________________________

Hey, guys 🤗

Thank you so much for all the amazing & encouraging comments and I promise I'll reply to all of them this time :) Time has been scarce and I really hope you'll understand! I am so glad you'll give this FF so much love! It makes me really happy :P Thanks a ton!

Waiting for some feedback 🤗

-Manjari

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