IPKKND FF:Tearing Ourselves Apart Parts 1-26 :) - Page 6

finally they had a real convo!!

This left Khushi and Arnav in an icy silence.

He was confused.

She was lost.

"Arnav ji?" she reluctantly spoke. If it was one thing Khushi did not like about Arnav, or her relationship with him, was that she could never tell how he would react. His emotions would always catch her off guard. It is why she never knew how to react to him.

This was one of those times.

Arnav, without a second look back at Khushi starting walking. Away from the hall behind them, away from his life, away from her. He needed to think because he felt so helpless. All his life he had talked about how he would protect his Di from anything. But now, he could tell her and tear her heart into bits, or not tell her, let her live in pretence of happiness with a man that did not deserve the smallest part of her.

He didn't even realise that he had reached the end of the large garden at this point nor did he pay attention to the ringing of the anklet behind him. Surrounded by the largest trees that were decorated in lights, he stopped and looked around him. The trees seemed so wise, with all the answers, and the knowledge hidden behind their many layers of bark. He held his head with his hands and clenched his teeth to stop himself from screaming in rage.

As Khushi watched Arnav struggle to get his bearings she walked over and placed her hand on his shoulders. She would have flinched if he had reacted with a jerk, but it scared her more than anything that he did not even react to her touch. She felt as though he was breaking, and it hurt her as well. She tried to turn him around to no avail  "Arnav ji, please"

"What" he said, barely more than a whisper "What do you expect me to do, fix this?" he turned around, face less than a few inches away from her

His voice was one of despair, like he was asking her to forgive him for not being able to get her out of this mess. "I don't expect you to do anything; I just need to hear that you're going to be okay"

"Di, my Di, Khushi, she is my Di"

"I know" she whispered back.

"What am I going to do?" he said, covering his face with his hands.

Khushi grabbed his hands in surprise, staring at his knuckles that were bleeding profusely "You hurt yourself!"

Arnav didn't react, lost in thought of what he should be doing to get things back to normal. He was supposed to protect his sister, but he didn't have a clear way out. Whatever he chose, he would have to hurt her in some way. He noticed the stinging in his hands when Khushi tied a piece of her scarf around them. The dark green cloth soothed his pain and he watched her work with as much concentration as the situation would allow, finally tying the knot around his second hand.

"I wish I could help you, I know this must be hard" Khushi finally said.

Arnavs eyes flickered with anger "You know how this feels?" he said, more angry than before.

Khushi took a step back, there he went again, on his wild swing of emotions. She took another step back as he continued to stare at her, only to find that he covered her two small steps in single large one and cornered her back into a tree.

"This isn't helping anyone" she said, annoyed that he was taking this out on her, she only wanted to help, did he not understand that.

"This is all your fault Khushi Kumari Gupta" he declared as her mouth flew open in shock "What!?"

"If you had never come into my life, this never would have happened, you just can't stay away from me, I TOLD YOU TO GET AWAY FROM ME" he shouted, leaning in on her.

"Girls like you..."

"Girls like me what?" she chimed in "Are you going to talk about my status and my respect again? Are you going to tell me that I am worth nothing because believe me if you are, there is no point because I have heard it enough, this is not what this is about, and you know that"

"Don't tell me how I feel!" he shouted, punching the tree behind her shoulder.

Khushi jumped out of her skin as she thought he was about to hit her. She quickly regained her composure; she knew he would never hit her. But then again, she never really was the best judge of what he was capable of, including making her heart beat faster than anything else.

As quickly as she had tried to hide it, it had not been quick enough, because Arnav saw her reaction and backed out of where he was standing. This was not a moment to lose his cool. This was not her fault he told himself.

He looked up to find Khushi's tearing eyes staring up at him.

"Im sorry" was all she could manage.

He closed his eyes, she was right, making her feel guilty about what was happening would not help anyone. It was Shyam who had to pay, not Khushi.

He opened his eyes to find Khushi now sitting at the foot of the tree, sobbing into her hands which were tucked into her knees. He stepped back and just thought for what seemed like an eternity.

He wanted his Di safe.

He wanted Shyam to pay.

Arnav stood in between the trees in the light of a thousand dancing bulbs that were drowning him in their happiness and Khushi continued to sob. Two people, in way over their heads.

He did not know what to do, or what to say, so much depended on him.

"Marry me"

Khushi looked up from where she was sitting in the hollow of a large willow tree, her tear stricken face meeting that of the man that stood before her. He had spoken without thinking, but once the words were out, he felt a new confidence.

"What?"

She was sure she had not heard him right, how would that help anything?

"I said"..."Marry me"

"You haven't gone crazy have you? How is me marrying you going to help anything?"

Arnav felt he did not have the time nor the strength to explain every single motive of his, even the ones that he failed to recognise.

"No one will marry you" he said "What will your family say when they find out that you said no to Shyam, what will you tell them, they have probably spread the news already. Are you going to let people know that you almost married an already married man, what will that do to your family?" he continued. He knew that was her weak spot.

She opened her mouth and then closed it again, she hadn't thought of it like that.

"I don't care about what people say"

"Yes, but I'm sure your family do"

That made her go quiet.

"Look, Nani wants me married, you know she likes you, and you need someone to marry"

He waited and got no response from her so he continued.

"How can you be sure Shyam won't leave you alone? If you are married he can't do anything, if you are married into the same family that provides his living then he won't come after you or your family, he won't say anything to Di" the more he explained it, the more he realised how flawed this solution was, it worked for them now, but in the long run?

He could tell Khushi was thinking the same thing. She thought very highly of marriage, but she was trapped, any fool could see that. She had not moved from where she was sitting, the stars reflected in her eyes, their light was causing the tear tracks down her face to sparkle. Marks of her sorrow.

"Yes"

Arnav was surprised to hear her speak "What?" he asked.

"Yes, I'll marry you"

That had been the moment when everything changed

______________________

Shaking her head to forget things of the past Khushi came back to reality where Arnav was almost shaking from anger at the sight of his sister and brother in law by the door. Khushi grabbed hold of his arm and pulled on him, dragging him down the hallway.

He let her carry him away.

Khushi cleared her throat "Jalebis"

Arnav waited for her to say something to substantiate the single word she had just uttered and he got confused when she didn't.

"Jalebi's what?" he asked, losing all sign of his anger.

"Are better in Lucknow than in Delhi" she continued as though it was the most normal thing to think "you really need to start keeping up in conversation"

Arnav rolled his eyes as they continued walking down the hallway away from Anjali and Shyam, who was watching them, with Khushi's hand on Arnav's arm. The thought of them together, of Arnav with his Khushi was something he could not bear.

"Rani Sahiba.." he smiled at his wife " I just have to make a single phone call" he raised his hand to her shoulder as she began to protest "it won't take long" he added.

"Ok but please hurry, guests are waiting and I don't want to go downstairs without you" she said "who are you calling by the way?" she asked, curious.

"It's a surprise, trust me, you will love it" he said, a sly smile spreading across his face from ear to ear.