A/n: Here begins the Arhi chapters; sorry if
this one's a bit draggy! Any comments you have to say are welcome!
Chapter 9: A Gift; A Beginning
It had been almost a week since the incident,
but Khushi still had dreams about it. They had started out as nightmares; Shyam
marrying her, Arnav blaming her for spoiling Anjaliji's life, the scenarios her
subconscious came up with were numerous but they had faded out and now the
dreams had taken a pleasant turn. Or maybe pleasant wasn't the right word;
dangerous was more like it, Khushi thought as she woke up, smile and confusion
mixing with the tension she was feeling. It had been the same scene again; Arnav
asking her to marry him. But oddly, they were standing by the poolside at
Shantivan; it was night and the stars seemed to shine like bright lights. Arnav
took her hand in his and with a look that was so filled with love that she
could barely stop herself from looking away, he asked her to marry him, in his
soft baritone voice. Rose petals started to rain on them. Khushi gasped in
surprise; and woke up in her room, baffled.
Him
asking you to marry him has just affected you too much, Khushi she muttered under her
breath. Stop thinking about him and
you'll be fine she advised to herself as she went to get ready. The past
days had been torturous for her; she had nothing to do at home because her Amma
and Payal took care of everything. She had spent the first few days talking
with her Bauji but she became restless. Buaji told her that it was all because
she had been working for so long; Khushi had then had the idea to look for
another job. Buaji hadn't been happy, but Khushi had argued that someone needed
to earn for the family and since she had experience, she would easily get a
job.
Which wasn't that easy; as she found later. She
had been searching for a whole of five days, looking through every newspaper
possible but she was yet to spot a job that she could do with her
qualification. Sending a silent prayer to Devi Maiyya asking her to show the
way ahead, Khushi got ready for the day. As she was finishing wearing her
jhumka, Khushi heard some commotion in the drawing room and thought she heard a
few familiar voices. Standing up to see who it was, Khushi passed by the window
and stopped; because stood a little distance away was an SUV she had traveled
in too many times; a vehicle she been thrown out of more times than she could
count.
What is
Arnavji's vehicle doing here? Is the vehicle really here or is my mind playing
tricks on me again? Khushi
wondered, staring at the vehicle as if willing it to disappear. The windows of
the car were all closed so she couldn't figure out if anyone was in it. Maybe it has come for service at Happyji's
garage she thought and the reasoning satisfying her, Khushi turned back to
the sound that had caught her attention.
Payal entered the room just then, her face flustered.
Khushi rushed to her sister, mistaking the disturbed expression on her face to
mean something bad, "What happened Jiji? Is Bauji alright? What was the noise
outside?"
Seeing Khushi's panicked expression, Payal
calmed herself down. With an expression on her face that was half smile half doubt,
she said, "Anjaliji has come, so has Shyamji. They'veā¦ they want you to visit with
them for a few days."
"What? Visit? Anjaliji? Likeā¦ at Shantivan?"
Khushi asked, her mind jumping to the most obvious problem: How could she live
with being in the presence of Arnavji 24x7? These occasional meetings were
difficult enough as it were and left her feeling tensed and ruffled. To live in
the same house as himā¦
"Khushi? Khushi? Where are you?" Payal's
insistent voice brought her to reality and Khushi looked at Payal with panic
written plainly on her face.
"Jiji, how can I live there? I... I can't. Not
withā¦ not with Arnavji, I meanā¦ Mamiji and all the others thereā¦" Khushi asked
in a pleading voice, as if the decision was solely in her sister's hands.
Payal held Khushi's hands reassuringly and
said, "Don't worry, Khushi. Its only for a week or so; till Diwali, I think. And
even so, you would want to live with your brother and his wife and their family
for a little while, right?" Seeing Khushi's unconvinced expression, Payal
added, "And if you don't like it there, you know you can come back here
whenever you want. We are just a phone call away."
"Jiji, is there any way out of this?" Khushi
asked desperately; she had never lived anywhere without at least one of her
family members around. To know that she would be all alone, in that big house
that she tended to get lost in with surprising frequency, with so many
strangers made her heart skip beats in fear.
"Bauji doesn't want to send you away from him;
Amma and Buaji were totally against it at first too but Anjaliji has managed to
convince everyone. Even Amma has started to like her; and Buaji trusts Shyamji
to look after you and he is your brother tooā¦"
"Khushi cut Payal off here, "Jiji, I only have
one sister, and that is you. I don't have any brothers." Payal had never heard
Khushi speak so sharply; placing a hand on her shoulder, she asked, "Khushi, I
understand how you feel. To know that the one who might have married is your
brother should be hard to accept, butā¦"
"Jiji, I never thought of Shyamji that way; I
never could. Its not that. I'm justā¦" Khushi walked away from where Payal was
standing and towards the window, her eyes immediately seeking out the SUV,
which was missing. Khushi was now sure that she had been hallucinating; as she
was chiding herself, Payal spoke, "Is it Arnav Singh Raizada you are worried
about, Khushi?"
"Jiji?" Khushi asked, panicking for a moment
that her sister had found out the confusion raging in her. Placing a comforting
hand on her shoulder, Payal said, "Don't worry, Khushi, he won't dare to trouble
you right under Anjaliji and Shyamji's eyes, would he? Either way, you're going
to be at Shantivan and he'll be at his office; you might not even meet him that
much. Don't worry," Sighing in relief that Payal was still blissfully ignorant,
Khushi smiled for her sake and went into the drawing room with Payal.
"Khushi!" Anjali's face brightened as she saw
her and she walked to where she was standing, clutching her hands warmly in her
own. "I'm so happy you're going to live with us; I've already arranged it with
your Bauji so that you can celebrate Diwali with both your families." Seeing
the confusion on Khushi's face, Anjali explained, "I thought that you might
want to celebrate Diwali with everyone so I invited them to Shantivan for
Diwali."
Khushi smiled, wondering how her parents had
agreed this quickly; but then, who could know Anjaliji's convincing capability
better than her, who was the most frequent recipient? Seeing Anjali's smile
falter, Khushi replied, "Thanks, Anjaliji. It amazes me that you manage to
think about everyone's wishes."
"It's all selfish; I just want my Bhaā¦ Nanand
in my house, nothing more," Anjali replied, the smile more prominent on her
face. She saw Shyam smile at Anjali's words and shake his head ruefully; not
understanding what was going on between the two and thinking that it was none
of her business, Khushi smiled before she said, "I'll come as soon as I can get
ready, Anjaliji."
"Ah, ah, ah. I'm not leaving you like that;
I'll help you pack and you come along with me," Khushi who was shocked to hear
that she would be leaving immediately, looked to her father. He nodded to her,
calling her to him.
"Bauji? You're chasing me away?" she asked in a
choked voice, a sudden sense of desertion filing her as she leaned on his
shoulders. Anjali, seeing Khushi's panic, wondered if she was doing the right
thing. She turned to Shyam who nodded his head in a reassuring manner. Anjali
nodded, waiting for Khushi's father to console her.
"Khushi, do you think I ever could do that? You're
the apple of my eye; you are the one who brought happiness in my life, in the
whole family. How could you ever think like this, child? Butā¦" Buaji looked at
Khushi's pouting face and chuckled, "Don't give me that expression, Khushi. Shyamji
and Anjali are also your family now and it is only natural that they want to
spend some time with you. They care a lot about you, Khushi; you should be
happy that you have them to take care of you if anything ever happens to me..."
Khushi covered Bauji's mouth quickly, shaking her head in a no.
"You will live for a hundred years, Bauji. You
have to; I can'tā¦" Shashiji patted Khushi's head comfortingly, smiling. After
Khushi's trepidation had subsided, he said, "Go get ready."
All the while giving her father moping looks,
Khushi went into her room with Payal and Anjali, who had offered to help her
pack. Khushi's eyes turned towards the window instinctively and the SUV was
back, confusing her further. Was she dreaming now, or was she hallucinating
before when she hadn't seen the SUV there. As she was turning it over in her
mind, the driver side door opened and Arnav got out, talking furiously under
his breath on his Bluetooth. Her suspicions confirmed, Khushi took a step
inside the room when he looked up and met her eyes.
Khushi could see even from here that he was
dismissing the caller urgently. Finished with the call, he turned so he was
directly facing her through the window. Khushi could clearly see him calling
her, trying to tell her to step out of the house to meet him but she ignored
him. She knew what he was going to say and had no wish to hear it. Seeing him
turn his attention back to his phone, Khushi breathed in relief.
Anjali, who had been speaking on the phone with
someone came near Khushi and said, "Khushi, Chote asked me to tell you to meet
him outside." Khushi groaned and glared out the window; he just always had to
get his way, didn't he? Throwing her hands up in the air, Khushi walked out of
the house, intent on giving Arnav a fair piece of her mind.
XXX
"What was the need to call Anjaliji and make me
come out? Do you have any idea what it will seem like to everyone else? Do you
ever think of anyone other than yourself? What if they think something or the
other? We already have enough problems raging without you adding fuel to the
fire too! Speaking of problems, couldn't you have avoided this entire fiasco?
Couldn't you have said something like, I dunno, "this is my home you can't
bring strangers into it?" Isn't that your standard words? Why did you have to
let Anjaliji go through this? We both know you hate seeing me! You've told me
time and time again that all you want is to throw me out of your life and I
completely reciprocate the feeling. Then why couldn't you power your hatred towards
me to stop this scheme? I know you're upset with my coming to Shantivan but if
you ever think you can get off with blaming this on me too, you've got
something wrong. Its you that has let this get to this much and you will have
to face the consequences. I'll not let myself be treated like a puppet this
time over. Iā¦" Khushi went on a very long and winding rant, uncaring if he was
listening or not; all she cared about was that she needed to shout at someone
and Arnav just happened to be the one who made her snap finally.
"Khushiā¦ Khushiā¦ ENOUGH!" Arnav yelled, finally
having had enough of her rant. Khushi cut off, startled by his outburst into
silence. She looked at him, worried that he'd yell at her in the middle of the
street, only then noticing where they were standing.
Taking a deep breath, Arnav said, "Khushi,
listen; I tried my best to stop Di. She just wouldn't listen to me and you know
pretty well what happened when I pulled that 'My house' card last time. It
ended up with me listening to your idea and searching for her, visiting temple
after temple," Arnav finished snappily and Khushi flinched at the sharp tone.
It wasn't anything new to her, Arnav's temper, but she had gotten too used to
the slightly subdued side of him so his returning to normal hurt her worse.
"We did find her at last," Khushi retorted and
Arnav, having nothing to say to that, continued, "I'm not going to blame you
for anything, okay? Will you at least let me talk before you make up your own
imaginations and yell at me for something I haven't even done yet?"
Silence reigned between the two as they collected
their thoughts; Khushi, feeling guilty, spoke first. "I'm sorry, Arnavji; its
just that everything is changing so suddenly and I feel like the world has been
pulled out from beneath me. Iā¦ I can't just suddenly make myself think of
Shyamji as my brother and Anjaliji as my Bhabhi andā¦ its just too soon and now
I'm being carted off to live with them. No-one seems to even care about what I
want and I can'tā¦" Unable to voice her thoughts any longer, Khushi looked down,
letting only the ground see the unshed tears. Her throat was choked and she was
left helpless, unwilling to show anyone that anything was affecting her;
especially not Arnav. She knew he thought her a crybaby; she had seen his
demeanor soften when she shed tears. As advantageous as it was, Khushi felt
oddly as if she was manipulating him everytime she cried in his presence and
tried to control the tears whenever he was around. Though it didn't help that
in most cases, he was the very cause for her tears.
Arnav watched as the real reason for her
getting worked up came out; he had suspected as much. He knew there was more to
her temper than just his actions; after all, everyone in both their families
knew they had a bad history. It wasn't as if she was a complete stranger to
him. He waited until she ran out of steam, not interrupting her at all. He knew
she needed to get it out of her system or she'd never be able to face what was
to come with the innate strength that he had always observed resided within
her. Feeling a little awkward, but wanting to comfort her, Arnav took a few
steps, crossing the short distance that lay between them.
Placing a hand uneasily on her head, he called
her name softly. The sudden touch breaking her more than comforting her, Khushi
finally looked up with tears in her eyes; they still hadn't crossed her eyes,
but Arnav knew it was only a matter of time before she began crying in earnest.
Wishing to avoid those precious drops of moisture that had somehow gained the
power to melt him, Arnav spoke reassuringly, "Everything will be alright,
Khushi. You have no reason to fear; weā¦ I mean, Anjaliji and Jijaji aren't new
people to you and even so, its only going to be for around a fortnight. It will
go by in a flash and you'll be back with your family. It will be fine, trust me."
Khushi nodded tearfully, a slight smile gracing
her lips and a spark of the usual twinkle appearing in her eyes. Her smile
widened as she unexpectedly threw her arms around his torso and hugged him
tightly, showing her gratitude in the way she knew best.
Arnav stepped back at the sudden hug; no-one
had hugged him except for his Di and Lavanya and even among them, he had hardly
counted Lavanya's. Either way, he had never felt the need to hug someone as
desperately, because he knew she needed his support right then. But Khushi's
mind was faster than Arnav's heart and she pulled back just as suddenly,
pushing a fringe of her hair behind her ear in a gesture that bespoke her
embarrassment plainly.
Arnav didn't know what to think; he seriously
doubted that his brain had gone and hid itself in his car's dashboard where he
had keptā¦ recollecting the reason for his calling her, Arnav said, "If you're
done with the dramatics, can I tell you what I called you for?"
Khushi, who had been looking somewhere above his
right shoulder, whispered, "Sorry."
"What?" Arnav's slightly confused voice caught
up to her and she pointed a finger at his coat, saying, "I spoiled it; sorry."
Looking down, he saw the place where her tears
had landed on his coat; he shrugged, "Its nothing."
"You were about to say something?" Khushi
reminded him and Arnav nodded, "About the telecast, I've arranged for it to be
stopped."
"But why?" Khushi asked swiftly; realizing how
her words sounded, she amended, "I mean, you said it would cause a lot of
rumors aboutā¦"
"Yes, if you were a stranger. Now you are a
relative to the Raizada family and that should shut their mouths up. And since
no member of the family is ever interviewed, you won't be bothered for a
statement. Even if they try to reach you, you'll be safely at Shantivan and all
this will subside before Diwali," Arnav explained, making Khushi wonder. Seeing
her shocked expression, Arnav said, "Ever heard of making the most of a bad
situation, Khushi?"
Khushi nodded mutely, not even thinking about thanking
him; not that Arnav seemed to expect it. She turned to leave when Arnav called
her back, "Khushi, another thingā¦"
Looking back, Khushi waited while Arnav went
back to the car to retrieve something from it. "Thisā¦ its for you," in his hand
was a box that housed a cellphone.
Raising her eyebrows in silent question, Khushi
said, "I can't take things like that, Arnavji; you know this."
Arnav seemed to hesitate for a minute before he
spoke, "This isā¦ Di got this for you; as a present. Something about getting
something essential for her Nanand; she forgot it in the car."
"Even so, Arnavji, I can't take it. No matter
who it is from, it is an expensive gift andā¦"
"And it will hurt Di if you don't take it. You
know how she always gets her way; you'd better take it and be done with it,"
Seeing Khushi hesitate still, Arnav said, "If its any better, consider this as
the payment for the few days you worked at AR and for that photoshoot."
Seeing no way out, Khushi nodded, taking the box
from him, careful not to let his finger touch hers. She had had enough of that
on Teej day. Thinking about Teej reminded her of the Pooja, her fast, Arnav
breaking it, the Dupatta falling on her head, the Sindoor on her foreheadā¦ what were you trying to tell me, Devi
Maiyya? Will you marry me Khushi?
The incidents running through her mind, Khushi
closed her eyes in a vain attempt to block out the images. No use; they still
haunted her and it was a hundred times worse when the object of her thoughts
was standing a few feet from her. Opening her eyes, she said, "I'll go give
this to Anjaliji so that she can give it to me properly; she'll be happy that
I'm taking it, right?"
"No, Khushi, wait," Arnav's insistent tone
stopped her. Turning once again, Khushi waited for Arnav to explain. When he
just remained silent, she prodded, "What is it, Arnavji?"
"I think Di had thought to give it to you in
private. If you tell her now, it will be before the whole family and she'll
feel awkward," Khushi couldn't understand what Arnav was saying but thinking
that he knew more about Anjaliji's reaction than she did, she nodded.
Unaware of Arnav letting out a sigh of relief
behind her back, Khushi went back inside and stealthily placed the box in her
bag, closing it before anyone could notice. Everything being ready, Khushi said
her farewell to her family.
Arnav, who had had to watch the entire scene,
rolled his eyes; it was as if she was being deported and would never see them
again. Khushi went to get in the back seat when Anjali stopped her with a hand
on her shoulder.
"Could you sit in the front seat, Khushi? My
feet is better suited for the backseat and your brother needs to help me,"
Khushi nodded with an understanding smile and got in the front seat, putting on
the seatbelt with a familiarity that didn't go unnoticed by Anjali. She knew
that Khushi had never traveled by car before; she had learnt a lot about Khushi
when she had worked at Shantivan but apparently, Khushi had hid this from her.
So this
isn't the first time Khushi is traveling in Chote's car? Of course there were
the Janmashtami and Rakshabandan incidents butā¦ Anjali smiled to
herself, well pleased with the plan she had set in motion.
A/n: Hope I didn't spoil your weekend with this
crappy chapter!
Precap:
"Arnavji?
Arnavji did you fall asleep?" Khushi placed a hand on his shoulder and he began
sliding down.
"Arnavji?"
Khushi's voice filled with panic as she looked at a pale white faced Arnav; he
was unconscious. Khushi wondered how long he had been this way and what had
caused it. She knew he had taken breakfast so it couldn't be from exhaustion.
The cup
on the table catching her eye, Khushi lifted it to her lips and took a sip of
the coffee. Who added this much sugar to the coffee? Khushi wondered, realizing
the reason for Arnav's faintingā¦
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