28Dec Ch25/2 pg71 :Arhi|Th5 How IPK should've been

Precap: Post Karwachauth and hearing Arnav's proposal, Khushi throws Arnav out of her house as Garima disturbs them. Arnav tries to get hold of her but her phone remains switched off the whole night and the next day as well. Khushi in the meantime is extremely confused about her decision. She decides to talk to Payal and clear her head. The two sisters head to Chandni Chowk for shopping. Anjali is surprised to see the siphoning of money from her joint account and concludes that someone had hacked into her online account. She instructs her banker to freeze her joint account. Aakash and Payal conspire to bring Arnav and Khushi together with the unwitting help of NK. Anjali notices the cameras by her poolside and tells HP to turn off the mains to check for the presence of more cameras in the vicinity. NK leaves Khushi by Arnav's poolside to get some stationary when Arnav arrives. The two of them share a romantic moment by the poolside just as the mains trip off (by HP). Finally Khushi agrees to Arnav's proposal.

Chapter 23 Lights Camera Action!

 [Poolside by Arnav's room]

"Arnavji?" Khushi mumbles still resting her head on Arnav's head.

"Hmm?" Arnav replies back, not relaxing his arms enveloping Khushi.

"Humein ghar chalna chahiye ab. Shaam ho gayi hai. Amma pareshan ho rahi hongi," Arnav's eyes snap open at hearing Khushi's words as he is suddenly reminded about the time. He slowly withdraws from the hug and gazes lovingly at Khushi.

"Theek hai. Lekin ek condition par," Arnav smiles at her. Khushi raises her eyebrows at him enquiringly. "Main tumhe ghar chodne aa raha hun." Khushi too smiles at Arnav and then she nods her head in assent. Arnav takes her by the hand and they both leave the poolside.

A few seconds later, NK rushes down the staircase carrying a notepad and a pen in his hands. "Khushi ji! Letter likhein?" he enquires to the poolside at large but then stops in his tracks when he notices Khushi isn't there anymore.

[Sitting room, a little while later]

Anjali walks towards the sitting lounge looking worried. She notices Aakash and Payal sitting there drinking their teas.

"Aakash?" Anjali mumbles, "tumne Chotey ko dekha hai kya?" she asks dabbing the sweat on her forehead. On noticing the distress his sister is in, Aakash keeps his cup and saucer down on the table and stands up.

"Bhai to Khushi ji ko ghar chodne gaye hain," Aakash replies squeezing Anjali's shoulder reassuringly. "Di, sab theek to hai na? Aap itni ghabrai hui kyun lag rahi hain?"

Anjali sits down on the sofa next to Aakash and Payal. She holds her head in her hands despairingly. She had been absolutely sure of what she had seen. And due to the alarming nature of what she had seen, she felt it needed to be brought to Arnav's attention as soon as possible. Par hum Chotey ko abhi iss bare mein nahin bata sakte hain, she thinks to herself. She knew Arnav had been trying so hard to get answers from Khushi. Aur agar abhi Chotey Khushi ji ke saath hain, to phir ye samay unke liye Khushiji ke saath time spend karna zyada zaroori hai. She looked towards Aakash who was looking at her with an expression of utmost concern.

"Aakash, woh painters abhi kahan hain?" Anjali suddenly blurts, as her mind starts working in overdrive. Aakash's expression changes to that of confusion.

"Painters?" he repeats uncertainly. Anjali nods her head vigourously.

"Haan wo... woh hamare poolside ke paas kuch painting ka kaam baki reh gaya hai," Anjali wildly makes up an excuse, praying Aakash won't see through it. She'd just have to wait for Arnav to return and she'd tell him everything later. "Tum zara unko hamare kamre mein bhej doge?"

"Par Di, abhi to shaam ho chuki hai. Painters aaj ka kaam khatam kar ke ja chuke hain. Woh to ab kal subah hi wapis aayenge. Diwali se pehle ka jitna kaam baki hai, woh kal din mein finish karenge. Main unse keh dunga ki woh aapse mil lein," Aakash replies. Anjali nods her head dispassionately and walks back to her room fiddling with her pallu, absorbed deep in thought.

Ye all of a sudden Di ko kya ho gaya? Aakash thinks to himself.

[Arnav's car]

Arnav is driving the car and Khushi is sitting on the co-driver's seat. He is looking straight ahead while she is looking out of the window, yet both are smiling faintly obviously thinking about the struggle of the past few days and how the chapter has ended beautifully with their decision of being together again.  Closer inspection shows Khushi's right hand on the gear and Arnav's hand resting on top of hers, intertwining his fingers with hers so that everytime he had to change the gear it was actually Khushi who was doing it.

Arnav presses a button on the steering wheel and the radio switches on. The radio jockey just finishes her announcement and a song starts playing.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FBcAp1oLYo[/YOUTUBE]

Ik ore badhne lage jo
Ik dor bandhne lage jo
Ik shor karne lage jo, do dil..

Khushi steals her gaze away from the window and stares at Arnav in surprise who was still looking straight ahead. She hadn't ever heard music being played by him or around him.

Ik chaal chalne lage jab
Ik dhaal dhalne lage jab
Ik thaal chakhne lage jab, do dil..

Khushi looks away from him and looks down at her right hand on the gear, her engagement ring glinting at her. At the same instant, Arnav glances sideways at her.

Judne lage, lage, do dilon ke jab kinare
Udne lage, Ishaqzaade,
Ishaqzaade.. Ishaqzaade..

The song lapses into the background as Khushi looks up and finally their eyes meet. Their smiles have faded by now, as they gaze intensely at each other. The fact that the lyrics of the song were speaking out to them, expressing their situation accurately was an extremely surreal feeling. Soon, the song ends and the RJ returns on the radio and Arnav's car enters into the busy lane of Laxmi Nagar. He stops the car next to Khushi's home. Khushi shyly removes her hand from the gear, her head bowed down. A silence envelopes them, only the sound of their low breathing being heard over the gentle idle of the car.

"So..." Arnav ventures tentatively, turning the ignition off and slowly looking from the house towards Khushi. It is quite evident from his expressions that he is not too keen for Khushi to leave him again.

"To, hum... chalein?" Khushi asks, her hand moving to the handle of her door. Arnav looks towards her as if wanting to say something to her, but then stops himself. He nods his head reluctantly and looks away from her. Khushi smiles slightly understanding his reaction. "Kya aap kuch der andar aana chahte hain?" she asks. Arnav immediately turns to look at Khushi to agree, but cricks his neck doing so.

"Aah!!" he groans rubbing his neck. Khushi giggles and opens the door and starts walking towards her home shaking her head in amusement. Arnav follows her.

Khushi and he climb the stairs and she presses the calling bell. They stand still while Arnav keeps stealing glances at Khushi surreptitiously. Finally the door opens and standing right in front of them is a smiling Nandini.

"Finally! Khushi madam, aapko ghar ki yaad aa hi-" Nandini stops abruptly mid sentence as her gaze shifts from Khushi to Arnav's face. The smile slowly fades from her face and she looks at him with wide open eyes of shock.

Arnav looks faintly surprised for a moment to see Nandini in Khushi's house, but then he smiles at her remembering their last meeting when Nandini had been evidently floored with his charms. "Hello Nandini," he greets warmly, "how are you?" Nandini's wide eyes narrow at being addressed by Arnav. She looks at Khushi for a moment before holding her arm and pulling her inside the house, thereby Nandini assuming a protective shield before Khushi.

"Main to bilkul theek hun, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada. Par aap bataiye, ki aap yahan kya kar rahe hain?" Nandini mutters in a clipped tone. Arnav's smile fades a little to be replaced by a look of bewilderment at hearing Nandini's tone. He looks questioningly at Khushi.

"Nandini ji, ye aap-" Khushi starts but is stopped by Nandini.

"Tum chup raho Khushi. Tumhe to obviously iss raeeszade ne apni chikni chupdi baton mein fasa diya hai," Nandini mutters to Khushi admonishingly. Khushi closes her mouth and looks from Nandini to Arnav wordlessly.

In the meantime, Buaji and Garima too walk out of their rooms and stand rooted to their spots watching the drama unfolding before their eyes. Nandini turns back to Arnav. "Itna kuch karne ke baad, ab aapko Khushi se kya chahiye, Mr. Raizada?" she asks vehemently. Watching the anger in Nandini's eyes and hearing her scathing tone makes everything crystal clear to Arnav.

Nandini knew about Arnav bailing out on Khushi. Uh oh. It's time for damage control, Arnav nahin to ye Jhansi ki Rani tujhe kachcha chaba jayegi.

"Nandini, dekho jo kuch bhi hua, I mean pichli baatein ko bhool-" Arnav starts apologetically but Nandini raises her palm to stop him midway.

"Mujhe safai dene ki koi zaroorat nahin hai, Mr. Raizada," she retorts. "Aapki himmat kaise hui, Khushi ki zindagi mein aise tehelte hue wapis aa jane ki?" Khushi tugs at Nandini's arm to stop her talking, but Nandini shrugs it off. "Khushi abhi nahin!" she says warningly to Khushi. Then she again faces Arnav, her arsenal of anger all ready and aimed at the poor soul who was now looking at Garima and Buaji for some assistance as well. But Garima and Buaji were still rendered speechless with whatever was happening.

"To Mr. Raizada," Nandini continues, "uss din Lucknow mein, mujhse flirt karke meri best friend ko jealous karwana chahte the?" Arnav stares at her with his jaw dropped down. WHAT? Is this woman mad? He thinks furiously to himself.

"Dekho tum kuch bhi bakwaas-" he starts annoyingly pointing a finger at Nandini. She glares at his finger and pulls it down hooking her own finger with his.

"BAKWAAS!" she suddenly exclaims, "Kya main bakwaas kar rahi hun?" she vents out angrily. "Tumhari itni himmat? Pehle to meri best friend ko akele chod ke bhaag gaye, fir use jealous feel karwaya aur fir-"

"BAS! Bahut ho gaya!" Khushi suddenly shouted. Arnav and Nandini both looked taken aback at her outburst quite forgetting their own anger for a moment. Khushi walked from behind and stood between Nandini and Arnav, facing her best friend. "Nandini ji, Arnavji ne humse maafi maang li hai aur woh aur hum fir se ek saath hain," Khushi announces lifting her left hand up to show her engagement ring glinting on the ring finger.

And a deafening silence follows that announcement, with a dumbstruck Nandini staring at the ring, utterly confused Garima and Buaji looking at each other trying to understand the implication of Khushi's words. Only Shashi, sitting on the sofa at one end of the room, bore a faint smile of happiness. Seeing the reaction of her mother, Khushi's anger instantly diffused at the spot. She slowly puts her hand down and gulps. This was so not the way she wanted to tell her family about Arnav and her getting back together. She slowly turns around to look at Arnav with apprehensive eyes, hoping to garner some sympathy. However, her brows crease into a frown of irritation as she sees Arnav smirking at her.

"Good work, Khushi," he whispers to her, barely suppressing the laughter in his voice.

"Khusee? Kya ye sach hai?" Garima's question catches Khushi's attention again. She bows her head , unable to figure out what to say to her mother. Suddenly she feels someone's fingers enveloping her hand. She looks down once and then quickly looks up at Arnav's face in surprise. Before she can say anything, Arnav marches past Nandini taking Khushi with him and walks inside the Gupta House.

"Waise mujhe sab se pehle iss bare mein baat pehle karni chahiye thi," Arnav says looking apologetically at the trio. "Aap ghar ke bade hain, to pehle permission to aapse hi leni chahiye thi. Par mere liye ye jaan na bahut zaroori tha ki kya Khushi mere saath fir se shaadi karna chahti hai ya nahin." Garima, Shashi, Buaji and Nandini all look at Khushi who was still not meeting anyone's eyes. Arnav too looks at Khushi smilingly. Then he raises his hand that was wrapped around Khushi's and places it on his chest, directly above his heart. Khushi looks up again in surprise. Seeing Arnav smiling down at her, she too feels a smile tugging at her lips.

"Isiliye aap sab se baat karne se pehle, mujhe Khushi se ye sawaal poochna pada," Arnav resumes turning to face the elders of the family, still keeping Khushi's entwined hand firmly on his chest. Garima and Buaji's gaze lingers on their hands before exchanging a glance between them again. A warm blush creeps up Khushi's cheeks at Arnav's blatant display of affections. "I hope meri iss galti ke liye aap mujhe maaf karenge," Arnav says addressing Garima, Buaji and Shashi altogether.

Garima smiles at Arnav fondly and nods her head.

"Hum kaa kahein, Nandkishore? Tum ka to jabhoo mann kare tab shadi karne ko tayyar ho jaat ho babua," Buaji retorts no wonder referring to the day after the wedding broke when Arnav had come to take Khushi with him and then had changed his mind. Arnav chuckles.

"Aap chinta mat kariye Buaji. Iss baar main mar jaunga but apna promise nahin todunga. OUCH!" Arnav exclaims as Khushi slaps his chest admonishingly with her free hand.

"Aap kyun marenge? Marein aapke dushman!" Khushi immediately retorts and Buaji starts howling with laughter.

"hum to kahat hi rahe Nandkishore, yii SankaDevi aur Sankeswar bilkul ek dooje ke liye hi bane hain!" Buaji remarks still snorting with laughter. Garima and Shashi too smile.

"Aunty, meri ek choti si request hai," Arnav says to Garima. She nods at him to go ahead. "Main chahta hun, ki aap sab log kal diwali humari family ke saath Shantivan mein celebrate karein. Please, I insist." Garima exchanges an enquiring glance with Shashi, who nods at her in assent.

"Theek hai bitwa, hum sab diwali manane kal tumre ghar aavat rahenge," Garima agrees. Arnav smiles at her.

"Excellent! Acha ab mujhe chalna chahiye. Raat kaafi ho gayi hai," Arnav says. Garima and Buaji immediately start talking about keeping Arnav back for dinner but he politely declines the offer stating Anjali was waiting for him at home to have dinner together. Then, finally greeting everyone once more, Arnav walks out of the house, Khushi following behind him to drop him off by his car. At the door Arnav stops and turns to look at Nandini who has been observing all the happenings so far with a stony silence.

"Nandini, I hope tum bhi kal Khushi ke saath Shantivan aaogi?" Arnav politely asks Nandini who glares at him but doesn't reply. Arnav turns to look at Khushi who shakes her head once at him and then both of them continue walking towards his car.

[Later that night, Shantivan]

Arnav walks inside the main doors of Shantivan with a faint smile on his lips. He notices that the family is seated on the dining table having their dinner and he directs his steps towards them.

"Bhai, you're back!" Aakash exclaims as Arnav eases his chair out and settles down. "So how did it go?" he murmurs exchanging a conspiratorial smile with Payal. Mamiji, NK and Naniji look at Arnav with curiosity, wondering what Aakash was asking about. Arnav merely smirks at Aakash and starts piling food on his plate.

"Nani, maine Gupta family ko yahan diwali spend karne ke liye bulaya hai. I figured ki iss tarah Payal apne dono families ke saath diwali celebrate kar payegi." Payal looks surprised at Arnav's words, but feels happy with his thoughtfulness. "I hope koi problem to nahi hogi?" Arnav asks Naniji who looks pleasantly surprised too but then smiles warmly at her grandson.

"Arre yii to aap bahut acha kiye rahe, Chotey. Dono parivar mil ke tyohaar manaye rahe, isse acha ka hoye rahega?" Nani answers. Arnav smiles.

 "Nannav, tum Khushiji ko chodne gaye the?" NK asks suddenly. Arnav nods in reply. NK immediately looks excited. "To... kal entire Gupta family aa rahi hai? Matlab sab log ayenge?" he asks Arnav who looks at him like he's gone crazy.

"That's what I said NK," Arnav retorts, "Poori Gupta family aa rahi hai."

Aakash glances at NK fidgeting to ask the rephrase the question in a better way as to answer his actually query. Aakash snorts and then leans closer to Arnav and whispers in his ear, "Bhai, I think NK Bhai ek particular insaan ke aane ki confirmation jaan na chahte hain." Arnav looks questioningly at Aakash who winks back at him. Then he looks at NK's restlessness and looks back at Aakash's smiling face with a raised eyebrow as if asking, NK and Nandini? Really? Aakash suppresses his laughter and nods once at Arnav.

"NK?" Arnav says. NK looks at his brother in anticipation. "Sirf Khushi ke parents, Buaji aur Khushi hi aa rahe hain." And just like that, the bubble of excitement stretching inside poor NK's heart gets burst and he slumps back on his place, fiddling with his food disinterestedly.

"So Chotey, Khushi ji se tumhari baat ho hi gayi," Anjali whispers while everyone else was talking amongst themselves, hoping to get her point across to him despite the cryptic words. Arnav looks up at his sister sitting across him. He doesn't reply anything, but his eyes reflect the happiness that was flooding his heart. He smiles at her and goes back to eating. This infinitesimal moment is all that it takes to communicate everything to Anjali and she immediately knows that Khushi has agreed to Arnav's proposal.

Anjali feels a frission of relief run though her at the realisation. Thank goodness! Finally everything seemed to be on the right track now. Khushi's answer had finally brought her dearest brother out of his misery and she was thrilled to see him smile and crack jokes with the rest of the family. The Gupta family were joining the Raizadas for Diwali. And maybe, tomorrow she and Nani could talk to Garima Aunty, Shashi Uncle and Buaji about Arnav and Khushi's marriage as well!

All was well, finally.

ENGLISH VERSION

Chapter 23 Lights Camera Action!

 [Poolside by Arnav's room]

"Arnavji?" Khushi mumbles still resting her head on Arnav's head.

"Hmm?" Arnav replies back, not relaxing his arms enveloping Khushi.

"I think I should leave for home now. It's getting rather late. Amma must be getting worried," Arnav's eyes snap open at hearing Khushi's words as he is suddenly reminded about the time. He slowly withdraws from the hug and gazes lovingly at Khushi.

"Okay, but on one condition," Arnav smiles at her. Khushi raises her eyebrows at him enquiringly. "I'm coming to drop you at home." Khushi too smiles at Arnav and then she nods her head in assent. Arnav takes her by the hand and they both leave the poolside.

A few seconds later, NK rushes down the staircase carrying a notepad and a pen in his hands. "Khushi ji! Shall we get started on the letter?" he enquires to the poolside at large but then stops in his tracks when he notices Khushi isn't there anymore.

[Sitting room, a little while later]

Anjali walks towards the sitting lounge looking worried. She notices Aakash and Payal sitting there drinking their teas.

"Aakash?" Anjali mumbles, "Have you seen Chotey anywhere?" she asks dabbing the sweat on her forehead. On noticing the distress his sister is in, Aakash keeps his cup and saucer down on the table and stands up.

"Bhai has gone to drop Khushiji home," Aakash replies squeezing Anjali's shoulder reassuringly. "Di, is everything alright? Why do you look so worried?"

Anjali sits down on the sofa next to Aakash and Payal. She holds her head in her hands despairingly. She had been absolutely sure of what she had seen. And due to the alarming nature of what she had seen, she felt it needed to be brought to Arnav's attention as soon as possible. But I can't tell Chotey about this right now, she thinks to herself. She knew Arnav had been trying so hard to get answers from Khushi. And if Chotey is with Khushiji right now, then it is important for him to spend this time with her. She looked towards Aakash who was looking at her with an expression of utmost concern.

"Aakash, where are the painters now?" Anjali suddenly blurts, as her mind starts working in overdrive. Aakash's expression changes to that of confusion.

"Painters?" he repeats uncertainly. Anjali nods her head vigourously.

"Yes uh... there is some work to be done on my poolside," Anjali wildly makes up an excuse, praying Aakash won't see through it. She'd just have to wait for Arnav to return and she'd tell him everything later. "Can you send those painters to my poolside?"

"But Di, it's already evening now. Painters have finished their work and have left for the day. They'll return tomorrow only now. Whatever work is remaining before Diwali, they'll finish it during the day time. I'll tell them to see you," Aakash replies. Anjali nods her head dispassionately and walks back to her room fiddling with her pallu, absorbed deep in thought.

What's happened to Di all of a sudden? Aakash thinks to himself.

[Arnav's car]

Arnav is driving the car and Khushi is sitting on the co-driver's seat. He is looking straight ahead while she is looking out of the window, yet both are smiling faintly obviously thinking about the struggle of the past few days and how the chapter has ended beautifully with their decision of being together again.  Closer inspection shows Khushi's right hand on the gear and Arnav's hand resting on top of hers, intertwining his fingers with hers so that everytime he had to change the gear it was actually Khushi who was doing it.

Arnav presses a button on the steering wheel and the radio switches on. The radio jockey just finishes her announcement and a song starts playing.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FBcAp1oLYo[/YOUTUBE]

Ik ore badhne lage jo
Ik dor bandhne lage jo
Ik shor karne lage jo, do dil..

Khushi steals her gaze away from the window and stares at Arnav in surprise who was still looking straight ahead. She hadn't ever heard music being played by him or around him.

Ik chaal chalne lage jab
Ik dhaal dhalne lage jab
Ik thaal chakhne lage jab, do dil..

Khushi looks away from him and looks down at her right hand on the gear, her engagement ring glinting at her. At the same instant, Arnav glances sideways at her.

Judne lage, lage, do dilon ke jab kinare
Udne lage, Ishaqzaade,
Ishaqzaade.. Ishaqzaade..

The song lapses into the background as Khushi looks up and finally their eyes meet. Their smiles have faded by now, as they gaze intensely at each other. The fact that the lyrics of the song were speaking out to them, expressing their situation accurately was an extremely surreal feeling. Soon, the song ends and the RJ returns on the radio and Arnav's car enters into the busy lane of Laxmi Nagar. He stops the car next to Khushi's home. Khushi shyly removes her hand from the gear, her head bowed down. A silence envelopes them, only the sound of their low breathing being heard over the gentle idle of the car.

"So..." Arnav ventures tentatively, turning the ignition off and slowly looking from the house towards Khushi. It is quite evident from his expressions that he is not too keen for Khushi to leave him again.

"So, I'll go then?" Khushi asks, her hand moving to the handle of her door. Arnav looks towards her as if wanting to say something to her, but then stops himself. He nods his head reluctantly and looks away from her. Khushi smiles slightly understanding his reaction. "Do you want to come inside for some time?" she asks. Arnav immediately turns to look at Khushi to agree, but cricks his neck doing so.

"Aah!!" he groans rubbing his neck. Khushi giggles and opens the door and starts walking towards her home shaking her head in amusement. Arnav follows her.

Khushi and he climb the stairs and she presses the calling bell. They stand still while Arnav keeps stealing glances at Khushi surreptitiously. Finally the door opens and standing right in front of them is a smiling Nandini.

"Finally! Khushi madam, you remembered that you have to return-" Nandini stops abruptly mid sentence as her gaze shifts from Khushi to Arnav's face. The smile slowly fades from her face and she looks at him with wide open eyes of shock.

Arnav looks faintly surprised for a moment to see Nandini in Khushi's house, but then he smiles at her remembering their last meeting when Nandini had been evidently floored with his charms. "Hello Nandini," he greets warmly, "how are you?" Nandini's wide eyes narrow at being addressed by Arnav. She looks at Khushi for a moment before holding her arm and pulling her inside the house, thereby Nandini assuming a protective shield before Khushi.

"I'm absolutely fine, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada. But you tell me, what are you doing here?" Nandini mutters in a clipped tone. Arnav's smile fades a little to be replaced by a look of bewilderment at hearing Nandini's tone. He looks questioningly at Khushi.

"Nandini ji, what are-" Khushi starts but is stopped by Nandini.

"You keep quiet Khushi. Obviously this rich and pompous ass has swept you away with his charms," Nandini mutters to Khushi admonishingly. Khushi closes her mouth and looks from Nandini to Arnav wordlessly.

In the meantime, Buaji and Garima too walk out of their rooms and stand rooted to their spots watching the drama unfolding before their eyes. Nandini turns back to Arnav. "After doing so much already, what more do you want from Khushi, Mr. Raizada?" she asks vehemently. Watching the anger in Nandini's eyes and hearing her scathing tone makes everything crystal clear to Arnav.

Nandini knew about Arnav bailing out on Khushi. Uh oh. It's time for damage control, Arnav otherwise this mad woman will eat you alive.

"Nandini, see whatever has happened, I mean let's forget about-" Arnav starts apologetically but Nandini raises her palm to stop him midway.

"You don't need to clarify anything to me, Mr. Raizada," she retorts. "How dare you just strut back into Khushi's life as if all is hunky dory?" Khushi tugs at Nandini's arm to stop her talking, but Nandini shrugs it off. "Khushi not now!" she says warningly to Khushi. Then she again faces Arnav, her arsenal of anger all ready and aimed at the poor soul who was now looking at Garima and Buaji for some assistance as well. But Garima and Buaji were still rendered speechless with whatever was happening.

"So Mr. Raizada," Nandini continues, "that day back in Lucknow, you wanted to make Khushi jealous by flirting with me huh?" Arnav stares at her with his jaw dropped down. WHAT? Is this woman mad? He thinks furiously to himself.

"Look, don't talk nonsense-" he starts annoyingly pointing a finger at Nandini. She glares at his finger and pulls it down hooking her own finger with his.

"NONSENSE!" she suddenly exclaims, "Am I talking nonsense?" she vents out angrily. "How dare you? First you left my best friend at the altar and ran away, then you tried to make her jealous and now-"

"ENOUGH! That is enough!" Khushi suddenly shouted. Arnav and Nandini both looked taken aback at her outburst quite forgetting their own anger for a moment. Khushi walked from behind and stood between Nandini and Arnav, facing her best friend. "Nandini ji, Arnavji has already apologised to me and we are back together now," Khushi announces lifting her left hand up to show her engagement ring glinting on the ring finger.

And a deafening silence follows that announcement, with a dumbstruck Nandini staring at the ring, utterly confused Garima and Buaji looking at each other trying to understand the implication of Khushi's words. Only Shashi, sitting on the sofa at one end of the room, bore a faint smile of happiness. Seeing the reaction of her mother, Khushi's anger instantly diffused at the spot. She slowly puts her hand down and gulps. This was so not the way she wanted to tell her family about Arnav and her getting back together. She slowly turns around to look at Arnav with apprehensive eyes, hoping to garner some sympathy. However, her brows crease into a frown of irritation as she sees Arnav smirking at her.

"Good work, Khushi," he whispers to her, barely suppressing the laughter in his voice.

"Khusee? Is this true?" Garima's question catches Khushi's attention again. She bows her head , unable to figure out what to say to her mother. Suddenly she feels someone's fingers enveloping her hand. She looks down once and then quickly looks up at Arnav's face in surprise. Before she can say anything, Arnav marches past Nandini taking Khushi with him and walks inside the Gupta House.

"Actually I should have asked all of you about this first," Arnav says looking apologetically at the trio. "You all are the elders of this family and I should have seeked permission from you first. But it was important for me to know first whether Khushi was interested to take me back or not." Garima, Shashi, Buaji and Nandini all look at Khushi who was still not meeting anyone's eyes. Arnav too looks at Khushi smilingly. Then he raises his hand that was wrapped around Khushi's and places it on his chest, directly above his heart. Khushi looks up again in surprise. Seeing Arnav smiling down at her, she too feels a smile tugging at her lips.

"That is why before taking your permission, I had to ask Khushi and seek her answer first," Arnav resumes turning to face the elders of the family, still keeping Khushi's entwined hand firmly on his chest. Garima and Buaji's gaze lingers on their hands before exchanging a glance between them again. A warm blush creeps up Khushi's cheeks at Arnav's blatant display of affections. "I hope you will forgive me for this," Arnav says addressing Garima, Buaji and Shashi altogether.

Garima smiles at Arnav fondly and nods her head.

"What can we say, Nandkishore? You get ready for marriage whenever you feel like it," Buaji retorts no wonder referring to the day after the wedding broke when Arnav had come to take Khushi with him and then had changed his mind. Arnav chuckles.

"Don't you worry Buaji. This time I'd rather die than break my promise. OUCH!" Arnav exclaims as Khushi slaps his chest admonishingly with her free hand.

"Why would you die? Let your enemies die!" Khushi immediately retorts and Buaji starts howling with laughter.

"This is what I was saying, Nandkishore, this SankaDevi and Sankeswar are made for each other!" Buaji remarks still snorting with laughter. Garima and Shashi too smile.

"Aunty, I have a small request," Arnav says to Garima. She nods at him to go ahead. "I wish that all of you come over to Shantivan to celebrate Diwali with our family. Please, I insist." Garima exchanges an enquiring glance with Shashi, who nods at her in assent.

"Okay bitwa, we will come to your home to celebrate Diwali," Garima agrees. Arnav smiles at her.

"Excellent! Okay I should get going now. It's getting rather late," Arnav says. Garima and Buaji immediately start talking about keeping Arnav back for dinner but he politely declines the offer stating Anjali was waiting for him at home to have dinner together. Then, finally greeting everyone once more, Arnav walks out of the house, Khushi following behind him to drop him off by his car. At the door Arnav stops and turns to look at Nandini who has been observing all the happenings so far with a stony silence.

"Nandini, I hope you too will accompany Khushi to Shantivan tomorrow?" Arnav politely asks Nandini who glares at him but doesn't reply. Arnav turns to look at Khushi who shakes her head once at him and then both of them continue walking towards his car.

[Later that night, Shantivan]

Arnav walks inside the main doors of Shantivan with a faint smile on his lips. He notices that the family is seated on the dining table having their dinner and he directs his steps towards them.

"Bhai, you're back!" Aakash exclaims as Arnav eases his chair out and settles down. "So how did it go?" he murmurs exchanging a conspiratorial smile with Payal. Mamiji, NK and Naniji look at Arnav with curiosity, wondering what Aakash was asking about. Arnav merely smirks at Aakash and starts piling food on his plate.

"Nani, I've invited Gupta family to spend Diwali with us tomorrow night. I figured that this way, Payal will be able to celebrate diwali with both her families this way." Payal looks surprised at Arnav's words, but feels happy with his thoughtfulness. "I hope there won't be any problem?" Arnav asks Naniji who looks pleasantly surprised too but then smiles warmly at her grandson.

"This is a wonderful plan, Chotey. What could be better than the two families spending the festival together?" Nani answers. Arnav smiles.

NK immediately looks excited. "So... tomorrow the entire Gupta family is coming? Meaning everyone is expected?" he asks Arnav who looks at him like he's gone crazy.

"That's what I said NK," Arnav retorts, "Entire Gupta family is coming."

Aakash glances at NK fidgeting to ask the rephrase the question in a better way as to answer his actually query. Aakash snorts and then leans closer to Arnav and whispers in his ear, "Bhai, I think NK Bhai wants the confirmation of the arrival of one particular person." Arnav looks questioningly at Aakash who winks back at him. Then he looks at NK's restlessness and looks back at Aakash's smiling face with a raised eyebrow as if asking, NK and Nandini? Really? Aakash suppresses his laughter and nods once at Arnav.

"NK?" Arnav says. NK looks at his brother in anticipation. "Only Khushi's parents, Buaji and Khushi are coming." And just like that, the bubble of excitement stretching inside poor NK's heart gets burst and he slumps back on his place, fiddling with his food disinterestedly.

"So Chotey, you had your talk with Khushi ji," Anjali whispers while everyone else was talking among themselves, hoping to get her point across to him despite the cryptic words. Arnav looks up at his sister sitting across him. He doesn't reply anything, but his eyes reflect the happiness that was flooding his heart. He smiles at her and goes back to eating. This infinitesimal moment is all that it takes to communicate everything to Anjali and she immediately knows that Khushi has agreed to Arnav's proposal.

Anjali feels a frission of relief run though her at the realisation. Thank goodness! Finally everything seemed to be on the right track now. Khushi's answer had finally brought her dearest brother out of his misery and she was thrilled to see him smile and crack jokes with the rest of the family. The Gupta family were joining the Raizadas for Diwali. And maybe, tomorrow she and Nani could talk to Garima Aunty, Shashi Uncle and Buaji about Arnav and Khushi's marriage as well!

All was well, finally.

Writer's note: Yes yes, I'm still writing people, don't worry, I'm not giving up on this FF. Although I will be a little slow getting back to my original pace. Thank you for staying with me all through 😊

This entire chapter is dedicated to Diwali, I know I was saying I'd give you a maha update, but then I resorted to scene by scene  itself. Next two updates will be up shortly 😊

Enjoy people!

"Dekho tum kuch bhi bakwaas-" he starts annoyingly pointing a finger at Nandini. She glares at his finger and pulls it down hooking her own finger with his.