1. Things I Hate
"Khushi, can you please go out of the room or go downstairs? I am trying to complete my work here!", Arnav said frowning before shifting his attention back towards the Macbook in front of him. "No." she responded back half yelling and half screaming by his ear as she walked past him towards the bed with her phone in her hand. He turned towards the bed with his brows furrowed.
"What did you just say?", he uttered with anger seething through his eyes.
"Arnav ji, you have this whole utterly spacious study room built downstairs with everything you might need to complete your work. Why can't you go downstairs?" she replied back calmly with a hint of cheekiness in her voice. She folded her legs simultaneously, switching on the DVR & television, leaning against the head board.
He rolled his eyes frustrated and closed the screen with a thud causing her attention to shift from the shirtless Salman Khan towards the flickering lights of the laptop that indicated the transition to 'sleep mode'. Her eyes slowly moved towards her husband who was standing in front of the television wearing the most annoyed expression. She slowly got up which caused him to moved toward her, leaving barely an inch distance between them.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that again." he gritted before pulling the plugs of the electronics out and stepping out of the room with his laptop, flash drives and phone.
Khushi sat gown grumpily lamenting over her caged life and muttering curses.
*"Did you fight with Khushi ji, AGAIN?" He stopped in his tracks and turned around from his trance towards his sister who was standing across the stairwell from the study room holding a list of some sort.
"What do you want Di?" he grumbled.
"Hold on actually." she signaled before turning towards Hari Prakash, "Here, take these and make sure to stock it all before dinner tonight." She returned her attention back towards her brother. "I am asking if you fought with Khushi ji again!" She questioned.
"No Di. I didn't do anything. She fought with me. She was irritating me, at first by gossiping about all these page 3 news about Salman Khan and then by actually putting that man on my television screen."
"You have to admit Chotte, anyone ordered to sit still in a room for a week is bound to get bored and look on a brighter note, Khushi ji hasn't broken or displaced any more of her bones yet."
"She'll do that too considering how much she jumps around in a small space." he grumbled under his breath to which his sister muffled her giggle.
"I am going to do my work Di. I have enough already to get into these trivial matters on daily bases." he said haughtily before turning around and leaving.
*Khushi lowered the volume of the television on brief intervals while continuously peeking outside the door to make sure of the clear coast. Kneeling down in a dog position for about ten minutes, she decided that the time has come to escape from the prison cell.
She took one of her feet out of the room, her tongue twisted upwards over her lips and then silently crept downstairs across the kitchen towards her sister's room. Wrapping the dupatta around her hand she tip toed towards Mami's room to find all the ladies gathered around and NK lolling on the couch nodding in approval over something.
"uhum uhm!" she cleared her throat to pull attention towards her causing everyone to turn red with guilt. "So, Laad Governor have you all under his thumb as well. Fear not, because I am now here." She uttered before cheerfully moving towards the bed where a couple of sari's were sprawled across.
"What are these for?" she questioned.
"These are the gifts we are thinking of sending to Shimla Maasi's house. Her daughter's getting married and Arnav ji doesn't want any of us to go..." Payal stopped in the middle after catching the look from Nani and Anjali.
"..because I am pregnant? that's no reason for all of you guys to not go; and Mami ji, don't you love weddings?" she said sitting besides the bed.
"But Khooshi ji, you have a displaced arm as well. I don't think we should be taking risks in Nannav's presence." NK uttered munching on to the last bits of the chips in the packet.
"KHUSSHII!!!" a thunderous voice echoed in the whole household in following seconds causing her to freeze in her position for a while. She immediately stood up murmuring, "I was never here." and escaped the room from the french doors that led out towards the yard and the pool.
Arnav walked in the room exactly a minute after Khushi left with a disgruntled expression on his face.
"Where is Khushi?" he asked scanning his eyes around and lingering for more than a second at NK.
NK immediately realized the false assumptions going inside his cousin's head and stood up. "Look Nannav, Apni wivi hood sambhalo. Mujhe mast ghuso." he said before walking past his cousin who just stared for a moment and shifted his attention towards the ladies.
"She wasn't here Chotte."
"Yeah, she wasn't here. We haven't seen her since lunch." Mami ji agreed with Nani ji simultaneously.
"I can hear her payal when she walks, okay. Stop lying." she uttered.
"Oh really." Anjali teased raising her eyes brows. "Why don't you follow the sound of her payal then." she laughed along with Payal and Mami who clearly found the whole situation more amusing than any before.
*He walked away frowning and frustrated fem the ladies cursing his stars for the nuisance he'd been getting into since past few two days. Heaving a sigh, he walked up towards his room to find her stepping out of the bathroom.
"Where did you go Khushi?" he questioned sternly.
She looked up at him with pursed lips and turned away. Sighing he walked towards her, took her hands and walked her over the bed, having herd comfortable seated in the middle and taking his place beside her.
She looked up at him in awe, wonder and anger.
"Khushi, I know you are mad at me. Angry at me and probably cursing me too right now for being stuck with me but that day, that day when I saw you topple down and fall to the ground, something inside me ripped."
"Arnav ji..." she started
"...shh. Let me finish first." he said softly gripping her hands more firmly, "The last time I wasn't able t catch you when you were falling Khushi, you were dead. You had left me but somehow, you came back. And every time I see you tumbling and being clumsy, that memory shots up inside me." He caught onto the look in her eyes before continuing further. "I know it's way too much old now. I know that its been three years but for me, it's like yesterday and no matter how much you're going to try to help me forget that Khushi, I won't ever be able to do that." he finished off, his voice almost palpable.
"I just want you to be safe and any precaution that needs to be taken, i'll take it to keep you safe." he uttered huskily, "I want everything to be completely fine until our princess safely makes her way."
"Prince." She intervened.
" and Arnav ji, I understand what you were trying to do. I am sorry for all of this nonsense but I honestly get bored and you staying back doesn't do anything but bore me more."
"WHAT?! Kushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada, did you just say my presence bores you?"
"Oh no no!! It's just that it's not like we're spending any time together or anything so.."
Her words were cut off as he noticed the sparkling glint in her eyes and leaned in to kiss her. He knew the presentation could wait a little more longer..
Edited by areeba_blossom - 9 years ago
