Khushi didn't think her husband was famous. Not famous like her Salman Khan at least. Well, he says he gives interviews or attends photo shoots but nothing has she ever spotted in magazines that she reads.
When she teasingly questioned about the same to her husband, he looked mildly offended as he replied, "Those are for business magazines. Not for the page-3 gossip columns you read."
Khushi didn't stretch on the topic. If he likes to think himself as someone very popular, then who was she to break his bubble? World knows how brutal could breaking Arnav Singh Raizada's ego could result on the one's fate. So, she humored him.
However, things changed when Khushi one day casually remarked the same to her sister in law.
"Your chote is just obsessed with himself. I don't think he is as famous as he believes. Yes, he makes a lot of money, but I don't think he is a celebrity."
Her sister in law looked appalled."You have no idea." She said. Khushi didn't think much about it knowing how her sister in law is easily piqued even when Khushi has smallest of complains about her dear chote.
Her sister in law, the very same day, took it upon herself to send various links to check ASAP to know 'what kind of celebrity ASR is.'
In days to come, those links became heaven and hell of Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada.
***
Khushi thought she was the biggest fan girl ever being born in the world. To have a life size poster of her Salman-ji in her room when she was still in school seemed like ultimate craziness to her, because that earned her taunts everyday from her buaji. She watched all movies of Salman Khan many times and maintained a separate journal in his name where she stuck his pictures and write occasional love notes. That, Khushi thought, was the peak of fandom for favorite celebrity. Even someone as crazy as Khushi was not prepared for the fandom obsession that the new digital world created.
First Khushi learned what a blog is and what highly contributed for her knowledge was one particular blog named 'Panto-math of ASR'. Khushi had to google the what the word meant. Once, after she learned the meaning of the word and contents of the blog, she was truly sure how true to the words it was.
The blog had 78643 followers who kept discussing everything about her husband from his latest venture to the color of socks he wore to press meet the previous day.
USER: oppo1234 : He gave one of his half smiles in the interview yesterday. I had died and gone to heaven.
USER: rasaya_kitty : This is the 345th time he has given the half smile and I can never get used to it.
Khushi's first thought was, 'What is half smile?' and second thought was, 'Why do they notice these things about her husband?'
Khushi wouldn't call herself a possessive wife, though Arnav refused to agree with that. Arnav's loyalty was only Khushi's second assurance. Her first assurance was his intolerance to everything under the sun.
Khushi often said, "I know women flirt with you, but only if you take a minute away from being buried in your phone doing business will you have enough time flirt back."
Their first public appearance as couple, Khushi had to pinch his arm to make him realize that Mrs. Mehra's daughter was standing close enough to him to touch him. Shahzada Raizda was too busy drawing patterns on her bare waist shown in the, in his words, 'hot red saree'.
Khushi knew trusts her husband. Putting up with attention on him by few women on occasional outings also came easy to her. (Easier to her than him, who breaks a nerve every time someone looks even in her direction.) Having said that, to read such objectification of her husband on day to day basis, made things too real and Khushi couldn't help but be affected.
"A blog, Khushi?" Arnav asked nonchalantly one day when she mentioned the same to her husband over tea.
"About you." She said.
"Oh!" he nodded. "There are hundreds of blogs dedicated to me in the internet, Khushi. After all, being such a successful businessman under 35 isn't a small feet. In fact there is separate blog analyzing each sector of our business as well." He said. "Last year, I guess, some student wrote PhD thesis on rise of our fashion line. You should read it." Arnav looked at her earnestly. "It's pretty accurate. You will learn about our businesses."
Khushi sighed deeply. That was not the type of blog she was talking about. She was not worried about the blogs that talked about the stats of his business, she was only worried about blogs that talked about the stats of his bum looking better in Ralph Lauren than in Hugo Boss.
Even if Arnav learns about the said blog, it wouldn't amuse as well as infuriate him as much as Khushi.
If Khushi thought that blogs had warmed her up for what she was to encounter in twitter, she couldn't have been more wrong.
After Khushi, learned what hashtags are and did the mistake of searching an hashtag related to her husband, she came upon a hashtag that shook her whole world.
#ReasonsWeHateKhushi
"What the –" she was forced to swear in her husband's favorite phrase.
Why would anyone hate her?
It took three days for Khushi to read each and every post under the tag. It dated from the day they were married ten months ago to present. Finally, she concluded that they were mere trolls (re: jealous women who hated her for being the love of someone who they all thought as their very own prince charming)
Khushi wanted to ignore it. Not when they spoke sometimes crass, sometimes intimate and most of the times insensitive things about her and her marriage life.
@Ranihoonmain : What was she thinking wearing that ridiculous look suit to attend Bachan's diwali party? Such a shame such a stylish man is married to a jhalli. #ReasonsWeHateKhushi
Khushi took pains to scroll back in her phone's gallery to check out that suit and damn it did look tacky to her now.
"Arnavji, I need an appointment the finest stylist in our fashion house." Her husband looked at her suspiciously as she has never really made such demand, nevertheless obliged. Thus Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada bid final good bye to her lucknowi suits and became a diva.
Khushi was not ashamed of the way she dressed. However, she didn't want her husband to be looked down upon because of her in anyway. She knew he wouldn't be bothered by something inconspicuous. But, for a man who doesn't spare a thought before doing anything she demands, Khushi wanted to forgo her taste and trust stylists in the business. Also, she would be lying if she says she wasn't enjoying every bit of makeover.
"If this is what the superficial world demands, then let her show them who the queen is."
Khushi was fairly happy with the good things she was picking up from the loads of sh*t being said about her and making a better version of herself, when topic of discussion one day startled her.
It was in the forum of the blog Khushi followed (and sometimes chatted as USER: ASRkiKhushi)
TOPIC : Love bite
POST:
Is that a love bite?
And then there was a picture of Arnav from a business conference that happened previous night was attached. The curvy red mark on his neck was blatantly visible.
Khushi knew it cannot be a love bite. Practical difficulties of her menstrual cycle has put a break in their nightly activities since past three days. Even if that wasn't the case, Khushi has never given her husband a love bite. She was only recently discovering nuances of loving making and has not yet began to explore her wild side.
What cut the mark be?
That night when Arnav returned from office, Khushi jumped to his side immediately and questioned about the mark.
"This?" Arnav asked rubbing the now faded mark. "Trimmer, Khushi." He went to the bathroom murmuring about how his trimmer has git old and made a small cut.
Khushi was satisfied with the answer and wanted to give it as speculation to her blog crowd.
USER: ASRkiKhushi :Maybe just a cut happened while he was trimming that delicious stubble.
Okay, yes, Khushi has learned a thing or two about objectifying her own husband. It initially sounded gross. But, who was complaining? Definitely, not Arnav Singh Raizada who gets extra attention by his wife in bed.
USER: rasaya_kitty : Possible.
USER: meena_mariyessan : Of course. No way his wife could have given that and our munda doesn't look like the affair type.
Well, Arnav Singh Raizada isn't definitely the affair type. But, why couldn't have his wife given it? Now, they have personally offended Khushi by bringing bedroom matters to discussion.
USER: ASRkiKhushi : Why do you think it couldn't have been his wife?
USER: babykisses : You mean Khushi Coy Raizada ? No way in hell. She looks like the Vanilla type.
USER: lord_of_the_hearts : No kidding. She must be the silent recipient when our munda does all the hardwork in bed.
USER : rattlerXXX : I already have no idea what he sees in her. I will be completely disappointed if she is bad in bed.
Khushi didn't cry, but might as well have shed tears because her heart was that heavy. She made whole batch of Jalebis and fell asleep to Salman Khan marathon. The next morning she hoped to have forgotten what she read like every time. Imagine her surprise when even after two complete days of gluttony and social media detox, when she was lying in the bed with her husband on top of her sucking her neck softly, she recollected the distressed comment.
"Are you okay, Khushi?" Arnav asked sensing her sudden stiffness.
Khushi looked at her husband with that sweet innocent eyes that he fell in love with.
"Arnavji, how to give you a love bite?"
*_*_*_*
Arnav wasn't unacquainted of the spontaneity of his wife. She was too naive in comparison with his worldly knowledge in most of the things. So, she every now and then she keeps asking him all sorts of questions to improve her knowledge and he is only too happy to oblige, especially when it is anything to related to their bedroom matters.
Well, Arnav couldn't help but take credits for turning someone who shrieked at finding herself half naked in their honeymoon suite in front of him to someone who enjoys every bit of unclothed bath and other lively activities they engage in their bath tub.
This night, however, he found her request strange. Not because he thought she was a prude to ask something like that, but because of the way she asked it. It seemed like her mind was elsewhere occupied and she was asking it because she thought it was something she has to know and not because she wants to know.
"Khushi, is everything alright?" he asked worried.
Khushi looked at her husband uncomprehendingly. She didn't know what she was doing or why was she letting the trolls get to her. She knew it was unhealthy.
The first advice she received from her best friend as soon as she learned that she was going to be Mrs.Raizada was, "Don't let anything get to you. Not Raizada name, power or expectations. Remember Arnav fell in love with you when you were just a simple girl. If you change, you are going to rob him of his lady love."
Khushi pushed her husband on his back on the bed and cuddled closer to him, placing her head on his chest. Entwining her fingers with his, she whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too, sweetheart." He replied
He heard Khushi sigh deeply and knew that she was in one of those processes where she lets her brain over-analyze. Generally, Arnav likes to be part of the process. He was her voice of reason. However, this night he sensed that she wanted to be alone in the place. So, he offered her support the best way he could, by cuddling with her and letting her draw on his chest with her ridiculously long, sharp nails. Something she likes to do when she is in deep thoughts.
Next week, Khushi's friend's engagement came in wrong time for Arnav. Knowing his wife was disturbed about something and sending her away for two days to Calcutta without resolving anything in her mind didn't sit well with Arnav.
"How can I convince you to not go?" he asked as he sat on the bed taking out every cloth she was keeping inside the suitcase.
"Don't be a child." She warned frowning at him. She has but not fully got over the things she read about herself in the internet.
"Khushi." He held her hands as he stopped her from walking back to the cupboard. "We are okay, right?"
Khushi cupped his cheeks. "We will always be okay." She bent forward and kissed his cheeks. "Why do you ask?"
Arnav took her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. "Nothing." Arnav just nodded his head putting end to the particular topic.
"Now, that I will be away for couple of days, when I return, we can do that thing with wine and chocolate we saw in some English movie the other day." Khushi promised blushing.
"Yeah!" Arnav raised his one eyebrow teasingly. "I will look forward to it." He winked. "Also, you can give me that love bite you were interested about last night."
Khushi caressed Arnav's neck where the faded mark was present few days ago. She bent down and kissed him there.
"I will." She said. "When I feel like it."
Silently, Khushi added that it will happen when she was overcome by passion and not to prove to nameless chicken heads that she is capable of satisfying her husband in the bed.
***
"You are sure that nothing is wrong, right?"
Khushi looked at her friend annoyed.
"Now you are getting on my nerves, Preeti." Warned Khushi.
Asking your close friend if she was happy in her marriage after meeting first time in person after the former's wedding is formality. Asking it twice is concern. However, asking it multiple times only seems annoyed. Preeti Basu was definitely paranoid.
"I am happy with Arnavji. In fact, happier than I thought was possible considering how our first meeting was a disaster and we used to hate each other." Khushi convinced.
Preeti didn't look convinced. It was the night after all the engagement rituals were over and both the friends were lying in Preeti's room where Khushi thought they would just reminisce old times.
Seeing being alone with Khushi as an opportunity, Preeti retrieved something from her phone that she was dying to show to Khushi from morning.
"It might not be as serious as this article says, but I just want you to be informed."
Khushi took the phone from her friend rather suspiciously. An article by Express India was opened with headlines 'Are old sparks flying between Kashyap and Raizada?'
The headline was followed by a picture of Arnav sitting in Taj's tea lounge with his ex-girlfriend from long time back Sameera Kashyap.
Sameera seemed to be talking something animatedly. Her hand was in the air and her eyes were round and merry. Arnav's head was bent, looking at his coffee, his hand stirring it, but his smirk in the picture was unmistakable. It seemed like they were discussing something amusing.
The article spoke about nonexistent feud that happened between Khushi and Arnav two weeks ago. A statement by inside person (statement of which every article has, but no one will ever know who that inside person is) stating that Arnav and Khushi have been having trouble in marriage ever since their honeymoon period was over. The article also went ahead and posted a picture of her captured in airport when she was catching a flight to Calcutta. They had speculated that Khushi has left the city to stay away from Arnav and making use of this time Arnav and Sameera are rekindling old flames.
Everything about the article was wrong except the fact that Khushi looked anxious when she had reached the airport. That was true, because she indeed was worried that she would miss the flight. Her ever sweet husband wanted to drop her to the airport by got delayed by a business call.
Khushi wondered if they had captured picture of her getting down the car after kissing her husband. Even if they had captured it, she wouldn't put it past them to hide it in order to sell their cooked up gossip.
"Preeti, this is all just false news. We are very happy in our marriage. Don't believe in all this crap."
"Are you sure?" Preeti asked like a true friend.
"Yes." Khushi replied. "In fact, the honeymoon period is still not over between us if you know what I mean."
Both the women giggled at each other before they went back to their favourite activity of hitting each other with the pillow calling each other absurd names.
***
Khushi swore on her my favorite possession that she will never check twitter again. She had deleted the app from her phone and blocked the site from her search engine. However, what she didn't anticipate was twitter being a pain in the arse by sending her an email about 'notifications' she was missing.
Now, all Khushi had to do was delete the mail not even reading the content. But, the curiosity got best in her.
"Just the notification in mail. Not going to log back to that damn app."
She was sitting idle in the airport with delayed flight. SO! Why now!
Notification excerpt in mail, however held one thing that Khushi didn't anticipate.
#WeStandByKhushi
Social media was in fire in support for Khushi.
@SK_Fan_$: What does Sameera think flirting with a married man. No class #WeStandByKhushi
@Paani98 : There is a reason @ArnavSRaizada married #Khushi instead of @Sameera_K and that is #love. Duh!! #WeStandByKhushi
@L_o_n_e_r: Look at that pic. How uncomfortable Arnav looks shaking her hand. LOL! #WeStandByKhushi
@Wolfie: ASR was most definitely smirking thinking how lucky he got getting rid of her. #WeStandByKhushi
Khushi felt bad. For Sameera, of course. She hasn't met Arnav's ex-girlfriend before but she can vouch that no human deserves such hatred for no reason.
Yes, Sameera had coffee with Arnav who apparently is ex-boyfriend and now married to Khushi. No rule book says it is wrong. If anyone should have problem with it, then it should be Khushi or Sameera's fiancé whose name Arnav has mentioned once but now Khushi has forgotten. For God's sake they both are even planning to attend Sameera's engagement next month in Maldives. "That could be our second honeymoon." Arnav had cheerfully said.
Khushi for first time realized something about the people who post things online, that is they don't belong to anyone or anything. She always knew they didn't have conscience, but today she realized they didn't even have concrete stand. All they wanted was to go against something to make themselves feel important. They just wanted to pile all their self hatred and insecurities on someone else so that they can feel good about their existence.
Before, deleting the mail and throwing the phone away and relax herself with some good book, Khushi made sure she deactivated her fake account and cleared all google alerts she had on her husband and her name.
She has an amazing life in reality and she was only going to concentrate on it.
After another couple of hours of waiting and exhausting flight, Khushi's heart swelled with bubble of happiness as she saw her dear husband has come to pick her up.
Before exiting the airport, Khushi didn't take effort to brush her hair or retouch her lip gloss or hide her eye bags due to lack of sleep in the function with huge sun glasses. She knew paparazzi were going to click her picture and tomorrow her 'airport look' will be butchered in some instagram page. But, who cares. She at least had a life.
Moreover, if Khushi had done all this, then she wouldn't have lived the bliss of her husband pulling her band off her hair, running his fingers in her hair commenting how much he missed her smell or he bending down to kiss her tired eyes promising her that he will let her sleep that night and he will wait for one more day before he has his way with her.
"Khushi, I wanted to invite Sameera for dinner. Which day will be alright for you?" he asked once they settled in the car.
"You know what, give me her number. I will call her and invite. I should make friendship with her after all, then I will not feel like a stranger in her engagement party."
She should make friendship with her after all, because it takes a tough army to battle against something anonymous.
Few days later,
TOPIC : Love bite. Again!
POST:
Is that a love bite?Again?
USER : OwL_SlEePz : Agrr... now I think he is having an affair. Few days ago, news about fight with his wife comes out, his ex GF shows out of nowhere and he is spotted with two love bites. Something fishy.
USER : rasaya_kitty : Do you think he is having an affair?
USER : OwL_SlEePz :Maybe.
USER : meena_mariyessan : We should all create a hashtag in twitter and slam ASR. We should show him our power. That will teach him a lesson.
USER : lord_of_the_hearts : We should totally trend #ASRcheats. That will ruin him.
One the other side,
*Text Message*
Arnav : God! You wild cat, I can't go to boardroom with a hickey. Tell me how to hide.
Khushi : Serves you right. Now, you know how I feel when you go all Tarzan on me.
Arnav : It's not like you don't love it
Khushi : Ditto
Arnav : Of course, I love it, but I have an important meeting in an hour. I need to hide it. You know we are going to file an important multi million deal right?
Khushi : I know, that is what we were celebrating last night. Don't worry. Will come to office and make you presentable.
Arnav : Do that. I can use a good luck kiss before the meeting also.
Khushi : Love you!
Arnav : Love you more!
#ASRcheats trended 9th in India for two consecutive days. However, that did nothing, not even a 0.01% drop in shares or 0.001% drop in love for Arnav and Khushi. Well, what to say, #godonlystandsbytruth
***
Hello!
How are you all?
Glad to see me back with a story?
Well, glad to post a story in IF again.
Check out my e-books being sold in amazon
The Wedding Vows
Of Hearts and Love
(contains some short stories previously posted in IF)
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