Chapter 26 - Holding his Hand
It was the day of Arnav's mother's death anniversary and all the members of the family were present, except for Arnav. Khushi had arrived together with Lavanya, Chachu and Chachi. She realized that Arnav was not there and she was worried. After taking blessings from Nani, Khushi asked about Arnav's whereabouts from her, and she even didn't know where he was. But one thing was sure, that he was in the country. Because according to Nani, if he left the country, he would have informed the family earlier. Neither had he called his family nor Khushi after he left early from the office, day before yesterday.
The pooja was successful and went according to the way it was planned. Nani had insisted the Gupta family to join for lunch, so they stayed. After lunch, all were in the living room, talking about various stuff. Khushi saw that Anjali was silent today, compared to the other days she had met her. And she knew it was because of Arnav. Khushi felt sorry for both Anjali and Arnav. When she was lost in her thoughts, suddenly Khushi's phone rang. The caller was Aman.
"Hello Aman, what is it?", Khushi asked.
"Hello Khushi, there is an emergency situation in the office. Do you know where Arnav Sir is?", Aman asked, worriedly.
"Sorry Aman, but I don't know. You know that he doesn't want to meet anyone on this day every year, right?", Khushi said.
"Well, what shall I do now?", Aman asked, as he was clueless of what to do next.
"Wait, didn't you call Rahul?", Khushi asked, suddenly remembering Rahul was the business partner.
"Actually Khushi, I tried. But Sir is not answering", Aman said.
"Wait, I will try and call him. Don't worry", Khushi said, trying to calm down Aman.
"Okay, thanks Khushi, I'll hang up then. Bye", Aman said, feeling a little bit relieved.
After ending the call, Khushi dialed Rahul.
"Hello Khushi, What's up?", Rahul asked, in his normally flirty tone.
"Why the hell didn't you answer the damn phone, Rahul? Aman is really worried. There is a emergency situation in the office. He can't call Arnav and here you are ignoring the calls", Khushi said, angrily.
"Oh shit!! I didn't answer, because I didn't want to tell anyone where Arnav was", Rahul said, without thinking what he was saying.
"Oh, so you knew all this time where he was and you didn't bother to tell anyone in his family?", Khushi asked, in an irritated tone.
"Look Khushi, you know how Arnav is. If he wants to stay alone, he means it. He doesn't want anyone to trouble him, when he is alone. And that too especially today. That's why I kept it as a secret", Rahul said, hoping that Khushi would understand the reason for hiding the facts.
"Hmmm... Okay. But can you tell me at least. Since his phone is off, how can we give him any kind of emergency news?", Khushi said.
"No Khushi, I can't", Rahul said, firmly.
"Oh, come on. I'm your Bhabhi, right? Wouldn't you do this much for me? Please?", Khushi said in an innocent, pleading tone.
"Fine and please stop trying to emotionally blackmail me. I will tell you where he is, but don't tell anyone. Promise me", Rahul said.
"I promise. Also please call Aman and try to solve the problem", Khushi said, feeling a little relieved.
After getting the address Khushi was happy, as she knew where Arnav was now. But she felt it wouldn't be right for her to poke her nose in other people's business. And she knew Arnav would blast off in a second, if he saw her at his place. Also she didn't want to lie to the Raizada's, as she couldn't tell them she was going to meet Arnav. So she thought of giving Arnav his time for himself.
Arnav was now lying down in his comfortable sofa in his secret apartment. Yes, that's right. He had bought this private apartment (http://www.900house.com/images/Luxury-Penthouse-Apartment-18-Master-Bedroom-with-Outdoor-View-900x670.jpg), so that he can aloof himself from the outside world whenever he needed sometime alone. The only person who knew about this place was his best friend. He didn't want anyone to know about this place, especially his Di, because she was quite good at invading his personal space. He knew it was wrong, but even he needed to be alone sometimes to keep himself sane. And that too on days like today. With the sudden ring of the door bell, Arnav changed his posture. Since past two days he had not eaten properly and he was feeling weak. So he had ordered pizza. He went towards the door, expecting to see the pizza man in front of him after he opened the door.
Khushi was now standing in front of Arnav's apartment. She didn't know whether she was doing the right thing or not. But Khushi being Khushi couldn't wait without doing nothing as well. She knew Arnav shouldn't be left alone on a day like this. She only wanted to be there with him. She didn't expect any explanations, actions or expressions from him. She just wanted to hold his hand, to show that she will always be with him. She knew he would jump at her like a barking dog, but she was ready to face whatever happened next. So she rang the door bell nervously.
As soon as Arnav opened the door, Arnav froze with shock. Not only himself, he felt as if the whole surrounding and even the time had frozen. After few minutes his mind recovered, and the first question that popped in his mind was how Khushi got to know about his apartment. But before he could ask out the question aloud, Khushi made him surprised by letting out the anger that had been hidden inside her fragile body, in the form of words.
"Who do you think you are? Does anyone vanish into thin air, just like that? How could you? Didn't you at least think how the people that love you would feel?", Khushi went on spitting out the words in one breath while hitting on his chest with her small fists.
"Why do you think I wanted no one to know? That's because I wanted to be alone, dammit. Why the hell did you come here, when you knew that I don't like to be disturbed when I want to be alone? Not only that, you came here, to my private apartment without any invitation? Who do you think you are Khushi? Just because you are my fiancee doesn't mean that you can poke your nose into my life", Arnav said, as he burst out with anger.
Khushi felt really hurt by Arnav's words. Although she wanted to leave at that very moment, something unknown stopped her. And she thought of telling what she came to tell before she left.
"I'm sorry Arnav, I thought I meant more than just the word fiancee for you, but it clearly seems like not. I know what happened in the past and I didn't come here to poke my nose in to your life. I came here today, because you are a part of my life now. But I guess I was wrong. Why do you think I lied to everyone and came here at this time of the day, when the thing I hate the most in my life is hiding the truth from another person? I know that Di and you are both in pain. I also know that you are pain is greater than Di's, because you witnessed your mom's death when you were at a small age. So I can understand if you wanted to be alone today. But I felt sorry for you, because Di at least has the whole family with her today, when you don't have anyone. I know why you wanted to be alone today. It's because if you see either Di or Nani on this day, you would remember your mother's death all over again, and those bitter memories are going to worsen your pain more. So I thought I should be with you, in that way I could silently support you by holding you hand. Because I'm not related to your past. But now I feel that I was wrong. So once again, I'm sorry".
After the last word came out of her mouth only Khushi realized that her eyes were welled up with tears. She knew she couldn't control herself anymore, so she turned around to leave from there. Just as she was about to leave, she felt him holding her wrist.
"Just let me go Arnav", Khushi said, without turning around.
"I'm sorry", Arnav said in a soft and weak tone. As soon as Khushi heard his voice, she realized that he was broken down from inside. She turned around, and that's when she realized Arnav's state.
His eyes were all red, which meant he had been crying without any sleep. He looked fatigued and gloomy. She suddenly felt guilty for what she said. She knew what she said was not wrong, but she also felt that she had said all those stuff at the wrong time.
As soon as Arnav heard what Khushi had said, he realized that he was wrong. He knew she had come for him. And her words hurt him a lot as well, and he knew he had to apologize before it was too late. But he didn't know what to do. He knew "I'm sorry", wasn't the best choice of words at the moment. Yet, it was all he could manage.
Arnav went near Khushi, and cupped her face. He wiped away the tears that had started to roll down her soft cheeks. He didn't know what to say, but he didn't want to lose her. So he thought of trying his best.
"I'm sorry Khushi. I shouldn't have said all those horrible things to you. Do you know why I really wanted to be alone on this day? On this day, not only I remember my mom died because of my dad, I remember all the horrible things that happened after that day because of him. Whenever I see Di, I remember that my dad is the reason that she is still single. She believe that what happened to our mom will happen to her as well. Whenever I see Nani, I remember all those days she used to cry without eating anything. Whenever I see Mama, I remember how he worked overtime to provide for us. Whenever I see Mami, I remember how she used to sell her jewellery to pay our school fees. Whenever I see Akash, I remember how hard he tried to bare my anger. Our lives changed after that day Khushi, and all this happened because of my so called Dad. I hate him Khushi, I hate him. I don't know how I survived all this time, but I know that I lived to take care of my Di and the others. From that day onwards I realized I had to be strong for my family and become an independent person. First thing I did was change my surname to Raizada from Mallik. Then I did my studies, while working part time at my Mama's office. I buried my past and somehow moved forward. And that's what made me who I am today. But every year on this day, I remember what that man did, whenever I see my loved ones. And it hurts a lot. So I keep myself aloof from the rest of the world. I'm sorry Khushi. I didn't mean to say all that. Those words came out, because I was burning from inside due to the fire of anger", Arnav said, while breaking down with tears.
Khushi couldn't believe her ears, after what she heard. When he was supposed to worry about himself, instead he was worrying about the others. Khushi's anger faded away just like a cloud. She made Arnav sit down on the sofa and she sat beside her. She held his hand on hers and continued to speak.
"I didn't know that you were hiding so much of pain inside by yourself Arnav, and that too by thinking about how to make your loved ones happy without showing the extent to which you were hurt. I know you don't want to share it with others, but now I am here. I'm not from your past, I'm your present and future. I want you to share everything with me. Happiness, sorrow, anger, anything. If you don't want to talk, it's fine. Just at least let me be with you. I will always support you silently, if that's what you want. And I think it's time to move along with your past Arnav. Don't try to bury it. Because the more you try to bury it, the more it becomes recovered. You can't let that one man, affect your life. I'm not going to say that you should attend your mom's death anniversary. But whenever your ready to attend her death anniversary, may it be next year, or ten years from now, I will be there, right beside you. And even if you don't wish to attend her death anniversary, I will still be here with you. And I know your mom won't mind you not attending, because I'm sure she is proud to have a son like you, who thinks about the others before thinking about his own".
Arnav felt as if a big burden was relieved from his head. He felt that his heavy heart was now light. Before he could utter anything, the door bell rang again.
"It must be the pizza guy. I'll check", Arnav said, while standing up.
Khushi stopped him and gestured that she would check. Khushi received the pizza and came back. She realized that he hadn't eaten properly for two days. So she told him to eat. But he denied to eat if she didn't share it with him. So both of them ate quietly. After having dinner, Khushi realized that it was time for her to leave, as the time was 8pm.
"Arnav I should go", Khushi said, in a soft tone.
Arnav couldn't bare the thought of staying alone today. He knew Khushi had to leave, but he didn't want her to. He suddenly pulled Khushi for a warm hug. Khushi knew that Arnav was different from the other days. She had always seen a strong Arnav. Even on the day he revealed about Sheetal, he was not this weak. But today he was weak. So Khushi hugged him back with equal warmth, hoping it could strengthen him more.
"Don't go", Arnav said softly, hoping that she would stay.
Khushi was surprised at his words. She didn't want to go, but it would be not good for her name. A girl staying alone with her fiance before marriage at an apartment would be the best scandal the reporters could get hold of. And that too specially when she was the adopted daughter of one of the country's top lawyers, and the guy being non other than the great Arnav Singh Raizada. This would be in news on every channel. But she remembered what her mother had said. "Always take your decisions after listening to your heart, but act according to your mind". So she thought of staying with Arnav.
"I will inform home", Khushi said, while stepping out from the hug.
Khushi called home and informed Lavanya that she was staying at Payal's place, as Payal was not feeling alright. For Khushi's luck, Lavanya had bought her lie. Although Khushi felt guilty, she made up her my mind, as she knew she was doing the right thing.
She saw that Arnav had already made himself comfortable on the bed. She slowly walked towards the bed and when she came near she felt his hand grip from her wrist. Arnav softly pulled her towards the bed and with a gasp she landed beside him. He made her rest her head on the pillow beside his, and she felt as she was in heaven right now, because it was overall a very tiresome day. Both were staring at each others eyes, and Khushi was now confident that Arnav was ready to move forward along with his past. There eyes spoke volumes, that they conveyed what both of them were feeling towards each other right now. And that was pure love. Arnav placed a feathery kiss on her head and then on her cheeks. Khushi closed her eyes when she felt his lips touch her soft skin and snuggled more towards him. They didn't know when sleep took over their tired bodies. But today, after 13 years, Arnav felt himself being blissed by the most wonderful sleep, with his angel cuddled beside him.
"Hello Aman, what is it?", Khushi asked.
"Hello Khushi, there is an emergency situation in the office. Do you know where Arnav Sir is?", Aman asked, worriedly.
"Sorry Aman, but I don't know. You know that he doesn't want to meet anyone on this day every year, right?", Khushi said.
"Well, what shall I do now?", Aman asked, as he was clueless of what to do next.
"Wait, didn't you call Rahul?", Khushi asked, suddenly remembering Rahul was the business partner.
"Actually Khushi, I tried. But Sir is not answering", Aman said.
"Wait, I will try and call him. Don't worry", Khushi said, trying to calm down Aman.
"Okay, thanks Khushi, I'll hang up then. Bye", Aman said, feeling a little bit relieved.
After ending the call, Khushi dialed Rahul.
"Hello Khushi, What's up?", Rahul asked, in his normally flirty tone.
"Why the hell didn't you answer the damn phone, Rahul? Aman is really worried. There is a emergency situation in the office. He can't call Arnav and here you are ignoring the calls", Khushi said, angrily.
"Oh shit!! I didn't answer, because I didn't want to tell anyone where Arnav was", Rahul said, without thinking what he was saying.
"Oh, so you knew all this time where he was and you didn't bother to tell anyone in his family?", Khushi asked, in an irritated tone.
"Look Khushi, you know how Arnav is. If he wants to stay alone, he means it. He doesn't want anyone to trouble him, when he is alone. And that too especially today. That's why I kept it as a secret", Rahul said, hoping that Khushi would understand the reason for hiding the facts.
"Hmmm... Okay. But can you tell me at least. Since his phone is off, how can we give him any kind of emergency news?", Khushi said.
"No Khushi, I can't", Rahul said, firmly.
"Oh, come on. I'm your Bhabhi, right? Wouldn't you do this much for me? Please?", Khushi said in an innocent, pleading tone.
"Fine and please stop trying to emotionally blackmail me. I will tell you where he is, but don't tell anyone. Promise me", Rahul said.
"I promise. Also please call Aman and try to solve the problem", Khushi said, feeling a little relieved.
After getting the address Khushi was happy, as she knew where Arnav was now. But she felt it wouldn't be right for her to poke her nose in other people's business. And she knew Arnav would blast off in a second, if he saw her at his place. Also she didn't want to lie to the Raizada's, as she couldn't tell them she was going to meet Arnav. So she thought of giving Arnav his time for himself.
Arnav was now lying down in his comfortable sofa in his secret apartment. Yes, that's right. He had bought this private apartment (http://www.900house.com/images/Luxury-Penthouse-Apartment-18-Master-Bedroom-with-Outdoor-View-900x670.jpg), so that he can aloof himself from the outside world whenever he needed sometime alone. The only person who knew about this place was his best friend. He didn't want anyone to know about this place, especially his Di, because she was quite good at invading his personal space. He knew it was wrong, but even he needed to be alone sometimes to keep himself sane. And that too on days like today. With the sudden ring of the door bell, Arnav changed his posture. Since past two days he had not eaten properly and he was feeling weak. So he had ordered pizza. He went towards the door, expecting to see the pizza man in front of him after he opened the door.
Khushi was now standing in front of Arnav's apartment. She didn't know whether she was doing the right thing or not. But Khushi being Khushi couldn't wait without doing nothing as well. She knew Arnav shouldn't be left alone on a day like this. She only wanted to be there with him. She didn't expect any explanations, actions or expressions from him. She just wanted to hold his hand, to show that she will always be with him. She knew he would jump at her like a barking dog, but she was ready to face whatever happened next. So she rang the door bell nervously.
As soon as Arnav opened the door, Arnav froze with shock. Not only himself, he felt as if the whole surrounding and even the time had frozen. After few minutes his mind recovered, and the first question that popped in his mind was how Khushi got to know about his apartment. But before he could ask out the question aloud, Khushi made him surprised by letting out the anger that had been hidden inside her fragile body, in the form of words.
"Who do you think you are? Does anyone vanish into thin air, just like that? How could you? Didn't you at least think how the people that love you would feel?", Khushi went on spitting out the words in one breath while hitting on his chest with her small fists.
"Why do you think I wanted no one to know? That's because I wanted to be alone, dammit. Why the hell did you come here, when you knew that I don't like to be disturbed when I want to be alone? Not only that, you came here, to my private apartment without any invitation? Who do you think you are Khushi? Just because you are my fiancee doesn't mean that you can poke your nose into my life", Arnav said, as he burst out with anger.
Khushi felt really hurt by Arnav's words. Although she wanted to leave at that very moment, something unknown stopped her. And she thought of telling what she came to tell before she left.
"I'm sorry Arnav, I thought I meant more than just the word fiancee for you, but it clearly seems like not. I know what happened in the past and I didn't come here to poke my nose in to your life. I came here today, because you are a part of my life now. But I guess I was wrong. Why do you think I lied to everyone and came here at this time of the day, when the thing I hate the most in my life is hiding the truth from another person? I know that Di and you are both in pain. I also know that you are pain is greater than Di's, because you witnessed your mom's death when you were at a small age. So I can understand if you wanted to be alone today. But I felt sorry for you, because Di at least has the whole family with her today, when you don't have anyone. I know why you wanted to be alone today. It's because if you see either Di or Nani on this day, you would remember your mother's death all over again, and those bitter memories are going to worsen your pain more. So I thought I should be with you, in that way I could silently support you by holding you hand. Because I'm not related to your past. But now I feel that I was wrong. So once again, I'm sorry".
After the last word came out of her mouth only Khushi realized that her eyes were welled up with tears. She knew she couldn't control herself anymore, so she turned around to leave from there. Just as she was about to leave, she felt him holding her wrist.
"Just let me go Arnav", Khushi said, without turning around.
"I'm sorry", Arnav said in a soft and weak tone. As soon as Khushi heard his voice, she realized that he was broken down from inside. She turned around, and that's when she realized Arnav's state.
His eyes were all red, which meant he had been crying without any sleep. He looked fatigued and gloomy. She suddenly felt guilty for what she said. She knew what she said was not wrong, but she also felt that she had said all those stuff at the wrong time.
As soon as Arnav heard what Khushi had said, he realized that he was wrong. He knew she had come for him. And her words hurt him a lot as well, and he knew he had to apologize before it was too late. But he didn't know what to do. He knew "I'm sorry", wasn't the best choice of words at the moment. Yet, it was all he could manage.
Arnav went near Khushi, and cupped her face. He wiped away the tears that had started to roll down her soft cheeks. He didn't know what to say, but he didn't want to lose her. So he thought of trying his best.
"I'm sorry Khushi. I shouldn't have said all those horrible things to you. Do you know why I really wanted to be alone on this day? On this day, not only I remember my mom died because of my dad, I remember all the horrible things that happened after that day because of him. Whenever I see Di, I remember that my dad is the reason that she is still single. She believe that what happened to our mom will happen to her as well. Whenever I see Nani, I remember all those days she used to cry without eating anything. Whenever I see Mama, I remember how he worked overtime to provide for us. Whenever I see Mami, I remember how she used to sell her jewellery to pay our school fees. Whenever I see Akash, I remember how hard he tried to bare my anger. Our lives changed after that day Khushi, and all this happened because of my so called Dad. I hate him Khushi, I hate him. I don't know how I survived all this time, but I know that I lived to take care of my Di and the others. From that day onwards I realized I had to be strong for my family and become an independent person. First thing I did was change my surname to Raizada from Mallik. Then I did my studies, while working part time at my Mama's office. I buried my past and somehow moved forward. And that's what made me who I am today. But every year on this day, I remember what that man did, whenever I see my loved ones. And it hurts a lot. So I keep myself aloof from the rest of the world. I'm sorry Khushi. I didn't mean to say all that. Those words came out, because I was burning from inside due to the fire of anger", Arnav said, while breaking down with tears.
Khushi couldn't believe her ears, after what she heard. When he was supposed to worry about himself, instead he was worrying about the others. Khushi's anger faded away just like a cloud. She made Arnav sit down on the sofa and she sat beside her. She held his hand on hers and continued to speak.
"I didn't know that you were hiding so much of pain inside by yourself Arnav, and that too by thinking about how to make your loved ones happy without showing the extent to which you were hurt. I know you don't want to share it with others, but now I am here. I'm not from your past, I'm your present and future. I want you to share everything with me. Happiness, sorrow, anger, anything. If you don't want to talk, it's fine. Just at least let me be with you. I will always support you silently, if that's what you want. And I think it's time to move along with your past Arnav. Don't try to bury it. Because the more you try to bury it, the more it becomes recovered. You can't let that one man, affect your life. I'm not going to say that you should attend your mom's death anniversary. But whenever your ready to attend her death anniversary, may it be next year, or ten years from now, I will be there, right beside you. And even if you don't wish to attend her death anniversary, I will still be here with you. And I know your mom won't mind you not attending, because I'm sure she is proud to have a son like you, who thinks about the others before thinking about his own".
Arnav felt as if a big burden was relieved from his head. He felt that his heavy heart was now light. Before he could utter anything, the door bell rang again.
"It must be the pizza guy. I'll check", Arnav said, while standing up.
Khushi stopped him and gestured that she would check. Khushi received the pizza and came back. She realized that he hadn't eaten properly for two days. So she told him to eat. But he denied to eat if she didn't share it with him. So both of them ate quietly. After having dinner, Khushi realized that it was time for her to leave, as the time was 8pm.
"Arnav I should go", Khushi said, in a soft tone.
Arnav couldn't bare the thought of staying alone today. He knew Khushi had to leave, but he didn't want her to. He suddenly pulled Khushi for a warm hug. Khushi knew that Arnav was different from the other days. She had always seen a strong Arnav. Even on the day he revealed about Sheetal, he was not this weak. But today he was weak. So Khushi hugged him back with equal warmth, hoping it could strengthen him more.
"Don't go", Arnav said softly, hoping that she would stay.
Khushi was surprised at his words. She didn't want to go, but it would be not good for her name. A girl staying alone with her fiance before marriage at an apartment would be the best scandal the reporters could get hold of. And that too specially when she was the adopted daughter of one of the country's top lawyers, and the guy being non other than the great Arnav Singh Raizada. This would be in news on every channel. But she remembered what her mother had said. "Always take your decisions after listening to your heart, but act according to your mind". So she thought of staying with Arnav.
"I will inform home", Khushi said, while stepping out from the hug.
Khushi called home and informed Lavanya that she was staying at Payal's place, as Payal was not feeling alright. For Khushi's luck, Lavanya had bought her lie. Although Khushi felt guilty, she made up her my mind, as she knew she was doing the right thing.
She saw that Arnav had already made himself comfortable on the bed. She slowly walked towards the bed and when she came near she felt his hand grip from her wrist. Arnav softly pulled her towards the bed and with a gasp she landed beside him. He made her rest her head on the pillow beside his, and she felt as she was in heaven right now, because it was overall a very tiresome day. Both were staring at each others eyes, and Khushi was now confident that Arnav was ready to move forward along with his past. There eyes spoke volumes, that they conveyed what both of them were feeling towards each other right now. And that was pure love. Arnav placed a feathery kiss on her head and then on her cheeks. Khushi closed her eyes when she felt his lips touch her soft skin and snuggled more towards him. They didn't know when sleep took over their tired bodies. But today, after 13 years, Arnav felt himself being blissed by the most wonderful sleep, with his angel cuddled beside him.
Will both the families get to know about Arnav and Khushi spending the night together?
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