Wilted Heart ~ Part 4

“Hi Khushi.”

It took Khushi a moment to wrap her head around what was happening and who was in front of her. How was this…

“I missed you.”

Khushi grabbed hold of the counter and steadied herself, she was feeling light headed. Closing her eyes briefly, she begged herself to wake up because this had to be some kind of dream, this couldn’t possibly be real. When she finally opened her eyes again, he was still there, very much real. Manav.

“Your cakes ma’am.”

Turning her attention back to the barista, Khushi paid and took the bag from the counter. What was she meant to do? What was she meant to say?

“Say something na Khushi.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“You can start by telling me that you missed me too.”

He took Khushi by the elbow and guided her over to a table, pulled the chair out for her and ushered her to sit. She was still confused, she still felt numb, but she obliged. She deserved an explanation. Manav took a look at the pretty little bag from the lingerie store and raised his eyebrow.

“Lingerie? Nice.”

His voice was dripping in sarcasm and that’s when Khushi felt her find her own voice.

“What the hell is this Manav? What are you doing here? Where have you been? I thought you were…”

Tears pricked her eyes but she fought them back. She couldn’t cry. She needed to stay strong and get to the bottom of this because this was insanity. He was dead? She thought he was dead? They had searched for him for years and had concluded he must have died because only a dead man goes off the radar like that.

“Can we go somewhere else and talk about it?”

“No not really.”

Khushi folder her arms in front of her, her body language showing him that she was closing herself off.

“Please, let’s talk about this properly.”

“We can do it here. I don’t want to go anywhere with you until you tell me what the hell is going on.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

Khushi scoffed at his audacity. Was he really asking about trust?

“No I don’t. For almost 3 years, I thought you were dead. You didn’t reach out to me, didn’t reach out to your own family. Allowed everyone to think you were dead and now you think you can waltz back into my life and expect me to say I trust you? It doesn’t work like that.”

He felt his patience slipping, so he decided to stop wanting to go elsewhere with her, here would have to do.

“Fine, I’ll answer anything you want to know.”

“I don’t even know where to start. Actually I do, where the hell have you been?”

Flagging down a barista, Manav ordered them coffee and then started to explain.

“So after the accident, I don’t know how it happened but we got separated. I was taken to a different hospital to you. For a while I was in a coma but not for long. When I came round, I asked for you but they told me that no one had been admitted at the same time as me and that no Khushi had been in the hospital or discharged from it around the same time I was.”

“Okay I get that you couldn’t find me like that, but you know where I live. Why didn’t you come find me at my parents house?”

At this point Manav looked away and gave a sheepish smile.

“It gave me time to reconsider a lot of things and I just realised that we had rushed into marriage to prematurely.”

“Wait this doesn’t make sense, they told me you were dead?”

“They may have assumed the driver was me. Mom and dad said that the accident was serious and he suffered most of the blow… His body was almost unrecognisable.”

“It’s still not making sense to me.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me either, but here I am. We’re both here…”

Manav took Khushi’s hand into his own and smiled. Weirdly enough, his smile didn’t melt her heart the way it used to.

“Wait, what do you mean it gave you time to reconsider a lot of things? You’re the one that wanted marriage! You proposed to me? I was only still thinking about it, you were the one that said you didn’t want to wait any longer.”

“I know what I said and let’s be honest, sex was a motivating factor in that decision.”

Pulling her hand out of Manav’s, Khushi felt her temperature increase. Just as she opened her mouth to reply, her phone began to ring. Looking down at it, Khushi felt her anger subside a little. Arnav was calling. She went to answer the call but stopped herself. What was she meant to say? She didn’t want to lie to him but if she answered the phone now, Arnav would know something was wrong and she didn’t know how to explain the Manav situation to him. She rejected the call.

Manav watched Khushi carefully as she did this and it irked him to see the way she smiled upon realising Arnav was calling her. It further irked him to see that her caller display picture for Arnav was him asleep in bed, topless.

The phone rang again and Khushi sighed as she rejected the call again and the put it on silent.

“You can take the call.”

“It’s fine, I’ll speak to him when I get home.”

Looking at her watch, Khushi realised that it was far later than she had thought it was and that Arnav would be getting home soon.

“I have to get going, I don’t have time for this. Arnav is going to be home soon and I need to make sure I have something prepared for him to eat.”

“Is that his name? Arnav. You have a type, Arnav, Manav.”

“I don’t feel comfortable discussing anything about Arnav with you.”

“You don’t need to say anything, your display picture for him and the fact that you’re buying expensive lingerie says enough.”

Feeling her cheeks heat up, Khushi wanted to shrink away and disappear but at the same time, she wasn’t about to shy away. She wasn’t the one that had done anything wrong. 

“Don’t. You don’t have a right to speak with that tone and make me feel guilty. I waited 2 years for you, refused to believe you were gone and when I couldn’t avoid my parents any more, I said yes to remarrying.”

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t have got married I’m saying you didn’t need to sleep with him.”

His tone was bitter and it stung slightly, but Khushi wasn’t about to take it lying down.

“You have no right to judge me and my decisions when you’re the one that let me believe you were dead for almost 3 years. And not that it’s any of your business, but Arnav and I didn’t start sharing a physical relationship with one another until almost 7 months into our marriage.”

“Marriage. Interesting. You know it’s a crime to be married to multiple people at the same time? That your marriage to him is null and void because you’re still married to me.”

At this point Khushi really did have to stop and think.

“I… We spoke to a lawyer before… They said…”

“They said you could marry again based on the assumption that I was dead. But I’m not. So you’re still my wife.”

Khushi’s phone lit up once more. Arnav again. Picking up her phone, Khushi picked her bags up and got to her feet.

“I can’t do this, I need to go. Arnav will start to worry… I just have to go.”

“Fine. But give me your number, we need to speak again soon.”

“There’s nothing to talk about between us.”

Manav’s expression softened as he stood up.

“I’m still your husband, and I still love you. And I know you still love me. Please Khushi. Let us meet again soon.”

Sighing, Khushi hastily wrote her number down on a napkin before excusing herself.

Once safely back in the car and on her way back to Shantivan, Khushi let the tears that she had been holding back spill over. What the hell was that? How had this happened? What even was happening.

Wiping her tears away and patting her face dry, Khushi shook away all thoughts of Manav. His return didn’t change anything. She was with Arnav now. She couldn’t… She just couldn’t mess around with Arnav for the sake of Manav, she wouldn’t allow herself to do that to him. She couldn’t.

*****

“How was your date with Lavanya?”

“It was… It was great.”

“That’s good to hear. I bet you girls were discussing all kinds of juicy things hence why you couldn’t take my call.”

Khushi looked up at him to check his expression, to see if he was taking a dig at her,  but he wasn’t. He was smiling at here while he scrolled through his phone.

“I’m sorry. We were talking and I…”

“It’s fine, I don’t care that you didn’t take my call. I just wanted to see how your day was going and to tell you that I missed you.”

He was so sweet. He deserved the world. She couldn’t mess around with him. She couldn’t, she had considered telling him about Manav, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. How would he react? What would he say? Would it negatively impact their relationship? But more importantly, Khushi herself hadn’t decided what she wanted. She knew she cared deeply for Arnav but Manav… Manav was her first love, her first kiss, the man she lost her virginity to. There was so much about him that would make him so important to her but Arnav… He accepted her knowing that she may never be able to love him or accept him. He gave her the time and space that she needed.

Getting off the bed, Khushi moved over to Arnav who was sat on the recliner and gently took his phone out of his hand. Sitting down on the recliner, she touched his face gently, tracing his eyes, nose and lips with her finger.

Moving in, one hand on his face, the other on his thigh, Khushi kissed him. Arnav was confused, but he kissed her back. One hand around her waist and the other in his hair, he kissed her back with the same heat as she did. Breaking the kiss, Khushi took his hand, got him to stand up and she led him to the bed. Undressing herself, she lay back on the bed and held out a hand to him.

“Khushi…”

“Make love to me Arnav.”

Arnav felt his breathing stop as he processed her words. Whenever they had had sex before it had either been a case of a make out session getting hot and heavy, or one of them asked the other if they could have sex tonight. Neither of them had referred to it as making love, neither of them had yet expressed their love for each other verbally. This was new. If Arnav hadn’t been overwhelmed by her request and by her semi naked state, he would have questioned it, questioned why she had chosen to word her request like that. But he didn’t.

“Khushi…”

“Please.”

Ridding himself of his own clothes and pulling away her underwear, Arnav fell into Khushi’s arms, locking themselves in an intimate embrace.

***** 

 

Arnav awoke at 5am. Rubbing his eyes, he carefully peeled Khushi off of himself and sat up. Leaning over, he picked up his t-shirt and pulled it back on before turning to Khushi. She was finally fast asleep, completely spent. Brushing her hair out of her face, Arnav smiled at his wife. Tucking her into bed properly, he swung his legs out of bed and got to his feet.

He was feeling troubled and it was causing him to not be able to sleep. There was something bothering him. Something about how Khushi approached him for sex tonight and how she had been while they were doing it just… He couldn’t put his finger on it, but something just didn’t feel right. It was almost as though she was trying to prove something? Shaking his head, Arnav sat down at the recliner and looked over to Khushi who had tucked herself into a little ball after he’d gotten out of bed. Was he overthinking or was there something more going on in her head?

Arnav sat in the recliner for a while, trying to think about what had happened but ultimately shook his thought away. He was overthinking. He was certain of it. As he got to his feet, he noticed Khushi’s phone light up, a text message had come through. He dismissed it. But then 3 more messages came through, back to back, filling her lock screen. Still he dismissed it. It was Khushi’s phone, her business. He wasn’t going to be one of those husbands who looked at who was texting his wife.

Getting back into bed, Arnav pulled Khushi back into his arms and soon drifted off to sleep.

 

*****

A few days had passed since Khushi had met Manav. She had weighed it out in her head, tried to decide if she should tell Arnav About it or not, but ultimately decided against it. It didn’t feel necessary.

She had spoken to Manav on the phone a few times, and they had been texting each other, but Khushi had a relatively dismissive tone towards him. She didn’t want to engage in conversation with him. She still felt cheated. He had been alive that whole time, had even kept tabs on what she was doing with her life, yet he never tried to reach out to her. And now he fell back into her life and expected her to drop everything to be with him again. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t do that to Arnav.

Arnav had been watching Khushi closely. There was something about her behaviour that just hadn’t been sitting right with him. She was jittery, distracted and became closed off whenever her phone would make a noise.

Even when they were in bed together, it was almost as though she wasn’t there any more. They had only gotten intimate once after they did it the day she met Manav, and Arnav could tell something had changed in her. There was something missing. The night they did after she’d met Manav, she had been insatiable, she had wanted to go over and over again. But the night after, she had been a passive player. Arnav was certain she didn’t reach her climax but she didn’t say anything, nor did she give him the opportunity to finish her off after he was done. She had been distant. Almost as though their months of proximity had suddenly vanished.

It was clear she didn’t want to talk about it, and Arnav didn’t want to step on her toes, but he knew he had to address the situation soon.

Putting her phone down, she told Arnav that she would go see to Nani, give her her medication and then give her her dinner and then return.

Almost moments after Khushi left the room, her phone came to life. Arnav ignored it. It was her phone and she would come and handle it later. The phone fell silent. But moments later it came back to life. Arnav looked up from his laptop and his eyes fell on her phone. The name staring up at him caused him to rub his eyes. Manav?

Against his better judgement, Arnav reached out for Khushi’s phone and looked at the caller ID. It really did say Manav. But Manav? As in her ex? Or was this another Manav. The phone fell silent again and Arnav moved to put her phone down again but a string of text messages came through. He knew he shouldn’t have read them. He felt bad for invading her privacy like this, but once the first message came through, he couldn’t drag his eyes away. They kept coming through, one after another.

 

*Pick up the phone dammit I need to speak to you.*

*Are you with him, is that why you can’t take my calls?*

*I need to see you Khushi. Babe we need to talk properly. Not over a cup of tea, not in a cafe, alone.*

*Tell him you’re seeing Lavanya again and come meet me please.*

*You know it Khushi, you’re meant to be with me. Just get a divorce from him and we can start our lives again.*

 

Arnav felt his blood run cold. This was Manav. The Manav who he thought was dead. Had Khushi known that he was alive all this time? Surely not. Arnav thought about it. No, he was convinced Khushi hadn’t known that Manav had been alive all this time. If she did, she wouldn’t have married him, she wouldn’t have take their relationship further. She must not have known.

But she knew he was alive. She had seen him. Arnav read the messages again. Had she gone to meet Manav when she had told him that she was going to see Lavanya? Had she lied to him about seeing La? Is that why she had been reacting so different when she had got home that evening? Is that why she had reacted the way she did? Putting her phone down, he pushed all his thoughts away. He had faith in his and Khushi’s relationship. Whatever this was, she would share it with him. She would tell him about Manav. He was certain she wouldn’t hide this from him any more. He was damn sure.

When Khushi finally returned to their bedroom and picked her phone up, Arnav watched her carefully and she read the messages. He watched as she sighed and she responded to the messages. He was certain she was going to tell him.

When she finally finished replying and looked up from her phone, Arnav was sure she was going to tell him.

 

“Arnav…”

“Yeah babe?”

“I…”

 

He watched her carefully. He could tell she was struggling.

 

“Is everything okay?”

“No… I mean… Yes… I…”

 

She stopped and sighed. Composing herself again, she tried again.

 

“Arnav, may I go out to see La?”

 

Taken aback by her request, Arnav felt his heart drop. She lied.

 

“Today?”

“Yes.”

“It’s a bit late?”

“I know, but she needs me.”

“Everything okay?”

“I just need to go see her. May I?”

 

Her tone was short and clipped. Impatient.

 

“Yeah sure. Should I drive you?”

“No I’ll take one of the drivers.”

“Khushi it’s late. And I’m not doing anything, please let me drive you.”

“Arnav please. I said no.”

 

She was tense, that much was obvious, but she was being so harsh?

 

“Okay, fine. Take one of the drivers.”

“Thank you.”

 

Arnav watched as she got to her feet and got ready. Giving Hari Prakash a call, he told him to get ready and take Khushi. Whether or not Khushi heard, he wasn’t sure. But she didn’t acknowledge that he had called Hari Prakash for her.

Turning his attention back to his laptop, he tried to divert his mind away from Khushi, Manav and the lies she had just told him.

 

“I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Okay.”

 

Arnav watched as she left. She didn’t even look back and give him a smile. She didn’t come over and give him a kiss. She just left. Arnav knew that he should sit tight and wait for her to come home. Maybe she’d tell him about Manav when she got home?

But a surge of insecurity ripped through Arnav and he found himself grabbing his keys and following Khushi out. Getting into his car, he stayed far behind Hari Prakash, but he followed them still. He had to see Manav for himself. He had to make sure that he wasn’t getting it mixed up. He felt horrible for spying on her, but he needed to know.

They drove for a while and Arnav made sure he kept back far enough so Khushi wouldn’t see him. Finally he saw Khushi’s car indicate and then turn into a quiet neighbourhood. Parking his car, Arnav got out and followed Khushi’s car on foot. He watched as her car parked up in front of a large house and she stepped out. But instead of knocking on the door of the large house, she went round the back. Arnav followed her. Behind the large house was a smaller outhouse and she knocked on the door of that one. She paused and Arnav waited patiently to see who would open the door.

It was Manav. Arnav couldn’t believe it. He had to rub his eyes and really look closely but it was undoubtedly Manav. He had seen his picture enough times to know it was him. So Manav had been alive this whole time?

Arnav knew he should turn back, that he should leave and wait for Khushi at home, but he found himself walking closer to the house and stood near an open window.

 

“Why did you call me here Manav, I told you..”

“I know what you said, but I needed to see you.”

 

Arnav couldn’t see what was going on inside, but he could clearly hear everything that was being said.

 

“I told you…”

“I know. I know. But I needed to speak to you properly once. You weren’t replying to me properly. You haven’t been taking my calls properly and when you did you weren’t speaking to me properly… I needed to see you, to speak to you properly.”

 

Arnav felt a little better about the whole situation. Khushi hadn’t been speaking to Manav, not properly any way.

 

“I needed time to think.”

“I know you did and I feel I have given you time. I can’t hang around Khushi. I can’t sit here with my hands folded while you’re over there with him…”

“Don’t. Don’t speak about me and Arnav.”

“You’re sleeping with him for gods sake! How do you expect me to not talk about it! How do you expect me to not think about it? My wife, my love, is sleeping with another man.”

“He’s my husband!”

“No he isn’t. I am.”

 

Arnav swallowed hard as realisation dawned on him. Manav was alive, meaning his and Khushi’s marriage had no weight. He shook his head. This was a problem to think about later, he had bigger fish to fry now.

 

“Manav why did you call me here.”

“I just needed to see you, touch you…”

 

Feeling the bile rise up within him, Arnav took a step back from the window. He shouldn’t be here, he shouldn’t be witnessing this… But he moved back towards the window.

 

“Maan…”

“Do you know how good it feels to hear you call me Maan again after so long. Tell me na Khushi, doesn’t it feel like old times, doesn’t it feel like we can start again?”

“Stop.”

“I had a thought. Khushi, I have some money saved. Let’s leave here and start life somewhere else, away from everyone… You could get a divorce from Arnav, and we could use the alimony to help us settle down. He has money, we’d be able to get a tidy sum to put towards a house, what do you say Khushi.”

 

There was a pause. Arnav’s head was spinning as he took all the information in. Khushi would never agree, she’d never do that to him. He knew she could never…

 

“Okay.”

 

Arnav felt his entire world stop. She… She agreed? Arnav took a step back from the window and then another. And then another. Turning away, he realised he had heard enough and that he didn’t want to hear any more. Disappointed and broken, Arnav returned to his car and drove home.

Back at the house, Manav was looking at Khushi with wide eyes.

 

“Okay?”

“That’s what I I said. I said okay.”

 

Manav took a step towards Khushi and lifted her into his arms.

 

“I knew you would agree, I knew you would see sense.”

 

Pushing him away from herself, Khushi glared at Manav, her head cocked to the side.

 

“You don’t know me at all. You don’t think a thing about me. If you knew me, you would know that I would never agree to such an absurd idea. I won’t. I will not ask Arnav for a divorce, and I will not take alimony from him.”

“But you said…”

“I was testing you, to see if you actually realised that I wasn’t being serious. And you failed. How can you claim we should be together when you couldn’t even tell that I wasn’t being serious?”

 

Manav took a step towards Khushi, his arm outstretched towards her. She put her hand out and stopped him.

 

“I want to leave, I want to go home. I have nothing to say to you. I thought about all this a lot and I realised, I don’t want to be with you.”

“Khushi…”

“No. I don’t choose you. You let me think you were dead for almost 3 years. You chose yourself over me and now I’m choosing myself over you. And I choose to choose Arnav. Kind, caring, patient Arnav who was ready to wait his entire life for me. I choose him.”

 

As Khushi was saying it, she felt like it was a revelation to herself.

 

“I love him… And I don’t want to let him go. I don’t pick you over him, I pick him… I pick him now and forever more.”

 

Stunned, Manav found himself unable to grasp her words. He watched as she turned away from him  and walked away. He knew he should have gone after her, but it felt futile. She had picked Arnav. He had taken too long to make his return to her life and now there was no space in her life for him.

Running back to the car, Khushi instructed Hari Prakash to take her home. She had to get home. She had to tell Arnav how she felt about him. And she had to tell him about Manav. It felt right, it felt like something he needed to know. He deserved to know about what had been happening and he also deserved to know that she chose him and that she wanted him.

Khushi felt her excitement rise within her as they got closer to the house. She was going to express her to love Arnav! She finally was clear on how she felt about him and what she wanted from their relationship. She wanted forever. She wanted a happily every after. With him. Biting her lip, Khushi thought about how she could tell Arnav and then decided that instead of overthinking it, she was just going to go for it.

Upon entering the house, Khushi went straight up to their bedroom and slowly pushed the door open. But to her surprise the lights were all off. Walking into the room room quietly, she found Arnav was already in bed, curled up and asleep.

Extending her hand. She was going to tap him, but decided against it. He must have been tired and she didn’t want to disturb him. She’d speak to him tomorrow…

 

*****

 

When Khushi awoke the next morning, Arnav had already got out of bed. Getting out of bed herself, Khushi went over and knocked on the bathroom door. When she got no response she carefully pushed the door open. He wasn’t in the bathroom. Maybe he’d already gone down for breakfast?

Getting dressed, Khushi went downstairs, again, no sign of Arnav.

Just as she was leaving the kitchen. She bumped into Anjali.

 

“Di have you seen Arnav?”

“He left for the office. He said he had a lot of work to do so he needed to go in early. He also told me to tell you to not wait up for him tonight because he’s going to be late.”

“Oh. Okay.”

 

Anjali left, leaving Khushi feeling a bit lost. What was she meant to do now. It was okay, she would speak to him when he got home or she would speak to him tomorrow, it would be okay.

 

*****

Arnav crept into the bedroom at 12am. He didn’t actually have a whole lot of work to do, he just chose to make an excuse to avoid Khushi. He wasn’t ready to speak to her. Upon entering their bedroom, he saw Khushi fast asleep on the recliner. She must have tried waiting up for him despite him telling her not to. Shaking his head, Arnav carefully picked Khushi up off the recliner and carried her over to the bed and gently puts her down.

Sighing, Arnav moved away from her and got ready to get into bed.

When Arnav came out of the bathroom, he was surprised to see Khushi sitting up in bed.

 

“You’re awake?”

“I felt you put me in bed and my sleep broke.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No it’s fine.”

 

Arnav stood at the edge of the bed, unsure on what to do. He didn’t want to get into bed with her, but at the same time if he didn’t, she would ask questions and he really didn’t have the energy to deal with anything right now. Sighing, he got into bed and as he did, Khushi came towards him, curling up next to him and tucking her head into his chest.

 

“I missed you so much today. You were gone before I woke up and last night you were asleep when I got home…”

“I’ve just got a lot on at the moment…”

“I know, but still.”

 

He felt as her hand went under his shirt and rested on his chest.

 

“I called you at lunch time.”

“I had a lunch meeting.”

 

Arnav felt as she stroked his chest gently, her other hand gently stroking his thigh.

 

“Khushi…”

“You’re so tense Arnav? You work far too hard.”

 

Taking her hands off him, she pressed him down against the headboard and came over him, straddling him. Shuffling close to him, she decorated his face with a multitude of little kisses as she let her hands settle on his arms. She loved his arms. His strong muscular arms… Moving back slightly, she pulled her nighty off over head head and cradled the back of his neck and as she moved in and kissed his neck. Arnav felt his head fall back against the pillows as she kissed his neck and traced her hands along his body.

 

“Khushi…”

“There’s so much I need to talk to you about Arnav, but for now, let me just relax you.”

 

She had felt his muscles start to loosen up, but upon hearing her words, she felt him tense up again. She found the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head before moving closer to him again. She left a line of kissed down his body, from his face to his neck, to his chest to his abs. She was moving down slowly, and he clutched her hair as he felt her play with the waistband of his track pants. He felt her stroke him and that’s when he realised he needed to put a stop to this. Gently pushing her away, he sat up and reached out for him t-shirt.

 

“Arnav…”

“Not tonight.”

“But I…”

“I’m tired Khushi. Not tonight.”

 

Turning his back to her, Arnav settled down in bed and closed his eyes. Khushi felt confused. He never said no to her. Even when he was tired, he’d never stop her if she wanted to go down on him.

Pushing the thoughts away, Khushi located her nightdress and pulled it back on before snuggling down into bed, wrapping her arm around him. She was surprised to find though that moments later, her gently pushed his arms off of her. Why was he behaving so strangely?

 

*****

 

The next morning Arnav was already fully dressed and ready to leave by the time Khushi woke up.

Jumping out of bed, she placed her hand on Arnav’s shoulder.

 

“You’re leaving earlier again today?”

“Yeah.”

“Will you be back at normal time?”

“No, I’ll be home late.”

“Oh…”

 

He turned away, ready to leave but stopped at the door.

 

“I’m leaving for London tomorrow morning. Emergency meeting for the London branch and I’m going to be gone a few days. You should go to your parents place. You haven’t been back there in a while.”

“I know but Nani…”

“I’ve already spoken to Di and Nani and they also said it was a good idea.”

“But…”

 

Before she could finish, he was gone. Khushi felt confused as she watched him walk away from her. Something wasn’t right. But she couldn’t work out what it was that had come over him. She needed to speak to him when he came home that evening.

It was late by the time Arnav got home that night, but Khushi was wide awake and waiting for him.

 

“You’re still awake?”

“We need to talk.”

 

Arnav put down his laptop bag and shrugged off his jacket.

“Sure, what about?”

 

Getting to her feet, she looped her arms around his neck, more to test his reaction than anything else. She felt him flinch under her touch and that’s when she realised something was definitely not right.

She removed her arms and took a step back from him.

 

“Have I done something wrong?”

 

Her words threw him off guard. He knew she had noticed his change in behaviour, but he hadn’t realised that he had been that obvious about it all.

 

“I just…”

“I know it’s only been 2 days but… I’ve noticed… You’ve been avoiding me. You flinch every time I touch you like my touch is burning your skin. I don’t understand…”

 

This was the perfect opportunity to get it all out. To just tell her what he knew. But he didn’t like confrontation. He knew what she was plotting, she was planning on leaving him to go back to Manav and yet here she was, constantly still trying to get close to him.

Arnav took a step away from her and turned his back to her.

 

“It’s nothing like what you’re thinking.”

 

She reached out to him, placing his hand on her shoulder.

 

“I know its something.”

 

Arnav looked up at the ceiling. He really didn’t want to get into this at this time of night. Brushing her hand away, he turned to face her.

 

“I just need some space.”

“Space?”

“Yeah I just… We got serious very quickly and I just need some time for myself.”

 

Khushi went round to him, to face him.

 

“We got serious too quickly? Arnav it took us over 6 months to establish any kind of closeness. And it took us even longer than that to actually get intimate.”

“And when we did, we rushed into it, both feet first. We’ve been… Getting intimate almost every single night and I just feel… It’s too much…”

“But you wanted that.”

“I did. And now I’m thinking we should’ve taken some more time…”

“I don’t understand. Are you saying the issue is that we’ve been having too much sex?”

 

She was confused and rightly so. He knew he wasn’t making any sense. He was the one that approached her most nights for sex and now he was speaking in a different tone. He knew how stupid it was making him sound but… He just couldn’t bring himself to mention Manav. Speaking to her about it, asking her about it, would mean the end of all facades, potentially the end of them, and though he was avoiding her, he wasn’t ready to put an end to them just yet.

He turned to her, taking her hands into his own.

 

“I know I’m not making any sense but please. I need space. I need time for myself. I can’t explain it but…”

 

khushi pulled her hands out of his and shook her head.

“I don’t understand you. You know I can tell that you’re hiding something from me. It’s clear as day. But fine, if you want to carry on hiding your thoughts then I’m not going to pressure you into telling me what the issue is. We can discuss it when you get back from London.”

 

She turned away from him and got into bed. Arnav sighed. He had already planned how it was all going to go down in his head. And he knew for a fact that there would be no discussion after he got back from London. It would all be over by then…

*****

Author’s note:

Hi guys, so I had said that this was going to be delayed until later this week, but I felt bad that I was missing an upload day so I have done my best to proofread and edit this as quickly as I can so that I can have it up for you guys tonight.
“He’s Amazing” is probably still going to be late though, but enjoy this in the meantime!

He’s Amazing ~ Part 18 {Reloaded}

“Wow, I can’t believe that no one said anything to Aayaan!”

“I know! I was expecting some more reaction at least. I guess we will never really know how his family reacted to the news.”

Khushi and Lavanya had returned back to university and we’re tidying their things away as they discussed the events of the day before. Aayaan had stayed true to his words and had gathered both families together and had told them that while he did really like Khushi, he did not think that she was the person for him and told both families that he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend from London. He expressed to his parents that he had been respectful to their wishes and that he had tried to engage in a relationship that they approved of but he just couldn’t bring himself to throw himself into it. It had been an extremely awkward conversation and she felt bad for Aayaan because she knew he was doing this for her more than anything else, and she had offered to say something too, but he had told her not to.

After Aayaan and his family had left, Buaji had been in an extremely grumpy mood and highly disappointed that things hadn’t worked out. Shashi had suggested that the girls not waste any more time of their semester and just prepare to go back to university.

“When are you going to tell mom and dad about you and Arnav?

“I’m not sure; I’ll talk to him and see what he says or how he wants to do it.”

“Well whatever you do, do it soon. You know how buaji is; she’s probably looking for another guy for you right now.”

“Yeah, I know. Any way La, I’m running late, I should have already been at Arnav’s by now.”

“Oh yeah, you go and enjoy!”

With that Khushi rushed out of her dormitory. They had been back a while but Khushi hadn’t had the chance to see Arnav again yet. Though she still wasn’t sure about everything that had happened between him and Pooja, she had realised that she loved Arnav more than anything and that she wanted to spend her life with him, no matter what might have happened with him and Pooja. She had thought that she would be able to walk away from him, move on with her life and throw herself into something new, but after seeing him again, after being so close to almost having to let go of him completely, she realised she couldn’t do it, nor did she actually want to do it.

She knocked on Arnav’s door, He opened it and pulled her into the house. He pushed her up against the closed door and kissed her senseless. Khushi hands travelled to his neck and held him close, kissing him with the same amount of passion. When the kiss broke, Arnav lifted Khushi off her feet and took her into his bedroom. It was as he was putting her down onto the bed, that she realised he was wearing nothing but his boxers.

“You haven’t got any clothes on?”

It was a clear statement and she didn’t know why she had asked it as a question, but she had done.

“Why should I have bothered wearing anything when you were going to come and rip them off me any way?”

Before she could say anything, he was on top of her, pulling away her clothes.

“Arnav!”

“I know what you had said, but Khushi I need this more than anything, and I know you want it too! So much crap has happened, we need to do this.”

Khushi thought about it for a moment and knew that she should say no. Her sentiment about waiting until marriage was still something that stuck in her mind, but at the same time, she knew how much he wanted and needed this and she too knew that she really needed this as well. Looping her arms around his neck, she kissed him and smiled at him, showing him that she wanted whatever he wanted.

Pulling her clothes off, he left her in nothing but her bra and panties. Slowly he moved back over her, kissing her neck. Khushi placed her hands around his neck, wrapped one leg around his waist and held him close to herself. His lips travelled south of her body, moving down from her lips to her chin to her neck and carrying on. Hands on her bra, he pulled one side down slightly, freeing one breast as he gently teased the hardened bud with his tongue. He kept his eyes on her as he watched her reactions to his mouth on her. He felt her leg tighten around him as he took the whole nipple between his lips, initially sucking on it lightly and then getting progressively more aggressive. Khushi bit down on her tongue, not wanting to let out any sounds, but as she felt his hand travel down her body, inching towards the waistband of her panties, she could help but breathlessly call out his name.

She caught his hand when she felt him getting into her pants, but he brushed her hand away and continued and let his hand travel into her panties. He touched her down there and she felt overwhelmed at the feel of his hands on her. He moved back up and kissed her on the lips and whilst he had her distracted, he gently pushed a finger into her, making her gasp. Arnav broke the kiss and looked at Khushi. He felt her muscles adjusted around his finger, and then slowly withdrew it. He pushed it back in and let his finger play with her body and when he felt her body had adjusted to his touch, he let a second finger join the party, continuing the rhythm. Khushi couldn’t breath; this was such an overwhelming sensation. She had, had sex with Arnav, but this was so much more. It was so much more intense and she could feel her climax building up nice and strong. Maybe it was because his fingers were able to reach parts of her that he couldn’t reach with his manhood

Arnav could tell Khushi was on the edge and he knew he wanted to really throw her off the edge this time. When they had made love the first time, more than anything it had been a case of their bodies coming together, it was more of the act of sex than actually making love. But this time, he wanted to focus on her and give her a proper orgasm. With this in mind, he took his hands off her and slowly started travelling down her body again, kissing her lips, her neck, her breasts, her stomach and going lower still. Khushi’s hands tangled into his hair as she felt him going further down her body. His hands stroked her inner thighs and before she could say anything, he lowered his head kissed her down there. Khushi gasped and clutched Arnav’s hair as she felt his tongue on her.

“Arnav…”

“I want you baby. All of you…”

He did what he needed to do and Khushi could feel her orgasm building with him. When it finally came, it rocked her entire body and left her breathless. She lay still when the waves stopped crashing within her and Arnav moved back up to her, cradling her in his arms. They lay still in each others arms for a moment and Khushi gave herself the time to let her body and her breathing regulate once more. When she felt like her body had gone back to normal, she turned to face him.

“Arnav, I need you… Make love to me.”

“Are you sure you’re ready?”

“Yes…”

Moving over her once more, he kissed as he slowly joined their bodies in the most intimate way. Taking hold of her leg, he placed it on his waist and he felt her do the same with the other. The act didn’t last long. From the moment he started, he knew that they both wouldn’t last long and he found his release far sooner than he thought he would. He held himself within her for a moment as he kissed her, and then finally rolled off of her and lay back on his side of the bed.

“Arnav…”

“Sleep baby, you’re tired and you need rest.”

Curling into him, Khushi tucked herself into Arnav and soon she felt herself fall asleep and moments later, he too fell asleep. They were both so content, almost as though all of the tensions that they had been dealing with the last few months were no longer an issue and as though they had finally turned a new leaf. They were finally moving on and starting afresh.

*****

“Ok settle down everyone! I apologise that I’m late, I managed to sleep through my alarm this morning.”

Lavanya and Sia giggled, knowing exactly how and why their lecturer had missed his alarm. Khushi had rushed into the dormitory 15 minutes before the lecture was due to start and had run around like a headless chicken, gathering her things and running into the shower. Lavanya had never seen Khushi have a shower so fast, but somehow, she managed to shower in record time and was gathering her things and getting dressed when Lavanya had left for class.

Arnav looked around, looking to see if Khushi had arrived yet. He turned his attention to Lavanya as he addressed her.

“Hasn’t Miss Gupta arrived yet?”

“No sir, she too slept through her alarm this morning, but she should be here soon.”

Before La could even finish what she was saying, Khushi rushed into the room, mumbled an apology and took her seat. Lavanya and Sia nudged her and giggled.

“So Khushi, La was telling me you didn’t come home last night. Tell us, tell us, what happened, where were you?”

“Go away Sia, you don’t need to know!”

“Fine, don’t tell Sia, tell me!”

“Lavanya, I’m not telling you either! Both of you are so nosy.”

“Can you ladies leave Miss Gupta alone? If she doesn’t wish to tell you something, you shouldn’t force her to tell you.”

“Sorry sir.” – Lavanya and Sia said in unison.

Khushi smiled to Arnav gratefully.

The lecture began and her friends stopped bothering her but Khushi couldn’t concentrate on what Arnav was trying to explain to them. Her eyes were fixed on the man in front of her, her boyfriend, her lover and hopefully one day, her husband. Her mind kept going back to the night before. The way he had touched her, how his fingers had pleasured her, how his mouth had pleasured her… Everything he did made her feel so special.

Khushi continued to gaze at him with glassy eyes throughout the lecture, taking in very little of what he was saying.

At the end of the class, when everyone was filing out, Arnav called Khushi back. She waited at her desk and once everyone left, she made her way over to his desk. He lifted her onto his desk and kissed her lightly. The kiss was a short one and Khushi knew that he was preoccupied and that he was about to say something important. Cupping his face, she raised her eyebrows at him.

“What’s the matter Arnav?”

“Khushi, after you left, I spoke to Di. Told her about the fact that you nearly got engaged to some else and I want us to get married, or at least engaged as soon as possible!”

“WHAT! You told Anjali Di that?”

“Yes, and she agreed. So what she is going to do is, tell Nani about your family and the fact that they have two daughters. She will bring Payal into it who will say that she knows both of you quite well. Di will say something about the fact that your family is looking for a groom for you and that Di and Payal both think that you will be the perfect match for me. When Nani asks me, I will agree to marrying you.”

Khushi felt slightly lightheaded as she took in everything that he was saying. Was he being serious?

“I… I don’t know what to say…”

“Say you agree with this plan and that we should go ahead with it.”

“I… It’s so elaborate, why can’t you just tell Nani that we love each other and want to get married to each other? That’s what I planned to do with uncle and aunty when we decided we wanted to take things further.”

“I did consider that but I decided against it. Nani is fixed with traditions and she won’t like the idea that her grandson is marrying someone of his own choice. Regardless of what you are like, she will have reservations about us when going into rishta talks and I worry she won’t give us a fair shot. This way, we all get what we want without anyone’s thoughts or values getting hurt.”

“See this is why I love you, so thoughtful about everyone around yourself.”

“Why thank you. Any way, I feel that you should let Lavanya know so that she doesn’t say anything to anyone in her family regarding the fact that we already know each other and that we are already seeing each other.”

“I will, but what about your family. You know, NK, Payal Jiji, Anjali Di, Shyam Jijaji, Akaash, they all know me.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get all of them to play along! Also, you don’t have to call Payal “Jiji.” When we get married by relation she will be younger then you, so you don’t have to call her Jiji. And in actual age she’s only a little older than you any way.”

“I know and she told me not to, but she said that I’m like a sister to her and I’ve always wanted a sister older than me. So she fits the bill perfectly and I like calling her jiji. But I guess after marriage I’ll have two older sisters wont I? Anjali Di and Payal Jiji.”

“I cant wait for nani to meet you. You’re the perfect person for our family. You have everything she’s been looking in a bride for me.”

“I’m glad you think that!”

“You know Khushi, when nani used to go on about what my wife should be like; I thought that I would have hell of a time trying to find someone that would fit the bill. But after finding you… You’re everything nani wants while being everything I want too.”

“Why did you think it would be hard to find someone you like who would be nani’s choice too?”

“Well nani wanted someone who would be very traditional and attached to home and family. I used to think that if I got married to someone like that, I would be doomed as she would be too busy serving everyone else. I wanted someone who would be about me more than anyone else.”

“And what do you think now?”

Arnav moved over and hugged Khushi from behind.

“I think I’m safe. I know just how amazing you are, just how loving you are and how much you care about me. I have nothing to worry about because I know that while you will care for my family, I will always be most important to you and that’s all that matters to me. You’re everything I want in a wife!”

“Who says after marriage I’ll give you time?”

Khushi wiggled her eyebrows at him playfully and he smirked.

“I know what you are like, you won’t be able to resist me. All I have to do is look at you and touch you in a certain way and you’ll be putty in my hands.”

“I think you are overestimating how much of an affect you have on me.”

“Khushi, baby, you know you can never resist me, I don’t know why you’re trying to convince either of us otherwise.”

Khushi turned in Arnav’s arms and kissed him.

“You know me so well… I love you so much Arnav, and all of this… I can’t believe we’re actually speaking about marriage already, it’s like all of my dreams are slowly becoming a reality and I don’t know how to react.”

“Just be happy and enjoy it all. It’s all happening and this is our reality! I can’t wait to start making every single one of you dreams come true! I love you so much and the thought of us moving forward with our lives… I’m so excited!”

As Arnav and Khushi hugged, they couldn’t help but start feeling excited about what was coming next. Their life was moving forward at full speed now and they couldn’t be more ready.

Wilted Heart ~ Interlude III

Khushi’s POV 

Like many mornings, I woke up first this morning. The sun had found its way between the cracks in the curtains and had lit up part of our bedroom. Stretching, I looked over at the clock, still only half 6. I didn’t have to get up for at least another half an hour. Snuggling back down under the covers, I looked at Arnav who was still fast asleep. 

He looked so boyish when he slept, so at peace. Moving his hair out of his eyes, I leaned over and kissed his cheek before looping my arms around him. He was the lightest of sleepers and I should’ve realised that this would’ve woken him up. 

“What’s the big idea?”

His voice was groggy, his forehead creased as his eyes flickered open. 

“Just giving my husband some attention.”

“But I’m still sleeping.”

I cuddled into him further, smiling against his chest. I didn’t need to look up at him to know he was not happy. Regardless of that, he placed a hand on my back and stroked my hair with the other. 

“Good morning.”

“Good morning Arnav.” 

“As much as I appreciate having you against me, I feel really hot.”

I shuffled away back to my side of the bed. I realised that though he did like cuddling and spooning, he didn’t like it first thing in the morning or when he was just about to fall asleep. Any other time, he was absolutely fine with it, but at those two specific times, he just needed his space.

He reached out for his phone, checked the time and then put it back again.

“It’s so early.”

He wasn’t a morning person at the best of times, and now that I’d woken him up earlier then needed, it meant he was going to be slightly grumpy all day now. 

“I’m going to try and get a little more sleep.”

Pulling the covers around him, he settled back down, his eyes closed. 

I was wide awake now, there was no way I was getting back to sleep. I reached out for my own phone and started scrolling through the news feed when I got a bright idea. 

I gave him a gentle poke and he opened one eye. 

“Can I take a picture of you?”

He opened both eyes, it was obvious he was confused. 

“What?”

“Can I take a picture of you?”

“Right now?”

“Yes.”

“But right now? Why?”

I put my phone aside and placed my hand on his arm, shuffling closer to him. 

“You look so good when you’re relaxed.”

He smiled as he moved into me, pecking my lips, he moved back again. 

“Okay fine. But I don’t want to see a sleeping pic of me, evidently topless, on your Instagram with all your friends gushing over how hot I am.”

He wiggled his eyebrow at me and I laughed as I grabbed my phone again. 

“I promise I won’t post it anywhere, it’s just for me. Maybe I’ll use it as my contact ID for you. Okay, close your eyes.”

He obliged and I ruffled his hair so it looked messy like how it did when he woke up. Then I snapped the picture. 

“You can open your eyes now.”

He opened his eyes and lay on his back, his arm under his head.

“Got what you wanted?”

“Yup.”

“Can I see?”

I showed him the picture of him that I’d just snapped and he nodded approvingly. 

“Not a bad shot. But to be fair, I don’t think it’s possible to take a bad shot of me.”

I poked him in the side, laughing as I put my phone back and shuffled closer to him. But the moment was short lived. He moved away from me and reached out for his own phone and propped himself up on his elbow. 

“My turn.”

“But I’m not dressed…”

“That’s the whole point of this photo shoot.”

I pondered for a moment as he wiggled his eyebrows at me. 

“Okay fine, but same rules apply to you, you can’t post it anywhere.”

“Aw shucks, I was really looking forward to posting my half naked wife on Facebook.”

He rolled his eyes at me, but I knew he was being playful. I moved back onto my side of the bed, and pulled the sheets up to my chest, making sure I was fully covered. 

“Wait.”

He came back into me, his face inches from mine as he ruffled up my hair the way I had done to him and then pulled the blanket down ever so slightly so that my bare shoulders were on show. I raised my eyebrow at him but let him do what he wanted because he had allowed me to do what I had wanted.

“Perfect.”

He snapped a pic and then turned his phone to me and I had to admit, it was a nice shot. It was the perfect cross between risky and safe. Locking his phone, he put it back down onto his bedside table before snuggling down under the covers again, his hand on my waist. 

“Hey Khushi, we’ve still got some time before we need to get up.”

I knew what he was thinking and I was thinking the same. 

“Should we?”

“Absolutely.”

Kissing the tip of my nose, he grabbed for the tv remote and we picked up from the episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine that we’d stopped on. Tucking myself into him, his arm around me, we settled down as the shows theme music began to play. 

This was the life. This was perfect. 

*****

Author’s Note:

Hi guys, hope you’re all doing well. This is just a quick note to say that, I recognise that this chapter is super short, but it is an interlude so. But saying that, I am actually working on the final interlude for this story and it is currently 7000 words and I’m only about halfway done with that so that’s going to be a super long one, hope you guys are ready for it!

While here, I would also like to say that, earlier this week, my blog turned 8! Honestly, I can’t believe that I have been posting on here for eight years! I know that many of you haven’t been here the whole time, but for those of you who have, thank you so much for your continued support over the years and thank you for being so patient with me. I can’t even begin to tell you how much it all means to me. So thank you all, sending you all lots and lots of love!

He’s Amazing ~ Part 17 {Reloaded}

It was late in the evening and Arnav had finally finished marking the assignments that he had. Picking up his laptop, he turned it on. All evening he had been getting Facebook notifications on his phone about NK commenting on Lavanya’s pictures but he hadn’t yet had a chance to check what exactly it was that NK had been commenting on.

He clicked on the first comment that NK had left. It said “You and Khushi look amazing. Sad about how things played out, but I wish her all the best for the future.”

The comment on its own didn’t make any sense, so Arnav opened the picture. He saw Khushi and Lavanya, both dressed up and looking lovely. Then the name of the album hit his eyes, ‘Khushi’s engagement.’

Arnav looked through all 267 pictures that Lavanya had uploaded and the truth hit him like a tonne of bricks. Khushi had actually got engaged to someone else and from what he could gather, she was getting married in a month’s time! Arnav felt himself become all cold as the information really settled in. How could this happen? How could Khushi get engaged without saying a single word to him? Even Lavanya didn’t mention anything about it! How could something so big happen and neither of them mention anything to him. Did they really think that the relationship he and Khushi shared was that insignificant? How could they…

No, he wouldn’t let this happen. He wouldn’t let some dude from London come in between him and his Khushi; she was his and only his. He had made love to her; she couldn’t become someone else’s. He wouldn’t let this happen. At any cost he would stop the wedding. Anything could happen, but he would get Khushi back. There was no way he was going to let this happen without fighting for Khushi.

*****

Khushi woke up the next morning and saw that Lavanya was already up and getting ready. Sitting up in bed, she cocked her head to the side as she tried to work out what Lavanya was doing.

“Where are you going?”

“Oh you’re awake, get ready quickly we’re going out straight after breakfast.”

“Where are we going?”

“Into town with Aayaan and his brother. Maybe watch a movie and then we’ll be going and having lunch somewhere.”

“When was all this planned? Did I miss it? I don’t want to go! How could you plan all this without even consulting me?”

“Don’t be like that Khushi. They called first thing this morning, you were really tired so I let you sleep in. He’s already booked everything.”

“But aunty won’t like it!”

“Mom’s already agreed. Now hurry up and get dressed.”

Khushi slowly got out of bed and then went into the bathroom. In the bathroom, she gave herself a minute to take in what just happened and what was happening. She was going out with her new fiancé and there was no way she could talk herself out of it. Sighing, she finished up in the bathroom and then went over and opened her wardrobe. She looked at her dresses and then one hit her eye. It was red and absolutely perfect for a day out but Arnav had gifted it to her. She loved it, but had never got the chance to wear it yet. And she definitely couldn’t wear it now considering her and Arnav…

“I know what you’re thinking Khushi; wear it, it’s beautiful.”

“But it’s from Arnav.”

“But it’s lovely. The design on the kurta is beautiful and the shelwar is nice as well. Wear it. It’s perfect for a day like today.”

Khushi took it out and put the anarkali suit on. Arnav had, had it designed especially for her. He wanted her to do a calendar shoot in it. But destiny had played its game and that wouldn’t happen now. She was to marry someone else.

*****

Arnav was awake and was getting dressed. He had come back to Delhi late last night. He was going to make sure that the only time he would go back to the university would be with Khushi. He had seen the someone named Aayaan had posted on Lavanya’s wall that he would be seeing Khushi and Lavanya in town at 10:30am. He intended to meet them at the cinema… Arnav couldn’t help but laugh at the fool. Who openly posted their plans on the internet? It’s almost as though they wanted to be found. Picking up his phone and his keys, Arnav left the house. Let the fun begin.

*****

Lavanya and Khushi ate their breakfast but before they could finish, there was a knock at the door. Buaji went to open it and there stood Aayaan. Aayaan walked in and greeted buaji good morning.

“Aayaan beta, you’re here! How are you this morning?”

“Good morning buaji, are Khushi and Lavanya ready yet?”

“They’re just coming.”

Lavanya and Khushi finished eating, grabbed their bags and said bye to the Kashyap’s. Aayaan smiled and said good morning to Khushi and La. Lavanya greeted him in return and Khushi just smiled. They left the house and got into Aayaan’s car, where his brother greeted them.

The drive to the cinema was a pleasant one. Khushi had been told to sit at the front with Aayaan. They had made little conversation but what little they did speak about, it was a comfortable conversation.

They reached the cinema in no time and Aayaan paid for the tickets. He ushered them all into the cinema hall and placed himself next to Khushi. They’d arrived relatively late so by the time they were seated and settled, most of the previews and ads were finished and the movie began. As they watched the movie, Aayaan hesitantly placed his arm around Khushi. She squirmed at the feel of his arm around her but didn’t say anything. Aayaan had a right to put his arm around her, he was her to be husband. And the way he was holding her didn’t feel inappropriate, in fact he was barely touching her, there was no need to cause any fuss and ask him to move his arm away from her.

As much as Khushi tried to make herself okay with the fact that he had his arm around her, she couldn’t bring herself to just ignore his arm and let it be. When she felt she couldn’t deal with it any more, she mustered up her courage, turned to Aayaan and asked him politely to move his arm. He did so respectfully and from that moment onwards, he kept a respectable distance and didn’t try to put his arm around her again. Despite him having complied with her request, she still felt uncomfortable and so, during intermission, Khushi grabbed Lavanya’s arm, excused themselves saying they needed the bathroom and left the cinema hall.

“Lavanya I cant do this!”

“What happened?”

“He put his arm around me and I… I wanted to be okay with it but I just couldn’t bring myself to relax and be okay with it. I can’t do this La.”

“Khushi, I know what you’re thinking and I get this is all strange but all he did was put his arm around you.”

“But I don’t like it! He can’t do that! I know I asked him to remove his arm and he did it respectfully, but the point is he was presumptuous in the first place when he put his arm around me and I just…”

“I agree with you Khushi, he shouldn’t be doing that, you’re mine!”

Upon hearing the voice, Khushi felt herself go cold and Lavanya’s mouth hung open. They turned to look at the source of the voice and there stood behind them was the one and only Arnav Singh Raizada.

“Hi babe.”

He smirked as he took in Khushi’s expression. He had, had his desired effect. He had thought Lavanya would be the first to react but was surprised that Khushi was the one to address him.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“I saw you’re pictures on Lavanya’s profile and I couldn’t stay away. You got engaged Khushi and you didn’t think to tell me.”

“I didn’t see the need to tell you.”

“You love me, I’m your boyfriend. I have every right to know! We had started planning a future together god damnit.”

“Correction, you were my boyfriend. Anything that was between us ended when you cheated on me.”

Arnav ran his hand through his hair. He wanted to scream at her and tell her that he didn’t cheat on her that he would never do that to her, but he knew that screaming at her wouldn’t be a smart idea. He didn’t want to drive her even further away.

At some point Lavanya slipped away and left Khushi to talk to Arnav. Neither Arnav nor Khushi realised that she was gone.

“Khushi, I’ve told you so many times, I didn’t cheat on you. I don’t know what exactly happened that night, but I know that I didn’t cheat on you. How can you even think I would do that? You know how much I care for you, how much I love you. I would rather die than betray your trust like that.”

In her heart, Khushi knew that he would never betray her, that he would never do anything to hurt her. But she couldn’t disregard what she had seen and she couldn’t forget about what Pooja had said to her. There was no reason for Pooja to make something like that up.

Khushi didn’t know what to say to him, nor did she want to engage in any further conversation with him. Looking at her watch she realised that she needed to be heading back into the hall because the film would be resuming soon.

“There’s nothing left between us. There is nothing to say. I have to get going.”

She turned away and was prepared to walk away, but was stopped by him.

“If you don’t care about me, why are you wearing the dress I gifted you?”

“Lavanya said to wear it!”

“She may have said it but you didn’t have to wear it if you didn’t want to.”

Khushi would have said something but the announcement came on saying that everyone should return to their seats as the film was about to start again. Shaking her head, she turned away but then realised that Arnav was following her. When he showed his ticket to the guy at the door, she realised that he too was watching this film. Khushi went and sat in her seat next to Aayaan and prayed with all her might that Arnav wasn’t sitting anywhere near them and that they would be able to leave at the end of the movie without him catching up with them again. To her dismay, Arnav approached them.

“Hi Khushi, what a surprise to see you here! The seat next to you is empty, mind if I join you?”

“Well I…”

Khushi froze, unable to form any words. How could he just… Before Khushi had a chance to respond though, Aayaan came to her rescue.

“Excuse me? Who are you?”

“Oh forgive me; I’m Arnav Singh Raizada, Khushi’s lecturer.”

“Oh, hi, I’m Aayaan, Khushi fiancé.”

“Oh, Khushi you didn’t say you and Lavanya were taking time off from university because you were getting engaged.”

“I… Well… It all happened so suddenly that I didn’t have time to tell you SIR!”

At this point Arnav felt slightly disheartened and her tone stung. Khushi had addressed him as sir. But before he could say anything, the lights dimmed and the film started.

Aayaan gingerly placed his hand on Khsuhi’s and Arnav seethed with anger the moment he realised. No one had a right to touch his Khushi like that. Khushi could sense that Arnav was angry, could feel his body temperature rise, and even without looking at him, she knew that he was glaring at Aayaan. She moved her hand away under the pretence of wanting to eat some popcorn and Aayaan moved his hand away without a second thought. The moment Arnav realised that Aayaan had let go, he took hold of Khushi’s other hand. She looked at him shocked but didn’t say anything as she didn’t want Aayaan to realise. He kept his hand firmly on hers until the end of the film.

As the movie ended, Aayaan, Khushi, Lavanya and Aayaan’s brother got ready to leave. Khushi had moved her hand away from Arnav’s just before the lights in the theatre hall came back on and she prayed that Aayaan hadn’t noticed anything. On their way out, Aayaan held his hand out to Arnav, said bye and said to him that it was nice meeting him. Khushi looked at him over her shoulder as they were leaving, and Arnav knew that she wanted to say something to him. He just knew that he would have to see her again, he needed to speak to her. Smirking to himself, he grabbed his jacked and left the hall too.

“I’ll see you all again, very shortly.”

*****

“Khushi! What are you guys doing here?”

“Oh hello again Arnav.”

Khushi was shocked to see Arnav stood by their table. How did he know where to find them? Did he follow them here?

“What a surprise to see you all here too!”

“Yeah, we are here to have lunch, what about you?”

“I’m here with a special lady.”

Khushi felt her heart sink and looked down sadly. So much for him not cheating on her. He was probably here with Pooja. Not even two hours ago, he had said that he hadn’t cheated on her and that he would never do that, and now he was here with another woman. How could she believe a word that came out of his mouth?

“Any way, I don’t want to hold you guys up, you must be hungry and I have my woman to attend to.”

Arnav shook Aayaan’s hand and looked at Khushi who clearly looked disturbed by what he had said. He smirked to himself as he walked away. His plan was working, he was getting a reaction out of her.

Once Arnav left, Khushi and co placed their order for lunch. While waiting for their food to arrive, Khushi excessed herself to go the bathroom. Lavanya had offered to join her, but Khushi said she was fine to go on her own. More than anything, she needed a few moments on her own so that she could compose herself after seeing so much of Arnav today.

As Khushi walked away from the table, Arnav stood up and followed her.

“Hey baby.”

“I told you, leave me alone. I’m engaged to someone else!”

“Yet you don’t like him putting his hand on you and you prefer it when I hold your hand.”

“Leave me alone!”

“I know you can’t trust me and I have no proof about what actually happened that night between me and Pooja, but I swear to god, I have a feeling that nothing happened. Khushi I love you, I would never want to sleep with another woman. Khushi please, I’m desperate.”

“There’s no point denying that I love you and I want to trust you, but how can I? You can’t remember anything and she’s saying you slept with her! I don’t know what to do! And you’re here with her right now aren’t you!”

“No Khushi, I’m not, I’m here because I came to win you back. I lied and said I was here with someone, I wanted to see if you still cared about me.”

“But I…”

Khushi was unable to finish what she was saying because Arnav had taken hold of her and kissed her. Khushi was shocked at first but the shock only lasted momentarily. Being here with him, in his arms, his lips on hers… This felt so right and she missed this so much. His tongue found its way into her mouth and she did the same. When the kiss naturally broke, Khushi hugged Arnav. She knew she was being insane, there was so many reasons why this shouldn’t be happening but… She couldn’t fight her feelings any more. She loved him so much and her heart kept telling her that he was telling the truth and that nothing had happened between him and Pooja. Before either of them could say anything to the other though, a voice sounded behind them.

“What the hell is this?”

This broke Arnav and Khushi’s trance and they turned to find the source of the voice. It was Aayaan. Khushi felt herself go all cold at the realisation of what was happening, whereas Arnav became panicked. This was going to be a mess.

“Aayaan, dude let me explain.”

“Leave me with my fiancé.”

“But…”

“Please, leave us.”

Arnav gave Khushi’s hand a squeeze, but couldn’t find any words. Had he made a mistake? Had he just made things harder for them? Would Aayaan go and tell Khushi’s parents what had happened? He was scared, and worried. Had he messed up? Once Arnav was out of sight, Aayaan took Khushi’s hand into his own.

“Khushi, look at me.”

Khushi looked up, tears glistening in her eyes. She was scared, what would happen now? What would Aayaan say? What would he do?

“You love him, don’t you?”

Khushi didn’t reply.

“Khushi, be honest with me, please.”

Slowly she nodded her head.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me you had someone else in your life?”

Khushi’s tears fell faster now.

“Khushi, its ok! I understand! I love someone else as well.”

“You do?”

“Yeah, but mom and dad wanted me to marry you, they didn’t like the idea that I wanted to marry a girl born and brought up in the UK. I had fought with them for months about it, but they wouldn’t allow it. Hence why I agreed to come to India to find someone and hence why I agreed to marry you.”

“I didn’t know that you… I wanted to make this work; this is what uncle and aunty wanted.”

“I understand, but you’re happiness is so much more important! And I’m sure Arnav is the type of man to make you happy. I apologise, I overheard a bit of your conversation. Khushi I understand the dilemma that you are in, the fact that you’re not sure about what he has and hasn’t done, but what really matters is whether you love him or not. Khushi even if he did sleep with someone else, I’m sure it was a huge mistake.”

“I don’t know what to do. I lose everyone I love. I lost my parents and my brother; I don’t want to love Arnav only for him to leave me as well.”

“Khushi whatever happened in the past shouldn’t stop you from wanting love now. I can tell he deeply loves you and I know you love him.”

“Thank you, for understanding me.”

“It’s fine, I’ll talk to uncle and aunty when I drop you guys off, I’ll tell them I don’t want this marriage and then if you wish to tell them about Arnav then, then that’s your choice, I will do my bit.

“Thank you. I hope you find all the happiness in the world Aayaan!”

“I wish you the same.”

*****

Author’s Note:

So I am really dissatisfied with this chapter and I have spent hours trying to get it right but it’s just not happening. So I’m just going to leave it as it is for now and I promise that the next chapters will be of much better quality.

Seasonal greetings and some random notes

Hi all! I hope that you all are doing very well and are staying safe under the current conditions of the world. I just thought to post this note because it has been a while since I have posted any notes. I haven’t even been posting under my chapters just because I usually type the chapters up on my phone and then just copy and paste onto here and because I sometime write updates months in advance, I don’t write anything underneath them and I just forget to add notes when I come to post.

But anyway, how are you all?

As we enter the seasonal period for many, I just want to take this moment to wish everyone happy holidays. I hope that you are able to celebrate in some shape or form and that you are just able to make the best of the current situation.

I also want to thank everyone for all the love you have been giving me and my writing and I am so glad that you all are enjoying my stories. I will have to admit, it has been a bit of a task making sure that chapters and updates are written and edited on time, but I feel I have been doing a pretty good job recently and I haven’t missed an update day in months. I almost missed Sunday’s update, but I ended up being able to proofread and schedule the post on time.

We are about halfway through Wilted Heart and so far I feel you guys have been enjoying it and I am so grateful for all the love that you have been showing it. I am currently writing the final interlude for that story, and if my calculations are correct and if I am able to carry on editing and posting on time, that story will come to an end on the 31st of January. That means I have about 3 months to work out what I will start working on next because at the moment, I don’t have any ideas for what I want to write next. While I have a number of basic plot ideas for stories, I don’t have anything substantial enough to write a whole story around it. I also want to try and do something new. I’ve been writing on Arhi for about 8 years now, maybe even more, and I just feel I am running dry a bit. But we will have to see what happens.

I would like to end this note by humbly asking my readers to please promote my work to their friends. If you are on twitter or socials, or a part of any IPK forum, please do share my work. As many of you know, I changed my blog URL earlier this year and as a result, I lost a large proportion of my readership. Previously, I used to get an average of about 1000 views a day, however, as it currently stands, I struggle to even get 100 views. Some days I even get less than 10 views! As a writer and as someone who has been working really hard for the greater part of the last decade trying to establish this blog, it is a huge disappointment to see that I have lost such a large proportion of my readership and at times it is extremely demotivating. So please, if you know people who are interested in stories about Arnav and Khushi, it would mean a lot to me if you could share my blog link with them and ask them to read my work.

Thank you all for your time and constant love. I will be back soon tomorrow with a new chapter of ‘He’s Amazing.’

Stay safe, seasonal greetings once again.

Lots of love,

Tanzeela.

Wilted Heart ~ Part 3

It had been a few weeks since Nani had contracted pneumonia. It got worse before it go better, but Khushi had been right, Nani did recover. She was weaker than she had been before, but at least she was still with them and her spirits were high.

Since their first kiss on the stairs, Arnav and Khushi had shared a multitude of kisses. Some had been quick pecks at the door before Arnav left for the office, others had left them breathless in bed. That aspect of their relationship was finally falling into place, but they hadn’t yet taken the final step. Both of them wanted it, they knew the other wanted it, but it just hadn’t happened yet.

At some point, they had also started sharing the bed. It didn’t happen instantly after the first kiss, there was some time in the middle, but it happened regardless. And when they did, it felt natural and comfortable.

*****

One evening, after a long, tiring day, Arnav and Khushi sat in bed, flicking through channels, trying to find something interesting to watch.

“There’s nothing good on. It’s all repeats and movies from before we were born.”

“Maybe we can put something on Netflix.”

Handing Khushi the remote, he wrapped his arm around her, kissing the side of her head.

After scrolling through for a while, Khushi finally picked a show and turned it on before snuggling down beside Arnav under the covers.

It was another chick flick and Arnav had no interest in watching yet another chick flick this week. He decided he’s much rather have fun with his wife than kill time watching a boring tv show.

Sweeping her hair to one side, Arnav playfully kissed the side of Khushi’s neck while letting his hand slide across her stomach.

Giggling, Khushi tried to shrug him off.

“You’re distracting me from my show.”

“That’s my intention.”

“I’m going to miss what they’re saying.”

“Give me attention instead.”

He moved back in, his lips back on her neck while his hands found their way up her leg and rested on her bare thigh.

It was clear he had no intention on letting her watch the show in peace and frankly, she didn’t mind. Finding the remote, Khushi clicked the tv off before turning to Arnav and taking his lips between her own. One handing resting on the side of his neck and the other in his hair, Khushi pulled him closer to herself, letting herself half climb onto his lap. Pulling her onto himself, Arnav brought her into himself so that she was fully on his lap, her legs resting on either side of his. The position caused her nighty to ride up a little, and Arnav took the opportunity to stroke her thighs before letting his hands rest on her exposed waist under her pyjamas.

This was nothing new. The heat, the sexual tension was something they were now familiar with, but there was a different vibe to the whole thing today. There was a different kind of hunger, a different need.

Khushi’s hands found the bottom of his t-shirt and she slipped her hands under, allowing herself to get a good feel of his hard torso.

Breaking the kiss to get air, Khushi’s eyes fluttered open, and she found Arnav looking at her, his eyes darkened with desire. Moving in slightly, she gave him a feather light kiss before moving back again. She took his hand off her waist and slide them up her body so that they were resting on either side of her breasts.

“Khushi…”

She silenced him with a kiss, her fingers tangled tightly in his hair as she nipped his lip lightly and deepened the kiss. His hands were still, and she thought he was going to move his hands back down to her waist, maybe her bold step had been a step too far? But then she felt the pressure in his hands change. His hold on her no longer slack. She felt his hands move slowly on her body, she felt him feel her, and it felt good. Him touching her like this just felt so right. She felt his hands go under her nighty again, but this time they didn’t stop at her waist, they went up to her breasts and she felt as he sought out her nipples over her bra.

Breaking the kiss once more, she moved back from him slightly and slowly, excruciatingly slowly, pulled her nighty off over her head. She kept her eyes on him and watched as his eyes widened and how he swallowed. She was going to stop there and let him take it further, but Khushi decided there had been enough words between them, it was time for some action. Taking his hands into her own once more, she placed his palms on her breasts and shuffled closer to him.

“Khushi are we really…”

“Do you want to?”

She knew the answer to her question before she even asked. She’d seen the way he looked at her, with longing and anticipation in his eyes. She knew he had spent all these months maintaining a distance from her because that’s what they needed. But she also knew that he was painfully attracted to her and she to him. This was inevitable.

“I do, but if you don’t…”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be handing myself to you like this. Quite literally handing myself to you.”

She gestured down at his hands on her and smirked, causing Arnav to laugh. He moved back in, his hand on her back of her neck bringing her in kissing her full on the lips, hard. As she took a fistful of his hair into her hand, she shuffled closer to him. She left him take her hair into his hands too and he tilted her head back slightly as he kissed her neck, nipping her skin ever so slightly. She felt his hands move move around her body until they rested on the clasp of her bra. Breaking the kiss, he looked at her, asking for permission. Nodding Khushi moved back in and kissed him as she felt him unclip her bra and then carefully pulled it away from her.

Taking a good hold of her, he pressed her down into the bed and moved over her before taking off his t-shirt. Coming back down over her, he trailed a line of kisses down from her neck to her breasts, teasing her sensitive buds with his tongue. Electricity spiked through her body and Khushi held him close as his tongue wrecked havoc on her body.

Making light work of her underwear, Arnav took in his wife in her most vulnerable form. Khushi felt as though her body was being lit on fire as he took her in. She should’ve felt shy, being under his hungry gaze like this, but it made her feel all the more powerful. He liked her, he wanted her.

Unable to wait any longer for their union, Khushi raised her arms to Arnav and he fell between them, kissing her neck as he joined their bodies in the most intimate way.

*****

Birds chirped at the poolside and Khushi groaned as the sun peeked through the curtains. Rubbing her eyes, she stretched out her arms. It was as she stretched her body that she realised there was a dull ache in her lower abdomen. Biting her lip slightly, Khushi pulled the covers up to her chin and curled up on her side, her back facing away from Arnav. She closed her eyes as she recalled last night.

They had been slow to start with, getting familiar with each other’s bodies, letting their bodies become accustomed to one another. But the anticipation caused them to speed up, causing her to wrap her legs around him more tightly, caused him to penetrate deeper than he potentially intended to…

The first time hadn’t lasted too long. The excitement and anxiety caused them to finish sooner than they had anticipated, but the second time… The second time laster longer. He teased her by drawing out her climax, by slowing himself down every time he felt he was almost done.

Khushi bit down on her lip as her moans filled her ears once more, how she had urged him to stop teasing her, how he’d whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

She could still feel his kisses on her skin, his hands massaging her body, his fingers gently pushing into her.

Last night hadn’t been her first time, but the way her body ached now, it felt like the first all over again. But she didn’t mind.

“Good morning beautiful.”

His words shocked her, she hadn’t realised he was awake. Before she could turn to face him, she felt his hand snake around her waist and he kissed her neck lightly. Turning to him, she pecked his lips before letting her hand rest on his bare chest.

“I didn’t realise you woke up.”

“I could tell.”

She felt his hand slide down from her waist to rest on her leg.

“You were preoccupied. Penny for your though?”

“Nope my thoughts are mine only.”

“Fair enough. But I’ll tell you what I’m thinking. I’m thinking we’ve woken up quite early and I’d love to have another round with you before I have to get ready for work. May I.”

Smiling, Khushi lay on her back and pulled Arnav over herself and drew him in for a kiss. He didn’t even need to ask.

*****

As the days rolled into weeks, things were settling into place perfectly. Nanis health had been doing great and she was getting stronger as each day passed.

Not just Nani, but Arnav and Khushi’s relationship too was getting stronger. Neither had yet explicitly expressed their love for the other, but their actions and their need for each other spoke louder than words ever could. But regardless, Arnav knew he wanted to tell her how he felt for her soon. It felt like something that needed to happen.

One evening, Arnav came home to find Khushi sat on the recliner in their bedroom, on the phone.

“I know La, it’s been so longer since we last caught up but I’ve been busy na.

I know baba, I’m not making excuses. I’ve wanted to meet up with you but it’s all been hectic.”

Arnav smiled as he entered, giving her a wave. Khushi waved back, blowing him a kiss and showed him 2 fingers, signalling to give her 2 minutes.

“Take your time, I’m going bathroom.”

Nodding, Khushi carried on her conversation with Lavanya.

“Okay listen, I don’t think I have anything on tomorrow, but I’ll check with Arnav and if he’s alright with it, let’s meet for coffee tomorrow?”

Lavanya agreed and Khushi ended the call. It had been a while since she last saw La, they’d both been busy with different things and meeting up just didn’t seem feasible. But Khushi knew she had to see La soon. There was just so much she wanted to talk to her about. When she and Arnav had first started getting close, Khushi had waited a while before mentioning it to Lavanya, but after they’d slept together, the moment Arnav had left for work, Khushi had been on the phone to Lavanya. They hadn’t spoken about it much, it felt like a conversation that needed to happen in person.

“Lavanya okay?”

Khushi hadn’t realised that Arnav had come out of the bathroom, his towel round his neck and his track pants riding low. Getting to her feet, Khushi walked over to him, looping her arms around his neck.

“I missed you.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Arnav pulled her into himself, lightly pecking her lips.

“I missed you too.”

Unwrapping her arms, Khushi sat him down on the bed and asked about his day. He told her all about the clients he had met, some of the tasks he’d completed and what his plans were for tomorrow. Then they finally circled back to Lavanya.

“So how is she these days?”

“She’s great, just moody that I haven’t seen her in a while. Arnav, I just needed to check with you, is it okay if I go to lunch with her tomorrow?”

Draping his arm around Khushi, Arnav kissed the side of her head.

“You don’t need to ask me. Of course you can go.”

*****

The next day, after letting Nani know that she was going out for a while, Khushi left and made her way to town where she was to meet Lavanya at their favourite coffee shop for lunch. By the time Khushi got there, La had already arrived and was sat down, scrolling through her phone and sipping on a cup of coffee. Quietly and as stealthy as possible, Khushi sneaked up on Lavanya.

“Boo!”

Lavanya jumped, clutching her chest.

“Oh my god! Khushi you absolute freak, I had a heart attack.”

“I’m sorry, I had to!”

Laughing, Lavanya got to her her feet and hugged Khushi before they sat down again.

“Have you ordered?”

“Yeah I’ve asked them to bring me a cappuccino and we’ll order lunch in a bit?”

“Sounds like a plan. So tell me EVERYTHING.”

Khushi started with the mundane, and though Lavanya wasn’t getting the juice she wanted, she listened carefully as Khushi spoke about all the little things that had happened since the last time they met. Then Lavanya filled Khushi in with all that had happened in her life.

“Okay enough of the build up, tell me EVERYTHING.”

Khushi knew exactly what Lavanya meant by everything. Picking up her coffee, Khushi took a sip and wiggled her eyebrows at La.

“Stop playing coy and spill.”

“It feels weird!”

“Why should it, we share everything always.”

“It’s just… I don’t know. For the first time I have something in my life that feels really intimate and personal and I…”

Khushi didn’t know how to explain it. When she had been with Manav and whenever they reached a new milestone in their relationship, Khushi would be on the phone to Lavanya as soon as she could be. But with Arnav. It just felt so much more intense and intimate and like it was something that needed to just stay between the two of them. And while she had originally wanted to talk to Lavanya about it, now that she was here with La, she realised she didn’t want to share it at all.

Lavanya put her hand on Khushi’s, her expression suddenly super serious.

“Listen, you don’t need to tell me anything too personal, but all I want to know is, Khushi are you happy? Is this what you actually wanted or did you feel like you had to have sex with him?”

Khushi put her cup down.

“To be very honest, when he kissed me for the first time and when I kissed him back, I thought about it for a while and I thought did I let it happen and carry on with it because I owe him that considering how patient he’s been with me. But then I realised no, it happened because I wanted it to happen and because I wanted it to happen as much as he did.

I didn’t even question it when we slept together. I had instigated it, I handed myself to him and I pretty much told him I wanted it.”

“Well I’m glad. The last thing I wanted to hear was you saying it happened because…”

“No it was never that. He knew that there was a chance that I would never accept him like that and because of that he never really made the first move or pressured me in any ways. He’s been patient and I think that’s what attracted me to him even more, the fact that I knew he wanted me but he was respecting me and my decisions.”

Squeezing Khushi’s hand, Lavanya smiled.

“I’m so glad things are looking up for you.”

Lavanya looked down at her cup and poked at her cake, thinking about whether she wanted to say what was on her mind. She decided to just go for it.

“Hey Khushi, I know you probably don’t want to talk about this but… Do you still think about Manav?”

Putting her own fork down, Khushi’s smile slipped a little as she looked up from her cake.

“I do. But it’s not like before. He’ll always have a special place in my heart but… I really like Arnav and I really care about him. I want to put my attention into making this work with Arnav instead of mourning over my past.”

“I’m happy for you and I think that’s a healthy way of going forward in life. Arnav seems great and I think he genuinely really cares for you. You should make him your priority now.”

“I’m trying my best.”

As that conversation came to its natural end, Khushi and Lavanya moved onto the next topic as they ate their food in front of them.

About an hour later, La checked her watch and realised that she needed to get going. The women hugged and prepared to part ways.

“Are you going to be on your way home too?”

“I think I’m going to go and hit up the lingerie shop a few days down and pick up some sexy pieces that I can wear for my husband.”

Lavanya laughed as she hugged Khushi once again.

“I’m so glad you’re so happy. Any way, I have to run, but Khush, we really need to do this again sooner rather than later.”

“I promise we’ll meet again soon and not leave it so long next time.”

Finally they parted ways. Taking hold of her bag, Khushi too left the cafe and made her way to the lingerie shop a few doors down.

Once her shopping was done and she was satisfied with her purchases, she thought to pick up some cakes from the cafe to take home, the family would enjoy that.

Selecting her cakes, Khushi waited for the barista to pack her goods. As she went to take her purse out, someone placed their hand on her shoulder.

Confused Khushi turned around.

“Hi Khushi.”

He’s Amazing ~ Part 16 {Reloaded}

“We have fixed Khushi engagement! It’s taking place on Sunday night!”

Lavanya and Khushi looked at one another and then at the large woman in front of them. Both unable to comprehend or say anything. Lavanya came out of the trance first.

“But buaji! Tonight is Wednesday! We only have 4 days! And more importantly Khushi doesn’t know anything about this guy! You can’t expect her to get engaged to him! And what about what she has to say, you haven’t even asked Khushi if this is what she wants. If she wants to marry him, or if there is someone else that she cares for! You can’t do this! You can’t just make a decision like that without even consulting her, this isn’t the 20th century where you can just fix your daughter’s marriage and be done with it. We have rights and we deserve to make our own decisions, this is just… This is insanity!”

“Lavanya! Whatever we are doing is for the benefit of Khushi! We haven’t asked Khushi because we know she would never refuse this boy. He’s a gem, the kind of boy that you girls would choose for yourselves any way! We haven’t picked a random champu off the streets, we have found a educated boy from a good family. A family we know well. We know what we are doing.”

Lavanya opened her mouth to argue back but was stopped by the mother. Garima could tell that if her daughter and her sister-in-law started arguing now, there was no stopping them. They would carry on locking horns all night, neither of them would give in.

“Jiji, tell them exactly what happened, they have a right to know everything from the start. If you explain it all properly, they will be more understanding and open to understanding what is happening.”

“Very well. His name is Aayaan Malhotra and he’s from London. He’s settled in the UK and has come back to get married. He’s been here for the last 3 months and has been looking for a bride but has been unsuccessful. That’s when one of our family friends told his family about us. They said that we have two daughters, both of which are of marriage age. So they came to our house a couple of nights ago and we told them about both of you. We showed them pictures of the both of you and they couldn’t decide. Aayaan was asked which one of you two he liked more, he said that both of you are beautiful and both are educated, two of the main things that matter to him. He said that he couldn’t choose, especially without meeting you and actually knowing what you both are like. So his family asked about you age. We said that you’re the same age, only Khushi is 4 months older. Due to this, they said that seeing as Khushi was the older sister, they would get their son married to her. But then they realised that something had to be wrong, because it’s not possible for you to be biological sisters because you only have a 4 months difference between you. We then told them how we had adopted Khushi after her parents died. They asked whose daughter was Khushi actually. We said you were the daughter of the Late Raj and Parvati Gupta. Once we said this, they said that they had known your parents, that they had been good friends with your parents and that you would be the perfect daughter-in-law for their family. So of course we said yes.”

Khushi and Lavanya listened patiently, taking in everything that Buaji had said. Khushi felt her head spinning slightly, there was so much going on and it was all happening so fast that she was struggling to comprehend. Luckily, she had Lavanya on hand who was ready with her questions and objections.

“Buaji, how could you just agree? They might be good people and they might have known Raj uncle and Parvati aunty, but you should have asked Khushi! How do you know that Khushi is ready for this. I just can’t believe…”

Garima cut Lavanya off by turning her attention to Khushi.

“Khushi if you don’t want to get married, or if there is someone else in your life, tell us dear. We won’t mind. At the end of the day, this is your life and you have every right to live it the way you want to. We just want to fulfil our responsibilities as your parents and do what we think is best for you, but if this isn’t what you want, we understand that and we will respect your decision.”

Khushi looks at Garima. She was confused. She didn’t know what to say. Thoughts of Arnav came to her, but then she looked up at these people, the people that had taken care of every need, the people that loved her when she didn’t have anywhere else to go, the people that never let her feel like an orphan. She couldn’t say no. She knew that whatever they were doing, they were doing it for her benefit.

“I agree to this rishta.”

*****

“Lavanya, hurry, check if Khushi is ready or not, the boy’s family will be arriving soon!”

It was the evening of the engagement and there were only a few hours left until Khushi would be engaged. She had met Aayaan, and he was lovely. He had been sweet and caring. He told Khushi that even though things were happening really quickly, he wanted them to be friends first and get to know each other well before they actually got married.

Everything had happened so fast that she hadn’t really had the chance to get nervous or think about other things. But now with only so little time left, Khushi was beginning to feel her nerves. She couldn’t help but think if she was making the right decision or not. She had tried to avoid thinking about Arnav, but now that she was sat here, ready for her engagement, she couldn’t help but think about him. She had thought that she would get married to him and only him. But clearly the universe had other plans for her.

She had so many thoughts of how her engagement would be if she were getting engaged to Arnav but now… Everything was so different. She had taken a backseat as the Kashyap’s organised everything. They had planned a grand engagement, Lavanya above all making sure that they left no stone unturned. When Khushi had first agreed, La had dragged Khushi up to their bedroom and demanded to know what the hell she was playing at. But when Khushi had said that she really did think that this would be for the best, Lavanya eased up slightly. Though La still had her questions and her reservations, she knew that if Khushi was willing to give her life a chance, and if she was willing to embrace what was coming at her, she wasn’t about to step in her way.

Lavanya had begun to get a crack on preparing for the engagement after that and she made sure that everything was absolutely perfect.

Looking at her watch, Lavanya rushed up to Khushi’s room to check that her sister was ready to go. Lavanya herself was already dressed in a hot pink lengha with her hair styled pin straight. She went for a simple look, but being Lavanya she looked amazing as ever.

She walked into Khushi’s room, and found Khushi ready. She was standing by the mirror in an cream and pink lengha, her hair was curled slightly with tiny diamante clips pinning back loose strands so that they wouldn’t keep falling onto her face. In awe at how good her sister looked, Lavanya went and stood next to Khushi and realised that all of a sudden Khushi was a whole lot taller than she was. That’s when she noticed Khushi wearing a pair of killer silver heels.

“You look amazing Khushi!”

“Do I?”

“Babes, you’re going to knock Aayaan dead! Let me take a picture, Sia’ll be dying to see you!”

Lavanya snapped a few photos of Khushi when a girl of similar age to them rushed into the room.

“Lavanya, hurry! Aayaan’s here!”

“What? They’re here? Priya you go, give me a sec I’m coming!”

“Ok.”

Priya rushed away and Lavanya held Khushi’s hand.

“You ok?”

“Have you said anything to Arnav?”

“No.”

“That’s fine.”

“But Khushi you have to tell him. How’s he going to feel once he finds out?”

“Well he isn’t going to find out until I’m married, so it doesn’t matter.”

“But Khushi…”

“La please, don’t say anything. I know what you’re going to say, there’s no proof that he actually slept with her, but what if he did? And even if he didn’t this time, what if he does this to me again another time. I can’t risk it La. For once in my life I have to be selfish and the best thing for me right now is to accept this proposal.”

“Okay, okay, if that’s what you want Khushi, then I respect your decision and I won’t bring up the Arnav topic again. I just want you to be certain that this is what you want because this is a huge deal and it isn’t something you should do if you just want to spite Arnav. This is about your whole life and it has to be something you really want. If there is any doubt in your mind, or if you think you don’t have the right intentions, then you still have time to walk away… Just think about it.

Any way, I’m going down to greet the guests and the grooms side, I’ll come and get you when they want you.”

With that Lavanya left Khushi in her room with her thoughts. She thought about everything Lavanya had said and she knew that she was doing what was best for her. This wasn’t about spiting Arnav or trying to get a reaction out of him, this was her putting herself first for once. Khushi was content with her decision, well as content as she could be. She was going to do this, she was going to get engaged to Aayaan today and soon she would marry him. Nothing was going to change her decision.

*****

Downstairs all the guests had arrived and Aayaan’s family too had arrived. He was wearing a black sharwani with a hesitant smile. Aayaan was highly good looking, but compared to Arnav, he was pretty average. It was one of the first things that both Khushi and Lavanya had noticed about him, but neither had verbalised their thoughts to the other.

Aayaan entered the house and looked around. He noticed that everything looked much more different than it had done the last time he had visited. He looked around and couldn’t see Khushi.

Khushi… Her name made him smile. There had been many women that he had met, but none of them had what Khushi had. She was different. She seemed special. But she seemed sad. Aayaan had noticed that for a girl who was getting engaged to a hot guy like himself from London, she didn’t look happy. He had asked her, but she had simply said that everything was fine, but simply because everything was happening so soon, she wasn’t sure she was ready. He had wanted to ask her more, but had very little time to actually speak to one another. He knew that he should have asked her about it more, but if she had agreed to the engagement, then it meant that she wanted this. He would be able to speak to her and get to know her better after the engagement had happened, there was no point trying to press her about it when their time was so limited.

As the evening went on and most of the guests had arrived, the families had decided that they should get the engagement ceremony started. Garima told Lavanya to go and get Khushi. She made her way up to their room and then bought Khushi down with her. Khushi looked nervous and Lavanya wanted to stop and speak to her, calm her nerves down, but everyone was waiting on them and she knew what people were like. If they stopped for even a moment, people would make a big deal out of nothing. She gave Khushi a reassuring squeeze and whispered in her ear that everything was going to be fine, it was all going to be okay. Khushi whispered her thanks back.

As she came down the stairs, she tried to focus her attention on the stairs so that she wouldn’t trip over her lengha, but then she looked up and saw Aayaan smiling at her.

Everyone who had seen him so far had told her how handsome they thought he was, and how lucky she was that she had found such a good looking and educated boy, but all she could think about was how nothing compared to Arnav. She brushed the thought of Arnav away and walked slowly down the stairs. Now wasn’t the time to think about Arnav. Her thought should only be on Aayaan, the gorgeous guy who was about to become her fiancé.

Everyone smiled and whispered about how good she looked and took pictures of her as she came down the stairs. Lavanya led Khushi over to where the platform was set and where Aayaan was already sitting down on a chair. When he saw Lavanya and Khushi approach, he got up and offered Khushi a hand. Hesitantly, she took it and got onto the platform. She smiled a thank you to Aayaan and then looked down again.

“You look lovely!”

“Thank you.”

The rituals started and Aayaan’s brother passed him a ring and he slid it onto Khushi’s finger. Lavanya gave Khushi a ring and she put it on Aayaan. Everyone smiled, laughed and clapped. Everyone was cheering for the couple who seemed to be perfect for each other. People took tonnes of pictures of the new couple and blessed them all the best for their future.

For the rest of the evening, everyone danced. Aayaan and Khushi had been forced to dance with each other. They had been reluctant as they just want to sit and talk to one another, but they gave in and decided that they would dance and try and make conversation at the same time.

As the evening went on, the guests began to leave, leaving only the grooms family and the brides family. The elders of both families had moved into another room to speak about dates for the wedding and had left all the younger members to speak amongst themselves.

It was during the course of the evening that Khushi reached the conclusion that even though she still loved Arnav, Aayaan was her future and she had to at least give him a chance. He wanted to have a future with her and the least she could do was be fair on him by at least trying to make an effort. She knew that it was going to be hard, but Aayaan had reassured her over and over again that they could take things as slowly as they wanted, that for now they should just try to form a friendship and get to know each other. She appreciated that, appreciated that he understood that she needed time to really process all of this and accept what was happening.

“Khushi, I know this is happening all of a sudden, and I understand that you want time, but I just want you to know that I am here for you. Until the wedding, I want us to get to know each other and be friends.”

“Thank you. For understanding me.”

Before either of them could say any more, the elders came out of the room they had been in and called attention onto themselves.

“May I have your attention please? After much discussion, we have decided that the wedding will take place in 3 months time. We have a few dates in mind and we will have to speak to venues to see which date is available for us, but for now that is all the information that we can share.”

Khushi let out a sigh of relief and smiled. Her heart felt more at ease all of a sudden. All day, she had been worried that they would say that the wedding would be within the next month because she knew that Aayaan would have to go back to the UK soon, but now, knowing that there was a bit of time, she felt so much more at ease. There was time, she wasn’t getting married quite yet.

Wilted Heart ~ Interlude II

Khushi’s POV 

I heard our bedroom door open and I switched off the tv and got off the bed. He walked through the door, smiling at me as he came in. 

“Hey.”

“Hi. Good day at work?”

“Eh so and so.”

He put his laptop bag down and then came over to me, dropping a kiss on my cheek. 

“I’m just going to grab a quick shower.”

“That’s fine, would you like a snack first or would you rather I just got your dinner ready?”

He looked up at the clock, paused for a moment and then told me he’ll have dinner. 

***** 

After dinner, we came back up to our room and sat and watched some tv for a while. I’d curled myself into his side while he flicked channels. I yawned, and he turned to me. 

“You sleepy?”

“I’m getting quite sleepy, yes.”

He switched the tv off and kissed the top of my head. He began to get out of bed and I found myself reaching for his hand to stop him. Bringing him back onto the bed, I moved into him once more and pressed my lips against him, kissing him while my hands found their way onto his cheek. I felt him smile against my lips as he settled back down onto the bed and took me into his arms. His hands brushed along my body as his tongue gently teased mine. My entire body felt as though it was on fire under his touch but all I knew was that I couldn’t get enough of him. 

His hands moved along my body more impatiently, but not too impatiently as I noticed how he made an active effort to avoid my chest. He always did this. Regardless of how intense things got between us, he never touched my breasts and he never let his hands go below my waist. I adored that about him. I adored how much he respected me and my body. 

After what felt like an eternity, we finally broke the kiss and his hands left my waist. He moved in again, for one last lingering kiss before he got off the bed, grabbed his pillow and turned to the recliner. 

“Goodnight Khushi.”

I watched him go and I found myself wrapping my arms around myself. I missed his warmth, I missed the feel of his body against mine. I just wanted him beside me… 

“Arnav…”

I got out of bed and went over to him. He looked at me, slightly confused. 

“Come sleep in the bed.”

“But…”

“I’m ready… I mean… I’m not ready for anything else, but I mean… We can just sleep together… In the same bed…”

I felt my face heat up and I knew I was blushing furiously. He just smiled but shook his head. 

“It’s okay, I’m fine on the recliner. I swear it’s a lot more comfortable than it actually looks.”

“I really mean it though, I really do want you to sleep in bed.”

He paused, his expression serious. 

“Are you sure?”

I sat down beside him on the recliner, my hand finding his. 

“I’ve never been more sure of anything.” 

He hesitated and put his other hand on top of mine. 

“You’re definitely sure?”

“I am.” 

“Okay then.”

I got up off the recliner and he did too. I grabbed hold of his pillow while he took hold of his blanket. Putting everything down onto the bed, I went over to my side of the bed and got in and I waited for him to get in. He stood at the edge of the bed for a while, he was evidently rethinking his decision, but then he shook his head and got in. I turned out the light on my bedside table and snuggled down under the covers. I could tell he was trying to keep a respectable distance from me, but I just didn’t want him to be so far away from me. 

“Arnav can you…” 

I stopped myself because I didn’t want to push it. I could tell he appreciated that fact that I was telling him he could sleep in bed, but he was also apprehensive. It didn’t feel right to ask him to hold me too. 

“You okay?”

“It’s nothing, goodnight.” 

I settled back down, I could feel myself getting drowsy. It was just as I was about to fall asleep, when I felt him shuffle closer to me. 

“Khushi, can I hold you?”

I felt my breathing stop for a moment. Could he read my mind? 

“Yes. Yes please.”

I felt like I was behaving slightly desperately, but since him and I had started getting close, I just craved him more and more. 

He wrapped both arms around me and moved in close to me, his front against my back and his face in the crook of my neck. 

I relaxed against him and I felt him going slack against me and soon enough, I too fell asleep. 

*****

It’d had been about 2 weeks since we had started sharing a bed and about a month since our first kiss. 

Like most evenings, we’d been relaxing in bed together when things really started heating up. He had me down on the bed, him over me, his lips locked on mine while his hands explored my body. I can’t even remember when it happened, but his hands no longer stopped at my breasts. He touched me and I let him. I enjoyed the feel of his hands on me, craved it. 

His hands moved down to my waist, and his lips moved down from my lips to my neck. My hand found it’s way into his hair and I pulled him closer to myself. I hooked my leg around him and I could feel myself bringing him closer. He rubbed his body against mine and the friction he was creating was leaving me breathless. 

He moved away from me momentarily and he looked into my eyes. His eyes were darkened with need and desire and I knew mine probably mirrored his. 

“Can I take your clothes off?”

This wasn’t a new request, we’d made out in bed in our underwear multiple times before, but every time he made the request, it still felt like the first. It left me overwhelmed with respect for him, how instead of just tugging at my clothes, he asked before he acted. He didn’t need to ask me any more, we’d already crossed that bridge, but I love how he still did and every single time he did this, it left me feeling shy because it meant he would be seeing more of me. Again.

My response was always the same. 

“Yes.” 

Getting me off my back, he sat me down and pulled my clothes away before laying me back. He pulled off his own T-shirt before coming back down on me, his hand on my face as his lips found mine again. I hooked my leg around him once more and I felt as his free hand hitched my leg up higher on his waist, our groins in line with each other. His hand rested on my behind and I became vaguely aware of just how hard he actually was. 

Realising how hard he was for me made me feel good about myself. Made me feel powerful almost that this gorgeous man wanted me like that. I felt myself move my body against his and he reciprocated, grinding his body against mine as I pulled him closer, kissing him harder. His lips moved off of mine and he found my neck once more as his hands explored my body, a hand slipping under my bra, squeezing my breast. His fingers brushed against my nipple and I felt shockwaves course through my body.  

He pinched my nipple lightly and it felt as though my entire body was on fire. The feel of his hand on my breast, his lips on my neck, his groin against mine, it was all so overwhelming, I wanted more. 

Pushing him off me, I pressed him down into the bed as I moved over him, straddling his hips. In one swift motion I unclipped my bra, took it off and threw it aside. It wasn’t the first time he was seeing me like this, but I watched as he took me in, swallowing hard. Taking his hand, I brought one up to my chest and let him hold me as I ground my body against his, trying to dull the ache between my legs. I leaned over him, kissing his neck as my hands explored his abs and dipped into the waistband of his sweatpants. I’d never touched him, but I knew I wanted to. 

I felt his breathing hitch as he felt my hand hovering along the waistband of his pants. In that moment I couldn’t tell which one of us was more nervous. He must have sensed my hesitation because I watched as he opened his eyes slowly and smiled at me. 

“You can touch me if you want.”

Maybe that’s what I was waiting for? As if on autopilot, I felt my hand rest against his bulge, his eyes shutting once more as I gasped. There was nothing more I could think about other than the fact that I wasn’t expecting that. 

In that moment, while I was still in shock at the sheer size of him, he took the opportunity to overpower me and have me down on the bed again, his lips of my neck as his hands worked their way down from my cheek to my waist. I wrapped a leg around him once more, really conscious of his length against me, but the feel of his hand dipping lower and lower towards the waistband of my underwear diverted my attention. I could tell where he was headed and I didn’t know what was going to happen next. Would he wait and ask me if he could touch me the way he stopped and asked me about everything, or would he just go for it? 

I held my breath as I waited. I felt his finger along the edge of the waistband, lifting it slightly between his fingers and letting it ping back into place. This was torture, yet the sweetest torture I had ever endured. The anticipation, the unknown, it was all so exhilarating. Finally, he pulled back from me slightly and looked into my eyes before coming down to take my lips between his. The kiss was slow and meaningful and I knew he was going to ask me. 

He broke the kiss, his hand on my face and his eyes locked on mine. 

“Can I touch you?”

I felt my eyes flutter open and I looked into his darkened orbs. All my hesitations, all my reservations were gone. I wanted this man. I wanted everything he was willing to give me.

“Yes.”

He smiled as he came in to kiss me again, one hand on my leg, lifting it further up his waist. I then felt the same hand trace it’s way down my leg and back to the waistband of my underwear, stopping slightly before he dipped in. I held my breath as I felt his hand touching me there, and then I gasped out as he gently pushed a finger into me. 

He was gentle with me as he played with my body and I couldn’t help but enjoy the moment. He locked his lips back onto mine as he increased the pressure that he was applying, and I felt myself gasp into his mouth. This was happening, this was real and as the moments passed I could tell that things between us were just getting heavier. Was this happening? Was this going to go further? Did I want it to go further? I knew that at some point I wouldn’t have to question myself before things went further, but right now…. My mind was working overtime, yet at the same time I couldn’t hold down a single thought because of the havoc that he was unleashing on my body. 

He must have felt that my body was accustomed to his touch, because he let another finger join the first. I felt my body rock with his every move. My hips moving on their own, arching up every time he touched me. This carried on for a while and then he pulled back slightly, his eyes darker than I had ever seen them. His voice low and gruff as he asked me the question I didn’t know the answer to. 

“Can we take this further? Do you want to take it further?” 

In that moment, looking into his eyes, I knew that maybe yes, perhaps I did want this. Looping my arms around his neck, I nodded. He smiled before coming down on me once more, his lips on mine, his hand on my leg. He unhooked my leg that had still been on his waist, lay me down flat on the bed as he worked his way down my body, pressing kisses on my face, my neck, my chest, my belly… He kissed my inner thighs and he was edging his was close to my pubic region and it’s then that I realised I wasn’t ready. I clenched my legs closed and I think that was enough for him to realise. 

He lifted his head and looked up at me, confusion evident in his eyes. 

“What’s the matter Khushi?”

He came back up to me, him balancing himself on his elbows as he hovered over me. I felt exposed all of a sudden, unbelievably naked. I pushed him off me gently and reached for the covers and wrapped them around myself. He moved off me and went back to his side of the bed, again propping himself up on his elbow. 

I looked at him as he looked at me, and I felt… I felt like I’d let him down. Every step of the way he had asked me if I was ready and I had said yes each time. I felt as though I had played with him, getting him all excited and then I had let him down. Tears prickled in my eyes because I didn’t mean to play with his emotions, I didn’t mean to let him down. I really thought I was ready to take this step with him but I just… I couldn’t. 

He must have seen my tears because he wrapped his arms around me and held me close.

“Hey, hey what’s wrong? Did I do something wrong? What’s the matter? Speak to me Khushi.”

I shook my head. How was I meant to say to him that I thought I was ready but in the last moment I chickened out and I couldn’t do it. 

“Babe, tell me what’s wrong. This is never going to work if you get this upset but then not tell me why you’re so upset.”

I tucked myself into him, holding him close as I felt my tears fall. I wanted to tell him that I felt as though I’d let him down but I just couldn’t bring myself to articulate it. He held me close for a while and then slowly peeled me away from himself. 

“Is this about… Are you thinking about Ma…”

There was a slight hint of hurt in his eyes and I realised I had to say something otherwise he’d misunderstand and I didn’t want him to think this was about something that it wasn’t. I shook my head and cupped his face. 

“Arnav no… It has nothing to do with Manav, I promise. It’s all me… I just…” 

I took a deep breath as I collected my thoughts. 

“When we were… When we were doing everything, when we were exploring each other, when you were touching me, I was really into it, I was enjoying it all and I thought I wanted more. But when… I just freaked out a little bit, I don’t even really know why and in that moment I realised I wasn’t ready to go all the way just yet. It has nothing to do with you, it’s purely me. I just realised…”

“Hey it’s okay. It’s okay, I get it. If you’re not ready, then that’s fine Khushi. There’s no need to get so upset, I get it. What we’ve been sharing so far is one thing, but taking that next step, taking our relationship to the next level, that’s a whole different ball game and I understand it take longer to mentally prepare for it, it’s fine.”

“I just felt like I was disappointing you. Things were getting so hot and heavy and I said yes and then I took my consent back and I…”

“Hey, seriously, it’s okay. Never think you’re disappointing me because you’re not. When we got married, I didn’t even think we’d share the same bed, let alone do anything. But I married you still, I accepted everything, even the possibility that maybe nothing would ever happen between us. These last few months, getting to know you more intimately and starting to share an intimate relationship with you has been amazing and a dream come true, but I know that these things still take time.”

Him speaking like this, being so understanding, he made me feel all kinds of feelings. I just felt so overwhelmed with admiration for him. So filled with care. 

“Thank you, for understanding me and accepting me.” 

He snuggled down under the covers beside me, his hand on my stomach as he kissed my neck. 

“I care for you so much that I would wait an entire lifetime for you Khushi. I’ll never rush you into something you’re not entirely ready for. If and when it happens between us, I want you to be completely confident with your decision.” 

I tucked myself back into him, kissing his chest. 

“I promise I will be ready soon. I think I’m almost there, I just need a little more time…”

“Like I said, I’d wait a whole lifetime for you.”

I held him close to myself and we stayed like that for a few moments before I felt him peeling himself away from me again.

“Arnav…”

He swung his legs out of bed and looked at me over his shoulder. 

“I need to take a shower real quick.”

“But you’ve already…”

He looked at me sheepishly and I felt myself flush red at the realisation of why he needed a shower. 

“Get some rest, I’ll be back in bed soon.”

I nodded and I watched him get out of bed and make his way towards the bathroom. I bit my lip as I caught a glimpse of it fighting against his boxers. 

As he shut the door, I lay back against the pillows. I could hear the water running in the bathroom and I could just imagine him standing under the cold water… 

Sighing, I leaned over the bed and picked up my nightdress and slipped it back on. 

He was out of the bathroom again soon enough and he came back to bed. Getting into bed, he pulled me into himself and kissed my shoulder. 

“It’s late, we should get to sleep.”

“Goodnight Arnav.”

“Goodnight babe.”

As I lay against him, I felt at peace and I knew that I may have chickened out tonight but another night… I wouldn’t let him have another cold shower. We were going to do it and I was going to make sure I was ready for it. 

He’s Amazing ~ Part 15 {Reloaded}

Khushi ran as fast as her legs could take her. She ran past the main lounge when Sia stopped her. She had seen Khushi upset before, had even been the cause of Khushi being upset, but she looked absolutely distraught right now, she’d never seen her like this before.

“Hey Khushi, what’s the matter? Khushi why are you crying? What’s the matter?”

“You were always right, no half decent guy would go for a behenji like me!”

Khushi ran away crying before Sia could even respond. She wasn’t sure what to do. Should she follow Khushi to make sure that she would be alright? Or was that a step too far considering they weren’t really friends, just on civil terms. Shaking her head, she pulled her phone out and shot a text to Lavanya.

Khushi reached her room, threw open the door and collapsed on her bed. Lavanya rushed to her side. She had just finished reading the message that she had received from Sia.

“Khushi, babes, what’s the matter? Is Arnav ok, has something happened to him. Sia just texted me saying she saw you looking really upset and she was worried and…”

“He cheated on me!”

“What!”

It took La a moment to comprehend what Khushi was saying. Did Khushi say that… No surely not, it wasn’t possible.

“He slept with Pooja!”

“No, Khushi you must be mistaken, he loves you!”

“That’s what I thought, but you should have seen everything! Their clothes were all over the place!”

“Oh, gosh! Khushi, I’m so sorry babes! But Khushi that doesn’t have to mean that they… Maybe she just spent the night and they hadn’t tidied up…”

Even as Lavanya was saying it, she knew it wasn’t convincing in the slightest. Lavanya held Khushi close to herself while she cried, stroking her hair. Seething with anger, Lavanya vowed that she would destroy Arnav Singh Raizada and Pooja Kapoor even if she had to die while doing it. But something seemed to be wrong. Arnav didn’t seem like one of those men who would bed a woman just for the sake of it. Especially not when she knew how much he cared for Khushi. Something was wrong and she needed to find out what. It just wasn’t making sense in the slightest.

The next day they had a lecture for Arnav’s class. Lavanya got ready but Khushi stayed in bed. Sitting down on the edge of Khushi’s bed, La reached out to her and tapped her lightly.

“Not coming?”

“No, I don’t want to see his face.”

“Babe, I know it’s tough, but this is about your education. If you don’t attend lectures, you’re not going to be able to get your degree. And you’ve worked too hard and come too far to let it all go to waste for a man. Come on Khushi.”

“I know, and I will attend, but I can’t today. Just let me take today off to pull myself together.”

“Ok, you stay in bed; I’ll take notes for you. Do you want me to say anything to him from you?”

“Tell him he’s a douchebag.”

Lavanya chuckled, placed a light kiss on her sister’s forehead and left. She attended the lecture and took down all the required notes. She also noticed Arnav looked upset. She mentally thought to herself that it was good that he looked sad, it meant that he regrets his actions. No guy does that to Khushi and gets away with it.

At the end of the lesson, Lavanya hung back and waited for everyone to leave. But before she could approach Arnav and say anything, Sia was already talking to him.

“Mr Raizada, I have lost my respect for you!”

“Excuse me?”

“You did something to upset Khushi! How could you? What has she ever done but love you? You should have seen her. When I saw her, her eyes were red and blotchy and she could hardly talk! I never liked her, but the past couple of months, I’ve realised she’s an amazing person and I’ve grown fond of her. And to see her like that all of a sudden…”

Lavanya came forward and stood where Sia and Arnav were and looked at Sia in awe.

“Wow Sia, that’s really sweet of you! I never thought you liked Khushi. I mean I know you two have been a lot more civil recently, but I hadn’t realised that…”

“Well Lavanya, I didn’t like her because she was with Nikhil and I couldn’t understand why he would go for her, but again the last couple of months I’ve realised, she’s really cool. Any way, I’m assuming you want to talk to Raizada. I’ll leave, tell Khushi to take care and that I’m here for her too if she wants me.”

“Thanks Sia, I’ll tell her. She really needs her friends and well wishers the most at this moment of time. Depending on how she’s feeling later, you can come up to our room and maybe just watch a movie with us?”

“I’d love that.”

Sia left and Lavanya turned to Arnav.

“Tell me, what the hell happened and why did you do it?”

“Lavanya, please I swear, nothing happened between me and Pooja.”

“Then why is she saying it?”

“I don’t know! But I swear I can’t remember anything. I remember having a drink and then after that, nothing.”

“Well maybe you just had too much to drink.”

“It was orange juice Lavanya! I don’t drink alcohol!”

“Then why can’t you remember?”

“I don’t know!”

“It doesn’t make sense then does it; you’ve got to be lying!”

“Lavanya you know how much I love Khushi, why would I sleep with someone else?”

“Because you’re a man and that’s what you guys do! You probably got so tense that Khushi wasn’t sleeping with you that you decided to sleep with someone else!”

“Lavanya, I love her! What do you think; I’m in this relationship just because I want to have sex with her?”

“Maybe. That is how a lot of men think.”

“No Lavanya, I’m with her because I love her! I want to marry her, have kids with her! Don’t you see she’s the one that I’ve been waiting for all my life?”

“I’m sorry Arnav, you can say this, but it could just be words. And there’s no proof that you didn’t sleep with Pooja, so I can’t do anything. I’m sorry, it’s Khushi decision now. If after knowing all this she wants to get back with you, I will warn her, but I won’t stop her. If she doesn’t want to be with you, then I’m sorry, that’s it. As much as I want to believe you, you can’t remember anything, meaning you could have slept with Pooja, or you might not have. Pooja’s saying you did, so in a sense we have to believe that until we get proof saying otherwise.”

“I’ll get proof and then I’ll get Khushi back, no matter what happens, I’ll get her back!”

*****

Over the next couple of weeks later, Khushi had started coming to terms with what had happened and had made an active effort to avoid Arnav as much as possible. Though she had started attending lectures again, she made sure that she wouldn’t talk to Arnav. Even when he addressed her during the lectures, she wouldn’t look up and say anything more than the required answer. When he asked her to stay back, she would be the first to leave. Her heart hurt, she wanted him back, but she couldn’t risk it. She knew he was always asking about her to Lavanya, but she didn’t have the courage to talk to him. This continued for weeks and then one day, Buaji called.

“Ah Khushi, how are you my darling?”

“I’m fine buaji, how are you and aunty and uncle.”

“We’re all fine. Now Khushi listen to me carefully, you and Lavanya have to come home. Tomorrow! Something very important has come up and you need to be here as soon as possible.”

“What’s happened?”

“Oh well, I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. Now your train tickets are booked, and the university is aware that you both will be off. They will talk to your lecturers and get them to give you some work so you don’t fall behind.”

“But Buaji, what’s happening?”

“Oh Khushi I have to go, people are coming! Tell Lavanya to make sure she doesn’t leave anything behind, she always leaves something important!”

“Ok, but buaji…”

Before Khushi could finish buaji had put the phone down. She looked to Lavanya and told her about her conversation with buaji. Lavanya looked at Khushi confused, but said that she’d talk to Arnav so that he could give them their assignments and any notes that they would be missing out on. She left to go speak to him and Khushi decided to start packing her stuff. She opened her wardrobe and started taking things out and putting them into her suitcase. There was a knock at the door.

“Hey Khushi.”

“Oh, Sia, come in!”

“Hey what’s this La was saying that you guys are going home? I was just coming up and saw her on the stairs.”

“I’m not sure, buaji just called, said something important is happening and that she wants us as home.”

“When will you be back?”

“I’m not sure!”

“But that’s not fair, I’ll be alone! You know I can’t live without you and Lavanya anymore!”

“I know babe, but we’ll be back and I’ll call you every day and Tina is here, you won’t be alone!”

“I know, but I’ll miss you. Any way, I should go, you probably want to pack and I do actually have work to get done too.”

“Bye Sia, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Take care babe.”

Khushi smiled and Sia left. She wasn’t that bad once you got to know her. You couldn’t blame her for being bitter sometimes, not with everything that’d happened in her life. Her father had had an affair when she was younger and left her and her mother alone. Everyone at school with her had teased her because she didn’t have a dad any more. She stopped believing that people could truly be nice. Everyone had been cruel to her, hence why she had too become hard. But after meeting Khushi and getting to know her, she realised that there were good people in the world. People who understood her pain, who wouldn’t tease her, remind her of what she didn’t have. She realised that these people were what you called true friends.

Khushi and Lavanya left in the evening, Arnav had tried to call, but Khushi wouldn’t answer her phone. They got home late that night and were received at the train station by Lavanya’s dad.

On the journey back to the house, the girls had continuously asked Shashi about what was happening, but he wouldn’t reply. The tension in the car was tangible and Khushi felt a million knots forming inside her. Something big was about to happen, she could just feel it.

They reached the house and were embraced by buaji. Getting into the house, buaji asked the girls to sit down so that she could tell them what was happening. Lavanya and Khushi sat down and looked nervously at buaji. Garima smiled, but it was evident that she too was quite nervous. Her tell-tale sign was how she played with the pallu of her sari, winding it round her finger and releasing it and then doing it all over again.

“Well, I know you’re both going to find this a bit shocking, but it was just too good a rishta we couldn’t turn it down… We have fixed Khushi engagement! It’s taking place on Sunday night!”

Wilted Heart ~ Part 2

After marriage, time flew by with days becoming weeks and weeks becoming months. Soon Arnav and Khushi were 5 months into their marriage and it still felt like the first month. Things had gone well. In the months after their marriage, they had found a comforting camaraderie.

Against their will, Di and Akash had organised Arnav and Khushi’s honeymoon and had sent them off to Bali for a week. Anjali had hoped it would help to bring the couple closer, to help them take the next steps of their relationship, but Arnav and Khushi maintained their distance throughout the trip. It had become more of an adventure where they explored Bali as opposed to a honeymoon. But they had enjoyed their time together and it had helped them to come closer together as friends.

As promised, upon their return from their honeymoon, Khushi slipped into the role of the perfect bahu as soon as she stepped back into the Raizada house, taking care of every single member.

More than anyone, she had formed a close bond with Nani, who’s health only deteriorated as time went on. But with the new daughter in law in the house, her spirits were high, making her feel a lot better than she actually was. Nani and Khushi would sit together for hours on end with Nani telling Khushi all about how Arnav had been as a child, what he was like as a teenager and what he was like now as an adult. Khushi found it amusing to learn about this side of the man she was sharing her life with. She had always found him to be a little distant, maybe even slightly reserved, but from what Nani was telling her, he was a much warmer person in reality, even if he was far more stubborn in reality than she had actually realised. Hearing all the stories about him made her pay closer attention to him and she had realised she had seem glimpses of the Arnav that Nani spoke of. It made her want to get to know him better, to get to know him more closely so she could really get to see this version of him. 

 

All members of the Raizada house were a fan of Khushi, especially her husband. When they had got married, Arnav knew that he liked Khushi and that she was special, but living under the same roof as her, sharing a room with her, and watching how she interacted with his family, he was in awe of how well she handled everything. He also found that he liked coming home and sitting with her every evening and making conversation about their day or discussing a television show together.

They may not have been having physical relations, but they felt like husband and wife in true essence. He found he depended on her for little things and she knew she could always speak to him about little things that may be bothering her. It was all working well for them.

For a while Khushi had been worried that maybe her affect on the family would start fading after she’d been here a while, but she was surprised to find how much of a hold she actually had on them all, especially Nani. A few weeks back when Nani’s medication had been changed and when Nani has been reluctant to comply with doctors orders, it was only Khushi would was able to coax Nani into taking the new medication and following the new exercise plan set out by the doctor.

As the months went by, Arnav simply watched from a distance how Khushi interacted with his family. Everything about her was perfect. The way she was able to make everyone see her way, the way she took care of everyone. He loved how she always knew how everyone was feeling even without them having to say anything and he also loved how she knew he was feeling. He had always thought he was someone quite hard to read, but it had only taken Khushi a few months before she was able to read him like a book. She knew when he had had a bad day and she was able to tell when he just wanted to sit on his own and work without anyone getting in his way. He really appreciated her. As time went on, he found himself growing more and more fond of her, he didn’t want to say it, but he felt as though perhaps he was falling in love with her. But he knew that he needed to keep his feelings at bay.

There hadn’t been many instances, but there had been a few times when he had seen her shed a tear or two over Manav’s photograph. There had been nights when she would awake, screaming his name, tears streaking her face. Arnav knew that Manav would always be a vital part of her life and he knew that he had to give her time and space so that she could process her loss and move on in her own time.

Sometimes it was more than evident that she missed Manav and if she could, she’d have him back in a heartbeat, but other times they felt so close, it felt as though she was somewhat prepared to to accept Arnav. It felt as though at some point, they would truly accept their marriage. But it still felt a distance away. But he would wait. Arnav had no issue with waiting. When he married Khushi he knew that her never accepting him was a possibility and he was prepared to wait.

It was all going well, everything was working out fine, everything was almost perfect…

*****

Until it wasn’t. A few days before Arnav and Khushi’s 6 month anniversary, Nani fell extremely ill. She had developed pneumonia and more than anything it was really affecting her breathing.

Though she was receiving specialist care and her medication had been carefully adjusted, it seemed her health was only further deteriorating. The doctors felt that her time was coming to an end.

The thought of losing his Nani was affecting Arnav more than anyone else in the house. They were all upset, but it was affecting Arnav the most. He couldn’t bare to think of his life without Nani. When he was alone in life, it was only Nani who had his back. If Nani left now, he would be left with no one.

One evening, after the doctor had completed his check up and had left, Arnav felt his legs give way and he had to sit down on the stairs. His life was crashing down around him, they were losing Nani. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t keep his tears at bay and they cascaded down his face. He felt as though he was drowning, there was no other way to describe what he was feeling. It was overwhelming and soul consuming and the weight of it all was threatening to crush him.

As he sat there on the stairs, his hands over his face, he couldn’t tell when Khushi had come and sat down beside him, her hand on his thigh.

“Arnav…”

He looked up and then down at her hand before sliding it off his leg.

“I want to be alone.”

“That’s what you want but it’s not what you need.”

She put her hand back on his leg and shuffled closer to him.

“I know this is a shitty time, but this isn’t the end of the road. Arnav, we’ve been here before, not this exact place but Nani has been ill before and she’s recovered and I have faith she’ll recover this time too. But if you become weak like this…”

“I can’t do it Khushi, I can’t put on a face and act like I think everything’s going to be alright when we know it’s not. She might recover from the pneumonia, but it’s going to take it out of her and I can’t… I can’t…”

He felt the last of his resolve crumbling. But he didn’t want to break down in front of Khushi. It didn’t take Khushi long to realise what was going through his mind. She could tell he was battling with himself.

“Hey, talk to me. Don’t shut me out.”

“I’m not I just…”

“You are. Arnav speak to me. I promise you’ll feel better if we talk through this.”

“I just… I can’t lose her.”

Giving his leg a squeeze, she shuffled closer to him, her shoulder against his.

“You won’t lose her. She’s still got a lot of fight in her. She will overcome this, I’m telling you now.”

“She might overcome this now but at some point… If Nani leaves me, I’m all alone, I don’t have anyone else. Everyone else has their partner and I…”

Finally his biggest fear was out there and Khushi felt so overwhelmed that he had vocalised it to her. She also felt slightly guilty that he would feel alone despite her being there. She was his partner but he still feared he would be alone if Nani left. 

Reaching out, she took his face in her hands and turned him to face her.

“You will never be alone, you’ll always have me. I’m here with you, always. And I’m not going anywhere. I promise you. I’ll always be right here beside you.”

He looked into her eyes as she slowly took her hands off his face. Her eyes were red, she’d cried too.

“Promise me you’ll never leave me?”

“I promise.”

Khushi backed away slightly, getting ready to get to her feet, when Arnav took hold of her wrist and brought her close to himself.

“You’ll never leave me?”

“Never.”

He felt tears roll down his cheeks, he hadn’t even realised how emotional her words had made him, but they had.

“I need you in my life so god damn much.”

“I know you do, and I’m here for you, forever and always.”

Feeling an overwhelming surge of emotion, Arnav took Khushi into his arms and hugged her tightly. The tears fell onto her back as she stroked his back, holding him close to herself.

“Shh… It’s okay, everything’s going to be okay, I’ve got you.”

Arnav was unsure how long the moment lasted, but as he moved back slightly, he realised he didn’t want to move away from her. He wanted to keep her close.

He moved back in towards her again, taking her wrist once more and bring her closer to himself. He kept bringing her closer to himself, their noses now touching.

One hand still on her wrist, the other found it’s way to her cheek. Arnav was vaguely aware of what he was doing and what was going through his head as he shifted closer to her. He knew he should’ve given her a moment to process what was happening but he went for it regardless.

Moving right in, Arnav closed the gap between them, taking her lips between his own. He realised how she had parted her lips to accommodate him and how her hands slowly found their way to his cheeks.

Arnav moved back, and he watched as Khushi’s eyes fluttered open.

“I… I’m sorry, I should’ve… I just really wanted to…”

He couldn’t finish what he was saying because she moved back in, one hand on his thigh the other on his cheek as she kissed him again. While their first kiss had been soft and tentative, there was a lot more confidence in this kiss. Arnav wrapped his arms around Khushi and pulled her even closer, her chest she pressed flush against his own. He felt her hands explore him a little as they dropped from his face to his neck to his chest.

It felt wrong, that they were making out while Nani was so ill, but at the same time it felt so right. They were finally taking that next step.

When they finally broke apart, Khushi looked down, a shy smiling playing on her lips. Taking her hands into his his own, Arnav kissed her hands before cupping her face once more.

“I want you to know there’s no rush for anything, we can take our time.”

“I know, right now Nani’s health is our main focus.”

“But…”

“But what?”

“It just felt like there was a but coming.”

Khushi smiled and took one of Arnav’s hands into her own.

“You’ve grown time know me so well. I was going to say nanis health is our main focus but I would like to explore our relationship more too. I feel ready…”

She smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. She didn’t need to finish what she was saying, he understood what she meant. They were finally ready to make a real go at their relationship.