Jalebi ~ Part 35

 

By the time Khushi and Rohan got home from the engagement party, it was quite late at night. Khushi’s parents had been invited to stay at Payal’s maternal home with her parents for the night.

Kicking off her shoes, Khushi stretched out her legs and began unpinning her dupatta from her lengha top. As she put her dupatta down, she heard a voice behind her.

 

“Wow, you are gorgeous.”

 

Looking into the mirror, Khushi saw Rohan stood by the door staring at her. Grabbing hold of her dupatta, Khushi covered her chest before turning around.

 

“Rohan! What are you…”

 

Slowly walking towards her, Rohan stepped right up to Khushi and placed a hand on her waist. Khushi squirmed ever so slightly against his touch but didn’t move.

Raising his hand, he slowly pushed her dupatta off one shoulder, letting it fall, exposing her chest.

Jumping away slightly, Khushi attempted to cover herself back up, but Rohan stopped her.

 

“Rohan…”

“Let’s do it tonight.”

“Do what?”

“Consummate our marriage.”

 

Eyes wide, Khushi covered herself up and moved back. Rohan slowly made his way towards her again.

 

“We can’t. We’re not married yet.”

“Technicalities. We will be soon and I don’t want to wait any more.”

 

Khushi carried on moving back until her back hit the wall. Rohan came right up to her, his face a mere inch away from hers.

 

“Rohan…”

 

Hand on her waist, he brushed her dupatta away again, but this time letting it fall away from her completely. Raising her arms, Khushi attempted to cover herself.

 

“You don’t need to cover yourself from me. Soon I’m going to see everything.”

“Rohan please.”

 

One hand still on her waist, he ran his finger down the side of her face and followed it down her neck.

 

“Stop!”

 

With all her might, Khushi pushed Rohan away from herself, grabbed her dupatta and moved to the other side of the room.

 

“What the fuck Khushi? Why do you act like that?”

“I told you I wasn’t comfortable with all this and you still…”

“Not comfortable my ass. Act as innocent as you want but you forget I’ve seen you having sex with Arnav. So don’t you dare act like…”

“Exactly! With Arnav! You’re not Arnav! I don’t feel comfortable… I’m not ready to… I can’t with you okay!”

 

Shaking his head, Rohan grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked on it. He’d waited so long to be with Khushi and now that he had her, she was still keeping her distance from him.
Rohan realised that he was wasting his time and so just left Khushi’s room.

The moment he was gone, Khushi rushed over to her bedroom door and locked it, before coming back and sitting on her bed. Covering her face with her hands, it dawned on her how much of a mess she was actually in. She may have been able to tell Rohan to back off today, but soon they would be married and she didn’t know how long she’d be able to hold him off for.

As her husband, it would be his right to get intimate with her. How long would she be able to say no? In her heart, Khushi knew that she’d never be ready to do it with Rohan. Whether her love for Arnav would decrease or not, she knew that the relationship she’d shared with Arnav was special and unique. She didn’t think she’d be able to replicate something like that with Rohan.

 

*****

 

Payal returned home and found Arnav and Akash sat together in the living room, watching tv together and laughing. It felt good to see the two of them together and happy. It showed that Arnav had come to terms with what had happened between himself and Akash and maybe now they would be able to move forward happily.

Akash noticed Payal first. Getting to his feet, he walked over to her and placed his hand on her waist.

 

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

 

Something seemed different about Akash. He seemed a lot more at ease and his touch felt much more warm and tentative than it had ever done before.

 

“How was the party? I’m sorry I didn’t come with you, I should’ve done.”

“It was okay and it’s alright. You’ll have to come with me to all the other rituals.”

“Did Khushi…”

 

Looking over his shoulder, Akash saw that Arnav was no longer paying attention to them.

 

“Did Khushi say anything?”

“She asked for you and said you should have come. Other than that, she said we should all start moving forwards with our lives because that’s what she’s trying to do.”

“So she’s actually happy?”

 

Sighing, Payal took Akash’s hand and pulled him further away from where Arnav was sitting.

 

“Honestly, I don’t know why she’s going ahead with this. It’s evident that she’s still very much in love with bhai.”

 

Running his hand through his hair and saw his brother sitting and watching tv.

 

“This is all my fault. I’ve ruined everything for them.”

 

Placing a light kiss on Akash’s cheek, Payal took his hands in her own.

 

“I’m not going to lie and say you didn’t cause this. But at the same time I will say that it’s okay. You messed up but you realise you were wrong and you’ve tried to fix your error. Both bhai and Khushi have forgiven you, so we should all just try and move forward now.”

“And what about you? Do you forgive me?”

 

Pressing her hand on his cheek, Payal smiled.

 

“I love you more than anything. I got annoyed at you, but everyone makes mistakes. So yes, I have forgiven you.”

 

Taking her hand back in his own, Akash pressed a kiss on her knuckles.

 

“I must have done some really good deeds to be blessed with you. I love you Payal.”

“I love you too.”

 

*****

 

It was evident to Arnav what was going on between his brother and sister in law. It made him happy to know that despite everything, Payal and Akash were going to be okay. Realising that there was no need for him to be around anymore, Arnav smiled and got to his feet and made his way up to his room. As he was climbing the stairs, a call from a number he didn’t recognise came in.

 

“Hello?”

“Hi Arnav.”

 

Pausing, Arnav furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to work out who was calling.

 

“Who’s this?”

“It’s Rohan.”

 

Feeling all his blood drain out of his body, Arnav took the stairs three at a time up to his room.

 

“Rohan? Why are you…”

“I just thought I’d call to let you know that it would be ideal if you stayed as far away from Khushi as you possibly could.”

“Excuse me? I don’t think you’ve noticed but I haven’t been anywhere around her, nor have I been trying to contact her.”

“I know, but I just thought I’d call to let you know any way. Khushi’s moved on and she doesn’t need you to try and force your way back into her life.”

“I really don’t understand why you’re calling me. I accepted that and I’ve backed off.”

“Again, I just wanted to reiterate. Besides, me and Khushi have now consummated our relationship so… We really don’t need you to try and come between us.”

 

Now Arnav really did go completely cold. Khushi and Rohan… She’d… How could she? So soon after as well.

 

“You… You what?”

“We took our relationship to the next level and in a couple of days we’re going to be married. So it would be better and easier for everyone if you just stayed away.”

 

With that, Rohan disconnected the call, feeling super smug with himself. Arnav on the other hand stood in the middle of his room, staring at his phone, feeling completely drained.

She… How?

Throwing his phone down onto his bed, he left his room and went to the room with the bar. He needed a drink.

 

*****

 

After the day Rohan had tried to come close to Khushi, he managed to keep himself at bay. And once he had calmed down, he did go and apologise to Khushi for his behaviour.
Realising that there was no point holding onto something like that, Khushi accepted Rohan’s apology and normality resumed between them.

There had been no word from Arnav and Khushi was glad. She knew she had to move on, and the more she avoided him, the better it would be for her. There were only a couple of days until the wedding and things were going well until…

 

“We have to go to this event Khushi.”

 

An invitation had arrived for Khushi. It was an invite to AR’s annual fashion show where they would be releasing their latest line.

 

“I can’t go! There’s so much to be done before the wedding and…”

“I know, but this is a big deal, you have to go.”

“There’s nothing to say that my attendance is a must.”

“There isn’t, but the media will all be waiting on you. It’s not a known fact that you and Arnav were business partners, and it’s a known fact that the businesses have been completely separated again. If you don’t go, it will give the media all the more reason to talk rubbish about you and Khushiyan. If you don’t go, people really will believe that there’s bad blood between Khushiyan and AR and that could have a negative impact on your business.”

 

Thinking about the point that Rohan was making, Khushi knew he was correct. But going to this event would mean that she would have to see Arnav, would have to interact with him otherwise the press would have a field day.

 

“I don’t know…”

“You just have to make a short appearance and then you can leave. I’ll be by you the whole time.”

 

After much deliberation and great reluctance, Khushi agreed to attend the event, but she made it clear that she would only stay for the minimum amount of time.

 

*****

 

Checking her dress in the mirror one last time, Khushi picked up her clutch bag and then left her bedroom. She had been stressing about the event and how things would go and now the moment was here.

Rohan was waiting for her by the front door, ready in a black suit and wearing a dark green tie to match her dress.

Here goes nothing.

 

*****

 

Upon arrival at the large venue where the fashion show was being held, Khushi was met by Aman who was responsible for making sure that everyone who was attending were invited.

 

“Ah Miss Gupta, it’s a pleasure to see you again!”

“Hi Aman. How are you?”

“I’ve been well, yourself ma’am?”

“I’ve also been very well thanks.”

 

After the pleasantries were over, Aman pointed out which suits had been reserved for herself and Rohan.

 

“You’re important to AR so Mr Raizada wanted to make sure you guys had good seats. You had seats on the front row, beside Mr Akash and his wife.”

 

Nodding, Khushi led Rohan over to where they were to be sat. A lot of people had already taken their seats and Khushi could already see Payal and Akash getting settled.

As they made their way towards their seats, Khushi kept an eye out for Arnav, but he was nowhere to be seen. As they got closer to their seats, Payal noticed them and waved them over.

Hugging Khushi, Payal said hi to Rohan before sitting down again.

Taking her own seat, Khushi sat down and made herself comfortable with Rohan sat to her right and Payal to her left.
Leaning over to Payal, Khushi whispered to her.

 

“Where’s Arnav?”

“He’s backstage preparing to open the show.”

“How has he been?”

“He’s been okay I guess, a little quiet, hadn’t been talking to anyone much at home, but then I guess that isn’t anything really new.”

 

This made Khushi feel a little better. Maybe Arnav was coming to terms with what had happened and he was starting to accept that they needed to move on and go forward with their lives separately.

As the light dims, those who were standing rushed to their seats and settled down as they waited for the show to start. Momentarily, the whole venue was completely black but then a bright spot light came on, revealing Arnav in the middle of the stage.

Taking him in, Khushi realised he wasn’t okay or that he hadn’t been okay. His eyes looked tired with dark circles around them. His beard not as neat as he usually kept it and his hair slightly out of control.

 

“Welcome to the annual AR fashion show! Thank you to everyone for joining us tonight. Without further ado, let’s get into the show.”

 

All the lights went down again but moments after, coloured lights came on, followed by a large light, lighting up the runway. Arnav had moved to the end of the runway, a mic in his hand.

 

The music kicked in and he first models began to descend the runway. Khushi’s eyes remained locked on Arnav, as did many others. The beat of the song dropped and Arnav started to sing.

 

“Mera dil jis dil pe fida hai, ek bewafaa hai…”

 

Eyes wide, Khushi realised what he was doing here. He was publicly calling her out without actually calling her out. Turning to Payal, Khushi realised that Payal too was looking at her with wide eyes.

 

“Did you…”

 

Shaking her head, Payal placed her hand on Khushi’s and gave it a light squeeze.

 

Shit.

 

“Tu bewafaa…”

 

Is that what he thought of her? That she was unfaithful? A cheat? Turning to Rohan, she could understand why he’d have such a bad opinion of her, she couldn’t blame him.

Turning her attention back to Arnav, she saw him staring intently at her while he carried on singing. Rohan places his had on Khushi’s knee.

During the musical breaks where Arnav wasn’t singing, the models kept coming out, showcasing ARs latest collection. But Khushi couldn’t take any of it in, her eyes were fixed on Arnav.

 

“Koi sheesha agar toote, bari avaaz hoti hai, magar dil toot jaane ki, saada koi nehin sunta.”

 

Looking down, what Khushi had already known, made itself more prominent in her mind. She was hurting him. She was hurting him so so much. She was hurting too, but maybe she was hurting Arnav far more. Maybe he was feeling it far more than she was.
Rohan’s hand on Khushi’s knee tightened and she turned her attention back to him.

 

“I’m going to kill that bastard.”

“No Rohan, leave him.”

“But he’s trying to publicly defame you.”

“He’s hurting. No one knew about us so no one knows he’s aiming anything at me. Please just leave him.”

 

Shaking his head, both Rohan and Khushi turned their attention back to Arnav. He wasn’t done yet.

 

“Use bhi neend naa aaye, woh bhi jage tamam raat, woh bhi kisike pyar main tadpe khuda kare.”

“Usne mujhko tadpaye hai, main bhi usko tadpaunga.”

 

Oh no, oh no no no. Khushi was well aware of which song this was. Aware of the lyrics and what they meant.

 

“Woh sar jhukaye baite hai, dekho gairo ki baaho main.”

 

Turning to her side, she realised just how fitting his words were. Here she was, pretty much in Rohan’s arms when she and Rohan and Arnav knew she was still very much in love with Arnav.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

Rohan got to his feet and took Khushi’s hand. He was done. Khushi hesitated for a moment but was yanked to her feet by Rohan. Turning to Payal, she saw Payal had a shocked expression on her face. A combined result of what Arnav had done and what she’d just witnessed between Khushi and Rohan. Looking over her shoulder, Khushi watched as Arnav ended the song, his eyes still fixed on her.

As the song came to a close, everyone got to their feet, clapping and stamping. Arnav had brought the house down.

The fashion show was a hit, but not because of the designs that had been displayed, but because of the soul tugging performance given by Arnav. While everyone was still distracted, Rohan pulled Khushi out of the venue and into the car park.

 

“Rohan…”

“We’re getting married tomorrow evening.”

“Tomorrow?”

“We were meant to marry in three days time, I’ve decided enough is enough. I’m done waiting. We’re getting married tomorrow. Everyone is ready any way, I can organise for it to be moved.”

“But…”

“I’m sick of that obsessed lover of yours. The moment he realises you’re unavailable, the better. So we’re getting married tomorrow. That’s it.”

 

Unable to think of anything to say, Khushi’s accepted defeat and nodded. Arnav had been acting slightly obsessive. Maybe getting married and getting all this over with would help sort things.

Tears pricked in Khushi’s eyes as she realised just what was happening.

She was going to get married. Tomorrow. To a man who wasn’t Arnav…

 

Unwanted ~ Part 37

Khushi

It was already 7 and I was fussing. After Arnav had mentioned his plans, I had tried to protest, tell him that it wasn’t going to work, but he was adamant to take me out.
I told him that I wouldn’t be able to leave Arushi, but he spoke to Raj who had said he had no issue looking after Arushi and then putting her to bed.

After stalling for ages, I realised I couldn’t wiggle my way out of it and so agreed to go out with him.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go out with him, it was just… It had been a really long time since we had been alone together and I didn’t know what to expect.

Since we’d met, every time that we had seen each other, we had discussed Arushi and the best way to ease him into her life. We hadn’t had time to focus on ourselves. Now the time had come. He wants us to talk about our relationship. I don’t know if I’m ready to have that conversation just yet.

Pushing my thoughts away, I focused on the task at hand, getting myself dressed. I looked at the little pile of made on my bed and tried to pull myself together. I was going out with my husband. Given, I hadn’t been out with him in years, but I still didn’t need to fuss over clothes this much.

Going back to my wardrobe, I picked out a black lacy kameez and decided this was what would have to do. Getting my myself dressed super quickly, I sat down at my dressing table and picked a few little pieces of jewellery to go with my outfit.

As I was putting my earrings on, there was a little knock on my door. Turning, I saw Raj leaning against the door, smiling at me.

 

“Almost ready?”

“Almost. Do you think I look okay?”

 

I got to my feet so he could see my outfit properly and he gave me a thumbs up.

 

“You look great.”

“Are you sure? I don’t know if I should wear this or the outfit you gifted me last Diwali.”

“Wear this. The dress I gave you isn’t really dinner date friendly, it’s a bit too heavy for that.”

“True.”

 

I turned back and picked my phone up, checking the time. I still had time before I had to leave. Arnav had said he wanted to pick me up, but I didn’t know how I felt about that. So I told him that I would drive myself there. He had been adamant that he wanted to pick me up, but he realised I really didn’t want him to come to collect me. So he agreed to letting me drive myself there.

 

“Khushi, don’t be nervous.”

“How do you know I’m nervous, I’m not nervous.”

 

He walked into my room and moved towards me, smiling at me.

 

“I know you Khushi. And I can tell from your body language that you’re basically freaking out right now.”

 

I took a quick look over Raj’s shoulder and then went over to shut the door.

 

“Okay, yes I am super nervous.”

“Why? You know Arnav and it’s not like you’re seeing him again for the first time.”

“I know all that. It’s just… I don’t know what to expect.”

 

Raj stopped and he nodded. I knew he knew what I meant.

 

“Don’t have any expectations, go in blind and just roll with how things are going.”

 

He had a point. If I had no expectations, I would feel more at ease.

 

“You can talk to Arnav when you meet him about how you want things to go between you guys. That way, you don’t have to be left guessing and he doesn’t have to stress because he doesn’t know what’s going on in your head. Lay it all out for each other and then work from there.”

“This is way you’re my friend! You always know what to say.”

 

I picked my bag and my phone off my bed and I sent Arnav a quick message saying that I was leaving soon.

 

“Have a great night Khushi and don’t worry about Arushi, me and mom have got her.”

“I never worry about Arushi when she’s with you and Mausi. You guys take better care of her than I do.”

 

Raj gave a little laugh before walking out of my room. I followed him out and shut my door. I was just about to go looking for Arushi, when she came running out of Veera Mausi’s bedroom and hugged me.

 

“Where are you going Mama?”

“I told you, I’m going out with your papa.”

“Ohhhh. Will you come back quickly?”

“I’ll try baby. But if I don’t, go to bed when nani tells you.”

“Can you tell papa something?”

“Of course.”

“Tell him he’s the best papa ever!”

 

I kissed the top of her head and smiled. I’d never get over Arushi calling Arnav papa. When they had met and when she wouldn’t call him papa, it did worry me a little. But now, since yesterday, it was just papa, papa, papa! I think Raj was taken aback a bit that Arushi had started calling Arnav papa, but he didn’t say anything, nor did he show anything. But I understood how he must have been feeling. After years and years of being Arushi’s papa, to suddenly not be her papa must be weird.

 

“Khushi, you’re going to start running late.”

 

Looking at my watch, I realised he was right. Giving Arushi one more hug and waving buy to Raj, I was ready to go. Date night with my husband after almost 6 and a half years… This was going to be interesting.

 

*****

 

When I got to the restaurant, Arnav was already waiting for me at the reception. As I approached him, he walked towards me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pressing a light kiss on my cheek. His lips were soft and warm, like they had been all those years ago.

 

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

“Reservation for Mr and Mrs Raizada?”

 

The waiter nodded and led us to our table. Arnav’s arm didn’t move off of my waist and I was glad he didn’t. I felt like a teenager, going out for the first time with my crush. I felt so lightheaded, I was sure I’d pass out.

When we got to our table, Arnav took his arm away from my waist but took my hand instead and he pulled a chair out for me. I sat down and then he went across and sat down too.

It felt a little awkward and I didn’t know what to say. Looking at him, I could tell he was feeling the same way.

 

“So Arushi told me to tell you you’re the best papa ever.”

“Did she really?”

“Yeah. She talks about you all the time any way, but since yesterday she’s been completely different. It’s like she’s in awe of you. What did you guys do yesterday?”

 

I watched as he smiled.

 

“Father daughter business. Mom doesn’t need to know what we got up to.”

 

I feigned annoyance and crossed my arms.

 

“Oh nice! Now you’re both keeping secrets from me.”

 

He laughed and I couldn’t help but laugh too. I was so glad that they were getting on, that they were really bonding. I uncrossed my arms and I placed my hand on the table. Arnav put his hand on top of mine.

 

“Khushi, I don’t want to sound like an absolute imbecile, but can we not talk about Arushi this evening. I feel like every time we’ve been meeting recently, or every time we speak on the phone, it’s always about Arushi. And as much as I love speaking about our daughter, I want to take some time for us to talk about us.”

 

I nodded. His request was one that made sense. Since that first day when we met again, we hadn’t really taken any time to talk about ourselves or what we want. And as great as it was to finally be able to talk to him about our daughter, I also wanted to talk to him about him, and about us.

 

“How’s everyone at home?”

“They’re good, I spoke to Di and jijaji just before I came out. They all want me to go home.”

 

Home… We hadn’t really discussed what would happen next, what would happen when he went back to Delhi. I mean, he’d mentioned taking us home, but we hadn’t had a serious conversation about it. Arnav was meant to have gone back ages ago, but he had stayed after meeting me and Arushi. But he was needed in Delhi, and I didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to stay here for.

 

“So have you decided when you’re going to go back?”

“As of right now, I don’t have any plans to go back yet, but I’ve been getting calls from Akash and Aman saying I need to start getting back. Important projects and stuff and being lined up and they can’t really go ahead without me.”

“So you’re probably going to have to leave soon?”

 

He looked at me and smiled and squeezed my hand. Maybe he could tell that I was concerned about him leaving.

 

“When I go back, I’m taking you and our baby back with me. So whether I go back next week or next year, you’re both coming with me. I’m not leaving you. No way in hell is that happening.”

 

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go back yet but before I could say anything. The waiter arrived with the menus and we took them. Arnav opened his up first and had a look down the list. I opened mine up too and had a look.
Maybe he could tell I was unsure of what to order mix or maybe he wanted to move our attention from going home, but he recommended a bunch of dishes.

 

“Wow that’s a lot of dishes that you’ve tried. Have you been here a lot? Lots of hot dates?”

 

I raised my eyebrow and he looked back at me, his own eyebrow raised.

 

“The last time I went on a hot date, it was near enough six and a half years ago. And I must say, it was a super hot date.”

 

I bit my lip a little and looked down, blushing. He was right, it was a hot date. A super hot date. He’d been busy with work the entire week and I guess we’d both been getting a little frustrated that we weren’t able to spend any time together. This was just before all of the Nimisha stuff happened. He took us out one night so we could spend some time together.

Long story short, we never made it to the cinema or to dinner. We found a secluded road, parked under a tree, and then made our way into the backseat of his car.

He smiled at me knowingly, he knew what I was thinking about.

 

“You should pick what you want to eat.”

 

I looked down the menu, reading what everything was and then took his options into consideration too.

When I finally decided on what I wanted, I told Arnav and he relayed it to the waiter when he came back round.

With our orders placed we settled back down as we waited for our food.

 

“So you may have to start going back soon?”

“Yes, but I’m going to try putting it off for as long as I can. I don’t want to have to leave you and Arushi behind and I know you’re not ready to go back yet.”

“But if you need to go…”

“I’m not going to leave without you and our baby. Work can wait.”

 

I couldn’t help but smile. We mattered to him, and he wanted us in his life.

 

“Have you mentioned to anyone that you found me?”

“No. You told me you didn’t want me to…”

“No I don’t. I was just asking.”

“I see. I haven’t. I want to surprise everyone when I take you and Arushi home.”

 

We carried on talking for a while. About everyone at home. He showed me pictures from Payal and Akash’s wedding. He showed me pictures of the kids and it hit me how he didn’t have any pictures Of Nimisha and Pari. I mean I know he doesn’t see them as his family, but it also helped me to see just how incomplete his life had been for all these years. I had thought he was having a great life with Nimi, but it turns out…

 

“I was thinking the other day Khushi, you know, after I had lunch with Raj. It’s going to be really hard for him when you and Arushi leave.”

 

I looked down at the food which had arrived a few minutes before and I pushed it around my plate a little. Arnav was right, and it was something I had thought about myself as well.
I knew it was going to be hard for Raj. Heck, it was going to be hard for me and Arushi as well. For years, Veera mausi and Raj were our family. They were all we had. And now…

 

“Khushi… I was thinking, maybe we need to start thinking about you and Arushi moving in with me.”

 

I almost chocked on my food. I wasn’t expecting him to say something like that. We hadn’t even spoken about moving in together. We had spoken about going back to Delhi at some point, but we hadn’t spoken about moving in together while we were here.

 

“I just think, if we move in together, it would give Arushi more time to get accustomed to having me around. And this way, we’ll be able to spend even more time together. If we just go to Delhi together, it maybe too much for Arushi at one time. If we just go back home, then Arushi would have to get used to living with me full time, but also the whole family. It may be a bit overwhelming. And when we get back to Delhi, I won’t be able to spend much time with her because of work.”

He had a point and I understood what he was saying. But moving in with him? It’s not that I didn’t want to move in with Arnav, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that yet.

 

“I don’t know…”
“There’s no rush, nor is there any pressure, but I think it would be helpful for Arushi. And well…”

 

He reached out for me again and placed his hand on top of mine, stroking my skin with his thumb.

 

“I want to be able to spend more time with you as well. Really get our relationship back on track you know.”

 

I did know and I wanted that too. But for some reason the idea of moving in together was giving me palpitations. And not good ones either.

 

“I want to… But I think I just need some time.”

 

He nodded and he smiled. He understood, and that’s all that mattered. He understood and he respected me need for time. What more could I ask for?

 

*****

 

Dinner was done and we were making our way back to our cars. We found his car first and we’re saying goodbye when he placed his hands on my waist and stepped closer to me.

 

“Arnav…”

 

He pushed me back against the car, his hands still on my waist.

 

“I’ve been dying to kiss you. It’s been over six years since I last felt you lips on mine.”

 

I felt myself flush as I looked down. I’d been dying to kiss him too. His hold on my waist tightened as his eyes fluttered shut. I slowly closed mine too as I anticipated what was to come. I felt his breath on my face and I felt my breathing stop altogether. I hadn’t been this close to him in so long and it made me realise just how much I wanted to be close to him.

I felt his lips brush against mine ever so slightly but the sound of a car beeping caused us to jump apart. He was still holding me close when we opened our eyes and looked around us.

He slowly took his hands off me and I couldn’t help but feel slightly disheartened. I wanted to kiss him, but the moment was gone now.
Slowly Arnav took his hands off my waist and smiled.

 

“I guess I should let you get home.”

“Yeah… I should get home.”

 

He nodded and then hugged me quickly before saying goodbye and getting into his car.

I made my way over to my car and I watched as he pulled away. I didn’t want to have to say goodbye to him. I didn’t want to have to go to a house where he wasn’t there. Maybe I was ready to move in with him? Maybe it’s the step I need to take… Maybe…

 

*****

 

I watched as Arnav pushed Arushi on the swings and I sat and smiled. They both were laughing and enjoying themselves.

It had been a few days since me and Arnav had been out for dinner. We hadn’t really spoken again about going home or moving in together, but we had spoken. We’d spoken about ourselves and our daughter. And late at night, when neither of us could sleep, we’d have very adult conversations about how we wanted to be together. About what we wanted to do together.

The first time we’d spoken like that on the phone or through text, I had felt slightly awkward. It hadn’t felt natural, I had felt it was slightly forced from my side, like I had to respond with something sexy.

But now, it came naturally. Because I really did want to be with him. Because I really did want to touch him.

Just thinking about it all now made me want him so much more, but I didn’t know when we’d be able to do all the things we wanted to. It was like the opportunity just wasn’t coming. But I was willing to wait. I didn’t mind having to wait. Because once the opportunity did come, and once it happened, I knew it would all be worth waiting for.

I brought myself out of my thoughts and I turned my attention back to my husband and my daughter who were having the time of their lives. Sometimes it feels a little weird watching them together. I had never thought Arnav would make such a good father. For some reason, I had always been under the impression he’d be the awkward dad type. But he wasn’t. He was a natural dad, and I couldn’t help but fall further in love with him…

 

Jalebi ~ Part 34

It was decided while they were still in the UK that upon arriving back in India, they would have an engagement party. Initially Khushi had been against the idea, claiming she didn’t see what was the need. But Rohan insisted that it was something that he wanted.

Not wanting to argue, Khushi agreed to the idea of having an engagement party.

Still feeling slightly heavyhearted, Khushi went ahead with the engagement party prep with as much enthusiasm that she could muster. It helped that her parents had come back to India with them. If they hadn’t had come, Khushi was certain that all this would be even harder to deal with.

Almost every single day, Garima asked Khushi if she was sure she was making the right decision, and almost every day Khushi gave the same answer.

 

“I am happy with the choice that I have made.”

 

In Khushi’s heart, she knew that she was making the wrong choice. She knew this wasn’t the choice that was going to make her happy, but at the same time, she knew she couldn’t go back. She couldn’t just walk away from Rohan now, not after everything he had done for her.

Sometimes in life, one has to make sacrifices. This was the sacrifice of Khushi’s life. She was sacrificing her love, her Arnav, for Rohan’s happiness…

 

*****

 

The engagement party was in full swing. Rohan and Khushi has decided on hosting their party at a restaurant. It wasn’t a big event, nor had they invited a lot of people, so they were able to host their party in a restaurant.

Greeting their guests with a smile of their faces, they looked the couple. The happy couple. The one everyone had always know would eventually end up together. They were that couple.

As they stood their greeting their friends and family, Rohan slipped his arm around Khushi’s waist and pulled her close to himself.

 

“Rohan…”

“Sh. Smile and keep greeting people.”

“Can you let go of me?”

“Just keep smiling.”

 

Letting out a sigh, Khushi turned her attention back to their guests and smiled and greeted them as they came to talk to her and Rohan. She hated this. Every moment of it.

Looking around the restaurant, Khushi could see there were still a couple of empty seats, meaning that she still had to stand with Rohan, waiting near the door.

 

“Khushi!”

 

Rushing over to her, Payal entered and took Khushi into her arms. Rohan slipped his arm away and walked away, giving Khushi and Payal some space.

 

“You made it!”

“Of course I would! I wouldn’t miss your engagement party for the world.”

 

Looking over Payal’s shoulder, Khushi expected Akash to walk in at any moment, but he didn’t.

 

“Jijaji not with you?”

“No, he didn’t want to come.”

“Fair enough.”

 

Payal threw her arms around Khushi once more and pulled her close to herself.

 

“How have you been?”

“I’ve been okay.”

“No, Khushi, honestly, how have you been?”

 

Pulling away, Khushi looked down at her beautiful light pink lengha and sighed. She should have been super happy today, after all, all these people were gathered to celebrate her engagement, but she wasn’t happy. She had a heavy heart and she didn’t know what to do about it.

 

“I’m okay, considering…”

“Why are you doing this Khushi? Before, I understood. Now? It doesn’t make sense to me.”

“I can’t just leave Rohan now. Not after he accepted me.”

“I get that but bhai… Khushi he’s a wreck. He’s not drinking this time, which is such a relief, but he’s still broken and struggling. If anything, a way, he’s worse this time because he knows what the score is with you.”

 

Looking to Payal, Khushi felt a huge tug at her heart hearing this about Arnav.

 

“He’ll be okay as time goes on.”

 

It was a mare whisper. She couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud because she was worried everyone around her would be able to detect that she knew she was lying.
Would Arnav be okay? Would she ever be okay? Would they both be able to move in from this and learn to accept their circumstances?

 

“He really, really loves you Khushi.”

“I really loved him too jiji. But just because you love someone doesn’t mean that you should be with them.”

 

Opening up her clutch bag, Khushi fishes around a little before pulling out the ring box that Arnav had given her. Looking at the soft box one last time, Khushi handed it over to Payal.

 

“Tell him it’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. And I love it. But it’s not mine and I can’t keep it. Please also tell him that I’m really sorry.”

 

It pained Payal to take the ring back and it was evident that it was painful for Khushi to be giving it back. But regardless, she knew she couldn’t keep it.

 

“There’s still time, please reconsider. Please Khushi. I know this isn’t the right thing for you to do.”

“It’s over jiji. There’s nothing left to reconsider.”

 

*****

 

Once all the guests had arrived and were seated, Rohan got to his feet and gave a little speech, thanking everyone for joining them and hoping that everyone would leave them kind wishes for their upcoming marriage.

 

“I know a lot of people have been asking us about dates and we haven’t said anything until now. However we have decided on getting married in exactly a months time from now.”

 

There was a gasp from the guests before they started clapping.
This was news for Khushi. She didn’t know anything about dates for the wedding, nor had she realised that they would be getting married so soon. She didn’t appreciate being thrown into the deep end in this manner.

Payal who was sat beside Khushi, gave Khushi a little nudge, her eyebrow raised.

 

“You’re getting married in a month? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t know!”

 

Slightly taken aback by Khushi’s response, Payal looked at her sister with concern. She wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or if things were going to end up well. I’m her bones, something just didn’t feel right.

 

*****

 

A quiet little knock on his door brought Arnav out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Akash at his door.

 

“Hi bhai.”

“What do you want Akash?”

“Can I come in?”

 

Thinking about it for a moment, Arnav finally nodded and Akash walked in.

 

“You didn’t go to Khushi’s engagement party with Payal?”

“No. I didn’t feel right. And I doubt Khushi would have wanted me there.”

“True, she probably wouldn’t have. But who knows with her.”

“Bhai are you… Are you okay?”

“I’m alright, you?”

 

Nodding, Akash looked around awkwardly before finally taking a seat on the recliner.

 

“I feel like we haven’t really spoken properly in quite a long time.”

“It’s because we haven’t.”

“I know. And I know it’s my fault.”

“Leave it Akash. It’s not worth talking about.”

“No bhai, we do. We need to talk about it.”

 

Sighing, Arnav took a seat on his bed, facing Akash. He didn’t really want to talk to Akash about anything, but he knew that if they wanted to restore peace, then he needed to talk to him.

 

“Bhai, I fucked up. Big time. I made a mess of so much…”

“We’ve been through all that before.”

“I know… I just… I wanted to say I’m really sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I got jealous and I… I actually like a complete arse. I can’t even begin to explain what was going through my head because I don’t know myself. I feel like I went momentarily insane.”

“It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay, but what’s happened has happened. We’ll work through it. We’re brothers at the end of the day.”

 

Akash felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of his chest. Once he’d actually had the time to think about everything, he realised how messed up it was of him to act the way he did.

 

“I really am sorry bhai. I…”

“It’s okay. I get it. You cared for Khushi for a long time and to see her with me. But you should’ve just told me how you felt. And about the business, you should have just told me you wanted more responsibility. You know I would’ve given it to you, I would’ve made you my co-CEO if that’s what you wanted.”

“I know, I know. Like I said, I honestly don’t know what came over me. I acted like a child. I’m so embarrassed that I did what I did.”

 

It was evident to Arnav that Akash really was repenting, that he really did feel bad about what he had done. But like he had said, they were brothers at the end of the day. And Arnav was the older brother. It was his duty to help and guide Akash.

 

“So we good?”

“We good. But Akash, don’t get me wrong, I do need some time. Things can’t just snap back to the way they were.”

“I understand and I didn’t expect us to be like how we were before. But it’s important to me to know that at least you don’t hate me.”

“Again, you’re my brother.”

 

Getting off the recliner, Akash went over to Arnav and hugged him. Usually he wouldn’t dare, because he knew how much Arnav hated hugs, but he had to today. And to his delight, Arnav hugged him back.
Breaking the hug, Akash sat beside Arnav.

 

“So bhai, what’s the plan? How are you winning Khushi back?”

“There is no plan. Me and her are over.”

“But bhai, you love each other.”

“There’s nothing I can do. She’s made her decision and that’s that.”

“I can’t believe… I’ve ruined everything! Please let me go speak to her. I’ll beg her! She can’t just walk away like this.”

“I appreciate your efforts Akash. But what’s done is done. It’s over.”

 

Arnav could tell that this revelation was disturbing Akash beyond compare. He could tell that he was genuinely stressed out.

 

“It can’t be over. You both love each other so much! Please let me speak to her. I won’t be able to live with myself, knowing that I caused this.”

“It’s hard Akash but we’ll all learn to come to terms with this. I’ve tried my best but if she isn’t willing to take me back even after everything I’ve done for her, then there’s nothing more for us to do.”

 

Opening his mouth to say something else, Akash couldn’t believe what was going on. He’d ruined his brothers life! He’d never intended on this happening. He had been jealous of Arnav’s success but this… This was beyond anything he had anticipated. He hadn’t expected Arnav to fall so desperately in love…
He couldn’t allow this. He needed to do something.

 

*****

 

As the engagement party rolled to a close, most of the guests had finished their dinner and had already started to leave. Only immediate family and close friends remained.

 

“Did you have a good dinner jiji?”

“I did and I really enjoyed myself this evening. Rohan’s really nice and he seems to care for you.”

 

Smiling, Khushi nodded. She knew Rohan cared for her, but at the end of the day, her feelings for Rohan would never compare to the way she felt about Arnav. But it was too late to think about Arnav now. That was over.

Pulling herself out of her thoughts regarding Arnav, Khushi turned her attention back to Payal and mentally kicked herself for not asking about Akash earlier.

 

“Is everything okay between you and Jijaji?”

 

Khushi watched as Payal’s expression dropped as she sighed.

 

“He… I don’t know Khushi. I know he’s sorry for what he did but… I just can’t look at him the same way after knowing he did that to you…”

“Jiji…”

 

Letting out a sigh, Khushi thought about what we she should say. She couldn’t let there be problems between Payal and Akash because of her.

 

“I know it sucks, but jiji, you can’t let this affect your marriage. What’s happened has happened and you just have learn to move on from it.”

“But Khushi…”

“What’s happened has happened. I’m happy jiji. I have no complaints. I have my business back and I’m getting married, I’m happy, I promise.”

 

Both Payal and Khushi knew that Khushi was lying, but they acted as though it was the truth. There was no point trying to call Khushi out on it.

Crossing her fingers and toes, Payal prayed that her little sister find happiness after marriage, but she knew, that truly, Khushi wasn’t happy and that this wasn’t what she wanted. But there was nothing she could do. Prayers was all she had for Khushi.

Unwanted ~ Part 36

Arnav

Straightening out my tie, I looked at myself in the mirror. And then I decided to ditch the tie. I wanted to look like her dad, not a teacher. I checked my outfit again and then decided I didn’t want to wear a suit at all. Getting changed, I decided to wear a jumper with a pair of jeans. Brushing my hair again, I made sure it looked just right and sat down.

After a few days of correspondence with Khushi, we finally decided that today was the day that I would meet Arushi. It took me and Khushi a while to decide on a location where we should meet, but we finally decided that the best place would be Arushi’s favourite ice cream parlour.

Both Khushi and I were feeling apprehensive about the meeting, but according to Khushi, Arushi couldn’t wait. I was glad she was feeling so positive about it, I just hoped she would feel as positive when she actually saw me. She made up the excitement levels for both of us.

Looking at my watch, there was still just over an hour until I needed to be at the ice cream parlour. I had time to calm my nerves, to relax myself.

I looked at my watch again. 56 minutes to go.

The countdown had begun.

 

*****

 

Pulling up in front of the ice cream parlour, I saw Khushi’s little car already there, meaning she and Arushi had arrived.

I parked my car and then sat in my seat. This was it, I was about to officially meet my daughter. I was absolutely petrified. What if she realised I was her dad and then decided she didn’t want a dad. Or what if she realised she preferred Raj over me?

What would happen if Arushi didn’t like me? Would we keep trying to make things work until she did like me? Or would just decide it’s better if I just took a step out of our daughters life? Would that put a stop to anything developing between me and Khushi again?

I shook my head. I was acting like her mother’s lover, a potential step father. I was her dad, her own father. It was going to be okay, it was all going to work out.

 

*****

 

As I walked into the ice cream parlour, Khushi looked up from where she and Arushi were sat and waved. I smiled back and slowly made my way over to them.

This was it.

As I approached, I realised just how strong the resemblance between Khushi and Arushi was. It was uncanny. The same eyes, the same hair, the same smile…

Arushi turned when she saw Khushi waving to me. The surprise she felt was evident from the expression on her face. She got to her feet and rushed over to me.

 

“Mr Raichanda! What are you doing here?”

 

Mr Raichanda? Is that what she thought my name was? Khushi too got to her feet and came over to me.

 

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

 

She gave me a shy little smile before placing her hand on Arushi’s shoulder.

 

“Let’s go back to our table and finish our ice cream.”

 

Nodding, Arushi turned and went back to her table and Khushi turned her attention back to me.

 

“Come on.”

“Have you told her I’m meeting you guys today.”

“I have. She’s super excited.”

“I’m so nervous Khushi. What if she can’t see me as her dad?”

 

She placed her hand on mine and gave it a squeeze.

 

“She’s been waiting for her dad all her life and she adores you as her teacher. Even if takes her a while, she will accept you as her dad.”

“I really hope so.”

 

Smiling, Khushi turned around when I remembered when I wanted to ask her something. Taking told of her hand, I stopped her in her tracks and pulled her back to myself.

 

“Arnav, Arushi will see!

 

I dropped her hand but I stepped closer to her.

 

“Why does she call me Mr Raichanda?”

 

Tipping her head back, Khushi laughed. She looked so attractive, so beautiful and carefree. How I wanted to pull her into my arms and hold her close.
She composed herself and then replied to my question.

 

“I don’t think she can say Raizada so she calls you Raichanda. If she had said Raizada when she first met you I would have realised… I still had a feeling but I never thought she was actually talking about you.”

 

I took a step back, nodding, and she gestured to the table. She went and sat down beside Arushi and I took the seat opposite her. Arushi looked between me and Khushi, her brows knit together.

 

“Mama, when is papa coming?”

 

Her happy carefree expression changed as she shot an anxious glance my way. I realised then that Khushi was struggling and didn’t actually know how to break the news to Arushi, that she hadn’t really thought that far ahead.

So far, Khushi has seemed so calm and collected about all this, I thought, well I relied on her knowing what to do. But looking at her now I realised she didn’t know what to do. I needed to step up.

I cleared my throat and shuffled in my seat. Here goes nothing.

 

“Arushi I…”

 

Her eyes turned to me and Khushi too looked at her, biting her nail.

 

“I’m your dad.”

 

For a moment, there was no expression on Arushi’s face at all. It was almost as though she didn’t hear what I said. Then she blinked slowly and looked at Khushi. Then she blinked again before turning back to me.

 

From the limited time that I had spent with Arushi, I knew this wasn’t a good sign. Arushi always had something to say.

 

“My papa?”

 

I gave a little nod and she turned back to Khushi again.

 

“I don’t understand…”

 

Khushi reached over and took Arushi’s hand and then she placed her hand on mine.

 

“Haan Arushi, this is your papa.”

“But… If Mr Raichanda is my papa, why didn’t he tell me all this time?”

 

Khushi’s hand slipped away from mine and she looked down. This was going to be harder than we thought it was going to be. What were we going to say now? Her question was valid and one I didn’t know how to work around.

Recomposing herself, Khushi placed both her hands on Arushi’s.

 

“We didn’t tell you that Mr Raizada, Arnav, was your dad because we wanted to see how you interacted with him, we wanted to surprise you.”

 

Khushi was uncertain in her response and it was obvious. Arushi seemed to accept the response but she still looked wary. I realised that maybe we should take a bit of a step back, give Arushi a bit of time to take everything in. I got to my feet.

 

“Maybe I should leave and we can speak another time.”

“Wait Arnav.”

 

Getting to her feet, Khushi took hold of my hand and then dropped it again straight away. She gestured for me to sit back down and I did.

 

“Arushi, I know this is a lot for you to take in and you’re only little but whatever has happened has happened. Arnav is your dad. We can work through things slowly and what you want will happen but we just wanted you to know that this is your dad.”

 

Giving a little smile, Arushi nodded and then got to her feet.

 

“Mama can I have some more ice cream?”

“Go ahead and ask the man for some more.”

 

I watched as my little girl walked off before turning my attention back to Khushi.

 

“I feel like this got slightly more messy than I had anticipated it to be.”

“Maybe a little but overall it was okay I guess. We didn’t know what we were really expecting.”

“Will we ever tell her the truth?”

“Maybe one day Arnav, but right now, she’s a child and she doesn’t need to know all the messy details about our lives.”

 

She had a point. No matter how mature Arushi was for her age, at the end of the day, she was just a child. Even if we tried to explain everything, it would be unfair to let so much onto her. Maybe one day we’d explain, but for now, we just needed to focus on making sure we did right by our little girl.

When Arushi returned, she seemed a lot calmer and a little bubblier. Averting the attention off of the topic of paternity, I asked Khushi how Arushi was allowed to have so much ice cream.

 

“Have you not heard about this place before?”

 

I shook my head.

 

“The ice cream served here is suited for all minorities. So they serve ice cream that’s suitable for diabetics, vegans, vegetarians, those who are lactose intolerant, those who have nut allergies, etc. For a while I was unable to find ice cream that Arushi could have and then this place opened up. We haven’t had ice cream from anywhere else since.”

“Well in that case I better go and get myself a bowl as well.”

 

Arushi giggled as I went up and got myself a bowl of diabetic friendly chocolate ice cream. Coming back to our table, I tucked in.

 

“Sir… I mean papa… I…”

 

Looking up from my bowl, I watched as Arushi tried to string her thoughts together. It was clear the whole teacher becomes father thing was a little hard for her to get her head around.

 

“You don’t have to call me papa yet if you think it’s a bit weird. You can just call me Sir or Mr R…”

 

Khushi looked as though she wanted to protest, but I stopped her. It didn’t matter what Arushi called me, I was her dad all the same. When she was ready, she would address me as her dad.

 

“Mr R, do you like ice cream more or jalebis more?”

“Is that a trick question? Of course I like jalebis more! Especially the ones your mom makes for me.”

“Same! I like jalebis more too!”

 

She put her little hand out to me and I gave her a high five. Khushi laughed as Arushi began telling me about how she could eat jalebis all day every day.

We made small talk. We spoke about the little things Arushi liked and I told her about the things I liked. Khushi sat back with a coffee and smiled as me and Arushi bonded.

 

*****

 

Much, much later, I strapped Arushi into her car seat in the back of Khushi’s car and placed a little kiss on top of her head. Shutting the car door, I took a step back and turned my attention to Khushi.

 

“Drive safe.”

“I will. You drive safe too.”

“Of course.”

 

She gave me a little smile as she started to roll the windows back up.

 

“Wait wait!”

 

Both Khushi and I turned our attention to Arushi. Khushi rolled Arushi’s window down again for her.

 

“Can we go out again one day?”

 

Her eyes were full of hope and excitement, just like how Khushi’s used to get.
I walked back up to Arushi’s window and crouched down so I was just the right height.

 

“Of course we can. I’ll speak to your mama about when I’m free and she can tell me when you’re both free and we can all do something nice together. Make a list of all the things you want us to do.”

 

Nodding enthusiastically, she clapped her hands together. Alerting her that they needed to leave, Khushi rolled Arushi’s window back up and gave me a smile.

This was just the beginning of a new journey. And it was going to be amazing.

 

*****

 

“No no no! You’re wrong! It was a cat!”

“I’m sure it was a baby tiger!”

 

Arushi looked at me as though I was nuts and then shook her head. I offered her my hand and she took as it we made our way back to my car after watching a new animated film at the cinema. Khushi wasn’t with us today because she had work and also because she just wanted me and Arushi to spend more time alone to get to know each other.

 

It’d been just over three weeks since I met Khushi and Arushi at the ice cream shop, and things had been going great. I saw Arushi often because it had been the school holidays. But now school has resumed and I could only see her at the weekends, unless Khushi had time in the evening to bring her round to mine for dinner.
We were juggling, but it was all going well.

As we neared the curb, Arushi took my hand as we prepared to cross the road. Just as we were about to go, a woman called out to Arushi, making us stop and turn. Two women were walking towards us.

 

“Hello auntie.”

“Oh Arushi sweetie, how are you? Where’s your mama?”

“She’s at work.”

 

The first woman turned her attention to me and raised an eyebrow.

 

“Hi I’m Arnav Singh Raizada, I’m Arushi’s…”

“Ah yes yes, I understand.”

 

What did she understand? Who was this woman and why was she looking at me like I was a crook? I watched as she placed a hand on my daughters shoulder.

 

“Be sure to tell your mom that I saw you today. And tell her you both should come by my house soon.”

“I will auntie.”

 

The woman Arushi has been talking to turned away and so we did too, ready to make our way to my car. As we stood at the curb waiting for the light to change again, I heard the woman start talking.

 

“Oh Sheila you know my friend Khushi, that’s her daughter.”

“Oh I see.”

“No you don’t see. She’s a single mother that lives as a paying guest with a man and his mother. To the outside world, it seems as though Raj is Arushi’s dad. But he’s nothing to either of them, Khushi’s just using him. Looks like she’s found another man to…”

 

How dare she? How dare she think like that of my Khushi? And she claims to be Khushi’s friend. I wasn’t going to stand for that.

Turning back, I tapped the woman on the shoulder.

 

“I’m sorry, I don’t think I introduced myself properly. I’m Arnav Singh Raizada, Arushi’s father. Khushi’s husband.”

 

I watched as her expression dropped and Arushi’s hand in mine tightened.

 

“Khushi’s husband?”

“I’m going to request you to not speak about my wife or my family, especially if you don’t know the details.”

“Excuse…”

“Why me and Khushi have lived separately up until now is a personal matter and not something that needs to be common knowledge.”

 

With that, I turned away and me and Arushi made our way to the car without looking back. The nerve of some people was unbelievable.

 

Getting to the car, I strapped Arushi in proper and just as I moved back to shut her door, she took hold of my hand. I came back to her, crouching so I was level with her.

 

“What’s the master sweetheart?”

“You shouted at auntie for being rude about mama.”

 

It was a statement, not a question.

 

“Of course I did. You and your mama are important to me, you’re my family and I’m not going to stand for it when people are rude about either of you.”

“Please don’t tell mama, she’ll get upset.”

“I won’t tell, don’t worry.”

“Thanks papa.”

 

As she slowly let go of my hand and smiled at me, I felt my entire body heat up with pride and joy. My daughter called me papa for the first time!

 

*****

 

“You guys back?”

Raj shook my hand and gave Arushi a little hug. To begin with I wasn’t too fond of having him around my wife and daughter all the time, but as I got to know him better, I realised how much of a decent guy he was. He cared for my girls like they were his own family and he accepted me.

 

“We had a great time today didn’t we Arushi?”

 

She nodded and came and gave me a little hug. As Arushi let me go, she went to hold Raj’s hand and dragged him away to tell him all she did.

 

“Wait Raj, where’s Khushi?”

“She came home from work a little while ago, so she’s properly in her room after showering.”

“Can I go through?”

“Sure dude.”

 

I gave him a thumbs up and then made my way to Khushi’s room, stopping at her closed door. I gave it a little knock.

 

“Come in.”

 

I pushed the bedroom door open to find Khushi stood in front of the mirror with the pot of sindoor in her hand. Walking up behind Khushi, I wrapped one arm around her waist and pinched some sindoor with the other hand.

 

“Arnav…”

 

Taking the sindoor, I filled her parting the way I had done all those years ago when I married her.

I watched as Khushi smiled before wrapped my other arm around her too, holding her close to myself, pressing my pelvis against her ass.

 

“Hi.”

 

I dipped my face to her neck and placed a kiss there. She placed her hand on top of mine as she rested her head against my chest.

 

“Arnav, Arushi will…”

“She’s with Raj, telling him all about our day.”

 

I kissed her neck once more before pulling away.

 

“Arushi called me papa.”

 

Spinning in my arms, Khushi looked at me with wide eyes before hugging me.

 

“Oh my goodness! I’m so happy! Finally!”

“Part of my mission is complete, my daughter accepts me. Now for phase two?”

 

Pulling back slightly, she raised her eyebrow.

 

“What’s phase two?”

“Spending time with my wife.”

 

Blushing, Khushi looked down and fiddled with her bracelet. I placed my hands on her waist and she slowly looked up again.

 

“Me, you, dinner, tomorrow night at 8. Be ready babe.”

Jalebi ~ Part 33

A little while Arnav had left, there was a light knock on Khushi’s door.

 

“Not now Rohan, please.”

 

Quietly, the door opened and Rohan walked into the room and sat beside Khushi on the bed.

 

“Are you okay?”

“Please just let me be for a while.”

“I can only imagine how hard this is for you. I’m sorry, that your hurting so much.”

 

Turning away from Rohan, Khushi opened the ring box once more time, looking at it as she cried harder. Looking over her shoulder, Rohan saw the ring.

 

“Did he…”

 

Nodding, Khushi turned to face Rohan.

 

“I think he was going to propose to me with it.”

“You need to give it back.”

 

Rohan was firm with what he was saying.

 

“I wasn’t going to keep it but…”

“You need to give it back. Either he can get his money back for it or he can give it to someone else. But you can’t keep it.”

 

The way Rohan was speaking to her, angered her. What did he think of her? That she was going to keep it? And how could he even suggest that Arnav would give this very ring to someone else? It was clear that this ring was one that he had picked especially for her, it had her name written all over it.

 

“I need you to leave and give me some time.”

“Khushi…”

“Just go Rohan!”

 

Letting out a loud, exaggerated sigh, Rohan got off the bed and left Khushi’s room. Just before leaving, he turned to her one last time.

 

“You need to accept that we’re getting married. The sooner you accept it and learn to deal with it, the less memories of him will affect you.”

 

Shutting the door behind him loudly, Khushi turned to the door, wanting to say something back to him. How dare he? Khushi felt so angry. Angry at the circumstances that she was in and angry at Rohan being such a jerk at a time like this. How she wished she could just turn back time so she never came back to India in the first place.

 

*****

 

When Arnav got home, he was glad to find that everyone had gone out. But as he made his way up to his room, he saw Payal sat in her room, lost in her own world. Knocking on her door, he waited until she acknowledged him.

 

“Bhai? Is everything okay? Come in.”

 

Walking into Payal’s room, she got to her feet and gestured for him to take a seat on the sofa. Taking in his face, it was evident that he wasn’t okay.

 

“What happened?”

“She chose him over me.”

“She what?”

 

Payal knew what had been going on. She knew about Khushi and Rohan and about how Arnav had won the businesses back and given her her business back. But Payal had thought that when all of that got sorted, even if not immediately, at some point Khushi and Arnav would get back together.

 

“Last night… You know I was with her. I thought things would be okay between us. But now, today, she’s telling me she chooses him over me and that despite everything, she wants to marry him.”

“But… She loves you? Surely…”

“That’s what I thought. I thought because she loved me, if I made things right, she’d come back to me. But evidently not.”

“Would you like me to speak to her. To see what she’s thinking and why she’s reacting like this?”

 

Shaking his head, Arnav looked Payal in the eye as he spoke.

 

“No. Don’t bother. She’s not worth it. Screw it and screw her. She’s made her bed and now she can lie in it. I’m done with her and her games.”

“But bhai…”

“I don’t want to speak about her any more. Forget about it Payal.”

 

Knowing that the conversation was over, Payal looked down at her hands. She couldn’t understand why Khushi would do this. She knew that Khushi loved Arnav a lot. And Arnav was everything she wanted. So why…

 

“Payal can I say something to you?”

 

This brought Payal out of her thoughts as she turned her attention back on Arnav.

 

“Of course. There’s no need to ask.”

 

Putting his hands in his lap, Arnav looked up at Payal before looking away again, feeling uncomfortable.

 

“I just… I wanted to apologise.”

“For what bhai?”

“For taking the businesses back from Akash.”

“Why are you apologising for that? He wrongfully took Khushi’s business from her and you did what you needed to do to get it back for her. You didn’t do anything wrong. If anything, I should apologise on his behalf. I still don’t understand why he’d do that to Khushi. Why he’d do that to you!”

 

Arnav had thought about maybe telling Payal the truth. Telling her what he had heard Akash say to Khushi that day, but he decided against it. He knew Payal and Akash’s relationship was already under a lot of strain, he didn’t want to add to that.

 

“You don’t need to apologise for him. He’s a grown man and should’ve known better. You aren’t responsible for his actions.”

 

Shrugging, Payal knew Arnav had a point. She didn’t know he was planning anything like this and even if she did, she didn’t think that her views would have made a difference to him.

 

“How has he been doing?”

“He’s been okay. I thought he would have been angry or under a lot of strain, but he’s not. If anything he seems a lot more free. So I guess it doesn’t bother him that you’ve taken everything back. I think he had realised that he was out of his depth and whatever his plan was, he must have realised it wasn’t going to work.”

 

Nodding, Arnav looked at his watch and then got to his feet.

 

“Right, I’m going to be off to my room. I need to look through some files and make sure that everything’s in order again.”

“Are you going to be okay bhai, regarding…”

“I just need some time to process and accept what’s happened, but I think I’ll be okay.”

“If you’d like to talk, or if you need anything, I’ll be right here.”

“Thanks Payal. I appreciate it, I really do.”

 

Once Arnav left Payal’s room, she picked her phone up and called Khushi. But her Khushi’s phone was unreachable. Sighing, Payal decided to leave Khushi a message, asking her to call back as soon as she was able to.

 

*****

 

As the days slipped by, Rohan saw less and less of Khushi. He had thought that once she got over the fact that her and Arnav were over, she’d started accepting it better and that she would start trying to move forward with him. But if anything, he found she was going backwards, speaking to him less and less.

It was abundantly clear that Khushi was very much in love with Arnav and that she wasn’t ready to let him go. But Rohan was beginning to lose patience. He knew when he got into this relationship that he would be second fiddle, but he’d also through that Khushi would realise how much he cared for her and would start trying to move on. But it just wasn’t happening.

On a number of occasions, Rohan had seen Khushi in her room, wearing the ring that Arnav had given her and staring at it.

So far Rohan had managed to keep his cool, to not get mad at her, but it was getting increasingly harder as time went on. On one particular evening, Rohan decided that enough was enough.

Putting dinner together for them, he knew what he needed to do in order to make headway with the situation in hand.

 

*****

 

“This was some really good food, thank you.”

“It was my pleasure Khushi.”

 

Putting his fork down, Rohan realised that now was the time to say what he had been thinking.

 

“Khushi… I was thinking maybe… I think we should go back to England.”

 

Putting her own fork down, Khushi looked up at Rohan. At the back of her mind she knew that this was coming, it made sense why Rohan wanted to go back.

 

“Okay.”

 

Khushi’s response threw Rohan a bit. He hadn’t expected Khushi to agree so easily to his request. He had thought that she would argue and would want to stay here. But apparently not.

 

“I was going to book myself a ticket for London any way. I need to go and sort things at Khushiyan.”

“So when do you think we should leave?”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

 

Picking up her plate, Khushi made her way over to the sink to wash up. She didn’t really need to go to London to sort out her business. But she had realised that if she wanted to get over Arnav, then the more distance there was between them, the better it would be. Plus she was missing her parents a lot. She needed to be with them right now.

 

*****

 

A week had passed since Khushi and Rohan had decided that they were going to go back to London and now they were finally back. Between the time she had made the decision and now, Khushi had regretted her decision at least 50 times. She knew that the moment she saw her parents, they would grill her once more about all things related to Arnav and she wasn’t ready for that.

On the other hand, Arnav was completely shattered when he learnt that Khushi was leaving for London once more. He had tried to get in contact with her, but his efforts were futile and she had blocked his number.

He was struggling to cope, but didn’t seek reassurance in alcohol this time for the sake of his Nani. But he knew he needed to do something in order to help deal with the dull ache in his heart.

Payal had observed her brother in law and she couldn’t help but feel broken for him. His momentary happiness that had come to him was gone again. He walked around the house like someone haunted. She had tried to contact Khushi, but when she finally got through to her, she found out that Khushi was leaving again. Payal wasn’t impressed. She couldn’t understand why Khushi was being like this.

And then there was Akash. He wasn’t happy with how things had turned out, about the fact that he no longer owned the business, but at the same time there was a new found peace in him. He had come to terms with what had happened and he also realised that he was a mess. Akash knew that he had made a royal mess for his brother, and he knew that he needed to do something to make it up to him, but at the moment, his efforts were fruitless as Arnav didn’t want to have anything to do with him…

 

*****

 

“I really don’t understand what’s going on Khushi. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

 

Rolling her eyes, Khushi put the kettle on before coming to sit down opposite her parents at their kitchen table.

She and Rohan had been back in the U.K. for just over 4 hours and she already knew coming back here was the worst idea. Last time she was here, she had gotten engaged to Rohan so suddenly, her parents hadn’t really had time to process things and so they couldn’t say much before she left. But this time, they had time to think about the matter and so were full of questions.

 

“Amma, Babuji, please. I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“You may not want to talk about it Khushi, but you have to. What on earth are you playing at? You didn’t explain to us whey you made this decision when you left and you still haven’t explained to us. And Rohan won’t say anything either.”

 

Wishing that she had invited Rohan back to her house, Khushi sighed as she got back up to make the teas.

Looking between each other, Shashi and Garima knew that there was something wrong. Getting to her feet, Garima walked over to where Khushi was and gestured for her husband to leave.

 

“Khushi, please, tell me. What happened. We know what happened between you and Arnav regarding the business, we understand that. But all this with Rohan. Khushi…”

 

“Amma please. If you know and understand what happened between me and Arnav, then why is it so hard to accept me and Rohan.”

“It’s hard to accept because your father and I both know how much you cared for Arnav. We know things went horribly wrong, but we don’t understand why you’d make such a big decision regarding Rohan.”

“You and papa wanted me to marry Rohan and I’m doing that! Why can’t you just…”

“No we can’t accept it Khushi! Because we know you don’t want to marry Rohan.”

“Well I do now.”

 

Turning away from her mother, Khushi knew that it was going to be hard to convince her parents that this was the right decision. Coming back towards her daughter, Garima placed a hand on Khushi’s shoulder.

 

“Dekho Khushi, I can kind of understand why you are doing this, but that doesn’t mean I agree. Rethink what you are doing, you’re making choices for what’s going to happen to the lives of three people, not just yourself.”

“Mama please. I’ve made my decision. And my decision is Rohan. The sooner everyone accepts this, the better.”

“We just want your happiness. I won’t say anything more on the topic, but what I will say is that, you need to think about this carefully and clearly with a fresh mind. Will you be happy with Rohan? Can you see yourself living your whole life with him? Maybe even starting a family with him one day. If your answer to any of these is no, then don’t go ahead with this.”

 

Garima placed a hand in her daughters shoulder and made her turn around.

 

“Please Khushi.”

“Okay. I will think about it.”

 

Leaving the kitchen, Garima walked away, hoping that her daughter would make the right decision. Khushi watched her mother walk away and couldn’t help but think about everything her mother had said. She had taken it all, and she had already thought about everything her mother had mentioned before. But she knew she couldn’t go back now. She couldn’t betray Rohan’s trust and go back to Arnav. She just couldn’t.

Jalebi ~ Part 32

 

When Arnav got home, it was safe to say that his aura had completely changed. If over the last couple of weeks he had been walking around with a dark cloud over his head, today he had a rainbow over his head.

The moment he walked in through the door and Anjali saw him, she knew things had changed for the better.

 

“Chote, where were you last night? I called you so many times.”

 

Rushing to his sister, he gave her a big hug, lifting her off her feet slightly.

 

“Chote! What are you doing, put me down!”

 

Hearing the commotion, Shyam came out to see what was going on.

 

“Arre what’s going on here?”

 

Letting go of his sister, Arnav went over to his brother in law and gave him the same treatment.

 

“Saale Saab! Have you go crazy! What are you doing? Put me down right this moment!”

 

Putting his brother in law down, Arnav sat down on the sofa and pat the seats next to him. Shyam and Anjali came over and sat down on either side of Arnav.

 

“Will you tell us what’s going on? And I still want to know where you were last night.”

“I was with Khushi.”

“What? You spent the night, with Khushi?”

 

Blushing slightly, Arnav nodded. Anjali gasped whereas Shyam slapped Arnav on the back in a laddish manner.

 

“Shyam ji! Don’t encourage him!”

“Di! Come on, you know it’s not the first time me and Khushi have spent the night together.”

“I do know, but that doesn’t mean I approve. You know how I feel about premarital sex.”

“Rani Sahiba, go easy on him. He thought he lost her, so to have her back…”

 

Anjali shook her head as she watched her husband pat her brother on the back. Boys, such idiots they were.

 

“Okay forget that. Did the plan work?”

“It did Di! It worked like a charm. What was Akash like when he got home last night?”

“He was very quiet, but he seemed at ease. He hasn’t looked that relaxed in a long time.”

“So he’s okay?”

“He’s alright. I don’t think he’s going to be a bother any more.”

 

Stretching his arms, Arnav placed his arms around his sister and brother in law, pulling them close to himself.

 

“I can’t believe everything is working out again. I thought…”

 

Anjali placed her hand on Arnav’s shoulder.

 

“The bad period of your life has passed Chote. Things are only going to get better now.”

“I hope so. I hope her fiancé isn’t too mad at her about last night…”

“Wait! Was her fiancé… Please tell me you didn’t sleep with her while he was in the house!”

“Of course not! Come on Di! What do you think of me. He’s been out of town for a while, but he… He kind of walked in on us this morning.”

 

Anjali groaned and put her face in her hand, while Shyam laughed.

 

“Were you both… At it?”

“Yep.”

“Oh god!”

 

Shyam was in absolute stitches with laughter and Arnav smirked. But Anjali was not impressed at all.

 

“In glad that you both find this so funny. Do you understand how much of an issue this could cause for Khushi? Her fiancé walked in on her, sleeping with another man! Do you understand how vulnerable you have left her?”

“It’s not ideal but I think it’ll be okay. I’ll call her in a bit to make sure that everything’s okay.”

 

Getting up, Arnav took his leave from his sister and brother in law and made his way over to his bedroom.

 

“I can’t believe Chote…”

“Go easy on him Rani Sahiba. He’s had a hard couple of weeks.”

“I know… I just hope he hasn’t made more of a mess of things.”

 

*****

 

“I need you to pick. Either you’re with me and you marry me and you forget about him. Or we end our relationship now and you can go back to him. It’s up to you. But bearing in mind, if you pick me, you can’t ever see him again.”

 

Stumped as to what Rohan had just said, Khushi felt herself lose her balance slightly, but she regained her strength. Why was she surprised that Rohan was asking this of her? She should have known this was coming.

Sitting down on the sofa, Khushi placed her hands on her face, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. Rohan’s expression softened as he came and sat down beside Khushi, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Putting her arms around Rohan, Khushi held him close as she cried. She wanted Arnav, she still loved him but…

 

“I pick you.”

 

Wiping her eyes and breaking the hug, Khushi looked up into Rohan’s eyes.

 

“I pick you.”

 

*****

 

Rushing back into her bedroom, Khushi leaned against the door, letting her tears fall.

Was she making the right decision? She knew Arnav was innocent, that he hadn’t done anything to hurt her or to cause her to distrust him. But how could she go back to him now? Rohan had accepted her, despite knowing her past. Rohan was willing to marry her even after seeing her with Arnav today. How could she betray Rohan like that and go back to Arnav now? How could she do that to Rohan when he had accepted her time and time again despite being aware of everything she had done?

Much later the same day, Khushi had spent most of her day in her room, trying to get over the decision that she had made. She was still weighing it all up, making sure that she had made the right decision.

Just as she was getting ready to leave her room and to face Rohan, her phone began to ring. Walking over to her bedside table to pick it up, Khushi saw that it was Arnav calling. What was she meant to say to him?

Taking a deep breath, Khushi answered the phone.

 

“Hi…”

“Khushi, hey! Are you okay?”

“I’m… I’m alright.”

“He didn’t say anything to you did he?”

“No, not really. I mean he was angry, that was a given, but he was okay.”

“I’m sorry that we were in that position.”

“It’s okay. What’s happened has happened.”

 

There was a silence as they both tried to figure out what to say.

 

“Arnav…”

 

Arnav felt himself tense up. The way she said his name, it caused a shiver to run up his spine. He could tell something wasn’t quite right.

 

“What’s wrong? Khushi, tell me what happened.”

 

Trying to fight her tears back, Khushi composed herself before saying what she wanted to say.

 

“I… I can’t… I can’t speak to you any more, I’m sorry.”

 

Ending the call, Khushi threw her phone aside me collapsed down onto her bed. Everything was over.

Looking at his phone in disbelief, Arnav couldn’t believe what was happening. After what they had been through, after everything, she was still willing to let him go?
No, he couldn’t allow that. He couldn’t just let her go like that.

Calling her right back, Arnav was disappointed to find that his call went straight to voicemail.

He waited a few moments before calling right back. He called over and over again, but his calls went straight to voicemail every single time. Had she blocked his calls?

Anger coursed through Arnav’s body. How could she let him go like that over and over again. Did he mean so little to her? Maybe Rohan had said something?

Trying to call her a few more times, Arnav realised that it was futile. He needed to go over to see her, whether she and her fiancé liked it or not.

 

*****

 

“You can’t be here.”

“I need to see Khushi.”

 

Barging passed Rohan who had opened the door, Arnav walked into the living room, of Khushi’s apartment.

 

“She doesn’t want to see you.”

“My ass she doesn’t want to see me.”

“She doesn’t Arnav. She picked me over you. So how about you take the hint and you leave.”

“She’d never pick you over me. She loves me.”

“I hate to break it to you buddy, but she did pick me. So I suggest you leave quietly before I call the police.”

“I’m not leaving until I see her.”

 

Door opening, a puffy eyed Khushi walked out of her bedroom.

 

“What’s going on…”

 

As her eyes fell on Arnav, any thought that was going through her head fell away.

 

“Arnav…”

“I tried to tell him that you don’t want to see him, but he won’t listen.”

“Can you give us a few minutes please Rohan?”

 

Rohan looked high unimpressed at the request Khushi had just made, but he wasn’t about to argue. After all, she had picked him over Arnav. He didn’t have anything to lose.
Nodding, Rohan placed a hand on Khushi’s shoulder before making his way over to his room.

The moment the door shut behind him, Arnav was on Khushi.

 

“What the hell are you playing at Khushi?”

“I’m not…”

“This morning, everything was fine between us, you were all over me and now… You’re not taking my calls, Rohan is claiming you don’t want to see me. What the hell is going on?”

“I… I just realised that me and you, our relationship, it isn’t sustainable.”

“Not sustainable? What kind of nonsense is that?”

“Arnav please.”

“No! What kind of bullshit is this Khushi? You keep playing with me like I’m some kind of toy.”

“How…”

“Last night, everything that happened was initiated by you. You came onto me, making me think that we were… You wanted us to make love, YOU wanted that more than I did. And now you’re blocking me out again!”

“I made a mistake.”

“That’s the thing with you Khushi. When you want me, you’re all over me and then you ice me out! You did that to me in London. Spend the night with me and then the next morning you completely block me out and ask me to leave. I don’t hear from you for days and then when you’re ready to talk again, you’re all over me. You’ve done it so many times and… I’m being patient with you. I want to be with you but you… Do you even know what you want Khushi?”

 

Arnav hadn’t wanted to be so harsh, he didn’t want to bring the past up. But she was getting under his skin, driving him insane.

 

“Arnav…”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I love you more than you can possibly imagine. Please… I know you love me too. Don’t make us both suffer like this.”

“I can’t…”

“You can!”

“Rohan…”

“Ugh! For gods sake Khushi, you don’t love him! You know in your heart you don’t really want to be with him.”

“But I do. I mean… I…”

“You what?”

 

Looking at the beautiful man stood before her, Khushi was struggling. But she knew she had to do what was required of her.

 

“I have picked Rohan. I’m marrying Rohan. I’m sorry.”

“Khushi…”

“Despite everything, Rohan has accepted me. I can’t go back on him now when he accepted me.”

“But what about me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“So that’s it? Everything we’ve been through, everything between us, it doesn’t matter?”

 

Looking down, Khushi fought back the tears that threatened to fall. Turning away from Arnav, she looked at nothing in particular and hoped he would leave soon.

 

“You’re really going to pick him over me?”

“Yes.”

“Do I really mean that little to you?”

 

Looking away, Khushi refused to comment. She couldn’t lie to him, nor could she tell him the truth.

 

“Then I guess we’re done here.”

 

He moved towards her, only to stop midway and turn back. Moving back over to the door, he looked at her one last time before slamming the door shut behind him.

 

Turning, Khushi had to stop herself from running after him, taking him into her arms and telling him that she picked him. But she knew she couldn’t do that. Moving back towards her bed, Khushi sat down. Why was everything such a mess? Why was it so hard? Why couldn’t they just be together?

Letting her tears flow, Khushi soon noticed a little box that was sat on her bedside table. Picking it up, she opened it up to find a beautiful ring nestled within. A flower shaped diamond ring, with multiple little diamonds making up the petals for the flower and going along the band, while a larger diamond sat at the centre of the flower. Was this…
Khushi looked between the beautiful ring in the box and the one that was already on her hand. The one from Rohan was a simple solitaire diamond ring. It was stunning but it wasn’t anything special or personal. Whereas this one from Arnav… It was evident he had really thought about her when he had brought it.

Slipping the ring from Rohan off of her finger, she placed the one Arnav had left on. It for perfectly and it looked beautiful. The ring was made her for in the same way that Arnav was made for her… But she couldn’t go back. She couldn’t accept Arnav and leave Rohan.

Slipping the ring back off, Khushi put it back in the box and snapped it shut. Opening up her drawer, Khushi pushed the ring to the back, along with all her memories and feelings for Arnav.

Unwanted ~ Interlude III

Nimisha

 

Tucking Pari into bed, I made my way back to my room and got changed.

Once changed and ready to get into bed, I turned the TV on and slipped in between my bed sheets. Laying back, resting against the headboard, I watched TV, letting myself unwind after a long day.

This is generally how my evenings went. After getting everything done and getting Pari off to sleep, I’d spend the evening either watching TV, reading a book, or getting work for the next day done. It wasn’t like I had to wait around for a husband. I could do what I want, when I wanted.

Just as my television show was getting to an interesting point, my phone started ringing. Sighing, I picked it up and checked caller ID. Ranveer.

 

“Hey…”

“How are you?”

“I’m good Ranveer, you?”

“I’m missing you and my baby girl. When are you both coming to see me again?”

 

I paused to think for a moment. Switching off the TV, I settled myself down, smiling to myself.

 

“Maybe we can come tomorrow. Pari has vacation from school now so…”

“That sounds great! I can’t wait to take both of you out.”

“I can’t wait to see you again.”

“Nimi maybe we should…”

“I agree, we should.”

“But how? Arnav won’t be pleased…”

“He’ll probably kill us both, but I’m tired of this. I just want to be with you so the three of us can finally be a proper family.”

“I want that too… When is Arnav coming back?”

“He’s meant to be coming back within the next couple of days, but who knows. Di’s been saying he’s been really preoccupied recently so who knows?”

“Hmm. Well let’s think about it. I’ll call you tomorrow morning and we can talk some more. Take care of yourself and give my baby a kiss.”

“I will do. Goodnight Ranveer.”

“Goodnight babe.”

 

I disconnected the call and I couldn’t help but smile to myself. For the longest time now, me and Ranveer have been trying to undo the mess that we had created 6 years ago. And now, finally, we were making headway.

I met Ranveer for the first time over six and a half years ago, not very long after Arnav and Khushi’s fake marriage. I had been upset, paranoid and insecure about my relationship with Arnav, fearful that he would fall in love with the woman that he’d married. I was filled with sorrow that his family didn’t like me. So I took my sorrows and insecurity to a bar.

And that’s where I met Ranveer.

We got talking, well… We got flirting. We both hit it off almost instantly. Maybe we should have realised then that we should just forget about our respective relationships and give a shot to whatever it was between us.

But any way, we got talking, one thing led to another and we ended up spending the night together.

People would assume we moved to fast, and perhaps we did. But we were two individuals who were in love with different people and wanted to be with them, but couldn’t. We wanted attention and we craved intimacy. Something we weren’t getting from our respective partners. So when we found each other, we took the opportunity with both hands.

That night we spent together was such a beautiful night.

The next morning, I was awoke by Ranveer’s phone constantly going off. So I took it upon myself to deal with the issue. I told his girl about us and hoped she’d back off.

But to my dismay, when Ranveer awoke, he expressed his regret regarding what we had done. I was shattered. Maybe it had been naive of me to assume that he would want to give our relationship a go, to assume that I had meant something to him. But I had assumed those things. He apologised, was courteous, But ultimately explained he loved his girl too much to let her go.

Fast forward a couple of days, me and Ranveer meet again. In Bali. When we had met it Delhi, we had briefly explained our situations to each other, but we hadn’t realised that our partners had gotten married to each other. That changed things between us.

We sat down and really spoke. Talking about our feelings about Arnav and Khushi and we realised that as much as we clicked with each other, we wanted to be with Arnav and Khushi. So that’s exactly what we tried to do. We went back to Arnav and Khushi and tried to make things work out with them, but I found that something had changed in Arnav. He didn’t want me anywhere near him. Ranveer too found that Khushi didn’t want to be with him.

He told me he and Khushi had a bad argument, that it was over between them. We’d both been rejected. We were both hurt. It was then we spent another night together. If our first night together had been perfect, this night was heaven. And as a result of that night, god blessed us with a beautiful baby girl. Not that we knew at the time.

Maybe I should have realised then that it was Ranveer that I wanted. But I was stupid, I still went back to Arnav, tried to convince him that I still wanted him, that I still wanted us to be together. But I was stupid. I was trying to convince him when I wasn’t even convinced myself. Maybe I should have avoided the situation altogether because Arnav spotted a love bite and he ended things with me there and then.

Maybe I should have backed off after that. I almost did…

 

*****

 

Time passed and me and Ranveer chose to embrace our relationship. Everything was going well, until we found out that we were pregnant.

Now neither of us really had an issue with having a child together. My family already knew about me and Ranveer and they had no issue with him, and he didn’t mind us having a child. We should have just accepted what was happening and just given your relationship a name. But instead the both of us tried to be smart.

We were stupid. We spoke about what we wanted and we spoke about Arnav and Khushi again. For some reason, both of us decided that we wanted to try to get back with them.
We decided that I would go to Arnav’s house, claiming that my baby was his. And Ranveer hoped that Khushi would leave Arnav and run into his arms.

We were stupid. We should have realised how we felt about each other. We should have embraced our relationship and left Arnav and Khushi alone. But we didn’t.

I went back to Arnav and he straight up denied that my child was his. I lied to him about how Pari could be his and he didn’t buy it. He didn’t buy it for even a moment. After Pari was born, Arnav demanded a paternity test. And that’s exactly what I did. We took a paternity test, but I made sure I swapped Arnav’s sample with Ranveer’s. The reports came back showing a match, but Arnav still failed to believe it. Our plan was futile.
And Khushi didn’t go back to Ranveer either. So we screwed up.

Both me and Ranveer quickly realised that we should have left things as they were. We made a mess for ourselves and we made a mess for Arnav and Khushi. But instead of just telling Arnav the truth, I chose to long out the lie, carry on living it. I should have backed away the moment I realised that it wasn’t going to work, but I didn’t.

I regretted my decision and I still do. We should have left Arnav and Khushi, we should have just carried on and moved on. But we didn’t. We were both stupid, fighting for a battle that was lost. We should have admitted that Arnav and Khushi were just extras in our lives, extras who led us to each other, but we were stupid.

But things were going to change now. Me and Pari were going to go to Ranveer. We were finally going to be a proper family. As soon as Arnav returned, this game was going to end.

 

Jalebi ~ Part 31

 

By the time Khushi awoke the next morning, it was nearing 11am. Smiling to herself, she turned in the arms of the man that was holding her close and smiled as she looked up at his face.

Arnav was still fast asleep. Tucking herself into his body, Khushi smiled as she recalled the passion they had shared the night before. After making love the first time, they had done it a few more times after that.

For the first time in a long time, Khushi woke up truly happy. Her business was hers again, and she had the man of her dreams back in her life.

Hearing her phone beep, Khushi reached out for it. It was a text from Mohit.

 

“Congratulations, you’re the sole owner of Khushiyan again! I’m just checking everything now and getting it all in order, but we’re ready to get back to work!”

 

Locking her phone, Khushi didn’t bother with the rest of her messages as she put her phone back. Her business was hers again. Arnav had sorted it all just as he said he was going to. He kept his promise, didn’t let her faith in him break.

Hugging him, Khushi couldn’t hold back. She placed light kisses on his face, moving closer to his lips each time. Feeling the sensation of soft lips on his face, Arnav slowly roused from his sleep, smiling as he slowly opened his eyes.

 

“A man could get used to being awoken like this.”

“Good morning.”

“Morning.”

 

Locking her lips with his, Khushi pushed Arnav onto his back and moved over him, straddling his body with her own. Placing her hands on his chest, Khushi rubbed her body against Arnav’s, letting him know she wanted him. Her hands moved down his body, down towards his crotch, feeling him over his boxers.

 

“Take them off.”

“I love it when you get bossy.”

“Take them off Raizada.”

 

Reaching for his boxers, Arnav pushed them off as Khushi leaned back in, placing kisses on his face.

 

“They’re off.”

 

Moving down his body, Khushi placed a line of kisses all the way down. She placed light kisses on his chest, his nipples, his pecs, just above his belly button. Grabbing hold of her hair, Arnav pulled her closer to himself as she moved further down his body.

 

“Khushi…”

 

Pressing a kiss on his waistline, it was obvious where she was headed.

 

“You don’t need…”

 

But before he could finish what he was saying, she took the top of his length into her mouth.

 

“Fuck.”

 

Holding the base of his length, she took a little more in and then some more until she could take no more of him.

 

“Khushi…”

 

Running her tongue over the tip of his length, Arnav felt his body on fire, all his sensitive nerves on fire. Moving back, Khushi let some of his length out, she then moved back in again. Arnav took a fistful of Khushi’s hair in his hands and guided her head to help her with what she was doing. They carried on, Arnav helping her to build her confidence.

A few moments later, Arnav could feel himself close so he tried to push Khushi away.

 

“Khushi I’m going to cum.”

 

Moving away, Khushi moved back over Arnav and took his lip between hers in a relatively aggressive kiss. Arnav could taste the slight saltiness of his pre release on her tongue. His hands roamed on her back, holding her close. He rubbed himself against her, needing his release.

Flipping Khushi onto her back, and moved over her, still kissing her hard. His hands rested on her breasts, massaging them as he rubbed his length against her opening.

 

“Do it Arnav.”

 

Guiding his length into her, Arnav held still for a moment, just letting them enjoy the connection between them.

 

“You like it when I just hold myself still in you don’t you.”

“Mmm.”

 

Arnav started to move slowly, a moan of feeling content leaving Khushi’s lips. Arnav moved his hips slowly, making sure to hit Khushi’s most sensitive spot.

 

“OH.”

 

As he hit her little bud every time, or even if he just brushed over it, it caused Khushi to moan out in pleasure. Hearing her moan out in pleasure, calling his name and holding him closer each time, it pushed Arnav nearer to his climax.

Pressing his lips back to hers, Arnav kissed Khushi intensely as he penetrated her body.

 

“Arnavv…”

 

Just as Arnav began to move faster, to help them both get their release, Khushi’s bedroom door banged open.

 

“What the f***!”

 

Both Arnav and Khushi jumped, but Arnav’s first reaction was to make sure Khushi was covered properly with the sheets. Covering her up, Arnav rolled off of Khushi, lying beside her, holding the sheets to himself.

 

“What the actual f*** is going on here?”

 

Rohan. Rohan had arrived.

 

“Rohan…”

“What the actual hell Khushi? I come home after weeks to find you in bed with him!”

“Let us get dressed and then we can speak…”

 

Slamming the door behind him, Rohan left angrily. Arnav turned his attention back to Khushi, who had sunk into the sheets, her hands over her face.

 

“Khushi… Are you… Don’t cry…”

“Oh god Arnav. What have… What have we done!”

“We haven’t done anything. We haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Of course we have!”

 

Arnav tried to reach out to Khushi, to touch her, but she scooted away, holding the sheets close around her body.

 

“Khushi…”

“I’m engaged Arnav! I shouldn’t have… I can’t… I shouldn’t have slept with you.”

 

Arnav looked slightly appalled at what Khushi had said, the way she worded what she had said.

 

“You didn’t just sleep with me Khushi. We made love! There’s a difference!”

“Whether we just had sex or we made love, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m engaged.”

“It makes all the difference in the world! It means you still love me and you want to be with me.”

“Arnav please just take a shower and get ready to leave. I need to talk to Rohan.”

“I’m not leaving you.”

“Arnav you don’t know Rohan like I do. He’s got an intense temper. If you stayed, he may just get more angry.”

“More of a reason to stay with you.”

“Arnav please. Just listen to me for once.”

 

Sighing, Arnav got out of bed and made his way to Khushi’s bathroom. Before going in, he turned to see Khushi still in bed, holding the sheets close to herself.

 

“Jump into the shower with me.”

“Are you being serious? Arnav my fiancé is standing right outside!”

“Okay okay.”

 

Shaking his head, Arnav went into the bathroom and Khushi prepared to get out of bed. Walking over to her wardrobe, Khushi took out a nightdress and a dressing down and went outside to retrieve Arnav’s clothes for him. Rohan was sat on the sofa, looking highly unimpressed.

 

“Rohan…”

“Take his clothes to him, get rid of him, take a shower yourself. You can use my bathroom to have a shower. You stink of sex.”

“I…”

“Please. Just go.”

 

*****

 

Showered and fresh, Khushi pulled her clothes on and went back to her own bedroom to find Arnav changing the sheets and making the bed.

 

“You didn’t need to…”

“I just thought I’d do it while you were still in the bathroom.”

“Thank you… Arnav, I know this is harsh but, please can you leave now.”

 

Nodding, Arnav moved close to Khushi, placed a kiss on her forehead and then turned away.

 

“Call me. I need to know that you’re okay.”

“I will.”

 

Pressing another quick kiss on her forehead, Arnav walked out of the bedroom and into the living room where Rohan was sat.

 

“I’m sorry you had to see what you saw Rohan.”

“Just leave now.”

 

Nodding, Arnav respected both Khushi and Rohan’s requests and left. As much as he hated Rohan he knew he needed to respect his wishes. If he were in Rohan’s position, he probably would have killed someone.

As soon as the door shut behind him, Rohan rounded on Khushi, looking at her with angry eyes.

 

“Before you say anything…”

“Shut up Khushi! Don’t you dare try to justify yourself.”

“Rohan I…”

“I said shut up. I don’t want to hear anything. I come home, after weeks and weeks and want to spend some time with you, but the moment I walk into the house, I see clothes all over the house. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I could hear you both from out here!”

“I didn’t know you were coming home.”

“You would have done if you answered my calls or checked my messages. But I guess you were too busy fucking him to realise…”

“Don’t speak like that.”

“What do you expect me to say?

 

Tears prickled in Khushi’s eyes as she realised how much the situation she was in sucked. She hadn’t wanted this, hadn’t wanted to cause so much of a mess.

 

“So what, have you been sleeping with him since I’ve been out of town?”

“No! No no! Last night he came over to tell me… That my business, he got it back for me. And I guess I got caught up in the moment and we ended up…”

“So out of happiness you ended up sleeping with him.”

“I didn’t mean it to happen…”

“But it didn’t stop until this morning. So it wasn’t just a moments slip.”

“I got caught up in the moment. It felt like before again…”

“But it shouldn’t have! You’re engaged to me! Okay, I get it happened but by this morning you should have realised. If it was just a one off last night I may have understood but… The fact that you carried on until this morning means you have absolutely no respect for me or our relationship.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Sorry doesn’t change what happened Khushi. You don’t let me come anywhere near you, not even a kiss. If I try to come near you, you freak out. Yet with him, you jump straight into bed with him again.”

“But you can understand why it’s like that.”

“I understand but it doesn’t mean I agree.”

 

Looking down, Khushi felt ashamed. She knew what Rohan meant and she also knew he had a point. She shouldn’t have let herself get caught up in the moment like that.

 

“I’m sorry, I promise it won’t happen again.”

 

Rohan moved towards Khushi and placed his hand on her shoulder, his expression softening.

 

“Look Khushi, I understand. I do. You’re relationship with him, how you feel about him, I get it. But I need you to decide what you want.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I need you to pick. Either you’re with me and you marry me and you forget about him. Or we end our relationship now and you can go back to him. It’s up to you. But bearing in mind, if you pick me, you can’t ever see him again.”

 

Looking up at Rohan, Khushi get slightly thrown. But she knew this was inevitable. And after what happened today, Khushi should’ve known this was coming.

But the real question was, what was the right decision to make? Which decision would make her happy and would be best for everyone involved?

Unwanted ~ Part 34

 

Arnav

 

“Khushi?”

 

Wait. What?! I’d been searching high and low and now… Here she was! She was actually here! Right in front of me! Basically in my arms. I’d done it! I’d found my Khushi.

 

“Arnav…”

 

She looked shocked, but not shocked enough. Raj must have gone home and told her that he saw me, that I was Arushi’s teacher.

 

“Hi…”

 

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ears, she looked down at her bag and then up at me again.

 

“I…”

 

I couldn’t believe it. I came here today to start considering tickets so I could go back home. I never in a million years thought that I’d bump into Khushi here.
I took her in. She hadn’t changed much at all. Her face was a little more rounded than it had been before but other than that, she looked pretty much the same.

Finally pulling myself out of my trance, I moved in and took her into my arms, hugging her.

 

“I can’t believe I’ve found you.”

“I…”

“Why did you leave me like that Khushi? I searched the world for you but you managed to vanish into thin air. But it doesn’t matter. It’s late but at least I found you.”

“You we’re looking for me?”

“From the moment I woke up to an empty bed to now. I never stopped.”

 

I wanted to mention Arushi. But I wanted Khushi to tell me about her herself.

 

“So… How have you been?”

 

Really Arnav? Really? I sounded like a teenager, trying to talk to a girl I fancy.

 

“Listen Arnav, I’m really busy, I need to…”

“We need to talk Khushi.”

“I know but I…”

“What are you even doing here?”

 

Now I find my voice. She looked around a little anxious.

 

“I… I came to get tickets…”

“Oh are you going on holiday?”

 

She hesitated for a moment too longer before nodding. She was planning on running away.

 

“Let’s go to my place so we can catch up.”

 

She looked horrified at the idea, and shook her head. I reached out for her, taking her hand into my own.

 

“Please. I need to talk to you.”

 

It was obvious from her expression that she didn’t want to go home with me, but there was no way I was going to let her go today. There was so much we needed to talk about, I needed to make sure that she came with me.

 

“Khushi…”

“Okay, but I need to make a call first.”

“Of course.”

 

I moved away a little to give her some space. This was actually amazing! I found my Khushi! Pulling my own phone out of my pocket, I thought to text Payal, to tell her the good news. But then I thought against it. It would be better to speak to Khushi first. I waited, and in no time Khushi wrapped her call up and came towards me.

 

“My house is only a five minutes walk, but if you want I can call us a cab.”

“Actually, I’ve got my car with me…”

“You drive now?”

 

For the first time, a little smile played on her lips and her cheeks went the lightest shade of pink.

 

“I passed about 3 years ago.”

“Wow! That’s great Khushi! Well I guess lead the way to your car my lady.”

 

Fishing in her bag, I watched as she pulled her keys out and she walked in front of me, leading me back to the car park. I waited until she clicked the car and I saw a little silver Toyota unlock.

 

“Nice car.”

“Thank you. It’s not quite your SUV but…”

“I love it. It’s very you.”

“Do you still have your SUV?”

“I do, although I rarely drive it now. I brought a newer SUV, which is my everyday car, but I didn’t have the heart to part with my original SUV.”

 

She gave a little nod as she got into the car and then I got in too. In no time, we were off.

I’ll admit, I was a little apprehensive about her driving, but the moment she got the car going, it was evident she knew what she was doing and that she was a fairly experienced driver.

I directed her towards my place and she got us there in less than five minutes.

Getting out of the car, I made my way over to the door and waited for her as she locked the car and followed me. Placing my hand on the small of her back, I led her in and shut the door behind her. I felt every single muscle in her back tense under my touch.

Leading her into the living room, I told her to take a seat while I went over to the landline and checked voicemail. I had one message.

 

“Hi chote, I’m calling on your landline because I couldn’t get through to you on your phone. Just a quick message to say everything is fine at home but call me when you have the time.”

 

Di. She needed to check in everyday, and if by chance I didn’t speak to her, she’d be sure to leave a message on voicemail. Turning my attention back to Khushi, I asked what she’d like to drink.

 

“Tea or coffee. What am I saying, you want tea of course.”

“No, I’ll have a coffee please.”

 

I felt like she’d hit me round the head.

 

“You drink coffee?”

“Not as much as you used to, but yes. I drink coffee now.”

“Well damn. Let me just go and quickly make you my special coffee and then we can talk.”

 

Going back to the kitchen, I made the coffees as quickly as I could and took out some cakes and biscuits. Putting everything on a tray, I went back into the living room and set the tray on a table. Putting her mug down in front of her, I sat down beside her, keeping a respectable distance between us.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Picking up her cup, she took a sip and smiled.

 

“How did you make this? It’s great.”

“I put my secret ingredient in.”

“Well whatever it is, it tastes great.”

 

She smiled and then turned back to her drink. I watched as she slowly drank her coffee and I too drank mine. I wanted to talk to her, ask her about herself, ask her about our daughter. But I didn’t know how to broach the topic. More than that, I just wanted to take her into my arms, kiss her senseless, maybe take her to bed and make love to her the way I’ve been dreaming about for the last six years. But we needed to take things slowly, we needed to talk about a lot of things first.

When she finished her coffee, she put her mug down and I put mine down too.

 

“So… What did you want to talk about?”

“How have you been?”

“I’ve been okay. How about you Arnav? And how is everyone at home?”

“Everyone at home is good. Did you know, Akash and Payal got married?”

 

I knew this was new information to her, but watching her expression, watching her jaw drop in shock, I got the reaction that I wanted.

 

“Jiji and Akash… No way?!”

“After you left things were hard for Payal. Me and Payal both tried to help each other through you leaving. And somehow, somewhere along the lines, Akash managed to provide her with the support that she needed and they fell in love. So they got married.”

“I can’t believe…”

“They have a beautiful little boy together now. Akshay. He turned two a couple of months ago.”

“Oh my goodness, I can’t believe…”

 

Pulling out my phone, I showed her a picture of little Akshay with Shalini.

 

“Oh he’s gorgeous! He looks so much like Akash… Wait I guess I have to call him jijaji now! But he has jiji’s eyes.”

“He’s Payal’s happiness. After the wedding, it took her a while to settle. I think she found it hard to be at Shantivan, knowing it was your home but not having you around. But things really changed when she got pregnant. We actually saw Payal smiling and since Akshay was born, she’s always happy.”

“I’m so glad. Who’s this little girl? Is she yours…”

“That’s Shalini. She Di and jijaji’s. She turned five and half recently. Just after you left, Di found out she was about 3 months pregnant.”

 

I watched as Khushi smiled, taking in the two little angels on my screen. Tears gathered in her eyes and she pushed them away.

 

“I can’t believe…”

“Shalini asks about her Bari Mami all the time. And I’m sure little Akshay wouldn’t mind being spoilt by his maasi.”

“I can’t believe… When did so much time pass?”

“You walked away and you never looked back Khushi. But for us, the last six years have dragged on. And I… I’ve missed you. Every second of every day for the past six years.”

 

She looked away from me and looked down, letting out a little sigh.

 

“Have you not missed me Khushi?”

 

Her head snapped up, eyes looking at me questioningly.

 

“Of course I have.”

“Then why did you leave me?”

“You know why.”

 

And I did know why. But that didn’t mean that I agreed.

 

“Did you guys have a boy or a girl?”

“A girl. Nimisha named her Pari.”

 

She gave a little smile, but it was a sad smile. What was she thinking about? What was going through her head? Was she thinking about how much our daughter lost out on because of another little girl?

 

“That’s lovely. I also heard you and Nimisha got married. Congratulations. Do you guys have any other children together? Or are you planning another child?”

 

Was she being serious? Did she really think that me and Nimi…

 

“Pari isn’t mine.”

 

The smile that had been on Khushi’s face a moment ago slipped away.

 

“What?”

“Pari isn’t my child. Me and Nimisha don’t have a child together, nor are we planning a child together. I’m married to her but our marriage doesn’t mean anything, nor is it even accounted for in the eyes of the law. I married her to save her name and to save the Raizada family name.”

 

I moved closer to Khushi, places my hand on her knee.

 

“You’re my wife, my legally wedded wife. The only woman I want to be with, the only woman I want to have a family with. Nimisha and Pari may have my name attached to theirs, but they don’t mean anything to me. They aren’t my family.”

“But… Why would Nimisha say…”

“I don’t know what Nimisha’s game is, and frankly I don’t care any more. I know Pari isn’t my child and Nimi doesn’t even try to convince me that she is any more.”

 

Khushi looked completely confused, she didn’t know what to think and I didn’t blame her. Taking her hands into mine, I turned her face so that she was looking at me.

 

“I told you six years ago and I’m telling you now, I know Pari isn’t mine. I don’t feel for her the way a father should feel about his child. I don’t feel anything towards her. I don’t feel about her the way I feel about Arushi.”

 

Eyes wide, Khushi took her hands out of mine.

 

“W.. Wha… What?”

“I know Khushi.”

“Arushi… She’s not…”

 

Was she actually going to try and convince me that Arushi wasn’t mine? That Arushi wasn’t our baby?

 

“The moment I met her, I was attached to her. The more I looked at her, the more I saw her in you. I was so dumb, I thought she was a relative of yours, maybe a cousin or a niece. I didn’t for a moment think she was your daughter. And then I started speaking to Arushi, I looked at her file and… I started putting the pieces together, tried to make sense of it. And it finally fit me. On parents evening, I expected you to walk through that door with Arushi. But then Raj… But speaking to him also helped because I got a better picture. That evening I was certain that Arushi was our child and I knew I needed to find you.”

“Arnav…”

“How could you do that Khushi? How could you keep me away from my child like that? You left me so that Pari would get her fathers love, but then you let our child grow up without her dad? How could you do that?”

 

Tears started falling and I shuffled closer to her, holding her. I felt tears prick my own eyes.

 

“Not only did you deprive me of having you in my life, you took my daughter away from me. You kept our daughter to yourself, didn’t even give me an indication that she existed… How could you?”

“I… I’m sorry… Raj and Veera mausi kept telling me to talk to you, to tell you about Arushi. But I found out about your marriage and I thought… I was scared… I thought maybe… I thought you didn’t want me any more. And I was scared that if I told you about Arushi, you’d take her from me and raise her with Nimisha… I left you, Arushi was all I had. If I had her taken away I…”

“I’d never have taken her from you.”

 

Placing my arm around her, she tucked herself into my arms, holding onto my collar as she let herself cry.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

I barely heard her little mumble, but I heard it. Pressing a light kiss on the top of her head, I held her close to myself. After years and years, I felt content. This is where she belonged. With me, in my arms. My world was complete.

Well… Almost complete. All that was missing was our little girl. But soon, she too would be in my arms. I was sure of it.

Jalebi ~ Part 30

As the weeks went on, Akash carried on struggling with the businesses. He had thought that as time went on, it would get easier, but it wasn’t. The files were piling up and he found it harder and harder to get through the workload. Everyone expected him to have the answers, to know what to do, but he didn’t know! It was too much! And Arnav had completely washed his hands on the businesses. He couldn’t deal with it any more…

 

*****

 

Initially Rohan had gone for a couple of days, but he extended his trip and so Khushi had been alone at home. She hasn’t spoken to Arnav since that day when she’d invited him over to her house, but she had wanted to reach out to him. But it didn’t feel right. He still wanted to be in a relationship with her but she was now committed to someone else. It felt wrong to reach out to him, maybe give him hope when she knew that there was no hope. Not any more.

 

*****

 

“Yes Aman, perfect! Let’s see if he finally breaks this time. I think he will. He’s been struggling since the beginning and the last couple of days… Well done Aman, you’ve done me proud brother. If our plan works, you can be guaranteed a promotion.”

 

Ending the call, Arnav put his phone down and grinned to himself. If Akash thought that he was smart, then he underestimated his brother. Did Akash really think that Arnav was going to let him win? That he was going to let him sail smoothly?

 

Akash had been struggling from the beginning, Arnav took advantage of that. He got Aman to manipulate Akash’s workload to overwhelm him. Arnav hoped that Akash would break, that he would ask Arnav to take the businesses back. So far Akash had been resilient, but Arnav was certain that he would break, and he could tell his breaking point was near.

 

*****

 

“Aman, where is that god damn file? I have a major meeting with investors and I haven’t got the file!”

“I checked it for you and I gave it back to you tomorrow. You’ve probably put it into your briefcase sir.”

“I have checked everywhere a million times! I don’t have it. You must still have.”

 

Aman shook his head, trying to suppress his smile. He knew exactly where the papers were, but he wasn’t about to tell Akash. He could tell Akash was very stressed about the meeting with the investors and if they wanted him to break, today was the best day to do it.

 

“Aman, please go and check again. If I don’t have that file then we’re going to be in big trouble.”

“Yes sir.”

 

Exiting the room, Aman dialled Arnav’s number, he was sure it was almost show time.

 

*****

 

There was ten minutes to go, and Aman hadn’t returned with the file. Akash felt like pulling his hair out. If he didn’t have the file, then they would lose out on a major investment.

With just five minutes to go, Akash was pacing the office, sweating profusely.

Knocking on the door, Arnav walked straight in.

 

“Bhai, what are you doing here?”

“I just came to see how you were doing. Big day today. This meeting has been booked for over three months. I just wanted to check that you were okay.”

“I can’t do it. Aman has lost the file and I don’t have all the information. Please… Please bhai, you go in and speak to them. You’ve been preparing for this for almost a year, you know all the details from top to bottom.”

“I’d love to. But this meeting can’t be taken on by anyone other than the owner of the business and that’s you.”

“But I can’t do this meeting! I’m not prepared! If I go in there, we will lose a million dollar investment guaranteed. And we need this investment!”

 

Sitting down opposite Akash, Arnav put his feet up on the desk and smiled.

 

“If you can’t do it, quit.”

“Wh… What?”

“You heard me. If you can’t do this simple meeting, then quit. Hand me everything back and I might even be gracious as to let you keep your old job.”

 

Looking at his cousin and then looking at the clock, Akash realised that he was now late for the meeting. Either he had to get himself to that meeting pronto and make himself look like a fool, or he could have a clean shave and put it all back on Arnav.

It was a hard decision for Akash. He had been planning this takeover for the longest time, and to now even think about giving everything back.

 

“Tick tock Akash.”

 

Looking between the files of papers that he needed to get through and the clock, Akash realised he was way out of his depth. He couldn’t manage it all. The longer he left it , the further the businesses would sink. There was no use being the owner of a sinking business, he’d make less money than he was when he was working alongside Arnav.

 

“Come on, decide. The investors are waiting.”

“Okay! Fine! I’ll hand the businesses back over. Please just go to the meeting.”

“Nuh uh, I’m not going anywhere until all paperwork is signed back over. Aman!”

 

Walking into the office, Aman handed Arnav a file. Opening it up, Arnav had a quick skim of the papers, making sure all his clauses were in place and everything was just as it was meant to be. Once he was satisfied, he put his signature on the papers and then handed it all over to Akash who looked wary.

 

“Don’t worry, there’s no foul play. These papers just state that you are giving back what is rightfully mine and you are handing back rights for me to have ultimate power to with anything off.”

 

Passing the file across the table, Arnav handed Akash the pen and all. Looking completely defeated, Akash looked between his cousin and the papers. Reading through them thoroughly, Akash finally signed the papers grudgingly. As soon as it was done, Arnav snatched back the papers and handed them over to Aman to have filed immediately.

Getting to his feet, Arnav walked round to Akash side of the table.

 

“Right. I think it’s time for you to get off my chair. I have businesses to get back into order.”

 

Getting to his feet, Akash packed up his things as Arnav took his seat and rearranged his desk.

 

“Meeting…”

“If you had stayed on top of things, you would have known that that meeting was rescheduled and it isn’t until next week.”

 

If Akash had looked defeated before, he was now completely shattered. He’d been played.

 

*****

 

A rapid knock on the door brought Khushi to her senses. Looking up at the clock she saw it was almost 8pm. Who would be coming at this time of evening?

Grabbing her dupatta, she made her way over to the door and opened it.

 

“Surprise!”

“Arnav…”

 

Smiling, Arnav showed Khushi the food and the champagne that he had brought with himself as he entered her apartment.

 

“Arnav you can’t be here…”

“I think I can. We need to celebrate.”

“Celebrate what?”

 

Putting the food down, Arnav handed Khushi a file over. Taking it, she opened it up warily. The moment she saw “Khushiyan” at the top of the papers, she shut the file again, handing it back over to Arnav.

 

“I can’t look at this.”

“Khushi, look at it.”

 

Shaking her head, Khushi pushed the papers away but Arnav took her hands in his own.

 

“Look at them.”

 

Taking the papers, Khushi took a deep breath before opening the file again.

 

*I, Arnav Singh Raizada, hereby sign all rights of ownership to Miss Khushi Kumari Gupta…*

 

Arnav watched expression as she read the whole document. Tears welled up in her eyes. Once she read through all the papers, she looked up to Arnav.

 

“You…”

“I told you I would sort it.”

“I can’t believe…”

“Sign the papers and we can have them filed. Aman’s waiting outside so he can get them to the courthouse.”

“But they’re closed now…”

“Arnav Singh Raizada has connections. We can get them filed tonight and by tomorrow afternoon, everything will be back to how it should be.”

 

Wiping away her tears, Khushi quickly checked everything over once more and then signed the papers and handed them back to Arnav. Getting up, he went over to the door and handed Aman the papers and told him to get it all sorted as soon as possible.

When Arnav returned, he found Khushi coming back from the kitchen, two champagne flutes in her hand. Putting them down, she gestured to Arnav to open the bottle of champagne.

 

“No, you open it.”

“No you should, after all you are responsible for sorting it all.”

 

They went back and forth but ultimately Khushi won and Arnav proceeded to open the bottle. The poured then both a glass and raised his glass for a toast and Khushi did the same.

 

“To the successful futures of AR and Khushiyan. Whether together or apart, may they always prosper.”

 

Clinking their glasses together, Khushi took a little sip before putting her glass back down.

 

“I still can’t believe… Khushiyan…”

“I promised you I would sort it. I couldn’t let you down.”

 

Arnav put his glass down as Khushi shuffled closer to her. She placed her hand on his cheek, letting her fingers graze over his slightly unkept beard.

 

“Thank you.”

 

She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, letting her lips linger, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath her lips.

As she began to pull away, Arnav grabbed hold of her hand, keeping her close to himself.

As they looked into each other’s eyes, their need and desire for each other was evident. Arnav’s darkening hooded eyes met Khushi’s soft hazel ones as he cupped her face, brushing his lips against hers.

 

“I love you Khushi… Come back to me.”

“I… I love you too…”

 

All thoughts of the businesses and the fact that this was no longer appropriate, were completely forgotten about as their lips met for the first time in a long time. Initially, it was a brief meeting of the lips, gentle, light… But then Arnav pressed his against hers with more force, pulling her further into himself as he kissed her like a man starved. Khushi reciprocated with the same amount of intensity and heat as her hand trailed down from his face down to his neck.

Pushing her back, Arnav lay Khushi back against the sofa as his hand moved from her face to her neck and then further down to her breast. Her kameez was a light cotton one and so he could feel the little bump of where her bra was. He moved his hand, continuing over her breast until he felt one of her erect nipples. Brushing at it, Khushi felt herself go a little breathless and she hooked her leg onto his.

Her hands found their way to his tie and she pulled it off before proceeding to take the buttons of his shirt off. Arnav broke the kiss and moved off of Khushi, who groaned in protest.

He got up, and then lifted Khushi into his arms. Khushi wrapped her arms around his neck, and placed little kisses on his exposed chest. Walking into the bedroom, Arnav placed Khushi down on the centre of the bed and sat beside her on his knees. Khushi too got onto her knees and moved towards him, taking off the rest of his shirt buttons and then sliding his jacket and his shirt off. Once his shirt was off, she moved towards him once more, pressing her lips onto his and placing her hands on his ass, pulling him closer to herself. Arnav’s hands found the dori of her kameez, pulled it undone and then pulled her kameez off.

 

“Arnav…”

“Are you are sure?”

“Yes.”

 

Lying her back, he pulled her shelwar off and freed himself of his own trousers. He left their underwear on and lay her back against the bed, moving between her legs.
His hand trailed down her body, tracing every curve in slow motion, while his lips travelled down the column of her neck, and then went further still until he found one of her pebbled nipples. Pulling her bra away from her breast, he took it between his lips, his tongue grazing the sensitive tip. Khushi’s hand tightened in his hair and her leg brushed against his.

His hand carried on its travel, feeling the inside of her thighs before resting on her panties. He stroked her over her pants, running his hands along the front, putting slight more pressure on the finger that traced her entrance.

 

“Complete me…”

 

He looked into her eyes, which now were much darker than what they had been a little while ago, her need mirroring his.

Arnav wanted to play with her, prolong this moment, but he too wanted to be within her, feel her warmth around his length.

Unclipping her bra, Arnav pulled it away and tossed it aside. He pressed a quick kiss on both breasts, before lightly suckling on each nipple. He then carried on to pulling her panties away and made light work of his own underwear.

Coming back over her, Arnav gentle pushed a finger into her, to check if she was ready and was glad to find she was. Her body was wet with need, ready for the taking.

 

“Baby are you sure?”

“Yes.”

 

Lips pressed between each other’s, hands locked above Khushi’s head, Arnav carefully lowered himself into her, a little at a time. Even before pushing his entire length in, he could feel her body adjust around him, squeezing him as he made his way in.

Wrapping her legs around his waist, Khushi melted into the bed, a content sigh leaving her lips. Arnav held himself still for a moment before slowly moving, taking long strokes, making her feel her full length, pushing all the way in before pulling all the way out again.

He went excruciating slowly, savouring the feeling because up until a short while ago, he’d believed he wouldn’t experience this level of intimacy with her again. Khushi lifted her hips to meet his each thrust, her legs tightening around his waist.

 

“Faster…”

 

He had known that he’d been moving to slowly for her liking, but hearing her verbalise what she wanted turned him on, making him up his speed, move faster and harder. But he made sure that he didn’t hurt her by moving too aggressively.

Once they’d established a speed and intensity that they were both happy with, Arnav kept going, holding Khushi to himself, placing kisses on her neck.

They were both getting close and Arnav moved faster. A moan of intense pleasure left Khushi’s lips and Arnav smiled against her neck. He loved knowing that he provided this much pleasure to her.

 

“Ah… Arnav… I…”

“Sh, I know.”

 

Her muscles clenched around his length tightly, she was so close. He could feel his release coming too and moved faster, lifting her hips so he was guaranteed to hit her most sensitive spot each time.

Her head turned from on side to the other, her hands clenching the sheets below her. He could feel it, it was far more intense than anything they’d ever experienced before.

With one last thrust, they both came undone. Breathing heavy, Arnav held himself still as his length emptied its content into her body. Khushi body went slack under his and Arnav gathered her into his arms, tucking her into his chest.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Hiding her face in his chest, Khushi gave a little nod, placing light kisses on his chest.
Arnav felt his body get heavy with sleep and Khushi too felt herself becoming light.
Soon enough, they both drifted off into the world of sleep, content for the first time in a long time…