Jalebi ~ Part 39

Arnav and Khushi rushed around their bedroom as they made sure that they had all their things together.

 

“Come on Khushi, we have to be there in half an hour otherwise it’s going to mess up our air-plan.”

“I’m ready I’m ready, let me just check I put my bag of necessities in my bag.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Arnav stood by the door and waited for Khushi.

 

“Okay it’s there. I’m ready to go.”

 

Hari Prakash and Om Prakash came and grabbed hold of the luggage and followed Arnav and Khushi down the stairs. Getting into the hall, Arnav looked around.

 

“Where are Akash and Payal?”

 

Looking around too, Khushi spotted Payal and Akash’s bags by the door.

 

“We’re here bhai.”

 

Rushing down the stairs, Akash apologised as he came and stood by Arnav.

 

“Payal couldn’t remember if she packed our wardrobe key. So we had to go back and check.”

“Listen bro, I’m already sharing my honeymoon with you, don’t make me regret it.”

 

Laughing, both sets of Mr and Mrs Raizada made their way down to the car. Once they were all settled and all the luggage was in the car, they were off for the air field where the private jet was waiting for them.

Payal gasped as her eyes fell on the jet.

 

“Bhai, this is your jet?”

“Yep.”

“Wow! This thing is amazing.”

 

Placing her hand proudly in her husbands Khushi beamed up at him before replying to Payal.

 

“The outside is impressive, but wait till you see what it’s like inside.”

 

As the cabin crew took the bags away from the couples and loaded them into the jet, Arnav led Payal and Akash into the jet and gave them a quick tour. He explained how they’d have to sit in the proper seats during take off and landing, but after that they were free to move as they wish around the jet.

 

“Bhai you and Khushi Bhabi can have the bedroom section of the jet.”

“I wasn’t planning on giving you the bedroom but thanks for offering it up.”

 

When directed by the crew and the captain, the Raizada couples took their seats. Khushi laced her fingers into Arnav’s as the jet prepared for take off. She didn’t have an issue with flying, but there was something about everything that was happening that made her feel oh so nervous. Maybe it was the fact that she knew she was married and was about to go on her honeymoon, or maybe it was because she knew how much her life had changed, but something made her feel on edge.

Arnav locked Khushi’s fingers with his and then let their hands rest on his lap.

Payal squealed as the jet took off and Akash chuckled as he wrapped his arm around her.

As the plane stabilised and the cabin crew let them know that it was safe to come off their seats, all four made their way into the living area of the jet and took a seat. Arnav and Khushi sat together on one side, whereas Payal and Akash sat opposite them on the other.

Picking up the remote, Akash flicked through the channels before settling on a film. Payal cuddled up with him and placed a blanket over them.

 

Arnav turned to his side to find Khushi staring at the tv too. Leaning towards her, he whispered, “do you want to stay here and watch a film with these two or should we take things into the bedroom?”

 

Blushing, Khushi looked to Payal and Akash, who were completely absorbed by the film and then turned her attention back to Arnav. Locking her hands in his, she gestured towards the bedroom area with her eyes. Holding her hand tightly, Arnav got to his feet and pulled Khushi up with him.

 

“We’re going to go to the bedroom. See you guys before we land.”

 

And with that, Arnav pulled Khushi into the bedroom area. Looking around, Khushi found the bedroom area to look exactly the way it had done so the last time she had been in here. Turning her attention to the bed, she smiled as she recalled how she and Arnav had fallen asleep together. That had been first time they had shared a bed.

Pulling Khushi into his arms, Arnav placed his hand on her lower back, and used the other to push away stray hairs. Khushi wrapped her arms around Arnav’s neck and moved closer to him.

 

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

 

Cupping her face, Arnav leaned in and pressed his lips between Khushi’s, coaxing her lips apart gently. Patting her lips, Khushi gave Arnav the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth. Moving his hands round to the back of her neck, Arnav pulled her back ever so slightly, causing her lips to part further. Running his hands down her body, he let them come to rest on her waist, and he pulled her closer still, making her hips touch his. Khushi placed one hand on the side of his neck and the other slipped under his shirt, touching the planes of his muscular back. She too slipped her tongue in between his lips, meeting his halfway.

As their kiss intensified, Arnav pulled Khushi even closer to himself to the point where there was absolutely no space between them. He moved his body against Khushi’s, pressing his groin against her pelvis.

As they came up for air, Khushi looked into Arnav’s almost midnight black eyes. Lifting Khushi up in one swift motion, Arnav placed her down on the bed and then pulled back so he could strip himself of his own clothes. Khushi’s eyes widened as he took his clothes off.

 

“Take your clothes off too.”

“But jiji and jijaji?”

“We’re on honeymoon. Who cares if they know what we’re doing while they’re in the next room.”

“But…”

 

Climbing onto the bed, Arnav silenced her with a kiss as he started fumbling with her clothes. To begin with, Khushi was apprehensive, but soon melted into the moment and allowed Arnav to undress her while she pushed away at his clothes.

Once all her clothes were off, Arnav lay Khushi back in the bed while he walked over to where he’d had his hand luggage put and opened it up. Khushi lifted her head and watched as he rummaged around in his bag. After a moment or two, he found what he was looking for, opened the box, took out whatever it was that he was looking for and then closed his bag up again.

As he came back to Khushi, she noticed what he was holding and smiled. Moving back over her, he placed a light kiss on her lips before covering her body with his own….

 

*****

 

Sitting close together with their arms around each other, Payal and Akash enjoyed the films that the jet had to offer. Payal rested her hand on Akash’s knee and looked up at him.

 

“Babe.”

“Hm?”

“I love you.”

 

Turning his attention to Payal, he looked down at her face and smiled. How had he not accepted her whole heartedly from the start? How had he been so fixated on Khushi and revenge that he’d almost neglected the amazing woman in his arms. Turning the tv off, Akash placed his finger under Payal’s chin and tipped her head up.

 

“I love you too.”

 

They moved in towards each other, their lips inches apart. But a loud moan made them jerk apart.

 

“What on…”

 

“Arnavv…”

 

The moaning subsided, and was replaced with other noises.

Payal and Akash looked at each other with wide eyes before Payal looked away blushing.

 

“Are they really…”

 

Payal hid her face in Akash’s jacket. The thought of her little sister doing what she was doing in the next room was something Payal wasn’t entirely comfortable with. And it was worse that Akash had to hear it too.

 

“Sounds like they’re having a good time.”

“Akaaaash! Can you not.”

 

Laughing, Akash pulled Payal into his arms and held her close. This was going to be a good couple of days, he could feel it.

 

*****

 

Lying spent, Khushi curled up into Arnav’s side, her face buried in his chest. He ran his hand along her arm, making her shiver ever so slightly at the sensation.

 

“Did you ever think we’d make love in the sky?”

 

Arnav smiled as he felt Khushi shake her head. He stretched his limbs out while Khushi snuggled up closer, feeling sleep start to take over her body.

 

“Go to sleep for a while, I’ll set an alarm so we wake up an hour or so before we have to prepare to land.”

Almost as soon as the words had left Arnav’s lips, Khushi was fast asleep. Tucking her in properly and making sure she was comfortable, Arnav swung his legs out of the bed and pulled his trousers back on before making his way over to his laptop bag and pulling out his laptop.

After briefly checking over all this emails and responding to all that that needed his attention, he switched the laptop off again and stowed it away. Pulling his trousers back off, Arnav got back into bed and pulled Khushi into himself. This was how things should always be, this was the good life.

 

*****

 

As the plane prepared to land, Khushi cuddled up to Arnav in her seat. After getting intimate, Khushi needed to be close to Arnav. He too understood this need for intimacy and wrapped his arm around Khushi and held her close to himself.

The jet landed and both couples prepared to get off and get their honeymoons started.

As both couples got off the jet, they were met with a gust of hot air. For someone like Khushi who had spent most of her life in England where the hottest it ever really got was about 30°c, the temperature in Dubai was a bit too much. She flapped her hands around her face, trying to cool herself down.

 

“Babe you okay?”

“I’m fine but it’s so hot! I’m sure it wasn’t this hot the last time we came.”

“It was a little cooler but it was roughly like this.”

 

Khushi wasn’t the only one that was struggling with the heat, Akash and Payal too found it very hot. But they weren’t about to let that that have a negative impact on their holiday.

 

*****

 

As their car pulled up at Grosvenor House, both couples looked up at the building in awe. This hotel was just another tall building, but the design of it was stunning, really something to be looked at.

Taking the lead, Arnav took Khushi’s arm and led them all into the hotel and got them booked in. To Arnav’s pleasure, he and Khushi had been placed on a completely different floor to Payal and Akash.

He hadn’t done this entirely intentionally, but he hadn’t wanted them to be right near them either. Once both couple were fully checked in, they made their way over to the lift and pressed the bottoms of their respective floors.

Payal scooted over to where Khushi was stood and spoke quietly.

 

“Make sure you guys keep it down when you get busy, don’t want the neighbours to hear.”

 

Eyes wide, Khushi head snapped back slightly as she looked at Payal.

 

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, keep it down! Me and Akash could hear you really clearly on the flight.”

“No!”

“Yup!”

 

Burying her hands in her face, Khushi felt her face go completely red with embracement.
When the lift pinged, Akash and Payal got out first, leaving and Arnav and khushi by themselves. The moment the doors closed, Arnav moved over to Khushi, covering her from the view of anyone else who may have got in.

 

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

 

Placing one hand on her waist and another on the wall behind her, Arnav leaned in and pressed his lips against Khushi’s for a slow and drawn out kiss.

 

“So we’re officially on honeymoon.”

“Finally!”

 

*****

 

Three days later when Arnav and Khushi finally arrived at their tree house in Chewton Glen, they couldn’t help but take in the difference. Dubai has been blisteringly hot, but here in England, there was a chilling breeze. In Dubai they had been surrounded by glamorous tall buildings, here, all that was around them were tonnes and tonnes of trees and the next tree house was miles away.

Once inside the tree-house, they both took in everything around them, enjoying the little touches that had been made when decorating the place.

 

“Okay, is it bad that I actually prefer this place to the hotel in Dubai?”

“No. This place is great!”

 

After exploring the storehouse a little, Arnav found Khushi in the little kitchen area making some tea. Wrapping his arms around her, he stood close to her, pressing kisses on her neck.

 

“Arnav… Tea…”

“It’s been hours, let’s go to bed.”

 

She knew exactly what he meant, and knew he didn’t want to sleep. Blushing, Khushi turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips between his as she gave him a playful kiss.

 

“What do you want to do in bed?”

He raised his eyebrow before leaning in toward her ear.

“How about I show you?”

 

His voice was low and husky, sending a shiver down Khushi’s spine. His intention were clear as day and she had no objections towards them.

Taking his hand, Khushi led the way as she made her way towards the bedroom area, her tea lay completely forgotten…

 

*****

 

“Khushi have you seen outside! It’s snowing!”

“Yes, I’ve seen the snow!”

 

Looking out over the forest, Arnav took in all the snow and how beautiful it looked outside.

 

“How are you so calm? Look at how amazing it looks.”

 

Walking over to the large window, Khushi sighed as she took in the snow.

 

“Arnav, I’ve spent years of my life in this country, I’ve seen snow plenty of times. And yeah it looks pretty, but now we can’t go into the hot tub like we planned.”

 

Arnav’s attention shifted to the little hot tub that was out on the balcony. It had snow all over the cover on the top.

 

“We can still go in, the water will be hot and I know how to warm you up any way.”

 

Khushi wasn’t even slightly shocked or taken aback by his suggestive comment. Since they’d been here the last couple of days, his bold statements came out constantly. And his statements were also constantly being backed up. Even Khushi had a sex drive, but Arnav’s was something else altogether. He constantly wanted it. But she couldn’t complain, she was enjoying it too.

Playfully slapping his shoulder, Khushi walked away.

 

*****

 

It was a little later the same evening and the snow was still falling. Arnav had gotten a fire roaring in the fireplace and was sat on the faux fur rug, looking into the fire.
Khushi came and sat down beside him, placing her hand on his thigh.

 

“Hi.”

 

He smiled as he turned his attention to her. She’d had a shower and so her hair was still wet. And instead of wearing her own clothes, she’d opted to wear one of Arnav’s t-shirts and seemed to have forgotten to put some pants on.

 

“Aren’t you cold?”

“I was hoping you could warm me up. You know, the way you wanted to earlier on.”

 

Arnav smirked as he pulled off his own t-shirt and pushed her down onto the rug.

 

“Arnav! I didn’t mean right here!”

“Why not right here?”

“Because…”

 

But her argument was forgotten about as he slid his hand under her shirt and squeezed her lightly, all the while kissing her neck. He let his hand trail down her body and came to rest on her inner thighs.

Shuddering at the feel of his hand on her, Khushi held onto him tighter, kissing him more intensely. Wrapping a leg around his waist, Khushi moved her body against Arnav’s, the wait to become one was starting to kill her.

Pulling off her shirt and pulling off his own clothes, lowered Khushi back onto the floor and slowly let himself touch her. The way her body reacted, one would think he inserted a live wire into her.

A fine layer of sweat lay on Khushi’s skin. The heat from the fireplace, the warmth from the rug and the intensity of Arnav’s actions were causing to make Khushi feel as though her entire body was on fire.

 

“Arnav… Bed…”

 

He was well aware of what she meant and what she wanted, but he knew neither of them would actually be able to move now.

Stripping himself of the last of his clothes, Arnav caressed Khushi’s body and checked one last time to make sure she really was ready for him. She was.

 

“Are you ready?”

 

Wrapping her arms around his more tightly, Khushi’s eyes fluttered open as she gave a little nod.
Arnav lowered himself over Khushi and kissed her slowly as their bodies joined in the most intimate manner, Khushi let out a sigh and wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as they carried on kissing.

As the act of love and passion took place, all either of them could think was that this was how their life was meant to be, how it was meant to be spent. Wrapped together so they couldn’t tell where one ended and the other started.

This was how life was and how it should forever remain.

 

*****

 

Author’s Note:

So I just realised that I had finished writing these chapters years ago and though I don’t like them as much as I did at the time, I have decided to just post them so that the story is complete for you guys.

I will be uploading the last part of the story within the next few weeks. 

Jalebi ~ Part 37

Taking in Rohan’s words, Arnav didn’t know if he should feel happy or if he should feel sad. It was obvious Rohan cared about Khushi. But Arnav knew that he definitely cared about Khushi more than anyone else ever could.

 

“I’ll take my leave.”

“No. No you have to stay.”

 

Unable to understand why Rohan would make him stay, Arnav tried to argue with Rohan. But he wasn’t having it. He wanted him to stay.

 

“I can’t.”

“You have to.”

 

The way Rohan spoke, Arnav realised that there would be no use arguing. He had to sit through the wedding, he would have to watch the woman he loved become someone else’s.

 

*****

 

Returning to the main hall, one of Rohan’s cousins approached him and told him that the auspicious time had arrived and that he needed to make his way over to the mandap.

Taking his seat at the mandap, he waited for Khushi to come over.

Offering Khushi her hand, Payal gave Khushi a little smile.

 

“Let’s get this show on the road.”

“Jiji I…”

 

Starting to panic slightly, Khushi realised the greater implications of what was happening. She was about to marry Rohan. Actually marry him. She would have to live with him, share a room, a bed with him…

 

“Jiji I cant!”

“What?”

“I can’t marry Rohan.”

 

Payal and Khushi were using hushed voices, but they caught the attention of all those around them. Rohan looked over, and he saw Khushi still at her seat.

 

“Now is not the time to get cold feet Khushi. You’ve had so much time to change your decision, you can’t do it now.”

“I know… But honestly Jiji I can’t.”

 

Feeling at a complete loss, Payal moved back slightly, trying to think of what to do.
Wanting to know what the delay was for, Rohan got to his feet and made his way over to Khushi. Putting his hand out to her, he waited for her to take it.

 

“Rohan…”

“Come on, everyone’s waiting.”

“I…”

“You’ve watched Kuch Kuch Hota Hai right? If you don’t come on, I’m going to drag you to the mandap.”

“I can’t…”

 

Realising exactly what Khushi was thinking, Rohan took Khushi’s hand and dragged her over to the mandap.

 

“Rohan…”

 

Those who hadn’t been paying attention before were paying attention now. Anjali saw what was going on and nudged Arnav.

 

“What’s happening?”

“Did he ask me to stay so I that he could make me watch him forcefully marry her?”

 

Khushi tried to get her hand out of Rohan’s, and struggled even more when she saw the mandap getting closer to them.

 

“Rohan please…”

 

She saw the mandap approach and she realised… This was it. She had made her decision and now there was no backing out.

But much to Khushi’s surprise, they walked straight passed the mandap and only stopped once they were a little further down. Arnav looked up again, trying to make sense of what was happening.

 

“What are you…”

“Today Khushi, I realised what love is. True love is when you are ready to sacrifice your happiness and what you want so the other person can be happy. I learnt that from a man who up until now I didn’t like at all. He made me realise that if you truly love someone, you should let them go if that’s what is going to make them happy. Arnav… Arnav taught me that.”

 

Turning her attention to Arnav, Khushi gave a little smile.

 

“Arnav is ready to let you go because he loves you truly and he thinks you marrying me is what you want and he just wants you to be happy. But I think we both know you’re only marrying me because you think that if you said no now, you’d be betraying me.”

 

Tears fell from Khushi’s eyes because Rohan was right. He was spot on.

 

“I’m sorry…”

“No I’m sorry. I should have realised and I shouldn’t have been so pig headed when making you choose. I knew the truth and I decided to overlook it for my own selfish reasons.”

 

Khushi felt her head spin as she took in Rohan’s words. What was the meaning of all this? Feeling slightly light headed, Khushi raised her hand to her head and tried to keep herself stable. She felt herself sway slightly and then the next thing she knew, she had a strong pair of arms around her.

Turning to her right, she saw Arnav stood beside her, holding her tightly.

 

“See, he was stood all the way on the other side of the room and he knew you needed him. I was stood right here and I didn’t realise. This is why you should make him your life partner. Put the guy out of his misery.”

“Rohan…”

 

Taking Khushi’s hand in his own, Rohan carefully pulled the engagement ring that he’d put on her off.

 

“I set you free.”

“I don’t know what to…”

“You don’t need to say anything to me Khushi. Turn to the saint of a man next to you, and ask him for his hand.”

 

Giving a little smile and mouthing her thanks, Khushi turned to Arnav and took his hand into her own. Looking at her, Arnav smiled before brushing away the tears on Khushi’s cheek.

 

“I screwed up Arnav. I thought I was doing the right thing but I… Will you marry me Arnav? After everything that I have put you through, do you think you can forgive me and marry me? I think we both know that I am yours. Only yours.”

 

Reaching into his pocket, Arnav pulled out the velvet box that Anjali had given to him a little while ago. Opening it and carefully taking out the ring, Arnav gently put it on Khushi.

 

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to put this ring on your finger.”

 

Taking her hand, he pressed a light kiss on her hand.

Smiling, Rohan mentally pat himself on the back. He did the right thing. As much as it hurt and as much as he wanted to marry Khushi himself, he knew he did the right thing. She was never his and she never would have been.

 

“Now now, let’s not get too caught up in the moment, there are still tonnes of people watching you.”

 

Taking her hand out of Arnav’s, Khushi wrapped her arms around Rohan and gave him a big hug.

 

“Thank you so much.”

“We’ve been friends for the longest time, if I didn’t have your back, who else would?”

 

Taking his turban off, Rohan walked to Arnav and placed it on his head.

 

“Be good to her bro.”

“I promise you, I’ll never let her or you regret this decision.”

 

*****

 

After giving the bride and groom a few moments to freshen up and to allow their families to take in everything, Arnav and Khushi’s marriage ceremony was well on the way.

The Raizada’s and the Gupta’s had been overjoyed by the change in events. Anjali had called Hari Prakash and asked him to quickly go out and get the supplies that she needed.

 

*****

 

Wedding done, bidaai done, Payal helped Khushi into the back of Arnav’s car as Akash got into the drivers seat.

Pulling Khushi into his arms, Arnav brushed her hair out of her face as he took her lips between his own and kissed her as though he’d never kissed her before. Taking hold of his collar, Khushi pulled him closer to herself as she kissed him back with the same level of intensity. His hands dropped to her waist as he pulled her onto himself, needing to get closer.

Breaking apart to come up for air, Khushi ran her hand along Arnav’s face and placed a little kiss on the end of his nose.

 

“I never thought… I thought we… I thought I lost you…”

“Sh, we’re together now, we’re married. That’s all that matters now.”

“I love you Arnav. I’m so sorry I…”

“Shh. I told you, it doesn’t matter any more. This is a new start.”

 

Cuddling up to Arnav, Khushi tucked herself into him and closed her eyes, feeling peaceful.

 

“Hey Khushi, remember the time we made out here. How about…”

“Don’t even think about it bhai!”

 

Laughing, Arnav reached over and poked Akash in the back of his head. Snuggling back down, Khushi tucked herself into Arnav and simply inhaled his scent.

Finally peace had been restored.

 

*****

 

After being welcomed into the Raizada house as the new Raizada bride, Arnav and Khushi were sat on the sofa with the family, waiting to be granted permission to go to their room.

 

“Whatever happens, happens for the best. And all that matters now is that Khushi bitya is home.”

“I told you Nani, I’d sort it and I would get her back.

 

Before anyone could say anything more, Anjali re-emerged from wherever she was and came to collect Khushi.

 

“Come on Khushi, I’ll show you to your room.”

“There’s no need Di, I can show Khushi to our room.”

“Hush chote. It’s a rasam. I showed Payal to her room after the wedding and I’m going to do the same with Khushi.”

 

Helping Khushi to her feet, Anjali turned away, leading her up to Arnav’s room. Arnav too got to his feet but was stopped.

 

“No Chote, wait. I will tell you when you can go up.”

 

Rolling his eyes, Arnav sat back down and was met with a whole lot of teasing from Shyam and Akash for being too eager.

Helping Khushi up the stairs, Anjali turned her attention back to her.

 

“How are you feeling?”

“So nervous and overwhelmed.”

“Are you happy though?”

“Of course.”

 

Teaching Arnav’s bedroom, Khushi gasped as she looked around the room.

 

“Di when did you…”

“Just because you and Chote got married at the last minute, doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t have made sure that everything was perfect.”

 

Looking around the room, Khushi took in the beautifully decorated room with flower petals and candles.

 

“But so quickly…”

“I got Akash to take a detour. Don’t think you and Chote realised that though did you?”

 

Blushing, Khushi looked down. No, she hadn’t realised. She hadn’t gone to sleep in the car, but she had drifted off slightly. It had been so long since she had last felt so content and at ease, that it was so easy to just zone out.

Leading Khushi over to the bed, Anjali was ready to help her onto the bed when Khushi stopped her.

 

“Di, I’ve been in this outfit for so long. I know it’s not the norm, but can I please get changed before he comes up?”

“Of course it’s fine. I completely understand. Would you like me to call Payal to help you get changed”

“No no, I’ll manage.”

“Okay, you get changed. I’ll send Chote up in half an hour. And I won’t come up with him so I won’t see you.”

 

Anjali gave Khushi a suggestive nudge with a cheeky wink, causing Khushi to want to curl into herself because she felt so shy.

 

Anjali left, leaving Khushi alone in Arnav’s bedroom. Well hers and Arnav’s bedroom. Khushi hadn’t had the intention to dress to impress Arnav, but now that Anjali had hinted at it, Khushi decided that she wanted to wear something special for him.

Picking up her suitcase, Khushi placed it onto the bed and went rummaging. She hadn’t brought many pieces of sexy nightwear because she hadn’t seen the need for it. But things were different now. She was married to Arnav.

Picking out what she wanted to wear, Khushi took hold of it and made her way to the bathroom to get changed.

 

*****

 

Sat back on the bed, Khushi had draped her dupatta back onto her head and had pulled it around her shoulders. She knotted her hands together as she waited for her husband to arrive.

A little while passed and then the door was pushed open and Arnav walked in. Quickly turning around, he locked the door behind him. With the door locked, he pulled the curtains on the doors to the poolside and then finally, slowly made his way over to his bride who was waiting on the bed.

Sitting down beside her, Arnav places his hand on hers.

 

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

 

Keeping his hand on hers, Arnav leaned in and placed a kiss on Khushi’s cheek before pulling away again. Slowly, he raised his hand to her dupatta and pulled it off her head carefully, letting it fall around her shoulders.

As soon as her dupatta was off, his eyes fell on the red sindoor that he had placed on her, marking her as his. He also saw that she’d taken off all her jewellery except her mangalsootra and her ring.

Clutching at the dupatta, Khushi tried to pull it around herself, suddenly feeling self conscious about her attire underneath.

 

“I can’t believe I have you in my bedroom, on my bed, as my wife. When I woke up this morning, all I could think about was how this evening you’d be married to someone else, but now…”

“I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”

 

Biting her lip, Khushi blushed as she reached out to him. Shuffling closer to her, Arnav took hold of her dupatta and slowly pulled it away from her, revealing what she was wearing underneath. Or more correctly, what she wasn’t wearing underneath.

 

“Khushi…”

“I thought you would appreciate it if you didn’t have to take so many layers of clothes off of me.”

“You know me too well baby.”

 

Completely pulling the dupatta away and dropping it down the side of the bed, Arnav took Khushi in. Here she sat, on his bed, in nothing more than a deep red bra and panties. Taking her in, Arnav gulped.

 

“Shit.”

 

Feeling super self conscious, Khushi looked around her, trying to find something to cover herself with. But before she could reach out, Arnav had moved into her, pushed her against the pillows and his lips were on hers, his hands on her exposed waist.

Moving over her, he quickly unbuttoned his shirt and attempted to push it off. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Khushi pulled Arnav into herself, hooking her leg onto his, letting herself feel his body move on hers.

Keeping one arm around his neck, Khushi’s other hand found its way into Arnav’s hair, massaging his scalp with her fingers as they carried on kissing.

Pulling apart for air, Arnav pushed his shirt off, and then moved over Khushi once more.

 

“Arnav…”

 

Whatever she wanted to say was forgotten about as he started kissing her neck, all the while touching her breasts. His hands moved over the silk and lace and he could feel her pebbled nipples on his palms.

Arnav pulled back, and looked at Khushi who’s eyes were half closed.

 

“Khushi…”

“Hmm?”

 

Slowly opening her eyes, she was met with Arnav’s dark molten orbs staring into her soul.

 

“Are you ready for tonight?”

 

Wrapping her arms back around him, Khushi pulled Arnav to herself and whispered into his ear.

 

“Yes.”

Jalebi ~ Part 36

 

The long awaited day had finally arrived. It was finally Khushi and Rohan’s wedding day.

At the wedding venue, there was a great amount of hustle and bustle as everyone made sure that everything was in place and that all arrangements had been done properly. Khushi’s father, alongside Payal’s father, rushed around, making sure that the catering service had prepared all the food properly, while Khushi’s mother and Payal made sure that all of Khushi’s things were properly packed.

 

“Ma, Payal, you guys need to stop worrying. Even if I don’t have all my stuff it isn’t a big deal, in a weeks time me and him are moving back into my house.”

 

As Rohan and his family were primarily based in London, they didn’t have their own home in Delhi any more. As a result, it meant that Khushi didn’t actually have a sasural here where she would have to live.

For the purpose of rituals and traditions, Rohan’s uncle had said that they could welcome the new bride into their home and that Khushi and Rohan could stay there until they went for their honeymoon. Then, when they came back, they would move back into Khushi’s apartment.

Some girls dreamed to have a sasural, others not so much. Khushi found herself on this side of the spectrum, she was glad that she wouldn’t always have to live with in-laws. When Khushi thought that she may be marrying Arnav, she had been overjoyed at the idea of living with her in laws, of living with Payal. But now… Considering all the changes, she was glad for not having immediate in laws in India. It would mean that there would be less pressure on her. And she would have to feign happiness less.

 

“We know you’re going to be moving back into your own home, but you still need to make sure you have your things so you can stay there without any issues.”

 

Giving a noncommittal grunt Khushi turned away and Lalita threw her hands into her hair and turned to Payal. Khushi was driving her insane! She wasn’t making decisions about anything, she wasn’t getting a move on, she wasn’t doing anything! It was her wedding day, yet she was completely stoic about everything.

Nodding to her aunt, Payal signalled that she would handle it. Waiting until her masi left the room, Payal went over to shut the door and then came and sat beside Khushi.

 

“Khushi, what’s the matter.”

“Nothings the matter jiji.”

“Khushi…”

 

Letting out a sigh, Khushi turned to her cousin, letting her shoulders drop.

 

“It’s just all of this. I’m expected to constantly be smiling and to be that blushing bride, but I can’t. I don’t feel like smiling and as far as feeling shy goes, all these suggestive comments that everyone is making, I know they mean nothing, because I know I’m not going to be getting down with my husband tonight so…”

“I’ve said it to you over and over again Khushi, if this isn’t what you really want, there’s still time to walk away.”

 

Khushi knew that there was still time to walk away, but she also knew it was too late. The guests has started arriving, her groom was ready, she was ready. She couldn’t get cold feet and back out now.”

 

“How is he? Arnav I mean? Especially after the fashion show?”

“He’s been… Disturbed. He doesn’t really interact with anyone, Akash said he’s been keeping himself busy with work. But I saw the way his face fell when he realised that all of us were coming to your wedding today.”

“Did he say anything?”

“He didn’t say anything to me and Akash obviously because he knows we need to be here. But he did ask Di why she felt the need to come. She explained that your parents invited everyone on account if them being my in laws and that they had to go otherwise it would seem rude. I don’t think he was too impressed with that.”

 

Sighing, Khushi turned her attention back to the mirror and looked at herself. She knew she looked beautiful, but she didn’t look like the bride she wanted to be. And that was down to the fact that her groom wasn’t the man she wanted.

Placing her hand on Khushi’s shoulder, Payal looked at Khushi through the mirror, trying to tell her it would all be okay.

A little while later, there was a little knock at the door and Payal told whoever it was to come in. Anjali walked in tentatively.

 

“Di?”

 

Turning, Khushi looked up at Anjali, her eyes wide.

 

“Di, aap?”

 

Shutting the door, Anjali came and sat down on the stool by Khushi’s side.

 

“Hi Khushi, I’m okay, you?”

“I’m okay.”

 

There was a pause, a silence stretching out between the three ladies in the room. Payal decided that maybe she should give them some space so excuses herself. With Payal gone, Anjali felt herself loosen up a bit, felt a bit braver.

 

“You look beautiful.”

“Thank you Di… I mean, Anjali ji.”

 

Realising how inappropriate it was now to call her Di, Khushi felt the need to change the way she addressed Anjali.

 

“You don’t have to stop calling me Di. It may not have worked out between you and Chote but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still care for you. Please, keep calling me Di. I really like it.”

“Okay Di.”

 

Looking away again, Khushi realised that there was much that she needed to say, and something she needed to do.

Taking hold of her bag that was sat beside her, she fished in it until her felt the little velvet box under her fingers. Pulling it out, she took one last look at it before handing it back to Anjali.

 

“Can you… Can you give that back to him. I can’t keep it.”

 

Looking between Khushi and the ring box, Anjali felt at a loss. She didn’t know what to do.

 

“I can’t…”

“Please take it and give it back to him. I can’t keep it.”

“I think he’d want you to keep it.”

“I understand that, but if I held onto it, I’ll never be able to move forward in my life.”

 

It made sense, Anjali knew that. But she also knew that if she took this ring back, it really would be the end of Arnav and Khushi and she wasn’t sure it she was ready for that. But alas, she knew that she couldn’t be selfish and took the box from Khushi.

Tears fell from Khushi’s eyes as she handed the box over. It really was over.

 

“I’m sorry Di. I hope you know that I’m really sorry.”

“Sh, it’s okay.”

“And tell him I’m sorry as well.”

 

Nodding, Anjali got to her feet because she didn’t know how much longer she could remain here without having a breakdown on behalf of her brother.

 

“I wish you a very happy married life Khushi.”

 

And with that, Anjali left. The moment the door shut behind Anjali, Khushi get herself completely shatter. She had given back Arnav’s ring. Their relationship was done.

Sat alone in the room, Khushi waited for someone to come for her when there was a little knock on the door.

 

“Come in.”

 

Slowing pushing the door open, Lalita returned and took the seat next to her daughter.

 

“Mom…”

“Dekho Khushi. I’m saying this for the very last time, if this isn’t what is going to make you happy, there is still time to turn back. It’s not too late yet.”

 

Bless her mother. She had been repeating the same thing over and over again. She knew that Rohan wasn’t who she truly wanted to be with.

 

“I told you Ma, this is what I want.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing Khushi. I really do.”

“I do.”

 

*****

 

The main wedding ceremony was about to begin. The baraat had arrived and Khushi was seated beside Rohan on the stage. They greeted guests while they waited for the auspicious time to arrive. Looking around, Khushi took in all the guests that had come to the wedding. As she looked around, she saw an upset looking Anjali towards the back of the hall. Shyam has his arm around her, talking to her, patting her. She then saw Naniji. She too didn’t look entirely happy.

Carrying on round, Khushi’s eyes finally fell on her mother. She looked so pale, her smile so forced. Khushi knew her mother wasn’t convinced by what she had said, and it showed.

Sighing, Khushi turned away. But her attention was brought back when a whole lot of static played overhead.

Turning her attention the sound desk, she saw Arnav.

 

“Testing, can everyone hear me?”

 

There was a pause as Arnav waited for a response. People started turning his way to see what he had to say.

Feeling her palms start to go all sweaty, Khushi felt herself panic. What was he going to say, what was he going to do?

 

“What is he doing?” Hissed Rohan. Shrugging her shoulders, Khushi turned back to Arnav.

“Hi everyone, I’m Arnav Singh Raizada. Some people may know that Khushi and I were in business together before. I’ve come here today to wish her and Rohan a happy married life.”

 

Khushi watched Shyam and Akash daft through the crowd and make their way over to Arnav. They must have been telling him to come away, but he wasn’t done yet.

 

“I would like to present a song for the lovely couple.”

 

The guests, unaware of anything, began to clap, thinking Arnav was being sweet. But Khushi had a sick feeling in her stomach. Why was he here? Why would he come today? Why on her wedding day? Didn’t he realise how hard it was going to be any way without him actually turning up here?

But before any other thoughts could pass through Khushi’s mind, the music started up.

 

Of course, of course he would pick this song. The insinuations weren’t missed by the guests, many turned to Khushi, eyebrows raised. They knew what was going on here.

 

“Channa mereya mereya, o piya… O piyaa…”

 

Tears fell from Khushi eyes. Why would he do this? How could he… But Khushi watched as the tears fell from his eyes as well and she realised how he could do this. She’d hurt him beyond anything else.

Arnav kept singing the soulful lyrics, the guests completely swept away by him. When finally the song came to an end, there was a big round of applause for Arnav, as he took a little bow. Getting out from behind the sound desk, Khushi watched as Shyam put his arm around Arnav and led him away to where the rest of the Raizada’s were sat.

Looking away, Khushi turned to Rohan because she knew he would need calming down, only to find Rohan was no longer seated beside her. Turning back, she saw him, making his way over to Arnav.

 

Oh no.

 

If Arnav had created a scene, it meant Rohan was going to create more of a scene now.
By the time Rohan was able to make it across the crowd, Arnav had already started turning away to leave. He was at the door when Rohan places his hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

 

“We need to talk.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t be here any longer.”

“You came here today, now you have to wait until I dismiss you.”

 

Guiding Arnav back into the venue, Rohan steered him towards an empty room down the side. Pushing Arnav in first, he followed him in, shutting the door behind them.

Away from all the crowds and in the dim light, Rohan really took Arnav in. His eyes were red, he had large bags under his eyes, and his hair and beard were all starting to go slightly out of control.

Rohan had come in here with every intention to beat the crap out of Arnav for creating a scene on his wedding day, but looking at him now… Rohan felt for the man in front of him. The first time he’d met Arnav, every aspect of him was clean cut and perfect. Now, Arnav was the complete opposite. It was also evident that Arnav had lost a fair amount of weight.

 

“Why did you come here today?”

“I don’t know… I hoped… I don’t know.”

“What did you hope?”

 

Rohan watched as Arnav tried to answer. But there was no answer, just tears.

 

“Arnav…”

 

Wiping his tears away, he pulled on a smile.

 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s up with me. I’m fine. I should leave.”

 

Turning to the door, Arnav was ready to bolt. He didn’t want to be here, he didn’t want to be sharing the same space or the same air as Rohan.

 

“Wait! Let me speak.”

 

Letting out a sigh, Arnav turned his attention back to Rohan.

 

“Do you love her?”

“What kind of a question is that?”

“It’s a serious one and one I need an answer to, right now.”

“I’d have thought it was obvious.”

“It was, up until you publicly called out yesterday for being a cheat.”

 

Rohan watched as Arnav turned away again, his cheeks the lightest shade of pink.

 

“I need to apologise to her for that. I didn’t mean to… I wasn’t drunk, but I’d had a few drinks to calm myself down and I guess… I reacted badly last night. I wanted to make it up to her, but I realise my song choice today wasn’t ideal either.”

“It wasn’t. Especially when you’re so transparent. I think all the guests realised that you’re in love with her.”

 

There was a pause. Neither men could think of anything to say.

 

“Just keep her happy Rohan, that’s all I ask. I know it must be weird, marrying her, knowing everything you know about us, but please. Be good to her. She picked you because she sees a future with you, so keep her happy.”

 

Once again, Arnav turned to leave but Rohan stopped him.

 

“I will. I’ll make her happy. I’ll bring her smile back again, and give her the happy ending she deserves. I promise you Arnav.”

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.

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.

Jalebi ~ Part 29

Khushi lay in the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Rohan was still out of town and so Khushi had been spending a lot of time around the house. She’d been tempted to take the calls of the Raizada’s but she wasn’t sure if she was ready to speak to them just yet. All her thoughts, all her feelings were troubling her the more time she spent alone. When she closed her eyes, she could feel Arnav’s hands and his lips on her body. When she opened her eyes in the morning, she thought Arnav was lying beside her. It was driving her insane and she couldn’t deal with it.

As time passed and Khushi remained idle, she got more and more angry at Akash. How could he take everything away from her like that? The business, fine, his greed got the better of him, but he should have realised that taking the business would lead to her losing the love of her life, her soulmate. The more Khushi thought about it, the more she realised that she couldn’t stay mad at Arnav. But how could she not? If he hadn’t accommodated the idea in the first place then this wouldn’t have happened.

Sitting up, Khushi ran her hand through her hair, tugging on the ends. This was all driving her insane! She couldn’t deal with this any more. She needed to do something to get it sorted.

Looking at the clock, Khushi realised it was only 2pm. Jumping out of bed, Khushi got dressed. It was finally time to sort this.

 

*****

 

“Khushi? What are you… Who let you in?”

“Hi jijaji. I’m guessing you weren’t expecting me.”

 

Looking around, it was obvious that Khushi had caught Akash off guard. He hadn’t been expecting for her to come to see him and it showed on his face.

Waling into the office, she shut the door slightly, and sat in the seat opposite him.

 

“Listen…”

“No. You’re going to listen. Why would you do this to me jijaji? I respected you so much, I thought you were such a nice person and you… You conspired against me the whole time.”

“I didn’t…”

“You stole my business. The one I put my heart and soul into for five years. How could you? And then Arnav… I thought he… I believed he did this to me, I thought the worst of him… How could you mess with my love and my life like that?”

 

Looking at him, Khushi waited for an answer. Akash opened his mouth and then shut it again as he felt something snap within him.

 

“You want to know why and how?”

“Yes, please tell me.”

“You deserved it. You deserved to have everything you held important taken from you. Call it revenge.”

“Revenge for what?”

 

She looked at him quizzically, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

 

“Revenge for what Akash? What have I ever done to you that’s so bad that you felt the need to ruin my life in this manner?”

 

Remaining silent, Akash played up his options. Either he could remain silent and maybe she’d leave, or he could tell her exactly how she ruined his life. Akash decided to go for the latter.

 

“I ruined your life, because you made a mess of mine.”

“Excuse me?”

“Remember when I asked you on a date in high school?”

“No? When did you ever do that?”

“It was just before I started dating Payal. I asked you out first and you completely ignored me. You said no and then left.”

 

Her forehead creased and Akash watched as she took in the what he was saying. He could tell she was confused, really thinking hard and then her expression softened.

 

“It was a dare though?”

“Yes it had been a dare, but I was generally interested in you and I actually wanted to date you. But you shot me down in an instant, you didn’t think anything of it.”

“I didn’t realise you were being serious. How was I supposed to know?”

“Would it have made a difference to your decision?”

“No. Probably not.”

“Then you deserved what you got.”

 

Looking up, Khushi tried to understand Akash and his actions.

 

“Are you… Are you actually insane?That was in high school! And besides, you got with jiji after and now you’re married to her. It all worked out for you. Why did you need to ruin my life?”

“You don’t get it do you? I was in love with you and you turned me away. I went to Payal to make you jealous. But it never worked.”

“I don’t… Why did you feel so strongly about me back then? I was so basic, so… I was invisible.”

 

Khushi felt genuinely super confused. This was insane! So Akash had been in love with her and went to Payal to make her jealous?

 

“You may have been invisible to everyone else, but I noticed you in classes. I saw how smart you were and I found that attractive. Boys back then only cared about boobs and butts. I cared about brains.”

“But you’re with jiji now! You’re married to her! How could you do this to me and to her?”

“I couldn’t just let you get away with it Khushi. And then you got with bhai. Do you know how hard that was? Maybe if you and bhai didn’t get that close, maybe I wouldn’t have done anything. But knowing you were sleeping with him when I…”

“Don’t.”

 

She wanted him to stop. This was crazy. Akash wasn’t right in the head, there was definitely something wrong with him.

 

“Okay so I screwed up when we were kids, but Akash, you’re married to my jiji now and you’re happy! Why would you…”

“Because we needed your business! AR was sinking…”

“And I could have helped you! There was no need for you to steal my business from me.”

 

Waiting, Khushi watched as the cogs in Akash’s brain spun and he tried to think of something to say, but nothing came. Letting out a sigh of exasperation, Khushi threw her arms in the air and turned away.

 

“This was a waste of my time. You aren’t worth it. You can have Khushiyan and you can shove it up your ass. I hope jiji sees what kind of trash you are. She deserves so much better.”

 

Turning to look at Akash one last time, Khushi took in his slumped figure and just shook her head and made her way to leave. Reaching the door, she was shocked to find Arnav stood in the doorway.

 

“Arnav…”

 

Akash looked up from his desk, his eyes wide as he took his brother in.

 

“How long have you been here?”

 

Walking into the room, Arnav walked over to Akash.

 

“You did all this for revenge? You used me as a pawn so you could get revenge?”

“Bhai…”

“How could you Akash! Does my happiness mean that little to you? At the beginning, okay fine, I didn’t know Khushi, she didn’t mean anything to me. But when you realised I was falling in love with Khushi and you knew that I didn’t approve, you still went ahead for the sake of your revenge?”

 

Khushi looked between the two brothers. Akash had his head down, and Arnav was seething with anger but it was evident that he was hurting.

 

“Arnav leave it…”

“No! You may be able to leave it because you’ve moved on, but I haven’t! And so I can’t leave it.”

 

He marched over to Akash and pulled him out of the chair by his collar. Khushi rushed in after him.

 

“How could you do that to me? I’ve always loved you and treated you like my own little brother and you.”

“Arnav let him go!”

“If I was as low as you, I’d probably beat you up now, but I respect family.”

 

Letting go of his collar, Arnav threw Akash back into the chair and stormed out of the office.

 

*****

 

“Arnav! Arnav wait!”

Running after Arnav, Khushi needed to make sure that he was okay. Akash had looked drained and slightly mortified when she had left but he didn’t matter. But Arnav did.

 

“Arnav!”

 

Finally catching up with him, Khushi caught Arnav by the elbow, turning him to face her.
She saw the tears that had gathered in his eyes.

 

“He used me and my feelings for you to achieve his own twisted schemes…”

“Let’s go somewhere and talk.”

 

As much as Khushi didn’t want to be alone with Arnav, she knew that she needed to talk to him, he seemed a mess at this moment.

 

“Let’s go back to mine.”

“No thanks. I don’t want to get beaten up by your fiancé.”

 

Turning away, Arnav was prepared to make his way back over to his car when Khushi stopped him again.

 

“Rohan is out of town.”

“Why are you insisting we talk? Aren’t you the one who wanted to cut me out of your life for good?”

“A lot has happened and we found out a lot today, I know you’re feeling confused, so am I. So I think it would be us both good to sit and talk about it.”

 

Turning his attention to Khushi, he saw her outstretched hand, her caring look in her eyes. It was evident that no matter what happened between them, she still cared and maybe, just maybe, he had a chance of winning her back.

Nodding, Arnav led Khushi to the car and they made their way back to Khushi’s apartment.

 

*****

 

“Take a seat, I’ll get you some coffee.”

 

Putting her keys down, Khushi went into the little kitchen while Arnav took a seat on the sofa. He looked around and he couldn’t help but feel nervous. The last time that he’d been here, he left finding out that she was engaged to her arsehole of a childhood friend.
She reemerged moments later, much faster than she had done the other day and handed Arnav his coffee cup and took a seat beside him. Arnav noticed how when she initially sat down, she was relatively close to him, and then she scooted away from him. She took a sip of her own tea before turning to Arnav.

 

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m not as mad as I was initially. But I’m still mad. How could he… I can’t even begin to comprehend.”

“I can’t either. I can’t believe something that happened so long ago fuelled so much hate and anger in him. If I knew this was to happen, I would have just gone on that date with him.”

“He’s insane. And forget about us, he played Payal too.”

“Don’t tell jiji anything. She’d break down if she found out what he was doing and her reasoning behind it all.”

“Well she already knows he’s the reason why you haven’t got Khushiyan any more. I told Di any way but I got drunk the other day and told Nani who took it up with mama and Mami.”

“You got drunk?”

 

Khushi’s eyes widened as she turned to him fully.

 

“You don’t get drunk?”

“That was the old Arnav. This Arnav drinks to drown his sorrows. Although, I’ve promised Nani I won’t get drunk again.”

“But why were you so drunk that you told Nani something like that?”

 

Arnav took a sip of his coffee and put the mug down, turning to Khushi.

 

“Why do you think I was so drunk?”

“I don’t…”

“I handed my business over out of anger, the only woman I’ve ever wanted to be with is engaged to someone else and my brother is a piece of shit. Is it hard to see why I’ve been getting drunk?”

 

Turning away, Khushi looked down.

 

“You act like you’re the only one that’s hurting.”

“It seems like I am.”

 

Unable to contain herself, Khushi looked Arnav in the eye, and he could see the anger in her.

 

“Just because I’m not getting drunk and I’m not lashing out doesn’t mean I’m not hurting. You chose to give your business up, mine was taken away from me! Yes, I may not be with you any more, but you’re not with me either any more. You act like you were the only one in love in our relationship, but I was too. I had to let you go… Do you think that was easy for me?”

“You went and got engaged to someone else.”

 

Shaking her head, Khushi realised there was no point talking to him about this. He wouldn’t understand. He couldn’t see.

 

“You don’t get it Arnav. I gave myself to you and I thought you betrayed me.”

“I didn’t…”

“I know that now! But at the time I was hurting and confused and Rohan was there for me. I thought that maybe our parents knew what they were doing when they had fixed our rishta…”

“But Khushi, you know now that I didn’t play you, or cheat you. Take me back.”

 

He’d put the cup down and leaned closer to her, taking her hands in his own. He looked into her eyes, searching for an answer, pleading almost for another chance.

 

“I love you and I know you still love me. Take me back Khushi.”

 

He leaned closer, his lips almost touching hers, waiting for a response. She looked into his eyes, and could see the sincerity, the need, the desperation almost.

 

“I can’t…”

 

He leaned closer, wanting to close the gap.

 

“You can…”

“Rohan…”

 

She moved back, pulling her hands out of Arnav’s and looked away.

 

“I can’t! I can’t do that to Rohan. Not after the way he supported me at my time of need. I can’t…”

 

Getting to her feet, she turned away. Arnav too got up, his hand reaching her shoulder.

 

“We’re in love. Rohan will understand…”

“I can’t do that Arnav! Please, don’t make this harder for me.”

“So what, that’s it? Despite knowing I never wanted to hurt you, you’re still willing to turn your back on me? Does what we shared mean that little to you?”

“Please leave.”

 

Tears rolled down Khushi’s face. She wanted to be with Arnav, of course she did! But how could she just go back? How could she do that to Rohan? She couldn’t. Her bed was made and she had to lie in it now. Without Arnav…

Jalebi ~ Part 26

 

“I’m engaged Arnav.”

 

Looking at the ring on Khushi’s finger and then looking between her and Rohan, it took Arnav a few minutes to process it all.

 

“Wait what?”

“I should’ve told you as soon as I saw you…

“Yes, yes you should have! How could you leave like that and come back engaged? Did you not think about me for even a moment? Did you not remember the fact that I wanted to marry you? How did you forget about everything we’d been through? How could you?”

“How could I? How could I?!”

 

Khushi felt her patience slipping away from her, her anger rising. Rohan took hold of her arm, whispered how she needed to calm down. But she wasn’t having it.

 

“I could do this because you deceived me! You stole my business from me! And you have the audacity to ask me how dare I?”

“Khushi…”

“I gave myself to you after trying to stay away from you. It took me ages to open myself up to you and that’s how you repaid me…”

“I didn’t do anything! It was Akash!”

 

Khushi stopped for a moment. What did he say?

“Jijaji?”

“Yes. It was all his master plan. Right from the moment he called you back for the reunion he had this plan. I knew about it from the start but I never thought it was a good idea. But initially I went with him, but only to an extent. Then I started to work with you, got to know you, and I couldn’t do it, I told him I wanted out. And then things really started changing between us and I…”

“Why didn’t you say no from the start?”

“I didn’t think much of it, I didn’t think Akash was being serious. And then I realised he was and that’s when I said no.”

 

Raising her hand to head, Khushi tried to take in everything that she’d just learnt. How could Akash do that to her? How could he even think about doing something like that?

 

“But Payal…”

“He loves Payal truly…”

“How could he do that to me when he’s always been trying to get into bed with my cousin. Did he not think…”

“I don’t know Khushi. I don’t know his logic behind it all. But I need you to know it wasn’t me. I didn’t even know when he created the papers. I’d already made it clear to him long before that we needed to put a stop to the plan. And he agreed. I honestly thought he was going to back off…”

 

Rohan who had been standing beside Khushi patiently finally started to lose his cool. He’d had enough of this.

 

“Okay. Right, you’ve said you’re bit, you’ve done what you needed to do, but it doesn’t change what’s happened. Whether it was your plan or someone else’s, Khushi no longer has her business. I don’t think there’s much else to be said.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t come between us.”

“I’m afraid I have to be between you. Khushi’s my fiancé and I need to make sure you’re not saying anything to trouble her.”

 

Arnav moved up to Rohan. Who the hell did he think he was? Khushi sensed the tension between the two men and moved between them.

 

“Look, I don’t need you two to start arguing. Arnav, I appreciate your attempts to sort things, but… There’s nothing that can be done. You can’t give me Khushiyan back… As for us… I can’t trust you Arnav, I’m sorry. I know it sounds harsh, given everything that you’ve told me, but I can’t… I’m sorry. I’ve moved on with me life, I’ve moved on with Rohan, and I want you to respect my decision.”

“So what? That’s it for us?”

“I told you before I left, it was over between us.”

 

Tears pricked in both Arnav and Khushi’s eyes. She blinked them away as Rohan wrapped an arm around her. Arnav took a step closer to Khushi.

 

“I love you… I can’t live without you.”

 

She looked at him, wanting to move closer to him and wipe his tears away. But she was aware of Rohan holding her close. In her heart she knew she still loved him but…

 

“I’m sorry Arnav… We spent some beautiful moments together and I guess they and you will always be special. But it was always meant to be me and Rohan. I guess I got confused along the way. I’m not confused now and Rohan has accepted my past with you…”

 

Rohan and Khushi both watched as Arnav’s body deflated, he looked completely defeated. It pulled at Khushi’s heart. She’d never seen him like this. He looked so broken, so lost. She placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

“I’m sorry… But you will find someone for yourself, someone who will love you and care for you the way Rohan loves and cares for me.”

“I can’t be here…”

 

Holding back the tears that were threatening to fall, Arnav tried to hold himself together. He didn’t want to cry in front of her any more, and definitely not in front of Rohan.

 

“I’m sorry I came here.”

“Arnav…”

 

He brushed past both Khushi and Rohan and made his way over to the door. One hand on the door handle, he turned around and took one last look at Khushi.

 

“Goodbye Khushi.”

 

And with that, he was gone. Khushi wanted to go after Arnav, to stop him, to tell him she still cared for him and that she still wanted to be with him. But she knew she couldn’t do that.

Tears started falling, and Rohan pulled Khushi into a hug, holding her close to himself. Brushing him off, Khushi moved away from him and rushed into her bedroom, shutting the door behind herself. Throwing herself onto the bed, Khushi cried. Let it all out. This wasn’t fair. She had met someone she truly loved and who truly loved her too, but she couldn’t be with him. It wasn’t fair, this wasn’t how t was meant to be.

Khushi lay in bed, and she recalled all the moments she and Arnav had shared. She remembered all the kisses they had shared, the moment they had stolen during Payal and Akash’s wedding. She remembered their first night together, how gentle he’d been with her, how he kept making sure that she was okay, that this was still what she wanted.

Then she remembered their second night together. She remembered how she’d felt, being there below his body while he moved over her, kissing every inch of her body, touching her naked skin… She remembered how it had felt being so close to him, being one with him, having his body in hers…

Wiping her tears away, she forced herself to remember why they couldn’t be together, why she had made the decision to leave him. Yes it did change things, knowing that this was Akash’s plan and not Arnav’s. But Arnav should have said no from the start, he should have put his foot down because he knew it was wrong, morally, to do that to someone.

No, she couldn’t cry over not having Arnav any more. She wasn’t being fair on herself or Rohan. Rohan had accepted her, knowing everything about hers and Arnav’s relationship.

Wiping her tears away, Khushi sat up in bed and recalled everything that had happened when she arrived back in London.

 

*Flashback*

 

Arriving at Heathrow airport, Khushi pulled her sunglasses over her eyes to cover her puffy eyes. She had cried almost the entire flight, unable to understand how and why this was happening.

Once she collected her luggage and was ready to leave, she called for a taxi and went straight to her office.

The security team at the entrance of her office was the ones she was used to and they recognised her the moment they saw her and let her in.

Walking into the office, her assistant came rushing over to her.

 

“Ma’am! What are you doing here all of a sudden? But more importantly what’s happening with ownership? Apparently you have signed over all rights?”

“I need to talk to everyone from legal. Find out if they’re free and even if they aren’t arrange a meeting now.”

“Yes ma’am, but do you want to maybe freshen up first, you look exhausted.”

“Please just do as I’ve asked you to do.”

 

The assistant rushed off and Khushi made her way up to her office, greeting everyone politely as she passed them. Getting to her office, Khushi shut the door behind her before taking a look at herself in the mirror. She looked a wreck. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face dry and tired looking.

 

Sorting herself out a bit, she looked through the papers that Mohit had sent over to her, trying to find a loophole, something, anything that would help her get her business back. But she couldn’t find anything.

After waiting about half an hour, Khushi’s assistant reappeared, telling Khushi that he had managed to get a meeting sorted with the legal team and that it would take place in half an hours time.

Thanking him, Khushi dismissed him once more. Picking her phone up, she noticed that she had a tonne of missed calls and text messages from Arnav. She read the previews, but didn’t bother to open the messages. She didn’t have anything to say to him.

Sitting through the meeting with legal, it became clear very early on that nothing much could be done. They had gone through the papers in detail, trying to find anything that could help them, but it was clear that there wasn’t a lot that could be done.

When Khushi left the office, she felt completely deflated. She had hoped with all her heart that her legal time would be able to find something, anything. But it seemed as though if Arnav didn’t sign things over, she wouldn’t be able to get her business back.
Leaving the office, Khushi got another taxi to take her home. Getting to her house, she couldn’t help but feel broke. She hadn’t been home alone for years and now to come back home to an empty house, when she really needed her family was not ideal.

Once Khushi was home and she’d had some time to freshen up, she called the only person she could think of at that point. Rohan.

As soon as Khushi put the phone down from Rohan, he arrived. He came with food and some flowers. The moment he walked in through the door, Khushi embraced him.

 

“Khushi? What’s going on?”

 

Explaining everything that had happened, Khushi couldn’t contain her tears. She told Rohan everything, telling him everything that had happened from the start to the end.

 

“Wait, so you were in a relationship with him? Were you together when I met you guys at the conference?”

“No we got together right after.”

“I can’t believe he’d do that to you.”

“I’m sorry Rohan. I know… Us… We always said we’d get married. And I went and…”

“Sh, it’s okay. There’s nothing wrong with exploring your options. But I think it’s clear now that our Jodi was predetermined for a reason. We were meant to be Khushi. I know you’ve just got out of a serious relationship, but I want you to know, I still want to marry you… Maybe one day when you’re ready…”

“I can’t even think about that right now Rohan. It’s too soon.”

“I know, I know.”

 

Rohan dropped the topic of their marriage and Khushi too attempted to cheer herself up so she wouldn’t have to discuss the matter any further. It was too soon to even think about spending her life with someone else. Up until yesterday, she had felt her future with Arnav was set and now to have that taken away… It was too much at one time.

 

*****

 

Time flew by faster than Khushi realised. She’d been back in the U.K. for over 2 weeks and her parents were back too. She had received a number of calls and messages from the Raizada’s. She knew that she should probably call them back and talk to them, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Rohan had been a dream and had paid Khushi a number of visits to make sure that she was settling back okay.

It was one afternoon when she was scrolling through the news app when she saw the news about the management of AR and Khushiyan was changing. Tapping on the headline, Khushi opened up the full article and read that both business which had previously been under Mr Arnav Singh Raizada, was now being passed over to Mr Akash Singh Raizada. No formal statement about the change had yet been made.

When Khushi read this, she felt like the ground beneath her had been pulled away. She couldn’t understand why Arnav would do that. Why would he take her business from her, only to hand it, and his own business, over to his brother?

It didn’t make any sense, none of it made any sense. Throwing her phone onto the bed, Khushi realised that enough was enough. She was done with Arnav. He’d deceived her and used her love for his own personal gains and his own motives. She was done with him. It was then she made the most rash decision of her life…

 

*****

 

A couple of days later, Khushi and Rohan were engaged. It was a small affair, with just their parents and their immediate family present. They didn’t want anyone else.
Rohan had asked Khushi over and over again if she was sure, if this is what she really wanted and she had assured him that it was.

 

“Why avoid the inevitable, let’s just get it done.”

 

Rohan had been confused but he didn’t want to question it. He wanted to be with Khushi and if she had finally decided it was time to make their relationship official, then he wasn’t going to question her. Rohan could tell that Khushi’s heart hadn’t been in the right place on their engagement day, and he had asked her over and over to make sure she was okay. She said she was.

Their engagement went on without a hitch, and it wasn’t until late that night when she was back in her own bedroom did she realise what she had really done. She’d given herself to someone else, promised someone else that she would be their wife… But in her heart, she knew she belonged with Arnav…

 

*Flashback end*

 

Looking at the diamond ring on her finger, Khushi realised that she couldn’t allow herself to bask in the past. She had made the decision to marry Rohan, and she knew it was a decision that her parents supported her on. She couldn’t back down or fall weak now. She owed it to herself, her parents and Rohan to make this work. Brushing away her tears, Khushi decided that enough really was enough. It was time to move on. To close the Arnav related chapter of her life and to proceed with her new journey with Rohan.

It was time for a new beginning.

Jalebi ~ Part 25

It had been weeks since anyone had last heard from Khushi. Arnav had given her time and space and had hoped that by this point she would have cooled down a little and would’ve spoken to him, but she hadn’t.

After handing over all business responsibility to Akash, Arnav found for the first time in a long time, he had time for himself. Legally, nothing had been signed over yet, but it was well known now that there had been a change in ownership and that Arnav was no longer in charge.

Arnav received a lot of phone calls, people he had previously worked with asking why he made such an abrupt decision. Many told him that he had made the wrong decision, but Arnav just stated that he had his reasons and for now, he was taking a step back.

To begin with, Akash had been more than happy to be the new owner of two successful fashion houses. He finally felt as though he got everything he deserved. He’d got his revenge on Khushi for rejecting him, and he’d punished Arnav for always having one up on him. Now he felt content with life. He also found that he was actually happy with Payal, glad that he had picked Payal in the end. She was understanding and supportive, he kind of woman one needed beside themselves when trying to be successful.

However, as time went on, Akash found that he was beginning to struggle to keep up. There were always so many files to check, so many meetings to attend, he barely had time for himself. He and Payal had been unable to go on honeymoon, and by the time he got home in the evening, he had no time for Payal because he was so tired.

He’d hoped that once he got into a routine with things and once he started getting on top of things, then it would be okay, but as time went on, he fell more and more behind. At one point he wanted to ask Arnav to step in and help, but he didn’t. He didn’t want Arnav to think he was incapable. No, he was going to make this work, no matter what happened.

 

*****

 

As Arnav walked into the kitchen, he saw Payal was pouring some juice. They were alone in the kitchen and Arnav took this opportunity to speak to her.

 

“Payal, can I speak to you for a moment?”

“Of course.”

“Payal… Have you heard from Khushi recently?”

“No I’m sorry, I haven’t. I’ve called her and left her messages, but she hasn’t been responding to anything.”

“Have you maybe spoken to her parents?”

“I spoke to Maasi the other day, but it seemed as though they had people at their house, there was so much noise. She said she’d call back but she never did. And every time that I’ve called since, no one has picked up.”

 

Running his hand through his hair, Arnav realised that maybe it was time to just go back to England. Maybe that was the best way to find her and speak to her.

 

“I’m going to try and get a flight out by the end of this week. It’s been over a month. I can’t wait any longer, I need to sort things with Khushi.”

“But bhai… Khushiyan.”

“I don’t know Payal, I’ve tried everything but you know I can’t get that sorted. I just need to make Khushi believe that I love her.”

“I’m sure she knows that but I don’t think that’s the issue here.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to work this out Payal, but I need to be near her. Not hearing from her is driving me insane.”

 

Nodding, Payal showed that she understood, because she did. Arnav didn’t tell her the truth about Akash because he didn’t want to cause any issues between them. He had been tempted, to be spiteful and to get back at Akash, but then he realised, he couldn’t do that because it would make him as bad as him.

Arnav headed back to his bedroom at pulled his phone out to call Aman.

 

“Hi Aman, find me a flight out to London… Any time before the end of the week… Okay, thank you.”

 

Ending the call Arnav realised that he was making the right decision. It had been well over a month. He couldn’t leave it any longer, he needed to work things out with Khushi.

 

*****

 

It was Thursday afternoon, Arnav was due to fly out the next morning. He had called both Khushi and her parents, tried to get an address, but no one answered. He had asked Payal for their details, which she provided, but even she wasn’t sure if Khushi would be living with her parents or not. Arnav wasn’t sure what to expect when he got back to England, but he knew he wouldn’t come back without Khushi by his side.

Walking out of one of the shops in the mall, Arnav bumped straight into a woman, making her drop the bags that was carrying.

 

“I’m so sor…”

 

Actually taking a look at the woman, Arnav realised that it was Khushi!

 

“Khushi? When did you…”

 

Gathering her things together, Khushi sorted herself out and turned away. Arnav took hold of her hand, pulling her back to himself.

 

“Arnav please…”

“Don’t make a scene Khushi. Let’s go somewhere and talk.”

“I’m not the one making a scene.”

“Khushi come on.”

 

Debating whether or not she should go with him, Khushi decided she may as well. If she didn’t speak to him, he would just keep trying and she needed to set him straight.
Arnav led Khushi out of the mall and towards his car. He moved over to open the door for her, but Khushi brushed his hand away and opened the door herself and got in. The moment she sat inside, all she could think about was that one time they had got intimate in the backseat. The first time they had given into their desires. If she could turn back time, Khushi knew she would take that day back. That’s when she really started developing feelings for him. If she hadn’t given into him that day, hadn’t lost control, then now, she would still have her business.

Getting settled Arnav got the car going, making their way out of the car park.

 

“Where should we go?”

“We can go and talk at my apartment?”

“Where are you staying?”

“I’m staying at the apartment I had bought before moving here.”

“Oh it’s done?”

“Yes, the work was complete last week, that’s why I came back.”

“When did you come back? Why didn’t you call me?”

 

Turning to face him, Khushi raised her eyebrow.

 

“Why would I call you? Why would I speak to you? Actually, what am I doing here right now?”

“Khushi please…”

“I got back 3 days ago. And honestly Arnav, I don’t think there’s anything left to talk about.”

 

Arnav said nothing. He didn’t want to start talking about anything in the car.
They drove in silence, Arnav keeping his focus on the road. Khushi sat beside him, her hands fidgeting constantly. When she was sure that Arnav wasn’t paying any attention to her, she turned to look at him. It seemed as though he’d lost some weight in the last month. His face looked a lot less full than the last time she saw him, and under his eyes he had dark circles. But other than that, he was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen in her life. Shaking the thought away, Khushi turned away. She couldn’t be thinking about Arnav that was any more.

The drive to Khushi’s apartment wasn’t a long one, but for Arnav, it felt endless. He felt as though they had been driving forever. As soon as he got the car parked, Khushi was out of the car, leading the way. Arnav followed her, watching her hips sway slightly, her butt swaying ever so slightly as she walked. How he wanted to grab hold of her hips and pull her back against himself. But he stopped himself from acting in such a manner. There would be plenty of time for all of that once they got everything sorted.

Getting into the lift, Khushi pushed the button for her floor and they began making their way up. Her apartment was only on the third floor, so before they knew it, they had already arrived.

Getting out of the lift, Khushi made her way over to her door and unlocked it. She stepped inside and held the door as Arnav followed her in.

 

“It’s quite a nice little place.”

“Thanks, take a seat. Let me just go and put this stuff in my room.”

 

Nodding, Arnav sat down at the sofa, taking in his surroundings while he waited for Khushi to reemerge from her bedroom. Would they be able to sort things out today? Would they be able to clear up their misunderstandings? He wondered if she’d let him make love to her, to let him show her how much she actually met to him.

Moments later, Khushi came out of her room and went into the kitchen area and put the kettle on. Arnav waited patiently as he listened to her pottering around. Maybe she was just nervous and was killing some time, he didn’t want to rush her.

A little bit of time passed and Khushi came out of the kitchen with tea, coffee and some snacks.

 

“Please help yourself.”

“I’m not hungry Khushi, I just want to talk to you.”

“Honestly Arnav, I really don’t think there is anything to talk about. Whatever happened, has happened. I saw on the news about how you handed everything over to Akash. I would ask you about that, but honestly, I am exhausted with all this. I want my business back, but more than anything I just want peace. I spoke to my team in England about what can be done. They looked at everything closely and told me that nothing much can be done. I can file a lawsuit against you, but it would be lengthy and intense and at the end of it I may not even get anything out of it considering I actually signed those papers. Moreover, if I took this to court, it could cause our relationship to come to light and I just…”

“You just what?”

“I know you were probably using me. That you probably got close to me so you could make me trust you. But what we shared… It was special to me even if it wasn’t for you. So I want to keep it between us. I don’t want some lawyer or some judge telling me I was an idiot for getting into a relationship with you. For being foolish and sleeping with you. I don’t need anyone to tell me that if I had hold of my feelings, then I would still have my business.”

 

She looked away and Arnav could tell thoughts of everything that they had shared was troubling her. Sliding off the sofa, Arnav moved towards Khushi before dropping onto his knees before her. Taking her hands into his own, he rested his head in her lap.

 

“Khushi, I need you. I’m incomplete without you. Khushi I love you!”

 

They remained in this position for a long time, Khushi running her fingers through Arnav’s hair, tears streaming down her face into his hair. Why was this happening? Why had their lives become so difficult?

Tears ran down Arnav’s cheeks and onto Khushi’s lap. He’d never let himself become this weak in front of anyone before, but he couldn’t hold his tears back. He needed to get Khushi back, he needed her.

Playing all their intimate moments back, Khushi remembered the intensity of their relationship, the feelings she’d felt for him, how she had felt when she was with him.

Coming to her senses first, Khushi wiped her tears away and started pulling Arnav away from herself.

 

“Sh, stop crying Arnav, please.”

“You need to trust me Khushi, I didn’t do anything to deceive you…”

“Whatever has happened, has happened. We can’t do anything to change what has happened.”

“Forgive me… Take me back.”

“I can’t Arnav.”

“Khushi I love you… I can’t live without you. The last month… You don’t know how it’s been. I hadn’t been able to focus on anything, I’ve been waiting for my phone to ring and for it to be you. I’ve been dying to hear your voice…”

“We have to move on.”

 

He pulled back, his eyes filled with tears.

 

“Does that mean you’ll take me back?”

 

He moved towards her again, hugging her tightly before placing kisses on her face.

 

“Arnav…”

“I love you so much.”

 

Khushi felt his hands move along her body, rushing from her hips up to her breasts all the while kissing every inch of her face.

Coming to her senses, Khushi pushed at Arnav, moving him away from herself before getting to her feet.

 

“Stop Arnav! Listen to me!”

 

He looked up at her, the smile that had started creeping onto his face, fell away. He got up, tried to reach out for her, but she took a step back, maintaining a distance between them.

 

“What’s wrong?”

“Just because I said that we need to move on doesn’t mean I want you back. I don’t trust you Arnav! As much as I want to believe you, I can’t.”

“What did you mean by moving in then?”

“I meant we’re over and we both need to accept that and move on with our lives. Start afresh.”

“Did our relationship mean nothing to you? Is it that easy for you to walk away? To forget about everything that was between us. That still is between us.”

“I’m trying to forget, please just let me.”

 

Arnav walked right up to Khushi, closing any distance between them.

 

“Are you telling me that if I’m this close to you, you don’t feel anything?”

“Arnav…”

 

He placed his hand on her cheek and Khushi’s eyes fluttered shut.

 

“Are you trying to tell me that when I’m this close and touching you like this, you don’t want me to kiss you?”

 

Her eyes remained shut, almost as though she didn’t hear what he had to say. Arnav moved in, closing his eyes, their lips a nail widths apart when the door opened behind them. Khushi came to her senses first and pushed Arnav away and moved away from him.

 

“Babe you home?”

“I… I’m here.”

 

Arnav’s eyes snapped open. Babe?

Someone called Khushi babe? Turning on the spot Arnav came face to face with Rohan.

 

“What is he doing here?”

“I could ask you the same Raizada. What are you doing here?”

 

Sensing the tension brewing between the two men, Khushi rushed between them, her back to Rohan, facing Arnav.

 

“Arnav… I should’ve told you as soon as I saw you…”

“Why is he here?”

“Listen. Arnav… I…”

 

She looked down before turning to Rohan who simply placed his arm around her waist, holding her close to himself. Taking a deep breath, Khushi looked up at Arnav again before holding her left hand out.

How had he missed it? How did he not notice…

 

“I’m engaged Arnav.”

Jalebi ~ Part 21

Devyani Raizada was a very smart woman. What her son and her grandsons refused to admit to her, she already knew. Before her son got married, he had been adamant in making her believe that there was no woman in his life. A few months later, he told her there was someone whom he wanted to marry. Akash had been acting coy for months before finally revealing that he had proposed to someone. And now Arnav… She could read Arnav most clearly because the woman that he wanted was right in front of them all.

For weeks during the wedding preparations, Devyani observed the way Arnav interacted with Khushi. She watched how at every moment, Arnav would find opportunities to speak to Khushi, she watched how their hands brushed against the others. She watched as Khushi blushed when he stepped to close to her. Devyani was certain that there was something there between Arnav and Khushi, but it didn’t seem that anyone was about to tell her about it just yet.

It was then decided by Devyani that as soon as Akash’s wedding was out of the way, she would sit Arnav and Khushi down and speak to them about what was going on between them and what their intentions were regarding each other.

 

*****

 

Knocking on the door to Khushi’s apartment, Arnav took a deep breath, made sure his tie was straight, and then waited.

 

Throwing the door open, Khushi smiled and ushered him in.

 

“Mama, papa, Arnav’s here.”

 

After much planning and discussing, Arnav and Khushi found an available evening when Arnav could come round and have dinner with Khushi and her parents.

After a full afternoon of cooking and cleaning, Lalita was finally prepared to meet Arnav.

Coming out of the bedroom, Khushi’s father smiled and walked over to Arnav.

 

“What a gentleman, he rings on the doorbell of his own apartment.”

“Namaste uncle. And I do have a key but I couldn’t use it, after all I have rented this place to Khushi and considering she is insistent on paying me, I can hardly just walk in.”

“Fair enough my boy, fair enough. Any way, these beautiful roses, are they for my beautiful daughter?”

“Erm…”

 

Arnav looked between Khushi and her father before shaking his head. He saw Khushi’s mother emerging from the kitchen and walked over to her and handed her the flowers.

 

“These were actually for aunty.”

 

Lalita took the roses that Arnav was handing to her and smiled. They were a beautiful shade of deep red.

 

“Why thank you so much, you really didn’t need to. Let me just go and put these in water.”

 

As Khushi’s mother walked back into the kitchen, Khushi raised her eyebrow at Arnav.

 

“Anyway, why are we stood here? Come on through my boy, let’s sit before dinner is ready.”

 

Leading Arnav into the living area, Khushi’s father sat down and then Arnav took a seat opposite him. Khushi watched as the two men bonded instantly, talking about business and sport.

A little later, dinner was served. Khushi’s parents sat on one side of the table, while Arnav and Khushi sat opposite them.

 

“So Arnav, what really are your intentions regarding our daughter?”

 

Arnav put down his fork and turned to Khushi, who placed a hand on his knee under the table.

 

“Woh… Uncle… I didn’t want to say anything until after Akash and Payal wedding, but seeing as you’re asking. I want to marry your daughter. And I was going to ask for her hand properly once Akash and Payal’s wedding was done. But yeah…”

 

Gasping, Lalita raised her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide. Khushi looked down, smiling to herself.

 

“You want… You’ve thought about marrying Khushi.”

“Jee uncle. I have thought about marrying Khushi for a while now. I’m serious about your daughter and I really do love her. So with your permission, I would like to marry Khushi in the near future.”

 

Turning his attention away from Arnav, Karan looked to Khushi who kept her gaze down, blushing furiously.

 

“Khushi, do you want to marry Arnav too.”

 

Not looking up, Khushi nodded slightly.

 

“I mean, it is very obvious that you care about our daughter and she cares about you. But Arnav, I will really need to speak to your family. More formality than anything else, but I need to.”

“I completely understand. And I would like to speak to my elders first anyway. Nani won’t be pleased if I don’t tell her myself.”

“That sounds like quite a good plan. Well I’m glad we have an understanding. Maybe once Payal’s wedding is done we will be able to start planning yours and Khushi’s soon.”

 

Everyone content with what had been discussed went back to enjoying their food.

Whilst still talking to her parents, Arnav dropped his hand under the table and placed it on Khushi’s knee. For a while, his hand had remained stationary, not budging from her knee. However now, his hand was moving up, and was resting on her thigh. Catching his hand, she stopped him in his tracks, but his fingers continued to caress her thigh. Even through her shelwar, she could feel the heat of his hand on her skin.

Arnav kept her hand on her leg, no longer moving it up, but he refused to move it. They all carried on eating, making small talk.

Once dinner was done, Khushi and her mother cleared up.

 

“Any way, Shashi and Garima called us round, they want to discuss some wedding related stuff. So we’re going to head off now.”

“When are you going to be back?”

“Were going to stay the night over there because we have to go with them to see some family early tomorrow morning.”

“Is it okay if I stay at home, I have work tomorrow and there’s some stuff I need to go through.”

“Of course. Arnav beta, you stay for a while too.”

 

Nodding, Arnav thanked his lucky stars that her parents were leaving them alone. He couldn’t wait to have some alone time with her.

A little while later, Khushi’s parents left.

 

“So…”

“So.”

“Looks like we have the whole place to ourselves.”

 

He moved closer to Khushi, closing the gap between them. Placing his hands on her waist, he pulled her into himself before lifting her off her feet and making their way towards the bedroom.

 

“Arnav we can’t…”

 

She couldn’t finish her words because he placed her down onto the bed and covered her lips with his own. Placing his hands on her waist, he held her down on the bed, touching her through her clothes.

Coming up for air, Arnav unbuttoned his suit jacket and put it aside before loosening his tie.

 

“Smart Singh Raizada’s done for the day?”

“Smart Singh Raizada was for your parents. For you, I’m Sexually Frustrated Singh Raizada.”

“Horny Singh Raizada.”

“You know it baby. Now, do you want to take your clothes off or shall I?”

“Arnav we can’t…”

“I know, I know, but surely we can make out.”

“Clothes don’t need to come off to make out.”

“They do, because I need to see your sexy body and be able to feel your soft skin.”

“But will you be able to control yourself?”

“I promise, I will.”

 

Laughing, Khushi pulled back and undid the dori of her kameez and pulled it off over her head. She moved back in, cupping Arnav’s face, ready to kiss him when he stopped her.

 

“Shelwar and let me get my clothes off too.”

“Arnav are you sure you’ll be able to control yourself?”

“I need to feel your skin against mine even if we aren’t making love.”

 

Blushing, Khushi tentatively pulled at the strings of her shelwar, but Arnav stopped her. He undid the stings himself and then hooked his fingers into her waist band, pulling her shelwar away from her every so slowly, giving her time to say no if she wanted. She didn’t.

Moving back, he took her in. She was wearing a lacy light blue pair of panties and bra. He then turned his attention back to his clothes. Moving his hands away, Khushi unbuttoned his shirt for him while he made light work of his trousers.

Once clothes were off and they remained just in their underwear, Arnav pushed Khushi down onto the bed, moving over her, taking her lips between his once more. His hands rested on her exposed waist, holding her down while his lips caused havoc on her neck. One hand in his hair, the other on the back of his neck, Khushi hooked her leg around his waist, rubbing herself against him.

Gone were the days when she would shy away. When they made out, she was bold, demanding, showed him exactly what she wanted from him.

Arnav could feel himself harden and it frustrated him knowing that they couldn’t, whereas Khushi still found it amusing that she had such an effect on him.

 

“Oh look, someone’s jumped up for attention.”

 

Pushing Arnav onto his back, Khushi moved over him, sitting over his hardness, rubbing it gently with her bottom as she leaned back in to kiss him. Arnav’s hands were on Khushi’s back as she continued to kiss him while she ground her body against his.

Arnav groaned as the friction she was creating got too much for him. He needed to rip her clothes away and bury himself deep in her body. He needed her so bad and it was evident from the way she was moving over him that she too really needed him.

How were they going to be able to hold off until after marriage?

 

*****

 

Much, much later, Arnav walked out of the bathroom after a cold shower and saw Khushi get into her pyjamas after her shower. He’d got dressed again, much to his dismay, and was now ready to set off for home.

Coming over to Khushi, he pressed a kiss on her cheek.

 

“Told you I could control myself.”

“I’m impressed, I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“I’m promising you now. I won’t make love to you again til our wedding night.”

 

The idea of their wedding night sent a shiver of excitement through her body. It’s not like they’d be doing anything that they hadn’t done before. But it was the thought of doing it as Mr and Mrs Arnav Singh Raizada for the first time that excited her. Mrs Khushi Singh Raizada… Mrs Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada. Mrs Khushi Raizada… She played with all the variations that she could choose from.

 

“What are you thinking about?”

“Mrs Khushi Arnav Singh Raizada or Mrs Khushi Raizada?”

“What?”

“My name after marriage. There’s so many options.”

 

Arnav wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

 

“I was thinking Mrs Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada.”

“That’s so long though!”

“I know, but I don’t think a woman should have to drop her maiden name after marriage. Personally, I don’t mind how you choose to name yourself, if you choose not to take my name at all, I don’t mind. It won’t change the fact that you will be mine.”

 

He had a point. A name was a name. However she chose to be known after marriage, it wouldn’t change the fact that she was Mrs Arnav Singh Raizada at heart. Khushi placed her hand over Arnav’s heart and rested her head on Arnav’s chest.

 

“What did I do to get such an understanding and sensible person in my life?”

 

Wrapping his arms around her, Arnav placed a kiss on her head.

 

“I like it. Mrs Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada. KKGSR. Wife of ASR. I like it.”

“Then that’s who you will be. I can’t wait to make you KKGSR.”

“I can’t either.”

 

*****

 

“Arnav… Let me go…”

“I haven’t held onto you to let you go.”

“What is it with you and pulling me away when there’s a houseful of people?”

“The sneaking around is what makes our relationship more fun don’t you think?”

 

Khushi couldn’t disagree, he did have a point. Something about sneaking around when everyone was around was exciting. It caused adrenaline to run through her body.

Today was Payal and Akash’s sangeet and they should be out there cheering for everyone who was performing, instead they were locked away in the kitchen again. But Khushi wasn’t going to allow this again not after they got caught last time. Pushing him away, Khushi moved across to the other side of the kitchen.

 

“Khushi…”

“No no no.”

 

Moving towards her again, Arnav pulled Khushi into his arms and attempted to kiss her once more.

 

“Arnav Singh Raizada.”

“Khushi Kumari Gupta Singh Raizada.”

“That’s not me yet.”

“In my head that’s who you are.”

“If you keep behaving like this I’ll only ever be KKGSR in your head.”

 

And with that, Khushi turned away. Arnav watched her go. She was annoyed. God he loved it when she was annoyed. She looked so sexy when she was angry with him. But he knew something needed to be done to make her happy again.

 

*****

 

After running around and getting everyone on board with his plan, Arnav was ready to make Khushi happy with him again.

When the time was right, Arnav signalled everyone to get started and he turned his attention to Khushi who was sat beside Payal.

 

 

As Arnav started signing and dancing like SRK, Khushi couldn’t help but feel a smile spread across her face. No way was he doing this for her. Payal nudged Khushi and raised her eyebrow as Khushi got to her feet.

 

“Babul ki galliyan na chad ke jaane.”

 

And so it began. The fight Anjali and Rahul had all those years ago became Arnav and Khushi’s argument. Khushi loved how fitting the song was. Of course she wasn’t being serious about what she said in the kitchen. But she loved this any way and really got into the music.

When their performance ended, Arnav pulled Khushi aside, trapping her between his arms.

 

“So… Will you leave your fathers home and come and live with me.”

“We’ll have to see Raizada, only time will tell if our relationship really was formed many many many years ago.”

 

And with that, Khushi ducked under Arnav arm and ran away. Laughing, Arnav watched her rush away.

 

“Pagal.”