Part 25

Part 25

The past week had simply been torturous for Arnav. He had conceded to her request of space, and had concertedly stayed away even if it meant, it killed him to do so. What he had not realized was how difficult it was going to be to be so near yet remain so far away!

Just a week ago, Arnav had put everything on the line when he had confessed of his feelings. He wasn't expecting her to run back into his arms right away but at the same time, he had not seen this coming. But, he was not Arnav Singh Raizada for nothing, and even though, he seemed to be toeing her line on the surface, there were a lot of things going on behind the scenes. Things that Khushi was not aware of; strings of which lay firmly grasped by one shrewd Mr. Raizada. Of course, it came at a price, which by the end of the week, had taken an unprecedented toll on him emotionally. Not surprisingly, his mind had drifted off numerous times throughout the week to their conversation of a week ago and it happened again as he sat on the sofa of his living room sipping the black coffee on this beautiful Saturday morning, waiting for that one call that would rouse him into action. Inevitably, his thoughts veered back to the moment of a week ago, when she was in this room with him.

"I can't..." her tearful eyes had looked up at his, the emotions in them betraying her words, and yet she had remained firm in her resolution, "You cannot come back here and expect to make things right...I don't know what to say" He hadn't missed how she had retreated backwards creating a deliberate distance between them, "If you really mean what you say, then let me be...as I have been..."

He sighed deeply, "But Khushi...?" She stopped him by raising her hand, she was not done yet, and "There are things..." Khushi didn't want to talk about Shyam ever again but it wasn't possible to avoid who had driven them apart, "I don't know what's changed suddenly Arnavji..." Not just her words but her eyes questioned him as well, "I could still be the home-wrecker..."he didn't need any more reminders of the past and how badly he had erred "No Khushi...I was wrong" he squeezed his eyes shut trying to keep yesterday at bay, his own words coming back to haunt him and he had no way to stop them .

"I am still the same Khushi that I always was Arnavji...what's changed that you say this now?"

"Why couldn't you trust me that day when I came after you...that day at the airport...begging you to give me a chance" She recalled how he had walked away leaving her in a teary mess, "You kept walking away...without giving me a chance to..."

"I was a mess back then Khushi, do you even know what the thoughts of you and Shyam did to me...they would drive me mad..."

"You chose to believe him over me. Over everything you had seen...and experienced by yourself?"

"Over my better judgment..." He admitted ruefully, "It wasn't just that Khushi...I ran away from you and everything it meant for as long as I could because it was making me emotional and I felt vulnerable. I feared I was losing control...it was very complicated"

"Only because you let it be so..." she interrupted before continuing, "and then you ran away"

"I wanted to be by myself..." he was not as convincing in his defense.

"Like I do now, is that too much to ask for?"

"Don't do this Khushi" he took a step towards her but she backed away further.

"How could you just walk away from me?" he saw the raw hurt in her eyes, his words and actions had inflicted upon the one he cared for the most in the world, "Khushi listen to me..."

"No Armavji...I'm done listening..." Khushi did not want to be there anymore, "Can you give me what I ask for?"

"Will you come back, if I let you walk away?"

"I cannot live if you hold me back" she said, "Can you live with that?"

There was no arguing with that.

So Arnav had been left with no choice but to respect her wish and stay away. To his credit, he had kept his end of the deal. But there was only so much a man could do, especially when her safety was at risk because of the threat posed by the return of Shyam. There was no way in hell he was going to leave her without adequate cover.

But by the end of the week, Arnav conceded to himself that staying away was getting them nowhere. "At least she is safe" he would say as he observed her on random nights being driven back home late nights by Mohan. But the distance was killing him.

A week ago, Khushi had firmly rejected his offer of being chauffeured by Mohan. Knowing how stubborn Khushi was, Arnav had resorted to blackmail, and it had worked. He was not proud of it, "At least she will be safe" that's all he cared about.

"But do you know how silly I look being driven from my hostel to Mama's Kitchen, where I work as a chef??" Obviously she had to put up a fight. Arnav was in no mood to back off or heed to her obstinacy.

Arnav knew Khushi's weakness and he used it without a second thought- his instructions to Mohan before he had taken off to Khushi's hostel had been, "If you fail to make her use this car...and if I find out, she has used public transportation even once after today, you will be fired Mohan. Do whatever it takes"

As he had anticipated, he had received a call from Khushi within the next hour, she was not surprisingly, livid, "Arnav ji, how can you do this?" He loved that bite in her voice, it made him feel wanted, like she had the already given him the right to be angry at him, did she not see it, he wondered. Did she boss around every other man like this?

"What did I do Khushi?" Arnav was a master at feigning ignorance and Khushi would get a taste of it soon, he leaned back on the sofa, eager to take this conversation ahead, "You know very well. Didn't I just ask you to give me some space?" Could this man be any more annoying, Khushi wondered as she looked at the tensed face of Mohan.

"Which I have given you... otherwise we wouldn't be talking over the phone" he smirked; he could mentally picture her blowing steam off her ears, and the nose turning red in anger. And her lips would be quivering with all the nonsense she would be sprouting... those lips... brought back the memories of their first kiss... but he couldn't think too far, Khushi's voice forced him back to the present.

"So what is this ten foot metal junk doing outside my hostel?" the irritation was palpable in her voice, "Then it's a one expensive piece of junk" he chuckled, only Khushi would call a Mercedes a junk, and he had once called her a gold-digger, he had a lot of making up to do, "It's called a car Khushi...and it will be your transportation from now on"

"And what makes you think I will accept it?"

"Because Mohan will get fired if you don't"

"Whaatt!!?" She was aghast at this blatant blackmail and turned to Mohan for confirmation, his sorry figure all but confirmed his predicament, "You can't do that!?"

"I can, and I will. From now on, you will be using that car. If you refuse to use it, then Mohan can find another job"

"But that's blackmail! You love Mohan Arnavji, I know...you can't fire him, he has two young children!!" she pleaded hoping he would see sense; there was no need to include an innocent in their battle.

"Do you want to try me?" he asked, he meant business and she knew it.

"But Arnav ji...I told you" she was serious all of a sudden, "I can't accept this...we are not ..."

"Yes we still are...we are still married" he wanted to say but that would have to wait for another day. He wasn't keen on bringing her back because of any obligation, if she did come back, it would be because she wanted to, nothing else, "Khushi, I know you don't like me and don't want any interference in your life, but I can't take a risk with Shyam around"

Where the threat of firing Mohan failed, the mention of Shyam worked, Khushi went silent at the other end as the real threat dawned upon her, "I promise Khushi, you won't see me around you..." he paused hoping she would react in some way, with some words but he was met by more silence,"Just accept this offer Khushi and I won't ask for anything more..."

"But Shyam...?" she asked, if there was one person she never wanted to see again in her life, it was this man, not the man who she was talking to currently, "The police are on it Khushi...they will find him" he knew she was worried, "Khushi trust me, I won't let that man come within ten feet of you now..." he paused knowing she was deliberating his request and her silence only confirmed the same, "I can't take a chance with your safety Khushi..." he conceeded.

And somehow, despite everything that had happened between them, Khushi trusted him - she knew that he was doing the right thing. She certainly had no desire to see or fight that monster again.

It had been exactly a week since that conversation, since then there had been no phone calls or surprise meetings, Arnav knew she was safe because there was an elaborate security arrangement in place looking after her safety. But he missed her, he needed to see her and just be around her, if nothing. And so he had decided to grant his heart's request, and the plan on the surface felt perfect, show up announced at the Old Age Home in the pretext of donating some amount of money, and in the process get to spend some time with her. Surely, no one would object to that! It was time to start wooing his wife, her dictates be damned, and it wasn't getting them anywhere anyway. Arnav Singh Raizada never played by the rules, and this was the most important deal in life now, one he needed to win at any cost, all was fair in that quest!

"Mrs. Raizada here I come" Arnav smirked as he picked up the car keys and walked out of his apartment after receiving Mohan's confirmation, "Sir I've just drove Ma'am to the Old Age Home"

~~~

A week, it had been a week since that fateful morning when she had walked out on his proposal..."Because I love you...I've always had...it just took me longer to accept it Khushi" which played over and over in her mind so many times over the week that she had lost count.

At her insistence to go back to her hostel in the morning, Arnav had stubbornly refused to let her take an auto back and had insisted to drop her off back at the hostel, something she could not refuse after knowing about Shyam.

The ride back to the Hostel had been quiet. He had hardly spoken, perhaps hurt by her indifference or lack of response to his confession but what was he expecting? That she would run back into his arms and that everything would be okay?

Khushi didn't know. And she had asked for some space, but it was a week now and she had not seen him once, barring that conversation where he had emotionally blackmailed her to accept Mohan's services; the man himself had been missing! She wanted to ask him about the ring but wasn't sure if she was ready to hear his answer.

Khushi was expecting him to show up at work, may be even stop by for dinner or breakfast as he had done the week before, but nope, he had gone missing! By Tuesday night, she felt a fool for having tweaked the dinner and breakfast menus to include food to his liking. A complete idiot in her own words, "Admit it Khushi, you still love him" Deeya's response had ticked her off. And so from Wednesday onwards, the menu included things he wouldn't eat even if it was the last piece of food on Earth. Little was she aware of the psychological games being played by Arnav. Wednesday arrived with a different bang and it seriously derailed her sanity, and for the rest of the week the only constant had been news of him in the tabloids - this blind item about him and this mysterious woman. Now that had riled up Khushi to an extent like not even his absence had. Deeya had laughed at Khushi's predicament, "You.are.JEALOUS, accept it woman. You think everything written, is about him!!"

"No" Khushi had argued, "This is him!"  Even the biggest fool could make out who this man was, but it was the woman who agitated her more, "Who do you think this mysterious woman is?" she had asked Deeya, "It could be anybody, this place has no shortage of women vying for a great catch!"

"Catch?" Khushi may have lived in Mumbai but there were still things she kept learning every day, "Yes, a handsome, rich...and single young man - now you may not want him Khushi, but you have to admit, your ex is a catch!" Deeya was so forthright it only served to annoy Khushi more, "I thought you were my friend"

But Deeya was far from done, "So may be while you have spent the good part of this week keeping your distance and sulking like a child who has been forced to stay away from chocolate...oh wait" she playfully slapped her own forehead, "Forced to stay away from Jalebis, there might have been others more intelligent women who spent their time wisely"

"Wisely?" Deeya knew she had Khushi's complete attention; she loved this side of Khushi, if only she could see herself, "Yes trying to catch his fancy...and he is a young man..." she looked up at Khushi and went for the kill, "Who has needs..."

Khushi stood up abruptly putting an end to this conversation, "Alright I'm done here..."

As much sense as Deeya made, she knew in her heart- it was not true, this was not the man she knew...or had spent time with in the past, infidelity was not his thing especially after his confession just a week ago. But it still bugged her a lot, "Who is this mystery woman!!!" Khushi had gone crazy thinking about the blind item ever since the news had come out on Wednesday, "Argghhh!" and had finally tossed the paper out of the window in frustration.

And now it was Saturday, the man was nowhere, "LG can't even do this straight" Khushi would never admit it but she was missing LG just as much if not more. On top of that, she was ticked off that he hadn't tried to break his word, what happened to that man she knew before. All of this just annoyed her further, she hated that she missed him, and would do anything to catch a glimpse of him.

She mumbled as she stirred the curry mixing all the ingredients, unaware of curious eyes staring at her. Her mind still preoccupied by thoughts of him, parts of their conversation and that ring, it was a nagging thought but it didn't make sense, why would he be still wearing that ring?

"She is talking to herself" the cynical old man moved his glasses up and stared at Khushi and then looked back at Mrs. Malik, "I told you this girl is unstable"

"Shhh" Subhadra silenced him, "You foolish old man, can't you see she is bothered about something..."

"Women..." he picked up the paper from the table and walked away, "Just hope that curry doesn't turn out like her mood"
Subhadra walked up to Khushi and patted her back gently startling her in the process, "Is everything alright Khushi, you look disturbed?"

Khushi turned around to see that four other elders had gathered around her, concern well etched on their faces, she did not have the heart to lie to them, "He is back Mrs. Malik" she said.

They did not follow at first, "Who is he?" asked one, "My ex-husband"Khushi replied back promptly.

"Well he better stay away from us then" the oldest of the group replied back aggressively and the others joined in. Their care and warmth brought a smile to Khushi's lips, "You are like my family" she hugged them back, it was endearing, and she felt loved.

"Actually on second thoughts, you should invite him here Khushi...we will beat him to pulp" said Subhadra noticing how their banter was easing the worry off her face, little did she know, the man in question, who also happened to be her one and only grand-son had just driven to their front yard.

~~~