Rabba Ishq Naa Hove - Season 3 - Part 22

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Chapter 22


Arnav’s POV


Khushi is so strong than any other woman I have met so far. Just today morning she got to know about Shashi Gupta not being her real father and though she broke down and let me soothe her, it was only for a short period. I know she is broken from inside and I want to be the one to stand by her because I know what it means to feel that in this whole world there is no one who can give you the comfort you need the most during such crises. But I also know that I will be the last person she will ever ask for that shoulder to lean on. The coffee is great and I can’t take my eyes as Khushi continues to speak to Maa and Shyam.

“When are you bringing Anjali to meet us?” Maa asks Shyam who laughs.

“You think she will wait for a minute after reaching New York to see you? I doubt she would come here straight instead of coming to me home.”

Maa smiles whereas Khushi tenses and her eyes meet mine briefly. I know she doesn't get any good vibes from Di either but she doesn't have to be concerned about her.

“That’s the pull which every daughter feels for her family,” Maa replies.

“Totally agree. Though she is my wife, she is full time thinking about you and Arnav.” Shyam adds.

“Khushi,” Maa’s voice drags her attention back to them. “I never asked you about your parents. Where are they? In India?”

Khushi swallows hard as tears roll down her cheeks. Maa is confused and I am about to make some excuse or tell a lie so to save Khushi from this turmoil but before I can do that, she replies.

“I am an orphan, Maa. I have no one to be called as my family.”

I know on what context Khushi said this. Since Shashi Gupta is not her real father and he doesn't even care for her, she knows she has no one left to be called as her family. But here’s where she is wrong. She’s an integral part of my life now and I would never let that change.

Maa cups her face and kisses her forehead.

“Never say that again. Arnav and his family are yours. We are all yours, Khushi. We all will make sure you would never feel their absence again in your life. I promise.”


Khushi bites her lower lip, curbing her sobs before giving Maa a tight hug. I clench my fists. I want to take her too in my arms. Right now… Can I? Knowing I can’t, I rise on my feet and make my way to the guest room. Shyam follows me.


“Arnav?”

I don’t turn around.

“Arnav, I know you are tensed that Anjali is going to return and meet Maa which means she will also meet Khushi. But trust me, I have told her everything just after I told you why I had to put Maa and Khushi together. She understands we did this for Maa’s good health.”

“I am not worried of Di or her behavior towards Khushi, Shyam.” I turn to meet his eyes. “I told Khushi today that Shashi Gupta is not her real father.”


Shyam is shocked but he nods in agreement.

“Oh. No wonder she is so emotional today,” he sighs. “I feel bad for her.”

“Imagine what I am going through seeing her like that… knowing that Khushi thinks she has no one beside her.. seeing her suffocating alone,” I snap.

Shyam shrugs.

“You brought this situation up on you, Arnav. No one else. You put this distance between you and her because you couldn’t show the guts to confront to Anjali that you still love Khushi. That you never stopped loving Khushi and she still means the whole world to you.”


I swallow the painful knot of tears in my throat


“You know what Arnav? Your first mistake was to pull Khushi into this revenge unnecessarily. Yes, she did reject you but c’mon, you had to think rationally that she had nothing to do with Maa’s accident six years ago. Shashi Gupta was responsible for it. Your stubbornness and your silly rage dragged Khushi into this mess and you even lied to yourself that you hated her. Whatever happened six years ago with your family was Shashi Gupta’s doing, not Khushi’s and you punished her by tricking into a hateful marriage. Your second mistake was consummating the marriage and the next day telling your sister that you had no feelings for your wife which she overheard. Do you know what a woman would feel like to hear that when she had given her heart, body and soul completely to a man just few hours back? And your third mistake, Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada, the biggest one in your case, that you are still not telling her anything that you had to go through in the past because of her father’s deeds. Why would she trust you again? Why would she even think of giving you a chance again when she doesn't know what you feel for her?”


Shyam’s words are like an eye opener for me. I keep standing there, rooted to the spot as he reaches and grabs my arms.


“You have to open up to her, Arnav. Until that, you can’t woo her back. Please think on this.”

He is right. I have to tell Khushi everything. Being transparent about the past issues and my present feelings for her is the only way she can think to give me a chance to set our future right. Yes, I am flawed, but I will work on it if I have to win her back. I will


*****************

Khushi’s POV


I am still on the cold bed, tossing and turning at night, thinking on all the possibilities of facing Anjali tomorrow. I never got a chance to speak to her, to assess her if she hates me like Arnav does. But now it doesn't matter to me anymore. I shut my eyes to get some sleep when I hear some noise from the kitchen. Is it Maa? I quickly cover my short silk nightgown with a satin robe and rush out of the room to check. The lights of the kitchen are on and instead of Maa, it’s Arnav fiddling with the vessels.


“What are you doing here at this odd time??” I ask, trying my best not to give a glance to his shirtless body. Is that how he sleeps every night? Without a shirt? How would I know? We have so far slept in the same room, only once and it was one night I don’t wish to recall.


“I am hungry,” she shrugs. “Thought of making something but…”


I lean against the kitchen door.

“But?”

“I am not a very good cook.”

His reply lets out a chuckle from my lips.

“Good to know there is something Mr. Arnav Singh Raizada cannot do and is even accepting that.”


He looks at me intently, with pain and a lot of other emotions in his eyes, before responding.

“I am not very fond of things I did so far, I accept that to begin with.”

“Too late,” I mutter, ignoring the deeper meaning behind those lines before striding inside. I open the refrigerator and take out some veggies.

“Salad or pasta? What would you pick to eat?” I ask.

“I don’t know to cook either.”

“You don’t have to. I will.”

I put the veggies on the center marble counter and am about to wash them when Arnav stops me. His grip on my hand is firm… that touch.. he’s held me roughly, intensely than this. I shut my eyes to avoid the flashes of that night to cloud my brain again before turning around and meeting his eyes.


“Don’t disturb your sleep for me. Go back to your room, I’ll manage with a cup of milk. That’s surely something I can do on my own.”


He’s being over sensible these days, isn’t he?

“Will that satiate your hunger?”

I see a glint of mischief in his eyes as I say this and realize it might have a double meaning too. Arnav pins me to the kitchen counter, though he has ensured our bodies don’t touch. He is just holding my arm though and looking intensely in my eyes.


“Nothing can satiate my hunger for now, but I don’t want to bother you.”

“Your presence around me is enough to bother me throughout, Arnav.” I sternly reply and I don’t care if it hurts me. Instead of being angry, he smiles and nods.

“I know. I have done nothing good to you ever. And I like that you are leaving no chance to hurt me back with your words like I did during the initial phase of our marriage.”


I don’t reply.

“If doing that lessens your pain, unleash all that anger and frustration you have curbed inside, on me, I don’t mind, Khushi.”

“I am not like you, Arnav. Not everything works tit for tat. And I told you, I don’t hate you. I just pity you. Despite having a family, and people around to guide you, you still couldn’t take their advise and you ruined our lives.. Both yours… and mine..” I poke my finger on his chest.


He looks at my finger and then before I can move it away, he presses my entire palm to his chest… just where his heart beats. I can feel it beating.. just like I had during the night we.. I shut my eyes to stop thinking in that direction before opening them again and meeting his gaze.


“This is where you always belonged Khushi,” Arnav murmurs. “In my heart. Right from the time I saw you first this is where you belonged. But I messed up big time. One rejection, one lie from you and uncountable sins from your father turned me into a heartless man. I regret every single hurtful word I said to you, I regret every ounce of hatred I showered upon you, I regret it so bad that this guilt is killing me like a poison from inside.”


Tears brim in my eyes. I don’t know why but realizing Arnav is admitting his fault, and knowing he is regretting for what he did, I feel a bit better. But the pain is too raw, to be healed. Arnav leaves my arm and cups my cheeks.


“I have realized what a big loser I am for lying to Di the morning after you and I spent the night together. How could I tell her you meant nothing to me when the truth is, you have, and will always be the only one I can give my heart to.”


A lone tear rolls down my eye but I don’t interrupt him. This is the first time Arnav is sharing his feelings and even if I don’t want to pay any heed to them, I will listen to him. I will not do the mistake of ignoring the matter and running away from him this time.


“That night you just didn’t mark my body, you claimed my soul. Every action, every touch, every kiss I gave you that night is imprinted in my heart forever, Khushi. I know consummation isn’t your point of return to me nor I want you to think on those lines, but…” he leans closer to my face, “but at least give me a chance to set things right between us.”


I am about to debate but he doesn't let me speak.


“Two flawed people might never set things right, I agree, but they can still try to heal each other. Let me heal the wounds I gave you, Khushi.”


I have no idea I have been sobbing literally by the time he says this. But with great difficulty, I still keep a check on my actions and then move his hands gently from my face.


“I don’t need a man anymore to heal my wounds, Arnav. I will self-heal. And I guess before wanting to heal my wounds, you should think on soothing yours first. Until you fix yourself, your grief and your past, you can never do justice to me or …. Us.”


Saying that I turn to leave when Arnav slides his arm around my waist, pulling me back to his body. My back hits his chest and its all so instant that I can’t even realize what is happening until I feel his lips at my ear.


“I’ll fix me and then I’ll fix us too, Khushi. That’s a promise. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure you and I get the future we both deserved… together..”


I swallow at his remark and then turn around, looking confidently in his eyes.


“Who said your future and mine is the same?” I ask. “It would have been the same had I loved you Arnav and I don’t … I didn’t love you then.. I don’t love you now either.. And that night we spent together was definitely not a mistake but something we both needed badly at that moment. It was beautiful…” I swallow. “It was an uncontrolled passion … Unforgettable too .. but don’t make the mistake of thinking it was love.”


He clenches his jaw but then he smirks.

“Maybe it wasn’t love…” he nods. “But when we mate again, Mrs. Khushi Singh Raizada, I will make sure you realize it’s love because you don’t give that kind of right over your heart, mind and body to everyone.. Only one man… Only one man is whom you give it all and that’s me. It will always be me. You’ll see.”


He isn’t threatening, he is just too confident about it though.


“We’ll see,” I nod making my way out. Wait!! Did I just challenge him? Or did I just agree that I might let him get that close to me again? What the hell!!


To be Continued.

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Vansh Kapoor
My best friend, Taani, assigned me the responsibility to help her find a suitable groom for her sister, Vidhi. I would have gladly done so if Vidhi hadn’t been my runaway bride, who didn't even acknowledge our marriage bond for 24 hours before fleeing from my life. Now she is right under my nose, letting her sister hunt marriage alliances for her, and the worst part is, I can’t even claim her as rightfully mine.

Vidhi Gupta
Vansh Kapoor, the man I ran away from five years ago on our first night after marriage, was a childhood friend of my elder sister who was now looking for prospective grooms for me. Vansh was dragged into this responsibility as Taani trusted him more than anyone else in the world. I may have had a reason to marry him in the past, but I’d no excuses to hold on to that relationship anymore. Especially not when I knew the selfish reason why he had married me in the first place.

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