The Wait - Chapter 19

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CHAPTER 19


ARNAV SINGH RAIZADA

When we reach Shantivan, Akash rushes to us.

“How is Dhruv?” I ask, worried for my twin.

“He is in his room. Dad and Doctor are upstairs but he is not willing to let the doctor treat him.”

“What is happening?” Nani panics. “He looked okay so far. What happened all of a sudden then?”

I turn to Di and Maami and ask them to look after Nani. When I turn to Khushi, she equally looks panicked.

“You can stay here with them. I will go check on him.”

“I’m coming with you,” she insists and I don’t argue.

We hurry to Dhruv’s room and see Maama almost at the doorstep, trying to convince Dhruv to let the doctor treat him. When we enter, the sight before us shocks us both. Dhruv is sitting on the floor hiding at the corner of the room. His eyes are red, his hair disheveled. He is screaming at the doctor to leave him alone, and is pressing his head hard as if to curb the headache.

“Arnav,” Maama interrupts. “He is not letting the doctor even touch him. How will he treat him then?”

“One minute,” I say, moving closer. “Dhruv… What’s wrong brother?”

“Don’t,” he yells at me. “Just stay away, all of you. Please.”

Khushi walks further towards him.

“Dhruv, its okay. It’s me. Khushi.”

He raises his head, looks at her, and then his eyes soften. I want to follow Khushi too but the doctor stops me, gesturing I should let Khushi handle this. Well! If he thinks this is possible, I don’t want to go against it. The moment Khushi reaches Dhruv, he clings to her arm. That sudden reaction of his makes my heart skip a beat. Khushi leans down and strokes his head.

“Dhruv, its okay. Whatever this is, it will be fine. Just get up. Please. You need to rest,” Khushi insists.

“No..” he clings further to her arm.

“Dhruv, let the doctor treat you. For me. Please. Let me take you to bed. Come.”

He finally gives up and lets Khushi help him rise up from the floor. I watch her slowly helping Dhruv to bed and then the doctor too moves there to help Khushi. Once Dhruv lies down, the doctor starts checking him whereas Khushi keeps standing next to Dhruv’s bed, looking worried for him.

“Has he eaten anything?” the doctor asks Khushi who has no idea as she was out with the family.

“I’ll make some vegetable soup for him,” she says and rushes out.

I wait there, staring at Dhruv as he slowly relaxes. Even once he hasn’t met my gaze. Something is not right. Nani, Di, Maami and Akash enter inside. Dhruv is no more panicking. He just lets them come to him. None of them ask him what went wrong suddenly.

I walk out with Akash following me.

“Bhai, I’ve never seen Dhruv like this.” Akash mentions.

I nod.

“Me neither. What happened exactly? You were supposed to be with him while the family is out.”

“Yes, I was, and in fact, everything was perfect. Though he wanted to go out with the family, Nani insisted he stayed back home, considering she didn’t want that surprise party idea to click him. So after they all left, we decided to binge watch some shows on TV. We were normally talking and he suddenly started saying he’s got a bad headache and wants to go back to his room. Dad was back home by that time and we both asked him if he needed us but he didn’t let us in his room. He just walked off and in few minutes, we heard some things being thrown down sounds. The door was open, so we just hurried in and that’s how we saw Dhruv. On the floor, hiding towards the curtains, not letting us come near him.”

I’m surprised to hear it all.

“What exactly were you talking about when he said he has a headache?” I ask in particular.

Akash tries to recall and then shrugs.

“Nothing unusual bhai. Just that you and Khushi Bhabhi have a dinner date tonight. And how you are going to pick Khushi Bhabhi from shopping mall and take her away with you.”

I clench my jaw, trying to connect the dots.

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

Few minutes later

“Is Dhruv okay, Doctor?” I ask curiously as the Dr. Patel comes out of Dhruv’s bedroom.

“Yes, he is fine now. He needs rest though. It was a mild panic attack. Something must have triggered his mind which led him to this attack.”

I sigh, turning to Khushi who is heading to Dhruv’s bedroom with vegetable soup. She looks sad, and worried just like every one else in the family is.

“But Doctor, will this happen again?” Di asks in panic.

“Maybe. He met with an accident in Greece, right? Maybe that and his absence in the family, loneliness and solitude must have been the triggering point of this attack. So, I suggest, just don’t let him be alone. And please keep him happy. Medicines will work only if he is happy and surrounded by the family. Any stress or situations against his liking can worsen his state. We’ll do some more tests in the coming week to see how soon we can get him rid of such panic attacks in future.”

I patiently listen everything but I can’t understand the reason behind this attack. The family might not know this but I know that Dhruv never met with any accident in Greece. He had purposely disconnected himself from the family, isolated himself and hence faked his accidental news to us.

Di heads out with the doctor checking on Dhruv’s special diet whereas I push the door open and enter Dhruv’s room. The sight before me of Dhruv sitting pale and surrounded by the rest of the family who is worried for him, and trying to make him comfortable is fine, but when I realize that Dhruv has no ears or eyes on anyone of them but Khushi who is helping him with the pillows behind so that he could sit comfortably, my anger kicks in.

“We should let Dhruv rest,” I declare striding inside the door.

Khushi almost jerks at my harsh tone but the rest of the family is oblivious to it and agrees to my idea. They all get up to leave but Dhruv plays his over smart move again.

“Khushi, can you help me with the vegetable soup? I feel too pale to drink it on my own.”

I clench my jaw at his weird request. For the others Khushi was Dhruv’s best friend once, so they don’t feel it awkward. But me? I am bubbling in anger. Khushi smiles at everyone and nods in agreement to help Dhruv which is again infuriating. I respect her decision to treat Dhruv as a family now, but there are limitations. And I wouldn’t let my wife cross them for anyone. Especially for Dhruv!

“Me and Khushi will be here with Dhruv until he finishes his meal,” I tell to everyone, without breaking my eye contact with Dhruv.

If he thinks I’ll let my wife alone around him, and handle his silly tantrums, he is definitely wrong! Khushi takes the bowl of soup in her hand and as soon as everyone is out and then is about to feed him when she suddenly winces.

“Ouch”

I watch in alarm as Khushi winces in pain, her hand burnt by the hot soup. Without a second thought, I rush to her side, my protective instincts kicking in.


"Are you alright?" I ask, concern evident in my voice as I reach out to take her hand.

Dhruv, ever the opportunist, tries to assist, but I swiftly interject, pulling Khushi closer to me. I can't stand the thought of anyone else touching her, especially when she's hurt.

"No, Dhruv. I'll take care of her," I assert firmly, my gaze fixed on him, daring him to challenge me.

Khushi looks up at me, her eyes filled with a mix of pain and gratitude. I gently guide her to sit down, placing the bowl aside. The urgency to tend to her becomes my sole focus.

"Show me," I say, my voice filled with determination.

I carefully examine her hand, assessing the extent of the burn. The sight of her in pain tugs at my heart, fueling my desire to protect her from any harm.

Dhruv hovers nearby, a mixture of concern and annoyance on his face, but I pay him no heed. My attention is solely on Khushi, on providing her comfort and support.

"I'm sorry, Dhruv,” she says turning to him. “I don’t think I can feed you the soup anymore. I’ll ask Di to do it for you,” she says and God knows why I feel like she did all this on purpose.

“yea..” Dhruv fakes a smile. “Sure.”

Khushi then turns to me, her hand still resting in mine. "It's not your fault, Arnav. Accidents happen."

“Let’s get it treated first,” I say, pulling her with me and taking her out of the room.

Di is around there so we ask her to feed Dhruv the soup as Khushi’s hand got burnt and then I take my wife to my bedroom.

I wash the back of Khushi’s palm where the soup fell and which is slightly burnt now, turning her skin red.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you?” I ask, finally raising my gaze and meeting her eyes.

She looks a bit surprised at first but then she pouts gently.

“I had to” she murmurs.

I stop washing her hand waiting for her to complete.

“That was a lame request from Dhruv, Arnav,” Khushi adds. “He shouldn’t have asked me to feed him. I may consider him as my friend now, but there’s still a past connected to us and … and I don’t want to hurt my present and future because of my actions. Dhruv might not realize what request he made, but I did. And not that you too were okay with it. You were fuming as if you wanted to strangle someone.”

I move closer to her, without breaking our eye lock.

“I would have,” I agree looking all over her face. “Thankfully my sharp wife read my mind. But I didn’t like that you harmed yourself.”

Gently pulling her hand from under the tap water to my lips, I kiss her bruise. Her lips part in surprise as I keep kissing her all over the back of her palm. Sweet, butterfly kisses.


KHUSHI ARNAV SINGH RAIZADA

Seeing Arnav tend my bruise with feathery kisses stirs something deep inside me. Butterflies does somersault in my stomach as his other hand slides around my waist, pulling me closer. Our bodies brush each other with the lightest friction possible, taking my breath away. Arnav pulls my face in between his palms, looking intensely into my eyes, and a tiny whimper falls from my lips. And then he stops moving closer, as if recalling something.

“I’m sorry, Khushi,” he murmurs. “I know you still want some distance between us and I…” he swallows nervously looking down. “I always tend to forget that and..” he pauses again only to leave my face and exhale hard.

Arnav shakes his head dismissing the thoughts clouding his mind and then grabs my bruised hand again.

“Let me apply some medicine to this. Come.”

He is about to pull me out of the bathroom when I stop him and turn him around again. And yes, though it was my decision wanting some distance between us, I still lean forward and kiss his lips. The mere touch of my soft lips on his, and Arnav gives in. He walks us behind, until my back hits the wall. Arnav kisses me slowly, seductively. There is something in the way he kisses me that makes me forget the world, that makes me yearn for him as if I always wanted him in my life and no other man. My fingers automatically tug into his hair, letting him kiss me better, like I belong to him, and like I own him. No idea how I’m almost wrapped around his body, pulling him to me, loving the touch of his hands all over my curves, wanting to touch every inch of his skin too, when Arnav stops kissing me. I’m hyperventilating when we pull away and look at each other. He pushes my hair strands and tucks them behind my ears before kissing my forehead.

This kiss is too sensitive than the one on my lips.

“I think its better if we don’t kiss…” he whispers, kissing all over my face now.

It hurts that he thinks so which makes me pull away my head and look at him. Arnav realizes I want to know the reason behind his statement. He grins at me, and cups my face again.

“I don’t think I can stop with a kiss, Khushi. And I don’t think you want more than that right now. So, I want to kiss you.. but I don’t just want to kiss you when I kiss you. I need more..”

My heart flutters at his confession.

“Relax..” he smirks. “Until your passion for me reaches the same level as mine for you, I wouldn’t push you for it.”

Well! That calms me down for now.

“So, our dinner date plans failed tonight. Can we go out tomorrow?” he asks, hopefully.

I sigh. “Day after tomorrow is the surprise party for Dhruv. I don’t think going out tomorrow is a good idea.”

Arnav nods in agreement.

“Got it.”

He holds my hand again and then leads me out of the bathroom to apply the medicine. I’d a different perception of Arnav all these years. Probably that’s because I had only known about him from others. I found him very dominant and stubborn, a man full of ego and power. Ever since we got married and Dhruv returned, a lot many revelations happened, a few which exposed his flaw, a few showed his strength and calm, even in the worse situations like the one which happened today. I think the more I have started to know him, the more I have started wanting to know him further. That’s probably the beauty of our relationship. And the best part is, I wouldn’t have sensed this, nor would have accepted it, until Dhruv returned in our lives. Dhruv is the catalyst here. He might be the man I loved once.. my first love.. and it is only because of him that I’ve started realizing what kind of man I really deserved to have as my life partner. Unlike Dhruv who was too desperate to get into a physical intimacy with me even during our dating period, Arnav is ready to take it slow despite being my husband. With Dhruv the entire responsibility of Love was always on my shoulders because he was too careless to even have talks on such heavy topics. But with Arnav, though we have never confessed what we feel for each other yet, we are already dividing that emotion between us equally. If this continues, I know the day isn’t far when my passion for Arnav will reach the level he has for me and I would want to give him the right to have me … more… To have me all… to have me the way he craves.

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

The next morning when I come down, the family is already at the dining table. I woke up late and I don’t even realize why? I had a good sleep though. In fact, when I woke up, Arnav was not in the bedroom either. And it embarrassed me further. Now, that I see him speaking normally to the family, and then laughing over some conversation, my heart eases.

“Hey,” Dhruv’s voice from behind me jolts me as I’m getting down the stairs.

In a second, he reaches beside me and I’m shocked. He is wearing a suit, similar to the kind Arnav wears.

“Hi.” I smile. “How are you feeling today?” I ask.

“Much better. Thanks for the soup. It was too tasty and sure healthy too. Otherwise I wouldn’t have felt this good. Anyway, how am I looking?”

He flaunts himself to me, turning around, waiting for me to say something.

“Nice. I mean.. good.”

“Good? Just good?”

“Yea.. Because I never saw you in suits before. These are not the kind of outfits you like wearing.”

“I know but now I do.”

Okay! That’s new. My eyes meet Arnav’s who is looking at us at the stairs. He too looks equally surprised seeing Dhruv in suit today morning. I continue getting down with Dhruv following me, continuing the conversation.

“Remember you told me once? That you like men wearing slim-fit, custom-made three-piece suits? I thought I should try those too.”

I stop again and turn around to look at Dhruv. Is he serious?

He grins. “Am I not looking like Arnav today?”

I clench my jaw. But before I can say anything, Dhruv strides away to his family and announces that he would like to join AR office from today. That’s a huge shock to everyone, including Arnav. The family is happy that he wants to involve himself in work and finally join his brothers to share the load of the company.

The moment I reach the dining room and join the family, Arnav reaches me and pulls me by his side, turning us both to the family.

“Attention everyone,” Arnav says. “Now that Dhruv has made one announcement, I would like to make one too.”

Dhruv stares at us as Arnav smiles looking at me again.

“I’m taking Khushi for a honeymoon next week.”

What? The whole family cheers and claps at this surprise from Arnav, except Dhruv and me. Dhruv because it’s hard for him to see his ex going on a honeymoon with his twin brother and me… because Arnav didn’t share this idea with me before announcing. But as the family comes to us and starts hugging and wishing us over it, I pretend to be okay with it. Arnav stares at my face, hopefully he realizes I am mad at him. Very mad!



To be Continued

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