Kaisey Yeh Rishtey - 37

Chapter 37

It was a few days later, that things blew up.

Akash walked into Arnav's office to find him talking on the phone to Vijay Dhawan, his face and tone furious.

"Find them!" he barked into the phone, scowling ferociously at the blameless receiver. "Find them now! Let me know as soon as you have! And ask Mahendra Shah if he can accompany the old lady back here as soon as possible. But you find those two, Vijay! Khushi isn't safe while they're on the loose!"

Arnav slammed down the phone, and ran his hand through his hair distractedly. Only then did he notice that Akash was in the room.

"Yes, Akash, what is it?" he asked, curtly. His tone was dismissive, but Akash was not to be put off this time. He moved further into the room, his face determined.

"Bhai, what is this all about? You have to tell me, bhai. The other day, too, you just put me off. But I need to know, Bhai. I'm here to help you if I can. You don't have to do this alone. What is going on? What is this mystery about Khushi bhabhi? Why is she in danger? Tell me, bhai, please!"

Arnav looked grimly at him, and then seemed to relax infinitesmally.

"You're right, Akash. You need to know, and I need to tell you. Your Khushi bhabhi has literally been held captive for most of her life by a pair of goons. Because I got her away from them, when I married her - unknowingly, I might add - they are now rather annoyed with me, to put it mildly. And they want her back in their clutches, as soon as possible, so that their source of income resumes. It dried up, you see, when she was no longer with them."

Akash gasped, completely speechless.

Arnav smiled, and it was not a nice smile.

"Does she know?" stammered Akash. "Why … how …?"

Arnav shook his head.

"No, she doesn't know this. Any of it. The why's and hows, I am not very clear about myself," Arnav admitted. "It's taken me a long time to get this much clear. And how these people managed this much, what means they used to blackmail her grandparents … I really don't know. But I mean to find out. And to find her real family. But first, Akash, I need to check that she is all right. These men haven't been seen since last night in Nagpur. Just enough time to have got back here, and tried to do some mischief."

He pulled the telephone to him, and called home. Shantitai answered. Khushi had gone to the hospital, she said tersely, in answer to Arnav's rapid fire questions. She had a few patients. She had said she would be back in two hours, but it was almost three. It was not like Khushi to be late. Radhika was waiting for her. Shantitai did not approve.

Arnav terminated the conversation as soon as he could, and dialed Khushi’s cell phone. He stared at the instrument in frustration – Khushi never answered her cell phone while she was with patients in the hospital – it was either on silent, or the number was switched off. Getting more agitated, he fired off a couple of messages to her, and then called the hospital. Yes, Khushi had come to work as usual. Probably, she was still in the department. Wait, they would try and connect her.

A pause.

They were not sure, but she didn't seem to still be there. Was there a message?

"Yes," said Arnav, fiercely. "Tell her that her husband called. I'm coming to pick her up. She should not leave without me. On no account. I don't want her to leave alone. Not even with the driver. She should wait for me. It's very important."

He looked at Akash, his eyes hard and worried.

"They can't find her in the hospital, Akash. I'm going there. You go home. If there are any calls for me, make sure you take them, not anybody else. I'll call you as soon as I can."

"I'm going with you," said Akash, firmly. "I don't want you to be alone. And you can tell me the whole story while we're on the way."

Arnav nodded curtly, his mind far away. He cursed himself inwardly. He should have done more to protect her, he should have worked faster on tracing her family.  This was his fault.  If anything happened to Khushi … he blocked his thoughts.

"I don't understand …" Akash said, forcefully, when they were in the car, speeding towards the hospital, "why bhabhi has to work at all. Why didn't you stop her?"

Arnav looked at him mildly. "Why should I have stopped her?"

Akash gazed at him in exasperation. "Well, for one, there's no need for her to work. You don't need the money. Radhika needs her more at home. If there was such a danger, why …?"

"For one," Arnav said, evenly, "till now, there has been no such problem. I have kept those two under my supervision from the beginning, more so since I realised what was happening. For the second part, yes, she is needed at home by Radhika, but she is also needed by a number of her patients at the hospital. Knowing the work she does, how much it is needed, I couldn't stop her, even if I had wanted to. She has never let it interfere with her care of the house, of dad, you or Radhika. She's a highly educated, qualified girl, and the days are long over when a girl like her stopped working when she got married. For the third ..." Arnav stopped, and swallowed. He had to say it, he thought, had to warn Akash. He owed him that much. And for once, he needed to share his fears … his biggest fear … of Khushi walking out of his life.

"For the third part, if she had stopped working when she married me, she might have found it very difficult to get her job back, or get another job, when our marriage was over. I would have happily provided for her for the rest of her life, but she is too independent to accept that. This was part of her job for her, and she would continue her work when it was over."

Akash was staring at him in complete and utter shock.

"What … are you saying?!!! What marriage will be over?  What job?!!! Bhai, you're not making any sense!"

Arnav looked steadily at the road ahead, and steeled himself to say the next words.

"Khushi is a trained and qualified psychologist and psychotherapist. That is the reason I married her - to help you all - you, dad, and Radhika. It was a job for her, and she was under a lot of personal pressures at the time, so she accepted. Our marriage was to last till such time we both felt that you, dad and Radhika were able to manage without her, maybe a year, maybe two. Then I would divorce her quietly, and leave her free to get on with her life."

Akash looked as though he had been knocked on the head with a rock. A large one.

"No," he whispered. "No, bhai. It can't be. Khushi bhabhi … she can't leave. She can't leave us. She can't leave you!"

He turned to Arnav fiercely.

"She loves you," he said, forcefully, angrily. "How can you let her go? How can you send  her away? She loves you! She loves all of us, but you … you're her life! How can you even think of sending her away?!"

Arnav looked ahead, suddenly feeling hollow inside.

"She doesn't love me," he said, dully, feeling the words sink in, and making himself face them. If she loved him, she would have said yes the other night. But she hadn’t. She still hadn’t. He glanced at Akash briefly. "She doesn't love me, Akash. It's a job for her. A job she does very, very well."

"No!" Akash said, hotly. "I've seen her look at you. So has Shivi. Bhai, you can’t be so blind! Khushi loves you. She loves us all, but most of all, you. Don't send her away. Don't let her go, bhai! Please, don't send her away, please!!!"

“I don't want to send her anywhere," said Arnav, angrily. "But neither do I want to force her to stay against her will. She was in one hopeless situation, I don't want her to be forced into another one. She deserves some happiness in life, after all she's been through."

She deserves more than some happiness, he thought. She deserves the world, and how I wish I could give it to her. How I wish I could be the one to bring a sparkle to her eyes, a blush to her cheeks. How I wish I could gather her in my arms, and hold her tight, protect her against all that the world has thrown at her. How I wish that I could be the one she welcomes into her arms in the day, and into herself, body and soul, at night …

He made himself stop abruptly. The mere thought of holding her, loving her, aroused him unbearably. If only he found her quickly, he promised himself, he would try to woo her, romance her, win her heart, her love. To hell with Aman, and to being noble and giving Khushi more time to get over him. He would make her forget Aman. He couldn’t live without her – and he had to let her know it.

Kaisey Yeh Rishtey - 36

Chapter 36 

Khushi tried to gauge Arnav's mood later that night.

She was still puzzling over his words, and couldn't contain herself any longer. When he came to bed, she was waiting, standing by the window and staring out, a small, slim figure, all in white, her silk dressing gown wrapped tightly around her, her long, dark hair blowing in the soft breeze from the window. He paused for a moment at the door, looking at her, then came inside, closing it softly.

She turned around and looked at him, her gaze direct. Smiling slightly, he walked slowly over to where she stood, and stopped, looking at her, with a quizzical look on his face.

"You …" she began, and then stopped. His gaze did not waver, but he didn't speak.

"You …" she started again, and then gave him an exasperated look. "Arnav, help me here! You know what I'm talking about!"

"You haven't really said anything yet," he answered, maddeningly. "How am I supposed to know what you are getting at?"

"You know!" she said, hotly. "You know exactly what I want to talk to you about! Don't you? Don't you?!"

"Since you haven't said anything yet," he replied, "I should not be able to. But, yes, actually, my dear wife, yes, I think I do know what you are bursting to say. And that, itself, tells me something. Doesn't it tell you something as well?"

She stared at him, stupefied.

"Tell me? Tell you? What on earth are you saying?"

"I thought you were the one wanting to say something," he returned, and she felt like stamping her foot!

"Temper, temper," he said, softly, teasingly, watching her face, as the expressions danced across it, and annoying her still further. She turned and walked away to the window again, and stood looking outside.

Arnav looked at her, knowing what was going through her mind, knowing and yet not wanting to take the conversation further. Because he was scared, he realised – scared of revealing his feelings. It was too soon … much too soon. Or maybe it was fear ... did she still love that fellow, he wondered slowly. He could read her thoughts so clearly most of the time, but this … he didn’t have a clue as to what she felt. Or was he scared to try to read her thoughts … scared that the answer would be something he didn’t want it to be. And that would shatter him.

She had to love him, he thought fiercely. She had to see, to realise that they were made for each other, that their minds and hearts spoke to each other, that they could read each other so well … how could she not see it?

But she gave not a hint, not a shadow of one. When she talked of the future, it was always about leaving. So did she not want to stay after all? Didn't she see what he felt? Did she not feel even slightly the same way? Surely not.

She wasn't averse to his touch, he knew. She had been skittish at the start of their unconventional marriage, shying away from the slightest touch. But that was a thing of the past. Not now, he thought, remembering the fierce embrace on the terrace floor a few hours ago. No, definitely not now. But any more than that  ... that was still a question. 

He would have to wait a little longer, he mused.

And then Khushi spoke, still looking out the window.

"Why did you tell Radhika that?" she said suddenly, taking her courage in both her hands.

"Why did I tell her - what?" he asked mildly, but he tensed. What should he say?

Khushi bit her lip, but then turned around and faced him, although her eyes remained downcast.

"You know. You said that I would never go away from this house. Arnav, why did you say that? Why did you ...? When I go, it will come as more of a shock to her."

"Do you think that she can handle the possibility of your leaving yet?" he asked her evenly. She thought for a moment, then shook her head slowly.

"I'm not sure," she said. Then she looked at him. "But you have to start preparing her, Arnav. If you keep assuring her that I will never leave, then it will be more of a shock if … when … I actually do."

He sighed. Again Khushi only spoke about leaving. As though it was a certainty, an unalterable truth. What was he to say? 

“Khushi … again … why the hurry? Where’s the rush? It’s not been so long after all. Remember, I said, it could be a year, two years … it’s barely been six months! Yes, she’s much better – they’re all better, but this is the kind of thing it takes a while to recover from completely. Let’s take it slowly. We don’t have to start talking about your leaving yet. I’m not in a hurry. Are you?”

Khushi bit her lip and looked away. Yes, she thought, I am in a hurry. It will break my heart to leave here, to leave you and this house, and the longer I stay here, the worse my own heartbreak will be. You helped me to get over Aman – who will help me to get over you?

And she had a sinking feeling she would never get over Arnav. Not ever.

She turned away again and looked unseeingly out the terrace wndow. Her voice was muffled and her words disjointed when she spoke again.

“No … but … My job … if I leave … I have to …”

Arnav looked at her bent head for a long moment. She had said 'if ...'  For the first time. 

Taking a deep breath, he came up to her and took her by the shoulders. Startled, she lifted her gaze to his. 

He looked at her steadily, his eyes unreadable. "And if I say that I meant what I said? That I don't want you to leave - ever?"

Khushi gazed at him, her pulse racing, her heart hammering suddenly. "Arnav, what are you saying?"

He looked at her for a long instant, then released her shoulders and moved away. He turned and gazed through the darkened window, looking out into the distance. There was a long silence, as though he was thinking, deliberating what to say. Then he spoke slowly, choosing his words carefully.

"I'm saying that I meant what I said. I don't think you should leave. Ever. I'm saying that it might be a good idea if we turned this marriage into a real one. That you became my wife and part of this house for real, not as part of a contract or a job."

There was silence. Khushi felt a rush, a torrent of emotion sweep through her, elation, hope, a giddy joy … she put out a hand to steady herself against the window framework. He wants me, she thought dizzily, he wants me to stay … to be his wife … for real …

He looked at her then, and she found it difficult to breathe.

"Look, Khushi," he said, quietly. "When we got married, it was a need for both of us. You wanted to get away from your father and brother, and I needed someone like you to take care of my family. We didn’t know each other at all. Certainly not enough to think about the rest of our lives together.”

He turned and came closer to her. She stood listening, her heart beating so fast and loud, she felt it would deafen her.

"After living with you, and getting to know you," he went on evenly, and then he stopped. It was as though he could not think of what to say. Then he turned and looked at her.

"I found that I could very easily imagine spending the rest of my life with you," he said simply. He went on a little quickly. "I mean, we get along well, we vibe with each other, we seem to have the same thought processes on many things. I want my wife to be my friend, my companion, and I think we are that.”

He looked at her, but she stayed silent, unable to speak, her hands twisting with each other in her lap. He looked at them, and went on slowly.

“Khushi … I’m just saying … this is what I feel. I realize that it may not be the same for you. But we can think about this as an option. If we had an arranged marriage, things would have been similar – people don't know each other very well when they get married, and get to know each other only later."

She listened, still unable to utter a word. But the elation, the joy was fading slowly. He wasn't saying that he loved her, she thought dully. Only that he liked her enough to live with her. Was that enough for her?

He waited, but she stayed silent. He came very close to her then.

"Khushi?" he said, softly, and lifted her chin with a gentle finger to face him. She looked at him, but no words came.

"You don't like the idea," he said, flatly, and made to turn away.

She came to life then, and clutched at his arm.

"No! No! It's not that! Arnav…"

He turned back to her, his expression guarded. "Then what is it? If you want some time to think about it, that's all right with me. I realize I've thrown this at you suddenly. I've been thinking about it for some time, but obviously it's come as a shock to you. You haven't been thinking about this at all. You don't have to say anything right now, Khushi. Think about it. It's an option you can think about."

He was hurt, she thought, and as the realization dawned, so did a sense of wonder and hope. She held his arm.

"If I didn't think about this as an option," she said, softly, her head down, "It's because I never dreamed that this could be something you'd want. That you wouldn't mind being married to an ordinary girl like me, that …you could want … me …"

She stopped, feeling oddly breathless.

He half smiled, then looked at her.

"Look, Khushi. Think about it. You don't have to make any decisions till you're ready to make them. There’s no hurry. Just consider it for a while, think over it with a cool head. After that, if you want to make this marriage a real one…"

She nodded, her heart in her mouth. I don’t want time, she wanted to shout. Yes, my answer is yes. I love you. So much that I don’t even care if you love me or not. Just to live with you, be your wife … to show you, even if I can’t tell you …

She stayed silent.

And when he went to bed, he kept the pillow between them again.

The pillow had disappeared for a while, when Radhika had been a regular visitor to their bed, but recently, as she had stopped coming, it had reappeared, unless, as sometimes happened, Arnav slept on the sofa. Tonight, he would have slept there, but he had a feeling …

He wasn't mistaken. Radhika had been seriously disturbed about Akash's engagement, and she woke them that night, crying as she crawled into bed and cuddling next to Khushi, crying that she didn't want Khushi to leave. Khushi woke up as she usually did, when Radhika came, and for once, so did Arnav. He watched in the dim light as she crooned the sobbing child back to sleep, as Radhka slipped slowly back into peaceful sleep, cocooned by Khushi’s warmth next to her, holding her.

Khushi held the little girl for a long time, her eyes open but unseeing in the dimness of the room. Her sleep had been restless, she couldn’t get Arnav’s words out of her head. They had set off dreams inside her, dreams of being part of this house for ever, of being his wife in real, not as part of an elaborate farce, of loving, laughing, teasing … of Arnav …

Arnav shouting out for his towel, his shirt, his phone in the mornings, Arnav lost in his paperwork in his study, till she had to push him to the dinner table, Arnav reading the newspaper in the mornings in his study while she exasperatedly popped pieces of fruit in his mouth because he was too busy to eat them himself … Arnav lying in bed next to her at night,  propped on one elbow, facing her as they talked, … Arnav holding her as they rolled on the terrace floor, his face so close when he told her to forget about Lavanya, his hands on her arms, the time he had held her and she had felt for the first time, a closeness, a passion …

She turned over restlessly … and looked into his eyes. For a long moment, they stared at each other in the almost-darkness over the head of the sleeping child between them. Then he turned over, and she found it impossible to go back to sleep.

Precap

It was a few days later that things blew up

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year 2017 ... wishing all my readers a very happy new year, and a promise ... I  WILL finish this story before Sanaya's next show starts! So you all better wish for that to happen soon! :)