As promised, Here I am with the next part. You know what to do, read it and please comment on it.
_________________________________________________________
Kushi decided to visit her parents place as she had not visited them since her wedding day and that was almost a month now. She was feeling very lonely that Payal and Aakash had gone for their honeymoon a week back and will not be returning till next week end. Even though Anjali and Nani were hinting that Kushi and Arnav should take a break and follow suite, Arnav was far from even considering that as an option.
But it seemed Arnav had gone back to his old self, spending hours in office, and taking up business trips often, like he was now, gone away for a two day trip. And when he was at home, he was maintaining his aloofness with her, being polite in front of his family members and being silent otherwise. Kushi's pride sometimes reached a threshold when shyam's deeds pushed her to a breaking point. She wanted to confide in Arnav, cry on his shoulders, seek that strength in him, be protected by him and more importantly urge him to be cautious with Shyam but the moment she saw that coldness with which arnav addressed her these days and the mask that he wore in her presence, her own feminine pride would rise again, in direct conflict with his manly pride, like high walls built by both of them which neither of them were ready to cross.
"Ammaji, BUaji" Kushi shouted reaching her place.
"Sankadevi? you came?" Buaji shouted happily, hugging her with all smiles, Her mom too did the same.
"Kushi betiya, you became a total married woman, see jiji did we ever imagine our kushi to be like this? coming to see us after one month?"
"Haan, even payaliya came two times after the wedding, that too with Aakash bitwa" buaji told.
"Yeah, thats because Jijaji is so sweet, he brought her here whenever he sensed that she missed you all, How can I ask Arnavji" Kushi told them but soon bit back.
"whatdo you mean?"buaji was too quick to cotton in on her words.
"I mean, He is always busy, I cant ask him to..."
"kksgi"
Kushi stopped mid sentence to see her father wheeling his chair by himself
"bauji? Did you call me?"
"kkseee" he reapeated again ackwardly, but the improvement in him was Tremendous.
She went and hugged him in joy,
"bauji, you are able to move your hands and wheel yourself?"
"Yes and he even tries to speak more coherently after those speech threapy classes thrice every week" Amma told her
"Speech threapy?"
"yes kushi, we feel so blessed, we never thought that our Jamaai will taken care of his wife's family as his own... " garima was moved to tears.
"jija ji is really great!" kushi told them gratefully.
"we are speaking about Arnav bitwa, he arranged for that speech threapy course...you didnt know that?" garima was puzzled.
"He didnt tell you?" Buaji was surprised.
"And he changed your buaji's doctor also, Now he shows improvement" Garima informed her
Kushi was baffled to hear this news, So Arnav had taken care of her father's treatment but why? He was angry with her to not even speak to her properly, but why is he showering so much care on her parents? if she was baffled, what came next was a blow to the wall of pride that she had built against his.
"And he even visited us every week to check on bauji's progress, and you say he is very busy and so you cannot disturb him?" Amma asked her playfully
"what?"
"And when we asked why he didnt bring you, he said that you are very busy with taking care of his family and their needs, I felt so proud of my upbringing!" garima told with tears in her eyes
"yeah, being the elder bahu of a parivar has its own responsibilities" buaji commented before asking garima to bring something for kushi to eat or drink. Immediately after garima left, buaji came to kushi and took her hands in hers.
"Sankadevi, you did not know about this at all? " buaji asked her
"Haan, He was telling me something about bauji's treatment, now I remember buaji" Kushi tried to manage, but cud'nt face buaji, lest she found out that Kushi was lying to her.
"Is everything going well between you both?"Buaji asked concernedly
"Everything is going on well buaji, but I was busy with something or other at home and you just now agreed na, elder bahu of Raizada's" kushi told with her usual josh.
"Actually I was worried when that day..." buaji started to tell her something, then thought better of it seeing kushi's puzzled expression finished off with "forget it, I am happy if all is well with you both"
"dony worry about me buaji, I am very happy, actually I feel very very lucky to be married to Arnavji..." Kushi ensured her.
She realised that probably Arnav did not hate her, he was angry probably that she did not confide in him, and she had mistaken and wronged him. She suddenly felt a gush of guilt over powering her for mistrusting him.
After sometime with her parents, she told them that she is going home as Arnav had gone on a trip and will be expected soon. When she reached she was told that Arnav had taken a early flight and had reached an hour back and had left to office immediately.
She went to their room, and found his luggage lying there. She opened it to remove his clothes for laundry, taking them out one by one absent mindedly, thinking of how her parents had told her that he had visited them regularly, even when she hadnt. she lovingly looked at one of his shirts that she was holding. She brought it close to her breathing in a smell which was full of him, lost in his thoughts, smiling to herself. The wall she she had put around herself was already shattered, and she will make sure that she would break down the wall that he built around him as well.
She was brought out of her trance by some moment just outside her room. And she saw anjali teasingly smiling at her.
"Already missing my brother Kushi?" she asked mischef twinkling in her eyes.
"I, no I was just taking his clothes for laundry" Kushi stammered
"Oh thats how you take used clothes to laudry, hugging it tight? hah?"
kushi blushed.
"wait till he comes from office" Anjali winked "you can hug the real one. isnt it Shyamji?" Anjali turned to her husband who was standing behind her
It was then Kushi noticed shyam's presence and moved away from there with Arnav's clothes. But something that she saw in shyam's eyes gave her creeps and chill. She silently prayed and wished that nothing disasterous would happen.
to be continued...
Edited by abavi - 12 years ago
comment:
p_commentcount