CHAPTER 42 - Your Love Broke Me...
She slipped out of his arms, her face wet with tears. He
tried to catch her pallu which flew in the winds as she ran away, but the
fabric just touched his fingertips and escaped, leaving his heart torn beyond
repair.
***
He watched her open the little box, his eyes filled with a
strange kind of dread in her eyes. But his smile did not falter. He was hoping
she would accept him now. When all misunderstandings and secrets were gone.
"Khushi, I love you..." The words were painful for him to
say. They brought together all the rejection and pain from the past. But he had
to tell her.
She stared up at him, her eyes brimming. And he could not
look away. She was too beautiful. even with her hair mussed up by sleeping all
night on his chest. Her dishevelled image stirred up desire in him.
A morning like this. He wanted it, and not just one, he
wanted all the remaining mornings of his existence to be like this. Waking up
to the woman he loved most and telling her he loved her. But the nights would
not be the same, he decided. It had taken a lot of strength from him, to spend
the night with her, but without touching her. He had hardly slept. No, their
nights would not be the same...
***
"Chhote?" Anji felt worried when she saw the look on her
cousin's face. Something really bad had happened. He looked broken, defeated,
tired. Had she made a mistake sending him to Akaash's wedding?
"Di..." when he turned to her, he could not look at her
directly but she did see his eyes full of tears. A single drop rolled down his
cheek. His eyes were full of hurt. She felt his heart shattering with each
breath he took. "She said no."
"Kya hua, Chhote?" his pain made her cry too and she reached
out to wipe his tears, cup his cheeks, give him the support he longed for. (What happened, Chhote?)
"Di... she said... she said she could give me pain...
nothing else..." finally, he lifted his gaze to her and what she saw in there
made her sob and hug him. "What could I have done, Di? Why doesn't she love
me?"
Anjali caught him around the shoulders as he swayed with his
emotions and broke down...
***
Payal's eyes searched for her cousin as the bidaayi was
nearly over. Somehow, Khushi had slipped away after leaving her at the mandap
and was not to be seen afterwards.
"Titaliya ko dhoond rahi hau?" Indira asked her. Payal
nodded amidst her tears. "Rehne do, Payaliya, udaas hogi, tu jo jaa rahi hau
na?" (You are looking for Titaliya? Let her be, Payalia, she must be sad, because you're going, aren't you?)
Payal frowned but Akaash steered her away to her new life.
She knew something was going on. Khushi was hiding something. From all of
them...
***
She loved him too but she could not do this. She pressed the
ring box back in his hand and his smile vanished. A frown formed on his face as
he realised what she had done. He looked down at his hand and his eyes shot
back up to stare at her when she spoke.
"Humein maaf kardijiye Arnavji... hum yeh nahin kar
sakte..." (Forgive me, Arnavji... I cannot do this...)
Arnav remained frozen in place, stuck between the past and
present. Was this some kind of joke? A nightmare? She shook her head and
stepped away from him, sobs racking through her body.
"Voh humaari behen hai, Arnavji... hum unke saath aisa nahin
kar sakte... chaahe hum unhein achhi tarha se nahin jaante..." (She's my sister, Arnavji... I cannot do this to her... even if I hardly know her...)
That snapped something inside him. Fury overtook him and the
box slipped from his fingers to tumble on the grass at his feet. In two strides,
he was gripping her by the shoulders and pulling her as close as he could.
"Behen?" he roared, shaking her brutally. "The hell, you
say! Behen? Are you laughing at me, Khushi? No! Shaayad tum sahi ho! She's your
mom and dad's daughter. Biologically, Radhika tumhaari behen ho sakti hai. But
in any other way?" (Sister? The hell, you say! Sister? [...] Maybe you're right! [...] Biologically, Radhika can be your sister. [...])
"Agar aapke kehne matlab yeh hai, ki voh itne saal tak
kahaan thi to-" (If you mean that she was not here all these years-)
"This is not what I'm talking about, dammit!" he shouted
back, panting slightly, his mind reeling. "Maybe you don't remember, Khushi,
but I still do! Mujhe ab bhi yaad hai Radhika tumhein bachpan mein kaise
rulaati thi, kaise tumehin bully karti thi, aur kaise tum rote hue mere paas
aati thi..." (... I still remember how Radhika used to make you cry when we were kids, how she bullied you, and how you ran away and came to me...)
He slowed down, though his grip on her did not lessen, and
when he had stopped speaking, he pressed his forehead against hers.
"She's your sister just by blood, Pari. She never cared
about you, and never will. She hates you, she'll do anything to make your life
miserable. She doesn't even have feelings for me. She's marrying me to hurt
you... Please, Khush... I love you..."
***
Her fingers tightened around the plastic file in her hands
and her jaws clenched. It was done already and she no longer had the power to
undone the way things had gone. Her tears fell on her lap, lonely, and no one
understood.
It had been one week since Payal's wedding. Maasiji thought
Khushi was glum because her cousin was gone. She smiled and comforted her every
night before going to sleep. Payal was due to come in a couple of days for her
pag-phere. But Khushi still cried. She did not sleep at night.
All because of the plastic file that lay in her drawer. And because her heart was breaking for a stranger...
But she had to save her family's honour. Even if it cost her
a heartbreak...
One more night she cried herself to sleep. Then she would
have to be strong...
***
"Aap aisa kaise keh sakte hain?" she finally said shakily,
her hands moving up, splaying on his chest. (How can you say that?)
His eyes, which had closed, snapped open. Her were still
shut but dripping, yet, with unstoppable tears.
"Shayad Radhikaji bachpan mein aisi thi? Shayad ab voh badal
gayi?" (Maybe she was like this when we were small? Maybe she's changed now?)
Arnav opened his mouth to contradict her but she opened her
eyes and locked them with his to stop his rebuke.
"Aur vaise bhi, jaisa aapne kaha, humaara aur unka khoon ka
rishta hai. Aapko kya lagta hai, agar humne aapki baat maani, to kya humaare
Amma-Bauji ko boora nahin lagega? Agar unki ek beti unki doosri beti ka ghar
ujaar kar khush rahe, to kya unhein dukh nahin hoga? Aap hi humein bataaiyye." (And like you said, we are related by blood. What do you think, if I do this, won't my parents be hurt? If one of their daughters snatches the happiness of the other, won't they be unhappy? You tell me.)
"Why, Khushi? Tumhaare parents kyun hamesha humaare beech
mein aajaate hain?" his question startled her. "Pichhli baar bhi. Tumne jo bhi
kiya, unke liye kiya, phir chali gayi. Aur main? Where do I stand in your
life?" (...Why do your parents always come between us? Last time too. Whatever you had done, it was for them and then you left. And me?...)
She swallowed and removed his hands from her arms and held
them together, between them. "Humaari zindagi mein aapki koyi jagah nahin hai,
Arnavji," she whispered, with a small smile. His eyes starting burning with
blinding pain. "Kyunki humaari zindagi aap mein basti hai..." (You have no place in my life, Arnavji. Because my life resides in you...)
His eyes widened. Did that mean, she loved him too?
"Magar hum aisa nahin kar sakte. Hum apni behen ki zindagi
ujaar nahin sakte." (But I cannot do this. I cannot ruin my sister's life.)
She rose to her tiptoes and leaned closer to him, letting
her lips brush his cheek before she pressed a kiss on his stubble-dusted skin.
His lips parted in surprise and she smiled, like she used to in the old times,
when he had first met her five years ago.
"Aur haan," she told him as she retreated from him,
releasing his hands. "Humne aapko voh puraani shart bhi jeetne nahin diya..." (And yes. I didn't let you win that old dare...)
He frowned. Puraani shart? His fingers raised to his cheek
and he remembered suddenly. The dare he had told her on the day they had gone
to the mela, the day she had learnt his true identity. With that, she spun on
her feet and walked out on him.
As she always did...
And Arnav, battered and defeated, fell to his knees, hearing
his heart shatter all over again...
***
I was a rock
without emotions
My heart was made of ice
I neither smiled nor cried
But then you came in my life
Bright as the summer sun
And you melted the rock
You melted the ice
You made me smile
Then you made me cry
You broke through my life
You broke my heart of ice
However much I truely loved you
Your love broke me...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*Poem written by me!*
⭐️
~~~~~~~~~~
Ok, I know many of you guys out there want to murder me for Khushi's refusal but sorry guys this has to happened for the story to move on. I hope you read thos note and understand what I want to say.
By Khushi's refusal, I want mostly to show the contrast between Khushi and Radhika. they never met during all these past years and yet, where Radhika is selfishly jealous of her sister, Khushi is irrevocably selfless. She prefers to suffer herself than make her sister miserable. She agrees to lose the man she loves for ever. Khushi is also considerate for her family.
Guys, ask yourselves, do you think your parents would be happy if you sacrificed you sibling's happiness for your own?
Well, on this note I'll leave you. I really hope to have convinced you.
But don't worry! I have never given you guys a precap and I don't think I'll ever be able to. But will a promo be good?
Ok, So things will go like this:
Radhika's mysterious friend...
A mistake...
Radhika's truth comes out...
[And guess what?😛]
Arnav dumps her...
Will Arnav and Khushi finally unite?
Edited by ShikhaKhushi - 11 years ago
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