Chapter 35 - ...Ditch Me Someday...
She was just rubbing the tears away from her cheeks when the
doorbell rang. Khushi went over to answer it with a sigh, only to find herself
face to face with a gigantic bouquet of red – maybe all the possible shades of
red – roses, misted with delicate baby's breath. It was impossible to suppress
that loud gasp.
The bouquet was so big that the person who was holding it
had his face hidden behind it and stood with a lot of difficulty.
"Miss Gupta?" she heard someone call her, but she was to
shocked to react, so the person simply shouldered his way inside the apartment
to keep the bouquet in. Maybe that was what snapped her out of it.
She followed the guy in with indignation, her fists on her
hips.
"What the-?" she started angrily at his nerve but the smirk
he wore on his face stopped her. Khushi suddenly found herself holding back a
smile. Now, this was a very cute delivery guy.
"Your boyfriend is a jerk," he announced pleasantly, making
her smile vanish.
"What?" she frowned. So he had finally lost it?
He just raised his brow and repeated the words slowly,
carefully, as if explaining to a five year old. "Your boyfriend is a jerk. A
total ass."
"A-"
"Who makes his girl cry on Valentine's Day?" he muttered,
his face falling into a frown as he reached to wipe a dampness she might have
missed out before flicking her nose teasingly. "Ditch him."
"Are you mad?"
He shook his head with a throaty chuckle. "Ditch him, run
away with me. I promise I'll never put my work before you. I promise I will
never fight with you. Not even because of my mother..."
She felt her eyes sting away and swatted his hand away.
"Liar! You will!"
"How do you know?" he demanded stepping closer to her.
Khushi gave him a half-smile as she backed into the kitchen.
"I know."
He chuckled again. "Try me. Just ditch the jerk."
She laughed but shook her head with a pout. "I love him."
His eyes darkened. "Even if all he does is breaking your
heart?" he snaked his hands around her waist, pulling him against his hard
body.
"He doesn't always does that," she protested. "He loves me a
lot you know. That's why we fight."
"Oh, really?" he smirked.
Khushi nodded earnestly and he bent his head to nudge her
nose with his. "Crazy woman! I'm famished will I get dinner?"
"I made it for him," she teased, giggling. "He's the only
one who'll have it."
Her delivery guy stepped back with obvious disappointment.
"I spent hours to find that magnificent bouquet and that huge box of
chocolates, dammit! I have a right to dinner, don't I?"
But she kept staring at him. He narrowed his eyes. "Don't
tell me you'll make me leave."
"Yes, I will," she laughed, dragging him towards the door
even as he whined pitifully. "And return me my boyfriend, will you?"
"Why?" he lamented, standing in the doorway. "You don't need
him. You could just spend this romantic night with me. What if your boyfriend
fights with you again?"
She pulled his nose. "He won't!"
He smiled at her confidence and tilted his head to one side.
"Fine, a goodbye kiss?"
With a roll of the eyes, she got onto her toes to brush her
lips against his stubbled jaw. "Go!" she exclaimed as she pushed the door. It
had barely shut when he rang the door bell again. Khushi grinned as she opened
it and found herself engulfed in choking hug. It felt like he had thrown all
his weight on her all of a sudden and she was staggering backwards.
"Arnav! Careful!" she laughed as they toppled onto the
couch.
He pulled back when he realised they had fallen. "Sorry."
It was then that she realised how full his eyes were.
"Arnav," she whispered, making him look at her. He buried his face in the crook
of her neck, letting her hug him close to her.
"How can you love me so much?" he whispered. "Don't you get
sick? I'm such an ass..."
"Shh," she hissed crossly, bunching his hair in her hand to
pull his head up so she could see his face. "I understand you, Arnav. I know
you have your reasons for what you do..."
He laughed drily, without humour as he stared down at her.
"You are too nice, Khushi. You don't want to accept how bad I really am. You
should. It's like I never give a damn about your feelings but you're always
there for me. You know how guilty I feel when I look back? I hate myself so
much... Maybe one day you should really leave me..."
"Shut up!" Khushi scolded him, but Arnav went on firmly.
"No. One day, when I cross the limits and really hurt you,
leave me, Khushi. Make me realise how selfish and stupid I am. Because you
deserve more than being hurt over and over again."
She frowned and pulled at his cheek. "If you know it, Mr
Raizada, then why don't you change? Why do you keep on repeating your
mistakes?"
He gave her a small smile. "I can't help it. I think I need
a good punishment... Remember to ditch me one day."
When she scowled harder and slapped his chest, he laughed
and bent down to kiss her nose. "I'm serious, Khushi. Ditch the selfish bas***d
the next time he breaks your heart. That ought to change him. Okay, I'm dying
of hunger here. You think we can have dinner now?"
***
"By the way, how did you leave office so early today?"
Khushi smirked as she did the dishes while he stood behind her, his arms around
her waist and his forehead on her shoulder and he swayed gently to music only
his ears could hear.
"Hmm... I did everything to come to you early," he drawled
lazily, lifting his head to rest his cheek against hers. "It's Valentine's day
and we... we had had a fight. Because of my ass-ness, of course. So, I figured
out I needed to make the first step in patching up. You can't be the only one
who always does everything to make us right again."
She turned to look at him, the irritation evident in her
eyes. "Arnav, if you say something wrong about my boyfriend again, I'll squeeze
all the detergent in your mouth and make sure it's properly washed! Taali ek
haath se nahin bajti. Get that clear in your mind. Maybe I have a part too in
whatever is happening between us these days."
He grinned at her and shook his head. "Like?"
"Maybe I tell you the wrong things at a wrong time in a
wrong way?" she wondered aloud, her brow high. "I think I should work on that."
Arnav shook his head again but this time he remained silent.
She wasn't going to realise soon. It would take her some time but she would
finally see that he was being far too much for her. He sleepily buried his face
in her hair. Better take all the advantage of her soothing presence, he mused.
What would he do when she would leave?
Because he knew she would. Soon. And he would be the one to
drive her away. He knew he needed to change. For her, for them. But it was not
easy, it was not going to happen till she was there. Because her being there
simplified everything. They said, you only realise someone's worth when the
person was no longer there. She had to leave at some point. It was necessary.
But he didn't really want her to. He loved her too much.
Even though it didn't seem very much like it, these days.
He understood how destructive his anger was. He knew he had
not been right to shout at her. But Varsha, however she was, was his mother.
Maybe an estranged mother, who had abandoned him as a child, but she was his
mother... Only he knew how painful it was to walk on these sharp shards of
guilt. The self-accusations sluiced through him, wrecking him. Especially when
he saw his Khushi's eyes filled with tears.
Yes, he thought, tightening his arms around her, he had to
enjoy her being here while she still was. Because life would freeze over when
she would be gone... because he, himself would end up driving her far away...
For those who have not understood yet, the delivery guy was Arnav!
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