Part 36
"I've learned that people will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did, but people will
never forget how you made them feel." ' Maya
Angelou
Khushi sat
stiffly on the sofa, her hands folded on her lap, her fingernails digging into
her flesh as she pretended to listen to NK, dropping in a laugh or two at
appropriate moments, but her mind whirring with the happenings of the day. She
could recall the way he had come towards her, his eyes glinting in unleashed
fury, and she had prepared herself, but his breath on her cheek as he had come
closer had unnerved her and he had found herself at a loss of what to say and
do.
Every time
she replayed the events in her head she swore that she could feel something
switch in him as he had come closer. She looked over her shoulder and saw that
he was still outside, leaning back in his chair, his leg folded over the other,
while it bounced in agitation, his hand covering his mouth and his eyes
narrowed in deep thought.
She wondered
if he was recalling the same thing, and she bit her lip as she looked back at
NK to see that he was still talking, and she had paid no attention.
Blinking and
forcing her attention back on the conversation, she heard the last few words of
what he had said,
"...So let's
confirm it then?" He asked, his eyes dancing in amusement, and she wondered
whether he knew that she had not heard a word. She smiled and nodded, too
embarrassed to ask what she had missed, and he grinned wide as he got up,
slinging his bag over his shoulder, and bent down to hug her.
"Alright
Khushiji, I am off now. I will see you tomorrow at the Christmas lunch.
Remember to do all your shopping today, and buy my present" He winked, and
walked towards the door, calling out a goodbye to Arnav, who responded with a
small wave, still not turning around.
Khushi bit
her lip, feeling the warmth coming to her face as she realised she was all
alone in the apartment with him. Clutching handfuls of her suit, she walked
slowly towards the balcony door to see him staring off into the distance and
she closed her eyes in nervousness.
Khushi took another step back, seeing him take another
closer to her, and his shirt brushed against her suit causing her to suck in a
breath, the determination continuing to shine through.
As he stepped closer, she saw something shift in his
eyes and she felt the atmosphere change around them. Looking at him in
confusion as his eyes darkened, she looked over his shoulder at the door that
was too far away and back into his eyes which had narrowed slightly, and were
constantly dropping down to her lips.
Unknowingly, she licked her suddenly dry lips, and
took in a few deep breaths to calm her racing heart as she saw him dip his head
low, his hair brushing against her forehead, their breaths starting to mingle.
She swallowed hard, just as her heart started to race, half in nervousness and
half in confusion as she saw his lips part. Her own eyes fell down to his lips
and she felt her throat clench tight at the proximity of their bodies. She
wanted to close her eyes as the proximity got too much for her, and she wanted
to keep a heart against her beating heart to clam herself and remind herself
that everything was fine, but she forced her eyes to stay open taking in his
chest that was too close to hers, the hairs on his stubble that were so
prominent, and if she had looked up into his eyes she knew she could have
counted every eyelash in those light-coloured eyes which were no longer
flashing in anger or annoyance.
His arms were
next to her, caging her in, and she felt her petite body getting swallowed by
his large frame as he shuffled his feet closer to her. Khushi was aware of even
the slightest of movement, but she found herself getting more and more confused
as to what he wanted to do.
She trusted that he would not do anything against her
will, but a fear settled in the pit of her stomach wondering if she had mistook
him. She looked back up at the eyes in nervousness, silently asking him if he
would, and she saw another shift in his eyes, before a flash of anger and guilt
shined through. He closed his eyes as he stepped away, and Khushi quickly
sucked in a deep breath, thankful that the proximity was gone, her hands still
plastered by her side, as she looked up at him through her lashes to see his
eyes still closed, the muscle in his cheek jumping from anger.
He opened his eyes and Khushi continued to stare at
him, waiting to see what he would do, but as he took another step away his arm
brushed her own, and Khushi felt a shiver run down her spine as her breath
hitched, and her hands automatically rubbed her arms to get rid of the
goosebumps.
He turned around and walked away, and Khushi stared
after him confused whether to follow him or continue to stay in the room.
One thing that she had determined from this was that
he would not force himself on her, and for that she was thankful to her Devi
Maiya.
Khushi opened
the balcony door and stepped outside. She wasn't sure what she was doing but she
wanted to talk to him, to get answers, to know
what had happened in the bedroom. Even if he wanted to scream at her, hide from
her or not answer her, she would stubbornly stand her ground till she got a
satisfactory answer.
"Arnavji?"
She hesitantly asked, looking at his still form which jerked to life as her
voice came through and he whipped his head around his surprised eyes finding
hers, before the guard was back in place and she could see he was thinking
something.
She opened
her mouth to continue talking when he cut her off by standing up abruptly.
"Wh-what?"
Khushi asked confused, automatically taking a step back away from him,
wondering if a repeat was going to happen, but he looked down at the ground,
ran a hand through his hair and looked back at her, his face still devoid of
any emotion, but she saw the same vulnerability shining through which she had
seen in the morning when he had asked her to have breakfast.
"Will you go shopping
with me?" He asked, and Khushi was momentarily left speechless at the fact that
Arnav Singh Raizada had actually asked her instead of demanding.
She opened
her mouth in shock, her eyes widening in slight disbelief, and she saw his eyes
boring into hers, gauging her reaction.
Too
dumbfounded by the change in him all she could do was nod her response, and was
again taken aback by the slow smirk that lifted from the corner of his lips as
he exhaled and walked back inside to the apartment, leaving Khushi on the
balcony still reeling from the changes she had just seen.