Chapter 30
When Khushi woke up the next morning, it took her a moment to remember that the events of last night had really happened. It still felt like a dream. The bed was empty, suggesting that her sister was probably bunking down with Sanjana. As she brought her hand to smother her yawn, the red and white sparkle of gems on her wrist confirmed just how real yesterday had been. Khushi lovingly ran a finger over her bracelet, her thoughts on the person who had given it to her. If it was possible, she fell even more in love with Arnav. He had been just so...frowning as an odd thought struck her. It was surprising that for a guy who had asked her, no told her, to marry him because he 'wanted' her, Arnav had definitely not pushed for that commitment from her. What was she missing? Whatever it was, she had concluded last night, that the time had come for her to tell him how much she loved him and she would do that right after Gauri's birthday party. He deserved at least that much from her.
Khushi sat up in bed and took out a little pouch from the drawer beside the bed. It held a pair of gold bangles that had once belonged to her mother and a gold chain worn by her father when he had been alive. Everything else of value, her aunt had taken away. Removing the bracelet, she dropped it into the pouch, where it would stay for the time being without raising questions which was definitely bound to happen if she left it on her wrist.
Her phone rang. "Good morning," she said, smiling when she saw it was Arnav.
"Good morning." She could tell he was smiling too. "How are you feeling?"
Khushi leaned back on the pillows. "I am fine." Even better now that you called, she thought.
"I would have dropped by in person to check, but..."
She laughed and then on a serious note, "Thank you. You are really sweet."
"I think I am going to faint," he drawled, laughing a little. "Praise from you?"
"Well," she said, suppressing her laugh. "I won't make a habit of it."
"Please don't. What would I do if you became ever so predictable?" He sighed. "I have to go. There is someone hammering on my door. See you later."
She did see him later but no conversation was possible as Samar and Gauri arrived that morning and they spent the rest of the day catching up. It was pretty uneventful till dinner when Muskaan made the slip about their trip to Goa. NK kicked her under the table.
"I knew he would come up with something like this," Gauri said with a resigned sigh.
"In defense of Khushi and me," Aakash said smiling. "We did try'"
"Traitor," NK muttered from beside his brother.
"I hope you all had a good time," Samar said finally. As much as he thought that NK was irresponsible, the guy did get some good ideas on how to have fun.
Khushi was panicking, lest her sister started going into the details and how she and Arnav had gotten 'lost'. Aman chose that moment to ask Samar something about their trip, successfully changing the topic.
Later that evening, as Khushi helped Gauri with the dishes, the older lady asked after Lavanya. Stating that it had been a long time since she had seen her cousin, Gauri asked Khushi to invite her to dinner on Tuesday.
"So, how did it go?" was the first thing that Lavanya asked when Khushi called her.
"Good."
"That's it? But I want all the details," she insisted.
"Later," Khushi said with absolutely no intentions of giving the 'details.' She explained her reason for the call and her cousin said that she'd be delighted to come over for dinner.
-----
Lavanya brought flowers for Gauri.
"I don't think that my sons even remember to something this nice," Gauri said as she was wreathed in smiles. Since two of her sons were present in the hall, protested.
"You are never happy with what we do," NK was the loudest.
"Not fair," Aakash said grinning, that had Gauri raising her eye brows.
Lavanya just smiled at them and asked where Khushi was.
"You can go up to her room," Gauri invited her as she took the bouquet away to be put in water.
"I can show you where it is," NK offered immediately. Lavanya rolled her eyes and followed
"I know where it is. I have been here before," she muttered to him.
"You know, if it is anyone you need to impress, it'd have to be me," NK told her, leaning against the balustrade, grinning.
"Keep dreaming," she scoffed and patted his cheek before walking away.
Lavanya found her cousins and Sanjana in Khushi 's room. "Hello."
"You are here!" Muskaan said from where she was sprawled on the bed.
"Where did you get that?" Sanjana asked pointing to the mauve silk top that Lavanya was wearing with jeans.
"This one?" she asked. "I made it. Well, designed it really."
"Really?" Sanjana asked enviously. "You are seriously talented."
"Thank you. What color would you like?" Lavanya said smiling, as the other girl looked at her with surprised delight.
"Blue," she said immediately. "So when are you going solo?"
Lavanya's smile faded a little as she walked over to sit next to Muskaan. "Do you know how much it is going to cost me? I have some money saved, but nowhere near what I will need."
"I used to work part time during high school at one of those fashionable stores back home." Sanjana started. "The lady who owned it was a family friend, so dad had talked her into giving me a job. What I am getting at is that you have serious talent and shouldn't wait any longer." She smiled at Lavanya. "As for the investment, I could help."
"How?"
"What if I say that I have some money saved and can find the rest of it, a loan of course?"
Lavanya stared and realized that the other girl was not joking. Sanjana trusted her that much, willing to put her own money into backing her? Daring not to believe, she swallowed. "Why?"
She shrugged. "It seems like a good idea."
"Well, then I hope you have thought about this. When I take on a partner, I expect them to actually be around to do some work." The words came out a little huskily.
It took a moment for the meaning to sink in and it was Sanjana's turn to stare at Lavanya. "Do you really mean that?" she asked, feeling much of the same disbelief etched on Lavanya's face.
"Yes." Taking a deep breath, Lavanya warned. "I can be a real pain to work with."
Sanjana just walked over to her and hugged her. "Thank you. It means a lot to me."
Not half as what this means to me, Lavanya thought returning the hug. Khushi , who had been silently watching this exchange, finally spoke up. "We need to go down to dinner."
"I think we are having Gulab Jamuns," Muskaan piped in. All three turned to stare at her.
"What? I am hungry, ok?"
Sanjana laughed. "Tu kabhi nahin sudhregi." Then with a stern look at Muskaan, added. "Don't go opening your mouth about this, ok?" She turned to Lavanya. "Not yet." Lavanya only nodded in agreement.
-----------------------
Aman thought that if he did not have his work, he would have gone mad. It was hard to believe that he had been here in Mumbai almost three weeks. Next week, same time, he'd be home in New York and to be really honest, he wanted to get back. Back to his much loved routine, back to all things familiar not to mention the solitude. He was not antisocial by any means, but liked to socialize on his terms. The Raizadas' were a serious exception. Apart from his dad and Sanjana, they were the closest he had to family.
Weird how he had not thought what he would miss the most would be dropping over to Arnav's for a drink or a quick chat. The void came into focus now, when he knew the same was not possible anymore. But it was Sanjana that missed them the most; the stark change in her personality since they had arrived was proof enough. She seemed to revel in all the love and attention she received. Not that he or his father ever stinted in their affection for her, but sometimes, other things seemed to get in the way. For his father, it was a preoccupation with books and for him it was mostly work.
Times like these that Aman spent on self-reflection, he did wonder if he could have been a better brother to Sanjana. With his mom's death, he had taken the easiest path to let Gauri step in and take over and then somewhere along the line, it seemed that Arnav had started filling in the role of her older brother. It may have given him time to deal with his grief, as he knew that had been Arnav's intention, but when had he, Aman, actually forgotten about it? Running a hand over his eyes, he stared at his laptop, not comprehending a word on the screen.
"Hi bhaiya." Aman looked up to see his sister standing at the door to his office. He blinked, wanting to make sure he was not hallucinating. Apparently not, for she walked in and closed the door, plopping herself on the seat opposite.
"What's up?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
"I wanted to talk to you," she said smiling, but he could tell she was nervous about something. He got up to sit at the corner of his desk, nodding as he did so.
"I have been thinking," she started.
"Good to know you can," he said, smirking. It was too good an opening to miss. His sister glared at him. "Sorry. Please continue."
"I have a plan," Sanjana said and went on to explain her conversation with Lavanya the previous evening. He sat through her entire monologue without saying a word. "So, I am actually here to ask you to help me with the rest of the investment we will need...a loan."
"Does this mean you want to live here?" Aman asked quietly. Somewhere deep down, he knew what her answer would be, not really surprised.
Sanjana stood up to pace the room. "I know it was not right to make that decision without discussing with you and dad first. But..."
"If this is what you want, then I'll talk to dad." He was rewarded with a hug.
"What about the rest?" she wanted to know.
Aman smiled at her, thinking that her idea seemed to have some merit. The money she needed would probably be a pittance of what he could afford and she wouldn't even have to repay it back. But he did not want Sanjana to know that.
"Do you have a plan?" he asked.
She blinked. "Did I not just go over this?"
He rolled his eyes. "A proper business plan, I meant. You know, market analysis, growth projections, financial estimates, that sort of thing." Aman wanted her to be sure she knew what she was getting into.
"You want all that from me?"
He peered at her good naturedly. "You didn't expect me to hand over a briefcase full of cash like in the movies, did you?"
"I was hoping it was something like that," Sanjana muttered. This was going to take a lot of work, but she wanted to give it a shot. "Arnav would have been a lot less hassle than you."
Her brother grinned. "Why didn't you go to him then?"
She sighed. "Arnav babies me too much and would never deny me anything. But I wanted to come to you, because you would truly tell me what you think."
"Thank you, I think." It touched him that she had asked him for help.
"So, I'll have something for you in the next few days," Sanjana said as she yanked the door open. "Is Arnav in his office? I think I'll just look in and say hello."
Her brother nodded. "Go straight down the hall and to the right." Aman watched her as she waved and left, wondering when his baby sister had grown up.
-----
There was no way he could put off the trip anymore. Even Anita was giving him speculative looks for procrastinating was so not like him and this trip had been re-scheduled three times already. Arnav knew what was holding him back of course. He did not want to leave only to come back and find out that Khushi had been thinking too much and all the progress they had made was down the drain. These thought have been giving him nightmare these days.
Although, if it hadn't already happened after Saturday following their date, there was still hope, he mused. Arnav couldn't help the stab of guilt that pierced him when he thought of how she had cried all because he had not been able to keep a lid on his desire for her. He had no excuse. All evening he had let her innocent eyes seduce him and her smiles had made him feel like he could conquer the world. By the time she had kissed him in his study, Arnav had not been thinking straight. What had happened later was spontaneous combustion.
Arnav waited until after dinner to seek Khushi out. She was in the kitchen, doing heaven knows what. He leaned against the doorjamb and watched her.
Khushi stopped short when she saw him. "You weren't looking for me, were you?"
"As a matter of fact I was," he said not making a move to go in any further, taking no chances of getting close to her.
"Why?" Arnav noticed that her eyes stayed on him, not looking over his shoulder, worrying about who would see them together. Could it be that his Khushi didn't care anymore?
"I am leaving for Singapore tonight," he said and felt a kick of pleasure when her smile faded a little. "I'll be back home Friday evening."
Khushi nodded. "Did you tell ma?" she asked quietly' with a hint of disappointment in her tone.
"I did and thought I'd let you know too, just in case you were looking for me."
"And why would I do that?" Arnav had come to realize that she liked challenging him. He wished there were not a house full of people so he could show her exactly why she would be looking for him. No, it was best not to go there.
"I'll answer that when I get back," he said and was glad to see that it shut her up. "Call me if something comes up...or if it doesn't." He caught her surprised look. Had he ever seen eyes such as hers? Better leave, he told himself and turned.
"Have a good trip," he heard her call after him and smiled.
----------------
Sanjana knew she would find Aakash in the library that evening and sure enough he was sprawled on the couch, reading a thick tome. If he was surprised to see her, he did not show it, but straightened to stand up immediately.
"Hi," she said a little apprehensively. "I just needed to talk to you for a couple minutes, if you are not busy?"
"Sure," he said, smiling easily. He gestured to the armchair across from the sofa and waited for her.
She took a deep breath and retold her story about her conversation with Lavanya and her brother. Sanjana peered at him. "My one semester of business is so not equipped to deal with coming up with a comprehensive report," she finished in a huff. "I did not know who else to ask for help." She tried on her best lost and helpless look.
"I could do it for you, if you like," he offered immediately.
"That's sweet of you, but I know how busy you are. At the same time, I need to learn. All I want from you is some guidance. I just need a little bit of your time."
"You are serious about this?" Aakash asked. He was sure to know this meant that she would give up a familiar life to start something new. If only he knew how much she loved him, he wouldn't ask this. Didn't he realize that this was one more thing to keep her here? She looked at him straight in the eye. "Yes."
Not a word was uttered for a moment. Finally Aakash looked away. "Ok. I will help you," and was rewarded with a smile that clenched his insides. He was not sure what to feel right at this moment, learning that she was committed to this extent. Why was she doing it? Dare he ask, lest the answer be something he suspected?
Moving around the desk that he and his father shared, Aakash drew a pad and made notes.
"I didn't know you still wore glasses," she said walking over to him.
"Hmm...," he said and looked up, blinking a little when he realized that she had come to stand next to him. His throat dried up. "Yeah, I switched to contacts and only wear glasses when I am at home."
"It suits you," she said smiling a little.
He cleared his throat. "Er' okay then," he said handing the sheet of paper to her. "This is what I need you to find out information on." Sanjana looked down at the paper with short bullet points. "Most of it will be fairly simple and I am sure Lavanya will help you with, since she is sure to have ideas. We can work on the rest." He smiled at her reassuringly.
"Thanks Aakash," Sanjana said and patted his arm before turned away, failing to see the love that glittered in his eyes as they watched her leave.
-----
When Samar took that phone call in his office, he had no inkling of what was in store.
"Kapoor saab, kaise ho aap?" he greeted.
"Theek, Samar-ji, bilkul theek. How was your trip?"
"Excellent. It has been my wife's wish to see Taj Mahal as a pre-anniversary gift, so now I can truly say I have fulfilled her wish," Samar said laughingly. "How is Mrs. Kapoor? You did get the invitation to the party, right?"
"Of course and we will be there to give our best wishes to Gauri bhabhi." There was a slight pause at the other end. "The reason I called was that my wife and I wanted to see if we could drop by one evening before then."
Samar frowned. "Of course, you are most welcome any time. Koi khaas baat?"
"Kuch aisa hi samajhiye," Mr. Kapoor said laughing. "We wanted to put forth a marriage proposal for our niece and your son Arnav."
"Kapoor saab, we are honored, but unfortunately we have already picked out the girl we want Arnav to marry," Samar said apologetically. "Nothing is official yet, so we haven't said anything to anyone."
"Oh, I see," the other man said and continued as if nothing had happened. " My niece has always valued tradition. And if it helps with the decision, her father is also a very wealthy property developer, who will be very generous to her." The butter in the other man's voice oozed though the phone. "We did happen to see your son with someone on Saturday. I hope you don't mind me saying so, but do you really think she will be suited for your family?"
"What do you mean?"
The other man cleared his throat. "Well it is not my place to say anything, but the girl we saw with Arnav did seem a too...er...westernized. I suppose you get used to that living in America ." There was a sigh. "Thank you for your time, Samar-ji. We will see you on Saturday."
Samar stared at the phone in his hand after the other person had already hung up. Could it be true? Had he really seen chote with someone else? Would his son do that, knowing how much he and Gauri were hoping Arnav should marry Khushi ?
His first instinct was to call and ask him. Even as he reached out to dial his number, something stopped him. What if Arnav did say it was true? Fear gripped him. Aakash did not agree to marry Muskaan. His oldest could very well deny him also. He thought of Khushi and wondered what he would tell her, deciding to act before she actually made up her mind about marrying Arnav. A quick glance at the time showed that it was nearly lunch-time and decided that there was no time like the present to set things right.
Samar found Khushi in the dining room, setting up the table. She smiled when she saw him. An ache pierced through his heart. "Khushi beta, where is Gauri?"
"She's in her room," she said. "Did you want me to get her for you?"
"No," he said a little vehemently and Khushi glanced up, surprised. "I...I wanted to talk to you."
She nodded and he continued. "I know I have pestered you a lot in the past month asking you to make up your mind about'" he couldn't say it and swallowed. "I made a big mistake. I should have never asked you to marry Arnav. He doesn't deserve you. I am sorry." He looked at Khushi to find her still as a statue, staring at him. The moment he stopped talking, she bent her head and went back to laying out the plates.
"This is very sudden, isn't it?" Khushi asked quietly.
As much as Samar did not want to think about it, he decided he owed her an explanation. "I think Arnav is seeing someone else. Kapoor called me today and..." She looked up with stricken eyes and all the blood seemed to have drained from her face.
"Papa-ji, about that, I can explain..." She looked like she had seen a ghost.
His eyes narrowed. "You mean you know about this?" She nodded and Samar knew instantly Arnav must have told her something. "What about what Arnav wants", she had asked and now her words reverberated in his head. Why had he not listened?
"Did Arnav ask you to cover up for him?"
"No, Uncle-ji, woh..." Of course she would not betray a confidence, unlike his son. Samar raised his hand, as if to ward off what she was about to say. "I don't blame you beta and understand you were in an awkward position. I will not forgive Arnav for this." His heart broke when he thought of it and without saying another word walked away, eyes smarting.
Thank your for all the lovely people who commented!!! i will send out pms after a couple more updates this weekend. Enjoy:)
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