Arhi: Dark night dawning Part - 25 updated pg 149 - Page 19

Thank u dear for the pm. Very passionate update😊

Thank u dear for the pm. Loved it😊

i always wanted khushi to take care of arnav where arnav will actually listen to her

thanx for the pm:)

thanks for the pm

 

'Khushi, would you please wash my hair today?'

'Huh?' He realized the sound had come from Khushi who was staring at him as if he had grown two heads. Then her eyes moved to his right hand. He looked down at his hand to see that it was cast-less. Damn! The cast had come off yesterday and he had forgotten all about it.

It was almost two weeks since the incident in the hotel where he had injured himself trying to save Khushi. The bruises on his back had almost healed and the cast on his right hand had come off the previous day. In the first week, Khushi had helped him bathe, dress, eat and had also managed to help him in his office work by typing out whatever he had needed. In the second week, his body had become stronger as he healed. He could bathe and dress himself to an extent, but still depended on her to do several things that included usage of both hands ----- washing hair being one of those things.

Arnav swore under his breath as he picked up his towel and rushed into the bathroom. He banged the door shut and closed his eyes to erase the memory of the shampoo day dream he had just had.

Khushi saw Arnav walk into the bathroom and remembered the first time she had bathed him. She had given him a bath seating him on a stool. The next day he had informed her that he would prefer to use the bath tub and had taught her how to use the hand shower. It was definitely very comfortable for him as he could lie down in the tub and lean back his head on the head rest. But not for her. This way, brought her closer to his molten brown eyes that kept boring into hers as she went about her chore. Khushi preferred to call it a chore in her mind as it made it easier for her to complete her task without becoming too flustered.

Ten minutes later Arnav walked out of the bathroom in his trousers and walked up to the wardrobe to pick up a shirt. The moment he put his arms through the sleeves he turned around just in time for Khushi to come up to him and button him up. Khushi finished doing the last button his collar to find Arnav staring at her, waving his left hand in front of her face. This time, she had forgotten about his cast and had unconsciously helped him button up like she had done for the past two weeks.

 

Arnav came down for his morning breakfast to hear excited chatter from the table. He was wondering what it was all about when he heard a familiar voice.

'Nannav! How are you?'

No it can't be! What was he doing here?

'Hey NK, You are back' asked Arnav drily.

'Yep, I couldn't stay away from you guys for too long' he said happily.

'We missed you too Nanheji!' Khushi said happily.

Arnav's irritation began. Did she have to make it so obvious? Shouldn't she learn to tone down her enthusiasm now that she was married? But why was it only him who was bothered by all this? How come no one else seemed to notice this?

'What to do Khushiji?' he said apologetic, 'I had to go and visit my other relatives, otherwise they would feel bad. But now I am done.'

'Nahi Nanheji _____,' When Arnav heard Khushi correcting NK's hindi, his irritation increased, 'So, when do you leave for Sydney?' he asked, sure that NK did this just to get some attention.

'Not any time soon I hope NK bhaiyya,' said Anjali, 'we would like you to stay for some more time.'

'Ummm Di, I am actually exploring my options at working here in India for some time. I have a degree in MBA. I am planning to apply for jobs here.'

'That's wonderful NK bhaiyya! And you don't have to apply anywhere. I am sure there is a job at AR industries, right Chotey?'

His house was beginning to resemble la-la land right now ---- Anjali behaving like his company was some kind of a Dharamshala for losers, mamiji doting on her favourite nephew while her son was doting on his wife as usual, NK continuing his silly antics with wrong hindi while Khushi untiringly corrected him. The only person at the table who didn't seem to want to participate in this revelry was the sour faced Shyam who was staring unhappily at Khushi and NK.

He was wondering if he could escape from answering his Di, when he realized that all pairs of eyes were trained on him, waiting for his reply. Just then, his cell phone rang and he jumped up from his seat saying 'Excuse me'. Whew! Saved by the bell!

A few minutes later Arnav was back at the table. 'That was Lavanya on the phone. She is coming to Delhi on a business trip. She will be staying with us for a few days.'

As the group exchanged uncomfortable glances, NK asked the obvious question, 'Who is Lavanya?'

'Lavanya is the girl Arnav bitwa was supposed to marry before this phati saadi,' said mamiji in her usual loud voice.

'Manorama!' grated Naniji giving her a stern look.

An awkward silence filled the room.  Then, Khushi spoke up.

'Nanheji, Lavanyaji is a very nice person. She is a lot of fun. You will see when she comes here.'

 

Arnav sat at the office thinking about what Khushi had said. He realized that she had meant what she said. He remembered how Lavanya was the one who had hired Khushi at AR industries. She had disliked Khushi immensely in the beginning. Then, Di had decided to hire Khushi to help Lavanya adapt herself to traditional ways as per his Nani's wishes.  A decision that had changed the course of his life for ever. He had no idea how Khushi had managed to turn Lavanya's dislike into a deep friendship that had resulted in turning her from a shallow person into someone his entire family including his Nani had begun to like and accept. Unfortunately for him, she had tried to turn Lavanya into herself, a girl for whom values and traditions were a high priority. So much so that Lavanya, who was a modern girl willing to live-in with him, had suddenly demanded the commitment of marriage much to his chagrin. He also remembered the chain of events that had led to his hasty decision of announcing his engagement with Lavanya followed by their mutual decision to break up. He had been truly amazed at the maturity with which Lavanya had handled the situation, when she had told him that she knew this was coming, making him feel guiltier than he already was. Khushi was right. Lavanya was indeed a very nice person.

Khushi seemed to have an ability to win people over. First, his family, Lavanya, NK, his office staff, and ''.. he didn't want to think about that right now, he had a lot of work at the office. His injury had impeded his work and now it was time to get back into the grind.

 

That night at dinner, Arnav announced that Lavanya's flight was landing at Delhi early in the morning, and that she would be here before breakfast time.

'I will make sure the guest bedroom is ready' said Khushi as she served some rice onto Arnav's plate.

'If you need any help with that please let me know Khushiji' said NK putting on what he thought was a cute puppy dog face.

'I don't think anybody needs to do anything about it,' said Arnav irritated, 'We have Hariprakash to take care of things like this.' He couldn't understand why NK jumped at the chance to be near Khushi.

'Some things need to be attended to personally,' countered Khushi, 'I know Lavanyaji's tastes and I will make sure everything has been set up according to her liking.'

Of course she was going to do as she liked, thought Arnav. 'Alright then, I will come along with you. After all Lavanya was my ''..er' friend before you.'

 

Arnav watched as Khushi went about setting up the guest room for Lavanya. He was on the phone with Aman but all his concentration was on the Khushi who was suddenly very quiet, lost in thought. Khushi felt like someone had punched her in her heart. It had not registered in her mind until he reminded her that Lavanya was his ex ------ his UK-bred, ultra-modern, sophisticated and fashionable ex-girlfriend. She remembered the first time she had seen them together in his office, standing intimately close. Later, when she had come to Shativan to help Lavanya adjust to the traditional ways of the house, Lavanya had treated her with hostility. But in due course this hostility had turned into friendship when Khushi had covered up for Lavanya's mistake and had saved her from Nani's wrath. But friendship came with certain obligations and Khushi had felt that it was only right to enlighten her new friend about the importance of marriage vows, explaining to her in graphic detail about how without marriage, Arnav would discard her for younger girls in the years to come. She also remembered how she had to double her efforts when Arnav had not taken lightly to this and it had resulted in a bitter quarrel between the two, ending with Lavanya walking out of the house. In all this time she had never felt intimidated by her even once.

Then, she remembered another time ----- the day Lavanya had hugged him after her plan to get them back together had succeeded. Her heart had felt a similar punch, a tear rolling down her cheek as she looked at the two of them in an embrace. Afterward, she had endured the agony of watching them together time and again, when Arnav had put her in charge of the preparations for their impending engagement. Only difference was that she had not understood it then.

 

Later that night back in their bedroom, Khushi 's silence had begun to bug Arnav as he sat on the recliner working on his lap top. She had quietly changed into her night suit and lied down on her side of the bed and gone to sleep.  He wasn't really happy with his jibe at Khushi about Lavanya. But her exuberance toward Lavanya, who used to be his ex, had irked him and it had just slipped out. Well, it was her fault. She always made him do things that he regretted later. Then, why was he still feeling uneasy? He walked to his side of the bed, lied down on and turned to look at Khushi's face until his eye lids drooped and he fell into a restless slumber.

 

The next morning Arnav returned from his morning jog to see Khushi bustling about in the kitchen. He was relieved to see that she was back to being in a chipper mood this morning.

'Here is your tea,' she said handing him a cup, 'I think you should take a quick bath and get dressed. Lavanyaji will be here very soon.'

She was definitely back to normal he thought as he took the stairs to go up to his bedroom.

 

'Lavnayaji!' exclaimed Khushi as she saw Lavanya at the doorstep. She had heard the door bell and rushed to open the door.

'Hi Khushi!' shouted Lavanya as she came in opening her arms, 'It's so nice to see you again!'

Arnav watched as the two friends hugged each other happily. The entire family had come down after hearing the excited shouting.

'I am glad you are staying with us Lavanyaji,' said Anjali as she hugged Lavanya.

'Congratulations to you and Shyamji!' she said touching Anjali's stomach.

'Belcome Miss Kasyap' said mamiji who had always thought of her as an ally.

Lavanya then touched Naniji's feet with respect, something she had learnt from Khushi during her training days. Next, she congratulated Akash and Payal on their wedding.

Finally, she stopped in front of Arnav, smiled at him and gave him a hug as well. As Khushi looked on, the uneasy feeling in the region of her heart returned. When she saw Arnav staring at her intently she quickly lowered her eyes.

'Hello ASR!' she exclaimed, 'Congratulations to you and Khushi on your wedding.'

'Thank you Lavanya,' said Arnav a smile on his lips. A hush had spread over the excited group. 'Why don't you freshen up first? We can catch up over breakfast.'

'Sure.'

'I'll show you to your room, Lavanyaji,' said Khushi as Anjali asked Hariprakash to take Lavanya's luggage to the guestroom.

'It's nice to see you settled well Khushi,' said Lavanya as soon as they had reached the room. 'I can't believe ASR finally got hitched! You have to tell me all about it!'

'Lavanyaji I think you should freshen up first,' said Khushi smiling at her, 'Everyone is waiting for you at the breakfast table. We will talk later.'

As Lavanya went into the bathroom, Khushi turned around to leave the room, her face pensive. Talk later? What was she going to tell her?

 

 

 

Hmmm...I hope she doesnt turn evil or anything and instead she and NK help ArHi come closer...

I really liked the first part...they are so much wanting to be with each other but wont say it! 

Yep NK is back to irritate Arnav a little ... and no ...La is not going to turn evil... I don't like to change people's character... 

The second part deals with a lot of reminiscing by Arnav and Khushi as they facing a part of their past ie; Lavanya. A little something to show the difference between then and now :-)