ArHi FF || Serendipity #5 || CH 59 Pg 136 (JAN 16TH 2017) (new update) - Page 50

Khushi was dressed in jade green, a conservative anarkali with minimal design. Her hair was pulled back into a tight, unforgiving knot, revealing the line of diamonds that adorned her cartilage as well as the Bluetooth nestled securely in her ear. Arnav watched curiously as she flitted around the ballroom, assessing the tablecloth's fabric quality at one moment and supervising the cleaning of fine china in the next. 

"What the hell, Bill?! The fairy lights on the deck are a fire hazard", she complained, shoving a plate of samosas into her husband's hands. "You get your butt down here and fix it. End of discussion. Wings for Wishes isn't going to pay for crap."

With a grunt of annoyance she ended the call, motioning for Tarang to place the deep fried snacks on the refreshments table. Kinara and Shagun, dressed in matching baby blue salwar suits, stood quietly towards the sidelines, knowing better than to disturb their mother when she was working. 

Khushi Gupta was on fire. With very little to no help from her colleagues and family, she had overseen the sangeet's decoration, catering and entertainment - yet still had enough time to properly drape Anjali in her expensive yellow sari and fix a patch of mutilated threadwork on Aman's sherwani. As a businessman and CEO, Arnav was highly impressed by her thoroughness and skill; Wings for Wishes had rightfully deserved the acclaim it so abundantly received.

The Raizada family had flown in the night before, resulting in horribly awkward silences and little to no explanation when they were introduced to Khushi as Anjali and Aman's hired wedding planner. Having since then learned the truth about Shyam's vile ways and Arnav's binding contract, the family was far too humiliated to approach a woman whose anguish they had remained so conveniently oblivious to.  They kept their distance with politely strained conversation, all the while stealing glances at a small, happy family and smiling that she'd found her peace. 

As for Anjali Raizada (very soon to be Mathur), she was shining like a star -- with bright eyes and an even brighter smile, with cheeks that blushed red whenever she glanced towards her beaming fianc.  When Aman had slipped the solitaire onto her outstretched finger, kissing the stone gently with a smile, Anjali had looked more radiant than ever before. Her joy was brilliant. Contagious. 

As for Arnav, he watched the celebrations silently from a barstool -- smiling as his sister commenced new beginnings, smiling as Khushi ecstatically shared her business cards, smiling as Shagun smeared a bit of chasni on her father's long nose and Payal slyly stole pictures of her content younger sister. It had been years since he'd last allowed himself to smile. It felt good. Peaceful. 

"Sour whiskey, please." 

She sat upon a neighboring barstool, unleashing her dark hair from its tightly bonded chignon and yanking the troublesome Bluetooth out of her ear. Satisfied after planning a seamless ceremony, she unrolled a fifty-dollar and dropped it into the bartender's tip jar, all while eagerly noting the details of potential clients she had impressed with her work. Khushi had not as yet noticed that she had quiet company beside her, and surprisingly, her unawareness did not bother him. 

"You did a great job today," Arnav congratulated her suddenly, curiously watching as the muscles of her back tensed at his voice. "Di looks thrilled."

She turned to face him slowly, the spark of her eyes dissolving and her polite smile growing rigid with distaste, nodding at the compliment awkwardly in acknowledgment. In one fluid motion, she let the alcohol travel down her throat, unwilling to spend another moment with the man she wished to forget.

"But it's not just Anjali, Khushi", Arnav interrupted, before she could excuse herself. "This means a lot to Purvi as well."

He pointed to a little girl of six and half, jumping excitedly on Aman's lap. She was dressed in a long white dress with fresh daisies nestled in her thick hair, curiously stealing glances at her beautifully adorned and glowing mother. Anjali looked like a princess out of little Purvi's storybooks, and her new father looked nothing short of a handsome prince. The little girl beamed with uninhibited joy - a smile that touched her dark almond eyes and strained her small cheeks. Aman had swept her mother off her feet and completed their happily ever after. 

"You've done more than just throw a nice wedding, Khushi Kumari Gupta." 

Arnav watched as she turned to him, bewildered. "Don't you realize how much you've accomplished? You've made a family."

For the first time in many years, Arnav witnessed a genuine smile spread across her face at his words. She nodded gently and shifted her gaze back towards Anjali's daughter; happy that the tiny baby she had once held in her arms had found a father who would love her unconditionally. 

"She's a wonderful little girl," she whispered, watching Purvi place a shy kiss on her daddy's stubbled cheek. "Di must've done a wonderful job with raising her. A child's temperament says a lot about the parents"

 "Your kids are a testament to that." 

Arnav chuckled at the sight of Kinara and Shagun, the younger sister anxiously watching the elder dance to a loud dance number from her father's lap. Shagun nestled her mortified face into Tarang's chest when Kinara started imitating Hrithik Roshan's moves from Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, failing rather miserably at the innocent attempt. Tarang, noticing his younger daughter's embarrassment, carried her to the dance floor to join in Kinara's fun -- much to Shagun's visible horror. 

Khushi laughed at the sight of her family's silly antics, and Arnav heart blossomed with joy. She looked so beautiful when she was happy. She deserved to look like that forever. 

"Kinara has always been a little spitfire. She reminds me of when I was growing up in Lucknow, prancing around the neighborhood as if I owned the place. Shagun is a lot quieter -- my well-behaved and darling little angel. But her loyalty to her sister is fiercely nonnegotiable. She only bites back when Kinara's tears get involved"

Unknowingly she turned to face Arnav, her eyes sparkling and smile stretching wide, only to suddenly realize whom she was so intimately discussing her family with. Khushi blinked confusedly, surprised that a civil conversation had transpired between the two. 

"You and Tarang must be truly wonderful people, Khushi, to have raised such wonderful daughters." Arnav gently swirled the untouched scotch in his glass, carefully observing the beads of condensation trickle down its smooth surface. 

Utterly perplexed with how to deal with a once deranged ex-husband who now so politely complimented her current spouse, Khushi dazedly nodded in his direction. Something was off about him. Strange. The stable part of her conscience warned her that this was another one of his elaborate tricks to manipulate her. The unhinged, more volatile, part of her secretly believed that he sounded rather thoughtful. Genuine. Harmless. 

"Yes, Tarang is..." She uncertainly looked towards the man who was spinning a now laughing Shagun in his arms and felt the familiar warmth spread across her heart. His glasses slipped down the bridge of his long nose as they twirled, and Shagun laughingly pushed them back to where they belonged. 

"Tarang is everything", she whispered, oblivious to the growing longing in Arnav's pained eyes. "He's the rock of our family and a great man. Honestly, we wouldn't be anything without him." 

"I think I've finally grasped that. Great people deserve each other."

Khushi carefully studied him for the first time that evening, now completely shocked by Arnav's newfound acceptance of her husband and relationship. He was acting far more composed than what was usual for him-- his eyes no longer bloodshot and disturbed. In fact, they were... clear. Focused. She decided she liked that. It reminded her of the man she had once so naively admired, before he had ruthlessly shattered her heart. A part of her rejoiced that Arnav was moving ahead with his life, and finally coming to terms with the fact that the notion of 'love' could never exist between the two. Another part of her grew anxious that the deep-rooted hatred for him was being unfairly compromised. She didn't want to feel vulnerable again... especially now that she had a family to consider. 

From a distance, Kinara motioned for her mother to join them on the dance floor, ecstatic when an all too familiar Jalebi Bai' began blasting through the loud speakers. Excusing herself from the bar, Khushi paid off her tab and awkwardly distanced herself from Arnav, confirming the date and location of Anjali's mehendi ceremony later that week. She needed time to process the peculiar changes, to decide how to properly tackle his new charade. 

If it were that at all. 

"Khushi!" he called loudly, stopping her before he lost the strength to finish what he was about to do.

"I know it's late... but I never congratulated you on your wedding. I'm really happy for the two of you, and I hope Tarang keeps you this happy forever."

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CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO: R E C O V E R I N G 

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