Khushi stared at the man who haunted her for the past two years. While she was frozen in shock, her eyes hungrily absorbed his face. Arnav Singh Raizada appeared to have changed since the last time she saw him; Clean shaven, with a short hair cut, he seemed to have lost some weight.
However, what caught her off guard was not this serious expression, but his soulful eyes, which seemed to be frozen on hers.
"Khushi Bhabhi?" came a disbelieveing voice. It was Aman, Arnav's trusted employee, only Khushi couldn't get herself to answer.
"Bhabhi?" said Ayesha as if it was the most absurd thing she ever heard. "Does she look like a Bhabhi to you?"
Aman didn't answer and looked from Arnav to Khushi, waiting for either to say something. But both were dumbstruck.
Finally, it was Ayesha who interrupted the silence. "Khushi," she said. "Whats going on? Do you know Mr. Raizada from before?"
Ayesha's voice seemed to have done the trick. Khushi averted her eyes from Arnav and looked at her best friend, however, she only saw the six month contract marriage she once had. She gave a pointed look to Ayesha, before turning around to leave. She couldn't face the man who destroyed her life.
Only, Arnav couldn't let her go. "Khushi wait!" he called, standing up.
A silent shiver passed through Khushi as she heard his voice. She closed her eyes, willing herself to not become the victim of his charms again. She had to be strong, atleast for Ayesha.
"We have to talk," Arnav said urgently.
Khushi whipped around. "No," she objected. "We have nothing to talk about. Our deal was over a long time ago."
"Please," he begged. "Just… just listen to me. Just this once."
Khushi's heart almost ached to see the torment on his face. Deciding it wouldn't hurt to listen, she led him to their designing room.
"I told you not to look for me," she said as soon as she heard the door close behind her. "I told you the day the contract ended never to look for me!"
Arnav was at a loss of words. He had no idea where to begin.
"But of course," she continued, her voice turning sarcastic. "I forgot the great Arnav Singh Raizada only does what he likes!"
When he didn't answer, she continued, "So what is it this time Mr. Raizada? Another six month contract? Another threat to force me into bearing every insult you throw my way? Or wait, how could I forget – another lie to make sure your family is happy? That your Di is happy?"
Arnav closed his eyes. The mention of Anjali brought back many things he didn't want to remember.
"But you know what?" she said. "I had enough. I am not going to give in to your blackmail, because there is nothing left with which you can hurt me!"
Khushi looked at Arnav, trying to see if her words had any affect on him, but his face was completely blank. "Do you hear me?" she said. "I have nothingleft!"
He finally opened his eyes. "Khushi," he started quietly. "I know you are hurt, but-"
"But what?" she interrupted. "that you are sorry? That I should forget everything? Then tell me Mr. Raizada, on what basis should I forgive you? You love talking about losses and benefits, right? Then tell me, what benefit will I get by forgiving you?"
"Listen to me," he said, his voice once again pleading. "I am sorry for hurting to you. But I had no choice… I couldn't let my Di's world crash like that. I had to do something!"
"And what about my world?" she asked, missing the point he made. "Which thanks to you, went down like a house of cards?"
"I know and I am-"
But she didn't let him finish. "You always talk about your family, your emotions, your world. Did you ever think about mine? That maybe I have a family too, that I have feelings too and most importantly, I too have a life?"
He was quiet.
"What were you saying?" she continued. "You couldn't let your Di's world crash? So to save your sister's world, its okay to destroy someone else's? Even if that someone else happens to be a sister and a daughter?"
"I get that Khushi," he answered sincerely. "Believe me, I do. But that Shyam-"
"Shyam?" she interrupted. "What does Shyam have to do with anything?!"
And then it hit Arnav that she was still oblivious to the reason behind the marriage. She didn't know a thing about what he witnessed or the lies he heard.
"I… I thought…"
"You thought what?" she said narrowing her eyes.
He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the truth that would shake her apart. "I thought you and Shyam had an affair. That's why I married you… so that he stops cheating on Di."
Khushi felt the ground slip beneath her as his words hung in the air. The blood drained from her face as she finally, after months of sleepless nights, understood why, the man who she trusted more than herself, the man who she respected more than anyone in the world, the man with whom she had irrevocably had fallen in love with, destroyed her life.
Despite expecting her reaction, it hurt Arnav a thousand times more to see the disbelief etched on her face.
"No," she said, staggering back and hitting the counter behind. "No… that's… that's…"
Arnav ran forward to support her as she slowly slid to the ground. He held her shoulders, trying to explain the biggest blunder of his life. "Its not what you think," he said, rushing to justify himself. "Its… it's a misunderstanding. I heard you telling Shyam to divorce Di, so I thought… I thought you wanted to ruin my family. But believe me Khushi, I didn't have the slightest clue that Shyam was playing with us… if I did, if I knew… I would have…"
He trailed off, words failing to explain the revulsion he felt towards the man that ruined all their lives.
"Blame me for trapping him, right?" she finished, looking straight into his repenting eyes. "You would have blamed me for trapping your saint-likejeejaji, because that's what a girl without status does, right? A girl like me?"
"No, ofcourse not, I would never-"
"Don't," she said, her voice full of venom. "Don't give me excuses for what you would have done, but you didn't!"
"No, I swear Khushi, I didn't know. I-"
Khushi pushed away his arms around her and tried to stand up. Only, he was so close to her that she couldn't. And when he tried to hold her hand, she said in a cutting voice, "Don't you dare touch me!"
And using all her might, she pushed him, so that he lost his balance and fell backward from his knees. Without another glance, she stood up to leave.
"Khushi, I know you are hurt, but-"
"BUT WHAT?!" she roared, unable to control her anger anymore. "BUT WHAT MR. RAIZADA?"
Arnav stood up too. "I am so sorry," was all he could say before she cut him off.
"I TRUSTED YOU!" she yelled. "DESPITE EVERYTHING THAT YOU DID, I TRUSTED YOU TO BE RIGHT. BUT YOU... YOU ARE JUST SO…"
Words failed her. Fury was bubbling inside her as she remembered the isolation she faced from her family, the abandonment of her parents and more than all, the trust she lost on life.
"HOW COULD YOU?" she screamed. "Even for once it didn't occur to you that I would never do such a thing? And that to Di of all people? How could you seriously have thought so lowly about me? I thought you knew me… understood me!"
"I did," he answered. "Believe, every single second I had to fight with myself. But that Shyam made it look-"
"SO BELIEVED HIM MORE THAN ME?" she shouted.
Arnav didn't know what to say. Sorry didn't even begin to explain the repentance he felt at his actions, but he had no idea how to tell her; to make her see how regretful he was.
"The bangles," she said suddenly, her voice hoarse from yelling. She seemed to be recollecting the events leading up to the wedding. "The bangles, the kiss… it was all fake then?"
"No!" he said, shaking his head. "it was all real… I really love-"
But she held up her hand. "Don't. I have heard enough lies from you to last a lifetime. People should take lessons from you – how best to betray someone's trust. In fact, I think Shyam himself could use some tips from you!"
Anger flared in Arnav at that comment. "Never. Compare. Him. With. Me."
"Why?" she asked, sarcastically. "I don't see a difference between you and him. In fact I think he has a lot of learn… because never, in my wildest dreams, did I imagine that you could do this to me. I can even believe Shyam can, but not you!"
"I didn't want to," he said quickly. "But that Shyam forced me to believe it, what he told me, what I heard-"
"Forced you?" she said, mockingly. "But no one can force you, because you are the great Arnav Singh Raizada, right?!"
When he was about to object, she said, "Okay fine! Lets believe that Shyam did decieve you, but how could you believe him? Didn't you have faith in me? If it was your family, no, if it was your Di in my place, who would you have believed? Shyam or her?"
Arnav didn't answer.
"What happened?" she asked. "You don't know? I will tell you. If it was your Di in my place, you wouldn't have believed a word Shyam said. You would believe she was innocent with your eyes closed."
"But-"
"The truth is," she continued. "You never trusted me in the first place. Shyam may have fed you lies, but you chose to believe them… after everything that happened between us, you still didn't believe me. And you know why?"
But she answered it herself. "Because I come from a middle class family. And in your opinion, a person who has no money, doesn't deserve to be trusted, right? They are no one to feel, they don't have the right to live… they are just puppets for people like you to play with!"
Arnav sighed. Every word she uttered was correct, in fact she had to right to rage at him. And yet, listening to her, made the ache in his heart worse.
"Right," he agreed wearily. "That's exactly what I used to think… but I know better now. I might have been wrong Khushi, but I my intentions weren't. Yes, I love my Di. And yes, I will do anything for her because that is the only way I know to love… I don't believe in fate the way you do, and after losing every single person I love, you can't me blame for wanting to keep the ones I have left, safe."
Khushi didn't reply. She was too angry to let anything he said to affect her.
"But I don't deny that I have hurt you," he continued, now that he got her attention. "And I don't expect you to forgive me. But all I want is for you to come back… home."
"Home?" she asked in a scathing voice. "Which home are you talking about? The one which disowned me, thanks to you, or the one which never accepted me?"
"Please," he requested. "Everything will be the way it was… no one will say anything. It will all be okay!"
"Okay how? Will going back return the two years I spent here alone? Will going back make me forget the six months of pain you gave me?"
Arnav was silent.
"It won't," she answered. "Either way, this is my home now. I am not going anywhere."
She turned around and began walking to the door.
"What about your family?" he asked. "Payal… don't you want to see her?"
But she continued to walk and said, "When she couldn't accept my helplessness for those six months, on what basis should I consider her as my sister?"
Arnav was almost shocked to hear that answer. He expected of all the things, the mention of her sister, for who she sacrificed her dreams, would make her relent. But it was quite the opposite!
"And what about your babuji?"
Khushi stopped in her tracks at the mention of her father. Seeing her frozen at the door, he continued "Don't you want to see him? Tell him you are alright?"
She slowly turned around with downcast eyes. She thought of her father everyday without fail. He alone was the only one who trusted her from the day she was left on the streets, orphaned. "He doesn't need to see me," she said quietly. "To know that I am alright. He knows that I am happy here…"
"And what about buaji, your mother, nani, Akash… they all are dying to see you. Don't you want to come home for them?"
She let out another sarcastic laugh. "Why?" she asked. "So that they can blame me for your mistakes?"
"They miss-"
"Really?" she said, not letting him finish. "What happened when for six months, none them came forward to forgive me? When not even one of them tried to listen to me? To understand my helplessness? Why should I care for those people who only pretended to love me, but when the hour of need came, deserted me?"
Arnav couldn't believe what he was hearing. And his disbelief seemed to appear on his face, for she said, "It hurts doesn't it? But that is exactly what they did… and I had enough of it!"
And that's when he finally registered the many changes in her appearance. The long braid was gone, and so was the glittering salwar with brightly coloured pompoms and the small round bindi she used to wear without a fail. And more importantly, the happiness she carried with her was missing; her eyes no longer carried the mischevious glint, her lips no longer lingered around a joyous smile. It was as if the girl standing infront of him was not Khushi Kumari Gupta, but someone else!
"You are not Khushi," he whispered finally. "You are someone else… myKhushi would never say these things. She would come home, right now!"
"I was never your Khushi," she said in a softer voice. "If I was, then you would have never believed all those things that Shyam said… you would have atleast asked me for an explanation before marrying me!"
"But I am here now," he answered. "Can't we think it was a bad dream and move one? Don't you think we suffered enough?"
"My home is here," she stressed. "Ayesh is my family now."
And Arnav understood that he was not going to be forgiven, not that he expected her to anyway. Yes, the guilt he went through cannot be put into words, but it was not even comparable to the betrayal she endured. But he was not going to give up either.
"And what would she say when the biggest deal of her life is cancelled because of you?"
Khushi's eyes flashed. "You didn't change one bit, did you?" she said, appalled. "You still play with people's emotions to get what you want?!"
Arnav sighed. "I am not blackmailing you," he answered. "I am just asking you to think before you decide. Fine, if you don't want to come home, then don't. But doing a deal with AR Designs is not something you want to miss… and it seemed to me your partner Ayesha wants this deal real bad."
"Don't ever think that you can use Ayesha to control me again Mr. Raizada," she said shrewdly. "Gone are the days when I am forced to listen to you! Now, even I have a status in the this society of yours… businessmen like you beg me to design for them! And the money which you proudly flaunt around, even I have it."
"You are getting me wrong," he said, shaking his head. "I am just saying don't mix your emotions with business!"
"That's the difference between you and me," she answered. "You don't believe in emotions, but I do. If it wasn't for my heart, I would never have come this far and if it weren't for them, I wouldn't have even listened to you for this long!"
"But whatever it may be," he said. "If you get emotional about this, then you are going to lose a lot."
"More than what I have lost already?" she asked rhetorically. "I don't think so. This deal is over."
And with that she walked out a room, leaving an emotionless Arnav. He slowly walked back into the meeting room, to see an expectant Aman and Ayesha.
"So," Ayesha asked. "Should we continue?"
"No," Khushi answered. "We are not having any contract with AR Designs."
Ayesha didn't react, much to Arnav's surprise. For a girl who had such high hopes on the deal, she seemed pretty composed on its cancellation.
Khushi looked at her friend with regretful eyes. "Ayesh," she began, but the latter cut her off.
"No," she said with a small shake of her head. "The decision is upto you. I don't need an explanation."
And it was at that point that Arnav truly understood why Khushi called a stranger her family. Why, despite his apology, she didn't want to come home. In that one look the two girls shared, he realized that Ayesha was truly the only one who understood Khushi, helped her when he and everyone else abandoned her. And now, no matter what happened, it was a bond that would never break.
"Lets go," he told his employees, heading towards to the door.
Khushi watched Ayesha with guilt. The disappointment was pretty clear on her face, even though she tried her best to hide it.
Why Devi Maiyya, she asked wordlessly. When I finally moved on, why did he have to come back? Why is it that everytime I try to run away, you bring me back to where I started? And Ayesha… instead of repaying her for the things she did for me, I end up being a hurdle in her path… how is that even fair?
"Wait," Khushi called suddenly, causing Arnav to stop in his tracks. "The deal is still on."
"Khushi, don't!" Ayesha said.
Khushi ignored her. "But I have a condition."
Arnav's reply was instant. "I accept it."
Khushi glared at him before saying, "We accept your deal on the condition that you, Mr. Raizada, will not take part in this project more than necessary."
No one spoke. "Do I make myself clear?" she asked. "It means I don't want to see you anywhere here unless there is a good reason for it. We will send you the designs, and I am sure Aman can give us your feedback. And you can mail any paperwork you need. Got it?"
Aman silently snorted. He remembered the time when Arnav Singh Raizada used to bark orders at his employees, whether they were reasonable or not. Never did he think that there would come a time, when someone, that too agirl, would be the one who threw instructions at him. Oh, what love does to the strongest of people!
Arnav gave a curt nod. "We will honour your condition. Have a good day!"
And with that he left, leaving Khushi to deal with Ayesha's expectant looks.
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