(ArHi FF)Arranged Marriage Thd-3 New thread Pg-163 - Page 68

Devyani rocked in the rocking chair, her shawl wrapped tightly around her, the wrinkles deepening on her forehead as she stared out, the memories clouding over her mind, as she saw the sun set slowly, the evening coming forth, and bringing with it the same haunting memory, the promise she had made that she found herself struggling to fulfil now.

 

*******

 

Khushi heard a knock on the door just as the bathroom door opened and Arnav stepped out in tracksuit and lose grey t-shirt, a towel in his hand drying his face and neck. He folded the towel and placed it on the table at the far side of the room before walking towards the door when another knock came through. Khushi got up, and looked outside to see Aranv's back blocking most of the entrance as he conversed with someone at the door.

 

Feeling lethargic from the long flight, Khushi let a yawn break past her lips, and the tiredness weighing her down. She saw as Arnav grabbed something off the person, and closed the door. Turning around, his eyes connected with Khushi's as she stood there her eyes moving down to the champagne bottle and two glasses in his hand, a red bow neatly wrapped around he champagne bottle, and moved back to meet Arnav's gaze.

She held it for a few seconds; her lips drying slightly, as her heart picked up its pace, and her hand automatically gripped the sides of her suit. Suddenly noticing the dim lighting, the moonlight filtering through the blinds in the living area and the atmosphere that reeked of romance, she quickly averted her gaze, and looked down at the carpeted floor swallowing hard, her grip on the suit tightening. She was aware he was still standing there, looking at her, and feeling the same uncomfortably feeling slowly creeping up her spine, she turned her back to him, and walked back into the room, wanting to stay away and keep her distance.

 

Quickly opening her suitcase and grabbing her cotton suit, she walked towards the bathroom to have a quick shower before retiring back to sleep. Glancing back at the bed, she wondered how the sleeping arrangement would play out, but deciding to worry about that later, she closed the bathroom door and opened the shower, letting the high-pressure water coming to a comfortable temperature before stripping and stepping into the shower. She let the water slowly cascade down her body, her hands weaving through the hair, wetting the strands, letting the water slowly soak into the thick mass of hair on her head. She sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall to her side, the water continuing to stream down, washing away the tiredness, a content sigh escaped her lips. As she thought about the decorations outside in the room, her arms wrapped around her waist, a slow nervousness and fear crept through her body. 

She wasn't sure what was expected of her during the honeymoon. Wasn't a honeymoon for a couple in love? How could she be expected to spend time with someone with whom she found 10 minutes of the day unbearable? She opened her mouth and breathed through it slowly, trying to calm her racing heart and think logically, but her mind was jumping between scenarios, each of which was equally unpleasant to Khushi. 

She did not like him; she referred to him as a raakshas and Laad Governer, so how could she be expected to be physically intimate with a guy she abhorred? Her hands clutched tightly at her waist, the nails digging into her skin as the thought of being physically intimate with Arnav crossed her mind.

Would he expect her to?

She shook her head as a gasp escaped her lips and her hands clapped over her mouth, her eyes opening wide in fear. She could not, would not get close to a man as ruthless as Arnav Singh Raizada.

 

The first night of her marriage when Arnav had thrown her out of the room, a part of her had been relieved at the fact that he had tried not to force himself upon her, but as the time had gone past, she had realised one thing - he was not a man who would force himself on an unwilling woman. He had chances during the time she had been staying at the Raizada mansion to do whatever he wanted, however he had kept his distance. So why was she scared? 

She closed her eyes again and thought again. She wasn't sure what she was nervous about, but she was sure about one thing, the past few weeks when Arnav had started mellowing down, occasionally jumping between his outbursts had thrown Khushi off. She wasn't sure what to make of his constant staring, nor was she sure what to make of this relationship both of them found themselves in.

 

This wasn't a normal husband wife relationship. There was no love present.

 

Realisation dawned on Khushi, as she opened her eyes, now shivering under the water as her skin turned to prune, she was afraid how their relationship would be affected after this trip. She was afraid if they would get closer. She was afraid of how their relationship would change. And she wasn't sure if she was looking forward to the change, not when she had accustomed herself to hate the man.

 

********

 

Arnav sat on the couch in the living area, his hand holding a glass of champagne, swirling the liquid around as he stared out the big windows, the lights twinkling outside, the night buzzing with life and energy as his eyes wandered around to the neon sign flashing with a sign for a club, the bridges looming over the people, the cars zipping past, the entire atmosphere completely different. He gave out a sigh and his body stiffened as he heard the bathroom door open from the bedroom.

His eyes were fixed on the window, refusing to look anywhere else, however as she walked around the bedroom, the rustle of clothing telling him that she was packing things away, his grip on the glass tightened, and he closed his eyes inhaling and exhaling sharply, before he tilted his head back and gulped down the burning liquid in the glass.

 

********

 

Khushi stood next to the door, her hands holding the door, as she saw him pour himself another glass of champagne, the tension refusing to leave her body as the thoughts of whatever was going to happen tonight kept plaguing her mind.

 

As she saw him drink down another glass, she looked back at the bed and did the first thing that came to her mind to avoid Arnav - she quickly threw back the covers, laid down on the bed, covered her face with the sheet and quilt, and closed her eyes pretending to be in deep sleep lest he came into the room.

Khushi strained her ears to hear him come into the bedroom, but all she heard was the occasional clink of glass as Arnav kept pouring himself a drink after another. She sighed, her eyes still closed, and soon sleep swept over, and Khushi went off to sleep on the comfortable soft bed, welcoming the sweet dreams.

 

********

Khushi groaned as she stretched out on the bed, a small smile resting her face as she snuggled deeper into the soft pillow, and pulled up the quilt to her chin, enjoying the comfort and letting it lull her away to another dream, but the sunlight pouring in through the curtains that hadn't been drawn up during the night, caused her to flinch, and squint as she opened her eyes and gave out a sigh seeing the bright sunlight filtering into the room.

She sat up, and ran a hand through her hair, a yawn escaping her lips as she stretched out, and finally opened her eyes properly.

She looked to her side and saw the other side of the bed was untouched, and then her eye wandered around the room, her brows furrowing together as she saw that Arnav was nowhere. Pushing the quilt away, she quickly got up, snatched the dupatta from the seat next to the bed, hurriedly draped it around her neck.

She knew he would have been drunk with the way he was drinking, however she hoped he hadn't done anything stupid. She stepped out of the bedroom, worry etched on her face as the worst scenarios kept running through her head.

Halting in her tracks, relief swept through her as she saw him lying down on the sofa at an awkward angle, his hair mussed up, his arm hanging off the couch, the t-shirt he had gone to sleep in was riding up his stomach, revealing the skin and the taut stomach, and Khushi quickly averted her gaze.

 

She saw a whole champagne bottle lying on the floor, the glass set on the table, and she assumed that after pouring glasses after glasses, he must have decided to drink from the bottle. Wrinkling her  nose in disgust as she took a step closer and the stench of alcohol infiltrated her nose, she picked up the bottle and placed it on the table.

Looking back over her shoulder, her hands came to a rest on her hips, as she bit her lip in amusement at seeing his mouth open, drool collecting on the cushion, half his face squashed by the cushion, while a leg was hanging off the small couch, and the arm was awkwardly placed between himself and the couch to not fall off from it. She realised it was not a comfortable position, and bent down to wake him up.

 

Just as she placed a hand on his shoulder to shake him, a ring from the doorbell resounded through the suite. She snatched her hand back as Arnav let out a loud groan before placing another cushion over his head to block off any noise and sunlight. Realising the sunlight was bothering him, she quickly walked over to the big windows surrounding the living area and looked around for a way to bring down the blinds, however the person at the door sounded the bell again.

"Stop" Arnav groaned, and rolled over, hiding his face into the couch, his hair sticking up, and Khushi quickly walked to the door, swallowing hard hoping that it would be someone she could converse with.

 

Opening the door slightly, Khushi smiled vibrantly at the person standing at the door.

A short girl wearing a black jacket buttoned up in the front, a pencil skirt coming up to her knees and a collared white shirt with the hotel's tag hanging off the jacket looked up at her. Khushi noted with surprise that the woman's hair was unlike something she had ever seen. It was cropped short at the side, but the other side had hair coming up to her jaw, streaked with colours of red, the side-fringe falling over her right eye, as she smiled up at her warmly.

"Good afternoon, I am Nandini" She said cheerfully, her smile wide and welcoming, and Khushi's eyes widened as she looked at her watch and realised that it one in the afternoon.

"Namaste, I am Khushi" She said, hesitant to open the door wider because Arnav was still sprawled on the couch, and as Khushi looked over her shoulder, she realised he hadn't gotten up yet, but Nandini did not seem to mind and handed Khushi a clipboard she had brought along,

 "Mrs. Jha had sent me to help you with the shopping and settling into the environment of Melbourne. From what I understood, this is your first time here?" Nandini spoke in Hindi, her eyes twinkling up at her and Khushi nodded. "Don't worry, Mrs. Jha and Mrs Raizada have explicitly said that your enjoyment in this beautiful city is half my responsibility and half your husband's. In this clipboard I just handed you, I have marked all the attractions you can visit while staying at Melbourne and marked out all the places you must visit, the clubs and wait for it..." She winked, as she flipped over a page, her writing scrawled over the pages, clippings and images from different magazines pasted on it, "Here are all the shops and streets you can find the best clothes, with good bargains"

 

Khushi looked down at the clipboards, her eyes widening at the prices that were scribbled next to a few clothing items, mentally trying to convert it to rupees, yet failing.

"I'll drop off your clothes in the evening" Nandini continued, looking at her blackberry as she punched in a few numbers, "I am still waiting on a few items"

"But I bought my own clothes..." Khushi said, confused as she saw Nandini quickly type something into her phone,

"Oh yes" Nandini said, "But Mrs Jha told me to buy a few clothes for you that you might need to wear while going out here" Nandini grinned and stuffed her phone into her jacket pocket. "Anyway, it was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs Raizada. Say my hello to Mr Raizada as well" Nandini grinned and turned on her heel to press the lift button, which opened to take her back downstairs.

 

Khushi closed the door behind her and looked down at all the western wear that were cut out into the page.

She realised one thing. Instead of worrying about Arnav, she should have feared what Nani and Anjali had planned to bring the two closer.