FF: It's Not Right - Chapter 20

Read the rest of this series over here.


Please note I retain sole ownership of all the works of fiction on this blog so please do not reproduce or alter my work and claim it as your own.

Chapter 20

After half an hour Arnav finally decided on the first shirt he'd tried on. If he was having this much trouble choosing a shirt, no wonder he still hadn't decided after a whole week what he was going to do about Khushi. He still hadn't decided what, if anything he was going to say to her.

'Bye Di,' he called to his sister as he walked past her.

'Chote, where are you going?'

'To get Khushi obviously.'

'But she's not coming today.'

Arnav stopped to look at her, 'what? What do you mean she's not coming? Why?'

'She' still not feeling better, her mom thinks she should rest some more.'

'What? Is she ill? What's wrong with her?'

'Yes, she's had a fever all week. Did she not tell you?'

'No'why' why should she tell me anyway?' Arnav turned back around frustrated. She was ill? She wasn't coming? Why hadn't she told him? Although, why should she tell him? He threw his keys onto the bed and pulled off his jumper throwing it onto the bed as well.

***

Khushi sulked as Payal brought in her tea, 'please can't I get up Jiji?'

'No Khushi, you were the one that said you were too ill to get up this morning.'

'Jiji! I'm not ill anymore!  What do I need to rest for? I've been sleeping all week!'

Payal ignored Khushi putting the tea on the table and leaving the room.

Khushi picked up the tea and drank it slowly as she talked to herself. 'This is all your own fault Khushi Kumari Gupta. If you didn't spend every night sitting outside before going to sleep then you wouldn't have had a fever and you wouldn't be here right now. You'd be with...' Khushi stopped and picked up her phone and sighed as she looked at the picture.

Khushi locked the phone and put it on silent before shoving it into her drawer. Jiji was right. She had chosen to stay at home today. She needed to get some distance between her and Arnav. These feelings she was having, this restlessness she experienced whenever she thought about him, it wasn't right.

Khushi was almost drifting off to sleep when she heard Payal speak. 'Someone's here to see you Khushi.'

She lifted her hand to wave them in assuming it was Abhi. He'd been to visit her a few times during the week already but she froze at the sound of the voice.

'Khushi?'

Khushi sat up immediately, 'Arnavji? What are you doing here?' She was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was still in her night clothes and had yet to brush her hair that day.

Arnav sat down on the chair next to her bed as he watched Khushi smooth down her hair and resisted the urge to help her out. There was a beauty in her simplicity, even more so than usual. Without the usual distraction of sparkly clothes and make-up she looked even more beautiful.

'Di said you were ill.'

'Oh... erm yes. I mean not really anymore. I'll be fine, it was just a fever. I would have come today, honestly I would it's just I wanted to go to work tomorrow and Amma said I have to rest if I want to so that's why I haven't changed or anything.'

'Are you sure?' Arnav said as he lifted his hand to her forehead.

Arnav placed a warm hand on her forehead looking concerned and Khushi looked up to his face. As soon as her eyes met his she knew that the tiny thread of denial that she had been dangling from was no more. She looked down automatically embarrassed. She felt as if it must be emblazoned on her face: Khushi Kumari Gupta likes Arnav Singh Raizada.

'Why didn't you tell me?'

'Huh?' Khushi realised Arnav had already removed his hand and she hadn't even noticed.

'That you were ill?'

'Oh... I... It wasn't erm... what?'

Payal came in with tea for Arnav just then and Khushi let out a sigh of relief. She couldn't think straight. What was going on?

Arnav thought Khushi must be really ill since she was hardly talking and he drank his tea slowly hoping somebody would call Payal and she would leave him alone with Khushi again. It didn't happen and so he reluctantly drank the last of his tea and stood up to leave.

'If you need anything...'

'No thank you Arnavji, goodbye.' Khushi spoke with a wide smile relieved that he was finally leaving. How long did it take for someone to drink a cup of tea anyway?

Arnav left the room thinking about Khushi's strange behaviour when he bumped into her aunt.

'Arnav babua! You? Here?'

'I came to visit Khushi.'

'God, what will we do with this girl? Every day a new man comes to visit her. First we can't get rid of that boss of hers and now you as well? What will Shyam think?'

Arnav had already begun to pay more attention when she had mentioned Abhinav visiting Khushi every day but who was this Shyam?

'Shyam?'

'Yes Shyam, her fiance.'

'Her WHAT?!' Arnav blinked his eyes in shock. Khushi's fiance? Shyam?

'Fiance. As in future husband?' Madhumati looked at Arnav as if he was crazy and started to walk away when Arnav called her back.

'Wait! This Shyam, who is he?' Arnav briefly remembered Payal mentioning contacting a Shyam when he had brought Khushi back from the guest house but why hadn't Khushi mentioned him ever since?

'Shyam babua? Oh he's such a good man. He's a lawyer you know and he's helped me so much. Khushi could never find a better man than him in the whole of India.'

Arnav only heard the words 'Shyam' and 'lawyer' and he felt his blood run cold. He clenched his fists and turned around to go back to Khushi and demand answers when he saw her father come out of the kitchen and smile at him benignly. He couldn't do this here. Not in front of her parents. Arnav gritted his teeth together, said his goodbyes and left the house, his mind spinning with a thousand thoughts and worries.

Arnav wanted to go back, he'd tried to call Khushi straight away to demand answers, but she wasn't answering her phone. Arnav had had his suspicions about Jeejaji for a while now but recently there had been less to worry about. Jeejaji was home more often and there weren't as many suspicious absences or late night meetings. But now that Arnav looked back he realised it was all tied up to Khushi. When Khushi used to come to the house Jeejaji was always away at work but ever since Lavanya had left and Khushi had stopped coming to the house regularly everything had almost gone back to normal.

He stormed into the house and went straight to his study and pulled out the file he wanted. He had never looked at these papers before, always filing them automatically as soon as they arrived but now he spread them out on his desk, his eyes skimming and searching. Arnav took a sharp breath in when his eyes found exactly what he was looking for but was desperate not to find.

There it was. Jeejaji's phone number on Khushi's phone bill.