SS: Selfless, Cold and Composed - Part 2

Part 2

Arnav waited in his room, almost impatient for the inevitable drama that would follow but there was nothing. There was no Di, Nani or Lavanya knocking at his door demanding answers. Could she really have managed to handle everything? Handle everyone's emotions as well as she had handled her own?

He left his room and was instantly aware that all the guests were still there. He could hear them talking and laughing while he approached the stairs. This was not the atmosphere he had been expecting, when he saw Di look up at him with a huge smile and start to walk towards him he knew what must have happened. He scanned the room and found her sitting next to Lavanya looking completely interested in what some of Lavanya's brainless friends were talking about.

'Chote! You didn't wear the shervani I put out for you and your shirt isn't even done properly!'

Arnav continued to look at Khushi and walk towards her as he replied, 'I'm not getting engaged Di so there's no need for me to wear it anyway.'

'What? Chote, what are you saying?'

He approached them and Lavanya got up smiling and walked to his side but Arnav didn't look at her either. Khushi was now pretending to fix the pleats in her saree before she stood up, completely ignoring him just as he was ignoring whatever it was that Di and Lavanya were saying. Once she was standing he took a step closer to her. 'How long does it take for your tiny brain to process things? I told you to do something Khushi! Why haven't you?'

Khushi looked around at the guests who had begun to stop and stare at them and spoke in a low but firm tone, 'well first of all I don't need to follow your orders. I'm here to help Lavanyaji, not to do your bidding. Besides how was I supposed to know you actually meant what you said? You always say one thing and then do another.'

She shrugged her shoulders again annoying him further and he reached out to hold on to her shoulders, 'Khushi! I told you, there would be no engagement!' He raised his voice but still kept his eyes focused on hers 'there is not going to be an engagement today! You can all go home! GO!'

'No engagement?'

'Who is this girl?'

'Doesn't she work for them?'

'Look at how he's holding her, what's going on between them?'

He knew she must have heard the various snippets of conversation as the guests left but she still made no reaction or attempt to move away from him. Once everyone had left, almost 5 minutes later, Arnav felt Di's hands on his arm pulling him away from Khushi.

'Chote, what is all this? What are you doing?'

'I told Khushi to tell you all there would be no engagement but she can't ever do anything right!'

'But why Chote? How can you do this to Lavanya?'

Lavanya was sobbing into Mami's shoulders but Arnav didn't feel anything at all. Why should he feel anything for anyone, when Khushi wasn't feeling anything for him?

'Hello, hi, bye bye, I think all of this must be that Phatti Saree's fault, so why don't you ask her Anjali dear?'

'Khushiji? Please tell us, what's wrong? What's happened?'

'I don't know Anjaliji, I'm really sorry but I don't understand what goes through your brother's head. He did ask me to tell you all the engagement was cancelled but I didn't say anything because he always changes his mood and I was hoping he would change his decision about this also.'

Arnav glared at her angrily, 'change my decision? You were really hoping I would get engaged after all? Is that it? Is that what you're saying?'

'Yes, of course,' again there was that blank emotionless voice that sounded nothing like Khushi at all. Not the Khushi he was used to.

'Chote, this is enough! How can you treat Miss Kashyap like this?' Tell me once and for all why you have changed your mind about this wedding?' Nani looked similarly shocked like everyone else in the room except for Khushi and Mami.

'Because of her!' He was pleased to see that he finally got a reaction.  Her eyebrows had risen up and her eyes widened automatically.

'This is exactly what I told you mother-in-law,' Mami chimed in. 'There should be some distance between employer and employee but you didn't listen to me. And now look, this servant has trapped our dear Arnav and broken poor Miss Kashyap's heart.'

Everyone turned from Arnav to Khushi in shock and she gave him a disgusted look before she walked past him to Nani. 'Naniji, I promise you I have never attempted to trap Arnavji at all. Lavanyaji is my friend and I want the best for her. I haven't done anything, I promise.'

Arnav grabbed her arm and turned her to face him again, 'you haven't done anything?'

Khushi looked back at him defiantly, 'no I haven't! But if you think I have done anything to lead you on, to make you believe I was interested in a devil like you, please enlighten me!'

'You...you,' Arnav tried to think but he couldn't. Everything that had ever occurred between them, it was all circumstantial, it was all unintentional and most importantly it was private. He didn't want to divulge all of their intimate moments to his entire family.

Could it be true? Did she really have no feelings for him? Maybe she had just been her normal self and he was the one that had seen hidden meanings and emotions that weren't even there. But then why had she cried last week?

'You hugged me!' Finally he burst out, needing something concrete, something that she couldn't deny, and something that had definitely occurred to bind them together.

'You mean in the hospital?' She laughed derisively and mockingly, 'I was upset! I thought my father was dying! I would have hugged a lion if it had been in front of me!'

Arnav couldn't believe that she had so heartlessly and easily torn apart the one indication he had of her feelings towards him.

'Look Anjaliji, Lavanyaji, I'm really sorry for all of this. I don't understand why Arnavji is trying to use me as an excuse to get out of this engagement but I really think I should go. This is your personal family matter and I don't want to interfere anymore.'

Nobody seemed to be able to speak, Nani, Di, Lavanya, Akash and Mama all stood silent along with him. Only Mami seemed to have retained control of her vocal abilities, 'finally we come to the bye, bye part Phatti Saree. Good thing too, who knows next you might have put your claws into my poor Akash. Good riddance!'

Khushi stiffened as Mami spoke and turned around slowly, 'for your information Mamiji, I have no need to put my claws as you put them into anyone, be it your precious Arnav or Akash bitwa. I already have a fiance who thankfully doesn't seem to think that self-worth is tied to the amount of money a person earns and I'm more than happy with him.'

She directed the last part of her speech at Arnav before she turned and left with her head held high, stepping all over the pieces of Arnav's broken heart that were strewn in her path with every step that she took away from him.
Fiance. She had a fiance. Arnav felt as if his lungs were constricting, as if he couldn't breathe. Was this how she had felt last week? Was this how he had made her feel?