FF: It's Not Right - Chapter 48

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Chapter 48

The shagun had gone wonderfully despite a few ill-favoured comments from Mami. The whole family had turned up, even Dhruv and Arnav and Khushi had watched excitedly as her sister received the mountains of exquisite jewellery and clothes Khushi always knew she deserved. Khushi smiled for Payal’s good fortune even as she carried the sarees into their bedroom to await further inspection once the Raizadas had gone. She put the sarees down and turned around where she immediately bumped into Arnav who had been following her, far too closely it would seem, with the jewellery boxes.

‘Arnav!’

‘What?’ Arnav put the boxes down on the bed with one arm still around Khushi, steadying her. ‘You bumped into me. Not that I mind,’ he said drawing her closer. Khushi looked beautiful today, wearing what he would term a traditional-Khushi outfit compared to the more sedate kurtas and jeans she had taken to wearing lately. It was a deep violet and emerald green anarkali studded with silver sequins that caught the light whenever she moved.

He had spent most of the afternoon watching her, ignoring the rituals going on around him and would have to thank Dhruv later for the occasional nudges and loud coughs that had saved him from getting caught in his appreciation of Khushi’s beauty whenever a family member had called upon him. So when Khushi had announced she was moving all of the gifts into the bedroom to make space for tea and snacks on the table he had jumped up immediately to offer assistance ignoring the curious look Di, Nani and Mami shot his way.

‘So Khushi.’

‘Arnav! What are you doing? Somebody will see!’ Khushi squirmed trying to get away, her heart was beating so hard she was afraid it would jump out of her throat at the thought of being caught in the arms of a man in her bedroom.

Arnav grinned and silenced her with a firm kiss although he manoeuvred them away so they were hidden slightly by the wooden poles on the bed should anyone come through the door. The kiss had the effect of temporarily causing Khushi’s brain to cease functioning and when he released her she leaned in to him putting her hands onto his shoulders and smiled up at him contentedly.

Arnav had planned to tease her some more and see if he could force a confession out of her today when she wouldn’t have anywhere to run to but her smile made him melt and he felt as if his heart was aching. He leaned his forehead against hers and Khushi instinctively closed her eyes and clutched his shirt tightly. ‘I have something for you,’ he whispered in her ear brushing his cheek against hers.

‘Mmmm.’

‘Khushi, I have something for you,’ he repeated pulling himself away slightly so she would open her eyes.

Khushi had been enjoying herself thoroughly. Arnav’s warm forehead against hers, his breath caressing her lips and his heart beating underneath her right hand all had her feeling completely at ease and safe. She opened her eyes reluctantly and pouted, absolutely sure that whatever Arnav had to give her couldn’t compare to what she had just experienced in his arms.

Arnav led her back around to sit on the bed and sat beside her before reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulling out a long black box. Khushi began to question what was inside the box but her words died on her lips as Arnav put a finger over them, silencing her before placing the box on her lap.

‘Open it.’

His voice was husky almost a whisper and Khushi finally realised this was not one of the ordinary gifts she had received from Arnav every few dates when he had presented her with boxes of exotic chocolates or colourful scarves. The room was silent until Khushi lifted the lid of the box and it jerked up with a loud click of the hinge and she gasped.

Inside laying on top of a long black velvet cushion was a string of pearls. They were luminescent and Khushi could see a myriad of colours in each pearl as it reflected the light.

Arnav scrutinized Khushi’s face trying to gauge her response to his gift and when he saw tears forming in the eyes he was so used to seeing lit with laughter he lurched forward to take Khushi into his arms. ‘Khushi, I’m so sorry. Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean to remind you of that nigh; I just wanted to make up for what I did. Payal’s getting married now but what I did to you that can't be fixed and I...’

Khushi looked up and reached a hand out to cup Arnav’s cheek. ‘Arnav please don’t. I’m not thinking about that honestly. That’s not why... It’s just so beautiful.’ She lifted the necklace out of its box with her other hand and held it up in between them before turning her head slightly and presenting Arnav with her neck. ‘Will you...?’

Arnav ran his fingers lightly through the ends of Khushi’s hair. It had begun to grow again, the ends feathery soft and if he was honest Arnav missed her waist-length hair. He pushed her hair aside and over one shoulder then leant over the other shoulder, his nose nuzzling at the beauty spot by her ear as she passed him the necklace.

Khushi’s chest heaved and she jerked slightly as Arnav lay the cold and smooth pearls across her neck, his fingers following their path until he reached the clasp. His fingers lingered lightly over her shoulders after the clasp had been fastened and he stroked his thumbs up and down on the back of her neck.

‘Do you like it?’

‘I love it.’

Arnav bent down and placed a light kiss at the base of her neck, ‘and me?’

‘I...’

‘Arre Sanka Devi! Arnav Babua! Where are you?’

The moment shattered like crystal around their feet and Arnav’s head fell forward onto Khushi’s shoulder in defeat while Khushi bit her lip to stop herself giggling and patted the top of his head sympathetically. ‘Come on, we should go before Buaji comes inside.’

Khushi stood up and began to move towards the door before she felt Arnav’s hand clasp around her wrist. She turned back to where he was still sitting on the bed and now looking up at her with a determined look on his face.

‘You can’t escape forever,’ he said as he stood up beside her. ‘I’ll make you say it Khushi Kumari Gupta or my name isn’t Arnav Singh Raizada.’ He brushed another soft kiss against Khushi’s cheek before opening the door to let them both out.

---

The air was thick and heavy, an impending storm on the way. Khushi could hear the sound of crickets singing in the garden and small lizards clicking their tongues as they crawled across the outer walls of the house.

There had been a brief moment of panic a few hours earlier when Amma had questioned where the necklace had come from but Khushi had averted the question neatly by asking Amma which of the beautiful new jewellery sets Payal should wear at the mehndi which had been arranged for the following week.

She was now sitting on the bench outside the house giving Payal some privacy as she talked on the phone to Akash. Khushi would have taken the opportunity to talk to Arnav but she knew he had a meeting in the morning to prepare for. She sighed as she rubbed her hands across her arms, warming them against the cool breeze that was swirling around her and then hastily picked up her phone from beside her.

I love... the necklace

Khushi grinned as she pressed send on her phone, her other hand clutching her necklace. A phone call would be disturbing but he could surely spare a few moments to read and reply to her text.

The screen flashed and the phone vibrated almost five minutes later just when she had decided to give in and call him but as Khushi began to press the button to read the message she felt a hand on her shoulder.

‘Babuji!’

Shashi smiled and hugged his daughter before sitting down beside her. ‘How is my little butterfly tonight? Are you sad that your Jiji’s going to leave you?’

‘Of course not! I’m so happy for Jiji. I just want her to have everything she wants in life and Akashji is such a nice person.’

‘He is isn’t he? Our Payal is so lucky. But you don’t need to worry. I have no plans to send my little butterfly anywhere for a long time yet but when I do I promise you, he’ll be one in a million.’

Khushi hugged her Babuji to hide her smile, happy that there were no plans for her marriage yet. She knew Arnav would need a lot of time but now she knew how he felt she was prepared to wait.

---

Arnav had written and then deleted his reply to Khushi three times before finally closing his eyes and pressing send as quickly as he could before he changed his mind. He was taking a risk, he knew that but he knew that in business only those that were willing to put themselves out there got results.

However as he lay wide awake at 3 in the morning with still no response from Khushi he wondered what her silence could mean. Was she upset? Confused? Angry that he had sent an impersonal text instead of calling her or speaking face to face? Or did she simply not understand his meaning? Should he have been less subtle?

---

When the cold began to bite Khushi and her Babuji had gone inside to discuss wedding plans and the state of their finances over hot tea and fresh pakoras that Khushi had insisted on making and so it was nearly 3 in the morning before she finally read the text message from Arnav.

I’ve decided to make an amendment to my earlier statement. If you don’t say those three words to me by the end of this wedding, I’ll change my name. And if you do, you’ll have to change yours.